The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
With med school slated for Athens, leaders try to quell anxiety in Augusta
By Greg Bluestein and Vanessa McCray
For years, the idea of a new medical school at the University of Georgia triggered a fierce turf war at the state Capitol over limited higher education dollars and a perceived threat to the pride of Augusta, home of the state’s lone public medical college. But after Gov. Brian Kemp unveiled plans this month to include $50 million in spending to speed the construction of a new medical school on UGA’s campus, the reaction from Augusta officials has ranged from muted concern to outright support. Augusta’s mayor and the leader of Augusta University, home to the Medical College of Georgia, issued supportive statements about the proposal lodged in Kemp’s spending plan, which would be supported by UGA funding to design and build the school. …Sonny Perdue, chancellor of the University System of Georgia, acknowledged a second public medical school could spark concerns in Augusta, but administrators are working to quell fears. Perdue said the goal is to grow all of Georgia’s medical education, not to diminish Augusta’s role. “There’s natural anxiety in the Augusta community regarding another medical school. There’s a lot of pride of Augusta, what the medical college has meant to the state, as well as what it’s meant to Augusta over the years,” he said at a recent Board of Regents meeting.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Georgia State University to help train and retain metro Atlanta teachers
The program covers most of the cost of a master’s degree
By Josh Reyes
Paraprofessionals and teachers at four metro Atlanta school districts will have the opportunity to earn master’s degrees at Georgia State University without paying tuition or fees. GSU last week announced a partnership with school systems in Atlanta, Gwinnett County, Newton County and Rockdale County to “help reduce the teacher shortage in Georgia,” according to a news release from the university’s College of Education and Human Development. The Pathways to Teacher Credentialing Project allows provisionally licensed teachers and paraprofessionals with bachelor’s degrees to earn a Master of Arts in Teaching degree, preparing them to become certified teachers. Licensed and certified teachers can earn a Master of Education degree.
GEORGIA MATCH students giveaway recipients
From staff reports
Three Georgia students have been selected as recipients of the GEORGIA MATCH Peer Influencer Giveaway for their efforts to promote the new GEORGIA MATCH program. Georgina Martinez (Coahulla Creek High School), Justin Riddick (Fulton Leadership Academy), and Zoey Harvin (Berkmar High School) were given the choice of a new iPhone or MacBook, presented to them by the Georgia Student Finance Commission at their respective high schools. …GEORGIA MATCH is one of the largest state-run direct admissions programs in the country. More than 132,000 high school seniors in Georgia received a personalized letter from Gov. Brian Kemp listing the public colleges and universities holding a spot for them in the fall 2024 semester based on their academic eligibility. All students will receive a letter indicating academic eligibility for admission to the 22 Technical College System of Georgia institutions. Students with higher preliminary grade-point averages also will see up to 23 University System of Georgia institutions.
Atlanta News First
UGA senior graduating with business he created after university program ‘accelerates’ its growth
By Sawyer Buccy
It is one thing to try and make a little money on the side for books and tuition. It is another thing entirely when that idea turns into a full-fledged business. That is what is happening to one University of Georgia (UGA) senior who is about to graduate. Books can be expensive, tuition can be expensive and college itself can be expensive. “Detail Dawgs is an automotive detailing business that I started at the beginning of my junior year of college,” said Jack TerHaar, founder of Detail Dawgs.
Columbus CEO
Strong State Board Exam Pass Rate Signals Strengths of Columbus State Nursing Program
In 2023, Columbus State University’s Bachelor of Science in Nursing graduates posted their highest National Council Licensure Examination (NCLEX) pass rate in recent years. The School of Nursing’s pass rate for 2023 was 96.67% on students’ initial testing attempt. All 2023 graduates passed the exam after a second attempt, reflecting a 100% pass rate for the School of Nursing Class of 2023. Columbus State’s NCLEX success exceeds both state and national averages for 2023. In Georgia, 90.3% of nursing students passed the NCLEX exam on their first attempt, while 88.57% of all NCLEX-takers in the U.S. passed on their initial attempt.
Tifton Gazette
ABAC Stallion Day set for Feb. 3
High school sophomores, juniors, and seniors will get to experience what it means to be a Stallion during the Spring Stallion Day at Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College on Saturday, Feb. 3. “Stallion Day is always a great time for prospective students, with seniors getting a chance to win a $500 tuition waiver and much more,” said Sunny Ross Sparrow, assistant director of enrollment management at ABAC. The day’s busy itinerary kicks off with registration at the Donaldson Dining Hall at 8 a.m. ABAC President Tracy Brundage will officially welcome prospective students, who will then tour the campus with ABAC Ambassadors starting around 8:45 a.m. …After lunch, students are invited to the Stallion Mixer to learn about the college’s 14 bachelor’s degrees, with 31 different tracks, from the deans and professors who teach them. Visitors will also have the opportunity to meet ABAC students while exploring over 50 diverse clubs and organizations available on campus.
Albany Herald
Albany State announces theme, honorees for Scholarship Gala
From staff reports
The Albany State University Foundation has announced the theme and honorees for the fourth annual Blue and Gold Scholarship Gala, which is scheduled April 6 at the university’s West Campus Arena. Themed “A Night Under The Stars,” the signature fundraising event will be held during Founder’s Day Week on April 6. …Support of this event enables ASU to provide scholarships to deserving students.
WRBL
U.S. Dept. of Education makes changes to 2024 FAFSA application
The U.S. Department of Education has released the newly updated simplified free application for federal student aid, commonly known as FAFSA. The update was released on December 31st of last year after several months of delays. According to the U.S. Department of Education, the update simplified the application process and allows students to qualify for more aid. This is the first time that the FAFSA has been updated since the 1980s. Colleges and universities encourage students to fill out the FAFSA as soon as possible to avoid delays. Philip Hawkins, the Director of Financial Aid at Columbus State, tells WRBL that institutions have not yet started receiving FAFSA applications that have been submitted. This has caused the processing timeline to be compressed.
Irish Examiner
How having a pet can benefit children and teach skills for life
From companionship to an emotional life to empathy, having dogs and cats in the house has untold benefits for all the family
…Physical health benefits from pets
Even at a physical health level, research shows furry family members can make a big difference. A Medical College of Georgia study looked at exposure to dogs or cats during the first year of life and later risk of developing sensitivity to common allergens. The team studied 474 healthy babies, following up yearly until the children were six or seven. They were then tested for allergies to dogs, cats, dust mites, ragweed, bluegrass and a particular mould. They found children growing up around two or more dogs/cats in the first year of life were 66 to 77% less likely to develop allergies than those raised in single-pet- or no-pet homes. Early exposure to pets seemed to cut the risk of developing allergies to domestic animals and other common allergens, e.g. grasses, pollens, moulds.
RFD-TV
Peanut Robot: Breeders are developing new varieties with the help of advanced technology!
RFD-TV News Staff, Currey McCullough
Peanut research at the University of Georgia includes the development of high-performing varieties, and they are now utilizing a robot named Watson to help along the way.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The mystery of the airborne bovine. Did a Georgia bull really fly?
By Joe Kovac Jr.
The mystery took wing on a thunderstorm. Now, this was no mere black cloud of driving rain and lightning bolts. This was a stampede of wind, the likes of which cattle farmer Charles Marchant, in all his 81 years, had never seen. …On its midday charge toward Marchant’s 115-acre spread in Jeff Davis County, the storm sheared metal rooftops, clipped pine tops and sucked wooden shingles off an 1890s farmhouse. Then it took aim on Marchant’s pastures, where 150-odd cows and calves in the Marchant herd graze under the watchful eyes of three black bulls. …One of the Marchant bulls, a particularly ornery specimen purchased a few years back at a University of Georgia livestock sale, weighs in substantially less than that, but is still hefty at roughly 1,500 pounds. …Could the bull, with nary a scratch, have been blown over the fence? …Juergen Rauleder, a professor of vertical lift aerodynamics at Georgia Tech, is an expert on the forces required to, as he put it, “lift something up.” As for what it might take to send the 1,500-pound bull aloft, he said, if wind alone needs to do that, “what you basically need is a pressure difference above and below the bull that is equal to that weight.”
Quanta Magazine
Researchers Approach New Speed Limit for Seminal Problem
Integer linear programming can help find the answer to a variety of real-world problems. Now researchers have found a much faster way to do it.
Lakshmi Chandrasekaran, Contributing Writer
The traveling salesperson problem is one of the oldest known computational questions. It asks for the ideal route through a certain list of cities, minimizing mileage. Despite seeming simple, the problem is notoriously difficult. While you can use brute force to check all the possible routes until you find the shortest path, such a strategy becomes untenable after just a handful of cities. Instead, you can apply a rigorous mathematical model called linear programming, which roughly approximates the problem as a set of equations and methodically checks the possible combinations to find the best solution. But sometimes, you need to optimize for problems involving whole-number amounts. What good is a factory optimization plan that manufactures 500.7 couches? For this, researchers often turn to a variant of linear programming called integer linear programming (ILP). It’s popular in applications that involve discrete decisions, including production planning, airline crew scheduling and vehicle routing. “Basically, ILP is the bread and butter of operations research both in theory and practice,” said Santosh Vempala, a computer scientist at the Georgia Institute of Technology.
Connect Savannah
DUVERNAY’S “ORIGIN”: Unveiling the roots of our discontent
By Kareem McMichael
In her latest project, “Origin,” Ava DuVernay adapts Isabel Wilkerson’s 2020 book “Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents” into an investigative drama film. The movie was written and directed by DuVernay, and similar to the book, the movie focuses on the pain of loss and the journey Wilkerson takes to explore the link between India’s caste system, Nazi Germany, and the suppression of Black people in the United States. …Many locals worked on the project at varying levels of production and others were the cast members. In addition to working professionals, students from SCAD, the Savannah Film Academy at Savannah Technical, Savannah State University, and Georgia Southern University worked on the project.
Higher Ed Dive
Column
How many people actually need a four-year diploma?
A recent analysis finds only 42% of jobs in 2031 will require a bachelor’s degree, suggesting that colleges with enrollment declines should not expect demand to surge.
Published Jan. 30, 2024
By Ricardo Azziz (Ricardo Azziz has held numerous executive positions in higher education and led the merger that resulted in Georgia Regents University, now Augusta University. He is principal at Strategic Partnerships in Higher Education Consulting Group. He writes the regular Merger Watch opinion series on corporate restructuring in higher education.)
Over the past few months, I have sought the help of several highly trained technicians, including HVAC specialists, electricians, plumbers, auto mechanics and nursing assistants. They were all well trained and working in fields with more jobs than there are qualified individuals available. …It was obvious while waiting for these critical professionals that postsecondary training and experience — and likely, the certificate to prove it — are important. But it was less obvious that an actual college degree was required to meet many of our society’s pressing needs.
The Herald Gazette
Barnesville native Tonya Johnson new executive director of human resources at Gordon
By Walter Geiger
Gordon State College names Tonya Johnson as the Executive Director of Human Resources where she returns to Highlander Nation having previously served as Director of Human Resources and Payroll from 2010 to 2015. Johnson’s career spans some 20 years encompassing leadership roles in policy development, human resources, payroll administration, employee relations, and performance management. In her new role, Johnson will serve as a member of the President’s Cabinet acting as the institution’s Chief Human Resources Officer overseeing all related functions for the College.
Albany Herald
Kameron Causey named ASU Cordele Center director
From staff reports
Albany State University President Marion Fedrick announced that Kameron Causey has been named the director of the ASU Cordele Center. Causey has nearly 20 years of experience as a health care professional. Her extensive experience is focused in program management based on her position as a program director and associate professor.
Higher Education News:
Higher Ed Dive
Judge dismisses discrimination lawsuit over Florida A&M’s state funding and programs
The ruling deals a blow to the students who brought the lawsuit, which accused the state of intentionally discriminating against the historically Black institution.
Natalie Schwartz, Senior Editor
Dive Brief:
A federal judge tossed out a potential class-action lawsuit last week that accused Florida of discriminating against Florida A&M University by underfunding the historically Black institution. The lawsuit, brought by students at Florida A&M, accused the state of purposefully engaging in “a pattern and practice of intentional discrimination” that has left Florida A&M “separate and unequal” to the state’s traditionally White institutions. They also accused the state of harming the institution by allowing these colleges to have programs that unnecessarily duplicate those at Florida A&M, undermining its ability to have distinctive offerings. U.S. District Judge Robert Hinkle, a Bill Clinton appointee, ruled that the students didn’t show that the disparities between Florida A&M and other state institutions stemmed from “de jure” segregation, meaning separation mandated by law.
Inside Higher Ed
Michigan Governor Proposes Expansion of Free 2-Year College
By Jessica Blake
Governor Gretchen Whitmer has proposed expanding eligibility for Michigan’s free community college program to all high school graduates in the state. Whitmer’s plan would eliminate all age requirements for the Michigan Reconnect program, The Oakland Press reported. The program is currently restricted to people aged 21 and over who do not have postsecondary degrees or certifications.
Higher Ed Dive
3 state policy trends that will shape higher ed in 2024
Lawmakers have set their sights on restricting diversity, equity and inclusion and eliminating degree requirements for government jobs.
Laura Spitalniak, Staff Reporter
Higher education has become central to conversations about diversity, debt, hiring and the workforce. This year, colleges can expect a flurry of state bills and executive orders that will address these topics and potentially reshape how the sector does business. That spans from policies aiming to boost college attainment to calls to restrict diversity, equity and inclusion efforts on college campuses. While some of these moves have traditionally targeted public colleges, political influence in higher education is spreading, and leaders from private institutions now say they are facing similar external pressures. Below, we’re rounding up three state policy trends that colleges will be grappling with in 2024. Attacks on DEI in higher ed …FAFSA graduation requirements …Rollback of degree requirements for state jobs
Inside Higher Ed
Harvard Turned Over 1,000 Pages of Publicly Available Documents to House Ed Committee
By Katherine Knott
Harvard University turned over 1,032 pages of documents to the House Education and Workforce Committee, which didn’t satisfy the panel, CNN reported Monday. The documents, all of which are publicly available, were sent as part of the committee’s ongoing investigation into antisemitism at Harvard. The committee is also investigating other institutions, including the University of Pennsylvania, but Harvard was the first to receive a formal request for documents. The batch of documents sent last week includes handbooks and policies for various schools at Harvard as well as letters and a complaint filed in a federal lawsuit that outline incidents of antisemitism, according to a list provided to Inside Higher Ed by a committee spokesman.