December 1, 2014Vol. 42, No. 18 www.columns.uga.edu

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The 5 Browns to perform holiday favorites Dec. 8 in Hodgson Concert Hall

Two of UGA’s Coca-Cola First Generation Scholars discuss college experiences

The University of Georgia®

By Alan Flurryaflurry@uga.edu

A group of scientists led by UGA’s Samantha Joye has received a new grant to continue its studies of natural oil seeps and to track the impacts of the BP/Deepwater Horizon oil spill on the Gulf of Mexico ecosystem.

Known as ECOGIG-2 or “Ecosystem Impacts of Oil and Gas Inputs to the Gulf,” the project is a collaborative, multi-institutional effort involving biological, chemi-cal, geological and chemical ocean-ographers. The research team has worked in the gulf since the weeks following the 2010 Macondo well blowout.

The three-year, $18.8 million dollar ECOGIG-2 program was funded by the Gulf of Mexico Research Initiative, or GoMRI.

“I am so thrilled that the

ECOGIG-2 research pro-g r a m w a s selected for funding by the GoMRI re-search board,” said Joye, the UGA Athletic As soc i a t ion Professor of

Arts and Sciences and a professor of marine sciences. “Our work will explore the basics of oil and gas cycling at natural seeps, discern the impacts of chemical disper-sants on microbial populations and their activity and on the fate of discharged hydrocarbons, use sophisticated instrumentation and physical and biogeochemical mod-els to track hydrocarbon transport and continue to document recovery of deep-water ecosystems from the

By Stephanie Schupskaschupska@uga.edu

From start to finish, UGA students are setting records for how quickly they are completing their bachelor’s degrees or entering professional programs.

The six-year graduation rate has reached a record 84.6 percent, up from 83.2 percent a year ago. The five- and four-year rates also reached record levels in 2014.

“At the University of Geor-gia, we strive not only to enroll

outstanding students but also to create an educational environment on campus that promotes timely completion,” said President Jere W. Morehead. “Our rising gradu-ation rates reveal the very strong commitment to student success that exists among faculty and staff at this institution.”

Graduation rates are deter-mined by the number of students from a cohort who graduate with a bachelor’s degree or enter a pro-fessional program at UGA, such as

By Terry Marie Hastingsthasting@uga.edu

The enthusiasm of more than 400 seventh-graders and their teach-ers bounced off the glass-windowed walls of the State Botanical Garden’s tropical conservatory Nov. 12 at the second annual Bioenergy Day @ UGA. It confirmed what its planners already knew: Hands-on science at UGA is a big hit, not only with students and their teachers, but also with UGA faculty and graduate students who participated.

“The kids are so excited,” said Carolyn Andrews, a seventh-grade science teacher at Coile Middle School. “Even though they are learn-ing, they think it’s just fun.”

The UGA Bioenergy Systems Research Institute sponsored the event along with the Office of Service-Learning, the State Botanical

Garden and the Office of Sustain-ability. Middle-schoolers need to see that “science is not just a textbook,” Andrews said. “Events like Bioen-ergy Day @ UGA connect them with real people who can tell them why science is so important.”

The UGA faculty and graduate students who brought their science to the event also were excited.

“I was surprised at the sheer number of kids,” said Jason Locklin, an associate professor in both the College of Engineering and the chemistry department in the Frank-lin College of Arts and Sciences. “I was also surprised by some of the really curious and pointed questions they asked.

“They quickly made the con-nections between the fundamental concepts and workings of these cells and the photosynthesis that was going on in all of the plants around

us,” said Locklin, who demonstrated how to create solar cells from the dyes found in blackberries and raspberries with graduate students Anandi Roy and Deborah Lehman. “My grad students, who did all of the work, learned that it is always a great challenge to communicate scientific principles at different levels.”

The students crowded around tables in the Botanical Garden con-servatory and its patios. Nine Farm-ing for Fuels exhibits, developed by UGA staff from the BioEnergy Sci-ence Center, or BESC, and the Cre-ative Discovery Museum in Chatta-nooga, Tennessee, introduced basic concepts such as the carbon cycle; how woody biomass, such as trees and grasses, can produce biofuels; and the technical and economic obstacles to a bio-based fuel economy.

New this year were six exhibits

By Tom Jacksontjackson@uga.edu

Carl E. Sanders, a former Geor-gia governor, died Nov. 16 at age 89; UGA enjoyed an association with him that spanned more than 70 years.

After enrolling at the university in 1942 on a football scholarship, Sanders withdrew from school to pilot bombers during World War II. He returned to UGA and played on the 1945 team that won the Oil Bowl; he received a law

degree in 1948.Sanders practiced law in his

native Augusta and in 1954 was elected to the Georgia House of Representatives. He later served three terms in the Georgia Senate before winning election in 1962 as governor.

Known as “Georgia’s Educa-tion Governor,” Sanders oversaw the investment of more than $2 billion in educational and train-ing programs, including more than $552 million spent on the state’s public colleges and universities.

Expenditures on buildings in the University System of Georgia topped $176.5 million—more than had been spent in the previous 31 years—and salaries for the sys-tem rose by 32.5 percent.

An educational television net-work was created, vocational-technical education was expanded statewide and the state’s junior college system was enlarged. UGA received more than $40 million in construction funds while Sanders was governor, resulting in the start

By Sam Fahmysfahmy@uga.edu

Rahul Shrivastav, a professor and administrator who has spear-headed transformative changes to the learning environment, has been named vice president for instruction.

Shrivastav, whose appointment is effective Feb. 15, is currently chair of the communicative sci-ences and disorders department at Michigan State University, where he revised the department’s aca-demic programs, introduced new pedagogical techniques and laid the groundwork for a new online de-gree program. Under his leadership, student applications to the depart-ment increased by 20 percent and

private sup-port increased by 25 percent.

“ D r . S h r i v a s t a v

is dedicated to creating life-changing learning op-portunities for students,” said

Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost Pamela Whit-ten, to whom Shrivastav will report. “He brings an outstanding record of academic leadership, instruc-tion, scholarship and service to this critical position at the University of Georgia.”

Shrivastav joined Michigan

Hands-on scienceSecond annual Bioenergy Day @ UGA brings more than 400 students, teachers to campus

Caitlin Conn, a graduate student majoring in genetics, shows middle school students how carbon dioxide can be produced by dropping dry ice into a container of water during Bioenergy Day @ UGA Nov. 12.

$18.8M grant funds continued studies of Gulf of Mexico spill

ACADEMIC AFFAIRS

ACADEMIC AFFAIRS“GEORGIA’S EDUCATION GOvERNOR”

Michigan State U. administrator named VP for instruction at UGA

University community mourns passing of Carl SandersUGA student graduation rates increase, reach record levels

See INSTRUCTION on page 8

See RATES on page 8

See GRANT on page 8

Paul Efland

See BIOENERGY on page 8

See SANDERS on page 8

Samantha Joye

Rahul Shrivastav

2 Dec. 1, 2014 columns.uga.edu

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Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia elects new officers

The Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia elected new officers for 2015 earlier this month.

Regent Neil L. Pruitt Jr. was elected to a one-year term as the board’s chair. Pruitt currently serves as vice chair. Regent Kessel Stelling Jr. was elected to a one-year term as the board’s vice chair.

The board also appointed Daryl Griswold as interim secretary to fill the role formerly held by Vice Chancellor for Legal Affairs J. Burns Newsome, who accepted a position at the Georgia Institute of Technology. Griswold currently serves as assistant vice chancellor for legal affairs and assistant secretary to the board of regents.

Regent Rogers Wade chaired the commit-tee that developed nominations for board offi-cers for the coming year. Committee members were Regents Lori Durden and Don Leebern.

US, China agree on student visasEarlier this month, China and the U.S.

agreed to extend terms for short-term visas, which include student visas. The agreement came during President Barack Obama’s state visit.

The U.S. Department of State said that Chinese students and dependents who hold F, M or J visas now are eligible for multiple- entry visas. Those visas are valid up to five years or the length of their program.

U.S. students going to China will be eli-gible for residency permits that will be good for up to five years.

Inclement weather policy in effect During periods of inclement winter

weather, UGA follows a set procedure for an-nouncing operational changes.

By policy, the university makes one of three announcements: UGA is open and operating on a regular schedule; UGA is closed; or UGA will delay opening until a specific time.

An all-campus email through ArchNews is the primary means to distribute such an-nouncements. The announcement also is posted to the UGA home page (www.uga.edu).

Announcements are posted to Twitter (@universityofga and @UGAEVENTS) and Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/uga.edu and https://www.facebook.com/UgaToday).

Up-to-date information is provided to Athens radio stations. Atlanta TV and radio stations that have requested to receive UGA weather announcements also are notified.

In Athens, inclement winter weather often develops overnight. In such cases and depend-ing on conditions, attempts are made to post announcements and notify media by 6:30 a.m. for the start of the class day. If the inclement weather develops during morning rush hour or during daytime on a school/workday, the same notification procedures listed above are followed.

When weather conditions are such that closings occur two or more days in succession, the procedure is followed each day, with an an-nouncement being made each day by 6:30 a.m. In that conditions can change unexpectedly overnight, an evening announcement usually will not be made for the next day except in the most extreme weather circumstances.

On days when UGA generally is scheduled to be closed (Saturdays, Sundays and holidays), the university does not usually make blanket closing announcements. Departments and units that have normal operations on weekends and holidays, or units planning to host or present special programs on those days, should make their own prior arrangements with employees and participants, notifying them how to pro-ceed in case of inclement weather.

When UGA officially is closed, it is closed for everyone: faculty, staff and students. Departments will designate in advance those expected to report to work during a weather emergency.

Announcements for weather closings at UGA campuses in Buckhead, Gwinnett, Griffin and Tifton are handled by those campus ad-ministrators separately from the main campus announcements.

Source: Division of Public Affairs

By Tracy Giesetgiese@uga.edu

UGA’s Center for Teaching and Learning hosted the Southeast regional conference of the Associa-tion for Authentic, Experiential and Evidence-Based Learning in early November. The conference theme centered on “Conceptions, Miscon-ceptions and Best Practices: The Whys and Hows of ePortfolios.”

Organized by CTL director Eddie Watson, the conference included participants from Auburn University, Virginia Tech, Clemson University, UNC Asheville, Georgia Tech, Ken-nesaw State, the University of West Georgia and Texas Christian Univer-sity as well attendees from UGA and other colleges across the state.

The conference, now in its fifth year and previously hosted at Virginia Tech and Clemson, was designed for faculty to learn more about engag-ing students with innovative learn-ing technologies and deep learning pedagogies.

Electronic portfolios, or ePort-folios, are tools that enable students to create an online portfolio contain-ing projects, papers, designs, media, résumés and other artifacts of learn-ing. This process enables students to make connections between as-signments and courses while also al-lowing them to share their academic and professional accomplishments with advisers, professors, peers and potential employers.

“Several programs in UGA’s Col-lege of Education and the English department in the Franklin College are currently using ePortfolios for student learning and assessment,” said Watson, who is also the executive editor of the International Journal of ePortfolio.

“The process of developing an ePortfolio, reflecting on work and getting input from others is invalu-able to the student,” Watson said. “These tools are also an exceptional way for students to capture learning experiences that take place beyond the classroom through service-learning, study abroad and other opportunities.

“The ePortfolio reflection process is beneficial to them, and the result-ing product can enable institutions to assess learning outcomes associated with those co-curricular experiences,” he also said.

UGA will host the sixth annual conference again next fall.

By Aaron Haleaahale@uga.edu

The UGA community as a whole finds a variety of ways to give back, such as the Campaign for Charities, which encourages faculty and staff pledges and donations for local, state and national charitable organizations.

For many students at UGA, their best opportunity to give back to the community is with their time and energy.

That’s certainly true for those working with the Boys and Girls Club of Athens through an educational program called Mind Blowers.

The Boys and Girls Club is one of the charities supported by UGA’s Campaign for Charities. The campaign ends Dec. 15.

The Mind Blowers program, which was founded and is run by 20 stu-dents primarily in the Terry College of Business, offers tutoring to about 25 middle school students at the Boys and Girls Club’s after-school program on Mondays.

The lessons, created and taught by UGA student volunteers, are designed to help the middle schoolers develop math and quantitative skills by solving business-related questions.

Ambreia Curry, a fourth-year finance major from Valdosta, is director of the Mind Blowers program. She said she was drawn to the program because it is an opportunity to empower young students.

“I want to be a part of making a differ-ence,” Curry said. “I want these students to know that they can go to college and succeed just as much as any other student.”

Mind Blowers is hoping to expand its curriculum to other Boys and Girls Club locations over time.

The interaction between UGA students and the middle school students is a key component of the program. Volun-teers break off into groups to work with the middle school students on the day’s problem-solving lesson.

One lesson this semester asked stu-dents to design a roller coaster with a given budget and cost of materials. They were asked to consider safety, appearance and surface.

The students took to drawing their roller coasters with names like “Scary Adventure Land” and “The Most Scariest Roller Coaster Ever” and adding up costs of their materials.

Derek Coger, a third-year biology major from Austell, said the lesson was designed to get students thinking about budgeting as a life skill. In addition, the questions also challenge students’ read-ing comprehension and encourage them to be creative.

The program seems to be working.Randy Groomes, director of diversity

relations at the Terry College, has been an adviser to the Mind Blowers program since it was started in 2012 by Terry Col-lege graduates Tony Leung and Walter Crawford.

Groomes said math grades for the Boys and Girls Club students, which were historically low, have gone up since the introduction of the program.

The Boys and Girls Club of Athens, which provides a safe, after-school envi-ronment for youth, has been a great partner in opening its doors to the Mind Blowers program and allowing UGA students to help make a difference.

“It’s so critical we get support for the Boys and Girls Club, which offers stu-dents after-school programs and meals,” Groomes said. “They really take the kids, who might end up dropping out of school, and help them build a bridge to college.”

‘Mind Blowers’ tutoring program helps middle school students

Center for teaChing and Learning

CTL hosts conference on learning technologies

2015 Uga Campaign for Charities

Ben Louderback, left, a third-year finance major, helps Arkidee Flint, center, and Sham Colbert, both sixth-graders at Coile Middle School, at the Boys and Girls Club of Athens.

Paul Efland

Development office finalizes reorganizationBy Aaron Haleaahale@uga.edu

The development office has been reorganized to enhance fundraising efforts as UGA advances its compre-hensive campaign. The campaign will support the university’s highest pri-orities and advance its strategic plan.

As part of the reorganization, a senior associate vice president for development and alumni relations has been hired.

Jay Stroman, who is currently the vice president for advancement at Young Harris College, will serve as chief operating officer for the division beginning Jan. 12. He previously was vice president for university develop-ment at Mercer University.

“Jay brings to UGA a strong record of building teams, growing a culture of philanthropy and rais-ing significant resources,” said Kelly Kerner, vice president for develop-ment and alumni relations. “I look forward to working with him.”

The reorganization has clarified roles within the division and built teams around the goal of greater effectiveness. “These changes will create a framework to grow and bet-ter meet the university’s needs as we embark on the largest comprehensive campaign in our history,” Kerner said. “To raise more than a billion dollars, we need to be more collaborative in our work, and the team needs to grow over time to ensure that we can deliver those resources to students, faculty and research priorities.”

By James E. Hatawayjhataway@uga.edu

Scientists from North America, Eu-rope and China have published a paper in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences that reveals important details about key transitions in the evolution of plant life on Earth.

From strange and exotic algae, mosses, ferns, trees and flowers growing deep in steamy rainforests to the grains and vegetables humans eat and the orna-mental plants adorning people’s homes, all plant life on Earth shares over a billion years of history.

“Our study generated DNA se-quences from a vast number of distantly related plants, and we developed new analysis tools to understand their relation-ships and the timing of key innovations in plant evolution,” said study co-author

Jim Leebens-Mack, an associate professor of plant biology in the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences.

As part of the One Thousand Plants, or 1KP, initiative, the research team is generating millions of gene sequences from plant species sampled from across the green tree of life. By resolving these relationships, the international research team is illuminating the complex pro-cesses that allowed ancient water-faring algae to evolve into land plants with ad-aptations to competition for light, water and soil nutrients.

Lead author Norm Wickett of the Chicago Botanic Garden said the study was “like taking a time machine back to get a glimpse of how ancient algae tran-sitioned into the diverse array of plants we depend on for our food, building ma-terials and critical ecological services.”

“When plants colonized the land

450 million years ago, it changed the world forever,” said Simon Malcomber, program director in the National Science Foundation’s Division of Environmental Biology, which funded the research. “The results of this study offer new insights into the relationships among living plants.”

As plants grew and thrived across the plains, valleys and mountains of Earth’s landscape, rapid changes in their structures gave rise to myriad new spe-cies. The group’s data helps scientists better understand the ancestry of the most common plant lineages, includ-ing flowering plants and nonflowering, cone-bearing plants such as pine trees.

The investigation also has revealed a number of previously unknown molecu-lar characteristics of some plant species that may have applications in medicine and industry.

UGA Libraries to host reading, lectureThe UGA Libraries will host a book publica-

tion event and a lecture by an Emory University faculty member.

A reading and reception to mark the publica-tion of The Tangible Past in Athens, Georgia will be held Dec. 4. Matthew Bernstein, chair of film and media studies at Emory, will discuss “‘Selznick’s March’: The Atlanta Premiere of Gone with the Wind ” on Dec. 5. Both events, which will be held at 4 p.m. at the Richard B. Russell Building Special Collections Libraries, are open free to the public.

The Tangible Past in Athens, Georgia is a collec-tion of 18 essays by a variety of Athenians. The Hargrett Rare Book and Manuscript Library served as the source of much of the material. Five of the book’s 13 authors are UGA alumni, two cur-rently work for UGA and two are UGA retirees.

Bernstein’s lecture will offer an in-depth look at the challenges of staging the 1939 premiere of Gone with the Wind in a segregated Southern city and the ways in which the Atlanta premiere crystal-lized many of the issues David O. Selznick faced in making the film.

University System budget can’t support parental leave proposal, leaders say

A recommendation adopted Nov. 19 by University Council that faculty be provided eight weeks of paid parental leave is too expensive and will not be implemented, according to a statement issued Nov. 21 by the University System of Georgia.

The proposal represents an additional fiscal de-mand on the system budget, the statement said, and “our first budget priority remains salary increases for faculty and staff. While the University System respects the dialogue of the University Council, we cannot support this new proposal in the current budget climate.”

University Council also approved a change to the course withdrawal policy. The new policy, which will take effect this semester, removes the four-withdrawal limit and changes how withdrawals are graded.

Under the new policy, all withdrawals before the withdrawal deadline, which is two weeks after the midpoint of the semester, will receive a W grade. The new policy eliminates the “withdrawal pass,” or WP, and “withdrawal fail,” WF, grades. The WF grade was computed as an F in the student’s GPA.

Regents approve replacement of UGA’s coal-fired boiler at Nov. 12 meeting

At its Nov. 12 meeting, the board of regents ap-proved the replacement of the coal-fired boiler at UGA’s Central Steam Plant. Used only during the winter heating season, the existing 50-year-old boiler is nearing the end of its useful life. A recent engineer-ing study determined that replacing the boiler, which will cost nearly $4.5 million, with an electrode boiler will save nearly $500,000 per year. Current plans call for the electrode boiler to be operational before the winter of 2015-2016.

The regents also approved the installation of an automated irrigation system for the university’s Iron Horse Farm. The $2.87 million project will support the crop and soil sciences research programs of the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences at the farm in Oconee and Greene counties.

In addition, the regents approved a plan to imple-ment energy conservation measures at UGA’s Ramsey Student Center, the Performing and Visual Arts Center and the Animal and Dairy Sciences Center.

The establishment of the Stanley Wade Shelton UGA Foundation Professorship in the School of Public and International Affairs and the Travis and Mary Osborne Distinguished Chair in Psychology in the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences also was approved. Additionally, the UGA Athletic Association Professorship in the Social Sciences was redesignated as a Distinguished Professorship.

Digest

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Andrew Davis Tucker

‘Personalized options’By Molly Bergmberg14@uga.edu

Bed sharing, a practice where mother and infant sleep on the same surface, re-mains popular all over the world despite potential health risks for the infant. Ac-cording to a new UGA study, bed sharing likely can be decreased if public health officials tailor their messaging to their unique population.

Trina Salm Ward, an assistant profes-sor in the School of Social Work and an assistant professor of health promotion and behavior in the College of Public Health, reviewed literature on bed sharing in “Reasons for Mother-Infant Bed-Sharing: A Systematic Narra-tive” in the Maternal and Child Health Journal, published online ahead of the January/February print issue.

The biggest risk of bed sharing is sudden infant death syndrome, the third leading cause of infant mortality in the U.S.

In her research, Salm Ward discov-ered the main reasons mothers chose to bed share included breast-feeding, emotional comfort and reassurance, monitoring, better sleep for infant, family traditions and bonding. Since mothers

elect to bed share for a variety of reasons, Salm Ward suggests that the issue is more complex than it originally was thought.

“The American Academy of Pedi-atrics recommends mothers simply not bed share with their infant,” Salm Ward said. “However we’ve found that the ‘Just don’t do it’ messaging isn’t helpful and that scare tactics don’t necessarily work. Instead we need to look into harm-reduction techniques.”

For Salm Ward, this means not stigmatizing and alienating mothers who continue to bed share. Instead she suggests a variety of options for moth-ers who may not be able to give the practice up. This could be because of socio-economic reasons, like not being able to afford a crib. Although bed shar-ing isn’t recommended, Salm Ward said that mothers should know about infant sleeping suggestions.

“Infants should be sleeping in the supine position on their backs,” Salm Ward said. “They should never be face down since they can’t lift their heads. They should also be on a firm surface without any pillows or blankets.”

Although the AAP discourages bed sharing, it recommends co-sleeping for mothers and infants.

“Co-sleeping and bed sharing are used interchangeably although they aren’t the same,” Salm Ward said. “Co-sleeping means sleeping in the same room as your infant in close proximity. Bed sharing is when you actually sleep on the same surface as the baby. Co-sleeping is the preferred option over bed sharing.”

If mothers still choose to bed share, Salm Ward recommends that no other family members sleep beside the infant. Factors like the presence of other family members, tobacco use in the family, sofa and armchair bed sharing and soft bed-ding increase the risk of SIDS.

Salm Ward believes that, in most cases, socio-economic concerns influ-ence the mothers in their decision to bed share. To educate the population about safe sleep, Salm Ward suggests a number of community-wide steps.

“Mothers can first go to their health care providers and learn about the dangers of bed sharing,” she said. “First responders and public health officials can also provide support by doing safe-sleep campaigns, radio ads or lectures, depending on the community’s needs. The goal is to offer personalized options to mothers who may not be ready to stop bed sharing.”

Researcher recommends public health officials tailor messaging about mother-infant bed sharing

FRANkLIN COLLEGE OF ARTS AND SCIENCESStudy uses DNA sequences to examine key events in plant evolution

Trina Salm Ward, an assistant professor in the School of Social Work and an assistant professor of health promotion and behavior in the College of Public Health, reviewed literature on bed sharing and found the practice can be decreased if public health officials tailor their messaging.

3 columns.uga.edu Dec. 1, 2014

4 Dec. 1, 2014 columns.uga.edu

By Julia Millsjwmills@uga.edu

What began as a vision for a Clarke Central High School social studies teacher became reality Nov. 10 and 11 as hundreds of Clarke County 10th-graders visited UGA to explore the arts.

The students, from Clarke Central one day and Cedar Shoals High School the next, came to campus as part of Experience UGA, a partnership between the university and the Clarke County School District. The program is designed to introduce students in grades pre-K-12 to the myriad academic opportuni-ties at UGA to foster interest in higher educa-tion. The 10th-grade trips were scheduled to coincide with Spotlight on the Arts, an annual event designed to draw attention to UGA’s visual literary and performing arts programs.

Clarke Central social studies teacher Ashley Goodrich, a UGA alumna who is get-ting her doctorate in educational theory and practice, came up with the idea for an arts-based field trip after several years of taking her students to the Georgia Museum of Art

to study history through connections in art.While on campus the 10th-graders visited

the theatre and film studies department, the Hugh Hodgson School of Music, the museum, the Lamar Dodd School of Art, the dance department and the College of Education.

Students filled the seats in Ramsey Hall to hear the Red Priest, a world-renowned baroque quartet, play a collection of classi-cal music.

In the theatre and film studies department, assistant professor Emily Sahakian’s service-learning students introduced the high school students to theater as a socially engaged art form, not just for entertainment. They played games that helped students reflect on issues such as racism and bullying, building com-munity and problem solving.

“Games are a wonderful way in theater to engage with a community and to create a dialogue with the audience,” said Wyatt Geist, a master’s degree candidate in performance. “It’s also a great way to display ideas and emotions.”

Experience UGA is led by the Office of Service-Learning, a unit that reports jointly

to the UGA Vice President for Public Service and Outreach and the Vice President for In-struction. Launched last year, the partnership aims to bring every Clarke County student to campus for an annual field trip and op-portunity to experience learning on a college campus, explore college options and interact with UGA students. More than 3,000 Clarke County students came to UGA as part of the program last year. UGA will host about 10,000 students this year and expects to bring all 13,000 pre-K-12 students to campus next year and in the following years. Twelve schools and colleges, as well as eight other university units, will host trips for Experience UGA this year.

During the November field trips, students were introduced to dance as a way to be part of a community. Under the direction of associate professor Rebecca Enghauser, they learned about studio work and careers in dance. From their chairs they practiced movements and worked with partners, which taught them about listening skills and leadership.

At the art school, the students learned about light graffiti—art created by moving light and a camera’s long exposure—and

3-D printing. Jeremy Blair, an assistant profes-sor of art education, helped them make short movies using green screen technology, props and costumes. They toured the building and saw a photography darkroom, a drawing and painting studio and a critique space.

At the museum, students discussed ways of responding to artwork through tours of the permanent collection and temporary exhibits led by students in education curator Carissa DiCindio’s service-learning course “Engaging Art Museum Audiences as Student Docents.” Current exhibitions on Italian fash-ion designer Emilio Pucci and the Elephant Six Collective provided an opportunity for students to also make sketches inspired by fashion and album covers on display.

For many, the Experience UGA arts field trip was a way to better understand art and its relationship to their lives, teachers said.

“A lot of our students have never had exposure to the arts before,” said Mary Claire Nixon, a dance teacher at Cedar Shoals High School. “Giving them this opportunity is the most important thing; we hope to create lifelong lovers of art and learning.”

By Aaron Haleaahale@uga.edu

In addition to carrying the weight of backpacks, laptops and textbooks, many students come to college bearing the high expectations of their parents and family.

That’s especially true for Enid Truong and Diem Nguyen, two second-year UGA students from Duluth. Both students’ parents emigrated to the U.S. with dreams of sending their children to college—though they, the parents, were never able to earn college degrees.

Nguyen was born in Vietnam and came to the U.S. with her family. Tru-ong’s parents escaped political turmoil in Cambodia and Vietnam before fleeing to the U.S., where she was born.

Both Truong and Nguyen—best friends since middle school and now roommates at Oglethorpe House—re-call how hard their parents worked to be sure they could go to college.

“We try to work hard ourselves to not disappoint them,” Truong said.

While their parents are a shining example of hard work and sacrifice, Nguyen, a math education major in the College of Education, and Truong, a math major in the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences, did not have a family member who could tell them what to expect from college.

Instead, the two served as a support

system for each other as they applied to college with little knowledge about what to expect.

Getting used to college can be tough for first-generation students, said Sylvia Hutchinson, a professor emerita of higher education and reading and a mentor in UGA’s Coca-Cola First Generation Scholarship Program.

Truong and Nguyen are both in the program, which supports academically outstanding students who demonstrate a financial need and are the first in their families to attend college. The scholarship provides $5,000 per year in addition to the HOPE Scholarship.

Coca-Cola First Generation Schol-arship recipients are selected by the Office of Student Financial Aid and the Office of Undergraduate Admissions from accepted applicants to UGA.

Housed at UGA in the Office of the Vice President for Instruction, the program also connects the scholars with faculty mentors to answer questions and help guide them through their collegiate careers.

Hutchinson said first-generation students can feel like they are playing a game where everyone knows the rules but them.

“It’s intimidating for a student who has not been raised around higher edu-cation,” said Hutchinson, who mentors Nguyen and Truong.

Nguyen and Truong agree that their

involvement in the Coca-Cola First Generation Scholarship Program has been invaluable, especially when they were adjusting to college during the first months of classes last year.

Now in their second year, the stu-dents are fully immersed in college life. Hutchinson said Truong and Nguyen are bright students and remarkably fearless in their desire to succeed at a large university.

The two chose UGA because of the size of the campus and the variety of learning opportunities.

“I wanted the kind of education where I could explore a lot of things,” Nguyen said.

She’s already found a variety of service opportunities. Nguyen is a math tutor at Hilsman Middle School, vol-unteer teaches at a Vietnamese school and teaches Sunday school.

Truong also has done some tutoring along with taking what she describes as a hefty course load this semester.

Busy as they are on campus, Nguyen and Truong are also thankful to just be a car ride away from their families.

While these students are reaching for higher educational achievements that their parents were not able to, they still embrace the people who made their achievements possible and visit home often.

“Home is very important to us,” Truong said.

Coca-Cola First Generation Scholarship recipients navigate through college life

Office Of Service-LearningHundreds of Clarke County 10th-graders experience the arts at UGA during trips

Student PrOfiLe

Diem Nguyen, left, and Enid Truong from Duluth are Coca-Cola First Generation Scholarship recipients. Nguyen was born in Vietnam and came to the U.S. with her family. Truong’s parents escaped political turmoil in Cambodia and Vietnam before fleeing to the U.S., where she was born.

By Kerri Testementkerriuga@uga.edu

The demand for Internet service at UGA is growing rapidly—just as people are using more of their own wireless devices on campus. That was the message delivered by Tim Chester, vice president for information technology, Nov. 11 at the State of Technology at UGA presentation.

“We’re living in a connected world,” said Chester during his address at the Georgia Center for Continuing Education. “People rely on that network for accessing information and connecting to others.”

The State of Technology is an annual presentation that highlights technology trends and major IT initiatives at UGA. Chester also reviews the results of an annual survey of students, faculty and staff that help shape future technology projects at the university.

Chester said Internet usage at the university is growing exponentially. Three years ago, UGA’s Internet usage aver-aged 1.36 gigabits each fall, which is a unit storage capacity for networks. By September 2014, that figure had grown to 3.9 gigabits. Demand for Internet service also spikes greatly during sporting events, like March Madness and the World Cup, and when Apple releases a new iOS update, according to Chester.

“We actually went up to 6 gigabits the day that iOS 8 was released by Apple,” he said.

The number of phones, tablets and laptops accessing UGA’s wireless network also is growing at a staggering rate, according to Chester.

“This fall, we had almost 30,000 wireless devices reg-istered on campus,” he said. “There are huge challenges in supporting this exponential growth in demand.”

In September 2011, there were 6,000 devices registered to UGA’s wireless network. By September 2013, that figure had grown to 22,000 devices. As of September 2014, the number of devices on the university’s wireless network reached 29,500.

As people depend more on their mobile devices, UGA is making some of its key services more mobile friendly.

“Mobile is becoming the preferred platform for IT service delivery,” Chester said.

The university now has a mobile app for iOS and Android that includes the ability for students to pay their tuition via the app, view buses on a map as they travel the Athens campus and check daily menus at the dining commons.

The university also is focusing on improving self-service access for students, faculty and staff for basic services. Over the past year, UGA has rolled out the new student informa-tion system Athena, which has replaced its previous class registration system, called OASIS. The university also has launched vLab, a virtual computer lab that allows students to remotely access applications and statistical software tools.

“We live in a very, very self-service world. We’re trying to keep up with that preference by offering IT services any time, any place,” Chester said. “You have access to vLab any time, any where, and have the same access to academic information using Athena.”

eitS

Chester: Demand for Internet service growing rapidly

Aaron Hale

GUIDE5 columns.uga.edu Dec. 1, 2014 UGA

Calendar items are taken from Columns files and from the university’s Master Calendar, maintained by University Public Affairs. Notices are published here as space permits, with priority given to items of multidisciplinary interest. The Master Calendar is available on the Web at calendar.uga.edu/.

EXHIBITIONSAn Archaeologist’s Eye: The Parthenon Drawings of Katherine A. Schwab. Through Dec. 7. Georgia Museum of Art. 706-542-4662, hazbrown@uga.edu.

Vince Dooley: A Retrospective, 1954-1988. Through Dec. 15. Special collec-tions libraries.

Look What the Wind Blew In: Behind the Scenes Letters of Margaret Mitchell and Her Friends. Through Dec. 23. Hargrett Rare Book and Manuscript Library.

Boxers and Backbeats: Tomata du Plenty and the West Coast Punk Scene. Through Jan. 4. Georgia Museum of Art.

The ... of E6, part of Athens Celebrates Elephant Six. Through Jan. 4. Georgia Museum of Art.

Emilio Pucci in America. Through Feb. 1. Georgia Museum of Art. 706-542-4662, hazbrown@uga.edu.

“OC” Carlisle Solo Art. Through May 11. Candler Hall.

Food, Power and Politics: The Story of School Lunch. Through May 15. Russell Library Gallery, special collections libraries.

Terra Verte. Through May 31. Jane and Harry Willson Sculpture Garden, Georgia Museum of Art.

MONDAY, DECEMBER 1HOLIDAY COnCertUGA British Brass Band led by professor and former New York Philharmonic prin-cipal trumpet Phil Smith. 8 p.m. Hugh

Hodgson Concert Hall. 706-542-4752, musicpr@uga.edu.

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 2HOLIDAY BOOk SALeThrough Dec. 5. Features new and used publications in all genres. Books can be donated by calling 706-542-4662. Georgia Museum of Art. 706-542-9078, mlachow@uga.edu.

2014 LOuISe McBee LeCture“Public Higher Education in the 21st Century: Can America Continue to Lead?,” Mary Sue Coleman, president emerita of the University of Michigan. Sponsored by the Institute of Higher Education. 11 a.m. Chapel.

tueSDAY tOur At twO2 p.m. Special collections libraries. 706-542-8079, jclevela@uga.edu.

GrOunDBreAkInG CereMOnYFor Baldwin Hall expansion and renova-tion project. 4 p.m. Baldwin Hall.

wOMen’S BASketBALLvs. Coppin State. $5; $3 for youth. 7 p.m. Stegeman Coliseum.

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 3BLOOD DrIve10 a.m. Georgia BioBusiness Center.

eCOLOGY/ICOn COnServAtIOn SeMInAr“Cold-blooded Conservation: Educating the Public About Reptiles and Amphib-ians,” Whit Gibbons, Savannah River Ecology Laboratory, and Kimberly Andrews, SREL and Georgia Sea Turtle Center. 1:25 p.m. Ecology building auditorium. 706-542-7247, bethgav@uga.edu.

tOur At twOA tour of Emilio Pucci in America. 2 p.m. Georgia Museum of Art. 706-542-9078, mlachow@uga.edu.

StAff COunCIL MeetInG2:30 p.m. 250 Miller Learning Center.

GueSt LeCture“Communicating Climate Change Impacts and Options to a Disbelieving Audience,” Steve McNulty. 4 p.m. 207 Miller Learning Center. 706-542-6824, pyager@uga.edu.

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 4BOOk LAunCH AnD reCeptIOnFor The Tangible Past in Athens, Geor-gia, a collection of essays that explores the unique history of Athens. 4 p.m.271 special collections libraries. 706-542-3879, lnessel@uga.edu. (See Digest, page 3).

LeCture“Repairing the World: The Theological and Moral Perspective,” William “Bill” Coates Jr., First Baptist Church of Gainesville. Part of the Anthropocene Lecture Series. 7 p.m. Chapel.

706-542-1693, biomngr@uga.edu.

uGA HOLIDAY COnCertAlso to be held Dec. 5. The UGA Holiday Concert will feature ensembles from the Hugh Hodgson School of Music. $25; $5 with a UGACard. 7:30 p.m. Hugh Hodgson Concert Hall. 706-542-4752, musicpr@uga.edu. (See story, below right).

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 5GueSt LeCture“‘Selznick’s March’: The Atlanta Premiere of Gone with the Wind ,” Matthew Bernstein, Emory University. 4 p.m. Special collections libraries. (See Digest, page 3).

DAnCe perfOrMAnCeEmerging Choreographers Infor-mal Showing. $5. 7 p.m. Also to be performed Dec. 6 at 3 p.m. New Dance Theatre. Part of the Young Choreogra-phers Series. Purchase tickets at pac.uga.edu or by calling 706-542-4400.

SATURDAY, DECEMBER 6exHIBItIOn OpenInGNot Ready to Make Nice: Guerrilla Girls in the Artworld and Beyond illuminates and contextualizes the important his-torical and ongoing work of the Guerrilla Girls. Georgia Museum of Art. 706-542-4662, hazbrown@uga.edu.

fuLL MOOn HIke$5; $15 per family. 7 p.m. Visitor Center fountain, State Botanical Garden. 706-542-6156, ckeber@uga.edu.

SUNDAY, DECEMBER 7BIennIAL LeGISLAtIve InStItuteThrough Dec. 9. University System of Georgia Chancellor Hank Huckaby will speak at the Dec. 8 lunch. Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal will speak at the Dec. 9 lunch. Georgia Center.

Men’S BASketBALL vs. Colorado. To be televised on SECN. $15. Noon. Stegeman Coliseum. 706-542-1231.

HOLIDAY Open HOuSeThe Georgia’s Children’s Chorus will perform holiday music. 1:30 p.m. Visitor Center and Conservatory, State Botani-cal Garden. 706-542-6156, ckeber@uga.edu.

wOMen’S BASketBALL vs. Michigan State. To be televised on the SEC Network. $5; $3 for youth. 4 p.m. Stegeman Coliseum.

MONDAY, DECEMBER 8‘Meet Me At tHe GArDen!’Learn more about the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at UGA and the the State Botanical Garden’s support organization. 5 p.m. Conservatory, State Botanical Garden. 706-542-6156, ckeber@uga.edu.

COnCertThe 5 Browns. $25-$40. 8 p.m. Hodg-son Concert Hall, Performing Arts Center. 706-542-4400, ugaaarts@uga.edu. (See story, left).

COMINg UpfrIDAY CLASS SCHeDuLe In effeCtDec. 9. This is done to equalize the class minutes between MWF and TTH classes and to provide an equal number of class meetings for courses that may meet only once per week.

fALL SeMeSter CLASSeS enDDec. 9.

reADInG DAYDec. 10.

fALL SeMeSter fInAL exAMSDec. 11-17.

The 5 Browns to perform Dec. 8 By Bobby Tylerbtyler@uga.edu

The UGA Performing Arts Center will present The 5 Browns Dec. 8 at 8 p.m. in Hodgson Concert Hall. The piano-playing siblings will perform a special holiday program of sacred and secular favorites that will in-clude “Carol of the Bells,” “Ave Maria,” “Christmas Time is Here,” “Nutcracker Suite” and “Greensleeves.”

Tickets for the concert are $25-$40 and are discounted for UGA students. They can be purchased at the Performing Arts Center, online at pac.uga.edu or by calling the box office at 706-542-4400.

The 5 Browns—Ryan, Mel-ody, Gregory, Deondra and Desirae—all attended New York’s Juilliard School, becoming the first family of five siblings ever accepted simultaneously. The quintet enjoyed its first wave of critical attention in Febru-ary 2002 when People magazine dubbed them the “Fab Five.” Profiles on Oprah and 60 Minutes

followed shortly thereafter.The 5 Browns have released

three CDs that each went to No. 1 on Billboard magazine’s Classical Album Chart.

The New York Post has pro-claimed: “One family, five pianos and 50 fingers add up to the biggest classical music sensation in years. When these kids do Rachmaninoff, they’ll make you forget about Marshall amps.”

The quintet continues to garner extensive media cover-age with appearances on Good Morning America, Today and The View and features in The New York Times, the Los Angeles Times and the London Sunday Telegraph.

The 5 Browns tour extensively and have performed in venues around the world including the Grand National Theater in China, Suntory Hall in Japan, the Kimmel Center in Philadelphia, Symphony Hall in Chicago and Alice Tully Hall in New York City.

The 5 Browns’ concert will be recorded for broadcast on American Public Media’s Perfor-mance Today, heard by 1.4 million listeners across the country.

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The 5 Browns will perform Dec. 8 at 8 p.m. in Hodgson Concert Hall.

The following events are open to the public, unless otherwise specified.

Dates, times and locations may change without advance notice.

For a complete listing of events at the

University of Georgia, check the Master Calendar on the Web (calendar.uga.edu/ ).

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To sUBMiT a lisTinG For THe MasTer CalenDar anD ColUMns:Use the Master Calendar website: calendar.uga.edu/ or send by campus mail to Master Calendar, Public Affairs, 286 Oconee Street, Suite 200 North, Campus Mail 1999.

Send additional information, beyond Master Calendar listing, directly to Columns. Email is preferred (columns@uga.edu); or mail to Columns, News Service, 286 Oconee Street, Suite 200 North, Campus Mail 1999.

Next Columns copy deadlines: Dec. 10 (for Jan. 12 issue), Jan. 7 (for Jan. 20 issue).

By Joshua Cutchinjcutchin@uga.edu

The UGA Holiday Concert, an annual Athens tradition, will return to Hodgson Concert Hall for two special performances on Dec. 4 and 5 at 7:30 p.m.

The concert brings together hundreds of student musicians from the Hugh Hodgson School of Music for an evening of seasonal selections by the UGA Symphony Orchestra, the British Brass Band, the Jazz Band and choirs.

“The concert is one of the events that ushers in the holiday season here in Athens,” said Dale Monson, director of the Hodgson School. “It occupies a special place in our hearts and in university life.”

Tickets for the program, which is part of the Hugh Hodgson School of Music’s 2nd Thursday Scholarship Concert Series, are $25 for the general public, $5 for students. They can be purchased by calling the UGA Perform-ing Arts Center box office at 706-542-4400 or visiting pac.uga.edu.

Established in 1980, the 2nd Thursday Scholarship Series offers showcase performances by UGA students and faculty the second Thursday of each month throughout the academic year. Proceeds from individual ticket sales and season subscriptions help fund yearlong academic scholarships and assistantships for students and present donors the opportunity to sponsor individual students of the music school at several levels of giving.

Annual UGA Holiday Concert will return to Hodgson Concert Hall

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6 Dec. 1, 2014 columns.uga.edu

Kudos recognizes special contributions of staff, faculty and administrators in teaching, research and service. News items are limited to election into office of state, regional, national and international societies; major awards and prizes; and similarly notable accomplishments.

Terence Centner was presented the American Agricul-tural Law Association’s highest award, the 2014 Distinguished Service Award, at the asso-ciation’s national conference in Albuquerque, New Mexico. This award recognizes Centner’s legal research, teaching at continuing legal educational programs and service to the association and

agricultural law community. Centner is a professor and pre-law adviser in the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences.

Lynne Sallot, a public relations professor in the Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communi-cation, received the 2014 Milestones in Mentoring Educator Award from the Plank Center for Leader-ship in Public Relations.

Named in honor of public relations leader and educator Bruce K. Berger, the award recognizes educators who have been instrumental in mentoring students and future educators.

Sallot has more than 25 years of experience in public relations, including heading her own public relations firm before beginning her teaching career as an adjunct professor at the University of Miami while earning her master’s degree and at the Uni-versity of Florida while earning her doctorate. She joined the Grady College faculty in 1993 and served as faculty adviser of the UGA chapter of the Public Relations Student Society of America from 1993-1999 and as faculty coordinator of the annual PR Day at Grady College from 1994 until 2001.

John C. Waters, who retired from the faculty of the College of Environment and Design in 2013, received the 2014 James Marston Fitch Award from the National Council for Preservation Educa-tion. Presented to Waters Nov. 14 in Savannah, the award recognizes individuals who have contributed substantially to the advancement of historic preservation education

in the U.S. and for outstanding achievements. The NCPE is a nonprofit educational corporation based in Washington, D.C. It is dedicated to encouraging and assisting in the development of historic preservation education programs across the country.

Waters created the Master of Historic Preserva-tion program at UGA in 1982 as well as its certificate program in 1987 and a joint JD/MHP in 1987. Waters pioneered preservation legislation in the state of Georgia, has written preservation plans for numerous cities, was instrumental in establishing several histori-cal foundations and chaired the Georgia National Register Review Board.

Alan Watson, retired Distinguished Research Professor and holder of the Ernest P. Rogers Chair of Law in the School of Law, received an honorary professorship from the University of Edinburgh.

A title conferred only on individuals of high academic distinction, the professorship will run for 10 years and will require Watson to give lectures and seminars at the university, which is located in Scotland.

Watson has had a close working relationship with the University of Edinburgh for many years. He held the Chair of Civil Law there from 1968-1980, and he earned his doctor of laws from the school in 1980. He was named an honorary visiting professor of private law in 1997 and five years later was presented with an honorary doctor of laws. In April, the university announced it would rename its prestigious Legal History Discussion Group to the Alan Watson Seminar.

Faculty ProFile

Division oF stuDent aFFairs

Terence Centner

John Waters

By Caroline Paczkowski cparis@uga.edu

For Christina “Christy” Boyd, inter-disciplinary research is the key to success.

With a Juris Doctor and bachelor’s and master’s degrees and a doctorate in political science, Boyd herself creates this foundation.

“One of the things that I am increas-ingly excited about here at the University of Georgia is developing this interdis-ciplinary relationship between people at the school who are studying law and courts and related topics,” Boyd said. “It turns out that there are a lot of people in different departments and schools who are studying similar topics.

“There are far more things that we have in common than things we do not,” she also said. “Developing that commu-nity and being a part of that community is something that I’m looking forward to.”

Coming to UGA’s School of Public and International Affairs as an assistant professor was the opportunity of a lifetime for Boyd, as she continues her work in the field of American politics and sub-field of law and courts. UGA houses premier faculty in both areas, which allows great possibilities for her work.

Her current research on judicial di-versity has received attention from media outlets such as The New York Times, The Washington Post and NPR because of the noteworthy results. Her study examining female and male judges found that the two genders rule on some cases differently.

“You can have two cases that are

exactly the same, decided by these two judges who are exactly the same—same ideology, same background—except that one is a male and one is a female,” Boyd said. “The female judge will be more likely to rule in favor of the party claiming that she has been the victim of sex discrimination than the male judge—pretty substantially.”

According to Boyd, female judges will affect appellate court decisions. The female brings experience and back-ground to the decision-making process that the male judge does not have, espe-cially in cases of sexual discrimination.

“The idea is that judicial identity matters,” she said. “Who you get for a judge in a case will affect how your case comes out.”

The implications on public policy, the political process, lawyers and judges necessitate Boyd’s interdisciplinary ap-proach to fully comprehend the range of effects.

In addition to applying her passion for the courts to her research, one of Boyd’s favorite things about her job is teaching.

“I love the students,” she said. “I had good students at my previous jobs, but I have great students here. They are funny, engaged and hardworking, and I have just been overwhelmed by how wonderful they are.”

Boyd teaches law-related classes in the School of Public and International Affairs, including “Criminal Justice Administration,” “Supreme Court” and “Judicial Process.”

For her upper-level classes, she takes learning about the courts to a new level. In these course, her students conduct nomination hearings, give oral argu-ments to the courts or make campaign videos as a candidate running for office. By creating an interactive environment, Boyd allows her students to live the judicial system as a way to learn.

Boyd’s passion for studying, teaching and examining the law motivates her to find systematic explanations for the legal world.

“I get to study judges, lawyers and the legal process, but I get to do it as a social scientist, so it’s kind of the perfect way to combine the substantive interest with the way of approaching it and doing it as a political scientist,” she said. “Start-ing my career as somebody who brings (J.D. and doctoral) degrees to the table is something that I think distinguishes me from other people, and it’s something of which I am proud.”

Assistant professor looks to develop more interdisciplinary relationships

FactsChristina BoydAssistant Professor of Political ScienceSchool of Public and International AffairsPh.D., Political Science, Washington University in St. Louis, 2009A.M., Political Science, Washington University in St. Louis, 2006J.D., Wake Forest University, 2004B.A., Political Science, University of Florida, 2001At UGA: One year

Christina Boyd, an assistant professor of political science in the School of Public and International Affairs, said she’s excited about developing interdisciplinary relationships between those studying law and courts and related topics.

Dorothy Kozlowski

By Stan Jackson ugastan@uga.edu

Kara Fresk, who most recently served as associate director for student conduct, is the new director of student affairs assessment and staff develop-ment at UGA.

“Kara brings a wealth of expertise and experience to this position that is critical to our success as a division,” said Victor K. Wilson, vice president for student affairs. “She has served in a variety of roles within many areas of student affairs programming, uniquely preparing her to support the develop-ment and enrichment of hundreds of her fellow student affairs professionals. She is well equipped to join our efforts to support student success at UGA.”

Fre sk ’s ap-pointment was ef-fective Nov. 17.

“My goal is to empower my col-leagues to enhance the learning envi-ronment,” Fresk said. “I look for-ward to providing them with oppor-

tunities for professional development and data to drive advancement.”

The director of student affairs assessment and staff development is a member of the Office of the Vice President for Student Affairs central staff, leads the department of student af-fairs assessment and staff development, serves on the leadership team for the

Division of Student Affairs and reports directly to the assistant vice president for academic, campus and community partnerships.

Fresk is responsible for managing research, assessment, evaluation and planning activities to improve student affairs’ programs and services. She will participate in student affairs’ strategic planning, goal-setting activities and budget development, as well as coordi-nate the division’s comprehensive staff development initiatives.

Fresk holds bachelor’s degrees in kinesiology and public relations and a master’s degree in applied kinesiology and sport management from the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities Campus. She earned her doctorate in college student affairs administration from UGA.

Director of student affairs assessment and staff development named

Kara Fresk

If insects could talk, what could they teach about themselves and us?

Insects have plenty to say in Bugs@Play: Puppet Shows in which Insects Confront People-Sized Problems.

The book is written by Ann Blum, a former staff member of the Carl Vinson Institute of Government and current volunteer at the State Botanical Garden.

Bugs@ Play introduces a variety of insect characters—from a harried ant queen to an obstinate mosquito and overeducated bess beetle—who want to explain their lives and problems.

Some of the plays concern identi-fying insects from other invertebrates and each other. Others focus on how insects develop and how they behave as they face everyday challenges.

A percentage of sale proceeds goes to the State Botanical Garden.

By Roger Nielsen and Shannon Fergusonnielsen@uga.edu, smfergus@uga.edu

A financial training curriculum developed by the Carl Vinson Institute of Government has grown into a high-demand course for Georgia’s state and local government offi-cials as well as for public and private finance professionals across the U.S. and around the world.

The financial management certificate program initially was designed to meet the educational needs of finance officers who work for local governments in Georgia. Managed by Tracy Arner, a Vinson Insti-tute faculty member and a certified public accountant, the program has issued more than 4,000 certifications since its inception in the 1970s.

The financial training that Arner and other Vinson Institute faculty deliver around the state was developed for traditional class-room instruction but later was expanded to include online modules.

When converting the courses for the Internet in 2003, faculty retained Georgia-specific content but also made sure the fundamental finance and accounting topics would appeal to a wider audience. Arner realized that much of the program curricula could be presented in “chunks” to teach fun-damental concepts. This led to the creation of Web-based “tutorials” to communicate these concepts and to introduce problem-solving tools into the program’s accounting classes.

The addition of an online financial training curriculum not only made training more accessible to local finance officers, but extended the Vinson Institute’s reach beyond Georgia’s borders, with training participants from 43 states and nine foreign countries.

The dozen online courses that the Vin-son Institute offers in partnership with the Georgia Center for Continuing Education allow public finance officers to enhance their professional knowledge at their own pace without time-consuming and expen-sive travel. Rising enrollment and revenue encouraged the Vinson Institute and the Georgia Center, two of UGA’s public service and outreach units, to continue expanding the curriculum and to explore new teaching methods such as blending classroom teaching with online education.

Today, local government officials and personnel can earn Level I Local Finance Officer Certification through traditional

classroom instruction, entirely online or through a combination of the two. And now, individuals and companies around the world are enrolling in this innovative curriculum, according to Vinson Institute faculty member Myra Byrd, who helped develop and update the curriculum and bring it online.

Clients include a California accounting firm, whose new employees enroll in the Vin-son Institute’s online courses to strengthen their knowledge of governmental accounting practices.

“These are people we would have never reached without our online program,” Byrd said.

Enrollees also include people like Deena Thompson-Stalder, a county government human resources analyst who plans to enhance the attractiveness of her MBA by strengthening her government finance and accounting expertise through the Vinson Institute’s courses.

“In our county, to be competitive you need governmental budget experience,” Thompson-Stalder said. “I have little oppor-tunity to get that experience in my current

job, so I’m filling that gap by taking some of the Vinson Institute’s online courses.”

“Our primary goal is to provide con-tinuing education for Georgia’s public and elected officials,” said Laura Meadows, the Vinson Institute of Government’s director. “Our economical online courses allow them to keep building their skills in an age of limited budgets, but we still offer traditional instruction for those who want it.”

The same innovative thinking that went into developing the online coursework has been used to create customized financial management programs for library systems in Georgia, Mississippi and Texas; Georgia state government agencies; and, most recently, Georgia’s charter schools.

“The foundation of the financial curricu-lum developed early on for cities and counties can be customized to meet the specific needs of our clients,” Arner said.

An example of this customization is the new program developed in partner-ship with the Governor’s Office of Plan-ning and Budget. Working with Teresa MacCartney, Georgia’s chief financial officer

and OPB director, Arner and other faculty are developing a state-specific curriculum based on the Vinson Institute’s primary governmental accounting series. Faculty are researching Georgia policies and laws and will focus the coursework on the state’s budget and fiscal management cycle.

“I’m not aware of any other financial management programs offered by a public or private group that provide the kind of comprehensive training we do,” said Stacy Jones, director of the Vinson Institute’s Governmental Training, Education and Development division.

The success of the Vinson Institute’s online courses inspired collaborations with similar organizations like the Georgia Gov-ernment Finance Officers Association. The Vinson Institute worked with GGFOA to create webinars that allow association mem-bers to earn continuing education credits.

“If you miss a presentation, you can access it from our archived library of resources and receive credit,” said John Hulsey, a Vinson Institute faculty member who this fall earned the GGFOA’s President’s Award for his con-tributions to the organization.

“Hulsey’s passion and commitment to the association has been second to none—the GGFOA is a better organization because of him,” said past President James Pehrson, di-rector of the Cobb County Office of Finance and Economic Development.

The most recent expansion of the finan-cial management curriculum includes Arner’s work with the Georgia Fiscal Management Council to incorporate professional devel-opment programming. Arner’s efforts with GFMC recently earned her the organiza-tion’s President’s Award for helping the coun-cil develop a continuing education program tailored to members’ needs and other service to the council, said past President Rusk Roam, of the Georgia Department of Education’s Accounting Services office.

Vinson Institute faculty plan to keep innovating: online courses for government human resources professionals and members of county boards of equalization as well as new “blended learning” courses, a hybrid of classroom instruction with a Web-based final exam, according to Arner.

“The Vinson Institute is committed to getting resources into the hands of those who need them most through cutting-edge professional development opportunities,” she said.

Office Of the Vice President fOr Public serVice and Outreach 7 columns.uga.edu Dec. 1, 2014

Certified successVinson Institute of Government finance courses extend

UGA’s reach to 43 states, 9 foreign countries

Vinson Institute faculty members Tracy Arner, left, and John Hulsey were honored recently by two Georgia associations for government professionals for the leadership and other contributions they provided to the organizations.

cybersightsweekly readerNew book combines kids’ plays, insects

Details of UGA’s “Let’s Clear the Air” campaign along with informa-tion about the University System of Georgia’s ban on tobacco products on all system campuses can be found online.

The campaign, which began Sept. 22, advises faculty, staff, students and campus visitors that “UGA is a tobacco- and smoke-free campus,” in

accordance with a policy adopted in March by the Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia.

The website outlines places where smoking and tobacco are prohibited. It also has a list of prohibited products. Links to information about going tobacco- and smoke-free also are available to those who need them.

Site to help ‘clear the air’http://uga.edu/tobacco-free/

Bugs@Play: Puppet Showsin which Insects Confront People-Sized ProblemsBy Ann BlumBlack Kettle Press$14.95

abOut cOluMns

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The University of Georgia is committed to principles of equal opportunity and

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Dec. 1, 2014 columns.uga.edu8Macondo blowout.”

Research funded by GoMRI focuses on improving the fundamental understanding of the implications of events such as the Macondo well blowout, and on develop-ing improved oil spill mitigation methods, oil and gas detection, characterization and remediation technologies.

The ECOGIG-2 program was one of 12 groups, or consortia, funded by GoMRI following a competitive merit review process. These 12 consortia will receive a total of $140 million to support research to be carried out from 2015 through 2017.

“Dr. Joye’s research is of international consequence, and we are pleased that the

size and scope of this grant will allow her to expand on this very important work,” said UGA President Jere W. Morehead.

ECOGIG-2’s mission is to understand the environmental signatures and impacts of natural seepage versus that of abrupt, large hydrocarbon inputs on coupled benthic-pelagic processes in deep-water ecosystems in the Gulf of Mexico, and to chart the long-term effects and mechanisms of ecosystem recovery from the Macondo well blowout.

Others involved in ECOGIG-2 include UGA marine sciences faculty Christof Meile, Renato Castelao and Catherine Edwards as well as Annalisa Bracco and Joe Montoya of the Georgia Institute of Technology.

or completion of a dozen buildings, and the university’s faculty doubled in size.

“The University of Georgia community mourns the loss of one of its finest alumni and one of the state’s greatest champions for public higher education,” said UGA President Jere W. Morehead. “Although his lifelong dedication to this institution can be seen across our entire campus, Carl Sanders left his greatest impression on our School of Law, which has benefited in so many ways from his profound wisdom, dedication and loyalty. As a fellow alumnus of the university and the School of Law, I join others as we ex-press our deep appreciation for his unyielding support for the university and the School of Law. Gov. Sanders’ impact on this state will be remembered in so many ways, but UGA remembers him, in particular, for his many significant contributions to the betterment of our university and our School of Law.”

Sanders was instrumental in providing state funding for an expansion of the law school building that included a new build-ing for the law library. He also secured $1 million in state funds to buy books for

the library. After leaving office, he made significant personal gifts to the law school, including $1 million in 2002 to establish an endowed professorship in the school. The reading room in the law library was named in his honor.

“Carl Sanders understood the importance to our state of having a first-class law school and took the steps necessary to make that happen, so that we now have, as he predicted, a law school of ‘such excellence that no citi-zen of Georgia need ever leave (this) state because a superior legal education is available elsewhere,’ ” said Rebecca H. White, dean of the School of Law. “We are forever in his debt, and I will miss deeply his friendship, wise counsel, loyalty and support.”

Sanders was president of the Law School Association, served on the school’s Board of Visitors and headed the fundraising campaign to build Dean Rusk Hall. He donated his gubernatorial papers, photographs and other memorabilia to the library. He also served as a trustee of the University of Georgia Foundation and as president of the UGA Alumni Association.

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staffed by UGA faculty and graduate students from the Franklin College, the College of Engineering, the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, the Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources and the Complex Carbohydrate Research Center. In addition to Locklin’s solar cells, seventh-graders learned about generating fuel from photobioreactors and small-scale algae ponds; using anaerobic digestion to break down waste materials; breaking down plant cell walls; and how 3-D printing and augmented reality enhance research in the modern laboratory.

Jan Westpheling, a professor of genetics in the Franklin College who leads education and outreach for the BESC, said she hopes the event brings attention to UGA as a leader in bioenergy research.

“We’re working very hard to make this a sustainable source of energy for future genera-tions,” she said.

“I was blown away by how engaged the students were,” said Shannon Wilder, direc-tor of the Office of Service-Learning, which provides opportunities for all Clarke County students at each grade level to visit campus every year through the Experience UGA program. (See story, page 4).

“Hopefully, we have some future scien-tists who were really inspired by the day’s events,” she said.

“We received many positive comments from faculty who used this event as part of meeting the broader impacts of their research, as well as students who had a great time learning something new,” said Ryan Adolphson, BSRI as-sociate director. “We’ve already started planning to bring Bioenergy Day back again next year.”

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State in 2012 as professor and chair of the communicative sciences and disorders de-partment. He developed and implemented a new strategic plan for the department and oversaw significant growth of its academic programs, including expanded opportunities for study abroad and research. In addition, the department established five new laboratories, hired new faculty and dramatically increased its research funding.

“The vice president for instruction plays a major role in our efforts to provide a world-class learning environment for students,” said UGA President Jere W. Morehead. “Dr. Shrivastav possesses the administrative experience, expertise and commitment to student success required to advance teaching and learning at the University of Georgia, and we are excited to welcome him to campus in February.”

Before joining Michigan State, Shrivastav served on the faculty at the University of Florida, where he received the Crow Term Professorship for faculty who excel in schol-arship and teaching.

“I am excited about joining the University of Georgia and I look forward to working with the faculty, staff and administration to ensure the success of its students,” Shrivas-tav said. “UGA is widely recognized for its exceptional students and faculty, and I am honored to have the opportunity to support UGA’s instructional mission.”

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pharmacy or veterinary medicine. Cohorts are based on first-time, full-time freshmen entering in the fall. Students who transfer and complete a degree at another institu-tion are not counted as completers in UGA’s graduation rates.

The average six-year graduation rate for four-year institutions across the nation is 59 percent, according to the National Cen-ter for Education Statistics. Approximately 83 percent of UGA students graduate in five years or less, and 63 percent have a diploma in hand after four years.

Continuing to reduce time to degree, however, remains a top priority for the university. To meet this goal, Morehead and Pamela Whitten, senior vice president for academic affairs and provost, announced a number of academic initiatives last spring. The university has hired additional faculty and academic advisers and is working to enhance the technology that students and advisers use to track progress toward graduation and to integrate counseling about career options into the earliest stages of the advising process.

“Through a combination of increased face-to-face interaction with advisers and the use of the latest technologies, we aim to guide students through the process of choosing a major and selecting courses that enable them to achieve their goals,” Whitten said. “We’re also expanding experiential learning opportu-nities—such as internships and undergraduate research—that position students for success after graduation.”

UGA tracks the six-year graduation rate to meet requirements of the 1990 Student Right to Know Act, which requires postsecondary institutions to report the percentage of stu-dents who complete their program within 150 percent of the normal time for comple-tion, which is six years for students pursuing a bachelor’s degree. The six-year graduation rate also is part of the university’s outcome and accountability measures.

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Holiday pottery sale The UGA Ceramic Student Organi-

zation will hold its annual holiday pottery sale Dec. 3-4 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. in the first-floor lobby of the Lamar Dodd School of Art, which is located at 270 River Road.

Work on sale will include small, hand-built sculptures as well as functional pottery such as teapots, mugs, plates, vases and bowls. All work was made by ceramic students or faculty. Prices will range from $8-$100.

Proceeds from the sale will support upcoming student educational field trips to ceramic conferences and bring in visit-ing artists.

Hourly parking is available at the Performing Arts parking deck, which is located next to the Performing Arts Cen-ter on River Road.

For additional information, contact Ted Saupe at tsaupe@uga.edu.

Toy and clothing driveGeorgia United Credit Union, which

serves UGA, is holding its 25th an-nual Wish Tree program to collect new toys and clothing. In Clarke County, all donations will go to foster children in the Clarke County Department of Family and Children Services program.

Donations may be dropped off at either of Georgia United Credit Union’s two Athens locations—190 Gaines School

Road or 1710 S. Lumpkin St. Donations are being accepted until Dec. 12 so that deliveries can be made prior to the week of Christmas.

Course reserves deadlineDec. 10 is the deadline to submit

course reserves to guarantee that they are available Jan. 5, the first day of spring semester. Requests received after this date will be processed as quickly as possible.

To submit a course reserves request, inquire at the circulation desk of the main, science, music, Owens or curricu-lum materials libraries, or fill out the form at http://t.uga.edu/16h.

Faculty and graduate assistants with questions should contact Mollie Armour, reserve supervisor at the main library, at 706-542-2081 or mainresv@uga.edu or Brenda Robbins, reserve supervisor at the science library, at 706-542-4535 or sciresv@uga.edu.

Docent Corps applicationsThe Richard B. Russell Building

Special Collections Libraries now is ac-cepting applications for participants in its community docent program.

The Docent Corps is a skilled group of volunteers who provide tours of the library galleries to visitors, ranging from fifth-graders to adults.

Docents are trained to highlight

permanent and rotating exhibitions and to help increase awareness of the many resources offered by the three special collections libraries: the Hargrett Rare Book and Manuscript Library, the Walter J. Brown Media Archive and Peabody Awards Collections and the Richard B. Russell Library for Political Research and Studies.

A 10-week training program provides an opportunity for docents to meet cura-tors, archivists and other special collec-tions staff; learn about the collections and techniques for leading tours; and become familiar with all parts of the Russell Spe-cial Collections Building.

Follow-up meetings throughout the year provide opportunities to learn about new exhibits in the galleries and programs sponsored by the three special collections libraries.

Interested individuals can apply online by visiting the UGA Special Collections Libraries website at http://t.uga.edu/16P.

Applications must be submitted by Dec. 17. Questions may be directed to Jan Hebbard at jlevinso@uga.edu or 706-542-5788. All candidates selected for admission to the docent program will be required to submit to a background investigation.

Bulletin Board is limited to information that may pertain to a majority of faculty and staff members.

Bulletin Board

SAFETY CHECK—As part of Parking Services’ “Operation Safe Drive,” Carrie McCarty, a fifth-year student from Martinsville, and Tyler Dewey, executive director of BikeAthens, inspect one of the 25 bicycles brought to the Tate Student Center parking deck for a free inspection. Mechanics from Campus Transit and Facilities Management also checked 260 vehicles at the Nov. 13 event.

Paul Efland