Athens Banner-Herald
How this UGA grad and Bethlehem resident became the Atlanta Braves next PA announcer
Ryne Dennis
Kevin Kraus’s reaction became viral. When he was told that he will be the next Atlanta Braves PA announcer through a Zoom meeting with pitcher Spencer Strider and radio announcer Ben Ingram, Kraus’s emotions couldn’t be contained. “When he came on,” Kraus recalled over the weekend, “I about lost it.” Kraus, a Bethlehem resident and UGA grad, was one of three finalists to replace longtime PA announcer Casey Motter, who passed away last summer … Kraus grew up a lifelong Braves fan in Snellville and called his first sporting event, a women’s soccer game in 2007, while a sophomore at Georgia College and State University in Milledgeville. He transferred to UGA and was freshly graduated when he began working for the then-Gwinnett Braves in 2013.
13WMAZ
Middle Georgia State University helping students learn how to defend themselves during an assault. It’s called the “Rape Aggression Defense program” or RAD.
Author: Raime Cohen
Middle Georgia State University is helping students learn how to defend themselves during an assault. It’s called the “Rape Aggression Defense program” or RAD. Your number one weapon is your voice. That’s according to Toya Coleman the Lieutenant at MGA. “It’s pretty much about empowering women. It’s about building confidence, becoming self aware. Becoming aware of your surroundings. It’s about survival,” Coleman said. She’s taught R.A.D. since 2016.
Savannah Business Journal
Plug and Play Savannah to host series of logistics events
Savannah Business Journal Staff Report
Plug and Play Savannah has announced a series of events designed to showcase innovative technologies in the supply chain and logistics space. The first event, Innovation Alley, will take place on March 8 at the Savannah Convention Center from 3-5 p.m. and will serve as a reception immediately following the Georgia Logistics Summit. With 30 startups presenting new solutions focused on maritime, trucking, warehousing, and advanced manufacturing, attendees will have the opportunity to learn about the latest developments in the logistics industry. Plug and Play Savannah is partnering with the Georgia Port Authority, Maersk, Georgia Power, SEDA, Foram Group, SLIC (Savannah Logistics Innovation Council), Savannah State University, Savannah Technical College, and Georgia Southern University to ensure a successful event. These partnerships demonstrate the dedication of Plug and Play Savannah to bring about positive change to the logistics industry.
Albany Herald
UGA professor builds understanding of how natural communities form
By Amanda Budd UGA/CAES
Anny Chung studies the smaller things in life — microbes in plants and soils, to be exact. And though microscopic, these organisms can influence entire ecosystems by altering a plant’s ability to survive and thrive. A University of Georgia plant biologist and ecologist, Chung is interested in how these patterns can affect changing weather patterns. As an assistant professor jointly appointed in the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences Department of Plant Pathology and the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences Department of Plant Biology, Chung studies how plant-microbe interactions shift the landscape — which plants are most abundant, how ecosystems change over time and the nature of the relationship between the plant and its microbes. Through her research, she has found that microbes can shape an entire ecosystem from underground up.
WSB-TV
‘Life and death situation’: Doctors forced to make tough decisions over nationwide drug shortage
By Ashli Lincoln, WSB-TV
Doctors are being forced to make life-or-death decisions because of a nationwide medication shortage. It’s a problem not only impacting the pharmacy down the street but hospitals across metro Atlanta and beyond as well. “I do not think that the average patient or the average loved one of a patient realizes that medication shortages are directly impacting the care that they’re receiving,” said Dr. Andrea Sikora, a pharmacist with Augusta University Health Hospital and professor at the University of Georgia. “This is totally unprecedented.”
WRDW
Local doctors train for mass-casualty derailments with simulation
By Taylor Martin
We’ve seen the devastation out of East Palestine Ohio for weeks after a train derailment on Feb. 3 leading to a toxic spill. Experts estimate more than 40,000 animals will die from the chemicals spilled. There’s no easy way to prepare for a mass-casualty derailment. But Friday, local doctors simulated how they would respond if they ever have to deal with a similar situation. Healthcare professionals at the Medical College of Georgia tell us rural communities may not have the resources or training to respond in the case of a mass incident.
NBC News
Nasal Covid vaccine shows promise in early clinical trial
Nasal vaccines could provide better protection against infection by bolstering immunity right where the virus enters the body, but few have made it to human trials in the U.S.
By Denise Chow
An experimental nasal vaccine provided strong protection against Covid infection, according to preliminary results from a Phase 1 clinical trial. The vaccine, developed by a startup called Blue Lake Biotechnology Inc., was found to reduce the risk of symptomatic Covid infections by 86% for three months in people who received it as a booster dose. …Blue Lake’s Phase 1 trial included 72 participants ages 18 to 55 who had already received at least two doses of mRNA vaccines, as well as unvaccinated healthy adults. …The findings, which were released earlier this month, are still preliminary, and more research involving more people is needed before broad conclusions can be drawn. But the vaccine appears to be showing promise so far. “When we crunched the numbers, we had longer duration and better protection than mRNA vaccines — that’s very exciting,” said Biao He, founder and CEO of the Athens, Georgia-based startup and a professor of infectious diseases at the University of Georgia College of Veterinary Medicine.
WJBF
MCG leads the charge in treating seizures in epilepsy patients
by: Tiffany Hobbs
Doctors at the Medical College of Georgia are at the forefront of helping seizure patients who don’t respond to medication. “It’s electricity,” said Dr. Fernando Vale, a neurosurgeon and Chair of the Department of Neurosurgery at the Medical College of Georgia at Augusta University. “That’s how brain cells connect to each other, that’s how they send messages to each other. But every so often, there’s gonna be this short circuit that will shut down the system and that’s a seizure.” Dr. Vale specializes in epilepsy and functional disorders. For about 20% of epilepsy patients, he says, medication doesn’t help with their seizures.
Atlanta Business Chronicle
TACKLING HEALTH DISPARITIES IS ‘STAMPED IN OUR DNA’
Health care inequities cost more than $300 billion. The city’s research universities are making strides to address the root problems.
By Crystal Edmonson – Senior Editor, Community Engagement and Live Journalism,
In November 2018, East Point residents noticed a funny smell in the air. They reached out to Rollins School of Public Health at Emory University and researchers took samples near a paint manufacturing plant and two high schools. They found evidence of more than 20 industrial chemicals, some known to cause headaches and eye irritation. …East Point, which sits southwest of Atlanta, is 77% Black with a median household income of $50,000. People of color and low-income residents are more likely to be exposed to higher levels of air pollution, according to research from Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. The result of that exposure can be chronic conditions such as asthma, according to the American Lung Association. …Health inequity does not only affect individuals. It has broad consequences. It is “intertwined” with the state’s economy and has direct implications for the workforce, said Rodney Lyn, dean of Georgia State University’s School of Public Health.
Tech Today
Groundbreaking research shows that sugar is vital in preventing and curing Alzheimer’s disease
Denny Cooper
Researchers say they’ve discovered that a special sugar molecule may play a key role in causing Alzheimer’s disease. In a kind of “reverse-engineering” research using brain tissues from five people who died from Alzheimer’s disease, researchers at Johns Hopkins Medicine say they have discovered that a specific sugar molecule plays a key role in the development of Alzheimer’s -Sickness could play. If further research confirms the finding, the molecule known as a glycan could serve as a new target for early diagnostic tests, treatments and possibly prevention of Alzheimer’s disease, the researchers say. …Next, the researchers plan to further study the structure of RPTP zeta S3L to determine how its attached glycans give the glycoprotein its unique ability to interact with CD33. Other researchers involved in this study are Ryan Porell, Steve Fernandes, Eila Maenpaa, T. August Li, Tong Li, Philip Wong, Zaikuan Yu, Benjamin Orsburn, and Namandjé Bumpus from the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine; Kazuhiro Aoki and Michael Tiemeyer from the University of Georgia and Russell Matthew from the State University of New York Upstate Medical University.
WJBF
WJBF Honoring Black History Special 2023
by: WJBF Staff
WJBF NewsChannel 6 is proud to present Honoring Black History: Sharing Our Stories. In this special presentation, we are going to introduce you to some people and places across the CSRA that have meant so much to black history. Beginning with the history buried within Cedar Grove Cemetery. More than two centuries ago, the city of Augusta built Cedar Grove. It was an all-black cemetery not far from where whites were laid to rest. Often times their lives were inextricably tied. Renetta DuBose highlights the lives of some of those buried in that cemetery. …2023 marks the 56th anniversary of desegregation at the Medical College of Georgia. Tiffany Hobbs has a look back at how that happened and the progress that has been made since. MCG has scholarships to promote diversity in its classes. You can find information about that and how to donate at MCGFoundation.org.
WSAV
‘Step Afrika’ celebrates African heritage through dance
by: Lewis Levine/Coastal News Service
The Savannah Black Heritage Festival is winding down and a big crowd gathered tonight for a dynamic performance. Above are the dancers from “Step Afrika.” They performed tonight on the Savannah campus of Georgia Southern University. Stepping was created by African American fraternities and sororities and thousands of students take part. “Step Afrika” was created back in 1994. Their mission has been to establish, preserve and expand this dance form.
Patch
The UGA Aquarium on Skidaway Island near Savannah is offering a three-part Finding Meaning in the Marsh series that encourages participants to view Georgia’s coastal salt marshes from new perspectives. Three programs scheduled in March 2023 will feature special guest photographers, artists and naturalists who will lead guided walks through salt marsh and maritime forest habitat at the UGA Aquarium.
Statesboro Herald
Statesboro mayor’s ‘State of City’ 7 p.m. Tuesday at Carter Recital Hall
From staff reports
Statesboro Mayor Jonathan McCollar will give his 2023 State of the City speech Tuesday, Feb. 28, as the centerpiece of an event to which the public is invited, 7 p.m. in the Carol A. Carter Recital Hall on the Georgia Southern University campus.
Higher Education News:
Inside Higher Ed
Survey Highlights Barriers to FAFSA Simplification
By Katherine Knott
Financial aid administrators at colleges and universities say a lack of time and guidance from the U.S. Department of Education are key barriers they’ll face in preparing to carry out the coming overhaul of the Free Application for Federal Student Aid. A simplified version of the new application is set to go live sometime this fall. The new application is just one of several changes the department is making as part of the overhaul, known as FAFSA simplification, which also includes changing the formula that determines how much money a student gets and updating the eligibility criteria for the Pell Grant. Department officials said earlier this month that the simplified application might not be ready by Oct. 1—the launch date for the FAFSA since 2016.
Inside Higher Ed
Guidance on Outsourcing Spurs Anxiety About ‘Collateral Damage’
Biden administration guidance, targeted at companies that share tuition revenue with colleges, is framed so broadly it could affect nonprofit groups, state agencies and others. Update: Education Department delays implementation until Sept. 1.
By Doug Lederman
Officials in the Biden administration—and the think tank analysts who often feed them ideas—have made no secret of their disdain for the companies many colleges hire to recruit students for and operate their online academic programs, which government officials and analysts often believe can drive up the price of higher education and draw students to low-value academic programs at subpar institutions. So no one was remotely surprised that the U.S. Education Department’s recent guidance expanding the definition of what it means to be a “third-party servicer” for institutions that receive federal financial aid funds put online program management companies, or OPMs, squarely in the center of the bull’s-eye.
Higher Ed Dive
The agency must deliver a report to lawmakers by 2024. But policy experts aren’t sure it can even scrape together the survey in time.
Jeremy Bauer-Wolf, Senior Reporter
It seems like a well-meaning idea. Last year, when Congress passed its omnibus spending bill, it required the U.S. Department of Education to craft a climate survey that every federally funded college will administer to students, collecting their thoughts on sexual and dating violence. The survey could glean data on a national scale on a perennial problem for college campuses — research shows as many as 1 in 4 undergraduate women and 1 in 20 undergraduate men report sexual misconduct. But as is often the case with well-meaning ideas, the details are bedeviling. Congress didn’t designate funding for the Education Department to create the survey, which will need to be sent to the roughly 5,800 colleges that accept federal money.
Inside Higher Ed
Report: Faculty Fear Backlash for Free Speech
A new survey and report conclude that faculty members generally oppose punishing free speech but fear ramifications for using that right themselves. Others question the methodology.
By Ryan Quinn
The authors of a new survey and report on faculty members’ free speech views concluded that they generally oppose punishing free expression. Very few support actions like firing professors for controversial speech, but many nonetheless fear ramifications for their own speech. Faculty members also express more support for what the report, released Tuesday, labels “soft authoritarianism.”
Inside Higher Ed
Texas Lawmaker Seeks to Eliminate Polling Sites on Campuses
By Jaime Adame
Voting advocacy groups have pushed back against a Texas lawmaker’s effort to prohibit polling sites on college campuses. State representative Carrie Isaac, a Republican, cited safety concerns in proposing to bar county authorities from placing polling sites at colleges.
Inside Higher Ed
Lawsuit Alleges Title IX Complaint Drove Cadet to Suicide
By Jaime Adame
California State University Maritime Academy never ruled on whether Camren Bagnall was responsible for sexual misconduct. But the first-year cadet experienced bullying from his classmates and “changed to a completely different person” after another student told campus authorities he sexually assaulted her, said Rick Bagnall, Camren’s father. The 19-year-old Bagnall died by suicide in his dorm room on Feb. 8, 2021, before the university had even scheduled a hearing to address the complaint against him, according to Joseph Lento, an attorney for Rick Bagnall. A wrongful death lawsuit filed by Rick Bagnall against the university this month—two years after his son’s death—alleges the sexual assault accusation was false and led “to the untimely death, by suicide, of a blameless young man.” The lawsuit alleges “anti-male bias” and an “unfair and unjust” process under Title IX, the law prohibiting sex-based discrimination at educational institutions that receive federal funding.
Diverse Issues in Higher Education
Hochul Proposes Nearly $7.5B for Higher Ed in FY24
Jon Edelman
New York State governor Kathy Hochul has released her budget proposal for the 2024 fiscal year, featuring almost $7.5 billion in higher ed spending—a 13% increase from this year’s spending and a 22% increase from the 2022 budget proposed by her predecessor, Andrew Cuomo. The funding was hailed by the chancellors of the City University of New York (CUNY) and the State University of New York (SUNY), as well as Dr. Tom Harnisch, vice president of government relations at the State Higher Education Executive Officers Association.
Higher Ed Dive
Colorado College drops out of U.S. News’ undergraduate rankings
Jeremy Bauer-Wolf, Senior Reporter
Dive Brief:
Colorado College said Monday it will no longer participate in U.S. News & World Report’s undergraduate rankings, becoming the second institution to drop them in recent weeks over equity concerns. Officials said in a statement the rankings equate academic quality with institutional wealth and prestige, using methodology that perversely incentivizes colleges to offer merit-based financial aid — which tends to target wealthy students — over need-based aid. Colorado College President L. Song Richardson said in a statement the institution cannot “reconcile its values with these metrics.” Eric Gertler, U.S. News’ executive chair and CEO, said in an emailed statement the publication provides students with valuable data in their college hunt and that rankings should be one component of that decision making.
Cybersecurity Dive
Los Angeles school district confirms sensitive student data leaked
Health records and psychological assessments of about 2,000 students, including 60 current students, were exposed by last year’s ransomware attack.
Matt Kapko, Reporter
Dive Brief:
Highly sensitive health records, including psychological evaluations, of about 2,000 students were leaked as a result of the ransomware attack that hit the Los Angeles Unified School District last year. The nation’s second-largest school system confirmed the potentially damaging and personal information of students was included in a massive data leak after The 74, a nonprofit news organization covering the U.S. education system, published a report detailing the trove of mental health records exposed as part of the attack. “Approximately 2,000 student assessment records have been confirmed as part of the attack, 60 of whom are currently enrolled, as well as driver’s license numbers and Social Security numbers,” Jack Kelanic, the district’s senior administrator of IT infrastructure, said in a statement. “Some of these records go back almost three decades, which creates further time-consuming analysis.”