WRBL
19-year old receives Bachelor’s Degree from Columbus State
by: Rex Castillo
It’s a special day on the Columbus State campus. Hundreds of Columbus State students will become Columbus State alumni as graduation ceremonies happen Friday. One young woman crossing the graduation stage is just 19 years old. Haley DuBose will graduate with a Bachelor’s Degree in Health Science. DuBose has also graduated early from Phenix City Central High School at just 16 years old. She was able to accelerate her college career thanks the dual enrollment program with Chattahoochee Valley Community College and the University of Alabama at Birmingham. When she transferred to Columbus State University DuBose already had over 30 college credit hours. She shared some valuable advice for other students that want to pursue academic excellence.
13WMAZ
New Robins Air Force Base missions are in the works, and Middle Georgia State University is preparing the future foundation of its success.
Author: Molly Jett (13WMAZ)
A pathway to a stronger Central Georgia is being paved. New Robins Air Force Base missions are in the works, and Middle Georgia State University is preparing the future foundation of its success. Some people might see new missions as a path to progress. “Just when we think we have things figured out, we have a new area of knowledge, and we all need to change and that’s the exciting thing about education, too,” Middle Georgia State University President Christopher Blake said. Robins Air Force Base is phasing out JSTARs, the Air Force’s flying surveillance unit. This means Central Georgia is now preparing for the arrival of a new mission. It’ll be a new high tech command, called the Advanced Battlefield Management System (ABMS).
WTOC
Neighboring schools, community comes together to help Pinewood coach battling cancer
By Dal Cannady
A long-time private school coach in South Georgia has plenty of people on his team as he hopes to beat some health challenges. Stroll the halls of Pinewood Christian today and you’ll see a whole lot of blue, for a school whose colors are green and orange. True Blue Georgia Southern shirts filled classes and halls in support of long time teacher and coach Andy Callaway, who’s battling cancer. “He coached just about everybody in the high school, taught everybody too. He’s a big deal at Pinewood,” student athlete Jake Rogers said. Students and faculty paid to skip their usual school uniforms in favor of gear for Callaway’s alma mater and favorite college team. The money raised goes to him and his mounting medical bills.
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WTOC
Audio
School Raises Money for coach’s cancer fight
A long-time private school coach in South Georgia has plenty of people on his team as he hopes to beat some health challenges.
Savannah CEO
Dr. Ryan Schroeder of Georgia Southern University Discusses Community Partnerships
Dr. Ryan Schroeder of Georgia Southern University talks about the various community partnerships the college has where students and teachers are both able to get involved.
Mirage News
New facial recognition technology scans your ear
In the post-COVID world of face coverings and heightened hygiene awareness, the need for new authentication methods that don’t require a person’s full face to be visible has arisen. New research from the University of Georgia may soon have people using their ears to get into their devices rather than their face or thumbprint. The ear is one of the few body parts that remains relatively unchanged over time, making it a useful alternative for technology requiring face or fingerprint recognition, said Thirimachos Bourlai, lead author of the study and an associate professor in the UGA College of Engineering.
Savannah Morning News
Looming recession signals transition to sustainable growth for Savannah’s regional economy
Amy Paige Condon
The economic recession projected to impact the first two quarters of 2023 will be nowhere near what most of us have already lived through (think 2008) and experienced during the pandemic, according to Michael Toma, Fuller E. Callaway Professor of Economics at Georgia Southern University. “The next recession is going to be more like a garden variety recession in which, at the national level, the unemployment rate might go to 5% or 6%, and GDP [Gross Domestic Product] might decline for a couple of quarters, but it’s not going to be a severe downtown.”
Marietta Daily Journal
Cobb Planning Commission punts on 80+ homes in Austell, Jewish student center near KSU
By Jake Busch
The Cobb Planning Commission delayed a pair of notable rezoning cases at its meeting Tuesday. One was a rezoning request for a roughly 19.5-acre parcel in Austell where Drapac Investments has asked to build more than 80 homes. The development would be wedged between several subdivisions east of Maxham Road and south of U.S. 78. …Planning Commission Chair Stephen Vault moved to hold the case until the next hearing, on Feb. 7, in anticipation of the second part of the traffic study. His motion passed 4-0, with Commissioner Michael Hughes absent from the meeting. The commission also pushed back a request from Hillels of Georgia for a special land use permit to allow for a Jewish student center in a residential neighborhood near Kennesaw State University. …“First, this may benefit Hillel, it may benefit the students of KSU, but it absolutely will not benefit the residents of Pinetree,” Anzalone said. He identified parking constraints and limited access to the area for emergency vehicles as reasons the commissioners should recommend denial of the application. Anzalone also objected to the prospect of students congregating in the neighborhood. Keil told commissioners no more than 25 to 30 students would be gathering at the house.
Poultry Times
UGA researchers use AI, engineering to address poultry heat stress
By Maria M. Lameiras
Agriculture is the number one industry in Georgia, and poultry is the largest sector of that industry, with nearly 1.4 billion broiler chickens produced each year on thousands of farms around the state. An important aspect of the industry is the transportation of chickens from the farm to processing facilities, or more specifically, preventing bird loss during transportation. One of the major factors in bird loss during transportation is temperature, particularly in the South where high temperatures and humidity can account for 2 percent to 3 percent in losses during transportation, impacting farmers’ profits. At the University of Georgia, poultry researcher Harshavardhan Thippareddi and engineering professor Ramana Pidaparti are using multiphysics computational simulations to create a machine learning model to evaluate bird comfort during loading, transportation and holding prior to processing.
Savannah CEO
Lesley Francis Public Relations Welcomes Chloe Davis As Account Executive
Staff Report
Lesley Francis Public Relations (LFPR) has announced the appointment of their new Account Executive, Chloe Davis. At LFPR, the role of the Account Executive is to support team members through writing and issuing news releases, media coverage evaluations, event management, content creation, social media management, and interacting with clients. Chloe was born and raised in Savannah and is a graduate from Georgia Southern University with a degree in Communication Studies.
CHOF 360 News
3 Science-Backed Mental Health Benefits of Spending Time With Your Dog
There is nothing better than coming home after a long day and being greeted enthusiastically by your furry friend. Your dog loves you and obviously gets a lot of joy and happiness from being around you, and of course the feeling is mutual. You can’t help but smile at the puppy’s wagging tail, earnest affection, and antics. But did you know there’s scientific evidence that spending time with your dog isn’t just fun and intimate – it’s good for you? Check out the science-backed mental health benefits you get from hanging out with your best friend. 1. Relieve stress Researchers in the journal say that spending time with a canine companion leads to a significant reduction in stress that lasts for up to 10 hours. Stress and health. They found that even a short interaction reduces the production of cortisol – the stress hormone that slams blood sugar – controls insulin and stimulates fat deposits around the abdomen. 2. Increase focus Scientists have found that having a therapy pet in the classroom has been shown to increase engagement and improve memory. In fact, a study at Georgia Southern University found that puppies in class lead to improved gross motor skills and higher literacy rates.
Higher Education News:
Inside Higher Ed
Fitch Ratings: ‘Deteriorating’ Outlook for Higher Ed in 2023
By Josh Moody
The latest outlook from Fitch Ratings indicates “more operating woes” are ahead for U.S. colleges and universities. The agency described the sector outlook for higher education as “deteriorating,” due to rising costs and wages combined with sluggish enrollment. The report, released Thursday, noted that while first-year and international enrollment is trending up for the 2022–23 academic year, that growth has not negated declines in previous years. Fitch pointed to the likelihood of consistent enrollment challenges over the next decade, particularly in the Northeast and Midwest, where demographic trends show a shrinking college-age population. The report also found that volatile markets in 2022 drove endowments down, with an average projected loss of 10 percent across the sector, which aligns with prior reporting on endowments. But Fitch officials noted in the report that despite the “deteriorating” sector outlook, there are some positives, particularly in international enrollments and state budget trends.
Inside Higher Ed
New Campaign Wants to Prove ‘College Is Worth It’
The National Association of System Heads begins an initiative to bolster the public’s view of higher education by demonstrating—and where necessary improving—how the institutions drive social mobility and individual “prosperity.”
By Liam Knox
A coalition of dozens of public university systems across the country is launching a campaign aimed at improving public perception of the value of higher education—in part by measuring those institutions’ current contributions and committing to improve their performance. The National Association of System Heads, which represents the leaders of 65 university systems, unveiled the “College Is Worth It” campaign Wednesday to a room of university system leaders and other higher education luminaries at NASH’s “superconvening” just outside of Washington, D.C. The campaign aims to push back on years of declining public confidence in the value of higher education, and their negative impact on enrollment, by setting concrete goals for institutions to increase credential attainment, improve social mobility, and reduce student debt. As part of the campaign, NASH developed a unique data set to gauge its member institutions’ collective impact on improving the value and equity of higher education—and how much work still needs to be done. …“There is a lot more to the value of higher education than salary. But also … salary [matters],” Tristan Denley, deputy commissioner for academic affairs and innovation at the Louisiana Board of Regents, told the audience Wednesday. “How can we enable students not only to shake their presidents’ hands at graduation but to shake their employers’ hands as well?”
Inside Higher Ed
Twins Win $1.5M After Being Accused of Cheating
By Safia Abdulahi
A jury last month ruled in favor of identical twins who sued the Medical University of South Carolina for defamation after they were accused of cheating on a medical exam, The Washington Post reported. Kayla and Kellie Bingham were each awarded $750,000 in damages. The twins were accused of academic dishonesty in May 2016 after proctors noted unusual similarities on their end-of-year medical exams. They answered 296 of 307 questions the same way—including 54 on which they both gave the same incorrect answers. The university’s honor council ruled that they had cheated. The twins appealed, arguing that identical twins often perform almost identically on tests. The decision was overturned, and then the sisters sued the university for defamation.
Inside Higher Ed
Man Charged With Killing Co-Worker at College
By Scott Jaschik
A man has been charged with intentionally hitting a former co-worker with his car and killing him, the Los Angeles Times reported. The victim was Rafael Barragan Jr., a tram driver at Mt. San Antonio College, a community college in California. The Los Angeles County district attorney’s office charged James Milliken, who was also a tram driver at the college, with murder this week in connection with the crash. Authorities discovered a Word document in which Milliken said he had experienced microaggressions and comments about his hair while working at the college. “These little humiliations and deep-cutting comments said by many individuals in the workplace are only said to or about African American employees,” Milliken wrote.
Higher Ed Dive
Laura Spitalniak, Associate Editor
Dive Brief:
Faculty at elite colleges generate a disproportionate share of published research, in part because they have consistent access to more academic labor, according to peer-reviewed research published in Science Advances, an open-access journal. Prestigious institutions — whose Ph.D. graduates are frequently hired by other colleges — are more likely than their more accessible counterparts to have graduate students and postdoctoral fellows on the payroll. These positions often serve as junior researchers, giving faculty members a substantial labor advantage over their peers elsewhere. Differences in academic output are likely attributable to prestigious colleges’ larger labor forces and not an inherently smarter faculty, researchers concluded.