The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Georgia Senate budget writers back $5 billion in new spending
By James Salzer
Georgia Senate leaders on Tuesday largely followed the lead of Gov. Brian Kemp and the House, backing a midyear budget that adds $5 billion in spending, including money for a new medical school at the University of Georgia, roads, rural airports, local water and sewer projects, and rural economic development programs. The Senate Appropriations Committee backed most of the spending hikes Kemp proposed in January, despite the fact that state tax collections have been slow for much of the past year and are not projected to improve anytime soon. But with $16 billion in “rainy day” and undesignated reserves, Kemp and lawmakers see the midyear budget — which runs through June 30 — as a chance to allocate money for big construction and infrastructure projects that will both better prepare the state for the future and put more Georgians to work. …Like the House, Senate leaders went along with Kemp’s proposal to restore $66 million in spending cuts to the University System of Georgia — which he opposed when lawmakers made the reduction late in the 2023 session.
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Albany Herald
Marion Fedrick: Don’t ever short-change yourself
By Carlton Fletcher
Shortly after Marion Fedrick arrived in Albany for a “short-term stay” to help the university through a period of transition, she found herself wondering if she’d made the right decision to leave her position with the University System of Georgia to become ASU’s executive vice president, serving as a bridge of sorts while the University System of Georgia sought a new president for the institution. “So many people were wonderful when I first came here (in 2017), they kind of jumped on the bandwagon and were ready to do what they could to help,” Fedrick said during a conversation that, ironically, came only an hour or so before she announced she was leaving the university to take a dual position with Georgia State University and in Chancellor Sonny Perdue’s office. “But, in all honesty, there were a host of people who did not.
accessWDUN
UNG named top producer of Fulbright students
By AccessWDUN Staff
The University of North Georgia was recently named a top producer of Fulbright students in its category nationwide with nine Fulbright U.S. Student Program selections for 2023-24. A list released by the U.S. Department of State on Feb. 13 showed that UNG was the best among 12 master’s institutions to make the list. …UNG, Emory University and the University of Georgia were the only universities in Georgia on this year’s list, which included a total of 170 schools. This is UNG’s seventh year in a row as a Fulbright top producer.
Albany Herald
Twenty-five GSW Marshals selected for prestigious program
From staff reports
Twenty-five students have been selected to one of Georgia Southwestern State University’s most prestigious and oldest organizations on campus, the GSW Marshals. Established in 1939, the GSW Marshals is an ambassador program whose participants serve as university hosts for special events, including commencement, convocations and donor receptions among others. Students must be recommended by GSW faculty or staff based on their leadership ability, communication skills and enthusiasm for the university. They go through an extensive application and interview process before being trained in this position.
AllOnGeorgia
Georgia Southern University’s Southern Chorale secured the sixth position in College Rank’s “Most Impressive College Choirs,” a resounding testament to its musical prowess. Directed by Shannon Jeffreys, DMA, professor of music and director of choral activities, the Southern Chorale has garnered acclaim not only nationally but also on the international stage.
WALB
GSW named “Best Place to Work” for third year
By WALB News Team
For three consecutive years, Georgia Southwestern State University (GSW) has been named the “Best Place to Work” in the Americus Times-Recorder’s Best of Sumter 2023 Readers’ Choice Awards after being voted on by the community. …GSW employs approximately 375 full-time and part-time faculty and staff and sits as one of the largest employers in Americus.
HBCU News
by Shaun White
Fort Valley State University (FVSU) will compete in the National Qualifying Tournament of the 35th Honda Campus All-Star Challenge (HCASC), America’s premier academic competition for Historically Black Colleges and University (HBCU) students, on Saturday, February 10 at Morgan State University. Four-student teams will face off in head-to-head competition and must quickly answer questions about history, science, literature, religion, math, the arts, pop culture, and sports. Freshmen students Kiara Freeman and Sydney Jackson (captain), along with sophomore students Raven McRae and Kristina Warren make up the four-member team. FVSU is one of 64 teams competing for institutional grants from Honda and a spot in the HCASC National Championship Tournament taking place on the American Honda corporate campus in Torrance, Calif., April 6-10, 2024.
Middle Georgia CEO
Georgia AIM Co-director Speaks at White House Equity Event
Staff Report From Georgia CEO
Georgia AIM, part of Georgia Tech’s Enterprise Innovation Institute, works to drive AI adoption to lead the next revolution in U.S. manufacturing across all sectors, geographies, communities, and across underrepresented constituencies. In addition to Ennis, Aaron Stebner, an associate professor in Georgia Tech’s George W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering, serves as Georgia AIM co-director and lead at the Georgia Tech Manufacturing Institute’s Advanced Manufacturing Pilot Facility. Georgia AIM’s mission is to serve all Georgians, including rural residents, women, Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC), those living with disabilities, and veterans. …The White House selected Georgia AIM among the many Build Back Better-funded projects to highlight the importance of community-based work in achieving equity. …And because of this funding, mobile labs developed by the Russell Innovation Center for Entrepreneurship, University of Georgia, and HBCU Fort Valley State University will extend our reach to rural communities and communities of color, introducing them to smart technologies.
WGXA News
Georgia’s 4-H day breaks records with fun, learning, and civic engagement
by Brandon McGouirk
More than 700 people gathered at the Gold Dome for the largest Georgia 4-H Day on record. 4-H members, staff, volunteers, and elected officials gathered at the Capitol to celebrate a day of civic engagement and leadership on Wednesday, with 4-H’ers from across the state meeting with legislators, observing leadership in action, and learning about the civic process. …For more information about how to get involved with 4-H in your community, contact your local UGA Extension office or visit georgia4h.org.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Georgia music history, boxed in underground vault, struggles to resurface
By Fletcher Page
An elevator drops 30 feet underground to a locked vault that holds thousands of boxes. …Much of Georgia’s rich music history was on display at the sprawling Georgia Music Hall of Fame in Macon until the museum closed its doors in 2011. Since then, the state’s most diverse historical music collection has sat here, in the basement of the University of Georgia Special Collections Libraries, mostly in boxes and hidden from public view. But soon the collection could resurface — or at least some of it.
Morning AgClips
Ga. Counties Mark Five Years of Wellness With UGA Extension
The program, which is facilitated by UGA Extension
Three Georgia counties are healthier and happier thanks to five years of collaboration with University of Georgia Cooperative Extension to expand access to health and wellness programming through the Well Connected Communities (WCC) initiative. The initiative helps build diverse, multi-generational, cross-sector coalitions that can recognize and address systemic health inequities by intentionally forging connections, building capacity and taking action in these communities and across the Extension network. The program, which is facilitated by UGA Extension in partnership with the National 4-H Council and with funding from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, awarded grants in 2018 to Washington, Colquitt, and Calhoun counties to establish programming for residents through collaboration with local schools, organizations, government entities, youth and adults over the five-year grant period.
Atlanta News First
Georgia Tech police warn of new phone snatching scam around campus and Midtown Atlanta
By Bridget Spencer
Chance Corley is a freshman at Kennesaw State University-Marietta. He often drives to Atlanta. One day he made it to Midtown near the Georgia Tech campus when he said he saw a group of four to six guys at an intersection. They were asking for donations via Cash App. “They were like no, no let me type it in, let me type it in,” he said. Corley said regretfully, he handed the phone over. “I’ve had to raise money for sports before so I figured might as well give a dollar or two. Before I knew it, they took off with my phone, and my student ID,” said Corley. When he finally got a look at his Cash App account, it was drained. …He quickly filed a police report with Atlanta police. Georgia Tech police said these phone-snatching scams are on the rise in and around their campus and the surrounding Midtown community. The department sent this statement to Atlanta News First: “Recent phone snatching and payment app incidents have members of the Georgia Tech Police Department warning students and people in the Midtown community to be aware.
The Atlantic
The Carry-On-Baggage Bubble Is About to Pop
Airplanes aren’t made for this much luggage
By Ian Bogost (Ian Bogost, with the Georgia Tech Institute is a contributing writer at The Atlantic)
“Back in the day, we used to buy an airline ticket and many things were included,” Laurie Garrow, a civil-engineering professor at Georgia Institute of Technology who specializes in aviation-travel behavior, told me. “And then, after the 2008 financial crisis, that’s when the de-bundling started.”
Atlanta News First
‘Exoskeleton’ research at Georgia Tech could represent future of walking, movement
VIDEO
Moving with an exoskeleton sounds a bit like science fiction, but it’s actually the cutting edge of what’s possible. “So, this is the [Exoskeleton and Prosthetic Intelligent Controls (EPIC)] lab,” said Kinsey Herrin, a senior research scientist at Georgia Tech.
Henry Herald
UGA FoodPIC empowers food start-ups
By Emily Cabrera UGA/CAES
Starting a company from the ground up is a daunting endeavor, but data show a steady climb in start-ups in the United States over the past decade, with more than 330,000 businesses entering the market in 2023. Jim Gratzek, director of the University of Georgia’s Food Product Innovation and Commercialization Center (FoodPIC), earned his doctorate in food process engineering from UGA’s Department of Food Science and Technology. He returned to the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences in 2022 after nearly 30 years in the commercial food industry, bringing a new perspective. In his experience, the biggest hurdle for new food entrepreneurs who don’t yet have sufficient working capital or manufacturing facilities is moving a product from concept to consumer. This hurdle, he said, is part of FoodPIC’s core mission.
WJCL
Stinky Savannah: What’s causing that odor in the Hostess City of the South?
On some days, the City of Savannah downright stinks. So what’s behind the stench?
Brooke Butler, Anchor/Reporter
People say, on some days, the city of Savannah downright stinks. “It smells to me like the hot trash, kind of musky. It’s a nasty smell,” said resident John Michael Dooley. “It’s kind of overbearing. It’s like a musty swamp smell,” said Michael Gronebaum and Gerald Chambers, two other Savannah residents. So, what’s behind that stench? WJCL 22 News learned there are a number of things contributing to the odor that is sometimes present. The first is marshland. “So there’s sort of two probably major smells. The first is that hydrogen sulfide, and then the second is something called DMS, or dimethyl sulfide,” said Tyler Cyronak, an assistant professor at Georgia Southern University.
yahoo!life
The 22 Best Deer-Resistant Shrubs to Plant (Because Bambi Is Getting on Your Nerves)
Arricca Elin SanSone
Bambi is adorable. Until she starts chewing on your roses or chowing down on your azaleas. The truth is that as suburbia has spread, deer have to go somewhere. And that could be your garden. If you appreciate deer but want to have some greenery to enjoy, you can try planting deer-resistant shrubs. Nothing’s 100 percent foolproof for staving off hungry deer, but we’ve rounded up a few of the best types to plant and have a few tips for living peacefully with your neighborhood deer with advice from our expert, Michael Mengak, PhD, professor and wildlife specialist at Warnell School of Forestry & Natural Resources at the University of Georgia. And, just to provide you with more options, we’ve included recommendations for deer-resistant plantings from several university extension coop services across the country.
Upson Beacon
GSC Hosts Second Annual ‘A Heart for Gordon’ Gala
Becky Dodgen Recipient of 2024 Distinguished Service Award
On Saturday, Feb. 3, Gordon State College hosted its annual “A Heart for Gordon” Gala at the Barnesville campus Student Activity and Recreation Center, with more than 380 attendees from multiple counties of GSC’s 14-county primary service region and beyond. …The primary aim of the gala was to raise funds to advance GSC’s mission by ensuring students have access to the financial support they need to successfully finish their degrees and emerge as successful contributors to their communities, in turn strengthening economic development.
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Only In Your State
Enjoy A Fascinating Raptor Display At This Georgia Wildlife Center
By Lisa Sammons
We have so many places to encounter wildlife in Georgia, whether you love seeing species in their natural habitats at places like Cumberland Island or our many state parks, or prefer aquariums or zoos. One great animal attraction in Statesboro, GA is Georgia Southern University’s Center for Wildlife Education. This wildlife education facility strives to inform the public about native species, with a special focus on raptors. This is quite fitting because Georgia Southern’s mascot is the mighty bald eagle, which is one of the largest raptors in the world. A visit to the center is quite a treat for adults and kids of all ages, and you’ll see all kinds of critters that call the Peach State home.
Albany Herald
Farmland enclosure subject of Usher Lecture Series event
From staff reports
The enclosure movement and its effect on Mississippi’s farmers will be the topic for the next installment of the Jess Usher Lecture Series at Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College on Feb. 27. John Cable, an assistant professor of History in ABAC’s School of Arts & Sciences, will be giving the lecture.
Gwinnett Daily Post
Georgia Gwinnett College’s Gage Williams Gets Conference Honor
Matching a personal season high with 12 strikeouts has earned Georgia Gwinnett College senior Gage Williams recognition as the Continental Athletic Conference Baseball Pitcher of the Week. The right hander tossed six scoreless innings in the weekend opener against No. 20 Point Park University (Pennsylvania) last Friday. His strong outing helped the Grizzlies win the contest 10-0.
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Continental Athletic Conference
BVM Sports
Coleman, Georgia Southern Shine In Deep Field In Hawaii
FINAL SCORES LIHU’E, KAUA’I, Hawaii – Georgia Southern fifth-year senior Reece Coleman shot a 71-72-70 (-3) to post a top-15 finish at the John Burns Intercollegiate, hosted by the University of Hawaii at the Ocean Course at Hōkūala as the squad posted a top-10 finish in a deep and talented field.
HoopDirt
WEEK 15: HoopDirt.com Coach of the Week presented by Just Play Solutions
Story: Adam Nelson
Congratulations to the following coaches who have been selected as the Week 15 HoopDirt.com Coach of the Week presented by Just Play Solutions. These coaches are now eligible to receive the HoopDirt.com National Coach of the Year Award presented by Just Play Solutions which will be announced at the conclusion of the 2023-24 college basketball season. This is the ninth season that HoopDirt.com has run the Coach of the Week and Coach of the Year programs. The list of 2023-24 Coach of the Week winners, as well as the list of all-time COY winners can be found following this week’s honorees. …2023-24 HoopDirt.com / Just Play Solutions Coach of the Week Winners ,,,Week 4 …NCAA DI: Damon Stoudamire – Georgia Tech; … Week 10 …NCAA DII: Dave Moore – University of West Georgia
BVM Sports
Albany State University Football Adds Depth to Coaching Staff with Sims and Sewak
By BVM Sportsdesk
Albany State University head coach Quinn Gray, Sr. has welcomed Genard “Terell” Sims as the wide receivers coach and Nicholas Sewak as the offensive line coach. Sims joins from Howard Payne University, where he contributed to the team’s top-ranked offense and national passing ranking. Sewak, an alumnus of Georgia Southern University, brings coaching experience from various universities and is expected to aid in the smooth transition for the student-athletes. The new additions are seen as crucial in elevating the program and align with the university’s vision for football.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Clayton State provost’s ouster reflects more scrutiny of resumes, research
Educators expect current atmosphere will add pressure to universities’ vetting process
By Vanessa McCray
A Georgia university has joined schools in other parts of the nation navigating the fallout of an academic misrepresentation probe after its provost was ousted for inaccuracies on her curriculum vitae. Kimberly McLeod was hired by Clayton State University to start in July to oversee academic programs for the nearly 6,000-student university. She was removed in late December, after anonymous complaints, one lodged by “a concerned faculty member,” questioned the publications she listed on her application materials. A University System of Georgia review focused on six article citations in which McLeod listed herself as a co-author, according to documents obtained by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution through an open records request.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Spalding coach charged in girlfriend’s killing once accused of striking wife
Carl Kearney Jr. faces murder charges; earlier counts were dropped
By Alexis Stevens
Spalding High School head football coach Carl Kearney Jr., facing murder charges in his girlfriend’s strangulation Saturday, was charged in a 2015 domestic violence incident involving his former wife, court records show. Kearney is charged with first- and second-degree murder and two counts of assault in the Saturday death of Patrina Best, 38, in Maryland, police said. He is due in court Tuesday afternoon for a hearing, according to court records. …Best, a Georgia native, attended Georgia Southern University, where she was a member of the swimming team. She worked as a nurse, according to her LinkedIn profile. …A graduate of Griffin High, Kearney was a standout wide receiver at Georgia Southern.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Crew that prompted KSU lockdown accused in metro Atlanta crime spree, police say
By David Aaro
Three suspects who allegedly carjacked an Uber driver last month, prompting a two-hour lockdown on the Kennesaw State University campus, are part of the same crew that had been wanted for crimes across DeKalb and Cobb counties, officials confirmed Monday. Several metro Atlanta law enforcement agencies helped to investigate and combat the violent crime spree, in which members of the unnamed crew are accused of shooting a man in the head, damaging and carjacking vehicles, and threatening several other people at gunpoint, authorities said.
Higher Education News:
Higher Ed Dive
Pandemic learning loss could create another enrollment hurdle. What can higher ed do?
WICHE advised higher ed leaders to track K-12 assessment results and make a plan for getting prospective students college ready.
Laura Spitalniak, Staff Reporter
Dive Brief:
Colleges should proactively seek to counter enrollment challenges that could stem from pandemic-era learning loss among K-12 students, including potentially fewer high school graduates — and less prepared students among those who do graduate, according to recent recommendations from the Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education. Gathering information on what to expect is key, WICHE said. Colleges can analyze assessment results from local school districts and identify readiness challenges affecting students from middle school and onward. The nonprofit, which tracks K-12 enrollment data, also advised higher ed leaders to provide K-12 schools and school districts with tutoring support to help get students college ready.
Inside Higher Ed
Kentucky University Leaders Defend Diversity, in Differing Ways
By Doug Lederman
The leaders of Kentucky’s two largest public universities have, with differing degrees of directness, spoken out in recent days about the importance of diversity as state legislators consider measures that would ban diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives at public institutions. In a message last week to students and others at the University of Kentucky, President Eli Capilouto said that three bills working their way through the state General Assembly (two related to diversity and inclusion and a third focused on faculty employment) threaten the research university’s core mission.
Higher Ed Dive
How HBCUs are building a stronger Black teacher pipeline
As HBCUs produce 50% of all Black educators nationwide, a UNCF report illustrates best practices for recruitment efforts.
Anna Merod, Reporter
Dive Brief:
Amid ongoing efforts to diversify the K-12 teacher workforce, a United Negro College Fund report finds some historically Black colleges and universities are working to get Black students in the teacher pipeline by tapping into faculty networks, establishing relationships with school districts and using financial aid as a recruitment tool. Additionally, HBCUs leveraged long-standing connections with their local Black church communities to promote teacher prep programs and financial aid offerings during religious services. UNCF suggested higher ed institutions develop pipelines for Black educators beginning in high school by offering students opportunities to work with children and then maintaining relationships with them through their matriculation into college and eventual completion of a teacher certification.
Inside Higher Ed
California State Union Approves Tentative Deal, Despite Dissent
By Ryan Quinn
Members of the union representing roughly 29,000 California State University faculty members, librarians and others have approved the tentative agreement that emerged from the union’s one-day strike last month. The deal includes a 5 percent raise, retroactive to July 1, 2023; another 5 percent bump next academic year, unless the state cuts CSU’s base funding; a salary increase for the lowest-paid lecturers from $54,360 to $66,082 by July 1, 2024; and 10 weeks of paid parental leave, up from six.
Diverse Issues in Higher Education
Vanderbilt University Expands Popular Financial Aid Program
Johnny Jackson
Vanderbilt University is expanding its nationally recognized no-loan financial aid program, known as Opportunity Vanderbilt. Dr. Daniel Diermeier, the university’s chancellor, announced the university’s commitment to offering full-tuition scholarships to admitted students of families whose annual income is $150,000 or less.
Inside Higher Ed
Two Ivy League universities recently did away with certain age-old academic honors, arguing they cause unnecessary stress and competition.
By Johanna Alonso
Deans’ lists have long been a staple of American higher education, each semester trumpeting the names of top-achieving students on college websites and in local newspapers. But among Ivy League institutions, that tradition appears to be ending. Last fall, both Cornell University and the University of Pennsylvania stopped releasing deans’ lists in an effort to reduce students’ academic stress. “This decision is the culmination of extensive consultations over several years across the Penn community, including with undergraduate student leaders, in response to the shared belief that a Dean’s List designation does not reflect the breadth and evolution of students’ academic achievements over the course of their education at Penn,” Beth A. Winkelstein, UPenn’s then-interim provost, and Karen Detlefsen, vice provost for education, wrote in an announcement about the change last spring.
Inside Higher Ed
Student Arrested in Shooting Deaths at CU Colorado Springs
By Susan H. Greenberg
A student at the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs was arrested Monday in the shooting deaths of a fellow student and another person in a dorm room at the university on Friday, NBC News reported. Police issued a warrant late Friday for the arrest of 25-year-old Nicholas Jordan, of Detroit, and took him into custody in Colorado Springs early Monday morning. He was booked on two counts of first-degree murder, according to NBC. The victims, who were found dead early Friday after police responded to reports of gunshots in a dorm, were identified as 24-year-old Samuel Knopp, a student at UC Colorado Springs, and 26-year-old Celie Rain Montgomery, who did not attend the university.