Statesboro Herald
East Georgia State to install sixth president
Investiture Ceremony for Dr. David Schecter planned Friday
From staff reports
Statesboro Herald
East Georgia State College will officially install Dr. David Schecter as its sixth president in an Investiture Ceremony on Friday, Oct. 13. The ceremony is open to the public and will begin at 11 a.m. in the auditorium of the Luck Flanders Gambrell Building on East Georgia’s Swainsboro campus. An Investiture is counted among the oldest traditions of academia. It is formal and academic occasion to celebrate a new president’s official installation.
Savannah CEO
The National Science Foundation awarded nearly $3 million to Georgia Southern University to launch the Research and Mentoring for Postbaccalaureates (RaMP) program. At each university, RaMP supports approximately 10 students per year in gaining full-time research experience, mentoring for potential career paths and building a network of professional contacts. Georgia Southern’s project, “Mentoring and Research Opportunities for Careers in Coastal Science (MROC2S),” aims to aid those with little to no exposure to research or the resources to do so.
WGAU Radio
UNG rolls out October fundraising drive
By Tim Bryant
A new fundraising effort at the University of North Georgia sets a goal of $100 thousand for the month of October: UNG’s RISE Crowdfunding campaign looks to fund more than twenty scholarships and help pay for various projects at the University of North Georgia.
From Denise Ray, UNG…
The University of North Georgia RISE Crowdfunding campaign aims to raise $100,000 from Oct. 2-30 for 21 scholarships and projects. The community fundraising platform supports UNG groups with the effort to raise funds that will enrich the lives of students through innovative projects, service trips, events, research, and other UNG-related ventures. The crowdfunding month will fund between $1,000 and $10,000 for each volunteer-led project. All scholarship projects are supported by the Office of Alumni Relations & Annual Giving.
WGAU Radio
UGA joins college cost transparency coalition
By Wes Mayer, UGA Today
The University of Georgia has joined a national initiative committed to financial aid transparency. Along with the other 25 schools in the University System of Georgia, UGA is now among more than 360 higher education institutions that have joined the College Cost Transparency Initiative. This initiative will standardize the language used in financial aid offers, so all costs, terms and conditions are easily comprehensible. This way, prospective undergraduate students and their families will have an easier time understanding the components of each offer they receive and be able to compare those offers side by side. …The College Cost Transparency Initiative and its standards were created by a task force of 10 leaders of higher education associations that represent college presidents, financial aid offices, and admissions and school counselors. At its launch, the institutions dedicated to this initiative serve more than 3.8 million students. In 2023, UGA’s total enrollment stands above 40,000 with more than 30,000 undergraduate students. Ensuring all enrolled and prospective UGA students understand their financial aid options and opportunities is a priority of the UGA Office of Student Financial Aid.
WTVM
Interview: Senior VP of Georgia entertainment Jezlan Moyet talks about the film industry in Georgia
Video
The partnership between the Georgia Film Academy and Columbus State University is credited with addressing the state’s film industry workforce development needs.
Georgia Entertainment
Students part of film that premiered in LA
By Staff
A faculty member and students in the University of North Georgia’s (UNG) School of Communication, Film & Theatre helped create a short film that premiered in Los Angeles recently. Robyn Hicks, UNG assistant professor of film and digital media, served as the producer on “Every Night at 3:30.” The film focuses on a main character named Nicole who is awaiting medical test results and “becomes concerned that something nefarious is tripping her security cameras,” according to the film’s official description. Hicks’ students were part of a 20-person crew that allowed them to work alongside film professionals.
WGAU Radio
Terry College offers new path to MBA
By Gabe Vodicka, UGA Today
The value of an MBA is clear. In addition to preparing students for leadership roles in their organizations and opening new career opportunities, a 2022 study found MBA graduates earn higher salaries on average. However, many working professionals are unable to commit the time and resources necessary to complete an in-person MBA program. Beginning this year, the Terry College of Business is responding to strong demand for MBA programs by meeting prospective students where they are — online. The UGA Online MBA, a part-time program modeled after the Terry College’s Professional MBA and operated from its Atlanta campus, welcomes its first cohort of students this fall.
Albany Herald
Dougherty County Commission hears update on trail linking downtown, Albany State University
By Alan Mauldin
With the ending point of the trail connecting downtown Albany completed and the starting point at the Broad Avenue bridge expected to be wrapped up in a matter of weeks, the lengthy middle portion of the trail section is all that’s left to go. The celebration of that link being finished is some time in the future, however. In the short-term, the celebration will be that of the completion of 1.3 miles of the concrete trail that stretches from the Flint River at Broad Avenue through the Albany State University campus.
Broadway World
Georgia Theatre Conference Returns For Big 59th Year
Georgia Theatre Conference returns to Columbus for 59th year with record attendance.
By: A.A. Cristi
The longest-running state theatre convention is back, this time in Columbus, GA. At Georgia Theatre Conference (GTC), high schools compete in one-act competitions and college artists begin the preliminary audition process to be seen by a multitude of regional theatre companies for professional performance/technical work. Georgia Theatre Conference also hosts several middle school, community theatre, and professional theatre performances open to the public and patrons. …High school and secondary school juniors and seniors have the opportunity to pre-screen for over 12 attending colleges and universities. College and university students, along with professional artists, can audition and apply for seasonal and full-time work with hiring companies like Disney Live Entertainment and Peach State Summer Theatre. …This year’s Georgia Theatre Conference will be at Columbus State University in Columbus, GA.
Dalton Daily Citizen
Whitfield County commissioners expected to vote on engineering contract for Prater’s Mill
By Charles Oliver
The Whitfield County Board of Commissioners is slated to vote Monday on an engineering and architectural services contract for repairs to historic Prater’s Mill. …The commissioners are also scheduled to vote on whether to: …• Apply for a $100,000 COVID-19 Mitigation in Georgia Confinement Facilities Grant. This is a grant program administered by Georgia Southern University, the Georgia Department of Health and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to reimburse the county for COVID-19 expenses at the jail.
13WMAZ
‘My first thought was my family’: Israel conflict impacts Central Georgians
Organizations like the United Nations, the International Red Cross and the Carter Center are working to help the people under attack.
Author: Kamilah Williams
The death toll in Israel and Gaza has reached over 1,500 after the militant group Hamas attacked Israel, including a number of civilian targets like an EDM festival where at 260 people were killed. Temple Beth Israel Rabbi Elizabeth Bahar says the actions of the Hamas military are horrific. …Christopher Lawrence is the chairman of the political science department at Middle Georgia State University. He says what’s going on in the Middle East affects a lot of people here. “A lot of people in general that have friends or family or whatever in Israel are going to be very concerned about their loved ones. And of course, that’s also true of people who have Palestinian relatives as well. The tragedy here is going to be viewed by civilians on both sides,” Lawrence said. Lawrence says the conflict in the Middle East would begin during the biblical era. In terms of modern times, it dates back to the late 1940s.
Savannah CEO
Greater Pooler Area Chamber of Commerce Hosts 2023 Economic Outlook Luncheon
The Greater Pooler Area Chamber of Commerce will host its annual Economic Outlook Luncheon on Wednesday, October 18 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Courtyard by Marriott Savannah Airport. The luncheon is sponsored by the Queensborough National Bank & Trust Co. and will feature keynote speaker Dr. Michael Toma, professor of economics at Georgia Southern University.
BVM Sports
Georgia Southern Rifle Team Sets School Records and Closes the Gap on TCU
The Georgia Southern Eagles rifle team achieved a significant milestone, breaking the 4,700 team mark for the first time in program history. Competing against No. 2 TCU, the Eagles posted school records in both smallbore and aggregate. Led by Addy Burrow, who tied for third individually, the team closed the gap on one of the top teams in the country, signaling their strong start to the season. With back-to-back team-record days, the Eagles are poised for future success.
Higher Education News:
Higher Ed Dive
University of Wisconsin System to launch direct admissions program next year
The network’s president, Jay Rothman, cast the initiative as a way to boost enrollment.
Natalie Schwartz, Editor
Dive Brief:
The University of Wisconsin System plans to roll out a direct admissions initiative next year to boost enrollment across its campuses. System President Jay Rothman announced the news during a board meeting last week. He anticipates that qualifying high school students in the state will receive letters in July 2024 offering entry to system colleges they’ve been matched to for fall 2025. The system is one of several public higher education networks trying out direct admissions, which usually entails sending offer letters to high school seniors without them having to apply.
Inside Higher Ed
Virginia Disputes Claim That It Underfunded an HBCU
By Johanna Alonso
The government of the commonwealth of Virginia is pushing back against a claim by the federal government that it underfunded Virginia State University, a historically Black land-grant institution, according to The Progress-Index. U.S. education secretary Miguel Cardona and agriculture secretary Tom Vilsack wrote to Virginia governor Glenn Youngkin last month to explain that VSU had been underfunded by $277 million over the past three decades compared to Virginia Tech, the state’s other land-grant institution. Cardona and Vilsack sent similar letters to the governors of 15 other states. In the letter, the secretaries said that according to calculations using the ED’s Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System, VSU “has not been able to advance in ways that are on par with Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University.”
Marietta Daily Journal
Georgia Military College to offer no-cost degrees for Marietta police officers
Staff reports
Georgia Military College is partnering with the Marietta Police Department to provide officers with an opportunity to earn a college degree online, the school announced Monday. The program, effective immediately, will allow Marietta police officers to enroll at GMC’s Global Online Leadership College, where they can pursue either a two-year or four-year degree without upfront costs or application fees. The officers will receive tuition reimbursement from MPD after completing each quarter, the college said, “making education more accessible for those dedicated to serving in law enforcement.”
Inside Higher Ed
North Carolina Forces Changes to Accreditation
A new law will require public institutions to change accreditors every cycle. Passed quietly with no debate, the bill follows similar legislation passed in Florida.
By Josh Moody
North Carolina colleges and universities will be required to change accreditors every cycle, according to a new bill that was passed amid a flurry of other legislation and signed into law last week. Lawmakers slipped the requirement to change accreditors—which follows similar legislation passed in Florida in 2022—into a bill that made a series of statutory changes, such as requiring the state’s high school students to pass a computer science course to graduate and requiring pornographic websites to verify the ages of users. Tucked among the changes was a new rule barring state colleges and universities from using the same accreditor for consecutive cycles.
Inside Higher Ed
Showcasing Solutions for Better Campus Discourse
At a gathering focused on pluralism, academics, nonprofit leaders and college administrators assess the state of campus discourse and spotlight steps to improve it.
By Doug Lederman
Is there a civil discourse crisis in higher education? It would be hard to read the pages of this website and think otherwise. Judging from the controversial speakers shouted down on campuses and the sessions canceled at scholarly meetings, the complicated and often combustible mix of academic freedom, free speech and opposition to hate speech has created a landscape seemingly littered with rhetorical land mines. In the larger context of divisiveness and apparent obstinacy in our political system and among the public, hope for a change in the campus climate seems almost quaint.
Higher Ed Dive
PASSHE finds silver lining amid 2.2% drop in fall enrollment
Though the Pennsylvania system’s overall headcounts fell, seven of its 10 colleges increased their number of first-time students.
Natalie Schwartz, Editor
Dive Brief:
The Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education’s enrollment fell 2.2% this fall to 82,688 students, continuing over a decade of steady declines, according to preliminary data released Monday. However, system leaders pointed to a 3.4% increase among first-time students as reason to celebrate. First-time enrollment across the system’s 10 schools now rests at 16,203 students. The system’s biggest declines were among two nascent colleges recently created through a merger of six financially struggling institutions. The Commonwealth University of Pennsylvania’s enrollment fell to 11,108 students, down 8.1%, while Pennsylvania Western University’s headcount dropped to 11,305 students, a decline of 11.5%.
Inside Higher Ed
Scores of N.Y. Colleges Waive Application Fees in October
By Johanna Alonso
During the month of October, students applying to public as well as private colleges and universities in New York will have their application fees waived as part of the New York State College Application Month initiative, Governor Kathy Hochul announced Friday. The City University of New York system is waiving application fees all month for New York City public school students, while other New York state residents can apply for free from Oct. 16 through the end of the month. The State University of New York system is waiving all application fees from Oct. 16 to Oct. 29, and the details of the fee waivers at 40 participating private colleges and universities vary by institution.
Diverse Issues in Higher Education
Unveiling An Accidental Triumph: The Improbable History of American Higher Education
Jamal Watson
Dr. Sol Gittleman has penned a must-read book for anyone with a vested interest in the past, present, and future of American academia.
An Accidental Triumph: The Improbable History of American Higher Education tells the unique story about what Americans think of higher education.
Dr. Sol Gittleman, who is the Alice and Nathan Gantcher University Professor Emeritus, has emerged as one of the nation’s most important interpreters of the history of higher education. In this 189-page book, he provides a chronological timeline that highlights the evolution of post-secondary institutions as well as the impact of religion and race and the role of private philanthropy in shaping the prominence of colleges and universities. Along the way, he touches on the Black land grant institutions authorized in 1890 by the Second Morrill Act. But much of the book highlights how the American higher education system has become the envy of the world — sending thousands of students each year flocking to the United States to commence study.
Cybersecurity Dive
Where to invest to close the cyber skills gap
The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency is making progress on its effort to more efficiently hire cyber professionals, implementing process changes other organizations can learn from.
By Jen A. Miller, Contributor
Finding and retaining qualified cyber workers is still a challenge. The number of professionals in the cybersecurity workforce is at an all-time high, with 4.7 million professionals in these roles, (ISC)2 found. But 3.4 million more workers are needed to completely fill the talent gap. The majority, 70%, of security leaders said their organization does not have enough cybersecurity employees. Even the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency has had to change its recruiting patterns so it could attract cyber talent, especially to stay competitive against private companies that can pay those experts already in the field higher salaries.