The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Georgia lt. governor goes after college spending on diversity programs
By James Salzer, Vanessa McCray
Wants chancellor to report diversity spending after criticizing state budget cuts
University System of Georgia Chancellor Sonny Perdue’s criticism of a $66 million spending cut that state lawmakers included in next year’s budget has Lt. Gov. Burt Jones wanting to know what colleges are spending on diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives. In a letter to Perdue, Jones, the president of the Senate, told the chancellor he wants the system to tell legislative leaders what the system’s schools are spending on DEI programs and include information on staffing, the names and aims of the programs. Such initiatives have been frequent targets of conservatives and Jones is considered a possible Republican candidate for governor in 2026. The University System said in a statement that it “is always responsive to the elected representatives of the people of Georgia” and has “already submitted those very questions to our institutions.”
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The Augusta Press
Augusta University celebrates completion of renovations to Greenblatt Library
Author Skyler Andrews
Augusta University commemorated the completion of the renovations to the Robert B. Greenblatt, M.D. Library, on Wednesday, at the school’s Health Sciences Campus on Laney Walker Boulevard. Former Georgia governor and current University System of Georgia Chancellor Sonny Perdue, Mayor Garnett Johnson, Georgia Reps. Barry Fleming, Brian Prince and Karlton Howard were among the guests at the ribbon-cutting event, celebrating the end of a refurbishment project that lasted over a year. “The project has been in multiple phases,” said AU Dean of Libraries Brad Warren, the first to hold the position, beginning March of last year, when the second phase of the renovations had already been planned.
Columbus CEO
Staff Report
Senior kinesiology major Kaitlyn Shepherd, a native of Warner Robins, Georgia, was among the students honored during the University System of Georgia’s Academic Recognition Day on Tuesday, April 25. Each year, the USG Board of Regents honors one student from each of the system’s 26 public colleges and universities for their outstanding academic achievement. Each student best represents the system’s highest scholastic ideals, as selected by their individual institutions. These students have a high GPA, strive for excellence and have the ability to share knowledge in various areas of expertise. Of course, Shepherd’s studies are a prominent part of her Columbus State experience and award recognition, as evidenced by her 4.0 grade point average and her studies in the Honors College.
Jagwire
Joseph McElmurray’s selection to represent Augusta University as the 2023 Academic Recognition Day Scholar came as a complete surprise to him. “I got a phone call from a random number. I picked it up, and it turned out to be Dr. Seth Oppenheimer, who is a really prominent figure in the math department,” said McElmurray. …I was definitely surprised.” Academic Recognition Day is a 35-year-old tradition in which the University System of Georgia awards one student from each of the system’s institutions for their academic achievements. Every year, each USG institution selects a student with a 4.0 GPA who best represents the high standards of the system. The ceremony was held April 25 in Atlanta, where honorees received a resolution from the Georgia House of Representatives and a letter of commendation from USG Chancellor Sonny Perdue. McElmurray, an Augusta native, is a senior pursuing a Bachelor of Science in Mathematics from Augusta University’s College of Science and Mathematics.
Rome News-Tribune
It’s just a drill: Highlands hosts disaster training for nursing students
By Adam Carey
Combing through the debris field, trying to determine where the crying voices were coming from with the reek of burning gasoline in their nostrils, the first responders were thankful of just one thing — it was only a drill. Georgia Highlands College nursing students participated in a disaster simulation training exercise Wednesday morning. Designed to be as realistic as possible, the training exercise simulated an accident involving an aircraft and vehicle on the ground, as well as some burning gasoline in a drum. The college worked with Floyd County Emergency Management Agency and the Rome-Floyd Fire Department to make it an experience students would remember.
Augusta CEO
Augusta University Faculty Member Recognized for a Career of Service
Staff Report
You could say that service is in the DNA of Paul Dainer, MD. He learned from his parents at an early age that service to others is one of the highest callings; it’s a calling he has answered time and time again. He served his country in the United States Navy and Navy Reserves for over 30 years combined. He has served his patients, both military and civilian, faithfully since 1972. Since arriving in Augusta, he has served his community through the Rotary Club, both locally in Richmond and Columbia counties and beyond in the CSRA. And he has served his students since arriving at the Medical College of Georgia at Augusta University in 1992. For the latter, Dainer, an associate professor of medicine in the Department of Medicine at MCG and the Georgia Cancer Center, has been recognized with the Elizabeth Hurlock Beckman Award.
Savannah CEO
Allen Amason on the Thriving Students at Georgia Southern University
Dean of the Parker College of Business at Georgia Southern University Allen Amason talks about the hard-working students he sees at Georgia Southern and how this impacts the success of the school.
WSB Radio
Mask-wearing may have impacted children’s ability to detect emotions, GCSU study finds
By Jonathan O’Brien
A new study from Georgia College and State University (GCSU) suggests a negative impact on children’s emotions because of mask-wearing during the pandemic. “The emotional recognition is worse significantly worse than pre-pandemic,” said Dr. Tsu Ming Chiang, Psychology Professor at GCSU. “These kids don’t know how to express their emotions; they tend to keep it to themselves and cry more.” Working with about 30 kids ranging from 3-to-5 years-old over a semester-long period, psychology students used storybooks, videos, songs and even puppet shows to convey emotion and teach empathy.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Opinion: UGA ready to support Georgia’s booming EV ecosystem
Get Schooled with Maureen Downey
Investments in electric mobility-related projects have contributed $23 billion to our state’s economy since 2018, according to the Georgia Department of Economic Development. These projects include SK Battery America’s plant in Commerce, Rivian’s electric truck manufacturing complex near Atlanta, and Hyundai Motor Group’s first fully dedicated electric vehicle (EV) and battery manufacturing facility near Savannah. Georgia’s momentum in the rapidly evolving EV sector is impressive, and our state’s leaders and business community deserve a great deal of credit for nurturing this vibrant ecosystem. As the flagship of the state’s system of higher education, the University of Georgia is committed to working alongside state and local government, business and industry, and our sister institutions to help Georgia build upon this remarkable opportunity.
Athens Banner-Herald
A tougher pecan: Georgia farms explore climate change mitigation
Marisa Mecke
As spring arrives and summer draws near, Georgians are gearing up for in-season produce to crop up: pecans, peaches, melons, tomatoes and everything else under the Georgia sun. While Georgia may be best known for its poultry business, or even its bustling electric vehicle development, produce farmers of all stripes are spread throughout the state. To support the backbone of Georgia’s agricultural economy, experts in academia and nonprofits are working to mitigate the impacts climate change is having on the state’s lands.
A changing climate impacts Georgia’s growing season
Pam Knox is an agricultural climatologist and the director of the University of Georgia’s UGA Weather Network, a collection of 86 stations monitoring Georgia’s weather and climate since 1991. Georgia is already feeling climate change, from heavier storms to hotter summers, and Knox said it is another factor for farmers to contend with along with market forces, input costs and other strains.
Psychiatric News
Suicidal Thoughts Linked to Sleep Problems in Patients With Early Psychosis
People with early psychosis (those who have had only a single episode of psychosis) who experience persistent sleep problems are nearly 14 times as likely to report suicidal ideation as those with early psychosis who do not experience sleep problems, according to a report in Schizophrenia Bulletin. “[I]nsomnia may represent an important treatment target in psychosis,” wrote Brian J. Miller, M.D., Ph.D., of Augusta University and colleagues. Additionally, the “findings provide … evidence that formal assessment and treatment of insomnia and sleep disturbance is relevant to the clinical care of patients with early psychosis as a predictor of suicidal ideation and symptom severity.” By some estimates, up to 50% of people with schizophrenia will experience insomnia over the course of their illness.
Athens CEO
Vinson Institute Hosts Developing Data Analytics Capabilities Conference
Mallory Lawrence
For over a decade, the University of Georgia’s Carl Vinson Institute of Government has provided engaging, accessible data analysis and visualizations to state and local governments. Now, the Vinson Institute is taking its data expertise to the next level. Its newest initiative, the Georgia Data Innovation Hub, aims to provide data training to individuals at all levels of government. “The mission of the Data Innovation Hub is to enhance the data analytics capabilities of state and local governments to increase data-informed decision-making,” explained Anna Wrigley Miller, Institute of Government faculty. Miller leads the Georgia Data Innovation Hub, and it’s a job she takes very seriously.
Augusta CEO
Brittney Alls Named Interim VP for Office of Ethics and Compliance at Augusta University
Karen Klock
Brittney Alls has been named interim vice president for audit, compliance, ethics and risk management at Augusta University. She replaces Clay Sprouse, who retired on March 31. Alls has served as assistant vice president of Ethics and Compliance since March 2022, supporting and promoting university-side compliance, ethics and risk management across the enterprise through strategy development, coordination, policy management and training. She also conducted and oversaw investigations regarding policy violations, retaliation allegations, ethics questions and general compliance issues.
EurekAlert!
Researchers create antimicrobial ‘superfoam’
The three-dimensional foam conducts electricity, cleans polluted water
A versatile new foam material developed by researchers at the University of Georgia could significantly reduce health care-related infections caused by implanted medical devices—or drastically improve cleanup efforts following environmental disasters like oil spills.
AP News
Bud Light fumbles, but experts say inclusive ads will stay
By Dee-Ann Durbin
Bud Light may have fumbled its attempt to broaden its customer base by partnering with a transgender influencer. But experts say inclusive marketing is simply good business — and it’s here to stay. …Marketing experts say it’s possible Bud Light’s experience will cause other brands to rethink using transgender people in their advertising. Joanna Schwartz, a professor at Georgia College and State University who teaches a course on LGBTQ+ marketing, said companies will still want to reach transgender consumers and their supporters, but might shift to social media and more targeted ads. “They’re walking an extremely fine line. They want to appeal to everyone, but that includes people who don’t like each other,” Schwartz said of Bud Light.
Savannah Tribune
100 Black Men of Savannah Hosts 27th Annual Grand Scholarship Gala
The 100 Black Men of Savannah hosted our 27th Annual Grand Scholarship Gala at the Savannah Trade and Convention Center on Saturday, April 22nd. The program included rousing performances by two SCAD’s “B” Sharp singers, Jairus Jones & Janelle Odum. …During the event, we awarded six scholarships to deserved mentees of the 100 Black Men of Savannah, Inc. …Jeremiah Garrett, a senior at New Hampstead High School who will be attending Georgia Southern University in the Fall, Jada Hedrick, a senior at New Hampstead High School who will be attending Kennesaw State University in the Fall, …Kirasten Perkins, a senior attending Savannah Early College High School who will be attending Augusta University in the Fall, and Leroy Spann, IV, a senior at the School of Liberal Arts at Savannah High School who will be attending Savannah State University starting Summer Seminar 2023. Each of these outstanding students received a $5,000 scholarship for a total of $30,000 during the evening.
yahoo!news
Thomas County Central High School gets a ‘Taste of College’
Students are trying menu items from five different schools including University of Georgia, to Georgia Southern, to ABAC.
Savannah Morning News
‘A masterclass on narcissism’: Savannah State faculty seek to oust liberal arts college dean
University System of Georgia will present findings, recommendations to SSU administration
Will Peebles
Micromanagement. Lack of cooperation. “All-time low” morale. Fear of retaliation. These are the claims a group of Savannah State University professors laid out against David Marshall, the dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences. The discontent led the faculty to cast a “no confidence” vote in Marshall in March. This unprecedented protest prompted an investigation by University System of Georgia officials that began earlier this week amid calls for leadership change.
Higher Education News:
Higher Ed Dive
Class of 2023 says they’re eyeing mental health benefits during the job search
College grads whose undergraduate experience was completely shaped by COVID-19 are cautiously
Kate Tornone, Lead Editor
The class of 2023 is about to enter the workforce. And as the first group of college grads whose undergraduate experience was completely shaped by COVID-19, they say their mental health is a little worse for wear. In a recent survey conducted by a higher education wellness provider, these newcomers said that while they’re hopeful for the future, the pandemic worsened their mental health. And that has negatively affected their workforce readiness, they said. Nearly all respondents said employers should offer mental and emotional health benefits, according to the April 19 results, and more than a third said they’re prioritizing companies that do so during their job search.
Inside Higher Ed
Research Finds No Gender Bias in Academic Science
Reviewing decades of research, researchers with “adversarial” perspectives conclude that tenure-track women and men in STEM receive comparable grant funding, journal acceptances and recommendations letters—and that women have an edge over men in hiring.
By Katherine Knott
Claims of widespread gender bias in tenure-track hiring, grant funding and journal acceptances in the academic sciences are not supported by the data, a new study finds. The paper published in Psychological Science in the Public Interest looked at two decades of research regarding biases that tenure-track women have faced since 2000. In the end, the authors determined tenure-track women in science, technology, engineering or math were at parity with men in tenure-track positions in the same fields when it comes to grant funding, journal acceptances and recommendation letters.
Inside Higher Ed
North Dakota Quietly Enacts First Anti-DEI Law
By Liam Knox
North Dakota governor Doug Burgum signed into law on Monday a “specified concepts” bill banning educational institutions from asking students or prospective employees about their commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives. It also prevents public higher education institutions from requiring noncredit diversity training of any students or employees. Of the dozens of anti-DEI bills currently under discussion by state legislatures, North Dakota’s is the first to be signed into law. It will go into effect Aug. 1.
Higher Ed Dive
UNC-Chapel Hill faculty criticize boards, state lawmakers over infringements on academic freedom
Laura Spitalniak, Associate Editor
Dive Brief:
Over 670 faculty members of the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill called out the institution’s trustees and board of governors, as well as the state legislature, for infringing on academic freedom and shared governance in an open letter Tuesday. The North Carolina legislature is considering two bills that faculty say would overstep its bounds. The first would eliminate tenure at the state’s public colleges. And the second would create a required American history course and allow the lawmakers to determine what is taught in the course and how students would be tested, the letter said. The trustees at UNC-Chapel Hill, meanwhile, are establishing an expensive, credit-granting civic life school despite not seeking faculty input, the letter said. And faculty accused the UNC System board of governors of violating the First Amendment through its opposition to diversity, equity and inclusion efforts on campus.
Inside Higher Ed
Florida to Develop Alternative to AP Courses
By Scott Jaschik
The Florida Legislature has agreed to spend a combined $2.8 million to develop a homegrown alternative to the AP courses students can take for college credit, Politico reported. And in a bill that Politico said was “poised to pass,” legislators are also expected to give students an option of an alternative to the SAT or ACT.
Higher Ed Dive
New College of Florida denies five professors tenure, defying student, faculty critics
The public college’s interim president, an ally of Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis, had recommended trustees reject the tenure bids.
Jeremy Bauer-Wolf, Senior Reporter
One by one, speakers at a Wednesday meeting of the New College of Florida trustees approached a podium with a plea. The way they delivered the message differed. Some screamed or used expletives to decry the state’s Republican governor, Ron DeSantis, who this year installed several far-right wing voices to the New College board. Others were polite, gushing over the quality education they’ve received at the public liberal arts institution. But their request was the same: Grant five faculty members tenure. In prior years at the college, a tenure vote would not have been controversial. The professors had already been endorsed by their colleagues and other institutional leaders.
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Cybersecurity Dive
OpenAI adds more data privacy guardrails for ChatGPT
Lindsey Wilkinson, Associate Editor
Dive Brief:
Users of OpenAI’s ChatGPT public model can now turn off chat history within the tool, the company announced Tuesday. Users can also export their ChatGPT data to “understand what information ChatGPT stores,” the company said in a blog post. “We are also working on a new ChatGPT Business subscription for professionals who need more control over their data as well as enterprises seeking to manage their end users,” the company said. ChatGPT Business data policies will mimic those of the ChatGPT API where end-user data will not be used to train models by default. The company expects to release its business version of the tool in the coming months, according to the blog post.