University System News:
11Alive
UGA student pays off entire tuition thanks to TikTok
“I have no debts in my name,” said Leon Ondieki, who says his TikTok videos make him up to $400 a day.
Augusta CEO
Regents Honor University System of Georgia Scholars During Academic Recognition Day
The Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia (USG) today honored students from each of the system’s 26 public colleges and universities during its annual Academic Recognition Day. Each student best represents the system’s highest scholastic ideals, as selected by their individual institutions. These students have a high GPA, strive for excellence and have the ability to share knowledge in various areas of expertise. Academic Recognition Day began 34 years ago as a celebration of Georgia students’ academic achievement. The honorees receive a resolution from the Georgia House of Representatives, along with a letter of commendation from USG Acting Chancellor Teresa MacCartney. The 2022 honorees are as follows:
Atlanta Magazine
2022 Atlanta 500: Education & Healthcare
Raheem Beyah
Vice President for Interdisciplinary Research
Georgia Institute of Technology
Cofounder
Fortiphyd Logic
Raheem Beyah is Georgia Tech’s vice president for interdisciplinary research, executive director of the online masters of cybersecurity program, and a professor in the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering.
M. Brian Blake
President
Georgia State University
M. Brian Blake was named Georgia State University’s eighth president in June 2021. He came to Georgia State after serving over six years combined as executive vice president for Academic Affairs and Provost at George Washington University and Drexel University.
Ángel Cabrera
President
Georgia Institute of Technology
In 2019 Ángel Cabrera became the 12th president of the Georgia Institute of Technology, one of the leading and most research-intense public universities in the nation. During his first year as president, he steered the institution through the Covid-19 pandemic and produced a new strategic plan focused on impact, access, and inclusive innovation.
Dan Immergluck
Professor, Urban Studies Institute
Georgia State University
Dan Immergluck, a professor in the Andrew Young School of Policy Studies at Georgia State University, is the author of four books, more than 60 scholarly articles, numerous book chapters, and scores of research reports.
Jere W. Morehead
President
University of Georgia
Jere W. Morehead became the University of Georgia’s 22nd president in 2013. Previously he held other key administrative roles, including senior vice president for academic affairs and provost. Morehead has been a faculty member of the Terry College of Business since 1986, coauthored several books, and published scholarly articles on legal topics ranging from export controls to jury selection.
WTOC
World Series trophy making stop at Georgia Southern baseball game
By WTOC Staff
The World Series trophy will not only appear in Savannah on St. Patrick’s Day. It will also be at a Georgia Southern University baseball game in Statesboro. The March 22 stop in Statesboro at J.I. Clements Stadium is part of a 151-stop tour across Georgia and the region.
Fior Reports
Augusta University’s James M. Hull College Of Business Honored Nationally – Jagwire
By Becca Roberts
The Hull Online MBA at Augusta University’s James M. Hull College of Business is ranked No. 1 in the nation for most affordable online MBA by College Consensus. The ranking is based on combined education excellence and affordability. In giving Augusta University the recognition, College Consensus cites the program offers a wealth of innovative wisdom fused with the best business practices. Augusta’s affordable Master of Business Administration degree is the perfect choice for professionals wanting to make a lasting impression on the business world, according to the ranking site. The online MBA program is accredited by the AACSB International, a distinction earned by less than 5 percent of business schools worldwide.
Savannah CEO
Parker College of Business Brings Free Income Tax Preparation Back to Statesboro for 2022 Season
Students in Georgia Southern’s Parker College of Business are ready to get hands-on experience preparing income tax returns while helping community members save money through the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program, which began on Jan. 31. The program, now in its third year, is hosted by the University’s School of Accountancy through a partnership with the IRS and offers free individual income tax preparation and e-file services to taxpayers. All tax returns are prepared and reviewed by accounting students and faculty who are IRS VITA certified.
Marietta Daily Journal
Kennesaw State names accomplished leader to head KSU Journey Honors College
Staff reports
Kennesaw State University has named accomplished scholar and author Karen Kornweibel as dean of KSU Journey Honors College, effective July 1. Kornweibel joins KSU from East Tennessee State University, where she is associate dean for academics in the Honors College and professor of English in the Department of Literature and Language.
Patch
University Of Georgia: Harvey Named Inaugural Footsteps Award Winner
Chief DEI officer at PBS flagship station wins award honoring Holmes, Hunter-Gault and Early
The University of Georgia named Eugenia Harvey as the recipient of the inaugural Footsteps Award during the university’s annual Holmes-Hunter Lecture on Tuesday, Feb. 1. The award recognizes a UGA graduate who follows in the pioneering footsteps of Charlayne Hunter-Gault, Hamilton Holmes and Mary Frances Early, UGA’s first enrolled Black students and first Black graduate, respectively, by making a significant positive impact in human rights, race relations or education in their community.
Georgia Trend
Atlanta farmer named to USDA committee
Kenna Simmons
Urban agriculture is moving into the spotlight with the creation of a new advisory committee at the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and Georgia will have an experienced voice at the table. Bobby Wilson, the CEO and co-founder of Metro Atlanta Urban Farm (MAUF), joins 11 other members who were recently appointed the inaugural USDA Secretary’s Advisory Committee for Urban Agriculture. Members will serve terms of one to three years, provide input on policy development and help identify barriers to urban agriculture. …One of Atlanta’s earliest urban farmers, Wilson was program director for the University of Georgia Cooperative Extension’s Atlanta Urban Gardening Program for 20 years before starting MAUF more than a decade ago.
WALB
Employers struggle to find qualified applicants
By Anthony Bordanaro
The US Labor Bureau just released new data this February showing that on average, there are two open positions for every unemployed person in the nation. At the same time, many employers say they can’t find qualified workers. Southern Wholesale Glass is seeing a problem many other employers are. They are getting enough applicants, but those applying simply aren’t skilled enough for the job. “It’s a problem that’s always existed. It’s just gotten worse,” says Ryan Walker. …Judy Grissett, a professor at Georgia Southwestern tells me preparing their students for the labor force is their number one priority. She says it’s her job to help guide students to where jobs are and what they like to do.
Valdosta Today
New Georgia K-12 ELA standards released for recommendations
The first set of new English Language Arts standards for Georgia’s K-12 public schools have been released for feedback.
The Citizens Review Committee tasked with providing feedback on the development of new English Language Arts (ELA) standards for Georgia’s K-12 public schools has released its first set of recommendations. The committee; which is composed of 13 members appointed by Governor Brian Kemp and State School Superintendent Richard Woods and includes parents, students, business leaders, educators, and concerned citizens; met in November 2021 to review the results of a statewide survey on the current ELA standards. An independent third party – the University of Georgia’s Carl Vinson Institute of Government – facilitated the meeting.
The Tifton Gazette
Lights added to driving range, putting green at ABAC’s Forest Lakes Golf Club
Area golfers can now take some night swings at the Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College Forest Lakes Golf Club. Forest Lakes Superintendent Austin Lawton said the driving range and the putting green are now lighted so that golfers can come out after dark and strike balls at their leisure. “We’re always trying to improve our course, and this is something we thought our golfers would be interested in,” Lawton said. The official grand opening for the lighted driving range and putting green at the nine-hole course is 6:30 p.m. on Feb. 11. The course is located at 80 Moorman Drive in Tift County. The driving range is just over 280 yards and has flags placed at 50, 75, 100, 150, 200 and 250 yards. …ABAC owns the course but it’s open to the public.
AP News
Georgia budget changes advance with pay boosts, tax rebates
By Jeff Amy
Georgia state lawmakers have advanced plans to boost spending in the current year by $2.7 billion, including paying state employees and teachers more. The House Appropriations Committee approved House Bill 910 on Thursday, setting it up for a vote before the full House as early as Friday. The measure includes $5,000 pay boosts for university and state agency employees, $2,000 bonuses to teachers and $1,000 bonuses to other K-12 workers including school bus drivers, part-time employees and cafeteria workers.
Feedstuffs
UGA: Agricultural fungicides may be driving antifungal drug resistance
New research from the University of Georgia has shown, for the first time, that compounds used to fight fungal diseases in plants are causing resistance to antifungal medications used to treat people. The study focused on Aspergillus fumigatus, the fungus that causes aspergillosis, a disease that causes life-threatening infections in 300,000 people globally each year. Published in G3: Genes, Genomes, Genetics, the study linked agricultural use of azoles—compounds used to fight fungal diseases in plants—to diminished effectiveness of the clinical azoles used to treat fungal infections in patients.
WFXG
AU professors speak out against USG’s decision not to rename buildings with ties to slavery
By Hannah Cotter
Several professors at Augusta University are speaking out against a decision by the University System of Georgia’s Board of Regents not to go with recommended changes made by an outside advisory group to change the names of buildings and street signs on campus with ties to slavery, the Confederacy and segregation.
Insight Into Diversity
By Mariah Stewart
In recent months, concerns over academic expression have led conservative lawmakers and state officials to propose policies that would decrease the already dwindling number of U.S. academics who receive tenure. Many of these proposed changes stem from right-wing policymakers who have expressed opposition to professors who teach about race, social justice, and other diversity-related topics. Most recently, nearly two dozen Republican state lawmakers in South Carolina filed a bill in November titled the “Cancelling Professor Tenure Act” that would prohibit public colleges and universities from granting tenure to employees hired after December 31, 2022. If passed, the bill would only allow for higher education institutions to grant five-year employment contracts and mandate that current tenured faculty teach additional courses during the spring and fall terms. …In one of the most notorious examples of the new movement against academic tenure, the University System of Georgia (USG) Board of Regents unanimously approved a policy in October that permits the termination of tenured professors without faculty oversight. The controversial policy is the first-of-its-kind to be implemented in the U.S. The American Federation of Teachers (AFT) condemned the move, calling it an “attack” and saying the board of regents “deliberately unhinged due process from post-tenure review and placed academic freedom in grave peril.”
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The Jolt: The question for Sonny Perdue’s chancellor job interview today
By Patricia Murphy
News and analysis from the politics team at The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
“How are you qualified for this job?” It’s the starting point for nearly all job interviews. Even former two-term Gov. Sonny Perdue will be no exception later today when he sits down for a formal interview with members of the Board of Regents to be chancellor of the University System of Georgia. It will be his most important test in his bid to lead the state’s higher education system, even as the political pushback against him is ramping up, too. After a lengthy standstill, Gov. Brian Kemp has reshaped the 19-member board by replacing some longtime members with close allies. The changes cleared the way for Perdue, who was Donald Trump’s agriculture secretary, to move forward with his bid.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
GOP lawmakers explain efforts to control classroom discussions on race
By Ty Tagami
Georgia Republicans explained this week why they want to control how race is discussed in classrooms, as Democrats pushed for evidence that schools are mishandling the subject. Rep. Will Wade, R-Dawsonville, said House Bill 1084 was a preventative measure and would provide a formal complaint process for parents to vet concerns about race and politics reaching classrooms. “This is a proactive piece of legislation,” he said during a hearing Wednesday, in response to questions from a Democrat who didn’t see the problem. …Many who commented during that hearing on Wade’s bill said the legislation is a solution in search of a problem and it could hinder teachers. “We are dividing our students for issues that don’t exist. We are hiding their history,” said Joshua Anthony, a freshman at Georgia State University.
Other News:
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Map: Coronavirus deaths and cases in Georgia (updated Feb. 10)
An updated count of coronavirus deaths and cases reported across the state
CONFIRMED CASES: 1,886,999
CONFIRMED DEATHS: 28,461 | 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
Study: Supportive Texts Can Improve Students’ Mental Health
By Maria Carrasco
Students who receive a check-in text message from a friend or family member are less likely to experience loneliness or depression, according to a new study from California State University, Fullerton. Supportive text messages can help students feel less isolated, stressed and depressed compared to students who receive little to no text-based support, said professor and researcher Tara Suwinyattichaiporn in a press release. Suwinyattichaiporn pointed to data from the Pew Research Center that found almost every college-aged student owns a smartphone and, on average, sends over 110 messages a day. “They’re already using this method of communication, so why not use it for good?” Suwinyattichaiporn asked. The study surveyed more than 3,700 college students between 18 and 35. The study also found that students are much more likely to use online counseling when they believe the quality will be just as high or higher than face-to-face counseling.
Diverse Issues in Higher Education
Study Finds Investing in Teaching Retains More Students at The University of Southern Mississippi
Rebecca Kelliher
The Association of College and University Educators (ACUE) and The University of Southern Mississippi (USM) released results from a two-year study. It revealed that students who took at least one course taught by an ACUE instructor returned to USM in higher numbers the next academic year. ACUE offers the only nationally recognized higher education teaching credential that is endorsed by the American Council on Education, one of the nation’s largest higher education advocacy organizations. In 2016, ACUE began partnering with USM, a public research university, to help train faculty in teaching methods aimed to close equity gaps among students. …The recently released study analyzed USM enrollment data from 2017 to 2019. Among the findings were that first-year student retention was 3.7 percentage points higher among students who were taught by ACUE faculty compared to students who were not.