University System News:
AJC.com
Bill pushes early admission preference for Georgia College students
By Eric Stirgus
A state senator has introduced legislation that would give preference to Georgia students in the highly competitive world of early admissions to some of its top, public universities. The legislation by Sen. Brandon Beach, R-Alpharetta, would require the state’s four research universities offer at least 90 percent of early action admissions to Georgia resident students. The four research universities are the University of Georgia, Georgia Tech, Augusta and Georgia State universities. Beach, who pre-filed the legislation Wednesday, said he did so after a telephone conversation with a University of Georgia official who said 41% of the students recently accepted for early admissions live outside the state.
AJC.com
Oregon State sues Georgia Tech’s Todd Stansbury, alleging breach of contract
By Ken Sugiura
Georgia Tech athletic director Todd Stansbury has been sued for breach of contract by Oregon State, his former employer, according to court documents obtained by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. The story was first reported by The Oregonian earlier Saturday. Oregon State, from where Stansbury was hired in September 2016, alleged in its lawsuit, filed Wednesday, that Stansbury stopped making payments on money owed the school as part of his buyout for leaving before his contract was completed. Stansbury left his position as Oregon State AD a little more than a year into the job. He signed a five-year contract in 2015.
AJC.com
‘There one day gone the next’: Nonprofit’s end puzzles Atlanta’s southside
By Willoughby Mariano
Over 10 years, a basement nonprofit under contract with the city of Atlanta pumped millions of dollars into the cluster of struggling neighborhoods south of I-20. High-profile donors and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development helped fund its mission to provide job placement, skills training and more. What’s left of the Center for Working Families is a darkened office and questions from community members about what went wrong… “It was nice to have an organization close by to point to,” said Jason Dozier, a Mechanicsville resident who used the center when it hosted meetings for the Turner Field Coalition, a local advocacy group that formed as the stadium was being purchased by Georgia State University. “Honestly, I think we’ve lost a lot of that since they’ve shuttered.”
AJC.com
UGA joins group of colleges studying its history involving slavery
By Eric Stirgus
The University of Georgia has joined a group of nearly five dozen colleges and universities created several years ago to research its history involving slavery and explore ways to help descendants negatively impacted. UGA joined the Universities Studying Slavery consortium last week. Its participation comes a month after selecting a 21-member team of faculty members and others to research its history concerning slavery. The research initiative is expected to be completed by June 2021. “We are excited to have a team of faculty from several units collaborating on this project,” UGA officials said in a statement on the consortium’s website. “The range of expertise represented by the research team will provide a rich academic examination of the history of slavery at UGA and contribute significantly to our scholarly understanding of the history of the institution.”
AJC.com
Red tape stops some Georgia students from getting financial aid
By Eric Stirgus
Georgia State University student Korie Amritt has seen many students come to the financial aid office where she works part time in recent months seeking help to fill out the application to get money from the federal government to help pay for their education. In many instances, though, students are not getting those funds, university officials say. Federal officials often ask for more information, such as income tax records, from applicants before approving the requests as part of a process called “verification.” Georgia State administrators say the verification process has confused, frustrated and, in many cases, stopped students from filling out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid or FAFSA.
Albany Herald
Georgia-Pacific partners with 4C Academy
Staff Reports
Georgia-Pacific and the Commodore Conyers College and Career Academy (4C Academy) have entered a long-term partnership agreement that includes an investment of $10,000 by GP. Commenting on the announcement, Albany Lumber Plant Manager Johnnie Temples said, “GP is thankful for the opportunity to contribute to the 4C Academy. The school’s curriculum aligns very well with our internal vision, and we know that this gift will help develop the youth of this community, building a bright future for Dougherty County. Georgia-Pacific looks forward to a long-term partnership with such an innovative educational system as 4C Academy and the Dougherty County School System.”… The mission of the Commodore Conyers College and Career Academy is to produce college- and career-ready graduates with relevant skills and education and exceptional work ethic who can compete and succeed in the real world. The school’s partners include local business and industry, the Dougherty County School System, Albany Technical College, Albany State University, the Albany-Dougherty Economic Development Commission, and the Albany Area Chamber of Commerce. In addition, the 4C Academy has partnered with the Calhoun, Terrell and Baker County School Systems.
Tifton Gazette
ABAC nursing honors graduates at pinning ceremony
Taylor Kight from Moultrie, Summer Landeros from Ashburn, and Shelby Stacey from Valdosta received the three top awards presented by the School of Nursing and Health Sciences at Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College at the recent fall semester pinning ceremony. Kight received the Carillon Award, which goes to the student with the highest-grade point average among the graduates. Named for the carillon bells in the ABAC Chapel of All Faiths, located adjacent to the Health Sciences building, the award is sponsored by Colquitt Regional Medical Center. Landeros received the Clinical Excellence Award, which recognizes a student who demonstrated excellence in evidence-based clinical practice and patient-centered care. The award is sponsored by Southwell Tift Regional Health Systems.
Albany Herald
Georgia Southwestern recognizes 2019 graduates
Staff Reports
Georgia Southwestern State University recognized the Class of 2019 last week at the university’s fall 2019 commencement ceremony in the Convocation Hall. Approximately 285 students received their bachelor’s, master’s and specialist degrees during the ceremonies, with 436 students earning degrees this semester. The commencement speaker for the 11 a.m. undergraduate ceremony was state Sen. Freddie Powell Sims. Following an introduction from GSW President Neal Weaver, Sims spoke to the graduates about servant leadership and becoming an active part of their communities. “Today’s Georgia – today’s world – is waiting for you,” Sims told the graduates. “What you do and say within the communities you reside in will help them prosper and grow for many, many years to come. This great university has prepared you in some definitive way to become servant leaders.
Albany Herald
C.W. Grant, Jones family to be honored by Albany State
Staff Reports
Albany State University will pay tribute to a legendary administrator and an iconic family with the renaming of two buildings on campus. The University System of Georgia Board of Regents approved a University recommendation to name the East Campus Student Center as the C.W. Grant Student Union and the Health, Physical Education, and Recreation Complex as the Jones Brothers Health, Physical Education, and Recreation Complex. “At all institutions, there are reminders of individuals who left an everlasting mark,” ASU President Marion Fedrick said. “It is both a privilege and an honor to recognize Dr. C.W. Grant and the Jones family for their commitment to the institution. They are true examples of those who have lived out excellence.”
Macon Telegraph
First ‘Dreamer’ graduates from Delaware State University
By Brooke Schultz
When Dulce Guerrero accepted her diploma during Delaware State University’s commencement Saturday (Dec. 14), she reached a milestone. “It’s something I’ve been looking forward to. It’s something that I had to put on hold for five years, because of the barriers that existed in the state of Georgia,” she said Friday (Dec. 13), her last day as an undergraduate. “It feels like a sense of accomplishment to finally reach this milestone and say — we’ve been able to do it, despite the hardship, despite all the obstacles that we face. We’re finally here and it’s graduation day.”… Ms. Guerrero grew up in Georgia. As she came up on high school graduation in 2011 and began looking at her options for college, she said that she learned she was unable to apply to the top five schools in Georgia. For the other universities, she would have to pay out-of-state tuition — a significant barrier to pursuing her education. She put her hopes for college on hold, and became politically involved in Georgia, she said. She said that she worked with nonprofits locally that fought for tuition equity, and was a plaintiff in a lawsuit against the University System of Georgia.
Georgia Recorder
Georgia unemployment rate at record low in November
By Stanley Dunlap
The state Department of Labor announced Thursday that last month Georgia’s unemployment rate dipped to 3.3%, the lowest since the federal government began tracking jobless rates in 1976. The record comes a decade after a recession led to the state setting record highs in unemployment. It wasn’t until spring 2017 that Georgia’s unemployment rate bounced back to pre-recession levels… The types of jobs Georgians are finding range from retail and hospitality to professional level, skilled technical positions like electricians and construction workers, according to Steve Morse, dean of Middle Georgia State University’s School of Business.
Higher Education News:
Inside Higher Ed
By Elin Johnson
Access to higher education is unequal in America, according to new research that shows education deserts across institution sectors, particularly in rural areas. The new report and interactive map created by the Jain Family Institute depicts how institutions of higher education are more concentrated in urban hubs and the eastern part of the country. The research looks at the accessibility of higher education by enrollment figures and the concentration of colleges. It maps access to postsecondary institutions at the ZIP code level in all U.S. states and territories. The report, which was released Wednesday, found that 30.7 million Americans have access to only one public institution, while 10.1 million Americans live in public education deserts. The report also found that the richest ZIP codes have less of a concentration of institutions than poorer ZIP codes (meaning colleges are more spread throughout wealthier areas).
The Chronicle of Higher Education
Behold, the Decade of Monsters and Men
By Jack Stripling
In the bleary-eyed hours of January 1, 2010, the nation’s colleges and universities were suffering the equivalent of a 10-martini economic hangover. The Great Recession had wreaked its havoc on endowment returns, and there was talk of a grand reordering of the higher-education landscape. Closures. Mergers. Death by a thousand budget cuts. The Great Recession seemed poised to undo higher education. The decade would force us to confront something far worse. Some of that happened, to be sure. But there was another, far worse, menace lurking at the dawn of the decade. None of us saw it coming. At first, we saw only its shadowy outlines — its grotesque form indistinguishable. It wasn’t until the spring of 2011 that the picture started to appear. We heard about it in a letter. “Dear Colleague,” it began.