American and Chinese Universities Announce Groundbreaking Joint PhD Program in Biomedical Engineering

Two highly respected biomedical engineering programs in the United States and China are breaking new ground in international academia as they begin to enroll the inaugural class of a new joint PhD program.

Members of the Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering at Georgia Tech and Emory University traveled to Beijing last fall to finalize the program details with the Department of Biomedical Engineering at Peking University (PKU).

"To my knowledge, this joint PhD program is the first of this type showcasing international cooperation in education between China and the United States. Forming a partnership with Georgia Tech and Emory will enhance our research and education in general and will provide a great opportunity for our BME students," says Jianhua Lin, Peking University Provost.

Representatives from Georgia Tech, Emory and PKU have been laying the groundwork for this program during the past five years. Faculty collaborations have been funded by seed grants from the Coulter Foundation and, as a result, several new research projects are already underway.

“Our partnership with the recently formed College of Engineering at PKU is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for us to create a new paradigm for international biomedical engineering education and research,” says Larry McIntire, chair of the Coulter Department. “The infrastructure being created within our departments will allow our students and faculty to learn how to conduct research and business in a global arena and will prepare them to become international leaders in 21st century biomedical engineering industry and academia.”

James W. Wagner, president of Emory University, says Emory “has been engaged with Peking University for several years in developing educational and research relationships. We are very excited about launching this new global endeavor in biomedical engineering that joins the diverse strengths of three excellent institutions.”

Students can apply to the program through either the Department of Biomedical Engineering at PKU in Beijing or the Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering at Georgia Tech and Emory in Atlanta. Students will have an advisor at their home campus and co-advisor at their secondary campus. Primary classes and research will take place on the home campus. However, students will also spend at least a year taking classes and participating in research in the co-advisor’s lab on the secondary campus. Classes will be taught in English and a single dissertation will satisfy the thesis requirements of all three institutions.

Founded in 1898, Peking University is among the first national universities in Chinese modern history. PKU enjoys an outstanding reputation within and outside of China, based on its abundant teaching resources and outstanding research achievements. Peking University now consists of 31 colleges and 14 departments, offering 101 undergraduate programs, 224 postgraduate programs and 202 doctoral programs. The student body includes more than 4,000 international students from nearly 80 countries.

The Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering at Georgia Tech and Emory University is dedicated to shaping and advancing the discipline of biomedical engineering through innovative translational research, inspiring education and the comprehensive integration of engineering methods into the mainstream of health care. Founded in 1997, the department is currently ranked second among graduate programs in Biomedical Engineering by the 2009 U.S. News and World Report Best Graduate Schools in America.

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UGA President Testifies before Subcommittee

University of Georgia President Michael F. Adams
Testimony before the House Higher Education Appropriations Subcommittee
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
Georgia State Capitol

Thank you, Chairman Smith and the members of this committee for the opportunity to talk with you about the University of Georgia, the capital projects priorities, our goals and objectives and the budget struggle we share with you.

First, I want to thank Chairman Smith and the members of this committee for your support of the university system and the University of Georgia through the years. We have enjoyed strong support from you and for that we are grateful.

Our top capital project is the Special Collections Library. UGA has been entrusted with some of this state’s greatest historical treasures, and in our current library facility we are unable to display them as we should and incapable of caring for them in the manner that they deserve.

The proposed Special Collections Libraries building at UGA will house a vast array of materials including rare books, manuscripts, political papers, historic radio and television programs, and other original materials that illuminate history and culture. It will store these materials in the best possible environmental conditions to ensure their survival for future generations while also providing space for scholars and the public to view and use them.

At present,UGA provides only 70% of the library space specified by the Regents guidelines while peers provide up to 150%. This building will bring us to about 90%.

And in keeping with how we do most projects at UGA these days, this is a public-private partnership—the University will raise $15 million and the state will contribute $30 million. We have raised $13.2 million, placing us within two million dollars of our goal, and I think that is a good deal for the taxpayers to get such a great facility for two-thirds of the cost.

There is also a need for a Central Utility Plant for the Northwest Precinct of the campus, which will be a focus of development over the next 10 years. It will be the site of the Special Collections Library, the proposed new Terry College of Business complex and the proposed new facility for the College of Family and Consumer Sciences, as well as other academic facilities.

The Central Utility Plant—a $6 million project—will help answer the Governor’s challenge to reduce energy consumption on a unit basis by 15% over the next 12 years. By the year 2020, this project will realize $5.4 million in energy cost avoidance.

Both of these projects are fully ready to go as soon as the bonds are sold. We appreciate your support of these important capital projects, and we appreciate your service to this state.

I also want to express my appreciation for your continuing support of the MCG/UGA Medical Partnership. In the past two years Georgia dropped from 37th to 40th in the nation in physician-to-population ratios. However, we are now on track to serve the first class of students in fall of 2010, and we are ready for the medical accrediting team that will be visiting in April. This has only been possible with support from this body. The $7.8 million in the current budget will help us achieve increased medical care for a state in need of doctors.

These are difficult times for all of us in state government; difficult times call for leadership, and all of us have been placed in important leadership positions. We at UGA accept our responsibility to you and to the people of this state to work with you through these difficult times. I have told our campus that we will not whine; we will not point fingers; we will not place blame. The University of Georgia will strive to maintain the quality of the education we provide, the quality of the research we conduct and the quality of the service we provide to the people of this state. That is our mission, and we are committed to it.

But I need to tell you that it is harder and harder for us to do this. We have fewer people and fewer resources than we need, but I realize every state entity can say that these days.

We will continue to cooperate with you and to work to provide an excellent education to our students. I can assure you that we have felt the pain of the economic downtown and the resulting budget cuts—our faculty, students and staff have all been impacted.

To give you some idea of that impact, UGA is currently operating under a 9% budget reduction scenario, which means that we will lose more than $36 million in state support for our Resident Instruction budget. That hurts in a variety of ways.

As of the end of January, we have 153 vacant faculty positions and 173 vacant staff positions. We have eliminated 47 graduate assistants and 52 student workers. This has a direct impact on our ability to teach our students and keep them on track to graduation.

In the “B” budget, we will be losing more than $8 million, affecting the Agricultural Experiment Stations, the Cooperative Extension Service, the Veterinary Teaching Hospital and the Poultry Diagnostic and Research Center.

UGA students this semester paid an additional $100 fee and student costs are likely to go up given that Georgia ranks near the bottom in the Southeast for tuition rates.

While we should not be the most expensive higher education option, we should also not rank so low that flagships in Alabama and South Carolina and many other states have significantly higher tuition rates than we. I will say more about tuition in a minute.

The budget reductions have already been felt, and felt quite severely, by our employees. In addition to the annual increase in their health insurance premiums, they also participated directly in the budget cut when the Regents reduced the employer contribution to the premium from 75 percent to 70 percent. The savings to the state were used to cover part of the System’s budget cut.

And while I agree with this action, I just want to make sure that those of you who have college and university employees in your district understand that they are participating in the budget cuts, and feeling the pain of them, each time they are paid because their paychecks are smaller.

Consider a UGA employee at the lowest end of our wage scale. Over the past several years, we have made a concerted effort to raise those salaries from about $13,000 to $21,000 this year. But with the change in premium, the $1,000 raise we had designated for those workers this year was wiped out.

If they were on the PPO family plan, which is the most popular plan, their annual health insurance premium went up $1,061—an increase of almost 30% in one year—more than consuming their raise. In fact, the break-even point at which the salary increase covered the health insurance increase is $42,400.

Again, we understand why these reductions have to be made. We are working hard to minimize the impact of these cuts on our classrooms, labs, and service projects. We feel it is our responsibility to you and to the state to continue to offer the highest possible service even as our resources have shrunk significantly.

Such effort places strain on everyone at UGA, from the custodians to the faculty and yes to top administrators as everyone absorbs more duties and works longer hours to cover unmet needs. And I believe this is what we should do. I just want this body to know that we are indeed sharing in the state’s budget reductions and that these are having a very direct impact on the UGA family. Institutionally and individually, we feel the pain of the economic downturn.

We are committed to cooperating with the General Assembly and the Governor to work through this downturn. But please don’t take UGA’s careful and effective management of this crisis as reason to believe we have not been hurt or that we can handle additional cuts without serious damage to the core mission of the institution.

I also want you to know that I believe we at UGA should do everything we can to produce ourselves out of the budget crisis, as I told the campus a few weeks ago.

There are five areas of revenue generation where we will focus our efforts:

1) Fundraising. Even following the success of the Archway to Excellence campaign, UGA’s colleges, schools and units must reach out to their constituencies for the level of private support, which characterizes great public universities. Private support provides a level of flexibility that helps the institution address funding needs as they arise.

2) Research grants. The faculty must become even more aggressive in pursuing federal, corporate and foundation grants for research. We have done very well the last five years, and we have strengths in many of the areas that are receiving funding. We should be competitive to receive more research grants.

3) Tuition. As I mentioned earlier, UGA’s tuition needs to be in the mid-range of the SREB flagships; it is currently 15th out of 16. The University of Georgia is a top-20 public university, but tuition here is $300 below Tennessee, $2,700 below South Carolina and $1,500 below Kentucky. In recent months, the governor of Florida and that state’s higher education leadership have approved tuition increases that will float to the national norm. I don’t want to be behind Florida in anything.

4) The university’s auxiliary units—parking, dining, housing, athletics—all depend upon the academic mission of the university for their very existence. I will propose that we look at ways to increase the overhead that we currently recover from these auxiliaries for the purpose of supporting the core academic mission of the institution.

5) Credit hour production. We simply must produce more credit hours. Ideally, we would enroll more students, but our enrollment is capped. Ideally, the formula would more accurately reflect current conditions on campus, but it lags two years behind. Ideally, a credit hour at a research university would be worth more than a credit hour at a regional university or two-year school, but the formula treats them as equals. Our only option is to teach more classes and encourage students to take more hours.

I believe these are proactive steps we at UGA can take to contribute to the state’s efforts to work its way out of the current economic decline.

I also want you to know that even in these tight times, UGA continues to excel and continues to make its mark nationally and internationally. For the ninth consecutive year, U.S. News & World Report has ranked UGA among the nation’s very best public research universities. UGA was the only public university to have two students in the 2008 class of Rhodes Scholars. In addition, we had students receive Truman, Marshall and Goldwater scholarships. Only three other schools in the country had students win all of those honors—Columbia, Stanford and Yale. The Center for Tropical and Emerging Diseases received the largest medical grant—and the third-largest grant overall—in UGA history. Two UGA faculty recently were among only 68 from across the country honored at the White House with the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers. These are just a few examples of the many outstanding accomplishments continuing to be achieved by our students and faculty.

In summary, we have felt real pain. We are willing to do our part. We are looking very hard at both sides of our ledger. But we continue to see high achievement on the part of our students, faculty and staff. And we will be stronger coming out of this difficult time.

Thank you for your attention.

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Emory Receives Presidential Award for Community Service

Emory University has been honored with the 2008 Presidential Award for General Community Service -- the highest federal recognition a college or university can receive for its commitment to volunteering, service-learning and civic engagement. Emory is one of only three colleges and universities to earn this annual distinction from the Corporation for National and Community Service.

"We are humbled and energized by this recognition of our efforts," says Emory University President James W. Wagner. "Receiving this honor affirms Emory as a destination university for students who seek an education beyond the traditional classroom setting. We know that bright young scholars want to make a difference today, and trust that in the future they will continue to be drawn to educational settings like Emory. In turn, Emory is committed to providing our students with a world class education and the sense of responsibility to become scholar-citizens addressing opportunities to improve the human condition in myriad ways."

Emory -- one of the first schools to receive the Carnegie Foundation's "Engaged Institution" designation -- has made major investments in recent years to better prepare students to be engaged scholars with the critical thinking, hands-on experience and ethical leadership development to make a difference in the world.

The Presidential Award for General Community Service recognizes "the breadth and quality of an institution’s community service, service learning and civic engagement programs.” Three other colleges and universities received recognition for individual programs. View a full list of the 2008 Honor Roll, which includes several Atlanta-area schools.

Doing Well by Doing Good

In 2008, Emory students completed nearly 150,000 hours of service with more than 200 community partners on projects related to poverty, homelessness, chronic disease, medical services and environmental conservation throughout Atlanta and beyond.

Emory's Office of University-Community Partnerships (OUCP) helps coordinate these efforts and is establishing a continuum of engaged scholarship and service for all students. A capstone program is the yearlong Community Building and Social Change Fellowship, a national model for advanced service learning.

"Emory has made a significant commitment to enhance community-engaged scholarship, learning and service as part of its strategic plan. We are delighted that the vision, aspirations and initial successes of that effort along with Emory's longstanding tradition of civic engagement have earned the university this national recognition," says Michael Rich, OUCP co-founder and director.

In particular at Emory, students at all levels, from undergraduates to graduate students in law, medicine, humanities and theology, engage in service and research that provides direct and tangible benefits to metro Atlanta communities, Rich says.

Highlights of Emory's engaged scholarship and service in 2008, compiled by OUCP, include:

A full third of all students across Emory’s nine schools took part in academic service learning, including law students who provided 26,076 hours of pro bono work for local clinics and agencies.

More than 80 percent of Emory seniors reported serving as volunteers while in college.
In metro-Atlanta and statewide, Emory programs, mentors and tutors enrich the learning of K-12 students in more than 120 public schools, with a particular emphasis on science education.

Emory's outreach also includes hundreds of new immigrants now on the path to U.S. citizenship thanks to students who devoted 2,500 hours coaching English language learners of all ages.
Ninety-two percent of Oxford College students engage in community service, contributing nearly 10,000 hours of service in just one year.

Nearly all students in nursing and theology are required to complete community-based service work as part of their degree program.

National Trends Point to More Service

Recent studies have underlined the importance of service learning and volunteering to college students. In 2006, 2.8 million college students gave more than 297 million hours of volunteer service, according to the corporation’s Volunteering in America 2007 study. Using Independent Sector’s estimates of the value of volunteer time, college student volunteering was worth more than $5.6 billion last year. The U.S. Department of Education found a growing service-learning trend, with more schools offering service learning as part of their curriculum.

The Corporation for National and Community Service is a federal agency that improves lives, strengthens communities, and fosters civic engagement through service and volunteering. The corporation administers Senior Corps, AmeriCorps and Learn and Serve America, a program that supports service-learning in schools, institutions of higher education and community-based organizations. For more information, visit www.nationalservice.gov.

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Recommendation Received for Georgia Tech Presidency

Board of Regents Chair Richard Tucker and University System of Georgia Chancellor Erroll B. Davis Jr., have announced the name of the finalist for the Georgia Institute of Technology presidency, Dr. G.P. “Bud” Peterson.

Dr. Peterson currently serves as chancellor of the University of Colorado at Boulder, a position he has held since 2006. The university has 29,000 students, annual sponsored research of approximately $300 million, and a $1.1 billion annual operating budget.

He is credited with stepping into the University of Colorado at Boulder chancellorship at a crucial time in the institution’s history and positively correcting its course. The university had endured a reputation-damaging football scandal and the Ward Churchill ‘academic freedom’ controversy just prior to Peterson’s arrival in mid-2006. He has been lauded for successfully leading the university beyond these harmful episodes and developing a shared vision that will carry the university forward into the next decade.

Peterson earned bachelor of science degrees in mechanical engineering and mathematics from Kansas State University, Manhattan. He earned a master of science degree in mechanical engineering from Kansas State University and a Ph.D. in the same discipline from Texas A&M University, College Station. He was a “walk on” receiver on the Kansas State football team, who earned a scholarship and started at the position for three varsity seasons.

Peterson’s post-Ph.D. academic career has been spent at three institutions, not counting a one-year assignment with the National Science Foundation in 1993-94. He worked for 19 years at Texas A&M, where he served as head of the Department of Mechanical Engineering for three years (1993-96) and executive associate dean of engineering for four years (1996-2000).
Peterson also had the title of associate vice chancellor for the Texas A&M University System from 1996-2000.

He was recruited to Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, New York, as provost in July 2000. Peterson served in this capacity until 2006 when he accepted the position of chancellor at the University of Colorado-Boulder.

Peterson also has worked as a research scientist for the NASA-Johnson Space Center in Houston, and in the private sector for Black & Veatch Consulting Engineers in Kansas City, Missouri. He taught mathematics and science in several Kansas high schools early in his career.
Peterson is widely published in the field of phase change heat transfer and is a fellow of both the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) and the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA). He was recently appointed to the National Science Board. He and his wife, Val, have four grown children.

The Board of Regents expects to name the next president of Georgia Tech at a future meeting.

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Georgia Southern University College of Information Technology Offers Students High-Demand Certificate

Georgia Southern University College of Information Technology students are not only graduating with a competitive edge, but saving employers thousands of dollars in the process. Georgia Southern is one of the rare universities in the country, and the only in the state of Georgia, that includes a SAP® Certificate as part of its curriculum. This provides a major competitive edge for graduates as they begin their job search.

SAP AG, headquartered in the EU (Waldorf, Germany) and is the third largest software enterprise in the world in terms of revenues. SAP is currently used by more than 35,000 companies and with new products targeting small and medium enterprises. Its customer base is projected to include more than 100,000 companies by 2010. Other institutions that award a SAP Certificate include the University of Southern California, Louisiana State University and the University of Central Florida to name a few. Only a handful of other institutions in the U.S. offer an equivalent number of SAP-approved courses and have a comparable level of SAP integration in their curriculum.

“Being able to include a SAP Certificate as part of Georgia Southern’s curriculum provides students with hands-on experience with SAP products and solutions that are used by thousands of the world’s major companies,” said Tom Case, professor and chair, Information Systems Department in the College of Information Technology at Georgia Southern University. “The state of Georgia serves as the corporate headquarters for numerous corporations that are heavy users of SAP including Coca Cola, Georgia Pacific, Home Depot and Newell Rubbermaid. Our SAP Certificate gives students a true competitive edge in the marketplace and provides SAP user organizations with a valued pool of SAP-experienced talent that is rarely found in recent university graduates.”

Georgia Southern has partnered with SAP’s University Alliance to enable students to use and understand SAP products. Through hands-on experience with SAP solutions, students gain insight into how SAP and other enterprise solutions can empower a business to optimize key processes such as accounting and controlling, human capital management, materials management, and sales and distribution. Students who complete three SAP-approved courses are eligible to receive a SAP Certificate signed by SAP America. Information Systems majors in the Enterprise Resources Planning Emphasis typically receive this certificate as part of their normal course work. The SAP Certificate may also be earned by undergraduate and post-baccalaureate students who minor in Information Systems.

“Employers would typically have to spend significant amounts of money to provide an employee with a comparable SAP skill-base as that obtained by students who earn our SAP Certificate,” said Case. “We are one of the few universities in the country using SAP this extensively and we are receiving a lot of interest from prospective students and working professionals. Our graduates are in high demand and many are receiving multiple job offers with major companies.” In the past two years, BMW, Georgia Pacific, and UnderArmour are just a few of the companies that have come to campus to recruit Georgia Southern students pursuing their SAP Certificate. Georgia Southern students have also completed SAP internships at IBM, JCB, Shell and ZEP.

Georgia Southern is currently working with Coldwater Creek, headquartered in Boise, Idaho, to establish an ongoing relationship to help the company satisfy its demand for new workers with SAP skills. David Edwards, divisional vice president for Business and Technology Alignment at Coldwater Creek says, “We are working directly with Georgia Southern University because they not only recognize our needs, but are preparing their students to be immediate contributors once they graduate. In today's challenging business environment, the ability to recruit students that already have hands-on SAP experience is a major cost savings."

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Mercer Earns Highest Federal Designation for Community Service

Mercer University has earned the highest federal recognition for community engagement, the Corporation for National and Community Service announced today. For the University’s exemplary service efforts and service to the community, the Corporation named Mercer to the President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll for 2008.

“This award confirms Mercer’s deep commitment to community engagement. It was difficult to select only a few projects for our President’s Honor Roll application because Mercer faculty and students are so involved in community outreach,” said Dr. Mary Alice Morgan, Mercer’s senior vice provost for service-learning. “From individual students working on a Habitat for Humanity house to Mercer’s international outreach through Mercer On Mission, the university models what it means to be a good citizen.”

Launched in 2006, the Community Service Honor Roll is the highest federal recognition a school can achieve for its commitment to service-learning and civic engagement. Mercer was named to the Honor Roll in 2006 for its commitment to community engagement. Honorees for the award were chosen based on a series of selection factors including scope and innovation of service projects, percentage of student participation in service activities, incentives for service and the extent to which the school offers academic service-learning courses.

Mercer’s commitment to community engagement is deeply embedded in all aspects and all campuses of the University, including service-learning, volunteering and University-community partnerships, such as the College Hill Corridor, which began as a student-led effort and has led to the creation of a potential reinvention of the area between downtown Macon and the campus.

Mercer students across the University amassed more than 103,000 hours of community service in 2008 – an average of 14 hours per student – and more than 4,900 students engaged in some type of service work. Community engagement spans across the University’s campuses and colleges: from School of Medicine students’ work with victims of the Imperial Sugar Co. plant explosion outside Savannah; to the Georgia Baptist College of Nursing students’ and faculty’s work with medically fragile children at Camp Kudzu outside Atlanta; to the millions of dollars invested by the University to redevelop the areas around the Macon campus. The University’s efforts reach around the globe as well through Mercer On Mission, a summer service-learning program in which groups of students travel to the developing world to work on projects that reduce human suffering.

In addition to the President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll, Mercer has received a number of awards and recognitions recently for its commitment to community engagement. In October, PreLaw Magazine ranked Mercer’s Walter F. George School of Law at No. 6 in the nation among Public Interest Law Schools. In December, the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching recognized Mercer for its Community Engagement Classification. Mercer is one of only 195 universities in the nation – and one just three in Georgia – to receive that designation.

“In this time of economic distress, we need volunteers more than ever. College students represent an enormous pool of idealism and energy to help tackle some of our toughest challenges,” said Stephen Goldsmith, vice chair of the Board of Directors of the Corporation for National and Community Service, which oversees the Honor Roll. “We salute Mercer University for making community service a campus priority, and thank the millions of college students who are helping to renew America through service to others.”

The Corporation for National and Community Service is a federal agency that improves lives, strengthens communities, and fosters civic engagement through service and volunteering. The Corporation administers Senior Corps, AmeriCorps and Learn and Serve America, a program that supports service-learning in schools, institutions of higher education and community-based organizations. For more information, go to www.nationalservice.gov.

Overall, the Corporation honored six schools with Presidential Awards. In addition, 83 were named as Honor Roll With Distinction members and 546 schools as Honor Roll members. The Honor Roll is a program of the Corporation, in collaboration with the Department of Education, the Department of Housing and Urban Development, and the President's Council on Service and Civic Participation. In total, 635 schools were recognized. A full list is available at www.nationalservice.gov/honorroll.

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Schools Honored for AP Performance

More than 80 "AP Honor Schools" named

State Superintendent of Schools Kathy Cox named more than 80 Advanced Placement (AP) Honor Schools today.

"Georgia is making tremendous strides with Advanced Placement -- not only in the number of students taking the courses, but in the number of students having success," Superintendent Cox said. "Much of that progress comes from the dedication to rigor and excellence at each of our AP Honor Schools."

Advanced Placement (AP) classes and exams are administered by the College Board, which also administers the SAT. AP classes offer rigorous college-level learning options to students in high school. Students who receive a 3, 4 or 5 on AP exams may receive college credit.

The 2009 AP Honor Schools are named in three categories, based on the results of 2007-2008 AP classes and exams:

- AP CHALLENGE SCHOOLS: Schools with fewer than 900 students that are offering AP classes in the four core areas of English, Mathematics, Social Studies and Science
- AP ACCESS & SUPPORT SCHOOLS: Schools with 30% of AP test takers that are African-American or Hispanic and at least 30% of all AP exams scoring 3 or higher
- AP MERIT SCHOOLS: Schools with at least 20% of students taking AP exams and at least half of the AP exams scoring a 3 or higher

The AP Honor Schools are listed below.

On Wednesday (February 4), the College Board released the AP Report to the Nation, which showed that Georgia ranked 15th nationally in the percentage of 2008 high school seniors that had at least one AP exam with a score of 3 or more.

Schools named in all three AP Honor School categories
(School, district)

- Davidson Magnet School, Richmond
- DeKalb School of the Arts, DeKalb

School named in two AP Honor School categories
(School, district, categories)

- Chamblee High School, DeKalb (access and merit)
- Cross Keys High School, DeKalb (challenge and access)
- Decatur High School, Decatur City (challenge and merit)
- Johnson Magnet School, Richmond (challenge and access)
- Montgomery County High, Montgomery (Challenge and access)
- North Oconee High, Oconee (challenge and merit)
- Savannah Arts Academy, Chatham (challenge and merit)
- Thomasville High School, Thomasville City (challenge and access)

AP CHALLENGE SCHOOLS: Schools with fewer than 900 students that are offering AP classes in all four academic areas

Albany High School, Dougherty
Avondale High School, DeKalb
Bremen High School, Bremen City
Buford High School, Buford City
Calhoun High School, Calhoun City
Cook County High School, Cook
Cross Keys High School, DeKalb
Davidson Magnet High School, Richmond
Decatur High School, Decatur City
DeKalb School of the Arts, DeKalb
East Jackson High School, Jackson
Greene County High School, Greene
Johnson Magnet High School, Richmond
Lincoln County High School, Lincoln
McIntosh County Academy, McIntosh
Montgomery County High, Montgomery
North Oconee High School, Oconee
Northeast High School, Bibb
Putnam County High School, Putnam
Rabun County High School, Rabun
Savannah Arts Academy, Chatham
Schley County Middle-High School, Schley
Southeast Bulloch High School, Bulloch
Temple High School, Carroll
Thomasville High School, Thomasville City
Vidalia Comprehensive High, Vidalia City

AP ACCESS & SUPPORT SCHOOLS: Schools with 30% of AP Test Takers that are African-American or Hispanic and at least 30% of all AP Exams scoring 3 or higher

Academy of Richmond County, Richmond
Bacon County High School, Bacon
Baldwin High School, Baldwin
Berkmar High School, Gwinnett
Bradwell Institute, Liberty
Bryan County High School, Bryan
Burke County High School, Burke
Campbell High School, Cobb
Central Gwinnett High School, Gwinnett
Chamblee High School, DeKalb
Chapel Hill High School, Douglas
Clinch County High School, Clinch
Cross Keys High School, DeKalb
Dalton High School, Dalton City
Davidson Magnet High School, Richmond
DeKalb HS of Technology, North, DeKalb
DeKalb School of the Arts, DeKalb
Douglas County High School, Douglas
Druid Hills High School, DeKalb
Dublin High School, Dublin City
Dutchtown High School, Henry
Eagle’s Landing High School, Henry
East Laurens High School, Laurens
Emanuel County Institute, Emanuel
Fayette County High School, Fayette
Jenkins High School, Savannah-Chatham
Jenkins County High School, Jenkins
Johnson Magnet High School, Richmond
Luella High School, Henry
McEachern High School, Cobb
Montgomery County High, Montgomery
Randolph Clay High School, Randolph
Rockdale County High School, Rockdale
Salem High School, Rockdale
Sandy Creek High School, Fayette
Shaw High School, Muscogee
Shiloh High School, Gwinnett
South Gwinnett High School, Gwinnett
Southwest DeKalb High School, DeKalb
Tech High School, Atlanta Public Schools
Thomasville High School, Thomasville City
Woodland High School, Henry

AP MERIT SCHOOLS: Schools with at least 20% of students taking AP exams and at least half of the AP exams scoring a 3 or higher

Alpharetta High School, Fulton
Brookwood High School, Gwinnett
Centennial High School, Fulton
Chamblee High School, DeKalb
Chattahoochee High School, Fulton
Columbus High School, Muscogee
Davidson Magnet High School, Richmond
Decatur High School, Decatur City
DeKalb School of the Arts, DeKalb
Duluth High School, Gwinnett
Harrison High School, Cobb
Lakeside High School, Columbia
Lassiter High School, Cobb
Milton High School, Fulton
North Forsyth High School, Forsyth
North Gwinnett High School, Gwinnett
North Oconee High School, Oconee
North Springs High School, Fulton
Northview High School, Fulton
Parkview High School, Gwinnett
Riverwood High School, Fulton
Roswell High School, Fulton
Savannah Arts Academy, Chatham
South Forsyth High School, Forsyth
Starrs Mill High School, Fayette
Walton High School, Cobb
West Forsyth High School, Forsyth

Shorter College Joins Council For Christian Colleges And Universities

Shorter College announced February 4 that it has been approved as the 111th member of the Council for Christian Colleges and Universities. The membership was made official during CCCU’s Presidents Conference held Jan. 29-31.

“The integration of faith and learning within a Christian community is a foundational part of Shorter College’s strategic planning efforts,” said Shorter President Dr. Harold E. Newman. “As part of those efforts, we are committed to seeking out partnerships with sister educational institutions and with organizations that share our two-fold commitment to academic excellence and spiritual integrity. We are proud to join with the Council’s member institutions around the world.”

According to its Web site, the Council for Christian Colleges and Universities “works to advance the cause of Christ-centered higher education and to help its institutions transform lives by faithfully relating scholarship and service to biblical truth.” The 111 member campuses in North America are all fully accredited, comprehensive colleges and universities with curricula rooted in the arts and sciences. In addition, 70 affiliate campuses from 24 countries are part of the CCCU.

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UGA to Host Competition to Inspire High School Students about Engineering

The University of Georgia will host eight teams of students from seven Georgia high schools for a Junior Engineering Technical Society competition on Thursday, Feb. 19. The theme of the national competition, to be held at Driftmier Engineering Center on the UGA campus, is Behind the Scenes at America’s Theme Parks.

An annual academic competition designed to give students in grades 9-12 the opportunity to discover real-world applications of math and science, the Tests of Engineering Aptitude, Mathematics and Science program utilizes actual engineering scenarios to challenge students and demonstrate the possibilities of a career in engineering. The national competitions for 2009 will take place at more than 75 locations across the country between Feb. 2 and March 15. Thousands of students are hosted by colleges and universities every year to inspire critical thinking and teamwork while fostering enthusiasm for math and science during the one-day event.

“This competition can inspire students far beyond the classroom by helping them see the wonders math and science can bring to life such as roller coasters, monitoring equipment in hospitals, at play grounds and more,” said John Mativo, an associate professor in the College of Education’s department of workforce education, leadership and social foundations and one of the co-chairs for the event. “When students compete in TEAMS they learn the answer to that age-old question, ‘When will I ever use this?’ And the answer is as an engineer.”

“With this year’s JETS/TEAMS competition, we wanted to provide the students within the Northeast Georgia area the opportunity to evaluate their aptitude at solving some typical engineering problems encountered by designers of theme parks,” said Chi Thai, associate professor in the department of biological and agricultural engineering and a co-chair of the event. “The goal is for students to recognize ‘engineering’ aspects in their everyday life,” Thai said.

Both Mativo and Thai are members of the UGA Faculty of Engineering. Thai will hold a workshop on robotics for advisors during the afternoon test session.

For more information on the event and to register teams for the 2009 JETS/TEAMS competition at UGA, go to http://www.engr.uga.edu/people/thai/JETS-TEAMS.html

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Ashworth College Partners with Project Working Mom...and Dads Too! To Offer $2 million in Full-Ride Scholarships to Working Parents

/PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Ashworth College, today announced that it has partnered with "Project Working Mom...and Dads Too!" to award more than $2 million in full-ride online college scholarships to working moms and dads. "Project Working Mom...and Dads Too!" is a national scholarship initiative to help remove the barriers of money, time and confidence, which often keep people from returning to school.

Project Working Mom...and Dads Too! is the third in a line of campaigns to help working parents return to school to better their lives and the lives of their families. The two previous Project Working Mom campaigns in 2008 received more than 120,000 applications, awarded more than $4 million in scholarships, and sent nearly 100 working moms back to school. This year, the campaign has added dads to the mix as a result of considerable interest from fathers in the scholarship offers during the first two campaigns.

"Partnering with Project Working Mom...and Dads Too! is an opportunity for Ashworth College to help make a difference. Through education, we can help deserving, hard-working parents improve their lives," said F. Milton Miller, Ed.D. and Ashworth Vice President, Education.

"A college degree can set an employee or business owner apart as a professional and demonstrate business knowledge to peers, potential customers and employers," Miller added. "Education can take skills - and income - to the next level."

Ashworth College is one of five accredited universities participating in Project Working Mom...and Dads Too! The other schools involved in the campaign are Ashford University, Capella University, Everest University, and Virginia College Online. Combined, the schools will be awarding more than $2 million in full-ride online college scholarships, bringing the total of Project Working Mom scholarships awarded to more than $6 million.

"Project Working Mom started as a single campaign to help working moms go back to school, but the response was so large that we decided to launch another campaign. This time however, in response to the voices of many dads, we have added a father-focused element," said Helen MacDermott, content director for Project Working Mom.

eLearners.com, an online education resource that connects learners with online education and created the Project Working Mom campaigns, also created a complementary, interactive, and in-depth web site to help learners tackle their questions and fears about returning to school. The site is designed to empower working parents and offers advice on going back to school, self-assessment quizzes on numerous subjects including how to determine what subjects to study, an online support community, numerous articles and a database with $15 billion in financial aid opportunities.

"This campaign is a much needed resource for many moms and dads who would love to pursue a new career path, but don't have the money to get the degree they need," said Carey Casey, CEO of the Kansas City-based National Center for Fathering and fathers.com. "Many dads I've talked with would love to go back to school, but they don't know where to begin and for many the biggest barrier is definitely cost. It's great to see action underway to help remove these barriers."

The full-ride online college scholarships through Project Working Mom...and Dads Too! are for online programs from the associate's to Ph.D. level. To apply for a scholarship, working moms and dads can submit a short application at www.projectworkingmom.com. They will also need to complete an essay with their life, education and/or career goals and explain how an online education will allow them to achieve those goals. The deadline to apply for a scholarship is April 30, 2009.

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Wesley Mosley Selected to Participate in Global Youth Activation Summit During the 2009 Special Olympics World Winter Games

/PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Wesley Mosley from Tucker, Ga. was selected from among hundreds of applicants from around the world to participate in the fifth Global Youth Activation Summit on intellectual disabilities that will be held in conjunction with the 2009 Special Olympics World Winter Games Feb. 7-13. The summit will launch a new Special Olympics youth engagement initiative which positions young people as leaders for fostering inclusion in their schools and communities.

Mosley, a Special Olympics Georgia athlete, will be accompanied by his mom, long-time volunteer and Special Olympics Georgia staffer Andrea Mosley.

During the summit, he and the other participants will attend youth-led leadership training programs, participate in interactive sports experiences and help host four live Webinars to connect with their peers internationally. He will also serve as a journalist, writing blogs, developing podcasts and composing stories for publication and to be shared with home and school news outlets, posted to the Special Olympics Web site, posted to the 2009 World Winter Games Web site and shared through other social networking sites.

The youth leaders participating in the summit, aged 12 to 20, come from 22 nations, representing all seven Special Olympics regions and various educational levels including middle school, high school and some college. They will be paired - one Special Olympics athlete and a peer partner without an intellectual disability from the same community, state or country.

"Bringing together these students for the 2009 Global Youth Activation Summit is an important step as we work to eliminate stereotypes and change views about the capabilities and gifts of people with intellectual disabilities," said Special Olympics Chairman Timothy Shriver. "Special Olympics provides one of the greatest platforms in the world for acceptance and inclusion. It is our desire that this summit help Special Olympics become a leading cause among young people, and develop the next generation of world leaders."

Wesley Mosley was chosen to participate based upon his involvement with Dekalb County Special Olympics and Special Olympics Georgia where he serves as a Global Messenger, where he and other athletes participate in the Special Olympics movement beyond sports training and competition as coaches, officials, team captains, spokespeople and board and committee members.

In addition to the activities during the week-long summit, he will be part of a Global Youth Rally at the Taco Bell Arena on the campus of Boise State University on Monday, Feb. 9. The rally will bring together thousands of young people with and without intellectual disabilities from the Boise, Idaho, area and around the world. It will be an exciting multi-media event designed to help youth develop awareness and discuss current issues, as well as serve as a call to action for youth to promote inclusion and acceptance for all.

"While doing this, Wesley has gained self-confidence and a sense of self-worth. He feels as though he can accomplish anything and wants to be involved even more in the Tucker community in which he lives," said his mom, Andrea Mosley.

The 2009 Special Olympics World Winter Games will bring together nearly 2,500 athletes from more than 100 countries in Boise, Idaho, to compete in seven Olympic-type sports. It will be the largest multi-sport event in North America in 2009.

The Global Youth Activation Summit is one of several Special Olympics global initiatives helping promote school communities where all young people are agents of change. The summit was made possible through a $4.4 million grant from the U.S. Department of Education and a generous donation from Special Olympics Global Sponsor Mattel Children's Foundation. Other initiatives include Project Unify, a year-long U.S. national project to energize young people across the nation to foster respect, dignity and advocacy for people with intellectual disabilities. Special Olympics believes that through sports youth can make a difference in friendships, schools and communities.

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Atlanta Braves Foundation Announces Black History Month Essay Contest

In partnership with Atlanta Public Schools, the Atlanta Braves will host an essay contest for eighth grade students to commemorate Black History Month. The contest, which launches the week of February 2, will encourage students to research and explore the history of notable African-Americans and further develop their writing skills.

Students can utilize books, articles, and websites about notable African-Americans to assist them in completing a 250-word or less essay on the topic, "What African American do you find to be most inspiring and why?" Students can also visit www.braves.com/aaheritage to learn about the vast contributions of African American players throughout the Braves history. All eighth grade students in Atlanta Public Schools will receive detailed contest information and instructions from their teachers during the first week of February.

The Atlanta Braves Foundation will select five winners and one grand prize recipient. The grand prize winner will receive a visit by the Braves to his/her school, and all six winners will have the opportunity to meet a Braves player, receive two tickets to the Braves vs. Marlins game on April 15 and be recognized during an on-field presentation held in conjunction with the Braves Jackie Robinson Day festivities.

In addition to receiving two complimentary tickets to a Braves game, all students who participate in the contest can bring a copy of his/her essay to the Braves Museum and Hall of Fame at Turner Field and receive free admission and a Turner Field tour during the month of February. In an effort to encourage youth to learn about the many achievements of African Americans in baseball, children 13 and under who read a book about the Negro Leagues, Hank Aaron, Jackie Robinson, or any African American contributors to the sport, will receive complimentary admission to the Braves Museum and a free tour of Turner Field. Students can bring in the book they read or a note with the name and author of the book from their teacher or librarian on school letterhead, Monday-Saturday during Black History Month. Braves Museum promotions apply walk-up tours only.

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