In The News 2016

U.S. NEWS & WORLD REPORT

TEN YEARS IN THE TOP 10

FOR THE 10TH YEAR IN A ROW, the University of Georgia has claimed a Top 10 ranking from U.S. News & World Report for higher education administration graduate programs offered by the Institute of Higher Education.

› In the magazine’s 2017 rankings of Best Grad Schools, IHE programs were ranked 6th by education school deans in the specialty category—the only southern school other than Vanderbilt (8th) to make the list.

› The ratings are based on nominations by deans of graduate programs granting education doctoral degrees and deans of graduate studies, who were asked to choose up to 10 programs of excellence in various specialty areas. they can help address critical state issues.

GEORGIA TREND

A “MOST INFLUENTIAL” GEORGIAN

IHE ALUMNA JENNIFER FRUM (Ph.D., 2009) was named to Georgia Trend’s newest list of the 100 Most Influential Georgians. She joined UGA President Jere Morehead as well as a host of business and political leaders included in the annual list, published in the magazine’s January 2016 issue.

At age 47, she is among the youngest of those selected by the magazine for “making an impact on the lives and livelihoods of people across the state.” Frum was previously named one of four Power Women by Georgia Trend in 2012, the year she was named vice president for public service and outreach at UGA, the first woman ever to hold that position.

Frum’s profile on the current Most Influential list notes that she “has strengthened the PSO’s economic development partnerships across the state and implemented three strategic priorities for UGA’s outreach programs, which have a $587-million impact on the state: help create jobs and prosperity, develop the state’s leaders and address critical state issues.” She is also credited with reviving UGA’s New Faculty Tour, which showcases the state’s culture and economy while encouraging faculty to identify ways they can help address critical state issues.

A native of West Virginia, Frum has worked in a variety of positions in outreach administration since arriving at UGA in 1995. As head of the PSO Division, she oversees university resources that are extended statewide.

CHRONICLE OF HIGHER EDUCATION

QUOTED: ED.D. STUDENT ON RACE

ED LEE, a member of the current cohort of students in IHE’s Executive Ed.D. program, was quoted in a Chronicle of Higher Education article (April 29, 2016) about Emory University’s response to student demands on race issues.

Lee, executive director of the Barkley Forum Center for Debate Education at Emory, served as a facilitator for one of the working groups appointed by Emory’s senior vice president and dean of campus life to examine the 13 demands issued by Black Students of Emory last fall. He headed the group that addressed the demand to block Yik Yak, a controversial social media application that allows anonymous comments, by creating a “geofence.”

Lee told the Chronicle that when his working group got together, he asked two questions: Why is a geofence on the table? And what is the primary issue we are trying resolve? After discussion, the group concluded that a ban on Yik Yak would be more symbolic than useful and instead recommended establishing a student-led team to respond rapidly to hate speech.

Lee was well-equipped to lead his group. His interests include creating organizational structures and programs that facilitate deliberation and dialog, as well as advocacy training and developing student empowerment. Lee hopes to combine his Ed.D. degree with his knowledge of debate and deliberation to promote dispute resolution models that use conflict as a catalyst for creative and innovative educational reforms.

INSIDE HIGHER ED

DEFINING “FIRST GENERATION”

RESEARCH BY IHE PROFESSOR Rob Toutkoushian and two IHE students on what is meant by the term “first-generation student” was reported on by Inside Higher Ed, following a presentation of their findings at the 2015 ASHE conference.

Despite the widespread use of the term by educators and policy makers, “no one has defined what they mean by ‘first generation,’” says Toutkoushian, who used data from a nationally representative sample of students for his study, assisted by graduate students Rob Stollberg and Kelly Slaton.

Does a first-generation college student come from a home where neither parent earned a college degree? What if the parents attended college, but didn’t graduate? Does it matter if it’s a biological parent that attended college or some other adult residing in their home? And what about siblings?

The definitional question matters because of mounting pressure to increase the rate of college attainment among U.S. adults. Toutkoushian’s research found that first-generation students—no matter how broadly or narrowly defined—are less likely to plan on taking a college entrance exam, apply to college and enroll.