Brenau Window - Spring 2023

The best has yet to come

voice since 1976

well-deserved curtain call

WINTER WEEKEND

Mapplicants and their family members to experience college life, meet faculty and current students, ask questions and learn more about the university and academic programs.

Photos by AJ Reynolds/Brenau University

Feeding the mind, body and spirit

Brenau University long has echoed many of the themes of the Renaissance period: intellectual accomplishment; appreciation of artistic expression; and a curriculum of liberal arts, scientific inquiry and global awareness. This fusion of science and the arts makes Brenau unique.

The arts have always been an integral part of the educational and cultural life of Brenau, and the extensive permanent art collection started in 1986 by President John S. Burd is a point of pride for the university.

The stories in the spring 2023 edition of Brenau Window – the arts and entertainment issue – depict the long history of artistic expression at the university and showcase the expertise of our alumni, faculty and students.

From our cover story about rising comedy star Dulcé Sloan to a celebration of 47 years of WBCX, Brenau is synonymous with the arts. Here, young artists hone their talents and, rather than simply dreaming of success, they have embodied the Brenau ideal “to find joy in doing.”

Along this journey of self-discovery, they are guided and supported by faculty members who are tremendously talented in their own right. Gay Hammond has been involved with the theater program for decades and has written and adapted many of the works performed. Madia Cooper-Ashirifi, Ann Austin Johnson Outstanding Faculty Award winner in 2022, returned to her alma mater to lead the dance program.

Across disciplines, we have many talented students who are preparing themselves to live extraordinary lives of personal and professional fulfillment. A college education is life-changing for so many students. Those students who have long sought outlets for their passion in the arts also find their Brenau degree is the culmination of a dream – and provides the knowledge and expertise they need to achieve that dream.

Senior vocalist Amelia Lathem has known since childhood that she wanted to spend her life bringing music to the world. Studio art major Gaby Perez uses art to express herself – despite a visual impairment. Brenau didn’t create the talent these young women share, but has prepared them for a lifetime of intellectual accomplishment and appreciation of artistic expression. Each of them has been so inspired by their experiences with the faculty at Brenau that they plan to pursue their art and teach after graduation.

Like me, I know you’ll also be inspired by the project between faculty and students from fashion design and occupational therapy to create adaptive clothing for real-world clients. It is another great example of how Brenau serves our students and the community.

Feeding the mind, body and spirit through the arts and sciences – that is our goal and our dedication to our students and the community.

Anne A. Skleder, Ph.D. President

BOARD OF TRUSTEES WELCOMES THREE NEW MEMBERS

John Addison, former co-CEO of financial services company Primerica, joined the company in the early 1980s and led its North American expansion. He later worked on the company’s 2010 initial public offering.

Addison’s talent for motivating others allowed him to inspire and empower more than 1 million people during his career. He made a name for himself as a top-rated speaker, renowned for using his down-home delivery and humor to provide insight on leadership, personal development and success. Today, he is focused on his passion for helping people become the best they can be. He understands how to inspire and motivate and wants to share his insight to help others achieve the success they crave.

Addison earned a bachelor’s degree in economics from the University of Georgia and was honored by the UGA Alumni Association as one of the Bulldog 100. He also has a master’s degree from Georgia State University.

Hart Wilheit Payne has a long history of volunteer service and has held leadership positions across various organizations and boards in Gainesville and Hall County during the last 20 years. Since 1999, she has served on the Northeast Georgia Medical Center Auxiliary as president and in various positions within the organization. She was president of the Junior League of Gainesville-Hall County in 1999.

She is a past member of the boards for Quinlan Visual Arts Center and Sisu and is currently on the House Committee of Chattahoochee Country Club. She has been active in the lives of the youth of Hall County through her work as auction chair for Lakeview Academy and as a Girl Scout leader.

Payne is a 1999 graduate of Leadership Hall County and a 2006 graduate of Leadership Georgia. She earned a bachelor’s degree in third-world studies from the University of the South.

Melissa Tymchuk, BU ’21, is chief strategy officer and chief of staff to the president and CEO at Northeast Georgia Health System, which is headquartered in Gainesville.

She assists the CEO in managing strategy and operational execution at the senior level and also oversees systemwide board governance. Tymchuk previously served in several interim roles: president of the NGHS Foundation, chief human resources officer and vice president of support services, when she helped lead the development of a new hospital.

She is chair of the board of directors for WomenSource Inc. and serves on the boards for the Edmondson Telford Child Advocacy Center and the Gateway Domestic Violence Center. In 2016, she was appointed to the Georgia Commission on Women by then-Gov. Nathan Deal.

Tymchuk holds a Bachelor of Arts in journalism in public relations from the University of Georgia and received her Master of Business Administration from Brenau University.

“I’m pleased that Brenau continues to recruit and retain high-quality trustees, and we are most fortunate to attract trustees of distinction,” Brenau President Anne Skleder said. “The experiences and insights of all three trustees will be beneficial to the university as we move forward with our new strategic plan. I look forward to working with them and our entire Board of Trustees for the continued betterment of our university and its students.”

“With the addition of these three new members, Brenau continues its tradition of being guided by a Board of Trustees whose members understand the value of higher education and the dynamics that drive the institution.”

Mike Smith Board of Trustees Chair

Addison, Payne and Tymchuk bring experience in leadership, service to board.

John Addison

Hart Wilheit Payne

Melissa Tymchuk, BU ’21

12

IN THIS ISSUE

SVAC: THEN AND NOW

For more than 100 years, students have pursued knowledge and artistic expression in the Simmons Visual Arts Center.

14

ON THE COVER 8

Dulcé Sloan knew early on she wanted to be an actor. She told her mom that was her plan when she was just 6 years old. She wasn’t kidding.

Cover photo by Gabriel Michael

20

WBCX TURNS 47

Since the first broadcast in 1976, Brenau’s radio station has launched numerous careersand more than one marriage.

GAY H. HAMMOND’S LEGACY

Thousands across north Georgia enjoyed children’s theater, thanks to Gay Hammond, but her legacy extends to Broadway and beyond.

24

DANCING TO HER OWN BEAT

Madia Cooper-Ashirifi never pictured herself as an educator, but the 2004 alumna earned a top faculty award in 2022.

28

GALLERIES IN THE SPOTLIGHT

In addition to welcoming Gena Robbins as the new director, Brenau’s Galleries have hosted world-renowned artwork.

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CAMPUS NEWS

From reaccreditation to news about international efforts, learn more about what’s going on at Brenau.

Brenau University’s Mission: Brenau University challenges students to live extraordinary lives of personal and professional fulfillment. As students pursue undergraduate and graduate degrees or non-degree programs at Brenau campuses and online, each prepares for a lifetime of intellectual accomplishment and appreciation of artistic expression through a curriculum enriched by the liberal arts, scientific inquiry and global awareness.

SPRING 2023 | Brenau Window is published by the Brenau University Office of Communications, 500 Washington St. SE, Gainesville, GA 30501. For a change of address, email cwilliams7@brenau.edu or call 770.534.6163 or 800.252.5119, ext. 6163. Brenau University is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges to award bachelor’s, master’s, education specialist and doctoral degrees. Brenau believes in equal opportunity for all.

Matt Thomas Vice President of University Advancement

Emily K. Reid, MBA Director of Alumni Engagement

Edie Rogers Director of Communications

Joe Chaffee Graphic Designer

Alyson Shields, WC ‘13 Writer/Copy Editor

AJ Reynolds, BU ’20

Andi Savage, WC ‘15, BU ‘19

Dashiell Coleman

Benjamin Barton Contributors

BOARD OF TRUSTEES

Michael H. Smith, Chair

Emilie “Emmie” Henderson Howard, WC ’01, Vice Chair

Peter D. Miller, Secretary

John A. Addison, Jr.

Pierpont “Pepper” F. Brown III

Amelia “Mimi” Collins

Carole Ann Carter Daniel, WC ’68

Robin Smith Dudley, WC ’78

Kathryn “Kit” Dunlap, WC ’64

Maria Ebrahimji, WC ’98

Robert “Rob” L. Fowler Jr.

Melissa Currin Heard, WC ’92

Melissa Cannady Howard, WC ’97

M. Douglas Ivester

Anna Alexander Jacobs, WC ’86

Tim Knight

Emily “Sissy” Dunlap Lawson

Jill R. Mansfield, BU ’15

Frank K. Norton Jr.

Hart W. Payne

Lydia J. Sartain

Gail A. Smith, WC ’83

Shay English Stafford, WC ’69

Michael H. Stubblefield

Melissa Wendt Tymchuk, BU ’21

Amy Whitley

Mary Kathryn Wells-Winsett, WC ’00

Rear Admiral Patricia E. Wolfe, BU ‘87, retired

TRUSTEES EMERITI

Betty

C.V. Nalley III

Verson Norton Gary Riley Philip A. Wilheit Sr.

SLOAN DULCÉ

The best has yet to come

Dulcé Sloan, WC ’05, knew early on she wanted to be an actor. She told her mom that was her plan when she was just 6 years old. She wasn’t kidding.

In the decades since, Sloan has become a successful standup comic, film and television actor, podcast host and producer. Most people probably know her as a correspondent for Comedy Central’s “The Daily Show.”

“If anything,” Sloan said recently with a chuckle, “I’m just tired.”

But Sloan’s story is far from over — and Brenau University is the setting for a couple of chapters.

Sloan was born in Miami but mostly grew up around Atlanta. She set her plans to become a performer in motion early, reading plays in elementary school and taking theater classes in middle and high school. She interned at the Aurora Theatre in Lawrenceville in high school, hanging lights, painting sets, working with costumes and staffing the concession stand and box office.

“Because I knew I wanted to be a performer, I did everything I could to make that possible,” Sloan says.

Soon, it was time to apply for college. Sloan’s dream school was the University of Miami, but she worried about the cost

of out-of-state tuition. So she applied to Georgia schools instead. Her mom’s advice: “Go with the one that gives you the most money.”

One university happened to be offering Sloan a full ride: Brenau.

She enrolled in The Women’s College and opted to major in theater performance.

“I think it was beneficial for me to go to a women's college because 1, I loved boys — love boys — so I would have

By Dashiell Coleman

small class sizes at Brenau. She minored in Spanish and says that one semester, she was the only student in her Spanish class.

“I would read plays in Spanish, and then we would analyze those plays,” Sloan says. “So because of the class, I was able to take my major and mix it with my minor.”

Sloan was a member of the Alpha Psi Omega National Theatre Honor Society,

been distracted,” Sloan says. “But also, when there's no men, it gives women an opportunity to get positions in student government or to be able to speak up and ask questions in class.”

In fact, she says the only time she interacted with men in class was during the theater program, which was co-ed through a partnership with what was then Gainesville State College. Sloan liked the

briefly worked in an on-campus computer lab and spent time as a DJ for the campus radio station WBCX, amusing listeners with her commentary.

During her time at Brenau, Sloan says, she was only in two theater shows. But she hustled to ensure she was getting in other performance experience during and after college. After graduating in 2005, Sloan

“My responsibility the entire time has been to make people laugh.”

Photo by Matt Wilson

“I think it was beneficial for me to go to a women's college... it gives women an opportunity to get positions in student government or to be able to speak up and ask questions in class.”

checked online listings for auditions, did work at Stone Mountain Park, acted in silhouette for the Atlanta Convention and Visitors Bureau and was even an extra on Tyler Perry’s “Meet the Browns.”

“I did extra work, I did background work, I did everything that I could,” Sloan says, listing off other gigs, like owning a jewelry business and performing at kids’ parties. “... I've always worked, but I always made sure that I could stay in a performance space.”

She started hanging out at comedy clubs, too. Folks would tell her she was funny and ought to try standup, but she was hesitant — wanting to stick to her goal of acting. Sloan had just finished a sketch-writing class at Atlanta’s Sketchworks Theatre in 2009 when local comedian “Big Kenney” Johnson told her she should take his standup class. Johnson felt so strongly about her potential that he offered to waive the $300 fee. Around the same time, Sloan’s mom confided

that she’d dreamed the whole world was laughing at her daughter.

“I was like, ‘All right, well, the class is free, and my mom is having dreams, so let me go ahead and just see what this is about,’” Sloan says. “May of 2009 is when I graduated from the class, and I've been doing standup since then.”

It wasn’t long before she became a regular — and a rising star — in the Atlanta comedy scene. In 2015, she won the “StandUp NBC” showcase. Then a big break came in early 2016 when she did a standup set on TBS’ “Conan.”

She moved to L.A., and the hits kept coming. Sloan won the Big Sky Comedy Festival in Montana and had multiple TV appearances. And in 2017, she auditioned for “The Daily Show.” Just hours after Sloan’s audition with then-host Trevor Noah, her phone rang: She’d gotten the job.

“The first thing out of my mouth was, ‘Oh (expletive), now I have to live in New

York,’” she says.

Sloan’s “Daily Show” appearances have been big hits, with segments like “911 for White People Emergencies,” “Dumb Solutions to Policing Problems” and “Black Karen” getting millions of collective views on YouTube after airing on TV.

Sloan says it’s a fast-paced job that’s taught her a lot and helped her speak up for herself in creative situations. The show has a reputation for its political comedy. And during the Trump years, Sloan says, folks would ask her if she felt her responsibility as a comic had changed.

“My responsibility the entire time has been to make people laugh,” she says.

As she puts it, presenting something that happened on the news in a satirical manner is one thing.

“But trying to be people’s therapist? No,” Sloan says. “I have a theater degree from a small college in North Georgia, right? I went to school in the ‘poultry capital of the world’ — I can’t help you. If

Photos by AJ Reynolds/Brenau University

you want to know about a good Walmart, I got you.”

In the past few years, Sloan started an office-banter-style podcast called “Hold Up” with “Daily Show” writer and standup comedian Josh Johnson, starred in a Comedy Central Presents standup special and had a starring role in the 2020 film “Chick Fight” as Charleen, the best friend of Malin Åkerman’s character, Anna. She’s also the voice of Honeybee Shaw on the animated FOX show “The Great North.”

who are performance majors at Brenau.

“I’m doing it for all people of color to help them stay in the program,” Sloan says. “It’s meeting with them two to three times a year to check on them … as well as having them meet with professional actors and showing them how to make their resumes and making sure they have headshots when they graduate. So, really, it’s a scholarship fund, but it’s also a workpreparedness program.”

While Sloan is undoubtedly successful

GIVING BACK TO BRENAU

Alumna Dulcé Sloan is giving back to Brenau by establishing the Dulcé Sloan Minority Theatre Student Scholarship.

The fund will assist new and existing Brenau students pursuing a bachelor’s degree in theater performance. Additionally, the scholarship specifically is for students who are considered to be a person of color or racial minority.

Most recently, Sloan has been producing a one-woman stage show about working in an adult video store called “Don’t Reach in the Bag,” written by and starring Shalewa Sharpe. She describes being a producer as “a totally different animal.” Instead of performing, she has to manage things like merchandise, promotion and ticket sales.

“It's way more than I'm used to doing, but I'm very glad to be doing it because I wanted to get into this space,” she says.

It’s that aspect of the industry — the business part — that she wishes she’d learned more about in school. And that’s why she includes it in the new scholarship fund she’s launched for students of color

and paying it forward, she still doesn’t feel like she’s “made it” yet in her career. She recalls a few moments that came close to that feeling — being able to help her mom retire, hiring her niece as her assistant and getting that role in “Chick Fight.”

“That was my first starring role in a movie,” Sloan says. “But it wasn't my movie. I was playing, like, best friend. So I think it's always just like: selling a TV show or when I'm the main character — not playing, like, the best friend of some white woman — then I'll feel like I've made it.”

If Sloan’s career thus far is any indication, the best has yet to come.

Four scholarships of $2,000 each will be awarded each year to two incoming freshmen and two returning students. Sloan plans to provide regular mentoring for the scholarship recipients.

“I did extra work, I did background work, I did everything that I could, ... I've always worked, but I always made sure that I could stay in a performance space.”

SVAC

Then & Now

By Alyson Shields, WC '13

Simmons Visual Arts Center was built for artistic expression, intellectual accomplishment

Celestia “Lessie” Muse Southgate Simmons was an internationally accomplished musician who taught and directed voice and music programs at Brenau while her husband, T.J. Simmons, served as president. After Lessie Simmons died in 1914 at age 50, her husband commissioned the Lessie Southgate Simmons Memorial Hall and dedicated it in her memory.

Painting of Lessie Southgate Simmons by A. Edmonds

PRESIDENTS GALLERY

T.J. Simmons was an avid art collector, so it was a natural fit to turn the chapel into Brenau’s first art gallery in 1985. Simmons decorated his office and home with a variety of artwork and enjoyed engaging with visitors over the pieces on display. His personal art collection was donated to his alma mater, Wake Forest University, in 1941. Simmons died a year later at age 77.

Simmons Visual Arts Center originally housed the chapel for the Young Women's Christian Association, the library, and the president's office.

SELLARS GALLERY

The three-story building formerly housed the library on the first and second floors. The second-floor library is now Sellars Gallery. In 1982, the library collection was moved to the newly completed Trustee Library. President Simmons’ office, also located on the second floor, is now a conference room.

“Above her wonderful art and indeed, above all arts and its forms, above all mere teaching and all learning, above all other human agencies for uplifting the world, this noble lady possessed in a remarkable measure, that greatest of all gifts, and one which it is the splendid advantage of woman alone to possess — the power to infuse into others that magic influence we call inspiration.”

-

H.H.

Perry, Board of Trustees President, in a resolution honoring Lessie Simmons after her death.

CERAMICS LAB

The hall was renovated in 1990, including the addition of the ceramics lab on the lower level, and renamed the Simmons Visual Arts Center. In 2002, the John S. Burd Center for the Performing Arts opened across campus, creating another learning space for budding Brenau artists.

Photos by AJ Reynolds/Brenau University & Brenau Archives

THE VOICE OF

BRENAU

WBCX is a public radio station on frequency 89.1 FM, founded in 1976 by professors Clara Martin and James Birdwell, Trustee John W. Jacobs Jr. and others as a learning opportunity for Brenau students.

The call letters BCX stand for “Brenau College Experimental,” which plays into the intent of the station: allowing students to experiment and hone their

skills as media professionals and giving the community a chance to broaden their horizons.

The station started with just 10 watts, and its first student station manager was Jones “Jay” Andrews, BU ’16. The station has undergone several lineup changes but currently plays classic pop hits with jazz in the evenings, BBC World News and specialty talk programs that include shows

by students and community members. The 840-watt FM station broadcasts 24 hours a day, seven days a week from the John W. Jacobs Business and Communication Arts building on Green Street. It first broadcast from a room on the third floor of Pearce Auditorium. The station moved from the basement of the Jacobs building to its current location in the lobby in 2017.

Brenau launches WBCX 89.1

Compact Discs are introduced MTV debuts Gigi Babinec Andrews, WC ’80

American Bandstand celebrates its 25th anniversary

"Y. M. C. A." by the Village People is released

The Sugarhill Gang release "Rapper's Delight"

"THE HIP THE HOP"

Michael Jackson's "Thriller" tops the pop charts

"We Are the World" is written for USA for Africa Prince releases "Purple Rain"

By Alyson Shields, WC '13

Photos by AJ Reynolds/Brenau University & Brenau Archives

GIGI ANDREWS, WC ’80 ANNA JACOBS, WC '86

While Gigi Babinec Andrews, WC ’80, studied journalism and broadcasting, she worked at the newly founded WBCX.

“I used things I learned at WBCX in most of my future jobs,” Andrews says.

“Working there gave me the basic background knowledge to operate radio station WDGR in Dahlonega, Georgia, when my husband and I bought and ran it for more than 10 years. Later, when I worked in marketing for the Atlanta Falcons, the basic promotional and copywriting skills I learned at WBCX were what I drew upon to write the gameday script for the announcers at every home game.”

Andrews was heavily involved during her time as a Women’s College student, serving as student government president and vice president of her sorority, and graduating summa cum laude.

Andrews also met her husband of 42 years, Jay Andrews, at WBCX, when they both worked there years earlier.

“People used to tease us as students that we’d have no social life at Brenau,” Andrews says. “But the only two women I can think of who have been married longer than me are two of my Brenau sorority sisters! What can I say -- Brenau is what you make it!”

Clara Martin didn’t just help build WBCX, she also had a hand in two successful marriages in the Gainesville broadcasting community.

In 1957, Martin introduced her high school friend, Martha Rand, to her radio friend — and later, Brenau trustee — John W. Jacobs Jr. They were married for 53 years until his death in 2011.

Decades later, Martin unintentionally played matchmaker Anna Alexander Jacobs, WC ’86, now a Brenau trustee, and her classmates in 1985 to attend a reception at Brenau for local media.

There, Anna Jacobs met John W. “Jay” Jacobs III with Jacobs Media Corp., and they briefly chatted during a tour of the old WBCX

“A few weeks later, I received flowers from him and the card was signed ‘Jay.’ I thought they were from another ‘Jay’ from my hometown of Charlotte,” Anna Jacobs says. “Needless to say, he called a few days later and set me straight, and the rest is history!”

Matchmaking skills aside, Anna Jacobs has nothing but love for her former professor: “She is an amazing communicator and has been an ambassador for Brenau all these years.”

Aretha Franklin is first woman inducted into Rock & Roll Hall of Fame

Anna Alexander Jacobs, WC ’86

Moves into the John W. Jacobs Building Woodstock '94 is held in Saugerties, NY

Michael Jackson is named "King of Pop"

Elton John auctions memorabilia for $8.5 million

Nirvana's "Nevermind" album goes to No. 1

In 1978, the WBCX studio was located on the third floor above the Pearce Auditorium.

Today the studios are located in the John W. Jacobs Business and Communication Arts building.

MOE LYONS

WBCX also has volunteers who program and host community shows. Two of those shows are hosted by Moe Lyons, who owns and operates Moe’s Record Shop on the downtown Gainesville square. Lyons began spinning tracks in 2003 at WBCX on “Fusion a la Moe,” which runs from 8 p.m. to midnight on Fridays, and “Moe Betta Jazz,” which runs from 8 p.m. to midnight on Saturdays.

Lyons previously worked in the music industry, so it was a natural fit for Lyons to open a record store after he retired from his job with the city of Gainesville in 2018. Lyons continues to host both radio shows on WBCX.

CHET WHITE

WBCX is known for its jazz programing, and Chet White’s “Ground Level” is an integral part of the lineup. White began the show in 1979 while he was in the Air Force, and it also aired on a community station in Philadelphia. “Ground Level” was brought to WBCX in 2004. The show takes a deep look at jazz from 8 p.m. to midnight every Thursday and comes with a playful warning: “...not for the uninitiated.” After volunteering for a few years,

DULCÉ SLOAN, WC ’05

In the early 2000s, Dulcé Sloan, WC ’05, had a radio show on WBCX. A professor encouraged her comedic genius as she ranted on hot topics on the show. You can read more about Sloan’s comedy career on page 8.

White was hired by Brenau as the national production and compliance coordinator. He says the relationships he’s developed during his time at WBCX are invaluable.

“There’s a really great community here,” White says. “I’m grateful to be here, grateful to work with Jay and the students, and I’m really happy to have met so many people doing the show. Brenau saved me after the death of my wife. It gave me a place and a purpose.”

American Idol premieres on Fox

The iPod debuts endowed scholarship

James Brown receives a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame

Elton John is knighted by Queen Elizabeth II

Tupac Shakur releases "All Eyez on Me" Napster arrives

Moe Lyons began spinning tracks in 2003 at WBCX

Dulcé Sloan hones her skills behind the WBCX microphone

Chet White’s “Ground Level” was brought to WBCX

Photo by Alyson Shields

JAY ANDREWS, BU ’16

In 2012, after more than 40 years of broadcasting at radio stations Z93-Atlanta, WFOX, Q-98, Majic 102.9 and WDUN, Jay Andrews returned to WBCX as the director of broadcasting and digital communications. He was encouraged by late Trustee John W. Jacobs Jr., with the plan of launching WBCX into an integrated media world of broadcasting, internet, marketing and film.

On weekday mornings, he hosts “Jay Andrews in the Morning” from 6 to 8 a.m. He also runs the station and teaches courses.

“I teach a lot about technique and tools. Some students get really into it,” Andrews says. “And even in courses like PR, you’ll have to have radio knowledge to coach clients. There’s both a business and a talent end.”

The radio station isn’t just for broadcast students, Andrews emphasized.

“WBCX is an on-air lab, so not only are we able to teach the broadcasting basics, but we can also customize a more targeted format for students in internet, film, PR, or whatever they need.”

Andrews was one of the first male students admitted to Brenau in the 1970s. “Broadcasting was a new major at Brenau then and wasn’t offered many places in the Southeast,” he says. “The handson experience you could get at WBCX was invaluable -- as it is today.”

After returning to Brenau as an employee, Andrews also completed his degree.

Andrews says his goal for WBCX is to continue to keep it relevant to students educationally, and interesting and worthwhile to the Gainesville community.

HALEY BARTOLETTA, WC ’22

Haley Bartoletta, WC ’22, wakes up Athens, Georgia, on the morning show “Georgia's Own Walker and Haley” on 106.1 FM WNGC. Bartoletta also serves as program director for radio stations WPUP and WGAU, part of Cox Media Group, and has served in on-air roles at both.

“WBCX really jump-started my love for radio,” Bartoletta says. “While I was a student at Brenau, I took multiple radio courses where I was able to host my own radio show, write and produce spots and get a feel for what it felt like to be behind the mic.”

Bartoletta says working at the station helped her realize her passion for radio. She took an internship in the newsroom at WDUN in Gainesville before landing the job with CMG.

“My favorite memory of WBCX was first telling Jay Andrews I would be pursuing a career in radio and that I accepted my dream job before graduating,” she says. “He is one of my biggest supporters and mentors, and I am so thankful that he believed in me and pushed me to pursue radio as a career. WBCX will always feel like home to me.”

45 YEARS

Spotify on-demand music streaming service debuts

The one billionth song is downloaded on iTunes

In 2021, WBCX celebrated 45 years in operation

The Voice of Brenau carries on

Jay Andrews returns to WBCX as Director of Broadcasting and Digital Communications

Lady Gaga tops Billboard Pop Songs chart with first five singles

Taylor Swift releases "1989" and sells 1,287,000 copies in first week

Chance the Rapper releases streaming-only album

Bruno Mars takes home Album of the Year with "24K Magic."

LIFTING OTHERS WITH HER VOICE

Senior Amelia Lathem to pursue music education after graduation

By Alyson Shields, WC ‘13

After Amelia Lathem was encouraged to sing solo at church as a small child, she knew she wanted to spend her life bringing music to the world.

“I remember not feeling as nervous once I began singing,” the senior music education major says.

Lathem performed in church plays, excelled in music classes and joined school choirs and musicals. As a teenager, she ventured into singing opportunities and even won a regional talent show in her senior year of high school.

“All of these experiences shaped me into the musician I was as I entered college and the person and musician I am today,” Lathem says.

Lathem said she didn’t get private lessons growing up, and she was grateful to have that experience at Brenau.

“I feel fortunate now to have such wonderful professors who challenge me but also care about me and lend a listening ear,” she says.

The camaraderie of music is also an important part to Lathem’s love of the craft.

“Music and singing allows you to

make authentic memories and make a beautiful sound together with others,” she says. “Music allows you to work together for one common experience and goal. It takes immense work alone or with others to create a blended sound or to get everything just right and ready for performance.”

Brenau’s tight-knit music program offered Lathem a one-of-a-kind experience with ample opportunities to hone her skill.

“I have learned that making music with a smaller ensemble can mean just as much, if not more, as it would with a larger ensemble,” she says. “It also gave me close friendships and a more personal music experience.”

Lathem will graduate this spring, and she hopes to become a music educator. She is also interested in pursuing her master’s and doctoral degrees in choral studies, music education or conducting. Additionally, Lathem would like to serve as a clinician with the Georgia Music Educators Association All-State Choir, which would allow her to work with young singers and help them build their repertoires.

Photo by AJ Reynolds/Brenau University

ADAPTIVE CLOTHING

Fashion, OT collaborate to help real-world clients

Story and photos by Alyson Shields, WC ‘13

Adaptive clothing, which is designed for those with physical challenges, is becoming more mainstream. However, it is still challenging for many to find pieces that fit well and also have the right look.

That’s why Brenau fashion design undergraduates teamed up with occupational therapy graduate students in the fall to create adaptive clothing for young adults who use wheelchairs. One of those clients was Josh Cusick, who requested a three-piece suit.

“It’s been as smooth as I could ever hope it to be,” Cusick said of the process. “You know, there weren’t many bumps in the road, I guess you could say. Because when you’re designing adaptive clothing, everyone is different, so it’s really not one-size-fits-all.”

The five student groups each worked with a single client, a resident of Champion’s Place, an accessible home for young adults with disabilities in metro Atlanta. In each group, OT students first assessed the client’s needs, then a fashion design student designed and created an outfit.

The groups worked together throughout the semester to create the customized outfits, then detailed what they learned in class presentations at Brenau’s Norcross campus.

“I think the biggest thing was learning from the client about her perspective about adaptive clothing,” Lauren Neal, an OT student, said. “She told us about things we would have never thought of specifically, like a magnet for her zipper. That was a really difficult thing for her, so we wouldn’t have known that without her perspective.”

One common detail the students had to change was the depth of the seat of the pants, so the garment was more comfortable. Designs included different types of fasteners and reimagined garment structures to suit medical devices. Each group customized the outfits to make them fashionable and functional.

Fashion design senior Dennisse Rodriguez said the task challenged her.

“I was kind of scared that I wasn’t going to be able to make adaptive clothing for someone who obviously needs it,” she said. “But the more I met up with the client, and the more things I did, I became more comfortable with what I needed to change throughout the process.”

Director of Fashion Programs Charity Armstead and Associate Professor of Occupational Therapy Sarah Shirley Pullani led the combined project. It is the first time the two programs have collaborated on this type of project.

Brenau students have partnered with Champion’s Place since it opened in 2020, providing assessments, workshops and activities.

of DECADES THREE WONDER

Gay H. Hammond creates theater experiences for audiences young and old

By Alyson Shields, WC ‘13

Each year, thousands of children experience the thrill of live theater in Pearce Auditorium, watching a show crafted especially for them as part of the WonderQuest program with the Gainesville Theatre Alliance. For some, it’s the first time they’ve seen actors in costume, a handbuilt set or a complete stage.

The carefully designed shows are often written by Gay H. Hammond, WC ’82, WonderQuest’s artistic director and an associate professor of theater and English at Brenau. After more than 30 years of creating, teaching, producing and directing, Hammond has announced plans to retire at the end of the spring semester.

Photo by AJ Reynolds/Brenau University

“I've had so many wonderful moments at Brenau,” Hammond says. “It's where I discovered my life.”

During three decades as an educator and artistic director, Hammond helped dozens find their lives, too.

Jan Ewing, WC ’94, theater teacher at North Hall High School, says Hammond gave her a life-changing opportunity with WonderQuest 30 years ago.

“She took me under her wing and taught me so much about directing. It led me to be the theater teacher I am today,” Ewing, also a former Brenau Academy teacher, says. “She has had an amazing impact on theater in our area as a performer, writer, teacher and director. Her artistic presence is indelible.”

Zechariah Pierce, BU ’09, studied under Hammond while earning his bachelor’s degree. He is now the artistic director for GTA, a collaborative theater program for Brenau and University of North Georgia students.

“It’s due to much of her blood, sweat and tears that GTA has thrived for 40 years,” he says.

BEGINNINGS AT BRENAU

Hammond attended Brenau from 197882 and earned a bachelor’s degree in theater and English.

She recalls how Brenau has made a lasting impression on her, thinking back to her freshman year spent trying to adapt to college life and maturing away from her hometown. She says she used to sneak into Pearce Auditorium to do her homework.

“Everybody, I think, struggles with identity. Who am I? And then you realize, gosh, a lot of it’s choice,” Hammond says. “A lot of it's just, I'm going to choose to be this person and be happy about that, and not be ashamed or embarrassed or worried. And that's what Brenau taught me to be.”

During her sophomore year, GTA began with what is now the University of North Georgia. She studied under Ed Cabell, who co-founded the program with Mary Alice Sullivan.

“I acted in the very first show; I played Abigail in ‘The Crucible.’ It was very challenging, very fun,” she says. “Cabell was my main theater teacher throughout the rest of my time at Brenau, and he's still my mentor. I'm still good friends with him. He's the godfather to my children. So he's been a big influence on my life.”

Hammond has spent most of her adult life associated with Brenau in a variety of roles that all shape how she remembers her alma mater. When she began working at Brenau, Hammond initially worked parttime so she could raise and homeschool her two children, Amelia and Connor. Like many children of alumni, they also attended Brenau.

“So when I look at Brenau, the place, it's not only my memories as a 20 year old or my memories as a young mother,” she says. “I see my children, and I see my professional development as a writer, director and actor.”

Class Act of 1982

Photo from Gainesville Theatre Alliance

Photo from Brenau University Archives

Hammond attended Brenau from 1978-82 and earned a bachelor’s degree in theater and English.

ENGAGING CHILDREN WITH THE MAGIC OF THEATER

While raising a family and working in her craft, Hammond also obtained a Master of Arts in theater from the University of Louisville and a Master of Fine Arts in playwriting from Spalding University.

In the early 1990s, a leadership opportunity arose with the Gainesville Children’s Theatre, a local group established in 1974. Hammond became involved with the program and focused on theater for young audiences.

The program officially became part of GTA in 2002 as WonderQuest, and the audience has grown exponentially in three decades. Hammond recalled a performance in 1991 had only 25 audience members, while a recent WonderQuest show had more than 6,000 during its run.

“It's the only professional, semiprofessional, young audiences theater in north Georgia,” Hammond says.

Hammond says she wanted to bring the wonder in WonderQuest to every show and allow the audience to explore things they may not have otherwise. She also feels it is essential for her to show young people how to engage appropriately as audience members and enjoy their theatrical experiences.

Hammond has written more than 40 plays since 1992, including many children’s shows.

“I wanted challenging scripts, fun scripts, things that we could do beautiful things with onstage,” Hammond says.

Hammond wrote and directed “The Pirate Queen” in fall 2022 — the first WonderQuest show produced since the pandemic.

A LASTING LEGACY

As Hammond retires, she leaves a legendary impact on GTA and a lasting impression on Brenau. Hammond will be recognized for her dedication to the craft and to her alma mater as a Faculty Emeritus.

“I've been involved with the program since its beginning,” Hammond says. “So I'm pretty passionate about GTA.”

Hammond took that passion and showed her students more than acting techniques and methods, but how to lead as educators.

“I would not be the teacher, mother and

adult that I am today without the immersive teaching style of Gay Hammond; one that encouraged and challenged higher levels of empathy and curiosity,” Cheryl Baraban, WC ’10, says. Baraban teaches high school students at Sugar Hill Christian Academy in Sugar Hill, Georgia.

Thousands of schoolchildren across the region have attended a WonderQuest show over three decades, and Pierce says that makes Hammond’s impact vast.

“Many students who’ve come through our program can trace their love for theater back to a show they saw under her direction,” Pierce says. “To have had that kind of impact in the community and the lives of our students is something we all strive for.”

Others took her acting knowledge to their jobs, like Michael McCracken, BU ’04, who is the owner and founder of Vagabond School of the Arts in Chicago.

“Gay Hammond as a teacher was always encouraging and challenging all her students to be the best versions of themselves, on and off the stage,” McCracken says. “I believe that her dedication to the students of Brenau has helped pave artistic roads for successful actors around the country, myself being one of them.”

Zechariah Pierce, BU ’09

"Many students who’ve come through our program can trace their love for theater back to a show they saw under her direction."

Photos by AJ Reynolds/Brenau University

A refuge for storytelling, for expressing her thoughts

By Edie Rogers

BEAT M

Dance Department earned the Ann Austin Johnson Outstanding Faculty Award - the university’s highest faculty honor.

educator,” Cooper-Ashirifi says. “It was actually not in my plan.”

Ashirifi’s life almost from the time she could walk and talk. Her mother, a teacher and former Catholic nun, encouraged artistic expression and enrolled her energetic young daughter in dance classes at age 2. Violin and piano lessons were added later.

to her own DANCING BEAT

to escape war in Liberia, and today Cooper-Ashirifi celebrates her heritage by incorporating traditional African dance and other art forms into her performances. releasing energy,” she says. “Dance became a refuge for storytelling, for expressing my thoughts. Combining multiple art forms I hold dear, such as music, graphic arts and dance, allows me to bring all those elements together to express myself.”

whether to dedicate herself to violin or dance. She selected dance and Brenau, where she earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts. She then earned a Master of Fine Arts from State University of New York, Brockport.

By Edie Rogers

Photos by AJ Reynolds/Brenau University

Madia Cooper-Ashirifi, WC ’04, didn’t set out to become a teacher. Yet in 2022, the chair of Brenau’s Dance Department earned the Ann Austin Johnson Outstanding Faculty Award — the university’s highest faculty honor.

“I never thought I was going to be an educator,” Cooper-Ashirifi says. “It was actually not in my plan.”

The arts have been a part of CooperAshirifi’s life almost from the time she could walk and talk. Her mother, a teacher and former Catholic nun, encouraged artistic expression and enrolled her energetic young daughter in dance classes at age 2. Violin and piano lessons were added later.

Her parents came to the United States to escape war in Liberia, and today Cooper-Ashirifi celebrates her heritage by incorporating traditional African dance and other art forms into her performances.

“Dance became a lot more than just releasing energy,” she says. “Dance became a refuge for storytelling, for expressing my thoughts. Combining multiple art forms I hold dear, such as music, graphic arts and dance, allows me to bring all those elements together to express myself and to make a difference.”

Cooper-Ashirifi eventually had to decide whether to dedicate herself to violin or dance. She selected dance and enrolled at Brenau, where she earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts. She then earned a Master of Fine Arts from State University of New York, Brockport.

Auditions brought her tantalizingly close to a professional dance career, but memories of the joy her mother gleaned from students’ accomplishments led her in another direction. Cooper-Ashirifi earned a Doctor of Education from Vanderbilt University and was teaching at Middle Tennessee State University when a close friend told her about a job opening at Brenau.

“I interviewed at Brenau with the late Jolie Carlton, who I initially knew as my teacher and mentor. When I was hired, she was my coworker and friend,” CooperAshirifi says. “I had the opportunity to get close to her in her last couple of years here on Earth. I spoke at her memorial to let her family and the world know how much of an impact she had at Brenau and to let her

know Brenau Dance is in good hands — I hope.”

Olivia Anderson, a dance major from Tennessee who graduates next year, believes that the dance program indeed is in good hands.

“Since my freshman year, I have seen the department grow in wonderful ways,” Anderson says. “I think the dance department will continue to grow and operate as a home away from home for future students just as it has been for me.”

Cooper-Ashirifi plans to broaden the diversity of classes in performance and choreography and add to the existing internships with the Aurora Theatre in Lawrenceville, Georgia, and Giordano Dance Chicago.

young woman and calls her the best teacher she’s ever had.

“Dr. Cooper-Ashirifi has always been incredibly supportive in my dance journey. Coming from a small, isolated town, I felt very out of my depth at Brenau and didn't feel like I was good enough to be here,” Anderson says. “Dr. CooperAshirifi challenged me in that mindset, although not explicitly. She pushed me and encouraged me in her technique classes so I was able to find confidence in my abilities and thereby see progress in my artistry.”

Anderson’s plans include pursuing a professional dance career, then following in her mentor’s steps to become an educator to “impact students in the same way she has impacted me.”

“Dance’s future hopefully will be a vessel for young artists to find themselves artistically as well as knowing their purpose as a global citizen in their community and the world at large,” Cooper-Ashirifi says.

Throughout her teaching career, CooperAshirifi has held to one tenet also learned from her mother: Everyone has a purpose.

“What we do here in the dance department fosters encouragement and knowledge to help students to be great leaders in their own way through the medium of dance,” Cooper-Ashirifi says.

“The process of a student searching and then finding the moment of ‘aha’ satisfies me because change is happening. Change is beautiful.”

Anderson credits Cooper-Ashirifi with guiding her development as a dancer and a

Cooper-Ashirifi’s impact extends beyond the classroom or the studio. She helped found Brenau’s Black Faculty and Staff Association and started the Nyansapo Kente Stole Ceremony to honor Black culture. She also brought the American College Dance Association Southeast Conference, featuring more than 400 dancers and faculty from across the region, to Brenau in March.

She credits her family for her busy schedule and a sense of obligation to give back to the community.

“People always tell me, ‘You’re so busy,’” she says. “I didn’t realize how busy my family’s lives were. As an only child, I just went everywhere with them. My mom, my grandma and uncle were heavily involved in everything in Albany, Georgia.”

DESIGNING WOMAN

Jill Mansfield helps interior design students gain real-world experience

By Alyson Shields, WC ‘13

Jill Mansfield, BU '15, continues to give back to the university by supporting the interior design program and serving on the Board of Trustees.

Mansfield, who earned a Master of Interior Design degree from Brenau, has been a longtime supporter of the department. She takes the students on tours of her business, Jill Mansfield Interiors LLC, and current interior design projects.

"I enjoy working with the students, especially those from other countries,

but I have a great interest in the cohort as they learn. I want them to see what it's like in the real world, and since I'm local, they can see a job site in varying stages, see what the process is like, and see how it turns out," Mansfield says. "My own experience at Brenau was so wonderful, and it was challenging. My business has been extremely successful and I owe that to Brenau."

Supporting Brenau runs in Mansfield's family, and some of her childhood memories involve visiting the university. Her mother, Dixie Chester Ramsey, also attended Brenau. Ramsey and her husband

Wilbur created the Ramsey-Chester Endowed Scholarship Fund that supports students seeking a nursing degree.

"She instilled in me the importance of giving back to the community and something that you feel passionate about," Mansfield says. "After I went to Brenau, I understood how she felt."

Mansfield's husband, John E. Mansfield Jr., continued the family tradition of support when he honored his wife with a gift to establish the Jill Ramsey Mansfield Opportunities Fund for Interior Design.

"It was a very special Christmas gift, and I hope we can continue to add to it," she says. "The design department needs tools and resources to operate. And I know that when I was there, you needed a lot of materials for projects, which were expensive. If I can help provide those tools and help students succeed academically, that means a lot to me."

Jill Mansfield started her company in 2014 after more than 30 years with the real estate rental and development company Ramsey Properties, of which she is still president. In 2020, she was featured in the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra's Designer Showhouse.

"I enjoy working with the students... and giving back to the community that I feel passionate about."

Photo courtesy of Jill Mansfield Interiors LLC

“All my stress, all my feelings, I put it in my work,” freshman Ana Gabriela “Gaby” Perez says. “It can be difficult to express yourself, so my way to do that is through art, like with the color or texture.”

Perez is a Panamanian student pursuing studio art through a five-year program between the country and Brenau that allows students to get a bilingual education and a bachelor’s degree in the United States. Perez came to Brenau in 2021 but has been creating art since she was a young girl.

At first, art was more of a hobby, but as her talent developed, Perez decided to attend a special high school just for art. A childhood injury left Perez with a visual impairment, and she worked hard in school to prove it would not prevent her from creating. She especially enjoys the traditional forms, like painting, and says acrylic paint is her strongest medium.

Professor Claudia Wilburn invited Perez to participate in the 2022 Spring Showcase for the Arts. The event highlights several art processes, including large-scale printmaking using a steamroller. Perez says Wilburn gave her a large piece of linoleum for printmaking, but she had never worked with that medium before.

“Even though I wasn’t in her class, she took the time to teach me the craft,” Perez says. “I was in a new country, learning a new language and I was feeling stressed. When she was teaching me this new technique, I felt like I was finally doing something with art.”

NO BARRIERS ON SELF-EXPRESSION

Freshman Gaby Perez shares her passion for art

Opportunities for Perez to showcase her talents and develop skills continue to arise. In January, some of her work was featured in an exhibition for Brenau students at the High Museum of Art in Atlanta.

By Alyson Shields, WC ‘13

As Perez moves forward with her studies, she is interested in learning more about digital design, which she thinks is more prevalent in the United States than in Panama. She wants to learn “a little bit of everything” and would love to work for a big company like Disney. Ultimately, she is interested in the field of education.

“After I get my bachelor’s, I want to go for my master’s and doctoral degrees, so I can teach in a university like Ms. Claudia and Mr. (Huy) Chu,” Perez says. “I want to teach others how to make art, and I want to have time to make my own art. I want to work in what I love and in my passion.”

STUDENT ART DISPLAYED AT HIGH MUSEUM

Artwork from some 50 Brenau students was featured this spring in a special exhibition at the High Museum of Art in Atlanta.

More than 130 pieces created during 2022, ranging from physical works like paintings, drawings, prints and garments to digital art and photography, were included in the show. The artwork selected represented the wide range of visual arts programs offered at Brenau.

The partnership between the museum and Brenau, which is the only college or university with an academic affiliation with the museum, dates back 12 years. Through the partnership, the High has hosted annual shows featuring Brenau student artwork since 2013, except during 2021 and 2022.

“Due to COVID restrictions, we haven’t been able to do the exhibition for the past two years,” Claudia Wilburn, department chair for Art & Design, said. “This marked the return in 2023, and we were very excited about it.”

A closing reception for the show was held on Saturday, Jan. 15.

While the students were not required to create gallery frames for their work, they did have to prepare it for professional exhibition. The reward was well worth the challenge of the process, Wilburn said.

“Each of our students creates a resume in their professional development class, and they are collecting data for that resume,” she said. “Exhibitions such as this one are something

that graduate schools or employers with art-based job openings would look for. It also gives them the chance to show off. They brought their families and friends to the reception, and visitors to the High saw the exhibition.”

Brenau’s partnership with the High, which was renewed in 2022, reaps benefits for Brenau and students.

“In terms of us being connected to the art world, this partnership is invaluable,” Wilburn said. “Brenau gets show catalogs of all the major shows at the High, which are kept in the library.

In terms of research, that’s a really great resource.”

Over the years, more than 1,000 works of art from Brenau students have been featured at the High through the annual shows.

“We have enjoyed a generative, mutually beneficial partnership with Brenau since we began working together in 2010,” Andrew Westover, the High’s Eleanor McDonald Storza director of education, said. “Our staff members collaborate with a new generation of creatives and thinkers, and the university’s students can extend their curriculum through on-site projects at the museum, including this exhibition.”

Brenau previously hosted an exhibition from the High collection in the Sellars Gallery on the historic Gainesville campus, and Wilburn said there are hopes to host another. The university also has access to hold special events and curatorial tours of exhibitions at the High reserved for the Brenau community.

“In terms of us being connected to the art world, this partnership is invaluable.”

Claudia Wilburn Department chair for Art & Design

Student submitted art

ROBBINS JOINS BRENAU AS NEW GALLERY DIRECTOR

Gena Brodie Robbins has joined Brenau as the new gallery director. She earned a Master of Fine Arts in painting from the Savannah College of Arts & Design and a Bachelor of Fine Art in art education from Valdosta State University.

In addition to her experience as a gallery director and studio owner, Robbins also has worked as an educator at SCAD, the Telfair Museum in Savannah and multiple public school systems in Georgia and Florida.

Robbins will oversee Brenau’s five exhibition spaces and the university’s world-class collection of more than 3,500 works from internationally and nationally renowned artists, as well as local talent. The galleries serve as both an educational and cultural resource for northeast Georgia through providing free public programming and shows.

PICASSO ARTWORK FEATURED IN EXCLUSIVE EXHIBITION

More than 60 print works created by Pablo Picasso were displayed at Brenau’s Sellars Gallery during October and November in the first stop for an exclusive exhibition and museum tour organized by Landau Traveling Exhibitions, Los Angeles.

The etchings, lithographs, linocuts and one canceled copper printing plate created between 1923 and 1972 are part of “A Graphic Journey: Prints by Pablo Picasso – The Tim Collins Collection.” The exhibition will tour museums in the United States.

“Thousands of these prints are not only located in major institutions such as museums, universities and libraries around the world, but also in great private collections,” Eric Mourlot said of the exhibit in an accompanying essay.

His grandfather, Fernand Mourlot, was one of the printers who worked with Picasso mainly in the 1940s and 1950s, and their families remain close even after

Picasso’s death in 1973.

Picasso was a major innovator in printmaking. He made some 2,400 prints throughout his career in addition to his other works. The proofs in the Collins Collection illustrate the unique working relationship Picasso maintained with his printers and their ateliers and allows for the examination of the artist’s working process.

“Hundreds of books have been written just on his graphic output, where it has been thoroughly studied, referenced and analyzed,” Mourlot said. “Several of his prints have broken records at auctions, where they have sold for amounts greater than some of his unique works, including paintings. Therefore, it is safe to say that no one since Rembrandt has been more significant, prolific and proficient than Picasso in the entire history of artistic printing. This exhibition is another proof of this fact.”

“I believe it is essential to provide a variety of educational opportunities for every type of learner at Brenau University and for the wider community of Gainesville and the Southeast,” Robbins said. “In addition to artist talks planned to accompany many of the upcoming exhibits, I hope to provide educator and student workshops that will reinforce a deeper understanding and appreciation of each exhibition and the wide range of styles and movements of art found throughout Brenau’s extensive permanent collection.”

Photo by AJ Reynolds/Brenau University

Submitted photo

Brenau earns reaffirmation of accreditation

Brenau earned its 10-year reaffirmation from the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges, the body for accreditation of degree-granting higher education institutions in the southern United States.

The reaffirmation, announced in late January, came after an intensive site visit and review of 1,694 supporting documents that spanned 12,313 pages.

“I’m proud that we achieved zero recommendations related to noncompliance with any standard, and I appreciate the outstanding work by everyone at Brenau in ensuring our processes are in place to help our students be successful,” President Anne Skleder said. “Every person at Brenau plays a part in the success of our students and this institution, and I look forward to carrying on this momentum into our next 10-year review.”

Additionally, Brenau programs in two colleges earned accreditation.

The Doctorate of Nursing Practice program in the Ivester College of Health Sciences was granted its initial accreditation by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education. Due to programmatic focus, accreditation was not required for the DNP program when it began in 2009 as one of the first in the nation.

In the College of Business and Communication, the International Accreditation Council for Business Schools and Programs reaffirmed accreditation for the Bachelor of Business Administration degree programs in accounting, general business, finance, human resource management and marketing, as well as Master of Business Administration degree programs in 14 concentration areas.

Brenau awards scholarships for first-generation students, academic achievement

Thanks to scholarships from Brenau and grant funding, tuition costs for four young women are covered as they attend The Women’s College.

A ceremony was held to recognize the 2022 recipients of the Brenau Scholar and Brenau Dreams scholarships. Brenau funding for each of the four scholarships totals some $75,000 to $100,000 per recipient over four years; in addition, each student may receive state and federal grants.

Abigail Wilks of Macon, Georgia, was recognized for her

academic achievement with the Brenau Scholar award, a longstanding scholarship offered to students with superior academic performance.

Brenau Dreams scholarships, designated for first-generation college students from Hall County, went to Melanie Perez from East Hall High School, Shakhenyah ReyesFernandez from Johnson High School and Enedina Garcia-Arellano from West Hall High School.

President Anne Skleder and Abigail Wilks Photo by AJ Reynolds/Brenau University

Global connections strengthened through partnerships, events

Throughout 2022, Brenau celebrated diversity and global awareness while highlighting international partnerships.

To mark Panamanian Culture Day in November, Brenau welcomed guests from a number of partner institutions in Panama, including the Ministry of Education, financial aid organization IFARHU, Specialized University of the Americas and the University of Panama. The partnership with IFARHU has brought 36 Panamanian students to Brenau. A celebratory event featured a student showcase of Panamanian culture.

The visit came after President Anne Skelder traveled to Panama and four Brenau students took part in a servicelearning project in the country earlier in 2022. Organized through the university’s Miller Institute for Global Education, the student project represented the institute’s goal to expand the opportunities for Brenau students to travel abroad for experiential learning.

Skelder also traveled to Costa Rica to celebrate the launch of a new program, Impulsa, in partnership with the country’s trade ministry to promote gender equality in business. Her visit was followed by the College of Business and Communication

Two selected by Georgia Trend among most influential Georgians

Two members of the Brenau community were featured on the inaugural Georgia Trend Georgia 500 list in 2022. The Georgia 500 is a list of leaders who are driving a successful economy. President Anne Skleder was recognized in the category of education for her efforts with student retention and recruitment through strategic international partnerships. Trustee Kit Dunlap, WC ’64, president and CEO of the Greater Hall Chamber of Commerce, was recognized in the category of economic development for her work spearheading several multi-million dollar private business programs.

faculty traveling to San Jose, Costa Rica, to host leadership workshops for more than 100 female business owners. The event was in partnership with the Chamber of Commerce of Costa Rica, the Gender Parity Initiative and PROCOMER, an external commerce accelerator.

Brenau welcomed Pamela Castillo Barahona, a Costa Rican activist for gender equity and the environment, during the fall 2022 semester as part of The Women’s College GOLD Program. The program is in its “D” Year, which focuses on diversity and global perspectives.

Graduate student attends inaugural diversity summit for PA studies

Ashely Boyce, who is set to graduate in 2023 with her Master of Science in physician assistant studies, was among a select group chosen for an inaugural summit on diversity in the physician assistant field. She took part in the National Commission on Certification of Physician Assistants’ Represent! Summit, which addresses inclusivity and diversity in the PA profession and in clinical settings.

Pamela Castillo Barahona

Panamanian Cultural Day at Brenau highlighted traditional food, clothing, dance and art and also featured students showcasing their talents.

Photos by AJ Reynolds/Brenau University

Submitted photo

Major grants renewed to provide student support

Two high-profile, Atlantabased entities renewed grants for the 2022-23 academic year that provide scholarship funds for dozens of Brenau students.

This year, 55 students received awards from the Lettie Pate Whitehead Foundation, named for a philanthropist and businesswoman who led the fledgling Coca-Cola Bottling Co. after her husband’s death. Elise Booth, a sophomore nursing major who aspires to be an ICU travel nurse, is a previous recipient of the scholarship.

“This scholarship allows me to focus on my studies and the overall college experience,” she said. “Being a recipient is a constant reminder of how important it is to never take education for granted, and to therefore make the most of the

New leaders announced in student services, academics

Brenau has announced a dean of student life and leadership and an assistant dean of the Ivester College of Health Sciences.

Holly Taylor joined Brenau in August 2022 and didn’t waste any time getting right to work.

“I want to make sure students know that I am there for them,” Taylor said. “My responsibilities on campus are not just to host the programs and balance the budget for Student Services. As the dean

of student life and leadership, I know my job is to show up for the students.”

Taylor came to Brenau from Lehigh University, where she most recently worked as the assistant dean of students and director of the office of student conduct. She held similar roles in student affairs at the University of North Carolina Wilmington and Western Carolina University. Taylor first began serving students as a graduate work study student at the University of South Florida, and then became a student advocate.

Heather Ross, Ph.D., is the new assistant dean of the Ivester College of Health Sciences and will continue to serve as the program director and chair of the Department of Physical Therapy.

educational opportunities here at Brenau.”

Brenau also received a grant renewal from the Institute for Mexicans Abroad scholarship program, or IME Becas, to support first-generation Mexican-American students pursuing higher education.

Junior nursing major Corinna Mendieta Jimenez earned the scholarship last year. Mendieta Jimenez was born in Texas, but both her parents hail from Guanajuato, Mexico.

“Being Mexican has taught me to always help out my people, and earning this scholarship is an example of how our people in the Mexican Consulate have helped me,” she said. “I already love Brenau, and thanks to the scholarship, I have been able to stay at Brenau while continuing to work hard toward my degree.”

Ross began working for Brenau in 2015 and has led the physical therapy program since 2018. She said she looks forward to working alongside Gale Starich, Ph.D., dean of the college.

“The college is populated by exceptional programs, leaders, faculty, staff and students, and it will be a pleasure to serve them

all,” Ross said.

Ross earned a Bachelor of Arts in exercise and sport science from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, a Master of Physical Therapy from East Carolina University, and a Ph.D. in anatomy and neurobiology from Virginia Commonwealth University.

Brenau hosted Consulate General Francisco Javier Díaz de León and Gabriela Cobos Uribe from the Mexican Consulate for a signing ceremony formalizing the IME Becas grant.

Holly Taylor Heather Ross, Ph.D.

Photo by AJ Reynolds/Brenau University

Athletics hires two head coaches

Brenau Athletics has announced two new head coaches, both of whom are dedicated to pursuing athletic and academic excellence.

Mandi Bell, with 41 years of experience in swimming, including 34 as a coach, is the new swim coach.

“My ultimate goals are to win conference and championship meets and have the top GPA average,” Bell said. Bell began her competitive swim career at age 6 and continued competing throughout high school, lettering all four years. She set numerous records and qualified for Junior and Senior Nationals and Olympic Trials.

She is a certified CPR, first aid, basic life support, and lifeguard instructor with the Red Cross as well as with StarGuard Elite. Additionally, she is an accredited lifeguard instructor trainer with the Red Cross.

The Golden Tigers Cheer Team has a familiar face as its new head coach: Bralee Housworth, the most recent assistant cheer coach and a former Brenau cheer team member. She will oversee both the competitive and spirit teams.

“In addition to being exceptional in the competition, I want the program to be recognized for academic excellence and positive work in the community,” Housworth said.

Housworth previously coached the competitive cheer team at East Jackson High School in Commerce, Georgia. She led the program to five top-10 finishes at Georgia High School Association state meets, including three finishes in the top five. The team took home the GHSA Region 8AAA title for 2020-21.

Students and faculty aid farm workers in south Georgia volunteer clinics

Students and faculty from the Ivester College of Health Sciences and the College of Education traveled to Moultrie, Georgia, in June as part of the Moultrie Farm Workers Family Health Program. The program offers free health care and other services to migrant farm workers and their families in the southwest Georgia city and surrounding area during a two-week period. This marks the fourth year Brenau’s Physical Therapy Department participated in the annual program and the second for the Lynn J. Darby School of Psychology and Adolescent Counseling. The education team led by Assistant Professor Laura Cantu joined the project for the first time.

Kia Shields, WC ’19, BU ’20, is pursuing a doctorate in elementary education and teaches second grade at

Fair Street International Academy in Gainesville.

“Gaining this experience helps me refine my skills, especially in teaching English language learners,” Shields said. “Having the opportunity to work with students in Moultrie allows me to have a better understanding of differentiating instruction and truly get inside to the everyday life of migrant families.”

The education students engaged in psychoeducational screening and activities with psychology students, and played interactive educational games with the children. In the evening, students in health sciences practiced their clinical skills.

The interdisciplinary health service initiative involves multiple universities and is headed by Emory University.

"Gaining this experience helps me refine my skills, especially in teaching English language learners."

Kia Shields WC ’19, BU ’20

Mandi Bell Bralee Housworth

Submitted photo

WINE THREES &

Brenau’s Office of Alumni Engagement hosts events across the region and around the world. Alumni gathered at Chateau Elan in December for a wine tasting. In January, more than 50 people

attended an Atlanta Hawks game with a pre-game happy hour. Both events were opportunities to connect and reconnect with fellow alumni. To learn about alumni events and gatherings, visit brenau.edu/alumni.

Engage, foster and support Brenau’s alumni

Dear Brenau community, I am deeply grateful for the opportunity to serve Brenau’s outstanding alumni as the director of Alumni Engagement. Brenau’s mission pushes us to continually grow in all aspects of life, and I could not be more thrilled to join this university.

Growing up in northeast Georgia, I am familiar with the many ways this institution supports students and gives back to the community. In my short time at Brenau, I’ve constantly been inspired by the countless stories of how the alumni body has selflessly given back through campus mentorship, community organizations and much needed scholarship support for current students.

I received my bachelor’s degree in business administration from Piedmont University in 2015 and earned my MBA while working in the business office there. After my husband, Patrick,

and I got married, we moved to Connecticut, where he studied at Yale. For five years, I worked with the alumni and friends of Yale Divinity School. I am excited to utilize all I have learned from my work with people of all different walks of life and academic backgrounds to engage, foster and support Brenau’s alumni. I am thankful for the chance to return home and continue the work of engaging alumni and being part of this wonderful community!

Emily K. Reid, MBA Director of Alumni Engagement ereid@brenau.edu | 770.534.6164

Stay informed and connected. Update your contact information today!

CLASS NOTES FROM EXTRAORDINARY LIVES

2 Twenty members of the Class of 1987 celebrated their 35th reunion in June in a weeklong gathering in Gulf Shores, Alabama. Kristen Repetto Leavell, WC ’87, shared this roundup of the fun:

The Class of ’87 proved no matter how many years have passed, we can get together and pick up right where we left off. The ladies enjoyed a week of themed dinners hosted by the different sorority members in attendance. We even did a May Day-themed brunch complete with Bloody Marys and mimosas. The ladies were also able to watch our Junior Skit Day from 1986. Oh, the memories!

We ended the trip with a pool party complete with beer truck decorations and pool games. And it wouldn’t be a Brenau event without a Tea Hole red velvet cake. It was a great week of reconnecting and making new friendships.

Special thanks to our planning committee who worked for more than a year with Zoom calls, countless emails and texts: Kelley Mynatt Mitchell, Leigh Ann Miller Dickson, Dana Boyd Barr, Amy Flagel Scandrett, Leslie Ann Holbrook, Anne Gray Jennings and Kimberly M. Hardgrave (WC ’89). Our special event would not have been possible without all of you!

3 Jenna Snyder, BU ’12,

therapy clinics in

and Alpharetta, Georgia. After a year and a half at The Women’s College with her Alpha Chi Omega sisters, three years of evening/weekend school on the Norcross campus and 10 years as an OT, she is thrilled to share that all is well.

1 Alpha Delta Pi sisters celebrated in Highlands, North Carolina. From left to right: Brooke Bargeron Statham, WC ’00; Tiffany Green Hein, WC ’06, BU ’12; Stacey PondSalazar, WC ’05; Alicia Pendleton Harris, WC ’05; Victoria Henderson Bowers, WC ’04; Belinda Landers Jackson, WC ’05; Rhonda Patjens Francis, WC ’04; Natalie Froelich, friend; Jessica Truelove Terry, WC ’05; Kristin Kole Bloodworth, WC ’04.

owns private pediatric occupational

Cumming

4 Sage Magness-Hill, WC ’07, proposed to their partner, Sheena Hill, in February 2022. Their blended family includes three children, Allie (18), Rosey (7), and Emma (6). The Magness-Hills were married in a small ceremony in March.

5 Autumn McBride, WC ’20, was married on Sept. 17, 2022, with her Brenau Alpha Chi Omega sisters in attendance. “Brenau gave me my forever friends and I’m so thankful,” McBride said.

6 Brittany Martin Church, WC ’04, married Jason Church on Nov. 19, 2021, in Washington, Pennsylvania. Allyson Reynolds, WC ’04, was one of her two maids of honor.

7 Kim Turner, BU ’96, graduated from Harvard University's T.H. Chan School of Public Health on May 25, 2022, with a Master of Public Health with a concentration in health management. While at Harvard, she received additional certifications in leadership, Harvard peer coaching and equity, diversity and inclusion. She plans to be chief health officer for a consulting company. Dr. Turner has worked as an executive in public health for more than 20 years and was instrumental in COVID-19 community outreach and response. She has three children and enjoys playing golf and tennis.

8 Andi Savage, WC ’15, BU ’19, and her husband welcomed their baby girl, Zorah Winifred, on June 23, 2022. She is full of personality and is already a huge part of the Brenau family.

Michelle (Stacy) Cantrell, WC ’91, received a Ph.D. in administration of elementary and secondary schools from Auburn University in May 2022. She works as the ESOL coordinator for Gainesville City Schools. She and her husband, Craig, who is a high school band director, live in Flowery Branch, Georgia. Her children, Tyler and Julia Truelove, are 24 and 25.

In Memory

Holly Reynolds, WC ’39, of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, died Oct. 11, 2022.

Perla Hill Simon, WC ’40, of Walla Walla, Washington, died May 14, 2022.

Frances Prunty, WC ’46, of Wilmington, North Carolina, died July 18, 2021.

Anne Behrens, A ’59, of Phoenix, Arizona, died Feb. 2, 2022.

Marguerite Elizabeth Maynard Franklin, WC ’59, of Gainesville, Georgia, died June 3, 2022.

Sally Smith, A ’64, WC ’68, of Swainsboro, Georgia, died Dec. 13, 2022.

Lynn Blalock Lancaster, WC ’74, of Gainesville, Georgia, died May 6, 2022.

Teresa Walker, WC ’76, of Madison, Georgia, died Nov. 5, 2022.

Phyllis Cantrell, WC ’82, of Hartwell, Georgia, died Oct. 13, 2022.

Spencer “Spence” Franklin, BU ’93, of Columbus, Georgia, died Oct. 24, 2022.

Janice “Jan” Grissom, former faculty, of Lawrenceville, Georgia, died Dec. 24, 2022.

Lynnea J. Halberg, former dean, of Gainesville, Georgia, died March 27, 2022.

James R. Pierce, former faculty, of Dahlonega, Georgia, died Oct. 18, 2022.

www.brenau.edu/alumni/stay-in-touch/

DOWNTOWN CAMPUS CELEBRATION

Brenau University celebrated its expanded Downtown Campus with three days of events in September focused on science and the arts. The celebration evoked the spirit of renaissance in honor of the university’s newest space.

Gainesville Renaissance, one of downtown’s newest buildings, was developed by Brenau Trustee Doug Ivester and completes the fourth side of the square. When finished, the building will contain spaces dedicated to education, dining, retail and the arts in addition to living space on the third floor.

The Lynn J. Darby School of Psychology and Adolescent Counseling at Brenau

is located on the second floor of the Gainesville Renaissance, and Brenau also features gallery space on the first floor. The building is next door to Brenau’s Downtown Center, which houses health sciences programs.

In addition to a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the new Renaissance Park, Brenau held two public events in the Charles D. Walters Theatre on the Square to celebrate the downtown expansion: a presentation from Samford University psychology professor Stephen Chew, Ph.D., about how people learn and “The Great American Songbook,” a live, original musical revue.

Photos by AJ Reynolds/Brenau University

From left: Brenau Board of Trustees Chair Mike Smith, Gainesville Mayor Sam Couvillon, Trustee Doug Ivester and Brenau President Anne Skleder at the ribbon-cutting ceremony for Renaissance Park.

Office of Communications

500 Washington Street SE Gainesville, GA 30501

www.brenau.edu

THE FIRE PROGRAM

A NEW CONSISTENT GIVING INITIATIVE SUPPORTING BRENAU

By donating, you can become a member of the FIRE donor recognition program and make a consistent, positive impact supporting Brenau.

Membership details and information will be sent via email to alumni after their first donation.

Make your first donation at giving.brenau.edu

FIRE PROGRAM TIMELINE

Year 1: Fidelity

Flame charm

Year 2: Integrity

Scale charm

Year 3: Resilience

Anvil charm

Year 4: Engagement

Tiger charm

Year 5: Graduation into Gold Refined Giving Societies

If you have any questions about the FIRE Program or donating to Brenau, please reach out to us at giving@brenau.edu.

Make a gift to Brenau each year to move though the FIRE Program!*

Ways to Give:

• Online: giving.brenau.edu

• Call: 770.534.6163

• Mail a check to: Brenau University University Advancement 500 Washington St. SE Gainesville, GA 30501

*one or multiple gifts totaling any amount over $60 annually