State lawmakers return next week for their annual legislative sessions, and some of them are not happy with how things are going at the University System of Georgia. However, system leaders released some financial data this week that show a different picture.
Here’s a look at these and other issues in the latest edition of AJC On Campus.
University System of Georgia reports stronger finances
System officials gave a presentation Wednesday to the state’s Board of Regents that shows its finances got stronger in the most recent fiscal year, which ended June 30. Its total net position is slightly more than $2 billion, a $426 million increase from the prior fiscal year. Officials credit the increase on factors such as the transfer of a campus in Bainbridge to the Technical College System of Georgia.
State lawmakers criticize University System
At about the same time Wednesday system officials gave that presentation, several members of a Georgia House of Representatives committee took the system and the Regents to task over the cost to attend its schools. The Regents voted last year to increase tuition by 2.5% for undergraduate students and raised some fees. "They have put going to a state university out of reach of the average person," said Rep. Alan Powell, R-Hartwell.
System leaders have been sensitive to criticism about rising costs, noting its tuition and fees were fourth-lowest in a recent survey of the 16 states that make up the Southern Regional Education Board. The system late last year named a committee to explore student fees. System Chancellor Steve Wrigley said during Wednesday’s Regents meeting that state investment in the system has declined by 38% per student in the last two decades, adjusted for inflation. Wrigley didn’t blame lawmakers, noting budget changes after two economic recessions.
Wrigley typically gives a presentation to state lawmakers near the start of the session. It could be an interesting conversation.
2020 priorities
Wrigley and new Board of Regents chairman Sachin Shailendra laid out their priorities for this year during Wednesday's meeting. The chancellor mentioned ongoing work to update the core curriculum, which we reported on recently, and efforts to help students find alternatives to taking out loans. Shailendra, in his first meeting as chairman, said in his remarks to the board that he's eager to see upcoming reports on ways to improve campus mental health services and lowering student fees. Shailendra's remarks may have been overshadowed by his 10-month old twins, Sydney and Sutton, who made a brief appearance at the meeting with his family.
Kennesaw State’s big gift
Credit: Alyssa Pointer
Credit: Alyssa Pointer
The university announced Wednesday it has received a $10 million donation, its largest gift ever, that will be used for student scholarships. Here's more about it.
Morris Brown College gets debt relief
College leaders were excited this week after the African Methodist Episcopal Church announced it will forgive a $4 million debt. Morris Brown lost its accreditation nearly two decades ago due to financial mismanagement and ballooning debt. The college's current annual budget is $2 million, so this type of debt relief is a big deal for them. Morris Brown began an effort last year to be accredited by another organization.
UNCF raises $1.4 million for college scholarships in Atlanta
The United Negro College Fund Mayor’s Masked Ball, one of the top social events in Atlanta each year, recently raised $1.4 million in scholarships. That’s a record, organizers said. There are five UNCF schools in Georgia: Clark Atlanta University, the Interdenominational Theological Center, Morehouse, Paine and Spelman colleges. The UNCF is a non-profit that supports historically black colleges and universities. Ambassador Andrew Young started the Mayor’s Masked Ball when he was Atlanta’s mayor as a fundraiser for the organization.
Group files discrimination complaint against Georgia Tech
The American Center for Law and Justice has filed a complaint with the federal government, asking it to investigate its claim that Georgia Tech ignored a “blatant anti-Semitic exclusion and harassment at a campus group event.” This goes back to April when Young Democratic Socialists of America, a student group, held an event on campus. The center says the group denied entry to Lauren Blazofsky, the director of Hillel at Georgia Tech, an organization that supports Jewish students. Two Jewish students who attended the event said they were harassed at the meeting, the complaint says. A Georgia Tech spokesman said it has not been contacted by the government about the complaint, but will cooperate.
UGA’s African American trailblazers to be honored...by Georgia Tech
Yep, Georgia Tech is planning a celebration to honor the first two African American students to enroll at the University of Georgia. Georgia Tech has named Charlayne Hunter-Gault and the late Hamilton Holmes with its Ivan Allen Jr. Prize for Social Change. A ceremony is scheduled for Feb. 5. “Holmes and Hunter-Gault, both Atlanta natives, showed significant courage by enrolling as the first African American students at the University of Georgia — in the era of Jim Crow,” Georgia Tech wrote on its website last week. The two faced a near riot when they arrived to take classes at UGA on Jan. 9, 1961. Holmes went on to have a successful medical career until his death in 1995. Hunter-Gault became an award-winning journalist.
Help wanted: More African American male teachers
Augusta University's College of Education announced this week it is hosting a summit to recruit more African American male teachers. Just one of the 50 candidates in the College of Education's teaching program this fall was an African American male, Augusta leaders say. That's a problem, they said. While ethnic and racial minorities make up more than half of the student population in America's public schools, only 2% are African American men, federal statistics show. The summit is scheduled for March 30.
Education Notebook
Credit: Bob Andres
Credit: Bob Andres
2019 was a busy year for Atlanta Public Schools leaders. Beat reporter Vanessa McCray explored what's on tap for 2020.
This week’s number
3,800
That’s the number of buildings owned by the University System of Georgia.
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