University System News:
WGAU
UGA grads get virtual sendoff
By UGA Today
The University of Georgia welcomed its newest alumni virtually on December 18. Graduates were celebrated in two different videos—one for the undergraduate Commencement ceremony, and one for the graduate Commencement ceremony. Both videos can be viewed at commencement.uga.edu. “Today is symbolic of your resilience and determination, your adaptability and resourcefulness. I commend you for all you have overcome and all you have sacrificed to keep yourself and others safe during the pandemic,” said UGA President Jere W. Morehead. “Although we are not able to be together in person, we are together in spirit. We are the Bulldog Nation, and we are united in our commitment to improve lives and strengthen communities, wherever we are.” UGA’s first-ever virtual Commencement ceremonies brought on by the novel coronavirus included traditional ceremonial components, such as the singing of the national anthem, formal remarks by Morehead and the official conferring of degrees.
The Tifton Gazette
Spaces available in ABAC nursing program
Staff reports
Registered nurses who want to move up the career ladder can enroll in the RN to BSN program at Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College. Dr. Michael Kirkland, vice president for enrollment management at ABAC, said 60 seats are available for nurses who have their associate in nursing degree to begin classes toward their bachelor of science in nursing degree at ABAC. “We have a great program with extremely qualified faculty, terrific students and outstanding alumni,” Kirkland said. “This is a wonderful opportunity for nurses to move forward in their field. Most of the classes are offered online so nurses can continue with their existing employment.” More students enrolled in nursing classes during the 2020 fall semester than at any other time in the 54-year history of the program at ABAC, college officials said in a statement.
WGAU
UNG gets money for work on cybersecurity
By Tim Bryant
The University of North Georgia will share in almost $1.5 million in federal funding: UNG and the other schools will work on cybersecurity programs. The University of North Georgia and the nation’s other five senior military colleges have received approximately $1.475 million each of federal money to establish cybersecurity institutes as pilot programs on their campuses in fall 2020. Included in the 2020 Consolidated Appropriations Act, the funds are part of a $10 million Department of Defense (DOD) appropriation to the National Security Agency for these institutes.
The Augusta Chronicle
Augusta hospitals full of COVID-19 patients but preparing for more as cases surge
By Tom Corwin
Jim Davis saw University Hospital fill up with COVID-19 cases that broke its own record for infected patients in-house last week, climbing well beyond where it was at its previous peak in late July, past 105 to 110 and then 118. But the number that scares the University CEO is 442: the number of people who tested positive for the disease in University’s labs the previous week, higher than anything the hospital has seen so far and a harbinger of even more patients that could come flooding in… University is not alone – AU Medical Center and Doctors Hospital of Augusta were also nearing previous highs as the total number of very sick COVID-19 patients across the city broke records late last week, a scene repeated across Georgia.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Questions arise in vaccine distribution as Georgia tops 500,000 COVID-19 cases
By Ariel Hart
Tanner Health System, with 3,500 employees, is bursting with COVID-19 patients. For weeks it has been operating at full capacity, with some 55 patients needing admission Friday afternoon but waiting for beds. It has 61 COVID-19 patients being treated in units at its Carrollton, Villa Rica and Bremen hospitals.
But the not-for-profit system so far has received no doses of the new COVID-19 vaccine to protect its staff. Maybe next week a shipment would come, Tanner Chief Operating Officer Greg Schulenburg said his contacts with the Georgia Department of Public Health have told the hospitals… “Looking at our state numbers and national numbers, it really speaks to our utter failure to appropriately execute a public health response to the pandemic,” said Dr. Harry J. Heiman, a clinical associate professor at the Georgia State University School of Public Health.
Dalton Daily Citizen
Margaret Venable: Looking forward to 2021
By Margaret Venable
Each December, I generally reflect on the closing year and imagine what might come next in the new year. This year we have all been impacted by the pandemic. It would be easy to dwell on what went wrong, but I like to make sure I remember to think about what went right, too. Professionally, it has been one of the most difficult years of my career, but it has also been one of the most rewarding in many ways. When put to the test, I found our students and employees at Dalton State College rose to meet the challenge. We celebrated the December graduates this week in a virtual ceremony. You can see our virtual ceremony by searching “online celebration” at daltonstate.edu. These students persevered and completed their degrees despite all the forces working against them.
The Augusta Chronicle
AU Speech Therapy program helps cancer patients with speech and swallowing problems
By Jozsef Papp
After getting surgery in April for cancer of the oral cavity, Lenny Schaeffer was having problems opening his mouth wide enough to eat anything larger than a grape. He went through the whole process: surgery, chemotherapy and radiation therapy. During that process, he lost his ability to open his mouth, and it even affected his speech. An oncologist and his radiation therapist informed him of a new program, speech therapy, at the Georgia Cancer Center at Augusta University that could help him.
Griffin Daily News
Georgia Archives accepting applications for internship
By Staff
The Georgia Archives, an institution of the University System of Georgia, together with the Friends of the Georgia Archives and History (FOGAH), is now accepting applications for its 2021 Pre-Program Summer Conservation Internship. This internship gives prospective students of conservation training programs the opportunity to gain skills and experience in the preservation and treatment of paper-based archival materials. The intern will employ critical thinking and practical decision-making while working under the supervision of the Archive’s conservator.
The Albany Herald
Deidra Jackson named VP for finance and operations at Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College
Staff reports
Deidra Jackson is the new vice president for finance and operations at Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College. ABAC President David Bridges made the announcement. “Deidra has served ABAC in a very thorough and outstanding manner for the past 10 years,” Bridges said. “She first served as comptroller and more recently as assistant vice president for finance and operations. I have the greatest confidence in her ability and commitment to ABAC.” A Tift County High School graduate, Jackson received her undergraduate degree in accounting from Auburn University and her MBA from Valdosta State University. She joined the ABAC staff in 2010 after nearly six years in Douglas as a senior auditor for the Georgia Department of Audits.
Other News:
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Map: Coronavirus deaths and cases in Georgia (updated Dec. 20)
An updated count of coronavirus deaths and cases reported across the state
CONFIRMED DEATHS: 9,437 | Deaths have been confirmed in all counties but one (Taliaferro). This figure does not include additional cases that the DPH reports as suspected COVID-19-related deaths. County is determined by the patient’s residence, when known, not by where they were treated.
CONFIRMED CASES: 509,588 | Cases have been confirmed in every county.
Marietta Daily Journal
Congressional leaders reach deal for nearly $900 billion coronavirus aid package
By Sarah D. Wire
Congressional leaders have agreed on a nearly $900 billion economic aid package to extend federal unemployment payments and forgivable loans for small businesses, and to give direct cash payments to many Americans. The leaders — under increasing pressure from constituents and rank-and-file lawmakers, and confronted with both a slowing economy and surging coronavirus infections and related deaths — are racing to pass it into law before millions of Americans lose their financial lifeline. The final text of the aid package, the second largest in U.S. history, is expected to become available Sunday evening, leaving members of Congress little time to review it before voting.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Decatur students urge city commissioners to support monument removal
By: Wilborn P. Nobles
Bethani Thomas is a lifelong Georgian, but she didn’t learn about the cannon near the DeKalb History Center until her sophomore year at Decatur High School. The high school senior said she always passed the cannon after school with little notice, until her mother said the United Daughters of the Confederacy placed it there in 1906 to honor the Creek War of 1836. Its meaning has become a flashpoint for Thomas and other students who say the cannon is a symbol of oppression in the heart of the city square.
Higher Education News:
The Washington Post
What the congressional spending bill could mean for higher education
Danielle Douglas-Gabriel
A year-end federal spending package to keep the government running could increase access to federal student aid as the coronavirus pandemic continues to roil college enrollment. The $1.4 trillion omnibus spending bill is expected to include higher education provisions to streamline the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, known as FAFSA, and expand eligibility for Pell Grants, a form of aid for families typically earning less than $60,000 a year. House and Senate leaders have been negotiating the provisions for weeks and announced details of the higher-education measures Sunday, although Congress has yet to release the final text of the spending bill. The year-end funding legislation is attached to the latest pandemic relief package agreed to Sunday evening. Legislators are likely to vote on the package as early as Monday.
GPB
Despite High Demand For Nurses, Colleges Aren’t Keeping Up
By Matt Krupnick
At a time when the pandemic has exposed a growing shortage of nurses, it should have been good news that there were more than 1,200 applicants to enter the associate degree program in nursing at Long Beach City College. But the California community college took only 32 of them. North of here, California State University, East Bay isn’t enrolling any nursing students at all until at least next fall. Higher education was struggling to keep up with the skyrocketing demand for nurses even before the COVID-19 crisis. Now it’s falling further behind.
All On Georgia
TCSG Foundation Receives $1 Million Grant from the Robert W. Woodruff Foundation
By Staff
The Robert W. Woodruff Foundation recently granted the Technical College System of Georgia (TCSG) Foundation $1 million to support students throughout Georgia’s technical colleges. Through The Last Mile Fund, the grant will directly affect student retention and graduation rates by providing needs-based financial assistance to students at TCSG colleges. Since its inception, the TCSG Foundation has awarded more than $245,000 in student aid through The Last Mile Fund. The Last Mile Fund was established in 2016 to address the need for gap funding for technical education students served within TCSG. Thousands of students were discontinuing their education because of their inability to pay tuition or fees owed to their respective college.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Does insistence on college degree overlook those with on-the-job skills?
By Maureen Downey
Labor economist Anthony Carnevale stepped outside the lexicon of science to summarize the dizzying expansion of education and training credentials, including industry certificates, diplomas, apprenticeships, degrees, certifications, licenses and digital badges. “We have credentialed the bejesus out of our economy,” he said. Americans earned 738,428 education credentials of some sort in 2018. Among them were 370,020 credentials from education institutions, 315,067 from non-academic organizations and 7,132 from massive open online courses or MOOCs, according to Scott Cheney, founding chief executive officer of Credential Engine, a nonprofit seeking to create credential transparency.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
OPINION: Twenty million dollar gift to rural HBCU is unprecedented. It shouldn’t be.
By Maureen Downey
Claflin University was recently honored with a landmark gift of $20 million—the largest in school history—which will accelerate our mission to prepare students to contribute, compete, and lead. For our small, rural community, this is a game-changer. Beyond the borders of our campus, this gift will power deeper investments in the greater Orangeburg, South Carolina community. Claflin has consistently “punched above its weight” in higher education. Our rigorous, student-focused academic programs and top-tier faculty have earned us a top 10 HBCU ranking in U.S. News & World Report for the past decade. We are also ranked a Best National Liberal Arts Institution and are ranked No. 1 among HBCUs for annual alumni giving.
The Chronicle of Higher Education
The Year That Pushed Higher Ed to the Edge
By Scott Carlson and Lee Gardner
In January 2020, as America was beginning its fourth year of Donald J. Trump’s presidency, higher-education leaders were focused on long-haul struggles that had dogged the industry for years. New studies were being published on institutional viability, and The Chronicle was reporting on increasingly ominous warnings about college finances, the demographic cliff, climbing tuition-discount rates, and the shifting value proposition. College officials could not have suspected that their challenges — formidable but still manageable — would rise to crisis levels within weeks…s the days and weeks turned into months, and the short-term emergency became a long-term state of existence, the pandemic exposed the gulf between higher ed’s haves and have-nots. It also revealed long-ignored income and racial disparities at colleges and a widening national political divide symbolized by the college credential.
Deseret News
Higher education board votes to support Dixie State University name change
By Marjorie Cortez
The Utah Board of Higher Education voted unanimously Friday to support changing Dixie State University’s name. Earlier this week, the university’s board of trustees voted to support a name change, which was supported by the higher education board. Changing the name of the university is up to the Utah Legislature, because it would require a change in state statute. Dave Clark, a former speaker of the Utah House of Representatives and chairman of the university trustees, said he was opposed to the change when he was first approached by DSU President Richard “Biff” Williams.