Citizen Tribune
Axel Hawkins named GCSU’s second-straight Truman Scholar
Axel Hawkins, a history major from McDonough, Georgia, is Georgia College & State University ‘s second Truman Scholar in as many years. Established in 1975, the Truman scholarship serves as a living memorial to Harry S. Truman. The foundation awards scholarships to exceptional college juniors who demonstrate outstanding leadership potential, a commitment to public service and academic excellence. Hawkins’ receipt of the scholarship makes back-to-back winners and four Truman finalists in the last five years from Georgia College and its National Scholarships Office. “We are thrilled that Axel has been named a Truman Scholar,” said GCSU President Cathy Cox. “Her selection makes two consecutive years that Georgia College students have been named Truman Scholars—a truly amazing feat for our university.” This year, 60 new Truman Scholars were selected from 709 candidates. Hawkins was also the only student with Georgia as their home state, making her Georgia’s 2024 Truman Scholar.
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WGAU Radio
By Tim Bryant
A University of Georgia junior is one of only five dozen students from across the country to win this year’s Truman Scholarship: UGA’s Alex Drahos is from Cedar Rapids Iowa. He’s majoring in international affairs, political science, and urban studies.
From Stephanie Schupska, UGA Today…
University of Georgia junior Alex Drahos was one of 60 undergraduates from across the nation to be selected as a 2024 Truman Scholar, a prestigious award given each year to students who demonstrate academic excellence, outstanding leadership potential, and commitment to a career in government or the nonprofit sector. Drahos is a Foundation Fellow from Cedar Rapids, Iowa. He is majoring in international affairs, political science and urban studies through the School of Public and International Affairs and the Morehead Honors College. Drahos is UGA’s 22nd Truman Scholar since the program began in 1977.
Morning AgClips
Innovator, Educator Inducted into Georgia Agricultural Hall of Fame
An innovator in peanut breeding whose research revitalized an industry and an ardent champion of agricultural education were inducted into the Georgia Agricultural Hall of Fame at the 68th University of Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences (CAES) Alumni Association Awards in Athens. The 2024 honorees are William D. Branch, Georgia Seed Development Professor in Peanut Breeding and Genetics in the Department of Crop and Soil Sciences, and Elzie Argene Claxton, an agriculture educator and 1980 CAES agricultural education graduate who went on to earn a master’s degree and education specialist degree from UGA’s College of Education. The inductees were honored at the 68th annual CAES Alumni Association Awards banquet on April 6 at The Classic Center. Established in 1972, the Georgia Agricultural Hall of Fame honors individuals making extraordinary contributions to agriculture and agribusiness industries in the state.
Statesboro Herald
Georgia Southern to honor first African-American student
Plaque to be unveiled at Monday ceremony
Luke Martin
When John Bradley came to Georgia Southern in 1965, he had no intention of breaking the color barrier at the school. In fact, he wasn’t even aware the school wasn’t integrated. But more than 40 years later, Bradley’s contribution to the university resonates still as Georgia Southern University is one of the more racially diverse colleges in the country. On Monday, Georgia Southern will unveil a plaque commemorating Bradley’s place in Georgia Southern history followed by a luncheon in which several student leaders will have a chance to meet and listen to Bradley. The event begins at 11:30 a.m. with lunch to follow at the Russell Union Building.
CNBC
Nvidia and Georgia Tech announce first AI supercomputer for students
Hayden Field
Key Points
Nvidia on Wednesday announced the first AI supercomputer designed for student use, in collaboration with Georgia Tech. The chipmaker’s graphics processing units are at the heart of the large language models created by OpenAI, Alphabet, Meta and a growing crop of heavily funded startups all battling for a slice of the generative AI pie. The supercomputer runs atop 160 of Nvidia’s H100 GPUs. It would take one of these units a single second to come up with a multiplication function that would take 50,000 students 22 years, according to a release.
MSN
By Jennifer Poon, MD, FAAP (developmental-behavioral pediatrician and Professor of Pediatrics at the Medical College of Georgia in Augusta)
If you are scrambling to get your child’s attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder prescription refilled, you are definitely not alone. Families across the U.S. have been dealing with an ADHD medication shortage first reported in October 2022 that is now well into its second year. I’ve heard stories of parents and caregivers having to drive as far as 50 miles to find a pharmacy with the brand and dosage their child usually takes. Others have tried rationing doses or skipping meds altogether, with significant impact on their child’s well-being. Many have asked their doctors to recommend different brands-which doesn’t always work, since a range of ADHD meds are in short supply. To make matters worse, the cost of ADHD medication has risen sharply throughout the country, federal data shows. This has created hardships for all families, especially those living on a tight budget. No one can say for sure when the ongoing shortages will end. …First, talk with your child’s doctor to explore your medication choices.
Dimensions of Dental Hygiene
Dimensions and Decisions Contributor Receives Invitation from Pierre Fauchard Academy
By Kristen Pratt Machado
Kim Capehart, DDS, the interim associate dean at Augusta University’s Dental College of Georgia, has been honored as a Fellow by the Pierre Fauchard Academy (PFA). PFA Fellowship is granted to ethical dentists making significant contributions to dentistry or society, requiring invitation and accreditation from a dental school. Capehart, an associate professor with extensive private practice experience, engages actively in community service, student mentoring, and professional coaching. He prioritizes mentorship and faculty development, leveraging his multilingual skills to resolve challenges.
WGAU Radio
UNG names head of Division of Student Engagement and Success
By Tim Bryant
There is an appointment at the University of North Georgia, where Dr. Alyson Paul will head UNG’s reconfigured Division of Student Engagement and Success. Paul has served as North Georgia’s interim vice president of student affairs since last September.
From Clark Leonard, UNG…
Dr. Alyson Paul will lead the University of North Georgia’s reimagined Division of Student Engagement and Success, which was previously the Division of Student Affairs. In her new role as vice president of Student Engagement and Success, Paul is UNG’s chief student success officer.
WJCL
Savannah native Brianna Shadle returns to a Chatham County classroom — this time as a teacher
The Georgia Southern and Chatham County alum says she believes teaching is her lifelong career
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Emma Hamilton, Anchor/Reporter
Brianna Shadle is instilling lifelong lessons for her third graders at Juliette Gordon Low Elementary. The Savannah native grew up going to Chatham County Schools and later graduated from Georgia Southern University. Years later, she’s back in a Chatham County classroom — this time, as a teacher. “It’s awesome honestly because it has always been a dream of mine to give back to the community that raised me and made me who I am. Every day I just love being able to come in here and be able to do what I do,” Shadle said.
Aiken Standard
Whit Gibbons earns John Herr Lifetime Achievement Award
J. Whitfield “Whit” Gibbons, professor emeritus at the University of Georgia’s Savannah River Ecology Laboratory, was honored as the 2024 John Herr Lifetime Achievement Award by the Association of Southeastern Biologists. Gibbons was honored March 22 in Chattanooga, Tennessee, for his astounding body of work and contributions to the field of ecology. This prestigious award is given annually by the ASB. Its two main criteria include a long-standing devotion to ASB and contributing to the advancement of biology in the southeastern United States.
With State Bans on D.E.I., Some Universities Find a Workaround: Rebranding
Welcome to the new “Office of Access and Engagement.” Schools are renaming departments and job titles to try to preserve diversity programs.
By Stephanie Saul
At the University of Tennessee, the campus D.E.I. program is now called the Division of Access and Engagement. Louisiana State University also rebranded its diversity office after Jeff Landry, a Trump-backed Republican, was elected governor last fall. Its Division of Inclusion, Civil Rights and Title IX is now called the Division of Engagement, Civil Rights and Title IX. And at the University of Oklahoma, the diversity office is now the Division of Access and Opportunity. In what appears to be an effort to placate or, even head fake, opponents of diversity and equity programs, university officials are relaunching their D.E.I. offices under different names, changing the titles of officials, and rewriting requirements to eliminate words like “diversity” and “equity.” …In Georgia, David Bray, a finance professor at Kennesaw State University, sees things another way, and says that diversity officials should have been eliminated rather than given a new title. Kennesaw State announced last December that its diversity chief would now be the vice president overseeing the Division of Organizational Effectiveness, Leadership Development and Inclusive Excellence. The move came after the state Board of Regents approved a policy change barring Georgia’s 26 public colleges from requiring applicants and employees to fill out diversity statements.
Grice Connect
Special to Grice Connect
Often small business start-ups spend a considerable amount of time on their business market plan, financial budget, and human resources. Yet, intellectual property such as trademarks are often addressed afterward when it may be too late. Attend one of the two date options for a public workshop offered on trademarks on Tuesday, April 16 or Tuesday, April 23. …Instructor: John Schlipp, Patent & Trademark Resource Center of Georgia Southern University Libraries
Education Week
Math for All: Strategies for Inclusive Instruction and Student Success
All too often we hear the phrase that only certain students are “good at math.” This is a very common misconception and threatens the success of all students, especially those from marginalized demographics. Addressing this issue is crucial because proficiency in math opens doors to numerous opportunities, including higher education and well-paying careers in STEM fields. Quality math instruction not only builds essential skills but also instills confidence and a sense of belonging in students who may have been discouraged by prevailing stereotypes. Join the National Math and Science Initiative (NMSI) as we discuss how to improve all student’s math skills by strengthening the school’s STEM culture. …Speakers … Dr. Aris Winger, Executive Director, National Association of Mathematicians; Professor, Georgia Gwinnett College.
The Tifton Gazette
Staff Reports
Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College is hosting a Student Art Show to feature the diverse range of creative talent on campus. The exhibition, organized by Dr. Chris Beals, associate professor of biology, features a collection of original 2D and 3D art, including pencil and ink drawings, photorealism, paintings, sculptures and photography. The Student Art Show provides a platform for students from various majors to display their original works, highlighting the diverse creative talents within the ABAC community. A committee comprised of ABAC faculty and staff will review the submissions and select one piece as “Best in Show,” which will be announced at a later date.
Harlem Duet: A rhapsodic blues tragedy at the Georgia Southern Theatre
Drawing character inspiration from Shakespeare, the play follows Harlem graduate student Billie and her husband Othello, telling their story through time and racial tensions. The show runs April 17 through 21 at the Black Box Theatre on the Statesboro Campus.
The Brunswick News
DDA gets marketing advice from CCGA students
By Taylor Cooper
If College of Coastal Georgia students could have one thing in downtown Brunswick, what would it be? Another Cookout restaurant like the one at 4950 New Jesup Road, according to some research done by a CCGA class for the Downtown Development Authority.
Albany CEO
Dr. Michele McKie with GSW, Autism Education & ESOL Endorsement
Assistant Professor in the College of Education at Georgia Southwestern State University Dr. Michele McKie talks about the Autism Education Endorsement & ESOL Endorsement programs offered at GSW. Each program is designed to address needs within Georgia’s education system.
Athens Banner-Herald
Newcomers have moment to shine for Georgia football on a G-Day where defense rules
Marc Weiszer
The 2024 edition of the Georgia football team was on display for fans the first time Saturday at the annual G-Day game without some of the intrigue that usually adds to the buildup of a new season. There’s no guesswork needed for the starting quarterback job. That was answered in December when Carson Beck said he was returning. Sure, there are four new assistant coaches, but there’s stability with Glenn Schumann entering his third season as a defensive coordinator and Mike Bobo his second in his return as offensive coordinator. If G-Day is any indication, defense should still be a strong suit for the Bulldogs.
Higher Education News:
Inside Higher Ed
After the FAFSA Quake, a Flood of Corrections
By Liam Knox
Up to 16 percent of the 7 million Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FASFA) forms submitted so far include student errors and require corrections, the Education Department announced last Wednesday—far more than usual. “We’re seeing much higher error rates from students,” said Jon Boeckenstedt, vice provost for enrollment management at Oregon State University. Though he didn’t have exact numbers, he said it seemed to be 3 to 4 times as many as in previous years. Bill DeBaun, senior director of data and strategic initiatives at the National College Attainment Network, did have numbers. In a typical year, he said, FAFSA submission rates are about 7 percent higher than completion rates—a gap made up largely of forms with errors. This year, the gap is 30 percent.
Inside Higher Ed
Tennessee Triples Down on Targeting ‘Divisive Concepts’
By Ryan Quinn
Another year, another Tennessee General Assembly bill targeting so-called “divisive concepts.” Republican lawmakers in multiple states have listed and taken aim at certain theories or beliefs that they often associate with pushes for diversity, equity and inclusion. Tennessee was among the first to act. In 2022, its Republican-controlled General Assembly passed a law saying public college and university students and employees couldn’t be penalized if they didn’t endorse certain “divisive concepts.” These included the idea that meritocracy is inherently racist and the notion that “the rule of law does not exist, but instead is a series of power relationships and struggles among racial or other groups.”
Inside Higher Ed
Duke Ends Scholarship for Black Students
By Johanna Alonso
Duke University has ended its Reginaldo Howard Scholars program, which granted full-ride merit scholarships to a small cohort of students of African descent in each incoming class. It will be replaced with the Reginaldo Howard Leadership Program, according to a university spokesperson, which is noncompetitive and open to all students. Duke’s student newspaper, The Duke Chronicle, first reported the news. Current scholars will not lose their funding but no future scholarships will be awarded. Both the scholarship program and the leadership program honor Reginaldo “Reggie” Howard, Duke’s first Black student body president, who died in a car accident in his sophomore year shortly after being elected.
Inside Higher Ed
Punishments Rise as Student Protests Escalate
Exasperated and under intense scrutiny, some college administrators are increasingly punishing student activists with suspensions, expulsions and arrests.
By Kathryn Palmer
Six months after the Israel-Hamas war set off a new wave of campus activism in the United States, students are still protesting in full force. And at some institutions administrators are responding to student demonstrators—especially supporters of Palestinians—with increasingly harsh discipline. In late March, Vanderbilt University police arrested four students and a local journalist after protesters took over the chancellor’s office, demanding the administration restore an Israeli divestment-related amendment removed from the student government ballot. Three students were subsequently expelled and others received suspensions or disciplinary probation. Less than two weeks later in California, 20 students were arrested at Pomona College—and some have since been suspended—after masked protesters from the Pomona Divest from Apartheid coalition stormed the president’s office and allegedly hurled a racial slur at an administrator.
Inside Higher Ed
Pitzer College President Rejects Resolution for Expansive Israel Boycott
By Sara Weissman
Pitzer College president Strom Thacker rejected an amended resolution recently adopted by students, faculty and staff that called on the college to fully cut ties with Israeli universities. Thacker wrote in a statement on April 11 to the campus community that he believed an academic boycott conflicted with the college’s academic freedom principles and could create “the impression that some perspectives are more welcome on campus than others.” “I will not accept recommendations that run contrary to Pitzer’s commitment to academic freedom, to creating a safe and productive learning environment for all, and to the core value of intercultural understanding,” he said.
Inside Higher Ed
Columbia’s President Heads to Capitol Hill
Minouche Shafik’s peers faced a Congressional grilling in December over antisemitism on campus, with disastrous results. Now it’s her turn. Is she ready?
By Josh Moody
Four months after a Congressional hearing that helped sink two of her Ivy League counterparts, Columbia University President Minouche Shafik is heading to Capitol Hill for a showdown with lawmakers on Wednesday. Shafik originally had been asked to appear alongside three other college presidents as part of a Dec. 5 hearing on antisemitism. But she declined the invitation, citing a travel conflict. In her absence, Congress grilled Harvard University president Claudine Gay, University of Pennsylvania president Liz Magill and Massachusetts Institute of Technology president Sally Kornbluth on antisemitism on college campuses, where tensions had exploded since Hamas attacked Israel Oct. 7, sparking a brutal retaliatory war in Gaza. … While the three presidents faced off against Congress, Shafik was speaking at the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Dubai. Now she is walking into the same situation, which some observers have described as a political trap set by Congressional Republicans critical not only of campus leaders’ response to antisemitism but also of higher education in general.
Inside Higher Ed
Boston U. Residence Life Workers Strike, Joining Grad Students
By Ryan Quinn
Boston University, three weeks into dealing with an ongoing graduate student worker strike, saw Residence Life workers join the walkout Friday. In a news release, Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Local 509 said it represents about 300 of these BU employees, who include resident assistants, graduate resident assistants and graduate hall assistants. The same SEIU local includes the Boston University Graduate Workers Union, which represents around 3,000 grad workers. “As they join forces with graduate workers on strike, our union’s message is clear: We demand respect, fair treatment and dignity in the workplace for all workers at BU,” union president David Foley said in the release.
Inside Higher Ed
Views
In Return to Tests, Don’t Forgo Disability Equity
As colleges reinstate standardized testing requirements, they must consider students with learning disabilities, Dwight Richardson Kelly writes.
By Dwight Richardson Kelly (a clinical social worker based in Vermont. He has published research on disability inclusion in American and British higher education)
Harvard University last week became the latest Ivy League institution to announce a return to standardized testing for undergraduate admissions, following on decisions by Brown University, Dartmouth College and Yale University. Each of these institutions has cited the potential of testing to improve opportunity and diversity. Harvard’s dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences said that “standardized tests are a means for all students, regardless of their background and life experience, to provide information that is predictive of success in college and beyond.” At Brown, the committee tasked with researching its testing policy concluded that reinstating testing “is consistent with Brown’s commitments to excellence and equity and will serve to expand access and diversity.” All four institutions cited research that suggested that their test-optional policy had harmed the admissions prospects of applicants coming from disadvantaged backgrounds. This was because some of these applicants had declined to submit test scores that, while lower than some others, would have in fact boosted their chances of admission when their educational circumstances were factored in. The other Ivies are remaining test-optional for now while they further evaluate their policies. And while the future of college admissions will most likely incorporate a tapestry of differing approaches, including test-free, test-optional and test-flexible, it is clear that standardized testing will once again feature prominently on the admissions landscape, especially at the most highly selective institutions.
Cybersecurity Dive
Federal agencies caught sharing credentials with Microsoft over email
U.S. government agencies are in jeopardy of Russia-linked cyberattacks, and although CISA isn’t aware of any compromised environments, officials warn the risk is exigent.
Matt Kapko, Senior Reporter
The Russia-linked hackers behind the attack on Microsoft’s internal systems starting in late November stole credentials for federal agencies that could be used to compromise government departments, cyber authorities said Thursday. The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency issued an emergency directive on April 2, which it made public Thursday, requiring federal agencies to reset credentials and hunt for potential breaches or malicious activity. The deadline to report these actions to CISA was April 8.