University System News:
WFXL
ABAC sees record fall student enrollment despite pandemic
by Simone Jameson
In spite of the pandemic, Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College in Tifton has had record student enrollment for the fall. With over 4,000 students on campus for the first day of classes. There are about 100 students more than last year, according to ABAC president, David Bridges. But the experience for all is very different. “It was weird,” said Shamiyah Williams. “We get into my parties and election class and everyone has on a mask.” It’s one a series of changes for her. Now she has one class that is a hybrid of on-campus and online instruction. And two that are strictly online.
WJCL
Georgia Southern president says university is ready to welcome students back
Dave Williams
As students continue to move into their residence halls and return to college campus, we’re moving closer and closer to the return of in person learning. Georgia Southern resumes classes Monday, and university President Kyle Marrero says they’re ready to go. Students moving their belongings into their living quarters on both the Georgia Southern Armstrong and Statesboro campus is a sure sign the start of classes and return to in person learning in just around the corner. But the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has made keeping those students, faculty and staff safe a top priority.
Athens CEO
USG Board of Regents Endorses More than $39M in UGA Capital Projects for FY22
Staff Report
The Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia on Tuesday endorsed more than $39 million in FY 2022 capital projects that will enhance research, outreach and teaching opportunities across the University of Georgia. …The largest UGA capital project endorsed by the Regents is $21.7 million for construction of a new facility in the Poultry Science Complex, which would double the size of the department’s existing teaching lab space and help to attract and retain world-class researchers. The project, to be matched with $27.6 million in private donations, is another step in UGA’s ongoing initiative to modernize Science Hill and aims to establish the Department of Poultry Science as the preeminent global source for poultry research—an essential component of Georgia’s economy.
SR80 News
Georgia Southern adds Starship robots for on-campus delivery
By: Andrew Hudson
Georgia Southern University is the first institution in the state to provide Starship robots for food delivery to faculty, staff and students. The initiative will deploy 20 of Starship’s autonomous delivery robots to deliver food from on-campus dining locations to designated pickup locations. The university’s Information Technology Services, Auxiliary Services, and Eagle Dining Services were all included in the deployment process. University officials hope that introducing the delivery robots will help students feel more secure as they dine on campus during the COVID-19 pandemic.
WJBF
MCG research continues into saliva testing for COVID-19
by: Mary Morrison
As COVID-19 continues to spread, testing becomes even more important. Researchers are working on a way to take a test and get the results in a matter of minutes. “The basic research on whether saliva can be used is done.” Dr. Ravindra Kolhe is the director of the Georgia Esoteric and Molecular Laboratory at the Medical College of Georgia at Augusta University. GEM Lab for short. For the past few months, these researchers have been looking for a way to test saliva for COVID-19. Now, they’re waiting on federal approval but there’s one more hurdle to clear. Dr. Kolhe says the FDA wants to know if there is a change to saliva at different temperatures when samples are taken outside a medical facility. Once that question is answered, researchers will submit their documents to the FDA and hopefully the get the ok.
Athens Banner-Herald
UGA council won’t condemn university system, UGA pandemic planning
By Lee Shearer
The University of Georgia’s University Council has voted against endorsing a resolution condemning the UGA and University System of Georgia reopening plans. In a Wednesday meeting, the council did approve forming an ad hoc committee to work with two UGA committees involved in the university’s continuing response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The council turned down the resolution critical of the UGA’s pandemic plans by a vote of 64 for it, 87 against, with 12 abstaining. The vote to establish the committee was 96 in favor, 54 against and six abstaining.
Other News:
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Kemp drops lawsuit against Atlanta over mask mandate, coronavirus restrictions
By Greg Bluestein, Jeremy Redmon
Gov. Brian Kemp on Thursday withdrew his lawsuit challenging the city of Atlanta’s mask mandate and coronavirus restrictions, ending a legal feud between the Republican governor and the Democratic leader of the state’s capital city over how to contain the pandemic. Kemp said he will instead sign an executive order Saturday that is expected to specify that local governments can’t order private businesses to require masks. It is also likely to remove a provision that explicitly outlawed cities and counties from mandating face coverings, administration officials say. “Unfortunately, the mayor has made it clear that she will not agree to a settlement that safeguards the rights of private property owners in Georgia,” Kemp said. “Given this stalemate in negotiations, we will address this issue in the next executive order. We will continue to protect the lives and livelihoods of all Georgians.” The decision effectively allows Atlanta and other cities to keep their mask mandates on the books, though officials said Kemp’s order will seek to limit the scope of the ordinances to government property. Kemp, meanwhile, has no plans to change his approach. He has long opposed a statewide requirement, which he sees as unnecessary and unenforceable. But he has encouraged the use of masks.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
White House warns of ‘widespread and expanding’ COVID-19 spread in Georgia
By J. Scott Trubey, Greg Bluestein
New report calls for mask mandate, closing some businesses and other measures Gov. Brian Kemp has rejected.
President Trump’s coronavirus task force warns that Georgia continues to see “widespread and expanding community viral spread” and that the state’s current policies aren’t enough to curtail COVID-19. The task force “strongly recommends” Georgia adopt a statewide mandate that citizens wear masks, joining a chorus of public health officials, Democrats and others who have warned that Gov. Brian Kemp’s refusal to order face coverings has plunged the state into deeper crisis and will prolong recovery. “Current mitigation efforts are not having a sufficient impact,” the report said. Businesses, such as nightclubs, bars and gyms, currently open with some restrictions in Georgia, should be closed in the highest risk counties, the report said.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
First Georgia doctors die from COVID-19
By Alan Judd
The cancer patient was old and frail, so after the examination, Dr. John D. Marshall Jr. helped the man to his car. This simple act of kindness may have cost Marshall his life. Marshall, 74, a family-practice doctor in Americus for more than three decades, contracted COVID-19 from his elderly patient, family members said. Marshall died Wednesday after spending 111 days on a ventilator, apparently one of the first practicing Georgian physicians killed by the novel coronavirus. Another physician, Dr. Frank Lockwood, who worked in a Piedmont Healthcare practice in McDonough, died from COVID-19 last week. He also was a founding member of Village Theatre in Atlanta, which said on its website that Lockwood had been ill with the virus for several weeks.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Map: Coronavirus deaths and cases in Georgia (updated Aug. 13, 3 p.m.)
An updated count of coronavirus deaths and cases reported across the state
DEATHS: 4,538 | Deaths have been confirmed in 155 counties. County is determined by the patient’s residence, when known, not by where they were treated.
CONFIRMED CASES: 228,668 | Cases have been confirmed in every county.
Higher Education News:
Diverse Issues in Higher Education
Report: Higher Ed Presidents Focused on Managing COVID-19 and Confronting Injustice
by Pearl Stewart
College and university presidents preparing for the upcoming school year amid COVID-19 are focused on maintaining academic programs and current tuition levels, cutting staff and administrative positions, and addressing issues of racial injustice, according to a national survey conducted by a leading higher education organization. The Association of American Colleges and Universities (AAC&U) recently released “Responding to the Ongoing COVID-19 Crisis and to Calls for Racial Justice: A Survey of College and University Presidents,” a report detailing how college and university presidents are planning to address both the financial challenges of the pandemic and the national protest movement for racial justice. The AAC&U in conjunction with ABC Insights, a higher education research group, surveyed members of the AAC&U Presidents’ Trust, higher education leaders of four-year public and private institutions and two-year community colleges, between June 25 and July 12, and compared their responses to those from a previous survey taken in March.
Inside Higher Ed
More colleges continue to cut tuition rates in response to pressure from students and families.
By Lilah Burke
In surveys, polling data and lawsuits, the message from students is clear: we expect to pay less for online instruction. Though many colleges and universities have not bowed to that pressure, some are now offering substantial tuition discounts. The list is a diverse mix of more than a dozen institutions, including Princeton University, Southern New Hampshire University, Paul Quinn College, Spelman College, Rowan University and Lafayette College. Since Inside Higher Ed last wrote about this trend in late July, the list has grown with the additions of Johns Hopkins University and National University. …Some colleges are instead choosing to freeze tuition, defer payments or slash student activity fees (since student activities will be limited at best this fall at many institutions).
Inside Higher Ed
Dems Seek Flexibility for New International Students
By Elizabeth Redden
Seventy-five Democratic lawmakers sent a letter Thursday to Acting Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security Chad Wolf calling on him to revise guidance that would bar international students who are taking online courses from entering the U.S. this fall. The Trump administration rescinded a policy that would have prohibited continuing international students from taking an online-only course load after facing multiple lawsuits, but the administration then said new students cannot come to the U.S. if their course loads this fall will be entirely online. The letter argues that the department “should not be creating disparate treatment between new and existing students” and requests that all international students, new or returning, who are pursuing a full course of study at a U.S. institution be allowed to enter the country, regardless of their mode of instruction.
Inside Higher Ed
Deadline Time for New Federal Sexual Assault Policies
The regulations for responding to campus sexual misconduct complaints go into effect today. Some colleges are implementing them along with their own guidelines to protect sexual assault victims.
By Greta Anderson
College officials across the country have been debuting plans over the past week to abide by new federal rules for responding to complaints of sexual misconduct on campus. The rules go into effect today as many colleges are preparing for the start of the fall semester or have already begun the new academic year. Some of the plans have been condemned by advocates for survivors of sexual assault, who say they were excluded from the process of drafting new policies under Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, the law prohibiting sex discrimination at federally funded institutions. Students also fear colleges will implement policies that closely align with the regulations, which have been widely criticized by survivors for not requiring colleges to respond to sexual harassment and assault that occurs off-campus, among other limitations.