University System News:
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Solutions sought to ease student loan debt burden on Georgians
By Eric Stirgus
Atlanta native Jason Butler graduated with a marketing degree from Savannah State University in May 2008 with dreams of returning to his hometown and getting a good job. The job search was difficult because of the worldwide economic crisis that became known as the Great Recession. Nonetheless that November, Butler’s first student loan payment was due, about $100, he recalled. Like many college graduates then and now, when money is tight, Butler deferred some loan payments. In some instances, he made partial payments. The stopgap measures were temporary solutions. Butler, who said he was “lost” professionally at the time, borrowed an additional $12,000 in 2011 to attend Clayton State University, which he says was a mistake. He dropped out before completing that degree program. Butler, 37, now an academic adviser at Georgia State University, has paid about $37,000 in student loans, but said he still owes about $51,000 on his $72,000 loan debt. Some federal lawmakers are pushing a plan that could conceivably erase his debt.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Georgia Senate passes anti-hazing bill
By Eric Stirgus
The Georgia Senate without objection, passed a bill Friday aimed at strengthening anti-hazing laws and improving transparency about hazing on college campuses. Under Senate Bill 85, led by Sen. John Albers, R-Roswell, anyone convicted of felony hazing charges could receive a five year prison sentence and be fined up to $50,000. Anyone who doesn’t help a hazing victim can receive a year-long prison sentence and be fined. The bill allows the state Attorney General’s office to pursue civil action against organizations that allow hazing. Additionally, the legislation requires colleges and universities to submit an annual report on campus hazing. The bill passed 49-0 and will now go the state House of Representatives for a vote.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Georgia professors not included with teachers on vaccination list
By Eric Stirgus
Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp said Thursday college professors will not be included among the expanded list of groups eligible to get the COVID-19 vaccine, although teachers can soon get the shots. Kemp said in response to a question during a news conference to announce the expansion of the vaccination groups that he had a few reasons for not adding professors and other college employees to the list at this point.
The Augusta Chronicle
Georgia officials praise Augusta University-church partnership efforts for COVID-19 vaccine outreach
Tom Corwin
Louise Wainwright was sitting in a folding chair at Good Shepherd Baptist Church after getting her second dose of the COVID-19 vaccine while Georgia Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan held a brief press conference at the other end of the room. But for Wainwright, the most important figure in her decision to overcome her concerns and get the vaccine was standing off to Duncan’s left, her pastor, the Rev. Clarence Moore. Moore was one of a group of pastors of historically Black churches in the Augusta area who partnered with AU Health System to not only get the vaccine but, in Good Shepherd’s case, to serve as an outreach site.
The Gainesville Times
What UNG nursing students say about helping to administer the COVID-19 vaccine
Gabriela Miranda
As she watched the COVID-19 pandemic take thousands of U.S. lives and affect many more, University of North Georgia nursing student Kaley Pitts felt anxious to help.
Henry Herald
Clayton State University launches mental health initiative
From staff reports
Clayton State University has launched a new mental health initiative to expand mental health resources to students due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. “The University System of Georgia has launched a program to expand mental health services,” said Dr. Christine Smith, director of Counseling and Psychological Services. “With so many challenges in the world today that can compromise our health and wellness, Clayton State wants to make sure that students have the support that they need.” LakersLiveWell@ClaytonState is an integrated mental health program that expands the work and services of Counseling and Psychological Services to promote students’ mental health and emotional wellbeing.
Tifton CEO
ABAC Developing FFA Agricultural Issues Leadership Development Event
In cooperation with the Georgia FFA Association, Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College will initiate the first Agricultural Issues Leadership Development Event (LDE) in Georgia. …The Agricultural Issues LDE challenges students to investigate a variety of local, state, national, and international issues facing agriculture. Students then demonstrate through portfolio, presentation, and questioning an understanding of the principles and fundamentals of agricultural issues analysis. Participants research all sides of an issue and then present their findings to a panel of judges. Dr. Frank Flanders, ABAC Associate Professor and the event coordinator, said the upcoming ABAC Invitational will allow Georgia FFA chapters to compete virtually in late April of this year because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The winning team from the Agricultural Issues LDE will be certified to compete in the National FFA competition in the fall.
Morning AgClips
New horticulture scholarship honors professional tie that led to lifelong friendship
The scholarship will be awarded for first time in fall 2021
As a peach and pecan producer in central Georgia, Al Pearson relied on the expert advice provided by University of Georgia Cooperative Extension. In addition to the valuable counsel provided by Extension peach expert Maurice E. “Butch” Ferree, Pearson gained something unexpected: a lifelong friend. A member of the UGA College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences (CAES) Alumni Board, Pearson has established the Dr. Maurice E. “Butch” Ferree Scholarship to support students majoring in horticulture in honor of Ferree, who retired in 1998 after 24 years with UGA Extension. The scholarship, which will be awarded for the first time in fall 2021, will provide scholarship awards for Georgia residents who are rising juniors or seniors majoring in horticulture at CAES.
WALB
GSW student-athletes help distribute over 33,000 lbs of food for Sumter Co. families in need
By Kim McCullough
Georgia Southwestern State University student-athletes participated in the Farmers to Families Food Box distribution event on Feb. 19 at First Baptist Church in Americus. This is their second drive-thru event in Sumter County. Organizers said the event was a huge success thanks to the Rotary Club of Americus, Harvest of Hope Food Pantry, Georgia Cold Storage, and the volunteers.
Columbus CEO
Columbus State University Announces Jordan Literary Award Winner
Columbus State University has named Georgia writer Janisse Ray the winner of its 2021 Donald L. Jordan Prize for Literary Excellence award for her collection of essays, Just Visiting This Planet. …The competition is made possible through an endowment from local author and businessman, Donald L. Jordan. In addition to supporting the literary prize, his endowment also benefits CSU’s Department of English and The Donald L. Jordan Study Abroad Service Learning Program, which supports a group of up to 10 students and two faculty members to travel to a developing country for two weeks and engage in a humanitarian project.
The Augusta Chronicle
Augusta University cybersecurity scholarships to open doors to needed careers
Tom Corwin
A new scholarship program for cybersecurity at Augusta University will not only open doors for students to industry and government but will help grow research at the Georgia Cyber Center, an official said.
The $3.2 million CyberCorps: Scholarships for Service grant from the National Science Foundation will help students in the AU School of Computer and Cyber Sciences finish undergraduate degrees and potentially graduate degrees as well, said Dr. Michael Nowatkowski, principal investigator on the grant and head of the Cyber Program of Study at the school. In addition to covering tuition and fees, the scholarships provide $6,000 for books and professional development and generous stipends of up to $24,000 for undergraduates and up to $34,000 for graduate students to cover living expenses, he said.
Savannah Business Journal
Georgia Southern University named Military Friendly Gold School for 2021-22
Staff Report
For the 10th year in a row, Georgia Southern University has been named a Military Friendly school by Viqtory Media, earning a gold-level distinction in the large public school category for 2021-22. The University has also been named a Military Friendly Spouse School.
Athens CEO
UGA Named Top Institution in the Nation for Service to Student Veterans
The University of Georgia has been named the top tier one research institution in the nation in Victory Media’s Military Friendly Schools 2021 rankings. The designation recognizes the university for its outstanding commitment to and programs for student veterans and their families. UGA was last named the top institution in 2017 and has ranked in the top three each year since.
WTOC
Students share experiences with t-shirts during Sexual Assault Awareness Week
By Dal Cannady
This week, students at Georgia Southern University who’ve been victims of assault have a way to tell their story without saying a word. Organizers of Sexual Assault Awareness Week say victims can use t-shirts to express themselves if they can’t yet verbalize their pain in front of others. The shirts hang in Henderson Library as well as other sites on the Statesboro and Armstrong campuses. The color code indicates the type of domestic or sexual assault it represents. University counselors say they’ve been planning the week for months, trying to determine which events they could still hold even in a pandemic.
The Red & Black
OPINION: UGA and schools nationwide should be required to teach Black history
Mona Abboud | Contributor
It’s 2021. The bubble of white dominance in the United States popped long ago. America isn’t a black and white painting — it’s blessed with rich diversity, cultural variety and stories that must make their way into the hearts and minds of our youth. If we want to call ourselves one of the most powerful, educated nations in the world, we need to start acting like it. Now more than ever, America’s education system needs to address its systemic weaknesses and work towards strengthening the informational quality within our schools. Highlighting and interacting with Black History Month is a small start. Black History Month is a time to educate, celebrate and reflect upon the achievements by African Americans and the contributions of Black culture to our country’s history. However, from the K-12 curriculum to universities across the United States, America’s education system still fails to integrate a total understanding of Black history. …Colleges and universities also play an important role in providing awareness and accurate information regarding Black history. As college students, we must take steps towards heightening engagement and decreasing racial ignorance.
Other News:
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Only days after marking 14K COVID deaths, Georgia again poised to post deadly record
By Tim Darnell
Just 10 days after it surpassed 14,000 coronavirus deaths, Georgia is set to mark another somber milestone in its battle against the global pandemic. On Friday, Georgia’s death toll could pass 15,000, according to numbers recorded by the state Department of Public Health. On Thursday, that number stood at 14,989, with the state having recorded 107 new deaths over the previous 24 hours. Georgia has recorded 812,612 confirmed COVID cases, with more than 2,000 new cases reported overnight.
Savannah Morning News
Gov. Kemp expands eligibility for COVID vaccine. Who is new on the list in Georgia?
Joyce Orlando
USA Today Network
Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp announced Wednesday that more people will be added to those eligible for the COVID-19 vaccine. After a downward trend in COVID-19 statistics for the past several weeks in Georgia and from the recommendation of the Georgia Department of Health, the governor announced at a press conference on Thursday that the state will expand the pool of those that are eligible to receive their vaccination shot starting March 8.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Map: Coronavirus deaths and cases in Georgia (updated Feb. 25)
An updated count of coronavirus deaths and cases reported across the state
CONFIRMED DEATHS: 14,989 | 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: 812,612 | Cases have been confirmed in every county.
Higher Education News:
The Chronicle of Higher Education
The Covid Effect: Most Colleges Will Keep Test-Optional Policies for Good
By Eric Hoover
Most colleges that temporarily suspended their ACT and SAT requirements during the pandemic do not plan to reinstate them. But a mass movement to adopt test-blind policies — in which colleges remove scores from evaluations of all applicants — is unlikely in the near future. Those are two key takeaways from a new report commissioned by ACT Inc., which owns the ACT exam. The findings — based on survey responses from 207 enrollment officials at a mix of public and private institutions — provide a snapshot of how Covid-19 turned the testing realm upside down, forcing colleges to adapt their policies and practices for the 2020-21 admissions cycle. Yet, as the report makes clear, many colleges rely on ACT and SAT scores for many purposes that go well beyond evaluations of applicants. That complicates predictions about the role of testing in higher education a few years down the road.
Inside Higher Ed
Students With ADHD Need More Academic, Mental Health Support
By Greta Anderson
Students with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder are more likely to drop out of college, receive lower grades and have other challenges that could lead to negative academic outcomes, according to an article published this month in the Journal of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology. The article analyzed the academic performance of about 200 students with ADHD and 200 without the disorder over the course of four years, finding that students with ADHD self-reported poorer mental health and study skills, and on average had “significantly lower” GPAs than their peers, according to an article abstract provided by the journal.
The Chronicle of Higher Education
Faculty Members Are Suffering Burnout. These Strategies Could Help.
Without them, academe could lose women and people of color.
By Emma Pettit
Faculty members are anxious and burned out. Juggling work and disrupted personal lives in the midst of a pandemic, they need help if they are going to remain — and flourish — in academe. The Chronicle recently released a special report, Burned Out and Overburdened, that explores how colleges can provide support. Here is a condensed excerpt from the report. A frantic spring. A grueling fall and winter. The past year has not been kind to the faculty. In a survey this past October, conducted by The Chronicle and underwritten by Fidelity Investments, more than 75 percent of the 1,122 faculty respondents said their workload had increased since the start of the year. The majority said their work-life balance had deteriorated. And with the global pandemic still not under control, the next months are uncertain.
Inside Higher Ed
COVID Bill Would Leave It to Biden Whether Undocumented Students Get Help
By Kery Murakami
Undocumented students have been left out of getting emergency grants in Congress’s previous coronavirus relief bills. Whether they will be able to get help in the next round of aid appears to be headed to the Biden administration to decide. The House’s $1.9 trillion relief bill continued to move toward passage by the full body today. But stripped for procedural reasons was a provision approved by the House’s education committee, which would have left it up to colleges and universities to decide which of their students are eligible for the grants to help with costs like food and housing.
Inside Higher Ed
Tackling Racism in Textbook Publishing
New guidelines from textbook publisher Pearson aim to dismantle systemic racism in higher ed. Do they go far enough?
By Lindsay McKenzie
Pearson yesterday published editorial guidelines addressing race, ethnicity, equity and inclusion, becoming one of the first major textbook publishers to make such guidelines publicly available. The document is intended to help authors, reviewers and editors at London-based Pearson promote diversity and avoid propagating harmful stereotypes. The guidelines identify several key challenges to address. These include the underrepresentation of minority ethnic groups in text, images and references; descriptions of people of color that exaggerate negative associations and stereotypes; missing stories of the achievements of people of color; and the idea that social and economic disadvantages are the result of personal circumstances and decisions rather than systemic injustices and inequalities. Pearson employee groups in both the U.S. and Great Britain began developing the guidance over a year ago.