Morning AgClips
Mental Health Day at Georgia Capitol to highlight rural mental health
Mental Health Day at the Georgia State Capitol will be held from 8 a.m. to noon Tuesday, Jan. 31, to raise awareness of mental health issues and allow mental health advocates to share their insights with lawmakers. The occasion is an opportunity to increase awareness about mental health and health services, especially for those in rural areas, said University of Georgia Cooperative Extension agent Jennifer Dunn. …The event, which will be held at the Georgia Freight Depot, part of the state’s Capitol Hill complex, will include breakfast followed by a range of educational speakers to share stories, mental health resources and updates on mental health legislation in the state. An online option will be available.
Cision
Hyundai Donates $30,000 to Local Nonprofits in Savannah to Continue its Investment in Georgia
Hyundai Motor America announced its partnership with Georgia Southern University and the Ronald McDonald House Charities of the Coastal Empire, donating $15,000 to each organization. The support highlights Hyundai’s strong commitment to the state of Georgia, where the new Hyundai Motor Group Metaplant America is currently being built in Bryan County. Ceremonial checks were presented to the two organizations in Georgia.
WGAU Radio
UGA’s Morehead delivers tenth State of the University Address
By Tim Bryant
University of Georgia president Jere Morehead delivered his annual State of the University address Wednesday.
From Erica Techo, UGA Today…
University of Georgia President Jere W. Morehead delivered his annual State of the University Address on Wednesday, reflecting on all that the university has accomplished in the past decade, while announcing new programs to promote continued success.
Douglas Now
SGSC’S DR. ARLENA STANLEY SELECTED TO PARTICIPATE IN USG’S EXECUTIVE LEADERSHIP INSTITUTE
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. Dr. Arlena Stanley was selected as the representative from South Georgia State College (SGSC). 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.”
The Union-Recorder
Former NATO commander visits GC&SU
Gil Pound
Georgia College & State University welcomed a distinguished military guest to its campus Tuesday for the second time in about three months. United States Air Force Gen. Philip M. Breedlove (Ret.) visited to serve as speaker for the university’s Usery Forum on Leadership. From 2013 to 2016, Breedlove served as the Supreme Allied Commander for the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) in Europe, making him extremely qualified to guest-teach a class on American foreign policy Tuesday afternoon before his formal speaking engagement later in the evening. A native of Forest Park, Ga., Breedlove graduated from the Georgia Institute of Technology with a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering. He was commissioned in 1977 as a distinguished graduate of Tech’s ROTC program before serving nearly 40 years in the Air Force. Breedlove is presently a member of the Georgia Tech advisory board and a distinguished professor in the Sam Nunn School of International Affairs, among other advisory roles and board positions.
Athens CEO
Institute for Integrative Precision Agriculture Welcomes 3 New Faculty
Staff Report
UGA’s Institute for Integrative Precision Agriculture (IIPA), a new interdisciplinary research unit dedicated to the research and application of new technologies in agriculture, has made three new faculty hires. Leonardo Bastos, Lorena Lacerda and Guoyu Lu joined IIPA full time during Fall 2022, each contributing to the strategic mission of the institute to harness the power of technology and big data to sustainably provide for our planet’s growing population.
Athens CEO
UGA Faculty Excellence Attracts International Researchers Across Disciplines
Maria M. Lameiras
Each year, hundreds of international researchers — from master’s degree students to academic faculty — apply to come to the University of Georgia to work in a wide range of academic fields. In the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences (CAES), dozens of international research scholars are working with faculty on important research that furthers the mission of the college while benefiting visiting scholars and their home institutions. …CAES is among the top colleges at UGA for the number of international research scholars hosted each year, said Robin Catmur-Smith, director of immigration services with the UGA Office of Global Engagement.
AllOnGeorgia
GSU’s Parker College of Business Brings Free Income Tax Preparation Back for 2023 Season
GSU’s Parker College of Business is again offering free tax preparation through the VITA program. Taxpayers in the Statesboro community are able to receive free tax preparation and e-file services, while undergraduate and graduate students in the School of Accountancy gain experience. Students in Georgia Southern’s Parker College of Business are ready to get hands-on experience preparing income tax returns while helping community members save money through the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program, which will begin on January 30 and continue until Thursday, April 6.
Ledger-Enquirer
Video: What’s the forecast for Georgia’s economy in 2023? Get it here in less than 60 seconds
By Mike Haskey
Benjamin C. Ayers, dean of the University of Georgia Terry College of Business, gave the 2023 economic outlook for Georgia during a luncheon at the Columbus Georgia Convention and Trade Center Wednesday. Here are his five main takeaways.
Jagwire
Green named Augusta University new chief diversity officer
Kevin Faigle
Augusta University has named Garrett Green, EdD the new chief diversity officer after serving as the interim since July 2022. …Augusta University Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost Neil J. MacKinnon, PhD said that Green has done a remarkable job juggling his duties as both director of Multicultural Student Engagement and interim chief diversity officer.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
‘Transcript ransom’ bill would help job-seekers owing debt to colleges
By Vanessa McCray
A proposed state law would prevent Georgia colleges from using a student owing money to the school as a reason to withhold a student’s transcript should they need it for a job. House Bill 39, filed Monday and sponsored by three Republican and two Democratic lawmakers, seeks to remove barriers for job-seekers who are sometimes thwarted by their school’s transcript policies. Georgia’s proposal would allow those with debt to access unofficial transcripts, but official transcripts would be provided for employment purposes only. Schools often require students or former students to pay off debts before releasing academic records that some employers demand before hiring or promoting workers, a practice derided by critics as “transcript ransom.”
August CEO
Augusta University Research Featured on Cover of Scientific Journal
Milledge Austin
A study performed by Augusta University researchers is featured on the cover of the January 2023 issue of Anesthesia and Analgesia. The study, “Gender Gap: A Qualitative Study of Women and Leadership Acquisition in Anesthesiology,” was initiated in June 2020 by former AU associate professor and researcher Ellen Basile, DO. …Anesthesiology is one of many fields where the number of women in leadership positions trails that of their male counterparts. The qualitative study was aimed at understanding the paths women must take to be appointed to positions of power within the field of anesthesiology.
Technology Networks
Chronic Stress Produces Behavioral Change by Stimulating a Newly Identified Neuron Population
It’s clear that chronic stress can impact our behavior, leading to problems like depression, reduced interest in things that previously brought us pleasure, even PTSD. Now scientists have evidence that a group of neurons in a bow-shaped portion of the brain become hyperactive after chronic exposure to stress. When these POMC neurons become super active, these sort of behavioral problems result and when scientists reduce their activity, it reduces the behaviors, they report in the journal Molecular Psychiatry. Scientists at the Medical College of Georgia at Augusta University looked in the hypothalamus, key to functions like releasing hormones and regulating hunger, thirst, mood, sex drive and sleep, at a population of neurons called the proopiomelanocortin, or POMC, neurons, in response to 10 days of chronic, unpredictable stress. Chronic unpredictable stress is widely used to study the impact of stress exposure in animal models, and in this case that included things like restraint, prolonged wet bedding in a tilted cage and social isolation.
WABE
UGA professor says tech jobs cuts are linked to overhiring amid the pandemic
LaShawn Hudson
In recent months there’s been a massive wave of layoffs across the tech industry. Google, Microsoft, Amazon, Salesforce, Meta, and Twitter are among the tech companies that have recently announced thousands of job cuts. On Tuesday’s edition of “Closer Look,” Jerry Kane, a professor of Management Information Science at the University of Georgia and an expert on tech-spurred transitions in the workplace, told show host Rose Scott there’s always going to be a need for people who have skills and are tech literate—but says the tech industry overhired during the pandemic.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
UGA’s Smart, pension system investment chief top Georgia pay list
By James Salzer
A dozen state employees topped the $1 million salary mark in fiscal 2022, led by University of Georgia head coach Kirby Smart, who earlier this month won a second consecutive national college football title. According to the state’s Open Georgia salary website, the million dollar club — which had nine members the previous year — included professors, coaches and pension fund investors — during fiscal 2022, which ended June 30. Rank-and-file state employees got $5,000 raises from lawmakers last spring, as did members of the General Assembly. Gov. Brian Kemp is proposing an additional $2,000 raise this year for state and University System of Georgia employees and teachers.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Opinion: Affirmative action at colleges is doomed but other routes exist
Get Schooled with Maureen Downey
In a guest column, Nicholas Barry Creel, an assistant professor of business law at Georgia College and State University, discusses the likelihood the U.S. Supreme Court will outlaw the consideration of race in college admissions. Creel suggests campuses have other avenues to create racial diversity among their student bodies. He makes a case for basing admissions on economic condition, which he says can also foster diversity. The University System of Georgia does not consider race in its admissions process.
By Nicholas Barry Creel
With the U.S. Supreme Court taking up the latest challenge to universities using race as a factor in their admissions process, it is now seemingly inevitable the 6-3 conservative majority will ensure that race-based affirmative action is coming to an end in higher education in a few months.
Other News:
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Opinion: Florida’s ban on AP Black history class leaves stories untold
Get Schooled with Maureen Downey
In a guest column, Tracey Nance, 2020-2021 Georgia Teacher of the Year, warns that Florida’s rejection of an African American history course denies children the experience of seeing themselves and their history represented in their classrooms.
By Tracey Nance
“America the Beautiful.” That’s what my fifth grade students titled the first social studies unit I designed and taught when I asked them, “Who is America?” My school lacked social studies resources, but I knew kids needed to see how their stories connected to others and to know the extraordinary contributions Americans of all backgrounds have made to our nation’s history and culture.
Higher Education News:
Inside Higher Ed
Share Best Practices and Strategies to Promote Student Success
By Melissa Ezarik
Providing the right services and supports is key to helping students succeed academically, engage in the college experience, be healthy and well, and prepare for life after college. On Feb. 6, Inside Higher Ed will debut a new Student Success hub to provide actionable news, ideas, advice and inspiration to college and university professionals who care deeply about ensuring all students have what they need to be successful in college and beyond. We recognize that administrators, staff and faculty have prioritized student success and have implemented practices, strategies and approaches that could help their colleagues across higher ed to better support students in their journeys through and after college. The Student Success hub offers many opportunities for professionals at two-year and four-year institutions to share advice, including tips, takeaways and inspirational stories.
Higher Ed Dive
Natalie Schwartz, Editor
Dive Brief:
Changes proposed by the Biden administration to income-driven repayment plans could vastly lower the share of borrowers who would fully repay their federal student loans, according to a new analysis from the Urban Institute, a left-leaning think tank. The proposal would lower the share of discretionary income that borrowers enrolled in income-driven repayment plans must put toward their loans each month, from 10% to 5%. Only 22% of bachelor’s degree recipients would be expected to fully pay off their loans under the new plan, down from 59% under the current structure. The researchers found similar changes for certificate and associate degree recipients. If they all enrolled in the new income-driven repayment plan, only 11% would be expected to fully pay off their loans. That’s compared to 62% under the current plan.
Inside Higher Ed
Short-Term Pell a Priority for Skills First Coalition
By Katherine Knott
The Skills First Coalition, a group of American businesses and education and training providers, wants the 118th Congress to pass legislation that would expand Pell Grants to short-term programs, improve the transfer of credits between higher education institutions and support new approaches to credentialing and skills verification, among other priorities. The coalition includes IBM, HP, Boeing and Western Governors University.
Inside Higher Ed
Tool Maps Campus Sexual Assault Policies, Stats
Johanna Alonso
January 26, 2023
End Rape on Campus, an initiative of the nonprofit Civic Nation, released a new digital tool Wednesday that allows users to compare the sexual assault statistics and policies of different college and universities. Called the Campus Accountability Map and Tool, the resource includes data on 750 institutions across the United States. For each college or university on the map, the tool uses data from the U.S. Department of Education to show how many rapes, fondlings, instances of domestic violence, instances of dating violence and stalking incidents had occurred on campus between 2018 and 2020. It also notes whether the institutions’ sexual assault policies, investigation procedures, prevention efforts, survivor supports and accessibility meet EROC’s standards.
Inside Higher Ed
UCLA Suspends Ecologist, Scientists Ask Why
Ryan Quinn
January 26, 2023
Nature reports that over 300 scientists are urging the University of California, Los Angeles, to rescind the discipline of a Robert H. MacArthur Award–winning ecologist. The publication says UCLA suspended Priyanga Amarasekare without pay for a year and cut her salary by a fifth for a further two years. Her lab website says, “Professor Amarasekare is on leave for the 2022-2023 academic year.” Furthermore, Nature reported, UCLA “forbade her from accessing her laboratory, maintaining her insect colonies, managing her grants or contacting students” and “barred Amarasekare from discussing the matter publicly.” “A native of Sri Lanka and one of two women of color who have tenure in the ecology and evolution department, she has previously accused the university of discrimination for repeatedly denying her promotions that were granted to colleagues,” Nature wrote. “Former students and faculty members who are familiar with the situation think that Amarasekare’s suspension was retaliation for speaking out.”
Inside Higher Ed
Could Confucius Institutes Return to U.S. Colleges?
Possibly, says a committee of college administrators and professors in a new report, which might open the door to the Department of Defense lifting a prohibition on funding colleges and universities that host an institute.
By Katherine Knott
Over the last five years, most of the Confucius Institutes hosted at American colleges and universities have closed down—but now a new report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine outlines a process for their potential return. Whether U.S. colleges and universities would be interested in partnering with the Chinese government to host a Confucius Institute is unclear. The institutes started in 2004 as a way to provide Chinese language instruction and cultural programs to communities, K-12 schools and college students, but they came under scrutiny during the Trump administration from lawmakers who said the institutes were a national security threat. Faculty groups had been sounding the alarm about the threat to academic freedom before lawmakers got involved.
Cybersecurity Dive
Breach hits GoTo, the parent company of LastPass
Damage caused by a cyberattack on a shared cloud storage service is adding to the fallout for both companies.
Matt Kapko, Reporter
GoTo is confronting potentially extensive damage after a threat actor exfiltrated encrypted backups and an encryption key tied to some of the stolen data. The parent company of LastPass said a breach first detected by the password manager in August 2022 resulted in a similar, subsequent breach through same attack vector, GoTo said in a Monday blog post. The compromise broadened the extent of damage and potentially exposed customers’ usernames, salted and hashed passwords and a portion of multifactor authentication settings.