University System News:
Albany Herald
ASU President Marion Fedrick named to statewide COVID-19 board
From staff reports
Albany State University President Marion Fedrick has been appointed to Georgia’s COVID-19 Health Equity Council. The Georgia Department of Public Health created this council to help DPH increase the effectiveness of its public health programs statewide, ensure equity in COVID-19 vaccination distribution and administration, and improve outreach and communication within Georgia communities most affected by COVID-19.
Statesboro Herald
In managing COVID-19, East Georgia State keeps focus on student success
From staff reports
While COVID-19 has changed some of the ways East Georgia State College offers its classes, the pandemic only focused East Georgia’s mission of providing the best education opportunities to its students even more. “COVID has changed the college by encouraging faculty members to analyze how they teach students, identify the best methods for fostering learning under these circumstances, and identify barriers that students must overcome to be successful,” said Courtney Joiner, associate professor of History and coordinator of Humanities and Social Sciences at the Swainsboro campus. Shepherding student success has been a hallmark of East Georgia State since its founding, and is exemplified in the fact that more than two-thirds of East Georgia State College’s first-time, full-time freshmen successfully transfer to another college or university within three years after starting as beginning freshmen at EGSC.
The Augusta Chronicle
Peach State grant helps fuel MCG program, get doctors to undeserved areas
Tom Corwin
A $5.2 million grant will help boost an innovative three-year program at Medical College of Georgia and help increase the supply of physicians to underserved areas of Georgia hit hardest by the COVID-19 pandemic, Dean David Hess said. MCG at Augusta University and Peach State Health Plan announced the grant and a partnership to help supply physicians into the rural underserved areas of Georgia. Peach State has Medicaid managed care and Medicare Advantage plans in Georgia and many of its patients are in those areas. “They’re a managed care company so they are interested in physician supply, having enough physicians in rural Georgia,” Hess said. “A lot of their Medicaid population is rural. We’re kind of natural allies.”
WGAU Radio
UGA is named top producer of Fulbright scholars
14 students and alumni are scholarship recipients
By Tim Bryant
The University of Georgia has again been named a top producer of Fulbright Scholars by the U.S. State Department. 14 UGA students and alumni were offered Fulbright awards for 2020-2021, marking the seventh straight year—and 11th time in the past 12 years—that UGA has received 10 or more offers.
WFXG
Study: COVID-19 a threat to National Security
By Eliza Kruczynski
COVID-19 has been the center of the nation’s health and research efforts for nearly a year now. A recent study at Augusta University found that’s not the only area the virus is making an impact. Dr. Craig Albert, Associate Professor of Political Science and Graduate Director of Intelligence and Security Studies at AU, says COVID-19 is a direct threat to our nation because it has killed so many people, damaged military preparedness and hurt the world economy. “Military readiness is one of the main areas that COVID has affected, especially in the United States national security.” The threat infectious diseases have on our national security isn’t just based off the effects it has on peoples mental state or research and testing labs. What a lot of people don’t see is its economic impact, specifically on military training.
Middle Georgia CEO
Georgia College Sends Six Student Researchers to ‘Posters at the Capitol’ Exhibit
Six Georgia College undergraduate students will present research at the 3rdAnnual “Posters at the Capitol.” That’s the highest participation in the University State System and second highest of any participating school. Normally held at the Statehouse in Atlanta, this year’s event will be online from 2 to 4 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 24. Georgia legislators and lobbyists will be in attendance. Posters at the Capitol was founded by Georgia College in 2018 as a way to share emerging research with state legislators. Now run by the Georgia Undergraduate Research Collective (GURC), the exhibition is modeled after “Posters on the Hill” in Washington D.C., which is hosted by the Council on Undergraduate Research (CUR). Posters at the Capitol is highly competitive with only 25 applications accepted from Abraham-Baldwin Agricultural College, Georgia College, Georgia Gwinnett College, Georgia Southern University, Kennesaw State University, Mercer University, Savannah State University and Valdosta State University.
Albany Herald
Four ASU faculty members selected as University System Fellows
From staff reports
Albany State University President Marion Fedrick has announced that four ASU faculty members have been selected as 2020-2021 University System of Georgia Leadership Fellows. “Working in higher education, we are surrounded by not only those who teach, but those who also have a passion for learning and a natural ability for leadership,” Fedrick said. “Dr. Jain, Professor Jordan, Dr. Osakwe and Dr. Thomas have shown this passion and leadership qualities in their time at Albany State University. There have been several initiatives that have developed because of their skillsets and dedication to the University. These appointments are well-deserved.”
The Washington Post
The company tried to recruit engineers by partnering with HBCUs. Critics say the program exposed how the search giant fell short.
By Nitasha Tiku
For years, Google’s recruiting department used a college ranking system to set budgets and priorities for hiring new engineers. Some schools such as Stanford University and MIT were predictably in the “elite” category, while state schools or institutions that churn out thousands of engineering grads annually, such as Georgia Tech, were assigned to “tier 1” or “tier 2.” But one category of higher education was missing from Google’s ranking system, according to several current and former Google employees involved in recruitment, despite the company’s pledges to promote racial diversity — historically Black colleges and universities, also known as HBCUs. That framework meant that those schools were at a lower priority for hiring, even though Google had said in 2014 that it wanted to partner with HBCUs as a way to recruit more minority talent.
Northwest Georgia News
Education, mental health take priority in Ga. House budget
By Dave Williams Capitol Beat News Service
Georgia House budget writers approved a $27.2 billion fiscal 2022 state budget Thursday that restores 10% across-the-board spending cuts the General Assembly imposed last year, with a special emphasis on education and mental health. …Other projects the Appropriations Committee added include:
– $4 million to renovate Bandy Gymnasium on the campus of Dalton State College.
– $2.5 million to renovate Christenberry Field House at Augusta University.
The full House is due to take up the budget on Friday.
Other News:
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
White House, Ga. officials to open vaccine site at Mercedes-Benz Stadium
By Eric Stirgus
The site will be capable of administering approximately 42,000 doses per week
The White House announced Friday it’s partnering with state officials to open a new community vaccination center at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in downtown Atlanta. The site will be capable of administering approximately 42,000 doses per week and will operate seven days a week for an eight-week period. During this pilot period, the federal government will provide limited direct vaccine allocation to the site through the Federal Emergency Management Agency. The site is expected to be up and running in the next two weeks, federal officials said.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Map: Coronavirus deaths and cases in Georgia (updated March 4)
An updated count of coronavirus deaths and cases reported across the state
CONFIRMED DEATHS: 15,462 | 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: 824,804 | Cases have been confirmed in every county.
Higher Education News:
WSB-TV
New Johnson & Johnson vaccine doses will go to teachers when it arrives in Georgia next week
By: Matt Johnson
Channel 2 Action News has learned the newly approved Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine will arrive in Georgia next week, and the first shipment will go toward teachers and educators. Channel 2′s Matt Johnson has been in contact with state officials all week and found out that the order for the new vaccine was placed Thursday. Experts said the Johnson & Johnson vaccine will be easier to distribute once it gets here and shouldn’t be thought of as a lesser vaccine. …Experts who study vaccines said comparing the three vaccines together is tricky, and they’ve never been clinically tested head to head. Testing for Moderna and Pfizer happened earlier in the pandemic before the coronavirus variants arrived. Dr. Ted Ross at the University of Georgia said all three do the most important thing perfectly: prevent deaths and hospitalizations after 28 days.
CBS46
Georgia lawmakers seeking to increase penalties for hazing again
Brittany Edney
Georgia lawmakers are again seeking to increase penalties for hazing, seeking to honor a Georgia teen who died from alcohol poisoning after a 2017 incident at a Louisiana State University fraternity. The Georgia Senate voted 47-0 on Friday for Senate Bill 85, which would make forcing people to participate in hazing a felony when someone is seriously injured, including by alcohol poisoning. “This bill, the Max Gruver Act, will ultimately save lives and protect our youth,” said state Sen. John Albers, a Roswell Republican. We asked Georgia college students if they’ve heard about hazing incidents at their campus.
AP News
Fraternity members report higher levels of positive mental health and support
As college students deal with more anxiety, depression and feelings of social isolation, the North American Interfraternity Conference shares a new report from the Postsecondary Education Research Center (PERC) at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, which finds fraternity affiliated students report higher levels of positive mental health along with lower rates of depression and anxiety.