UGA Fraternities Paid to Move

The University of Georgia has paid two fraternities nearly $2.4 million to move to houses off-campus. UGA officials moved five fraternities from along South Lumpkin Street and plan to build new homes for the UGA School of Family and Consumer Sciences, the Terry College of Business and other academic buildings. Contracts released by UGA last week show that the university paid Chi Phi fraternity $1.75 million to move from its house and Kappa Alpha got $600,000 to move out of a nearby residence. The three other fraternities on South Lumpkin opted to move into a new Greek Park on East Campus scheduled to done in the fall instead of taking money from the school. The school released contracts to the Athens Banner-Herald under an open records request.

(Associated Press)

UGA Public Health College Certified

The University of Georgia's four-year-old College of Public Health has gained full accreditation. It now gives UGA one of the 41 colleges of public health nationwide approved by the Council on Education for Public Health. It’s also the only accredited public health college in the University System of Georgia, and only the second in the state, along with Emory University.

The nod from the council means the 600-student program at UGA meets the highest standards of quality for training professionals to work in public health fields.

The UGA Public Health Dean says the program will help train workers to replace an expected surge in the number of people retiring from the field. He says the average age of a public health worker in Georgia is 50.

(Associated Press)

UGA Inspects Parking Decks Following Atlanta Incident

Emergency workers on the scene of the partially-collapsed parking deck in Atlanta say they have removed most of the nearly 40 damaged vehicles from Monday’s incident. In addition, almost 170 un-damaged cars have been pulled-out of the multi-level structure. It was Monday around lunchtime that four floors of a center section of the deck collapsed and pancaked downward. The good news from searches of the deck-there are still no injuries or victims reported. As for a reason for the collapse, the owner of the deck tells an Atlanta TV station a support beam fell out of place, causing the collapse.

Meanwhile, at the University of Georgia, officials there are getting inspections for two parking decks under construction at the school that have the same contractor as the Atlanta garage. One 400-plus space deck at UGA’s intramural fields and another near the Performing and Visual Arts Center on East Campus are slated for completion by fall. Atlanta-based Hardin Construction Co. is overseeing those projects. UGA officials are getting the inspections for the decks under construction-and others on campus. The independent inspections are being paid-for by Hardin.

Meet Miss Georgia, Again

A second Miss Georgia has been crowned in two days. One day after winning the title Saturday night at the annual pageant in Columbus, Gwinnett County school teacher Kristina Higgins relinquished the post, now filled by the runnerup, Emily Cook, a Marietta law student. Higgins said she stepped down because her responsibilities as a middle school would not leave her time she would need to serve as Miss Georgia. Cook was informed Sunday that she was the winner after Higgins turned down the prize. The 22-year-old Cook is a recent graduate of the University of Miami and had been accepted into University of Georgia's Law School. Instead shell be competing for the Miss America crown in January in Las Vegas.

(Associated Press)

UGA Study Shows Drought-Tornado Link

A University of Georgia researcher says there’s a surprising connection between periods of drought and the number of tornadoes that strike the Southeast.

The past two springs have produced numerous and damaging twisters. Several hit north, central and south Georgia this February through April. And it was the destructive March 2008 Atlanta tornado that spurred Marshall Shepherd to launch a study--is it rare to see such activity, coming out of drought conditions of the previous fall and winter seasons?

The associate professor with UGA’s Atmospheric Sciences Department went back through decades of records, finding this result 93-percent of the time in the southeast:

"The strongest statistical result that is related to the fact that when there’s drought there’s below normal activity. We haven’t been able to establish a strong link that suggests when the fall and winter is wetter, that you have even more tornadoes the following spring."

Shepherd says he wants to compare this research with that from the tornado-alleys of the Midwest. He says further study could lead forecasters to better predict seasonal tornado-activity…much like hurricane predictions made annually.

UGA Students Lose Noise Lawsuit

The Georgia Supreme Court has upheld the dismissal of two University of Georgia students' lawsuit challenging a local noise ordinance for making them turn down their music. The students claimed the local law is unconstitutional because it violates their First Amendment right to free speech. In a 4-3 ruling,the court said in a three-page opinion that the students did not have the right to sue "because they failed to show any harm or injury resulting from (the) noise ordinance." Robert Manlove and William Hoffman sued the city and county government last year. The trial court dismissed the students' complaint, ruling that they lacked standing to sue because they failed to articulate the particular message they wanted to express and because they couldn't prove they'd been injured.

(Associated Press)

UGA Foundations Absorb Financial Hit

Student scholarships are among the programs targeted for cutbacks at the University of Georgia given the school’s financial losses in its private foundations.

The UGA Foundation and Arch Foundation have lost a combined 180-million dollars in one year’s time due to the weak economy. That represents a decline of about 25-percent of the combined worth of the foundations from June of last year.

A UGA-official says the university will have to cut dozens of scholarships, research support and other programs to make up the shortfall in funding.

State's Top Judge to Teach, Practice Law

Earlier this year, Chief Justice Leah Ward Sears announced she'll step down from the state's highest court when her terms expires in June. Sears joined the Georgia Supreme Court in 1992. She was appointed to lead the court in the summer of 2005 and went on to create the Georgia Supreme Court Commission on Children, Marriage and Family Law. The nation's first African American female Chief Justice will return to practicing law when her current term expires. Sears will join the Atlanta law offices of Chicago-based Schiff Hardin sometime later this year. In the meantime, Sears will teach a seminar titled "Contemporary Issues in Family Law" at the University of Georgia law school, focused on changes in marriage and divorce, and exploring controversial family issues facing the legal system. Finally, in addition to practicing law and teaching, Sears will join the Institute for American Values to serve for one year as the William Thomas Sears Distinguished Fellow in Family Law. The fellowship is named in honor of the chief justice's older brother who died in November 2007 at the age of 53. Recently, Sears' name has come up as a possible replacement to retiring U.S. Supreme Court Justice David Souter.

Police Find Murder Suspect's Passport

Athens-Clarke County police say they've found the passport of a University of Georgia professor suspected of killing his wife and two others outside a community theater. Police say the passport of George Zinkhan was found inside the wrecked Jeep uncovered Friday in a ravine a few miles from his home. Authorities say the marketing professor never showed up Saturday for a flight he had scheduled to Amsterdam prior to the April 25 shootings. Zinkhan is accused of killing his wife, Marie Bruce, 63-year-old Ben Teague and 40-year-old Tom Tanner as they gathered for a picnic. Two others were hit by bullet fragments.

(Associated Press)

UGA Prof Sought In Shootings

A nationwide search is underway for a University of Georgia professor suspected in the killings of three people in Athens Saturday afternoon. Authorities say 57-year-old George Zinkhan shot and killed his ex-wife and two men outside the Athens Community Theatre Saturday at 12:30 just off the UGA campus. Police say his Zinkhan’s two children were in his Jeep Liberty when the killings occurred--he then dropped the children off with a neighbor in nearby Bogart. Authorities admit right now they have little to go on in leads.

Zinkhan is a professor in the Department of Marketing and Distribution at the University of Georgia--he taught one undergraduate class, and one graduate.

Concerning safety on the UGA campus, police say there is sufficient presence, and classes will resume this morning as normal. UGA will hold a press conference this morning at 11am.

UGA Readies for Medical Team

A team of scientists is ready to descend on the University of Georgia to comb over the preparations for the new medical campus scheduled to open next year. A good review by the Liaison Committee for Medical Evaluation could give the partnership between the Medical College of Georgia and UGA the go-ahead to begin recruiting students. UGA Provost Arnett Mace calls it a "very important visit." The committee is set to decide in June whether the college can expand its entering class by 40 students for the Athens campus in August 2010.

(Associated Press)

Newt Gingrich Predicts Judicial Battle

Newt Gingrich says that a major battle is brewing over judicial power. The former House speaker and Georgian - speaking at the University of Georgia's law school on Tuesday - says he was astonished by a recent Iowa Supreme Court ruling legalizing gay marriage in that heartland state. Gingrich calls the decision "outrageously wrong" and says it demonstrated "judicial arrogance." Gingrich is mentioned as a possible Republican presidential contender in 2012.

(Associated Press)

University System of GA Tries To Prevent Doctor Shortage

A partnership between the University of Georgia and the Medical College of Georgia has been formalized. The goal is to expand medical education in the state. The Georgia Board of Regents approved Tuesday a memorandum of understanding between the two campuses. The agreement seals the deal on a joint MCG-UGA campus in Athens, where UGA is based. The University System of Georgia is trying to produce more doctors to fill an expected statewide shortage of 2,500 physicians by 2020.

(Associated Press)

Student Found Asleep at Wheel, Drunk

Athens police say an officer found a drunken 20-year-old University of Georgia student who tried to drive home after a party passed out at a stop sign with the car still running. The officer found the woman about 2 a.m. Sunday asleep with the car still in drive. The officer put the car in park and turned off the engine. When the woman awoke a few minutes later, she told police she'd been drinking at a house party earlier that night. The woman, who was not identified, was charged with a DUI and underage drinking.

(Associated Press)

Stafford and Moreno leave UGA for Draft

Matthew Stafford and Knowshon Moreno are leaving the University of Georgia for the NFL draft. Georgia coach Mark Richt joined the two at a news conference this afternoon. Stafford may be among the top two picks in the draft. Moreno had 1,400 yards rushing with 16 touchdowns this season to join Herschel Walker as the only players in school history with back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons.

(Associated Press)

UGA gets largest medical grant in its history

The University of Georgia has been awarded a hefty grant for research into a deadly disease. The nearly 19-million dollars given to the UGA research foundation is the largest in its history. The five-year grant comes from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. It's aimed at reducing and hopefully wiping-out a microscopic worm that kills as many as 200-thousand people each year. The UGA professor to lead the research into schistosomiasis says most cases of the infection are found in sub-saharan Africa. There are no known cases in the United States.

No cost of living raises for lawmakers

Georgia legislative leaders have voted to put off a 2.5 percent cost of living increase for state lawmakers. The vote came at a meeting Monday of the Legislative Services Committee. The committee met at a legislative training session at the University of Georgia in Athens. Cost of living adjustments have already been frozen for state employees as Georgia grapples with a budget deficit. Lawmakers are set to return to the state Capitol on Jan. 12 for the coming legislative session.

(Associated Press)

Jan Kemp, UGA whistleblower, dies

The whistleblower who exposed the University of Georgia's preferential grading system for athletes has died. Jan Kemp died Friday of complications from Alzheimer's Disease. Dr. Kemp was fired from UGA in 1982, and won a court case after she sued saying she was targeted because she protested UGA's allowing athletes to play sports even after they failed remedial classes. The trial eventually led to sweeping reforms at UGA and the National Collegiate Athletic Association.

(Associated Press)

Experts, officials weigh-in on state economy

The recession in Georgia will last a year and a half, with a recovery not arriving until late next year--so says a top state economic forecaster. Robert Sumichrast, Dean of the University of Georgia’s Terry College of Business forecasts the state’s economy as "dreadful" for the first half of 2009. He says there will be a doubling of unemployment, and continued falling housing prices.

Meanwhile, Governor Sonny Perdue tried to sound the optimistic tone for the state. He told a gathering in Atlanta at the Annual Georgia Economic Outlook luncheon that he will take the lead in reducing the state’s budget, while growing business in Georgia.

Judge sides against UGA

A federal judge is recommending that the University of Georgia clear the name of the campus' former journalism dean. The judge said in court documents Friday that UGA should rescind sexual harassment charges against John Soloski. The judge called the university's probe into the harassment allegations made by employee Janet Jones Kendall "arbitrary, capricious and unreasonable." Soloski resigned from the deanship at UGA's College of Journalism in 2005 after Kendall filed a complaint against him for making comments about her appearance. He sued the university in 2006, alleging UGA President Michael Adams used the harassment allegation to settle a long-standing grudge and force him to resign.

(Associated Press)