UGA Columns July 28, 2014

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Swimmers compete in Athens Bulldog Grand Slam at Gabrielsen Natatorium CAMPUS SCENE

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Season tickets now on sale for School of Music’s 2nd Thursday Scholarship Series

July 28, 2014

Vol. 42, No. 2

www.columns.uga.edu

Private giving tops $126M, sets new fundraising record

By Emily Williams emwi@uga.edu

Paul Efland

Caree Cotwright, an assistant professor of foods and nutrition in the College of Family and Consumer Sciences and a member of UGA’s Obesity Initiative, created a rap song and play to teach African-American elementary school students about healthy eating and exercise.

Child’s play

Foods and nutrition professor uses theater to encourage healthy eating, exercise in children

By Julianne Wyrick jwyrick@uga.edu

When Caree Cotwright was in kindergarten, she was asked to return to her Atlanta preschool to give a graduation speech. At 5, it was Cotwright’s first experience on stage. Ever since, she has loved all forms of the arts—from church plays to dance. It’s no surprise then that while studying nutrition in graduate school at UGA, Cotwright wrote a rap song and a play to teach African-American elementary school students about healthy eating and exercise.

During the past 10 years, Cotwright has used the arts to teach children ranging from preschool to middle school about nutrition and fitness. Now, the UGA alumna

has returned to Athens to research childhood obesity prevention.

Cotwright joined the UGA faculty last fall and plans to use arts-based techniques, such as puppet shows, to encourage healthy living.

“I’ve always had that creative side along with my scientific side,” said Cotwright, who is an assistant professor of foods and nutrition in the College of Family and Consumer Sciences and a member of UGA’s Obesity Initiative.

For her master’s thesis, Cotwright wrote a show called Lil’ Red Ridin’ Thru ‘da Hood, with advice from UGA theater and nutrition professionals. In the play, Gran’ma Jackson, loosely based on Cotwright’s mom, teaches characters Big Boy and Lil’ Red about the importance of healthy eating

and exercise. The play showcased her nutrition rap, which features catchy lyrics like “Gotta cut the fat so I can do my body good, so I keep eatin’ fruits and veggies like I know I should.”

Cotwright partnered with UGA’s Black Theatrical Ensemble to produce the play in elementary schools in Atlanta and Athens. She paired the play with a follow-up curriculum and found that after the entire intervention, students said they would choose healthier snacks and more active hobbies.

“We saw overall that the students, the teachers and the parents loved the method of theater,” Cotwright said. “If the characters took a break between shows to eat, the kids were banging on the window See PLAY on page 4

Franklin College of Arts and Sciences, College of Engineering

UGA researchers, medical collaborators develop new technique to enhance treatment of strokes

By James E. Hataway jhataway@uga.edu

UGA researchers and their collaborators have developed a new technique to enhance stroke treatment that uses magnetically controlled nanomotors to rapidly transport a clot-busting drug to potentially life-threatening blockages in blood vessels.

The only drug currently approved for the treatment of acute stroke—recombinant tissue

UGA GUIDE

plasminogen activator, or t-PA—is administered intravenously to patients after the first symptoms of ischemic stroke appear. The protein in the drug dissolves blood clots that cause strokes and other cardiovascular problems, like pulmonary embolisms and heart attacks.

“Our technology uses magnetic nanorods that, when injected into the bloodstream and activated with rotating magnets, act like stirring bars to drive t-PA to the site of the clot,” said Yiping Zhao, co-author

of a paper describing the results in ACS Nano and professor of physics in UGA’s Franklin College of Arts and Sciences. “Our preliminary results show that the breakdown of clots can be enhanced up to twofold compared to treatment with t-PA alone.”

By collaborating with their medical partners, the researchers tested their approach in mice that mimic blood clots in humans. Once a clot was formed, they injected a mixture of t-PA and a small number of

See TREATMENT on page 4

UGA concluded its best fundraising year in history June 30, posting $126.4 million in new gifts and commitments for the 2014 fiscal year. This total reflects an 8 percent increase over last year’s total of $117.3 million and marks only the second year that private giving to the university has exceeded $120 million.

The total includes gifts and pledges from 56,897 contributors, representing a 4 percent increase over the previous year.

“This record year is a tribute to the faith our alumni and friends have in the future of our great university,” said UGA President Jere W. Morehead. “It is also a testament to the hard work of the Division of Development and Alumni Relations, our schools and colleges,

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many other university units, our UGA Foundation trustees and our UGA Alumni Association leaders, who make the case for private support. All of us at the University of Georgia are deeply grateful. As president, I pledge to use these resources to advance the university in very significant and positive ways.”

John Spalding, chairman of the UGA Foundation, also was pleased with the result.

“My thanks to President Morehead for his thoughtful leadership,” Spalding said. “This success is a tribute to his guidance, the hard work of the university’s development staff and to the trustees on our board for their strong engagement in fundraising efforts.

Most of all, I am grateful to our donors for their continued support. It’s been a wonderful team effort that is helping further the

See FUNDRAISING on page 4

Franklin College of Arts and Sciences

$2M NSF grant aims to help attract, train math students

By Jessica Luton jluton@uga.edu

UGA has received a $2 million grant from the National Science Foundation to continue its efforts to educate math majors at both the undergraduate and graduate levels.

The grant will be administered over a five-year period.

Since 2008, the math department’s collaborative Algebra, Algebraic Geometry and Number Theory group, or AGANT, has been working to attract and train more mathematicians at all levels.

The department is housed in the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences.

“Our objective is to provide an intellectually compelling,

pedagogically well-planned and professionally nurturing environment in which undergraduates, graduate students and postdocs will thrive,” said Dino Lorenzini, a Distinguished Research Professor of Mathematics.

This initiative is meant to help students with an interest in math explore their options, learn more about the field and cultivate the skills needed for employment in the future.

Modern digital communication offers an array of job opportunities for students with mathematics training. Two practical applications are in cryptography and coding theory.

“Cryptography is about making

See GRANT on page 4

Office of the Provost UNC administrator named new vice provost for academic affairs at UGA

By Sam Fahmy

sfahmy@uga.edu

Russell Mumper, an administrator who has been recognized nationally for fostering innovative instruction and has a strong record of facilitating interdisciplinary and entrepreneurial research, has been named vice provost for academic affairs at UGA. Mumper currently is vice dean and the McNeill Distinguished Professor at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill’s

Eshelman School of Pharmacy. His appointment as vice provost is effective Aug. 18.

“The appointment of Dr. Mumper Russell Mumper as vice provost reflects my intention to greatly enhance the role of the provost’s office as a catalyst for transformational

See ADMINISTRATOR on page 4

2 July 28, 2014 columns.uga.edu

Digest SPIA program ranks first for international scholarly output

The public administration program within UGA’s School of Public and International Affairs placed No. 1 for international scholarly output based on quality and productivity in a recent study from the Journal of Public Affairs Education.

The article, written by Adam M. Williams, Derek R. Slagle and Darrin Wilson of Florida Atlantic University, assesses the scholarly activity of public administration based upon the criteria from Thompson Reuters Journal Citation Reports to determine productivity, quality and overall annual institutional impact. The study was conducted for a five-year period between 2006 and 2010, in which UGA ranked No. 1 in all three categories.

In the Institutional Impact Final Rankings, UGA scored No. 1 followed by the London School of Economics and Cardiff University. Other U.S. institutions ranked in the top 10 include the University of Wisconsin-Madison, American University and Indiana University.

college of pharmacy

Tobacco cessation sessions to be led

by College of Pharmacy students

By Sheila Roberson

roberson@rx.uga.edu

Registration is now open for the fall tobacco cessation sessions offered by students in the College of Pharmacy.

The UGA campus will be tobacco free starting Oct. 1. This includes all cigarettes, chewing tobacco and e-cigarettes.

Limited to 20 participants, the first six-week session will be offered to UGA employees and members of the Athens community. Weekly meetings will be held Aug. 26 through Sept. 30. They will be held on Tuesdays from 5:30-6:30 p.m. in the

UGA Training and Development Center, 315 S. Thomas St. Parking at the center is free after 5 p.m.

At each meeting, trained pharmacy students will lead participants through a group program followed by individualized coaching to educate attendees, develop a personalized plan and provide participants with the tools needed to help them quit using tobacco.

The tobacco cessation program, adapted from Pfizer’s “Beat the Pack” initiative, can be used for both cigarettes and chewing tobacco. Each session will focus on tobacco-use issues such as health risks, reasons to quit, cessation aids, coping with urges to

Georgia Museum of Art

Art museum welcomes new curator, director

U.S. Senate unanimously confirms UGA alumna as federal appellate judge

In a 94-0 vote on July 21, the U.S. Senate confirmed the nomination of Julie Carnes, chief judge of the U.S. District Court of the Northern District of Georgia, to serve on the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta.

“Judge Carnes is an extraordinary federal judge and a very loyal alumna of the University of Georgia,” said UGA President Jere W. Morehead.

“She became a close friend of mine shortly after I became an assistant U.S. attorney in 1980, and I was very honored when she presided over my investiture ceremony last November after I became UGA’s president. I know she will be an outstanding federal appellate judge.”

Carnes’ nomination had been pending since December when President Barack Obama nominated her to the 11th Circuit as part of a package deal of nominees to vacant federal judicial posts in Georgia. She was selected by Georgia’s Republican Sens. Johnny Isakson and Saxby Chambliss as part of that package deal and is the first to be confirmed.

Before Carnes’ confirmation vote, both Isakson and Chambliss took to the Senate floor to voice their unqualified support for her.

Isakson referred to Carnes as a “Double Dawg” graduate of UGA for earning both her bachelor’s degree and Juris Doctor from the university in 1972 and 1975, respectively.

“Julie Carnes is a very special lady,” Isakson said. “Her nomination is a nomination of someone with immense capacity, outstanding integrity and outstanding ability.”

Carnes, who served on the editorial board of the Georgia Law Review while she was a law student, currently serves on the committee conducting a national search for the next dean of the School of Law at UGA.

GMOA wins two national book awards

The Georgia Museum of Art has received two national awards, one from Foreword Reviews and one from the American Alliance of Museums.

The museum’s exhibition catalog for Exuberance of Meaning: The Art Patronage of Catherine the Great (1762-1792) earned an honorable mention in the category of art (adult nonfiction) at Foreword Reviews’ 2013 IndieFab Book Awards.

The scholarly catalog, published in 2013, features art and books commissioned by Catherine the Great as gifts. The catalog also gives examples of historic precedents for the empress’ choices and objects representing major events in the history of Russian art in the 17th and 18th centuries. The publication examines the role of patronage in 18th-century Russia and the influence of both Byzantine culture and neoclassicism.

Cercle et Carré and the International Spirit of Abstract Art earned an honorable mention in the exhibition catalogue category of AAM’s 2014 Publications Design Competition. It accompanied the first major exhibition dedicated to the art and activities of the artistic group Cercle and Carré (Circle and Square) and focuses primarily on the works displayed in the group’s 1930 exhibition.

use tobacco, handling relapse and maintenance.

The session’s registration deadline is Aug. 25. The registration form and other information about the program is available at http://t.uga.edu/PO. To register, fax the completed form to 706-542-6022, email the form to beatthepack@rx.uga.edu or call 706-542-5328.

A second session will be offered to UGA students. Dates and times for the student program are to be determined, but the expected start date is late August or early September. Group classes as well as individual counseling are available to students.

By Hillary Brown and Alicia Muzzy hazbrown@uga.edu, awriter@uga.edu

The university held its annual UGA in D.C. Reception June 27 at Union Station with more than 500 congressional staff, alumni and supporters in attendance.

Several members of the Georgia congressional delegation attended including Sens. Saxby Chambliss and Johnny Isakson and Reps. Jack Kingston, Sanford Bishop, Austin Scott, Doug Collins, Paul Broun, Phil Gingrey, John Barrow and Tom Graves. Also in attendance was Sonny Ramaswamy, director of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture from which the university receives a significant amount of annual research funding.

The UGA in D.C. Reception is sponsored by UGA President Jere W. Morehead, the Government Relations office in Washington, D.C., and the UGA Alumni Association.

Pictures from the event are available at http://dar.uga.edu/government_relations.

UGA Regenerative Bioscience Center

Emory professor to discuss cellular therapies during July 30 lecture

By Charlene Betourney cbetourney@uga.edu

The UGA Regenerative Bioscience Center will host a lecture by Emory University’s Ian Copland July 30 at noon in Room 175 of the Paul D. Coverdell Center for Biomedical and Health Sciences. The lecture is part of the center’s continuing support in building a stronger regenerative medicine community in Georgia.

Copland, an assistant professor and laboratory director of the Emory Personalized Immunotherapy Center, will discuss “Clinical Development and Testing of Cellular Therapies in Georgia: The Emory Personalized Immunotherapy Center as an Enabling Core Facility.” A reception will follow hosted by Pamela Whitten, senior vice president for academic affairs and provost.

Copland will review Food and Drug Administration regulations of cellular therapies and discuss specific examples being developed at Emory University.

Particular attention will be paid to the development of mesenchymal stromal cell therapies for the treatment of autoimmune and alloimmune disorders.

“The lecture provides an avenue to bring in researchers and students from different scientific disciplines and extends an opportunity for exchange of ideas and provides a network which

we hope will lead to many collaborative efforts in the future,” said Steven Stice, Regenerative Bioscience Center director and Georgia Research Alliance Eminent Scholar.

Cellular therapies have tremendous potential to positively impact patient outcomes that can be curative and permanent, Stice said. Cells are dynamic: They migrate, proliferate, differentiate and respond to their environment.

Whether for tissue regeneration, immunotherapy or as cancer vaccines, cellular therapies are associated with unique manufacturing challenges and potential risks.

The Emory Personalized Immunotherapy Center was developed to help foster clinical translation of promising cellular therapies at academic centers in the South. As laboratory director, Copland helps direct the strategic planning, development and operational management of this good manufacturing practices-compliant cell handling facility located within Emory University Hospital.

Copland has more than 15 years of experience in research in both academic and industrial settings; he has engaged in research on cellular therapies for seven of those years. In 2011, he was appointed a faculty member of the Parker H. Petit Institute for Bioengineering and Bioscience at the Georgia Institute of Technology.

A new curator and a new director of membership joined the Georgia Museum of Art on July 1.

Sarah Kate Gillespie, curator of American art, succeeds Paul Manoguerra who is now director of the Jundt Art Museum at Gonzaga University.

Michele Turner is the new director of membership as well as the direct liaison to the board of directors of the Friends of the Georgia Museum of Art. Gillespie most recently served as an assistant professor of art history at the City University of New York’s York College where she taught classes on Sarah Kate Gillespie 19th- and 20thcentury American art, African-American art and the history of photography.

She received her doctorate in art history from the Graduate Center, CUNY, a master’s degree in art history from George Washington University and a bachelor’s degree in art history from Mount Holyoke College. She also attended the Istituto Lorenzo de’ Medici in Florence, Italy.

Turner attended Young Harris College as a theatre major for two years then transferred to UGA, where she graduated with a bachelor’s degree in theatre.

She has worked in development for the Woodruff Arts Center’s Alliance Theatre Company and for Athens Creative Theatre. A special events coordinator at the Georgia Museum of Art from 2000-2008, Turner also worked at the Georgia Center for Continuing Education where she designed events for formal functions and fundraisers.

While at the Georgia Center, she maintained involvement with the museum, becoming president of the Friends of the Georgia Museum of Art, the museum’s membership organization.

She returned to the museum last fall as special events coordinator.

The owner of Consultants Unlimited, a special event consulting, planning and design group, Turner is also a board member of and volunteer for the Junior League of Athens, a previous board member at the Lyndon House Arts Center and former president of Athens Wedding Professionals.

For a complete listing of events I 7 8 5 at the University of Georgia, check the Master Calendar on the Web (calendar.uga.edu/­).

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

Dates, times and locations may change without advance notice.

GUIDE UGA

Season tickets on sale for 2nd Thursday Scholarship Series

By Josh Cutchin

Campus construction Bolton Dining Commons Through July 31. Construction is nearing completion on the new Bolton Dining Commons on Baxter at Lumpkin streets. Intermittent lane closures on the adjacent streets may be necessary from time to time. The pedestrian bridge over Tanyard Creek at the site is closed during construction as are sidewalks adjacent to the site along Baxter and Lumpkin streets. Pedestrians should follow signage and use crosswalks to move to the opposite sides of Lumpkin and Baxter streets away from the construction site. The facility will be open for the start of fall semester, and a dedication ceremony is set for Sept. 4 at 10 a.m.

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Women, Art and Social Change. Through Aug. 31. Georgia Museum of Art. 706-542-4662, hazbrown@uga.edu.

Shapes That Talk to Me. Through Oct. 19. Georgia Museum of Art. 706-542-4662, hazbrown@uga.edu.

Terra Verte. Through May 31, 2015.

Jane and Harry Willson Sculpture Garden, Georgia Museum of Art. 706-542-4662, hazbrown@uga.edu.

TUESDAY, JULY 29 Classes End for Thru Term

• The UGA Wind Ensemble, Oct. 9. The UGA Wind Ensemble under Cynthia Johnston-Turner, new director of bands, will present John Adams’ “Short Ride in a Fast Machine,” selections from Leonard Bernstein’s classic West Side Story and Steven Bryant’s “Piano Concerto” featuring guest artist Pamela Paul.

• UGA Opera Theatre’s Hansel & Gretel, Nov. 5-7. As part of the 2014 Spotlight on the Arts at UGA, Frederick Burchinal and the UGA Opera Theatre will bring a classic of opera repertoire to new life in a stunning series of staged performances.

• The UGA Holiday Concert, Dec. 4-5. Join the UGA Symphony Orchestra and combined choirs for this seasonal Athens tradition, which will return to the Classic Center Theatre this year for two performances.

• Pianist Evgeny Rivkin, Feb. 19. A faculty member and International Tchaikovsky Competition winner, Stegeman Coliseum Through Aug. 7. There will be intermittent lane and sidewalk closures on Carlton and Smith streets on either side of Stegeman Coliseum weekdays between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. Some access points along the perimeter of Stegeman Coliseum will be closed temporarily at times.

Correll Hall Through Aug. 8. The portion of Hull Street immediately adjacent to the Correll Hall construction site will be closed to allow for utility and infrastructure work. Vehicle and pedestrian access to the Hull Street parking deck will be maintained.

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/.

Rivkin brings his sensitive touch to the Hodgson School’s brand new Steinway piano for one unforgettable evening.

• Chamber Music: Brass, Woodwinds, Strings and Piano, March 19. The Hodgson School faculty perform chamber repertoire for brass, woodwind and string instruments and piano.

• The Hodgson Singers, April 9. The season will close with the Hodgson Singers raising their voices in an uplifting concert led

by Daniel Bara, director of choral activities.

The Faculty Recital Series concerts, which will take place at 8 p.m. in Ramsey Concert Hall, will include performances by: • Maggie Snyder, viola; Sept. 16.

• David Zerkel, tuba; Oct. 2.

• Milton Masciadri, double bass; Nov. 20.

• Philip Snyder, guitar; Jan. 12.

• Amy Pollard, bassoon; Feb. 9.

• Lawrence Bakst, tenor, with Kathryn Wright, piano; March 18.

Science Learning Center Through Aug. 25. Preparatory work for construction of the Science Learning Center is underway. The site is bounded

by Carlton Street, D.W. Brooks Mall, Pharmacy South and the McPhaul Center parking lot. The entire area has been fenced in for the duration of the construction project, which is scheduled to be completed by July 31, 2016.

EXHIBITIONS Picturing America: Signature Works from the Westmoreland Museum of American Art. Through Aug. 24. Georgia Museum of Art. 706-542-4662, hazbrown@uga.edu.

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The Prints of Mary Wallace Kirk.

Through Oct. 12. Georgia Museum of Art. 706-542-4662, hazbrown@uga. edu.

The UGA Symphony Orchestra will be one of the groups to perform during the Hugh Hodgson School of Music’s 2nd Thursday Scholarship Series.

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JULY / AUGUST

Bernd Oppl: Inhabited Interiors. Through Sept. 16. Alonzo and Vallye Dudley Gallery, Georgia Museum of Art. 706-542-4662, hazbrown@uga.edu.

jcutchin@uga.edu

The Hugh Hodgson School of Music will present another season of the 2nd Thursday Scholarship Series, introducing a 7:30 p.m. start time for the first time. The series began in 1980 and continues the tradition of “Music Appreciation Programs” started by Hugh Hodgson in the 1930s.

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. Tickets for the School of Music’s premier concert series are available now from the UGA Performing Arts Center. Subscription purchases, available for $110, are due Aug. 1.

Single event 2nd Thursday Scholarship Series tickets are $18 each, or $5 with a UGA student ID. The Holiday Concert will be $25. Single event Faculty Series tickets are $10 each, or $5 with UGA student ID. In addition to the 2nd Thursday Concert Series, the School of Music also has a two-semester “All Events Pass,” offering full admission to the concerts of its top-tier performing ensembles. The pass is available for $60, or at a reduced rate of $30 to 2nd Thursday subscribers.

Unless otherwise noted, all concerts will take place at 7:30 p.m. in the Hodgson Concert Hall of the UGA Performing Arts Center.The lineup for this year’s 2nd Thursday Series includes: • The UGA Symphony Orchestra, Sept. 11. The 2014-2015 season will open with a performance of orchestral repertoire conducted by Mark Cedel, director of UGASO and of orchestral activities.

columns.uga.edu July 28, 2014

Class “Native Medicinal Plants.” $50.

9:30 a.m. Visitor Center’s Gardenside Room, State Botanical Garden.

706-542-6156, ckeber@uga.edu.

WEDNESDAY, JULY 30 Extended Summer Session, Thru Term Final Exams Through July 31.

Classes End for Extended Summer Session, Summer Short Session II Lecture “Clinical Development and Testing of Cellular Therapies in Georgia: The Emory Personalized Immunotherapy Center as an Enabling Core Facility,” Ian Copland, Emory University School of Medicine. To be followed by a ­reception hosted by Pamela Whitten, UGA senior vice president for academic affairs and provost. Noon. 175 Paul D. Coverdell Center. 706-542-4081, cbetourney@uga.edu.

(See story, page 2).

THURSDAY, JULY 31 Summer Short Session II Final Exams Film Screening Modern Times (1936, NR, 87 minutes).

7 p.m. Georgia Museum of Art. 706-542-4662, hazbrown@uga.edu.

FRIDAY, AUGUST 1 Summer 2014 Commencement Speaker: Francis “Abit” Massey, a 1949 graduate of UGA and president emeritus of the Georgia Poultry Federation.

9:30 a.m. Stegeman Coliseum.

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 6 Staff Council Meeting 2:30 p.m. 207 Miller Learning Center.

coming up Hunker Down With Housing Aug. 12. Each year, the Division of Student Affairs and University Housing welcome new students to campus with Hunker Down with Housing. Hundreds of volunteers will be on hand for two days to assist with check in, directions and information as fall move-in begins for first-year students in the residence halls. 8 a.m.

Transfer Student Welcome Aug. 17. 3:30 p.m. Atrium, Tate Student Center.

Freshman Welcome Aug. 17. UGA President Jere W. Morehead to speak. 5:30 p.m. Sanford Stadium.

Fall Semester Classes Begin Aug. 18.

Town & Gown Players’ ‘Proof’ to include UGA employees, alumni

By Matt Chambers mattdc@uga.edu

The Town & Gown Players’ presentation of Proof by David Auburn will include UGA alumni, former faculty and current staff members.

The play will be presented Aug. 9-10, 14-16 at 8 p.m. and Aug. 11 and 17 at 2 p.m. Tickets are $12-$15. To purchase tickets, visit http://www.show clix.com/event/3779772 or call 706-208-8696.The Aug. 9 performance will have a talkback with Joseph A.Vandehey, a postdoctoral reserach associate and part-time instructor in the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences’ math department.

Proof centers on Catherine, the daughter of a recently deceased mathematician, as she tries to come to grips with her possible “inheritance”—her father’s insanity.

The cast of Proof includes Greer Caldwell as Catherine; Vanessa Outlaw as Claire; John Olive, a retired UGA professor of mathematics education, as Robert; and Briton Dean as Hal. The perfomance is directed by Beth Kozinsky, a former faculty member for the English department.

Assistant director Emily Meyers is an administrative associate II for the Honors Program. Anna Reynolds, stage manager for the show, is an administrative assistant II in Parking Services. Producer Sarah Sapinski is a UGA alumna.

More information on the performance is at www.townandgownplayers.org.

To submit a listing for the master calendar and columns: Post the information about the event to the Master Calendar website (calendar.uga.edu/) first. Listings for Columns are gathered from the Master Calendar 12 days before the publication date. Events not posted by then may not be printed.

Any additional information about the event may be sent directly to Columns. Email is preferred (columns@uga.edu), but materials can be mailed to Columns, News Service, 286 Oconee Street, Suite 200 North, Campus Mail 1999.

Next Columns copy deadlines: July 30 (for Aug. 11 issue), Aug. 6 (for Aug. 18 issue).

4 July 28, 2014 columns.uga.edu

GRANT from page 1

PLAY from page 1 while they were eating, saying ‘We want to see Lil’ Red!’ ” Lil’ Red Ridin’ Thru ‘da Hood went on to tour in Philadelphia and Boston, and the rap, “What’s Best 4 Me,” is the theme song for a mobile produce market in Chicago.

Cotwright has since developed arts-based interventions for other ages. The Atlanta Falcons Youth Foundation, which funded her play while it toured in Atlanta, asked if she could do something similar for middle school students in Atlanta Public Schools. Cotwright made the project her doctoral dissertation and worked with students to create a health-related dinner theater performance.

“I think that putting something into a form that the students can respond to and relate to makes the message stronger,” said Freda Scott Giles, an associate professor in UGA’s department of theatre and film studies and the Institute for African American Studies. “You could say those same things in a lecture, but when you put it in the terms of a performance that people can enjoy, then it makes the message come through more clearly.”

After finishing her doctorate in 2008, Cotwright traveled to Baltimore to develop an arts-based intervention for yet another age group: preschoolers. The program used skits about a dog name Lil’ Lexie to teach preschoolers in the city’s Head Start program about food and physical activity.

Cotwright’s work with preschoolers landed her a job communicating obesity prevention guidelines for child care providers as a part of first lady Michelle Obama’s Let’s Move! Child Care initiative.

Now, at UGA, Cotwright hopes to bring arts back in the mix as a way to help child care providers in Georgia give children a healthy start.

FUNDRAISING from page 1 University of Georgia’s standing as one of the nation’s great public institutions of higher education.”

This record-setting year is notable in that no single major gift had a disproportionate impact on the total. The previous record-setting year of $126.2 million in fiscal year 2011 included a $42.5 million gift. The new record represents a groundswell of support from many more individual donors.

The Georgia Fund annual giving campaign represented 13.4 percent of the total raised, with a record $16.9 million to support the university and its schools, colleges and units.

Photos by Jonathan Lee

Left: Former UGA athlete and Olympic medalist Allison Schmitt prepares for a race at the Athens Bulldog Grand Slam held July 10-13 at UGA’s Gabrielsen Natatorium. Right: Olympic medalist Michael Phelps competes in the 100-meter butterfly. Eleven other Olympic swimmers, including Ryan Lochte and UGA’s Shannon Vreeland, also competed.

change at UGA,” said Pamela Whitten, senior vice president for academic affairs and provost. “He will work closely with deans and other members of the senior administration to aggressively pursue the shared goal of making this institution a global pacesetter in teaching, research and service.”

The vice provost operationalizes initiatives originating from the provost’s office and advises the provost on several key academic appointments and appeals processes as well as faculty development, promotion and tenure, and related issues. The vice provost chairs the UGA Arts Council and collaborates with the associate provosts and units that report to the provost’s office.

Since 2010, Mumper has served as the chief academic and strategic officer for a pharmacy school that is second in the nation in total research funding and ranked second in the nation by U.S. News&World Report. He oversees the School of Pharmacy’s Office of Strategic Planning and Assessment and cochaired the creation of the school’s 2012-2017 Strategic Plan, which has framed its new capital campaign.

He also oversees the Campbell Faculty Mentoring Program, the Office of Continuing Education and The Academy, an institute that works to enhance student learning by developing a community of faculty committed to implementing and evaluating new approaches to teaching. In addition, he oversees the Office of Innovative Leadership and Diversity in the School of Pharmacy, which played a key role in the school’s recognition in 2012 with the UNC-Chapel Hill Academic Unit Diversity Award.

Mumper has started and led

Bulletin Board Training courses

TREATMENT from page 1

ADMINISTRATOR from page 1

Training and Development course offerings for August and September are now available. The schedule includes new courses and other popular offerings designed to meet professional and career development needs.

Program highlights are online at http://t.uga.edu/Q6. A complete listing of all classes and other information is on the Training and Development website at http://www.hr.uga.edu/training; the entire class listing at http://t.uga.edu/Q7.

Contact Training and Development at 706-542-7062 or training@uga.edu with questions about current classes or other

or co-led several multidisciplinary research, development and manufacturing centers, including the Center for Nanotechnology in Drug Delivery at UNC-Chapel Hill, The Carolina Institute for Nanomedicine and the Center for Pharmaceutical Science and Technology at the University of Kentucky.

He has received nearly $30 million in research grants and contracts and has published more than 300 peer-reviewed scientific manuscripts and abstracts. He is a named inventor on 45 patents or patent families.

“This is an exciting time at the University of Georgia, and Dr. Mumper is an outstanding addition to a leadership team that is committed to elevating UGA to an even higher level of excellence,” said UGA President Jere W. Morehead.

Mumper began his academic career in 1999 at the University of Kentucky College of Pharmacy, where he served as vice chair of the pharmaceutical sciences department and associate director of the Center for Pharmaceutical Science and Technology, a pharmaceutical manufacturing facility that later became a for-profit company. He joined the faculty of UNC-Chapel Hill in 2007 and also is a professor in the UNC/North Carolina State University joint biomedical engineering department.

“I have been so impressed by the reputation and excellence of UGA in pursuit of its tripartite mission,” Mumper said. “This is a wonderful opportunity for me to engage with a renowned faculty and staff and to contribute in a way that brings continued value to a great researchintensive public university.”

magnetic nanorods only 300 nanometers in diameter. By way of comparison, a single human hair is about 80,000 to 100,000 nanometers wide.

Upon entering the bloodstream, the nanorods are activated by two revolving magnets, which make the specially designed particles rotate not unlike a series of small fans, pushing the drug to the site of the clot.

Stroke is the second leading cause of death worldwide, according to the World Health Organization.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that one American dies from a stroke every four minutes.

“We’re dealing with a huge population of patients who desperately need new treatments,” said Leidong Mao, paper co-author and an associate professor in UGA’s College of Engineering.

One of the most significant risks of t-PA treatment is uncontrolled bleeding. While the drug may successfully dissolve dangerous clots, it also temporarily prevents the formation of clots throughout the body, making patients vulnerable to hemorrhage.

“We want to improve the efficiency of this drug, because too much of it can lead to serious bleeding problems,” said Rui Cheng, paper co-author and graduate student in UGA’s College of Engineering.“This approach may one day allow physicians to use less of the drug, but with equal or improved effectiveness.”

The research team plans to continue its investigation using nanorods made of new materials that are more compatible with the human body, but they caution that these results are preliminary, and more research must be done to perfect the technique.

communications secure, for instance when you send your credit card number to an Internet vendor.

Coding theory is about correctly transmitting information and identifying errors in communications and, if possible, correcting the errors made,” Lorenzini said.

“All modern digital communication uses some encryption and some error-correcting code technology.”

Several of the department’s graduates have gone on to work for the National Security Agency, which Lorenzini calls “probably the single largest employer of mathematicians in the country.”

Through a variety of initiatives, AGANT will use the grant to help pave the way for future mathematicians. The bulk of the funding will go toward graduate student fellowships. During the 2014-2015 academic year, the mathematics department will fund six graduate students with $25,000 fellowships each. Funds also will pay the salaries of postdoctoral fellows.

“The fellowships in the award will allow us to compete at the national and international levels to continue to attract to UGA outstanding graduate students and postdocs,” Lorenzini said. “We will ensure that they thrive in our intellectually challenging, but also nurturing, research environment.”

The grant also will fund an undergraduate summer program in 2015 and three research conferences in 2016, 2017 and 2018.

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