Columbus CEO
To the students, alumni, employees and supporters in Frank G. Lumpkin Jr. Center on Friday, Oct. 20, Columbus State University’s newest president, Dr. Stuart Rayfield, celebrated the legacy of servant leadership and community partnerships that have permeated the institution’s 65-year history. As she outlined during her Presidential Investiture Ceremony remarks, both will play significant roles in her vision for the university’s future. “Our work is critical, and it will not be easy,” Rayfield explained as she spoke of that vision. “But this institution has punched above its weight class time and time again. We stand on the shoulders of all who have come before us.” This is Rayfield’s second tenure at Columbus State — the first beginning in 2006 and spanning a decade, when she served as a member of the faculty and as a university administrator. Among those who have continued to influence her since her Columbus State days is president emeritus Dr. Frank Brown, the university’s third president who introduced her during the ceremony. In his introductory remarks, Brown said he looks forward to the unique mark Rayfield will make on the university as its sixth president.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Study: Minority status plays role in depression in college students
Two Georgia public universities studied students of any race who were part of a minority on their campus and how that affected their mental health
By Donovan J. Thomas
A new study found that race influences rates of anxiety and depression in college students, with minority, women and first generation students experiencing higher rates of depression than their peers. According to researchers, students who were not of the majority race at an institution experienced higher rates of depression than students of the majority race. The research, led by University of Georgia professor Dr. Janani Rajbhandari-Thapa, an associate professor in the university’s College of Public Health, sought to investigate increasing rates of anxiety and depression among college students at predominately white universities and historically Black colleges and universities. Rajbhandari-Thapa and the study’s co-authors, which included Albany State University president Marion Fedrick, linked its findings to the pandemic, citing how mental health worsened among college students causing concern in both public health and academia in an article published in the Journal of American College Health.
Albany Herald
Albany State University to receive clean energy grant
From staff reports
Congressman Sanford Bishop Jr., D-Ga., announced that Albany State University will receive $40,000 through the Historically Black Colleges and Universities Clean Energy Education Prize Inspire Track. The program, which is spearheaded by the Department of Energy’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, seeks to support the development or enhancement of clean energy-focused summer programs for K-12 and community college students. “Our state continues to expand and welcome new manufacturing jobs,” Bishop said in a news release. “This is being spurred by major federal investments like the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, the Inflation Reduction Act, and the CHIPS & Science Act as well as a welcoming climate for businesses.
accessWDUN
UNG students showcase drone technology in precision agriculture
By Logan Landers Anchor/Reporter
Two students from the University of North Georgia recently held a drone demonstration at UNG’s Gainesville Campus. Wyn Huey and Michael McGee hosted the demonstration on Oct. 18 for Jane Hemmer, a Hall County Soil and Water Conservation District board member and UNG Foundation trustee; other board members; students; and community members. “It’s just another way in which the University of North Georgia is growing and adapting to the needs of this community,” Hemmer said. Huey, a Buford native, started his time as a UNG student in 2017 and is a senior pursuing a degree in environmental spatial analysis He gained inspiration from his “remote sensing of the environment” class with Dr. Amber Ignatius, last year before launching Spearhead Agriculture to mobilize drones in precision agriculture. … McGee, a native of Cumming, began his higher education at Kennesaw State University before leaving to become an automotive mechanic. After receiving some certifications in that industry, he then came to UNG and is currently pursuing a degree in environmental spatial analysis. … Huey and McGee are partnering on research with UNG’s Dr. Sudhanshu Panda and Fort Valley State University faculty, as well as faculty from universities in South Africa and Ireland. Panda and the other researchers have a $750,000 U.S. Department of Agriculture-National Institute of Food and Agriculture grant that runs from 2022-25.
WGAU Radio
UGA’s Shepherd wins prestigious environmental honor
By UGA Today
Marshall Shepherd, Georgia Athletic Association Distinguished Professor of geography and atmospheric sciences at the University of Georgia, was recognized as the recipient of the 2023 Environmental Achievement Award. The award, which is presented by the Environmental Law Institute, recognized Shepherd’s exceptional contributions to environmental, protection, conservation and sustainability. He accepted the award at the ELI Annual Award Dinner in Washington, D.C., on Oct. 24. Research conducted by Shepherd and his colleagues has catalyzed entirely new areas of study, such as how wet soils can sustain the intensity of tropical storms and hurricanes and how urban areas can affect rainfall patterns. His research has been supported with $30 million in funding from agencies such as NASA, the National Science Foundation and the U.S. Department of Energy. He has authored or co-authored seven books and more than 100 peer-reviewed scholarly publications.
BNN Network
Navigating the Healthcare Divide: Georgia’s National Insurance and the Pursuit of Equitable Care
author By Mazhar Abbas
In the Southern state of Georgia, the aspiration to provide free, high-quality health services to all citizens is a testament to a leadership deeply invested in its people’s welfare. This commitment is epitomized in the National Insurance, a program aspiring to ensure that every Georgian has access to the care they need. Yet, like many goals worth pursuing, it is fraught with obstacles and challenges, particularly in rural areas. …Several initiatives have been launched to bridge the gap in rural healthcare. One such initiative is the Two Georgias Initiative, a five-year, $10 million commitment to improving healthcare in 11 rural communities. …Another initiative is the Rural Hospital Tax Credit, which has not only enabled hospitals to purchase new equipment but has facilitated the establishment of new programs. …Education is also playing a significant role in addressing the shortage of healthcare professionals in rural areas. Augusta University’s Medical College of Georgia offers a three-year medical school program, enabling students to complete their education faster. The Peach State Scholars Program goes a step further, paying the tuition for students who commit to practicing a primary care specialty in an underserved area in Georgia after completing their residency.
Forbes
Severe Weather Or Extreme Weather – What’s The Difference?
Marshall Shepherd, Senior Contributor (leading international expert in weather and climate, was the 2013 President of American Meteorological Society (AMS) and is Director of the University of Georgia’s (UGA) Atmospheric Sciences Program. Dr. Shepherd is the Georgia Athletic Association Distinguished Professor)
Kathleen Jamieson is a scholar at the University of Pennsylvania. She is the Elizabeth Ware Packard Professor of Communication and Director of the Annenberg Public Policy Center. I had the pleasure of collaborating with her on the Commission on Accelerating Climate Action, a recent initiative of the American Academy of Arts and Science. While reviewing text for one of her forthcoming projects on climate change communication, I suggested that she use the word “extreme weather” rather than “severe weather” in the discussion. Here’s why? By now, it is pretty clear that climate change is impacting contemporary weather, particularly extreme events. A 2016 National Academies report, which I co-authored, reviewed what we know about attribution of extreme weather events to climate change. Emerging science continues to reveal the likely “DNA” of climate change in heatwaves, intense rainfall, drought, and aspects of tropical cyclones. …She asked where can I find the rationale for why I suggested “extreme weather event” rather than “severe weather.” My rationale was based on my grounding as a physical meteorologist and the former president of the American Meteorological Society. I understand that many people likely associate “severe weather” with an array of things including flooding, hurricanes, extreme temperatures, snowstorms and so forth. However, in my meteorological world, “severe” has a very specific meaning.
Meat+Poultry
USDA names new members of the food safety advisory committee
By Rachael Oatman
Twenty-one new appointees will join nine returning members to the National Advisory Committee on Microbiological Criteria for Foods (NACMCF), the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced on Oct. 27. The newly appointed NACMCF members to serve a two-year term are: …Nikki Shariat, University of Georgia, Athens, Ga. NACMCF committee members are appointed based on their expertise in microbiology, risk assessment, epidemiology, public health, food science, and other relevant disciplines, USDA said. One individual affiliated with a consumer group is included in the membership of the committee, and five members are federal government employees representing the five federal agencies involved in NACMCF.
Albany Herald
Slide Show
PHOTOS: Albany State ROTC Award
By Reginald Christian Albany State University
Get About Columbia
Social determinants of health impact survival outcomes in patients with hematologic malignancies
By admin
Marisol Miranda-Galvis, DDS, MS, PhD
Although the continued development of new treatment strategies and the emergence of new agents have improved survival outcomes for patients with hematologic malignancies, socioeconomic differences may affect survival among different patients in the United States, according to a systematic review evaluating the social determinants of health and patient survival outcomes. …“We encourage clinicians to identify patients with hematologic malignancies who present with [socio-economic] disadvantages [associated with worse survival] and implementing some socially targeted interventions,” said Marisol Miranda-Galvis, DDS, MS, PhD. “Incorporating the assessment of social determinants into clinical practice and implementing socially targeted interventions may help improve the survival of these patients.” …Miranda-Galvis is a researcher at Augusta University and a research project leader at the Georgia Cancer Center.
Muddy River News
Culver-Stockton College’s Tri-State Development program receives national award from UEDA
Culver-Stockton College recently was awarded the University Economic Development Association’s Engaged University Award of Excellence for the college’s Tri-State Development program. The college was awarded the honor during the UEDA Summit, Innovating for a Sustainable Future, held Oct. 8-10 in Salt Lake City, Utah. C-SC was a finalist for the award along with the University of Texas at Dallas and Virginia Tech University. …UEDA, established in 1976, works to bring together higher learning institutions, nonprofits, business leaders, government organizations and community economic groups to enhance economic opportunity in both a local and regional capacity. (UEDA President Dominique Halaby, associate provost at Georgia Southern University)
Athens Banner-Herald
A jet engine powered by switchgrass? UGA project is looking at the biofuel possibilities
Erica Van Buren, Augusta Chronicle
Katrien Devos, UGA professor
An ongoing study dedicated to identifying and accessing renewable energy source options suggested switchgrass could be a contender. “Switchgrass is a grass that is native to the United States,” said Katrien Devos, research professor of crop and soil sciences at the University of Georgia. “It’s a component of the tall grass prairies. Since the 1950s, it’s been grown as a forage for animal feed. Around the 1990s, the (U.S.) Department of Energy looked into potential grasses for bioenergy production.” Switchgrass thrives in many different soil types and land conditions, reduces soil erosion, is good at storing carbon in the soil, and can grow with less water, fertilizers, and pesticides than many crops, according to the U.S. Department of Energy.
PC Mag
‘iLeakage’ Flaw Can Prompt Apple’s Safari to Expose Passwords, Sensitive Data
Security researchers uncover a way to siphon information from a Safari browser window by exploiting a ‘speculative execution’ flaw in Apple’s Arm-based chips.
By Michael Kan
Security researchers have discovered a vulnerability in Apple products that can be abused to force the Safari browser to leak a user’s login credentials and other sensitive data to a hacker. On Wednesday, a team of researchers—which includes Daniel Genkin, a cybersecurity professor at Georgia Tech—published a paper and website warning users about the threat. The vulnerability, dubbed “iLeakage,” affects Macs and iPhones from 2020 and onwards that were built with the company’s Arm-based A-series and M-series chips.
ZDNET
How long should a password be in 2023? You’re asking the wrong question
Five out of six security experts agree on this minimum password length.
ed-bott
Written by Ed Bott, Senior Contributing Editor
A longer password is more secure. It’s just common sense, right? …But how long? In an article at the Infosec Institute website, Daniel Brecht examines “Password security: Complexity vs. length,” and makes a case for 12 characters being a good starting point: Short length passwords are relatively easy to break, so the idea is to create lengthier ones for added security and to make them less predictable. So what is the desired or required length? A 2010 Georgia Tech Research Institute (GTRI) study told how a 12-character random password could satisfy a minimum length requirement to defeat code breaking and cracking software, said Joshua Davis, a research scientist at GTRI. Richard Boyd, a senior researcher at GTRI says, “Eight-character passwords are insufficient now… and if you restrict your characters to only alphabetic letters, it can be cracked in minutes.” In any case, to be on the safe side, a password length of 12 characters or more should be adopted.
Albany Herald
Slide Show
PHOTOS: Albany State Breast Cancer Awareness Program
By Reginald Christian Albany State University
accessWDUN
Georgia Secretary of State’s Office hosts financial literacy program at UNG
By Austin Eller News Director
Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger’s Securities Division recently hosted a financial literacy program at the University of North Georgia. The program, known as Money Talks, strongly supports the Securities Division’s goal of empowering, educating and encouraging students in Georgia to be financially fit, according to a press release. The Money Talks panelists covered two days with three shows educating over 200 students at UNG and Dalton State College. Both programs were live-streamed to UNG and Dalton State College’s other campuses across Georgia. “We’re thrilled to be getting this message out to as many young Georgians as possible,” said Secretary Raffensperger. “By learning these crucial financial management skills at a young age, these Georgians will unlock so many opportunities.”
Poultry Times
UGA offering Cold Weather Management workshop
On Nov. 14-16, the University of Georgia Department of Poultry Science will be conducting a Cold Weather Poultry House Management Workshop at Flinchum’s Phoenix in Athens, Ga. This intensive training program has been specifically designed for those who want to learn more about poultry house environmental management during cold weather. The workshop consists of lectures, as well as hands on group exercises designed to help attendees gain a firm understanding of the principles behind cold weather poultry house management, organizers noted.
Savannah Morning News
Athens-area standout on what it’s like being recruited by Georgia baseball coach Wes Johnson
Sara Tidwell, Athens Banner-Herald
Noah Allen verbally committed to Georgia baseball two days after he visited the UGA campus. It’s been a dream to play SEC baseball, growing up in the South. Allen was born in Nashville, Tenn., his family moved to Georgia when he was young, and they settled in Oconee County about five years ago. Now a junior at North Oconee High, Allen is making a name for himself. …The right-handed pitcher said he had offers from college baseball programs across the country, including from the SEC, Big 12 and ACC, but it was Georgia and first-year coach Wes Johnson who made an unforgettable impression. …Georgia not only promised to help Allen work toward his goal of playing professionally, but also to develop him off the field too, in academics and for life after college. He called it a “match made in Heaven” from every angle.
Savannah Morning News
Here’s how Keidane McAlpine set out to make UGA soccer history — and achieved it
Sara Tidwell, Athens Banner-Herald
Keidane McAlpine wanted support. The soccer coach didn’t feel he was getting enough help at Southern Cal, where he said his team didn’t have a practice field or a space to call their own. They lacked lights on the game field, McAlpine didn’t have an office, either. So, he came to Georgia. “Georgia was one of the schools that I felt had all the components that I was looking for from the very beginning,” McAlpine said. “Great fan tradition, high academic institution, the support and a player pool from a state that you can always have a great foundation. Georgia ticked all the boxes, and the bonus is that it’s close to home − I grew up in Alabama.” McAlpine was hired as Georgia soccer’s sixth head coach in December 2021. He brought with him from California his assistants Sammy Towne and Jason Lockhart. The mental health director Dr. Dylan Firsick and the strength coach Jill Zeller were also pulled to the South from their posts at USC, making the transition smoother for McAlpine’s plan. The overhaul gave the Bulldogs program a 180-degree makeover after they complied a record of 21-35-14 between 2017 and 2021. McAlpine is known for working his magic.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Students among 4 shot near GSU campus in downtown Atlanta, officials say
Two other weekend shootings in metro Atlanta left a 15-year-old dead and four other teens wounded
By David Aaro
Four people are injured, including two 18-year-old Georgia State University students, following a shooting near campus in downtown Atlanta early Sunday, authorities said. The gunfire erupted around 5 a.m. at the intersection of John Wesley Dobbs Avenue and Courtland Street, near where another student was fatally shot in December, according to university officials.
Higher Education News:
Higher Ed Dive
Fall 2023 enrollment trends in 5 charts
We’re breaking down some of the biggest developments this term, based on preliminary figures from the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center.
Natalie Schwartz, Editor
Preliminary enrollment data for fall 2023 largely brought good news to colleges and universities. Undergraduate enrollment rose 2.1% compared to the year before, with all major institutional sectors enjoying increases, including four-year institutions and community colleges. Meanwhile, graduate enrollment rose 0.7%, an encouraging sign for the sector after headcounts dropped 0.9% in fall 2022. But initial figures also pointed to storm clouds ahead. First-year enrollment fell 3.6% this fall, nearly reversing gains colleges saw last year in this group.
Higher Ed Dive
Students tend to withhold low SAT scores from test-optional colleges, study finds
The research indicates students take colleges’ word that they will not be penalized for opting out, a new working paper said.
By Lilah Burke
Dive Brief:
Applicants to test-optional colleges for admission in fall 2021 were more likely to withhold low SAT scores and disclose high ones, according to a study of College Board data by researchers at the organization and University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Students who enrolled after disclosing their scores had SAT results that met the median of their institution’s previous classes. But those who withheld during the application process had scores averaging in the 19th percentile of previous cohorts. Applicants were more likely to send scores to test-optional institutions that indicated in statements that they were still important, implying that students take such statements at face value, according to the study, which has not been peer reviewed.
Inside Higher Ed
Federal Government Investigating Student Loan Servicers
By Katherine Knott
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is investigating the companies that manage federal student loans, The Wall Street Journal reported Friday. The investigation will center on how the companies dealt with the restart of student loan payments this month following a three-year pause because of the pandemic. Borrowers have complained about long hold times when calling customer service centers and about the guidance loan servicers have provided, including inaccurate payment information.
Inside Higher Ed
Survey: Some Colleges See Increase in Financial Aid Appeals
By Katherine Knott
Colleges are seeing a leveling off in the number of requests from students and families to adjust their financial aid eligibility following a slight increase during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the results of an annual survey from the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators. About 26 percent of administrators reported that requests for “professional judgments” somewhat increased in the last year. Those who reported an increase attributed it to the ongoing impacts of the pandemic, in addition to economic conditions unrelated to the pandemic and greater awareness about the review process following a change in federal law that requires institutions to do more outreach.
Inside Higher Ed
List: 23 People Blocked From Federal Financial Aid System
By Katherine Knott
College administrators and university employees convicted of fraud are among the 23 people currently barred from participating in federal financial aid programs, according to a new public list from the Education Department. Department officials said in an online notice that the agency will update the list quarterly as part of an effort to deter misconduct, ensure program accountability and protect students and taxpayers. The department has taken several steps in the last few years to hold individuals personally accountable if their institution fails to operate in a financially responsible way. Twenty people connected with public, private nonprofit and for-profit colleges and universities are either suspended or debarred—a more permanent prohibition that can last up to three years or longer, depending on the circumstances—along with three others who aren’t affiliated with an institution.
Higher Ed Dive
Opinion
President Speaks: Colleges need an overhaul to meet the future head on
Higher education faces an existential threat from forces like rapidly changing technology and generational shifts, one university leader argues.
By Beth Martin (Beth Martin is the president of Notre Dame de Namur University, a Roman Catholic institution in Belmont, California.)
Higher education is not known for rapid change. This has been such a characteristic trait of the field that leadership guru Adrianna Kezar once called it “higher education’s immunity to change.” Although any changes that did occur in higher education used to happen slowly, the rate of adaptation has sped up enormously in the last two decades. I have worked in the sector for 40 years, seeing firsthand this continued acceleration, with numerous forces in play now that will only gain momentum. Taken together, these forces could pose an existential challenge to what higher education’s role and purpose in society has historically been. What they will need to look like in the world of tomorrow will be very different from when the first precursors of our modern colleges and universities formed during the Middle Ages. To remain foundational pillars of society and equip students to become good citizens of the world, higher education institutions must grapple with these forces of change and form coherent strategies about how they wish to move forward. The time to do this is now.
Inside Higher Ed
Campus Vending Machines Now Stocked With Life-Saving Products
The machines are the latest harm-reduction strategy on college campuses and give students easy access to Narcan, the overdose-reversing drug, and other related items that can save lives.
By Johanna Alonso
Over 200 doses of Narcan, a medication in the form of a nasal spray that can reverse an opioid overdose, have been distributed from a vending machine on the campus of Oakland University in Michigan in the six months since the machine was installed. That doesn’t mean all those doses have been used. But the vending machine allows students, faculty members and anyone who visits campus free and easy access to the drug, which public health officials are urging the public to keep on hand on the off chance they ever encounter someone experiencing an overdose.
Cybersecurity Dive
How to protect sensitive school data during a cyberattack
The CFO of a Texas school district recommends safer ways to request sensitive employee data and stronger password and verification policies.
Kara Arundel Senior Reporter
Dive Brief:
To protect sensitive data during cyberattacks, district leaders could adopt stricter approaches to verifying vendor and employee identities for payment transactions, school business officers were told at their annual conference last week. School systems are a “virtual buffet of data” given all the personal records and financial information they store, Karen Smith, CFO of Cypress-Fairbanks Independent School District near Houston, said during an Oct. 19 session at the Association of School Business Officials’ annual conference just outside Washington, D.C. While it may be impossible to stop all data breaches due to the sophistication of bad actors, Smith said, there are important steps districts can take in handling digital information to make it much more difficult for data to be compromised.