University System News:
WSBRadio
UGA reports results of latest campus COVID testing
Testing up, cases down
By Tim Bryant
There were 84 positive tests for coronavirus in a week of campus testing that ended this past Sunday.
From the University of Georgia website…
The University of Georgia set a record high for participation in its COVID-19 surveillance program, with 2,029 individuals tested between the Legion Field surveillance site and pop-up locations across campus for the week of October 12 – 18. Of those tested, 25 individuals were positive, for a positivity rate of 1.23%. This marks the second straight week of strong participation in surveillance testing.
accessWDUN
UNG to start class at old Lanier Tech in Fall 2021
By Mitch Clarke Director of News and Content
The University of North Georgia hopes to have its first classes in its renovated facilities on old Lanier Technical College campus by next fall. Most of the renovations should be complete by the end of this calendar year, but Richard Oates, vice president of the Gainesville campus, said Tuesday that because classes are scheduled far ahead of time, it wasn’t possible to get classes scheduled for next semester. “While we may be able to move some offices in there over time, we schedule classes out about eight months in advance and so we wanted to make sure we didn’t schedule something in there that may have rushed the schedule,” Oates said. Five areas – include film and digital studies, nursing and information technology – will occupy the renovated spaces once the project is completed, Oates said.
Patch
GGC Produces More Than $520 Million In Economic Impact
According to an economic impact study released yesterday by the University System of Georgia (USG), Georgia Gwinnett College (GGC) contributed more than $520 million to the economy of Gwinnett County and the Atlanta metropolitan area during fiscal year 2019.
WGAU
Report gauges economic impact of UNG
FY 2019 spending pegged at $285 million
By Tim Bryant
A new report places the economic impact of the University of North Georgia at $723 million during fiscal year 2019.
From UNG…
“These reports reaffirm the extensive and positive impact UNG makes on our communities and for the futures of our students,” President Bonita C. Jacobs said. “We continue to expand access to higher education and produce graduates who are globally competitive for a vast array of careers and service opportunities. At the same time, we continue to create jobs for thousands who serve our students and the communities in northeast Georgia.” Included in UNG’s economic impact is $285 million in spending by about 20,000 students, which alone created 3,279 jobs in the area. On average, for every dollar spent by the university, an additional 47 cents is generated for the region.
WALB
Phoebe unveils new ‘simulation and innovation’ center
By Jamie Worsley
A new “simulation and innovation” center at Phoebe Putney Memorial Hospital will provide nursing students and new hires with a way to learn more about the field. The 22,000 square-foot center has a variety of rooms and tools that teach students and new hires the ropes. Phoebe President and CEO Scott Steiner hopes the new center will help to recruit and retain nurses during this nursing shortage. …Nursing students from across South Georgia, including Andrew College, Albany State, Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College and Georgia Southwestern will use the facility.
PBS
For caregivers, a difficult job becomes nearly impossible during the pandemic
By Judy Woodruff and Courtney Norris
There are more than 50 million caregivers in the United States, from in-home providers to family volunteers. For these essential workers, the pandemic has represented a crisis on a different scale. We hear some of their stories about what the past few months have been like, and Dr. Jennifer Olsen, executive director of The Rosalynn Carter Institute for Caregiving, joins Judy Woodruff to discuss.
Ledger-Enquirer
She’s 21. He’s 32. They’re leading a youth movement helping to run Muscogee elections
By Mark Rice
Five years ago, when she was a sophomore at Carver High School, helping democracy in the community wasn’t what motivated Alana Daniels to be a poll worker. Daniels laughed as she told the Ledger-Enquirer, “Honestly, my first time doing it, it was 90% about the money, and the other 10% was that I got to get out of school for one day and I got 100s on every assignment that day. We didn’t have to make up work for Election Day. We automatically got a good grade on it.” Now, at 21, Daniels has honed her skills as a poll worker and this year was promoted to area manager in charge of five out of the 25 Muscogee County voting precincts. …As a senior psychology major at Columbus State University, she plans to become a family and marriage therapist. She also wants to eventually run for public office. Meanwhile, she uses her psychology training to handle problems at the polls or while working part-time at the elections office.
WSAV
WSAV, Georgia Southern to hold for Georgia State House forum
With two weeks to Election Day, and early voting underway, local candidates are making their final appeals to voters. WSAV is once again partnering with Georgia Southern University for an upcoming forum, this time featuring candidates for:
Georgia State House District 164
Ron Stephens (R-Inc.)
Marcus Thompson (D)
Georgia State House District 166
Jesse Petrea (R-Inc.)
Michael Mack (D)
WTVM
CSU political science professor explains what not to do at the polls
By Cindy Centofanti
Due to a Supreme Court ruling, it is illegal for voters to show their support for any candidates who may be on the ballot. “I feel that it was concerning that I got picked out for my Trump hat and t-shirt,” early voter Kelvin Thomas said. Thomas went to cast his vote for the upcoming presidential election, but was turned away by a poll worker who said he was not allowed to wear his hat and t-shirt inside the polling place. “I did what they asked me to,” he said. “I turned my shirt inside out I took my hat off, regretfully, because it wasn’t right because I do work and pay my taxes. But the fact that I had to take my support off to vote” Technically, the poll worker was not wrong. According to Columbus State University political science professor, Dr. Jacob Holt, voters wearing or endorsing candidates on the ballot qualifies as electioneering, which is illegal within 100 yards of a polling place.
Middle Georgia CEO
University of Georgia SBDC Launches Virtual Women of Business Conference
Staff Report
The University of Georgia Small Business Development Center (SBDC), a Public Service and Outreach unit of the University of Georgia, announces a virtual, online business conference created to support the Central Georgia business community. The conference, Women of Business 2020: Going the Distance, takes place on Thursday, October 22, 2020, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., and is available at no-cost to registered participants. The UGA SBDC and Macon Magazine have partnered to present this first-ever conference. The Women of Business 2020 virtual conference takes place live on Zoom and features multiple panels of leading business women sharing their stories and insights on their businesses, careers and community. This daylong business program was created to provide an interactive educational opportunity for participants, packed with pro-tips, small business resources and personal, professional experiences from the panelists.
Growing America
Pandemic Keeps ABAC from Sunbelt Expo for First Time Ever
Since an event called Dealer Days on the banks of Lake Baldwin in 1964, Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College has always been a part of the Sunbelt Agricultural Exposition. But not this year. Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Expo will not be held. Plans are for North America’s Premier Outdoor Farm Equipment Show to return to its Spence Field site near Moultrie in 2021. “ABAC and the Expo have certainly changed over the years but we both still have a commitment to agriculture, which continues to be Georgia’s largest industry,” ABAC President David Bridges said. “The Expo has always represented a great opportunity for me to connect with our ABAC alumni, many of whom are on site as exhibitors.”
WSBRadio
UGA Vet School conducting tests after illness closes animal shelter
Results expected by Friday
By Tim Bryant
Researchers in the University of Georgia’s College of Veterinary Medicine are working with test samples from the animal shelter in Cobb County, where some dogs and cats are have fallen ill over the past week. Some have died.
From WSB TV…
A Cobb County animal shelter is waiting on test results after being forced to shut its doors. Channel 2′s Chris Jose took a closer look at what might be the cause of animals getting sick. The shelter, which will be closed until they determine the cause of the mystery illness, said they should get results from UGA by Friday.
Patch
Award-Winning Chemistry Professor Engages Students With The Soft Side Of Science
Have you ever stopped to think how fascinating toothpaste is? Its solid-like and changes to fluid-like as it’s squeezed out of a tube, then becomes solid-like again once it’s resting on the toothbrush. That consistency is no accident, said Dr. Ajay Mallia, associate professor of chemistry at Georgia Gwinnett College. It is by design, and the science behind those miraculous properties is what he has dedicated his life to studying and teaching.
Other News:
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Even some doctors won’t wear masks in a pandemic, patients complain
By Johnny Edwards
Georgia lacks grounds to discipline health care providers who reject CDC guidelines
Alyssa Fiorino was supposed to look out for her 89-year-old grandfather during his eye doctor appointment. But on his first trip out of the house during the pandemic, he sat down in the exam room with no mask on his face, and no mask on the ophthalmologist’s either, she said. Fiorino said she tried to drop a hint by apologizing that her grandfather had pulled off his N95 mask in the lobby, when he complained that he couldn’t breathe after waiting for two hours in a parked car. The doctor scoffed at the idea of putting on masks, she said, then he went on with the exam. …The family isn’t alone in their predicament. In Georgia and across the country, patients have filed complaints with state licensing boards accusing doctors and their staffers of failing to wear face masks, making people with medical degrees an unlikely subgroup of Americans bucking the CDC’s safety recommendations.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
High-dose flu vaccine in limited supply in Georgia
By Helena Oliviero
Some health care providers across Georgia and the rest of the country already are running low on the high-dose flu vaccine recommended for older Americans as many in the public heed warnings about the dangers of contracting the flu and COVID-19 at the same time. Public health officials have said it’s more important than ever to get the flu shot this year, with the pandemic still raging, because contracting both viruses could pose a grave risk to a person’s health. Also, officials worry that a “twindemc” could overwhelm the health care system. Many have listened to those warnings, causing supplies of the high-dose flu vaccine to dwindle. For right now, that’s more of an inconvenience than crisis.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Map: Coronavirus deaths and cases in Georgia (updated Oct. 20)
An updated count of coronavirus deaths and cases reported across the state
DEATHS: 7,674 | Deaths have been confirmed in all counties but one (Taliaferro). County is determined by the patient’s residence, when known, not by where they were treated.
CONFIRMED CASES: 342,438 | Cases have been confirmed in every county.
Higher Education News:
Albany Herald
Technical College System gets additional $13 million in relief funding
From staff reports
Gov. Brian Kemp announced Tuesday that the Technical College System of Georgia’s Office of Workforce Development, in partnership with the Georgia Department of Labor, was recently awarded an additional $13 million in dislocated worker relief funding by the U.S. Department of Labor, bringing the total grant award to $25 million. Since the initial award in April 2020, the Dislocated Worker Grant has aided in addressing the work force-related impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. “From Day One of our fight with COVID-19, we have been laser-focused on protecting the lives and livelihoods of hard-working Georgians in every corner of our state,” Kemp said in a news release. “This additional funding will help build on those efforts, providing critical funding to our work force as they face a once-in-a-century economic crisis due to the pandemic. Working together with our partners at TCSG and the Georgia Department of Labor, we will continue to work around the clock to support Georgia’s business community and work force and do our part to ensure a safe return to the work place as we move forward together.”
The Chronicle of Higher Education
‘It’s Negligence’: U. of Michigan Students Ordered to ‘Stay in Place’ After Covid-19 Cases Surge
By Michael Vasquez
Faced with a steep rise in Covid-19 cases, the local county health department has issued an emergency “stay in place” order for all undergraduates at the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor, effective immediately. The decision by the Washtenaw County Health Department — which was supported by university officials — comes after a series of dorm outbreaks that fueled a dramatic increase in cases of the virus on campus. The surge in infections on the campus contributed to a “critical” situation overall in Ann Arbor, according to local health officials, who noted that university students now represent more than 60 percent of local cases. Some of that Covid spread is a result of Michigan students partying irresponsibly. But university leaders have also been roundly criticized for failing to take enough precautions when reopening.
Inside Higher Ed
Colleges Under Fire for Foreign Gift Reporting
Department of Education issues report accusing colleges of “pervasive noncompliance” with federal law requiring reporting of foreign-sourced gifts and contracts.
By Elizabeth Redden
The Department of Education issued a report Tuesday accusing colleges of failing to comply with a law requiring biannual disclosure of all foreign gifts and contracts totaling $250,000 or more. “We found pervasive noncompliance by higher ed institutions and significant foreign entanglement with America’s colleges and universities,” Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos said at an event marking the report’s release. “Our initial investigations catalyzed disclosure of approximately $6.5 billion in previously unreported foreign funds.”
Inside Higher Ed
Colleges Sue Trump Administration Over H-1B Rules
Colleges say new rules on H-1B visas from Trump administration would make it hard if not impossible to retain international researchers and professors.
By Elizabeth Redden
Colleges joined with major business and industry groups in filing a lawsuit challenging new Trump administration rules that would narrow the eligibility requirements for H-1B skilled worker visas and increase the wages employers would have to pay visa holders. Colleges use H-1B visas to hire international professors and researchers, and the visas are a common route international graduates of U.S. universities use to stay in the U.S. and work after completing their degrees. Trump administration officials have framed the new rules as intended to “restore integrity” to the H-1B visa program and protect American workers. In announcing the rules two weeks ago, Kenneth T. Cuccinelli, the senior official performing the duties of the deputy secretary for the Department of Homeland Security, said he expected the changes to cut the number of petitions for H-1B visas by one-third.