University System News:
The Chronicle of Higher Education
Could the Summer Slide Become a Covid Crash?
Pandemic learning loss threatens to turn achievement gaps into chasms.
By Katherine Mangan
When officials at Georgia State University dug into their data from this spring, what they found was alarming: After a year of remote instruction and pandemic-induced stress, first-year students earned more D’s and F’s in foundational courses, and their drops and withdrawals were up 30 percent to 40 percent. These early indicators of learning loss are worrisome for college officials across the country, as they plan for this fall. Perhaps more concerning still is uncertainty about how much ground has been lost by entering first-year students. SATs and ACTs, placement tests and reliable grades — the markers colleges have counted on to place students and plan classes — were largely shelved or skewed last year. “Many institutions will be flying blind,” said Timothy M. Renick, executive director of the new National Institute for Student Success at Georgia State. Forget summer slide — the well-documented skills slippage students experience over summer break. This year, some fear, it might seem more like a Covid crash.
The Brunswick News
CCGA student wins 2021 Best-Strategy Invitational
By Lauren McDonald
A senior at College of Coastal Georgia recently earned the title of Grand Champion of the 2021 Best-Strategy Invitational, hosted by GLO-BUS, a global strategic management simulation. Jabe Harris, 33, is a business major at the college with a concentration in marking and a minor in communications. He credits his capstone strategic management class, taught by Dr. Bill Garlen at the college, as a defining moment in his academic career. The strategic management class uses the GLO-BUS simulation as the course curriculum.
Emanuel County Live
In-Person and At-Home Summer Program Coming to East Georgia State College
And New Peace of Mind Promise Gives Parents Opportunity to Change Camp Format
Camp Invention®, a nationally recognized, nonprofit summer enrichment program, is coming to East Georgia State College the week of July 12 – July 16, 2021. At this local camp, families can choose Camp Invention’s in-person or at-home option. And to address any uncertainty that families face when planning for the upcoming summer camp season, Camp Invention now offers the Peace of Mind Promise – where parents can switch their experience format up to six weeks before their camp start date. For its in-person option, Camp Invention will continue to adjust its programs to comply with best p
Athens CEO
UGA Program Provides Leadership, Entrepreneurship Training for CCSD Students
Charlie Bauder
Clarke Central High School student Kayleigh Sims wants to be a veterinarian and open her own practice. A University of Georgia program is helping her learn the leadership, entrepreneurship and problem-solving skills she will need to be a success. Sims, a rising junior, is one of 21 high school students from the Clarke County School District to participate in UGA’s inaugural InnovateU program. InnovateU is part of UGA’s ongoing efforts to partner with CCSD, and its primary goal is to empower youth to solve real business challenges through leadership and innovative problem solving with the help of peers and local business professionals.
The Tifton Gazette
ABAC employees reflect on South GeorgiaLEADS
Sara Hand and Eric Larson, employees of Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College, have completed their responsibilities as a part of the 2020-2021 South GeorgiaLEADS cohort. Hand is the assistant director at ABAC’s Georgia Museum of Agriculture, and Larson is an assistant professor of rural sociology in the School of Arts and Sciences. “The SGL program is built around providing opportunities for individuals across the area to come together and interact with one another, to build relationships of trust and respect,” Larson said. “I am constantly looking for opportunities for my students to be engaged in communities where they can apply knowledge and develop skills introduced in my courses. I have developed several relationships that will likely provide such opportunities.” Hand said she believes she is more aware of what South Georgia offers to consumers.
Smart Cities Connect
Georgia Power and Georgia Tech To Open Microgrid Project In Atlanta
Georgia Power is partnering with Georgia Tech to open a 1.4-megawatt microgrid project in Atlanta. It will help power the larger local grid in the Midtown area, while minimizing environmental impact. The Tech Square Microgrid will be used to evaluate how a microgrid can effectively integrate into and operate as part of the overall electrical grid. It will also serve as a living laboratory for Georgia Tech researchers who will use it to gather data on controllers, cybersecurity devices, and energy economics.
yahoo!news
Spaceport questions answered, but not to everyone’s satisfaction
Gordon Jackson, The Brunswick News
State Sen. Sheila McNeill, R-Brunswick, has asked questions about a proposed spaceport in Camden County on behalf of constituents who have complained about problems getting answers about the project. A letter from Camden County Attorney John Myers was attached to the response to 18 questions asked by McNeill explaining the complexities of 13 non-disclosure agreements (NDA) with various companies interested in the proposed launch site. …County officials said a market analysis shows the space industry will continue to grow. “According to a Georgia Tech Enterprise Innovation Institute study, ongoing operations of the aerospace industry generate ripple impacts throughout the state of Georgia supporting almost 200,000 indirect and induced jobs with earnings of over $8 billion and economic output of almost $25 billion,” county officials said. “Job wage rates of aerospace employees were 47 percent higher than Georgia’s average wage rates of all industries.”
The Red & Black
UGA’s Vaccine Ambassadors bring awareness and combat hesitancy
Maddie Brechtel | Contributor
When Dr. Derrick Lemons, an associate religion professor at the University of Georgia, received the COVID-19 vaccine, he desired the same freedom for students this summer. This motivated him to start the Vaccine Ambassadors program to encourage the UGA community to return to normalcy by getting the COVID-19 vaccine. He reviewed hundreds of applications in the search for 25 student leaders passionate about combating vaccine hesitancy and inspiring fellow peers to attain herd immunity. …Recently, the UGA president’s office awarded the group $10,000 to carry on their efforts for the upcoming semester, Lemons said.
Fox News
Inhaled COVID-19 vaccine successful in animal study
Vaccine, dubbed PIV5, also prevented transmission of virus between animals
By Alexandria Hein
One dose of an inhaled COVID-19 vaccine showed success in animal studies, researchers say, possibly opening the door for another option that’s easier to administer than the traditional needle shots. The vaccine, dubbed PIV5, was developed using a platform previously used for influenza vaccines and targets mucosal cells that line the nasal passages and airways. In a recent study involving mice, researchers from the University of Iowa and University of Georgia found it fully protected the animals from lethal COVID-19 infection and blocked animal-to-animal transmission of the virus in ferrets. Results were published July 2 in the journal Science Advances.
Other News:
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Coronavirus in Georgia: COVID-19 Dashboard
Latest stats and the news on the coronavirus outbreak
Q: What is the latest on confirmed and probable coronavirus cases in Georgia?
906,081 TOTAL CONFIRMED CASES
1,138,437 TOTAL INCLUDING PROBABLE CASES
Q: What is the latest on coronavirus deaths in Georgia?
18,544 TOTAL CONFIRMED DEATHS
21,470 TOTAL INCLUDING PROBABLE DEATHS
accessWDUN
Pfizer to discuss COVID-19 vaccine booster with US officials
By The Associated Press
Pfizer says it plans to meet with top U.S. health officials Monday to discuss the drugmaker’s request for federal authorization of a third dose of its COVID-19 vaccine as President Joe Biden’s chief medical adviser acknowledged that “it is entirely conceivable, maybe likely” that booster shots will be needed. The company said it was scheduled to have the meeting with the Food and Drug Administration and other officials Monday, days after Pfizer asserted that booster shots would be needed within 12 months. Pfizer’s Dr. Mikael Dolsten told The Associated Press last week that early data from the company’s booster study suggests people’s antibody levels jump five- to 10-fold after a third dose, compared to their second dose months earlier — evidence it believes supports the need for a booster.
Higher Education News:
The Chronicle of Higher Education
After a Year of Losses, Higher Ed’s Work Force Is Growing Again
By Dan Bauman
After shedding a net of 660,000 workers over the course of the pandemic, the labor force that powers America’s colleges and universities finds itself growing again at a steady, if uneven, pace. Since 2021 began, higher education has recovered a third of the labor force it shed in 2020, with the sector adding an estimated 90,000 jobs in May, according to preliminary seasonally adjusted estimates from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. That’s on top of a net of 153,000 jobs added since December of last year, when the number of jobs hit its lowest point during the pandemic.
The Chronicle of Higher Education
The Culture War Has Come for Higher Ed
Now is the time for academic leaders to fight.
By Brendan Cantwell
Browse the pages of The Chronicle, and a plain truth emerges: Higher education is in the middle of a culture war. Boards are defying faculty leaders on tenure decisions, politicians are attempting to ban entire areas of research, and support for colleges has been riven along partisan lines. None of this plays to higher ed’s traditional strengths. Presidents traditionally seek to stay above the fray — out of the spotlight and away from the flashpoints that challenge their practiced neutrality. This is especially the case at public institutions, where the placating of feisty boards of trustees and wary politicians is an ever-expanding part of presidents’ jobs. There’s much to commend in a stoic, norm-based approach — running a university is hard enough without doing cultural warfare. So it’s understandable if, jammed between the cautious traditions, demands for justice and recognition by long-marginalized groups, and an increasingly frantic conservative backlash, presidents and other senior administrators feel trapped.
CNN
Biden has canceled $1.5 billion in student debt for victims of for-profit school fraud
By Katie Lobosco, CNN
The Department of Education has canceled a total of $1.5 billion in student loan debt for nearly 92,000 students, who were victims of for-profit college fraud, since President Joe Biden took office. The current administration has been taking steps to address the backlog of more than 100,000 forgiveness claims left over from the Trump administration.