University System News:
Gwinnett Daily Post
Georgia Gwinnett College launches new online degree program for special education majors
Georgia Gwinnett College students who want to pursue a special education degree can now do so wherever they have an internet connection. GGC has introduced an online option for the Bachelor of Science in Education degree for special education majors. Dr. Matthew Boggan, chair of GGC’s special education curriculum, offered insight into why there’s such a high demand for people within this program.
Griffin Daily News
Gordon State College Celebrates the Club Football Team’s NCFA South Atlantic Conference Championship
On Tuesday, November 30, the Gordon State College Club Football Team and coaching staff gathered in the Highlander Dining Hall on Gordon State College’s campus to celebrate the team’s NCFA South Atlantic Conference Championship. Attended by President Kirk A. Nooks, the team celebrated their overall 8-2 season with a conference record of 3-1. In addition to the championship celebration, Head Coach Kevin Adkins presented team awards. This year’s award winners included: Offensive Player of the Year- Pacer Kincaid, Defensive Player of the Year- Jeremiah McDermott, Special Team Player of the Year- Corey Worthy, and Leaders of the Year- Caleb King and Mustapha Kroma.
Augusta Chronicle
University Hospital-Piedmont merger good deal despite ‘volatile’ health care industry
By Tom Corwin
University Hospital’s proposed merger with Piedmont Healthcare is a good deal for the Augusta community even as a “very volatile” health care environment with the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic impacts University’s value and prospects moving forward, independent analysts said. The Georgia Attorney General’s Office held a public hearing Tuesday at University as required by the state’s hospital acquisition law but no one came forward to speak against the proposed deal. In fact, all of the speakers were strongly in favor of moving forward.
Columbus CEO
Ebright Joins Columbus State as New College of the Arts Dean
Staff Reports
Columbus State University has appointed Dr. Wanda K. W. Ebright as its next dean of the College of the Arts. Ebright will begin her tenure at Columbus State on Tuesday, Feb. 15. As dean, Ebright will lead a college of nearly 1,000 students and more than 60 faculty and staff. The college offers undergraduate and graduate study through its departments of Art, Communication, Theatre, the Schwob School of Music, and outreach centers and programs including the Bo Bartlett Center, Georgia Repertory Theatre, Non-Profit and Civic Engagement Center (NPACE), and Pasaquan.
Gwinnett Daily Post
UGA faculty elected Fellows of National Academy of Inventors
By Ian Bennett
University of Georgia professors Scott NeSmith, Anumantha Kanthasamy and S. Edward Law have been elected Fellows of the National Academy of Inventors. Including these three new Fellows, 12 UGA faculty have received this honor, all of them since 2013. NAI Fellows must be involved in creating or facilitating inventions that make a tangible impact on quality of life, economic development and welfare of society. Becoming an NAI Fellow is the highest professional distinction awarded solely to academic inventors. According to the organization, $3 trillion in revenue has been generated based on NAI Fellow discoveries. NAI Fellows’ research and entrepreneurship have resulted in more than 42,700 issued U.S. patents, 13,000 licensed technologies and 3,200 new companies — not to mention more than 1 million jobs created.
WMAZ
Anonymous donor’s $2.5M gift to provide scholarships for Fort Valley State University students
By Taelore Hicks
Fort Valley State University this week received the biggest donation in its history. The university was gifted $2.5 million, and it came from the same anonymous donor that donated back in August. The grant will now help hundreds of Wildcats reach their dreams. “My experience at Fort Valley State was like no other,” Zaquan Baldwin said.
The Times
How supply chain troubles have impacted Hall businesses during Christmas season
By Ben Anderson
As Christmas nears and folks check off their wish lists, a number of local shops are reporting strong sales, even as they grapple with supply chain issues caused by the pandemic… “Supply chain is more of a human issue,” said Mohan Menon, head of the department of management and marketing at the University of North Georgia.
Other News:
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Map: Coronavirus deaths and cases in Georgia (updated Dec. 14)
An updated count of coronavirus deaths and cases reported across the state
CONFIRMED CASES: 1,299,629
CONFIRMED DEATHS: 25,990 | 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.
Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The 2022 Georgia Legislature: Hands off schools or hands on?
By Maureen Downey
In the past, public education advocates have bemoaned the lack of attention to schools by the General Assembly. With a predicted political circus ahead over critical race theory and book bans, those advocates may wish education could remain safely on the sidelines rather than being dragged into the center ring. The 2022 legislative session promises a lot of attention on schools, most of which will be unwanted by those who work in the schools. A bill is likely coming that will ban some books dealing with race and gender. As my political colleagues have reported, state Rep. Jan Jones, the No. 2 Republican in the Georgia House, announced she’s working to “ensure obscene materials have no place in public schools.”
Higher Education News:
Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Former Emory law school student sues university for gender discrimination
By Eric Stirgus
Emory University ignored federal guidance when a female law school student came forward with multiple rape allegations against a male classmate that resulted in her completing her education at another school, the student claims in a recent lawsuit. The lawsuit, filed in federal court in Atlanta, seeks unspecified damages against the university.
Associated Press
Colleges go back to drawing board — again — to fight virus
By Collin Binkley
Facing rising infections and a new COVID-19 variant, colleges across the U.S. have once again been thwarted in seeking a move to normalcy and are starting to require booster shots, extend mask mandates, limit social gatherings and, in some cases, revert to online classes.
HigherEd Dive
Northeast Ohio colleges aim to tackle ‘stranded credits’ in a bid to reenroll students
By Laura Spitalniak
A new partnership among eight public Ohio colleges aims to help students regain access to what experts call stranded credits — credits they’ve earned but can’t use because institutions they attended won’t release their transcripts, often because of unpaid bills. The participating colleges are all located in Northeast Ohio: Cleveland State University, Cuyahoga Community College, Kent State University, Lakeland Community College, Lorain County Community College, Stark State College, the University of Akron and Youngstown State University. They are attempting to bring students back to the classroom by settling debts students were unlikely to pay. The pilot is funded with grants from the Lumina, Kresge and Joyce foundations totaling $595,000 through spring 2023.
Inside Higher Ed
Increasing Policing
By Elizabeth Redden
After a recent graduate was shot and killed during a robbery in the Hyde Park neighborhood near the University of Chicago’s campus last month, the university announced plans to work more closely with the Chicago Police Department to increase policing and surveillance in the neighborhoods around the campus.
Inside Higher Ed
Report Studies Skills-Based Hiring Trend
By Suzanne Smalley
A new report focused on the increasing use of digital credentialing in education, workforce development and hiring was released Tuesday. The most noteworthy findings include:
- In responding to questions that explored specific approaches to skills-based hiring, 36 percent of HR leaders said they are relaxing or eliminating college degree requirements.
- Nearly a third of respondents cited “frustration with the products of colleges and universities” as a reason why they’re exploring skills-based hiring.
- About half of the human resources leaders surveyed knew little to nothing about digital badges.
U.S. News & World Report
Hybrid Classes in College: What to Know
By Sarah Wood
Well before the coronavirus pandemic shut down campuses and restricted in-person interaction in March 2020, hybrid learning was a part of the curriculum for Odessa College in Texas and Portland State University in Oregon. But for many other colleges, online and blended instruction were new concepts that sent them scrambling to transition. Now, nearly two years later, as schools have adapted and implemented new technology in the classroom, experts predict that these remote learning options are here to stay.
Inside Higher Ed
A Template for Academic Freedom
By Colleen Flaherty
Academe needs a tougher, more organized response to the wave of state legislation or governing board policies limiting the teaching of race and other so-called divisive concepts. That’s the thinking behind an effort to get as many faculty senates as possible to adopt a resolution called “Defending Academic Freedom to Teach About Race and Gender Justice and Critical Race Theory.” More than a dozen faculty senates already have adopted or are considering adopting the template-based resolution, which says that the given senate “resolutely rejects any attempts by bodies external to the faculty to restrict or dictate university curriculum on any matter, including matters related to racial and social justice, and will stand firm against encroachment on faculty authority by the legislature or the Boards of Trustees.”