University System News:
www.myajc.com
What’s new on Georgia’s college campuses?
https://www.myajc.com/news/local-education/what-new-georgia-college-campuses/da7HAtXS8U235ek5mTVTuL/
By Eric Stirgus
Several hundred thousand students will begin class at Georgia’s colleges and universities, some starting Monday. Here’s a look at some of the new things they’ll see once they arrive on some of metro Atlanta’s four-year campuses: … Atlanta Metropolitan State College … Clayton State University … Georgia Gwinnett College …Georgia State University …Georgia Tech … Kennesaw State University …University of Georgia
www.wtoc.com
New students moving into dorms at Georgia Southern University
http://www.wtoc.com/story/38860212/new-students-moving-into-dorms-at-georgia-southern-university
By Dal Cannady, Reporter
Classes start campuswide at Georgia Southern University on Monday, but the busiest weekend of the year actually started Friday morning. Imagine the population of a small town in one weekend. Roughly 5,000 students live on campus in university housing. A majority of them arrived at their new homes Friday. More than 3,000 students arrived in town to get their apartment assignments and sign up for things like parking permits, cafeteria plans, and the rest of those outside-the-classroom extras. Georgia Southern’s interim president was there to welcome students and talk to them about the year. From check-in, it was time to go to their building assignments. The university estimates it’ll process 400 students per hour Friday and Saturday, but President Shelley Nickel says they must still help each one get adjusted. “First touch is very important, especially as Mom and Dad are getting ready to say goodbye,” Nickel said. “They want to know their child is going to be safe and sound and in good hands.” They assign students to arrive at certain times throughout the day. University leaders feel like that gives them a manageable number they can handle at one time.
www.mdjonline.com
Kennesaw State welcomes fledgling Owls for fall semester
Ross Williams
There were plenty of smiling faces and teary eyes on Kennesaw State University’s Marietta campus Saturday as first-year students said good-bye to mom and dad and prepared for life on their own. Just over 1,700 students were set to move in to the campus, almost half of whom were first-years. Among the throng of young adults rolling their possessions into the dorms in big orange carts was Asia Nelor of Jonesboro.
www.thebrunswicknews.com
College students embark on new semester
By LAUREN MCDONALD
A new group of Mariners began their adventures in higher education this weekend. New and returning students arrived at College of Coastal Georgia’s campus early Saturday morning for the college’s residence hall move-in day. Classes do not begin until Wednesday, but students arrived early to prepare for the new semester and get acclimated to campus. …College staff were on-hand Saturday to aid families with the move-in. Several local churches also brought volunteers to help carry bags and to serve lunch.
www.barnesville.com
FDR’s visit to Barnesville to be remembered at Gordon
http://www.barnesville.com/archives/11126-FDRs-visit-to-Barnesville-to-be-remembered-at-Gordon.html
By Walter Geiger
Gordon State College, in conjunction with Southern Rivers Energy, will debut the ‘Power to the People’ exhibit Saturday to commemorate the 80th anniversary of President Franklin Roosevelt’s visit to Barnesville on Aug. 11, 1938. FDR visited Summers Field where he spoke before a crowd estimated at up to 30,000 people. He was here to flip the switch for a Rural Electrification Administration project that bestowed the miracle of electricity upon rural residents of Lamar County. A dedication ceremony will begin at 10 a.m. at the Fine Arts auditorium, featuring a welcome from Haven Luke, Roosevelt’s great-grandson. FDR’s speech at the football field will be reenacted by Jim Fowler. The keynote address will be given by Dr. Wayne Clough, former secretary of the Smithsonian Institution and president-emeritus of Georgia Tech.
www.wsbtv.com
Georgia State student shot at University Commons
https://www.wsbtv.com/news/local/atlanta/georgia-state-student-shot-at-university-commons/810962373
Georgia State University Police are investigating an early morning shooting on campus that left one student injured. According to the chief of police, officers were called to the University Commons at 141 Piedmont Avenue around 5 a.m. Saturday. They found a car and an injured student inside. The student was taken to Grady Memorial Hospital with injuries to his neck and face. …Witnesses told police they heard a discussion about the group going somewhere to use drugs just prior to the shooting. One suspect was arrested and taken to the Fulton County Jail.
www.ajc.com
After 6-month investigation, 3 arrested in armed robberies near Georgia Tech campus
By Breaking News Staff, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
After its chief passionately vowed to solve a disturbing crime spree six months ago, the Atlanta Police Department has arrested three men in connection with armed robberies near the Georgia Tech campus in Midtown and in Buckhead. Gemontaz Holley, 20, Sinquai Callaway, 21, and Donnell “Marquez” Frison, 20, are accused of four robberies in late January and early February. Holley was already in custody in Washington County, police said Friday. Callaway and Frison were arrested by APD’s fugitive unit and are in the Fulton County Jail.
www.albanyherald.com
Albany State names interim deans to lead academic colleges
University’s new appointments became effective on Tuesday
From Staff Reports
Albany State University has appointed interim deans to lead the university’s new academic college structure. The deans will fill positions in the Darton College of Health Professions, the College of Professional Studies, and the College of Arts and Sciences. The appointments became effective on Tuesday. “I am pleased to announce the appointment of our interim deans,” Raj Parikh, ASU’s provost and vice president for Academic Affairs, said. “Our final candidates exemplify outstanding professionalism and expertise. They are fully committed to providing a quality learning experience for all ASU students.”
www.hbcudigest.com
Report: Marion Fedrick is Leading Candidate for Albany State Presidency
https://hbcudigest.com/report-marion-fedrick-is-leading-candidate-for-albany-state-presidency/
BY NEWS WIRE 4:46 PM
Albany State University Interim President Marion Fedrick is the leading candidate to be named as permanent president of the school at a University System of Georgia (USG) Board of Regents meeting scheduled for next week, according to a report in the Albany Herald. If appointed, Federick will be the second permanent president to serve at Albany State with prior service as an executive vice-president of human resources in the USG, following former system senior HR vice-chancellor Art Dunning, who retired from ASU in October 2017.
www.ajc.com
Georgia Tech had warning about looming ethics problem
By Ty Tagami Eric Stirgus, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Last December, Georgia Tech’s president learned about an ethics complaint involving a contract with a German software company, so he talked with one of his highest-ranking administrators. He didn’t tell Steve Swant why he was asking him about the company, called RIB, but he knew an important fact: Swant was on the company’s board. George P. “Bud” Peterson memorialized the conversation with his executive vice president in neat handwriting on one page. The terse notes detail RIB’s growing links to Tech in the three years since Peterson had authorized Swant to serve as a trustee on the company’s board. Two days later, Tech’s Department of Internal Auditing was asked to look into an allegation that a senior Tech executive on RIB’s board had used “undue influence” to award a contract to RIB. The auditors spent three weeks on it, and found no wrong-doing. Four months later, though, the University System of Georgia, which oversees all state colleges and universities, investigated a similar tip. Using Tech documents and talking to Tech employees, the system investigation reached entirely different conclusions.
www.myajc.com
CONTINUING COVERAGE: Ga. Tech response to latest scandal due Wednesday
ATLANTA-NEWS By Eric Stirgus – The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Georgia Tech president George “Bud” Peterson has a deadline of Wednesday to present a plan to state officials about how he’ll prevent ethical abuses like the ones that ended with him firing an executive vice president and also to the resignation of three highly paid staffers. While Peterson has already announced some organizational changes and asked another organization for advice, experts interviewed by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution pointed out holes in Georgia Tech’s governance structure that must be filled. And others, from state legislators to faculty are waiting to help out, if asked, or inject themselves into the conversation. The university’s problems began after an investigation by the University System of Georgia found former Executive Vice President Steve Swant, Lance Lunsway, Thomas Stipes, and Paul Strouts exploited relationships with vendors by getting a school vendor to pay for a football suite for them, expensing after-hours dining and drinking, and playing golf with vendors during work hours. All four men made six-figure annual salaries.
www.onlineathens.com
VIDEO: UGA research team seeks to improve concussion management
By Marc Weiszer
Newcomers to the University of Georgia’s sports teams spend their first weeks on campus getting to know their teammates, finding their way to classes and settling into dorms. They all also undergo baseline testing in case they suffer a concussion on the practice field or in games. Those are administered by Julianne Schmidt and Robert Lynall, co-directors of the UGA Concussion Research Laboratory, which includes five doctoral students and a research coordinator. For football, that’s about 40 hours of baseline testing, mostly in the summer. “We basically run them through a battery of assessments and we take those scores and compare it back to that baseline,” said Schmidt, a certified athletic trainer and assistant professor in the Department of Kinesiology. “We give that information to the sports medicine staff and help them decide when they’re ready to go back to play and whether there are any treatments that might help throughout their recovery if they’re having a longer recovery.”
www.ajc.com
Georgia Tech adjusts substance-abuse policy for athletes
By Ken Sugiura
With a bent toward using science and the input of experts in the field, Georgia Tech has amended its substance-abuse policy for its athletes, athletic director Todd Stansbury told the AJC. It has been adjusted in a way, Stansbury said, that is focused more on wellness and education than punishment. The new program will now include a baseline test for freshmen for which a positive will not count against them. It also enables athletes who stay clean for nine months to have a “strike” removed from their record. Stansbury was particularly heartened by the addition of the baseline test.
www.13wmaz.com
Middle Georgia State adds carp to signature lake
Middle Georgia State University enlisted the help of 500 carp to keep their lake clean. They’ve seen a big difference in water quality. Carp are vegetarians and eat grass.
Author: Suzanne Lawler
Recently, Middle Georgia State University had a groundskeeping issue of sorts — nothing too detrimental, but enough that it tainted a big landmark on campus. When Middle Georgia State University’s landmark lake went from nice blue water to practically a green slime bed, grounds superintendent Michael Glisson knew he had a problem. “Oh, yeah, we had mats and mats of weeds out there and a lot of algae plumes and some very stringy weeds out there, and some of the birds would get their legs caught up in it,” he described. So Glisson and the school called on an unlikely ally, one that would attack the problem from below the surface. “There’s roughly 500 carp out there and they’re going to town, so,” Michael said. In just a couple of weeks, the funny-shaped fish have chomped their way back into blue water.
Higher Education News:
www.washintonpost.com
Panicked universities in search of students are adding thousands of new majors
By Jon Marcus
When Western Nevada College launches a program in cybersecurity this fall, it will have spent about $130,000 on planning and to build a state-of-the-art computer lab. The college projects that 70 students will eventually enroll in the certificate program. So far, five have committed. Western Nevada is hoping 20 will show up for the inaugural class but won’t know until the semester begins. Administrators at universities and colleges across the country have been spending the summer in the same level of suspense as they invest scarce resources in large numbers of new programs they hope will bolster sagging enrollment.
www.hechingerreport.org
Too little aid for low-income STEM majors?
With an extra financial-aid boost, low-income students more likely to study science, technology, engineering or math, study finds
https://hechingerreport.org/too-little-aid-for-low-income-stem-majors/
by DELECE SMITH-BARROW
When low-income students get a need-based grant, in addition to other financial aid, they are more likely to study science, technology, engineering or math (STEM) than their peers who don’t receive this boost in aid, according to a recent study from the Hope Center for College, Community and Justice. The study’s authors followed students who in 2008-2009 received the Wisconsin Scholars Grant, which is reserved for Pell grant-eligible students from Wisconsin who graduated from a state high school (or received an equivalency diploma) and attended a state college or university, among other criteria. Pell grants cover only 30 percent of the total price of attendance at the average public four-year institution, the authors said