The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Kemp signs midyear spending plan with raises, bonuses, tax refund
By James Salzer
State, university and k-12 school employees should see a bump in their paychecks next month after Gov. Brian Kemp on Wednesday signed a $30.2 billion midyear budget that includes raises and bonuses for workers and a $1 billion tax refund for Georgians. The $30.2 billion midyear spending plan, which adds $3 billion in expenditures from the original budget, runs through June 30. The General Assembly approved the election-year spending plan last week. Much of the midyear budget follows the proposals Kemp made in January.
Albany Herald
Georgia House approves needs-based college aid program
By Dave Williams Capitol Beat News Service
College students needing a financial boost to complete their degrees would get help from the state under legislation the Georgia House of Representatives has passed. Lawmakers voted 171-3 to let students who have earned at least 80% of the credits required for the degree they are seeking receive a grant of up to $2,500 to help pay their tuition. The money would help plug a “small gap to get [students] across the finish line,” House Higher Education Committee Chairman Chuck Martin, R-Alpharetta, the bill’s chief sponsor, said. …The Georgia Student Finance Commission would administer the grant program, subject to state appropriations. …The bill now moves to the state Senate.
MGA Biology Professor Wins Major Award From American Society of Parasitologists
Dr. Tyler Achatz, Middle Georgia State University assistant professor of biology, is the 2022 recipient of the American Society of Parasitologists’ (ASP) Ashton Cuckler New Investigator Award. This award is given to the most outstanding North American early career parasitologist of the year. The honor is competitive, and is based on the recipient’s research over the course of graduate studies. The award was established by the 2015 Nobel Prize winner William Campbell, a longtime member of the American Society of Parasitologists.
Times-Georgian
By Julie Lineback
The University of West Georgia’s Townsend Center for the Performing Arts (TCPA) has received its first endowment, named for longtime supporter Michael P. Steed. “Mike loved music and was an accomplished musician and singer,” said Cheryl Steed, his widow. “He was a capable, talented leader, businessman, humorist and author. He gave generously of his time, resources and abilities with the desire to enhance the lives of others. This endowment in perpetual support of the Townsend Center and UWG would please him.” …Ultimately, the family opted to fund the Michael Steed Endowment for the Performing Arts to benefit UWG’s Townsend Center for the Performing Arts, which will support programming that was close to his heart. The announcement of the gift happens to coincide with what would’ve been Mike’s 78th birthday this week.
WABE
NASA crew member, Atlanta professor to be inducted into U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame
Jim Burress
When you’re a legendary astronaut who’s launched and sailed through the Milky Way and lived at the International Space Center your fair share of months, you’ve definitely got some stories to tell. One of the latest veteran NASA crew members to be inducted into the U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame is a Georgia Tech professor. Dr. Sandy Magnus is one of three inductees who NASA will honor at a ceremony at the Kennedy Space Center this June.
The Augusta Chronicle
‘A seat at the table’: Black MCG students aim to broaden least-diverse medical specialties
Tom Corwin
Medical College of Georgia student LaTarsha Taylor is pursuing a career as an orthopedic surgeon.
The tiny fraction almost made Medical College of Georgia student LaTarsha Taylor flinch when she heard it — of the nearly 16,000 orthopedic surgeons in the U.S., there are 50 who are Black women like her. She jokes that she tries to avoid looking at the numbers, but those odds haven’t deterred her, either, from pursuing that field. “I just knew coming in that was a goal of mine and I wasn’t going to let anything scare me away from it,” Taylor said. “There’s not many — I knew I wasn’t going to be the first and I know I am not going to be the last.” She and her classmates at Medical College of Georgia at Augusta University will find out where they will spend their residencies and the next several years learning their craft this Friday during Match Day, when senior medical students receive their notifications. Senior medical students like Taylor were told earlier this week if they have matched with a residency, they just don’t know which one yet.
The Red & Black
The Athens Frontline: Pandemic-Induced Eating Disorders
Simran Kaur Malhotra, Abbey Clark
In our ninth episode, host Simran Kaur Malhotra speaks with Dr. Christopher Corbett, the doctor of psychology and the Director of Counseling and Psychiatric Services at the University of Georgia. Together, Simran and Corbett discuss the availability of CAPS at UGA, pandemic-induced eating disorders, and how students can seek mental health help.
Marietta Daily Journal
The Albany Herald, Ga.
Joseph Njoroge will speak on the Chinese attention on Africa on March 17 at 7 p.m. in Howard Auditorium as a part of the Jess Usher Lecture Series at Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College. Njoroge’s speech is titled “China, the United States, and Regional Hegemony in Africa: Implications for Africa’s Democracy and Economic Development.” Njoroge said his presentation will discuss what the current and future developments will look like for the African continent as it navigates a relatively new relationship with China. “The presentation will encompass three aspects,” Njoroge, the department head for Political Science at ABAC, said. …Formerly known as the ABAC Lecture Series, the special collection of speakers was renamed for Jess Usher, an ABAC professor and a former lecturer in the series. Usher passed away in June 2021. All events in the series are open to the public at no charge.
WGAU Radio
Moderated UGA Law Dean Bo Rutledge
By Tim Bryant
Professors from across campus convene a 12 noon Zoom session that is open to the public: the University of Georgia scholars will talk about the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine.
From UGA…
Many of us have been watching the news and current events taking place in Ukraine. Several faculty, from departments across campus, will come together to discuss the most recent developments.
WABE
…Plus, for “Closer Look’s” Paycheck to Paycheck series, Sudheer Chava, the Alton M. Costley Chair and the director of the Quantitative & Computational Finance Program at Georgia Tech, and the director of the school’s Financial Services Innovation Lab, discusses the focus of the new fintech lab and his research to understand responsible and sustainable finance.
WJBF
MCG doctors share new Esophageal Cancer screening device
by: Renetta DuBose
Doctors at Medical College of Georgia can now offer patients a more non-invasive screening for Esophageal Cancer. The entertainment world went into shock at the news of the death of 50-year-old Traci Braxton, the singer and actress known as the sister to Grammy award winning Toni Braxton. Her family announced she died after a series of treatments for Esophageal Cancer. Doctors at MCG told NewsChannel 6 it’s a type of cancer that goes under screened. “There’s 20,000 people in Georgia diagnosed this year with esophageal cancer. A majority of them have this type of tumor that its main risk factor is acid reflux,” said Dr. Kenneth Vega, Professor & Chief of Division, Gastroenterology & Hepatology. Doctors at MCG said Esophageal Cancer is usually discovered through an endoscopy screening, where patients are put to sleep and have to have a driver. Now, they are offering Eso Check, a non invasive tool used to accomplish the same goal.
Insight to Diversity
Trauma-Informed Education Becomes Popular Response to Stress of COVID-19, Racial Strife, and More
By Mariah Stewart
In recent years, a growing number of schools of education have begun focusing on trauma-informed teaching practices to help educators holistically address negative academic and social outcomes for students. Now, amid the COVID-19 pandemic, widespread racial injustice, and a host of other major stressors for U.S. youth, these concepts have become more popular, and important, than ever. “When the pandemic came, people really became concerned and interested in new traumas that were [affecting] students,” explains Regina Rahimi, EdD, a professor of education at Georgia Southern University. “…By applying trauma-sensitive principles to the classroom, teachers can help young people overcome the negative educational outcomes of growing up in these kinds of situations. This approach emphasizes understanding the ways that such environments can affect student behavior and promotes classroom practices that can mitigate trauma’s impact on socioemotional development. While trauma-informed care has long been a core of other professions, experts say it is only now beginning to truly gain traction in education. Prior to the pandemic, Rahimi and her GSU colleagues surveyed 800 educators across Georgia and found that teachers “are generally aware of trauma amongst their students, but their typical response is to refer them to the counselor,” according to a January 2020 press release.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Opinion: A year later, Asian Americans still struggle to find real safety
By Phi Nguyen
March 16, 2021 was a typical Tuesday night until my phone started buzzing. Messages from across the country began to flood in about a gunman attacking Asian spas in the Atlanta area. Eight people died that night; six were Asian women massage workers. As I struggled to process, my boss issued a directive: We need to organize. We work at Georgia’s largest Asian American civil rights organization, Asian Americans Advancing Justice-Atlanta, and I jumped into action. While writing an organizational statement deep into the night, I began to grasp the depths of pain the shootings would wrought on my community. I chose our words with care for the Georgia I love. A year later, people are asking what has changed. Not nearly enough. …In addition, Asian American communities must push for state legislation that gives undocumented immigrants basic rights – such as access to a driver’s license – in places like Georgia, Michigan and Minnesota. And system leaders like Georgia’s university system Board of Regents must accept undocumented students to top-tier public universities and grant in-state tuition to all Georgia residents, regardless of immigration status.
See also:
MSN
1 year after Atlanta-area spa shootings, Asian American community is still healing
WGXA
Renovated ‘Train Building’ opens as UGA Co-op Extension in downtown Macon
by Claire Helm
The renovated Robert Train Building on Oglethorpe St. in downtown Macon officially opened on Tuesday. The building will be used by the local University of Georgia Cooperative Extension for some of its programs. “The Robert Train Building is in a much more visible location that is more inviting to the public. These are great improvements over our previous location,” says Karol Kelly, County Extension Coordinator. “We’re now within walking distance of several neighborhoods. With the green space, teaching kitchen, and auditorium, we’ll be able to offer new hands-on educational opportunities and services to more people.” This includes 4-H, gardening and landscaping workshops, consultations, soil testing, cooking and nutrition demonstrations, and other types of classes and services. …Funding also came from the Downtown Challenge, Georgia Power, UGA’s Center for Urban Agriculture, the Burton Foundation, and private donors.
The Poultry Site
US researchers investigate the cause, prevention of false layer syndrome
Vaccines alone may influence the severity of lesions after challenge
By: Global Ag Media
US Poultry and the US Poultry Foundation have announced the completion of a funded research project at the University of Georgia in which researchers investigated the cause and prevention of false layer syndrome. Dr. Brian Jordan, Departments of Population Health and Poultry Science, University of Georgia, and colleagues at the University of Georgia have completed a research project to determine if infection with infectious bronchitis virus (IBV) alone, especially the IBV variant strain DMV/1639/11, could induce cystic oviduct formation and lead to false layer syndrome. They also evaluated the efficacy of a day-of-hatch vaccination at preventing this clinical presentation. Findings showed that multiple IBV types can cause cystic oviduct formation that leads to false layer syndrome. Further, vaccines alone may influence the severity of lesions after challenge but are not sufficient to prevent the oviduct from being affected from a pathogenic early challenge. The research was made possible in part by an endowing Foundation gift from Cargill and is part of the Association’s Comprehensive Research Program encompassing all phases of poultry and egg production and processing.
GPB
Georgia Supreme Court justices elect next chief justice
By: Associated Press
The justices on Georgia’s highest court have unanimously selected the next leader of the state’s judicial system. State Supreme Court Presiding Justice Michael Boggs will take over when Chief Justice David Nahmias steps down from the court on July 17. The nine justices also unanimously chose Justice Nels Peterson to succeed Boggs as presiding justice. … A graduate of Georgia Southern College and Mercer University School of Law, Boggs also is a member or leader of numerous other organizations having to do with the judicial branch. …Peterson also was executive counsel for former Gov. Sonny Perdue and vice chancellor for legal affairs and secretary to the Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia. …He graduated from Kennesaw State University and Harvard Law School.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Boyfriend gets life in prison for killing Fort Valley State student
By Alexis Stevens
Anitra Gunn was a graduate of Fulton’s Westlake High School
DeMarcus Little told the courtroom he was no monster. But it took a jury only two hours to find him guilty of murder Tuesday in the death of his girlfriend, Anitra Gunn. …He took the stand in his own defense, hoping to convince the jurors he was not the killer. Evidence convinced the jury otherwise. Prosecutors believe Little strangled Gunn to death before leaving her body in a wooded area of Crawford County in February 2020. A graduate of Fulton County’s Westlake High, Gunn was 23.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Former UGA football player charged with murder in RaceTrac clerk’s shooting
By Caroline Silva, Rosana Hughes
A former University of Georgia football player has been arrested in connection with the shooting death of an Oconee County gas station clerk, authorities said Wednesday. Ahkil Nasir Crumpton, of Philadelphia, has been under investigation since early February when ballistics evidence tied him to the death of 23-year-old Elijah James Wood, Oconee Sheriff James A. Hale said. Wood was shot at a RaceTrac on Hog Mountain Road outside of Watkinsville on March 19, 2021. …Crumpton played football for UGA in 2017 and 2018. He was a student until 2021, according to the sheriff’s office. He did not graduate, UGA officials confirmed.
Other News:
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Coronavirus deaths and cases in Georgia (updated March 16)
An updated count of coronavirus deaths and cases reported across the state
CONFIRMED CASES: 1,920,842
CONFIRMED DEATHS: 30,556 | 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.
CNN
In China, 37 million people are in Covid lockdown. Here’s what we know
By Jessie Yeung and CNN’s Beijing bureau
Tens of millions of people are living under lockdown in China, as the country battles its worst Covid-19 outbreak since the early days of the pandemic. This outbreak has spread far faster than previous waves of less infectious variants, with daily cases skyrocketing from a few dozen in February to more than 5,100 on Tuesday — the highest figure since the early 2020 outbreak in Wuhan. The number may sound low compared to other countries, but it is alarmingly high for a nation that has attempted to stamp out outbreaks and chains of transmission with a strict zero-Covid policy throughout the pandemic.
Higher Education News:
Inside Higher Ed
Federal Funds Announced for HBCUs After Bomb Threats
By Sara Weissman
Vice President Kamala Harris and the U.S. Department of Education on Wednesday announced that historically Black colleges and universities can apply for grants under the Project School Emergency Response to Violence program, or Project SERV, after these institutions received dozens of bomb threats in the last three months. The federal program provides immediate short-term funding—typically grants of $50,000 to $150,000—to educational institutions that have experienced violent or traumatic incidents disruptive to learning. Department staff will work with HBCUs to determine if Project SERV funding can address needs related to the bomb threats, such as improvements to campus security or targeted mental health counseling, according to the announcement.
Inside Higher Ed
Biden Urged to Extend Freeze on Loan Payments
By Scott Jaschik
The Democratic chairs of the Senate and House education committees urged President Biden to extend the freeze on student loan payments, which currently is expected to end in May. U.S. Senator Patty Murray of Washington State, chair of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee, said, “That’s why I’m pleased to see signs the Biden administration is considering extending the student loan payment pause, and why I am calling on them to do so until at least 2023 and work to permanently fix our student loan system … by [g]iving struggling borrowers a fresh start, by placing borrowers who were in default before the pause back into good standing and ensuring they have their negative credit histories cleared without losing the ability to rehabilitate their loans.” And Representative Bobby Scott of Virginia, chair of the House Committee on Education and Labor, said, “I am urging the Biden-Harris administration to extend relief for student loan borrowers through the end of this year.
Inside Higher Ed
Among Students, Lawyers Get a Good Rap
Students are applying to law school in droves, spurred by the COVID-19 pandemic, the quest for racial justice and a hot job market. One Florida university is even opening a new law school.
By Emma Whitford
Student interest in legal education has ballooned in recent years, driven by the pandemic, the movement for racial justice and a hot job market, experts say. “All the events that we’ve had—the pandemic, the Jan. 6 Capitol insurgence, the Black Lives Matter movement, the murder of George Floyd—everything has put a spotlight on why law matters,” said Kellye Testy, president and chief executive officer of the Law School Admission Council. “It’s galvanized in young people a desire to pursue justice and to find a way to contribute and to make a difference positively in the world. Law is always seen as a really good pathway for that.” Flush with students, the U.S. legal education sector is undergoing some of its biggest changes in years. Law schools are amending their curricula to include more work experience and consideration for student well-being. LSAC, which administers the Law School Admission Test, is developing an undergraduate curriculum that could one day replace the test for some students.
Inside Higher Ed
Lawmakers Slam NCAA Over Lack of Gender Equity Progress
By Josh Moody
Three members of Congress called out the National Collegiate Athletic Association Monday for failure to make progress on gender equity, a move that came on the cusp of the men’s and women’s Division I basketball tournaments. Lawmakers sent a letter criticizing NCAA president Mark Emmert for failing to implement recommendations that emerged from an external review after last year’s NCAA tournament, when female basketball players called the league out for disparate treatment compared to men’s teams, sharing videos of their relatively lackluster training equipment and facilities.