Capitol Beat News Service
Georgia Tech, Hyundai sign off on partnership
by Dave Williams
Hyundai Motor Group and Georgia Tech have entered a partnership aimed at applying hydrogen technology in electric vehicles. Representatives of the two parties signed a memorandum of understanding Monday to join forces in researching sustainable mobility, including developing a hydrogen economy. Hyundai is investing $12.6 billion in an EV plant west of Savannah – the largest economic development project in Georgia history – and a battery manufacturing facility near Cartersville. “Like Georgia Tech, Hyundai is a global brand that is synonymous with quality, innovation and a commitment to advancing technology to make a positive difference in the world,” Georgia Tech President Angel Cabrera said Monday. “The more we have gotten to know each other, the more obvious the alignment of our values has become.”
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Athens CEO
University of Georgia Ranks in Top 20 for 8 Straight Years on U.S. News & World Report
For the eighth consecutive year, the University of Georgia ranks in the top 20 among the nation’s best public universities, according to U.S. News & World Report. U.S. News’ 2024 rankings, released on Sept. 18, position the university at No. 20 among publics and No. 47 among all national universities. …The University of Georgia shares the No. 20 ranking with Texas A&M and Virginia Tech. UGA is one of only two institutions—along with Georgia Tech—to make the top 20 from the state of Georgia, and Georgia is one of only four states—including California, Virginia and Texas–to have more than one institution in the top 20. The university also earned high marks in several distinct categories. The Terry College of Business rose to No. 21 for undergraduate business programs. Among its individual degrees, Terry’s risk management and insurance program once again ranked No. 1 in the nation. Its real estate program ranked No. 4, the management information systems program was No. 12, and the accounting program ranked No. 17.
Athens CEO
UNG Moves Up in U.S. News Rankings
The University of North Georgia (UNG) earned high marks for quality and value in the 2024 U.S. News and World Report Best Colleges rankings released Sept. 18, moving up to tie for 17th overall among public Regional Universities in the South. In more specialized lists for public Regional Universities in the South, among Georgia universities, UNG is No. 1 on the list of Best Colleges for Veterans; No. 1 for Least Debt, which measures schools whose students graduated carrying the lightest debt loads; and No. 3 on the Best Value Colleges list. “We are proud of UNG’s role as a legacy-making institution,” UNG President Michael P. Shannon said. “This ranking recognizes the work we do every day to help students change the trajectory of their lives and serve our communities, the state and our nation.” Further underscoring the return on investment UNG provides students was its inclusion on the Social Mobility list, where it ranked eighth among regional public universities in Georgia.
The Dahlonega Nugget
UNG impact on industry examined by local leaders
By Keith Murden
The 2023 Regional Education and Economic Development Tour included a Lumpkin Business Roundtable at the UNG Library. The panel discussion featured representatives of the Dahlonega-Lumpkin Chamber of Commerce, local small business owners and university staff. Entrepreneurial alumni met with University of North Georgia officials last week for a roundtable discussion to improve coordination during the 2023 Regional Education and Economic Development (REED) Tour.
Fort Valley State has missed $600 million in funding from state, Dept. of Education says
According to the U.S. Department of Education and Agriculture, they found that the HBCU didn’t receive equal funding as the state’s first land grant school, UGA.
Author: Kamilah Williams
On Monday, the U.S. Department of Education and Agriculture sent a letter to Gov. Brian Kemp saying Fort Valley State University should have received $603,156,480 in additional funding over the past 30 years. In the letter, the federal agencies cited their findings from the National Center of Education Statistics, which collects and analyzes data related to education. Fort Valley State should have received the same funding per student as the University of Georgia. FVSU President Paul Jones serves on the Board of Council of 1890 universities, a group of historically black universities. He says he wasn’t surprised to know that FVSU was underfunded. “We’ve had a lot of conversations with key stakeholders, just really trying to make sure that our states across the south in particular. But throughout the 18 states that we represent, making sure through our states are doing their very best to meet the 1-to-1 requirement that’s mandated by the federal government,” Jones said. …Of the other governors who also received a letter, most of them were predominately in the South. That includes Florida, Kentucky, Texas and Louisiana. …We did get a response from the University System of Georgia. They sent us a statement saying: “We’re working to collect data and facts and then will respond to the letter.”
Fox8 Live
Hilinski’s Hope Brings Student Athlete Mental Health Week to More Than 155+ Schools
Hilinski’s Hope’s fourth week of collective action is a continuation of the organization’s service to the mental wellbeing of students across all levels and sports
Hilinski’s Hope Foundation (H3H), founded by Mark and Kym Hilinski to honor the legacy of their son Tyler, today announced that over 150 schools and organizations around the country will be participating in Student Athlete Mental Health Week, the organization’s fourth annual week of collective action dedicated to addressing the mental wellbeing of student athletes, from September 30th to October 7th. … During Student Athlete Mental Health Week, student athletes and athletic departments across the country will participate in breaking down stigma, offering quality resources, and letting student athletes know they are supported. …”Education and awareness are critical in connecting student-athletes to mental health resources and no organization is doing more to promote athlete mental health than Hilinski’s Hope,” said Dr. Dylan Firsick, Assistant Athletic Director, Director of Mental Health and Performance at the University of Georgia. “The University of Georgia is proud to partner with Hilinski’s Hope and encourage all athletic departments to do the same for the 2023 Student Athlete Mental Health Week.” …To date schools from around the country participating include: …Georgia Southern University …University of Georgia
Savannah Business Journal
Savannah Business Journal Staff Report
Patenting an invention and trademarking a product name can be challenging, yet protecting intellectual property is vital. To that end, Georgia Southern University Libraries will celebrate the grand opening of its Patent and Trademark Resource Center (PTRC) with ribbon-cutting events at the Armstrong Center in Savannah on Sept. 27 at 9 a.m. and at the Henderson Library in Statesboro on Sept. 28 at 10 a.m. The PTRC is part of a nationwide network of 84 public, state and academic libraries designated by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) to support the public with trademark and patent assistance. Georgia Southern Libraries is one of two designated PTRCs in Georgia.
Digital Journal
Albany State University Police Chief Anita Allen Makes Georgia Homeschool History
Tiers Free Homeschool Cooperative operates under The Dr. Annise Mabry Foundation; and, it is the largest online homeschool cooperative in the state that focuses on providing parents with the resources they need to homeschool their struggling high school students. In November 2018, the homeschool cooperative received a grant from the State Farm Community Foundation and launched a pilot program with three police departments in Macon County, GA. The pilot program was called the Macon County Chiefs’ Diploma Program. The goals of the program were to strengthen the relationship between law enforcement agencies and the community while increasing the labor force participation rate in rural, persistent poverty communities. …As the program was preparing to host its annual September graduation ceremony, it was Albany State University Police Chief Anita Allen who stepped up as a law enforcement partner for the program. Albany State University Police Chief Anita Allen said “Community partnership and support is the key to developing a pathway to success. It’s an honor to proudly promote individuals who have successfully accomplished a major milestone by obtaining their high school diplomas. Albany State University Police Department hosting this event exposes opportunities to the students who desire to pursue college. Albany State University can be a great start”.
The Augusta Chronicle
Community honors life of Khia Shields with balloon release
Parish Howard
Hundreds gathered in Wrens Friday, Sept. 1, to honor the life of Khia Shields and to speak out against the violence that took her it. Just four days after her 19th birthday, Shields was home from Georgia Southern University where she was studying to be a teacher, when a bullet was fired through her Washington Street home and hit her in the abdomen, while she was sleeping. She died hours later in an Augusta Hospital. Friday, her parents, Shareka Pitts and Travis Shields, along with family, friends and hundreds of people mourning her loss, gathered at the Wrens walking track to release balloons and say goodbye.
13WMAZ
The United Auto Workers Union is currently on strike against major U.S. car manufacturers.
Author: Cecily Stoute
Some economists say the auto strike could affect dealerships, consumers and the economy. It could also offer the auto industry its largest economic hurdle since the pandemic, according to Leland Ragin, finance director at Butler Chevrolet. “It’s so much worse than what’s happened before,” Ragin said. The auto workers’ strike against some of the biggest automakers in the U.S. might affect car buyers’ plans. Ragin says this strike will trickle down to consumers because it reduces the car supply. …JJ Arias is the chair of the Economic and Finance Department at Georgia College and State University. He believes the strike is a reaction to wages not keeping up with inflation. “I think part of why they’re doing this is because their wages just don’t buy as many good and services, so I think it’s a reaction to inflation,” Arias said.
11Alive
Georgia Agriculture officials reveal finding of second yellow-legged hornet nest
The state revealed the discovery of a large nest of the invasive Asian hornet (Vespa velutina) in a press conference last month.
Author: 11Alive Staff
UPDATE: Georgia Agriculture Commissioner Tyler Harper announced the finding of a second yellow-legged hornet nest in southeast Georgia as the state continues eradication efforts of the hornet species, which is a close relative of the so-called “murder hornet.” The yellow-legged hornet – or Asian hornet (Vespa velutina) – preys on honeybee populations and is a concern to the state’s agriculture industry. Harper announced that they located and destroyed second nest on Wilmington Island in Savannah, which was located under a bridge. … Harper had a portion of the very large nest – which UGA professor Will Hudson said can house 5,000-6,000 hornets – at the press conference. He said the portion only represented about 25-30% of the total nest.
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The McDuffie Progress
Be on the lookout for invasive spotted lanternfly
By Emily Cabrera UGA/CAES
State governments are asking people to be on the lookout for an invasive insect pest called spotted lanternfly (Lycorma delicatula). University of Georgia experts say vigilant prevention strategies, early detection and timely interventions can help keep them from spreading into Georgia and elsewhere. Native to China, India, Vietnam and parts of Eastern Asia, the spotted lanternfly is now present in 14 states throughout the Eastern U.S. The species arrived in Pennsylvania via imported goods shipped from Asia in 2014.
U.S. News & World Report
Rat-Borne Parasite That Can Cause Brain Disease Spreading in Southern U.S.
By Ernie Mundell HealthDay Reporter
Brown rats found and analyzed near Atlanta now carry rat lungworm, researchers report.
It’s a parasite that can trigger a dangerous brain encephalitis in both people and pets, and which now threatens a wide area of the U.S. Southeast. Researchers in Georgia say the microscopic rat lungworm, known scientifically as Angiostrongylus cantonensis, typically begins its life cycle in native and exotic snails — rats probably contract the parasite after eating snails. A. cantonensis was first identified in Asia and was for many years not endemic to the United States. It first appeared in Hawaii before being spotted in Texas, Louisiana, Alabama and Florida, “likely introduced by infected rats and gastropods [snails] through trade routes, such as on merchant ships,” explained a team led by Nicole Gottdenker. She’s associate professor of anatomic pathology at the University of Georgia in Athens.
yahoo! news
Why do you want to go to Disneyland so bad? Maybe it’s the smell.
Hannah Getahun
The hype around Disneyland can be explained by psychological phenomenons, experts say. Perhaps the most interesting one is how our brains react to the park’s familiar smells. Disneyland has been known to employ “Smellitzers” at the park to release nostalgic scents. …David Ludden, a professor of psychology at Georgia Gwinnett College, told the Los Angeles Times that part of Disney’s success lies in its ability to use smell to “influence our behavior at an unconscious level.” “Smell is a chemical sense, and it is evolutionarily ancient, so it connects more directly with the emotional parts of the brain than the other senses do,” Ludden told the publication. This tracks with what a former Disney employee wrote about the reasoning behind why Imagineers designed the Smellitzer.
The George Anne
Multiple vehicle Break-ins Occur on Georgia Southern Campus
Blake Williams, Managing Editor In Chief
According to the Georgia Southern University Police Department, in one day multiple vehicles were broken into and items were stolen. …What’s important: This is a reminder to make sure your doors are locked at all times and to keep your valuables at home or with you at all times. Break-ins can happen at any time.
Higher Education News:
Inside Higher Ed
Fitch Ratings Predicts More Closures, Mergers
By Josh Moody
In a report released Wednesday, Fitch Ratings predicted that more colleges will close, merge or significantly restructure operations due to enrollment declines and other market pressures. Colleges that are already struggling will likely continue to do so, the report forecast. “The higher education landscape remains bifurcated. Institutions without strong brands that are located in markets with the steepest drop in college-aged population are the most vulnerable to enrollment declines. These markets also often have a multitude of public and private institutions competing vigorously for a shrinking pool of students,” read the report from Fitch.
Diverse Issues in Higher Education
The Next Frontiers in the Battle Over CRT and DEI
Jon Edelman
Defenders of anti-racism in higher education have had a hellacious year. Between 2022 and 2023, government entities introduced 57 measures to restrict the teaching of critical race theory in colleges and universities. Forty bills were brought up to limit diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives. And the U.S. Supreme Court gutted the use of affirmative action in college admissions. The summer, with its break for both schools and many state legislatures, has given advocates a much-needed respite. But experts warn that conservative attacks on higher education aren’t going away any time soon. They may be getting worse. Taifha Alexander is director of the CRT Forward Project at the University of California, Los Angeles School of Law, which tracks efforts to restrict information about race and systemic racism. Alexander says there have been more anti-CRT efforts in 2023 than by this point last year. If the trend holds, anti-CRT measures will increase 14% this year, up from 2021 and 2022. She says she sees the nature of the bills changing.
Inside Higher Ed
Barriers to Tenure and Promotion Persist for Psychology Faculty of Color
A report by the American Psychological Association outlines the barriers many faculty members of color face and calls for increased transparency in the tenure and promotion process.
By Kathryn Palmer
A new report by the American Psychological Association argues that the diversity of the professoriate isn’t keeping up with the increasing racial and ethnic diversity of the United States and that the lag in progress has far-reaching implications in academe and beyond. Despite sweeping declarations of commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion from a litany of institutions over the last several years, the findings published today by a task force of the association illustrate the barriers to tenure, promotion and retention that psychology professors of color still face. The task force was made up of psychology professors from colleges and universities across the country who spent a year, from 2021 to 2022, reviewing numerous quantitative and qualitative studies to inform their recommendations on how to address issues such as unrecognized mentorship, disproportionate expectations of committee work and biased views of certain research topics. Some of those recommendations for making tenure evaluations more inclusive include addressing biases in student evaluations and giving more weight to the service activities professors perform.
Cybersecurity Dive
AI is entering the enterprise application security tool stack
Reports from Gartner and Rackspace show a broad enterprise appetite to weave AI into the tool stack, especially across application security.
Naomi Eide, Lead Editor
Dive Brief:
AI-based technologies are making their way to the enterprise tool stack, critical for app, cloud-native and data security, Rackspace said in a survey released Tuesday in association with Microsoft. The report is based on responses from 1,400 IT decision-makers. More than 3 in 5 IT decision makers said AI has increased the need for cybersecurity, which has led to stricter data storage and access measures, the report found. Most organizations are also paying closer attention to sensitive data exposure. The AI wave has also corresponded with more cybersecurity investments. More than 3 in 5 respondents said their cyber budgets increased over the past year and, of those, one-third raised their budgets by more than 14%, Rackspace found.
Higher Ed Dive
Wheaton to change library name following review into its history of racism
The Christian institution will take other steps to redress its past, including by assessing its support for students of color.
Natalie Schwartz, Editor
Dive Brief:
Wheaton College will remove a former college president’s name from its campus library to redress the Illinois institution’s past racist policies, according to a 122-page historical review of the college’s race relations. The library will no longer be named after the late James Oliver Buswell Jr. due to his “de facto policy of denying qualified Black applicants admission” to the college in the 1930s, the report said. It announced the building will now simply be called “the Library.” The Christian institution will also assess its level of support for students of color, and continue to hold discussions with the Lakota people over the college’s ownership of the Black Hills Science Station property in South Dakota.
Higher Ed Dive
WVU to reduce library budget by up to $800K
The recommendations come less than a week after the flagship university’s board cut 28 degree programs and about 140 faculty positions.
Laura Spitalniak, Associate Editor
Dive Brief:
West Virginia University will reduce its libraries’ personnel budget by up to $800,000 following recommendations from the provost’s office. The dean of libraries must submit a plan for the cuts by Dec. 1, and staff will be notified if they have been terminated between Dec. 8 and 15. The provost’s office also recommended the university’s Teaching and Learning Commons — which provides teaching support and resources for faculty, postdoctoral fellows and graduate students — reduce its operations and potentially cut staff over concerns its services are duplicating those in other departments. Faculty in affected units were notified about the coming budget cuts on Monday, Stephanie Taylor, WVU’s vice president and general counsel, said during a meeting Wednesday. They must say by Sept. 30 whether they want WVU to consider keeping their positions. Roughly 60% of the group had responded as of Wednesday morning, Taylor said.
Higher Ed Dive
Feds cancel $37M in loans for former University of Phoenix students
The Education Department said it will try to recoup discharge costs from the for-profit college’s owners.
Jeremy Bauer-Wolf, Senior Reporter
The Biden administration said Wednesday it will forgive about $37 million in student loans for borrowers who attended the University of Phoenix, once a for-profit behemoth that in the last decade lost a massive chunk of its enrollment amid lawsuits and scandal. More than 1,200 students who attended the University of Phoenix between late September 2012 and December 2014 will have their loans wiped out, Federal Trade Commission and U.S. Department of Education officials jointly announced.
Inside Higher Ed
Stanford to Return $5.5 Million in FTX Donations
By Susan H. Greenberg
Stanford University will return $5.5 million in donations from FTX Group, the bankrupt cryptocurrency exchange founded by Sam Bankman-Fried, who faces multiple counts of fraud and money laundering, Fortune reported. Earlier this week FTX filed a lawsuit against Bankman-Fried’s parents, Stanford law professors Joseph Bankman and Barbara Fried, accusing them of using their “access and influence within the FTX enterprise to enrich themselves.” According to the lawsuit, in addition to receiving cash gifts and a $16.4 million house in the Bahamas, Bankman “used his status as an insider to funnel vast sums of FTX Group money to his chosen causes, including his employer, Stanford University.”
Cybersecurity Dive
US is making headway on securing cyber infrastructure, commission says
While Cyberspace Solarium Commission leaders praised U.S. cybersecurity improvements, they said more work is needed to secure critical infrastructure.
David Jones, Reporter
Dive Brief:
The U.S. has made significant progress towards developing a more resilient cybersecurity infrastructure, after implementing about 70% the Cyberspace Solarium Commission’s recommendations, according to a report from CSC 2.0. CSC co-chairs Sen. Angus King, I-Maine, and Rep. Mike Gallagher, R-Wisc., praised the launch and implementation of the National Cybersecurity Strategy during a presentation Tuesday in Washington D.C., but said more work needed to be done on deterrence. Key gaps remain in the nation’s cybersecurity posture, including the need to create more resilient federal networks and strengthen key critical infrastructure sectors, such as healthcare, agriculture and water.