AP News
Georgia House and Senate in power struggle over budget
By Jeff Amy
The Georgia Senate on Tuesday rolled out a budget that would slice $87 million from Georgia’s public universities in a power struggle with the House over hospital funding and permitting. …University System of Georgia Chancellor Sonny Perdue said in a statement that the “decrease would significantly impact all 26 USG public colleges” and “impact teaching budgets, staff and students.” The former governor said officials are confident differences can be worked out.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Senate leaders pass $32.4 billion budget with $6K raises for law enforcement
By James Salzer
Georgia Senate budget writers Tuesday passed a spending plan for the upcoming year that would give troopers, GBI investigators and game wardens $6,000 raises while teachers and other state employees would receive a $2,000 salary boost. The budget for fiscal 2024 passed by the Senate Appropriations Committee now heads to the chamber for its consideration. …Senate leaders had extra money to spend after cutting about $105 million from Gov. Brian Kemp’s proposal for University System of Georgia spending. …Sonny Perdue, the University System’s chancellor and a former governor, said Wednesday that he’s not panicking over the move by Senate leaders to cut the system’s budget. ”It’s not over ‘til it’s over, that’s the one thing about the legislative session,” Perdue said. “I think the fact is these are signals that go back and forth between the House and the Senate throughout the legislative session. We feel confident that these things will resolve themselves by the end of the session.”
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Americus Times-Recorder
GSW waives application fee and test scores for incoming undergraduates this March
By Ken Gustafson
Georgia Southwestern State University is waiving its undergraduate application fee throughout the month of March and will continue to waive the Fall 2023 test score requirements for SAT/ACT for students with a 3.0 GPA or higher. …The application fee for undergraduate students is being waived as part of the Georgia Student Finance Commission’s (GSFC) Apply to College Initiative. This is the second round of application fee waivers offered this academic year, following the success of Georgia Apply to College Month in November 2022. Georgia Southwestern is one of 43 institutions across the state participating in the initiative. The change in Fall 2023 SAT/ACT test score requirements is also aimed at undergraduate applicants following guidance from the University System of Georgia (USG). …Prospective GSW students may apply online at gsw.edu/apply, where the fee waiver will be automatically applied to each undergraduate application submitted in March.
Independent.ie
Agreement sees Georgia Southern University provide first $400,000 for the design phase of the project, first touted over three years ago.
Padraig Byrne
Having waved the green, white and gold in one of the biggest St Patrick’s Day parades in the world in Savannah, Georgia, six Wexford councillors met with representatives of Georgia Southern University on Tuesday morning to finalise a deal to convert the old Adoration Convent into student accommodation for their campus in Wexford town. Cathaoirleach of Wexford County Council was joined by the Chairpersons of each of Wexford’s five districts – Donal Kenny, Michael Sheehan, Aidan Browne, Lisa McDonald and Maura Bell – in making the trip which saw them participate in a parade alongside the likes of Conor McGregor in a bid to grow links between Wexford and Savannah. Cllr Lawlor was delighted to confirm that an agreement has now been signed by President of Georgia Southern University (GSU) Dr Kyle Marrero for the refurbishment of the historic convent building, over three years after the student accommodation plan was first mooted.
The Red & Black
Fundraising campaign for new UGA Hillel building begins public phase
Allison Mawn
The fundraising campaign for a new Hillel UGA building has begun its public phase, according to a press release from Amplify Partners on behalf of Hillels of Georgia and Hillel UGA. The campaign, hosted by Hillels of Georgia and Hillel UGA, has raised $6.4 million to date, more than 80% of its $8 million goal, according to the press release. The largest gift to date is from The Marcus Foundation, a nonprofit that supports organizations working in sustainability and community food resources, according to the foundation website.
WGAU Radio
UGA faculty members are named University Professors
By Hannah Gallant, UGA Today
University of Georgia faculty members John Maltese and Jean F. Martin-Williams have been named University Professors in recognition of their significant impact on the university above and beyond their normal academic responsibilities. Maltese is the associate dean in the School of Public and International Affairs, where he also holds the Albert Berry Saye Professorship of American Government and Constitutional Law and the Josiah Meigs Distinguished Teaching Professorship. Martin-Williams is an associate dean in the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences and a Josiah Meigs Distinguished Teaching Professor in the Hugh Hodgson School of Music.
Albany Herald
UGA Center for Food Safety director aids in FDA review
By Jennifer L. Reynolds UGA/CAES
When government officials need expert opinions, they often turn to academia for advice. The University of Georgia’s Center for Food Safety has a long history of working with such entities to help ensure a safe global food supply, and its involvement in government matters deepened last fall when the center’s director participated in a high-profile review of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. In 2022 Robert Califf, commissioner of the FDA, requested an independent review of the organization, saying that the agency was confronting numerous challenges that “stressed the agency’s operations” due in part to “our nation’s endlessly complex food systems and supply chain.” Califf asked the Reagan-Udall Foundation to create a panel to review the culture, structure and leadership, resources and authorities of the FDA. Francisco Diez, director of the UGA Center for Food Safety, which is housed in the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, was selected as one of six experts to conduct the evaluation.
Fox5 Atlanta
UGA Motorsports gives students experience in automotive world
University of Georgia’s student-run organization UGA Motorsports gives students hands-on experience as they explore opportunities in automotive and racing engineering.
Poultry Times
Study finds veganism may not be the key to sustainability
By Elizabeth Bobenhausen Poultry Times staff
Many Americans are seeming to gravitate towards a lifestyle of being a vegan or vegetarian. Some think they will gain a healthier lifestyle out of it, or it will benefit animals and the environment. However, a recent study conducted by the University of Georgia proposes that having a vegetarian or vegan lifestyle may not be as beneficial as some might think. The research found that eating a diet that consists of plants and local humanely raised animals may help the environment and safeguard human rights. Amy Trauger, author of the study and a professor at the UGA Franklin College of Arts and Sciences said, “there’s nothing sustainable about this plant-based model. It is really just a lot of green washing. You really don’t have to look very far to see how problematic this narrative is.” In 2019, WebMD also suggested while having a vegan or vegetarian diet is beneficial, it could have risks to someone’s health.
Specialty Crop Industry
UGA’s Sparks Provides Insect Update
By Clint Thompson
The recent hot and dry weather conditions that were prevalent across the Southeast could factor into how widespread insect pressure is heading into April. Stormy Sparks, University of Georgia (UGA) Cooperative Extension vegetable entomologist, discussed the insect pests growers should be wary of during planting season across the region. “Diamondback moth is starting to build up. We’ve had several fields reported with diamondback, but that’s primarily it right now,” Sparks said. “It’s going to be interesting to see what happens with whitefly and with pepper weevil, with the combination of the real cold in December and how warm it’s been since. That cold in December, particularly in whitefly, killed a lot of whiteflies. The weather we’ve had since then has not been good for the potential down the road. We’ve had enough warm weather to put on an extra generation. You give them an extra generation in the spring and by fall it gets ugly.
Other News:
InsiderAdvantage
Gun bills likely off the table for 2023 session
by Baker Owens
As we close in on Sine Die for this year’s legislative session, one notable issue that got scant attention from either side (with one committee hearing exception) was gun rights. After passing permitless carry last year (making it legal to carry a concealed handgun without a permit), no gun legislation will make it to a full floor vote this year. House Bill 161, sponsored by Rep. Michelle Au, D-Johns Creek, did receive a hearing in committee but it failed to move further. The bill is titled the ‘Pediatric Health Safe Storage Act’ and Au claims it is the first piece of gun safety legislation to get a hearing in the last six years.
Higher Education News:
Higher Ed Dive
Pearson to sell online services, including OPM business
Laura Spitalniak, Associate Editor
Dive Brief:
Pearson announced Tuesday it will sell its online education services, including its online program management company, to the private equity firm Regent. Regent will pay the British publisher 27.5% of the services’ adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization, or EBITDA, each year for six years. Regents will also pay Pearson another 27.5% of proceeds if the equity firm liquidates the online services business. Pearson Online Learning Services works with over 450 programs at over 30 institutions globally, according to the company’s website.
Inside Higher Ed
Parents Unaware of Students’ Mental Health Struggles
By Johanna Alonso
A new survey of college students and the parents of college students found big disparities in their perceptions of student mental health struggles. The study, conducted by YouGov on behalf of UnitedHealthcare, showed that while 41 percent of students said they’d experienced depression, only 22 percent of parents thought their children had ever been depressed. Similarly, 11 percent of students reported having dealt with an eating disorder, while only 5 percent of parents said they believed their children had. And students reported suicidal ideation at more than three times the rate (13 percent) their parents imagined (4 percent). Parents were much more likely to believe their children hadn’t accessed mental health care simply because they didn’t need any.
Inside Higher Ed
Richer Institutions Suffered Higher COVID Rates
By Johanna Alonso
Colleges and universities with higher tuition and bigger endowments per student tended to have higher COVID-19 infection rates on campus during the coronavirus pandemic, researchers at Union College found in what they believe is the first analysis of COVID infection determinants at U.S. institutions. These findings contradict broader data indicating that poorer areas were disproportionately affected by the virus. The study’s authors speculated that the surprising results might stem from the disparate COVID-19 policies between high-cost elite colleges and other institutions (thought they did not actually study those policies). Because elite institutions wanted to offer their students in-person education and could afford to pay for mitigation strategies like campuswide testing and quarantine facilities, they may have been willing to welcome students back to campus faster than less wealthy institutions, the authors suggested.
Inside Higher Ed
Cal State Long Beach Students Protest Graduation Plans
By Scott Jaschik
Students at California State University, Long Beach, are protesting the lack of a graduation ceremony in which they will walk across the stage and hear their names, the Los Angeles Times reported. Such a ceremony didn’t take place the last two years because of COVID-19, but this year university is bringing back large graduation ceremonies—but without student names. “I’ve been in and out of school for seven years,” said Joshua Biragbara. “I kind of thought that once I graduate, it’d be like a crowning moment.” A university spokesperson said it is “not practical at this scale” to read all the names.
Diverse Issues in Higher Education
Protests Urge University of Minnesota to Expand Native American Tuition Support Program
Arrman Kyaw
Students and activists protested at the University of Minnesota, demanding the school follow through on promises made to tribal communities. They asked the school to expand a tuition support program that they say few can access, MPR News reported. The Native American Promise Tuition Program – announced in 2021 and began last fall – offers free or reduced tuition based on family income but is limited to enrolled members of Minnesota’s 11 federally recognized tribal nations and requires that the participants be first-year undergraduates or transfer students from tribal colleges.
Inside Higher Ed
Big Changes Loom at Southern Oregon University
Southern Oregon University may eliminate 82 jobs to fill a $5 million budget hole. Those cuts are part of an ambitious plan to fix SOU’s finances and attract new revenue streams.
By Josh Moody
Facing a budget deficit of $5 million, Southern Oregon University is considering a realignment plan that will include deep cuts, which its president says are necessary to right the ship financially. Altogether, 82 jobs—about 13 percent of the workforce—are proposed for elimination, though many are current vacancies that simply will not be filled. Administrators have said only 23 current faculty and staff members will lose their jobs. Faculty are questioning the cuts, which some fear will harm the university’s celebrated theater program.
Diverse Issues in Higher Education
The University of Chicago Engages in Faculty Diversity Initiative
Arrman Kyaw
The University of Chicago is partnering with U.S. research universities for an initiative to improve diversity and inclusion in higher education. The initiative comes from university consortium Ivy+ Faculty Advancement Network (FAN), of which UChicago is the host institution. FAN members include Brown University, Columbia University, Cornell University, Dartmouth College, Duke University, Harvard University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Princeton University, Stanford University, University of Pennsylvania and Yale University.