University System News

USG NEWS:
www.gainesvilletimes.com
http://www.gainesvilletimes.com/section/6/article/86994/
UGA starts revamped faculty tour in Hall
College starts revamped faculty tour in Gainesville
By Jeff Gill
A budget cut casualty during the Great Recession, the University of Georgia’s New Faculty Tour was revived Monday night, with Hall County serving as the first stop on the statewide tour. A bevy of community leaders and elected officials welcomed the group, as it stepped off a bus that had lost its air conditioning traveling from Athens and walked into the cool Gainesville Civic Center at 830 Green St. “I’d like to challenge you all to be more connected to the people and issues facing this great state,” said Philip Wilheit Sr., president and CEO of Gainesville’s Wilheit Packaging and vice chairman of the state Board of Regents.

Related article:
www.gpb.org
New UGA Faculty Members Tour Georgia
http://www.gpb.org/news/2013/08/05/new-uga-faculty-members-tour-georgia#

www.gpb.org
http://www.gpb.org/news/2013/08/06/a-conversation-with-ugas-new-top-dawg#
A Conversation With UGA’s New Top ‘Dawg
By Joshua Stewart
ATHENS, Ga. — Barely a month into his tenure as president of the University of Georgia, Jere Morehead suspects he already knows the yard stick that will be used to measure his leadership: how much money he raises. The state’s flagship university is about to embark on a comprehensive campaign – a multi-year massive fundraising effort that will likely collect more than a billion dollars for UGA.

www.onlineathens.com
http://onlineathens.com/uga/2013-08-05/international-student-orientation-goodbye-ugas-leigh-poole
International student orientation is goodbye for UGA’s Leigh Poole
By LEE SHEARER
Although the start of classes at the University of Georgia is about a week away, one group of globe-trotting students already has arrived on campus. They are the about 300 international students taking classes this year. Most of UGA’s new international students show up two weeks early for a special orientation where they learn not only the ABCs of the University of Georgia, but of customs in the United States. …It was the last orientation for Leigh Poole, the UGA associate director for International Student Life, who’s guided these orientations since she came to UGA 13 years ago.

www.valdostadailytimes.com
http://valdostadailytimes.com/local/x1981929164/VSU-convocation-prepares-faculty-for-new-challenges
VSU convocation prepares faculty for new challenges
Kristin Finney
The Valdosta Daily Times
VALDOSTA — Valdosta State University held its annual fall convocation Monday. Each year, to celebrate the beginning of a new school year, this event is held to bring faculty and staff members together to hear words of encouragement, challenges for the new year and to honor their achievements. …Following these speeches, McKinney shared his convocation speech. He spoke of the importance of change and how change and permanence can coexist. …McKinney also announced that VSU will extend its out-of-state waiver to more bordering Florida counties.

www.ajc.com
http://www.ajc.com/news/news/local/uga-falls-to-11th-in-list-of-top-party-schools/nZFdD/
UGA falls to 11th on list of top party schools
By Bryan Cronan
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
In 2010, the University of Georgia was ranked the top party school in the country. But since then, it has been all downhill. The Princeton Review released its latest list of the Top 20 Party schools, and the Bulldog Nation is ranked 11th. That’s down from second in 2011 and fifth last year. The top-ranked party school in the country is the University of Iowa, followed by the University of California, Santa Barbara, and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Related article:
www.onlineathens.com
UGA drops out of top 10 party schools
http://onlineathens.com/uga/2013-08-05/uga-drops-out-top-10-party-schools

GOOD NEWS:
www.onlineathens.com
http://onlineathens.com/local-news/2013-08-05/grant-awarded-georgia-regents-university-diversity-program
Grant awarded to Georgia Regents University for diversity program
By ASSOCIATED PRESS
AUGUSTA — Georgia Regents University has been given a grant to support an online program aimed at helping health professionals better serve people from different cultural groups. The university’s Office of Diversity and Inclusion has been given a $50,000 grant from the Healthcare Georgia Foundation to support its Healthy Perspectives Program, school officials said in a statement Monday.

USG VALUE:
www.wsbtv.com
http://www.wsbtv.com/news/news/local/gsu-prepares-rare-senate-hearing-over-va-deaths/nZFc7/
GSU prepares for rare Senate hearing over VA deaths
ATLANTA — In just days a local university will host an important U.S. Senate hearing that comes as a direct result of a Channel 2 Action News investigation. That investigation exposed federal reports linking mismanagement by Atlanta VA Medical Center hospital leaders to three patient deaths. Wednesday morning, Sen. Johnny Isakson will chair a rare Senate field hearing with some of the VA’s top local and national leaders at Georgia State University for an accountability session with the United States Senate. Work is already underway to transform a Georgia State University ballroom into a United States Senate hearing room.

www.wtvm.com
http://www.wtvm.com/story/23032093/uga-small-business-development-center-announces-course-for-business-owners-this-fall
UGA Small Business Development Center announces course for business owners this fall
Posted by Courtney Smith
COLUMBUS, GA (WTVM) – The University of Georgia Small Business Development Center (SBDC) of Columbus believes in the value and importance of a strong and resilient community. One way in which the UGA SBDC achieves that goal is by helping to strengthen and prepare the small business community for growth.

RESEARCH:
www.onlineathens.com
http://onlineathens.com/health/2013-08-05/obesity-research-focuses-senior-citizens
Obesity research focuses on senior citizens
By APRIL BURKHARTpublished Monday, August 5, 2013
EDITORS NOTE: This is the second story in a six-part series on obesity research conducted through the Obesity Initiative at the University of Georgia. When it comes to losing weight and fighting obesity, the general public has been bombarded with two requirements: Eat better and exercise. Ellen Evans, associate professor for the Department of Kinesiology at the University of Georgia and the director for the Center for Physical Activity and Health, agrees but said when it comes to older adults, there are multiple things to take into account.

www.wabe.org
http://www.wabe.org/post/projectengage-year-opportunity
ProjectENGAGE: A Year of Opportunity
By JIM BURRESS
Finding paths into the so-called STEM fields – Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics – remains especially challenging for minorities. But a first-of-its kind program between Georgia Tech and two single-gender Atlanta high schools is working to change the trend.

www.popsci.com
http://www.popsci.com/technology/article/2013-08/researchers-make-mona-lisa-thats-thinner-human-hair
This Mona Lisa Replica Is Thinner Than A Human Hair
It’s a 30-micron masterpiece.
By Colin Lecher
A team of researchers from Georgia Tech has created the “Mini Lisa,” a 30-micron thick version of the Mona Lisa. That makes it about one-third the width of a human hair. The tiny masterpiece was made through a process called ThermoChemical NanoLithography: with a heated cantilever, a tiny device that can accurately apply heat to a surface, the researchers induced heat-based chemical reactions on a surface. The more heat they applied, the lighter a shade of gray the picture became in that area. So with each area acting like the pixel in an image, the researchers applied different amounts of heat at different spots, until they created a gray-scale version of da Vinci’s famed painting.

Related article:
www.livescience.com
Scientists Make the Smallest Mona Lisa
http://www.livescience.com/38680-nanotechnology-mini-mona-lisa.html

www.biztechreport.co.uk
http://biztechreport.co.uk/2013/08/ios-security-malware-vulnerabilities-exposed/
iOS malware security vulnerabilities exposed
By Lyndsey McGill
American academics have found vulnerabilities in Apple’s iOS operating system which could allow hackers to install malicious applications.
The technology firm have a mandatory review system for all applications but two flaws have been discovered that could allow hackers to bypass these measures and install the apps. The researchers says that they exploited the security flaws through the use of Trojan Horse-style applications and plug in devices, such as chargers. The Georgia Tech Information Center was able to make a Jeckyll-based app which could successfully perform malicious tasks, like taking photos and sending emails without the knowledge of the user.

STATE NEEDS/ISSUES:
www.ajc.com
http://www.ajc.com/news/news/state-regional-govt-politics/deal-considers-new-state-history-museum/nZFSk/
Deal considers new state history museum
By Greg Bluestein and James Salzer
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The old World of Coca-Cola, the empty state-owned building at the edge of Underground Atlanta, could be the linchpin of a broader plan to remake Capitol Hill into a pedestrian-friendly tourist attraction.
Gov. Nathan Deal is weighing whether to put millions of dollars into creating a state history museum at the site, which would also would house exhibits from the state sports and music halls of fame. State officials are also considering whether to turn nearby Mitchell Street into a pedestrian plaza, and an unsightly parking lot into a “protest area.” …“Telling the state’s history is very important. We have had a hodgepodge of historic preservation for years,” said George Hooks, a member of the University System Board of Regents, a former longtime state lawmaker and an amateur historian. “Having the museum right there on campus is great for tour groups, and for everybody old and young. And this would bring tourism to downtown Atlanta.”

Editorials/Columns/Opinions
www.blogs.edweek.org
http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/rick_hess_straight_up/2013/08/why_the_common_core_became_a_political_football.html?cmp=ENL-EU-VIEWS2
Why the Common Core Became a Political Football
By Rick Hess
The wheels on the Common Core bus have developed a visible rattle of late. Georgia, Indiana, Pennsylvania, Alabama, Oklahoma, and Utah have withdrawn from assessment consortia. With Tony Bennett no longer state chief in Florida, there’s an excellent chance that Florida will bail. The unexpectedly high cost of assessments has sparked complaints. Florida senator and Tea Party icon Marco Rubio has come out against the standards. Jeb Bush is getting slammed by some Tea Party columnists for backing the standards. (The first rule of coalition politics: It’s not good when supporting your bipartisan cause puts crucial backers at war with their base.) And New Jersey governor Chris Christie has made the Core a new front in his attack on “knee-jerk” Republicans, heaping fuel on the fire.

www.washingtonpost.com
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/wp/2013/08/06/five-absurdities-about-high-stakes-standardized-tests/?wpisrc=nl_cuzheads
The Answer Sheet by Valerie Strauss
Five absurdities about high-stakes standardized tests
Barely a day goes by when the education world isn’t treated to some new story involving high-stakes standardized tests, the chief metric of “accountability systems” in the modern era of school reform. …Against this backdrop, here are five absurdities about all of the current standardized testing frenzy. Feel free to add your own and I can publish a more complete list.

www.insidehighered.com
http://www.insidehighered.com/views/2013/08/06/essay-mooc-debate-and-what-really-matters-about-teaching#ixzz2bBBhjCOw
My Problem With MOOCs
By Brent Chesley
Giving college credit for a massive open online course will devalue degrees, but the moment I write that, a voice in my mind asks, “Why do you believe that?” Although I don’t think colleges and universities should equate MOOCs with other courses, I’m no Luddite. I’m happy to see digital humanities breathe life into literary studies, and at one point I took an online class to prepare to teach in that format.

www.insidehighered.com
http://www.insidehighered.com/blogs/world-view/argentina-top-—-its-dropout-rate
Argentina at the Top — For Its Dropout Rate!
Cristina Bonasegna Kelly
Argentina holds a title no country should be proud of, as it has one of the highest university dropout rates in the world. For every 100 students who enroll each year, at both private and publicly financed universities, only 27 manage to graduate, making the drop-out rate about 73 percent.

www.insidehighered.com
http://www.insidehighered.com/blogs/technology-and-learning/bezos-post-and-higher-ed
Bezos, The Post and Higher Ed
Joshua Kim
“We will need to invent, which means we will need to experiment.” From a letter to Washington Post employees from Jeff Bezos on his $250 million purchase of the paper. What would you do if you were given the mandate from your president to experiment? Jeff Bezos is absolutely under no illusions about the challenges faced by traditional newspapers. He writes; “The Internet is transforming almost every element of the news business: shortening news cycles, eroding long-reliable revenue sources, and enabling new kinds of competition, some of which bear little or no news-gathering costs. There is no map, and charting a path ahead will not be easy.” How could that quote be rewritten to apply to higher ed?

www.saportareport.com
http://saportareport.com/blog/2013/08/georgias-agriculture-industry-now-more-global-and-more-local/
Georgia’s agriculture industry becoming more global and more local
By Saba Long
“Agriculture and Commerce.” It’s the motto on the back (or front) of our two-sided state seal. And as State Agriculture Commissioner Gary Black reminded the audience in his keynote address at last week’s Sustainable Atlanta Roundtable, we participate in the state’s agriculture industry three times per day. From 1776 to present day, agriculture is big business for the state, generating more than $7 billion in economic activity, and it accounts for 87,000 full and part-time jobs. …Joining Black for the Roundtable discussion, “Farm to Fork: Transforming Georgia’s Local Food System,” were Jenni Harris of White Oak Pastures; Julia Gaskin with the University of Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences; and moderator Don Cooper of Georgia Organics.

www.online.wsj.com
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887324635904578643960038300812.html
Texas Race Case Defiance
The university tries to dodge the Supreme Court on preferences.
In the middle of the last century, opposition in Southern states to the Supreme Court’s racial rulings became known as massive resistance. Now liberal universities are using whatever means they can to avoid abiding by the law.

Education News
www.ajc.com
http://www.ajc.com/news/online/home/georgia-attorney-general-says-sacs-should-be-more-/nZFYn/
Georgia Attorney General says SACS should be more transparent
By Ty Tagami
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The private agency that accredits public schools in Georgia can make or break a community, driving down property values and threatening the future of college-bound students. Under Georgia law, the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools can also set the stage for the removal of elected school board members, yet it is not subject to the state law that forces public agencies to share records with the public, and critics contend its use of anonymous sources makes disproving allegations impossible. …Georgia Attorney General Sam Olens who championed a recent overhaul of the state’s open records laws that imposed greater transparency on local government told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution that he wants SACS to voluntarily comply with it.

www.gbj.com
http://gbj.com/2013/08/05/north-fulton-technical-college-campus/
North Fulton technical college campus
GBJ Staff
As plans for a TCSG technical college campus in North Fulton take shape, anticipation increases daily for how this will positively influence regional workforce development. …“What’s hot for the job market in North Fulton – and across the Innovation Crescent – is technology, healthcare and life science,” explains Sharon Bartels, president, Gwinnett Technical College. “Expansion to North Fulton will allow Gwinnett Tech to offer degrees and training to students closer to home, and will develop a workforce that can meet the precise needs of the companies and industry in the area.”

www.bizjournals.com
http://www.bizjournals.com/atlanta/blog/a-healthy-conversation/2013/08/emory-researchers-id-new-risk-factor.html
Emory researchers ID new risk factor schizophrenia
Urvaksh Karkaria
Staff Writer-Atlanta Business Chronicle
Emory researchers have discovered a new risk factor for schizophrenia.
Researchers at Emory’s Rollins School of Public Health have identified a large duplication on chromosome 7q11.23 as a new risk factor for schizophrenia, according to a statement. 7q11.23 refers to the specific location of the duplicated region on the chromosome.

www.wabe.org
http://www.wabe.org/post/georgias-testing-future-uncertain
Georgia’s Testing Future Uncertain
By MARTHA DALTON
Georgia recently withdrew from a national test consortium called the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers, or PARCC. It’s one of two consortia aligned to the Common Core education standards, which have been adopted by Georgia and 44 other states. State officials planned to implement PARCC during the 2014-2015 school year. However, it’s unclear what will replace it.

www.edweek.org
http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2013/08/02/37testside.h32.html?tkn=XYVF%2By2bKcWt4Lg%2BZG5YZTlVn49YkzCCdUuh&cmp=ENL-EU-NEWS1
Tests Linked to Common Core in Critics’ Cross Hairs
Assessments cast as weak link
By Andrew Ujifusa
Having failed to persuade lawmakers in any state to repeal the Common Core State Standards outright, opponents are training their fire on the assessments being developed to go with the standards and due to be rolled out for the 2014-15 school year.

www.insidehighered.com
http://www.insidehighered.com/quicktakes/2013/08/06/senate-panel-votes-include-military-tuition-9010-rule
Senate Panel Votes to Include Military Tuition in 90/10 Rule
A U.S. Senate panel last weekend passed a rider to the defense appropriations bill that would count federal spending on tuition assistance for members of the military and their spouses toward a threshold that requires for-profit colleges to receive less than 90 percent of their revenue from federal sources.

www.diverseeducation.com
http://diverseeducation.com/article/55069/?utm_campaign=Diverse%20Newsletter%203&utm_medium=email&utm_source=Eloqua&elq=eaec82721de5471baab1886db4675177&elqCampaignId=33#
Ohio State Returns $1M in Overcharges to Students
by Associated Press
Ohio State University has refunded $1 million to 20,000 summer school students after imposing a fee increase that officials had promised wouldn’t happen. The Columbus Dispatch reports that a graduate student first noticed that students had been overcharged and brought it to the attention of student government leaders. Though tuition remained the same, fees had jumped $81 to $323 for the summer semester.

www.online.wsj.com
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887323420604578650420166447266.html
Many Can’t Pay Student Loans
Some 8% of Borrowers in a New Federal Program Have Defaulted
By JOSH MITCHELL
WASHINGTON—Just about four in 10 borrowers with direct federal student loans are paying them back, according to a report released Monday that offers the first comprehensive snapshot of the program since the government created it in 2010. Many of the 27.8 million borrowers with these newer direct federal loans aren’t yet required to make payments: About 35% are still in school or within a six-month grace period after graduation, the report said.

www.diverseeducation.com
http://diverseeducation.com/article/55075/?utm_campaign=Diverse%20Newsletter%203&utm_medium=email&utm_source=Eloqua&elq=eaec82721de5471baab1886db4675177&elqCampaignId=33#
Social Media Putting College Freshmen at Ease
by Elaine Marsilio, Corpus Christi Caller-Times
CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — Celestina Encinia is comfortable with the idea of starting her freshman year of college later this month at Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi. The 18-year-old Sinton High School graduate knows where she will live and soon will know her class schedule and necessary textbooks to buy, but that’s not what puts her at ease. It’s that she’s already connected with her peers, without meeting them. That comfort makes the thought of college less intimidating. Encinia found four classmates on the image-sharing site Instagram weeks before she set foot on campus for last week’s new student orientation.

www.insidehighered.com
http://www.insidehighered.com/quicktakes/2013/08/06/lumina-backs-voluntary-state-network-distance-ed-regs
Lumina Backs Voluntary State Network of Distance Ed Regs
The Lumina Foundation is putting $2.3 million behind a growing effort to reduce the regulatory burden on institutions that offer online courses to students across state lines, according to the Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education.

www.theepochtimes.com
http://www.theepochtimes.com/n3/229640-5-best-moocs-for-free-online-higher-education/
Free Online Higher Education: 5 Best MOOCs
By Kannan Sankaran, Epoch Times
Online education has existed for a while now, but has really taken off in the past year. Massive Open Online Courses, or MOOCs, as they are referred to, have refueled an interest in higher education like never before, with some courses attracting hundreds of thousands of students of all ages from all over the world.

www.diverseeducation.com
http://diverseeducation.com/article/55060/?utm_campaign=Diverse%20Newsletter%203&utm_medium=email&utm_source=Eloqua&elq=eaec82721de5471baab1886db4675177&elqCampaignId=33#
The ABCs of MOOCs: What It’s Like to Enroll
by Justin Pope, AP Education Writer
Esther Duflo, one of the two superstar MIT economists teaching my Massive Open Online Course on global poverty, is a fast-talking French woman with whom I could barely keep up especially when the topic was math. Her co-teacher Abhijit Banerjee spoke so painfully slowly it was all I could do to keep from checking Facebook as he paused between thoughts during his lectures. Never fear. One of the least technologically sophisticated innovations of these free new courses offered by elite universities is also one of the most useful: You can slow down the lectures to .75 times actual speed, listen in actual time, or speed them up by a factor of 1.25 or 1.5.

www.chronicle.com
http://chronicle.com/article/In-Transferring-From-Community/140885/?cid=at
Students With Credentials Fare Better as Transfers From Community Colleges
By Katherine Mangan
Students who transfer from community colleges to four-year institutions having already earned either a certificate or an associate degree are more likely to make it to the finish line, especially if they plow straight through rather than take time off, according to a report released on Tuesday by the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center.

www.insidehighered.com
http://www.insidehighered.com/quicktakes/2013/08/06/study-minority-faculty-marginalized-2-year-colleges
Study: Minority Faculty Marginalized at 2-Year Colleges
Minority faculty members at community colleges feel marginalized and “subordinated” to white faculty members, according to new research from the University of California at Riverside. Despite these frustrations, minority faculty members are deeply committed to the missions of their institutions and to their students, the study found.

www.insidehighered.com
http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2013/08/06/retiring-professor-says-hes-ready-leave-academe-and-others-should-too#ixzz2bBBB4Kdf
Retiring His ‘Boomer Butt’
By Colleen Flaherty
Study after study shows that baby-boomer professors aren’t retiring. Between the hits their 401ks took during the recession and fears of stepping off into an intellectual abyss, many academics have both financial and personal interest in significantly delaying retirement or rejecting it altogether. But Philip Schrodt says that if you’re honest, “You just know when it is time to quit.” And that’s what the former professor of political science at Pennsylvania State University has done, after 40 years in academe (and 31 years as a tenured professor).

www.insidehighered.com
http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2013/08/06/robert-zemskys-checklist-change-tries-get-whats-holding-back-higher-ed
Getting Out of the Rut
By Kevin Kiley
Longtime higher education scholar Robert Zemsky tries to get at what’s actually keeping higher education from making changes. His answer? A lot.

www.insidehighered.com
http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2013/08/06/sociology-job-market-continues-recover-steadily#ixzz2bBBTsIVy
More Sociology Jobs
By Lauren Ingeno
The academic job market for new sociology Ph.D. recipients continues to recover from the nosedive it took after the economic downturn began in 2008, says the American Sociological Association’s new job market report, which was released today.

www.chronicle.com
http://chronicle.com/article/A-Former-Academic-Pushes-for/140863/
A Former Academic Pushes for More Science in the Senate
By Paul Voosen
West Windsor, N.J.
Last Tuesday night in a cozy auditorium at Mercer County Community College, the geeks were running behind. Soon enough the hall would fill with a couple hundred supporters of U.S. Rep. Rush D. Holt, 64, the physicist-turned-politician who has represented New Jersey’s 12th district, centered on Princeton, for the past 15 years. …Mr. Holt is bidding for the Democratic nod in the special election for the state’s U.S. Senate seat—primaries will be held on August 13—and he has not had an easy time of it. …Looking for a way to stand out, last week Mr. Holt turned, as he has often done, to science.

www.chronicle.com
http://chronicle.com/article/Kaplan-Will-Dominate-New/140887/?cid=at&utm_source=at&utm_medium=en
Kaplan Will Dominate New Washington Post Co. After Newspaper Is Sold
By Eric Kelderman
Washington
For nearly three decades, the test-preparation and education company Kaplan Inc. has relied on the prestige and integrity of its corporate owner, the Washington Post Company, to promote its brand. But The Washington Post announced on Monday that Jeff Bezos, founder of Amazon.com, had purchased the newspaper division of the company for $250-million.