Last week, we told you about Gov. Brian Kemp leveraging a technical error Nathan Deal apparently made in his last days as governor to challenge the appointment of three longtime members of the Board of Regents to new seven-year terms. For now, all three are still on the board and they came to last week's monthly meeting. It was a full agenda, with one surprise at the outset.
Here’s our weekly AJC On Campus, a round up of some of what’s going on at metro Atlanta’s colleges and universities:
Regents recap
Georgia's Board of Regents last week appointed Micheal Crafton as interim president of the University of West Georgia. The prior president, Kyle Marrero, was named president of Georgia Southern University. The board passed a motion issuing an exception to its policy regarding restrictions against a relative supervising another relative. Crafton's wife teaches at the university, a University System of Georgia official said. The board's policy allows for exceptions. Meanwhile, a board subcommittee approved revised plans to demolish Georgia State's Kell Hall to create a green walkway in its place. The costs have doubled to nearly $10 million, as we reported last week.
Arrests at board meeting
Before the board got to business, nine people were arrested at the start of the meeting. They were there to protest the state's policy that denies in-state tuition rates to undocumented students. Among those arrested were former "Daily Show" correspondent Jordan Klepper.
Regents gala nets major haul for scholarships
The Regents reported last week raising more than $900,000 at its annual gala to provide needs-based scholarships at all 26 institutions.
Simply the best
One more word concerning last week’s meeting. Well, a few more words. The board recognized a student from each of its 26 institutions for their work in the classroom as part of its annual Academic Recognition Day. The students are selected by faculty and administrators, based on several factors. The honorees are:
- Alexander Ikner of Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College
- Scott Roach of Albany State University
- Yolanda Pabon of Atlanta Metropolitan State College
- Ryan Marby of Augusta University
- Britney Maddox of Clayton State University
- Jonathan Edgy of Coastal College of Georgia
- Christopher Lane of Columbus State University
- Kellsea Jenkins of Dalton State College
- William "Cole" Wilkes of East Georgia State College
- Tanzania Walker of Fort Valley State University
- Brooke Judie of Georgia College
- Carmen Roland of Georgia Gwinnett College
- Cindy Mendoza Razo of Georgia Highlands College
- Abigail McClain of Georgia Tech
- Edward Legaspi of Georgia Southern University
- Brandon Waters of Georgia Southwestern State University
- Antoinette Charles of Georgia State University
- Angela Knight of Gordon State College
- Erica Lundak of Kennesaw State University
- Michael Koohang of Middle Georgia State University
- Aaliyah Buckholts of Savannah State University
- Hannah Higginson of South Georgia State College
- Swapnil Agrawal of the University of Georgia
- Caroline Brown of the University of North Georgia
- Dali Davis of the University of West Georgia
- Caylor Mark of Valdosta State University
Morehouse’s New Man On Campus - One Year Later
Morehouse College last week celebrated the inauguration of its president, David A. Thomas, who recently completed his first year on the job. It was part of the school's Founder's Week festivities. We caught up with Thomas before the inauguration. Check out our interview with him here.
Emory’s big check
Emory University announced last week it received a $65 million donation from the O. Wayne Rollins Foundation to build a third Rollins School of Public Health building on its campus.
Kennesaw State’s new look
Kennesaw State University on Monday unveiled its new logo, the first major change to the institution’s branded mark in more than 20 years, officials said. “The new logo capitalizes on the popularity of the athletics mark and adds the name of the University to create one unified logo.” It’s the same black and yellow colors, but the K and the S are more interlocking. KSU said it talked to more than 6,800 people to get insight and feedback about a new logo.
Is Georgia Educating Enough Workers?
AJC Education Columnist Maureen Downey tackled the question of whether Georgia is adequately preparing students for the workforce in the weekly Education Notebook. Check it out here.
Coming this week
A KSU student who says he’s the target of a racial social media post has scheduled a news conference Tuesday with the Southern Christian Leadership Conference to discuss the “ongoing climate of race based hate and threats on campus,” according to a news release.
Former MSNBC anchor Melissa Harris-Perry, who teaches at Wake Forest University, is scheduled to appear at Spelman College at 7 p.m. Tuesday for a discussion about the 150th anniversary of the 14th Amendment, which provides citizenship to anyone born on American soil, including former slaves. Monday was the deadline to RSVP for the discussion, which includes Sherrilyn Ifill, president and director-counsel of the NAACP Legal Defense Fund; but you can watch live on Spelman’s Facebook page.
The Georgia Senate’s Higher Education committee is scheduled to hold its weekly meeting at 1 p.m. Thursday in the state Capitol, Room 450.
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