With less than a month left before the fall semester begins, Georgia colleges and universities are racing to get students vaccinated to reduce the spread of COVID-19 on their campuses this fall.
We took a look at the vaccination effort, what some schools are doing to help students who’ve struggled academically during the pandemic and an effort to get the University System of Georgia’s workforce back to pre-pandemic levels.
Here’s a recap, a little bit about a special art collection coming to Atlanta’s Black colleges and the records fundraising efforts for some schools in this edition of AJC On Campus.
Georgia colleges rush to get students vaccinated as semester nears
With about half of new COVID-19 cases in Georgia among 18- to 39-year-olds and more young people are being hospitalized, educators and public health experts are increasingly worried about a rise in new cases on Georgia campuses this fall. Here’s our report about the vaccination effort.
Georgia employees ask state leaders to restore budgets, back hazard pay
The United Campus Workers of Georgia, Communications Workers of America Local 3265 sent letters last week to Republican and Democratic statehouse leaders last week asking “to return education staffing levels to the pre-pandemic baseline, and compensate essential workers with back hazard pay and a living wage.”
The group released research first reported by the AJC in May that found full-time employment in the University System of Georgia declined by about 1,500 workers over a 12-month stretch that began in November 2019, a few months before the pandemic began.
“Student enrollment is up USG-wide but the number of employees is down,” Jill Penn, the union’s co-president, said in a statement. “Georgia’s Colleges and Universities cannot function properly without returning staffing levels to pre-pandemic baselines.”
Union leaders said they’ve received no responses thus far to the letters.
Clark Atlanta University clears student balances
Many Clark Atlanta University students and recent graduates got good news Friday when the school announced it’s clearing all student account balances for the 2020 semesters and the Spring and Summer 2021 semesters.
Clark Atlanta President George T. French Jr. wrote in a letter to students that the decision was made as a gesture to thank students for continuing their education during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“The past two academic years have been emotionally and financially challenging for you and your families due to the COVID-19 pandemic,” he wrote. “I understand. That is why I am personally thankful for your resilience, perseverance, and ‘find a way or make one’ attitudes.”
UGA, Georgia State report record donations
Some of Georgia’s largest public universities are reporting record giving.
About 15% of University of Georgia graduates contributed to the university during the last fiscal year, which ended June 30, the highest percentage in its history, officials announced Thursday. In all, UGA received more than $205 million in donations in that 12-month time span.
UGA donors were responsible for creating 138 new scholarship funds. UGA reached its $4.5 million goal in private commitments for the John H. “Johnny” Isakson Chair for Parkinson’s Research and Georgia Research Alliance Eminent Scholar. UGA also saw an increase in support for its scholarship program for students struggling to pay their tuition.
Georgia State University also announced Thursday it set a one-year fundraising record of $66.7 million. The prior record was $51.2 million, set in 2017.
Georgia State provided nearly 2,800 hardship grants to students to help them with food and housing insecurity, tuition shortfalls, transportation issues and other necessities brought on or exacerbated by the pandemic.
Atlanta University Center gets prized art collection
Steve R. Allen’s artwork has appeared in eight Olympic games, including the 1996 competition in Atlanta in which he was the official artist. His work will soon grace the walls of the Atlanta University Center Robert W. Woodruff Library.
Center officials announced Wednesday a prized collection of artwork will be on display there. The collection will include “The Legend,” commemorating the 25th anniversary of Hank Aaron’s 715th record-breaking home run. Two original portraits, “Dr. Richard Long” and “Patrice Emery Lumumba,” which have been on loan to the AUC Woodruff Library since 2019, are also part of the gift.
Allen was commissioned to create “Uniting Colors of the World”, a mammoth eighty feet by twenty-eight feet mural, as the city of Atlanta’s official commemoration of its hosting the 1996 Centennial Olympic Summer Games.
A special recognition of Allen and his work will be planned for next year, officials said. Allen’s art will also be digitally accessible through the Library’s e-scholarship repository and the GLAM Center for Collaborative Teaching and Learning portal.
How much is that USG degree worth?
The University System released a report this week that shows the potential lifetime earnings of students who receive degrees from one of their 26 schools. Here’s our recap of that report.
Bottoms to partner in Clark Atlanta HBCU leadership effort
Credit: Alyssa Pointer
Credit: Alyssa Pointer
Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms will be involved in an effort that began a few months ago to train educators interested in becoming leaders of historically Black colleges and universities. The leadership institute will be housed at Clark Atlanta University. To read more, click here.
Summer credit recovery
A few area schools, such as Georgia Gwinnett College and Georgia State, have been offering classes this summer to students who’ve had trouble academically during the coronavirus pandemic. They hope to continue the programs. Read more about the effort here.
Georgia Gwinnett’s care pantry
Georgia Gwinnett College this week opened a care pantry with nonperishable food items for eligible students in financial need.
The pantry is located on the second floor of Building I on its campus.
Colleges are increasingly looking for ways to support students, particularly during the pandemic. About 81% of Georgia Gwinnett College students qualify for financial aid.
Best colleges for vets
Two Georgia universities recently made Military Times’ list of the best colleges for vets. Georgia State University ranked sixth while the University of North Georgia ranked 17th.
Georgia State offers one-on-one service from their assigned Military Student Advocate to help student veterans from the application process through graduation.
The state of Georgia offers 42 scholarships per year to Georgia high school seniors who attend the University of North Georgia and commission as officers in the Georgia Army National Guard after graduating with bachelor’s degrees.
Emory students finalists for inaugural Alexa prize
Six Emory computer science students made it to the final round for Amazon’s Alexa Prize Socialbot Grand Challenge, a global competition among universities to create a chatbot that advances the field of artificial intelligence, the school said this week. The winner will be announced in mid-August. The first place prize is $500,000. In addition, $1 million in research funds will be awarded to the winning team if it meets the “grand challenge” criteria.
UGA’s 40 under 40
The University of Georgia’s alumni association last week released its annual list of 40 prominent graduates under the age of 40. We take some pride in noting that the list included AJC political reporter Greg Bluestein, a graduate of the class of 2004.
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