The system supplement: a report of the Georgia Board of Regents, Vol. 42, no. 4 (May 2005)

The
System Supplement
A report of the Georgia Board of Regents 8 Vol. 42, No. 4 8 May 2005
"Creating a Mo re Educated Georgia"

Regents Approve New Policy to Address Textbook Costs

The Board of Regents took action at the May board meeting to address rising textbook costs with the approval of a new board policy that gives University System Chancellor Thomas C. Meredith authority to "establish guidelines concerning the designation and sale of textbooks required for coursework at USG institutions."
The action follows an extensive study of college textbook costs and a series of statewide public forums held in February and April that resulted in several recommendations approved this month by the regents.
The new policy calls for the chancellor to shape guidelines that will:
Increase communication among students, faculty and the campus bookstore regarding textbook costs;
Ensure that campus bookstores provide more varied cost options; and
Require a third-party review process on some textbook decisions.
In addition, the board directed Meredith to explore the feasibility of obtaining a sales-tax exemption on textbooks through the state legislature and to use the USG's combined purchasing power to seek lower textbook prices.
"The bottom line for students is that they want more options when it comes to buying textbooks," said William Bowes, vice chancellor for fiscal affairs in his presentation to the Board of Regents' Academic Affairs Committee. "This board action not only will address this concern, but create an environment in which all parties can work together to help reduce textbook costs."
Recommendations that will be incorporated into the new guide-

lines as a result of the public forums include:
Encouraging faculty to identify textbooks in a timely manner to allow students more time and greater flexibility to explore different purchasing options;
Encouraging campus bookstores to work more closely with faculty to communicate purchasing deadlines;
Encouraging faculty to consider textbook costs when selecting assigned texts;
Enhancing communication to better inform students of how textbooks will be used in the classroom and the options students have in acquiring books;
Encouraging institutions and bookstores to provide informa-

tion to students regarding online book purchasing and to implement programs to enable students to pursue this option;
Establishing new processes at USG institutions to review bookstore operations and textbook options;
Creating a third-party review process to determine if faculty may use self-authored texts in the classroom;
Exploring how the USG can use its combined purchasing power to leverage lower prices with national publishers; and
Seeking legislative assistance to help reduce the overall cost of textbooks through sales-tax exemptions.
See "Textbook Costs," Page 4 ...

Congratulations to the Class of 2005!
"The ultimate test of our work is not in the numbers of students enrolled, or even in the number retained, but the number who graduate from our 34 institutions... When I came to Georgia [in 2002], we awarded 35,000 degrees. Now,
we award almost 45,000 degrees... Please join me in saluting and congratulating the University System of Georgia's Class of 2005."
Chancellor Thomas C. Meredith from May Board of Regents' meeting remarks

ON CAMP

Wilkerson Named President of Bainbridge College

Dr. Thomas A. Wilkerson, vice president for academic affairs and professor of speech at Spartanburg Methodist College, in Spartanburg,
S.C., has been named president of Bainbridge College by the Board of Regents and Chancellor Thomas C. Meredith.
The former longtime University System of Georgia administrator will Dr. Thomas A. Wilkerson assume the presidency of Bainbridge College on July 1.

charged with interviewing the presidential finalists and making a recommendation to the full Board of Regents for consideration and final approval. She said: "Dr. Wilkerson is the right choice for Bainbridge College at this time. I am confident he will be immensely successful."
Meredith said he is impressed with the new president's understanding of the role two-year colleges play in providing access to higher education. "Dr. Wilkerson has more than 20 years of experience as a two-year college administrator, most of it gained right here in the University System of Georgia," Meredith stated. "I am con-

Regent Doreen Poitevint chaired the Special Regents Committee

See "Bainbridge President," Page 3

University System's National Titles Keep on Mounting

Yoculan and the victorious UGA Gym Dogs.
The University of Georgia recently captured its sixth national gymnastics title, and two other University System campuses also added to their national titles during the final weeks of Spring Semester 2005.
The UGA Gym Dogs vaulted from "worst to first" place at the National Collegiate Athletics Association's (NCAA) Women's Gymnastics Championships, in late April. They entered the 12-team competition seeded 12th, as a disastrous meet in the Southeast Regionals nearly kept the Gym Dogs out of the competition for the first time since 1983.
Led by Head Coach Suzanne Yoculan, the team now holds more national titles in the sport than any institution except the University of Utah. At the championships awards banquet, team members were honored with 17 All-America awards. That number led all teams and was the most awards earned by a Georgia team since 1999.

As if that wasn't enough, key team member Katie Heenan who is only the sixth Georgia freshman ever to win multiple First-Team All-America awards (on vault, bars and the allaround event) and who also won a Second-Team All-American Award on beam will appear on the cover of Inside Gymnastics magazine's May/June edition. She is only the second female college gymnast to be featured on the cover of this publication.
Two other USG campuses also added to their string of recent national championships. Kennesaw State University's all-female competitive cheerleading squad, coached by Felecia Ingle, successfully defended its 2004 National Cheer Association title in April. This was the university's second back-to-back national championship, the first having been NCAA Division II softball titles in 1995 and 1996.
Armstrong Atlantic State University's women's tennis team snared its third NCAA Division II title in mid-May, and is enjoying the longest consecutive winning streak in Division II history.
The team's head coach, Simon Earnshaw, was the only coach at the competition to have both men's and women's teams in the semifinals this season.
The AASU men's tennis team finished the season ranked third in the nation. Q

USG Briefs
Dr. P. George Benson, dean of the University of Georgia's Terry College of Business, has been appointed chairman of the board of overseers for the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award for the next year. Congress established the award in 1987 to honor organizations that have benefited the economic or social wellbeing of the United States substantially through improvements resulting in performance excellence.
The University System of Georgia has laid claim to four 2005 Barry M. Goldwater Scholarships for excellence in the fields of mathematics, natural sciences and engineering. Logan Leslie is the fifth University of West Georgia honors student in the last seven years to receive this prestigious undergraduate honor. John Parish is Georgia Tech's seventh Goldwater Scholar since 2001. Two students from the University of Georgia Melissa Cabinian and Caelin Cubeas bring UGA's Goldwater tally to 26 in the last 11 years. A total of 320 students nationwide received the 2005 scholarships which cover the cost of tuition, fees, books and room and board for up to two years.
Savannah State University senior Sean Ingram, a political science major, won the prestigious Diplomacy Award for exemplifying the true spirit of diplomacy during the 2005 Harvard World Model United Nations' Middle East Multilateral Summit. SSU was one of only two historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) to participate in the international conference in Edinburgh, Scotland, which attracted approximately 1,200 students from 50 countries.
Name Changes
During the May board meeting, the Board of Regents approved a request by Clayton College & State University to shorten its name to Clayton State University, effective immediately. This was the second name change without change of institutional mission the board has approved this year in February, the State University of West Georgia was permitted to shorten its name to the University of West Georgia.

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C A M P U S

USG Briefs
c o n t i n u e d
East Georgia College and Swainsboro Technical College recently collaborated in sponsoring a "Celebration of Education" essay contest designed to increase interest in obtaining a college education. Students from elementary, middle and high schools in five counties were invited to pen their thoughts on "How a College Education Can Help Me." The contest yielded 171 entries. Winners earned savings bonds and read their essays at an April 28 awards ceremony.
Georgia College & State University is featured in Colleges of Distinction, a new college guide profiling some of "America's Best Bets in Higher Education." GCSU is the only USG institution profiled in the new guide, which evaluated U.S. colleges and universities for distinction in the areas of engaged students, great teaching, vibrant communities and successful outcomes. The institutions selected for inclusion range from universities of 7,000 students to small liberal-arts colleges of 1,000 or fewer students. Their average student-faculty ratio is 13:1, and most have an average class size of about 20 students. The guide may be viewed at www.collegesofdistinction.com and will be published as a book later this year.
To address a growing community need for more and better-educated police officers, Columbus State University has teamed with the Columbus Police Department to offer $75,000 in scholarships to new police recruits who pursue associate degrees at CSU.The Columbus PD for years has had trouble filling vacant positions with qualified officers, and the scholarships are expected to improve this situation. Q
The
System Supplement
Arlethia Perry-Johnson
ASSOCIATE VICE CHANCELLOR
John Millsaps
COMMUNICATIONS AND MARKETING DIRECTOR
Diane Payne
PUBLICATIONS DIRECTOR
To Provide Feedback
write to: diane.payne@usg.edu

A Family with a Passion for Teaching
The Beadles family shown here left to right, Dr. Nicholas ("Bo") A. Beadles II, his father, Dr. Nicholas A. Beadles, and brother, Samuel J.P. Beadles may be the only family in existence with three living members who either are or have been full professors in the University System of Georgia.
Nick has been on the faculty of the Department of Management at Georgia College & State University for the past six years and also is the associate pastor of a Milledgeville church. Sam has taught civil engineering technology at Southern Polytechnic State University for nearly 17 years. Their father retired in 1983, after 32 years of teaching, 28 of them as a faculty member of the University of Georgia's College of Business Administration.
The senior Dr. Beadles, who helped start the Honors Program at UGA and has a professorship named after him in the Department of Economics, was considered a national authority in the field of labor arbitration at the height of his career and served as a management consultant for NASA and such firms as Union Camp, Burlington Industries and the John Harland Corporation."He mastered the `country boy with a Ph.D. from Harvard' routine and was a very popular teacher," according to Sam. "He taught me to speak my mind and to be prepared to defend it, even when I was patently wrong conversation as contest."
Reflecting on the collective service of the Beadles men to the University System, Nick said recently, "My father and brother are natural teachers.They pursued both subject mastery and mastery of communicating that expertise.As for me, I never planned to be a teacher. [But] in retrospect, I discovered that teaching is not just something I do. It is what I am. I found, during the course of my life, whenever I learned something, I would begin to teach it to someone else. I consider myself fortunate that I am able to make a living doing what I love." Q

Bainbridge President
Continued from P. 2 ...
fident he will provide strong leadership for Bainbridge and deepen the college's ties with the people of Southwest Georgia."
Wilkerson has served in his current position at Spartanburg Methodist College since 1997. Prior to assuming that role, he spent 29 years in the University System of Georgia.
Wilkerson's last USG post was as vice president for academic affairs and professor of speech at South Georgia College from 1984 to 1997. While there, he was heavily involved in two programs in Douglas/Coffee County that foster high-school completion and participation in post-secondary education.
He also accepted several additional leadership opportunities within the University System during his tenure at South Georgia. In addition to serving on the Executive Committee of the Regents' Administrative Committee on Academic Affairs, he chaired ad-hoc committees charged with developing guidelines for the assessment of two-year college majors and

developing policies and procedures for academic services and distance-learning technology.
Prior to joining the faculty of South Georgia College, Dr. Wilkerson served from 1974 to 1984 as chair of the Division of Humanities at Dalton College. He assumed that role after serving as a speech/English faculty member, teaching remedial English, English composition, literature, humanities and public speaking at the college from 1969 to 1984.
Wilkerson began his career in higher education at yet another USG twoyear institution, Middle Georgia College, where he served as chair of the Department of Speech/Drama from 1968 to 1969.
Wilkerson holds undergraduate degrees from the former Augusta College (now Augusta State University) and Georgia Southern College (now Georgia Southern University), an M.F.A. in speech and drama from the University of Georgia, and an Ed.D. in speech education, also from UGA. Q

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Ready for Takeoff
Mark Dougherty, manager of F/A-22 Raptor customer requirements at Lockheed Martin, acquainted Chancellor Thomas C. Meredith (seated) with the cockpit of the Raptor during a workforce development meeting at Lockheed `s Marietta plant on May 16. Accompanying the chancellor for an update on workforce needs for engineers and technicians in the aerospace industry were: Dr. Dan Papp, senior vice chancellor for academics and fiscal affairs; Joy Hymel, executive director of the University System's Office of Economic Development; Dr. Wayne Clough, president of Georgia Tech; and Dr. Lisa Rossbacher, president of Southern Polytechnic State University. Q
Textbook Costs
Continued from P. 1 ...
"Better communications among students, faculty and campus bookstore operators will help solve many of the issues identified by our task force and the forums," said Bowes.
The new policy reflects the culmination of a process initiated in 2004, when the chancellor formed a Textbook Task Force to investigate textbook pricing and shape recommendations for potential board action.
A number of key findings emerged from the work of the Task Force and the public forums on textbook pricing held at four USG institutions:
Students were primarily concerned about cost, lack of options when purchasing textbooks and a perception that assigned books often were not used in the class.
Faculty members want the best teaching tools available and thus the lowest price was not necessarily a factor in which books to select. But faculty members also noted that pricing was not normally available when choosing

Photo courtesy of Lockheed Martin
textbooks for class use and such information would be useful.
Bookstore managers' concerns included the fact that, while usedbook sales are more profitable to the store, late decisions on textbook selection limit the ability of students to sell used books back to bookstores and for stores to then resell used books to students.
Publishers noted that the textbook market is very competitive and that, due to the limited sales potential of textbooks when compared to a typical "best seller," college textbooks are more expensive to produce.
In addition to these findings, Bowes highlighted some other key issues around textbook pricing, including: the increasing use of "bundled" textbooks (i.e., textbooks that include other media, such as CDs or DVDs), the use of more graphics and other materials in books that increase production costs, and increased publishing of new editions to incorporate new knowledge and information.
Bowes says the new policy and guidelines should be implemented by fall semester, 2006. Q

B O A R D OF REGENTS
Joel O. Wooten, Jr. Columbus CHAIR
J. Timothy Shelnut Augusta
VICE CHAIR
Hugh A. Carter, Jr. Atlanta
Connie Cater Macon
William H. Cleveland, M.D. Atlanta
Michael J. Coles Kennesaw
Joe Frank Harris Cartersville
Julie Ewing Hunt Tifton
W. Mansfield Jennings, Jr. Hawkinsville
James R. Jolly Dalton
Donald M. Leebern, Jr. Columbus
Elridge W. McMillan Atlanta
Martin W. NeSmith Claxton
Patrick S. Pittard Lakemont
Doreen Stiles Poitevint Bainbridge
Wanda Yancey Rodwell Stone Mountain
Richard L. Tucker Duluth
M. Allan Vigil Fayetteville
O F F I C E R S
Thomas C. Meredith CHANCELLOR
Gail S. Weber SECRETARY TO THE BOARD
William R. Bowes TREASURER

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