USG e-clips for April 11, 2023

University System News:

Athens CEO

10 Students, Alumni Win NSF Graduate Research Fellowships

Alan Flurry

Two current University of Georgia undergraduate students are among the 10 campus recipients of 2023 National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowships. The NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program helps ensure the quality, vitality and diversity of the scientific and engineering workforce of the United States. The program recognizes and supports outstanding graduate students who are pursuing full-time research-based master’s and doctoral degrees in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) or in STEM education. The GRFP provides three years of support at $37,000 annually over a five-year fellowship period for the graduate education of individuals who have demonstrated their potential for significant research achievements in STEM or STEM education.

yahoo! News

Uga X to retire, 10-month-old puppy to take over duties as Uga XI

WSBTV.com News Staff

There will be a new Dawg between the hedges when the Georgia football season kicks off this fall. The University of Georgia announced Tuesday that mascot Que, aka Uga X, will officially retire. Boom, a 10-month-old English Bulldog, will take over the duties as Uga XI. The program will hold an official ceremony for Boom before Saturday’s G-Day Game in Athens. Channel 2 is the official TV partner of the Georgia Bulldogs and will preview G-Day Game with an all-new Bulldogs Game Day at 11 a.m. on Saturday.

Rome News-Tribune

GHC receives Dallas Downtown First award for Winn Building renovation

Georgia Highlands College recently received a Downtown First award from the City of Dallas’ Downtown Main Street Advisory Board for renovations at the Winn Building at the college’s Paulding County site. The renovation project was funded with $4.1 million in the fiscal year 2019 state budget. It doubled the footprint of the Paulding site and transformed the facility into a modern academic building. Paulding Site Manager Christina Henggeler nominated the project.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

INTERVIEW: New Georgia Film Academy exec expanding school into post-production, film financing

By Rodney Ho

A decade ago, the burgeoning film business in Georgia gave the state urgent feedback: there was a chronic shortage of qualified crew members such as set construction workers, gaffers and grips, forcing productions to export talent from New York, Louisiana and California. So in 2015, then-Georgia governor Nathan Deal and the state legislature funded the launch of the Georgia Film Academy in partnership with a consortium of universities and colleges statewide that now includes 28 schools such as Gwinnett Technical College, Clark Atlanta University, Kennesaw State University and University of Georgia. … Over eight years, the school has had 1,200 students complete internships through the program with many landing jobs at places like Tyler Perry Studios, Trilith Studios and Shadowbox Studios. …C. Scott Votaw, has a long history with the school already. He helped develop curriculum for the Academy for several years before retiring a year ago. But the school enticed Votaw back to take over the executive director job from Stepakoff.

WSB-TV

AI in schools – how metro districts are handing the rise in artificial intelligence chatbots

By Justin Farmer

The race for the best artificial intelligence is well underway. But is it too much, too fast? Just this month, tech leaders, including Tesla’s Elon Musk, signed a letter asking AI labs to slow down production until risks could be studied. Channel 2′s Justin Farmer spoke with Dr. David Joyner from Georgia Tech, who said there’s justified fear over artificial intelligence following the rise in popularity of chatbots like ChatGPT, Bard and Bing’s AI system.

Savannah CEO

Dr. Ryan Schroeder of Georgia Southern University on Work Readiness

Dr. Ryan Schroeder of Georgia Southern University provides an overview of the College of Behavioral and Social Sciences. The college’s goal is to produce graduates that are career ready. He talks about a new program that has launched called “Ready Day One.”

Savannah Morning News

First City Progress: Georgia Ports see cargo slowdown, but don’t ring the alarm just yet

Regional economy eases, but employment steady and poised to grow

Zoe Nicholson

Port slowdown part of larger economic stagnation

The Savannah regional economy mirrors the port’s in decelerating. Local economic growth slowed for the fifth consecutive quarter during Q4 of 2022, which runs from October to December, according to the Economic Monitor, a quarterly report detailing the regional economy from Georgia Southern University Professor Michael Toma.

Atlanta Magazine

The future of Georgia’s salt marshes

Natural can be a deceptive concept

By Sam Worley

With one-third of the salt marshes on the U.S. Eastern Seaboard, the Georgia coast is celebrated for its natural beauty—but natural can be a deceptive concept. Humans are part of nature; to effects good and ill, we’ve shaped the world around ourselves. That includes the coast. “When the first settlers came to the U.S., there were not huge salt marshes,” says Herbert Windom, a professor emeritus at the University of Georgia’s Skidaway Institute of Oceanography. Arriving in Georgia, European colonists converted vast amounts of forestland to agriculture, thereby loosening the soil, which made its way into the rivers flowing seaward—the Savannah, the Altamaha, and others—and thus to the coast, where it collided with another powerful phenomenon: Georgia’s tides, the highest on the East Coast.

Albany Herald

Spring break camps bring kids out to play and learn at three locations in Albany

Tory Sapp Jr., right, speaks with day camp participant Tasean Watt during the fourth day of spring break camp at the Bill Miller Community Center.

By Alan Mauldin

After indoor games of dodgeball and basketball earlier in the week, Thursday was a chance to get outdoors and run for about 50 spring break day campers who took part in an energy-burning session of flag football at the Bill Miller Community Center. Albany State University football players also put the kids through drills to improve their game, with graduate student Tory Sapp Jr. in charge of the activities for the week. The Albany Recreation and Parks Department also held camps for children ages 7 through 17 this week at the Henderson Community Center and the Lockett Station Community Center. In addition to the games, the week was a chance for the college students to teach life lessons that apply both on and off the field or court.

Connect Savannah

Abbie DeLoach Foundation to host annual scholarship luncheon while raising awareness about distracted driving

By Chantel Britton

Our city, state and nation remembers the tragedy that occurred on April 22, 2015 when five Georgia Southern University nursing students were killed in a horrific collision caused by a distracted driver. One of the students who sadly lost her life that day was Savannah native Abbie DeLoach. A year following the devastating accident, Abbie’s father, Jimmy DeLoach Jr., founded the Abbie DeLoach Foundation. A charitable nonprofit, ADF is committed to rewarding academic excellence, exemplary service-work and athletic commitment, all of which were very important to Abbie. The organization aims to continue her legacy of selfless service and compassion for all.

WTOCMary’s Place holds annual gala, “Find Your Voice” competition for sexual assault awareness

By Flynn Snyder

April is National Sexual Assault Awareness Month. One local advocacy center is hosted a unique performance to help promote prevention. It’s a dark topic that’s taking center stage. “It’s empowering, it’s uplifting. It’s a different side to Mary’s Place,” said Doris L. Williams, the executive director of Mary’s Place. Groups from across the region micing up…lip synching…to help survivors of sexual assault. …One of the groups performing is Georgia Southern University’s Sexual Assault Response Team. Co-chair Dr. Jackie Mesenbrink says she’s performing to help destigmatize conversations about sexual assault.

Athens Banner-Herald

Documentary screening from UGA alum on Walton County lynching hosted by Champ Bailey

Andrew Shearer

An unsolved 1946 lynching in Monroe, Georgia is the subject of “Unspoken,” a feature-length documentary directed by University of Georgia alumna Stephanie Calabrese. The film will screen for free at 5:30 p.m. Thursday at 285 S. Jackson St. within the Jackson Street Building of the UGA College of Environment and Design. After the movie, a Q&A session will be led by former Bulldog All-American and NFL Hall of Famer Champ Bailey with Calabrese and film cast members Pastor Nathan Durham and Elizabeth Jones, a UGA alumna and current historic preservation graduate student.

WLAQ

OVER 100 REGISTERED TO JOIN NEW GHC TEAMS IN SOCCER, VOLLEYBALL, CROSS COUNTRY, AND CHEERLEADING

More than 100 have already registered for upcoming events focused on the new competitive teams forming at Georgia Highlands College (GHC) in soccer, volleyball, cross country and cheerleading. … Those heading to the showcase this month represent counties across the region, including Gordon, Murray, Bartow, Polk, Floyd, Cobb, Forsyth, Douglas and Paulding, as well as a few from Alabama. “The Talent Showcase is an excellent opportunity for high school seniors to take the field and learn more about the college’s competitive league sports options as well as the college’s 40-plus programs of study and numerous student life activities,” Cocurricular and Transitions Programs Coordinator for Student Life Clifton Puckett said. “Even if you’re not joining a team, come out to enjoy this preview day and learn more about what it’s like to be at GHC.”

See also:

Rome News-Tribune

Building leaders: Georgia Highlands College preps for league sports to emphasize student engagement

Times-Georgian

UWG tennis earns big win, will finish regular season at home

By Adia Randall UWG Sports

The University of West Georgia women’s tennis team got a big 6-1 win over the Albany State Rams last Thursday in Albany, Ga. UWG Tennis caps off its road schedule with a dominating performance in doubles and singles play.

Augusta Chronicle

Ben Carr made his Masters debut. What’s next for the Georgia Southern Eagle?

Will Cheney

Ben Carr proved this week he has what it takes to compete at golf’s highest level. The 22-year-old may have walked of the course at Augusta National Golf Club Friday feeling some things could’ve gone better for him in his Masters Tournament debut, but nobody is questioning whether he belonged. …Carr is also the reason thousands of people around the country will be typing “Georgia Southern golf” into Google in the coming weeks, putting the program and the university in the national spotlight. …Carr wrapped up his Masters experience this week, and he’ll head back to Statesboro with more business to handle with his team.

Marietta Daily Journal

Traffic stop led to “shelter indoors” on KSU Marietta campus Friday night

By Jake Busch

A police chase that spilled onto Kennesaw State University’s Marietta campus led to a lockdown on the campus for just under an hour Friday night, according to authorities. Sgt. Wayne Delk, spokesperson for the Cobb Police Department, told the MDJ officers stopped a driver on South Cobb Drive who “ended up running on foot from the stop onto the KSU Marietta campus.” As a result, students on the campus were asked to shelter indoors Friday night due to “a campus emergency situation,” according to a tweet sent out by the KSU Office of Emergency Management. …“The all clear was given approximately an hour after the initial traffic stop,” Delk said.

Higher Education News:

Inside Higher Ed

How College Students Say They Learn Best

In a new Student Voice survey, students share their preferences for class format, active learning strategies and note-taking. Interactive lectures and case studies are especially popular.

By  Colleen Flaherty

Many college students see teaching style as a barrier to their success, but which class formats and active learning methods do they prefer?  In a Student Voice Pulse survey of 1,250 undergraduates, conducted in March and released today from Inside Higher Ed and College Pulse, the largest share of students say they typically learn and retain information best in an interactive lecture—somewhere between a traditional lecture and a high-intensity active learning environment. Regarding active learning strategies, students find case studies particularly helpful, followed by small-group discussions and game-based learning.

Inside Higher Ed

Rutgers Walkout Means 6 Faculty Strikes

Rutgers University’s first faculty strike in its 257-year history, combined with workers at yet another Illinois university walking out, grows the current strike wave.

By  Ryan Quinn

Three Rutgers University unions and a Chicago-area union have joined a higher education faculty strike wave that is expected to grow this morning to include six universities in two states. “We’ve been keeping track of strike activity in higher education more recently, since 2013,” said William A. Herbert, executive director of the National Center for the Study of Collective Bargaining in Higher Education and the Professions. “And we’ve not seen anything like this, where there are so many simultaneous strikes by faculty.” The walkouts involving faculty are the triple-union strike at Rutgers, which began Monday across its New Brunswick, Camden and Newark arms, and strikes at three Illinois universities: Chicago State and Eastern Illinois Universities, where union members stopped work last week, and Governors State University, where the walkout is set to begin this morning. And those aren’t the only universities facing labor unrest.

See also:

Diverse Issues in Higher Education

Rutgers University Unions Go on Strike After Year of Failed Contract Negotiations

Diverse Issues in Higher Education

New College of Florida Interim President Richard Corcoran Asks Seven Faculty to Withdraw Tenure Applications

Arrman Kyaw

New College of Florida Interim President Richard Corcoran has asked seven faculty members to withdraw their tenure applications ahead of an April board of trustees meeting, according to faculty union president Dr. Steven Shipman, the Tampa Bay Times reported. Corcoran – a former speaker of the Florida House of Representatives and Republican – is looking to make drastic changes at the school. Earlier this year, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis appointed six new members to the school’s board of trustees, with a goal for them to overhaul the school by offering a “classical education” and $15 million from the state to hire faculty and recruit students who agree with the new direction.

Inside Higher Ed

Dean Allegedly Fired for Support of LGBTQ+ Rights

By  Josh Moody

Mark Maddix, a dean at Point Loma Nazarene University, has been fired from the private Christian institution, allegedly for supporting LGBTQ+ rights, according to The Times of San Diego. Maddix, who had served as the dean for the school of theology and Christian ministry, was reportedly fired last month after he sided with a professor, Melissa Tucker, who was allegedly barred from teaching at PLNU due to her “progressive views on human sexuality,” according to an op-ed that Tucker penned for The Times of San Diego about her exit from the university.