WGAU Radio
UGA professor is awarded Guggenheim Fellowship
Guggenheim Fellowships are for individuals who have demonstrated exceptional capacity for productive scholarship
By Alan Flurry, UGA Today
Claudio Saunt, Regents’ Professor and Russell Professor of American History in the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences, has been awarded a 2022 Fellowship by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation. Saunt is one of 180 artists, writers, scholars, and scientists honored across 51 fields. Guggenheim Fellowships are intended for individuals who have already demonstrated exceptional capacity for productive scholarship or exceptional creative ability in the arts. Saunt is widely recognized as one of the nation’s foremost scholars of Native American history and a pioneer in the field of digital history. He is the author of four books that have been received with widespread acclaim, both within and beyond the scholarly community.
Athens Banner-Herald
‘A very special project’: Tract near Athens envisioned as huge research/business hub
Wayne Ford
Motorists traveling along Georgia Highway 316 from the Athens area to Atlanta will drive past a stretch of land that its developer expects will one day transform into a vast compilation of research-based businesses unlike anything the state has ever seen. The four miles of highway frontage along 316 is just one section of a 2,000-acre tract that people in the future will know as Rowen. The tract lies in Gwinnett County, but the whole eastern boundary of the property runs along the Apalachee River which borders Barrow County. The Rowen Foundation will develop the property as a facility focusing on research in the “agricultural, medical and environmental sciences,” according to Rowen CEO Mason Ailstock. …Those with businesses in those sciences will be able to use resources provided at the University of Georgia, Georgia Tech, Emory University and other colleges in Georgia, Ailstock said.
Barnesville Dispatch
Gordon State College Annual Day Of Giving Surpasses Goal In Its Second Year
Karolina Philmon – Gordon State College
Gordon State College’s second annual Day of Giving on Wednesday, March 30th surpassed its goal of $25,000 by generating over $66,000 in gifts to benefit the lives of its students and mission of the institution. GSC Foundation Board of Trustees’ members including emeriti members, Gordon alumni, advisory board, faculty, staff, students and the community provided support for GSC which resulted in the institution exceeding its fundraising efforts in its second year.
Albany Herald
New cohort of Rural Scholars to join UGA community
By Maria M. Lameiras CAES News
As the inaugural cohort of the Rural Scholars Program completes its first year in the University of Georgia’s College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, the next cohort of three scholars has been chosen. Starting at UGA this fall, the 2022 cohort of Rural Scholars includes Jacob Allen Harper from Pelham, Michael Scott Howard from Jackson, and Madison Alexis Perdue from Rabun. All three new scholars bring a record of high academic achievement and a variety of extracurricular experiences, including student government, community service, athletics, student clubs and the arts.
Albany Herald
Albany State University students to participate in UCLA summer program
From staff reports
Two of Albany State University’s honor students have been selected to participate in the Evolutionary Medicine Research Program at the University of California, Los Angeles. The two-month program is set to begin in June. Talyia Griffin, a senior biology major, and Bevin Glanton, a senior forensic science major, will conduct research with UCLA professors. The program is all-inclusive and will provide a stipend for each participant. …As a result of their participation, both students will receive a full-ride scholarship for the master’s and Ph.D. programs at UCLA, or any of the nine University of California institutions, and a yearly stipend.
Art Daily
Georgia Museum of Art receives two SECAC Awards
In January, SECAC presented the Georgia Museum of Art at the University of Georgia two Awards for Curatorial Excellence. The Award for Outstanding Exhibition and Catalogue of Contemporary Materials went to Shawnya Harris, Larry D. and Brenda A. Thompson Curator of African American and African Diasporic Art, for the exhibition “Emma Amos: Color Odyssey.” Outstanding Exhibition and Catalogue of Historical Materials was awarded to Jeffrey Richmond-Moll for “Extra Ordinary: Magic, Mystery and Imagination in American Realism.” Both awards recognize curators who exceed expectations in the design, publication and/or community engagement of an exhibition.
Savannah Morning News
City of Savannah space crunch? The reasons behind the $57 million plan for new offices
Even with opening of Floyd Adams City Services Complex, the city government is short on employee office space by 80,000 to 100,000 square feet
Katie Nussbaum
The City of Savannah is facing an expensive space crunch. Savannah City Council heard a presentation last week that proposed renovating the Thomas Gamble municipal building, located next to City Hall, and constructing a new, 120,000-square-foot office building next to the Johnny Mercer Theatre. Together, the two projects would carry a price tag of approximately $57 million. And the proposal comes after the city recently invested $43 million on a new 38-acre city services complex off West Gwinnett Street that opened in December. To trace the origins of this real estate scramble, one need only go back to 2018. … The city currently houses 120 employees in the 35,000 square-foot facility it leases from Savannah State University/Georgia Board of Regents. The lease is set expire in May, but the city is working on extending the contract until 2024. It’s a date that is driving the plan to secure more office space.
WGAU Radio
UGA: highly contagious virus impacting eagles in Georgia, other states
“Worst case scenario: The virus becomes established in our wild bird populations”
By Tim Bryant
A contagious bird flu strain is popping up in Georgia. The state Department of Natural Resources says at least three bald eagles have died from the avian flu, which is believed to be behind a drop in eagle breeding on the Georgia coast. Positive cases have also popped up in eagles in surrounding states.
From Leigh Beeson, UGA Today…
The University of Georgia’s Southeastern Cooperative Wildlife Diseases Study first detected the disease in the dead eagles found in Chatham, Glynn and Liberty counties in March. Based in UGA’s College of Veterinary Medicine, the cooperative provides wildlife disease expertise to state and federal fish and wildlife agencies, including the Georgia Department of Natural Resources.
boston.com
Is COVID more dangerous than driving? How scientists are parsing COVID risks.
“We’re doing a really terrible job of communicating risk.”
By Benjamin Mueller, New York Times Service
Like it or not, the choose-your-own-adventure period of the pandemic is upon us. Mask mandates have fallen. Some free testing sites have closed. Whatever parts of the United States were still trying to collectively quell the pandemic have largely turned their focus away from communitywide advice. Now, even as case numbers begin to climb again and more infections go unreported, the onus has fallen on individual Americans to decide how much risk they and their neighbors face from the coronavirus — and what, if anything, to do about it. …Cameron Byerley, an assistant professor in mathematics education at the University of Georgia, built an online tool called COVID-Taser, allowing people to adjust age, vaccine status and health background to predict the risks of the virus. …Byerley’s estimates showed, for instance, that an average 40-year-old vaccinated over six months ago faced roughly the same chance of being hospitalized after an infection as someone did of dying in a car crash in the course of 170 cross-country road trips. (More recent vaccine shots provide better protection than older ones, complicating these predictions.)
The Augusta Chronicle
Medical student: Racial health disparities affect us all
Om Sakhalkar Guest Columnist
Om Sakhalkar is a medical student at the Medical College of Georgia. He is the President of the American Medical Association – MCG Chapter and a clinic coordinator at the Asian Clinic.
April is National Minority Health Month. This month is dedicated to raising awareness about the health disparities that many ethnic and racial minority groups continue to face. Leading causes of death such as heart disease, obesity, diabetes, stroke, cancer, and COVID-19 all have significant health disparities.
WJBF
AU Health CEO stepping down, Keel to serve as acting CEO
by: Ashlyn Williams
Augusta University Health CEO Katrina Keefer announces to her staff that she will be leaving the top post. She will leave the post in July and Augusta University President, Dr. Brooks Keel will serve as Acting CEO of AU Health.
Marietta Daily Journal
Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College set to return to four-day week
The Albany Herald, Ga.
Faculty and staff at Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College will return to a four-day work week beginning May 15 and continuing through July 23. Vice President of Finance and Operations Deidra Jackson said the four-day work week schedule during the summer months will be used for the third year in a row.
The Augusta Chronicle
Georgia universities respond to lawmaker’s questions about diversity efforts
Abraham Kenmore
Upon learning that questions posed in February to the University System of Georgia regarding diversity, equity and inclusion efforts at its schools would result in a response much larger than he might expect, state Rep. David Knight condensed his inquiry. After paring down his initial questions, universities in Athens, Savannah, Augusta and elsewhere in the state recently provided to Knight’s office organization charts for faculty dedicated to diversity and equity work, and explanations of what diversity commitments are expected from new and current staff. Knight, chair of the Georgia House Appropriations Committee Higher Education Subcommittee, sent an 11-page request for information to USG officials on Feb. 4. In the letter, Knight questioned why spending at USG schools had increased in administration and in “diversity, equity, inclusion, advocacy and activism.”
The Telegraph
Granddaughter enrolls after Georgia Tech desegregation fight
By Gavin Off, The Charlotte Observer The Associated Press
Eight years before Georgia Institute of Technology admitted Black students, a young man hoping to study mechanical engineering applied to go to school there. The interactions that followed — the cold indifference showed by Georgia Tech, the support that Robert Cheeseboro received from the NAACP and the newspaper articles that detailed his struggles — are archived in the Library of Congress. …Fast-forward more than 50 years. From her home in Gastonia, 17-year-old Samantha Bolton, Cheeseboro’s granddaughter, applied for admission into Georgia Tech. At the time, she had no knowledge of the battle her grandfather fought. The family stumbled across the Library of Congress documents after Samantha got in and shortly before school officials offered her the Provost Scholarship. The scholarship gives 40 first-year, non-Georgia residents an out-of-state tuition waiver for eight semesters. Yes, the school that once tried to pay her grandfather to attend college elsewhere would be giving Samantha money to attend. And there is this: Samantha hopes to study mechanical engineering, “like my grandfather.”
The George-Anne
Elise Taylor takes us along the RBG Celebration
Elise Taylor, Multimedia Journalist
“I Believe Week” is a week that highlights the struggles, strengths, and successes of cis women, trans women, and non-binary people who have paved a way for survivors of discrimination and oppression in the work place. Last week, the Parker College of Business hosted a celebration of the life and works of former U.S. Supreme Court Justice, Ruth Bader Ginsburg. “I think it really helps, when people can see someone like them. A woman, a small jewish woman, a black woman, achieve great success. I think it can be very motivating. It’s really great to see people like you in positions of power,” said Stephanie Sipe, a professor of legal studies in the Parker College of Business. …Two movies were shown in classrooms at the event, one being The Notorious RBG documentary. Students also got the chance to answer trivia questions for a chance to win prizes and were offered cake and refreshments.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Opinion: Students need instruction on which Georgia colleges pay off
Get Schooled with Maureen Downey
Georgetown report says too many families don’t look at data on outcomes, earnings
High school seniors across metro Atlanta face a major decision in two weeks — where to commit to attending college. Logic doesn’t always play a role in their choice. Teens can be influenced by whether the college has a winning football team or a robust Greek scene. They can be swayed by the prestige of the school and where it lands on the U.S. News & World Report rankings. It can matter whether a prospective student toured a campus on a sunny fall afternoon or a blustery cold morning. The Georgetown Center on Education and the Workforce wants low-income students, for whom college can be life-altering, to consider another factor — the payoff or return on investment each campus offers. … Many highly selective schools give low-income students a hefty return on investment, but such elite schools enroll few poor kids. …The return at Georgia State University, where half the students are low-income, is $975,000. However, the Georgetown report shows that Emory graduates 88% of its low-income students, while GSU graduates 54%.
Other News:
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Coronavirus deaths and cases in Georgia (updated April 15)
An updated count of coronavirus deaths and cases reported across the state
CONFIRMED CASES: 1,944,032 | 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: 31,415 | 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
Georgia scales back on reporting of COVID-19 data
By Helena Oliviero, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Some critics say the change could cause state officials to miss early signs of a surge in cases
Georgia is joining a growing number of states scaling back on the daily public reports of COVID-19 cases. The move comes just as widely used home test kits have made it harder to follow rising cases and questions have been raised about the best way to track the spread of new variants. Some public health officials say moving away from the regular reporting of new cases could leave Georgia in the dark about emerging outbreaks. A new subvariant of omicron, BA.2, is picking up steam in many states.
Higher Education News:
Higher Ed Dive
Colleges twist in the wind with foreign gift requirements in limbo
Higher education is struggling to understand its current legal requirements, even as Congress debates changes to those laws.
Jeremy Bauer-Wolf, Reporter
In October 2020, the Trump-run U.S. Department of Education held an event trotting out a report alleging colleges had not disclosed billions of dollars from foreign sources, which they are obliged to do under federal law. Officials painted a dire picture: Foreign influence had pervaded U.S. colleges and universities, potentially threatening academic integrity, national security and human rights. As proof, a then-University of Washington student spoke, asserting the institution failed to intervene when the Chinese government detained her in late 2017 and pushed her into a “re-education” camp. She claimed, without giving evidence, that the university had not wanted to step in, lest it compromise a “multi-million deal” in the works with China. The university later denied the accusation. The eye-popping presentation was not the Trump administration’s first plunge into colleges’ foreign entanglements. By the time the Education Department published the report, it had begun investigating reporting practices of a dozen high-profile universities and went on to open several more probes over the next year. It also later threatened to yank colleges’ federal funding should they not adequately comply with Section 117, the part of the Higher Education Act requiring institutions to report foreign gifts and contracts totaling $250,000 or more in a year. Now over a year into President Joe Biden’s term, the Education Department is no longer mirroring the Trump White House’s aggressive rhetoric on these issues. Yet lawmakers’ fears over foreign encroachment into higher ed — particularly from China — have not eased.
Inside Higher Ed
‘Deplorable’ Conditions for Academic Freedom
AAUP report on Linfield University’s firing of chaired professors sets stage for censure later this year.
By Colleen Flaherty
An American Association of University Professors investigation into why and how Linfield University fired tenured professor Daniel Pollack-Pelzner found that he was dismissed in the “context of eroding shared governance, which has jeopardized the faculty’s exercise of academic freedom and contributed to a culture of abuse.” …The AAUP’s governing council will vote on any recommendation for censure at the council’s own meeting later that month.
Inside Higher Ed
Parents Sentenced for Cheating on Son’s SAT
By Scott Jaschik
Gregory Colburn and Amy Colburn were each sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Nathaniel M. Gorton to eight weeks in prison, one year of supervised release and 100 hours of community service, and they were each ordered to pay a fine in the amount of $12,500. …The Colburns admitted that they paid Rick Singer $25,000 to bribe a corrupt test administrator to allow a corrupt test “proctor” to secretly correct the Colburns’ son’s SAT exam answers to obtain a fraudulently inflated score.