Savannah Area Chamber
2024 Legislative Session Wrap-up
This marks the end of the 2024 state legislative session and initiates the 40 days for Governor Brian Kemp to either approve or reject all legislation passed. Here’s an overview of key legislative updates relevant to the Savannah Chamber’s 2024 agenda: HB 915, the FY 2024 supplemental budget, successfully passed both the House and Senate, and the Governor has signed it into law. The budget includes allocations such as: $178 million for the design, construction, and equipment of the dental school at Georgia Southern University on the Savannah Armstrong campus, in collaboration with Augusta University. …$5 million for renovating Georgia Southern University’s College of Business building. HB 916, the FY 2025 appropriations bill, has passed both chambers and awaits the Governor’s approval. It includes provisions like: …$7 million for Savannah State University HVAC renewal. …$4,692,816 for Medical College of Georgia expansion at Georgia Southern University’s Armstrong Campus.
Inside Higher Ed
Congress Sends $1.3 Billion to Colleges in Federal Earmarks
The money will go to 707 wide-ranging projects, from equipment purchases to airport-runway extensions. Which states and institutions will benefit the most?
By Katherine Knott
From protecting reefs and fighting climate change to purchasing a Nuclear Magnetic Resonance spectrometer, projects for colleges and universities funded in the latest federal budget run a wide gamut. Colleges and universities are planning to put more than $1.3 billion to work on one-time purchases of equipment such as the University of Nevada at Reno’s $2.4 million spectrometer or, in other cases, to start new academic programs that administrators say will address critical needs in their communities. The largest chunk of the money—more than half of the money—will go to university hospitals, healthcare programs, science and research. Congress is funding 707 projects over all, with price tags ranging from $20,000 to $36 million, through earmarks in the fiscal year 2024 budget that passed last month. The money will go to 483 institutions and foundations that support them. [Several USG Institutions listed]
U.S. News & World Report
Badge-Eligible Schools: Best Health Schools 2024-2025
Public Health–Overall Rankings Georgia Southern University (GA); Georgia State University (GA); University of Georgia (GA) …Clinical Psychology Georgia State University (GA); University of Georgia (GA) …Occupational Therapy Augusta University (GA); Georgia State University (GA) …Pharmacy The University of Georgia (GA) …Physical Therapy Georgia State University (GA) …Social Work University of Georgia (GA) …Speech Language Pathology Georgia State University (GA); University of Georgia (GA) …Rehabilitation Counseling Georgia State University (GA) …Veterinary Medicine University of Georgia (GA)
Athens CEO
UGA Honors Faculty for their Efforts in Public Service and Outreach
Staff Report From Georgia CEO
Six University of Georgia faculty received awards Monday for their commitment to public service and outreach. The awards were presented at the 33rd Annual Public Service and Outreach Meeting and Awards Luncheon, held at the UGA Center for Continuing Education & Hotel. Public Service and Outreach (PSO) continues to expand UGA’s impact across the state. The most recent economic impact study shows UGA contributing $8.1 billion to the state in 2023. Of that, $1.2 billion was generated by PSO and Cooperative Extension. UGA has engaged more than 10,000 UGA students and offered more than 30,000 programs at the local level through outreach efforts. In the last five years, the Small Business Development Center, has supported the launch of more than 2,000 small businesses.
WJBF
JENNIE: AU senior creates Gold Star Family awareness on campus
by: Jennie Montgomery
Paying tribute to the families of servicemen and women who gave their lives for this country. It’s a serious mission at Augusta University. Caitlyn Burner is a student at the university. She lost her father while he was in active duty in Iraq. “We want to raise awareness in the community by just telling everybody what a Gold Star family is, handing out these awesome t shirts and raffle tickets and just people asking us what this flag means. It means the world to me to spread that awareness in my community.” She is passionate about raising funds for Children of Fallen Patriots.
YouTube
Video
‘Pivotal Moment’: Gulfstream, Savannah’s largest employer, gets FAA approval for new business jet
Mentions support received from Georgia Southern University, Savannah State University, University of Georgia, Georgia Institute of Technology.
WGAU Radio
Local projects receive award funds from UGA endowment
By Roy Parry, UGA Media Relations
The University of Georgia continues to strengthen its commitment to Athens-Clarke County through an endowment established by Athens native and UGA alumna Bobbi Meeler Sahm and her family. Four collaborative local projects between UGA and Athens-Clarke County organizations have been selected to receive a total of $39,000 as part of the Bobbi Meeler Sahm Service and Outreach Awards for 2024. The endowment, established in 2021 by Sahm and her family, helps UGA make an impact in Athens-Clarke County by partnering with local organizations to support the community. The fund, held by the UGA Foundation, is distributed yearly to selected projects. Inspired by the initial gift and the local impact it will have, UGA President Jere W. Morehead directed a $100,000 contribution to this fund using discretionary funds provided to him by the UGA Athletic Association.
The Georgia Virtue
Hunger Study addresses gaps in food assistance programs
Food insecurity, indicated by a lack of consistent access to nutritious foods, continues to affect Georgia families and poses unique obstacles to charitable food assistance programs trying to address the need.
The 2023 Georgia Hunger Study, conducted by an interdisciplinary team of University of Georgia researchers in collaboration with the Georgia Department of Human Services and Feeding Georgia, found that 79% of households utilizing charitable food agencies reported experiencing food insecurity. Using geospatial mapping, surveys and focus groups to assess challenges facing food insecure Georgia families, researchers found that 57% of clients who visit food pantries hold jobs, but don’t make enough money to pay for essential needs.
Columbus CEO
Hyundai Motor Group Sponsoring Upcoming South Korean Study Abroad Trip for Columbus State Students
Staff Report From Georgia CEO
The Hyundai Motor Group (HMG) has agreed to sponsor a unique summer study abroad trip to Korea for Columbus State University students to learn more about the country, its history, its culture and its growing importance to the economy of Georgia and the United States. With the automaker’s investment of $60,000, this program will underwrite half of the travel expenses for each student—now called HMG Scholars.
Atlanta News First
UGA receives $500K for treating dementia and Alzheimer’s in rural areas
By Ellie Parker
The University of Georgia is receiving $500,000 from the federal government to treat dementia and Alzheimer’s in rural Georgia. Georgia Sen. Jon Ossoff (D) announced that the federal budget included $500,000 earmarked for the university’s Cognitive Aging Research and Education (UGA CARE) Center. The money will go toward telemedicine, allowing the center to treat rural patients more effectively.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Georgia Tech students will travel hundreds of miles to see eclipse at peak
By Vanessa McCray
…On Monday, when another total solar eclipse carves a path across much of the United States, Qutob will be gazing up once again. This time, she’ll be alongside fellow Georgia Tech students traveling hundreds of miles to witness the rare event at its peak. While some Georgia colleges and universities have planned events to view the partial eclipse on their campuses or watch a NASA livestream, roughly 100 students from the science-focused Atlanta school will embark on hours-long road trips to see the minutes-long eclipse from within the path of totality.
Specialty Crop Grower
Costly Input: UGA Extension Pecan Specialist Discusses Scab Spray Expenses
By Clint Thompson
Fungicide applications are one of the most important and costly expenses that pecan producers must make. If they can’t or won’t protect their crop from scab disease, yields will be drastically reduced. It is a message that Lenny Wells, University of Georgia (UGA) Extension pecan specialist, emphasized during the UGA Pecan School on March 20 in Perry, Georgia. “Scab is certainly one of the biggest factors we’ve got limiting production,” Wells said. “Certainly, with scab, that’s going to drive up the cost of production. …That’s why UGA recommends farmers produce varieties with some level of scab resistance and decrease the number of fungicide applications required.
Middle Georgia CEO
FVSU Announces Spring 2024 Commencement Speaker
Staff Report From Georgia CEO
Daniel K. Wims, Ph.D., President of Alabama Agricultural and Mechanical University (AAMU), Fort Valley State University (FVSU) alum and former faculty member will be the featured speaker for Fort Valley State University’s Spring 2024 Commencement, scheduled for Saturday, May 11, 2024. Before assuming the esteemed position of president, Wims dedicated nearly 12 years to AAMU, initially as its provost and vice-president for Academic Affairs and Research, as well as a professor of Agricultural Sciences. Noteworthy roles in academia include serving as vice-president for Academic Affairs and professor of Agricultural Sciences at FVSU, where he also held the position of executive vice-president.
Savannah Business Journal
Savannah Business Journal Staff Report
As part of its work in the community, the Abbie DeLoach Foundation (ADF) raises awareness about distracted driving and helps individuals make a commitment to end it. ADF encourages everyone to join its #HandsFreeForAbbie pledge campaign in the month of April, which coincides with Distracted Driving Awareness month. The #HandsFreeForAbbie hashtag was created in honor of Abbie DeLoach, one of five Georgia Southern University nursing students to lose their lives on April 22, 2015, due to a distracted driver.
Times-Georgian
UWG expands dual enrollment program into Coweta County
Determined young Cowetans will have an opportunity to enroll at the University of West Georgia before even graduating high school, thanks to UWG’s Go West Early expansion into Coweta County. This unique program, which starts in Fall 2024, offers dual enrollment courses that count toward high school graduation and official college transcripts.
Savannah Tribune
TEDxSavannah Announces Speakers for May 16th Event at Georgia Southern’s Armstrong Campus
TEDxSavannah, an independently organized, half-day celebration of ideas worth spreading, has selected 12 speakers for the 13th annual TEDxSavannah event, which will take place on Thursday, May 16, 2024 from 1 to 5 p.m. at the Fine Arts Auditorium at Georgia Southern University’s Armstrong Campus, located at 11935 Abercorn St. Doors will open at noon. The TEDxSavannah theme for 2024 is Convergence. Speakers will address the theme from a range of perspectives in talks designed to resonate deeply with the greater Savannah community.
The Georgia Virtue
ArtsFest Slated to Return to Sweetheart Circle April 20
Albert Einstein once said, “Creativity is contagious—pass it on.” The ArtsFest event in Statesboro has done just that for 41 years. ArtsFest began the early 80’s as a community outreach effort for the Georgia Southern University (GSU) Art Department to engage talented faculty members and students with the youth of this community—and to have fun doing it, while creating an awareness of the many types of art. In 2016, GSU’s Betty Foy Sanders Department of Art announced it would no longer host the event. The Bulloch Recreation and Parks Department (BCRP), with the help of the University and many other community sponsors and organizations, decided to continue the event with BCRP as host. The event, held in its traditional spot-on Sweetheart Circle on the GSU campus, typically sees over 4,000 youth and their families. In 2024, ArtsFest will once again return to Sweetheart Circle April 20 from 10 am until 3 pm.
Tallahassee Democrat
‘Game changer’: FAMU launches its STR2EAM Innovation Fab Lab with Chevron, Fab Foundation
Tarah Jean
Florida A&M University’s College of Education announced the grand opening Friday of the FAMU Chevron STR2EAM Innovation Fab Lab — a state-of-the-art creative space for the community. From laser and vinyl cutters to 3-D printers and milling machines, the lab is full of equipment and technologies for rapid prototyping, interactive learning and hands-on activities. FAMU President Larry Robinson said the fab lab is going to “ignite the imaginations” of students and individuals in the rest of the community. …In addition to Chevron’s partnership with FAMU, it has also launched a fab lab on the campus of Fort Valley State University through a similar partnership, and it plans on expanding the initiative to other HBCUs (historically Black colleges and universities).
Americus Times-Recorder
GSW Baseball Team earns highest ranking in program history
By Ken Gustafson
The Georgia Southwestern State University Baseball Team earned its highest ranking in program history when it was ranked 15th in the American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA) NCAA Division II coaches poll. Photo by GSW Athletics From Staff Reports AMERICUS – The Georgia Southwestern State University baseball team earned its highest ranking in a national poll in program history when reaching No. 15 in the American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA) NCAA Division II coaches poll. The Hurricanes moved up from No. 21 two weeks ago.
BVM Sports
Zawdie Jackson Named Atlanta Tip-off Club Georgia College Men’s Player of the Year
The University of West Georgia Men’s Basketball’s Zawdie Jackson continues to stamp his name in the history books as the point guard was named the Atlanta Tip-off Club Georgia College Men’s Player of the Year on Monday. Jackson becomes the third non-Division I player to win the award and the first since Augusta’s Tyrekus Bowman who won it in 2007. West Georgia’s Michael Ford also won the award in 2006, making Jackson the second UWG player to earn this achievement.
BVM Sports
Georgia Southern Football Members Shine at NFL Women’s Forum
At the NFL’s eighth annual Women’s Forum held during the Combine, 40 women from collegiate football were chosen to participate in a weekend focused on supporting female roles in the National Football League. Among the selected attendees were two members of the Georgia Southern football program, Genevieve “G” Humphrey and Elease Ryals. The event included panels, seminars, and hands-on sessions led by women in the NFL and head coaches, aiming to create more opportunities for women in football leadership roles.
Savannah Morning News
SSU’s liberal arts faculty caucus votes to investigate 2023 faculty non-renewals
Joseph Schwartzburt
Savannah State University (SSU) faculty within the College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences (CLASS) voted to investigate whether the university’s leadership failed to follow protocol when the school did not renew contracts for 13 faculty last summer. According to email records shared with the Savannah Morning News (SMN), Jordan Dominy, an associate professor of English and chair of the CLASS faculty caucus for the SSU faculty senate, requested a meeting between the CLASS caucus and interim President Cynthia Robinson Alexander and interim Provost Richard Miller. The request was initially sent on Feb. 27, following SMN’s Feb. 21 report on possible protocol violations during the August 2023 faculty non-renewal process. To date Miller and Alexander have refused to discuss the non-renewals with the CLASS caucus. In response to questions from SMN regarding the non-renewals, Miller stated, “We can’t respond to something that we were not aware of, that we weren’t involved with.”
Higher Education News:
Inside Higher Ed
Tax Errors Set Back FAFSA Processing—Again
By Liam Knox
The U.S. Education Department released additional details Tuesday on the scope and impact of the tax issue flagged last week by financial aid officers, the latest calculation error to beset the beleaguered rollout of the new FAFSA. Five percent of all previously processed Institutional Student Information Records, or ISIRs, will have to be reprocessed, the department said—a little over 320,000 forms. The issues stemmed from inconsistencies in tax data as it was transferred from the IRS to the department via the IRS’s data exchange, leading to miscalculations in student aid indexes and causing affected students’ forms to reflect less aid eligibility than they should.
See also:
The Atlantic
Colleges Are Facing an Enrollment Nightmare
A botched effort to streamline the financial-aid process may prevent a huge number of students from going to college in the fall.
By Rose Horowitch
For years, Senator Lamar Alexander was known for theatrically unfurling a paper document so long that he could hold it above his head and still see it drag along the chamber floor. It was the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, or FAFSA, a form that every college student and their family must complete to be eligible for federal grants and student loans. Detractors argued that its length (more than 100 questions) and complexity (experts joked that you needed a Ph.D. to complete it) deterred students from getting aid and attending college. In December 2020, on the eve of Alexander’s retirement, Congress finally passed legislation to simplify the form, with implementation ultimately scheduled for the high-school class of 2024. It was a rare win for bipartisan, commonsense governance: less paperwork, more kids going to college. That was the idea, anyway. In practice, seemingly every phase of the implementation has gone wrong; an ostensible process of simplification has made enrolling in college much harder. And while the government scrambles to fix the problems it created, time is running out for an entire nation’s worth of high-school seniors. The effect on college attendance threatens to be even worse than the coronavirus pandemic was.
Higher Ed Dive
Gainful employment reporting delayed amid political pressure
The Education Department will give colleges more time to gather data in light of the fraught financial aid cycle.
Ben Unglesbee, Senior Reporter
Dive Brief:
Institutions will have more time to comply with reporting requirements under the gainful employment and financial value transparency regulations finalized last year, the U.S. Department of Education said Friday. Colleges now have until Oct. 1 to provide required information on student financial outcomes. Previously, that deadline was set for July 31. The extension comes after the department faced political pressure to delay the reporting requirements amid the troubled release of the new Free Application for Federal Student Aid form.
Inside Higher Ed
Inching Toward the $100,000 Sticker Price
Some selective institutions are expected to hit six figures soon, though such pricing will likely have more of a psychological and political impact than a financial one.
By Josh Moody
For years, headlines have warned that the cost of attending college would eventually exceed $100,000-a-year at some institutions. Law schools at Columbia and Stanford Universities and the University of Chicago crossed that threshold in 2019; some higher ed experts predicted that the most expensive private four-year institutions would join them by 2030. Now that barrier could be broken as early as next year, some believe.
Higher Ed Dive
Texas lawmaker ramps up oversight of college DEI ban
The state’s seven public systems have until May 3 to report on their efforts to ensure no diversity programming is offered on their campuses.
Laura Spitalniak, Staff Reporter
Dive Brief:
A key Texas lawmaker is upping the pressure on state higher education leaders to ensure they comply with a new law eliminating diversity, equity and inclusion programming. The state last year passed a law banning DEI efforts at its public colleges. The legislation, known as SB 17, took effect Jan. 1 and is one of the country’s most restrictive anti-DEI laws affecting higher ed. State Sen. Brandon Creighton, a Republican who sponsored the legislation, recently directed the leaders of seven Texas university systems to detail their compliance with the law by May 3. The Senate’s education committee, which Creighton chairs, plans to hold a hearing on the matter next month.
Inside Higher Ed
Creating Community for Students in Recovery: Voices of Student Success
By Ashley Mowreader
Voices of Student Success, a six-episode series focused on student retention, engagement and graduation in higher education, takes over this week’s episode of the Key, Inside Higher Ed’s news and analysis podcast. In this episode, host Ashley Mowreader spoke with Angela Lauer Chong, associate vice president for student affairs and dean of students at Florida State University, about supporting students’ physical and emotional health through a collegiate recovery program, LIFT.
Diverse Issues in Higher Education
Saint Augustine’s Students Move to Remote Learning
Johnny Jackson
Students and staff at Saint Augustine’s University in Raleigh, North Carolina, are teaching and learning online this month as the university transitions to cost-saving online learning. Some students, including athletes, international students, and students working in internships, will remain on campus until the commencement ceremony in May, reports WTVD-TV Raleigh-Durham. Most will end the school year in remote learning. The measure follows increased challenges faced by the cash-strapped university, which recently lost its appeal to retain its accreditation by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACS-COC).
Inside Higher Ed
University of Arizona President to Step Down
By Josh Moody
Nearly six months into a financial crisis and facing the wrath of Governor Katie Hobbs, University of Arizona President Robert C. Robbins will step down when his contract expires in 2026 or a successor steps in, the Arizona Board of Regents (ABOR) announced on Tuesday. The decision comes amid a tumultuous time for the university, which is facing a $177 million shortfall caused by a flawed budget model and overspending on strategic initiatives. UA Chief Financial Officer Lisa Rulney resigned in December and was reassigned to another post.
See also:
Cybersecurity Dive
AT&T hit with class action suit over massive data breach
The breach was a “direct result” of AT&T’s failure to implement adequate cybersecurity procedures, the suit alleges.
Alexei Alexis, Reporter
Dive Brief:
AT&T is facing a class action lawsuit stemming from its recent disclosure of a massive data security breach impacting as many as 73 million current and former customers. The telecommunications giant disregarded the rights of class members by “intentionally, willfully, recklessly, or negligently failing to take adequate and reasonable measures to ensure its data systems were protected against unauthorized intrusions,” among other alleged missteps, according to the plaintiff, Ohio resident Alex Petroski. The suit, filed Saturday in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas, identifies Petroski as a former AT&T wireless customer. “As a result of the data breach, plaintiff and class members have been exposed to a heightened and imminent risk of fraud and identity theft,” the complaint says.