USG e-clips for March 13, 2024

University System News:

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

5 things to know about founding dean of UGA’s medical school

By Eric Stirgus

The University of Georgia on Monday announced its named Dr. Michelle ”Shelley” Nuss the founding dean of a medical school that it plans to open in Athens. The Georgia Board of Regents last month unanimously approved a plan to create a new, standalone medical school. Augusta University currently operates the state’s lone public medical college, the Medical College of Georgia. A new UGA school could enroll students as early as fall 2026. …Here are five things to know about Nuss:

The City Menus

Nurturing nursing: UWG celebrates impact of Lettie Pate Whitehead Foundation

By Miranda Hodges

The Lettie Pate Whitehead Foundation has been a longtime beacon of hope and support for aspiring nurses at the University of West Georgia’s Tanner Health System School of Nursing. Since 2005, their dedication has translated into nearly $2.5 million in grants, benefiting more than 950 students and shaping the future of healthcare.

Forsyth County News

UNG to host Georgia Court of Appeals oral argument session

Erica Jones

FCN regional staff

On March 26, the Court of Appeals of Georgia will hold an off-site oral argument session at the University of North Georgia’s Dahlonega campus.

The Union-Recorder

GMC, Georgia Southern sign articulation agreement

In the spirit of academic cooperation, Georgia Military College (GMC) and Georgia Southern University (GSU) have solidified an articulation agreement, emphasizing their commitment to academic collaboration. The agreement streamlines the transition of GMC bachelor of applied science (BAS) graduates into graduate programs offered at GSU, including the Jack N. Averitt College of Graduate Studies (ACGS), the College of Behavioral and Social Sciences (CBSS), the Jiann-Ping Hsu College of Public Health (JPHCOPH), and the Parker College of Business (PCOB). …“Georgia Southern University is committed to providing leading-edge educational opportunities that ensure student success while meeting industry demands,” said Georgia Southern President Kyle Marrero. “We are proud to partner with Georgia Military College to offer a clear pathway to academic and career achievement with Georgia Southern’s valuable graduate degrees.”

MSN

Who benefits from direct-to-consumer pharmaceutical advertising?

Story by Science X staff

A new study co-authored by a University of Massachusetts Amherst economist reveals the value of government vaccine recommendations to drugmakers, as well as potential benefits of advertising pharmaceuticals directly to consumers—a practice that is banned in every country apart from the United States and New Zealand. The research is the most comprehensive investigation to date of manufacturer marketing and consumer response to adult vaccine recommendations. …In addition to increased uptake and sales for Prevnar 13, Churchill and co-authors Laura E. Henkhaus, health economist and data scientist with Hill Physicians Medical Group, and Emily C. Lawler, assistant professor of public administration and public policy at the University of Georgia, demonstrate that seniors who received the vaccine were also more likely to have recently visited a health care provider and to have received other vaccinations during those visits, creating what Churchill calls “bundling” of vaccine uptake.

Specialty Crop Grower

What a Mess: Pecan Tree Hedging More Efficiently Done During Dormant Season

By Clint Thompson

Pecan tree hedging is important to the sustainability of the tree long-term. Whether Southeast growers implement the practice during the dormant or summer season is up to the farmer, says Lenny Wells, University of Georgia Extension pecan specialist.

WJCL

The buzz: First time in 200 years two separate groups of cicadas will emerge at the same time

For the first time in centuries, trillions of both the 13-year Great Southern Brood and the 17-year Northern Illinois brood will crawl out of the ground at the same time this spring.

Tia Maggio, Reporter/Multimedia Journalist

If you aren’t a fan of cicadas, there’s some bad news for you. For the first time in centuries, both the 13-year Great Southern Brood and the 17-year Northern Illinois brood will crawl out of the ground at the same time. Georgia Southern professor and entomologist Jennifer Zettler said the rare emergence will bring out trillions of cicadas once the ground warms up the cicadas will emerge, which will start in the spring. …Zettler said the cicadas will stick around above ground for a few weeks until they crawl back below.

The City Menus

‘Fields of Recognition’: Former UWG art professor to exhibit new paintings in Newnan’s Vault Gallery

By Julie Lineback

The University of West Georgia’s School of the Arts is pleased to announce the upcoming solo exhibition, “Fields of Recognition,” by painter Eilis Crean at the Vault Gallery in Newnan from March 12 to April 12. …Dr. Chad Davidson – UWG’s director of the School of the Arts who worked to institutionalize the state-of-the-art gallery space – is thrilled to be hosting Crean. “So often at a university, artists and writers are first thought of as educators and only secondarily as artists,” he said. Davidson went on to stress the importance of recognizing the power of Crean as an artist, beyond her role as a faculty member.

The Covington News

High School students named semifinalists for 2024 Governor’s Honors program

Staff Report

Twelve Newton County School System (NCSS) high school students have been named semi-finalists for the 2024 Governor’s Honors Program (GHP). The Georgia Governor’s Honors Program (GHP) is a residential summer program for gifted and talented high school students who will be rising juniors and seniors during the program. The program offers instruction that is significantly different from the typical high school classroom. It is designed to provide students with academic, cultural, and social enrichment necessary to become the next generation of global critical thinkers, innovators and leaders. GHP is held in mid-summer (mid-June to mid-July) as a residential educational experience on a college or university campus. This year’s program will be hosted by Georgia Southern University from June 16 through July 13, 2024.

BVM Sports

Georgia Southern Baseball Triumphs in 7-4 Victory, Herrholz’s Grand Slam Secures Win

By BVM Sportsdesk

Georgia Southern baseball secures a 7-4 victory over Kennesaw State with JP Herrholz’s grand slam at J.I. Clements Stadium, marking a perfect homestand as the Eagles reach an 8-8 record. The win showcases Georgia Southern’s strength, bringing their record to an even 8-8 and setting a positive tone for the upcoming games. …Georgia Southern will begin Sun Belt Conference play on the road against Old Dominion Monarchs on Friday, March 15, at 6 p.m., looking to carry forward their momentum from the recent win.

WGAU Radio

UNG will host NCAA Division II Regional

By Clark Leonard, UNG

The University of North Georgia men’s basketball team will host the NCAA Division II Southeast Regional after winning its first Peach Belt Conference tournament championship. Top-seeded UNG will tip off its regional action against No. 8 seed Wingate University at 5 p.m. March 16 at Lynn Cottrell Arena at the UNG Convocation Center. The winner of that opener faces the victor between No. 4 Catawba College and No. 5 UNC Pembroke in a 7:30 p.m. March 17 regional semifinal.

WJCL

Georgia Southern University, Anita Howard part ways in mutual agreement

Howard spent the past five seasons leading Georgia Southern women’s basketball

Amy Zimmer, Sports Director

Georgia Southern University Director of Athletics Jared Benko and head women’s basketball coach Anita Howard have come to a mutual agreement that a change of leadership in the women’s basketball program has been made. Howard led the Eagles over the past five seasons. The Eagles finished the 2023-24 season with a 15-18 overall record after falling in the second round of the Sun Belt Conference tournament. The team finished 4-14 in SBC play. Howard leaves Statesboro with a 75-71 overall record. …Georgia Southern Athletics tells WJCL 22 a nationwide search for a new head coach begins immediately and the department will not comment further on the search for the next head coach until the process is complete.

See also:

WSAV

WTOC

YouTube

BVM Sports

Higher Education News:

Inside Higher Ed

Doubts About Value Are Deterring College Enrollment

Survey data suggests that prospective learners are being dissuaded from college by skepticism about whether degrees are worth the time and money.

By Jessica Blake

Enrollment has been declining in higher education for more than a decade, and the most common explanations in recent years have been lingering effects of the pandemic and a looming demographic cliff expected to shrink the number of traditional-age college students. But new research suggests that public doubts about the value of a college degree are a key contributor. The study—conducted by Edge Research, a marketing research firm, and HCM Strategists, a public policy and advocacy consulting firm with funding from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation—uses focus groups and parallel national surveys of current high school students and of adults who decided to leave college or who didn’t go at all to link the value proposition of a college degree and Americans’ behaviors after high school.

See also:

Higher Ed Dive

Inside Higher Ed

UPenn Professors Sue to Stop House From Getting Antisemitism Documents

By Ryan Quinn

Two University of Pennsylvania professors and the Penn Faculty for Justice in Palestine group are suing the private institution, asking a judge to stop it from giving the U.S. House Committee on Education and the Workforce documents for its antisemitism investigation.

Inside Higher Ed

University of North Carolina System Banning Apps Over Cyberbullying

UNC’s president says these four social media apps that allow anonymous posting have a ‘reckless disregard’ for students’ wellbeing.

By Lauren Coffey

The University of North Carolina system is working to ban several social media apps that administrators say incite cyberbullying. The system’s IT and legal departments were instructed to begin blocking a handful of social media apps that allow anonymous posting, UNC system president Peter Hans said at a Feb. 29 Board of Governors meeting. The four targeted apps are Yik Yak, Sidechat, Fizz and Whisper.

Inside Higher Ed

House Republicans Warn Against College Athlete Unions

In a hearing Tuesday, GOP representatives argued that labor unions would disrupt college sports and lead to program cuts. Democrats said student-athletes deserve a seat at the bargaining table.

By Katherine Knott

A week after Dartmouth College’s men’s basketball team voted to form the first athlete union in college sports, House Republicans warned Tuesday that unionization poses an “existential threat” to the future of college sports. Democrats countered that “the sky is not falling.” While congressional committees have held a number of hearings in the past year about the state of college athletics and athlete compensation, this was the first to tackle head-on what’s become one of the key questions facing college athletics today: whether players should be considered employees who can collectively bargain.

Cybersecurity Dive

Ransomware festers as a top security challenge, US intel leaders say

U.S. intelligence leaders warn ransomware activity is growing, despite high profile efforts to seize threat actors’ infrastructure.

Matt Kapko, Senior Reporter

Ransomware remains a persistent threat, despite law enforcement actions aimed at disrupting the infrastructure threat actors rely on to conduct their attacks, according to the Office of the Director of National Intelligence’s latest annual threat assessment. “Transnational organized criminals involved in ransomware operations are improving their attacks, extorting funds, disrupting critical services and exposing sensitive data,” said the report, which was publicly released Monday. “Important U.S. services and critical infrastructure such as healthcare, schools and manufacturing continue to experience ransomware attacks.” National intelligence leaders warned that the ransomware problem is worsening and is growing more difficult to combat.