The Augusta Chronicle
Georgia Senate approves budget with $105 million cut to university system
Abraham Kenmore
Athens Banner-Herald
The Georgia Senate on Thursday passed a version of the 2023-24 state budget that included significant cuts to the University System of Georgia teaching budget. …The total cut is about $105 million when compared to the Gov. Brian Kemp’s initial budget proposal. But USG puts the cut at $113 million after including reductions to other budget lines. … “The $113 million decrease would significantly impact all 26 USG public colleges and universities, many of which are already experiencing a negative budget impact due to declining enrollment,” USG Chancellor Sonny Perdue was quoted as saying in a statement. “These additional funding reductions would impact teaching budgets, staff and students. We are confident these things will resolve themselves by the end of the session.”
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The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
OPINION: An early test for Lt. Gov. Burt Jones – the family business or the state business?
By Patricia Murphy
When Lt. Gov. Burt Jones was sworn into office earlier this year, the question in the Capitol quickly turned to what kind of a leader Jones would be. Would the man who had been frozen out by the previous GOP leadership now lead from the inside? And would Jones operate the lieutenant governor’s office to advance the state’s interests or those of his well-known family’s increasingly large empire, about 60 miles south of Atlanta in Jackson? …A plan to open new rural hospitals, including one in Jones’ native Butts County that could go on land his father owns, hangs in the balance. … And its supreme importance to Jones in the final week of the Legislature has led the lieutenant governor to clash with House Speaker Jon Burns and Gov. Brian Kemp, who both oppose the measure. …Also caught up is funding for the University System of Georgia. … Wellstar has now threatened an agreement with the state to partner on Augusta University Health, a place where lawmakers worry that costs will spiral out of control without the deep pockets of a company like Wellstar.
Fox28 Savannah
Gov. Kemp allots funds to Savannah Logistics Innovation Center in state budget
by Anna Hughes
Governor Brian Kemp allotted $650,000 in the 2023 amended state budget to support the Savannah Logistics Innovation Center. The SLIC is a public-private partnership, co-led by Georgia Southern University and the Savannah Economic Development Authority, that’s focused on attracting innovative logistics technology companies and research projects to the Savannah area.
The Baldwin Bulletin
GCSU students get hands-on civics lesson under Gold Dome
By News Staff on Thursday, March 16, 2023
Georgia College & State University (GCSU) students got a hands-on civics lesson in Georgia state government last week. A delegation of Georgia College students and administrators traveled to Atlanta to meet with legislators and state officials for Georgia College & State University Day at the Capitol.
Barnesville Dispatch
Gordon Club Football Receives Two Additional Proclamations For 2022 NCFA Championship Title
Karolina Philmon – Gordon State College
On Monday, March 6th, the city of Barnesville issued a proclamation to Gordon State College for the Club Football Highlanders and their 2022 National Club Football Association (NCFA) National Championship title. In addition, on Tuesday, March 14th, GSC visited Atlanta’s gold domed visual landmark, the Georgia State Capitol where Sen. Marty Harbin presented its proclamation for the team’s title win. Mayor Peter L. Banks presented Barnesville’s proclamation to GSC President Dr. Kirk A. Nooks in the courtroom of the Barnesville Police Department. “I don’t think we’ve ever had a local team that has won a national championship,” Banks said. “I’m mighty proud of the club football team and Gordon State College for its lasting impact on its students and the community.”
Times-Georgian
UWG music alum outperforms thousands in international competition
By Julie Lineback Special To The Times-Georgian
UWG music alum Manuel Vizurraga recently bested 14,000 other musicians in the International Association of Professional Music Teachers’ Concours International de Musique Online. To most listeners, the genres of heavy metal and classical music couldn’t be further apart. The former is chaotic and disordered; the latter, elegant and balanced. University of West Georgia alumnus Manuel Vizurraga ’12 sees a connection. Maybe that’s where his passion for classical music originated.
Athens CEO
UGA Greek Life Partners with Nonprofit on Blood Drives
Kristen Linthicum
University of Georgia Greek Life has found a new way to support an outside organization that is serving the Athens community. Greek Life is partnering with The Blood Connection, a nonprofit organization that takes the unique approach of hosting blood drives that directly benefit health care providers in the community where the drives take place. …Therefore, UGA blood drives conducted through the Blood Connection provide blood to Piedmont-Athens Regional Hospital, one of the Blood Connection’s health care partners. UGA Greek Life has sponsored three blood drives through the Blood Connection and plans to host quarterly events with the organization.
Savannah CEO
Right on Target: Daryl Ingram Leads Firearms Industry Panel Discussion at GEDA
Staff Report
Daryl Ingram, our SVP & CEO, moderated the panel discussion on Georgia’s Firearms Industry at GEDA’s Monthly luncheon. He spoke with Paul Lemke, CEO of Norma Precision, Bret Vorhees, President & CEO of Taurus Holdings & Trevor Santos, Director of Government Relations-State Affairs for NSSF. Business development advantages offered by the State took center stage during the discussion, focusing on why companies around the world continue to look to the Peach State for their business expansion needs and success. …In attracting a skilled workforce, is there anything you are doing to work with colleges and technical schools to find and retain a workforce, and what can communities do to help you develop a labor pool?
~ “We are in the very early stages of working with Georgia Southern to develop a program with the goal of having quality engineers and techs who graduate from the program and come work with us. We understand we cannot change the workforce overnight, and we are working with programs like QuickStart to see what we can do to make it more accessible.” Paul Lemke.
Fox5 Atlanta
UGA researchers part of effort to make prescription labels more user-friendly
By Beth Galvin
Americans take on average four prescription medications a day, and research shows close to half aren’t taking their medication the way their doctors prescribed. Professor Henry Young at the University of Georgia College of Pharmacy says part of the problem is prescription labels can be confusing. …Young is part a collaboration between Wisconsin Health Literacy, the University of Wisconsin, and the Medical College of Wisconsin to tweak prescription labels to make them more user-friendly.
The News & Observer
Scientists say mine plan claiming no swamp harm has errors
By Russ Bynum Associated Press
Scientists for the federal government say documents that Georgia state regulators relied upon to conclude a proposed mine won’t harm the nearby Okefenokee Swamp and its vast wildlife refuge contain technical errors and “critical shortcomings” that render them unreliable. …The federal scientists aren’t the only ones to say Twin Pines and Georgia regulators used faulty methods to consider potential environmental impacts to the swamp. C. Rhett Jackson, a University of Georgia hydrologist, sent a letter to the Environmental Protection Division signed by 11 fellow hydrologists from Southern universities saying regulators used the wrong river gauge to evaluate potential decreases in the swamp’s water levels.
WTOC
New virtual way for people to learn about Black history on Tybee Island
By Shea Schrader
This year will mark the second annual Lazaretto Day on Tybee Island. A commemoration of the victims of the Transatlantic Slave Trade that were quarantined on the island, before being brought to Savannah to be sold. This year, there’ll be a deeper look at that history. At the second annual Lazaretto Day Commemoration on Tybee Island this Saturday, project leaders are going to be unveiling a new way to learn about Black history on the island and it’s only a click away. After years in the making, the virtual Black History Trail is online for people to see. The trail is a collaborative effort between Tybee MLK, the Tybee Historical Society, and Georgia Southern University.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
New studies look at heart disease disparities for Black, rural populations
By Donovan J. Thomas
UGA and Morehouse School of Medicine studies also look at steps for prevention
Two recent studies found that while deaths from heart disease are declining overall in the United States, those living in rural areas are at higher risk of dying from heart disease, and that Black rural men hold the greatest risk for developing heart failure. Another study is underway at Morehouse School of Medicine, to study a genetic risk factor that can lead to heart disease disparities in Black Americans. …The University of Georgia researchers earlier this year published a study in the Journal of the American Heart Association that found that social and economic factors that influence health are the driving force behind heart disease deaths. Dr. Zhuo Chen, one of the study’s authors, says that public health practitioners have set the goal of eliminating all health disparities. But social and health policies must support this goal, he says.
MedicalXpress
Artificial intelligence could reduce barriers to tuberculosis care
by Lauren Baggett, University of Georgia
A new study led by faculty at the University of Georgia demonstrates the potential of using artificial intelligence to transform tuberculosis (TB) treatment in low-resource communities. And while the study focused on TB patients, it has applications across the health care sector, freeing up health care workers to perform other necessary tasks.
Athens CEO
Organizations Across Georgia Come Together to Combat Farm Stress
Emily Cabrera
As the backbone of Georgia’s No. 1 industry, farmers face insurmountable pressures that are often beyond their control. Increased input costs, market variability, environmental disasters and labor shortages are just a few of the challenges. The 2023 Farm Stress Summit, held at Mercer University this week, brought together farmers, government officials, community leaders, health care specialists, university faculty and program staff from around the state to learn more about the unique stressors farm families experience and strategies for building a network of support. …With mental health awareness at the forefront of state and federal legislation, Commissioner Tanner said he expects this to be the decade of mental health reform. “It’s truly heartening to see so many people taking off their gloves to develop strategies for enhancing collaborations at the local, state and national level to cohesively support farmers and their families,” said Maria Bowie, co-chair of the summit and University of Georgia Cooperative Extension grant and project management specialist. Jennifer Dunn, a UGA Extension rural health agent who spoke at the event, added that farmers are great at communicating with their peers and learning from one another, and events like this highlight that strength.
Barnesville Dispatch
Gordon Presidential Fellows Program Is Underway, Successful
Gordon State College’s Presidential Fellows Program is underway and continues to be a success with two new students along with returning fellows who have been selected to serve as ambassadors for the president and the college for the 2023 – 2024 academic year. The Presidential Fellows Program offers exceptionally talented students the opportunity to develop their leadership potential through unique exposure to events hosted on campus, substantive work assignments and horizon-broadening education opportunities. The Presidential Fellows Program aligns with the college’s five-year strategic plan, Building the Power of WE! which emphasizes student leadership experiences to increase student engagement and development.
The Baldwin Bulletin
Ruth Eilers named Georgia AAS Trainer of the Year
By Bailey Ballard
Georgia College & State University’s Director of Academic Outreach, Ruth Eilers, was awarded the Georgia Adopt-A-Stream Trainer of the Year award. “Ruth is very deserving of the Georgia Adopt-A-Stream Trainer of the Year award! She is such a talented and valued director in the School of Continuing and Professional Studies,” said Angela Crisoce, executive director of GCSU’s School of Continuing and Professional Studies. “I love her passion for environmental science and her ability to teach others how to explore and care for the earth. She puts her whole heart into her work and this award represents that!” Georgia Adopt-A-Stream (AAS) is the state’s volunteer water quality monitoring program. The organization was created in 1993 to train and encourage individuals to monitor and improve sections of streams, wetlands, lakes or estuaries throughout their communities. According to their website, AAS is one of the outreach and education programs of the Non-Point Source Program in the Watershed Protection Branch of the Georgia Environmental Protection Division and is funded by the Clean Water Act.
Albany Herald
2023 Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College homecoming set for April 10-15
From staff reports
Suit up Stallions! The 2023 Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College Homecoming Celebration is hitting campus April 10-15 with the theme “Top Gun Thunder: A Need for Steed.” “Homecoming offers events for students, alumni and the community,” ABAC Alumni Director Lynda Fisher said in a news release. “It is a weeklong list of activities. We primarily focus on the students Monday through Thursday and then the alumni Friday and Saturday. “The main thing is to get people back on campus. They can meet people, reunite with old friends, make some new ones, and just celebrate ABAC.”
Athens Banner-Herald
Appeals court affirms decision to dismiss former UGA baseball player’s lawsuit
Wayne Ford
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit this month affirmed a lower court’s decision to dismiss a lawsuit filed by a former University of Georgia baseball player who contended his right to freedom of speech was violated when he was suspended from the team and from campus. UGA player Adam Sasser of Evans, Georgia had originally filed a federal lawsuit against UGA, the University System of Georgia Board of Regents, the UGA Athletic Association and related parties after he was removed from the baseball team in fall 2018.
Higher Education News:
Albany Herald
College majors that make the most money
By Frederick Reese, Sarah Dolezal, Stacker
Stacker has curated a gallery of the 50 college majors that go on to earn workers the most money. Results show a stark difference between higher wages for STEM fields (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) versus non-STEM majors.
With student loan debt and the economic aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic weighing on their minds, prospective college students may want to dig into the data on which majors pay the most after graduation. The U.S. News and World Report, for example, said that “all 10 of the college majors with the highest starting salaries based on PayScale data are in STEM fields, with computer engineering and computer science the top-paid.” Stacker’s top 25 highest-paying college majors also include social science and medical majors, such as political economy, pharmacy, and econometrics. While the highest-paid college majors are in those science, technology, engineering, and math subject areas, there’s disagreement among college and workforce professionals if there’s a workforce shortage of STEM careers.
Inside Higher Ed
Striving to Use Technology to Smooth Transfer Connections
A digital transcript sharing company and a software company that helps manage transfer team up. Leaders hope their union helps students move among higher ed institutions with more ease.
By Sara Weissman
Parchment, a leading digital transcript sharing company, expanded into new territory this week by acquiring Quottly, a company that sells software for course and program sharing, managing dual enrollment, and automating and streamlining transfer agreements. Leaders of the companies say combining their operations—transcript exchanging and credit transfer—can help institutions better handle the many moving parts of the transfer process and make students’ transition from one institution to another more efficient. Some higher ed experts see the move as a response to demand for a more comprehensive transfer management platform when some universities are using multiple, disparate digital tools to shepherd students through an already complex process.
Inside Higher Ed
Education Department to Hold Hearings on Regulatory Agenda
By Katherine Knott
The Education Department is gearing up for the next round of negotiated rule making, which will touch on a variety of issues, from distance education to accreditation to cash management. The department plans to form at least one rule-making committee, which will begin meeting in fall 2023. Before that, the agency will hear feedback on its agenda in virtual public hearings on April 11 to 13. After those hearings, the department will finalize the issues that will be addressed during negotiated rule making and request nominations for negotiators to serve on the committee.
Cybersecurity Dive
Threat intelligence isn’t for everyone, Google says
Matt Kapko, Reporter
Dive Brief:
Threat intelligence isn’t universally valuable, particularly for organizations that don’t have the wherewithal to translate threat insights into action. Analysts from various Google business units addressed this challenge Wednesday during a Google Cloud security virtual event. While reports detail the tactics, techniques and procedures adversaries employ to bypass controls, most cybersecurity professionals are dealing with common threats. Insights are only useful when organizations do something different based on the knowledge they gain from threat intelligence, said Jayce Nichols, director of adversary operations. “If you don’t have a way to incorporate that into your business and security processes, then spend that money on something else because you’re not really going to get the benefit from intelligence,” Nichols said.
Cybersecurity Dive
FTC opens inquiry into cloud market competition, security
Matt Ashare, Reporter
Dive Brief:
Cloud infrastructure has come under the scrutiny of the Federal Trade Commission, which issued a request for information seeking public comment on CSP business practices Wednesday. The FTC is seeking to assess competition in the market, review potential security risks and determine the extent to which certain industries — including healthcare, finance, transportation, e-commerce and defense — depend on cloud for infrastructure and services. “Large parts of the economy now rely on cloud computing services for a range of services,” FTC CTO Stephanie Nguyen said in the announcement. “The RFI is aimed at better understanding the impact of this reliance, the broader competitive dynamics in cloud computing and potential security risks in the use of cloud.”
Inside Higher Ed
Millikin University to Lay Off 15 Employees, Close Vacancies
By Josh Moody
Millikin University in Illinois is poised to lay off 15 employees and reduce a number of unspecified vacant positions, citing “the effects of the [coronavirus] pandemic, coupled with increased expenses, and changing demographics,” according to WAND-TV. “The majority of the reductions will be made through a combination of open vacancies and retirements, and one-year contracts that will not be renewed. Fifteen layoffs are included, with several of those being part-time or reduced hours. All tenured and tenure-track faculty members laid-off will receive 10-month terminal contracts, and those affected by administrative and staff reductions will receive a 90-day notice to assist in planning and seeking alternative employment,” read part of a university statement to WAND-TV.
Inside Higher Ed
Appeals Court Says Student Can Sue NYU for COVID Refund
By Doug Lederman
A deeply divided panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit on Thursday resuscitated a class action that seeks to require New York University to reimburse students for tuition and fees they paid when it pivoted to remote instruction in spring 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic. A lower federal court had ruled that the parent of an NYU student who brought the lawsuit lacked standing to sue, and it rejected an effort to amend the original complaint to add a current student as a plaintiff, concluding that the case was unlikely to succeed on its merits. A majority of the three-judge panel supported the lower court’s view that the parent did not have standing to sue, since the parent herself did not suffer harm. But it concluded that adding a current student plaintiff would not be futile, writing that the revised complaint makes “plausible” claims for breach of contract and unjust enrichment.
Inside Higher Ed
Auburn Students May Have Been Drugged by Ride-Share Driver
By Safia Abdulahi
Four students from Auburn University were likely drugged by a ride-share driver who offered them drinks on campus last Friday, The Miami Herald reported. University officials released a statement Wednesday saying that the students used a local ride-share bus to take them from campus to an off-campus event. One of the students told campus security that she and three other young women became ill after consuming the mixed drinks, experiencing vomiting, numbness, confusion and memory loss.