University System News:
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Georgia Board of Regents to restart chancellor search process
By Eric Stirgus
The state Board of Regents said Tuesday it will begin the process of finding a new firm to conduct its search for the next University System of Georgia chancellor after the company previously hired decided last week not to continue its work. The 19-member board also said it would appoint an acting chancellor if no candidate for the position is selected by June 30, the date current chancellor, Steve Wrigley, is set to retire.
Articles also appeared at:
Capitol Beat
University System of Georgia seeking second search firm for new chancellor
AP News
Georgia university regents restart search for new chancellor
WSAV
2 local college students honored for academic achievement
by: WSAV Staff
The Board of Regents honored two local college students for their academic achievement. Katherine Barrs, Georgia Southern University student and Ja’Mauri Brown, Savannah State University student were among the 26 Georgia college students honored. The board recognized the student in its 33rd Academic Recognition Day. All 26 selected maintained a GPA of 4.0 and reflect the system’s best qualities, according to the Board of Regents. “During a difficult academic year, you have seized the opportunity to build upon an incredibly valuable time in your life and lay a foundation for success far beyond your chosen field of study,” University System of Georgia (USG) Chancellor Steve Wrigley said.
WGAU Radio
UGA Honors Program to become Morehead Honors College
By News Staff
From the University of Georgia:
A $10 million fundraising campaign, led by the UGA Foundation and its emeriti trustees to strengthen the University of Georgia’s Honors Program, will culminate in the naming of the Jere W. Morehead Honors College. Morehead serves as president of the University of Georgia, and the naming was approved by the University System of Georgia Board of Regents in a meeting on Tuesday, May 11.
The Augusta Chronicle
On state budget tour stop, governor thanks Augusta University for COVID efforts
Joe Hotchkiss
Augusta University’s fast pivot to devote medical resources toward battling COVID-19 proved crucial in Georgia’s fight against the pandemic, Gov. Brian Kemp said Tuesday. Kemp appeared at Augusta Regional Airport on the last stop of his four-city tour marking his signing of the state’s fiscal year 2022 budget. He thanked AU President Brooks A. Keel for the school’s role in accelerating COVID-19 testing across Georgia, and the school’s commitment toward producing more physicians for parts of the state that need them most.
See also:
Valdosta Daily Times
Kemp visits Valdosta; seeks calm at gas pumps, touts budget
Albany CEO
Georgia Southwestern to Hold Two In-person Graduation Ceremonies on May 15th
On Saturday, May 15, approximately 250 graduating Hurricanes will be recognized for their academic achievements across two in-person Commencement Ceremonies for Georgia Southwestern State University (GSW). Tracey Cook, executive vice chancellor for Strategy and Fiscal Affairs for the University System of Georgia (USG), will deliver the keynote address. Held inside the Convocation Hall of the Student Success Center, the first ceremony of the day will begin at 10 a.m. for graduates in the College of Nursing and Health Sciences and the College of Education. The second ceremony will begin at 2 p.m., recognizing the College of Arts and Sciences and College of Business and Computing graduates. There are no guest restrictions in place for the Spring 2021 ceremonies. Face masks will be required inside the building, as is current policy, and must be worn at all times.
Gwinnett Daily Post
Georgia Gwinnett College to host online and in-person commencement ceremonies this week
By Curt Yeomans
Georgia Gwinnett College will celebrate spring commencement ceremonies this week, but it’s going to be a little different from usual. For starters, GGC is holding ceremonies for two graduating classes — the classes of 2020 and 2021 — and there will also be a hybrid nature to the schedule. GGC officials are planning to hold both online and in-person ceremonies.
41NBC
Middle Georgia State University hosts in-person graduation ceremonies
By Lizbeth Gutierrez
Middle Georgia State University is once again hosting in-person graduation ceremonies. Those in attendance are required to wear a mask, and seating is limited. Although ceremonies are not the same as they were before the pandemic, Ember Bentley, the school’s Chief of Staff, says they have made the ceremonies unique by allowing students to sit near their loved ones.
Fox28 Media
Savannah State University honors graduating class of 2021
by Allie Jennerjahn
After a year of canceled events, Savannah State University students finally made it to the finish line and were able to walk across the stage this weekend. It’s the culmination of nearly 2 decades of schooling, a few breakdowns, a whole lot of fun, and in this case, a global pandemic.
Fox 5 Atlanta
Georgia Gwinnett College student overcomes obstacles to earn her degree
By Janice Yu
Hundreds of students at Georgia Gwinnett College will be walking across the stage and receiving their diplomas this week. Among them is one woman who has overcome a lot of obstacles to get to this point. When Yesmeen enrolled in GGC in 2017, she was going through a difficult time in her life. …Her decision to attend GGC in 2017 marked a turning point in her life. She said there an observant professor who sensed she might be going through a difficult time. …Yesmeen said she utilized the counseling services on campus to help her through this time. …Her journey at GGC comes to an end on Wednesday and Thursday, when she’ll deliver the student commencement speech and walk across the stage.
WALB
Hispanic graduates share their hardships to pursue higher education
By Jennifer Morejon
A program at Valdosta State University is helping children of migrant farmworkers attend college. They are offering financial help and support. The students are part of the first graduating class from the CAMP program. They’re excited to have their parents see them walk across that stage, something they weren’t able to do themselves.
KSIS Radio
LOOK: Here are the biggest HBCUs in America (2nd article)
More than 100 historically Black colleges and universities are designated by the U.S. Department of Education, meeting the definition of a school “established prior to 1964, whose principal mission was, and is, the education of black Americans.” …StudySoup compiled the 20 largest historically Black colleges and universities in the nation, based on 2021 data from the U.S. Department of Education’s National Center for Education Statistics. Each HBCU on this list is a four-year institution, and the schools are ranked by the total student enrollment.
…#14. Albany State University
– Location: Albany, Georgia
– Total student enrollment: 6,122 (5,778 undergraduate students)
WALB
VSU program hopes to increase retention rate for Black men
By Jennifer Morejon
As you’re driving through Valdosta, you may have noticed a new Valdosta State University billboard. It features a student hoping to inspire others. “It’s a big accomplishment. Statistics would say I’m not supposed to be here, but I’m here today and it’s great,” said Breylen Taylor. Taylor graduated from Valdosta State University recently. He wants to shows other African-American men that it’s possible. Taylor said he joined the African-American Male Initiative (AAMI) when he began at VSU.
The Journal of Blacks in Higher Education
University of Georgia Program Aims to Boost Black Male Retention and Graduate Rates
The Georgia African American Male Experience (GAAME) started in 2014 as a two-day transition program for Black males accepted into the University of Georgia. The program has grown into a multifaceted initiative that centers on the needs of Black male students, supporting and improving retention and graduation rates.
The Brunswick News
BHS senior earns state excellence award
By Lauren McDonald
Brunswick High senior Shaheim Johnson was recently named among 18 students selected for the Award of Excellence in Georgia when the state’s Department of Education and the Learning Resources System recognized numerous graduating seniors for their outstanding academic, employment and extracurricular accomplishments. Johnson and the other recipients were honored at the education department’s virtual awards ceremony in April. Students are selected for this award based on their successful transition to post- secondary education or employment, extracurricular involvement in the school and community and/or acceptance in the United States Armed Forces. Johnson is dual enrolled at College of Coastal Georgia. He is also active in Student Council, FBLA, the Glynn County Schools Student Advisory Board and the United Community Bank Junior Board. …Following graduation, Johnson will pursue a degree in education at Georgia Southern University.
LaserFocusWorld
Georgia Tech to lead new integrated photonics & electronics center
Integrated photonics is a key enabling technology in many commercial, defense, and scientific applications such as fiber communications, datacenters, RF analog links, quantum computing, and communications and sensing.
Laser Focus World Editors
The Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech; Atlanta, GA) has been awarded funding to lead a new Industry-University Cooperative Research Centers Program (IUCRC) in integrated photonics, a key enabling technology in many commercial, defense, and scientific applications such as fiber communications, datacenters, RF analog links, quantum computing, and communications and sensing. Defense and aerospace applications of integrated photonics present many challenges for researchers—however, they provide enormous opportunities for advancements in the fields.
Valdosta Daily Times
VSU moves forward with new Performing Arts Center
Valdosta State University will soon be home to a brand new, state-of-the-art $18.7 million Performing Arts Center. The Georgia General Assembly, during the final hours of the 2021 Legislative Session, approved a $27.2 billion state budget that includes $12.4 million in bond funds for the Performing Arts Center project. State leaders previously secured $1.3 million in design funding for the project last year. The remaining $5 million comes from private donations raised by VSU Foundation Inc.
GrowingGeorgia
ABAC Nursing Programs Receive ‘Continued Accreditation’ from ACEN
The bachelor’s and associate degree nursing programs in the School of Nursing and Health Sciences at Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College have received “continued accreditation” from the Accreditation Commission for Education in Nursing (ACEN), the nationally recognized accrediting authority for nursing education programs.
Chinook Observer
Intelligent.com Announces Best Online Probation Officer Degree Programs for 2021
… Intelligent.com analyzed 95 schools, on a scale of 0 to 100, with only 33 making it to the final list for Online Probation Officer Degree Programs. To access the complete ranking, please visit: https://www.intelligent.com/best-online-probation-officer-degree-programs/
2021 Online Probation Officer Degree Programs featured on Intelligent.com (in alphabetical order):
…University of West Georgia
3DPrint
College Students Compete to Bring Space 3D Printing to 2021 NASA MINDS Challenge
By Vanesa Listek
Five teams from U.S. colleges received $1,500 each from NASA’s Minority University Research and Education Project (MUREP) Innovative New Designs for Space (MINDS) in 2021 to design, build and test their innovative project ideas that could one day support the space agency’s ambitious Artemis program, slated to return humans to the Moon in the next decade. Students from Georgia Gwinnett College, Navajo Technical University, University of Central Florida, University of the District of Columbia, and Texas State University, focused on researching, designing, and building 3D printing technologies for off-Earth missions. NASA’s MUREP engages teams from minority-serving institutions (MSIs) to participate in the MINDS challenge, a multi-semester undergraduate level activity that supports Artemis and the Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate.
Gwinnett Daily Post
UGA researchers find target to fight antibiotic resistance
By Leigh Beeson
UGA News Service
Gram-negative bacteria are the bane of health care workers’ existence. They’re one of the most dangerous organisms to become infected with—and one of the hardest to treat. But new research from the University of Georgia suggests a component of bacteria’s cell walls may hold the key to crushing the antibiotic-resistant microbes.
Other News:
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
U.S. coronavirus deaths hit lowest level in 10 months
By The Associated Press
COVID-19 deaths in the U.S. have tumbled to an average of around 600 per day — the lowest level in 10 months — with the number of lives lost dropping to single digits in well over half the states and hitting zero on some days. Confirmed infections, meanwhile, have fallen to about 38,000 day on average, their lowest mark since mid-September. While that is still cause for concern, they have plummeted 85% from a peak of more than a quarter-million cases per day in early January.
Higher Education News:
Inside Higher Ed
Redefining ‘Value’ in Higher Education
Gates Foundation issues report calling for a new definition of value, and for clear ways for students to identify it. The emphasis is on promoting economic mobility for all.
By Scott Jaschik
When the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation created the Postsecondary Value Commission two years ago, the foundation’s leaders were thinking about ways to measure economic outcomes for students earning certificates and degrees — outcomes that could include postcollegiate earnings and the ability to repay debt, earnings premiums for degree earners or certificate earners, and economic mobility after college. The 115-page report being released today is consistent with those goals.
Inside Higher Ed
Congress Proposes SNAP Benefits Expansion for Students
By Greta Anderson
Legislation to permanently extend college students’ eligibility for the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program was introduced in Congress Tuesday. The benefit was temporarily expanded in 2020 in response to the coronavirus pandemic. Congress expanded eligibility requirements for SNAP in December to include full-time students who participate in state or federal work-study programs and those who do not receive financial support from family to pay for college. The expansion was in response to reports of increasing food insecurity among students during the pandemic and economic recession. Students enrolled in college full-time were typically not eligible for SNAP benefits, unless they met certain requirements such as working 20 hours each week or having to care for children.