Inside Higher Ed
Are Professors Really Fleeing Universities in Red States?
Some academics have publicly announced resignations, but evidence of a mass faculty exodus from states like Florida is thin, at least so far. Media hyped a brain drain regardless.
By Ryan Quinn
Florida’s governor, seeking the Republican presidential nomination, has pushed his state and its education system further and further to the right. Texas has banned diversity, equity and inclusion programs from public universities. Some professors at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill have expressed fears that Republicans are increasingly meddling in their prestigious institution. And the University System of Georgia is on the American Association of University Professors’ censure list for weakening tenure protections. News articles and opinion pieces have raised alarms that significant numbers of faculty members are fleeing, or considering fleeing, jobs in states where universities face increasing right-wing pressure in favor of jobs in states where they don’t—fueling a Southern brain drain. …But there’s a dearth of data on how many faculty members are actually leaving and where they’re going.
Grice Connect
Fall graduate overcomes near-death battle with COVID-19 to complete nursing degree
Wesley Fischer, a former firefighter and EMT, and a veteran Navy corpsman, spent more than 100 days in the hospital battling COVID-19 in 2021. He was determined to complete his degree and received unwavering support from the nursing faculty at Georgia Southern and classmates in his nursing cohort.
When Wesley Fischer crossed the stage during Fall 2023 Commencement at Georgia Southern University to acknowledge the completion of his degree in nursing, it was a full-circle moment. Just two years prior, Fischer was unsure of his future in school, and at one point, unsure whether he would live.
Gwinnett Daily Post
Five Success Stories From Georgia Gwinnett College Alumni
From staff reports
Georgia Gwinnett College was home to just 118 students when it opened its doors in 2006. At the time, it was the first four-year public college created in the U.S. in the 21st century. Today, GGC is a vital part of the Gwinnett County region, with more than 11,600 students studying everything from cinema and media arts to biology and business. In its 17-year existence, thousands of GGC alumni have gone on to successful careers in their chosen fields. The following are some of those success stories:
Grice Connect
Georgia Southern grad gets bachelor’s degree after just two years of online classes
Rebekah Dyar is graduating from Georgia Southern University without ever taking on-campus classes. On Dec. 14, she will receive a bachelor’s degree in world languages focusing on French, after just two years of online classes. In high school, Dyar earned college credits through the International Baccalaureate program, setting the stage for her unconventional yet successful college career. “My sister went to Georgia Southern, and she loved the school, so I decided to follow in her footsteps,” the Douglasville, Georgia, resident said. As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, Dyar opted for online classes.
WGAU Radio
UNG faculty member earns teaching honors
By Denise Ray, UNG
Dr. Juanita Woods, a University of North Georgia associate professor in the Mike Cottrell College of Business, was selected as the 2023 recipient of the Project Management Institute Linn Stuckenbruck Teaching Excellence Award in October. The award, which was presented during the PMI Global Summit in Atlanta, Georgia honors faculty members for outstanding contribution in teaching project management, and for their commitment to improving and enhancing project management curricula in higher education
The McDuffie Progress
Program prepares students for the work force
By Laurel Clark UGA/CAES
Since the State Botanical Garden of Georgia at the University of Georgia piloted the Learning by Leading program in 2018, 171 UGA students have gained skills preparing them to enter the work force after college. Learning by Leading at the University of Georgia is a hands-on program developed for the botanical garden to increase leadership skills through a comprehensive experiential learning program. Students progress through a leadership ladder, gaining technical, human and conceptual skills while working alongside staff mentors at the State Botanical Garden.
Albany Herald
Putting the science in Ag Hill
By Maria M. Lameiras UGA/CAES
The face of Ag Hill is changing, with millions of dollars in capital improvements and new facilities in the works, and both the University of Georgia and the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences are committed to supporting the mission and the tradition the hill represents. Now known as Science and Ag Hill to recognize the location as a hub for a variety of related disciplines on South Campus — including agricultural, poultry and food sciences as well as chemistry, biology, physics, statistics, geography and geology — the area holds both academic and historic significance. “The College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences plays a vital role in advancing research and outreach at UGA that directly impacts the lives of people across the state and around the world,” S. Jack Hu, the university’s senior vice president for academic affairs and provost, said. “Our strategic investments in world-class facilities such as the Science and Ag Hill renovation and the new Poultry Science Building demonstrate UGA’s commitment to building upon our legacy of leadership in agricultural instruction, research and service.” CAES alumni have great pride in Science and Ag Hill, both as a modern representation of the progress being made and as a symbol of the legacy of agricultural sciences at UGA.
The Salem News
Virtual reality simulations can help autistic people complete real-world tasks
Many people associate virtual reality headsets with interactive video games, but a researcher at the University of Missouri is using them for something far more important — helping autistic people navigate public transportation on college campuses. MU researcher Noah Glaser — in collaboration with Matthew Schmidt, an associate professor at the University of Georgia, and others — partnered with a program at the University of Cincinnati on a pair of studies geared toward providing autistic people virtual training opportunities to practice using a public bus to get around town.
Specialty Crop Grower
UGA Research: Phytophthora Resistance in Bell Pepper a Focus on Tifton Campus
By Clint Thompson
University of Georgia (UGA) bell pepper research centered on phytophthora resistance is a focus of Ted McAvoy’s studies on the UGA Tifton campus. The UGA Extension vegetable specialist explains that resistant varieties exist but in other parts of the country not suited for South Georgia producers. He hopes to change that.
Everyday Health
5 Signs Emotional Eating Is a Problem — and What to Do About It
Eating shouldn’t regularly lead to feelings of shame, guilt, or loss of control.
By Laura Williams
Emotional eating is not a clinical diagnosis or even a term with a clinical definition that all experts agree on. It’s often used colloquially in reference to eating as a way of coping with negative emotions, particularly overeating, but experts have argued that eating can also be a response to positive emotions and that it doesn’t necessarily always involve overeating. When a person leans heavily on eating as a coping mechanism for negative emotions, however, many experts agree that it is problematic — and there are healthier coping tools someone can learn. “When emotional eating is accompanied by feelings of shame or numbness, an uncomfortable feeling of fullness, or a loss of control, you could be developing a negative relationship with food, a pattern of restrictive eating, or other disordered eating behavior,” says Emma Laing, PhD, RDN, the director of dietetics at the University of Georgia. Dr. Laing’s research has focused on weight-inclusive approaches to improving health and well-being.
MSN
Prunes Show Potential in Reducing Inflammation and Bone Loss in Postmenopausal Women
A recent study has found that daily consumption of prunes by postmenopausal women can reduce inflammation markers and potentially alleviate osteoporosis. According to a study published in the international academic journal The Journal of Nutrition, consuming 50-100g of prunes per day (approximately 5-12 prunes) significantly reduced inflammatory cytokines and activated monocytes, which primarily trigger chronic inflammatory responses. Co-author of the study, Connie Rogers, a professor at the Department of Nutrition at the University of Georgia, said, “Prunes are rich in bioactive substances such as vitamins, minerals, phenolic acids, and polyphenols. These substances appear to exert a synergistic effect, controlling activated monocytes and suppressing the secretion of bone resorptive inflammatory cytokines.”
Drugs.com
America’s School Counselors Say Vaping, Gaming Are Tough Issues for Kids
Medically reviewed by Carmen Pope, BPharm.
By Dennis Thompson HealthDay Reporter
Online gaming and vaping to the point of addiction have become widespread enough that most high school counselors regularly confront these behaviors in today’s teens, a new survey shows. Four out of five counselors say they’ve worked with at least one student during the past year who had struggled with problematic use of video games or e-cigarettes. However, few said they had the training necessary to adequately help their young charges, researchers found. “School counselors are aware this is an issue, but it doesn’t seem like we’re providing the training as a profession so that they can address it,” said principal investigator Amanda Giordano, an associate professor in the University of Georgia’s Mary Frances Early College of Education. “They’re seeking their own continuing education and self-study to learn how to meet these needs.”
Financial Advisor Magazine
For Battling Year-End Financial Stress
Claire Ballentine, Charlie Wells
All too often, it’s at the end of the holiday season when the money worries really start to sting. The gifts have been given and the gatherings have started to peter out. But in the slower stint between Christmas and New Year’s, the stress caused by looking back on financial choices begins to collide with that linked to planning ahead. …To help tackle some of the financial stress that can creep up at this time of year, Bloomberg News asked financial experts for their best tips on dealing with triggers relating to past, present and future money worries. Here’s what they said …One of the most important first moves involves figuring out what sort of financial stress you’re feeling in the first place. This is deceptively challenging because we typically aren’t taught to identify the complex emotions money can trigger, says Kristy Archuleta, a professor of financial planning at the University of Georgia.
Quantamagazine
Evolution: Fast or Slow? Lizards Help Resolve a Paradox.
Carrie Arnold, Contributing Writer
James Stroud had a problem. The evolutionary biologist had spent several years studying lizards on a small island in Miami. These Anolis lizards had looked the same for millennia; they had apparently evolved very little in all that time. Logic told Stroud that if evolution had favored the same traits over millions of years, then he should expect to see little to no change over a single generation. Except that’s not what he found. Instead of stability, Stroud saw variability. One season, shorter-legged anoles survived better than the others. The next season, those with larger heads might have an advantage. “I was confused. I didn’t know what was going on. I thought I was doing something wrong,” said Stroud, who was then completing a postdoc at Washington University in St. Louis. “Then it suddenly all fell into place and started to make sense.” …Because he had followed four species for three generations, he was able to show that a long-term pattern of stasis could emerge from such short-term fluctuating selection. “There’s lots of noise, but overall, it leads to fairly stable patterns,” said Stroud, who now runs his own lab at the Georgia Institute of Technology.
Savannah Business Journal
ALAYNA CASSIDY named Annie F. Oliver Volunteer of the Year by Savannah Speech and Hearing Center
Savannah Business Journal Staff Report
Savannah Speech and Hearing Center has named Georgia Southern University student, Alayna Cassidy as the recipient of the 2023 Annie F. Oliver Volunteer of the Year award. Miss Cassidy is from Oglethorpe County, Georgia and will graduate from Georgia Southern University, Armstrong Campus in May of 2024 with a Bachelor of Science degree from the Communication Sciences and Disorders Program and a minor in Child and Family Development.
Braselton News Today
Local residents on UNG poultry team that placed at national event
The University of North Georgia’s (UNG) poultry team placed sixth overall at the 57th National Poultry Judging Contest held from Nov. 5-8 at the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville, Ark. This year’s team members were Amy Arellano, Eric Brockman, Ashley Davis and Kayley Edwards, coached by associate professor Linda Purvis and UNG junior Jacque Conner.
Higher Education News:
Inside Higher Ed
Education Dept. Outlines Possible Changes in Accreditation, Distance Education, Other Rules
By Katherine Knott
The Education Department outlined in a series of issue papers released Tuesday how it would update the regulations for accreditation, state authorizing agencies and other policy areas to better protect students. Tuesday’s announcement of the issue papers and list of negotiators who will review the department’s proposals is the latest step in a lengthy process known as negotiated rule making. This round of rulemaking kicked off in April 2023. A committee representing 15 constituent groups will meet next week, from Jan. 8 to 11, to review the department’s proposals on accreditation, state authorization, distance education, return of Title IV funds and cash management.
Inside Higher Ed
Harvard President to Step Down Amid Controversy
Besieged by charges of plagiarism—on top of a disastrous appearance before a congressional hearing on antisemitism—Claudine Gay resigned after the shortest presidency in Harvard history.
By Josh Moody
Harvard University president Claudine Gay will reportedly step down today following a firestorm of controversy in recent weeks related to allegations of plagiarism as well as a widely criticized appearance in a House hearing on antisemitism in higher education in early December. …Gay made headlines in late 2022 when she was the first Black woman hired to lead Harvard. Now her departure will come after roughly six months on the job—the shortest tenure in Harvard’s history. She is stepping down despite a recent statement of support from the Harvard Corporation.
Inside Higher Ed
UVA, San Diego State Under U.S. Investigation for Alleged Bias
By Katherine Knott
The U.S. Education Department on Tuesday added the University of Virginia and San Diego State University to the growing list of institutions facing federal investigations for alleged discrimination involving shared ancestry. The department’s list of colleges, universities and K-12 school districts under investigation doesn’t specify what the investigation is about beyond a possible shared-ancestry violation of the Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which requires federally funded institutions to protect students from discrimination based on race, color or national origin. The Education Department’s Office for Civil Rights has seen an influx in complaints alleging antisemitism or Islamophobia on college campuses since the Israel-Hamas war began in early October.