Albany Herald
Georgia lawmakers send $30.2 billion budget to governor
By Dave Williams Capitol Beat News Service
The General Assembly gave final passage to a $30.2 billion state budget on the final day of the 2022 legislation session that provides pay raises to state employees and Georgia teachers. During the final hour of this year’s session, the Georgia House of Representative passed the Fiscal 2023 spending plan 160-5. The state Senate had passed the budget unanimously earlier in the day.
Higher Ed Dive
Georgia legislature passes bill banishing free speech zones
Jeremy Bauer-Wolf, Reporter
Dive Brief:
Georgia’s legislature on Monday passed a bill that would abolish free speech zones at the state’s public colleges, banning a system that critics say chills free expression.
Free speech zones are places on campus designated for demonstrations and other forms of expression. At public colleges across the U.S., they are sometimes the sole areas of campus where officials permit protests. Georgia’s legislation specifies most outdoor spots on public campuses would be considered open areas for expression.
Georgia’s public institutions could still create “narrowly tailored” rules governing when and how students can protest. Such rules, known as time, place and manner restrictions, are intended to avoid campus disruptions.
See also:
Inside Higher Ed
Georgia Bans Free Speech Zones on Public Campuses
Inside Higher Ed
By Doug Lederman
…Sonny Perdue, former governor of Georgia and U.S. secretary of agriculture, has been appointed chancellor of the University System of Georgia.
The Herald-Gazette
Gordon nursing ranked among best in state
By Walter Geiger
Gordon State College RN to BSN program has ranked fourth in annual list of best Bachelor of Science in nursing programs in Georgia for 2022. According to a nursing advocacy organization, RegisteredNursing.org, GSC has been recognized as one of the best in the state for its highly respected online RN to BSN articulation program that allows working RNs to earn their degree in less time. The organization highlighted the RN to BSN program at GSC for its accommodating eight-week course formats, three start-dates per year and its affordable tuition for Georgia residents. GSC Director of Nursing, Dr. Samantha H. Bishop said the success of the program is mainly due to the dedicated faculty and their commitment to the students.
News Break
Sneak peek: HUB for Community Innovation opens to partners with visit by Condoleezza Rice
By Margarita Cambest, Augusta Chronicle
The Augusta Chronicle
About 150 people, including former U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, gathered at the new HUB for Community Innovation campus on Tuesday to celebrate the end of construction on the $33.5 million community resource center. Located on the corner of Chafee Avenue and Fenwick Street bordering the Medical District and Harrisburg, the HUB for Community Innovation’s two-building campus will serve as home base for five local nonprofits. In one building, known as HUB West, Augusta Locally Grown, Augusta University Literacy Center,
NJToday
‘Eagle killer’ research wins international award
Bald eagle mass death events from vacuolar myelinopathy (VM) in the southeastern United States may be one downstream effect of human activity, and Susan B. Wilde was awarded the 2022 AAAS Newcomb Cleveland Prize for hunting the eagle killer and identifying the cyanobacterial neurotoxin that causes it. The American Association for the Advancement of Science, the world’s largest general scientific society and publisher of the Science family of journals, has announced the 2022 winners of the AAAS/Subaru SB&F Prize for Excellence in Science Books. …The Newcomb Cleveland Prize honors the work of Wilde, an associate professor of aquatic science at the UGA Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources, and Timo Niedermeyer, professor of pharmacognosy at Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg in Germany.
The Georgia Virtue
Georgia Southern Recognizes Exemplary Donors At 2022 Gratitude Gala
Georgia Southern University hosted its annual Gratitude Gala to recognize key donors for their longtime support of institutional initiatives. The event was held on April 1 at the JW Marriott Plant Riverside in Savannah where honorees were presented with awards. “The Gratitude Gala is a chance for us to celebrate you,” Trip Addison, vice president for University Advancement, said to the group. “Each one of you has gone above and beyond in your support of the University, and for each student who is chasing an incredible dream, your support is helping them to take hold of it. Because of supporters like you, more than $3 million in scholarships were awarded this year.”
The George-Anne
Provost predicts underwhelming enrollment, lower budget
Morgan Bridges, Print Managing Editor
An open forum was held between Provost, Carl Reiber, and GS’ faculty and staff yesterday. The forum presented a platform for staff to present thoughts and ideas on Georgia Southern’s upcoming method of operation following two years of COVID regulations and four consecutive years of budget cuts. …Reiber also addressed the drop in admission at GS due to the late notice on admission policy change, temporarily allowing students with a 3.2 GPA to be accepted without the need for SAT or ACT test scores. The subsequent drop of the upcoming freshman class is expected to put a larger strain on the already tight budget for the upcoming school year. Reiber discussed changes to the structure of GS and its programs and offered a possible aid to the vacuum left by the recent shrink in budget.
Times-Georgian
Dishman named new dean of UWG College of Education
SPECIAL TO THE TIMES-GEORGIAN
Mike L. Dishman, J.D., Ed.D., has been named the University of West Georgia’s dean of the College of Education and professor of education policy and governance, effective June 1. Dishman’s areas of teaching and scholarship include education law and policy, ethics, and leadership and governance in education. …As dean of UWG’s College of Education, Dishman will be responsible for leading the faculty and staff in service to students and the community by building upon the strengths of the college’s academic programs, curating robust student-centric experiences, expanding research and scholarly achievements, and engaging with internal and external community partners.
Athens Banner-Herald
State Botanical Garden of Georgia home to camellia collection honoring state first ladies
Wayne Ford
Camellias are one of those rare flowering shrubs that bloom in the winter, providing color to a season of mostly browns and grays. Mark Crawford, a Valdosta resident who sells fertilizer in the pecan market, also has a nursery supplying the varieties of camellia that are prized by collectors and hobbyists. In a unique flower collection, Crawford also grows a series of 10 camellias that are registered under the names of the wives of Georgia governors. These First Ladies of Georgia Camellias Collections are today found at locations in several Georgia cities, including Columbus, Plains, Tifton, Milledgeville and Gainesville. Recently, the collections were planted and dedicated in Athens at the State Botanical Garden of Georgia and in Augusta on the grounds of Augusta University. …Camellias are given names under which they are marketed and sold and these flowering shrubs are named for Betty Foy Sanders, Virginia Cox Maddox, Rosalyn Smith Carter, Marybeth Talbot Busbee, Elizabeth Carlock Harris, Shirley Carver Miller, Marie Dobbs Barnes, Mary Ruff Perdue, Sandra Dunnagan Deal and Marty Argo Kemp.
Albany Herald
PHOTOS: Albany State University Founder’s Day Student Leadership Luncheon
Photos contributed by Reginald Christian
Albany State University held its Founder’s Day Student Leadership Luncheon on Tuesday, April 5, 2022.
Savannah Morning News
Savannah State selects former Howard University coach to replace Shawn Quinn as head coach
Nathan Dominitz
Savannah State has hired Aaron Kelton as its 27th head football coach, director of athletics Opio Mashariki has announced, calling the choice “very tough” with final candidates including two Savannah natives. Kelton arrived on campus on Tuesday morning to meet with the team and administration, then he and Mashariki held a press conference Tuesday afternoon.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Jonas Hayes returns home as Georgia State basketball coach
By Stan Awtrey
Georgia State has hired Atlanta native Jonas Hayes, one of the hottest young coaches in the country, as its new men’s basketball coach, the school announced Wednesday. Hayes, 40, burst onto the national scene when he was named interim coach at Xavier in March after Travis Steele was fired and led the Musketeers to the NIT championship. He had spent four seasons there as an assistant coach. “Jonas is an experienced leader who will build a staff that embraces our expectations of competitive success, develops men of character and engages our community positively and with energy,” said Charlie Cobb, Georgia State’s athletic director.
yahoo!news
Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College sorority collects items for Ronald McDonald House
The Albany Herald, Ga.
The Omega Delta Chapter of the Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society at Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College is collecting personal care items for the Ronald McDonald House as its spring community service project. Chapter President Leana Atkinson said the organization is gathering personal care items such as shampoo, soap, toothbrushes and toothpaste. “This is a meaningful project for our members to continue to support,” Atkinson said. “In the past, our club has collected donations like these for the Charlie Norwood Veterans Affairs Medical Center as part of a community service project organized through the University System of Georgia. When we received a request from the Ronald McDonald House for these kinds of donations, we knew we could help.” Collection boxes will be at the Carlton Center and the King Hall lobby at ABAC through April 15. Atkinson said many families use the Ronald McDonald House in Savannah while their loved ones are in the hospital with COVID-19 and other illnesses.
Times-Georgian
UWG alum brings new life to Thomaston
By Kyle Werner Special To The Times-Georgian
University of West Georgia alumnus Taylor Smith’s journey has come full circle since his early days growing up in Thomaston. Today, as the city’s economic development coordinator, he is paying back the town that gave him so much. …Still, when Smith first ventured out of Thomaston to pursue his degrees, he never pictured returning to work there. …Now, Smith works to alter the trajectory of his hometown and bring opportunity and growth back to Thomaston. …Most notably, a project that’s making moves to redevelop the city is HGTV’s show “Home Town.” Smith coordinated with HGTV producers and submitted the necessary information for Thomaston to be selected for the show’s new season, which is scheduled to air around April. …Smith, who received his bachelor’s degree in business management in 2018 and his master’s degree in public administration in 2021, said staying involved at UWG helped shape his future. …“Going to West Georgia, I was really able to find myself, get involved and have those one-on-one conversations with professors,” Smith stated. “There’s so many great professors you can work with and who will treat you like more than just a number.”
yahoo!news
Annual truck and tractor pull set at Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College
The Albany Herald, Ga.
Trucks and tractors of all shapes and sizes will rev their engines and roar down the track Thursday-Saturday at the AET Truck and Tractor Pull, sponsored by the Agricultural Engineering Technology Club at Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College. The event is open to all students, faculty, staff, and the public. Gates open at 6 p.m. each night. During the event, trucks and tractors pull a weighted sled down a dirt track. The weight moves toward the front of the sled as the vehicle pulls it down the track, making it more difficult to pull. Trucks and tractors are divided into weight classes. ABAC has two pulling tractors, Altered Allis and Cracker Jack. On April 7, ABAC students and the community can participate in the amateur night that begins at 7 p.m.
The Augusta Chronicle
Worried about latest COVID-19 variant at Masters Tournament? Here’s what experts say
Tom Corwin
Even with a more contagious version of the Omicron variant spreading across the country, there is little reason for visitors to Augusta to worry about COVID-19 right now, an infectious disease expert said. “In this area, the risk is low,” said Dr. Rodger MacArthur, a professor in the Division of Infectious Diseases at Medical College of Georgia at Augusta University. “That is true for most places in the U.S.” Since the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention moved to a color-coded system that looks at risk in the community, the green for low risk covers nearly the entire map of the United States. In Georgia, many of the counties in the Augusta area are now colored gray for no new confirmed cases in the past two weeks, outside of 148 cases in Columbia County, 116 in Richmond County and nine in Screven County, according to the Georgia Department of Public Health.
WGAU Radio
UGA research finds racial disparities in COVID mitigation measures
Published in Social Science and Medicine
By Leigh Beeson, UGA Media Relations
New research from the University of Georgia suggests that highlighting coronavirus racial disparities could reduce white Americans’ fear of the disease and empathy toward Black and other minority groups. More awareness of those disparities can also make them less supportive of safety precautions such as mask wearing and social distancing. And that lack of support for safety precautions can exacerbate the devastating effects COVID-19 is having on minority populations, the researchers note. Published in Social Science and Medicine, the study found that highlighting health disparities may perpetuate the very racial inequalities reporters and those sharing information on disparities are trying to correct.
The Spectator
Board of Regents Ignores Recommendations to Change Problematic VSU Building Names
The USG Board of Regents decided against renaming more than 70 building across the university system last semester that are named after those who partook in slavery, oppression, anti-Semitism and supremacy. Five of these buildings are located on VSU’s campus, including residence halls. They are Ashley Cinema, Brown Hall, Langdale Hall, Lowndes Hall and Patterson Hall.
The buildings are named after these individuals: William Ashley, a physician and slaveholder; Joseph Mackey Brown, a governor of Georgia when VSU’s original school opened; Harley Lang
dale, Jr., owner and operator of the largest naval gum stores in the world; William Jones Lowndes, a South Carolina politician and enslaver; and James W. Patterson, an attorney and Confederate soldier.
Higher Education News:
Inside Higher Ed
Second Chances for Failing Students
A recent study found that grade-forgiveness policies incentivize students to study STEM, take harder courses and stay in college—not slack off or simply boost their GPAs, as critics claim.
By Maria Carrasco
Students are more likely to enroll in science, technology, engineering and mathematics courses and graduate with a STEM degree when grade-forgiveness policies are in place, according to a recent study published by the National Bureau of Economic Research. Grade-forgiveness policies, also known as grade-replacement policies, differ among institutions, but generally allow students to retake a course in which they received a low grade. The student’s new grade is then calculated into their overall GPA, and the old grade is tossed out. The study, titled “A second chance at success? Effects of college grade forgiveness policies on student outcomes,” looked at the transcripts of more than 170,000 undergraduates who attended Boise State University between 1990 and 2017. The report claims to be the first to study the impact of college course-repeating policies on GPA.
Diverse Issues in Higher Education
Pathways to Recovery from “the Missing Million” in Fall 2022 Enrollment
Liann Herder
As colleges and universities move steadily toward fall 2022, many in higher education are thinking critically about how to counteract the damage done to enrollment since the COVID-19 pandemic. “The 21st Century economy is fundamentally a knowledge economy, which is why the enrollment decline is so alarming,” said U.S. Secretary of Education Dr. Miguel Cardona, who provided opening remarks at the Lumina Foundation’s webinar titled, Our Nation’s Enrollment Plunge: Reversing the Trend. Lumina, a private foundation working to ensure 60% of U.S. adults have a certification or credential of value by 2025, gathered scholars, policy makers, and workforce leaders together to discuss how they addressed the barriers facing students during the pandemic, and how higher education can attract and cultivate new learners. At least one million students have not enrolled in college since fall 2020, according to the National Student Clearinghouse, a nonprofit that provides educational data and research covering 97% of all U.S. institutions. This enrollment crisis hit community colleges, minoritized, low-income, or male student populations hardest, but almost all institutions experienced severe declines two years in a row.
Inside Higher Ed
Biden Expected to Extend Loan-Payment Moratorium for 4 Months
By Scott Jaschik
President Biden is expected to extend his moratorium on federal student loan payments today or tomorrow, Politico reported. According to the article, the new deadline for beginning to repay loans will be Sept. 1. Many Democrats in Congress and activist groups have been urging the president to completely eliminate loan payments for some students, or to extend the moratorium beyond four months. …But some Republicans have criticized any extension of the moratorium.
Inside Higher Ed
Public Research Universities Have Spent $14.5B on COVID Relief
By Scott Jaschik
An analysis by the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities has found that public research universities had spent nearly $14.5 billion, or over 70 percent of the federal COVID-19 relief grant dollars they received, as of Dec. 31, 2021. This includes the nearly $10 billion from the first two pandemic relief bills—the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act and the Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act, as well as a substantial portion of the third round of funding that came from the American Rescue Plan Act.