USG e-clips for August 24, 2022

University System News:

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Sandra Deal, Georgia’s former first lady, dies at 80

By Phil Kloer

Tirelessly advocated for education

Sandra Deal, a 15-year veteran of teaching language arts in Hall County, committed to touring Georgia’s classrooms and reading to students after her husband Nathan Deal was elected governor in 2011. …Sandra Deal, the former first lady of Georgia who devoted her life to education and literacy, died Tuesday from breast cancer that metastasized into brain cancer. She was 80. …She attended Georgia College and State University at Milledgeville, earning a bachelor’s in elementary education in 1963 and a master’s in elementary education in 1968. …During her time as first lady, she co-wrote the book on the history of the Governor’s Mansion, “Memories of the Mansion: The Story of Georgia’s Governor’s Mansion” with two professors from Kennesaw State University. …Mrs. Deal was surprised in 2017 when she and her husband attended a ceremony at her alma mater, Georgia College and State University, for the opening of a new institute dedicated to professional development for teachers. She had not been told in advance it would be named the Sandra Dunagan Deal Center for Early Language and Literacy.

Article also appeared in:

The Red & Black

Forsyth County News

accessWDUN

Gainesville Times

WALB

Getting secondary education? It could earn you $1M in your lifetime.

By Mackenzie Petrie

Choosing to go to university or college is a big deal. Something that can earn you more than a million dollars in your lifetime. If you graduate from a University System of Georgia (USG) school, you are more likely to earn over $1 million more during your lifetime, according to the latest findings from the university system. A bachelor’s degree from Valdosta State University (VSU) will boost their work-life earnings by 82%, according to a study conducted by USG’s economic growth center.

The Tifton Gazette

New bachelor degrees OK’d for ABAC

Building on some of its existing strengths, Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College will offer two new bachelor’s degree programs in agricultural technology management and criminal justice. The programs were approved by the University System of Georgia Board of Regents during a meeting earlier this month, college officials said in a statement. The agricultural technology management degree “will prepare students for technical careers focused on problem solving, systems analysis and management in the production, processing or manufacturing of agricultural materials,” college officials said. …The criminal justice degree will be offered as a part of the USG’s eMajor initiative and students will have the opportunity to complete the online criminal justice B.S. degree while selecting from one of three tracks: general track, law enforcement track or social justice track. When the new degree programs begin, ABAC will have 14 bachelor’s degree programs across its four schools of study.

WGAU Radio

UNG welcomes newest members of Corps of Cadets

By Denise Ray, UNG

The week before the University of North Georgia’s fall semester started, 187 incoming cadets experienced Freshmen Recruit Orientation Group Week. The Aug. 14-20 set of events helped them acclimate to life as UNG cadets. The FROGs learned about the expectations of the Corps of Cadets in part from a history-making leadership duo. This academic year marks the first time both UNG cadet battalion commanders are women. Bentlee Roberson is the first battalion commander and Allyson Smith the second battalion commander.

Albany Herald

Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College sets fundraising record: $3.8 million in donations

From staff reports

Students at Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College will be the beneficiaries of a new fundraising record set by the Office of College Advancement and the ABAC Foundation Inc. during the 2021-22 year. Deidre Martin, ABAC’s chief advancement officer, said that ABAC received $3,873,210 in donations from July 1, 2021, through June 30, 2022.

Athens CEO

Mary Frances Early Celebrated on 60th Anniversary of Graduation

Staff Report

Mary Frances Early, who became the first African American graduate of the University of Georgia in 1962, was honored with a luncheon on the 60th anniversary of the achievement on Aug. 16. “Today we celebrate one of our most iconic alumni, a true trailblazer and most importantly, a dear friend to all of us,” said President Jere W. Morehead. “Ms. Early, as we begin this celebration, thank you for all that you continue to do to support the University of Georgia. Whether it is all of the kind notes that you send, the thoughtful calls that you make, the visits to our campus or the way you mentor countless students and alumni, we appreciate your extraordinary service to this institution. On behalf of the entire UGA community, we want to thank you for the impact that you continue to have on the University of Georgia.” Early said that she came to the luncheon with her own sense of gratefulness.

Gwinnett Daily Post

White House Latino Economic Summit highlights programs that can help Hispanic businesses

By Curt Yeomans

About 250 people filled a ballroom at Georgia Gwinnett College on Tuesday to discuss how government programs can help Hispanic businesses prosper. The White House Initiative Latino Economic Summit gave attendees to discuss not only the challenges facing Latino business owners, but also identify some of their needs, such as resources for small businesses and education, mentoring and health opportunities.

The Union-Recorder

Cox inauguration at Georgia College: what the future holds

The future of Georgia College, the state’s flagship public liberal arts university, with Cathy Cox as the institution’s 12th president in its 130-year plus history — that was the optimistic theme Friday at the Centennial Center as the new president, who took the office on Oct. 1, 2021, had her official inauguration ceremony with faculty, family, students and several other community leaders in attendance. Cox made some unique observations and clarifications during her inaugural address, such as how a liberal arts college has nothing to do with political ideology and that perhaps the federal government should follow the University System of Georgia’s lead in scheduling its inauguration ceremony.

Inside Higher Ed

Public Universities to Scale Use of Low-Cost Statistics Courseware

Doug Lederman

The Association of Public and Land-grant Universities has agreed to help spread the use of new low-cost introductory statistics courseware developed by Lumen Learning. The statistics courseware is among the first to emerge from a new initiative funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to build high-quality, low-cost courseware for 20 high-enrollment “gateway” classes that first-year students of color and those from low-income backgrounds disproportionately fail or don’t finish. The initiative aims to develop and spread the use of courseware designed to increase the odds that students from all backgrounds and academic preparation levels have an equitable chance to succeed in those key courses—and ultimately in college. The partnership with APLU is designed to drive adoption of the courseware among the association’s 250 public research and land-grant universities. Among the first universities to participate are Florida International University, Georgia State University,

WJCL

Georgia Southern golfers’ success helping out Statesboro business

Southern Exchange Co. seeing an increase in hat sales

Dave Williams, Reporter

A national television appearance and runner up at a major tournament for a Georgia Southern University golfer is paying big dividends for a Statesboro business. “In terms of increased sales, probably I don’t know, 100-fold increase over the last week,” said William Martin, owner of Southern Exchange Company. Martin is talking about the run they’ve seen on hats. The special hats representing the Georgia Southern golf team have become a hot commodity after Georgia Southern golfer Ben Carr was seen wearing one during his exposure on national television this weekend where he was runner-up at the U.S. Amateur Championship.

Times-Georgian

UWG athletics official address local groups Tuesday

By Dan Minish Dminish

University of West Georgia intercollegiate athletics in general and Wolves football in particular were the focal points at meetings of two different Carrollton organizations Tuesday. However, at one gathering some good natured ribbing took center stage as a few Rotary Club members took the opportunity to “talk a little trash” as the new college football season quickly approaches. But first, UWG Athletics Director Jason Carmichael kicked off the day when he addressed members of the Carroll County Chamber of Commerce at the organization’s early morning breakfast meeting held at The Coliseum on the West Georgia campus.

Athens CEO

McDuffie County Expands Leadership Pipeline with UGA Support

Charlie Bauder

Census data on Thomson-McDuffie County caught Elizabeth Brown’s attention. Fifty-nine percent of households in the community were run by single parents. “As a social worker, I know the importance of ensuring those children and parents have support to ensure positive outcomes later in life, and I wanted to help address that need,” said Brown, resident services director of the East Georgia Housing Authority. At the time, Brown was completing Leadership McDuffie, a community leadership program facilitated by the UGA J.W. Fanning Institute for Leadership Development. She suggested that the class take on the issue as one of its projects.

WJBF

Upcoming flu season expected to be a tough one

by: Renetta DuBose, Photojournalist: Gary Hipps

Health experts predict this upcoming winter will be bad for influenza. Early indicators from the southern hemisphere show health experts that the upcoming flu season will be a tough one. “[We look at the southern hemisphere of the world] Countries like Argentina and Australia and sort of use that as a guide for our flu season. This past winter they had heavy severity and volume of flu,” said Elisa Polania, Nurse Practitioner, CVS Minute Clinic. Dr. Rodger MacArthur, who works in Infectious Diseases at Medical College of Georgia at Augusta University added, “Anticipate seeing more cases than we’re used to, but that doesn’t mean a whole bunch.” Health experts say now is the time to get the vaccine, hoping most get a shot by October when flu season starts and before it peaks in February.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

GSU professor: Acknowledge and honor experiences of students of color

Get Schooled with Maureen Downey

Ashley M. Stewart is an educational psychologist, researcher and assistant professor at Georgia State University. Her focus is the racialized experiences of young people from historically marginalized backgrounds in various social settings, including online and in person. Her research shows that in discussions of race and diversity, students of color are generally the experts. In this guest column, Stewart warns a new state law limiting classroom discussions of race and racism will only make teachers more uncomfortable and ill-equipped to have these discussions, ultimately placing more labor onto students of color, particularly Black students.

Science.org

‘We’re nervous.’ Deadly bird flu may be in North America to stay

H5N1 has continued to kill wild birds and poultry this summer. The fall migration could bring it back in force

By Erik Stokstad

When an outbreak of highly pathogenic H5N1 avian influenza spread across North America this spring, researchers hoped for a replay of what happened after a different avian flu variant arrived in the United States in December 2014. Although more than 50 million birds died or were destroyed in a matter of months, costing farmers more than $1.6 billion, the virus had essentially vanished by June 2015. Poultry outbreaks ended, wild birds stopped dying, and migratory waterfowl didn’t bring the virus back when they returned from their summer breeding grounds in Canada. But this time is different. H5N1 infections in both wild bird species and poultry have continued in parts of the United States and Canada over the summer, dashing hopes that warmer temperatures would halt the spread. And whereas the 2015 outbreak primarily affected Midwest poultry farms, H5N1 has spread to practically the entire continental United States and infected at least 99 wild bird species, a record. …Infections began to fall in May, although some species continued to be afflicted. Black vultures, which pick up H5N1 when they scavenge carcasses, are still dying by the hundreds, says Rebecca Poulson, a wildlife disease researcher with the Southeastern Cooperative Wildlife Disease Study at the University of Georgia.

Flagpole

University System Tries to Block Proposed Linnentown Mosaic

An Athens-Clarke County committee is determined to move forward with a memorial for Linnentown despite the University System of Georgia’s efforts to block a mosaic at the former site of the demolished neighborhood. USG Executive Vice Chancellor Teresa MacCartney wrote a letter on July 29 to ACC Attorney Judd Drake denying permission to install the mosaic at the intersection of Baxter and Finley streets, Athens Politics Nerd reported. It was originally thought that ACC owned the right-of-way; however, a recent survey determined that ACC only owned the roadway itself, according to ACC Assistant Manager Niki Jones. The surrounding right-of-way was never legally handed over to the city when UGA demolished Linnentown to build new dorms during “urban renewal” in the 1960s. MacCartney also raised other concerns with the mosaic, including traffic safety, limited parking and potential inconsistency with the University of Georgia’s design standards. Members of the Justice and Memory Project, appointed by Mayor Kelly Girtz in 2021 to commemorate Linnentown, called those objections red herrings, noting that UGA has ignored invitations to participate in the process and refused to acknowledge its role in destroying the majority Black neighborhood.

Higher Education News:

The Chronicle of Higher Education

Biden’s Student-Debt Forgiveness Is Reportedly Imminent. Here’s What You Need to Know.

By  Francie Diep

After vowing during the 2020 election campaign to make student-debt relief a priority, President Biden reportedly will announce his long-anticipated decision on Wednesday. The exact details about the plan aren’t known, but the administration has been considering canceling $10,000 in federal debt for borrowers who make less than $125,000 or $150,000 in a year, The Washington Post and Bloomberg have reported. Borrowers have been awaiting a decision about debt cancellation for months, some for years. While campaigning to be president, Biden said he supported canceling up to $10,000 in federal loans per borrower. If he does announce such a policy, most of America’s 43 million federal student-loan borrowers will see some relief.

Higher Ed Dive

Anxious parents want to hear directly from colleges as students decide where to enroll

Jeremy Bauer-Wolf, Senior Reporter

Dive Brief:

Parents and guardians of students who are deciding where to attend college want to hear from institutions directly during that search and are highly concerned about cost and value, according to a new report from consultancy EAB. EAB surveyed more than 2,000 parents and guardians this year to glean insights into their role during the college hunt. The consultancy found they operate like college education is a product, and are more anxious and less trusting than previous generations of parents. During college searches, they were most commonly anxious about costs and the amount of debt students and families might have to take on. Because of this, parents want to hear about finances from the start of a college search. EAB recommends institutions dedicate communications to parents through multiple avenues.

Inside Higher Education

OPINION – Online Does Not Mean Isolated

And in person may not mean connected: Maha Bali, George Station and Mia Zamora discuss building community in an online conference or professional development series.

By Maha Bali, George Station, and Mia Zamora

We read, with interest, Nolan Higdon and Allison Butler’s recent Inside Higher Ed piece, “Conferencing Critically in a COVID-19 World,” in which they discuss various drawbacks to remote and hybrid conferences. While we agree with some of the key points in their article, we feel that others underestimate the potential of virtual and hybrid professional development. One statement in Higdon and Butler’s article stood out for us: “One additional risk of a remote conference—and, by extension, remote education—is that it keeps us isolated from each other.” People who have been teaching and connecting online since before the pandemic would disagree with this notion, especially those who centered humanizing approaches to online learning and pedagogies of care; many others learned during the pandemic how to build community and create affective ties with learners and peers globally, without gathering in a shared physical locale. Moreover, being “in person” does not necessarily result in less isolation. In-person events can be isolating for anyone who is not already part of the in crowd.

EdSurge

Can U.S. Colleges Serve People Who Primarily Speak Spanish?

Higher ed leaves out millions of people who might benefit from bilingual or dual-language programs.

By Eleanore Catolico

When Anna Camba moved from Venezuela to the U.S. four years ago, she worried about arriving too “late” in her educational journey to succeed in her new home. But the Spanish-speaker says she found the support she needed by enrolling in a dual-language program at the Honors College at Miami Dade College, which helped her to pursue higher education in both her native language and in English. Camba just graduated with her associate degree and will transfer to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in the fall. The dual-language program, she says, “allowed me a chance to prove myself and grow professionally, in a way that I can be an acceptable candidate for top schools.” The U.S. is home to millions of people who primarily speak Spanish. In recent years, a few Hispanic-serving institutions have launched bilingual and dual-language programs—as well as programs taught almost entirely in Spanish—to serve these people, who college leaders say have limited postsecondary options in this country.

Higher Ed Dive

Test proctoring room scans violated college student’s privacy, judge rules

Natalie Schwartz, Editor

Dive Brief:

Cleveland State University violated the Fourth Amendment’s protection against unreasonable government searches and seizures by scanning rooms via online proctoring software before students took exams, a federal judge ruled Monday. Aaron Ogletree sued Cleveland State after he had to agree to a camera scan of his bedroom before he could take a remote chemistry exam during the spring 2021 semester. Ogletree alleged he wasn’t given enough advance notice about the room scan to arrange for an on-campus test instead, according to his complaint. But even if he were, he argued, the coronavirus pandemic would have prevented him from taking the test in person, forcing him to agree to the room scan to avoid receiving a zero grade.

Higher Ed Dive

This bipartisan bill would create $50M federal grants for regional public universities

Rick Seltzer, Senior Editor

Dive Brief:

Four-year regional public universities in distressed areas could receive federal grants of up to $50 million for economic and community development efforts under newly introduced bipartisan legislation. The grants would go to institutions for projects to address healthcare challenges, seed early stage businesses, modernize broadband networks and improve critical infrastructure. As many as 174 institutions across the country would qualify under the proposal. Rep. Jim Costa, a California Democrat, promoted the legislation at a press conference Tuesday at Fresno State University. The bill is cosponsored by Rep. Bruce Westerman, an Arizona Republican.

Inside Higher Ed

From 3 Struggling Public Colleges, a New University Emerges

Enrollment declines, state underfunding and structural deficits created a crisis in Vermont’s college system. Rather than close campuses, a statewide hybrid institution aims to cut costs and build long-term legislative backing.

By Doug Lederman

Think higher education can’t “transform” itself? Meet Vermont State University. The newly accredited institution, the result of a merger of three financially challenged public colleges and universities scattered across more than 100 miles in Vermont, isn’t the kind of change many academic idealists might want; the consolidation will eliminate scores of programs and will cost some employees their jobs. But it may be the sort of solution more states embrace in this era of declining enrollments, constrained resources and political doubts about higher education’s value.

Diverse Issues in Higher Education

University of Akron Brings Nap Pods to Campus to Improve Student Mental Health

Arrman Kyaw

The University of Akron (UA) has brought nap pods to campus, allowing students to get some light shuteye throughout the day. The school put four nap pods at three locations across campus for 20-minute refresher naps to boost mood, creativity, and focus. Each pod has a privacy visor, a built-in timer, and specifically composed sleep music. The visor rotates to provide privacy and darkness, the lights can be adjusted, and the music can be customized via Bluetooth. Each site will have motivational quotes and flyers for campus and community resources. They are available during regular operating hours on a first-come, first-served basis. Reservations may be required during peak demand.