January 23, 2007

Atlanta Colleges Help Draw "Young and Restless"
Atlanta is a magnet for smart young people, and the area's colleges and universities are a big part of the draw.

Atlanta leads the pack in attracting highly educated 25- to 34-year-olds, according to the Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce's "Young and Restless" report. Smart people want to be around other smart people, and more than 200,000 students, faculty and researchers contribute to this environment. Students come here to study at Atlanta-area colleges and universities and stay to live and work. And college-educated transplants who move here for Atlanta's jobs find a full range of advanced degrees at area universities to grow their earning power. More on Atlanta as a "brain gain" region >

Emory Focuses Global Public Health Here
Two announcements this month from Emory University help solidify Atlanta's place as a global public health capital. A $110 million new Global Health Institute, headed by Emory VP and former CDC Director Jeffrey Koplan, will address some of the world's most pressing health challenges, especially in poorer nations. And a $20 million grant from the Gates Foundation will headquarter the year-old International Association of National Public Health Institutes (IANPHI) at Emory to strengthen CDC-like agencies around the world and help them work together. More >

Collaborating to Preserve the King Papers
The same spirit of collaboration that helped bring the King papers to Atlanta is at work behind the scenes in the effort to preserve the collection and make it available to scholars and the public. When the "I Have A Dream: The Morehouse College Martin Luther King Jr. Collection" exhibit opened last week at the Atlanta History Center, it reflected a long and strong collaborative working relationship among the Atlanta region's public and private universities, libraries such as the Robert W. Woodruff Library of the Atlanta University Center, and local cultural institutions. More >

College for All, Georgians Say
College education is no longer seen as a luxury for the children of elites, according to the Peach State Poll, a quarterly survey by the University of Georgia's Carl Vinson Institute of Government.

• 96% of Georgians believe a college degree is "extremely
  important" or "important"
• 60% believe a college education at a public institution
  is a right of all Georgians
• 69% rate Georgia's public higher ed system as "excellent" or "good"
  More >

A Capital of Intellectual Capital
"Atlanta's colleges and universities bring unprecedented brainpower and economic muscle," says the December Georgia Trend. "They create wealth and jobs, promote diversity and enhance the city's international credentials -- and they are influencing the way the region grows." Read the article in Georgia Trend.

The Best of Atlanta-Area Higher Education
With this first electronic newsletter, the Atlanta Regional Council for Higher Education begins bringing you news about Atlanta's vast wealth of colleges and universities. Our aim is to help readers recognize the scope, impact and value of higher ed here and learn how -- collectively and individually -- these institutions create opportunity and prosperity in the region.

Please share this issue with your colleagues, who may subscribe via the link below. And let us know what you think.

Photo credits: Georgia Department of Economic Development, Georgia State University, Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce / Twovital Photography, Morehouse College, University of Georgia.