University System News:
The Tifton Gazette
Honoring 16 Years of Service: ABAC pays tribute to Dr. David Bridges
By Davis Cobb
From one of its students to its president, Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College has always been a place of great importance to Dr. David Bridges. Though his time at the college is coming to an end, the friends, family and colleagues he has made and connected with during his years there gathered earlier this month to celebrate his service to ABAC and remind him that he will always have a place at the school. After 16 years of serving as the president of ABAC, the longest of any president at ABAC, Bridges is now on the way to retiring. The college brought together the special people in his life to hold a retirement celebration for one of the most influential men in the history of ABAC. …Bridges served as the 10th president at ABAC, and is currently the only president to have also been a student of the university. … Sonny Perdue, former governor of Georgia and the current chancellor of the University System of Georgia, said Bridges is a “memorable icon for Tifton and rural Georgia” and has left big shoes to fill for the USG.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
CIA director highlights Russia intel efforts in speech at Georgia Tech
By Eric Stirgus
CIA Director William Burns said Thursday in a speech at Georgia Tech the agency’s work in sharing intelligence about Russia was critical in galvanizing international support against its invasion of Ukraine. Burns, in his first public speech as director, shared details about how the agency began gathering information last fall about Russian President Vladimir Putin’s plans to invade Ukraine. Burns said the intelligence was important in rebutting Putin’s claims that Ukraine provoked the conflict. …Burns said he came to Georgia Tech in part to recruit students to work in the agency. Students from Georgia Tech, Atlanta’s historically Black schools, and other nearby universities were invited to the one-hour event where Burns spoke and answered a handful of questions.
See also:
Reuters
U.S. cannot ‘take lightly’ threat Russia could use nuclear weapons – CIA chief
YouTube
CIA Director William Burns Speaks at Georgia Tech
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Georgia officials blame supply chain woes for rising college project costs
By Eric Stirgus
Chancellor Sonny Perdue wants to better budget construction costs
Georgia’s Board of Regents on Wednesday agreed to multimillion dollar budget increases for several construction projects, which officials blamed on global supply chain issues. The budget for one project, a venue for sports and other events at Georgia Gwinnett College, rose from $42.3 million to $48.3 million. The budget for another project, an events center at Georgia Southern University, went up from about $58.7 million to more than $64.4 million. Augusta University got approval to increase the total budget for its College of Science and Math Building from $10 million to nearly $15.5 million.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Georgia Tech’s Edge Center renovation approved by Board of Regents
By Ken Sugiura
Georgia Tech’s plans for a complete renovation of the Edge Athletics Center may go forward. The University System of Georgia’s Board of Regents authorized the $82 million project at its monthly board meeting Wednesday at Albany State, giving the institute the go-ahead to begin the overhaul of Tech’s athletics headquarters. The renovation was the centerpiece of athletic director Todd Stansbury’s $125 million capital campaign, dubbed “Athletics Initiative 2020.” Located at the northeast corner of Bobby Dodd Stadium and opened in 1982, the Edge Center will be demolished (along with a portion of the stadium’s north stands) with a new structure built in its place.
Albany Herald
PHOTOS: Albany State University Alice Coachman Invitational 2022
Photos courtesy Reginald Christian
The annual Alice Coachman Invitational was held at Albany State University on Saturday, April 9, 2022.
AllOnGeorgia
Georgia Southern University art students will be showcasing their artwork at “Main Attractions on Main Street” April 15 – 29. The exhibition is hosted by GSU’s Betty Foy Sanders Department of Art. It was not too long ago when Maddie Grace Maierhofer was a freshman in high school and beginning her journey toward her painting career. In just a few years, she’d find herself regularly selling her paintings and seeing her pieces in downtown storefronts. …Maierhofer is now a studio art senior at Georgia Southern University.
Columbus CEO
CSU’s Pasaquan Accepted into National Trust’s Artists’ Homes Program
Staff Report
The National Trust for Historic Preservation recently announced that Pasaquan has been accepted into their prestigious Historic Artists’ Homes and Studios (HAHS) program. Pasaquan was included with six other sites from across the country that represent the rich diversity of the nation’s artistic legacy and provide a site-specific depiction of art history. Pasaquan, an immersive, multiculturally inspired and internationally recognized visionary artist environment, was created by Eddie Owens Martin, a self-taught artist who drew inspiration from many colorful cultures. St. EOM, as he referred to himself, worked on the art environment for 30 years, creating six major structures, mandala murals and more than 900 feet of elaborately painted masonry walls.
Forsyth County News
How drop in enrollment could affect UNG’s budget in the future
Ben Anderson
Fewer students are going to college across the country, and the University of North Georgia is no exception in seeing a drop in attendance. The university is part of a national trend that has seen a 5% decline in enrollment over the past two-and-a-half years, about 1 million students, according to the National Clearinghouse Research Center. UNG has fared slightly better, with a 3.8% drop in total enrollment, from 19,748 students in fall 2019 to 18,985 in fall 2021. It is due primarily to a smaller pool of students pursuing associate degrees, according to data provided by UNG. The number of students pursuing an associate degree has plummeted by well over a third in the same period, from 6,458 to 4057. Chaudron Gille, provost and vice president for academic affairs, blamed the coronavirus pandemic and a strong job market for the decline.
WJCL
Police: Sexual assault reported at Georgia Southern University student housing center
Graham Cawthon, Digital Media Manager
Police at Georgia Southern University are investigating a reported sexual assault on campus. In documents obtained by WJCL Wednesday, police say a woman came into the Georgia Southern University Police Department in Statesboro on March 29 and said she had been sexually assaulted. The woman said the incident occurred on February 9 at the Freedoms Landing student housing complex.
Other News:
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Coronavirus deaths and cases in Georgia (updated April 13)
An updated count of coronavirus deaths and cases reported across the state
CONFIRMED CASES: 1,943,071 | Note: The DPH reports that starting on March 30 and into the next several days, it expects to clear a backlog of cases from a laboratory that were not previously recorded. DPH noted that the majority of these cases were from December 2021 and January 2022, and do not represent a spike of new cases in late March.
CONFIRMED DEATHS: 31,359 | 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
Another year, another big surplus for Georgia?
By James Salzer
Georgia tax collections soared again in March, raising the possibility the state will again end the fiscal year in June with a massive surplus. Revenue collections — mostly from income and sales taxes — were up 45.5% in March after a sluggish February. They are 18.9% — or $3.59 billion — ahead of a record 2021 with three months left in the fiscal year. Gov. Brian Kemp — who faces a tough political battle for re-election — and lawmakers will welcome the big increase after backing a record mid-year budget that included a huge boost in state spending to pay for employee raises, bonuses and bumps for virtually every part of the government. Part of the jump in sales taxes — net collections were up 19.4% in March — is due to rising prices.
Higher Education News:
Diverse Issues in Higher Education
Survey: 80% of College Graduates Believe Higher Education Worth Their Investment
Liann Herder
A new survey of 1,250 American college graduates aged 25 and older reveals that 80% feel higher education was worth their financial investment. The survey was conducted between March 25 and 26 by Intelligent.com, an online resource that helps students plan their educational futures with tools like degree rankings. The survey concluded that 39% of college graduates strongly agreed and 41% agreed that getting their degree was worth the investment. Of those remaining graduates who were dissatisfied with their educational experience, 42% said they believed college was a poor investment.
Inside Higher Ed
Suit Against Rutgers on Rankings Becomes Class Action
By Scott Jaschik
A suit against Rutgers University filed by a whistle-blower has been expanded into a class action. The lawyers said they are representing Rutgers M.B.A. students “to recover the premium tuition they paid for a high ranking business school when, in reality, Rutgers was allegedly reporting false and misleading data about its employability statistics after graduation to third-party ranking organizations, such as U.S. News & World Report and the Financial Times, in order to inflate the rankings. This was a massive fraud on Rutgers’ prospective students.”
Higher Ed Dive
How a recent policy shift at the Ed Department could affect for-profits
For-profit colleges worry recent regulatory actions will discourage investment in the sector, but policy advocates want the federal agency to be even stricter.
Natalie Schwartz, Editor
Last month, the U.S. Department of Education announced that it will hold the owners of certain private colleges financially liable if the institutions defraud students or close without warning — a move that will largely affect for-profit schools. The policy means the Ed Department may require any firm that has at least a 50% stake in a private college to join college officials in signing the institution’s program participation agreement, or PPA, which is a pledge to follow federal standards. Typically, only a college’s chief executive or other official signs these agreements. If the college defrauds students or closes unexpectedly, the Ed Department can forgive the loans of its students and recoup those losses through the terms outlined in the PPA. The for-profit sector has expressed concerns with the announcement.
Inside Higher Ed
Va. Frats, Sororities to Undergo Mandatory Hazing Training
By Josh Moody
Virginia fraternity and sorority members must undergo mandatory training on hazing after Governor Glenn Youngkin signed off on Adam’s Law, a bill that easily passed the state Legislature. The bill was named for Adam Eakes, a Virginia Commonwealth University student and Delta Chi fraternity member who died in an alcohol-related hazing incident last year. VCU subsequently suspended the fraternity, and multiple people were arrested in connection to Eakes’s death.
Inside Higher Ed
Russian Universities Expel Antiwar Students
Students are also being rejected by laboratories and being told they will have difficulties defending their theses.
By Pola Lem for Times Higher Education
Russian universities are leading the charge in cracking down on student opposition to the Kremlin’s war on Ukraine, with hundreds of students estimated to have been expelled already. With Russian academe increasingly cut off from the outside world, student dissidents are finding themselves targeted by the very institutions tasked with nurturing their critical thinking.