WJCL
The fight continues: Savannah State students continue to work for more funding
The state cuts millions from schools budget across Georgia
Kyron Neveaux, Reporter
Nearly two months ago, students at Savannah State University began their fight to secure money for their school after close to $600,000 was cut from the university budget by the state. Now with summer in full swing, the tigers are keeping their promise to make a change. “We are working on letters to send to representatives, the senate, the chairman, and those who are on boards,” Said Savannah State Student Jamaal Roland Jr. The rising senior tells WJCL that some students feel that campus activities may be the first thing to change, which can hurt the college experience for many. …State Representative Carl Gillard is also advocating for the university to get more funding. He says a meeting with the university system of Georgia chancellor Sonny Perdue is scheduled to discuss this issue.
Albany Herald
Local students honored by colleges
From staff reports
Students in a biology class on the University of North Georgia’s Oconee Campus have created the Red, White and Blue Honor Garden as part of the pollinator garden on campus. As part of Susan Brantley’s environmental science lab, students including Abbigail Howard from Leesburg researched plants that flower in red, white and blue that would thrive in the climate and soil type present in the garden, while keeping in mind the importance of growing native plants.
The Moultrie Observer
ABAC revamping program for African-American males
Staff Reports
A group of students from Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College recently toured several Historic Black Colleges and Universities as part of the kickoff for the ABAC African-American Male Initiative (AAMI) program. The ABAC program is under the direction of Dr. Jewrell Rivers, a professor of sociology in the School of Arts and Sciences. “We called it the AAMI-HBCU Road Trip,” Rivers said. “It was a very culture-enriching experience.” …The University System of Georgia’s (USG) African-American Male Initiative (AAMI) is a system-wide initiative designed to increase the number of black male students who complete their postsecondary education from any USG institution, ABAC said in a press release. Its mission is to provide an integrated program model of academic, leadership, and life skills that supports any participating student to successfully complete each academic level and graduate.
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Griffin Daily News
Gordon State College softball has grand slam season
By Karolina Philmon GSX Marketing Manager
After a 4-2 victory over Georgia Military College, the Gordon State College softball team became GCAA Conference Tournament champions, NJCAA Region 17 champions, NJCAA Southeast District champions and advanced to the NJCAAD1 Softball World Series representing the southeast district in Oxford, Alabama.
The City Menus
UWG receives grant for portable alert system
The University of West Georgia has recently been awarded a generous, $1.05 million grant by the state of Georgia to enhance the safety and security of the entire university community, as recently announced by Gov. Brian Kemp. This significant funding – led through the submission process by UWG Chief of Police Dr. George “Ned” Watson – will be dedicated to enhancing the equipment and infrastructure of UWG’s portable alert system. The upgraded portable alert system will be deployed across the university’s campuses in Carrollton, Newnan and Douglasville. These electronic alert buttons, the size of a credit card, will be worn by UWG students, faculty and staff who can signal necessary responses needed by the University Police Department.
41NBC
Sen. Warnock introduces plan to address aviation job creation
The legislation is aimed at helping recruit and train pilots, aviation manufacturing workers, and mechanics.
By Shelby Coates
U.S. Senator Raphael Warnock wants to address the nation’s aviation workforce shortage, and he says it starts with Georgia. The Georgia Democrat is introducing a legislative package to address the aviation industry’s workforce shortage and the need for more training and recruitment. The legislation is aimed at helping recruit and train pilots, aviation manufacturing workers, and mechanics. “America has a worker shortage problem, particularly in aviation,” said Senator Warnock. “The current aviation workforce shortage is not only a challenge to confront, but an opportunity to seize by investing in the next generation of aviation workers—and I believe the entire education system has an important role to play in getting it done.” In an interview with 41NBC, Warnock says development starts with getting more people access to training and educational programs like the one at Middle Georgia State University’s School of Aviation in Eastman.
accessWDUN
University of North Georgia’s Cumming Campus to offer new Bachelor’s degree options
By Logan Landers Anchor/Reporter
The University of North Georgia’s Cumming Campus will offer four bachelor’s degree options for students to complete their undergraduate studies on campus starting this Fall. …Upper-level courses for the four majors will launch in fall 2024 when the 27,300-square-foot campus expansion officially opens.
Athens CEO
Nonprofit Leaders Expand Skills Through UGA Program
A University of Georgia program is helping equip current and emerging nonprofit leaders to strengthen their organizations and make a difference in their communities. Through the Executive Leadership Program for Nonprofit Organizations at the UGA J.W. Fanning Institute for Leadership Development, nonprofit leaders from Georgia and around the nation receive leadership and professional development. “We all left with tools to address challenges in the nonprofit sector,” said Bonnie Holliday, chief strategy officer for the Georgia Charter Schools Association. “The program provided relevant content on topical issues. I have colleagues who attended previously and recommended the program in glowing terms. It lived up to the hype.”
Global Atlanta
Two Georgia Universities Hosting 50 Young African Leaders This Summer
Trevor Williams
Georgia will host 50 emerging African leaders this summer on a U.S. State Department program designed to help already-influential young people in business and civil society further strengthen their capabilities. Two universities will each host 25 recipients of the Mandela Fellowship, the flagship program of the Young African Leaders Initiative, or YALI, a program that has brought thousands of leaders to the U.S. and hundreds to Atlanta since its launch during the Obama administration in 2010. The Mandela Fellowship started in 2014. The University of Georgia will host 25 fellows in the Leadership and Civic Engagement Institute, which focuses on public service and draws leaders from nonprofits, community-based organizations and volunteer groups. …In prior years, Georgia State University has also hosted Mandela Fellows, meaning that some summers Georgia has welcomed 75 of Africa’s best and brightest, selected through a competitive process that can draw tens of thousands of applications.
WGXA
On the Farm: Lack of resources hindering mental healthcare for farmers and agricultural workers
by Greg Loyd
Researchers at the University of Georgia report one of the biggest obstacles for farmers and agricultural workers receiving the mental healthcare they need is a lack of resources. Dr. Christina Proctor is one of UGA’s team of researchers working to understand and prevent suicides among farmers and ag workers. “We also need to advocate for more mental healthcare resources in rural areas. It is a real need. If we have farmers who want to talk about mental health or admit they that need help, and then there’s no resources, then there’s really not a lot that we can do there,” Proctor said.
Medindia Health Watch
How Bile Acid Receptor Stimulation Could Protect Premature Newborns’ Eyesight
Written by Dr. Trupti Shirole
Retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) is a significant concern for premature newborns, often leading to childhood blindness. However, scientists from the Medical College of Georgia have uncovered a potentially groundbreaking solution. By stimulating the farnesoid-X-receptor (FXR), a bile acid receptor, researchers believe they can offer earlier and more effective treatments for these vulnerable infants. This article delves into the research conducted by the Medical College of Georgia, highlighting the role of FXR and the use of existing drugs to target this receptor, shedding light on a potential breakthrough in ROP treatment.
House Beautiful
How to Stop White Clover from Taking Over Your Lawn
You can fight the battle and win!
By Arricca Elin Sansone
If you have visions of a perfect expanse of green lawn, you may be disappointed when you discover patches of little white flowers popping up in early to mid-summer. What are these things? And how do you get rid of them ASAP? These round flowers are white clover (Trifolium repens), a low-growing broadleaf perennial weed with creeping stems, which allow the plant to spread quickly. The flowers may be tinged with pink, while the foliage has three-leaflets with white V-marks that form a triangle when viewed from above. Getting rid of clover is not a matter of lawn safety, but a question of aesthetics. “It’s mainly about tolerance. Can you stand it?” says Clint Waltz, PhD, turfgrass specialist with the University of Georgia.
The City Menus
Call of the wild: UWG biology alumna serves as naturalist at Bear Creek Nature Center
You never know when inspiration will strike and change your life. For University of West Georgia biology alumna Joanne Wasdin ’19, it came in the form of a disabled gopher tortoise named Thomas. “When I first came to the Bear Creek Nature Center, I thought I’d be more interested in ‘cute’ animals, like birds,” said Wasdin, who serves as BCNC’s assistant naturalist. “When I started working with wildlife rehabilitation and training, I ended up finding my place with reptiles.” Thomas couldn’t be released back into the wild, so he became an education animal. Wasdin aided in his recovery by taking him on walks. Today, thanks to Wasdin, Thomas is living his best life at the Tidelands Nature Center on Jekyll Island.
Savannah Morning News
Discover more than sharks’ teeth along Georgia’s coast with UGA’s Saltwater Science Speaker Series
Joseph Schwartzburt
Nearly 30.3 million coastal tourists drift into the Georgia Lowcountry each year. Many tourists probably snatch up a dolphin tour brochure or a rum bucket at the Tybee pier without much thought beyond the sand between their toes. Locals might be as equally limited in their understanding of the seaside ecosystems they call home, especially as more folks move into the area from points elsewhere. Currently, less than six percent of Georgia’s population live along the coast that contributes an estimated $27.6 billion to the state’s GDP. Luckily, the University of Georgia (UGA) Marine Extension and Georgia Sea Grant’s Marine Educator and Public Programs Coordinator, Austin Heil, and his colleagues developed the Saltwater Science Speakers Series for residents and visitors alike. The new initiative serves the organization’s strategic plan goals, in particular to, “cultivate a diverse, environmentally literate public that participates in lifelong and free choice learning opportunities.”
The Georgia Virtue
In a move that will continue to transform workforce development in southeast Georgia, Governor Brian Kemp recently approved funding to construct the Georgia Industrial Systems and Industrial Robotics Training Center (GISIRTC) in the state’s FY23 amended budget. Unique to the state of Georgia, the 37,000 square foot GISIRTC will be a division of Ogeechee Technical College, and will be located near the main campus of the College at the corner of A.J. Riggs Road and Highway 301 South in Bulloch County. …The GISIRTC will more than triple the current training capacity of Ogeechee Tech to 460,000 hours annually. Additionally, in a study conducted by Georgia Southern University’s Center for Business Analytics and Economic Research, it is projected that the Center will average $17 million in annual operational output within its first few years of operation, becoming an important economic driver within the region.
WRDW
Retired AU history professor ‘Cowboy Mike’ dies
By Staff
Augusta University officials have confirmed the death of a retired history professor known as “Cowboy Mike.” Michael Searles retired from Augusta University in 2012, but stayed as an emeritus faculty member. Searles was known for his dedication to education students and the public about the Western experiences of Black cowboys and Buffalo Soldiers. He was known around Augusta University’s campus for his signature cowboy hat, boots, and other cowboy attire.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
It is with deep sadness that we announce the peaceful passing of David James Cadenhead on May 20, 2023, surrounded by his beloved family and friends at his home. …The family kindly requests that in lieu of any gifts, donations be made to the Davenport-Cadenhead Scholarship at the University of West Georgia (UWG). This scholarship will continue to provide educational opportunities for needy and deserving students.
Higher Education News:
Inside Higher Ed
Report Calls for Merit Scholarships Not to Be Awarded Based on SAT or ACT
By Scott Jaschik
Twenty-five percent of merit scholarships still require students to take the SAT or ACT, according to a new report from the National Center for Fair & Open Testing. Some prominent scholarships continue to require tests, which have become relatively rare as a requirement in higher education since the pandemic. The report said many people appear to think they need to take a test to earn a scholarship.
Higher Ed Dive
Google backs $20M effort to train students for key cybersecurity jobs
The program will train a group of diverse students at 20 higher education centers across the U.S. The students will then provide services at under-resourced critical infrastructure providers.
David Jones, Reporter
Google is committing $20 million to help train thousands of students in the information security field in collaboration with the Consortium of Cybersecurity Clinics, Sundar Pichai, CEO of Google and its parent company Alphabet, announced Thursday. The funding will be used to develop clinics at 20 higher education centers across the U.S. The clinics will help train students from diverse backgrounds in cybersecurity with the intent that they, in turn, can provide security to under-resourced organizations in local communities. …Starting in October, Google will begin to accept applications from higher education centers looking to establish local clinics. Google employees will serve as volunteer mentors to students at these programs.
Inside Higher Ed
AAUP Joins Suit Over ‘Stop WOKE’ Act
By Scott Jaschik
The American Association of University Professors is filing a brief today with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit backing faculty members who sued over the “Stop WOKE Act”—officially the Individual Freedom Act—which prohibits professors at Florida’s public universities from expressing certain viewpoints while teaching on topics including racial and sexual discrimination and injustice. The AAUP’s brief argues that the law violates the First Amendment and threatens to destroy academic freedom, sabotage higher education, and undermine democracy. The measure, signed into law by Governor Ron DeSantis. a Republican, prohibits faculty at the state’s public colleges and universities from engaging in “instruction” that “espouses, promotes, advances, inculcates, or compels … student[s] or employee[s] to believe” certain concepts involving racial and sexual discrimination and injustice.
Inside Higher Ed
Program Cuts Begin at West Virginia University
By Liam Knox
West Virginia University’s governing board voted Friday to slash 12 graduate and doctorate programs, including $7 million in personnel cuts. About 132 positions—38 of them faculty—will be eliminated, according to the Associated Press. The vote is the result of a master’s and Ph.D. program evaluation process that began in 2021, for which the university said it used data on enrollments, graduation rates and employment to determine “programs of concern.” The affected programs include graduate studies tracks in finance, instructional design, technology and education and a doctoral accounting program. The cuts are the first of many anticipated to take place over the next two years, which are expected to include undergraduate academic offerings; in March, President E. Gordon Gee announced a reduction in force to deal with precipitous enrollment declines and diminished state support.
Higher Ed Dive
Here’s how University of Nebraska system plans to fix its $58M shortfall
Jeremy Bauer-Wolf, Senior Reporter
Dive Brief:
The University of Nebraska system president unveiled a blueprint Thursday intended to correct its projected $58 million budget shortfall by the end of the 2024-25 fiscal year. President Ted Carter said the system will reinvigorate its recruitment strategy in an attempt to reverse recent enrollment declines, as well as raise its academic profile with the goal of rejoining the Association of American Universities, or AAU, a selective organization composed of high-profile research institutions. In addition to the long-term plan, the system will pursue more immediate austerity measures. It will freeze hiring for nonfaculty positions and temporarily reduce all department operating and supply budgets by 2.5% quarterly, beginning July 1.
Higher Ed Dive
OPINION
President Speaks: The case for being optimistic about higher education’s future
Andrew Hsu, leader of the College of Charleston, explains why he remains positive even as colleges face an existential crisis.
By Andrew Hsu
In Shakespeare’s “Hamlet,” there is a moment when the brooding prince climbs atop a cliff, one overlooking the Danish sea, and delivers his most famous lines: “To be, or not to be, that is the question.” University presidents now find themselves on a precipice like Hamlet as we think through the many changes gathering on the horizon: artificial intelligence, the impending enrollment cliff in 2025 and some overloud critics questioning the relevance of a college degree. Just one of those forces alone creates an existential crisis for higher education, but all three coming at the same time, well, it feels a bit like watching a tsunami wave fast approaching our shores. However, to my core, I am an optimist. Time and time again, my optimism has been reaffirmed by how things turn out ultimately to the positive, both on a personal and a professional level.
Inside Higher Ed
Should College Presidents Criticize Political Candidates?
Some higher ed leaders have voiced concerns about the threats GOP front-runners Donald Trump and Ron DeSantis pose to democracy. Others are uneasy about weighing in on an ongoing race.
By Josh Moody
With the 2024 presidential race in its early stages, some college leaders have raised concerns about candidates that they see as a threat not only to higher education but also to democracy. They have outlined those concerns in op-eds, public testimony and statements—some vague, others pointed. The leading Republican candidate in early polling—former president Donald Trump—has drawn criticism in the past from many higher education associations and leaders, whether for his hateful rhetoric or his role in instigating the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection. But this year many college presidents have remained conspicuously silent in the face of conservative attacks on higher education across the country, which have included everything from removing books and imposing curricular restrictions to defunding diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives and going after accreditors.