University System News:
WGAU
UNG faculty, alum are in the fight against coronavirus
Researchers work in Gainesville
By JK Devine, UNG
As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to affect higher education institutions around the world, one University of North Georgia (UNG) alumna and two faculty members are conducting research on the health care crisis. Samantha Perry, a December 2019 graduate, is a clinical research coordinator at the Center for Advanced Research and Education in Gainesville, Georgia. Cofounded and headed by Dr. Chris Recknor, the center is one of 10 sites in the world researching a potential COVID-19 treatment. Specifically, the center is studying the effects of the drug Leronlimab on COVID-19 survivors seeking relief after several weeks of battling the illness. …Two UNG faculty members also have conducted significant research locally and internationally on the COVID-19 pandemic with rewarding results. Dr. Jonathan Miner, professor of political science at UNG, collaborated with a global crisis consulting firm when COVID-19 hit the Asian and European business markets. Witt O’Brien’s has compiled an up-to-date dashboard on the status of different countries’ situations. The dashboard acts as a landing site for businesses to learn about their international counterparts.
13WMAZ
Houston County respiratory therapist travels to COVID-19 epicenters
Rachel Rodriguez just got to Miami after spending time helping hospitals in New York and Texas.
Rachel Rodriguez became a respiratory therapist after graduating from Middle Georgia State University in 2018. Last October, she decided to work as a traveling therapist. “If you have a special skill set and people really need it, it’s just kind of a call,” she said. At the start of the coronavirus pandemic, she spent six weeks helping at a hospital in Brooklyn, New York. It’s her job to work with nurses and doctors to come up with treatment plans, put patients on ventilators and monitor their progress.
Savannah Morning News
Georgia Southern rolls out plan for COVID-19 precautions, online courses
By McClain Baxley / For Savannah Morning News
Tuition at Georgia Southern University will not change as classes begin this fall if a student’s undergraduate course has been modified or moved online, the University announced in an email sent to students Wednesday regarding the fall semester plans in light of COVID-19. The email highlights things students should know about attending on-campus classes while maintaining social distancing, like face-covering enforcement, the health center reopening and notice of no tuition changes. “If you are an undergraduate student and you change your class to an online class, your tuition also will not change as Georgia Southern has eliminated differential tuition for online classes at the undergraduate level,” the email reads.
WGAU
UNG updates fall semester plans
Classes start on Aug 17
By Tim Bryant
The University of North Georgia is updating its plans for a campus reopening, with fall semester classes at UNG set to start, with in-person instruction, on August 17. Changes for the new school year will include a staggered orientations and residence hall move-ins for UNG students.
Albany Herald
Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College returns to regular hours to prepare for fall semester
From staff reports
After utilizing a four-day work week for four months because of changes brought about by COVID-19, Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College has returned to its regular hours to prepare for the approaching fall semester. ABAC Executive Vice President for Finance and Administration Paul Willis said ABAC is now open from 8 a.m.-5:30 p.m. Monday through Thursday and from 8 a.m.-3 p.m. on Friday. The college plans to return to in-person instruction when the fall semester begins on Aug. 12. Along with the other 25 colleges and universities in the University System of Georgia, ABAC taught classes online for the final weeks of the spring semester and the entirety of the summer term.
Business Facilities
Business Facilities’ 2020 Metro And Global Rankings Reports
Business Facilities’ 2020 Metro Rankings Report takes a look at hot topics in economic development on the city and global level, including logistics, startup ecosystems, job growth, cost of living, and more.
16TH ANNUAL RANKINGS: 2020 METRO RANKINGS REPORT
…Atlanta, GA, our second-place city for Best Business Climate is a red-hot center of technology. Georgia’s capital tops the leaderboard in our Tech Hubs category; Atlanta also snared fourth place in BF’s Cyber Cities ranking and no. 6 in our Startup Ecosystems category. …Midtown Atlanta has become a top innovation district and a hub for tech companies. Schools within the University System of Georgia work closely with businesses looking to locate in the state to ensure students are trained with the skills necessary for mutual success. In addition to other higher education programs in Georgia, the company will continue its collaborative partnership with the University System of Georgia around talent, technology and innovation. “The University System of Georgia stands ready to work with Microsoft as we help connect it with our highly skilled graduates and meet its need for ongoing professional development, training and research,” said University System of Georgia Chancellor Steve Wrigley. “This is a fantastic economic development opportunity, and our 26 institutions are excited to show our capability and commitment toward fostering the company’s growth.”
MSN
Augusta University sickle cell program receives $50,000 grant
Augusta University’s Sickle Cell Transition Program was recently awarded $50,000 from Global Blood Therapeutics. The grant was made through the company’s 2020 Access to Excellent Care for Sickle Cell Patients program. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, sickle cell disease affects millions of people around the world, particularly among those whose ancestors are from sub-Saharan Africa. It also affects people of Hispanic, South Asian, Southern European and Middle Eastern ancestry. An estimated 100,000 people in the United States are affected by the lifelong blood disorder.
CBS46
RESEARCH: UGA ranks 3rd nationally for most COVID-19 cases; Ga. Tech #14
WGCL Digital Team
Alarming statistics as research shows several Georgia public universities ranking among the top schools nationally for the most positive cases of COVID-19. An Association of American Universities survey, published in the New York Times, shows the University of Georgia ranking third overall with 390 cases, behind the University of Central Florida (438) and the University of Texas (449). The research also reveals that cases have increased slightly over the past few weeks at UGA. Cases have skyrocketed recently on both UCF and Texas’ campuses. Georgia Tech was another university to rank high on the list. Although reported positive cases are significantly less than at the institutions ranking higher on the list, there were 94 positive cases of COVID-19 on the school’s campus, tying them with Appalachian State University. Georgia Southern University ranked 37th nationally with 40 positive cases. Georgia State reported 18 positive cases, University of North Georgia has 11 and Mercer University has 10 reported cases of COVID-19.
WTOC
Georgia Southern debuts COVID-19 clearinghouse
By Dal Cannady
Georgia Southern University is adding a place on its website for information students, faculty, and staff across Southeast Georgia could need through the school year. They hope the COVID information they make available can help people on its campuses with info on prevention, testing, and how to respond in case of exposure. The university’s homepage guides people through information about masks and social distancing. They’ve posted thousands of flyers to remind people what they can do to reduce the chance of exposure. They’ll distribute an estimated 70,000 reusable masks. The website shares information for people to determine if they may have been exposed, as well as the university’s emergency plan in the event of a hot spot on campus.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
ACC decides on 11-game season, Georgia Tech can still play UGA
By Ken Sugiura
Georgia Tech and the rest of the ACC may still play football this fall. But if they do, they now have a plan to follow, one that looks a lot different than the one that was scheduled in the days before the coronavirus pandemic. On Wednesday, the ACC released a scheduling model in which teams will play 11 games – including one non-conference game – and that includes Notre Dame as a conference member eligible for the ACC championship. The schedule was pushed back one week, with games (and all ACC fall-sports competition) scheduled to start the week of Sept. 7-12. Teams will play in one division instead of two, with the top two teams (as decided by conference record) playing for the league championship in Charlotte, N.C., on either Dec. 12 or 19. That game has been played on the first Saturday of December.
…In this model that includes space for only one non-conference game, Tech’s strong preference almost certainly would be to play archrival Georgia and to drop Central Florida and Gardner-Webb.
The Augusta Chronicle
UGA-Virginia football game off under ACC scheduling plan
By Marc Weiszer
By Marc Weiszer
The Georgia football game with Virginia that was to open the 2020 season is off under the ACC football scheduling plan the league announced Wednesday. It calls for all nonconference games to be played in the home state of ACC schools. Georgia and Virginia were to meet on Sept. 7 in Atlanta’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Georgia athletic director Greg McGarity said the school had no plans to play the game in Virginia. …Georgia’s other nonconference games are against state rival Georgia Tech, East Tennessee State and Louisiana-Monroe, all at home.
Griffin Daily News
NJCAA recognizes Gordon State with academic honors
Gordon State College sports teams continued to garner honors following the 2019-20 academic year as the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) announced its Academic Teams-of-the-Year and Individuals-of-the-Year earlier this month.
WRBL
UWG student athlete hopes to start cheer season soon, despite COVID-19
by: Ashley Moore
As universities begin re-opening this fall, there are several restrictions in place due to COVID-19. There are guidelines for general campus life but no specific ones for athletes yet. Ally Denney is a rising junior and all-girl cheer team member at the University of West Georgia. Denney has been cheering for nearly a decade, with two of those years being in college. As much as she hopes to resume cheer-leading soon, Denney does not know when that will happen, given the current state of COVID-19.
WRDW
AU Jaguars team up with school for reading program in local youth
By Nick Proto
The season didn’t end the way the Augusta University Jaguars were hoping it would. While at the national tournament in Tennessee, they found out the rest of the season was canceled, but classes continued, and the team showed why they’re called student-athletes. The Jaguars are used to on-court success, but this year it’s what they did off the court that got them national recognition. The team earned the Team Academic Excellence Award given out by the National Association of Basketball Coaches. …They’re trying to set an example and inspire younger kids in the community. …And the College of Education and basketball team joined forces to start Augusta Reading – a program to encourage local kids to pick up a book. …And with basketball on hold for right now, they can use that influence to make a difference for the kids who look up to them.
WSAV
GSU economics professor shares causes, possible solutions to national coin shortage
by: Ashley Williams
Amid the ongoing coin shortage, larger retailers across the United States are asking customers to keep the change. With fewer coins in circulation during the COVID-19 pandemic, businesses have begun requesting payments in either exact change or via debit and credit cards. Georgia Southern University (GSU) economics professor, Dr. Richard McGrath, says the issue is partly due to a drop in person-to-person transactions when businesses and banks closed as a response to the outbreak.
Other News:
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Map: Coronavirus deaths and cases in Georgia (updated July 29, 3 p.m.)
An updated count of coronavirus deaths and cases reported across the state
DEATHS: 3,642 | Deaths have been confirmed in 150 counties. County is determined by the patient’s residence, when known, not by where they were treated.
CONFIRMED CASES: 178,323 | Cases have been confirmed in every county.
Higher Education News:
Inside Higher Ed
With campuses mostly empty, college towns are reporting low response rates for the 2020 Census. The U.S. Census Bureau is allowing colleges to submit more data to get a more accurate count of students.
By Elizabeth Redden
The evacuations of college campuses this spring could not have come at a worse time. The U.S. Census Bureau had been coordinating with college administrators and local government officials across the country to get an accurate count of students in their communities. Colleges had planned outreach efforts as the official decennial count got underway on March 12. All of that planning and preparation came to a complete halt as colleges started sending students home or telling them not to return to their campuses after spring break. The massive and hurried effort to prevent the spread of the coronavirus has had some unintended consequences. Many college towns are already reporting lower census response rates this year than during the last decennial Census in 2010. …There’s still plenty of time to respond to the Census — the deadline has been extended until Oct. 31 — and colleges are trying to get the message out to students to submit the Census for the address where they would normally have been living on April 1, even if the pandemic forced them to leave campus before that date.
Inside Higher Ed
Pandemic Workplace Protections Divide Congress
As some professors and other campus workers raise concerns about their safety as campuses reopen, Congress is divided over increasing federal workplace safety regulations during the pandemic.
By Kery Murakami
…North Carolina is not alone. On several campuses around the country, professors and other workers on campuses, including custodians who have to clean potentially coronavirus-contaminated areas, have been submitting petitions over whether enough is being done to keep them safe, and questioning the wisdom of reopening campuses at all. …Against this backdrop of worry, Democrats and Republicans in Congress remained divided over proposals that reflect the tension over pushing colleges, as well as the rest of the nation’s economy, to reopen, while also doing it safely. It’s one of a number of major divisions so saddling negotiations over passing another coronavirus relief package that White House chief of staff Mark Meadows told reporters after a meeting with Democratic leaders Wednesday, “We’re nowhere close to a deal.” Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said among the issues negotiators are “far apart” on is a demand by Republicans that the next package include a provision making it more difficult for workers and others who contract the coronavirus to sue businesses, colleges, schools or charities. The idea is essential to removing an obstacle for those entities to feel comfortable reopening, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said at a news conference Tuesday.
Inside Higher Ed
College Groups Urge Extending Relief for Borrowers
By Kery Murakami
Several associations representing the nation’s colleges and universities on Wednesday urged congressional leaders to continue excusing student loan borrowers from having to make payments until at least after next Tax Day in April. The letter from the American Council on Education and 46 other higher education groups puts them in opposition to the Senate Republican proposal for the next coronavirus relief package. The previous package passed by Congress, the CARES Act, had excused borrowers from making payments during the pandemic-caused recession through Oct. 1. Under the Republican proposal, borrowers with incomes would have to begin making payments again on Oct. 1, though they would not have to pay more than 10 percent of their discretionary income after essentials like food and housing. Those without incomes would continue to be excused from paying back their loans.
Inside Higher Ed
ACT Registration Closed Until Monday
By Scott Jaschik
ACT announced Wednesday that it would resume registration on Monday. It shut registration on Tuesday and said it would announce its plans Wednesday. Many students and parents have been frustrated by delays in ACT registration.