University System News:

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Kennesaw State University’s president to lead Indiana University
By Eric Stirgus
Pamela Whitten, who’s led Kennesaw State since June 2018, announced Friday she’s leaving to become Indiana University’s president. She’ll become Indiana’s president on July 1 and become the first woman to hold that position. “While I have loved my time at KSU, this is an opportunity to return to the Midwest and the Big Ten where I spent my own academic years rising to the rank of professor and eventually serving as a Dean,” Whitten said in a statement to students, faculty, employees and supporters. She served in those roles at Michigan State University.

The story also appeared in Indiana Public Media.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
UGA to get up to $92 million for federally funded center to fight flu
By Eric Stirgus
The University of Georgia will be home to a federally funded center to increase understanding of influenza virus emergence and infection in humans and animals while also making preparations to combat future outbreaks or pandemics. The National Institutes of Health has approved a contract to establish the Center for Influenza Disease and Emergence Research (CIDER) at UGA, university officials announced late Wednesday. The contract will provide $1 million in first-year funding and is expected to be supported by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, part of NIH, for seven years and up to approximately $92 million. CIDER will include external partners such as Boston Children’s Hospital, St. Jude Children’s Hospital, the University of Rochester and the University of Melbourne. It will be directed by S. Mark Tompkins, professor of infectious diseases in UGA’s College of Veterinary Medicine.

Forbes
These Major Universities Have Announced They Won’t Increase Tuition For Next Year
By Michael T. Nietzel
This is the time of year when many colleges and universities announce their tuition and fee rates for the next academic year. And this year, a growing number of universities have indicated their intent to hold the line and not hike tuition, at least for their in-state undergraduate students. The tuition freezes are an acknowledgement of the continuing financial hardships faced by many students and their families due to the coronavirus pandemic. But they also are intended to help woo students who, in the next several weeks, will be finalizing their decisions about where to attend college for the upcoming school year. A tuition freeze may give a college the competitive advantage it needs to enroll more students… On April 13, the Georgia Board of Regents voted to freeze tuition and fees at their current levels for the University of System of Georgia’s (USG) 26 public colleges and universities for the upcoming school year. This is the second year in a row, and the fourth time in six years, that the Board has voted to not increase tuition for students across the University System.

WALB
GSW helps prepare 10K meals to combat hunger
By Bobby Poitevant
Over 10,000 meals were prepared to feed hungry mouths all around the world Wednesday. The Rotary Club of Americus and Georgia Southwestern State University (GSW) students volunteered to pack meals for Rise Against Hunger. The meals will be shipped around the world to support school feeding programs and crisis relief. Student Engagement Team leaders wanted to help those in their community and around the globe. “And so we talked about this in-depth and that we wanted to do some kind of community service project and it came up, the opportunity arose to do this. I believe in giving back. I’ve been very blessed in my life and I want to give back to others that maybe aren’t as blessed as I am,” said a Jamey Fowler, a student and volunteer.

Statesboro Herald
Planned ‘convocation center’ will also be new GS basketball arena
By Al Hackle
The Jack and Ruth Ann Hill Convocation Center, for which $36.7 million construction funding is in the state budget awaiting Gov. Brian Kemp’s signature, will be the new home of Georgia Southern University basketball as well as some future graduation ceremonies, GS President Kyle Marrero told Statesboro business leaders Thursday. State spending for the project is expected to total $46 million, including $6 million previously budgeted for design and $3.3 million to be requested later for furnishings and equipment. The university plans to supply another $10 million from its own funds and supporters’ donations, for a $56 million total package.

MSN
I-TEAM: Nursing mothers testing positive for COVID-19 passing protection to their newborns
By Liz Owens
From mother to microscope, a puzzle in the neonatal immunity is unfolding in a lab at Augusta University. It’s no secret breast milk strengthens the immune system in newborns, but little was known about the impact of COVID-19 in nursing mothers until now. Our I-TEAM sat down with researchers who made the discovery. The journal of breastfeeding published the findings from Augusta University just last week. The case study is full of long words and scientific terms, but the message is clear: nursing mothers positive with COVID-19 are passing some protection against the deadly virus to their newborn.

AllOnGeorgia
GSU engineering faculty & students mentor local high schoolers in annual design competition
Staff Reports
GSU engineering students are helping mentor local high school students from Herschel V. Jenkins High School, Calvary Day School, Portal Middle High School and home school students as they design drone attachments as part of this year’s EDC on the Armstrong Campus in Savannah. The high schoolers have spent months working with their STEM teacher, a practicing engineer, and a Georgia Southern engineering student, to design an excavation tool for the EDC 2021 theme “Eagle Remotely Operated Aerial Recovery 2.0 (ROAR).” When attached to a drone, the tool can be used to collect lunar soil and rock samples.

The Atlanta Business-Chronicle
Exit Interview: Kessel Stelling closes out his time as Synovus CEO
By Grace Donnelly
After more than a decade as chairman and CEO of Georgia’s largest bank, Kessel Stelling will transition to executive chairman of the board. Here are some of the lessons he’s learned, including how to lead during crisis.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
A more contagious coronavirus variant takes hold in Georgia

By Helena Oliviero
A highly infectious variant of the coronavirus that was first identified in Britain is now the most common source of new infections in Georgia, a troubling development that could make the battle ahead to end the pandemic more difficult. According to surveillance by the Centers for Disease Control from early January through late March, B.1.1.7, a more transmissible and more virulent variant, accounts for at least 46% of all of the state’s cases. That’s double the estimate of a week ago. But it’s likely even far higher. An analysis focusing on the past few weeks by Helix, a lab testing company, found the B.1.1.7 variant represents closer to 75% of all new cases in Georgia… Other numbers are encouraging. Several colleges in Georgia are seeing record low numbers of new infections. At the University of Georgia, March marked the lowest month of cases at UGA since it started doing surveillance last August.

Other News:

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Map: Coronavirus deaths and cases in Georgia (updated April 15)

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution is keeping track of reported coronavirus deaths and cases across Georgia according to the Department of Public Health. See details in the map below. See the DPH’s guide to their data for more information about definitions.

CONFIRMED DEATHS: 17,130 | 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: 865,827 | Cases have been confirmed in every county.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Georgia gets $6.7 million to fight COVID-19 variants
By Eric Stirgus
Federal officials are providing $1.7 billion to public health officials across the country, including $6.7 million to Georgia, to fight highly infectious COVID-19 variants, they announced Friday. The funding comes from the $1.9 trillion COVID-19 economic relief package signed into law last month. This portion of the relief package is designed to help states and federal agencies monitor, track, and defeat emerging variants that are currently threatening pockets of the country. A variant first identified in Britain is now the most common source of new infections in Georgia, a troubling development that could make the battle to end the pandemic more difficult.

The Washington Post
Spring wave of coronavirus crashes across 38 states as hospitalizations increase
By Joel Achenbach and Jacqueline Dupree
The coronavirus pandemic in the United States has turned into a patchwork of regional hotspots, with some states hammered by a surge of infections and hospitalizations even as others have seen the crisis begin to ease. The spring wave of the pandemic has driven hospitalizations above 47,000, the highest since March 4. Thirty-eight states have reported an increase during the past week in the number of people hospitalized with covid-19, the disease caused by the virus, according to a Washington Post analysis of data provided by the Department of Health and Human Services. But the national statistics don’t capture the intensity of the coronavirus emergency in the hotspots. Michigan reported more than 10,000 new infections on Tuesday alone. The state on Wednesday reported an average of 46 deaths a day, up from 16 a month earlier.

accessWDUN
GDOL: Georgia unemployment drops to 4.5% for March
Staff Reports
The number of jobs was up and the unemployment rate was down for the month of March in Georgia. The Georgia Department of Labor (GDOL) announced Thursday that Georgia’s unemployment rate dropped 0.3 percentage points to reach 4.5% in March; additionally, the state saw a significant increase in the number of jobs.  “March is yet another month where we have seen job growth throughout the state,” said Labor Commissioner Mark Butler in a prepared statement. “EmployGeorgia is showing triple the amount of job listings that we were seeing at the start of the pandemic. Georgia has gained a vast majority of the jobs that were lost since March of last year, and we continue to remain strong in economic growth and business development.”

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Former Democratic lawmaker Vernon Jones to challenge Kemp in GOP primary
By Greg Bluestein
A former Democratic state legislator who switched parties after he endorsed Donald Trump is set to launch an insurgent challenge Friday against Republican Gov. Brian Kemp, setting the stage for a race that will test the former president’s influence in Georgia. Vernon Jones aims to tap into GOP anger at Kemp for resisting Trump’s demands to overturn Joe Biden’s narrow victory in Georgia in November, though his long record as an elected Democratic official seems certain to complicate his bid to win over Republican voters. Jones said in a tweet that he will make the announcement at a Friday morning press conference outside the state Capitol “highlighting his decision to run” for the seat.

Higher Education News:

Inside Higher Ed
Lights, Camera, Teach?

By Colleen Flaherty
A bill allowing students to record class sessions for the purpose of lodging free speech and other complaints is likely to become law in Florida. The bill, which sailed through Florida’s House of Representatives and Senate, says that a student may record video or audio of class lectures not only for their own personal educational use but also “in connection with a complaint to the public institution of higher education where the recording was made, or as evidence in, or in preparation for, a criminal or civil proceeding.” A recorded lecture may not be published without the consent of the lecturer, and these recordings must follow federal student privacy laws, the bill says. The possible penalty for publishing a recording without consent is $200,000.

Diverse Issues in Higher Education
Report Shows Undergraduate STEM Students Heavily Impacted by the Pandemic
By Lois Elfman
A new report issued by the American Museum of Natural History (AMNH) notes that many Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) students find their STEM studies are precarious in light of the pandemic. Thanks to a National Science Foundation (NSF) rapid grant, researchers at AMNH have begun studying the impact of virtual learning on STEM students. This week, AMNH issued a mid-project report titled, “Supports and Challenges in an Educational Crisis: The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Youth STEM Pathways,” which examines how students are reacting to disruptions in their studies.