University System News:
The Red & Black
School and football: Jan. 10 marks national championship and start of semester
Jack Duffey
For the UGA community, Jan. 10 marks one of the biggest days of the year. Georgia football will compete for a national championship against Alabama, and it is also the first day of classes for the spring 2022 semester. The scheduling coincidence has caused objections from UGA students who are pushing for the first two days of classes to be canceled.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Free lectures dive into Georgia’s past
By H.M. Cauley
While COVID has kept some teachers scrambling to keep students’ attention, Penny Cliff has had the opposite issue. As the education specialist at the Georgia Archives, Cliff coordinates free lunch-and-learn lectures that have captured a wider audience, expanding from about 1,100 in-person attendees each year to more than 5,000 virtual viewers last year when the sessions went online. “We found that virtual worked even better than in-person,” said Cliff, a former history professor at Gordon State College in Barnesville. “We then put our videos on our YouTube channel for people who couldn’t get to the virtual presentation, and that has done remarkably well. People can now view the presentations at their leisure.” Established in 1918, the state’s archives moved to Morrow in 2003, and Cliff estimates that the monthly lectures have been ongoing since at least 2007. In 2013, the archives became a unit of the University System of Georgia, a link that means Cliff can tap into a wealth of professors, researchers and instructors from universities and colleges across the state to share their expertise on a range of topics.
Georgia Trend
Vinyl recording celebrates Pasaquan
by Mary Ann DeMuth
Columbus State University (CSU), which owns the Buena Vista-based Pasaquan outdoor art compound, recently collaborated on a vinyl album that celebrates the life of internationally renowned folk artist Eddie Owens Martin, aka St. EOM. The collaborative project between Pasaquan and CSU’s Schwob School of Music was more than a year in the making and features eight tracks, most of which are original compositions about or inspired by the site, which is on the National Register of Historic Places. The limited run of 500 albums is available for purchase. The Georgia Council for the Arts, the Kohler Foundation and the Georgia Department of Economic Development funded the production and all proceeds from the album’s sale will be reinvested into preservation of the site.
The Union Recorder
Clyde Bryan’s resume as a professional cameraman includes credits of some of the most beloved motion pictures of all time such as “Back to the Future” and “Indiana Jones.” This semester, he is bringing the real-world knowledge he gained in a 40-plus year career to the students at Georgia College when he teaches the course “Introduction to Onset Production.” Originally from Ellijay, Bryan knew at an early age the path that he wanted his life to take; he just wasn’t sure where to start. “I always had a love for movies, and by the time I was in high school, I was deciding to go to movies because certain people had been the cameramen on them, not because of the actors or any of that stuff,” Bryan said. “I always knew I wanted to be on the technical end.”
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Kemp proposes a $5K pay increase for state employees
By Greg Bluestein
Gov. Brian Kemp said Friday he would include a $5,000 pay increase for state employees in his budget proposal as he heads into an election-year legislative session with state coffers flush with cash. The governor’s spending plan would also make permanent a $5,000 cost-of-living adjustment for full-time employees, increase the employer match for 401(k) contributions to a maximum of 9% and allow employees to withdraw up to 40 hours of eligible leave as pay each year.
WJBF
Doctors stress importance of getting vaccinated as “Flurona” cases are reported in the US
It’s called” Flurona”. ” Which is a combination of Covid and influenza,” Dr. Roger MacArthur said. It means testing positive for both COVID-19 and the flu at the same time. Dr. Roger MacArthur at the Medical College of Georgia said getting both could put you at a higher risk for pneumonia.
Newsbreak
Medical schools, teaching hospitals urge Supreme Court to uphold vaccine mandates
By Tom Corwin, Augusta Chronicle
Medical schools and their teaching hospitals want to see the U.S. Supreme Court uphold a COVID-19 vaccine mandate for health care workers, particularly in light of the ongoing wave of cases from the omicron variant, the group representing those schools argued. The Association of American Medical Colleges joined in a friend-of-the-court brief arguing in favor of the mandate. The Supreme Court will hear oral arguments on the case Friday, along with another case where the vaccine mandate for large employers is being challenged. Georgia is one of the states that has sued to block the health care worker mandate and those for other sectors. …The AAMC represents Medical College of Georgia at Augusta University and University of Georgia. Ironically, the two universities are also represented by the state of Georgia in its suit against the Biden Administration’s vaccine mandate for federal contractors. That lawsuit is working its way through the appeals process.
Campus Safety Magazine
Preparing for the Next Pandemic: 11 Lessons Learned from COVID-19 by Universities
Although we might feel we are “done” with COVID, the current surge of infections and hospitalizations has made it abundantly clear that COVID isn’t done with us. That said, it’s never too soon to plan for the future since we don’t know when the next pandemic will strike. This article highlights 11 lessons that college and university emergency managers have learned so far from the current pandemic and how they can be applied in the future. This story draws on the experience and expertise of college campus emergency managers from around the nation, including emergency managers from Kennesaw State University, Georgia Southern University, the University of Notre Dame and the University of Georgia.
Athens CEO
UGA Alumni Team Up to Complete Historic Restoration in Downtown Athens
Andrew Malec was planning to go into photojournalism after he graduated from Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication at the University of Georgia. Zack Brendel majored in environmental economics and management in the UGA College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences. But both discovered that construction was a fun way to make money after graduation. Occasionally, they’d cross paths, working on the same projects from time to time. …In 2016, they formalized their partnership. The duo co-founded Character Built, an Athens-based construction and design group that does everything from new construction to historic restoration. They started off doing everything themselves, but now partner with local interior designers and architects to bring commercial visions to life. The pair share a passion for Athens and particularly enjoy working with local clients on projects they think will benefit the community.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Hot December puts Georgia’s fruit growers on edge
By Drew Kann
Record-high winter temperatures put blueberry, peach crops at risk
On Alex Cornelius’ nearly 300-acre farm west of Waycross, Georgia, confused blueberry bushes have already started blooming, about two to three weeks earlier than normal. Other varieties, which require longer exposure to cool temperatures, have not received the cold hours they need for a productive crop. As temperatures soared to near 80 degrees late last month, many Atlantans enjoyed the novelty of spending the holiday season outdoors in T-shirts and shorts, before January’s cold snap kicked in. But for fruit growers across the state, the warm weather has been nerve-wracking. And with the risk of frost damage lingering, some farmers will be anxiously watching their temperature gauges for many more weeks. …Though experts projected that Georgia would likely have a warmer than average winter, it is in keeping with longer term global warming trends. In the U.S., winters are warming faster than any other season due to climate change, according to a recent analysis by the nonprofit organization Climate Central. …Damage to these crops would be harmful to Georgia’s rural agricultural economy. Rankings vary from year to year, but lately Georgia has been among the top three blueberry-producing states in the country. In 2019, Georgia’s blueberry crop was worth more than $220 million, making it one of the state’s most valuable agricultural commodities. Georgia’s peach crop was worth an estimated $72 million that same year, according to report from the University of Georgia’s Center for Agribusiness and Economic Development.
Other News:
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Map: Coronavirus deaths and cases in Georgia (updated Jan. 7)
An updated count of coronavirus deaths and cases reported across the state
CONFIRMED CASES: 1,533,043
CONFIRMED DEATHS: 26,556 | 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.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Issues to watch in the 2022 session
By Maya T. Prabhu, Mark Niesse
….Budget and taxes
The one thing lawmakers have to do by law before they end the 2022 session is approve a balanced budget. The state has had record tax collections for about 18 months thanks to a strong economy and huge federal spending to compensate for the economic fallout caused by the COVID-19 pandemic in the first half of 2020. So Gov. Brian Kemp is expected to propose a robust budget for the upcoming year that includes pay raises for teachers and likely at least some state employees, along with increased spending on mental health, education and law enforcement.
…Gun laws
Seeking to hold onto his Republican conservative base this reelection year, Kemp has already endorsed legislation that would allow Georgians to carry a firearm without having to get a carry permit, as is required now.
…Education
The national culture war over sexuality, obscenity and race will likely dominate debates about Georgia schools. Republicans are expected to field at least one bill about critical race theory, an academic construct taught in law schools and graduate-level courses. CRT, shorthand for the theory, is not explicitly taught in schools, Georgia educators say, but critics say its central tenets about the influence of racism on institutions and society are.
Higher Education News:
Inside Higher Ed
Study: Re-Enrolling and Finishing Degrees Boosts Income
By Maria Carrasco
Students who return to college and finish their bachelor’s degrees have immediate increases in annual income after graduation, as well as increases in income growth each year that follows, a new study from Kansas State University found. Amanda Gaulke, assistant professor of economics in the College of Arts and Sciences at KSU and researcher for the study, found that students who return to college and finish their bachelor’s degrees earn on average $4,294 more immediately after graduation and see extra income growth of $1,121 per year, on average. The study, published in the Economics of Education Review, found that students who re-enroll but don’t complete their degrees also make slight income gains.
Inside Higher Ed
Colleges Extend Remote Instruction
Some institutions that began the semester online are now pushing their return-to-campus dates further out in response to Omicron, citing spiking numbers and breakthrough infections.
By Josh Moody
Colleges that temporarily shifted instruction online due to the surging Omicron variant of the coronavirus now face the question of when to resume in-person learning. For a growing number of institutions, the answer is not yet. Eight institutions in the University of California system—Berkeley, Davis, Irvine, Los Angeles, Merced, Riverside, San Diego and Santa Cruz—all operating remotely, extended those plans to late January, delaying a return to physical classrooms. …The National Norms
Data collected and crunched by the College Crisis Initiative, or C2i, at Davidson College, show that more than 88 percent of the 502 schools in the research center’s sample are returning to physical classrooms, with almost 12 percent opting for a remote spring semester. The research, completed last week, found that 98 percent of colleges plan to start on time. However, C2i assistant director Rylie Martin told Inside Higher Ed last week that she expected more colleges to fine-tune their plans in the coming days as the spring semester draws closer.
Inside Higher Ed
Admissions Visits During Omicron
Some colleges reject the idea, but most appear to be allowing students to visit—with certain precautions.
By Scott Jaschik
If a prospective student wants to visit Harvard University right now, the university doesn’t want her to come. “The Admissions & Financial Aid Office and the Visitor Center are temporarily closed while staff are working remotely. We encourage you to explore Harvard College through our student stories and virtual tour,” says a note on the website of the admissions office. On the other side of the country, Stanford University says, “The general public is welcome to visit the exterior spaces of campus. Pending ongoing community health considerations, guided tours are tentatively scheduled to relaunch mid-winter for prospective students and in spring for organized group visits. …
Where Colleges Are in the Admissions World
Robert J. Massa, principal and co-founder of Enrollment Intelligence Now, said that he suspected “that institutions in high demand will see little impact and that those that are less well-known will be disproportionately affected. The major difference between now and last year, of course, is that most universities are experienced and likely prepared to conduct virtual visits, interviews, meetings with faculty and students, and general information sessions. As a result, the impact on recruitment overall should be less than we saw last year.”