University System News:
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
AJC On Campus: Post-tenure review battle continues; Morehouse helps with police training tool
By Eric Stirgus
The dust has not settled in the battle between University System of Georgia faculty and administrators over recent changes to its post-tenure review process. In this edition of AJC On Campus, we have more about the latest move in this saga, the system’s fall enrollment numbers and Morehouse College’s involvement in a police training technique.
USG post-tenure review battle enters new phase …Accreditation agency thoughts on post-tenure review …Most Georgia public universities see enrollment drop …Georgia State business school eliminates GMAT/GRE requirements …North Georgia gets $1.4 million grant to help potential students …Coming up: Clayton State University’s new president, T. Ramon Stuart, is scheduled to give his first State of the University address at noon Wednesday.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Snap gives Georgia State $5 million for diversity teacher effort
By Eric Stirgus
The social media company, Snap, announced Wednesday it is giving Georgia State University $5 million as part of a nationwide effort to prepare Black and Latinx Americans for careers as computer science teachers. “This generous gift aligns with Georgia State’s mission – to continue to level the playing field by advocating for diversity, equity and inclusion while contributing to student college to career transitions in all fields,” said Georgia State President M. Brian Blake. “We are excited to partner with Snap on this important initiative.”
Patch
Students who change majors or transfer into another college or university tend to lose credits and take extra time to graduate. But Georgia Gwinnett College (GGC) has a solution for that, saving students time and money. A new bachelor’s degree at GGC allows students to keep the credits they have earned and progress toward graduation without loss of time.
Valdosta Daily Times
VSU alumnus establishes leadership scholarship
From his early days as a student leader at Valdosta State University to his commitment to honorably serving and defending the country to his successful career as a national trial lawyer, Robert L. Shannon has dedicated his life to making a difference. Shannon considers it a personal mission to inspire and empower others to develop their inner leader, find their courage, and take bold action, university officials said in a statement. He recently partnered with VSU and endowed a scholarship that will support the development of future transformational leaders for generations to come. Dr. Richard A. Carvajal, president of VSU, said Shannon represents all that is great about VSU — heart, a strong work ethic and passion.
WJCL
South University and Savannah State University partner for new pharmacy program
Partnership agreement signed Monday
Dave Williams, Reporter
South University and Savannah State University are teaming up to help pharmacy students. The two universities signed a partnership agreement Monday morning for their new 3 + 3 Program. It offers SSU biology students a quicker way to earn a Doctor of Pharmacy degree from South University School of Pharmacy. …Students can enroll in the new program beginning in the fall of 2022.
Tifton CEO
ABAC, PCOM South Georgia Join to Educate Future Doctors
A new partnership between Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College and the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine (PCOM) gives ABAC students majoring in biology an opportunity to complete medical school a year early. The partnership grants ABAC Bachelor of Science in Biology students two possible routes of action for consideration into the PCOM (Moultrie, GA) Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine (DO) program. After graduation with a four-year degree in biology from ABAC, students can receive special consideration for the four-year DO program. Qualified ABAC Biology BS students can also opt to attend ABAC through their junior year, then transfer to the DO program and take medical school courses a year early.
WCJB
By Amber Pellicone
20 year old Rieley Beauchamp said she’s been interested in the agricultural industry for as long as she can remember, but it was when she took on the title of Chiefland’s Watermelon Queen that her passion truly blossomed. “It just kind of sparked a fire under me to educate other people about it,” said Beauchamp. “I was able to work at a watermelon shed for two summers so I’ve seen first hand the sacrifices our farmers make for us everyday.” In an effort to educate others, Beauchamp collected donations from various groups, including Seeds for the Future, to buy nearly 500 books for first grade students across Levy County. …Now as an agricultural communications major at Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College, she hopes reading to students is just the beginning of a life-time of advocating for those who help put food on our tables.
USA Today
Shannon Rae Green and Claire Thornton
On the “Seven Days of 1961” podcast, activists, many of whom were teenagers, share how they risked everything to challenge white supremacy. In episode one, Kenneth Dious shares his story of the night he stood guard for a Black student who had just attended her first day of classes at the University of Georgia. He was only 15 years old when word spread in his hometown of Athens, Georgia, that a violent white mob had gathered outside the dorm room of Charlayne Hunter-Gault. Kenneth and three other Black men rushed to the crowd, ready to fight if needed. The “Seven Days of 1961” podcast features stories of resistance, told by the people who lived it.
WGAU Radio
UGA bucks trend: enrollment up for fall semester
State’s flagship university has more students on campus
By Tim Bryant
The University of Georgia bucks a trend, with an increase in enrollment for fall semester: the University System of Georgia says the number of students on campuses elsewhere around the state was down from last year, the first statewide decrease in enrollment since 2013.
WGAU Radio
UNG: online enrollment increases for fall semester
26 percent increase from last year
By Tim Bryant
The University of North Georgia says online enrollment increased for this year’s fall semester classes, with more than 900 students signing up for UNG Online.
From JK Devine, UNG…
Nearly 1,000 students resumed their education at the University of North Georgia this fall through online courses and degree programs, even as its five campuses resumed fully face-to-face instruction. According to UNG’s fall census data, 921 students enrolled in UNG Online for the 2021 fall semester. It marked a 26% increase compared to the previous year’s online enrollment. The rise of students taking courses and completing their degrees online is a consistent trend since 2017.
Barrow News-Journal
University System of Georgia enrollment sees slight drop
The University System of Georgia (USG) experienced a slight decline in enrollment this fall after seven straight years of growth. Total enrollment at the university system’s 26 colleges and universities stands at 340,638 students, system officials reported Monday, Nov. 1.
Gwinnett Daily Post
Georgia Gwinnett College sees fall enrollment decline by nearly 6% this year
By Curt Yeomans
Georgia Gwinnett College saw an overall 5.8% drop in enrollment this fall as the University System of Georgia as a whole saw a decline in the number of students taking classes this year. The numbers released by the university system on Monday show GGC has an overall enrollment of 10,949 students this fall, compared to an enrollment of 11,627 pupils in the fall 2020 semester. In all, 21 USG institutions saw their enrollments decline this fall as the university system as a whole saw a 0.2% decline in enrollment.
Global Atlanta
Canada’s Dorel Honored for Coastal Georgia Investments, New Bicycle Assembly Plant
Trevor Williams
Canada’s Dorel Industries is deepening its impact in coastal Georgia, with two separate divisions of the conglomerate netting accolades last month for investments in Bryan and Effingham counties. Dorel Home Products was honored Oct. 26 at the Prosperity for Trade luncheon, where the World Trade Center Savannah named the furnishings company its International Business of the Year, a designation sponsored by Georgia Southern University.
WGAU Radio
UGA expert discusses robots, AI
Terry College gets research grants from US Army
By J. Merritt Melancon, UGA Today
Blame it on HAL 9000, Clippy’s constant cheerful interruptions, or any navigational system leading delivery drivers to dead-end destinations. In the workspace, people and robots don’t always get along. But as more artificial intelligence systems and robots aid human workers, building trust between them is key to getting the job done. One University of Georgia professor is seeking to bridge that gap with assistance from the U.S. military. Aaron Schecter, an assistant professor in the Terry College’s department of management information systems, received two grants – worth nearly $2 million – from the U.S. Army to study the interplay between human and robot teams. While AI in the home can help order groceries, AI on the battlefield offers a much riskier set of circumstances — team cohesion and trust can be a matter of life and death.
The Poultry Site
Poultry science department builds faculty teams to face complex industry demands
In August 2020, Rami Dalloul joined the university as the first R. Harold Harrison Distinguished Professor in Poultry Science. Dalloul came to UGA from Virginia Tech, where he was renowned for combining the expertise of poultry research specialists across the globe to shape interdisciplinary teams. At UGA, Dalloul focuses on a project that combines the research powers of the Department of Poultry Science, the U.S. Department of Agriculture Agricultural Research Service (USDA-ARS) and the UGA College of Veterinary Medicine (CVM) Poultry Diagnostic and Research Center (PDRC).
Collaborative research for the antibiotic-free industry
The project addresses complex and interrelated poultry intestinal diseases that require collaboration across disciplines.
ECO Magazine
Underwater Gardens Boost Coral Diversity to Stave off ‘Biodiversity Meltdown’
Corals are the foundation species of tropical reefs worldwide, but stresses ranging from overfishing to pollution to warming oceans are killing corals and degrading the critical ecosystem services they provide. Because corals provide habitat for many other species, scientists have known that the loss of corals results in the loss of other reef species. But the importance of coral species diversity was less understood. Now a study by researchers Cody Clements and Mark Hay at Georgia Tech offers both hope and a potentially grim future for damaged coral reefs. In a paper published in Science Advances, the researchers found that increasing coral richness by “outplanting” a diverse group of coral species together improves coral growth and survivorship. The finding may be especially important in the early stages of reef recovery following large-scale coral loss, and in supporting healthy reefs that in turn support fisheries, tourism and coastal protection from storm surges.
Chemical & Engineering News
The real cost of grad school in the US
Nearly everyone gets funding, but the financial demands of getting a PhD can catch some off guard
by Wynne Parry, special to C&EN
…In chemistry and closely related fields, PhD students almost always receive financial support to cover the cost of their tuition and their living expenses. That’s not true of those in chemistry master’s programs or many who pursue degrees in other areas, such as the humanities and medicine, for which funding is much less consistent. Even so, PhD student stipends in chemistry are never lavish. …This fall, the bill for graduate students at the Georgia Institute of Technology amounted to as much as $1,097 for 10 fees, which include money to fund student organizations, transportation services on campus, and a general-purpose “special institutional” fee. Most of these charges are recommended by the school’s president and set by the Board of Regents for the University System of Georgia, which includes Georgia Tech. The largest of these fees, the special institutional fee, is an exception. The board instituted it in 2009, at first temporarily, to compensate for state budget cuts. But funding reductions remained in place and so did the fee, growing from $100 to $344 for graduate students. While Georgia taxpayers may benefit from this shift, the accumulating fees make a difficult situation worse for Krista Bullard, a fifth-year PhD student in chemistry and biochemistry at Georgia Tech.
The Augusta Chronicle
Augusta University to require vaccination despite role in federal vaccine suit
Sandy Hodson
While the state of Georgia is the lead defendant in a lawsuit filed Friday against President Biden and the government over the vaccine mandate for federal contractors, Augusta University has notified staff they will need to comply. The lawsuit was filed in U.S. District Court in Augusta Friday on behalf of Georgia, Alabama, Idaho, Kansas, South Carolina, Utah and West Virginia seeking an injunction to stop compliance with President Biden’s Sept. 9 executive order that all federal contract employees to be vaccinated for COVID-19. Tuesday, Chief U.S. District Court Judge J. Randal Hall reassigned the case from himself to U.S. District Court Judge R. Stan Baker who presides in Savannah. President Biden’s executive order and subsequent directions from federal agencies through the Safer Federal Workforce Task Force, require federal contract employees to be fully vaccinated by the Dec. 8.
Other News:
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Map: Coronavirus deaths and cases in Georgia (updated Nov. 2)
An updated count of coronavirus deaths and cases reported across the state
CONFIRMED CASES: 1,266,216
CONFIRMED DEATHS: 24,921 | 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:
The Washington Post
In return to campuses, students with disabilities fear they’re being ‘left behind’
Many are having to press their universities for accommodations — or drop classes entirely
By Stephanie Lai
…Many students welcomed the return to in-person learning, but the change has revived pre-pandemic difficulties and created new ones for some students with disabilities. Some lamented the reduction of online instruction, which allowed them to read closed captions during lectures in real time, turn their cameras off when needed, and watch recorded lectures at home and at their own pace, among its benefits. Losing that flexibility, Chaikof and others said, has brought them physical and mental distress — and the feeling that they’re being forgotten.
Inside Higher Ed
To Reduce Inequality on College Campuses, Invest in Relationships
Proactive student support and mentorship culture is undervalued in academia, writes Becca Spindel Bassett, who studies inequity in higher ed.
By Becca Spindel Bassett
Colleges are more than departments, buildings and classes. They are organizations composed of resources and relationships. Supportive campus relationships yield resources so valuable that we shouldn’t sit back and wait for them to form. By proactively investing in relational scaffolding that directs and supports students as they climb toward their goals, colleges will leave fewer students behind. Decades of research demonstrate positive relationships between interactions with supportive adults and student persistence and engagement. We even see increased student satisfaction. Long-term mentor/mentee relationships are especially valuable. Mentors serve as key resource brokers, providing tangible resources such as letters of recommendation, written feedback and introductions to contacts. They also provide important intangible resources in the form of encouragement, advice and advocacy.
Inside Higher Ed
Report: Increasing Pell Would Easily Expand Eligibility
By Alexis Gravely
Lawmakers don’t need to decide between increasing Pell Grants for lower-income students or expanding eligibility to more middle-income students, because boosting the maximum award would accomplish both, according to a new report by the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators. “The simplest, most predictable method of expanding Pell Grant eligibility further into the middle class is to increase the maximum Pell Grant award,” the report says. “The concomitant effect of increasing Pell Grant awards to needier students is a feature, not a bug, and reflects the intended design of the Pell Grant program.”
Diverse Issues in Higher Education
Where Higher Education Funding Stands in Latest Social Spending Bill
Rebecca Kelliher
Michelle Dimino, education senior policy advisor at the nonprofit think tank Third WayMichelle Dimino, education senior policy advisor at the nonprofit think tank Third WayThis week, Congress will likely decide on a $1.5 trillion social spending bill, cut down from an earlier $3.5 trillion deal. The most recent version includes about $40 billion in higher education funding, an amount much lower than first proposed and without a tuition-free community college plan. But experts and advocates point out that what remains stands to still make a historic impact, especially a fund to help students finish college.