USG e-clips for August 2, 2022

University System News:

 

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

University of North Georgia president plans to retire

By Ty Tagami

Bonita Jacobs, the first president of the University of North Georgia, plans to retire after the upcoming school year. Jacobs was the first woman to lead North Georgia College & State University after the State Board of Regents hired her ahead of the 2011-12 school year. She was also the second woman to lead one of the country’s six Senior Military Colleges. She then oversaw the consolidation of her institution with Gainesville State College. Together they became UNG in 2013. In an email to faculty and staff on Monday, Jacobs said she will retire in June, and will work with University System of Georgia Chancellor Sonny Perdue and university leaders as they search for her successor.

 

See also:

Gainesville Times

Bonita Jacobs stepping down as UNG president. Here’s why, when

 

yahoo!news

EDITORIAL: Bridges creates powerful legacy Farewell to retiring ABAC president

The Tifton Gazette, Ga.

Gauging the impact that Dr. David Bridges has had on Tifton and South Georgia is almost impossible. One can list some of the accomplishments of the Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College president but even the impressive achievements doesn’t speak to the multitude of lives he’s helped and influenced. Bridges is the only ABAC president to have once been an ABAC student, receiving his ABAC associate degree in 1978 before completing his undergraduate and graduate degrees at Auburn University and his Ph.D. at Texas A&M University. Prior to becoming the 10th ABAC president July 1, 2006, Bridges was the assistant dean of the Tifton campus of the University of Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences. He joined the UGA faculty in 1987 as an assistant professor in the Department of Crop and Soil Sciences.

 

Columbus CEO

Columbus State Students, Alumni Cash in as Interns, Crew on Recent Travolta ‘CA$H OUT’ Film

Staff Report

Columbus State University film production program alums Ginger Steele and Rena Thompson cashed in on their degrees in June working on the set of “CA$H OUT”—an upcoming thriller centered around a bank robbery and featuring John Travolta, Kristin Davis and Quavo from the rap group Migos. Filming occurred in Uptown Columbus, home of the university’s RiverPark Campus. In all, 11 students and six alumni represented Columbus State through a variety of internship and crew roles, according to Dr. Danna Gibson, chair of the Department of Communication. …Steele, a Columbus native, began her CSU studies as a communications and sociology major. With the 2016 creation of the Georgia Film Academy (GFA) program in partnership with Columbus State’s Department of Communication, she changed her degree path. Steele has always had a passion for the film industry, so in May 2017, she graduated from CSU with an associate of arts degree in film production, then a month later, she received her GFA certification. She believes that her education at CSU as well as professors like Chris Robinson and Chuck Kerr best prepared her for a career in film production.

 

AllOnGeorgia

CHATTOOGA PUBLIC LIBRARY TO PARTICIPATE IN ROSALYNN CARTER BUTTERFLY TRAIL

The public is encouraged to stop by the Chattooga Public Library to view the butterfly garden, featuring a variety of plants and bricks hand painted by library staff

The Chattooga Public Library has been selected as one of the many Georgia public libraries to receive grant funds to start a pollinator garden, a program inspired by Former First Lady Rosalynn Carter to help increase habitat for Monarch Butterflies. Thanks to a Georgia Public Library Service grant made possible by the Library Service and Technology Act and the Institute of Museum and Library Services, in partnership with the Georgia Farm Bureau and UGA Extension, the Chattooga Public Library received $275 to develop a pollinator garden that will help educate the general public on what butterflies need to survive, provide inspiration to create butterfly friendly gardens, and increase habitat for pollinators. The Chattooga Library will also receive a copy of the children’s book, A Journey to Plains, written by Annette Wise, forward by Rosalynn Carter.

 

Albany Herald

PHOTOS: Darton College of Health Professions Nursing Pinning Ceremony at Albany State University

Photos by Reginald Christian

Photos from Darton College of Health Professions Nursing Pinning Ceremony at Albany State University.

 

WGXA

GALLERY: ‘Spirit of Macon II’ mural graces Poplar St. Tunnel

by Claire Helm

If you’re driving, walking, or biking by the tunnel over Poplar St., you’ll see some new public art. The Macon-Bibb County Transit Authority and the Linda Harriet Lane Fund, along with the Community Foundation of Central Georgia, unveiled the mural on Friday. The artwork is called “The Spirit of Macon II” and it’s by artist Abraham Abebe, who’s also a professor at Georgia College and State University.

 

Story also appeared:

41NBC

Macon-Bibb Transit Authority unveils second part of downtown mural

The Macon-Bibb Transit Authority officially unveiled the addition to its colorful downtown mural Friday.

 

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Former West Georgia instructor had no prior interaction with victim, police say

By Alexis Stevens

Richard Sigman, 47, charged with murder in death 18-year-old Anna Jones

An incoming University of West Georgia freshman and the now-fired instructor accused of killing her had no prior interaction, police said Monday. “There is no indication that they knew each other and nothing to suggest they had any interaction before or leading up to the shooting,” Sgt. Meredith Browning told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Anna Jones, 18, died early Saturday after being shot while inside a car with her friends, according to police. Carrollton police said Richard Sigman, 47, fired into a parking deck after being asked to leave a pizza restaurant, but there’s no indication the shooting targeted anyone. Jones would have started her freshman year next week at West Georgia, where she planned to study education. Sigman was a business instructor at the university and also worked in real estate. He’s been fired, the university said.

 

 

Higher Education News:

 

Inside Higher Ed

Average Student Not on Track to Graduate in 5 Years

By Susan H. Greenberg

The average full-time college student doesn’t even attempt to take enough credits to complete a bachelor’s degree within five years, according to a new Postsecondary Data Partnership Insights report by the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center. The report evaluated the credit-completion ratio—the ratio of credits earned to those attempted—and the credit-accumulation rate of more than 900,000 first-time students at 342 postsecondary institutions during the 2019–20 school year. It found that the average student attempted fewer than 27 credit hours and completed fewer than 22 in their first year, earning on average roughly nine of every 12 credits they signed on for.

 

Higher Ed Dive

Public trust in colleges lags among Gen Z

Laura Spitalniak, Associate Editor

Dive Brief:

Universities and colleges will need to strengthen trust among young adults to grow enrollments and endowments, argues a new report from Morning Consult, a decision intelligence firm. Trust in colleges is lower among young adults than any other age group. Just over half of Gen Zers reported at least some trust in U.S. universities, compared to almost 65% of baby boomers. A majority of students and employers, 56% and 54% respectively, indicated trust will play an important role in a university’s future reputation.

 

Inside Higher Ed

The Great Resignation… or the Great Surrender?

With higher ed facing so many steep challenges, it’s not the time to quit, Bob Massa and Bill Conley write.

By Robert Massa and Bill Conley

Are faculty and staff members at our nation’s colleges and universities leaving their positions in higher numbers because they are no longer fulfilled in their careers and see better opportunities elsewhere, or are they throwing in the towel due to frustration, stress and disillusionment? We pose this question acknowledging that neither one of us was on campus for the long haul during the (ongoing) COVID-19 pandemic. One of us retired from a full-time, campus-based career in 2019, and the other announced his retirement (effective June 2020) six months prior to COVID’s official onset. Together, we have more than 85 years of experience on college campuses, helping various institutions achieve their enrollment and net revenue goals while being motivated to see students realize their educational and career dreams. Over the past decade we have spoken and written widely of the impending demographic declines and the stress that would bring to our campuses.

 

Inside Higher Ed

New Paper Finds College Vaccine Mandates Saved Lives

By Josh Moody

A new working paper that aims to calculate the effects of COVID-19 vaccine mandates at colleges estimates that they reduced death rates in fall 2021, saving 7,319 lives. The working paper, released by the National Bureau of Economic Research, found that vaccine mandates at colleges reduced deaths from coronavirus by an estimated 5 percent. Researchers from Miami University in Ohio, Michigan State University, Tulane University and Cornell University co-authored the paper that looked at how vaccine mandates mitigated death rates. The authors used data on vaccine mandates compiled by the College Crisis Initiative to identify universities with such requirements and “how they affected community-level transmission, hospitalizations, and deaths,” co-author Riley Acton of Miami University explained on Twitter. Researchers examined coronavirus vaccine mandates at nearly 700 colleges in the U.S.

 

Inside Higher Ed

Making the Case for Affirmative Action

Support for Harvard and UNC’s position floods the Supreme Court. Arguments focus on the Constitution, the impact on Asian Americans and saving lives.

By Scott Jaschik

It seems like everyone in higher education has something to say about affirmative action. To judge by the dozens of briefs submitted to the Supreme Court Monday, they strongly support it. Of course, there are also those who oppose affirmative action and hope the Supreme Court uses cases involving Harvard University and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill to end it. They had an earlier deadline, in May. To learn why, see this article on those 34 briefs. Far more briefs were submitted Monday (although the Supreme Court does not normally consider the volume of briefs in its decisions). But they represented individual colleges, individual scholars and associations arguing for Harvard and UNC.

 

Inside Higher Ed

A Cash-Strapped Public University Turns to the Private Sector

Officials at Eastern Michigan University say a new public-private partnership is the only way to solve their student housing woes. Some worry about a slide toward privatization.

By Liam Knox

When Christina Trotter, a rising sophomore at Eastern Michigan University, was asked what her priorities were for new and improved campus housing, one thing immediately came to mind: air-conditioning. Record high temperatures have gripped Michigan this summer, and many of the dorms on the Ypsilanti campus are old; only one has central air. “I had my box fan going all year; [my roommates and I] were wearing shorts and tank tops every day,” Trotter said. “Definitely air-conditioning was something my friends and I agreed on.” AC is just one item on a list of improvements and amenities that university leaders want to bring to residence halls, in addition to more communal space, better Wi-Fi, upgraded appliances and a more modern style. But for years the institution has lacked the resources to do so. EMU officials say that will soon change thanks to a new public-private partnership. In June, the university’s Board of Regents approved a 35-year, $200 million agreement with Gilbane Developers for the construction of two new dorms, the demolition of a half dozen old buildings and the outsourcing of maintenance costs and renovations for the remaining residence halls. And, of course, there will be AC in every room.

 

The Chronicle of Higher Education

Two Years After Promising a ‘Transformational’ Partnership, the U. of Arizona and Zovio Part Ways

By  Dan Bauman

The University of Arizona Global Campus announced on Monday it would take over management of its online education programs from Zovio Inc. — the same company that two years earlier transferred its for-profit college holdings to the University of Arizona in what was touted then as a “transformational” agreement. The news marks a precipitous end for the original deal, Arizona acquired Zovio’s Ashford University in 2020 and created the University of Arizona Global Campus, a nonprofit organization affiliated with the traditional public university. The new online mega-university was intended to extend the flagship university’s reach, particularly into the market of working adults. And both parties anticipated that Zovio would furnish UAGC with online program management (OPM) services for much of the next decade. Despite the lucrative terms of that 2020 sale — including an upfront cash payment of $37.5 million by Zovio and a promise that UAGC’s academic expenses would be covered with tuition and fee revenue — both Zovio and UAGC struggled in the wake of the deal to generate profitable returns. UAGC reported an $11.2-million loss in its most recent filing to the Internal Revenue Service, for the seven-month period covering December 2020 to June 2021.

 

Higher Ed Dive

Caltech won’t consider SAT and ACT scores through 2025

Jeremy Bauer-Wolf, Senior Reporter

Dive Brief:

The California Institute of Technology will not review SAT and ACT scores of undergraduate students applying for admissions through fall 2025, extending its pandemic-era kibosh on entrance exams, it announced last week. The prestigious private research institution in Pasadena initially shifted to test-free admissions in June 2020, as the spread of the coronavirus shut down typical exam sites. CalTech said an internal study revealed standardized test scores “have little to no power” predicting academic performance in required mathematics and physics courses for first-year students in the institute’s core curriculum.