WGAU Radio
UNG-NE Ga Health System partnership begins training first cohort of nursing students
By Clark Leonard, UNG
The University of North Georgia’s first cohort for its accelerated Bachelor of Science in Nursing track developed in partnership with Northeast Georgia Health System started in January 2023, and UNG is already actively recruiting for its second cohort, which will launch in January 2024. The deadline to apply is Aug. 15. Students who already have a bachelor’s or master’s degree in another subject are able to enroll in the ABSN track, complete their new degree in only 15 months, and enter the nursing field quickly.
Rome News-Tribune
UGA prepares work force for Georgia’s second-largest industry
By Roy Parry UGA/CAES
Hospitality and tourism are a major economic driver in Georgia, and the University of Georgia is working in several key areas to support and expand that industry. In 2021, nearly 200 million visitors to Georgia produced $34.4 billion in direct visitor spending. Those visits generated more than $4 billion in state and local tax revenues, and created a total economic impact of $64.5 billion, according to state data. The hospitality and tourism industry is Georgia’s second-largest economic contributor (after agriculture) and employs more than 400,000 residents. “As the tourism division of the Georgia Department of Economic Development continues to help grow visitation to Georgia, industry will need more of the skilled hospitality labor that UGA creates through its talent pipeline and opportunities for career development,” Mark Jaronski, chief marketing officer for the Georgia Department of Economic Development, said.
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WGAU Radio
UNG professor wins innovation award
By Clark Leonard, UNG
Dr. Gary Adcox, director of campus success and strategic retention initiatives at the University of North Georgia’s Oconee Campus, has won the 2023 Dr. George Giacumakis Innovation Award for his leadership of an on-campus summer program for middle school students. The National Association of Branch Campus Administrators honored Adcox with the recognition. The Nighthawks Student Opportunities for Accelerated Readiness (SOAR) program targets economically disadvantaged and English as a second language youth who are likely prospective first-generation college students. SOAR was designed to bridge the education gap and “summer educational slide” for rising sixth-, seventh- and eighth-grade students during a three-week camp-like summer program intended for students who would benefit from participating in a summer enrichment and engagement program.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Incentives for SK-Hyundai EV battery plant could total $700M
By Zachary Hansen
Joint venture represents nearly $5B investment and will include 3,750 jobs
Two Korean conglomerates could receive a total of about $700 million in grants, tax breaks, free infrastructure and other incentives from state and local governments to build a $5 billion battery factory in Bartow County. The incentive package offered to SK On was detailed in documents obtained by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution through the Georgia Open Records Act. The company, which later brought on Hyundai Motor Group as an equal partner, announced plans in December for the factory near Cartersville. It’s expected to employ at least 3,750 workers with an average wage of nearly $53,000. …Michael Toma, an economist at Georgia Southern University, said Georgia is building a network of EV projects for companies to tap into. He said the auto industry and new factories carry such high startup costs that public support is needed and often pays off long-term as states “capture” the new industry.
CNN
More than 90% of the Peach State’s peaches were lost this year after extreme winter weather
By Devon M. Sayers
The Peach State lost more than 90% of this year’s crop after abnormally warm weather this winter and a late-season freeze, Dario Chavez, an associate professor of Horticulture at the University of Georgia, told CNN. Georgia normally produces more than 130 million pounds of peaches annually, according to the University of Georgia, and the crop in 2021 was valued at nearly $85 million. Georgia was the third-largest producer of peaches in the country as of 2021, according to the US Department of Agriculture. South Carolina – which is also seeing a thinner yield this year due to extreme temperatures – ranks second behind California, which produces four times more peaches than Georgia and South Carolina combined.
Savannah Morning News
Peach state turns to citrus as invasive disease ravages Florida oranges
Marisa Mecke
During the COVID-19 pandemic, some people learned to bake bread, others learned to roller skate, but Steven Cooler started growing citrus trees. Three years later, his plot is verdant and orderly; lined rows of petite trees with green, glossy leaves. …Cooler is one of a growing number of south Georgia farmers migrating the citrus business north. Citrus greening, a quick-spreading disease moving through Florida’s citrus orchards, is devastating orchards and prompting citrus farmers to consider opening up shop in new areas including south Georgia. …So far, there’s no cure, but researchers are working to develop trees more resilient and resistant to the pest and disease. Jake Price, the University of Georgia Cooperative Extension’s citrus specialist, said citrus greening first appeared in Florida circa 2005. Since then, production has plummeted by almost 75%. Currently, about 80% of trees in the state’s citrus orchards test positive for the disease.
American Farm Publications
Researchers investigate cost of lesser mealworms on farmers’ bottom line
by AFP Staff
In research published in the Journal of Integrated Pest Management, University of Delaware graduate student Ben Sammarco, UD faculty member Michael Crossley and the University of Georgia’s Nancy Hinkle dive deep into the biology and integrated pest management of lesser mealworm (Alphitobius diaperinus), a species of darkling beetle that wreaks havoc on poultry farms. Threats like lesser mealworm require serious attention. At the onset of large-scale chicken and turkey farming, the species announced itself wherever broiler houses were found.
accessWDUN
Lumpkin Co Commissioner recognized by ACCG for Lifelong Learning Academy completion
By Lawson Smith Reporter
A Lumpkin County Commissioner was recently recognized by the Association County Commissioners of Georgia for completing the organization’s Lifelong Learning Academy core requirements. Commissioner Rhett Stringer was honored during the Association’s 2023 Annual Conference at the Savannah Convention Center in Chatham County. The adult education program aims to provide county officials with learning experiences that can be applied to governing at the local level. In partnership with the Carl Vinson Institute of Government at the University of Georgia, the Lifelong Learning Program was created with input from county commissioners who identified courses based on the issues and decision-making challenges regularly faced by county officials.
Georgia Recorder
State agencies slow to reopen public meetings to in-person access; DNR reverts to pre-pandemic ways
By: Chaya Tong
It takes around four hours by car to go from Savannah to Atlanta – not an easy trip to make in time for a 9 a.m. weekday meeting of the state Board of Natural Resources. But with no option to participate virtually, many south Georgia residents are faced with a difficult choice: an eight-hour plus round trip or not attending. …Some of Georgia’s most important governmental agencies have been slow to embrace the widespread public access the pandemic made possible. The return to in-person meetings, and for some agencies, the departure from virtual access, has also come with the return to long commutes and less accessibility. …“It would be great if remote access were mandatory because it is a time saver. It allows for people who might have mobility issues to still observe,” said Clare Norins, director of The First Amendment Clinic at the University of Georgia School of Law. “But it’s not required right now as the law currently exists.” …Though the Board of Regents offers a livestream of their meetings, the recordings are not readily available online and must be requested. “Audio recordings of regularly scheduled meetings are available upon request, and approved meeting minutes are available online at https://www.usg.edu/regents/meetings,” the University System of Georgia said in a statement. Matthew Boedy, a professor at University of North Georgia, said that requiring the public to ask for recordings of the meetings is unnecessary “red tape.”
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Opinion: To grow, students need solutions, not miracles
Get Schooled with Maureen Downey
Peter Smagorinsky is an emeritus professor in the University of Georgia’s College of Education. He is the 2023 recipient of the American Educational Research Association Lifetime Contribution to Cultural-Historical Research Award. In this guest column, Smagorinsky discusses the inevitable failure of reforms that refuse to address the challenges students face in their daily lives outside the classroom.
Higher Education News:
Higher Ed Dive
Senate bill would block accreditors from weighing DEI, affirmative action policies
Colleges feel the need to “comply with woke standards or risk reputational and financial ruin,” contends bill author Florida Sen. Marco Rubio.
Laura Spitalniak, Associate Editor
Higher education accreditors would not be able to consider a college’s policies on affirmative action or diversity, equity and inclusion during the accreditation process, under a new bill from a leading Republican senator. Introduced by Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, the legislation aims to protect free speech on college campuses and “prevent a politicized [U.S.] Department of Education from further forcing diversity, equity, and inclusion policies into higher education,” according to a news release. It’s not uncommon for accrediting agencies to include language around diversity and inclusion in their evaluation processes. For example, the Higher Learning Commission, an accreditor largely focused on the Midwest, considers if a college’s “processes and activities demonstrate inclusive and equitable treatment of diverse populations,” according to its criteria for accreditation.
Higher Ed Dive
Student loan payments set to resume end of August
Jeremy Bauer-Wolf, Senior Reporter
Dive Brief:
Student loan borrowers will have to repay their debts again starting the end of August under legislation President Joe Biden signed Saturday. The pandemic-era repayment freeze will end 60 days after the end of June, which is Aug. 29. This date was included in the legislative deal raising the U.S. debt ceiling. The Biden administration had said it intended to restart monthly payments 60 days either at the end of June, or after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled on the president’s plan to forgive student loan debts for those earning up to $125,000 a year.
Higher Ed Dive
North Carolina lawmakers proposed a new way to appoint UNC system board members. Will it stick?
Jeremy Bauer-Wolf, Senior Reporter
Dive Brief:
Members of the University of North Carolina System’s governing board would no longer be elected by state lawmakers under a bill that is spurring concerns of partisan interference. Currently, lawmakers pick a slate of prospective board members, one or more of whom are then elected either in the North Carolina House or Senate. Under proposed legislation, the appointment process would shift most of that power to the House speaker and Senate president pro tempore, both of whom are currently Republicans. The two leaders alone would select board members, who would then be approved by the North Carolina General Assembly. The bill also would broaden the number of seats on UNC’s board from 24 to 28.
Inside Higher Ed
New College of Florida Denies Contract to DeSantis Critic
By Josh Moody
A visiting history professor at New College of Florida who criticized NCF’s Board of Trustees and interim president—as well as Governor Ron DeSantis’s efforts to reshape higher education in the state—is out after the administration decided not to renew his contract, Miami New Times reported. The decision reportedly leaves NCF without a faculty member who specializes in U.S. history. It comes amid a push by DeSantis to convert the college into a conservative institution. The governor began the reconstruction of NCF in January when he appointed a swath of new trustees, who forced out the president and hired former Republican lawmaker Richard Corcoran.
Inside Higher Ed
Jury Sides With Blind Students Against L.A. Community College District
By Sara Weissman
A jury has awarded $240,000 in damages to two blind students who sued the Los Angeles Community College District. The jury concluded that the district violated the Americans With Disabilities Act in 14 different ways, according to a press release from Brown, Goldstein & Levy, the law firm representing the students. The students, Portia Mason and Roy Payan, claimed that course materials, web-based learning platforms and library materials, among other resources, were inaccessible when they were enrolled at district campuses between 2015 and 2018. Professors also allegedly told Payan he couldn’t attend their classes because he was blind. The National Federation of the Blind and its California affiliate were also plaintiffs in the 2017 lawsuit.