Fior Reports
Georgia Tech Launches New Environmental Science Major
By Becca Roberts
The interdisciplinary Environmental Science (ENVS) degree, developed by faculty within the Departments of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences and Life Sciences, is now accepting students interested in a variety of environmentally-related careers. Georgia Tech’s newest interdisciplinary degree, the BS degree in Environmental Sciences (ENVS), jointly developed by the faculty of the School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences and the Faculty of Biological Sciences has started and is now accepting students.
WGAU Radio
UNG pilot program on Oconee campus will expand to Gainesville
By Clark Leonard, UNG
A program aimed at helping students move from associate to bachelor’s degree programs with a variety of services will expand to the University of North Georgia’s Gainesville Campus this fall after piloting at the Oconee Campus in 2022-23. Pathway+ places incoming freshmen enrolled in associate degree programs in learning communities where they take two classes together, provides a 50-minute weekly workshop that emphasizes skills needed to succeed in college, and allows them to transfer into a bachelor’s degree program as soon as they are eligible. Students who take part in each portion of the program are eligible for up to $2,000 in scholarships during their sophomore year.
Morgan Citizen
New UGArden farm director appointed
From staff reports
UGArden recently welcomed Ty Brooks as its farm director. An Athens native, Brooks is a Double Dawg with a bachelor’s degree in wildlife biology and a master’s degree in agricultural and environmental education. During his time as a graduate student, Brooks also pursued his certificate in organic agriculture, which brought him to UGArden for the first time. “I ended up interning here. I loved it,” he said. “I loved the people; I loved everything that [UGArden] was doing.”
MedicalXpress
Residents in ‘digital deserts’ found to have fewer health care options
by Michael Miller, University of Cincinnati
Residents in rural counties with limited access to high-speed internet cannot take advantage of increasingly popular online health services. A new study by the University of Cincinnati highlighted disparities in access to digital technology that could widen the gap in access to health care. The study found that socially vulnerable communities in the United States face more barriers to adequate health care, live in areas with fewer health care resources and have less access to high-speed internet. …”Telehealth has an awful lot of merit, but the challenge is that telehealth assumes that a person has access to high-speed internet,” said study co-author Neil MacKinnon, provost for Augusta University. “If someone doesn’t have that access, it can make it difficult for patients and doctors alike. This study shows that because of the digital desert concept, the technology divide really could have health consequences by contributing to a greater health divide in the country.”
U.S. News & World Report
Working With AI Might Make for Lonely Workers
By Steven Reinberg HealthDay Reporter
A new study finds that people working with artificial intelligence (AI) systems can be lonely, suffer from insomnia and drink more heavily after work. In the study, published online June 12 in the Journal of Applied Psychology, the researchers noted these findings don’t prove that working with AI systems causes loneliness or other responses, just that they are associated. The research involved four experiments in the United States, Taiwan, Indonesia and Malaysia. “The rapid advancement in AI systems is sparking a new industrial revolution that is reshaping the workplace with many benefits but also some uncharted dangers, including potentially damaging mental and physical impacts for employees,” said lead researcher Pok Man Tang, an assistant professor of management at the University of Georgia.
WTOC
Bulloch Co. farmers hoping for warmer weather for crops
By Dal Cannady
Growers in Bulloch have more than 40,000 acres of cotton planted, as well as at least 20,000 acres of peanuts and a few thousand acres of corn. Bill Tyson from the UGA Extension Service says they’re seeing adequate rain so far to sustain plants and let growers turn off irrigation systems. Now, they need the temperatures to climb. “It’s bad to say this in June, but we need warm weather. Cool nights in May, and even in early June, have got the crop set back a little bit,” Bill Tyson said. He says the sunshine and warmth will help plants begin to grow at faster rate. That growth will make the rainfall even more critical.
Henry County Times
Pringle receives Georgia Foundation for Agriculture scholarship
Special to the Times
Henry County Farm Bureau member Jack Pringle has been named a recipient of a Georgia Foundation for Agriculture (GFA) scholarship. Pringle, who plans to attend Georgia Southern University this fall and major in agricultural education, is one of seven students statewide selected to receive a $3,000 Scholarship for Agriculture awarded to a graduating high school senior.
Marietta Daily Journal
TRAVEL: College towns with class
By: Lisa Mowry MDJ travel columnist
These days, there’s more than tailgating, stadiums and student life at these three popular university towns. Put them on your list to explore. …Athens, Georgia What it’s known for: The home of the University of Georgia is always bursting with excitement on football game days, but it’s a wonderful and creative place to check out other times of year.
BollyInside
By Cassidy Donovan
Georgia Southern University’s Gullah Geechee Cultural Heritage Center is opening its doors with a grand opening and ribbon cutting ceremony on June 19, coinciding with the center’s Juneteenth celebration. The public is invited to attend the festivities, which will feature local dignitaries, artists, and food truck vendors. …The ribbon cutting will mark the beginning of the ceremony, and several local dignitaries, including Savannah Mayor Van R. Johnson, Georgia Rep. Carl Gilliard, Georgia Sen. Derek Mallow, and Chatham County Chairman Chester Ellis, will offer opening remarks.
Gwinnett Daily Post
Softball star takes a chance on Georgia Gwinnett College and finds athletic and academic success
By Ken Scar Special to the Daily Post
Sydney Pelaez said if there is one thing you should know about her, it’s that she likes to set goals for herself, both realistic and lofty, and then knock them out of the park. Exhibit A of this trait was her decision to leave the familiarity of Tampa, Fla., where she grew up, and move 500 miles north to Gwinnett County as soon as she graduated from high school. She came to play for Georgia Gwinnett College’s women’s softball team, mainly, but there was more to it than that. …At the end of her senior year, she decided to stay another year because she had unfinished business on the softball field. An extra year would also allow her to add to her studies and set herself up for another new goal: graduate school. And it led to a very prestigious honor — being named the 2023 NAIA Softball Academic All-American of the Year by College Sports Communicators for her performances in the classroom as well. She is the GGC softball program’s first student-athlete to receive the Academic All-American of the Year honor. She also was a three-time Academic All-America team selection.
Albany Herald
Former GSW Golfer Makes U.S. Open Debut
From Staff Reports
Former Georgia Southwestern State University All-America selection Vincent Norrman will be making his first major championship appearance when he tees off Thursday at the U.S. Open. Norrman’s first round tee time is scheduled for 12:15 p.m. Pacific time at the Los Angeles Country Club. Norrman, a native of Stockholm, Sweden, starred for the Hurricanes from 2017-20. He was in the midst of a historic season at GSW in the spring of 2020 when it was cut short by the coronavirus pandemic and the subsequent cancellation of all collegiate and conference championships. Norrman won an eye-popping five tournaments that season, finishing in the Top 10 of all seven events played, to end the year ranked the No. 1 NCAA Division II individual according to the Golfstat computer rankings. His Golfstat adjusted scoring average of 69.25 was the lowest across all divisions of the NCAA.
Higher Education News:
Diverse Issues in Higher Education
Georgia Gov. Brian P. Kemp Elected 2023-24 Southern Regional Education Board Chair
Arrman Kyaw
Georgia Gov. Brian P. Kemp was elected chair of the Southern Regional Education Board (SREB) earlier this week. SREB works with states to improve public education at every level, from early childhood through doctoral education. “I am honored to serve as this year’s SREB chair as we work with partners in and beyond the state to ensure children across the region receive the quality education they deserve,” Kemp said.
Higher Ed Dive
Freezes on tuition gain popularity, SHEEO finds
Natalie Schwartz, Editor
Dive Brief:
Three in five states placed limits or freezes on tuition rate increases at public four-year colleges between fiscal 2017 and fiscal 2022, according to a report released Tuesday from the State Higher Education Executive Officers Association. Tuition restrictions were less common in the two-year sector, with just 2 in 5 states limiting or freezing tuition over that period. Both two- and four-year sectors saw tuition freezes become a more popular policy in recent years than just placing limits on tuition increases. In 2021-22, 65% of state tuition restrictions at four-year institutions were freezes, compared to just 38% four years prior.
Higher Ed Dive
Inflation-adjusted salaries for full-time faculty fell 7.5% during the pandemic
Jeremy Bauer-Wolf, Senior Reporter
Dive Brief:
Average salaries of full-time college faculty fell 7.5% between fall 2019 and fall 2022 after adjusting for inflation, the American Association of University Professors said Wednesday. The faculty organization’s findings, published in an annual report, build on preliminary data AAUP released in April. Survey results revealed average salaries for full-time faculty dropped 2.4% in the 2022-23 academic year. AAUP also documented pay differences by gender. Average salaries for full-time women faculty were about 82% of men’s in the 2022-23 year.
See also:
Inside Higher Ed
House Appropriators Plan Bigger Cuts to Some Federal Agencies
By Katherine Knott
Republicans on the House Appropriations Committee are planning to limit new spending to fiscal year 2022 levels—a move that could mean cuts to the Education Department and other nondefense agencies, Roll Call reported. Texas representative Kay Granger, the Republican who chairs the committee, said in a statement that the spending gaps in the recently passed debt ceiling deal were “a ceiling, not a floor.” … The debt-ceiling deal kept federal spending on domestic programs flat for fiscal year 2024—a decision that has worried higher education advocates and lobbyists.
Diverse Issues in Higher Education
Education Department Announces Grants for Initiatives to Support Native Students
Arrman Kyaw
The U.S. Department of Education (ED) has announced more than $8 million in available grants to fund initiatives for Native students. The money will be for programs to support Native American students, including a new Native American Language Resource Centers (NALRC) program to help preserve Native languages ($2.9 million); the first-ever Native American Teacher Retention Initiative competition to help address the shortage of Native American educators ($2.75 million); and the State Tribal Education Partnership (STEP) grant program to strengthen Tribal self-determination and promote collaboration among tribal, state, and local agencies ($2.4 million).
Inside Higher Ed
Parent PLUS Loans a ‘Double-Edged Sword’ for Black Families
As more families with fewer resources turn to Parent PLUS loans to afford higher education, policy makers need to seek broader reforms to improve college affordability, a new study says.
By Katherine Knott
Parent PLUS loans have become a key tool for Black Americans to access higher education but come with high costs for borrowers, creating a “double-edged sword” for families, a new report argues. “Parent PLUS loans have been left out of the conversation,” said Brittani Williams, a senior policy analyst for higher education at the Education Trust and lead researcher on the report. Parent PLUS loans, which are uncapped, require a credit check and come with higher interest rates, are increasingly used by parents with low incomes and low wealth to pay for college and to cover gaps left by financial aid. The repayment terms make the loan more difficult for low-wealth parents to pay off, the report says, saddling older Americans with debt and forcing some to put off retirement. The loans are not eligible for the more generous income-driven repayment plans.
Higher Ed Dive
Binghamton University forges research alliance with 6 HBCUs
Natalie Schwartz, Editor
Dive Brief:
Binghamton University, a public institution that’s part of the State University of New York system, announced Monday that it is forging an alliance with six historically Black colleges and universities to spur research collaborations among their faculty and students. The Thurgood Marshall College Fund, a nonprofit that represents HBCUs and provides scholarships to their students, is also part of the collaboration. The alliance is meant to help the institutions pool resources and elevate their research profiles. The six participating HBCUs are Alabama A&M University; Central State University, in Ohio; Tuskegee University, in Alabama; Prairie-View A&M University, in Texas; the University of the District of Columbia; and Virginia State University.
Inside Higher Ed
A New Legal Strategy in Sexual Assault Cases
When the victim of a campus sexual assault faced a counterclaim by her alleged attacker, she sued him for “abuse of the Title IX process,” in what experts say is a new approach.
By Johanna Alonso
A recent Title IX case at King’s College in Pennsylvania has highlighted what experts say is a new legal strategy for sexual assault victims whose alleged attackers take the aggressive approach of filing a counterclaim. The strategy hinges on the argument that a malicious Title IX counterclaim can qualify as “abuse of process,” a term that traditionally refers to abuses of the legal process. But a recent report from a federal magistrate judge supports the idea that the Title IX process is quasi-judicial and can be abused just as a legal proceeding can—despite universities’ frequent disclaimers that Title IX processes and legal proceedings are not one and the same.
Inside Higher Ed
2 Who Survived Michigan State Shootings Sue University
By Scott Jaschik
Two of those who were shot and survived the February shootings at Michigan State University have sued the university, WILX News reported. “The university’s decision to ignore complaints—regarding the lack of restrictions, the general and public access to campus buildings, and the failure to correct known defective conditions and security measures resulted in an unreasonably dangerous risk of injury. There is no rationale as to why Michigan State University chose to ignore complaints and failed to take any corrective action to remedy the defective conditions,” said the suit.
Cybersecurity Dive
LastPass CEO reflects on lessons learned, regrets and moving forward from a cyberattack
Karim Toubba is ready to talk nearly a year after LastPass suffered a cyberattack that became one of the biggest security blunders of 2022.
Matt Kapko, Reporter
Karim Toubba didn’t have much of a honeymoon at LastPass. Less than four months after he joined the company as CEO, a cyberattack that would evolve into one of the most high-profile security blunders of 2022 was underway. While LastPass first notified customers of a compromise in August, it wasn’t until days before last year came to a close that LastPass revealed a cloud-based backup of all customer vault data, including encrypted passwords, usernames and form-filled data was stolen by a still-unidentified threat actor. Master passwords, which are not stored or maintained by LastPass, were not compromised — a key detail that likely prevented a catastrophe. The lessons for Toubba lie largely in the company’s response, where critical information was trickled out over a 7-month period.