WTOC
Georgia Southern to host 2023 Governor’s Honor’s Program
By Dal Cannady
Starting next summer, Georgia Southern University will welcome hundreds of high school students for honors studies and an inside look at college. Officials at Georgia Southern say getting the chance to host the Governor’s Honor’s Program is big enough, but even more crucial right now. The program brings together 700 or so high school juniors and seniors each summer to study math, science, the arts, or other subject for a four week session. This comes at a time when universities statewide are seeing fewer students enroll and competition for recruits is even tougher. University leaders hope this gives them an inside track.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Kennesaw State accepts invitation to join Conference USA
Conference USA invited Kennesaw State to become a member of the conference, and KSU accepted the offer, league and school officials announced Friday in a news release issued by KSU. The Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia gave its conditional approval to the move at its meeting Wednesday. According to Kennesaw State’s news release, the conditions were met when, “university stakeholder groups met this week to discuss the proposal, which includes a timeline for action as well as confirmation that the move will not require any increase in student fees. Following approval of the proposal from stakeholder groups, University System Chancellor Sonny Perdue provided final approval” Friday.
Albany Herald
UGA junior among first recipients of Voyager Scholarship
By Stephanie Schupska University of Georgia
Leah Whitmoyer of Tucker, a third-year student at the University of Georgia, is one of 100 college students from across the nation to be selected for the inaugural cohort of the Voyager Scholarship, the Obama-Chesky Scholarship for Public Service. Established in 2021 by the Obama Foundation and Airbnb co-founder and CEO Brian Chesky, the Voyager Scholarship is a two-year program for students in their junior and senior years of college from across the U.S. who are committed to pursuing careers that serve the public and their communities.
Albany Herald
Synovus partners with ABAC to present Financial Literacy Program for students
From staff reports
Synovus partnered with the Stafford School of Business at Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College to present a recent three-session “Here Matters” financial literacy workshop for ABAC students. Students attended sessions titled “Money Matters — Borrowing and Credit,” “Earning Power — Investing,” and “Financial Services — Insurance.” Randy Minton, lecturer of accounting from the Stafford School of Business, led each session. The program allowed students to learn basic financial concepts and principles so they can make confident financial decisions and reach personal and economic goals in the future. Students who completed the entire program earned ABAC Dining Dollars.
Albany Herald
ABAC students assist with first lady’s Congressional Luncheon
From staff reports
Three students from Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College and an ABAC alumna were key participants in the arrangement of floral designs at the recent First Lady’s Congressional Luncheon in Washington, D.C. The students included Olivia Centanni and Wendy Sullivan from Lakeland, Fla., and Emma Walker from LaGrange. Also assisting was Shelby Waldroup, an ABAC alumna who is currently an Agriculture Education teacher at Troup County High School. The floral designs at the luncheon, which was attended by First Lady Jill Biden, were sponsored by Certified American Grown florals. Program Manager Anna Kalins said the ABAC students were right on target.
YouTube
Special surprise for UGA breast cancer survivors
“GMA3” surprises breast cancer survivor and mother of University of Georgia cornerback Kelee Ringo, Tralee Hale, and Jay and Teresa Abbott, co-founders of Bulldogs Battling Breast Cancer.
The Red & Black
UGA celebrates 100th homecoming parade
Holly Kate O’Brien
Smiles and Bulldog cheers were abundant on East Clayton Street while the Redcoat Marching Band joined the University of Georgia in celebrating its homecoming’s 100th anniversary in its annual parade. “[My favorite part about the parade is] 100% the Redcoat band, they are so choreographed and it is just so awesome to see them,” said Daniel Glenn, a freshman international business and finance major. UGA students, alumni, Athens residents and businesses gathered downtown dressed in red and black to show their UGA spirit in honor of homecoming week and to kick off the Georgia vs. Vanderbilt game on Saturday, Oct. 15. UGA’s Army Reserve Officers’ Training Corps program stood alongside the color guard leading the parade as it traveled through downtown Athens.
See also:
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
5 things to know about UGA’s 100th homecoming
McDuffie Progress
Farm to School Month grows student understanding of agriculture
By Amanda Budd University of Georgia
October is National Farm to School Month, and this year students will learn more about a leafy green that is packed with nutrition through the theme “Spinach to Win It.” Farm to School Month is coordinated by Georgia Organics in partnership with University of Georgia Cooperative Extension, as well as the state of Georgia’s Department of Education, the Department of Agriculture and the Department of Public Health. Together, they focus on a specific crop to help students across the state learn more about agriculture and how food ends up on their plates.
Minority Business News
EDA grants $47M to accelerate technology entrepreneurship
U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo recently announced that the Department’s Economic Development Administration (EDA) is awarding 51 “Build to Scale” grants – totaling $47 million – to organizations that support technology entrepreneurs, catalyze innovation and fuel economic growth. EDA’s “Build to Scale” program provides annual grants that aim to accelerate technology entrepreneurship by increasing inclusive access to entrepreneurial support and startup capital. The 2022 awardees will leverage an additional $48 million in matching funds from a variety of private and public sector sources. These EDA investments support advanced manufacturing, bioscience, clean energy and blue economy clusters in regions throughout the United States. …The 2022 Build to Scale program was comprised of two competitions––the Venture Challenge and the Capital Challenge. The Venture Challenge supports programs that enable high-growth technology entrepreneurship and foster inclusive access to proven entrepreneurship support models. The Capital Challenge increases access to capital in communities where risk capital is in short supply by providing operational support for early-stage investment funds, networks, and training programs that focus on both traditional and hybrid equity-based financing.
2022 Venture Challenge Grant Recipients
…Georgia Southern University, Statesboro, GA ($600,000)
Albany Herald
PHOTOS: Rapper Rick Ross stars at 2022 Albany State homecoming convocation
Alan Mauldin
Former Albany State football player Rick Ross made a triumphant return to campus on Friday for the 2022 homecoming convocation program. The rapper and businessman, former known as William Leonard Roberts II, received a thunderous reception from the crowd. Henrie Mae Bell, who attended Albany State in the late 1960s, presented a check to establish a scholarship in the name of her late husband, Dale L. “Tippy” Bell. The two met as students at the university.
Athens Banner-Herald
Hip-Hop Harmonic concert represents a cultural milestone in the Athens music scene
Andrew Shearer
From breakdancing outside of Fuse Box Pinball on College Square and rap battles at Skate-Inn to the main stage at AthFest and plaques on the Music Walk of Fame, Athens hip-hop has made astounding strides over the decades in a town where indie rock has historically been disproportionately celebrated. The upcoming Athens Hip Hop Harmonic concert, which will debut original works created by local hip-hop, poetry and R&B artists in collaboration with University of Georgia composers and musicians, represents a cultural milestone in the Athens music scene.
Statesboro Herald
3 weeks of opportunity to cast ballot, including 2 Saturdays
Al Hackle/Staff
The official date of Georgia’s general election is Tuesday, Nov. 8. But three weeks of opportunities to vote early begin Monday and will include two Saturdays. Meanwhile, absentee voting by mail has already begun. Throughout Georgia, the ballot includes a race of national significance for the U.S. Senate, as well as contests for governor and seven other statewide offices, plus decisions on two state constitutional amendments and two state referendums. Every voter in Bulloch County can also help decide two local sales tax referendums and one liquor store referendum and one of two county commissioner races.
Early voting schedule
The Bulloch County Board of Elections and Registration suite in the County Annex will be the one location in the county open for early voting the entire 17 days. But two other early voting locations, including one on the Georgia Southern University campus, will open for a few select days.
The West Georgian
TEST SCORES WAIVED FOR CERTAIN GEORGIA COLLEGE STUDENTS
By Douglas Salter
The University System of Georgia (USG) is waiving SAT and ACT scores for high school students who have a GPA of 3.2 or applying to Georgia State Colleges in 2023-2024 school year. Waiving test scores will impact current high school seniors applying to colleges across the state positively over the next academic year. It will help students who are poor test takers, students who cannot afford the test and generally give students one less task to worry about when it comes to applying to college.
Higher Education News:
Inside Higher Ed
As the Pandemic Wanes, All Eyes Are on Enrollment
Institutions are eager to see this fall’s enrollment numbers as they prepare to strategize for a post-pandemic landscape. The data are scattered, but some trends are starting to emerge.
By Liam Knox and Sara Weissman
After a bruising year of pandemic-related enrollment declines, higher education leaders across the country are anxiously waiting for this fall’s national enrollment picture to emerge. Many of the signs suggest at least modest improvement over all, but with wide variation among sectors and institutions. National Student Clearinghouse data released in May showed the enrollment downturn slowing, but by no means reversing. The NSC is scheduled to release nationwide enrollment data for fall 2022 later this week. As the fog of the pandemic’s impact clears, those numbers could reveal the contours of a new landscape for higher education. Enrollment officials at colleges that experienced robust increases aren’t even waiting for the official numbers and are instead publicly announcing enrollment upswings. Administrators at colleges that had modest gains are being more circumspect and have adopted a wait-and-see attitude. Meanwhile, those institutions where enrollments continued to decline are likely keeping that news to themselves.
Higher Ed Dive
Broad racial and ethnic categories don’t cut it for colleges, Common App data suggests
Federal racial and ethnic categories obscure key details for college admissions and student support, analysis shows.
Natalie Schwartz, Editor
Federal categories of racial and ethnic groups — which lump students together within large groups — wind up concealing wide variations within those groups, according to a new analysis from Common App, a nonprofit that allows prospective students to apply to more than 1,000 member colleges using one application. Common App examined data from domestic first-year applicants to its member colleges between the 2013-14 and 2021-22 academic years to understand nuanced shifts in racial and ethnic groups over time. For instance, while Asian applicants have increased 71% over that period, a deeper look at the data shows that students from Sri Lankan, Nepalese and Bangladeshi backgrounds have grown more than twice as quickly as those in the overall group. Those from Japanese backgrounds, on the other hand, have declined 4%. Without more detailed data, colleges could miss out on having an accurate understanding of their student bodies that could inform admission practices and student support services.
See also:
Inside Higher Ed
A Nuanced Understanding of Race
Common Application releases two reports on the differences within racial categories.
Inside Higher Ed
Loan Forgiveness Starts, in Beta Form
Scott Jaschik
The Biden administration’s loan forgiveness program started on Friday night, The New York Times reported. But so far it is just “beta testing the student debt relief website,” the Education Department said Friday.
Inside Higher Ed
Debt Relief Likely Focus of GOP Lawmakers
House Republicans are not likely to cut a deal with Biden administration on federal higher ed issues if they win control in midterms.
By Katherine Knott
If Republicans take control of the House of Representatives after the upcoming midterm elections, the Biden administration could expect lawsuits challenging student loan forgiveness and stepped-up oversight of the U.S. Department of Education, higher education lobbyists and policy experts say. “Their priorities are going to be much more about building a record with an eye toward 2024,” said Frederick Hess, director of education policy studies for the American Enterprise Institute, a right-leaning think tank. Hess and others interviewed expected Republicans to focus heavily on President Biden’s recent decision to forgive up to $20,000 in federal student loans for eligible Americans, as well as changes to other debt-relief programs. Meanwhile, conversations about changes to Pell Grants, affordability and accountability will likely continue, but meaningful legislation in response is not expected to result from those discussions.