University System News:
MSN
AU brings in more than $1 million in donations in one day
The community showed more than a million dollars worth of support for Augusta University during the inaugural Augusta Gives campaign on Tuesday. The university received 505 gifts totaling $1,043,330. The day of giving was the first of its kind at the university. The money will help AU address its greatest priorities, the university said in a new release. Because it was held virtually, donors were able to choose an initiative to support that meant the most to them, or in which they believed their gift could have the greatest impact. Debbie Vaughn, vice president for philanthropy and alumni engagement, said she was very pleased with the results, and she thanked university leaders for embracing and supporting the initiative.
Statesboro Herald
GS to help launch US Naval Community College
Georgia Southern University has won the opportunity for a future contract with the U.S. Navy to help expand educational opportunities for active duty sailors, Marines and Coast Guardsmen. The university is among 119 colleges from across the country that were selected to provide distance and online learning curriculum and courses to the military members. …The partnership with the newly formed United States Naval Community College stems from the U.S. Navy’s broader Education for Seapower Strategy, aimed at enhancing the enlisted force’s ability to master new and emerging technologies. The Navy is heavily invested in the STEM fields of science, technology, engineering and mathematics, Fredrick said.
Nature World News
21 Best US Colleges for Future Journalists
By Ernest Hamilton
…Though not many recognize this, one of the biggest influential factors for your future career is the right choice of a school. Just like there are colleges and universities recognized for graduating excellent doctors, that are schools known for having brilliant journalism programs. So, how to make the right choice? In the list below, we have gathered some of the best colleges in the US for future journalists. The schools are ranked by the overall program quality with the indication of a median starting salary for BA graduates.
#18 The University of Georgia – Athens, GA
Available degrees: BA – 156; MA – 45
BA median starting salary: $33,000
Albany Herald
Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College athletic trainer Junior College Trainer of Year
From staff reports
Donna Kay Sledge, head athletic trainer at Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College, has been named Junior College Head Athletic Trainer of the Year by the National Athletic Trainers’ Association Intercollegiate Council for Sports Medicine. The qualifications for this award include having professional experience in a collegiate setting as well as being actively involved in the community on and off campus. “Donna is committed to helping her athletes be healthy and succeed, both on and off the field,” the Georgia Athletic Trainers’ Association said. “This is a well-deserved honor for an incredible athletic trainer.”
Morning AGClips
UGA receives $6.2 million grant to provide relationship, financial training for couples
Team will collaborate with UGA Cooperative Extension and a network of established state and local partners
A team of University of Georgia faculty in the College of Family and Consumer Sciences aims to provide Georgia couples with healthy relationship skills and financial guidance with the help of a five-year, $6.2 million grant from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The team will collaborate with UGA Cooperative Extension and a network of established state and local partners to deliver the evidence-based Healthy Marriage and Relationship Education programming to couples in 60 counties across Georgia who are experiencing economic stress and are relationally vulnerable, including those who are military-connected. The project also will provide financial literacy programming with a goal of positively impacting at least 2,250 low-resource and underserved couples aged 18 and older by 2025 with both in-person and online delivery. The funding allows the team to expand on the success of the Fostering Relationship and Economic Enrichment Project (Project F.R.E.E.) that reached nearly 1,400 families involved in the child-welfare system in northeast Georgia through a campus-community partnership initiative from 2015 through 2020.
Fox28 Media
COVID-19 relief funding coming to Statesboro
by Nicholas Papadimas
COVID-19 relief funding is on its way to Statesboro, Statesboro City Council members announced during their meeting Tuesday night. Council members voted to establish a COVID-19 relief program to benefit three funds: rental/mortgage, small businesses and utility assistance. City officials said the $250,000 program will be funded using CARES ACT funds the city received in August. …Of the $250,000 provided for the program, $100,000 will go towards rental/mortgage assistance, $75,000 for small business grants and $75,000 for utility assistance. …Georgia Southern University’s Business Innovation Group (BIG) will oversee the small business fund. Business owners whose businesses have been negatively impacted by the pandemic will be able to receive a maximum of $5,000.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Effort to privatize Ga. prison health care draws fear from experts, advocates
By Joshua Sharpe
Georgia Department of Corrections officials hope to save money by privatizing all health care at state prisons, a proposal that alarms experts and people who’d been incarcerated in a system they say already has a rock-bottom medical budget. GDC is researching how the prisons could have medical services provided by a for-profit firm rather than Georgia Correctional HealthCare, part of the state’s medical school at Augusta University, according to documents obtained through the Open Records Act. The agency has already privatized mental health and dental services. Documents show GDC wants all prison health care to be private by July 2021.
Other News:
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
BREAKING: FDA approves drug remdesivir to treat COVID-19
By ArLuther Lee
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved the antiviral drug remdesivir as a treatment for the coronavirus — the first drug of its kind to receive the federal government’s imprimatur during the ongoing pandemic, according to numerous sources. Gilead Sciences, the drug’s maker, made the announcement Thursday, saying the medicine, which is administered intravenously, would only be used in cases that required hospitalization. The drug will be sold under the brand name Veklury, according to The Associated Press.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Map: Coronavirus deaths and cases in Georgia (updated Oct. 22)
An updated count of coronavirus deaths and cases reported across the state
DEATHS: 7,729 | 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: 345,535 | Cases have been confirmed in every county.
Higher Education News:
Inside Higher Ed
ACT Settles Class Action for $16 Million
Suit charged ACT with violating the rights of people with disabilities.
By Scott Jaschik
ACT has agreed to settle a class action suit that charges it with disclosing — without appropriate permission — some test takers’ disability status to colleges and scholarship organizations. ACT has not admitted any wrongdoing and says in the agreement that it agreed to settle only to avoid the litigation costs and uncertainty of prolonged litigation. However, ACT is making real changes in its practices and has agreed to pay $16 million for violations of state law to members of the class who live in California.
Diverse Issues in Higher Education
Institutions Still Working to Achieve Faculty Diversity Goals Despite COVID-19-Related Challenges
by Lois Elfman
While the number of new hires has decreased in the COVID-19 era, the vision of more diverse and inclusive faculty remains decisive. It goes without saying that COVID-19 has impacted all areas of higher education, but those involved in the recruitment and retention of diverse faculty remain committed and are finding creative ways to achieve their objective.
The Chronicle of Higher Education
U. of Utah to Pay $13.5 Million to Murdered Student’s Parents and Foundation for Campus Safety
By Emma Pettit
The parents of Lauren McCluskey — the University of Utah student who was killed by a man she had briefly dated, in 2018 — have settled lawsuits against the university in an agreement in which the institution acknowledges the tragedy as “preventable.” The agreement was announced on Thursday, the second anniversary of McCluskey’s death. On October 22, 2018, she was shot to death on campus by Melvin Shawn Rowland, who later killed himself. Jill and Matthew McCluskey previously filed two lawsuits alleging that the university could have done more to protect their daughter. In the weeks leading up to her killing, Lauren McCluskey repeatedly reported to the campus police that she was being harassed and extorted by Rowland. He threatened to release compromising photographs of McCluskey if she did not pay him $1,000. On the morning of her death, he attempted to lure her out of her dormitory by impersonating a deputy police chief by text, an incident McCluskey reported to the police. But McCluskey’s concerns were not taken as seriously as they should have been. Police officers had missed the warning signs that McCluskey was experiencing escalating intimate-partner violence, The Chronicle previously reported.