USG e-clips for October 1, 2021

University System News:

WRDW

AU holds ceremony for new science, mathematics building

By Sloane O’Cone

It’s big, it’s new, and there are hopes a new building changes the landscape literally and figuratively at Augusta University. “The bridge connecting the science and mathematics building and the interdisciplinary research building is more than a convenient means of conveyance it is an acknowledgement and realization of the idea that we are better together,” said Dr. Brooks Keel, president of AU. We hear it all the time: Science, technology and math careers are the future. On Thursday, Augusta University put that in stone by cutting the ribbon on the new science and mathematics building.

Valdosta Daily Times

Report names VSU best college

Valdosta State University is once again listed among the nation’s best colleges and universities, according to U.S. News and World Report’s recently released 2022 Best Colleges rankings. VSU’s appearance among U.S. News and World Report’s Best Colleges rankings “reflects its unwavering commitment to creating a campus culture focused on individualized student success, providing students with expanded transformational and experiential learning opportunities and increasing regional impact by serving as a resource and innovative leader for South Georgia,” university officials said in a statement. …VSU was recognized on three in categories — Undergraduate Nursing Programs, Undergraduate Business Programs and Top Performers on Social Mobility.

WGAU Radio

UGA Institute named in honor of Louise McBee

Former Dean, Athens state Rep

By Tim Bryant

The University of Georgia is naming its Institute of Higher Learning in honor of the former UGA dean and the late Athens state Representative Louise McBee. Dr. McBee, who died in March of this year, left a $3.5 million gift to the Institute.

From Suzanne Graham, UGA Media Relations…

Following a transformational gift of over $3.5 million from the estate of M. Louise McBee, the University of Georgia paid tribute to the former administrator and state legislator with the naming of the Louise McBee Institute of Higher Education. The President’s Cabinet approved the naming in its Sept. 29 meeting, introduced by petition from the institute.

CBS46

UGA’s first Black graduate celebrates launch of autobiography

Iyani Hughes

It was a worthwhile moment of celebration for Mary Frances Early, the University of Georgia’s first black gradate.  On Monday, she shared virtually the belief that “We are all trailblazers” with the audience at a book discussion to celebrate the launch of her autobiography, “The Quiet Trailblazer: My Journey as the First Black Graduate of the University of Georgia,” published by the Mary Frances Early College of Education and the UGA Libraries and distributed by the University of Georgia Press. The event continued the commemoration of the 60th anniversary of desegregation at UGA and featured a conversation with Early and UGA women’s basketball coach Joni Taylor that covered Early’s childhood, her time at UGA and her lasting impact on both music education and desegregation in Georgia. The discussion, which was part of the fall 2021 UGA Signature Lecture Series, was co-sponsored by the Office of the President and the Office of Alumni Relations.

The CEO Magazine

Online Degree in Criminal Justice: Career Options, Top Schools and More

The multidisciplinary field, criminal justice synthesizes concepts from the law, sociology, public administration, and mathematics. Under the degree program, students learn about the nature of deviance and the causes of crime. As this course is versatile in nature, criminal justice ranks as the 13th most popular undergraduate major. On the successful completion of the program, you can begin a good career path in law enforcement positions as police officers and federal intelligence expert. …Where to Take the Online Degree in Criminal Justice?

Here is the list of top universities to enroll in the online degree in the criminal justice program: Clayton State University; Georgia Southern University; Georgia Highlands College; Valdosta State University; Fort Valley State University; Georgia Southwestern State University; Kennesaw State University; …All these colleges are renowned and popular for their quality education.

Middle Georgia CEO

MGA Cochran Campus Library to Showcase Archival Treasures at Open House

On March 13, 1926, the main classroom building of what is now Middle Georgia State University’s Cochran Campus caught fire. As people fled the premises, some managed to grab a few papers and a very small number of furnishings, including a mantle clock that chimed every hour to signal when it was time for students – who lived in two dorms, one on each side of the building – to change classes. The building burned to the ground (and was eventually rebuilt as what is known today as Walker Hall) but the clock lives on in the archives of Roberts Memorial Library on the Cochran Campus. It’s one of the historical pieces that library staff plan to display at an upcoming open house for students, faculty, staff, and community members.

Albany CEO

What’s Going on at Georgia Southwestern October 2021

…October 5 – GSW’s 115th Birthday Bash

1:15 pm | Presidential Plaza

The public is invited to attend GSW’s 115th Anniversary Celebration in front of the Wheatley Administration Building. GSW alumni and students will reminisce on the institution’s 115 years of excellence, tradition, and transformation. October 6 – 3rd Annual Jubilee International Symposium

8:00 am – 3:30 pm (full symposium) | 11:00 am – 12:00pm Keynote address | GSW Storm Dome

This free event will feature presentations for teachers and students to become engaged in global education and to develop potential partnerships with state, national, and international organizations to enhance cross-cultural education and service-learning models in the classroom. The keynote address will be delivered by Mr. Jose Perez, Board of Regents member for the University System of Georgia. October 7 – GSW Job Fair 11:00 am – 1:00 pm | Canes Central

Local employers will have the opportunity to meet GSW students seeking employment or internship opportunities.

The Brunswick News

CCGA scholarship to honor Coach Gerald Cox

By Lauren McDonald

The memory of a renowned former coach at College of Coastal will live on in the form of a new scholarship. Polly Cox, wife of late Coach Gerald Cox, recently donated $5,000 to initiate the Coach Cox Memorial Scholarship for Men’s Basketball at CCGA.

WALB

UGA gives couples $300 grant for therapy

By Alicia Lewis

The University of Georgia was given a federal grant for a program called Elevate, which pays couples $350 to go to therapy. The requirements are simple: be in a committed relationship and engaged or be married. Through this eight-week course, you will be given free catered meals, free daycare if needed and $350 in Amazon gift cards. Suzanna Williams, UGA family and consumer science agent, said the curriculum and techniques that are used in class were researched by 14 different specialist and professors. She said it has been proven to be helpful to all couples despite age and ethnicity.

WALB

Virtual reality learning helps students get real criminal justice experiences at VSU

By Jennifer Morejon

With a new learning era, Valdosta State University has been incorporating virtual reality in the learning experience for students. Bobbie Ticknor is the coordinator of the lab and professor. With a background in software development and a desire to positively impact the criminal justice system, she combined the two. Taking students on a digital learning experience that gives an intimate perspective that traditional learning can’t provide.

Albany Herald

Trio of local Scouts honored with Eagle Scout recognition

From staff reports

A Court of Honor was convened recently to recognize three members of St. Teresa’s Boy Scout Troop 3 who each achieved the highest ranking in Scouting: Eagle Scout. Giacomo Palazzolo, who now is a freshman at Georgia Southern University; Caden Woodcock, now a freshman at Georgie Southwestern State University, and Levi DeMott, a home-school graduate, each was recognized for his accomplishment at the ceremony, which was attended by members of the new Eagle Scouts’ families, friends and fellow Scouts.

Physician’s Weekly

Are Traveling Nurses Better Compensated Than Physicians in the COVID-19 Era?

By Bill Loguidice

In a recent article for The Associated Press, “US hospitals hit with nurse staffing crisis amid COVID,” it’s stated that the COVID-19 pandemic has created a nurse staffing crisis that is forcing US hospitals to pay top dollar to attract talent in order to handle the crush of patients. According to health leaders, not only are nurses quitting or retiring due to exhaustion and being demoralized from the pandemic, but many others are leaving for lucrative temporary jobs with traveling-nurse agencies. …Phillip Coule, MD, MBA, FACEP, chief medical officer at Georgia’s Augusta University Medical Center, which has seen as many as 20-30 resignations per week from nurses taking traveling jobs, stated, “Maybe I should quit being a doctor and go be a nurse.” Dr. Coule’s acerbic quip highlights the difficulties of the present situation, requiring payment of premium rates to acquire staff from other states.

WTOC

Tybee organizations working to preserve Lazaretto Creek’s history

By Mariah Congedo

After the City of Tybee Island passed the race and equity resolution last summer, various organizations have been working together to preserve the island’s Black history. This area of Battery Creek Park is considered sacred land and soon it’ll be developed into a historical display. In the 1760′s, Lazaretto Creek had a house on it. This was a place where people were quarantined before being sold into slavery in Savannah. For anyone who comes on or off the island, they’re driving over sacred ground. Julia Pearce with the Tybee MLK organization says if they didn’t live, they were buried in unmarked graves. Thousands of which are believed to be at Battery Creek Park. The Lazaretto Creek Coalition, which includes the Tybee MLK, Tybee Historical Society, Hillary family, the City of Tybee and Georgia Southern University, are working on creating a memorial.

Atlanta Magazine

Freedom University wasn’t meant to last this long

In October 2011, activists founded an underground school in response to policies that made it harder for undocumented students to go to college in Georgia. That stopgap—and those policies—have now been in place for a decade.

By Heather Buckner

The state of Georgia did pass immigration legislation while Sanchez was in high school—though not the kind she’d hoped. By the time Sanchez graduated, state lawmakers and the Georgia Board of Regents had enacted a series of policies making it vastly more difficult for undocumented students to attend the state’s public colleges. …In the fall of 2013, …Freedom University, inspired by the civil rights–era Freedom Schools that provided political education to Black Southerners in the 1960s, was offering free college-level courses to undocumented students. … But Freedom U was never meant to last; it was founded as a stopgap solution, in response to a set of policies so controversial that—the school’s leaders imagined—they’d soon be reversed or overturned. …Freedom U marks its 10-year anniversary this month. …Now based in Atlanta, Freedom University today comprises numerous volunteer faculty, classes, and services to students, and it’s become a kind of training ground for human-rights activists.

The Red & Black

More than 50 UGA professors to mandate masks against USG policy

Simran Kaur Malhotra

More than 50 life sciences faculty members at the University of Georgia will require masks in their classrooms, challenging state university system rules. The faculty members sent a letter to the University System of Georgia stating they will be requiring all students and staff in their classes and laboratories to wear masks, even though USG prohibits these requirements. With no mask or vaccine mandates on campus, these faculty members are taking matters into their own hands to protect themselves, each other and their students, they said.

Scientists speak out against USG

“In order to protect our students, staff and faculty colleagues, we will wear masks and will require all of our students and staff to wear masks in our classes and laboratories until local community transmission rates improve, despite the ban on mask mandates and the USG policy to punish, and potentially fire, any faculty taking this action,” faculty members wrote in the latest version of the letter, which was sent to USG on Sept. 21.

Other News:

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Map: Coronavirus deaths and cases in Georgia (updated Sept. 30)

An updated count of coronavirus deaths and cases reported across the state

CONFIRMED CASES: 1,223,189

CONFIRMED DEATHS: 22,483 | 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.

Capitol Beat

Kemp again warns against mandates, says COVID is declining in Georgia

by Tim Darnell

Gov. Brian Kemp doubled down Thursday on his opposition to any federal mandates requiring Americans to get vaccinated against COVID-19. “This would be a massive federal government overreach,” Kemp said during a news conference updating the status of the virus in Georgia. The governor touted new state Department of Public Health figures that, he said, show more than 53% of Georgians are fully vaccinated. He also said more than 64% of Georgians have received at least one shot. “It’s not just about vaccines anymore,” Kemp said, arguing any Washington, D.C.-mandates would hurt “hardworking Georgians who work for small business, and those small business owners.

Article also appeared in:

Marietta Daily Journal

Kemp again warns against federal vaccine mandates, says COVID cases are dropping

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Friday is deadline for thousands of local hospital workers to get vaccinated

By Ariel Hart

Tens of thousands of Georgia health care workers must be vaccinated for COVID-19 by Friday or face losing their jobs. Half of metro Atlanta’s hospital systems set an Oct. 1 deadline for employees to comply, and another local hospital system is in the process of extending its vaccine mandate to all staff. The moves come on the heels of the most grueling pandemic wave yet, as hospitals across the state were overwhelmed by COVID-19 patients and pieces of the health care system collapsed as a result.

Higher Education News:

Diverse Issues in Higher Education

The Biden Administration’s Proposed Higher Education Policies

Rebecca Kelliher

The Biden-Harris administration from the start proposed sweeping higher education policies that many advocates praised as long overdue and much needed to tackle equity issues that the pandemic brought to the fore. Months later, Congress this week, has been debating a $3.5 trillion reconciliation bill with key higher education provisions, such as plans for two years of tuition-free community college. But many experts say that these policies have not yet gone far enough in realizing some of the Biden administration’s most ambitious reforms

 

Inside Higher Ed

Admins Say Conflict Among Student Protesters Is ‘Unlikely’

By Emma Whitford

A majority of academic leaders believe that conflicts between students of different ideological groups are unlikely or very unlikely to occur on their campuses this year, according to a recent survey by the Association of American Colleges and Universities and the Center for University Excellence at American University. Just over 1 percent of survey respondents said such events would be “very likely,” and less than 1 percent said they were very concerned about potential confrontations between student protesters and counterprotesters. The survey, conducted in the spring, queried 140 senior college and university administrators about the return to in-person learning, rising national polarization and their priorities for the academic year.

Diverse Issues in Higher Education

Intercollegiate Athletics Settle Into New Normal

Lois Elfman

Fall sports are back in action on most college campuses, despite the ongoing threat of COVID-19 and the Delta variant. After an academic year in which some institutions and conferences chose not to compete at all and others played modified schedules, most colleges and universities in Divisions I, II and III are fielding teams in the typical fall sports like football, cross country, soccer, women’s volleyball and field hockey. There is undeniable excitement about sporting events, and student-athletes are motivated to get back into action, but nobody can play like it’s 2019. The pandemic rages on. There are ongoing debates about vaccines and mask mandates.  Despite this, most institutions are hopeful that, with careful precautions, a full slate of intercollegiate athletics can take place.