The Wall Street Journal
The WSJ/College Pulse Student Experience ranking lists the best colleges in the U.S. to have a great experience while attending. This ranking is powered by one of the largest ever independent surveys of verified college students and recent graduates in the U.S. The ranking was developed and executed in collaboration with our research partners College Pulse and Statista.
Rank 1, Dalton State College, Type Public, State GA, Score 75.6
Rank 14, Clayton State University, Type Public, State GA, Score 71.2
Rank 27, Georgia Southern University, Type Public State GA, Score 68.6
Rank 71, Valdosta State University, Type Public State GA, Score 65.1
Rank 77, Kennesaw State University, Type Public State GA, Score 64.8
Rank 108, Georgia State University, Type Public State GA, Score 62.4
Rank 205, University of Georgia, Type Public State GA, Score 57.4
Rank 244, Georgia Institute of Technology – Main Campus, Type Public State GA, Score 55.6
Rank 296, Georgia College & State University, Type Public State GA, Score 53.7
See also:
The WSJ/College Pulse College Rankings: Measuring Outcomes, Not Inputs
What goes into the new rankings, what doesn’t—and why
Statesboro Herald
Georgia Southern and OTC sign commitments to Hyundai plant
GS agreement involves research, degree paths; Ogeechee Tech to offer EV certificates, training
Al Hackle/Staff
The presidents of Georgia Southern University, Ogeechee Technical College and Hyundai Motor Group Metaplant America sat down together Wednesday and signed agreements that formalize the schools’ commitments to educate engineers and skilled maintenance and production workers for the electric vehicle manufacturing complex now under construction. A crowd representing all three signing entities, local governments, business and development agencies gathered at 11 a.m. in the research bay area of Georgia Southern’s 140,000-square-foot Engineering and Research Building in Statesboro. All three presidents spoke before signing the documents, formally two MOUs, or memorandums of understanding.
Savannah Morning News
Medical College of Georgia names founding dean as Savannah program prepares to expand
Joseph Schwartzburt
Just this week, Hyundai announced an additional $2 billion investment in its metaplant project, which aims to add 400 more jobs for a total of 8,500. Bryan County is racing to build nearly 10,000 new homes to accommodate those workers and their families, many of whom will be coming from out of state. While the counties scramble to scale a variety of services, Paul P. Hinchey, president and CEO of St. Joseph’s/Candler, has asserted the regional health system plans to address the burgeoning population’s healthcare needs. … On Aug. 9, 2023, Augusta University announced that Dr. Elizabeth Gray would become the founding dean of the new four-year MCG Southeast Campus in Savannah/Brunswick. … She will set about developing a leadership team as well as working with hospital partners, such as St. Joseph’s/Candler, to develop clinical education opportunities for students, as well as future graduate medical education opportunities.
Jagwire
Watch: MCG’s Statewide Growth Across Georgia Shared on ‘In the Wild’ Podcast
Rachel Coates, Raysean Ricks
In a new podcast episode, David Hess, MD, dean of the Medical College of Georgia, and Matt Lyon, MD, director of the MCG Center for Telehealth, take center stage to discuss the awe-inspiring growth of the Medical College of Georgia throughout the state. Hess provides insights into MCG’s ambitious expansion plans. With a new four-year campus set to grace the Armstrong Campus of Georgia Southern University in Savannah, this will be MCG’s third four-year campus in the state. The episode delves into the strategic importance of this expansion, emphasizing the broader access to medical education it will provide for aspiring students in the region.
WGAU Radio
UGA names vice provost for inclusive excellence
By Tim Bryant
The University of Georgia names an associate vice provost for inclusive excellence. Alton Standifer will also serve as chief of staff to University provost Jack Hu. Standifer has been working as deputy chief of staff for UGA president Jere Morehead. In his new role as vice provost, Standifer will head the University’s Office of Institutional Diversity.
From Mike Wooten, UGA Media Relations…
The University of Georgia has named Alton M. Standifer as its vice provost for inclusive excellence and chief of staff to the provost effective Oct. 1. Standifer presently serves as deputy chief of staff to President Jere W. Morehead.
Global Atlanta
Georgia State’s Robinson College Partners With Romanian-American Business School
Legacy of U.S. investment in Romania’s free-market transition continues with agreement signed Tuesday
By Trevor Williams
A Romanian business school founded with an eye toward boosting free enterprise in the formerly communist country has established a new partnership with Georgia State University. The Institute for Business Administration in Bucharest, known as ASEBUSS, signed a memorandum of cooperation Wednesday with GSU’s Robinson College of Business to pave the way for student and faculty exchanges and the sharing of best practices on business education. For the Romanian partner, working with one of the largest business schools in the Southeast U.S. is a way to solidify gains realized three decades since its founding while readying students for Eastern Europe’s still-uncertain future.
Savannah Morning News
Sonny Seiler remembered as the ‘ultimate and eternal damn good dog’
Adam Van Brimmer For the Atlanta Journal-Constitution
This article ran on Wednesday, Sept. 6, on ajc.com and is shared as part of cooperative agreement between the Atlanta Journal-Constitution and the Savannah Morning News.
They say a city is a reflection of its most colorful residents. In Savannah, home to many a character celebrated both on the printed page and the silver screen, Sonny Seiler defined the city’s spirit for much of his 90 years. Mourners from across the state gathered Wednesday to attest to Seiler’s legacy and bid him farewell. Seiler died Aug. 28 from cancer, leaving behind four children, seven grandchildren, one great grandson and one English bulldog — not to mention hundreds of thousands of admirers.
CBS 44
Community Broadband Town Hall to be held at Albany State University
Matthew Crumley
The Student Freedom Initiative is hosting a Community Broadband Town Hall at Albany State University on Thursday, September 7, at 6 p.m. at the L. Orene Hall building on East Campus. This event is open to the community. The town hall will be used as a forum to discuss the Affordable Connectivity Program, digital skills training, and workforce development programs. Attendees will learn what it means to have high-speed internet and why it matters, and participate in a survey and community discussion.
Albany Herald
ABAC-Bainbridge schedules Arts and Culture events for fall semester
From staff reports
ABAC-Bainbridge’s Arts and Culture events for the 2023-2024 season will mostly be held at the on-campus Kirbo Center. The Carter Arts and Lecture Series at Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College’s Bainbridge campus and the Georgia Poetry Circuit’s 2023-2024 season are gearing up to bring the arts to Bainbridge. “ABAC-Bainbridge is proud to present another year of enrichment and educational value for our area,” Michael Kirkland, executive director for ABAC-Bainbridge, said in a news release. “We are thankful for the Thomas M. and Irene B. Kirbo Foundation’s continuing support as well as that of First Port City Bank. We welcome the entire community to enjoy these free events.”
Grice Connect
Georgia Southern’s on-campus salute to Coach Paul Johnson set for Oct. 26
Georgia Southern’s National Football Foundation On-Campus Hall of Fame Salute to former head coach Paul Johnson will be held on Thursday, Oct. 26 in conjunction with the Eagles’ ESPN2 game against Georgia State, the NFF announced last week. The NFF Hall of Fame On-Campus Salute is one of the College Football Hall of Fame’s most time-honored traditions, dating back to the Hall of Fame’s inaugural class in 1951. As part of the festivities, Johnson – who has been selected for induction to the College Football Hall of Fame in December – will be honored during an in-game, on-field ceremony. As part of the ceremony, he will be presented with his Hall of Fame plaque. In his first year of eligibility for enshrinement, Johnson will become Georgia Southern’s third College Football Hall of Fame inductee, joining quarterback Tracy Ham (2007) and running back Adrian Peterson (2017).
WSB TV
Georgia researchers work to remove harmful forever chemicals from water
By Sophia Choi, WSB-TV
Your tap water could be filled with a major health hazard called forever chemicals. Federal researchers drilled down to the most contaminated taps in metro Atlanta. Channel 2 investigative reporter Sophia Choi learned how Georgia scientists are trying to protect families. …What is happening in a University of Georgia lab in Griffin could save lives by cleaning the PFAS out of the water we drink and use.
Albany Herald
ABAC to hold 9/11 Remembrance Service
From staff reports
The Student Government Association at Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College will host a 9/11 Remembrance Service on Sept. 11. Emily Rowland, an SGA Senator of the School of Arts and Sciences, said that the service is being held to acknowledge and honor all those affected by the events of Sept. 11, 2001.
Savannah Tribune
Annual Folds of Honor Golf Tournament Scheduled
The 9th Annual Folds of Honor Savannah Golf Tournament returns this October 7-9, 2023. Folds of Honor is one of the nation’s largest charities providing military families of fallen and disabled veterans with educational scholarships. Since 2007, Folds of Honor has provided life-changing scholarships to the spouses and children of America’s fallen or disabled military. Since the beginning of 2015, Folds of Honor Savannah has hosted a tournament at the Savannah Country Club. …Since inception, the Savannah tournament has grown into the largest by player for a Folds of Honor tournament in the entire United States, as well as one of the most popular and largest charity golf events in the greater Savannah area. …“In 2023, we will surpass providing Folds of Honor over a half a million dollars for their scholarship program including students attending Savannah State University, Savannah Technical Institute, Georgia Southern University including their Armstrong campus and Savannah College of Art and Design to name a few,” Folds of Honor Savannah founder and Afghanistan veteran David Simons said.
The Red & Black
Seed libraries promoting horticulture in Athens
Guinevere Grant
The Athens-Clarke County Library, with the help of the University of Georgia’s Plant Biology Graduate Student Association, got their first seed library on Aug. 19. This seed library allows people to check out a seed packet, plant it and let it grow to maturity. Then, the cycle continues — patrons harvest the next generation of seeds and return them to the library for someone else to check out. Seed libraries are growing all over the country. According to data from the Farmers Almanac, there are now over 500 seed libraries open worldwide. With more seed libraries opening, farmers are hoping to bring plant diversity back.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Georgia Tech to pay $500,000 to settle job board discrimination claims
By Vanessa McCray
Georgia Tech will pay a $500,000 civil penalty after a U.S. Department of Justice investigation determined that career opportunities posted on a school-run job board unlawfully excluded students who weren’t U.S. citizens. The federal agency, which announced the settlement last week, said third-party employers paid the school to post ads linked to career fairs that violated the anti-discrimination provision of the Immigration and Nationality Act. The ads restricted or discouraged applications from certain non-U.S. citizens, such as lawful permanent residents, refugees and those granted asylum who the department said stand on equal footing with citizens for hiring purposes.
Higher Education News:
Higher Ed Dive
Cal State would face new sexual harassment reporting requirements under recently passed bill
The proposal, passed by the state Legislature last week, would require the system to annually publish how it handled and investigated such reports.
Laura Spitalniak, Associate Editor
Dive Brief:
The California State University system would be required to increase transparency in its handling of sexual harassment cases under a bill the Legislature passed last week. In July, a scathing report from the state auditor’s office found Cal State does not adequately or consistently address sexual harassment complaints against employees, leaving cases to fall through the cracks. The bill would require the system to detail how it handles and investigates sexual harassment in annual reports to the Legislature and the public. It now heads to Gov. Gavin Newsom’s desk.
Inside Higher Ed
Who Wants to Lead a Presidential Search in Florida?
Political issues have derailed recent executive searches in the state, leaving some firms carefully weighing which searches to take on.
By Josh Moody
Two months ago the Florida Atlantic University Board of Trustees identified three presidential candidates to step into the post vacated by John Kelly, who retired at the end of last year. The finalists included a Navy vice admiral, a former chancellor and a dean at Florida State University. But that search is now stuck at a standstill, suspended by State University System chancellor Ray Rodrigues, who cited “concerning information” and “anomalies” in the process. Critics say he was motivated less by procedural glitches than by the absence of one particular finalist: Randy Fine, a state lawmaker and the preferred choice of Governor Ron DeSantis, a fellow Republican. Fine’s name had been floated for months, even as he downplayed his interest in taking the top executive job at FAU. …The firm—AGB Search—has defended its processes. But FAU is now stuck in interim limbo: the president, provost and several other high-ranking positions are filled by temporary placeholders.
Higher Ed Dive
WVU faculty members vote no confidence in President Gordon Gee
They also passed a motion calling on the university to freeze ongoing academic restructuring, which includes plans to cut programs and positions.
Natalie Schwartz, Editor
Dive Brief:
West Virginia University’s faculty members on Wednesday passed a resolution expressing no confidence in President E. Gordon Gee’s leadership as he seeks to cut programs to remedy the public flagship’s $45 million budget shortfall. The motion said Gee has not “fully and honestly” disclosed the source of the deficit, arguing that “poor planning, faulty decision making, and financial mismanagement on the administration’s own part” contributed to the shortfall. Faculty members overwhelmingly supported the motion, with 797 voting for it and 100 against. They also passed a separate motion, 747-79, calling for an immediate freeze of the university’s ongoing academic restructuring, which has included plans to lay off faculty members.
See also:
Diverse Issues in Higher Education
Student Worker Organizing Efforts See Drastic Uptick
Arrman Kyaw
Unionization efforts among higher ed student workers have risen immensely, amid an ongoing downward trend in overall workforce union density – the percentage of union members in the workforce, according to a new report from the CUNY School of Labor and Urban Studies. The “State of the Unions 2023” examines workforce labor trends in New York and in the U.S. at large, finding that despite organization efforts, successful strikes, growing public support, and plenty of media attention, the share of union members among U.S. workers continues to fall.
Inside Higher Ed
House Dems Question Baylor’s Title IX Exemption
By Katherine Knott
A group of House Democrats is calling on the Biden administration to clarify the scope of Baylor University’s religious exemptions under Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972. Religious colleges and universities can seek an exemption from Title IX rules, which bar gender-based discrimination in federally funded education, if the requirements aren’t consistent with the religious tenets of the organization that controls the institution. Baylor asserted its exemption in May after the Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights began investigating complaints that the university tolerated sexual harassment based on sexual orientation or gender identity. The Education Department affirmed that Baylor is exempt from Title IX provisions relating to the harassment of LGBTQ+ students in a letter that became public last month—a move that one advocacy group said was a first for the department and could endanger queer students at the university.
Higher Ed Dive
Construction turns college students’ heads from tech sector
As the industry ramps up outreach, the number of computer and data science majors applying to construction jobs has doubled, according to a new report.
Zachary Phillips, Editor
Laura Cosgriff gets daily phone calls from local contractors looking for students to employ — and the frequency of those calls has increased in recent years. The construction technology coordinator for Lorain County Community College in Elyria, Ohio, said the volume of calls is so high she’s developed a canned response and an email format to respond to employers, telling them she’ll share the job posting with her associate’s degree or certificate students and relevant instructors. As the industry struggles to staff jobsites, contractors have ramped up the pursuit of the next generation of builders with vigor. For instance, construction employers increased outreach to students on Handshake, a career-finding platform focused on college students, by 46% over the past year, according to a report from the company. Employers also increased internship postings.