USG e-clips for May 24, 2021

University System News:

Georgia Recorder

Attempts to ban teaching on ‘critical race theory’ multiply across the U.S.

By Daniel C. Vock| Ross Williams

From statehouses to Congress, Republicans have launched into a fight against the teaching of “critical race theory,” which just a year ago was a niche academic term. Experts in critical race theory say it’s about acknowledging how racial disparities are embedded in U.S history and society, and the concept is being mischaracterized by conservatives. But GOP lawmakers in the past few months have succeeded in pushing it to the top of state legislative agendas. Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp sent a letter to the members of the state school board last week urging members not to adopt the theory he called “divisive and anti-American” and “a blatantly partisan agenda” being pushed by the White House. …In a 102-page response, Chancellor Steve Wrigley said the university system strives to balance their cause of expanding students’ minds and ensuring they are free from harassment and indoctrination. “It is a constant balancing effort, and I am certain we do not always get the balance right,” he wrote. “I believe the vast majority of time we do, and work hard to do so. Part of our purpose is to challenge students to deepen their thinking, hone their research, and sharpen their skills so they can analyze and then explain their views. These are abilities essential for success in life, as you know, and basic to fostering innovation.”

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Union decries staffing cuts by Georgia public colleges during pandemic

By Eric Stirgus

University System says union report “flawed”

The college presidents and administrators leading the 26 schools in the University System of Georgia faced a difficult mandate. The state’s top elected officials ordered them and other Georgia agencies to cut their budgets by 10% last summer as revenues plummeted during the early months of the coronavirus pandemic. The colleges and universities — told by system officials to make cuts strategically — limited travel, delayed filling some vacant positions, and in some cases, laid off workers. …The problem, one group says, is the schools typically let go more employees who did clerical or service work and were older, female or non-white. The United Campus Workers of Georgia, Communications Workers of America based its findings on data collected from the system over a 12-month stretch that began in November 2019, a few months before the pandemic began. It shows full-time employment in the system declined by about 1,500 workers, with nearly 60% fewer women and 33% fewer Black employees. … University System officials, though, said in a statement that the report was flawed in several ways.

The Brunswick News

Georgia colleges to benefit from federal funds

By Hank Rowland

College and technical education in Brunswick and students seeking grants will receive a boost from federal funding championed by Georgia’s two senators in Washington. Students attending College of Coastal Georgia, Coastal Pines Technical College or any other college in the state will benefit from the funding. At least half the amount allocated to each college or university must go toward student aid.

Albany Herald

ASU partners with marine technology robotics innovator

From staff reports

Albany State University has partnered with Marine Advanced Technology Education (M.A.T.E.) STREAMWORKS to assist in its efforts of educating young students about science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). “Albany State University is proud to partner with the M.A.T.E. Underwater Robotics competition,” Vice President of Institutional Advancement A.L. Fleming said in a news release. “This is a great opportunity that encourages students to learn and apply STEM to create solutions for important issues we face.” M.A.T.E. STREAMWORKS held its first underwater robotics competition with Baconton Community Charter School recently at the Jones Brothers Health, Physical Education, and Recreation Complex. This competition was the first of its kind in Albany.

Grown & Flown

Guide to ROTC Programs and Scholarships for College Students

by Marybeth Bock

Many of us are familiar with ROTC programs and scholarships for college students. But if you haven’t had a family member or close friend go through ROTC, you may be unaware of what it entails. Here are the basics on ROTC, some current students’ perspectives, and why it might make sense for your student. …Jenna Ball, a junior Psychology major at Georgia Southern University, is currently in her third year of Army ROTC. …Jenna plans on joining the National Guard after graduation and getting a master’s degree so that she can help soldiers suffering with mental health issues.

Albany Herald

ABAC’s Polly Huff receives top honor from Georgia Association of Museums

From staff reports

The Georgia Association of Museums recently honored Polly Huff from Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College with the Museum Professional Award, the industry’s top honor for a museum professional currently serving in the state of Georgia. Huff, the curator at ABAC’s Georgia Museum of Agriculture in Tifton, received the award at the virtual meeting of the Georgia Association for Museums Conference.

SaportaReport

Initiative to preserve family farms in metro Atlanta receives $5 million in grants

By David Pendered

An initiative to preserve family-owned farmland and keep it growing food in metro Atlanta has won two grants in the past month that total $5 million – one from the federal government and one from an organization launched by Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan. The Conservation Fund has been working for several years to develop its Working Farms Fund, which is said to be the first of its kind in the nation. The two grants affirm the concept that’s being tested in metro Atlanta and Chicago. The Conservation Fund’s leadership hopes to expand the program into other cities. …This creative financing evidently caught the attention of the Partnership for Inclusive Innovation. The name suggests high tech projects. But it also has room to support programs that retain small farms in big urban areas, according to the lieutenant governor, who launched it in 2020 to foster Georgia’s position as the tech capital on the East Coast. Former Georgia Tech President Bud Peterson chairs the board.

Albany Herald

Stephens County FFA wins first agricultural issues event at Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College

From staff reports

Stephens County High School will be Georgia’s representative in the Agricultural Issues Leadership Development Event (LDE) at the National FFA convention this fall after turning in a stellar performance at the first-ever event of its kind at Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College. Frank Flanders, associate professor of agricultural education at ABAC, said the Stephens County team “performed very well and will be highly competitive as it represents Georgia in national competition.”

WJCL

Invasive lizard species could turn Georgia into a breeding ground; efforts mount to eradicate tegus

Argentine black and white tegus are a significant threat to native wildlife in Georgia. The species, the largest of all tegus, can reach 4 feet long and weigh 10 pounds or more.

By Staff reports

A years-long effort to remove invasive tegu lizards from Southeast Georgia continues. The Georgia Department of Natural Resources, Georgia Southern University and the U.S. Geological Survey have been working since 2018 to assess and remove what is considered a wild population of Argentine black and white tegus in Tattnall and Toombs counties. The species, the largest of all tegus, can reach 4 feet long and weigh 10 pounds or more. Argentine black and white tegus are a significant threat to native wildlife, from gopher tortoises to ground-nesting birds such as bobwhite quail, wild turkeys and whip-poor-wills.

Other News:

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Map: Coronavirus deaths and cases in Georgia (updated May 23)
An updated count of coronavirus deaths and cases reported across the state

CONFIRMED DEATHS: 17,930 | 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: 893,422 | Cases have been confirmed in every county.

Higher Education News:

Inside Higher Ed

Retirement Benefits Return

For the most part, institutions are resuming the faculty and staff retirement benefits they cut or stopped during the pandemic. Fights over the future of those benefits are being waged on some campuses.

By Colleen Flaherty

With some exceptions, colleges and universities are planning to restore or have already restored the faculty retirement benefits they cut during COVID-19. Having fared better than expected during the pandemic in term of finances, certain institutions are even retroactively contributing to their professors’ retirement plans to make up for those cuts. A forthcoming full-length report on faculty compensation from the American Association of University Professors says that more than a quarter of institutions eliminated or reduced fringe benefits for full-time faculty members during the 2020-21 academic year. Private institutions were much more likely to do so than public institutions. According to data from the College and University Professionals Association-Human Resources, 71 percent of college and universities contributed to employee 403(b) plans, the most commonly offered retirement plan in higher education, in January 2020. As of January 2021, that figure was just 63 percent.

Diverse Issues in Higher Education

Report: Number of Full-Time Exempt Higher Ed Employees Decreases, But Some Roles See Growth

by Arrman Kyaw

The number of full-time exempt higher ed employees decreased 0.4% in the last year (2020-21), a contrast from the overall 4.4% increase in the year before, according to a new report from College and University Professional Association for Human Resources (CUPA-HR). 2021 Professionals in Higher Education Annual Report showed that some positions had growth. Four of the five positions with the most growth are in health sciences, with the other one being budget unit supervisor. Representation of women and racial/ethnic minorities in higher ed professional roles is slightly higher than last year.

Diverse Issues in Higher Education

Higher Ed Works to Balance Public Health Guidance With Community Concerns About Vaccines

by Autumn A. Arnett

As higher ed leaders look to the fall, eager to revert to a sense of “normal” for students, faculty and staff alike, many are facing a new question: With COVID-19 vaccines now largely available, should they require their campus communities to get vaccinated? …As a result, university officials decided to mandate that all students living on campus in fall 2021 would need to be vaccinated before moving into the dorms. But others — including faculty and staff and nonresidential students — are still being encouraged to get the vaccine. …University of Michigan leaders are leaning heavily on their school of public health and university healthcare system — including vaccine clinics — to help educate the campus community on why they should get the vaccine, but Fitzgerald says that in “a big, decentralized community” many decisions are left up to individual schools, colleges and units on campus. …Cultural considerations

In the Atlanta University Center Consortium (AUCC), leaders are taking a completely different approach. Though Clark Atlanta University, Spelman College, Morehouse College and Morehouse School of Medicine all operate as separate institutions with separate leadership teams, presidents of the AUCC institutions thought it was important to act as a unit because of the close proximity of the campuses.