The Tifton Gazette
ABAC’s Brundage celebrated at inauguration
From Staff Reports
Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College faculty, staff, students, University System of Georgia institution representatives, and community officials celebrated Dr. Tracy L. Brundage’s investiture as ABAC’s 11th president Friday. The event included supportive remarks from a number of individuals about Brundage’s contributions to higher education throughout her 31-year career. University System of Georgia Chancellor Sonny Perdue presented President Brundage with the ABAC medallion, a recreation of the college seal which represents the scholarship and authority of the office, as well as the ABAC mace, which represents the authority vested in the president of an institution of higher learning by its governing board. It was carved by alumnus Keith Rucker out of wood from a Bradford pear tree that once lived on campus, and the presidential medallion was created specially for the investiture of President Brundage.
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Grice Connect
GS President Marrero delivers Fall 2023 State of the University address
Watch Georgia Southern President Dr. Kyle Marrero’s recent State of the University Address. The theme was “Solve and Evolve.”
Georgia Southern University President Kyle Marrero delivered a State of the University Fall 2023 address to faculty and staff in the Fine Arts Auditorium on the Armstrong Campus on Sept. 5 and in the Performing Arts Center on the Statesboro Campus on Sept. 7. With a theme of “Solve and Evolve,” he noted that as the region grows, Georgia Southern is in the middle of a highly competitive environment that will offer both benefits and challenges. The University is responding, he said, as enrollment at the University increases and degree offerings expand to meet workforce demands.
Augusta Business Daily
Statewide conference in Augusta promotes workforce development
Neil Gordon
About 150 University System of Georgia educators from the Peach State will be staying over tonight and spending tourism dollars in the Garden City. The annual USG staff council is held at Augusta University’s campus this year. The theme for this professional development conference is, THE VISION – Setting a Course for the Future. “This conference will feature speakers and information sessions designed to build key staff skills to support the strategic plan of the USG: student success, responsible stewardship, economic competitiveness, and community impact,” said Angel Lovett, Chair, Augusta University Staff Council Associate Director of Philanthropy. Speakers include AU President, Dr. Brooks Keel, Dr. Mark Thompson, current Dean Hull College of Business, Dr. Sonny Perdue, Chancellor, USG, and many others listed below.
ABC News
Video
Person of the Week: 22-year-old walks 500 miles to advocate for homeless
Gordon Wayne [law student at the University of Georgia] is making the trek to fundraise for the National Alliance to End Homelessness.
Phys.org
Rivers contain hidden sinks and sources of microplastics, study finds
Significant quantities of microplastic particles are being trapped in riverbed sediments or carried through the air along major river systems, a new study has shown. The research, conducted along the length of the Ganges River in South Asia, found on average about 41 microplastic particles per square meter per day settled from the atmosphere. . In addition, analysis by scientists found 57 particles per kilogram on average in sediment from the riverbed as well as one particle in every 20 liters of water. …The research involved scientists from: the University of Plymouth (UK); the Wildlife Institute of India (India); the University of Dhaka, WildTeam, and Isabella Foundation (Bangladesh); National Geographic Society, University of Georgia (U.S.);
Physician’s Weekly
Mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) has been described in the United States (US) military service academy cadet population, but female-specific characteristics and recovery outcomes are poorly characterized despite sex being a confounder. Our objective was to describe female cadets’ initial characteristics, assessment performance, and return-to-activity outcomes post-mTBI. Female cadets (n = 472) from the four US military service academies who experienced a mTBI completed standardized mTBI assessments from pre-injury to acute initial injury and unrestricted return-to-duty (uRTD). …ABOUT THE CONTRIBUTORS
…Tamerah N Hunt, Department of Health Sciences and Kinesiology, Georgia Southern University
GPB
UGA PROFESSOR WRAPS UP A MENTAL HEALTH CLINIC FOR LATINX COMMUNITIES
Dr. Edward Delgado-Romero first spoke with Leah in 2018 on a University of Georgia program meant to offer free counseling from bilingual graduate students to underserved communities. With the program in its seventh and final year, Delgado-Romero speaks about what his team has accomplished.
yahoo! Entertainment
Rick Devens, ‘Survivor’ Alumnus, Joins Show’s ‘On Fire’ Podcast
Michael Malone
Rick Devens, a past contestant on Survivor, joins the second season of On Fire: The Official Survivor Podcast. Devens will offer the player perspective, while Jeff Probst, Survivor host and showrunner, provides the producer perspective, and podcast producer Jay Wolff offers the fan perspective. Season 45 of Survivor is on CBS Wednesday, September 27, and season two of the podcast begins the same day. …Devens has a background as a local TV anchor, having worked at WGXA Macon when he was on Survivor in 2019. That season had an Edge of Exctinction theme. He joined Middle Georgia State University as communications director last year.
WGAU Radio
UGA’s two-day Study Away Fair begins
By Tim Bryant
The University of Georgia’s Office of Global Engagement is hosting today’s event for UGA students who want to study internationally. Today’s Study Away Fair is set for 11 this morning til 4 this afternoon at the University’s Tate Student Center.
From the UGA master calendar…
Find out about UGA faculty-led programs, international center programs, exchanges, and domestic field study programs Tuesday, September 26, 2023 & Wednesday, September 27, 2023 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tate Student Center, 3rd Floor, Tate Concourse & Atrium 45 Baxter Street, Athens, GA 30602
Athens CEO
Oconeefest Raises Scholarship Funds
Clark Leonard
The University of North Georgia’s (UNG) Oconee Campus is preparing to hold its 10th annual Oconeefest scholarship fundraiser. Set for 5:30-7:30 p.m. Oct. 19 on the front lawn, the event will raise money for a pair of scholarships: Oconee County Resident Scholarship: $1,000 renewable annual scholarship awarded to Oconee County residents who are incoming freshmen on the Oconee Campus. UNG awarded four this year. Oconee Annual Scholarship: $1,000 renewable scholarship awarded to students from Oconee, Walton, Oglethorpe, Barrow, Clarke, Greene, Oconee, Morgan, and Madison counties who enroll on any UNG campus. UNG awarded two this year. This year’s theme is “Lights, Camera, Action,” with a Hollywood Walk of Fame feel. A silent auction will be part of the Oconeefest festivities. Peach State Federal Credit Union, Oconee State Bank, Haynes Enterprises Inc., Athens Piedmont Regional Hospital, BankSouth, and Jarvis Estate Winery are sponsors for Oconeefest.
WGAU Radio
State Botanical Garden sets dates for Winter WonderLights
By Tim Bryant
The state Botanical Garden sets the dates for this year’s third installment of Winter WonderLights. The light show, presented by the University of Georgia’s president’s office, will be on display on select evenings between November 22 and December 30 at the Garden on South Milledge Avenue in Athens.
From Laurel Clark, UGA Today…
For the third straight year, the State Botanical Garden of Georgia at the University of Georgia will transform into a sparkling wonderland of lights this winter. Tickets are now available at wonderlights.uga.edu. Winter WonderLights, presented by the UGA Office of the President, is being reimagined this year with new and exciting light displays. Visitors will travel through a Winter Wondercave, along Jingle Bell Lane, into the Northern Lights and through a Frosted Forest, among other dazzling features.
Times-Georgian
UWG Volleyball secures season’s first conference win
By Darrell Redden UWG Sports
The University of West Georgia Volleyball secured their first conference win of the season on Saturday afternoon after a five-set win over the Shorter Hawks. West Georgia (7-5, 1-2) put together another defensive clinic as the Wolves recorded 16 total blocks and held the Hawks (3-7, 0-3) to a .115 hitting percentage, leading to their 3-2 win.
WJBF
Augusta University celebrates “Under the Lights” with alumni baseball and softball games
by: Kyra Goldstein
The Augusta Jaguars community enjoyed “Jags Under the Lights”, on Sunday, September 24 at the baseball and softball complexes on the Forest Hills Campus. The event began at 6:30 p.m. with a welcome from Augusta University President Brooks A. Keel, PhD and other campus leadership before the brand new state-of-the-art LED lights were turned on at baseball and softball’s Jaguar Field. New lights are just the beginning of several planned facility enhancements aimed to elevate both teams and the overall experience for everyone involved. The evening’s emcee was Justin Scherer who voiced his excitement about the lights by jokingly mentioning the promise former head coach Skip Fite. “He started promising kids 30 years ago that we were going to have lights,” says Scherer, “so tonight he says he’s finally not a liar.”
BVM Sports
Augusta Shoots 6-Under in Final Round to Take Share of Team Championship Title in Greeneville
The Augusta University women’s golf team shot a 6-under 282 in the final round to take their share of the team championship at the 49th annual Lady Paladin Invitational Sunday afternoon. Four Jaguars finished in the top fifteen on the par-72, 6,262-yard Furman University Golf Course in Greenville, S.C.
Higher Education News:
Inside Higher Ed
College Completion Most Influenced by Who’s Teaching and How
A new study found that high school GPA and socioeconomic status are not as determinative as instructors in helping students pass introductory college math and earn degrees.
By Jessica Blake
A recent study has found that instructors and the teaching practices they use—or don’t—are more than twice as influential in predicting learning outcomes than students’ prior academic performance. The study was conducted by Education Equity Solutions, a research organization that promotes equity-centered higher ed policy. The findings add to the limited existing research on the impact instructors and pedagogical styles have on student outcomes in introductory college math, a course that research shows has long been a hurdle to community college students staying in college and earning degrees.
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Diverse Issues in Higher Education
Inside Higher Ed
Higher Ed Groups Have a Plan to Improve Financial Aid Offers
Nearly a year after the Government Accountability Office said that colleges are failing to tell students how much their education will actually cost, a new initiative aims to provide students with more clarity. But skeptics say Congress still needs to act.
By Katherine Knott
Nearly a year after the Government Accountability Office criticized colleges and universities’ financial aid offers, a group of higher education associations in Washington, D.C., is rolling out an initiative to make those offers easier for students to understand. That plan, which more than 350 colleges and universities have signed on to, largely relies on a voluntary commitment from those institutions to do better. The College Cost Transparency Initiative doesn’t add new requirements beyond the voluntary best practices that have been in place for years. Some advocates who prefer a more standardized approach to aid offers are skeptical that this effort will lead to meaningful change, given that the issue has persisted for years despite Education Department guidance and other voluntary efforts from higher education groups. They want Congress to take action and force compliance. …“We’re doing this first and foremost because we think it’s the right thing to do, and the sooner we get it done, the better,” said Peter McPherson, the president emeritus of the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities who chaired the task force. “The problem is that you need to get the attention and engagement from the president or the provost to get the institution really engaged, so a best practice is just that compared to a commitment by the institution.”
Inside Higher Ed
AAUP, Itself a Union, Is Locked in a Contract Fight With Its Own Staff Union
Sabbaticals, in-person workdays and guaranteed raises are elements of a dispute that’s meant staff members at the American Association of University Professors have been out of contract for a year.
By Ryan Quinn
The American Association of University Professors in the last 100 years has represented many faculty members not just as the professional association it’s been since 1915, but, increasingly, as a union. The AAUP has also supported racial equity and vocally opposed efforts in Florida and elsewhere to limit discussions of race and gender. But the AAUP national office’s staff union, the independent United Staff of the AAUP (US-AAUP), has been without a contract for nearly a year. And that union’s members say AAUP management has been rejecting their demands to provide more equitable benefits to all national staff, including lower-ranking employees, who are more likely to be people of color.
Higher Ed Dive
Education ransomware attacks cost over $53B in downtime over 5 years
Comparitech researchers found 85 ransomware attacks impacted higher ed and K-12 in the first half of 2023.
Anna Merod, Reporter
Dive Brief:
Ransomware attacks against K-12 and higher education institutions — breaching over 6.7 million personal records — around the world are estimated to cost over $53 billion in downtime between 2018 and mid-September 2023, according to research on 561 attacks released Thursday by Comparitech, a cybersecurity and online privacy product review website. A majority of the analyzed attacks occurred in the U.S., with 386 recorded incidents costing a total of $35.1 billion due to systems being down. K-12 schools accounted for most of the breaches worldwide, but colleges and universities have been more frequently targeted in recent years, the Comparitech report noted. Overall, 2023 is on track to be a record-breaking year for ransomware attacks against education institutions, according to Comparitech. Within the first half of 2023, the group found 85 global ransomware attacks, while just 45 incidents were recorded in the same period of the previous year.
Diverse Issues in Higher Education
National HBCU Week Conference Begins
Jon Edelman
The White House Initiative on Historically Black Colleges and Universities kicked off its 2023 National HBCU Week Conference Monday in Arlington Virginia. The Department of Education described the week-long event as “the nation’s premier convening of key influencers in the HBCU space.” It was expected to draw 3,300 attendees from HBCUs, federal agencies, private-sector companies and philanthropic organizations. This year’s gathering carries a theme of “Raising the Bar: Forging Excellence through Innovation & Leadership.”
Higher Ed Dive
Mississippi auditor calls for defunding college programs he deems tax burdens
Shad White, a Republican, says the state should switch to an outcomes-based funding model focused on programs whose graduates get jobs in the state.
Laura Spitalniak, Associate Editor
Dive Brief:
Mississippi’s state auditor is calling for the defunding of several college degree programs, arguing in a report this week that some programs disproportionately result in graduates leaving the state for work and pose a significant burden to taxpayers. Shad White, a Republican, recommended Mississippi instead implement an outcomes-based funding model, citing the newly implemented system at Texas community colleges as an example. Texas now gives additional funding based on the number of students they graduate in high-demand fields. While the official report’s tone is restrained, he took a strong stance in statements to the media. “I’m not sure why a plumber who pays his taxes should have to finance a degree in gender studies in Mississippi,” White said in a statement Wednesday. “Frankly, some of these programs seem like they exist just to warp the minds of young people.”
Inside Higher Ed
A Clash Over Student Journalism
Ted Daniels, the former adviser for The Collegian at Ashland University, believes his contract was not renewed because he taught students investigative journalism. Administrators deny his claims.
By Johanna Alonso
Last February, reporters on the Ashland University student newspaper set out to cover a town hall on campus. Seven months later, their adviser was dismissed and the administration began seeking increased oversight of the paper, The Collegian. How did the relationship between the student journalists and Ashland administrators fall apart so fast? According to Ted Daniels, the paper’s adviser at the time, a student editor specifically asked Ashland president Carlos Campo, who is leaving Ashland at the end of this academic year, whether students were allowed at the town hall. He told her the event was intended for faculty and staff but did not explicitly say that students couldn’t attend. …The conflict has attracted the attention of free speech advocates, including the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, which argued in a Sept. 8 letter to Campo that Ashland’s attempted censorship of the newspaper in recent months “deteriorates freedom of the press” on campus. While Ashland is a private, Christian university and therefore not obligated to uphold the First Amendment, it has adopted the Chicago statement, a commitment to free speech on campus. According to experts, universities can be considered in breach of contract if they purport to support free speech and then stifle students’ speech.