WGAU Radio
UNG’s Shannon delivers first State of the University Address
By Clark Leonard, UNG
University of North Georgia President Michael Shannon set the tone for the 2023-2024 academic year as he encouraged faculty and staff to remember the impact they are making every day. In his first State of the University address during UNG’s faculty-staff convocation Aug. 11 in the Convocation Center at UNG’s Dahlonega Campus, Shannon said, “We build leaders. We build servants. We build pioneers. And most importantly, we build legacy-makers. The world we live in today is hungry and desperate, and they’re crying out for help. And we’re here to serve.” Shannon pointed to the tensions caused by declining enrollment and tight budgets in coming years, as well as the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic. Shannon specifically thanked the Enrollment Management team ahead of the fall semester as UNG is up 9.2% in new undergraduate students, up in graduate students, up in dual enrollment, and up in cadets.
Times-Georgian
By Miranda Pepe SPECIAL TO THE TIMES-GEORGIAN
A recent study by the University System of Georgia (USG) reveals that the University of West Georgia contributed more than $633.4 million to the local, regional and state economy in the 2022 fiscal year (July 1, 2021, through June 30, 2022) — a new record for the institution. This powerhouse performance marks a triumphant pinnacle in the university’s ongoing commitment to amplifying its economic impact, increasing the impact by 1.08% over the previous year.
Athens Banner-Herald
Get to know the new class of students starting at the University of Georgia
Abraham Kenmore
The new semester is about to start and the University of Georgia has shared some statistics about its incoming class. The class of 2027 is made up of 6,200 first years out of 43,500 applicants, according to a news release from UGA. They will be joined by roughly 1,700 transfer students, 2,860 graduate students and about 500 professional students, as well as 60 medical students at the Medical College of Georgia campus in Athens. Classes will start on Wednesday. In the class of 2027:
Augusta CEO
Women Leaders Rise to Top 10 List Through Skills Learned at Augusta University
Delaney Obrien
A student and an alumna from Augusta University’s Hull College of Business were recently named to Augusta Magazine’s Top 10 In 10 Young Professionals to Watch. Heather Smith and Brandi Young entered a competitive nomination process in March and emerged as two of this year’s most promising rising stars. Garrett Green, EdD, chief diversity officer at Augusta University, and alumna David Bash, CEO of Get Up Productions, were also selected for the 2023 list. Smith, a nontraditional student working toward a Bachelor of Business Administration, had been pursuing a degree on and off since graduating high school in 2007.
Albany Herald
UGA -Tifton invests in the next century of research and innovation
By Emily Cabrera UGA/CAES
To meet the needs of a rapidly changing agricultural landscape and a growing campus population, the University of Georgia Tifton campus is undergoing crucial infrastructure upgrades to bring its more than century-old facilities up to 21st-century standards. Michael Toews, assistant dean for the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences on the Tifton campus, said the renovations will both encourage innovative research programs and create an environment where faculty can thrive for the next 100 years.
WGAU Radio
Ag Commissioner, UGA experts discuss new invasive hornet
Entomologists in the University of Georgia’s College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences will join state Ag Commissioner Tyler Harper in a morning news conference. They will talk about an invasive species of hornets now in Georgia.
From the Ga Dept of Agriculture…
On Tuesday, August 15th, at 9:00AM Georgia Agriculture Commissioner Tyler Harper will host a press conference to announce the confirmation of a non-native hornet species presence in the state of Georgia. This is the first time a live specimen of this species has been found in the open United States and could significantly impact Georgia’s agricultural industry and our state as a whole.
The Augusta Chronicle
Augusta University literacy center renamed for founder Paulette Harris
The Augusta University Literacy Center is now the Dr. Paulette P. Harris Literacy Center, after the founder and long-time faculty member who passed away in 2021. The renaming ceremony for the center, which is located in the HUB for Community Innovation, was held Monday. Harris arrived at AU in 1978 and founded the Literacy Center in 1990. “The mission has been unwavering over that time,” said Dean Judi Wilson of the College of Education in her remarks. “It has been to provide free literacy services to children, adolescents and adults. For 33 years, we have helped people all across our region learn to read.” Harris was one of the first people Wilson met when she arrived at Augusta University, she told the crowd.
Athens Banner-Herald
UGA grad, Athens Music Walk honoree receives Emmy nomination for Best Original Song
Andrew Shearer
As a member of Athens Music Walk of Fame honorees The Elephant 6 Recording Company, Heather McIntosh left her mark on the Classic City before moving into the world of music composition for film and television. Now, as one-third of the team behind the musical episode of Showtime’s “The L Word: Generation Q,” McIntosh has been nominated for an Emmy Award for Best Original Song. In this interview with Banner-Herald arts and culture reporter Andrew Shearer, McIntosh talks about her reaction to the Emmy nomination, her history in the Athens music scene and how she made the leap from playing in punk bands and touring with national artists to scoring movies and TV. …I came to Athens to attend UGA, and Vision ended up being the perfect place for me. My love of films came first, so I didn’t really think about composing right out of the gate. I started finding folks to play music with in Athens while playing cello in college, then switched to composition and got my B.A. in music.
WTVM
CSU football kicks off 14th season
By Tony Reese and Josiah Berry
This season, the Columbus State University Cougars look to make a play for this season’s NCFA National Championship. Now if you didn’t know, yes the Cougars have a football team, and they’ve been around for quite some time. Columbus State Head Football coach Michael Speight talked about how the program came to be. “We established our program at Columbus State University back in 2009. We are part of the National Club Football Association. We’re a non-scholarship program. But we do bring a lot of young men in and they get recruited.” said Speight.
Savannah Morning News
True to their school: Kirby Smart’s Georgia football staff loaded with UGA grads
Marc Weiszer
Athens Banner-Herald
Kirby Smart’s return to Georgia football as head coach put a UGA graduate atop the program. As he chases a third straight national championship this year, his roster of on-field coaches is chock full of UGA grads and it carries over to all corners of the support staff. It’s a notable change from when Smart filled out his first coaching staff in 2016 without any Bulldog flavor. None of his assistant coaches that season had a degree from Georgia. Now there’s more than two dozen total on staff, either in the program or that work closely with it in athletics.
Higher Education News:
Inside Higher Ed
Biden Administration Releases Guidance on Affirmative Action
The administration’s long-awaited resources are meant to help colleges navigate the murky legal fallout of the Supreme Court’s affirmative action ruling.
By Liam Knox
The federal government released long-awaited resources for colleges this morning on the implications of the Supreme Court’s decision striking down affirmative action, offering legal guidance on a number of questions that have been the subject of interpretive debate since the June 29 ruling. The Departments of Education and Justice, which released the guidance together, encouraged colleges to thoroughly review and update their admissions policies to ensure compliance with the Supreme Court’s finding that considering race as a factor “in and of itself” was illegal. But they also stressed what many legal experts have pointed out since the decision was handed down: that considerations of how an applicant’s race has affected their individual experience could still be considered when making admissions decisions, and that the court did not deny the value of diverse student experiences on campus.
Higher Ed Dive
Two-thirds of colleges are adding online programs, survey finds
The annual CHLOE report tracks changing student demand for virtual education and how institutions are adapting their offerings in response.
Natalie Schwartz, Editor
Dive Brief:
Two-thirds of colleges are adding online programs — based on student demand — to sustain overall enrollment, according to an annual report tracking trends in virtual education. The CHLOE 8 survey found a similar share of colleges, 63%, are conducting market research to determine which online degrees would be popular among current and prospective students. And 42% of colleges are creating online versions of in-demand on-campus programs. However, the survey suggests faculty and students may not be fully ready for online learning. Only 22% of survey respondents said many of their full-time faculty have experience building online courses, and few institutions require orientation for virtual learners — even those who are mostly or exclusively in online programs.
See also:
Inside Higher Ed
Nebraska Seeks a Return to the AAU
The University of Nebraska-Lincoln was voted out of the selective association of research universities in 2011. Now leaders are striving to make history as the first ex-member welcomed back.
By Josh Moody
In 2011, the University of Nebraska-Lincoln made history and headlines for being the first institution kicked out of the Association of American Universities by a member vote. Established in 1900, the AAU had counted Nebraska as a member since 1909. But in 2011, the selective association of research universities found that Nebraska did not meet its membership criteria, largely regarding federal research funding. With 63 universities in the AAU at the time, 44 voted to remove Nebraska from the group’s roster. Now, 12 years and two presidents later, Nebraska is working on a plan to return to the AAU.
Higher Ed Dive
University of Chicago to pay $13.5M to settle allegations of financial aid price-fixing
The institution, one of 17 named in a class-action lawsuit, will also provide documents that are expected to help the case against the other colleges.
Laura Spitalniak, Associate Editor
Dive Brief:
The University of Chicago will pay $13.5 million to settle claims it conspired with other wealthy colleges to price-fix its financial aid packages, driving up the cost of college, according to court documents. The institution, which did not admit wrongdoing as part of the settlement, is the first of the 17 institutions named in the class-action lawsuit to settle. The case was brought by students and graduates of the colleges and their family members. In addition to the payment, UChicago will share data and information on its financial aid practices with the plaintiffs and coordinate a witness interview with its previous director of college aid. The information is expected to help the case against the remaining 16 universities, which have not settled, the plaintiffs’ legal team said Monday.
Inside Higher Ed
Student Expelled After Homicidal Thoughts About Profs Can Sue College
By Doug Lederman
A former nursing student whom Columbia Basin College expelled after learning that he had been hospitalized for homicidal thoughts about three professors can sue the institution and several of its officials, a federal appeals court ruled Monday. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit upheld a lower court’s ruling that the former student, known as R.W., was not barred by the Eleventh Amendment’s shield of immunity from suing Columbia Basin for terminating him from the program and failing him in his courses. The former student was one term away from finishing the academic program at the community college in Washington State when a social worker, to whom he had reported that he had visions of killing his instructors, told police officers, who then informed college officials.