University System News:
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Kemp names panels to recommend how to use $4.8B in COVID-19 relief
By James Salzer
Almost four months after President Joe Biden signed into law a $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief bill, Georgia is getting started on figuring out how to spend its share. Gov. Brian Kemp on Tuesday announced three bipartisan committees made up of lawmakers and agency leaders to consider applications to spend the $4.8 billion the state is getting as part of the relief package. The state has already received half the money. It will get the second half next year.
…Kemp’s committees to recommend COVID-19 relief spending
Economic Impact Committee
…Jeffrey Dorfman, state economist and University of Georgia professor … Broadband Infrastructure Committee …Teresa MacCartney, interim chancellor of the University System of Georgia
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
UGA’s Jere Morehead named SEC president
By Chip Towers, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
University of Georgia president Jere Morehead will begin a two-year term as president of the executive committee of the SEC beginning Thursday, according to an announcement from the SEC office in Birmingham, Ala., on Tuesday. Morehead moves into the role after a two-year term as the SEC’s vice president.
See also:
Albany Herald
UGA President Jere Morehead named president of Southeastern Conference
SaportaReport
Three women named to lead schools in Georgia Tech’s College of Design
By David Pendered
The three women who this summer take office as chairs of three schools at Georgia Tech’s College of Design continue both a tradition of academic excellence and the growing role of women in fields that once had been the domains of men, according to the dean of the college. …The new chairs, departments they will lead, previous positions and academic credentials are: Gulsah Akar, chair of the School of City and Regional Planning, effective July 1.; Ece Erdogmus, chair of the School of Building Construction, effective July 1.; EunSook Kwon, chair of the School of Industrial Design, effective Aug. 1. …These incoming chairs will oversee three schools with a significant impact on daily life in metro Atlanta.
WSAV
16 COVID-19 vaccination sites open to all USG students
by: Molly Curley
Students in the University System of Georgia (USG) now have access to 16 COVID-19 vaccination sites on campuses across the state. According to USG, students can schedule a shot at the campus closest to them, whether or not it’s where they’re enrolled. Incoming students can also take advantage of the sites. Locally, this includes students at Savannah State and Georgia Southern universities. USG is not making the vaccine mandatory, but faculty, staff, students and visitors are “strongly” encouraged to get the shot.
WGAU Radio
UGA gets grant to help with concussions
Education College gets funding from Andee’s Army
By Tim Bryant
The University of Georgia has received a $200,000 grant: UGA’s College of Education will use the money to support University students who have suffered concussions. …To support college students with concussions, Katy O’Brien, an assistant professor in the Mary Frances Early College of Education’s department of communication sciences and special education, received a $200,000 grant from Andee’s Army to develop and test a peer mentoring program.
Rockdale Newton Citizen
UGA Black Fly Research Center receives second year of funding from NIH
By Elmer Gray
The University of Georgia Black Fly Research and Resource Center has been awarded a contract for a second year of funding with the U.S. National Institutes of Health’s (NIH) National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID). The center is the world’s only black fly colony and is operated in the UGA College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences Department of Entomology. The NIH contract raises total federal funding for the center to $221,277 and supports a collaborative effort between NIH/NIAID, the UGA Department of Entomology and the lab of Danny Mead, professor in the UGA College of Veterinary Medicine. Entomology Professor Darold Batzer is principal investigator for the effort and Mead is co-principal investigator, with Elmer Gray serving as assistant project director.
WGAU Radio
UNG gets federal funding for High School Equivalency Program
$2.3 million for HEP
By Tim Bryant
The University of North Georgia says its High School Equivalency Program has received a $2.3 million grant from the US Education Department. UNG began its high school equivalency program in 2016. From JK Devine, UNG…
The High School Equivalency Program at the University of North Georgia hit two record-breaking figures this summer.
WGAU Radio
UNG, Lanier Tech sign transfer agreement
21 credit hours can be transferred from Lanier Technical College
By Tim Bryant
The University of North Georgia and Lanier Technical College have signed a transfer agreement, one that will make it easier for Lanier Tech students to apply credit hours and get bachelors degrees at UNG.
News Medical Life Sciences
Georgia Tech’s dashboard breaks down Covid-19 vaccination trends by race at county level
Reviewed by Emily Henderson
The U.S. continues to see Covid-19 vaccinations gradually increasing nationwide, with nearly 66% of all adults now having at least one vaccine dose according to CDC’s COVID Data Tracker, yet disparities have been noted in vaccination rates across races and geographic areas. A new dashboard shows differences in vaccination rates by race across Georgia’s counties. The Georgia COVID-19 Vaccine Dashboard displays vaccination rates by race and county, and the differences between white and black vaccination rates, for the entire population and for the 65+ age group. The dashboard also has an interactive map as well as an interactive table, which allow users to compare and rank counties by vaccination rates, social vulnerability index, and other indicators of equity. …The Georgia Tech team, including Ph.D. students Akane Fujimoto and Tyler Perini, was able to set up the dashboard, working closely with partners at the Georgia Department of Public Health (DPH). They shared early demos of the dashboard with both DPH and the Georgia Covid-19 Health Equity Council.
Growing America
ABAC Honors Employees with Service Awards
Faculty members Kip Hall and Dr. Abul Sheikh topped the list of honorees at the recent service awards presentation at Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College. Hall, an assistant professor of forestry in the School of Agriculture and Natural Resources, received a plaque for 35 years of service to ABAC, and Sheikh, a professor of business and information technology in the Stafford School of Business, received a plaque for 30 years at ABAC.
Mining.Com
Scientists develop environmentally friendly method for recovering REE from coal fly ash
Valentina Ruiz Leotaud
Researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology, have developed a simple method for recovering rare earth elements from coal fly ash using an ionic liquid and avoiding hazardous materials. In a paper published in the journal Environmental Science & Technology, the scientists explain that ionic liquids are considered to be environmentally benign and are reusable. One in particular, betainium bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide or [Hbet][Tf2N], selectively dissolves rare-earth oxides over other metal oxides.
Other News:
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Map: Coronavirus deaths and cases in Georgia (updated June 29)
An updated count of coronavirus deaths and cases reported across the state
CONFIRMED DEATHS: 18,482 | 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: 903,017 | Cases have been confirmed in every county.
Higher Education News:
Forbes
Are Colleges Prepared To Support The Mental Health Of Their Students This Fall?
Marybeth Gasman, Contributor
…According to a recent survey, 83% of college students think that Covid-19 and the resulting mental health issues they face have had a negative impact on their college education. Students report having a hard time concentrating and finding it difficult to complete assignments on time or at all. These academic difficulties may be linked to students feeling hopeless and being unable to sleep. Students also noted that not seeing friends, lack of interaction with classmates, lack of participation in school traditions, and too much time in front of a computer screen had them feeling isolated. For 18-24 year old students, all of these stressors are happening before their brains are fully developed and matured. According to a study by Nicholas Grubic, Shaylea Badovinac, and Amer Johri in the International Journal of Social Psychiatry, students also fear uncertainty as a result of Covid-19. …Across the nation, colleges and universities are looking for ways to support students’ mental health as they come back to college in the fall.
CNN
The pandemic is making a vicious cycle even worse for low-income students
By Anneken Tappe, CNN Business
Inequality has worsened across the board during the pandemic. That has proven particularly true for low-income students. Already disadvantaged to start, many remote students in lower-income households had to worry about stable internet connections, available devices to log into school sessions, and getting personalized attention and help with homework or difficult subjects. The negative effects of the pandemic are boosting an already vicious circle: students from low income homes tend to have access to fewer educational enrichment opportunities and are more likely to go to schools that are historically under-funded.
Inside Higher Ed
Tax Reforms for Taxing College Costs
The current benefits available for higher education aren’t helping the students who need them most, experts told members of the House’s tax-writing committee.
By Alexis Gravely
A panel of witnesses testified before members of the House Ways and Means Committee Tuesday about expanding access to higher education, primarily focusing on how existing policies — like the Pell Grant and higher education tax credits — could be reformed to better serve the students most in need. The current higher education system is not equipped to support low-income students, students of color and students with disabilities, said Marshall Anthony Jr., a senior policy analyst at the progressive think tank the Center for American Progress. The Pell Grant doesn’t cover a high enough share of the cost of college, students would have to work more than 15 hours a week in most states in order to afford to attend a four-year public institution — and studies suggest working more than that can hinder students’ completion — and the lack of funding for community colleges means they often don’t have the resources to serve the lower-income students who attend.
Inside Higher Ed
2U, edX to Combine to Create Online Learning Giant
Online learning provider company to buy assets of nonprofit MOOC pioneer to create a new entity reaching 50 million learners.
By Doug Lederman
2U and edX, two major players in the online learning ecosystem, announced Tuesday that they would combine to create an entity that would reach 50 million learners and serve most of the best universities in the United States and the world. 2U, the publicly traded company that is by far the largest of the online program management providers, said it would pay $800 million to buy the assets of edX, the nonprofit online course provider that Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology teamed up to create nearly a decade ago.
Inside Higher Ed
2U and edX Merger Benefits Both
The combined 2U-edX company will be a larger threat to Coursera, which has become the behemoth of the online education space.
By Emma Whitford
2U and edX, major players in slightly different corners of the online learning market, announced Tuesday that they would join forces. The merger of 2U, a publicly traded online program management company, and edX, a nonprofit online course provider, surprised just about everyone who follows online learning yet left many observers conceding the logic of this partnership. Joining forces will give 2U access to edX’s cache of students and high-traffic website, which will significantly lower marketing costs for the OPM giant and its university partners and introduce new revenue streams for them. EdX, which has for years struggled to find a sustainable business model, will receive the capital injections it needs to continue its work and potentially expand its impact through research and improved technology.