University System News:
Inside Higher Ed
Georgia State University fired an instructor who refused to teach in a classroom without a mask mandate.
By Colleen Flaherty
Numerous professors already have resigned this semester over concerns about how their administrations are handling COVID-19. And while these faculty departures have happened under duress, they’ve still essentially been resignations. Not so for Cody Luedtke, who was until last week a lab coordinator and instructor of life and earth sciences at Georgia State University: the institution fired her for refusing to teach in a classroom without a mask mandate in place. Luedtke, who is now unemployed, set up a Go Fund Me page to help pay for her housing and health insurance, and to share her story.
Forbes
2021
Edited By Edward Segal
The Covid-19 pandemic has tested corporate America in unprecedented ways. And just when it seemed the crisis would subside, the light at the end of the tunnel turned out to be another oncoming train in the form of the Delta variant. At the same time, leaders have had to motivate talent and pursue profits amid a sensitive political landscape that spurred new levels of corporate activism. It was against this backdrop that Forbes partnered with market research company Statista to compile our third annual list of America’s Best Employers By State. The list is divided into 51 rankings—one for each of the 50 states, plus the District of Columbia—and was compiled by surveying 80,000 Americans working for businesses with at least 500 employees. Surveys were conducted on a rolling basis from October 2020 to June 2021 and were anonymous, allowing participants to freely share their opinions. The final list ranks the 1,330 employers that received the most recommendations. Best Employers By State:
Augusta University, Employees – 6,500, CEO Brooks A. Keel; University of Georgia, Employees – 10,856 CEO Jere W. Morehead; Georgia Institute of Technology, Employees – Angel Cabrera; University of North Georgia, Employees – , CEO Dr. Bonita Jacobs; Georgia State University, Employees –; CEO Mark Becker
Albany CEO
What’s Going on at Georgia Southwestern
Staff Report
…September 16 – Day of Giving
12:00am – 11:59pm | gsw.edu/dayofgiving
In this 24-hour giving challenge, GSW is asking the Hurricane community for their help to raise $50,000 and receive a gift from all 50 states – ultimately turning the map gold. Contributions will further enhance scholarships, student success, athletics, and campus improvements.
Griffin Daily News
Gordon State College Foundation receives USDA grant money
The Gordon State College Foundation has received $21,300 in grant funds from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). Funds will be used to buy equipment for the newly-established Gordon State College Digital Media Arts Lab.
Connect Savannah
Curtain rises on Fred and Dinah Gretsch School of Music at GSU
By Frank Ricci
Songs of celebration echoed from Savannah to Statesboro earlier this year as the Gretsch family, makers of highly-regarded guitars and drums, pledged $3 million to Georgia Southern University. The family and school have had a long-term relationship. Now that classes have begun at the newly-titled Fred and Dinah Gretsch School of Music, the goal of better educating young people in the performance and business of music has become reality.
accessWDUN
New ROTC cadets participate in FROG Week at UNG
By Austin Eller Anchor/Reporter
A group of ROTC cadets at the University of North Georgia transitioned into their newfound military lifestyle last week as part of the university’s annual FROG week. Colonel Retired Joe Matthews, Commandant of Cadets at UNG, said the program, which ran from Aug. 15 through Aug. 21, is essentially cadet basic training. …This year, 204 first-semester cadets participated in FROG week, which stands for freshmen orientation group. Matthews said the goal is to set up all the new cadets for success, not just for their time in the ROTC, but also for their future careers.
Columbus CEO
CSU’s SGA Unveils “The Path to the Future” Campus Mural
The CSU Student Government Association unveiled a new campus mural today, highlighting the university’s core values, including engagement, sustainability, excellence and inclusion. The mural, titled “The Path to the Future,” was designed by CSU senior Andrea Mendoza-Gonzalez. Mendoza-Gonzalez designed the mural in colors and style native to her Latin heritage and painted it, with the help of volunteers, over the span of two months. During the unveiling ceremony, Mendoza-Gonzalez explained that the mural makes use of floral and fauna important to Georgia and CSU culture
Tifton CEO
SANR Classic Tournament at ABAC Golf Course September 24
The 21st Annual School of Agriculture and Natural Resources (SANR) Classic golf tournament at Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College will be held on Sept. 24 at ABAC’s Forest Lakes Golf Club. There will be an 8 a.m. flight and a 1 p.m. flight. The tournament is hosted by the ABAC Agriculture and Natural Resources Alumni Council and the School of Agriculture and Natural Resources to generate student scholarship and faculty and staff professional development funds. Tournament Coordinator Vonda Fenn said proceeds from the tournament are raised by sponsorships and player registration fees.
Science Daily
Weight gain isn’t inevitable when you start college
Freshmen gain 3 pounds on average over their first semester
Everyone’s heard about the so-called freshman 15, but new research from the University of Georgia suggests that counteracting this weight gain might be more complicated than just taking a walk around the quad. The freshman 15 is actually a bit of a misnomer, with students typically only putting on around 8 pounds over their first year. But that’s a substantial amount of weight to gain, particularly for students who are already overweight. In the study, UGA researchers found that first-years do pack on pounds, about 3 on average over the course of the semester. But implementing healthy patterns early can help stave off that weight gain.
The George-Anne
Where does your vaccination status matter on campus?
Your vaccine FAQs answered
Ashlynn Melnyk, Correspondent
Where does your vaccination status matter on campus?
Georgia Southern University does not currently require a mask on the majority of the campus for those who are vaccinated, except when on campus shuttle buses and in the Health Center. According to USG institutions, students may “be required by off-campus partnering organizations to wear masks and/or be vaccinated as a condition of participation in experimental learning opportunities such as study abroad programs, externships, and delivery of medical services.” Where can you be prepared to be asked about your vaccination status?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
University of Georgia offers $1,000 prizes to get COVID-19 vaccine
By Eric Stirgus
The University of Georgia is sweetening the pot to encourage people on campus to get the COVID-19 vaccine. Starting Sept. 1, any current student, faculty member or employee who has been fully vaccinated, either on or off campus, can submit their names to be in one of three drawings to win a cash prize of $1,000. A total of 100 prizes will be awarded. The drawings will be held on Sept. 15, Sept. 30 and Oct. 15. UGA previously offered $20 gift cards and t-shirts and then offered $100 gift cards as prizes for vaccinations. Administrators have pleaded with students through social media and email in recent weeks to get the vaccine before classes began on Aug. 18.
WJBF
MCG researching who is vaccine hesitant
by: Chloe Salsameda
A week before the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted emergency use authorization to Pfizer-BioNTech’s COVID-19 vaccine, researchers at the Medical College of Georgia (MCG) began surveying CSRA residents. They teamed up with 100 Black of Augusta to learn which groups, among the African American community, were accepting, hesitant or resistant of the COVID-19 vaccine. They held six events at churches and barbershops between December 2020 and April 2021, offering free COVID-19 testing, passing out personal protective equipment and asking community members to fill out a survey.
KCTV5
Study: 70 percent of elementary students could get COVID-19 without school mask mandate
Researchers at Georgia Tech University recently came out with a report predicting that 70 percent of elementary school students could be infected with COVID-19 by the end of the year at schools without a mask mandate.
NPR
Hawaii’s Governor Asks Tourists To Stay Away Because Of COVID
The Associated Press
Hawaii’s governor asked Monday that visitors and residents reduce travel to the islands to essential business only while the state struggles to control COVID-19 as the highly contagious delta variant spreads in the community. Gov. David Ige wants to curtail travel to Hawaii through the end of October. “It is a risky time to be traveling right now,” he said. He said restaurant capacity has been restricted and there’s limited access to rental cars. Ige stopped short of a mandate, saying it’s a different time now than last year when strict travel rules that required quarantining essentially shut down Hawaii’s tourism industry. …Hiro Toiya, the city’s emergency management director, cited a mathematical modeling tool from the Georgia Institute of Technology to illustrate risks the community faced from large gatherings. The modeling shows there is a 20% chance that someone in a group of 10 will have the disease given the number of COVID-19 cases on Oahu now. But in a group of 100, there’s a 90% chance someone will have it.
Other News:
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Map: Coronavirus deaths and cases in Georgia (updated Aug. 24)
An updated count of coronavirus deaths and cases reported across the state
CONFIRMED CASES: 1,041,512
CONFIRMED DEATHS: 19,275 | 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.
Higher Education News:
Forbes
Initial Estimates Show Fall Enrollments Up At Several Public Universities
Michael T. Nietzel, Senior Contributor, Education
Just as the recent Covid-19 outbreak continues to surge in many parts of the country – typically in the form of the highly contagious Delta variant – hundreds of colleges and universities are welcoming students back to campus. Many are hosting their first day of classes, almost all of them via live instruction in classrooms, a far cry from the remote learning that was so prominent a year ago. With those re-openings, college leaders are eager to see what their enrollment numbers will look like. While fall attendance is always of major interest in higher ed circles, the anticipation has been especially pronounced this year, given the enrollment struggles that many institutions have endured throughout the pandemic. At several major public universities, the early reports are encouraging. It’s important to remember that almost all of these figures are preliminary; they won’t be official until two or three weeks from now. But here are a few of the recent enrollment estimates at leading public universities.
Inside Higher Ed
U.S. to Assume Full Relief for Approved Borrower-Defense Claims
By Alexis Gravely
The Department of Education will now presume that borrowers with approved borrower defense to repayment claims should be awarded full relief, unless evidence is presented that states otherwise. The change comes following the rescission earlier this year of the partial relief formula that was used under the Trump administration. “The Department understands that there may be some cases where partial relief could be appropriate,” said the announcement, posted Tuesday. “However, we have not yet identified a formula-based partial relief methodology that would result in consistent determinations and not run into flaws with data availability or other issues.”
Inside Higher Ed
First-Year Students Struggled With Online Learning Last Year
New report finds most first-year students struggled to learn when the pandemic moved classes online — in part because of limited access to technology and resources.
By Maria Carrasco
When the COVID-19 pandemic prompted a sudden shift to online learning in the middle of the 2019-20 school year, a majority of first-year college students faced academic challenges, and many had trouble accessing proper resources, a new report finds. Two-thirds of first-year students struggled with online learning last year, according to a report released yesterday by ACT, the nonprofit organization that administers the college readiness exam. Additionally, one-third of first-year students reported frequent troubles with an unreliable computer and 21 percent said they had unpredictable or no access to the internet. The learning experience during a student’s first year is a “critical predictor of student persistence,” the report states. The move by more than 1,300 U.S. institutions to teach online in spring 2020 caused more disruption than usual for students.
Forbes
Extended Reality Is Ready To Revolutionize Higher Education
Michael KubitBrand Contributor
The category known as extended reality (XR)―augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR), and mixed reality (MR)―typically ranks near the top of any list of emerging technologies. Industry experts predict that these immersive technologies will disrupt the way consumers, industries, and businesses operate. Healthcare, education, and workforce development and training will be the three industries most disrupted by this powerful technology.
Inside Higher Ed
Department Will Not Enforce Title IX Provision Struck Down by Court
By Alexis Gravely
The Department of Education said Tuesday that it will immediately cease enforcement of a part of the 2020 Title IX regulations that prohibits decision makers in sexual misconduct investigations from considering evidence by parties or witnesses if they don’t participate in cross-examination. The decision follows a ruling by a federal judge last month that said the provision was arbitrary and capricious, and it was sent back to the department for further consideration. Decision makers may now consider evidence including police reports, medical reports, text messages between the parties leading up to the alleged misconduct and statements made by the parties and witnesses during the investigation.