University System News:
Georgia Recorder
Lawmakers debate college tuition for DACA recipients, campus free speech
By Ross Williams
Colleges across Georgia are working to educate students in the midst of a pandemic that has changed the face of instruction and brought new worries to students, faculties and staff. But hot-button issues like immigration, campus free speech and college affordability have not gone away with the pandemic, and all of these long-simmering topics came up at an at times emotional meeting of the House Higher Education Committee Friday. Dalton Republican state Rep. Kasey Carpenter pitched his plan to allow recipients of the Obama-era Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA program, to pay the same in-state public college tuition rates as other Georgia residents. Now those students, who were brought to the United States as undocumented minors and receive federal protection from deportation, pay the same rate as students from other states, which can be up to three times as expensive. D.A. King, an anti-illegal immigration activist, said language in the bill “is designed to give a benefit of a reduced tuition rate for people who are clearly illegal aliens without giving that same reduced tuition rate to Americans who right now are sitting in Michigan or Nebraska, who want to go to UGA or Georgia State or Kennesaw State. I know people personally in Michigan who want to do that and can’t afford it.”
WSBRadio
UGA president updates staff bonuses
“We would like to express our gratitude to all of the members of our campus community for your efforts and resilience over the last year”
By Tim Bryant
University of Georgia president Jere Morehead says the University System of Georgia will provide $1,000 bonuses to campus staffers who are earning less than $80,000 in annual salary. This mirrors a similar bonus package the state rolled out last week.
From UGA president Jere Morehead…
As we informed you last week, the University System of Georgia has decided to mirror the State of Georgia’s plan to provide a one-time bonus of $1,000 to all full-time employees earning less than $80,000 per year. We have now received additional instructions from the USG on how those bonuses will be administered.
WJBF
Vaccinations, blood donations delayed by severe weather
by: Chloe Salsameda
Severe weather throughout the U.S. halted vaccinations at two clinics in the CSRA. University Hospital postponed its appointments Thursday so patients would not have to travel in dangerous conditions. The Richmond County Health Department closed its outdoor, drive-thru vaccination site Thursday as well. “When you do have bad weather or lightning, essentially those operations have to cease,” Dr. Joshua Wyche, AU Health’s Director of Pharmacy, said. The weather did not stop Augusta University’s efforts. More than 800 people were inoculated at AU’s indoor clinics this week. However, weather in other parts of the country delayed vaccine shipments. UPS and FedEx rerouted shipments this week as extreme weather battered their shipping headquarters in Louisville and Memphis respectively. AU did not receive all of the doses it ordered for the week.
Fox 28
100 Black Men of Savannah, Inc. gives out 100 free children’s books
by Allie Jennerjahn
The 100 Black Men of Savannah is a group that motivates and empowers the city’s youth. On Friday they joined the Savannah State and Georgia Southern University chapters to give away 100 free children’s books and celebrate Black History Month. The book is called ‘Kids Journal through COVID-19’ and includes essays from kids who explain their experience dealing with the pandemic.
WTOC
Leaders break ground on J.A. Colonial Group Discovery Center of Savannah
By WTOC Staff
Thanks to a partnership between Georgia Southern University and Junior Achievement, young students in the Coastal Empire will soon be able to learn about business and personal money management. Leaders breaking ground on the new J.A. Colonial Group Discovery Center of Savannah Friday. It’s being built on Georgia Southern’s Armstrong campus. Thousands of sixth and seventh graders from nearby counties will learn about personal finance and how to run a business.
WALB
GSW unveils $3.4 million renovated student services building
By Bobby Poitevint
Georgia Southwestern State University (GSW) is celebrating a state-funded $3.4 million renovation project that will benefit students. GSW, in Americus, officially opened its newly renovated student services building Friday with a ribbon-cutting. Officials said the largest benefit for students is that they can now access enrollment services under one roof. “A student that wanted to get enrolled at GSW had to march all over campus from building to building, working with five different offices in five different locations. We’re able to bring all those together into one place,” said GSW President Dr. Neal Weaver.
Weaver said Senator Freddie Powell Sims was a big help in securing the funds from a state bond package.
AllOnGeorgia
Sexual Assault Awareness Week at GSU
Next week is Sexual Assault Awareness week at Georgia Southern University. The university will be hosting its annual campaign February 22 – 26 to raise awareness about sexual assault and to educate on ways to prevent sexual violence. The Clothesline Project, a campus-wide display of t-shirts representing survivors and supporters of sexual violence, will continue this year for the entire week. The Take Action Campaign, a virtual social media movement aiming to prevent sexual assault in America, will also be week long.
Athens CEO
PSO Award Goes to Fanning Institute Researcher for Determination, Dedication and Loyalty
Astrategic planning meeting at the J.W. Fanning Institute for Leadership Development appeared routine until UGA Public Service and Outreach (PSO) Vice President Jennifer Frum appeared on the Zoom screen and called out the latest PSO Employee Spotlight Award winner, Karen Duncan. “Karen always goes above and beyond the call of duty to assistant whomever she’s working with in her role as a research professional. Her attention to detail and work ethic is present in all of her interactions with faculty, staff and students,” Frum said. “During COVID 19, Karen quickly and seamlessly adapted all of our reporting strategies to meet the evaluation and data needs of teaching and facilitating virtually.” Duncan received a gift box of treats and a framed certificate recognizing her Employee Spotlight Award, presented to PSO employees who go above and beyond their normal responsibilities, who produce outstanding work and who contribute significantly to the strategic mission of the division.
Albany Herald
UGA Startup License streamlines product development
By Tyler G. Duggins UGA News Service
The University of Georgia’s Innovation District is offering a new tool to support university entrepreneurs pursuing commercialization of their research discoveries. Georgia Startup License is an express program that combines business and technical assistance with a streamlined technology licensing process to help UGA startups get off the ground. Created by Innovation Gateway, UGA’s technology transfer office, Georgia Startup License leverages UGA’s momentum in moving ideas from the laboratory to the marketplace. To date, more than 200 startup companies and 850 products based on university research have reached the market.
GPB
In Georgia’s Salt Marshes, An Interspecies Smackdown Is Rising
By: Science Friday
Climate change may be introducing an unexpected new threat to birds living in Georgia’s tidal salt marshes. Researchers at the Hunter Lab at Georgia Southern University in Statesboro, GA documented the first recorded instance of a fish preying on a seaside sparrow.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
OPINION: Every curriculum is ideological
Get Schooled with Maureen Downey
UGA professor emeritus: No matter if history classes skew conservative or progressive, they can’t and shouldn’t claim political neutrality
In a guest column, Peter Smagorinsky takes on the complaints that American schools indoctrinate students to liberal agendas and fail to focus on what makes America exceptional. Smagorinsky is a University of Georgia Distinguished Research Professor of English Education, Emeritus, Department of Language and Literacy Education (English Education). He taught high school for 14 years and then spent more than 30 years in university teacher education programs.
By Peter Smagorinsky
These ideological times have produced a revived interest in how school is taught. Among the most contentious issues is the teaching of history.
Other News:
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Georgia opens 4 COVID-19 vaccination sites
By Greg Bluestein, Adrianne Murchison and Tyler Wilkins
Georgians lined up in their cars before 8 a.m. Monday as the first four state-run sites opened to speed delivery of the COVID-19 vaccine to at-risk residents. The four sites are located at the Delta Flight Museum outside Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport, the Albany Georgia Forestry Commission in southwest Georgia, the Habersham County Fairgrounds in Clarkesville and the Macon Farmers Market. At a press conference Monday morning to promote the new sites, state officials said the Atlanta, Habersham County and Macon locations were booked for the week but had appointments available next week and beyond. Only about 200 of more than 1,000 appointments at the Albany location have been reserved.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Map: Coronavirus deaths and cases in Georgia (updated Feb. 21)
An updated count of coronavirus deaths and cases reported across the state
CONFIRMED DEATHS: 14,633 | Deaths have been confirmed in every county. 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: 804,812 | Cases have been confirmed in every county.
Higher Education News:
The Chronicle of Higher Education
Regional Public Universities Don’t Need Rescuing
They’ve been treated shamefully, but they’re more resilient than people give them credit for
By Kevin R. McClure, Cecilia M. Orphan, Alisa Hicklin Fryar, and Andrew Koricich
The headline of a recent essay in The Hill asked if there was an economic case for saving regional public universities. It reminded us of a similar headline in The Chronicle a few years ago (“Public Regional Colleges Never Die. Can They Be Saved?”) and one in The Washington Post a few years before that (“Regional Public Colleges — the ‘Middle Children’ of Higher Ed — Struggle to Survive”). Other recent articles and books on public regionals have questioned the likelihood of their survival and described them as “fragile” and “endangered.” These days, it’s hard to find a discussion of these institutions that doesn’t portray them as on the brink of a mass-extinction event. But do they need saving in the first place? The answer, it turns out, is no — at least in terms of institutional leadership and financial management. As scholars of higher education, we’ve been studying and advocating for regionals for the better part of a decade. And in contrast to the popular gloom-and-doom evaluation, we see a resilient, agile, and organizationally diverse sector — one that’s well positioned to help fight the pandemic, confront racial injustice, and drive economic mobility. If regionals need saving from anything, it’s bad public policy. Our optimism begins with a rejection of the critics’ and observers’ most damning claim, which is that the entire sector is in financial peril.
Inside Higher Ed
By Greta Anderson
A limited number of fans will be allowed to attend the National Collegiate Athletic Association’s Division I men’s and women’s basketball tournaments, otherwise known as March Madness, the association announced Friday. Last year, the tournaments were canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic. In addition to players, coaches and team staff members, men’s tournament games will welcome the family members of athletes and coaches and “a reduced number of fans,” a press release from the association said. Venues in and around Indianapolis hosting men’s tournament games will allow fans to 25 percent of stadium capacity, and attendees will be required to wear masks and socially distance, the release said.