11Alive
Georgia Tech student now Wheel of Fortune winner
VIDEO
Dublin High School Class of 2021 Valedictorian and current Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets student Quincy Howard competed on Wheel of Fortune Monday night.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Georgia Tech hires Brent Key as coach
By Ken Sugiura
Georgia Tech hired Brent Key as its next head coach, the school announced Tuesday evening, confirming a report by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution earlier in the day. Key is the 21st coach in Tech history and the first Tech letterman to hold the job since Bill Curry, who coached from 1980-86. “I am so proud and grateful to be the head coach at my alma mater, Georgia Tech,” Key said in a news release issued by Tech. “I can’t thank President (Ángel) Cabrera, (athletic director) J (Batt) and everyone that had a hand in the search enough for the faith that they have in me to lead our program. Like I’ve said many times over the past two months, I love this team, and I couldn’t be more excited to be their head coach. We will work unbelievably hard to make our fans, alumni and former players very proud of this program. Thank you to everyone who has supported our team over the past two months, and we thank you in advance for your continued support as we begin working towards next season. Go Jackets!”
AP News
Georgia Tech’s Lunar Flashlight heads to the moon
VIDEO
After years if preparation, a team of Georgia Tech’s researchers and students will watch their small satellite leave Earth and begin its mission to the moon.
The Georgia Virtue
Tarbutton Named to Georgia Ports Authority
Governor Brian Kemp announced last week that he would appoint Benjamin “Ben” J. Tarbutton, III to the Georgia Ports Authority (GPA). “Ben Tarbutton is one of our state’s most accomplished business and civic leaders,” said Governor Brian Kemp. “His extensive knowledge of Georgia’s logistical strengths and needs will be a great asset to the GPA and will strengthen its mission as one of the most crucial economic engines here in the No. 1 state for business.” …Presently, he serves as Chair of the Board of Directors of the Georgia Chamber of Commerce, Regional Vice President of the Southern Region for the American Shortline and Regional Railroad Association, board member of the Georgia Research Alliance and the Georgia Tech Foundation, …He is a past Chairman of the University System of Georgia Board of Regents, …
41NBC
GCSU prepares for annual ‘Hanging of the Greens’ Christmas event
Brick Nelson
The Christmas season is here, and communities around Middle Georgia are preparing to showcase their holiday lights. Georgia College and State University is preparing to celebrate the Christmas season with lights and holiday cheer with its annual “Hanging of the Greens.” Daniel McDonald, the school’s interim director of public affairs, says the event will be bigger than ever before. …Students are getting into the Christmas spirit by helping hang items and decorate the front of the campus. Mass Communication Major Davis Forney says the decorations and lights have put students into the Christmas spirit during a tough week of finals.
Albany Herald
Albany State University to host annual Christmas concert
From staff reports
The Albany State University Concert Chorale will present its annual Christmas Concert on Sunday at 6 p.m. at Saint Paul’s Episcopal Church. The concert, conducted by Marcia Hood, chair of the Department of Arts and Humanities, will feature Paul Basler’s “Missa Kenya” and other holiday favorites. The ASU Concert Chorale comprises 15 visual and performing arts students studying music or music education. Music professors Karen Yong and Jillian Baxter will assist with instruments.
WFXL
ABAC’s Autism Spectrum Disorder Art Exhibit opens December 13
by Ty’Tierra Grant
Local Autism Spectrum Disorder artists of all ages will have their art on display in a special exhibit. Beginning December 13 at the Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College Georgia Museum of Agriculture, the exhibit titled “The Art of Autism” will be on display. According to Museum Curator, Polly Huff, “ built with art made by local ASD artists of all ages, the project ‘s purpose was to let art positively impact individuals with ASD and those whose lives are intertwined with them.” ABAC student Nicolas Johnson served as the senior curatorial intern and assisted with building this exhibit, in addition to being one of the participating artists. Community parent liaison Donna Johnston was instrumental in working with the families, the artists, and the curatorial staff at the GMA.
The Georgia Virtue
Evans County to Consider $22K ‘Growth Management Plan’ to Prepare for Hyundai
By Jessica Szilagyi
Evans County, by way of the Economic Development Authority, is slated to consider a $22,900 study and development plan in anticipation of the Hyundai metaplant coming to Bryan County. The new plant will be roughly thirty miles from the City of Claxton. County Commissioners in Evans County plan hold a special-called meeting on December 1 to discuss the possibility of commissioning a Growth Management Plan, according to the agenda released this week. The contract calls for a partnership with the Economic Development Authority of Claxton & Evans County and the Center for Business Analytics and Economic Research (CBAER) at Georgia Southern University.
GPB
Georgia agriculture officials seeking comment on controversial soil amendment rules
By: Orlando Montoy
State agriculture officials are seeking public comment on new regulations to handle controversial soil amendments. The amendments, or fertilizer alternatives, have some Georgians upset about nuisance farmers. That’s because some farmers use the amendments as an inexpensive and nitrogen-rich way to enhance their soil. But neighbors and environmental advocates consider the cheap additives, which include sludge from chicken processing, to be smelly and polluting industrial waste. University of Georgia soil scientist Jason Lessl said the issue goes back a few years to when the Georgia Department of Agriculture redefined industrial waste.
WRDW
Drought monitor spells trouble for peach crop in Georgia
Warmer temperatures enhance evaporation, which dries out the soil. The US Drought Monitor reports moderate and severe drought conditions in two of the state’s top-producing peach areas, Central and North Georgia.
By Abby Kousouris
The UGA Extension Office estimates that Georgia farmers produce 130 million pounds of peaches each year. It’s a 75-million-dollar industry. Lee Dickey is a fifth-generation peach farmer. He said every season brings different problems to overcome. “Without healthy buds, there won’t be blooms, and without blooms, there won’t be peaches,” said Dickey. Peaches need water, but not too much. Dickey likened the fruit to “the Goldilocks of crops.” Without enough water, trees can get sick and the peaches won’t get as big.
Newton Citizen
UGA professor brings expertise to honey bee research, education
By Cheryth Youngmann University of Georgia
No line of research is too big or small for Lewis Bartlett — literally. From mammoth extinctions to the western honey bee (Apis mellifera), he’s published on a wide range of topics during and since his education. Bees have always been an interest of his. …The program is four-tiered, with certified, journeyman, master and master craftsman designations. The program is robust: The master craftsman track is designed to be equivalent to a master’s degree. UGA’s Honey Bee Program offers the certified course — and in some cases, upwards — in Georgia’s maximum security prisons. That training makes a measurable difference. According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics, participating in an education program reduces a prisoner’s recidivism rate by 43%. “Having UGA’s stamp, and it being college-level, carries a lot of weight,” Bartlett said.
Statesboro Herald
Willow Hill Center seeks county support
Bulloch officials tell nonprofit group to apply at budget time
Al Hackle/Staff
The Willow Hill Heritage and Renaissance Center is seeking county support, possibly including some funding as an outside agency, for maintaining the center’s museum and operating its educational and youth programs. …Special government funding created during the COVID-19 pandemic helped with some of the more recent efforts, as Gayle Jackson acknowledged. Working with a Georgia Southern University professor, the Willow Hill Center in 2000 proposed building an outdoor classroom pavilion and equipping it with Wi-Fi access as a safer, open-air space for educational programming and after-school learning. The federal Institute of Museum and Library Services, or IMLS, awarded the Willow Hill Center a two-year CARES Act grant of $109,420. This was to cover the cost of Wi-Fi access and computers and two part-time employees.
WFXL
Dougherty County Commissioner recognized for academic achievement
by Ty’Tierra Grant
Dougherty County Commissioner Ed Newsome was recognized for academic achievement in the Lifelong Learning Academy. ACCG and Georgia’s County Association, awarded county officials with certificates for completing requirements in the Lifelong Learning Academy. Dougherty County District 1 Commissioner Ed Newsome was honored for successfully completing the Citizen Engagement specialty track requirements in the Lifelong Learning Academy. Commissioner Newsome has been serving as Commissioner in District 1 of Dougherty County since January of 2021. A native of Albany, Georgia, he is a 1973 graduate of Albany High School and holds a bachelor’s degree in Business from Georgia Southern University.
Marietta Daily Journal
Warnock rallies KSU students as runoff enters home stretch
By Jake Busch
U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock, D-Ga., told hundreds of Kennesaw State University students at a rally Monday that young people like them deserve credit for major social and political movements in American history. …Warnock’s stop at KSU came eight days before he faces Republican challenger Herschel Walker in a Dec. 6 runoff election that was triggered when neither candidate won more than 50% of the vote in the Nov. 8 election. …In his speech on KSU’s campus, Warnock charted his course from public housing to the pulpit of Atlanta’s Ebenezer Baptist Church to the U.S. Senate. …The senator stressed the urgency for students to vote and get their peers out to vote, noting he fought in court to allow early voting to take place this past Saturday.
Higher Education News:
Inside Higher Ed
Report: Progress on College Completion Rates Stalls
By Safia Abdulahi
A new report from the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center shows that college completion rates have stagnated, with 62.3 percent of students who enrolled in 2016 completing a degree by June 2022—virtually unchanged from last year’s six-year completion rate of 62.2 percent. The report examines all students who enter postsecondary education for the first time, whether they enroll in two-year or four-year institutions and attend full- or part-time. While six-year completion rates increased in more than half the states, only five states saw increases of one percentage point or more. That’s a significant change from last year, when two-thirds of all states gained at least one percentage point.
Inside Higher Ed
Higher Ed Groups Push for Permanent DACA Fix
By Katherine Knott
A host of higher education associations, institutional leaders and advocates are calling on Congress to pass legislation this year to provide protections for recipients of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program. “It’s time to remove the fragility that pervades the lives of Dreamers and provide the stability that will lift our nation,” Broward College president Gregory Haile said during a media briefing Tuesday. Members of the Presidents’ Alliance on Higher Education and Immigration are flying to Washington, D.C., this week to meet with lawmakers and make their case. Dozens of higher education associations sent a letter to congressional leadership urging Congress to pass legislation. The alliance also sent a letter about the issue as well.
Cybersecurity Dive
As companies tighten tech spend, demand for cybersecurity services grows
Managed service providers can help fill talent needs and tame costs, but that strategy may require additional risk mitigation.
By Suman Bhattacharyya, Contributor
Companies looking to fend off cybercriminals are turning to third-party firms to help thwart an expanding network of threat actors. Cybersecurity spending, which encompasses services and products, is expected to grow by 10% to 15% over the next 12 to 18 months, but product spending over the same period will decline 10% to 15%, said Doug Saylors, a partner at research and advisory firm ISG. The overall increase reflects growth in the services component of cybersecurity budgets, ISG said. ISG attributes this to an evolving threat environment and digital transformation initiatives that many companies undertook during the pandemic.
Inside Higher Ed
Campus Protests Sweeping China Spread to U.S.
Demonstrations against Xi Jinping’s “Zero COVID” policy erupted on Chinese campuses over the weekend, threatening the country’s fraught partnerships with U.S. colleges.
By Liam Knox
China’s strict zero-COVID policy, still in effect nearly three years into the pandemic, has become a lightning rod for criticism of the government. University campuses have been at the vanguard of these public displays of dissent, which gained momentum after an apartment fire Thursday in the northwestern city of Urumqi killed 10 people who many say could have been saved if not for strict lockdown measures. On Saturday, in the face of fierce local protests in Urumqi, the Chinese government announced that it would ease restrictions there. But the fuse was already lit for an explosive weekend of protests across the country, especially on campuses. By Sunday evening, students at nearly 80 campuses across China were demonstrating against the lockdown measures, according to University World News; by Monday the movement had gone global, with Chinese international students on dozens of campuses organizing similar gatherings. …The risks of detainment or punishment extend to American students studying in China through exchange and study abroad programs, as well as on the handful of U.S. branch campuses there.
Inside Higher Ed
U of Calif. Academic Workers Reach Deal; Strike Continues
By Colleen Flaherty
Postdoctoral scholars and academic researchers across the University of California system reached tentative contract deals Tuesday, 15 days into an ongoing strike that has severely challenged campus operations, including instruction. News of the deals came several days after more than 230 professors in the system pledged publicly not to teach or submit grades during the strike. Although postdocs and academic researchers lauded their deals as historic, they said they will not return to work until their contracts are ratified. They said they’d also continue to strike in sympathy with two other groups participating in the labor action—academic student employees (teaching assistants, readers and tutors) and graduate student researchers—who have not yet reached their own contract agreements