Jagwire
Watch: President Keel emphasizes innovation, expansion in State of the University address
Kevin Faigle
In his annual State of the University address, President Brooks A. Keel, PhD, discussed many outstanding accomplishments in the past year while also addressing the future and how Augusta University can reach its aspirational imperatives, which include 16,000 students by 2030, a top 60 NIH ranking by 2030 and the Carnegie Community Engagement Classification by 2026.
Walton Tribune
Perry sisters help lead UNG softball to national title
Brett Fowler | Correspondent
A pair of Walnut Grove High School graduates, Madi and Grayson Perry, helped lead the University of North Georgia to the school’s second NCAA Division II softball national title over Grand Valley State, Mich. Wednesday in Chattanooga, Tenn. Madi Perry, a 2019 graduate of Walnut Grove, is the starting shortstop for the Nighthawks while her sister, Grayson, a 2021 WGHS graduate, served as a role player off the bench during UNG’s championship series against the Lakers.
Douglas County Sentinel
Wasdin Scholarship expands to support more students at UWG
By Miranda Pepe Special to the Sentinel
The Wasdin Scholarship was established to support the educational journey of Bremen High School graduates at the University of West Georgia, and now, it is broadening its reach to include students from Haralson County High School, as well. The Wasdin Scholarship provides assistance to students like Ansley Shumake, a first-year business management major, who said the scholarship has allowed her to achieve her dreams of pursuing higher education.
Connect Savannah
By Emily Kenworthy and UGA Aquarium
The University of Georgia Marine Extension and Georgia Sea Grant is collaborating with Georgia Southern University to host a special exhibition, “SUBMERGED: An Underwater Exhibition of Bioceramic Artwork,” at the UGA Aquarium. The exhibition will debut during the aquarium’s World Oceans Day event on June 10 and will showcase a collection of sculptures created by Assistant Professor Casey Schachner and her undergraduate students at Georgia Southern University. Schachner received funding to create bioceramic pieces as part of UGA Marine Extension and Georgia Sea Grant’s Artists, Writers and Scholars program. The program supports projects designed to produce professional-quality art and literature that increases awareness of Georgia’s marine environments, improves understanding of Georgia’s coastal communities, and helps document history, culture, or heritage of Georgia’s coast. Schachner was one of three projects awarded this year.
Athens CEO
Practice Sales Advisors Sees Success with Help From UGA SBDC
Staff Report
Rebecca Robinson Davis of St. Simons is a people person, so much so that she left a lucrative position as a residential real estate appraiser in 2004 in search of a job – any job – that would replace the isolation of appraising homes with more personal interactions. She never thought that move would bring her such success thanks in part to a deep partnership with University of Georgia Small Business Development Center.
The Augusta Chronicle
UGA researchers find ongoing gender gap in federal STEM employment
Abraham Kenmore
A new research paper from the University of Georgia shows that the number of women in civilian federal science and tech jobs remained nearly stagnant over 14 years and points to some of the possible ways agencies can improve. The article by UGA professor J. Edward Kellough at the Department of Public Administration and Policy, and Lawrence A. Brown II of the University of Illinois at Chicago, examined the employment of women at a number of federal agencies from 2005 to 2018. (Data was unavailable for certain metrics in more recent years.) “Employment of women in STEM positions in federal departments and agencies that we study increase just a fraction of one percentage point across … a 14-year period,” Kellough said. “And there’s … virtually no change during that 14-year period.”
See also:
Augusta CEO
Fran Dundore on the 60th Governor’s Honors Program in Georgia
Fran Dundore talks about the 60th year of the Governor’s Honors Program in Georgia. Started in 1964, it is the longest running Governor’s school in the country. They will gather at Georgia Southern University this summer and represent a selection from more than 4500 applicants.
Albany Herald
Doyle Equipment Manufacturing donates equipment to ABAC farm
From staff reports
Students at Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College’s J.G. Woodruff Farm will be able to gain hands-on experience with specialized farm equipment thanks to Doyle Equipment Manufacturing. Jarrott Mock, territory sales representative for Doyle, was recently at ABAC to visit with the college’s farm staff and present a 5-ton mid-clearance spreader for use at the farm.
Albany Herald
CAES researchers find simple solution to keep produce fresh
By Emily Cabrera UGA/CAES
CAES researchers and UGA Extension agents say they hope their research findings will provide updated guidelines for producers to improve precooling efficiency and reduce post-harvest food losses. In grocery stores brimming with brightly colored fruits and vegetables, it may not occur to many shoppers the complexity farmers navigate to consistently deliver high-quality produce each week. Emily Cabrera is a writer and public relations coordinator for the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences at the University of Georgia.
Science Alert
‘Food Swamps’: Scientists Explain The Health Risks of Living Inside Them
By Clare Watson
You might have heard of food deserts, areas with few or no healthy food options or supermarkets within a short, walkable distance. Instead, these places are often filled with a glut of convenient takeaway stores, creating ‘food swamps’ that have dire health consequences for residents. A new study from the US shows how food inequities writ large across the country translate to an increased risk of dying from obesity-related cancers, such as breast, bowel, and liver cancer. …To get a clearer picture of how the availability of fresh food stores affects the health of US citizens, a team of public health researchers led by Malcolm Seth Bevel of Augusta University in Georgia mapped national health data from the past decade against data from the US Department of Agriculture Food Environment Atlas spanning roughly the same period.
ABC News
Surgeons perform kidney transplants in cats amid rising demand for advanced pet care
As of 2023, 86.9 million homes own a pet.
By Allie Weintraub, Lindsey Griswold, Milan Miller, and Emily Lippiello
Some cats battling kidney disease are getting a second chance at life, thanks to a pioneering kidney transplant program at the University of Georgia Veterinary Teaching Hospital. Dr. Chad Schmiedt leads the initiative and is one of only a handful of surgeons who performs the procedure around the world. “One particular thing about cats is that they are so good at hiding their disease. So, a lot of times, cats won’t start showing signs of illness and owners won’t pick up on signs of illness until it’s quite advanced,” Schmiedt told ABC News Live. “And so that’s one challenge we face in these animals, is trying to work with those very sick animals.” It’s a type of advanced veterinary care growing in demand as pet ownership has surged over the last 30 years.
Albany Herald
Young Writers Conference at ABAC on June 17
From staff reports
The English and Communication Department at Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College will offer a virtual Young Writers Conference from 9 a.m. until noon on June 17. Wendy Harrison, the department chair for English and Communication at ABAC, said the conference is open to ninth-grade students through just-graduated seniors.
Higher Education News:
Inside Higher Ed
Legislating an Honest Look at College Cost
State legislation to improve transparency about the cost of a degree has earned bipartisan support. Some worry about political motives and unintended consequences.
By Liam Knox
The Ohio State House of Representatives passed a higher education bill last week to ensure that colleges are transparent in their communications about the cost of their degree programs and the returns their graduates can expect on that investment. Ohio House Bill 27, which passed by a vote of 88 to 1 Thursday, would require public colleges and universities in the state to send admitted students who qualify for financial aid a one-page “financial cost and aid disclosure form” in their aid packets. The form would offer a full breakdown of the net cost of a degree, including the expected duration of the student’s financial aid package, a clear definition of grants versus loans, and the minimum monthly loan payments required of the student after graduating. It would also mandate that institutions share with admitted students postgraduation data on outcomes.
Inside Higher Ed
As institutions place more focus on guiding students toward the best possible postgraduation outcomes, career services offices are getting extra funding and attention, data show.
By Johanna Alonso
Given the rising cost of college and the vagaries of the job market, students and their families are more worried than ever about ensuring that a college degree leads to a successful career. At least that’s the view of many colleges, which are increasingly boosting the profile—and resources—of their career centers, according to research by the National Association of Colleges and Employers. Of 287 career centers that reported their total budgets to NACE this past academic year, the median budget was $417,595, up from $330,357 in the 2019–20 academic year.
Higher Ed Dive
Should states require high school students to complete the FAFSA?
The policies have successfully boosted FAFSA completions — but whether that translates into college attendance is less clear.
By Lilah Burke
For many students, federal financial aid enables their pursuit of higher education. But the FAFSA — the Free Application for Federal Student Aid — often stands between students and that assistance. For years, advocates have proposed making completion of the FAFSA a high school graduation requirement, in the hopes of making college more affordable and encouraging students to think of it as an option. That policy is now beginning to catch on. Louisiana was the first to implement the idea in the 2017-18 academic year, and a handful of states quickly followed suit.
Inside Higher Ed
Athletics officials will lobby lawmakers this week for a federal bill governing name, image and likeness as the NCAA and conferences contend with a patchwork of state laws on NIL.
By Josh Moody
It’s been two years since the National Collegiate Athletic Association established policies allowing college athletes to profit off of their name, image and likeness. The NCAA had argued for years that allowing athletes the same rights as every other student would ruin collegiate sports. Critics feared NIL would usher in a pay-to-play era, and many decried the early NIL landscape as a Wild West of unlimited possibilities—and hidden dangers. Big-dollar deals made headlines early on. …So far, Alabama, Georgia and South Carolina have repealed NIL legislation passed previously.
Higher Ed Dive
Virginia to eliminate degree requirements for most state jobs
State movement on the issue reflects ongoing private sector interest in reducing reliance on four-year degrees for hiring purposes.
Kathryn Moody, Senior Editor
Virginia will join a rising number of states eliminating degree requirements for a vast majority of state jobs, Gov. Glenn Youngkin announced May 30. Almost 90% of state job listings will be affected by the change, according to the announcement. “On day one we went to work reimagining workforce solutions in government and this key reform will expand opportunities for qualified applicants who are ready to serve Virginians,” Youngkin said in a statement. “Last month, Virginia achieved the highest labor force participation rate in nearly ten years demonstrating the Commonwealth’s sustained workforce developments.” Several states, including New Jersey, Alaska, Pennsylvania and Utah, have made shifts to allow workers with alternative qualifications — be it certifications or job experience — a shot at state jobs.
Inside Higher Ed
Chinese Universities Raise Tuition by as Much as 54%
By Scott Jaschik
Chinese universities are instituting tuition increases of as much as 54 percent, Reuters reported. The universities blame a financial crunch among local governments after three years of disruptive COVID-19 policies and a sluggish economy. East China University of Science and Technology raised tuition fees by 54 percent, to 7,700 yuan ($1,082) for freshmen majoring in science, engineering and physical education, and by 30 percent in the liberal arts, according to statements issued Sunday.
Cybersecurity Dive
What we know about the MOVEit vulnerability and compromises
Active exploits already resulted in a follow-on attack that’s impacted multiple organizations. Threat hunters are on guard and anticipate more victims.
Matt Kapko, Reporter
A spree initiated by a financially-motivated ransomware group that actively exploited a zero-day vulnerability in Progress Software’s MOVEit file transfer service to steal customers’ data is afoot. Exploits have been underway for at least four months, according to Trustwave, and the compromise of MOVEit databases has resulted in at least one follow-on attack that has ensnared multiple downstream victims. Some large, well known organizations came forward Monday to disclose the personal identifiable information of their employees was compromised. This occurred after Zellis, a payroll provider based in the U.K. that uses MOVEit, was attacked via the vulnerability. With investigations underway, threat hunters and security researchers from many firms are on guard and anticipate more victims.
Inside Higher Ed
University of Toledo Cuts Student Success Centers
By Jessica Blake
The University of Toledo is closing its undergraduate and graduate student coaching centers as part of a budget-cutting plan, WTOL.com reported. The university announced last week that 20 student success coaches would be laid off as part of a 7 percent budget cut for the 2024 fiscal year, according to local CBS affiliate station WTOL 11. The news caught the affected employees, many of whom are graduate student assistants, by surprise.
Cybersecurity Dive
When adopting security tools, less is more, Gartner says
Naomi Eide, Lead Editor
Dive Brief:
Gartner analysts are calling for organizations to adopt a “minimum effective toolset” for enterprise security, using the fewest technologies required to observe, respond and defend against threats. It’s a plea for vendor consolidation, which three-quarters of security leaders are advocating for or working toward, Gartner data shows. Yet, Gartner actually takes a lot more calls related to exploring new technologies than they do about consolidations and reductions, said Leigh McMullen, Gartner distinguished VP analyst, speaking at the Gartner Security & Risk Management Summit in National Harbor, Maryland on Monday. People have a seeking mindset, which “causes us to buy or acquire before we’re quite sure we know whether there will be truly additive value to the tool,” McMullen said.
Inside Higher Ed
Using E. Coli to Detect Water Contamination: Academic Minute
By Doug Lederman
Today on the Academic Minute, part of University of California, Irvine, Week: Regina Ragan, professor of materials science and engineering, explores some of the positive benefits bacteria can provide.