University System News:
WGAU Radio
Former UGA administrator, legislator Louise McBee dies at 96
“Dr. McBee was an extraordinary person and exceptional UGA leader.”
Mary Louise “Louise” McBee, a principled, respected, and effective University of Georgia administrator and state legislator, died on Tuesday, March 2 at the age of 96. Widely admired, McBee was one of UGA’s most esteemed officials in a period of significant growth and change. She came to UGA in 1963 as dean of women and worked under four university presidents before retiring in 1988 as acting vice president for academic affairs, the second-highest position at UGA at the time. She also held appointments as associate professor of psychology and associate professor of higher education. McBee served in the highest positions at UGA in both student affairs and academic affairs—a rarity in university administration—and was a favorite of students and faculty for her accessibility and fair approach to challenging situations. The University System Board of Regents later named McBee vice president emeritus for academic affairs, and UGA recognized her extraordinary legacy in 2018 by unveiling her portrait in the UGA Administration Building.
MSN
Do vaccinated people still need to quarantine? An AU Health expert explains
Tradesha Woodard
As more doses of the COVID-19 vaccines are shipped to the two-state region and more slots are available at clinics, questions remain. Do you still have to quarantine after you get the vaccine? When can you return to your normal life? If you’ve received both doses of a vaccine, you may be able to skip quarantine after being around someone infected with COVID. But there are certain criteria you must meet to be considered fully vaccinated. “There are three conditions,” said Dr. Rodger MacArthur, infectious disease specialist at Augusta University Health. The first is that three weeks need to have passed since the second vaccine was given, and the second is that no more than three months should have passed since the first one was given. MacArthur says the third condition is that you can’t be experiencing any symptoms since being exposed.
army.mil
Army scientists partner with DARPA to develop COVID-19 sensor
By U.S. Army DEVCOM Army Research Laboratory Public Affairs
Army researchers joined an 18-month effort led by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, or DARPA, to identify and combine a suite of technologies that would form a stand-alone bio-aerosol monitor capable of detecting SARS-CoV-2. Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2, known as SARS-CoV-2, is the strain of coronavirus that causes the COVID-19 disease. The team consists of researchers from the U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command, known as DEVCOM, Army Research Laboratory, Georgia Tech Research Institute, Cardea Bio and the University of Georgia.
The Covington News
UGA-based leadership development institute honors late Newton judge
Staff Report
The late Judge Horace J. Johnson Jr. was named this year’s Innovations in Community Leadership Award recipient by the J.W. Fanning Institute for Leadership Development at the University of Georgia (UGA). Johnson was chosen for the award for his “commitment to developing leaders and strengthening his hometown of Newton County and communities across Georgia,” according to the publication UGA Today. The Fanning Institute presents the award annually to a community or individual that has moved beyond traditional community leadership programming through innovative practices, partnerships and activities that better serve participants and their communities. …Johnson, a native of Newton County, attended Oxford College and earned degrees from Emory University and the UGA School of Law.
AllOnGeorgia
GSU elected to serve as home institution to Georgia Association of Historians
The Georgia Association of Historians’ board recently voted to elect Georgia Southern University as their home institution. According to GSU, the group, which serves as a statewide professional organization for the study of history, encourages and promotes historical research, preservation, record keeping, publication and high standards in the teaching of history. Georgia Southern University’s associate professor of history, Lisa L. Denmark, Ph.D. is the Executive Secretary-Treasurer for The Georgia Association of Historians.
Forsyth County News
Alliance Academy students win startup contest hosted by UNG
Three students from Alliance Academy for Innovation won the 2021 innovateUNG High School Pitch Challenge on Feb. 16. All seven public Forsyth County high schools took part in the event, which was hosted virtually by the University of North Georgia’s Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation.
Cision PR Web
Intelligent.com Announces Best Information Technology Degree Programs for 2021
Degree holders gain increased earning potential with career opportunities upon graduation from these top ranked institutions.
Intelligent.com, a trusted resource for online degree rankings and higher education planning, has announced the Top 50 Information Technology Degree Programs for 2021. The comprehensive research guide is based on an assessment of 159 accredited colleges and universities in the nation. Each program is evaluated based on curriculum quality, graduation rate, reputation, and post-graduate employment.
…2021 Information Technology Degree Programs featured on Intelligent.com (in alphabetical order):
Georgia Southern University; Kennesaw State University
University Magazine
Best Colleges For Communications 2021
By Melissa Dimon
Best Colleges for Communications 2021 ranking is based on key statistics and student reviews using data from the U.S. Department of Education. The ranking compares the top colleges for journalism and communications majors. …Here Are Best Colleges for Communications 2021
8. University of Georgia
Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communications at the University of Georgia.
Valdosta Daily Times
VSU earns ninth Tree Campus USA
Valdosta State University observes its ninth Arbor Day Foundation Tree Campus USA recognition and steadfast commitment to effective urban forest management. VSU traditionally hosts an on-campus Arbor Day ceremony with speakers, activities and tree plantings, university officials said in a statement. However, due to the ongoing global pandemic, officials decided to recognize the occasion with a video message from Monica Haynes, superintendent of VSU landscape and grounds, and a look “at the university’s unwavering commitment to maintain, preserve and protect its trees and eye-catching landscaping.
The Red & Black
OPINION: Half a year later, USG buildings are still named after white supremacists
Elise Kim | Contributor
Last October, I sat nervously awaiting the email that would decide the trajectory of the next two years of my life. My phone buzzed. I picked it up, squeezing my eyes shut and whispering to myself one last time, “You’ll get in.” The words “Congratulations on your acceptance to Grady College!” flashed across my screen. I was exhilarated; the fact that I had been accepted to one of the top journalism schools in the country filled me with pride. At the time, I wasn’t thinking about the fact that I was now a student in a college named after a white supremacist. It did not occur to me that if Henry W. Grady, the white supremacist after whom Grady College is named, was still around, I might not have been accepted due to my Asian heritage. It has been eight long months since June 17, 2020, when the University System of Georgia created an advisory group to review the names of buildings and colleges of USG schools. According to its website, the committee has only met twice, and not a single building at the University of Georgia has been renamed. Now that Black History Month is over, it is important to reflect on the steps taken by UGA to celebrate and uplift the Black community at this school.
The Red & Black
New UGA freshman dorm to be completed fall 2022
Liset Cruz | Staff Writer
There’s a new freshman dorm coming to the University of Georgia — Building 2264 is currently under construction at the corner of Cloverhurst Avenue and Baxter Street. The new dorm will be co-ed and house approximately 525 students. Construction started early December 2020, and the project is expected to be completed by fall of 2022. The project budget is nearly $50 million, and will cover 120,500 square feet. In 2019 and 2020, freshman admission rose at UGA, leading to housing overcrowding on campus. In 2019, an estimated 13,050 first-year students were admitted as part of the class of 2023, and in 2020, an estimated 13,700 first-year students were admitted as part of the class of 2024.
Albany CEO
Georgia Southwestern to Host GISA Final Four Basketball Tournament
Georgia Southwestern State University(GSW) will host the Georgia Independent School Association (GISA) Boy’s and Girl’s State Basketball Championships in the Final Four inside GSW’s Storm Dome arena from March 3-6, 2021. For the third consecutive year, the top GISA high school basketball teams in the A, AA and AAA divisions will compete for a state championship in Americus.
Other News:
WSB-TV
TIMELINE: Today marks 1 year since Georgia’s first COVID-19 cases were confirmed
It’s been exactly 1 year on Tuesday since the first COVID-19 cases were confirmed in Georgia. The cases were announced almost six weeks after Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced the first U.S. coronavirus case. Since that night, there have been at least 821,482 cases in Georgia. At least 15,209 Georgians have lost their lives to complications from the virus. As the number of cases grew during March, new developments were happening every day. Here is a look back at the timeline of major events in the weeks that followed the first cases.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Map: Coronavirus deaths and cases in Georgia (updated March 2)
An updated count of coronavirus deaths and cases reported across the state
CONFIRMED DEATHS: 15,209 | 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: 821,482 | Cases have been confirmed in every county.
Higher Education News:
Diverse Issues in Higher Education
Low-Income Families Struggle With Worsening College Affordability in the South, Research Finds
by Arman Kyaw
The Southern Regional Education Board’s (SREB’s) college-affordability profiles for the 16 states in its region illustrate that families had to pay a higher percentage of their income in 2017-18 for a full-time student to attend a four-year institutions than in 2012-13. Families who earned less than $30,000 a year — categorized as the lowest income bracket — had to pay approximately 19% to 46% of their annual income to be able to afford a year of enrollment at public four-year research university in 2017-2018, said Christiana Datubo-Brown, lead author of the report and research associate for SREB’s education data services. And in some states, as many as 30% of families with children in college fall in this lowest income group, Datubo-Brown added. “Altogether, what this data is telling us is that, if there isn’t a proactive effort to making college more affordable for low-income students, states are most likely going to experience a hit to preparing their workforce for the future economy, a future economy where we’ll need a lot more people with education past high school in order to fill the middle- and high-skills jobs that are growing in number,” Datubo-Brown said. …The 16 states in SREB’s region are Alabama, Arkansas, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia and West Virginia.
SaportaReport
Tuition equity for immigrants a positive step for Georgia, economy
By Guest Columnist ISRAEL ARCE, surgical technician and Grammy-winning musician
It is a new year full of promise, particularly following the tumultuous election season. There is certainly no time to waste when it comes to promoting sensible solutions that will diversify our workforce while making our state more competitive and successful. Luckily, this seems to be exactly what Georgia state Rep. Kasey Carpenter (R-Dalton) is working to achieve. Swift action was taken by the legislator to re-introduce a tuition equity bill, House Bill 120, which would provide Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipients, also known as Dreamers, with a fair chance at obtaining higher education. The legislation would provide in-state tuition rates for students who meet certain criteria. Last year, the bill stalled in committee due to the pandemic and uncertainty surrounding the DACA program itself under the Trump Administration. …Tuition equity for undocumented young immigrants will do more than expand access to in-state education options. It also will help develop our state’s workforce by filling critical labor gaps and shortages as we work to recover from the coronavirus pandemic.
Diverse Issues in Higher Education
Study: Nearly Four in 10 University Students Addicted to Smartphone Use
by Arrman Kyaw
A study has found that nearly four in 10 university students are addicted to their smartphones, which in turn negatively affects their sleep, The Guardian reported. The study – published in the journal Frontiers in Psychiatry – looked at 1,043 students – ages 18-30 at King’s College London – and discovered that 406 (38.9%) had symptoms of smartphone addiction. 68.7% of those categorized as smartphone addicts had trouble sleeping, while 57.1% of the non-addicts had such issues. What determined whether someone was a smartphone addict was whether “they could not control how long they spent on their phone, felt distressed when they could not access their phone or neglected other, more meaningful parts of their life because they were busy on their device,” The Guardian reported.
The Chronicle of Higher Education
Bob Jones U. Drops Classroom Mask Requirement
By Andy Thomason
Bob Jones University is dropping its requirement that students wear masks while seated in classrooms, citing low numbers of Covid-19 cases on campus. The Christian university’s president, Steve Pettit, announced on Monday that it would start to “de-escalate” its Covid-19 protocols, including by making it optional to wear masks during in-person instruction. Pettit said the test-positivity rate on the South Carolina campus had dropped by 90 percent in the last month, and cited several other reasons for relaxing restrictions.