COVID-19 cases are up at many of Georgia’s largest colleges and universities. Faculty want stronger safety provisions. Others are urging administrators to stay the course.
Welcome to the start of the fall semester.
Here’s the latest on the ongoing battles concerning masks and vaccines, a court ruling on a dispute that cost a university president his job, a big enrollment jump at one college and other happenings in this edition of AJC On Campus.
The mandate debate
Faculty groups at a few universities, such as Kennesaw State and North Georgia, have overwhelmingly passed measures in recent days demanding administrators and state officials enact mask mandates in all indoor facilities where social distancing cannot be done. The state’s University System has encouraged, but not required, people to wear masks in campus buildings. Faculty-led demonstrations have been held at the University of Georgia, Columbus State and Georgia State universities.
Gov. Brian Kemp, though, reiterated his position last week that he doesn’t support a mask or vaccine mandate for public colleges and universities.
University administrators are saying the rules are the rules, to the frustration of critics.
Mask mandate supporters aren’t giving up. More demonstrations are scheduled for Sept. 9, when the Georgia Board of Regents holds its next meeting.
COVID-19 cases up on campuses
The number of positive COVID-19 cases is steadily rising at each of the University System of Georgia’s four largest public universities and the state’s largest private university, Emory. Here’s a recent breakdown.
Thus, administrators are pleading with students to get vaccinated. UGA is even planning drawings to offer $1,000 prizes to students who are fully vaccinated.
Morehouse and Spelman college officials are concerned enough about the surge in infections that they announced Friday they are canceling most of their homecoming activities in mid-October. Morehouse’s football game, against Fort Valley State, will continue as planned.
UGA professor continues to buck administrators
Longtime University of Georgia math professor Joseph Fu is in a letter-writing battle with administrators over his requirement that students wear masks in his two calculus classes, which is part of a larger campaign to enact guidelines he believes will prevent the rising number of COVID-19 cases on campus.
UGA officials recently sent Fu a letter saying he’s violating policy with his requirement. Fu sent a reply Wednesday requesting to teach online, citing his concerns about rising COVID-19 cases in the Athens area.
“I aim to represent the needs of the many employees who are less well off, and find themselves squeezed between their need to make a living on the one hand, and to protect their families’ health on the other,” Fu wrote.
His dean, Alan Dorsey, sent a reply Thursday that Fu shared with us and others stating “because your request does not meet the USG criteria for approving a change in teaching modality, your request is denied.”
Dorsey warned Fu he faces disciplinary action if he switches to online teaching without approval. To be continued.
KSU cheerleader court ruling
A federal appeals court on Thursday handed a legal victory to former Cobb County Sheriff Neil Warren in a dispute that roiled Kennesaw State University a few years ago.
Here’s a refresher: A group of Black KSU cheerleaders knelt in silent protest during the national anthem at a football game in 2017 to raise concerns against race-based police misconduct. Warren, then the sheriff, was among a few politically-powerful folks in Cobb who were livid about the protest and voiced his displeasure to KSU President Sam Olens. KSU’s initial solution to keep all of the cheerleaders in the hallway during the anthem didn’t fly with the University System of Georgia and Olens resigned shortly thereafter.
One of the cheerleaders, Tommia Dean, filed a lawsuit in 2018, accusing Warren and others of violating her civil rights. Dean agreed to a $145,000 settlement in late 2019, but Warren wasn’t part of the agreement. A district court later dismissed Dean’s claim against Warren, saying her legal team didn’t state a plausible claim that Warren acted with a racial or class-based discriminatory motive. On Thursday, the Atlanta-based U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit, agreed with the district court ruling.
Morehouse College reports record enrollment
Morehouse College’s recent foray into the world of online education is apparently paying dividends.
The historically Black college reported its largest class of new students this fall, 973 traditional and online students. Officials said it’s a 70% increase in comparison to last year. A total of 272 students are in the college’s online degree completion program.
Credit: Steve Schaefer
Credit: Steve Schaefer
“This record Fall 2021 class demonstrates our proficiency in elevating our historic mission, while at the same time, adapting to leverage technological advances and changes in the way we engage with each other in order to meet the contemporary needs of our students, including their need to be valued, heard, and celebrated for their brilliance,” the college’s president, David A. Thomas, said in a statement.
More HBCUs are offering online degree or certificate programs, recognizing a large percentage of Black students are seeking such degrees from for-profit schools.
Audit finds nearly $90,000 in questionable claims by Emory University
A recent audit is making the rounds among critics of Emory University’s animal research.
The National Science Foundation’s May audit questioned $89,884 of what it described as unallowable and unsupported expenses claimed on seven awards to the university. The audit reviewed about $12 million Emory claimed from the foundation on three dozen awards, starting in July 2019. Emory officials said in a statement to the AJC they have been working closely with the NSF to resolve the items identified and are prepared to refund the foundation for the costs in question.
Animal rights activists last week pointed to the audit as another reason Emory’s research program “is in shambles.”
“Emory misappropriates funds and fatally abuses animals,” said Michael Budkie, co-founder and executive director of Stop Animal Exploitation NOW! “Emory has misused federal research funding, and allowed animals to go without food and water. This research program is in shambles.”
Emory said in response it regularly reviews its research standards and practices “to ensure we provide the highest quality care for the animals involved in our research programs.”
KSU joins nationwide effort to support Jewish students
One of Georgia’s largest universities is involved in a national effort that in part aims to combat antisemitism on college campuses.
Kennesaw State is one of 19 colleges and universities nationwide that is in the second cohort of Hillel International’s Campus Climate Initiative, which works with student leaders, administrators and others to help Jewish students feel comfortable expressing their identity and values.
The initiative was created in part to combat antisemitism, which rose sharply on college campuses before the pandemic, research shows.
Technical College System not requesting an increase in state funds
The Technical College System of Georgia’s board agreed Thursday not to request additional state funds in the next fiscal year budget. The system’s current budget in state funds is about $343 million.
Student Docs for Shocks
Elected officials in a Gwinnett County city recently honored area medical students for their work to increase survival rates for people who experience sudden cardiac arrest.
The Duluth City County honored four Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine Georgia medical students, along with their not-for-profit organization, for their work on that front through “Student Docs for Shocks.” The group has helped put automated external defibrillators in the Duluth Festival Center and Town Green. They are also participating in Suwanee Fest on Sept. 18 and 19 with an educational booth, CPR demonstrations and instruction, and an AED raffle fundraiser in which the winner could either use the device personally or donate it for use in a public place.
Coming this week
The state’s Board of Regents meets Thursday. The big money items on the agenda include a request by Georgia Tech to increase the budget on its campus center by $4 million to $114 million, choosing a design firm for the first phase of the $60 million modernization of the University of Georgia’s Science Hill and picking a company to do the $8 million expansion of Georgia State’s Library North.
Also this week, leaders of historically Black colleges and universities, advocates and federal education officials will meet virtually starting Tuesday for the 2021 HBCU Week conference. The agenda includes sessions on increasing access to federal research grants, building infrastructure to do more research and development, a HBCU law enforcement training academy and gaining more access to infrastructure funding.
Georgia has nine accredited HBCUs. Their leaders have said they need more money to renovate and construct new buildings, along with more research grants.
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