University System News:
Albany Herald
Georgia Lottery posts record second-quarter profit
By Dave Williams Capitol Beat News Service
The Georgia Lottery Corp. generated $376.5 million in profits during the last three months of last year, a record for the second quarter of a state fiscal year. That brought the total lottery proceeds transferred to education during the first half of fiscal 2022 to $741.3 million. “With their largest Q2 transfer ever, the Georgia Lottery continues to make an immeasurable impact on the lives of Georgia’s students and their families,” Gov. Brian Kemp said.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Albany State University closes campuses after receiving bomb threat
By Eric Stirgus
Albany State University has closed its campuses after receiving a bomb threat to the academic buildings early Monday morning, officials said. “An emergency notification went to the campus and law enforcement is investigating the situation,” officials said in social media posts Monday morning. “Until further notice, all ASU campuses shall remain closed.” University officials directed media inquiries to a statement on its website. The GBI is investigating, a FBI spokeswoman said.
WGAU Radio
UGA reports record economic impact on state
$7.4 billion
By Tim Bryant
The latest economic impact report says the University of Georgia leaves a record $7.4 billion economic footprint on the state of Georgia.
From Sam Fahmy, UGA Today…
In fulfilling its three-part mission of teaching, research and service, UGA generated a record annual economic impact of $7.4 billion to the state of Georgia, according to a new, comprehensive study. Growth in the number of degrees conferred at the undergraduate and graduate levels, increases in externally funded research activity, and an expansion of public service and outreach activities all contributed to this record.
WGAU Radio
UNG students are named Fulbright semifinalists
Finalists will be announced later this semester
By Clark Leonard, UNG
13 University of North Georgia students and alumni moved one step closer to their goal of taking part in the Fulbright U.S. Student Program as they earned recognition as Fulbright semifinalists for the 2022-23 academic year. Finalists will be announced later this semester. Eight are semifinalists to be English teaching assistants, four for master’s degree programs, and one for a research award. UNG had 22 students and alumni apply for the Fulbright.
WRDW
Local universities respond to SAT going fully digital in 2024
By Maria Sellers
The College Board just recently announced that they are making the SAT virtual for students. The international SAT will be online by spring of next year, then in the fall, the practice SAT, and by spring of 2024, everything will be available virtually. With standardized testing comes anxiety for students. We took a look at what this could mean for students getting into our local colleges. …But not all schools are make testing optional for admissions. For Augusta University, students need a minimum SAT score of 480 on reading and writing and 440 on math to be accepted. Leaders with AU tell us it’s too early for them to know their exact plan, but they are confident those requirements will stay the same.
Albany Herald
New UGA program to increase community resilience
By Kelly Simmons
A new University of Georgia initiative will partner UGA faculty and students with communities throughout the state to develop customized plans that will better position the communities to successfully address future challenges. The overarching goal of the program, called Connected Resilient Communities, is to enable communities to leverage university resources to create sustainable change that enhances the perception of Georgia communities and increases economic opportunity and well-being. The program will be facilitated by the Archway Partnership, a UGA Public Service and Outreach unit.
WGAU Radio
Donation to UGA enhances University’s support for veterans
“I am grateful to Jim Butler for his steadfast commitment to Georgia’s veterans and the School of Law”
By Heidi Murphy, UGA Media Relations
The Veterans Legal Clinic, operated by the University of Georgia School of Law, has helped approximately 370 veterans and their family members claim over $1 million in additional benefits since its establishment in 2018. This impact is expected to grow exponentially with the expansion of services for Georgia military veterans and their families later this year. Thanks to additional financial support from renowned Georgia trial lawyer James E. “Jim” Butler Jr., the Athens-based clinic – which assists former military members in Georgia with claims before the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs – will be able to offer:
WRDW
AU to celebrate Black History Month with campus events
By Staff
Augusta University will host several events throughout February in recognition of Black History Month. Here’s a look at what’s planned:
Albany Herald
National Players to present ‘A Raisin in the Sun’ as part of arts series
From staff reports
Performances by the National Players over the past seven decades make their on-stage excellence even more special as they traverse America in their 72nd season. Thanks to Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College, that performing trail stops in Tifton at 7 p.m. on Feb. 8 when the Players present “A Raisin in the Sun” at the Tift County High School Performing Arts Center as a part of the ABAC Presents! Performing Arts Series. …ABAC Presents! is supported in part by the Georgia Council for the Arts through the appropriations of the Georgia General Assembly. Georgia Council for the Arts also receives support from its partner agency, the National Endowment for the Arts.
accessWDUN
UGA professor: Invasion of Ukraine is not inevitable
By Mitch Clarke Director of News and Content
An international affairs expert at the University of Georgia said Friday that no one can predict what will happen in the standoff over Ukraine because no one knows for sure what Russia really wants. Russia has deployed more than 100,000 troops to its border with Ukraine, but Andrew Owsiak, a professor of international affairs, said the troop buildup does not a Russian invasion is inevitable.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Georgia likely to see ‘Flutie Effect’ after championship
By Eric Stirgus
There are many benefits to being college football’s top dawg. The University of Georgia may see the impact of its recent national championship in two key areas: student applications and enrollment. Several schools say they’ve seen increases in both categories after hoisting the championship trophy in football or basketball.
Albany Herald
DICK YARBROUGH: On and off field, UGA is a winner
As exciting and satisfying as it has been, there is more to the University of Georgia than a College Football National Championship. Way more. I was reminded of that fact when I read UGA president Jere Morehead’s annual State of the University address this week. Take nothing away from that extraordinary achievement on the gridiron, but with or without having the best football team in the land (I will take “with”), my alma mater is doing just fine as a highly-respected academic institution and a major contributor to our state’s economic growth. That is a far cry from when UGA was derisively referred to as a “cow college” or “party school.” No more. As I am sure you know by now, the University of Georgia is one of the nation’s top three producers of Rhodes Scholars among public universities with 24 over the past two decades. Partying cow colleges don’t do that.
Jackson Progress-Argus
UGA meat judging team takes top honors in national contest
By Maria M. Lameiras CAES News
The UGA meat judging team garnered a team championship and several individual awards at the National Western Stock Show in Denver in early January. Led by coach Anna Scott, the UGA team was named the Reserve Grand Champion Division A team and took top honors in the Lamb Judging, Beef Judging, and Questions categories at the show, the first competition of the season for the team. The UGA meat judging team gives students hands-on experience evaluating carcasses and cuts of beef, pork and lamb for yield, quality and establishing value.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
AJC On Campus: More regents changes; bill targets critical race theory
By Eric Stirgus
The current legislative session is in full swing, and lawmakers spent a lot of time last week focusing on higher education. This edition of AJC On Campus looks at proposed legislation that could impact higher education, more changes to the state’s Board of Regents, the latest numbers on COVID-19 cases on Georgia’s largest campuses, the latest on the post-tenure review battle and new initiatives at the University of Georgia aimed at helping students.
Changes to Georgia’s Board of Regents; Lawmakers, colleges and race-based curriculum; More from the Gold Dome; COVID-19 cases remain high at Georgia’s largest schools; The new SAT: No pencil required; Big check for Georgia Tech; The post-tenure review battle continues; USG’s finances; UGA commits more support for grad students, mental health
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
In Georgia politics, red and black is stronger than red and blue
By Greg Bluestein
House Speaker David Ralston didn’t attempt to hide the reason why he gaveled the first day of Georgia’s legislative session into order on Jan. 10 in such a haste. Normally a day of buttoned-down formalities and political speechifying, the die-hard Georgia football fan started the day of the national championship game with a highlight reel of Bulldog superstar players – and then joined a chorus of politicians who barked “Go Dawgs.” “The Georgia Bulldogs tonight will set everything right with the world,” he said before hopping on a flight to Indianapolis, where a squadron of other Georgia politicians had already decamped to watch the evening’s showdown with Alabama. …Georgia might be the most politically divided state in the nation, with fewer than 12,000 votes separating Joe Biden and Donald Trump in the last election and a guarantee of another bitter campaign battle in November. But UGA’s championship football run put a temporary halt to the political bickering and feuding, giving politicians – even those who graduated from Georgia Tech — the rare chance to set aside their grievances and unite around the Bulldogs.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Lawmakers introduce bill to help refugees attend Georgia colleges
By Lautaro Grinspan
Legislation would help refugees qualify for more affordable in-state tuition rates as soon as they settle in the state.
Members of the Georgia House rolled out legislation earlier this month that would boost refugees’ access to public higher education in the state. House Bill 932 seeks to extend in-state tuition rates to refugee students at the University System of Georgia and the Technical College System of Georgia as soon as they settle in the state. Under U.S. law, refugees are people who must relocate from their home country because of humanitarian concerns.
The Georgia Virtue
2 More Regents Depart From USG Board
Governor Brian Kemp announced Friday that Regents Sachin Shailendra and Rachel Little from the University System of Georgia’s Board of Regents have concluded their service on the Board. The two no longer reside in the congressional districts for which they were appointed due to the maps that were adopted on December 30, 2021. …In light of these developments, Governor Kemp today also announced his appointment of a new member to the Board of Regents. Tom Bradbury will represent the 11th Congressional District.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Kemp’s latest shuffling of regents could clear way for Sonny Perdue to become chief
By Greg Bluestein, Eric Stirgus
Gov. Brian Kemp pressed ahead with an overhaul of Georgia’s higher education system leadership with a move that could clear the way for former U.S. Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue to become chancellor of the public university system. The governor tapped a political ally to the 19-member Board of Regents and announced two other members could no longer hold the office due to shifting political boundaries through last year’s redistricting process. The new political map means that former regents chair Sachin Shailendra and member Rachel Little are no longer on the board because they no longer reside in the districts to which they were appointed. Kemp tapped homebuilder Tom Bradbury to fill one of the open seats. Shailendra, a well-connected entrepreneur, formally resigned from the post last Wednesday.
AP News
Kemp names Bradbury as new regent in further board shuffle
Gov. Brian Kemp is further shuffling Georgia’s Board of Regents, which governs the 26 institutions of the University System of Georgia. Kemp announced Friday that Sachin Shailendra and Rachel Little are no longer on the board because they no longer live in the congressional districts they were appointed to represent. Shailendra had lived in the 13th Congressional District and Little had lived in the 4th District, but that changed after lawmakers drew new lines.
Kemp shifted Cade Joiner of Brookhaven from an at-large seat to representing the 4th District, while he was shifting Neal Pruitt of Atlanta from the 11th District to one of five at-large seats that can be filled by anyone statewide. Kemp announced homebuilder Tom Bradbury as the new regent representing the 11th District in the northwest Atlanta suburbs. Bradbury has a history as a major homebuilder and founded his current company, Woodstock-based Smith Douglas Homes.
See also:
Chattanooga Times Free Press
Georgia governor names new regent in further board shuffle
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The Jolt: Could Vernon Jones drop governor bid to run for Congress?
By Patricia Murphy, Greg Bluestein, Tia Mitchell
News and analysis from the politics team at The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Vernon Jones has a decision to make. The Democrat-turned-Republican is an also-ran in the race for Georgia governor, badly trailing incumbent Gov. Brian Kemp and former U.S. Sen. David Perdue by double-digits in public polls of the GOP primary. …Speaking of the Perdue family, former Gov. Sonny Perdue’s chances of becoming the next chancellor for the University System of Georgia are still alive, despite the fact that his cousin is conducting an anti-Kemp crusade around the state. The chancellor selection is formally made by the Board of Regents, which continued to get a mini-makeover last week from Gov. Brian Kemp, when he tapped another political ally for the 19-member board and announced that two sitting members will move off following redistricting.
Other News:
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Map: Coronavirus deaths and cases in Georgia (updated Jan. 27)
An updated count of coronavirus deaths and cases reported across the state
CONFIRMED CASES: 1,824,347
CONFIRMED DEATHS: 27,502 | 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:
Diverse Issues in Higher Education
UNCF and The Steve Fund Partner on Mental Well-Being Conference
Lois Elfman
With the goal of putting a spotlight on mental health, the United Negro College Fund (UNCF) and The Steve Fund, an organization promoting mental health and emotional well-being for young people of color, partnered a conference for Historically Black College and Universities students. Sessions addressed stigmas that people of color may face around seeking help for issues of mental health and how different situations and scenarios can be addressed. The conference, titled “Unapologetically Whole: Living Your Best Mental Health Life” was sponsored by Peloton and Blue Shield of California. Last fall, Blue Shield’s partnership with The Steve Fund kicked off with a survey distributed to HBCU students, faculty and staff to gauge the state of mental health on HBCU campuses.