University System News:
Capitol Beat
COVID-19 cases on Georgia college campuses declining
by Dave Williams
New cases of COVID-19 on University System of Georgia campuses started to come down this week after increasing at the beginning of the fall semester. The number of positive tests reported at nine schools – including the University of Georgia and Georgia Tech – declined this week, mirroring a trend that occurred at the same time last year. “Whenever we see a decline in cases, we are grateful, and we hope this downward trend holds,” said Dr. Shelley Nuss, co-chair of UGA’s Medical Oversight Task Force. “We saw a similar pattern last fall: a peak in cases shortly after we began classes that then fell markedly and leveled off. “We hope that with our continued push to encourage vaccinations, testing and masking, our numbers will continue to decline. COVID-19 is a very serious disease, and vaccines remain our best defense.” The decline in positive tests for the virus came as the campuses ramped up vaccination campaigns stressed continuing health and safety protocols.
See also:
Athens Banner-Herald
COVID-19 cases declining on Georgia college campuses, including UGA
Augusta CEO
USG Institutions See Early Declines in COVID-19 Cases Amid Progress with Vaccination Campaigns
Clayton News-Daily
Reported cases of COVID-19 fall at the University of Georgia
Georgia Health News
Covid cases declining on Georgia college campuses
Albany Herald
COVID cases on Georgia college campuses show decline
Columbus CEO
USG Institutions See Early Declines in COVID-19 Cases Amid Progress with Vaccination Campaigns
LaGrange CEO
USG Institutions See Early Declines in COVID-19 Cases Amid Progress with Vaccination Campaigns
WGAU Radio
UGA reports sharp decline in campus COVID cases
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
AJC COVID-19 college tracker: UGA reports big drop in new cases
WGAU Radio
UGA, USG report latest coronavirus data
Numbers down in Athens and at other schools in Georgia
By Lance Wallace, University System of Georgia
The University System of Georgia continues to encourage students, faculty and staff to get vaccinated against COVID-19 and wear masks inside campus facilities, with institutions beginning to report declines in early spikes of positive COVID-19 cases on their campuses. Each of USG’s 26 public colleges and universities continues to monitor COVID-19 positivity numbers. As happened last fall and spring, some campuses experienced increases in positive COVID-19 tests as classes launched for fall semester several weeks ago. These increases have typically been followed by declines as the semester has continued, and several USG institutions are reporting similar campus trends now.
WABE
Rose Scott
Is there an association between the timing of exposure to and severity of COVID-19 disease in close contacts of index patients with COVID-19? New research from the University of Georgia suggests COVID-19 is most contagious in a short window before -and after- symptoms appear. The findings suggest individuals with COVID-19 are most likely to spread the virus to close contacts…2 days before the onset of symptoms to…3 days after symptoms appear. Also, the risk of transmission is highest when patients had mild or moderate disease severity. Could these findings help contact tracing efforts? Dr. Ye Shen, associate Professor of Epidemiology and Biostatistics in the College of Public Health at UGA talked about the study.
Patch
Georgia Southern University: New Scholarship Fund Supports Military Spouses At Georgia Southern
A new scholarship fund designed specifically for the spouses of military service members has been established at Georgia Southern University. Thanks to support from The Landings Military Family Relief Fund Inc., up to $3,000 is available per recipient, per semester, for a select number of spouses of active duty service members, who have completed one term as a full-time student and is in good academic standing with the University. Recipients can attend any Georgia Southern Campus in Savannah, Hinesville or Statesboro.
WGAU Radio
Research with potential environmental impact
By Tim Bryant
A chemistry professor at the University of North Georgia gets a $140 thousand grant from the National Science Foundation: UNG’s Dr. Aimee Tomlinson will use the funding for research that could help in creating significantly higher screen resolution using carbon-based organic materials, which she says would be less destructive to the environment.
From JK Devine, UNG…
Dr. Aimée Tomlinson, professor of chemistry and biochemistry at the University of North Georgia, reached a trifecta this academic year. She received a National Science Foundation grant for a third time with a little bonus.
WGAU Radio
UGA to work with National Science Foundation to study oceanic ecosystems
By Michael Terazzas. UGA Today
The University of Georgia, along with the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, will co-lead a new National Science Foundation Science and Technology Center that will pursue and promote a deeper understanding of the microbial worlds and chemical processes that swirl throughout the Earth’s oceanic ecosystems. The new Center for Chemical Currencies of a Microbial Planet, based at Woods Hole in Falmouth, Massachusetts, is one of six centers the NSF announced on Sept. 9. Funded by NSF for $25 million over five years (with an option for five more), the new center comprises Woods Hole, UGA and 11 other universities and research institutions around the country.
South GA TV
ABAC’s Georgia Museum of Agriculture Hosts Girl Scout Day September 18
Girl Scouts and their families are invited to Girl Scout Day on Sept. 18 at the Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College Georgia Museum of Agriculture (GMA). The event will feature an assortment of interactive experiences relating to Girl Scout badges. Girl Scouts may pre-register for one of two badge workshops, Textile Artist for Cadettes or Playing the Past for Brownies. The Textile Artist experience will provide Scouts a unique, behind-the-scenes look at various textiles in the Museum collection, an exploration of various textile arts, and a hands-on sewing class.
Growing America
Adventure Awaits in Unleashed Escape Room at ABAC’s Georgia Museum of Agriculture
Experience a new Halloween thrill during the Unleashed Escape Room at the Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College Georgia Museum of Agriculture (GMA) this fall. The Unleashed Escape Room will be held on Friday nights in October beginning Oct. 1 from 5-9:30 p.m. with four sessions available each of the five Friday nights. …The Unleashed Escape Room is part of the 2021-2022 “History After Dark” program series which provides guests of all ages the opportunity to experience the Museum after hours. The series features evening programs throughout the year on a variety of topics and immersive activities.
The Brunswick News
CCGA students, faculty protest the lack of a mask mandate on USG campuses
By Terry Dickson
Masked College of Coastal Georgia students and faculty gathered outside the student activities center Thursday afternoon to protest the University System of Georgia’s refusal to impose a mask mandate on campuses. They made their feelings known with hand-lettered signs with messages, including “Masket or casket,’’ “Masks are disposable. We are not,’’ and “I can’t pay tuition if I’m dead.” The crowd ranged from 60 to 70 in the hour-long protest.
The Augusta Chronicle
Despite rain, small group of AU faculty continue week-long protest demanding mask mandate
Jozsef Papp
A strong downpour in the Augusta-area did not stop a contingent of five Augusta University faculty from showing up and continue to demand mask mandates on campus. The weeklong protest, which began Monday, has taken place on 17 campuses across the University System of Georgia, according to the American Association of University Professors, with faculty demanding action to fight the COVID-19 pandemic. The USG has remained silent on the protests, but Wednesday afternoon, it released a statement on COVID-19. In the news release, USG stated institutions across the state are seeing a decrease in COVID-19 cases amid progress with vaccination campaigns. USG also stated students, faculty and staff are only being encouraged to get vaccinated and wear a mask.
Other News:
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Map: Coronavirus deaths and cases in Georgia (updated Sept. 16)
An updated count of coronavirus deaths and cases reported across the state
CONFIRMED CASES: 1,177,656
CONFIRMED DEATHS: 21,143 | 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:
Inside Higher Ed
Policing Religious Exemptions to Vaccines
As more colleges mandate COVID-19 vaccines, the issue of whether and to what degree to police requests for religious exemptions comes to the fore.
By Elizabeth Redden
A group of students at Creighton University in Nebraska filed suit last week over the Jesuit university’s refusal to consider religious exemptions to its COVID-19 student vaccination requirement. Pope Francis and the U.S. Conference of Bishops have both urged people to get vaccinated against COVID-19, but the students say they have objections because the vaccines were developed or tested on cell lines derived from aborted fetal tissue. As Nebraska Medicine, a regional health-care network, explains in a Q&A on its website, “The COVID-19 vaccines do not contain any aborted fetal cells. However, fetal cell lines — cells grown in a laboratory based on aborted fetal cells collected generations ago — were used in testing during research and development of the mRNA vaccines, and during production of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine.” Bob Sullivan, a lawyer for the eight Creighton students who are suing, said that while it’s true the Vatican has endorsed COVID vaccination, the Catholic Church also stresses the importance of individual conscience. …As more and more colleges require COVID-19 vaccines for students and employees, they find themselves navigating similar thorny — and potentially litigious — territory when it comes to evaluating requests for religious exemptions that many states require institutions to consider. Federal employment law also requires employers to accommodate sincerely held religious beliefs.
Atlanta Business Chronicle
Expert View: Turns out, brands really do matter in higher education
By Hilary Burns – Editor, The National Observer Higher Education,
Sina Esteky, a marketing professor at the Farmer School of Business at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, and his colleagues have found a placebo effect on academic coursework associated with strong brands. Esteky’s research found that course materials could be identical, but if one student is handed materials labeled from Harvard University and the other student is handed the same materials labeled from a local community college, the student who sees the Harvard name will perform better. The research, recently published in the Journal of Marketing for Higher Education, is the first to show that educational material connected with prestigious brands increases motivation and improves performance on concentration, memorization and numerical reasoning. Esteky recently spoke with The Business Journals’ Hilary Burns about the study and the importance of branding in a competitive U.S. higher-ed landscape, to the detriment of hundreds of small colleges that lack brand recognition. The following is an edited transcript of the conversation:
Inside Higher Ed
Majority of Undergraduates Rely on Federal Aid
By Alexis Gravely
Around 60 percent of undergraduates used some form of federal financial aid to pay for their postsecondary education during the 2017-18 academic year, according to the latest data released by the National Center for Education Statistics. Overall, 70 percent of students received some type of financial aid from any source, excluding loans from private lenders. Of the federal aid, 44 percent of students used Pell Grants and 39 percent borrowed from federal student loan programs. The average amount of total aid was $13,000, and the average amount of student loans was $6,600.