The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Georgia colleges hope to boost enrollment, grad rates with strategic plan
By Vanessa McCray
The University System of Georgia wants to lift graduation rates and enroll more in-state residents, all part of a new, data-centric strategic plan. The plan, developed with input from school presidents and adopted Tuesday by the Georgia Board of Regents, goes into effect Sept. 1. It charts a course for the University System and its 26 public schools through 2029. The approach relies heavily on specific, numerical targets, and Chancellor Sonny Perdue said data dashboards will track progress toward the goals. “You can’t manage what you can’t measure. We’re measuring, and we’re keeping score over the things that we say that matter to us,” Perdue told the board. …Angela Bell, vice chancellor for research and policy analysis, told the board the University System also will launch a direct admissions program later this fall.
Capitol Beat
Study: University System of Georgia contributes more than $20 billion to economy
by Dave Williams
The University System of Georgia (USG) delivered an economic impact of $20.1 billion in fiscal 2022, up $800 million, or 4.14%, over the previous year, system Chancellor Sonny Perdue announced Tuesday. That economic impact included $14.2 billion in direct spending by students and the system’s colleges and universities. The remaining $5.9 billion is the multiplier effect that direct spending had in local communities. “USG’s 26 public colleges and universities, individually and collectively, make a significant economic impact across the state, helping to put Georgians to work while spending money in local communities and helping their regional economies support Georgia’s growth,” Perdue said.
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The Augusta Chronicle
USG regents approve strategic plan, new degrees, capitol projects and repairs
Abraham Kenmore
The University System of Georgia is looking to boost enrollment at the state’s colleges and universities by about 11,000 students, increase retention, keep cost increases below inflation, and award 400,000 degrees and credentials all by 2029. …Augusta University recognized for enrollment …During his update to the regents, Perdue handed out four trophies to the institutions that had the highest summer enrollment growth. “I’m calling this the chancellor’s cup,” Purdue said, before warning the recipients that they could not keep the trophy unless they also led in enrollment in the fall semester. …Building new structures, fixing old ones …The regents also authorized expenditures for new capital projects and renovations. The $35.8 million, 340,000 square foot West Campus Parking Deck II at UGA received approval by the Regents. They also approved $10 million for a new baseball facility at Georgia Southern University and the lease of some property on the Augusta University Health Sciences Campus to construct a previously approved parking deck.
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Athlon Sports
Georgia Tech football field has a new name after $55 million deal
Georgia Tech’s football stadium will now be called Bobby Dodd Stadium at Hyundai Field
Joe Vitale
During a meeting of the Committee on Real Estate and Facilities at the Georgia Board of Regents on Tuesday, a significant decision was made regarding the naming of Bobby Dodd Stadium at Historic Grant Field, the home of Georgia Tech football, per the AJC. The committee approved the renaming of Grant Field to Hyundai Field, meaning Georgia Tech will now play in Bobby Dodd Stadium at Hyundai Field. Reports from the AJC had previously highlighted that the naming rights for the stadium were available for purchase, with Hyundai emerging as the prominent contender to acquire these rights.
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Athens CEO
UNG Economic Impact is Nearly $737M
The University of North Georgia’s (UNG) economic impact totaled almost $737 million on northeast Georgia during fiscal year 2022. The impact includes nearly $734 million in spending and jobs and an additional $3.3 million impact attributed to capital construction projects. The annual study of the University System of Georgia’s (USG) economic impact measures direct and indirect spending that contributes to the university’s service region. “UNG is an economic engine for the region and our state. From creating leaders in high-demand careers and national service to creating jobs and economic growth for the communities we serve, we are proud to support the mission of the University System of Georgia,” UNG President Michael Shannon said. Included in UNG’s economic impact is almost $108 million in spending by about 18,000 students, which alone created 3,068 jobs in the area. On average, for every dollar spent by the university, an additional 42 cents are generated for the region.
WSB-TV
KSU impact on state business passes $2 billion, officials say
By WSBTV.com News Staff
In the latest measure of how universities impact business in Georgia, Kennesaw State University announced its impact in 2022 was $2.03 billion. The University System of Georgia released the data showing the fiscal effects of KSU on Tuesday. According to the university, the most recent fiscal year saw a 10.4% increase in impact compared to the year before. In 2021, KSU had a $1.84 billion effect on Georgia business.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
What’s new on Georgia’s college campuses for fall 2023?
By Vanessa McCray
College campuses around metro Atlanta soon will be swarming with students, who will be greeted by new buildings and just-launched programs. Here’s a look at what’s happening at universities and colleges, from prominent hires to student services. …Atlanta Metropolitan State College …Clayton State University …Georgia Gwinnett College …Georgia State University …Georgia Tech …Kennesaw State University …University of Georgia …University of North Georgia …University of West Georgia
Athens CEO
Morehead Reappointed to NCAA Leadership Posts
University of Georgia President Jere W. Morehead has been reappointed to the NCAA board of governors and to a third term as chair of the NCAA Division 1 board of directors for the 2023-2024 academic year. The NCAA board of governors is the highest governing body in the National Collegiate Athletic Association. It is tasked with overseeing association-wide issues and ensuring that each division operates in accordance with NCAA policies and principles.
Statesboro Herald
Advancing the ‘science of reading’
Drive to improve literacy for Georgia kids comes to Statesboro for in-person kickoff
Al Hackle
The 30-member Georgia Council on Literacy – created by the state to monitor and drive forward a mandated overhaul of reading instruction in the public schools – came to Statesboro, and specifically the Nessmith Lane Conference Center at Georgia Southern University, on Monday for its first in-person meeting. State Sen. Billy Hickman, R-Statesboro, lead sponsor of Senate Bill 211, which formally established the council, said visits he made to children in area schools, such as one in Metter last December with Candler County Schools Superintendent Bubba Longgrear, convinced him of the need.
Albany Herald
ABAC president addresses faculty, staff prior to new academic year
From staff reports
A little more than one year ago, Tracy Brundage officially began her tenure as the 11th president in the 115-year history of Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College. On Monday, she addressed the college’s faculty and staff during the annual State of the College meeting and recounted what a busy year her first one has been. “When I took a moment to look back and see everything that we have accomplished in the past year, it’s impressive,” Brundage said. “We have a great team and ABAC is a fantastic institution. But the work never ends, and we will continue to make it an even better place for our students.”
Middle Georgia CEO
Middle Georgia State University’s path to excellence continues with solid plans for championing student success, leading innovation and economic opportunity, building culture and identity, and sustaining fiscal resilience and brand value. Those are the University’s top goals for the next five years, according to its newly released strategic plan – “Middle Georgia’s Path To Excellence.” The plan maps out a vision of where Middle Georgia State (MGA) wants to be by 2028 and how to get there. “We are confident that as we approach MGA’s 10th anniversary as a state university, this plan will reflect what we have done well and what we can do even better as we move forward,” said MGA President Christopher Blake, who reviewed the plan with faculty and staff at fall 2023 convocation, held Thursday, August 3.
Albany Herald
West Georgia offers groundbreaking program in dual enrollment expansion
By Colton Campbell University of West Georgia
The University of West Georgia and the Douglas County School System announced recently the signing of a groundbreaking partnership that will place hundreds of high school students in a professional film and television production environment as part of UWG’s Dual Enrollment program. The announcement follows UWG’s signing of a partnership agreement with Great Point Studios — the company currently constructing a 500,000-square-foot film and television complex in Douglas County. The memorandum of understanding signed between UWG and DCSS will enable students from Douglas County high schools to leverage the opportunity alongside post-secondary students.
Gwinnett Daily Post
Lawrenceville and Georgia Gwinnett College officials unveil Grizzly Parkway signs
By Curt Yeomans
Georgia Gwinnett College President Jann Joseph and Lawrenceville Mayor David Still show off one of the newly installed Grizzly Parkway signs that has been placed at a traffic light at one end of the city’s college corridor.
Middle Georgia CEO
Randy Thompson Joins MGA As Director Of Campus & Community Engagement
Randy Thompson, a Cochran resident with extensive experience in business management and education, is Middle Georgia State University’s new director of Campus & Community Engagement. In his new position, Thompson will focus on three communities where MGA has campuses – Cochran, Dublin, and Eastman. Representing the Office of the President, he will promote MGA to and within those communities through cultivating professional relationships with civic leaders and other key individuals, coordinating with local governments, and participating in clubs and organizations.
Albany Herald
Season tickets available for arts, culture events at Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College
From staff reports
TIFTON — From Broadway to bluegrass, the 2023-24 slate of arts and culture events at Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College has something for everyone. The ABAC Presents! Performing Arts Series features six events at the college’s Howard Auditorium, showcasing world-class artists. The series begins on Sept. 26 with “Broadway’s Next Hit Musical,” featuring master improvisers who gather made-up hit song suggestions from the audience as part of the “The Phony Awards.”
Red Lake Nation News
The National Park Service (NPS) announced $3.4 million in grants today to 16 Indian Tribes and 28 museums to assist in the consultation, documentation and repatriation of ancestral remains and cultural items as part of the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA). This is the largest amount of funding appropriated for NAGPRA grants since the Act was passed in 1990 and the funding program began in 1994. …The Central Council of Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes, Alaska, seek to preserve their culture through the repatriation of items needed for ongoing ceremonial use by Clans and Tribes of the various Tlingit and Haida communities. The goal of this project is to consult with the Phoebe A. Hearst Museum of Anthropology at the University of California Berkeley and the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, so the objects that are culturally affiliated with the Tlingit & Haida can be welcomed back and reintegrated into ceremonial life.
FY 2023 NAGPRA Consultation/Documentation Grant Recipients
• University of West Georgia $99,417
Medical Xpress
New molecule could treat shingles, herpes viruses
by Leigh Beeson, University of Georgia
You’ve seen the commercial. The one that ominously tells you if you had chickenpox as a child, the virus that causes shingles is already inside you. It’s creepy, but it’s also a good way to prompt people to get the shingles vaccine. Unfortunately, the shot doesn’t always keep you from getting shingles. It just mitigates the symptoms. That’s why University of Georgia researchers David Chu and Uma Singh have developed and patented a molecule to serve as a potential treatment for the varicella zoster virus, the type of herpes that causes both chickenpox and shingles.
Farm Journal
Threat of Mosquito-Borne Virus Stirs Action from Researchers
By Jennifer Shike
Studies suggest the U.S. represents an area favorable for the introduction of Japanese encephalitis virus (JEV). JEV, a zoonotic, emerging disease transmitted primarily by Culex mosquitoes infected with the virus. Past mosquito-borne flaviviruses in the U.S. such as West Nile virus and Zika virus illustrate the challenges a virus like JEV that is capable of affecting humans and pigs could pose in the U.S. The potential for JEV transmission and spread in the U.S. is the topic of new investigation led by Natalia Cernicchiaro of Kansas State University College of Veterinary Medicine and John Drake, Director of the Center for the Ecology of Infectious Diseases at the University of Georgia. With funding from and in collaboration with researchers from the USDA, National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility, Foreign Arthropod-Borne Animal Diseases Research Unit, the team of researchers began the multi-year grant on August 1.
Savannah CEO
Taulbee, Rushing, Snipes, Marsh, & Hodgin, LLC Announces New Partner
The Statesboro law firm of Taulbee, Rushing, Snipes, Marsh, & Hodgin, LLC is pleased to announce that Krystin “Charlie” Deal McCook has been promoted to partner. A graduate of Georgia Southern University and Georgia State University College of Law, Ms. McCook joined the firm in 2018. Her areas of practice include probate and estate administration, business formation and transactions, trusts, wills, asset protection, and real estate law matters.
Morning AgClips
Ga. Beef Producers Approve the Continuation of Ga.’s Beef Commission Assessment
Voting on the assessment continuation occurred in June of 2023
Today, Georgia Agriculture Commissioner Tyler Harper announced that Georgia‘s beef producers approved a continuation of a one-dollar market order assessment, which helps support the Georgia Beef Commission. …The Georgia Department of Agriculture (GDA) administers the fourteen farmer-funded and self-help commodity commission programs. Funds collected by the commissions under grower-approved market orders support each commodity’s research, education, and promotion. … Over the past nine years, the Georgia Beef Commission has participated in several significant research projects with the University of Georgia. Projects have been funded in areas such as Bermuda grass stem maggots, forages and clovers, antimicrobial issues, beef extension team programs, response team training, junior stockmanship competitions, livestock and meat judging programs, heat stress in beef finishing, research equipment, and many others.
The Brunswick News
More to watermelons than meets the eye
By Taylor Cooper
Watermelons are a little more interesting than they appear. One could say there’s more under the surface of their green, striped rind than just the sweet red flesh. They’re not exactly a fruit. Given how sweet and juicy they are, one could be forgiven for mistaking watermelons for a fruit. …Per the University of Georgia’s Agricultural Extension Service, Georgia’s long, hot, humid summers are perfect for the big green giants. They need lots of light, water and space, though. Seeds should be planted in small hills about 8 feet apart on all sides, planting four or five on each hill. A week after they’ve germinated, spread them out to around two per hill. Make sure to fertilize them generously and give them at least an inch of water per week, so make sure to keep up with watering when rain is scarce, per UGA. They can be harvested in around 70-90 days.
Marietta Daily Journal
Kennesaw State to make FBS debut in San Antonio
Staff reports
Kennesaw State will mark a new milestone in 2024 as it begins its first season in the Football Championship Subdivision, and now the Owls know when and where they will play their first game. Kennesaw State and Texas-San Antonio announced Tuesday that they will open the season against one another, facing off at the Alamodome on Aug. 31, 2024. The kickoff time will be announced later. It will be the first game in series history between the Owls and Roadrunners. It will help prepare Kennesaw State for its first season in Conference USA, with a full conference and non-conference schedule. The Owls will officially become members of the FBS on July 1, 2024.
BVM Sports
A new era in Georgia Southern Athletics has begun with the opening of the Anthony P. Tippins Family Training Facility. The facility, which received its Certificate of Occupancy last week, is now functional for the use of the athletic department’s 17 programs. Head coach Clay Helton expressed his excitement about the professional facility and how it will benefit the team. In addition, there are observations and notes about standout players in the backfield, secondary, and receiving corps. Several coaches and staff members also have deep ties to Georgia Southern.
Higher Education News:
Inside Higher Ed
Americans See College’s Value but Question Its Price
A survey by New America shows Americans aren’t convinced of the return on investment of a college degree.
By Kathryn Palmer
About 70 percent of Americans believe people with a college education have higher earnings and access to a livable wage compared to those with just a high school degree. However, far fewer Americans—53 percent—think accessing high-quality higher education is affordable. Those are some of the core findings of the latest “Varying Degrees” report from New America, which surveys Americans about their perceptions of the value of higher education. The relationship between those findings—that higher education is perceived as valuable but increasingly unaffordable—remain consistent with the survey’s conclusions in previous years, said Sophie Nguyen, lead author of the report and higher education policy analyst for New America, a left-leaning public policy think tank.
Inside Higher Ed
Report Analyzes Industry-Led Partnerships With Colleges
By Jessica Blake
A new report aiming to “fill the gap” of information on industry-led postsecondary partnerships recommends colleges and employers work more closely together “to strengthen students’ pathways through postsecondary education and into in-demand careers.” The report by the American Institutes for Research surveyed 23 active public-private partnership programs and analyzed their structures and goals in hopes of “providing lessons and opportunities for developing, sustaining, and scaling these initiatives.” The results showed that these partnerships are highly supported at two-year colleges and that nearly all the partnerships surveyed offer job training and placement.
Inside Higher Ed
Colleges are going over race-conscious practices with a fine-toothed comb, anticipating future legal challenges. Critics fear they’re sacrificing values at the altar of prudence.
By Liam Knox
The dust was still settling from the Supreme Court’s ruling against affirmative action when, less than a week later, around 300 students of color at Western Illinois University got an unexpected email from the university: a $1,000 scholarship they’d been promised just months early would no longer be available. The Justice, Inclusion, Diversity and Equity (JIDE) scholarship had been exclusively open to students of color, according to an archived webpage describing the requirements. It had been eliminated, the university explained, because its race-specific qualifications could put the university in violation of the Supreme Court decision. Students’ frustration was short-lived. A few weeks later, WIU reversed the decision, reinstating the scholarship for the incoming cohort and flip-flopping on a decision that would have had profound effects on students’ financial access to the institution.
Higher Ed Dive
Massachusetts budget plan includes $50M for free community college
The $56 billion spending proposal would also grant in-state tuition rates to high schoolers without permanent immigrant status.
Jeremy Bauer-Wolf, Senior Reporter
Dive Brief:
Massachusetts lawmakers approved a roughly $56 billion state budget proposal last week that invests millions of dollars for the initial stages of a tuition-free community college program. The fiscal 2024 spending package sets aside $12 million for “capacity-building efforts” for a free college program that would start fall 2024. It earmarks a total $38 million for free community college initiatives for students ages 25 and older and nursing students. It also authorizes in-state public college tuition rates for students without permanent immigrant status in Massachusetts high schools. The budget plan is now with Gov. Maura Healey, a Democrat.
Inside Higher Ed
Teach-Out Plans, Records Policies Lead to Re-Enrollment
By Johanna Alonso
A new report by the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center and State Higher Education Executive Officers Association shows that students enrolled in a college or university that closes are significantly more likely to re-enroll within four months if the state where the college is located mandates the closing institution help students transition to another institution. The report, which is the third in a three-part series about college closures, reviewed two types of policies related to transitioning to a new institution: teach-out plan policies, which require the college that is closing to have an agreement with a college that is willing to take on the former institution’s students, and student records policies, which dictate what student information colleges must retain and, sometimes, how those records should be stored and protected.
Diverse Issues in Higher Education
Report: HBCU and Tribal Land-Grant Universities Significantly Underfunded
Arrman Kyaw
Land-grant universities (LGUs) that are historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and Tribal Colleges and Universities (TCUs) are significantly underfunded compared to predominantly white LGUs, according to a new report by the Center for American Progress (CAP). LGUs categorized as 1890 and 1994 institutions – those recognized as HBCUs and TCUs – serve students from predominantly low- and low-middle-income backgrounds but are given far less resources, the report stated.
Diverse Issues in Higher Education
Appeals Court Blocks Relief for Students Who Were Defrauded by Their Schools
Jon Edelman
Student borrowers who were defrauded by their colleges will have to continue waiting for debt relief after the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit blocked rules aimed at making it easier for them to get loan forgiveness. The Department of Education is now barred from implementing the policies, which took effect last month, while the three-person panel of conservative appointees hears a lawsuit from Career Colleges and Schools of Texas (CCST), an association of nearly 100 for-profit institutions. CCST had sued to forestall regulations that would have relaxed deadlines for students to file claims, expanded the applicable types of misconduct by colleges to include aggressive and deceptive recruitment practices, and ensured that borrowers received timely decisions.
Inside Higher Ed
New Guidance Directs Accreditors to Clean Up Complaint Policies
By Katherine Knott
In new guidance released Tuesday, the U.S. Education Department clarified how college accrediting agencies should handle complaints about institutions. The department wrote in the guidance that it would take into account a number of factors in determining whether the agencies review complaints in a “timely, fair and equitable” manner, the current regulatory standard. Those factors include whether the agencies’ complaint policies follow accessibility standards for individuals with disabilities, allow for a complainant’s confidentiality and offer more than one submission method.
Inside Higher Ed
Following a Trend, Nevada State College Is Now a University
The newly minted university is just the latest institution attempting to reframe its image at a time of enrollment declines and public skepticism about higher education.
By Kathryn Palmer
What’s in a name? Apparently a lot for some higher ed institutions. “Names matter because they are a reflection of identity,” said DeRionne P. Pollard, president of Nevada State University, a regional public four-year institution that was called Nevada State College until last month. Students and alumni had been pushing for a name change for years before Pollard took the helm in 2022. She was open to the idea, but it was a call from a student in Nevada State’s nursing program that convinced her the change was necessary. “She’d been interviewing for a nursing position at a hospital in an adjacent state,” Pollard recalled of the student, who was in her last year of the nursing program. “She spent the first 15 to 25 minutes of the interview validating that she was indeed a soon-to-be graduate of a bachelor’s program in nursing and that Nevada State College was indeed a four-year institution.”
Higher Ed Dive
Gordon Gee to leave West Virginia University presidency in June 2025
The longtime administrator said he wants to take a faculty spot in the public flagship’s College of Law.
Jeremy Bauer-Wolf, Senior Reporter
Dive Brief:
E. Gordon Gee, president of West Virginia University, said Monday he plans to leave his position once his contract expires in June 2025 and teach at the public flagship institution’s College of Law. Gee, one of the country’s most decorated higher education administrators, shared his next steps during a meeting of the WVU faculty senate. WVU’s board recently extended Gee’s contract by an extra year, beyond the original expiration of June 2024. His announcement comes as Gee’s administration pursues aggressive academic program and faculty cuts, which university officials intend to disclose to rank-and-file staff this week.
Inside Higher Ed
Impact of Social Isolation and Trauma on Mental Health: Academic Minute
By Doug Lederman
Today on the Academic Minute, part of Florida International University Week: Elisa Trucco, associate professor of psychology and director of clinical training, explores how trauma and social isolation affects student mental health.
Cybersecurity Dive
Threat actors abuse valid accounts using manual tactics, CrowdStrike says
The research underscores the outsized role and prevalence of legitimate credentials as an entry point for cyberattacks.
Matt Kapko, Reporter
Dive Brief:
Threat actors are spurning the rise of automation and using manual tactics to intrude organizations’ networks and rapidly access sensitive data, according to CrowdStrike’s 2023 Threat Hunting Report released Tuesday. Attacks that use hands-on-keyboard activity, which CrowdStrike refers to as interactive intrusions, jumped 40% between July 1, 2022 and June 30, 2023, the research found. Threat actors used valid account credentials to initiate more than 3 in 5 of these attacks. The technology sector remained the vertical most-frequently targeted by hands-on-keyboard attacks for the sixth-consecutive year. Attacks targeting the financial services industry jumped 80%, making it the second-most targeted vertical, followed by the retail, healthcare and telecommunications sectors, according to CrowdStrike.
Cybersecurity Dive
Cyber insurer Resilience raises $100M in expansion bid
The company plans to use the funding to assist the global expansion and scale the adoption of its recently launched cyber-risk platform.
Alexei Alexis, Reporter
Dive Brief:
Cyber insurance provider Resilience raised $100 million in an equity financing round, raising capital through the sale of shares, the company announced Monday. The insurer will use the funding to accelerate the San Francisco-based company’s global expansion and scale the adoption of a recently-launched platform designed to help companies manage their cyber risks, according to a press release. The increase of ransomware shows that many companies’ existing cybersecurity and cyber insurance practices don’t go far enough, Resilience CEO Vishaal Hariprasad said in the release. Businesses “need a way to look at their cyber risk in an integrated, economically-efficient, and predictable manner,” he said.