University System News:
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Pandemic could have lasting impact on how state government works
By James Salzer
The coronavirus pandemic may have changed the way state government operates for good, and that means tens of millions of dollars in savings at a time when lawmakers are desperately trying to patch holes in the budget. Thousands of state staffers were sent home to do their jobs remotely, and agencies — like many businesses in the United States — found that they could get work done with less office space, fewer phones and equipment, little to no travel expenses, and meetings and training held virtually. Now they are proposing more than $20 million in savings on rent, telecommunications, travel, training and meeting costs in the upcoming year’s budget to help balance the state’s books during the coronavirus recession. And that may only be the start, with other agencies looking to reduce their office footprint on and around Capitol Hill. …But changes in how the bureaucracy of more than 100,000 state and university employees work, and where and when they work, could have a long-lasting impact on everything from metro Atlanta traffic to office space needs.
Valdosta Daily Times
Valdosta State University Campus Activities Board is on a mission to enrich the virtual college experience by offering students a variety of activities designed to promote a bit of fun and a renewed connection to the Blazer Nation community. “We want students to know that CAB is still here,” said Shari Alfred, programming coordinator with VSU’s Office of Student Life. “Although VSU moved to an online teaching and learning module during the second half of spring semester and will continue the same throughout the summer due to the ongoing COVID-19 health crisis, we still want to give students an opportunity to be engaged outside of their online classes like we do when they are taking face-to-face classes on campus. This is so important for us because our students are dealing with lots of changes and uncertainty right now, and we want to do our part to help them be successful.”
WFXG
Augusta University plans to open in the fall
By Brianne Talocka
Augusta University President Dr. Brooks Keel says in-person operations will resume at the Health and Sciences campus on July 1 and on the Summerville campus by August 3. Augusta University will be ramping up custodial services as people return. Fall classes are also expected to be held in-person. College officials say they are prepared to make social distancing accommodations – like teaching hybrid courses, where students alternate between learning in the classroom and learning online. Dr. Keel says he wants the new normal to be as close to the old normal as possible. The dining halls and the rec center will also be open.
Savannah Morning News
Georgia Southern University to offer new certificate program
A new certificate program will be offered on the Georgia Southern University Armstrong Campus as part of a partnership between the Division of Continuing Education and the Department of Public and Nonprofit Studies, the university announced this week. The certificate will be awarded upon completion of the Nonprofit Management and Leadership Workshop Series, which will take place Oct. 5-9 at the Armstrong Center. The five-day program focuses on practical skills building and covers a range of management principles, including board governance, budgeting, grant writing, strategic planning and volunteer management.
Albany Herald
Online delivery boosts interest in UGA Extension
By Josh Paine
Due to social distancing and shelter-in-place guidelines necessitated by the COVID-19 pandemic, University of Georgia Cooperative Extension agents and specialists quickly shifted gears to deliver in-person programs online. But they didn’t expect the overwhelming response they received from the public. …The response to online delivery has been much higher than Extension employees originally expected, with an average of 50 people logging in to each online session versus 30 to 35 participants attending weekly face-to-face meetings, according to Toal.
GPB
What You Need To Know: Privacy Concerns Over Contact Tracing Tool
By Sarah Rose
Apple and Google launched a contact tracing platform that allows public health departments to notify people when they’ve been in contact with someone who tests positive for COVID-19. The CEOs of both companies say the technology can help protect people during the pandemic. …Still, Georgia Tech Professor Deven Desai worries about security and privacy concerns with this technology. Desai: Data doesn’t doesn’t die, right? It’s there. And as long as your storage systems are functional, you can use it. I can use it. The technical term and in economics is it’s non rivalrous, which is why it’s so impressive and wonderful in a way. It’s this issue of many people can have it, many people can use it, and you can learn different things depending on who you are. So the idea then is, people will continually use this data. Now there’s a problem which is, “well, how good is the data over time?” That’s a deep question.
WTOC
Georgia Southern issues statement after controversial pictures of student surface online
Georgia Southern University has issued a statement after controversial pictures of a student began circulating online. In the screenshots, a female student is seen wearing a black face mask with controversial racial captions. The university issued the following statement: “Georgia Southern University officials are aware of these social media posts. To be clear, these posts do not reflect Georgia Southern University’s values or our ongoing efforts to create an inclusive environment where every individual feels a sense of respect and belonging. …
WTOC
Demonstrators in Statesboro march for second day
By Mariah Congedo
Students, faculty, and staff marched their way to Georgia Southern University’s campus on Sunday, demanding justice and change. Kelly Carter is the head track and field coach at the university. He says he coaches students from all over the world. He asks why this unjustness is even an issue. “The issue that we’re at right now is racism, inequality,” says Coach Carter. “I stand with my race. I stand with people who are standing with me.” Students say they’re marching to change the future.
WSAV
Georgia Southern investigating, holding listening sessions following racist social media posts
Georgia Southern University has issued a statement and scheduled listening sessions in response to racists social media posts, the university says. Georgia Southern issued a statement on Friday, saying the university has learned of “inappropriate and offensive social media posts” including content “expressing ignorance, racism, discrimination, and disrespect.” The university said it is outraged and saddened. GS said a team representing the Office of Inclusive Excellence and the Division of Student Affairs is looking into “each incident.” It is unclear at this time how many social media posts prompted the statement. Read the university’s full statement below.
The Augusta Chronicle
College coaches get creative in new era of recruiting
By Wynston Wilcox and By Will Cheney
As the Augusta University men’s basketball team checked into its hotel for the Southeast Regional of the NCAA Division II Tournament in March, they were told to go back home. With the novel coronavirus spiking across the country, college athletics came to a screeching halt and it was a sign of more to come. After postseason play, recruiting is at the top of the priority list for any basketball coach. AU head coach Dip Metress, however, was probably more conditioned to handle recruiting in this new climate more than many others. With Division II programs lacking huge travel budgets, many over the years have signed with AU without ever setting foot in Christenberry Fieldhouse. Former All-Peach Belt Conference forward Deane Williams, from Bristol, England, landed in Augusta by way of video. Metress had never met Williams before offering him a scholarship, but video of his performances across the pond were enough to bring the 6-foot-8 future star 4,019 miles to Augusta. “For us, we’ve signed numerous players that have never visited.
WMAZ
Georgia’s first black female judge, Edith Ingram, dies at 78
Ingram became the first African-American woman probate judge in the United States in 1969 when she was elected to serve on the Hancock County Court of the Ordinary.
HANCOCK COUNTY, Ga. — People all over Georgia are mourning the death of Judge Edith Ingram, the first black woman judge in the United States. Ingram died Friday, according to her obituary. She was 78-years-old and devoted her life to the state of Georgia and Sparta in Hancock County — where she was born. Six years after graduating from Fort Valley State College in 1963, Ingram became the first black female judge in the United States.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
More than 100 years of African American funeral programs now online
By Kenneth H. Thomas Jr.
The Digital Library of Georgia recently added more than 3,000 African American funeral home programs from Atlanta and throughout the Southeast to its vast collection of online sources. The programs span from 1886 to 2019 and can be great sources of information for genealogists. The materials that were digitized were contributed by the Auburn Avenue Research Library of the Atlanta-Fulton Public Library System, the Wesley Chapel Genealogy Group and the Metro-Atlanta Chapter of the Afro-American Historical and Genealogical Society. Funding came from Georgia HomePlace, a program of the Georgia Public Library Service. Programs also have been digitized by other Georgia institutions, so do a Google search for the topic.
SaportaReport
Georgia Research Alliance – funder of life-saving research – turns 30
By Maria Saporta
Thirty years ago – on June 6, 1990 – the inaugural board meeting of the Georgia Research Alliance took place – a pivotal moment for universities, the state and businesses. The fruits of the research conducted with funds from the Georgia Research Alliance, the private sector, state and federal government is now paying priceless dividends. More than a dozen scientific initiatives are underway in Georgia to study, treat or prevent the deadly coronavirus – only one example of the impact GRA has had on our state. David Ratcliffe, retired CEO of the Southern Co. who is chair of GRA’s board (for the second time), described it as “three decades of hard work and extraordinary success that hasn’t gotten enough publicity.” In a telephone interview on Friday, Ratcliffe said it is important for us to remember the leaders who founded GRA 30 years ago. They created a new economic development model – to attract top scientists and their labs to Georgia in the same manner that the state would try to recruit new industry. The model worked, and other states took notice and tried to replicate it. The model creates a partnership between Georgia’s public and private research institutions, top business leaders and the state government.
Other News:
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Map: Coronavirus deaths and cases in Georgia (updated June 7, 3pm)
An updated count of coronavirus deaths and cases reported across the state
LATEST GEORGIA FIGURES (updated June 7, 3pm): Deaths: 2,180 | Confirmed cases: 51,898
DEATHS: 2,180 | Deaths confirmed in 138 counties. For 2 deaths, the county is unknown, and for 32 deaths, the residence was determined to be out-of-state.
CONFIRMED CASES: 51,898 | A case’s county is determined by the patient’s residence, when known, not by where they were treated. Cases have been confirmed in every county. For 1,403 cases, the county is unknown. For 2,527 cases, the residence was determined to be out-of-state.
Higher Education News:
The Chronicle of Higher Education
Why Colleges’ Plans for Fall Are Like ‘Nailing Jell-O to the Wall’
By Lee Gardner
More colleges are releasing detailed plans for how they’ll conduct instruction this fall, but the picture of what’s ahead is not necessarily getting clearer, according to the results of a survey of more than 350 college presidents and provosts conducted by The Chronicle. With the course of the coronavirus still unknown, an anonymous respondent compared planning amid Covid-19 to “nailing Jell-O to the wall.” The main watchword seems to be flexibility. A plurality of colleges are opting for face-to-face instruction, the survey reveals, though many of them are pursuing hybrid in-person/online models in practice, and preparing to pivot online again if they must. Colleges that plan on reopening soon are preparing a range of safety measures, but they are not calculating all the additional expenses. While leaders are hoping for the best, they’re making plans for difficult days ahead. As one anonymous respondent put it, “Contingency planning has become the norm. Everyone is learning about their thresholds for planning with uncertainty being the central characteristic.”
The Chronicle of Higher Education
Has Reopening Become a Partisan Issue?
Politics is one of several factors that appear to affect colleges’ decisions on reopening.
By Chronicle Staff
Not long after the mid-March campus closures that paved the way for an almost entirely online end of the spring semester, everyone began asking the same question: What will happen in the fall? On April 21, Pamella Oliver, provost of California State University at Fullerton, said her campus was planning to start the fall semester online. A day later, Purdue University’s president, Mitch Daniels, declared his determination “not to surrender helplessly” to the pandemic and to reopen in person this fall, if at all possible. Other campuses nationwide began making their own announcements. They were forming task forces, working with local and national health officials, and exploring hybrid options. They were “committed” to in-person instruction, scenario planning, and waiting to decide. …New research from scholars at Davidson College suggests that this spring’s closure decisions had little to do with “campus infrastructure, including residence-hall capacity, hospital affiliation, and medical-degree offerings.” What may have played a role, however, was pressure from state governments.
Inside Higher Ed
Survey Warns of ‘Dramatic Decline’ in Fundraising
College fundraising revenue will likely decline as a result of the pandemic, a new survey from a consulting firm shows.
By Emma Whitford
College fundraising revenue will likely drop over the next two years as donors close their wallets to wait out the pandemic and resulting economic downturn, according to a new survey released today. The survey by EAB, a higher education technology and consulting firm, queried 110 university fundraising professionals about current revenue projections. It found that more than 40 percent of colleges are projecting a 10 percent or larger decline in fundraising revenue for fiscal year 2020, which concludes for most institutions at the end of this month. More than one in five institutions expect fundraising revenue to fall by at least 20 percent, the survey showed. In fiscal 2021, the declines are projected to be even steeper. Nearly 45 percent of institutions project double-digit declines in fundraising revenue, and a growing number of colleges project a decline of 30 percent or more compared to 2019 totals.
Inside Higher Ed
Words Matter for College Presidents, but So Will Actions
Many higher education leaders called for change in response to the killing of George Floyd, but few shared ideas on how to enact it. Observers want them to do more.
By Lindsay McKenzie
Dozens of college presidents published statements last week after a white Minneapolis police officer held his knee on George Floyd’s neck for more than eight minutes, killing the black man on May 25 and sparking national protests. Most of the statements spoke out against racism and police brutality. Many referenced institutional commitments to diversity and the desire for all students, faculty and staff to feel safe and welcomed on campus. But few explicitly mentioned black people, referenced the Black Lives Matter movement or included any concrete action items to address inequities on campus or in wider society. Lawrence Bacow, president of Harvard University, was one of several higher ed leaders criticized for missing the mark.