University System News:
The Red & Black
T. Dallas Smith to give keynote at Martin Luther King Jr. Freedom Breakfast
T. Dallas Smith, founder and CEO of T. Dallas Smith & Company and member of the Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia, will deliver the keynote address at the 20th annual Martin Luther King Jr. Freedom Breakfast on Jan. 16, 2024, at Tate Grand Hall, according to a UGA Media Relations press release. The event will be held at 8 a.m. Tickets are $25 for individuals or $200 for a table of eight, and will not be available to purchase on the event day. They are available to purchase online. Initial tickets are limited to one table, but requests for additional tables can be emailed to diverse@uga.edu. The Freedom Breakfast honors Martin Luther King Jr. and recognizes community members who contribute to justice, race and human rights, according to the release.
WTXL
Valdosta State University cadet accepted into elite NATO flight program
Out of 35 people in the nation, this Valdosta State student will be the only Georgian invited to this elite fighter program. … Meet Cadet Logan Kraus. He’s been accepted to the Euro-NATO Joint Jet Pilot program, the world’s only multi-nationally manned and managed flying facility at Sheppard Air Force Base. … To get an idea of just how selective this program is, Lt. Lucas Brommer, Commander of Detachment 172 and Air Force ROTC and one of Kraus’ biggest supporters, tells me … “It is the equivalent, essentially, of being a first-round draft pick in the NFL. I’m thinking about it that way for the Air Force.”
See also: WALB: Valdosta State ROTC graduate attends elite NATO flight school
WMAZ
VIDEO: ‘Fly Robin Fly’ | Hometown hero returns to serve at Robins Air Force Base
Brig. Gen. Kelvin McElroy is a Macon native and Fort Valley State graduate. He took command of the Force Generation Center Monday.
11 Alive
Georgia Tech student takes home $100,000 for tuition in Dr Pepper football tossing contest
A Georgia Tech student was one of the five contestants awarded $100,000 in the Dr Pepper Tuition Giveaway over the weekend. The competitions took place at halftime of each of the Power Five college football conference championship games (ACC, Big 12, SEC, Big Ten, and Pac-12). The five winners — one from each of the games — were able to throw the most footballs into an oversized Dr Pepper can in 30 seconds. Georgia Tech’s Siddharth Suratia competed in the Big Ten Conference Championship toss and won! The $100,000 will be used for tuition.
Monroe Local
Merritt, of Monroe, honored for entrepreneurship by UNG
University of North Georgia (UNG) senior Krista Willey was named Student Woman Entrepreneur of the Year by the Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation in the Mike Cottrell College of Business in a ceremony on Oct. 25 in the Cottrell Center for Business, Technology and Innovation at UNG’s Dahlonega Campus. Taylor Merritt, ’15, was recognized as the Alumna Woman Entrepreneur of the Year. Merritt is CEO of Daddy Tay Fitness, a company she founded in 2022. Merritt is from Monroe,Georgia. Willey, who is pursuing a degree in visual arts, was nominated by senior lecturer Dr. Ana Pozzi Harris, who taught her art history course. Willey created two businesses, KWilley Pottery and Customs by Krista as a sophomore at UNG. She was inspired by the surge of “Vampire Diaries” fans visiting her hometown of Covington, Georgia, also the show’s filming location.
Americus Times-Recorder
Georgia Southwestern State University (GSW) is proud to announce the receipt of $12,608 to participate in the Governor’s Office of Highway Safety (GOHS) Georgia Young Adult Program (GYAP). The GOHS addresses young adult driver crashes, injuries and fatalities, and partners with colleges and universities throughout the state to implement this program. “The Governor’s Office of Highway Safety and our partners continue to implement programs designed to save lives and promote safe driving behaviors,” Allen Poole, director of the Governor’s Office of Highway Safety said. “We ask everyone to help our state and nation reach the attainable goal of zero traffic deaths by driving safe speeds, always wearing a seat belt, keeping the focus on the road and not the phone, and never operating a vehicle under the influence of any substance that impairs your ability to drive.” The GYAP has proven to be successful using strategies such as peer education, providing educational speakers to schools, and encouraging schools to develop creative, innovative techniques to reduce young adult crashes, injuries and fatalities in their communities.
WMAZ
Georgia College & State University’s new Chief of Police wants to connect to campus community
Georgia College and State University’s campus police are out protecting campus, but you may not know them. “I don’t have any personal relationship with campus police,” said Georgia College senior Wilson Brown. “I haven’t really interacted with them very much, no.” However, there’s a new chief on campus. Wesley Hardin is the new director of Public Safety and Chief of Police and he wants to change that perception.
Albany Herald
Grati-Tuesday focuses on thankfulness for Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College support
While much of the country was participating in Giving Tuesday on Nov. 28, Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College’s Office of College Advancement decided to make the day about expressing gratitude to all those who have supported ABAC by participating in “Grati-Tuesday.” OCA staff and members of the Student Alumni Council spent the day reaching out to alumni and donors to show gratitude by calling more than 500 people and emailing more than 1,000 to show appreciation for their support over the past year. “Grati-Tuesday was a wonderful day for us to say a special thank-you to the faculty, staff, alumni and friends who invest in ABAC,” Deidre Martin, chief advancement officer for OCA, said. “We are so grateful for the generosity of those who support ABAC.”
EurekAlert!
Georgia State professor granted $5 million to identify and characterize objects in space
Georgia State Professor of Physics & Astronomy Stuart Jefferies has been awarded a $5 million, multi-institutional grant by the U.S. Air Force to develop techniques to detect, map and image faint objects in space. The work could have far-reaching impacts, including strengthening national security in an increasingly congested space domain. The work will also advance the next generation of exceptionally large telescopes and improve the capabilities of astronomers studying the universe by providing images that are significantly sharper than those from existing telescopes. “Detecting objects in the space region between where many communications satellites are located extending to the distance at which the Moon orbits the Earth presents a substantial challenge,” Jefferies said.
WRBL
Local expert explains impacts of recent USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map updates
As global temperatures change, growing capabilities are also changing. Just over two weeks ago, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) released updates to its Plant Hardiness Zone Map, revealing roughly half of the country has shifted into a new half-zone. Columbus and many other areas in Georgia have shifted, which Columbus State University Earth and Space Sciences Department Chair Troy Keller said could have far-reaching consequences. “It’s not getting as cold in a lot of places on average,” said Keller. “It’s shifting those little bands, which are five degrees, about [2.5 degrees Fahrenheit] up … which is quite alarming.”
WGAU
UGA sets date for Economic Outlook kickoff
Economists from the University of Georgia’s Terry College of Business have set next Monday as the date for an economic outlook event at the Georgia Aquarium in Atlanta. Experts from UGA’s Selig Center for Economic Growth will take part. From Merritt Melancon, UGA Media Relations… The state’s premier economic forecast series begins in Atlanta on Monday, Dec. 11 at the Georgia Aquarium. While economists went into 2023 expecting a recession, it never materialized thanks to strong consumer spending and measured interest-rate hikes. Experts from the UGA Selig Center for Economic Growth are ready with the details Georgians need to know about next year’s “soft landing” and how it will impact industries from real estate to logistics to retail.
Higher Education News:
Higher Ed Dive
Fitch Ratings issues deteriorating outlook for higher ed in 2024
Dive Brief: Fitch Ratings issued a deteriorating outlook Monday for U.S. colleges and universities in 2024, citing high labor and wage costs, elevated interest rates and uneven enrollment gains across the sector. These challenges will limit colleges’ financial flexibility next year, according to the credit ratings agency. Moreover, Fitch analysts expect only a 2% to 4% uptick in colleges’ net tuition revenue and said tuition increases likely cannot counter rising operating expenses. The outlook expects the divide to grow between large selective colleges and their smaller, less selective counterparts. “Flagship schools and selective private institutions are expected to experience relatively steady to favorable enrollment, while some regional public institutions and less-selective private schools in competitive markets have experienced declines,” according to the analysis.
Inside Higher Ed
Short-staffed, colleges outsource financial aid offices
At one point during the fall semester, the number of employees working in the financial aid office at Kentucky State University dropped from four to zero. According to state documents, all the full-time staffers either left the institution or went on medical leave. Last month the historically Black public university contracted with the financial aid consulting service Blue Icon to step in and keep funds flowing to students until new staffers are in place. While Kentucky State has unique challenges—a scathing state report found that former staff members had failed to adequately document expenses, misused federal grant money and misled administrators and the Board of Regents about university finances—experts say high turnover in the financial aid office has become common in higher education, prompting more institutions to outsource those services to outside companies.
Inside Higher Ed
Presidents of Harvard, Penn and MIT face grilling on Capitol Hill
Three college presidents will head to Capitol Hill today to defend their responses to campus protests and reported incidents of bias against Jewish students in the wake of the Israel-Hamas war. Republicans on the House Education and Workforce Committee invited the presidents of Harvard University, the University of Pennsylvania and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology to testify at the hearing, titled “Holding Campus Leaders Accountable and Confronting Antisemitism.” Republicans on the committee have sharply criticized how university leaders have responded to the rise in antisemitic speech, threats and assaults against Jewish students in the past two months. It’s not entirely clear why these three particular presidents were called to Capitol Hill, considering that many campuses across the country have grappled with protests, rising tensions and finding a balance between promoting free expression and keeping students safe.
Inside Higher Ed
N.Y. lawmakers set sights on expanding Tuition Assistance Program eligibility
New York State lawmakers are pushing to increase the number of students who qualify for state financial aid. Leading members of the State Assembly’s Standing Committee on Higher Education want to raise the income cap for New York’s largest grant program, the Tuition Assistance Program, or TAP, from $80,000 to $110,000 a year. The committee held a public hearing last week to draw attention to the proposal and seek input from state education officials, university administrators and representatives of higher ed associations. “Even if you do make $80,000 you’re only eligible for $500 of TAP money,” Pat Fahy, a Democrat and chair of the committee, said of the current income cap. “Especially if you’re living in somewhere like New York City or suburban Long Island, $80,000 does not stretch far at all.”
Higher Ed Dive
Cal State faculty start 1-day strikes
Dive Brief: California State University faculty began a series of one-day strikes Monday after their union and the nation’s largest four-year public higher education system could not agree on pay and other key issues. Faculty and staff, including coaches and librarians, are stopping work this week on four of Cal State’s 23 universities, one campus per day. They started with Cal Poly Pomona on Monday, followed by San Francisco State University on Tuesday. Cal State Los Angeles and Sacramento State University faculty are due to strike Wednesday and Thursday, respectively. The California Faculty Association has demanded a 12% pay bump for the 2023-24 academic year, while the Cal State system has offered 5% increases over each of the next three years. A state negotiator recently recommended the system lift salaries by 7% for the year, a suggestion both sides rejected.