The Augusta Chronicle
Letter from AU President outlines changes to MCG faculty benefits
Abraham Kenmore
The future of a number of benefits currently enjoyed by physicians at the Augusta University Medical Associates is uncertain, following a letter from Augusta University President Brooks Keel sent earlier this month, and recently verified by The Augusta Chronicle, telling members that some benefits will be ending soon. The end of these benefits is part of the merger between the Atlanta-based Wellstar Health and the Augusta University Health systems into Wellstar MCG Health. As part of the deal, AUMA, an entity just for faculty at MCG who also practice medicine at AU Health, will be wrapped up. …In the letter, Keel wrote that premium reimbursement, major medical reimbursement, dental, optical, and tuition assistance and scholarships will all end on June 30 for AUMA, along with parking reimbursement.
Athens Banner-Herald
‘It feels amazing’: UGA grad hits 2.4 million likes on TikTok with medical illustrations
Miguel Legoas
Remember those anatomy drawings in your biology textbooks? Augusta University trains young artists on creating these illustrations, and one of its students has turned her projects into viral TikTok videos. McKenzie Young, 23, has collected more than 2 million likes on her personal channel, @mckenzieyoung, which showcases her detailed drawings of skeletons, surgical procedures and other medical illustrations. It’s a path that combines two of her longtime passions. …Her portfolio covers a wide range of mediums and topics from drawings of birds to scenic chalk murals. But Young didn’t start thinking of it as a profession until she started planning for college, and even then, there was still a lot of uncertainty. Then in her junior year at the University of Georgia, she discovered scientific and medical illustrations. …Now in her third semester at AU’s graduate program, she has created many meticulous illustrations of c-sections, eye surgeries, and other operations she has watched live.
Albany Herald
Five UGA undergraduates offered 2023 Boren Scholarships
By Alan Flurry UGA/CAES
The Boren Scholarships are designed to add important international and language components to students’ educations by giving them the opportunity to study overseas in world regions critical to U.S. interests. The national initiative is administered by the Institute of International Education on behalf of the National Security Education Program. Boren recipients commit to working in the federal government for at least one year after graduation in exchange for up to $25,000 in funding. For the third year in a row, the Boren Awards named the University of Georgia a top-performing institution for Boren Scholarships.
WGAU Radio
CCSD to share in $350 thousand state grant
By Tim Bryant
The Clarke County School District will share in $350 thousand in grants from the state Department of Education. The school district in Athens could get up to $10 thousand in funding for its Athens Community Career Academy partnership with the University of Georgia and its College of Education, a partnership aimed at increasing teacher recruitment.
Albany Herald
Gahagen wins ABAC award for Excellence in Student Engagement
From staff reports
Benjamin Gahagen has been selected for the W. Bruce and Rosalyn Ray Donaldson Award for Excellence in Student Engagement at Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College. An associate professor of Biology from the Department of Science and Mathematics in the School of Arts and Sciences, Gahagen earned his Ph.D. in Environmental and Plant Biology from Ohio University and a bachelor of science degree in Biology from James Madison University. …The award celebrates and rewards faculty members who excel in mentoring students through interdisciplinary collaborations, innovative projects, internship opportunities, undergraduate research, or other academic enrichment experiences that engage students actively in the learning process.
Savannah Business Journal
Savannah Business Journal Staff Report
Michael Huggins, Ph.D., will join Georgia Southern University on Aug. 1 as the Dean of the College of Science and Mathematics. “I am excited to welcome Dr. Huggins to our academic leadership,” said Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs Carl Reiber, Ph.D. “Dr. Huggins has a distinguished career filled with research, service and mentorship. He will be a valuable partner as we move forward with our leadership goals. He brings with him the working knowledge of how to lead a College, along with the foundations needed to advance our research mission.”
WJCL
Summer Celebration underway at Georgia Southern University
Event will take place this week on all three campuses
Dave Williams, Reporter
A favorite summer tradition is once again taking center campus at Georgia Southern University. As the weather warms up, what better way to spend the day than enjoying some fresh fruit, including watermelon, and of course, the always popular Leopold’s Ice Cream. Well, that’s exactly what’s happening this week on Georgia Southern’s three campuses for the university’s annual Summer Celebration. … This summer celebration has quite the history to it. You see, it began back in 1948 by then Georgia Southern President Zach Henderson, who was looking for a way to provide cool treats for those still on campus during the hot summer months.
Chattanooga Times Free Press
Southwest Georgia farmers frustrated by trickle of progress to ease Flint River withdrawal ban
by Jill Nolin / Georgia Recorder
A state proposal to slightly ease a ban on new and expanded withdrawals from portions of the Flint River Basin was met last week with frustration from farmers weary of the decade-old moratorium they argue is limiting the industry’s potential in southwestern Georgia. The state Environmental Protection Division is soliciting feedback on its proposal to allow more withdrawals from the Floridan Aquifer for the limited purpose of protecting crops like blueberries and citrus from menacing spring freezes. As part of that, Georgia regulators met with farmers, including a handful who are also state lawmakers, in downtown Albany on Wednesday as a rain-swollen Flint River flowed nearby. …The potential new withdrawals are being considered as Albany State University uses a $50 million federal grant through the American Rescue Plan to convert surface water irrigation to deep groundwater wells.
DeliciousFood
[COLORFUL%20FRUITS%20AND%20VEGETABLES%20IMPROVE%20EYE%20AND%20BRAIN%20HEALTH]COLORFUL FRUITS AND VEGETABLES IMPROVE EYE AND BRAIN HEALTH
According to a new study, colorful fruits and vegetables containing certain plant compounds may improve eye health. These compounds build up the retina, improving the way someone can see at a distance. The latest study, led by a team from the University of Georgia, follows previous research which found that eating foods containing the plant compounds lutein and zeaxanthin – such as dark leafy greens and orange vegetables and yellow – improves eye and brain health.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Cotton crop in South Georgia banged up by hailstorms and high winds
By Evan Lasseter
Farmers of state’s most lucrative crop say damage is moderate-to-severe but most plants should recover
Bart Davis was out on his farm a couple Mondays ago when he saw a gray cloud hang over the land. Next came hail and wind so strong one of his irrigation pivots was upended. Similar storms followed the days after, and the biggest pour of hail hit June 14. Davis has around 7,500 acres of land across Southwest Georgia in Colquitt, Mitchell, Worth, and Dougherty counties — and every acre of cotton was hit by the storms. Hail the size of golf and tennis balls, some even larger, slammed his crops, Davis said. Damage ranged from moderate to severe, he said. …Cotton is Georgia’s most lucrative crop, with its upland production value cashing in at $1.2 billion in 2022, according to U.S. Department of Agriculture data. The state’s farmers harvested 1.2 million acres last year. When the cotton is ginned and fiber is separated from seed, most of Georgia’s product is exported to be spun and woven, said Camp Hand, cotton agronomist for the University of Georgia’s Cooperative Extension Service.
yahoo!life
Georgia Could Lose Up to 95 Percent of Its Peach Harvest Due to Wild Weather Swings
Tori Latham
Things aren’t so peachy-keen in Georgia this year. The Peach State is having a hard time cultivating the stone fruit it’s become known for, The Washington Post reported over the weekend. Thanks to climate change, peach crops are struggling, with some experts estimating losses of 95 percent this year. …Final numbers for total peach loss won’t be available until mid-August, Jeff Cook, a peach agent at the University of Georgia Cooperative Extension, told The Washington Post. But he thinks that a conservative estimate is 95 percent loss, with that reflected in higher prices for the fruit this year.
KPVI
Growers beware: Corn rust blows into south Georgia
By Maria M. Lameiras UGA/CAES
The first cases of southern corn rust (Puccinia polysora) for the 2023 growing season were discovered last week in Clinch and Grady counties along the Georgia-Florida line. University of Georgia Cooperative Extension experts are encouraging producers to be diligent in scouting for the fast-spreading disease among their corn crops. “June 21 is about two weeks later than we typically find it,” Bob Kemerait, a professor of plant pathology with the University of Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, said. Citing information from UGA agricultural climatologist Pam Knox, Kemerait indicated that the direction of prevailing winds in late spring and early summer, in combination with cooler-than-normal temperatures this spring, may have delayed the spread into Georgia this year.
Pharmacy Times
Employees Frequently Using AI Systems Are More Likely to Experience Loneliness, Insomnia
Ashley Gallagher, Associate Editor
Employees who frequently interact with artificial intelligence (AI) systems are more likely to experience loneliness leading to insomnia and increased after-work drinking, according to the results of a study published in the Journal of Applied Psychology. Investigators of the study conducted 4 experiments in the United States, Taiwan, Indonesia, and Malaysia, and the findings were consistent across cultures. “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,” Pok Man Tang, PhD, an assistant professor of management at the University of Georgia, said in a statement. “Humans are social animals, and isolating work with AI systems may have damaging spillover effects into employees’ personal lives.” However, investigators also said that employees who did frequently use AI systems were more than likely to offer help to fellow employees, though it could have been triggered by their loneliness.
The McDuffie Progress
Locals graduate from leadership programs
The Thomson-McDuffie Chamber of Commerce held graduation ceremonies for participants in its Entrepreneurial Leadership Academy and High Potential Leaders groups. The event was held at the Thomson Family Y last Thursday. During the programs, both groups had received guidance from Dr. Brittany Adams-Pope of the J.W. Fanning Institute at the University of Georgia. During her keynote remarks at the event, Adams-Pope commended the graduates for completing these impactful leadership programs.
Higher Education News:
Inside Higher Ed
Community College Students Expect Better Customer Service
By Jessica Blake
Community college administrators say their students want better support when it comes to institutional customer service—and that they’re right for having high expectations, according to a report released Monday. Published by EAB, an education consulting group, the survey results show that 85 percent of leaders agree student expectations have risen since the pandemic. Nearly 100 percent said improving customer service is key to student retention, results also show. “Schools were already falling short in this area … so schools have a lot of catching up to do,” Tara Zirkel, director of strategic research at EAB, told Yahoo! Finance.
Inside Higher Ed
The Latest Campus Clinic: Cybersecurity
Modeled on legal and health clinics, campus units that give students hands-on training while providing a community service gain university, corporate and government backing.
By Doug Lederman
Community clinics have been a staple of professional education for decades: think of law students, with guidance from their professors, shepherding survivors of domestic abuse through the byzantine family law system or helping small businesses understand and navigate local zoning laws. Or dental students, under the watchful eye of their instructors, filling a child’s cavity or fitting a crown over the broken tooth of an unemployed adult. The clinics help students develop practical knowledge and the skills they’ll need after earning their formal academic credentials, while providing vital services to people and organizations that need them—along the way helping their institutions serve their communities.
Inside Higher Ed
Students Report Sexual Assault—but Mainly to Their Peers
According to a large-scale survey by Vector Solutions, students are significantly more likely to discuss a sexual assault with a peer than with an authority figure on campus.
By Johanna Alonso
College students are far more willing to talk to their friends about unwanted sexual experiences than they are to campus police, a crisis center or a university employee, according to a new, large-scale survey by Vector Solutions, the nation’s largest provider of sexual violence risk-management training materials for universities. Of the 14 percent of respondents who said they had experienced unwanted sexual contact, 86 percent told friends or roommates, and about half told their families. But only 6 percent told campus or local police, 7 percent told a university employee, 3 percent went to an on-campus crisis center and 16 percent went to an off-campus crisis center. Experts say the report aligns with existing research on campus sexual assault victims.
Inside Higher Ed
Compilation on Mental Health’s Impact on Student Success
By Melissa Ezarik
Inside Higher Ed’s latest booklet, “How Mental Health Can Help (and Hurt) Student Success,” is available today. The articles and opinion pieces in the collection present a comprehensive analysis of challenges in supporting student mental health and wellness, as well as advice and actionable ideas for helping students feel their best so that they are prepared to achieve success in college and beyond. Request a free downloaded version of the booklet. In addition, register to join us for a free webcast on the booklet’s themes on Wednesday, July 26, at 2 p.m. Eastern.
Inside Higher Ed
University Sues Cleaning Service Over Destroyed Research
By Liam Knox
A custodian working at a Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute lab destroyed over two decades’ worth of research when he switched off a super-cold freezer while trying to silence an “annoying” alarm, according to a lawsuit filed by RPI against the third-party firm that employed the cleaner. The public university in Troy, N.Y., contends that the damaged research materials, which included cell cultures and samples along with other items, would cost more than $1 million to recreate. That includes materials for a project led by K. V. Lakshmi, a professor of chemistry and chemical biology, who along with her students had been working on a project concerning renewable energy and photosynthesis for 25 years before the materials were largely destroyed, according to The Albany Times Union.