Marietta Daily Journal
Georgia Film Academy brings on new executive director
Dave Williams Capitol Beat News Service
A Georgia native with 35 years of experience in the entertainment industry has been named executive director of the Georgia Film Academy (GFA). C. Scott Votaw got his start in Hollywood working on sets for commercials, film and episodic television, before working for production companies including Saban, Fox, Lucasfilm Ltd. and other independent content creation companies. Most recently, he worked as an international consultant to studio infrastructure providers, workforce development and emerging technology companies within the film and entertainment production sectors in the Asia-Pacific region. …Votaw succeeds former GFA Executive Director Jeffrey Stepakoff, who left the position last July to form a talent management and production company.
See also:
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
A Burt Jones-backed hospital overhaul draws scrutiny
By Greg Bluestein – The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Ariel Hart – The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Zachary Hansen – The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Lt. Gov. Burt Jones is promoting a measure that would pave the way for more hospitals to be built in smaller counties as part of a pending overhaul of health care rules that could financially benefit his family’s business. The Republican is one of the most powerful supporters of Senate Bill 99, which would allow the construction of new hospitals in counties of fewer than 50,000 people without what is known as a “certificate of need” from state regulators, even if they’re close to existing hospitals. …The state’s largest hospital firms have staunchly opposed changes to the certificate of need program, which governs the construction and expansion of health care facilities and regulates what kinds of services they can offer. Wellstar Health System said the proposed facility could not only threaten the Sylvan Grove facility it operates in the county seat of Jackson but also a nearby hospital Wellstar runs in Griffin. …The Cobb County-based health care system has also drawn criticism from Georgia leaders after shuttering the Atlanta Medical Center last year, a closure that triggered calls from Democrats for a federal investigation into Wellstar’s practices. It is also negotiating a deal to partner with the Augusta University Health System — and possibly take it over. State lawmakers recently approved spending $105 million in taxpayer money on a new medical records system for the Medical College of Georgia, which is part of the system. Some state officials privately worry that Wellstar could abandon the deal if the certificate of need program is overhauled.
Valdosta CEO
VSU Counseling Center Earns Georgia’s 2023 Clinical Program of the Year Award
Staff Report
Valdosta State University’s Counseling Center recently earned the Georgia College Counseling Association’s 2023 Clinical Program of the Year Award. It was the Counseling Center’s work as a practicum and internship site for master’s level counseling students that caught the Georgia College Counseling Association’s attention. The Clinical Program of the Year Award recognizes the development and implementation of a unique clinical program or group for college students. …The Counseling Center averages two to three graduate student trainees each semester. These students are typically from VSU’s Master of Education in Counseling Education program, but depending on interest, the Counseling Center has hosted students from the Master of Social Work and Master of Science in Marriage and Family Therapy programs.
GPB
‘Lessons in transparency’: Augusta University hosts First Amendment awards, lecture for students
By: GPB News Staff
Sunshine Week is an annual event organized by the Society of Professional Journalists to promote transparency and freedom of information for news gathering around the country. This year’s activities took place between March 12 through March 18, and Augusta University invited its students to learn more about the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution through an awards ceremony and guest lecture. … Student Rakiyah Lenon, editor-in-chief at AU’s newspaper, The Bell Ringer, was also honored, along with Library Dean Bradley Warren and Pamplin College Dean Kim Davies.
WJBF
Augusta University Online now offering 3 new degree programs
by: Kim Vickers
Augusta University Online is officially accepting applicants for its first 3 graduate programs. These are the first programs at AU that will be done completely online. Since the rise of for profit online universities, many students hoped for and requested online degree programs from Augusta University. Now, their wish has finally been granted. …All three of the new online programs are graduate level degrees that were chosen for a specific reason. They are the Master of Public Health, the Master of Science in Information Security Management, and the Master of Education in Instruction.
ECO Magazine
First Comprehensive Look at Oxygen Loss on Coral Reefs
A new study is providing an unprecedented examination of oxygen loss on coral reefs around the globe under ocean warming. Led by researchers at UC San Diego’s Scripps Institution of Oceanography and a large team of national and international colleagues, the study captures the current state of hypoxia—or low oxygen levels—at 32 different sites and reveals that hypoxia is already pervasive on many reefs. …This study involved a total of 22 authors representing 14 different research organizations and universities, including UC San Diego; University of Puerto Rico at Mayaguez; NOAA Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center; National Taiwan Ocean University; Georgia Southern University;
The Tuscaloosa News
Does mild February mean snake season has arrived early? | ECOVIEWS
Whit Gibbons
Mid-March has two milestones linked to snakes: St. Patrick’s Day, March 17, and the official beginning of spring, March 20. The first relates to the legend that St. Patrick ran the snakes out of Ireland (which didn’t have snakes in the first place and still doesn’t). The second heralds the emergence of many U.S. reptiles from winter dormancy. Due to the February warm spell this year in the Southeast, questions have begun earlier than usual about this captivating group of top predators. …For anyone living in the Southeast, even in suburban areas, my advice is learn to recognize the common visitors, such as ratsnakes, garter snakes and watersnakes. Home gardeners often see red-bellied, ringneck and DeKay’s brown snakes. Check reliable websites or consult a field guide to learn which ones live in your area and what they look like. “Snakes of the Eastern United States” (Whit Gibbons, University of Georgia Press, 2017) has more than 385 color photographs and includes information about all species.
Savannah CEO
Jacob G. Smith Students Shine in Social Science Fair
Staff Report
The SCCPSS Social Studies Fair was held February 8th and 9th with Jacob G. Smith making a clean sweep of every category! The objective of the Social Studies Fair is to help students explore the world through the lens of social inquiry. Students are encouraged to development and research projects that address significant Social Studies and Social Science topics using literacy and research methodology in the creation of abstracts, research summary papers, visual presentations, and interviews. …All first, second and third place winners will be invited to participate in the Richard Persico Southeast Regional Social Science Fair sponsored by Georgia Southern University.
AllOnGeorgia
Georgia Southern Botanic Garden Spring Plant Sale April 1 & 2
Georgia Southern’s Botanic Garden will be having their annual Spring Plant Sale on Saturday, April 1 (9:00 am – 2:00 pm) & Sunday, April 2 (12:00 pm – 4:00 pm). There is no entry fee. Plants may be purchased by cash, check, or card, and all purchases benefit the garden. There will be a large selection from herbs to trees, including many native plants. See a preview of the sale, beginning March 24, online here. Experts will be on hand to answer questions and give consultation.
WRDW
AU invites public to participate in giving campaign
By Staff
Augusta University invites the public to help change lives by making a financial gift during Augusta Gives 2023. The fundraising effort will take place Wednesday, and there are hundreds of funds where your donations will support education, health care, research and innovation. Examples of places you can donate include each college department, the Children’s Hospital, Georgia Cancer Center, athletics, student life, diversity and inclusion, and libraries.
Statesboro Herald
Dominant Eagles capture second straight Schenkel
Masters-bound Ben Carr birdies 18 to win individual title
Josh Aubrey/staff
The Georgia Southern Eagle golf team accomplished a first Sunday at Forest Heights Country Club. The Eagles capped a wire-to-wire victory for the team’s first back-to back Schenkel Invitational titles in program history.
Athens Banner-Herald
Georgia football adds pair of recent coordinators to offensive support staff
Marc Weiszer
Georgia football has beefed up its football support staff on the offensive side of the ball. Kirby Smart has hired former Clemson offensive coordinator Brandon Streeter and former Texas A&M offensive coordinator Darrell Dickey, Georgia confirmed late Monday afternoon. Their exact titles were not yet known. DawgsHQ was the first to report the additions to the Georgia staff. Georgia had openings to fill when Buster Faulkner was hired as Georgia Tech offensive coordinator after serving for three seasons as offensive quality control analyst and Mike Bobo was promoted from offensive analyst to offensive coordinator to replace Todd Monken.
Higher Education News:
Inside Higher Ed
OPINION
Abandoning the College Minor for Certification
Colleges could consider replacing or complementing the college minor with industry certification programs, Matthew J. Mayhew, Emily Creamer and Susannah Townsend write.
By Matthew J. Mayhew, Emily Creamer, and Susannah Townsend
A close-up of the engine under the hood of a car. (rep0rter/iStock/Getty Images Plus)
It may be time to rethink the college minor. Instead of or in addition to minors, higher education stakeholders may want to consider partnering with employers—both public and private—to create pathways toward certifications specifically designed to help students enter the workforce with higher-paying jobs.
A Move Toward Credentialing
People are questioning the value of a college degree and demonizing college along the way. Part of the problem is that the American public has lost confidence in the skills college teaches students and their employment prospects after graduation. By innovating beyond traditional ways of thinking about college—corporate versus academic, minor and major—we have the opportunity to leverage college-going as a means not only for bringing people together to solve the world’s most pressing issues but also certifying students with the specific knowledge and skills needed to enter the workforce with higher-paying jobs. This shift in thinking is not new.
Inside Higher Ed
Treating Farm Families Unfairly?
Students from families that own farms or small businesses could see less financial aid under the new formula set to launch this year, but some groups are calling on Congress to fix the issue before the new FAFSA is released.
By Katherine Knott
Higher education administrators say a change in the federal student aid formula could mean lower levels of financial aid for children whose parents run family farms or small businesses, and they want Congress to take action. Currently, a family with an adjusted gross income of $60,000 and a farm worth $1 million would be expected to contribute $7,626 annually for college. But under the new federal financial aid formula that will launch later this year, that same family would be expected to contribute $41,056, the Iowa Student Aid Commission found in a recent report.
Higher Ed Dive
Higher ed organizations press for firm FAFSA release date
Jeremy Bauer-Wolf, Senior Reporter
Dive Brief:
Eight higher education organizations are asking the U.S. Department of Education to commit to a date by which it will release the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, or FAFSA, which is in the process of being revised. Traditionally, the FAFSA goes live Oct. 1. But groups like the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators wrote to the Office of Federal Student Aid last week that they heard it may be delayed, potentially even past the end of the year. The groups are asking the Education Department to say by May 1 when it will publish the FAFSA. They wrote that states, colleges and access organizations “must prepare to make significant adjustments to their systems and processes based on the FAFSA release date.”
Higher Ed Dive
Ohio looks to ban public college employee strikes
Jeremy Bauer-Wolf, Senior Reporter
Dive Brief:
Ohio’s legislature is mulling a bill that would prohibit employees at the state’s 14 public universities and 23 community colleges from striking. Proposed legislation would overhaul several elements of Ohio public higher education. State institutions also couldn’t mandate diversity training or diversity statements in hiring, which require applicants to outline their commitment to inclusion and equity work. The state’s more than 50 private colleges could be affected, too. To access state capital dollars, private institutions would be forced to sign a document affirming their commitment to free speech and saying they wouldn’t mandate diversity, equity and inclusion courses or training for students, staff or faculty.
Inside Higher Ed
New Initiative Seeks to Provide Clearer Data on MSIs
Scholars launched a new database focused on minority-serving institutions to create more clarity among researchers, policy makers and others about how to classify and study them.
By Sara Weissman
A new research initiative seeks to expand access to clear, precise data about minority-serving institutions. The founders of the Minority-Serving Institutions Data Project say policy makers, researchers and advocacy groups all define MSIs in different ways, which leads to inconsistent and inaccurate studies of these institutions. The group of scholars recently published an article in the journal Educational Researcher outlining the complexities of MSI classifications and proposing clearer definitions, and they created a new database using those standards in hopes of providing a more accurate picture of the MSI landscape. Some studies end up with different counts of MSIs in part because the status of these institutions can change from year to year.
Inside Higher Ed
Is For-Profit Higher Education on Its Last Legs?
Possible sale of the University of Phoenix to a public university raises existential questions about the for-profit sector and federal regulation of higher education. A panel of experts weighs them.
By Doug Lederman
As recently as 2015, the University of Phoenix enrolled more than 400,000 learners, making it not only the center of the for-profit higher education universe but the biggest university in the United States by far. Word in January that the University of Arkansas system is contemplating buying Phoenix raises fascinating questions about the state of for-profit higher ed and how to regulate the increasingly blurry landscape of postsecondary education and training. A recent episode of The Key, Inside Higher Ed’s news and analysis podcast, used the possible Arkansas-Phoenix marriage as a moment to take stock of the state of for-profit higher education. The conversation included Kevin Kinser, who heads the Department of Education Policy Studies at Pennsylvania State University and studies for-profit higher education; Julie Peller, executive director of the nonprofit Higher Learning Advocates and a longtime expert on federal higher ed policy; and Paul Fain, editor of the newsletter The Job and a former editor at Inside Higher Ed.
Inside Higher Ed
Board Fines President $5,000 for Rules Violations
By Scott Jaschik
The Minnesota State Colleges and Universities board has ordered Marsha Danielson, the president of Minnesota State College Southeast, to pay more than $5,000 for breaking rules about expenses, The Star Tribune reported. An investigation by the system’s internal auditors found that Danielson had used college-owned cars for trips between campuses and her home. The system said she shouldn’t have used the cars because she received an $833 per month transportation and communication allowance as part of her contract.