AllOnGeorgia
Dr. Donald J. Green Named Interim President at Gordon State College
University System of Georgia (USG) Chancellor Sonny Perdue today named Dr. Donald J. Green interim president of Gordon State College, effective May 20, 2023. Green, who most recently served as president of Point Park University in Pittsburgh, Pa., replaces outgoing Gordon State President Dr. Kirk Nooks. Nooks recently announced he would be leaving his post May 19 to become President and CEO of the Atlanta-based Council on Occupational Education.
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The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The Jolt: Chicago makes one last push as DNC 2024 decision looms
By Patricia Murphy, Greg Bluestein, Tia Mitchell
…SONNY DAYS. Our colleague James Salzer reported last week about Sonny Perdue’s journey from being a governor, who had proposed hundreds of millions of dollars in University System budget cuts in the 2000s, to becoming the chancellor fighting a recent $66 million spending reduction approved by lawmakers. The irony wasn’t lost on lawmakers who were around for those earlier cuts, although they acknowledged times were different. Today the state is on a three-year revenue run that has produced record surpluses, while Perdue’s cuts came during two fiscal downturns, including the Great Recession. Perdue acknowledged the impact of the cuts from his tenure earlier this year, telling lawmakers that in 2001 the state covered about 75% of college costs, while student tuition covered the rest. By the end of the Great Recession’s hammering of state finances, the state-covered portion had dipped to 47%. …Although Sonny Perdue once vetoed an entire midyear budget as governor and brought legislators back for a special session to redraft it, there is no indication that will happen in this situation.
Inside Higher Ed
By Doug Lederman
Stuart Rayfield, vice chancellor for leadership and institutional development at the University System of Georgia, has been named president of Columbus State University, in Georgia.
Diverse Issues in Higher Education
Arrman Kyaw
Dr. Elizabeth Armstrong-Mensah has been involved in the field of public health for much of her career, tackling such global challenges as HIV/AIDS and maternal and child health. Now, the Association of Schools and Programs of Public Health is recognizing and honoring her with the 2023 ASPPH Early Career Teaching Excellence Award for her most recent work as a clinical associate professor at the Georgia State University School of Public Health, a role she has held since August 2017.
WGAU Radio
UGA juniors win Goldwater Scholarships
By Tim Bryant
Two UGA juniors are named Goldwater Scholars. Audrey Connor is a chemistry major at the University of Georgia; Emilio Ferrara is majoring in biochemistry and molecular biology. Since 1995, 66 University students have received the Goldwater Scholarships, which recognize exceptional sophomores and juniors across the United States.
From Stephanie Schupska, UGA Today…
University of Georgia juniors Audrey Conner and Emilio Ferrara have been named 2023 Barry Goldwater Scholars, earning the highest undergraduate award of its type for the fields of mathematics, engineering and natural sciences. Both are Foundation Fellows and Stamps Scholars in the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences and the Morehead Honors College.
AU and USC Aiken launch new online learning programs
By Dana Lynn McIntyre
Some new students who arrive at Augusta University for the fall semester will be attending in a non-traditional manner. Augusta University Online is up and running, less than a year after AU President, Dr. Brooks Keel announced the project in his State of the University address. Keel also introduced Dr. Marc Austin, hired as Dean of Augusta University Online, who will helm the new offering. The goal was to have Augusta University Online ready for fall 2023. They reached that goal.
13WMAZ
Georgia College students saving environment by composting food waste
An all-woman student team leads Georgia College compost project. They’ve turned 70,000 pounds of food waste from dining halls into compost since 2017.
Author: Jessica Cha
One man’s trash is another man’s treasure. That’s the motto of Georgia College’s all-female compost team. They’re taking their school’s food waste and turning it into compost to better the Earth, and for a profit. 13WMAZ’s Jessica Cha got down in the dirt to see why this is important. “The Dining Hall at Georgia College serves about 20,000 meals a month and about 20% of that food goes to waste. However, an all-women’s group of students is helping turn that trash into gold.
KPVI
Four UGA faculty members named Meigs Professors
By Mike Wooten UGA/CAES
The University of Georgia has honored four faculty members with its highest accolade for teaching, the Josiah Meigs Distinguished Professorship. The Meigs Professorship underscores the university’s commitment to excellence in teaching, the value placed on student learning experiences and the central role instruction plays in the university’s mission.
The Red & Black
‘An idea whose time has come’: UGA alum propose a Black cultural center on campus
Anna Kapustay
In 2021, a group of University of Georgia alum recognized the need for a space dedicated to the Black community at UGA and started the initiative to build a Black cultural center on campus. The organization, called the Legacy Achievement Center, Inc., was started by a group of Delta Sigma Theta, Inc. sorority members, and has expanded to 16 faculty members, staff, UGA alum and others. UGA currently recognizes Black history around campus with the Black-Diallo-Miller residence hall named in honor of the first three Black students to enroll as freshmen, the Mary Frances Early College of Education named for UGA’s first Black graduate and a monument located at Reed Plaza to salute the first five Black football players at UGA. However, according to Lajuana Miller, executive director of the LAC, the university still lacks a sufficient and dedicated space for the more than 130 Black student organizations on campus.
Reuters
Video
Conservative backlash takes aim at Bud Light
Bud Light’s sponsorship of transgender activist and TikTok star Dylan Mulvaney has sparked a backlash among conservatives, including singer Kid Rock, who posted a video of himself shooting a rifle at packs of the beer brand. Tamara Lindstrom produced this report. Georgia College marketing professor Dr. Joanna Schwartz doesn’t expect the outrage to have a major impact on Bud Light’s sales.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Georgia off to a record-warm start in 2023, new data shows
By Drew Kann
In 129 years of record-keeping, Georgia has never had a hotter start to a year than the one the state just experienced, new federal data released Monday shows. January through March was the hottest such period on record in Georgia, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), with temperatures statewide averaging 56.4 degrees. That’s 6.4 degrees warmer than what was considered normal during the 21st century. …While temperatures in Georgia during March were above normal, it was the heat during January and February that drove the record warmth. January 2023 was the 14th-warmest such month for the state, while February was the second-hottest on record, with temperatures nearly 10 degrees above the 21st-century average. Pam Knox, an agricultural climatologist at the University of Georgia (UGA), said she was not surprised by the exceptional warmth so far this year.
Morning AgClips
Southern Extension Offices Growing Crops, Research
Land-grant universities across southern U.S. finding ways to bring new plant varieties to market
Southern U.S. agricultural researchers are improving agriculture one crop at a time. From rice and peanuts to soybeans and strawberries, plant breeders from land-grant universities across the southern U.S. are finding ways to bring new plant varieties to market to help farmers feed their communities and the world with nutritious and cost-efficient crops. …Fort Valley State University
An agricultural robot is giving a team of scientists a better view of a troublesome pest that is disrupting sorghum production in the Southeast … Fort Valley State University and collaborators aim to identify genetic resources that are resistant to sugarcane aphid and to strengthen the research capacity in plant breeding activities at the university. …University of Georgia
Peanuts are an important part of the food chain in the U.S., and Georgia is the number one peanut-producing state in the U.S., having grown 52% of the peanuts produced in the nation in 2021 …Breeding the best peanuts, University of Georgia peanut breeders have spent decades developing the next best peanut variety for Georgia’s farmers.
Public News Service
USDA Warns GA Residents about Crop-Killing Pests
Shanteya Hudson, Producer
The U.S. Department of Agriculture is alerting Georgia residents about a citrus-killing disease caused by an invasive insect. The Asian Citrus Psyllid is a tiny brown bug which transmits what is known as “citrus greening disease,” an incurable condition rendering citrus fruit inedible and misshapen, making it unsellable. So far, it’s contributed to $40 billion in damages to crops, trees and other plants. Kathryn Bronsky, national plant protection policy manager for the USDA, said there are ways to halt its spread. …According to the University of Georgia Extension Service, the imported fire ant has infested more than 325 million acres in the southeastern U.S., including more than 10 million in Georgia.
WGAU Radio
UGA study sheds new light on movements of feral hogs
By Kristen Morales, UGA Today
When introduced into a new area, wild pigs will roam. A lot. That’s one finding from a new study by researchers at the University of Georgia who followed the movements of relocated wild pigs—also referred to as feral hogs—over several months. Infamous for the damage they cause to crops and landscapes, the research highlights the potential for problems when pigs are relocated—often illegally for hunting—and the potential risks of them spreading diseases such as African swine fever when they are moved around the landscape. The research was published in the journal Scientific Reports and is the first to examine movement among wild pigs relocated to new areas.
Athens CEO
Thomas F. Rodgers Administration Building Named in Honor of Former 4-H Leader
Josie Smith
Georgia 4-H dedicated the Thomas F. Rodgers Administration Building at Rock Eagle 4-H Center to honor former Georgia 4-H state leader Tom Rodgers for his years of service to 4-H and University of Georgia Cooperative Extension. Rodgers served as the leader of Georgia 4-H from 1978 to 1993 and championed the renovation of Rock Eagle 4-H Center during his tenure. Raising more than $2 million for the facility, he secured Rock Eagle’s continued status as a centerpiece of Georgia 4-H. Cabins, meeting spaces and support buildings were improved and expanded during the renovation, and revenue subsequently increased by 66%.
Statesboro Herald
Fundraiser for local woman battling cancer is Sunday
Phi Mu, Sigma Chi working together to help Bryn Green
Jim Healy
When Fischer Sharp learned Bryn Green, his friend since childhood, was diagnosed with breast cancer, he was “devastated.” “How could someone so young have cancer and face such a trial,” Sharp said. Both born and raised in Statesboro, Sharp said he attended Julia P. Bryant Elementary, William James Middle and Statesboro High with Green before they both came to Georgia Southern University, as well. A senior construction major, Sharp said he was speaking in January with some of his fraternity brothers in the Sigma Chi house at Georgia Southern about ways he could support his friend when the idea of a barbecue chicken plate fundraiser came to him. …And now, the “Sigma Chi/Phi Mu Fundraiser Benefiting Bryn Green” is set for 11 a.m.-2 p.m. Sunday at the Sigma Chi House on the GS campus. All proceeds after all bills are paid will be given to Green and her family.
Albany Herald
ABAC to honor nine alumni at homecoming
From staff reports
Nine former Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College students will be honored at the annual ABAC Alumni Association awards luncheon on Friday. The event will be held at 12:30 p.m. in ABAC’s Gressette Gymnasium and is part of the school’s 2023 homecoming celebration. The ceremony will recognize ABAC alumni who impacted the college and their communities in significant ways.
Americus Times-Recorder
Hana Haden named new GSW Women’s Head Basketball Coach
By Ken Gustafson
From Staff Reports
Georgia Southwestern State University has hired Hana Haden as its new head women’s basketball coach, Director of Athletics Mike Leeder announced Thursday afternoon, April 6. Sign up for the Americus Times-Recorder’s free newsletter Haden replaces former GSW head women’s coach Justin Payne, who left to take the head coaching job at Nichols State University in Thibodaux, LA.
Gwinnett Daily Post
By Curt Yeomans
If the groundbreaking for a new convocation center that will include a basketball arena wasn’t enough of a clue, Georgia Gwinnett College President Jann L. Joseph confirmed it after the ceremony. GGC is seeking the University System of Georgia’s permission to expand its athletic department and add men’s and women’s basketball programs. The first steps in lunching teams is to file paperwork with the university system.
13WMAZ
The Middle Georgia State University head coach was also remembered as an active member of the community and a mentor for so many.
Author: Marvin James
Ben Rogers, a former basketball coach at Middle Georgia College’s campus in Cochran, died on April 4. He was 85 years old. For nearly 30 years, Rogers taught in the classrooms on the Middle Georgia College campus in Cochran as a math professor. When he wasn’t teaching numbers, he was helping the men’s basketball team score championships for the then-MGC Warriors. “He was a mentor to me. [He was] someone I could really trust, and when I had problems, I could go and talk to him,” said Scott Moe, the current head coach of the program that Rogers previously led. “That was really important to me at the time.” While they’ve gone from the Middle Georgia College Warriors to the Middle Georgia State University Knights, Moe said that the mark that Rogers made on the program still lives on today. …Middle Georgia State University Cochran library is creating a memorial display of the history of Coach Rogers. It will be open to the public beginning April 18.
WSB Radio
Uga XI To Be Unveiled at G-Day Collaring Ceremony
By UGA
The University of Georgia will introduce Boom, the 10-month-old English Bulldog, as Uga XI during pregame ceremonies at the upcoming G-Day Game on Saturday. The ceremonial collaring of Boom will start with eight minutes on the pregame clock at approximately 3:50 p.m. and will take place on the 20-yard line, northeast corner of Sanford Stadium. Fans are encouraged to find their seats early to watch the ceremony. The new mascot will succeed Uga X, affectionately known as Que, who will retire as the winningest mascot in Georgia history.
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Georgia Recorder
Georgia’s university workers rip state budget cuts at Gwinnett College building groundbreaking
By: Ross Williams
The financial year for Georgia’s 26 public colleges and universities starts in July with significant cuts for all institutions in the budget awaiting Gov. Brian Kemp’s signature. The governor has 40 days from the end of the Legislative session to sign or veto legislation, or to let them become law without his signature. The budget passed by the state Legislature calls for a $66 million decrease in state funding, which a group of professors at Georgia Gwinnett College in Lawrenceville said will harm their ability to retain talent and instruct students. Jill Penn, co-president of the United Campus Workers of Georgia and an associate professor of biology, said underfunding has been a problem for years, and many are worried the new cuts will make life even harder. …Penn and other members of the university union gathered on the campus Tuesday to raise awareness about the cuts. The gathering came after campus leaders broke ground on a new convocation center, which Penn said suggests out-of-place priorities.
Higher Education News:
Higher Ed Dive
Higher ed leaders chime in on the Education Department’s regulatory agenda
Jeremy Bauer-Wolf, Senior Reporter
Dive Brief:
The U.S. Department of Education began a series of virtual meetings Tuesday to hear feedback on its expansive regulatory agenda, which could include reworks to college accreditation, federal student aid and distance learning policies. The public hearings, which are scheduled through Thursday, serve as a precursor for what will likely be a months-long process of negotiating over new rules starting in the fall. The department will bring in representatives from across the higher ed sector to iron out policy differences. Several speakers Tuesday urged the Education Department to beef up student consumer protections and better hold poorly performing institutions accountable. Others criticized the agency’s recently expanded definition of third-party vendors that service colleges. Colleges have argued that this policy, which takes effect in September, would impose onerous oversight on areas like study abroad programs and online program management.
Inside Higher Ed
Education Department again delays controversial guidance on outside contractors and says it won’t affect many organizations that critics feared it might.
By Katherine Knott
The Education Department says its controversial guidance on outsourcing isn’t as expansive as critics have alleged. Study abroad programs, recruitment of international students, partnerships with external medical facilities and course-sharing agreements, among others, would not be subject to third-party servicer requirements. A number of higher education associations and organizations involved with study abroad and international education have voiced concern in recent weeks about how the proposed guidance could affect their programs, prompting the Under Secretary James Kvaal to issue a clarification Tuesday.
Inside Higher Ed
Few Changes in ‘U.S. News’ List of Top Law Schools
By Scott Jaschik
This is the first year for U.S. News & World Report’s law school ranking since Yale University’s law school (and then many other top-ranked law schools) announced a boycott of the rankings. U.S. News may continue to rank them, but they won’t participate. On Tuesday, U.S. News released its tentative list of the top 14 law schools. Yale’s (which was every previous year’s No. 1) was tied for first with Stanford University. Most of the top 14 are the same (although some are a bit higher or lower than last year).
Cybersecurity Dive
Leftover data lurks across the enterprise, creating a business risk
When an organization has little visibility into the data in its possession, it becomes even more vulnerable to data leaks, breaches, and both insider and external threats.
By Sue Poremba
There’s a good chance that someone in your organization is hoarding data. More likely, everyone in the company is holding on to files, emails and other bits of information they don’t need now, but think they might need someday. Data hoarding presents a huge security risk because it creates a large attack surface, which is difficult to protect. Making things even more complicated — and risky — is the issue that most hoarded data is forgotten data. There is so much information tucked into folders across multiple devices that the average user has no idea what is stored. When an organization has little visibility into the data in its possession, it becomes even more vulnerable to data leaks, breaches, and both insider and external threats.
Inside Higher Ed
The test will cut more than an hour of time, but not its cost. Duolingo continues to grow.
By Scott Jaschik
The Test of English as a Foreign Language, known by its acronym, TOEFL, will be shortened by an hour of time, becoming a two-hour exam starting in July. The Educational Testing Service, which produces TOEFL, says the change will make the test more competitive. But TOEFL has been losing competitiveness to Duolingo, which also provides a language test, and its test is an hour long. Duolingo began gaining ground on the TOEFL during the pandemic.
The State
After targeting CRT, some SC lawmakers want to take aim at college diversity initiatives
By Joseph Bustos and Alexa Jurado
At the University of South Carolina, the state’s flagship college is working to add braille to nameplates outside professors’ offices after a number of blind and low-vision students said they were having trouble attending office hours. At Clemson University, the Upstate college offers extra academic support and social opportunities to first-generation students through its FIRST program, helping to ensure they are successful in school. “That sense of inclusion, that sense of belonging is really what drives the college experience,” said Julian Williams, USC’s vice president of diversity, equity and inclusion. “When they feel that their university is home for them, … they do better in class, they stick around, they remain connected.”
Higher Ed Dive
Jeremy Bauer-Wolf, Senior Reporter
Dive Brief:
Texas lawmakers are pressing ahead with efforts to ban faculty tenure and diversity offices in the state’s public colleges. This month, Texas Senate Republicans advanced bills that would prohibit tenure and diversity, equity and inclusion, or DEI, offices. The Senate’s Committee on Education approved the anti-tenure bill last week 9-3, with one lawmaker absent, while its Subcommittee on Higher Education moved the diversity office legislation to the full committee. The measures still must be voted on by the full Senate and the Texas House of Representatives.
Inside Higher Ed
Florida Career College Cut Off From Federal Student Aid
By Katherine Knott
The Education Department’s Office of Federal Student Aid is removing Florida Career College, a for-profit chain with 11 campuses, from the federal financial aid system, the agency announced Tuesday following an investigation that found numerous violations. The college, which is owned by International Education Corporation, will not be allowed to enroll any new students using federal student aid, though current students will be able to receive aid and continue their programs through Sept. 30 if Florida Career College adheres to several conditions.
Diverse Issues in Higher Education
Arrman Kyaw
Boston residents can get tuition-free education at six community colleges, due to the expansion of the city government’s Tuition-Free Community College Plan. Regardless of age, income, or immigration status, they will be eligible for funding for up to three years of tuition and fees at six partner schools: Benjamin Franklin Cummings Institute of Technology, Bunker Hill Community College, Massasoit Community College, MassBay Community College, Roxbury Community College, and Urban College of Boston.
Inside Higher Ed
2 Shot Outside Community College in Louisville
By Scott Jaschik
One person was killed and another was shot outside a community college in Louisville, Ky., Monday, the Associated Press reported. The shootings occurred just a few hours after a mass shooting at a Louisville bank but were unrelated, police said. Louisville police responded to a reported shooting outside the campus of Jefferson County Community and Technical College at around 11 a.m. and found two adults had been shot. A man was pronounced dead at the scene, and a woman was taken to University Hospital, police said. The extent of her injuries was not immediately known.
Inside Higher Ed
Student Charged With Plotting ‘Mass Casualty Event’
By Susan H. Greenberg
A St. Olaf’s College student was arrested and charged with conspiracy to commit second-degree assault and terroristic threats after police confiscated from his dorm room ammunition magazines, knives and other items they believe he intended to use to commit a “mass casualty event” on campus, The StarTribune reported Tuesday. Officials at the Minnesota college first became suspicious of Waylon Kurts, a sophomore from Montpelier, Vt., after a custodian found two empty packages of high-capacity magazines that belonged to him in a garbage can outside some dorm rooms.
Cybersecurity Dive
Samsung employees leaked corporate data in ChatGPT: report
Lindsey Wilkinson, Associate Editor
Dive Brief:
In three separate instances, Samsung Electronics employees in the company’s semiconductor business unit put sensitive corporate data into ChatGPT, according to a report from The Economist Korea. One Samsung employee entered faulty source code related to the Samsung Electronics facility measurement database download program to find a solution. Another employee entered program code for identifying defective equipment to get code optimization. The third employee converted a smartphone recording of a company meeting to a document file and entered it into ChatGPT to get meeting minutes, according to the report. After data was leaked, the company implemented an upload capacity of 1024 bytes per prompt, according to the report. Samsung Electronics did not respond to requests for comment.
Higher Ed Dive
OPINION
Colleges have a moral imperative to help students up the economic ladder, not just promote their rankings, argues the president of CSU Dominguez Hills.
By Thomas Parham
Thomas Parham is the president of California State University, Dominguez Hills.
On many college and university campuses across the nation, the release of new collegiate rankings is a celebrated occasion. Prestigious universities often tout their low admission rates, selectivity ratios, and the high average GPAs and standardized test scores of their incoming classes as a measure of their institution’s strength. Those rankings reflect an outcome that higher education institutions may seek. However, measuring worth with exclusivity and selectivity simply replicates inequality and privilege in a higher education sector that claims to embrace equity and inclusion.