The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Country music stars to get honorary degrees from Georgia universities
Fans of Zac Brown know that the singer likes his chicken fried and a cold beer on a Friday night. Or so goes one of the biggest earworms on the Zac Brown Band’s song list. Now there’s a new trivia fact: He’s getting an honorary degree from the Georgia university where he went to school. The University of West Georgia received approval Wednesday from the Georgia Board of Regents to award an honorary doctorate to Zachry “Zac” Alexander Brown. The Southern rocker and singer-songwriter who grew up in Georgia will receive the recognition May 13 during the university’s spring commencement. …The Regents also agreed to award country music artist Cole Swindell an honorary degree from Georgia Southern University. Swindell grew up in tiny Bronwood, Georgia, and is known for wearing clothing with Georgia Southern’s logo. A school spokeswoman said he was a business student in the early 2000s. …Georgia Southern will present the honorary degree at its spring commencement ceremony.
The Barnesville Dispatch
Gordon State College students along with students from Salahaddin University in Erbil, Iraq won best pitch and placed runner-up in the Global Solutions Sustainability Challenge, an international business competition that took place mid-December of 2022.
Ledger-Enquirer
Muscogee County Schools, CSU to receive $4M to expand K-12 robotics programs
By Brittany McGee
The Coca-Cola Space Science Center will get a $4 million expansion to bolster its robotics programs for Muscogee County students. The initiative was included in the Omnibus Bill that was passed by Congress in December, Sen. Jon Ossoff and U.S. Rep. Sanford Bishop announced Thursday. The money will help expand access to STEM curriculum in the region. Columbus State University and the Muscogee County School District sent in a joint request to Ossoff and Bishop to expand the space and science center and access to robotics facilities for K-12 students, Ossoff said. The initiative is also meant to increase the collaboration between Muscogee County Schools faculty and the subject matter experts at CSU, he said.
13WMAZ
Middle Georgia State University helping to fill jobs at Robins Air Force Base
Starting this fall, students can receive a Bachelor’s or Associate’s degree at the Warner Robins campus. The base says they have unlimited positions in this field
Author: Megan Western
Middle Georgia State University is working to set up a future of success for their students and the City of Warner Robins. Starting this fall, students will be able to receive a Bachelor’s or Associate’s degree in computer science from the Warner Robins campus. The university says a computer science degree prepares people to work in coding, computer design, software engineering, and a multitude of other jobs.
U.S. News & World Report
Regents Name New Presidents at Clayton State, Atlanta Metro
Two Georgia college presidents will move to new jobs
By Associated Press
Regents Name New Presidents at Clayton State, Atlanta Metro
Two Georgia college presidents will shift to new jobs at Clayton State University and Atlanta Metropolitan State College next month. Georj Lewis is taking over Clayton State University in Morrow and leaving his current post as president at Atlanta Metropolitan State. Ingrid Thompson-Sellers will become president at Atlanta Metropolitan State, leaving the same position at South Georgia State College in Douglas.
See also:
Atlanta Business Chronicle
Editor’s Note: UGA’s talent pipeline bolsters our newsroom
By Douglas Sams – Editor-in-chief
Whether it’s the amount of points they scored, the margin of victory, or the touchdowns quarterback Stetson Bennett accounted for, big numbers defined the University of Georgia’s historic performance in the College Football Playoff championship. Here’s another number to remember, one that should matter to the Atlanta economy and business community: 106,000. That’s approximately how many University of Georgia graduates live in the heart of metro Atlanta’s job and population centers, according to the school’s career center. For the most recent class available, UGA graduates landed positions with the city’s brand-name companies from Accenture Inc. to NCR Corp. to The Home Depot Inc. The university has a tradition of supplying one local employer in particular with talented graduates: Atlanta Business Chronicle. For years, this publication and the university’s journalism school have worked together to sustain a reporter pipeline. Many first sharpened their craft at The Red & Black, founded in 1893 and operating as an independent publication since 1980. Today, it’s state’s largest student-run weekly.
WJBF
Augusta University launches ‘JagPulse’ program for local nonprofits
by: Hannah Litteer
Augusta University launched the ‘JagPulse’ program on Wednesday to get students and faculty more involved with local nonprofits. “Usually students, it’s hard to find opportunities on their own, with ‘JagPulse’ it’s right there,” said Aeris Xiong, a first-year student at AU. Various nonprofit organizations set up tables at the event for students to look at the different causes and sign up to volunteer. “It’s a front door for community partners in Augusta and surrounding areas to immediately connect with Augusta University volunteers,” said Kristie Johnson, the community engagement manager at AU.
WJBF
Sorority’s mental health summit addresses mind, body connection
by: Renetta DuBose
Three CSRA entities joined forces to provide a mental health summit to the Black community and beyond. A few experts shared how life is impacting our mind, body and soul in this pandemic era. Fort Gordon Counselor and Leader Chaplain Jeff Dillard kicked off Mental Health Summit IX at Augusta University’s Summerville Campus telling attendees how to be expressive. “Journaling on this piece of paper can be a way for you to exercise and kind of look at your own mental health,” he said holding up a yellow legal pad and a pen.
WGAU Radio
New grant to assist STEM research at UGA
By Tim Bryant
A research team from the University of Georgia will join dozens of other institutions around the country, collaborating in an effort to foster what is called inclusive undergraduate science education. UGA says the project is funded by a $493 thousand grant from the Maryland based Howard Hughes Medical Institute.
From Andrea Horsman, UGA Today…
Funded by a six-year, $493,065 grant from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Inclusive Excellence 3 (IE3) initiative, the UGA team will focus on three areas of effective and inclusive teaching including changes in policy, effective instructor development and optimal sources of evidence.
WGAU Radio
Local briefs: A-CC Commissioners meet with local lawmakers, DOT says new NE Ga bridge is open
By Tim Bryant
Athens-Clarke County Commissioners will meet with members of the local legislative delegation this evening in Athens: the session is set for 6 o’clock at the Lyndon House Arts Center. That’s on Hoyt Street in Athens. The meeting comes with the Legislature in recess. Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger and state University System Chancellor Sonny Perdue were among the state department heads to make their cases in Wednesday budget hearings in Atlanta: the Georgia Legislature is in recess while House and Senate appropriations committees work on Governor Brian Kemp’s $32.5 billion budget blueprint.
South GA TV
46th Annual Georgia Peanut Farm Show and Conference Held in Tifton
Georgia Peanut Commission and University of Georgia Hosts 46th Annual Peanut Farm Show
by Matthew Crumley
Tifton’s UGA Campus Conference Center held the 46th Annual Georgia Peanut Farm Show this morning. Our own Matthew Crumley was there and has a lot to share about the experience. Hundreds of growers and exhibitors passed through the halls of the John Hunt Auditorium of the UGA Tifton Campus to learn and showcase the best in the production of Georgia’s Official State Crop…Peanuts! …UGA even showcased the newest form of agricultural technology that applies pesticides from the air! “One of the university guys has his new spray drone which you can actually use this drone to spray crops with the protectants that we need for it,” said Koehler.
Athens CEO
CAES Launches Podcast Highlighting Impacts of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences
Jordan Powers
The University of Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences (CAES) has launched a podcast, now available on all streaming services. Cultivating Curiosity will augment existing CAES news and storytelling platforms, including the CAES Newswire, where you are reading this; Almanac, the college’s annual publication; and Cultivate, which highlights members of the CAES and UGA Cooperative Extension community. On the show, hosts Emily Davenport and Jordan Powers get down and dirty with the experts on all the ways science and agriculture touch our lives, from what we eat to how we live.
SeedQuest
New tomato bred to naturally resist pests and curb disease
A Cornell researcher has completed a decades-long program to develop new varieties of tomato that naturally resist pests and limit transfer of viral disease by insects. Martha Mutschler-Chu, a plant breeder and geneticist who leads the program, recently deposited an initial set of insect-resistant tomato research lines in the U.S. Department of Agriculture germplasm system and the Tomato Genetics Resource Center at University of California-Davis, …In field and laboratory tests of the initial research lines, plant scientists from Cornell and seven other university partners (North Carolina State University; University of Georgia, Clemson University; University of Florida; University of California, Davis; University of California, Riverside; and Tennessee Tech University) found that the right levels and form of acylsugars controlled western flower thrips that spread spotted wilt virus, and sweet potato whiteflies, which transmit yellow leaf curl virus. As a result, significantly fewer plants were infected with these devastating diseases and, in field trials, those infections occurred late in the season.
Patch
Lacey D. Huffling, Ph.D., associate professor in the College of Education at Georgia Southern University, has been awarded a Gulf Research Program Early-Career Research Fellowship from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. Huffling’s research examines the affordances and barriers historically marginalized communities experience in acquiring science and environmental literacy in K-20 educational settings. Most recently, Huffling worked with her team at Georgia Southern to research and create a teacher professional development program for rural science teachers from watersheds that flowed into the Gulf of Mexico. The Gulf Research Program’s Early-Career Research Fellowship helps researchers during the critical early career phases. Fellows receive a $76,000 financial award along with mentoring support to provide them with independence, flexibility and a built-in support network as they take risks on untested research ideas, pursue unique collaborations and build a network of colleagues.
Athens Banner-Herald
Proposed cold case law gets support from slain UGA law school student’s family
Wayne Ford
University of Georgia Law School student Tara Baker was slain 22 years ago on Jan. 19, 2001, at her rental home in east Athens. The crime remains unsolved to this day. On Wednesday, at the state Capitol in Atlanta, family members of Baker joined with family members of the 32-year-old unsolved slaying of Rhonda Sue Coleman, 18, a high school student from Hazlehurst. They gathered for a press conference in support of the proposed Coleman-Baker Act, that will be introduced this year in the General Assembly that brings a new focus on unsolved homicides.
WTOC
Savannah Area Chamber of Commerce holds 2023 Economic Outlook Luncheon
By WTOC Staff
The Savannah Area Chamber of Commerce held its annual Economic Outlook Luncheon today at the Savannah Convention Center. Leaders highlighted economic trends for the hostess city in 2022. According to the Savannah Economic Development Authority, it was a record year for business development in the Chatham County coastal region. They say there were 10 expansion announcements, over 9,200 new jobs, 72 new projects considering future location expansions and $5.9 billion in new capital investment. A Georgia Southern Professor says the Savannah-metro area is looking good for 2023 despite a potential nationwide recession.
The Citizen
Learn about history of Bethlehem Baptist Church February 25
By The Citizen
You are invited to learn more about one of Fayette County’s local churches on Saturday, February 25, at “Breathing and Buried in Bethlehem,” an in-person local history program. This creative presentation will highlight the extraordinary 153-year history of Bethlehem Baptist Church and Cemetery in Peachtree City. Ann McCleary, Professor of History and Director of the Center for Public History at the University of West Georgia, will share stories about the legacy of the church and the community of ancestors interred in the cemetery. A cemetery walk will take place following the presentation.
Higher Education News:
Inside Higher Ed
New Report Outlines Another Way of Gauging Higher Ed’s Value
By Katherine Knott
Black students who attended colleges that serve greater shares of students of color nearly doubled their family income a decade after starting college, but they earn $8,000 less in income compared to peers at institutions with the smallest share of Black students and owe more in student loans than initially borrowed. The analysis came in a report from the Institute for College Access & Success that outlines another way to assess the value of higher education.
Higher Ed Dive
College student, employee mental health worsened last year, survey finds
Laura Spitalniak, Associate Editor
Dive Brief:
Nearly three-quarters of student affairs professionals, 72%, said the mental health of students and employees worsened during the past year, according to a new report from NASPA, a higher education association for student affairs administrators. Among those surveyed, 43% said the single greatest challenge to improving mental health on campus was an increasing severity in the mental health issues people face. On the positive side, the stigma around mental health is lessening. An overwhelming majority, 93%, said students have become more comfortable talking about mental health over the last five years.
Inside Higher Ed
Yale Softens Mental Health Policies for Students
By Susan H. Greenberg
Yale University has made major changes to its medical leave policy that will allow students struggling with mental health problems to take time off—rather than withdraw—and to return to campus when they’re ready, without reapplying, The Washington Post reported Wednesday. Yale has come under fire in recent months for what students suffering from psychological distress have described as callous treatment.
Inside Higher Ed
How Boys and Men Struggle in School: Academic Minute
By Doug Lederman
Today on the Academic Minute: Ioakim Boutakidis, professor of child and adolescent studies at California State University, Fullerton, explores how the mental health of males manifests in a school setting.
Inside Higher Ed
Students and Experts Agree: TikTok Bans Are Useless
With cellular data and VPNs, it’s easy for students to circumvent the TikTok bans sweeping the nation’s universities. That makes experts wonder: What do these bans hope to achieve?
By Johanna Alonso
Public university administrators who comply with state policy bans on accessing TikTok via state-owned Wi-Fi networks and devices might understandably expect pushback—or at least frustration—from their student bodies. Instead, many students seem to be indifferent. With a single click on a smartphone, most students can easily turn off campus Wi-Fi and switch to their personal cellular data to continue watching TikTok’s endless stream of content. “It’s just going to become my mom’s problem,” said Jack Marshall, a student at the University of Montana, referring to the bump in cellphone bills that will likely result from watching TikToks using data—at least for those without unlimited data plans. “We’re not going to stop using TikTok,” he said. Others agree that prohibiting TikTok will not curtail its use.
Inside Higher Ed
Delaware State Students Protest Campus Police
By Scott Jaschik
Delaware State University students on Wednesday held a protest of the university’s police forces, The Delaware News Journal reported. Students at the historically Black college protested both what they said was excessive force by police officers and a lack of response to serious crimes. From August 2022 to the day before this protest, the university’s public crime log shows seven reports of rape on campus. Each case is marked as pending. …Carlos Holmes, a spokesman for the university, stressed that all students have a right to free speech. “Bottom line is, students have expressed serious concerns about this,” Holmes said. “And the university is listening.”
Inside Higher Ed
Student Loan Servicer Lays Off 500 Employees
By Katherine Knott
Nelnet, a federal student loan servicer, is cutting staff because of delays in the Biden administration’s debt-relief plan and the continued pause on loan payments, the company announced Wednesday. About 350 employees hired in the last six months will be laid off and about 210 employees will be let go because of “performance reasons,” according to the announcement. Employees were given 60 days’ notice if their performance wasn’t a factor.