Middle Georgia CEO
USG Executive Leadership Institute Welcomes the 2022-23 Class
Staff Report
The University System of Georgia (USG) has named the 2022-2023 class of its Executive Leadership Institute (ELI), including 35 faculty and staff members from 25 USG institutions and the University System Office. For over a decade, USG has hosted ELI for faculty and staff to develop new leaders within the university system and offer professional develop opportunities to help them grow their careers in Georgia. “This is about supporting and growing our own people within the university system,” USG Chancellor Sonny Perdue said. “Many times, the best talent is already among us. We want to give our people the best opportunity to experience this kind of professional development so they can reach their full potential.”
WTOC
Georgia Southern University online degree program
By Tim Guidera
At its most recent graduation ceremony, more than 4,000 Georgia Southern students received diplomas for Associate, Baccalaureate, Masters and Doctoral studies, and some of those students were never on any of the university’s three campuses. Distance learning received a lot of attention during the pandemic, but Georgia Southern’s Online Degree Program had already been an increasingly popular option offering students flexibility, convenience and career-advancement potential – wherever they are.
yahoo!news
ABAC criminal justice program open to students, law enforcement
The Albany Herald, Ga.
Current students as well as professionals working in the law enforcement field can now enroll in the new bachelor of science in Criminal Justice degree program at Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College. Classes in the new four-year degree program will begin during the spring semester, and school officials say they believe it will be an asset to current students as well as those already employed in law enforcement. The degree is offered online as part of the eMajor initiative from the University System of Georgia.
WJBF
Augusta University surprises local high school seniors with acceptance
by: Tiffany Hobbs
Higher education made its way to a couple of high schools Wednesday. Local students were in for a big surprise from Augusta University- Georgia’s health, sciences and medical college. “AU also gave me the offer to apply for their honors program and their nursing scholars program, which I find incredibly amazing- I’m definitely going to take advantage of that,” said Zafirah Richards, a senior at Lakeside High School. “So, I’m really excited. I know my parents are really excited and proud. They know how much of a fan I am of AU- I always go to their tours, it’s a beautiful campus. And, so I’m really looking forward to the fall of 2023!” Early on Wednesday, 60 students from Lakeside and Davidson Fine Arts high schools learned they have been accepted into Augusta University during what’s called “early action”. Students were ushered into a meeting place on campus and greeted by AU’s mascot, Augustus the Jaguar.
Columbus CEO
Pasaquan Awarded $340,000 Grant from the Ruth Foundation for the Arts
Staff Report
The Ruth Foundation for the Arts has announced a grant to Columbus State University’s Pasaquan in its Thought Leader Category in the amount of $340,000 to uplift organizations undertaking ambitious initiatives with long-term impact in the artistic and academic areas. Located in Buena Vista, Georgia, Pasaquan, an immersive, multiculturally inspired and internationally recognized visionary artist environment, was created by Eddie Owens Martin, a self-taught artist who drew inspiration from many colorful cultures. …Pasaquan is one of CSU’s educational outreach centers, which also includes the Coca-Cola Space Science Center and Oxbow Meadows Environmental Learning Center.
Bioengineer
The conversations between our bone and muscle change as we age, and both are the weaker for it, Medical College of Georgia scientists say. They are leading a five-year, $11 million initiative (PO1AGO36675) funded by the National Institutes of Health to keep the conversation, our bone and muscle and ultimately us stronger longer.
WJBF
AU: Take the pledge to toss tobacco during the Great American Smokeout
by: D.V. Wise
Augusta University has committed to help the community reduce the number of tobacco and e-cigarette users during the American Cancer Society’s Great American Smokeout – a national event held each November that aims to help smokers in overcoming their addiction.
Columbus CEO
Columbus State Seeks Nominees for Annual University, Community Diversity Awards
Staff Report
Columbus State University invites the community to join with students, faculty and staff in nominating diversity, equity and inclusion advocates for its 2023 Legacy Awards. These awards, presented annually at CSU’s Legacy Banquet, honor a commitment to fostering belonging on campus and in the community. Eight different Legacy Award categories specifically honor CSU alumni, area organizations and businesses, faith leaders, LGBTQ students and allies, university employees, and women who help enhance DEIB efforts at Columbus State and in the Chattahoochee Valley.
Editor and Publisher
How universities are filling gaps in media coverage
Journalism students are reporting stories for communities left behind in news deserts
…Students save The Oglethorpe Echo
The Oglethorpe Echo is a newspaper in a small, rural town outside Athens, Georgia. The owner and publisher, Ralph Maxwell, planned to close down the paper in 2021. That’s when Dink NeSmith, co-owner of Community Newspapers, Inc., stepped in and evolved the paper into a partnership with the University of Georgia’s Henry W. Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communications in Athens. …Charles Davis, Ph.D., the dean of the school, said the paper and the partnership have been a success so far. …Davis said the program provides students with the necessary skills, allowing them to take on real-world projects that impact their community. He said that having these types of relationships have helped his students better understand what it takes to be journalists in today’s world, including how much work goes into producing quality content.
The Augusta Chronicle
Vaughn: UGA publications offer great tips for planting fruit trees
Campbell Vaughn Columnist (UGA Agriculture and Natural Resource agent for Richmond County)
We get a decent amount of fruit tree questions around the office. And like most extension agents, we have to know enough about planted fruit to at least answer a few basic questions about them. Things like when to fertilize or prune. What is a good variety for our area? Can we grow apples in our area? And lots of questions about why something is not producing. …I normally try not telling people to look up a publication. I’d rather find the answer for them as quickly as possible except when it comes to fruit trees. UGA Home (insert fruit here) publications are fantastic. If anyone wants to know best way to grow a home fruit, you should check out these publications.
Athens Banner-Herald
A man of great principle and character, UGA baseball coach Steve Webber will be missed
Loran Smith Special to the Banner-Herald
As Georgia fans are enjoying a bountiful football season with expectations being met and national rankings accompanying the Bulldogs much of the fall, we pause to pay our respects to former baseball coach Steve Webber who died of cancer this past weekend. Webber moved UGA to the head of the class in baseball, which has always been important in Athens. In fact, in the days before and during World War I, baseball was the most important sport on most college campuses.
Higher Education News:
InsiderAdvantage
TCSG officials say apprenticeships key in building Georgia’s workforce
by Cindy Morley
As Georgia continues its reign as the No. 1 state in the country to do business, so does the need to build a vibrant and well-trained workforce. Because of this, Gov. Brian Kemp, lawmakers and the Technical College System of Georgia (TCSG) have turned their attention to finding ways to build Georgia’s workforce pool. As the state celebrates National Apprenticeship Week and Georgia Apprenticeship Week, the TCSG hosted the state’s first-ever Georgia Apprenticeship Summit Thursday to highlight the importance of apprenticeships in that workforce. The event, which drew workforce leaders, Georgia businesses, and community stakeholders, brought attention to efforts to expand the state’s workforce, and detailed how employers and communities can access funding and resources provided by TCSG and local technical colleges to establish apprenticeships in their companies.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Universities focus on athletes’ mental health after crises
By Ralph D. Russo, Associated Press
There is no playbook to instruct how athletic departments are to respond to the tragic death of one of their athletes
Police awoke Indiana State athletic director Sherard Clinksdale early on Aug. 21 with tragic news. Two of the university’s football players, and another student, had died in a car accident. Clinksdale immediately began devising a plan to console and support the teammates and friends of the deceased teenagers. “There is no playbook for something like this,” Clinksdale said. But those who have experienced the unexpected death of a college athlete under their supervision say the increased emphasis on mental health care in athletic departments and universities at large — spurred in part by the pandemic and lessons learned from other tragedies — helps when responding to a crisis. …While university leaders have pointed to increased focus on student mental health services, athletes appear less convinced.
Higher Ed Dive
Common App expands program that offers automatic admission to students
Jeremy Bauer-Wolf, Senior Reporter
Dive Brief:
The Common Application announced Wednesday it is growing its program that sends admissions offers to students before they formally apply. Fourteen colleges will participate in the pilot, known as a direct admissions program. The Common App — an online portal enabling students to apply to more than 1,000 participating colleges — started it last year. The organization has said students who take advantage of direct admissions are more likely to complete an application. The colleges taking part in the initiative offer admission to most applicants.
Inside Higher Ed
Admissions Numbers 2023: So Far, So Good
But wealthier students tend to dominate among those who apply at this time. International applications are way up.
By Scott Jaschik
he Common Application, with all its members, is the best source for information on how many students are applying to college right now. And it released on Thursday its first information on the totals for fall 2023. As of Nov. 1, 727,047 distinct first-year applicants had applied to 841 returning member colleges of the Common App, an increase of 26 percent from 2019–20 (the last year when data were not affected by the pandemic). Total application volume rose 41 percent from 2019–20 (2,030,120) to 2022–23 (2,764,654). The Common App has more than 841 members, but for purposes of the study, only those 841 members that had been members since 2019–20 were counted. Underrepresented minority (URM) applicants increased by 32 percent over 2019–20, while first-generation applicants increased by 43 percent, more than twice the rate of continuing-generation applicants over the same period. Students reporting eligibility for a Common App fee waiver for low-income students increased at nearly three times the rate of students not reporting fee-waiver eligibility (54 percent versus 16 percent). All those statistics represent good news for academe, but the Common App does not suggest jumping for joy.
Diverse Issues in Higher Education
ASHE Conference Urges Humanization of Higher Education
Liann Herder
Dr. Joy Gaston Gayles opened the 47th annual conference for the Association for the Study of Higher Education (ASHE) in Las Vegas with a call to disrupt the systemic oppression keeping marginalized populations from accessing higher education and burning out academics working toward greater diversity, equity, and inclusion. “If we want to disrupt systemic oppression, we need a model that prioritizes care, empathy, love, authenticity, healing, hope, collectivity, solidarity, and community,” said Gaston Gayles, president of ASHE and distinguished graduate professor and senior advisor for advancing diversity, equity, and inclusion at North Carolina State University. “These values run contrary to systemic oppression. In order to enact human values, we have to start with ourselves. Critical self-reflection is a radical form of resistance.” The conference theme this year is humanizing higher education, and hundreds of scholars from across the country gathered here to share their research, resources, and make connections.
Inside Higher Ed
Biden to Ask Supreme Court to Reverse Injunction
Katherine Knott
The Biden administration plans to ask the U.S. Supreme Court to lift an injunction currently blocking its debt-relief plan. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit issued a preliminary injunction earlier this week, siding with six states that sued to prevent the administration from forgiving up to $20,000 in federal student loans for eligible Americans.
Inside Higher Ed
The Black Lives Matter protests inspired activists to demand the removal of controversial names from campus buildings. Many universities have established practices to guide them.
By Johanna Alonso
Students, staff, faculty and alumni of Towson University in Maryland gathered last month to celebrate the renaming of two dormitories, now called Barnes Hall and Harris Hall, after the university’s first two Black graduates. The dorms had been named for two historic Marylanders, William Paca and Charles Carroll, both of whom signed the Declaration of Independence and held roles in state and national government. But both men also enslaved people, which drove students to push the university to change the buildings’ names. …As more institutions face calls to banish the names of controversial figures from campus, many are developing new policies to guide the process and determine when it is appropriate to remove a building’s name—sometimes referred to as “denaming” or “unnaming.”