University System News:
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
A look at major coronavirus developments in Georgia over the past week
By Helena Oliviero
With the number of coronavirus cases on a steady decline, Georgia is finally out of the COVID-19 red zone. Georgia reported the 23rd-highest rate of case growth in the United States from Sept. 19 to Sept. 25, according to the White House Coronavirus Task Force, which moved Georgia out of its most severe category. It’s a marked improvement from mid-August, when Georgia reported the highest rate of new cases in the nation. Georgia reported 92 new cases of the coronavirus per 100,000 people in the week ended Friday, Sept. 25, one case below the national average for that period. It was the first time Georgia reported a new case rate below the national average since June, according to a review of task force reports published online by the investigative journalism nonprofit Center for Public Integrity. There are other signs of improvement in the fight against COVID-19. The positivity rate for coronavirus tests is also down, and the number of people in Georgia hospitalized for COVID-19 has also been declining over the past several weeks. … Here’s a look at major pandemic developments in the state over the past week: UGA, other colleges see major declines in coronavirus cases
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
At Georgia colleges, hopes for spring rely on keeping COVID in check
By Eric Stirgus and Leon Stafford
University System of Georgia Chancellor Steve Wrigley gave an optimistic summary of the first month of the fall semester at its 26 schools in his remarks last month to the state Board of Regents. “A remarkable achievement,” Wrigley said of having classes, many in person, at each school amid the coronavirus pandemic. As Wrigley spoke, a small group of protesters, mostly University of Georgia graduate students, stood outside the system offices near the state Capitol in the light rain. One student delivered about 200 letters with recommendations for system leaders such as allowing students and faculty to participate in classes remotely without the need for medical documentation, free and timely COVID-19 testing, robust contact tracing and no employee layoffs.
Diverse Issues in Higher Education
Aspiring Lawyers Press Forward Despite COVID-19
by Dynahlee Padilla
COVID-19 has altered plans for aspiring lawyers to take the Law School Admission Test (LSAT), sit for bar exams and launch their careers. Yet, many have persevered and overcome the challenges brought on by the ongoing pandemic. …While Aaron Abram, 29, a senior at Clayton State University in Morrow, Georgia, may not have family obligations, he still has financial obligations to fulfill, including paying rent. He is a full-time student, a full-time worker, a part-time server and he is still studying for the LSAT. Changes brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic have allowed pre-law students like Abram to participate in regional and national job fairs and summits remotely. Such virtual events have allowed for a larger community outreach, said Rachel E. Barnes, the chair of the National Black Law Students Association (NBLSA).
University Business
Take a look: 6 steps for a safe fall commencement
Graduates signed up for time slots so only nine families participate at one time
By: Matt Zalaznick
The University of North Georgia held a socially distanced commencement for its spring and summer graduates last month. Anna Brown, the executive director of university events, detailed the following important steps in keeping participants safe from COVID:
Clinical News
Study supports airborne spread of COVID-19 indoors
Ralph Turchiano
New research from the University of Georgia supports growing evidence for airborne transmission of COVID-19 in enclosed spaces. Researchers were able to link a community outbreak of COVID-19 in China to a source patient who likely spread the virus to fellow bus riders through the bus’s air conditioning system. “The possibility of airborne transmission has long been suspected, but with limited empirical evidence. Our study provided epidemiologic evidence of transmission over long distances, which was likely airborne,” said Ye Shen, an associate professor of epidemiology and biostatistics at UGA’s College of Public Health and lead author on the study.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Rocket carrying University of Georgia satellite has “perfect” launch
By Eric Stirgus
A rocket carrying a satellite made by a team of University of Georgia students and faculty successfully launched into space Friday evening. The launch from NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility along the Virginia coastline was scrubbed Thursday because of a problem with a piece of ground support equipment, not the rocket. On Friday, there were no such problems. NASA described the launch as “perfect.”
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
AJC On Campus: TCSG’s student of the year; UGA’s satellite
By Eric Stirgus
…Here’s more about Williams, the University of Georgia’s foray into space and other news in the latest version of AJC On Campus: Student visa changes …Name changes
You may remember the University System of Georgia announced in June it had created a group to study whether it should change the names of buildings on some of its campuses. …Liftoff!
A team of University of Georgia students and faculty built a satellite that was put in a rocket that was scheduled to go into space Thursday night. …Kennesaw State gets $2 million grants for student success programs …Georgia State pay study …Clayton State’s rising enrollment
Pike County Times
Durham Estate Establishes Two Nursing Scholarship Endowments Totaling $75,000
By Guest Columnist Katheryne A. Fields
The Estate of Traci L. Durham recently established two endowments totaling $75,000 to provide scholarships for Gordon State College nursing students facing financial hardships. The Traci Lane Durham Memorial Associate of Science in Nursing (ASN) Scholarship was established to assist a student who has achieved final acceptance into the ASN program and the award may be renewable for an additional year provided the recipient is in good academic standing. The Traci Lane Durham Memorial Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) Scholarship was established to assist a student who has achieved final acceptance into the BSN program and the award may be renewable for an additional year provided the recipient is in good academic standing.
Barnesville Dispatch
University System Awards $15K to Gordon AAMI
For the third consecutive year, Gordon State College’s African-American Male Initiative (AAMI) program has received full funding from the University System of Georgia (USG). AAMI hosted a mid-semester meeting in person and virtually themed Keep Grinding, Building Momentum to Sharpen Our EDGE. The USG awarded $15,000 to GSC in sponsored funds for the AAMI project, as the award letter stated, “To collaboratively carry out the mission and singular focus to develop the stellar scholars of today into the extraordinary leader of tomorrow.”
Savannah CEO
Georgia Southern Biology Professor Awarded $2M Grant to Support Minority Students
Staff Report
Georgia Southern University Professor of Biology J. Checo Colón-Gaud, Ph.D., is part of a team of researchers awarded a $2 million grant from the National Science Foundation to support training and experiences for underrepresented minority students and early career scientists in the field of freshwater science. Funds for the project “Emerge” will be distributed over the next five years.
The Union-Recorder
Preserving local African American history one story at a time
Gina Towner
For Dr. Shaundra Walker, libraries are about much more than the books on the shelves. She sees libraries as community spaces that provided crucial services to the public, particularly marginalized populations. Her latest project aims to preserve and share local stories, many of which have only recently been unearthed publicly. “Milledgeville is a very unique and special place, and so I felt like there was a story to be told here,” she said. This sentiment helped drive Dr. Shaundra Walker, interim director of the Ina Dillard Russell Library at Georgia College, to pursue a large-scale community history preservation project with grant funding from the National Endowment for the Humanities Common Heritage Program. The Common Heritage grant aims to bring people together in communities to share their experiences and find their commonalities.
The Red & Black
UGA Dining Services offers first come, first serve dining option and complimentary parking
Julia Walkup | Campus News Editor
University of Georgia Dining Services is implementing a limited amount of opportunities to eat inside the dining hall on a first come, first serve basis. Dining Services is also offering new menu items, including Taco Tuesday and breakfast options, according to a Tuesday email. The first come, first serve indoor dining option is available in all the dining commons except for the Niche, according to the email. This option will be in addition to the Grubhub reservation system. Students wishing to eat inside without a reservation should ask a staff member about availability when they arrive, according to the email.
Growing America
UGA Awarded $2.7 Million Grant to Fight Fungus in Broccoli
A new multistate project will bring together researchers from the University of Georgia and partner universities to fight Alternaria leaf blight and head rot in broccoli, a plant disease that thrives in warm temperatures and humidity. The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture awarded a $2.7 million Specialty Crop Research Initiative (SCRI) grant to UGA College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences faculty to study the Alternaria pathogens’ biology, population structure and fungicide resistance. Due to developing fungicide resistance, Alternaria blight and head rot have severely impacted brassica production, according to Bhabesh Dutta, an associate professor of plant pathology and UGA Cooperative Extension vegetable disease specialist who is leading the multistate project.
Other News:
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Map: Coronavirus deaths and cases in Georgia (updated Oct. 4)
An updated count of coronavirus deaths and cases reported across the state
DEATHS: 7,162 | 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: 322,925 | Cases have been confirmed in every county.
Higher Education News:
Inside Higher Ed
Driving Enrollment During COVID-19 Based on Student Insights
The COVID-19 pandemic has strained traditional college recruitment practices from name buys to campus visits. How do schools stand out from the marketing noise to drive enrollment? Authentically engaging with students where they are.
The COVID-19 pandemic has strained traditional college recruitment practices from name buys to campus visits. Colleges were beginning to brace for the 2025 enrollment cliff when the unexpected pandemic happened, grinding higher education to a halt. Schools that were able to, transitioned to online courses, but not without enrollment losses, both from existing students and incoming students who chose to defer or withdraw altogether. Seemingly overnight, higher education institutions across the globe shut their physical doors. As the pandemic continues, the future of in-person education remains unclear. Admissions offices are facing mounting budgetary pressure to meet enrollment goals to keep schools afloat while the pool of prospective students has shrunk as high school students delay college plans amidst the uncertainty. Families are questioning whether higher education is worth the cost given the lower perceived value of alternative education modalities like online and hybrid and are calling for schools to lower their prices or boost financial aid.
Inside Higher Ed
Students at Risk Without Obamacare
Whether the Supreme Court will invalidate the Affordable Care Act is unclear, but the prospect of the law’s end is causing worry.
By Kery Murakami
Health-care coverage for students could be at risk if the Affordable Care Act is repealed.
As Senate Republicans rush to confirm a conservative justice to the Supreme Court who could nudge it toward invalidating the Affordable Care Act, concerns are rising that an end to Obamacare could again leave millions of college students without health insurance. “It’s almost unimaginable, the idea of students losing coverage in the middle of a pandemic,” said Erin Hemlin, director of health policy for the millennial advocacy group Young Invincibles.
Inside Higher Ed
Report: How to Improve Equity in Dual Enrollment
By Madeline St. Amour
A new report from the Community College Research Center at Teachers College at Columbia University and the Aspen Institute identifies five principles to improve equity in dual-enrollment programs. In dual-enrollment programs, high school students take college courses for credit before they graduate. These students are more likely to graduate from high school, enroll in college and complete their degrees, according to the report. Minority and low-income students tend to be left out, though. They generally have less access to dual-enrollment programs, and they aren’t as likely to succeed as their white or more affluent peers when they do.
Inside Higher Ed
After a controversial event in the White House Rose Garden, Notre Dame’s president has COVID-19. Some students and faculty members are not happy with him.
By Lilah Burke
The Reverend John Jenkins, president of the University of Notre Dame, has tested positive for COVID-19. Though it is still unclear where or when Father Jenkins was infected, much attention has been paid to the ceremony nominating Judge Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court. Since the event took place Sept. 26 in the White House Rose Garden, several attendees, including Father Jenkins, President Donald Trump, First Lady Melania Trump, Senators Thom Tillis and Mike Lee, and former Trump counselor Kellyanne Conway, have tested positive for COVID-19. Pictures and videos of the event have shown the roughly 150 attendees sitting close to one another, hugging and not wearing masks. Father Jenkins was in attendance with several Notre Dame faculty and administrators. …Father Jenkins’s diagnosis has received particular attention within the higher education industry, as he was among those college presidents who aggressively pushed for campus reopenings. In a New York Times op-ed in May, Father Jenkins argued that reopening Notre Dame’s campus was safe and “worth the risk.”
The Chronicle of Higher Education
Notre Dame’s President Went Unmasked at White House, Then Tested Positive. Now He’s Under Fire.
By Michael Vasquez and Andy Thomason
The Friday revelation that the University of Notre Dame’s president, the Rev. John I. Jenkins, tested positive for Covid-19 less than a week after appearing unmasked at the White House spurred intense criticism and calls for his resignation. And it brought charges that the university was guilty of a double standard by asking students to follow social-distancing rules while allowing the president to flout them. …When Jenkins was photographed maskless and craning his neck to see Trump introduce Barrett at last month’s Rose Garden event, the criticism was swift and severe. But politics may have had little to do with it. …For Notre Dame students like Ashton Weber, that’s not good enough. She said the White House’s testing protocols did not justify Jenkins’ decision to remove his mask. When students receive a negative test result, she pointed out, they are still expected to wear a mask and follow social-distancing rules. Weber recently helped create a petition, signed by more than 200 undergraduates, calling for Jenkins to resign because of his repeated failures to follow the public-safety precautions expected of students. The petition was circulated prior to Jenkins’s positive test result, but Weber said that revelation further demonstrates that he needs to step down.