The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
AJC On Campus: Ex-Georgia Tech workers file lawsuits, grads celebrate
By Vanessa McCray
A roundup of news and happenings from Georgia colleges and universities
Thousands of Georgia college students are graduating this month. But even though the school year is winding down, the news never does. In this edition of AJC On Campus, we bring you details of two new federal lawsuits filed by former Georgia Tech employees, an update on need-based financial aid, a data “incident” at Mercer University involving Social Security numbers, and calls for more funding for the state’s historically Black colleges.
Graduation season …Our AJC photographers are capturing college commencements across metro Atlanta. Relive graduation day or look for your favorite graduate in these photo galleries from Clayton State University, Georgia State University, Georgia Tech, and Emory University. …Changes at Dalton State, Savannah State Interim presidents have been named to lead Dalton State College and Savannah State University.
Marietta Daily Journal
Meet Paul Wiser, the 81-year-old who just graduated from Kennesaw State University
By Jake Busch
The booming ovation Paul Wiser received as he crossed the stage in Kennesaw State University’s Convocation Center Wednesday morning shows his commitment is an inspiration to many. Wiser, 81, graduated magna cum laude with a degree in interdisciplinary studies from KSU’s Radow College of Humanities and Social Sciences Wednesday, nearly 40 years after he first began his education at the university. He was KSU’s oldest spring 2023 graduate and achieved a 3.72 GPA. Wiser was also one of 60 veterans who graduated this spring, having served in the Army from 1959-1962.
WGXA
MGA sees graduating class of over 700 for Spring 2023
by Brandon McGouirk
Middle Georgia State University’s Spring 2023 commencement ceremony has kicked off, seeing five graduation ceremonies over a two-day period. Commencement speakers Atrium Health Navicent Senior Vice President and Chief Nurse Executive Tracey Blalock and Robins Air Force Base Deputy Director of Engineering and Technical Services Colonel Brian Clough started off the first two ceremonies on Wednesday. There are more than 700 graduation candidates for this class, including 28 doctorate, 93 master’s, and 477 bachelor’s degree graduates with the rest graduating with associate’s degrees or career certificates.
WJBF
Augusta University student to graduate on 80th birthday
by: Kim Vickers
Hundreds of Augusta University students are preparing to walk across the stage to receive their degrees. But for one student, tomorrow isn’t just graduation day – she’ll also celebrate her 80th birthday. Theodosia Williams has had a life long thirst for knowledge and pursued her education in stages, even with people discouraging her along the way. “They said you could not transfer to another school because you would not be able to keep up,” she said. Williams left high school without graduating, eventually earning her GED. But she never stopped yearning for a higher education. …Once her children and grandchildren graduated and began their lives, Williams decided it was time to finally go to college. Friday, she will receive her Bachelor of Fine Arts with a major in art, something she’s had a talent and passion for most of her life.
Jagwire
Stacey Eidson
Shareen Clement fondly remembers the summers she spent with her father in Albany, New York. Her dad, Anthony “Tony” Clement, first began working with the Albany City School District in 1994 as a physical education teacher, but he quickly moved up the ranks and eventually served as a principal within the district. …“Growing up, my whole household was all education, education, education,” said Shareen Clement, the interim director of Multicultural Student Engagement and graduate of the doctoral program in educational innovation at Augusta University. “My parents divorced when I was younger, and my mom and I moved to Savannah, Georgia. My dad stayed in New York, but I would visit him in the summers. And I remember all throughout kindergarten until my senior year, we would finish up school in Georgia earlier than they would finish classes in New York.” …“When I started college at Georgia Southern, I always knew that I was going to get a bachelor’s degree. There was no question about it.” But in 2012, when Clement was an undergraduate at Georgia Southern University, her family received devastating news. Her father was diagnosed with liver cancer and, within a few short months, he died at the age of 47. … “…It never occurred to me to stop school because I was conditioned to be in school. My dad would have wanted me to finish school. In fact, he expected it.” …She went on to receive her master’s degree in public administration from Georgia Southern and began pursuing her Doctorate of Education in Educational Innovation at Augusta University in 2020.
Albany Herald
Ag Commissioner Tyler Harper to address ABAC grads
From staff reports
Georgia Agriculture Commissioner Tyler Harper will address nearly 400 graduates during two commencement ceremonies at Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College on Thursday. The ceremonies will be held at the school’s Gressette Gymnasium. Campus Communications Coordinator Jordan Beard said the 10 a.m. event will include graduates from the School of Nursing and Health Sciences and the School of Arts and Sciences. The 3 p.m. event includes graduates from the School of Agriculture and Natural Resources and the Stafford School of Business. A total of 166 graduates are scheduled to participate in the morning ceremony, while 175 more are expected to be a part of the afternoon graduation. The total of 397 is a 20% increase from the number of graduates in last year’s spring ceremonies.
WJBF
by: Brendan Robertson
Led by freshman Mirabel Ting, the upstart Augusta University women advanced to the NCAA Division I national championship tournament for the first time in program history with a fifth-place finish in the Athens Regional on Wednesday, May 10, at the UGa. Golf Course.
Morning AgClips
USDA renews award to UGA-led consortium for Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education
UGA leads a consortium of institutions in administering the Southern SARE program
The University of Georgia will continue to serve as host institution for the Southern Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE) program. The U.S. Department of Agriculture program has funded farmer-driven grants and grassroots education programs resulting in climate-smart solutions for farms and ranches in every state and island protectorate since 1988. UGA leads a consortium of institutions in administering the Southern SARE (SSARE) program, including Fort Valley State University in middle Georgia and The Kerr Center for Sustainable Agriculture in Oklahoma.
Griffin Daily News
GSC hosts third first-year finish celebration
By GDN STAFF
Gordon State College recently held its third annual First-Year Finish celebration at the GSC Student Center Auditorium. The event honored the freshman class for its perseverance and success during the 2022-2023 academic year. It also recognized the substantial developmental transition of students making it through the first year of college. GSC Lecturer from the School of Education and Applied Sciences, Valerie J. Calhoun, said, “To be sent an invitation for this event, you had to reach a certain grade point average and a certain academic standard,” Calhoun said. …She then introduced GSC President Dr. Kirk A. Nooks to the podium. “Based on data and research, students who make it to this part of the journey have unlocked a reservoir of power and talent that suggested they’re going to make it,” Nooks said. “By virtue of you sitting in this room, I want you to understand that you’ve made a decision to forgo the odds that were likely stacked against you.”
Americus Times-Recorder
By Ken Gustafson
“Kaitlyn, are you sitting down?” This was the question posed to GSW accounting major Kaitlyn Evans of Leesburg in late fall of 2021 when Professor Carol Bishop called to give her some unusually good news. Doug Moses, partner at Mauldin & Jenkins (M&J) and Georgia Southwestern alumnus from the class of 1997, had written to the Dean requesting that Kaitlyn do an internship at his accounting firm. Kaitlyn was stunned, as she thought back to that chance meeting about a month earlier in the drive-through at a Leesburg Chick-fil-A. She was going about her usual work routine, standing outside in the Georgia heat taking orders on her iPad. Kaitlyn thought she recognized Mr. Moses from the mural on the wall of the M&J-sponsored classroom at GSW. When she asked the name for the order and he replied, “Moses,” she struck up a conversation with him. …Unbeknownst to Kaitlyn, Moses immediately called the GSW Foundation’s Executive Director Stephen Snyder to find out more about Kaitlyn. The next day Snyder called back, confirming Kaitlyn was a great student with a high GPA.
WGAU Radio
UGA pilot program supports people with dementia and their caregivers
By Lauren Baggett, UGA Media Relations
It’s a quintessential spring morning at the University of Georgia’s State Botanical Garden. The sun is starting to peek out from behind a patchwork of pale gray clouds, warming the air. It’s an idyllic setting for another session of Meet Me at the Garden. This pilot program, delivered by the education teams at UGA’s Cognitive Aging Research & Education Center and the State Botanical Garden, wants to “expand the bubble” of persons living with dementia and their caregivers through interactive education and sensory activities.
Athens Banner-Herald
UGA students and housing advocates map out evictions in Athens-Clarke County
Nikolai Mather
For several months, undergraduate geography student Casey Serrano helped sort through hundreds of eviction cases filed in Athens-Clarke County. The court documents could be confusing and jargon heavy, yet through the paperwork, they’d often come across unforgettable remarks. “The most heartbreaking thing you see in an eviction file is that if there’s a child in the house when an eviction is carried out, it’ll say, ‘All property placed in front of the house, except a laptop which was returned to Clarke County School District,” they said. “Which means that that child now, one, is definitely not doing their homework that night, and two, has to go to their teacher, their principal, their administrator and say, ‘My laptop is gone,’ and explain the situation.” Serrano, along with around 20 other UGA students and community members, gathered at the Athens-Clarke County Public Library on May 5 to present a massive project series analyzing local eviction data. Through a collaboration between Athens Housing Advocacy Team (AHAT), UGA’s Community Mapping Lab and local government officials, UGA students sought to fill a crucial gap in knowledge about the local housing crisis.
Savannah Morning News
Savannah Tech, Hyundai team up for workforce development training program for EV factory
Electric Vehicle Professional certificate will be pathway to employment for assembly line jobs, other positions that don’t require college degrees at the Hyundai Metaplant in Bryan County.
Latrice Williams
For months, questions have lingered regarding how Hyundai Motor Group Metaplant America will build its workforce for some 8,000 workers expected to operate the EV and battery plant in Bryan County. On Wednesday, Hyundai and Savannah Technical College gave answers. …Hyundai intends to take the EV certificate program to other technical schools around Southeast Georgia. Stubbs said Hyundai will meet with Coastal Pines College next week in hopes of introducing the program there. The automaker has already met with Ogeechee Technical College and Southeastern Technical College. …Hyundai is not stopping there. The automaker will lean-in on four year universities like Georgia Southern University and Georgia Tech to fill engineering roles, such as the process engineering associate.
Science Magazine
A class of drugs used for their ability to stop tumor cells from dividing is now under study for their potential to reduce the pain and damage caused by sickle cell disease, investigators report.
The drugs are called HDAC inhibitors, and the investigators have early evidence one called panobinostat can reactivate after birth the gene that produces fetal hemoglobin, which cannot sickle, says Abdullah Kutlar, MD, director of the Center for Blood Disorders at the Medical College of Georgia and Augusta University Health.
Technology Networks
Long RNA Molecule Essential for GI Tract To Move Food Along
A long molecule of RNA found in abundance in the healthy smooth muscle cells that give our blood vessels strength and flexibility is also essential to the continuous contraction that moves food through our gastrointestinal tract. Without CARMN, a long, noncoding RNA, which means it doesn’t produce proteins but does help regulate cell activity, the 30-foot-long GI tract doesn’t contract as it should. That can result in a painful even lethal situation where partially undigested food gets trapped, says Jiliang Zhou, PhD, vascular biologist in the Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology at the Medical College of Georgia.
WJBF
Augusta doctor speaks on new recommended age for mammograms
by: Hannah Litteer
According to federal health officials, the new recommended age for women to start getting mammograms is 40-years-old, when it was previously 50. These guidelines are based on evidence that shows more and more women being diagnosed with breast cancer. “Even in my time here working at the Medical College of Georgia, we’re seeing very young females being diagnosed with breast cancer,” said Dr. Jordan Ciuro at Georgia Cancer Center. “And as we all know, breast cancer is very common in females. Actually the data shows us that one in eight females are diagnosed with breast cancer in their lifetime.”
Medical News Today
Are mosquitoes attracted to you? Try using a different kind of soap
New research analyzes the interplay between soap scent, the body’s unique odor profile, and mosquito attraction. Researchers say coconut-scented soaps were among the most effective at repelling mosquitoes.
Researchers would like to further explore why mosquitoes are drawn to certain chemicals in soap. Experts note that no soap is as effective as a proper mosquito repellent. Summertime brings with it the promise of longer days, warmer temperatures, and time spent outdoors. The season also brings mosquitoes. If it feels like mosquitoes target you more than others, it might have to do with the soap you’re using — along with your unique body chemistry. What attracts a mosquito? Daniel Peach, an assistant professor in vector ecology and infectious diseases at the University of Georgia’s Savannah River Ecology Lab & Department of Infectious Diseases, told Medical News Today that a number of variables can make a person more or less likely to be attractive to mosquitoes.
WRDW
Now that warm weather is here, so are the gnats
By Staff
It’s the season for gnats — the bugs that come out as warmer weather arrives. There’s a “gnat line” that passes through Georgia – keeping the majority of the pests in middle and south Georgia. The line runs from Columbus through Macon, then right through the middle of Augusta, so we’re going to get some here, so matter what. In a report from 2019, experts and meteorologists said that cleaner rivers are the reason for an uptick in gnats in recent years. Nancy Hinkle, an entomologist at the University of Georgia, said they are bothersome because they gravitate toward parts of the body that produce odors.
NREL
Scientists Characterize a Galactan Synthase (GalS1) Enzyme Involved in Pectin Synthesis
By Erik F. Ringle
Spring means snowstorms for much of the country, which can bring inches of heavy, wet snow. Tree branches sag, and a few snap—but most bounce back quickly with the warming spring sun. Plant cells contain high amounts of lignin, cellulose, and hemicellulose, which are the primary building blocks of plant stems and trunks. Much less is known, however, about a crucial fourth polymer: pectin, thought to provide strength and flexibility by interconnecting with the other three components. What has particularly puzzled scientists is exactly how plants build the pectin components of the cell wall. Now, researchers from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), the University of Georgia, and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory have discovered the biological mechanism involved in making one specific component of pectin. Published in Nature Plants, an article details the structure and biochemical activity of the enzyme Galactan Synthase 1 (GalS1), an enzyme involved in turning the sugar galactose into its polymeric form, called galactan—an important pectin component.
Savannah CEO
Staff Report
World Trade Center Savannah (WTCSav) hosted its annual Prosperity Through Trade Luncheon with former 1st Chief Market Intelligence Officer Andrew Busch as the keynote speaker. During the luncheon, WTCSav presented the World Trade Center Savannah International Business of the Year Award to International Paper of Chatham County. International Paper is a leading global supplier of renewable fiber-based products. The company employs approximately 38,000 individuals globally with net sales of $21.2 billion in 2022. Sponsored by Georgia Southern University, the award is given annually to a regional company demonstrating excellence in international trade.
Savannah Tribune
By Savannah Tribune
The Georgia Historical Society (GHS) is pleased to announce an endowment pledge of $500,000 from Ellen B. Bolch of Savannah in memory of Vince Dooley. Bolch is the President and CEO of THA Group, a family of inhome health companies serving coastal Georgia and South Carolina. She is also a current member of the GHS Board of Curators. The gift will help GHS reach its $20 million endowment goal, a key priority of GHS’s Next Century Initiative campaign. As GHS prepares to enter its third century as the premier independent statewide historical institution, the Next Century Initiative is designed to propel the institution forward, to create new opportunities, and to secure GHS’s commitment to serving the people of Georgia in the 21st century and beyond. The campaign was initially chaired by the late Vincent J. Dooley, legendary head coach of the University of Georgia football team and former chairman emeritus and longtime member of the GHS Board of Curators. Dooley was also named a Georgia Trustee in 2011, the highest honor the State of Georgia can confer. He died on October 28, 2022.
Times-Georgian
Crawford named UWG interim head soccer coach
By Jared Boggus UWG Sports
The University of West Georgia Department of Athletics announced this week the appointment of Jacob Crawford to Interim Head Women’s Soccer Coach through the 2023 fall season. Crawford, who was hired as an assistant coach in January of this year, served as the interim coach throughout the Spring season, and will now lead the Wolves into preseason camp and through a 16-game schedule this fall.
Higher Education News:
Inside Higher Ed
Creating Higher Ed Experiences That Transform Lives: Key Podcast
By Doug Lederman
As belief in the value of higher education has steadily declined in recent years, most of the attention for turning that around has been on improving the career readiness of graduates and making college more affordable. But an emergent group of college leaders believes the real key may be to ensure that all learners, regardless of background, have experiences in college that help them develop identity, agency and purpose with the goal of improving their well-being 30 years down the road. A new episode of The Key, Inside Higher Ed’s news and analysis podcast, features a conversation with Richard K. Miller, president emeritus of Olin College of Engineering and a driving force behind the Coalition for Life Transformative Education.
Inside Higher Ed
Resolution Blocking Debt-Relief Plan Clears House Committee
By Katherine Knott
House Republicans on the Education and Workforce Committee advanced a resolution Wednesday on a party-line vote to overturn President Biden’s student loan forgiveness plan. The Government Accountability Office said in March that the plan meets the definition of a rule under the Congressional Review Act. Under the act, a simple majority of lawmakers in the House and Senate can vote to block the administration from carrying out the rule, though a Congressional Review Act resolution is subject to a presidential veto. House Republicans previously voted to block the debt-relief plan and other changes to the student loan program as part of a bill that would raise the debt ceiling and make other cuts to the federal budget. The legality of Biden’s debt-relief plan is currently pending with the Supreme Court.
Inside Higher Ed
Federal Student Aid Funding Woes Complicate Resuming Student Loan Payments
Experts and advocates worry that the Education Department lacks adequate funds and won’t be able to prevent high rates of default and delinquency when student loan payments eventually turn back on.
By Katherine Knott
The Office of Federal Student Aid faces a “colossal undertaking” as it prepares to resume student loan payments after an unprecedented three-year pause, and funding constraints could hamper that effort, student loan experts say. Experts and advocates are worried that the agency, without adequate funding, won’t be able to provide the necessary support to ensure that millions of borrowers don’t end up in default once payments resume. Congress didn’t give the agency more money this year, leading to department budget cuts that have student loan servicers cutting call center hours and laying off staff. Those reductions come at a time when experts say more staff are needed.
Cybersecurity Dive
It’s becoming more common for ransomware to lock up data
Matt Kapko, Reporter
Dive Brief:
Threat actors encrypted data in three in four ransomware attacks last year, the highest rate of data encryption linked to ransomware in at least four years, according to research Sophos released Wednesday.
Of the 3,000 IT and cybersecurity leaders surveyed across 14 countries, two-thirds of respondents said their organizations were hit by a ransomware attack last year, a repeat of 2022’s figures. Organizations in the IT, technology and telecommunications sector prevented or otherwise avoided data encryption during half of all ransomware attacks, the lowest rate of any sector during the last year. Business and professional services organizations experienced data encryption in 92% of all ransomware attacks, the report found.
Cybersecurity Dive
Walden says cybersecurity strategy mostly well-received
The acting national cyber director says common ground exists in certain areas, but a great deal of work remains.
David Jones, Reporter
Acting National Cyber Director Kemba Walden said the national cybersecurity strategy has been well received, however acknowledged there were areas of disagreement. Walden speaking Tuesday at a forum hosted by The Software Alliance, also known as BSA, said there are two major areas of common ground that form the basis of the policy. Individual technology users, small businesses, local governments and small infrastructure providers like schools and hospitals are currently bearing the brunt of the cybersecurity risk — and that needs to change.