University System News:
Marietta Daily Journal
University System of Georgia eyeing major studio complex in Savannah
Dave Williams
The Georgia Film Academy is working with Georgia Tech to redevelop the Atlanta-based university’s Savannah campus at Jimmy DeLoach Parkway and Interstate 95 into a film production studio, Sandra Neuse, the University System of Georgia’s vice chancellor for real estate and facilities told members of the system’s Board of Regents Tuesday. The professional education courses now offered at Tech’s Savannah satellite campus would be moved to a more central location in the city.
Crossville Chronicle
ABAC sets bachelor’s degree record
Bachelor’s degrees are more popular than ever before at Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College, according to numbers released by Dr. Amy Willis, assistant vice president for academic affairs. Willis said of the 3,990 students enrolled at ABAC during the fall semester, a total of 2,353 pursued bachelor’s degrees. That tops the mark of 2,194 students who enrolled in four-year degree programs during the 2019 fall term. “Bachelor’s degree programs will be the lifeblood and the future of this college,” ABAC President David Bridges predicted when he took office July 1, 2006. A total of 40 ABAC students enrolled in junior and senior level classes for the first time on Jan. 7, 2008.
Gwinnett Daily Post
Georgia Tech names renovated facility Mac Nease Baseball Park
From Staff Reports
In honor of his contributions to help fund the renovation of Georgia Tech’s baseball facilities, the complex that encompasses the home of Tech baseball has been renamed Mac Nease Baseball Park at Russ Chandler Stadium. The University System of Georgia Board of Regents approved the action on Tuesday. Mac Nease Baseball Park is comprised of Russ Chandler Stadium and all of its accompanying facilities, including Champions Hall, the centerpiece of Phase II of Georgia Tech baseball’s facility renovations. Nease, a Tech baseball letterwinner and 1965 alumnus, and his wife, Brenda, have directed significant philanthropy towards both phases of renovations over the past several years that will provide GT with facilities that stand among the finest in all of college baseball.
The Red & Black
UGA applications increased by 40% during COVID-19, acceptance rate will decrease
Jacqueline GaNun | Staff Writer
During one of the most unusual college admissions seasons on record, applications to the University of Georgia increased by around 40% from last year’s admissions cycle. David Graves, the interim senior executive director of undergraduate admissions, said that by early December, UGA hit the number of regular decision applications it received in last year’s entire admissions cycle. The university received 39,500 regular decision applications this year as compared to last year’s 28,524, Graves said.
An upward trend
As a result of the increased applications for fall 2021, Graves predicts UGA’s acceptance rate will decrease.
Athens CEO
UGA’s J. Marshall Shepherd Elected to the National Academy of Engineering
J. Marshall Shepherd, the Georgia Athletic Association Distinguished Professor of Geography and Atmospheric Sciences at the University of Georgia, has been elected to the National Academy of Engineering, one of the highest professional distinctions accorded to an engineer or scientist. NAE membership honors those who have made outstanding contributions to “engineering research, practice, or education, including, where appropriate, significant contributions to the engineering literature” and to “the pioneering of new and developing fields of technology, making major advancements in traditional fields of engineering, or developing/implementing innovative approaches to engineering education.”
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Kennesaw State University’s School of Music gets $5 million gift
By Eric Stirgus
Kennesaw State University announced Tuesday it has received a $5 million gift from a foundation to its School of Music that it hopes will elevate the program to new heights. The donation by the Bobbie Bailey Foundation is the largest contribution to KSU’s College of the Arts in its history. The donation will be used for student scholarships in the university’s College of the Arts. In recognition of the gift, the Georgia Board of Regents on Tuesday approved naming the university’s School of Music after Bailey.
WTOC
With historic gift and partnership, Georgia Southern names the Fred & Dinah Gretsch School of Music
Georgia Southern University’s School of Music will now be known as the Fred and Dinah Gretch School of Music. It’s being named after world-famous drum and guitar maker Gretch. Fred and Dinah Gretch are pledging over $3 million and their collection of historic drums, guitars and archives to Georgia Southern.
WGAU
UGA creates new award to honor Terry professor
“There have been few professors at this institution who have cared more about student learning and student success than Dawn Bennett-Alexander”
By Heather Skyler, UGA Media Relations
Dawn D. Bennett-Alexander’s lifework is being honored with the creation of a new award. The University of Georgia Associate Professor Emeritus taught employment law and legal studies in the Terry College of Business for 33 years. With more than 50 awards and recognitions for teaching and service, including several awards for outstanding teaching, Bennett-Alexander has devoted much of her career to making diversity and inclusion a priority for students and for businesses.
Marietta Daily Journal
Recovery may be on its way, but storm hasn’t passed, KSU economist says
By Chart Riggall
The economic recovery may be on its way, but the storm hasn’t passed, Roger Tutterow, an economist with Kennesaw State University, told business leaders Tuesday. Tutterow offered a wide-ranging analysis of the trends he sees shaping the business world in his talk to the Kennesaw Business Association. He was insistent that while some economic indicators, such as gross domestic product growth and unemployment, may be looking up, the state of business is ultimately subject to the state of the pandemic.
Other News:
11Alive
The latest White House COVID-19 report shows Georgia among the 10 worst states in a number of categories.
Author: Jonathan Raymond
The latest White House Coronavirus Task Force report shows that Georgia is seeing steady improvement in many respects from the worst of the winter surge, but that the state’s outbreak remains one of the worst in the country. The good news for Georgia is that, by White House data, nearly every key metric fell compared to a week ago. New cases per 100,000 residents fell 28%, test positivity fell 2.1%, new hospital admissions fell 17% and deaths per 100,00 residents fell 6%.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
CDC now urging double masks to help prevent coronavirus spread
By Tim Darnell
The director of the Atlanta-based Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Wednesday urged people to double-mask to help prevent the spread of the coronavirus. Dr. Rochelle Walensky, who was recently appointed by President Joe Biden to take over the agency, also recommended wearing masks with a moldable nose wire; knotting the ear loops on the mask; and including a cloth mask over the disposable mask. The CDC reported the results of a lab experiment that spaced two artificial heads six feet from each other and checked to see how many coronavirus-sized particles spewed by one were inhaled by the other.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Map: Coronavirus deaths and cases in Georgia (updated Feb. 9)
An updated count of coronavirus deaths and cases reported across the state
CONFIRMED DEATHS: 13,481 | 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: 778,049 | Cases have been confirmed in every county.