University System News
Times-Georgian
UWG begins 88th year of serving region and state
By Dan Minish
Today begins a four-part series on the evolution of the University of West Georgia which began as an agricultural and mechanical high school on property less than two miles west of the downtown Carrollton Square at the turn of the 20th century. Information regarding the first 50 years of what is now the University of West Georgia came from historical records provided by UWG’s website. In forthcoming editions, a variety of other sources, as well as personal recollections, will be noted.
WGAU
Students move into dorms, residence halls at UGA
By Tim Bryant
This is fall semester move-in weekend at the University of Georgia, with residence halls filling up in advance of next Wednesday’s first day of fall semester classes. The UGA move-ins that begin today and end Sunday will be impacting parking lots and loading zones across campus.
WFXL (Fox 31)
ABAC announces enrollment record for School of Agriculture and Natural Resources
By Jeff Cox
The School of Agriculture and Natural Resources (SANR) at Abraham Baldwin Agriculture College has set an enrollment record this week as fall semester classes begin. The college says, in a media release, that a total of 1,446 students were enrolled in the SANR on the second day of classes on August 11. That tops the previous record of 1,360 SANR students, a 6.3% increase over fall 2020 enrollment.
This story also appeared in Growing Georgia.
13WMAZ
‘Students no longer have to transfer’: Fort Valley State program aims to create more nurses
By Caleesha Moore
A partnership to bring the first nursing program to Fort Valley State University has been made official. “This is a great day for Fort Valley State University, great day for Phoebe Putney Health System, and a great day for the state of Georgia,” University President Paul Jones said. Jones says it’s been a long time coming. With about 30 undergraduate majors and graduate programs, the campus had to turn away students who wanted to study nursing, but not anymore.
GPB
Sharks Offer Snapshot Of Coastal Waterways’ Health
By Emily Jones
“SHARK!” On a beach, it would be cause for concern. But on this small skiff on the Wassaw Sound near Savannah at the mouth of the Wilmington River, it was a cry of excitement. A team of researchers was pulling in their line, a long length of rope with 50 baited hooks arrayed along it, and they’d made their first catch of the day: a bonnethead shark, exactly what they were after… Lyons is advising Kennesaw State University graduate student Allyson Stiles, who’s conducting the research as part of her master’s thesis. Georgia Southern University is also supporting the project, along with the UGA Marine Extension and Georgia Sea Grant.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Cities, counties struggle to hire public workers during pandemic
By Matt Bruce
Bags of sticks, leaves and grass lined the streets of Kirkwood. After months of watching them stack up in the Atlanta neighborhood, resident Aaron Glover did the city’s job for them. He rented a truck in late July and hauled nearly 100 bags of lawn trimmings from 41 homes on his block to the DeKalb County landfill. The 35-year-old fraud investigator said yard debris collections stopped completely in May, and he was unable to get anyone to tell him why. Glover’s experience is not unique… Jason Delaney, a professor of economics at Georgia Gwinnett College, said the job market seems to be in a transition period as potential employees try to “figure out what the new normal is going to look like.”
Law.com
By Greg Land
A federal judge in Atlanta has tossed out wrongful death claims against the Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia filed by the parents of Georgia Tech student Scott “Scout’” Schultz, who was shot and killed by a campus police officer while experiencing a mental health crisis in 2017.
11 Alive
Agreement with state stipulates average salary of more than $112K at Atlanta FanDuel office
By Jonathan Raymond
A development deal to bring a new FanDuel office to Atlanta promising 900 jobs will be aided in part by a $2.25 million grant from the state to be administered through the Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia. FanDuel announced plans to open an Atlanta office earlier this year, and public documents outlining the grant agreement show that the office will be located in 56,000 square feet of space in Ponce City Market.
Other News
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Map: Coronavirus deaths and cases in Georgia (updated August 12)
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: … 18,942 | 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: … 977,482 | Cases have been confirmed in every county.
Rome News-Tribune
Already understaffed, many Georgia hospitals swamped by latest COVID surge
By Andy Miller Georgia Health News
Across Georgia, dozens of hospitals were reporting severe ER crowding and various forms of “diversion ” — sending patients elsewhere due to capacity problems. The Delta variant of COVID-19, sweeping through the state, is rapidly increasing case numbers and hospitalizations.
The number of hospitalized COVID-19 patients in Floyd County is up from 53 a week ago, on Aug. 5, and 29 two weeks ago, on July 29. The number of new infections has also risen dramatically since the July 4 holiday.
Georgia Recorder
2020 census shows increase in Georgia minorities, population shift to metro areas
By Ross Williams
Georgia’s population is more diverse and more concentrated around cities than ever before, according to data released by the U.S. Census Bureau Thursday. More Georgians 18 and older told census takers in 2020 that they identify as more than one race – 5.9%, compared with 1.5% in 2010. The numbers of Black, Latino and Asian Georgians increased, while the proportion of Georgians identifying as only white dropped from 59.7% in 2010 to 51.9% in the latest data. During the last decade, Georgia’s population grew from about 9.6 million to more than 10.7 million, and most of those new Georgia residents are living in a large metropolitan area such as Savannah, Augusta or Atlanta, whose surrounding counties welcomed the most new residents in the last ten years. Most of rural south Georgia lost population or stayed about the same.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
No Health Insurance Increase Next Year for 650k Georgia Teachers, State Workers and Retirees
By James Salzer
For the third time in four years, hundreds of thousands of Georgia teachers and state workers won’t see their health insurance premiums increase. The Department of Community Health board approved rates for 2022 on Thursday for the more 650,000 Georgians covered by the State Health Benefit Plan. The vote came a year after the board raised premiums an average of 5% for teachers and state employees. Deductibles and co-pays will remain unchanged next year for members of the plan, as will the providers offering coverage. The good news for teachers, state employees and retirees comes as private employers are expecting costs to rise in 2022.
Albany Herald
Georgia Senate takes up mandatory school attendance age bill
By Dave Williams, Bureau Chief Capitol Beat News Service
The General Assembly is taking another look at legislation that would raise the mandatory school attendance age in Georgia from 16 to 17. A state Senate study committee created to take up a bill introduced this year by Sen. Lester Jackson, D-Savannah, held its first hearing Thursday and heard endorsements of the measure from both the Georgia Association of Educators and the Georgia School Boards Association. Grace Kim of the school boards group said only 16 states allow students to drop out of high school when they turn 16. The rest make them wait until they turn 17, 18 or even 19 to make that life-changing decision, she said.
Higher Education News
Inside Higher Ed
Cornell Says No Remote Teaching as COVID Fears Persist
By Elizabeth Redden
Cornell University said this week it will not consider any faculty requests to teach remotely instead of in person, not even from those seeking accommodations for chronic illnesses or disabilities. Scholars questioned the legality and the wisdom of Cornell’s stance in light of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The Americans with Disabilities Act requires employers to provide “reasonable accommodations” to individuals with disabilities who are qualified to fulfill the “essential functions” of a given job.
Inside Higher Ed
By Elizabeth Redden
Margo Brault, an instructor of French at Louisiana State University, invited members of the university’s Board of Supervisors to take a mental trip with her to her assigned classroom last week. “From here, we’d walk to Allen Hall and open the west door and go down a flight of stairs into the basement, where the ceiling is low and the hallway is packed with students during class change,” Brault told the members during their regular board meeting last Friday, which was held with 50 percent capacity. “Then we will turn right into a small hallway, where we will find again on the right the door to Room 38. Inside this small room there are no windows but 24 seats. That’s where she teaches her 19 students “for one hour, three hours in a row, 11:30, 12:30, 1:30,” she explained. “I will teach them Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday for the next 15 weeks. This will be a petri dish for the Delta variant.”
Atlanta Business Chronicle
Yale University’s looming ‘big deal’ with city highlights growing outcry for greater accountability
By Hilary Burns and Craig M. Douglas
News that a deal is imminent between Yale and New Haven comes amid a growing outcry among city leaders and community advocates to require greater financial commitments and investments in municipal services among the nation’s wealthiest colleges.