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Researchers provide insight into how health care industry can reduce frustrations RESEARCH NEWS
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Artist Willie Cole to give Georgia Museum of Art’s Holbrook Lecture April 13 Vol. 44, No. 32
April 10, 2017
www.columns.uga.edu
UGA GUIDE
4&5
Johnson to speak at UGA’s spring Commencement
The addition of GRA Eminent Scholars like Karen Norris, left, and Dennis Kyle has led to major advances in research.
‘Strong partnership’
UGA’s GRA Eminent Scholars foster innovation and economic development By Allyson Mann and Camren Skelton
tiny@uga.edu, cskelton@uga.edu
When Dennis Kyle, one of the nation’s leading infectious disease researchers, arrived on the University of Georgia campus in January, he became the institution’s 17th Georgia Research Alliance Eminent Scholar. Since its establishment in 1990, GRA has partnered with Georgia’s research universities to recruit world-class scientists who foster science- and technology-based economic development. At UGA, the addition of such researchers has led to major advances in research capabilities and impact. Kyle is the GRA Eminent Scholar in Antiparasitic Drug Discovery and the new director of UGA’s Center for Tropical and Emerging Global Diseases, established in 1998. His research
focuses on the mechanisms of anti-malarial drug resistance and discovery of new anti-parasitic drugs for a variety of infectious diseases, including malaria and visceral leishmaniasis, the world’s first and second deadliest parasitic infections, respectively. Kyle is not the only GRA Eminent Scholar who joined UGA in the past year. Karen Norris, one of the nation’s leading infectious disease researchers, joined the faculty in the College of Veterinary Medicine’s infectious diseases department as the GRA Eminent Scholar in Immunology and Translational Biomedical Research. Her research focuses on infectious and chronic diseases, including HIV, pulmonary diseases, inflammatory diseases and diabetes. She has developed a number of highly relevant disease models, which she uses to understand the basic mechanisms of disease suscepti-
bility and progression and to test interventions that treat or prevent disease. “Through the support of the Georgia Research Alliance, the University of Georgia continues to recruit premier scientists to tackle some of the grand challenges of our time,” said President Jere W. Morehead. “And the strong partnership between these two organizations is producing tremendous benefits to individuals and communities across our state, nation and world.” In addition to recruiting leading scientists, GRA invests in technology to facilitate the work of their Eminent Scholars; helps encourage the growth of university-derived startup companies; and facilitates collaboration among academia, business and government. By expanding university research capacity and by seeding and shaping startup companies, See GRA on page 8
CENTER FOR UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH OPPORTUNITIES schupska@uga.edu
Sydney-Alyce Bourget stands at the edge of Harvard Forest, measuring the height of one of the 25 garlic mustard plants she’s been studying. Emil Dmello sorts through election data, looking at economic indicators like unemployment, inflation, the misery index and GDP searching for their connection to election outcomes. Zack Flagel scrolls through the spreadsheet on his computer, checking baseball stats not many people know by heart: the number of spectators injured by foul balls at Major League Baseball games.
McKenna Barney easily spots trends in case studies on maternal malnutrition in conflict zones: Hunger and Sydney-Alyce Bourget conflict go hand in hand, and food is often used as a weapon. These four University of Georgia students are among 554 undergraduates who presented their research at the annual CURO Symposium. They’ve spent hours, semesters, years working with faculty mentors as they study topics that interest them.
Ernie Johnson
Marshall Shepherd
The student speaker for the undergraduate ceremony will be Avery Hudson, who will receive her bachelor’s degree from the College of Family and Consumer Sciences. Johnson, who has received three Sports Emmy Awards, is in See COMMENCEMENT on page 8
ACADEMIC AFFAIRS
Docampo named recipient of SEC Faculty Achievement Award By Camie Williams camiew@uga.edu
Roberto Docampo, Distinguished Research Professor of Cellular Biology and Barbara and Sanford Orkin/Georgia Research Alliance Eminent Scholar, has been named the University of Georgia’s recipient of the 2017 Southeastern Conference Faculty Achievement Award. The award, which is administered by provosts at the 14 universities in the SEC, recognizes professors with outstanding records in teaching and scholarship who serve as role models for students and other faculty members. Winners receive a $5,000 honorarium. Docampo, a faculty member in the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences and a member of the Center for Tropical and Emerging Global
Diseases, is a worldrenowned researcher known for his work on neglected parasitic diseases including maRoberto Docampo laria, Chagas disease and sleeping sickness. He also is credited with the discovery of a novel organelle, the acidocalcisome, conserved from bacteria to human platelets, where it has a role in blood coagulation. His most recent work at UGA includes the successful use of the CRISPR/Cas9 technique to edit the genome of Trypanosoma cruzi, the parasite that causes Chagas disease. He also has characterized a key signaling pathway in the parasite, See SEC on page 8
TERRY COLLEGE OF BUSINESS
CURO Symposium highlights work in undergraduate research By Stephanie Schupska
Ernie Johnson Jr., a UGA alumnus and host for Turner’s NBA coverage and TNT’s Inside the NBA studio show, will deliver the spring undergraduate Commencement address at the University of Georgia on Friday, May 5, at 7 p.m. in Sanford Stadium. The graduate ceremony, which will feature Marshall Shepherd, an international expert in weather, Georgia Athletic Association Distinguished Professor and director of the atmospheric sciences program at UGA, will be held at 10 a.m. in Stegeman Coliseum. Tickets are not required for either ceremony.
Hosted by the Center for Undergraduate Research Opportunities, the Symposium is a chance for students to “tell the world about our research,” Bourget said. Held April 3-4 at the Classic Center in downtown Athens, the event included students in 91 majors and 13 colleges and schools and involved 311 faculty mentors from 73 UGA departments. Over the past several years, Symposium organizers have seen an increase in the number of students participating. CURO, administered by the Honors Program, was expanded to non-Honors students in 2010, a year when about 200 undergraduates took part in the See CURO on page 8
Business students find a community at new Correll Hall By Aaron Hale
aahale@uga.edu
Some key ingredients to business success are preparation and collaboration. So, it makes sense to have a business learning environment that facilitates teamwork. That’s exactly what master’s students in the Terry College of Business are finding in Correll Hall, which opened in 2015 as Phase I of the Business Learning Community.The building is named for A.D. “Pete” Correll, chairman emeritus of Georgia-Pacific and a Terry College alumnus, and his wife, Ada Lee Correll, a graduate
of the UGA College of Education. Correll Hall, which was supported by $35 million in private funds, features dozens of project team rooms and common areas where students can work and interact between classes. The building is equipped with conference rooms and event spaces for alumni networking and interview rooms where students can meet potential employers. That’s in addition to state-of-the-art classrooms that promote active learning, group activities and creative thinking. In other words, Correll Hall offers an environment that
See CORRELL on page 8
2 April 10, 2017 columns.uga.edu
Around academe
Alumnus named president of Fisk University, to start tenure July 1
UGA alumnus Kevin D. Rome Sr. was named president of Fisk University in Nashville, Tennessee, according to a press release from the university. Rome, who received a master’s degree in education from UGA, is currently president of Lincoln University in Jefferson City, Missouri. He will become Fisk’s 16th president when he begins his tenure July 1.
Survey: Anxiety is No. 1 mental health concern among students
Anxiety was the top complaint for university students who sought mental health care in the 2015-2016 academic year, but almost three out of every four students said university counseling services helped them perform better academically, according to an annual survey from the Association for University and College Counseling Center Directors. The survey included 529 counseling center directors from universities across the country.
Amazon Web Services expert to speak with UGA researchers at colloquium
News to Use
UGA researchers are invited to join Amazon Web Services for a colloquium about research initiatives available to researchers for their work April 18. Sanjay Padhi, who leads AWS’ federal initiatives with the National Science Foundation, will present at the AWS colloquium from 10 a.m. to noon at the R.C. Wilson Pharmacy Building in the 120 Auditorium. This talk will provide an overview of AWS infrastructure and advanced services such as machine learning, data analytics, streaming analytics and high performance computing for research computing. With recent collaboration with the national funding agencies, these cloud-related services will provide researchers access to cutting-edge technology to accelerate science. A few examples will be drawn from the Large Hadron Collider at CERN, AWS Open Data Program and NASA’s Desert research. The AWS Research Initiative, with funding agencies such as the National Science Foundation in the domains related to foundation and innovative track, will be discussed. The National Institutes of Health Commons program for cloud credits and the AWS Research Credit program also will be outlined. Participants in the colloquium do not need to bring devices, as this is presentation style. This event is open to all UGA researchers. Event registration is required by contacting Tracy Crews at tlcrews@amazon.com. Padhi, currently an adjunct associate professor of physics at Brown University, leads AWS’ federal initiatives with the National Science Foundation and global HEP related activities. With a doctorate from McGill University in high energy physics, Padhi has more than 15 years of experience in largescale distributed computing, data analytics and machine learning. He is the co-creator of Workload Management System (glideinWMS) and co-founded the ZEUS Computing Grid project at Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron (DESY), Germany. AWS also will offer private, 30 minute meetings for researchers with Padhi, from 1 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. These one-on-one sessions are reserved for faculty, although their research students may attend. To reserve a spot, contact Tracy Crews at tlcrews@amazon.com. This event is hosted by the Georgia Advanced Resources Computing Center, which is a collaborative partnership with the vice president of research and the vice president for information technology at UGA. More information about the AWS procurement process for UGA departments and units is available at eits.uga.edu/hardware_and_ software/aws_services/. For questions about the AWS Research Colloquium, contact Guy Cormier, director of the GACRC, at gcormier@uga.edu. Source: Enterprise Information Technology Services
COLLEGE OF AGRICULTURAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
‘Struggle for enough’
Former CAES dean to discuss smallholder farmers’ needs during International Agriculture Day event By Merritt Melancon jmerritt@uga.edu
For years, soil scientist J. Scott Angle worked to make some the world’s most technologically advanced farms more productive and more sustainable. Today, he’s doing the same for smallscale and subsistence farmers across the world. Angle, who served as dean and director of the UGA College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences for 10 years before joining the nonprofit International Fertilizer Development Center, will return to campus April 18 to speak at the CAES International Agriculture Day Reception. Open to the public, the reception begins with Angle’s lecture at 3:30 p.m. at the Georgia Museum of Art. Angle’s lecture, “The Struggle for Enough: Why Half the World’s Farmers Go Hungry,” will address the effectiveness of the IFDC and other nongovernmental organizations that work to improve the livelihoods of smallholder farmers. He hopes to challenge CAES students, staff and faculty to think globally as they work to improve agriculture. “Dr. Angle has a unique perspective on the ways in which the research conducted at UGA and other landgrant institutions enables outreach and development agencies to do their work,” said Amrit Bart, assistant dean and director for the college’s Office of Global Programs. “Having had a hand in fostering that research and now running a globally prominent development agency that depends on it, he has an important message for our students and faculty about the impact of their
Former UGA CAES dean and director Scott Angle, right, took a job with the International Fertilizer Development Center in 2015. After a decade of leading CAES’ research, outreach and teaching efforts, he now spends his days working to help farmers in developing nations. This photo was taken on a trip to Ghana, where women are responsible for more than 40 percent of agricultural activities.
work around the world.” Each year, the CAES Office of Global Programs hosts the International Agriculture Day Reception to encourage those engaged in international scholarship, research or outreach to build networks and to recognize students who have worked or studied abroad over the last year. It’s also a chance to celebrate students who are graduating with certificates in international agriculture,
Bart said. The reception offers students outside CAES the chance to explore the world of international agricultural development or business. Angle often invoked the international impact of agricultural research and outreach during his time at CAES and working with IFDC has only crystallized his view that eradicating hunger and improving agriculture are the great challenges of our generation.
ACADEMIC AFFAIRS
FRANKLIN COLLEGE OF ARTS AND SCIENCES
By Camie Williams
By Terri Hatfield
UGA will host banquets May 1 and 2 to commemorate the promotion and tenure of more than 100 faculty members in 2017. A ceremony honoring those who have attained full professor status is scheduled for May 1 at 5:30 p.m. in the Georgia Center for Continuing Education’s Magnolia Ballroom. Those who were granted tenure and promoted to associate professor will be honored May 2 at 5:30 p.m. at the Georgia Center. Clinical faculty members who have recently been promoted to clinical associate professor or clinical professor also will be invited to attend. “I look forward to commemorating this important milestone in the lives of many of our faculty members,” said UGA President Jere W. Morehead. “Their outstanding achievements and tremendous dedication are central to the growing strength of this institution.” Morehead and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost Pamela Whitten hosted the inaugural set of promotion and tenure banquets in 2015 to recognize the outstanding faculty members who earn these career milestones. “Promotion and tenure are the culmination of years of dedication to staying at the forefront of teaching, scholarship and service,” Whitten said. “Joining our faculty as we celebrate their accomplishments and potential for the future is one my proudest honors as provost.”
Siobhan B. Somerville, associate professor of English and gender and women’s studies at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, will deliver UGA’s 23rd annual Andrea Carson Coley Lecture April 21 at 12:30 p.m. in the M. Smith Griffith Auditorium in the Georgia Museum of Art. The lecture, “Unsettling Citizenship: Sexuality, Race and the History of Naturalization in the U.S.,” will follow a reception honoring the Coley family at 11:30 a.m. The lecture and reception are open free to the public. Somerville’s expertise includes feminist theory, queer studies and American literature. She has written extensively about the intersection of race and sexuality in U.S. literature and history and is currently studying immigration law and U.S. citizenship. Her publications include Queering the Color Line: Race and the Invention of Homosexuality in American Culture (Duke University Press, 2000) and “Notes Toward a Queer History of Naturalization” in American Quarterly. The Andrea Carson Coley Lecture, hosted by the UGA Institute for Women’s Studies, was endowed through a donation from Andrew and Kathy Coley in memory of their daughter, Andrea Carson Coley (1972-1993), who was a certificate candidate in women’s studies. Each spring, the lecture brings to campus scholars conducting cuttingedge research in LGBT studies. This year’s lecture is co-sponsored by the Georgia Museum of Art and the LGBT Resource Center. The Institute for Women’s Studies is part of the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences.
Newly promoted and University of Illinois tenured faculty to be faculty member to honored at banquet deliver Coley Lecture camiew@uga.edu
tlhat@uga.edu
RESEARCH NEWS
columns.uga.edu April 10, 2017
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Digest University Council passes proposal for 2018-2019 Academic Calendar
‘Proper management’
Peter Frey
Matthew Lee Smith’s research seeks to understand more about health care-related frustrations felt by those with chronic conditions.
Reducing frustration with health care is key for those with chronic medical conditions
By Elizabeth Fite ecfite@uga.edu
Navigating the U.S. health care system can be frustrating for anyone, but for adults with chronic medical conditions, the frustration can become overwhelming as they juggle multiple providers, medications and treatments. But now, a UGA study published online in January in Patient Education and Counseling provides insights into how health care providers, in conjunction with the patients themselves, can reduce the feelings of dissatisfaction and annoyance that result from medical encounters. The study examined health carerelated frustrations of adults with chronic conditions, such as heart disease, cancer, diabetes, stroke and depression, which are among the most common and costly of all illnesses. “Approximately half of adults in the United States have a chronic condition, while one in four adults have multiple chronic diseases, and this number is expected to increase in coming years,” said Matthew Lee Smith, lead author of the study and an associate professor of health promotion and behavior in UGA’s College of Public Health. “With the growth of the aging population and rise of chronic
conditions in the U.S., it is important to understand more about the health care-related frustrations experienced by those living with disease,” said Smith, who is also a member of UGA’s Institute of Gerontology. “Frustrations experienced by patients are really symptoms of larger problems within our health care system.” The researchers analyzed almost 600 responses to a survey administered to Americans aged 44 years and older who self-identified as having one or more chronic conditions. The survey was conducted by the National Council on Aging to gather information about the lives, struggles and needs of people living with chronic conditions. The study found that 70 percent of patients with chronic conditions reported having at least two of six noted frustrations: feeling tired of describing the same condition over and over, wishing the doctor had more time to speak with them during visits, leaving the provider feeling confused, feeling alone when it comes to managing their health, feeling their doctor doesn’t understand what it’s like to manage their condition at home, and wishing they had a friend or family member who could go to the doctor with them. It also identified the factors that contribute to patient frustrations.
Those with more frustrations had a lack of knowledge about how to care for their conditions, had physical limitations, visited a physician more frequently, and had less help and support from friends or family. “The health care needs of people with chronic conditions are more complex, but with proper management, health outcomes can be improved and costly hospitalizations can be reduced,” Smith said. “There are opportunities to make the system more productive, which can alleviate patients’ frustrations. We need to improve patient-provider communication, but we also need to shift focus to what we can do outside of health care interactions.” While care coordination and patient-provider communication are important in addressing patients’ frustration, Smith emphasized that since only a small amount of an individual’s life is spent in a health care setting, patients need to find ways to manage their disease independently. “There are many evidence-based programs for adults living with chronic conditions that provide knowledge and skills to improve symptom management and promote healthful behaviors,” he said. “Health care interactions can’t do it alone.”
COLLEGE OF FAMILY AND CONSUMER SCIENCES
Study: Mouth rinse may improve athletic performance By Cal Powell
jcpowell@uga.edu
Endurance athletes looking to improve their times might consider swishing with a mouth rinse that contains a little sugar during their next performance. A researcher at UGA in collaboration with researchers from Texas Tech University has shown that endurance athletes who swished—but didn’t ingest—a sucrose solution several times during a time trial significantly improved their running times compared to those who swished with only water. The sucrose solution, which was sweet-tasting but also provided a small amount of energy, is thought to boost endurance performance by stimulating “reward areas” in the brain related to motor control, researchers said. On average, researchers noted about a 5 percent improvement in time when the athletes swished with sucrose compared to water, the unsweetened control
used in the study. “It was surprising to us how drastic the improvement in times was,” said Jamie Cooper, an associate professor in the foods and nutrition department in the UGA College of Family and Consumer Sciences and corresponding author on the paper. “These were endurancetrained individuals, so to see a 5 percent improvement in performance—almost three minutes on average—was huge.” As part of the study, 16 endurance athletes (nine men, seven women) between the ages of 18 and 45 completed a 12.8-kilometer (7.9-mile) time trial on an indoor track, swishing and then spitting out a solution eight times during the run. The athletes completed four time trials using a different mouth rinse each time: a sucrose, or table sugar, solution; a low-intensity sucralose, an artificial sweetener that provides no energy but tastes sweet; a high-intensity sucralose; and water. Results indicated the presence of energy in the mouth rinse appeared
necessary for improvements in time, as the artificial sweeteners did not improve performance more than water alone. “It’s more the presence of energy in the mouth rinse than it is the sweet taste,” Cooper said. “Sweet taste might have a small effect because we did have some trends for differences, but the energy definitely seems to be the main driving force behind it.” Cooper, herself an avid runner and author of The Complete Nutrition Guide for Triathletes, said the study of mouth rinses as a means to improve athletic performance has become popular. Future studies likely will look at testing different types of energy sources, amounts and sweetness intensities to create an ideal solution for maximizing results, she said. The study was published in the International Journal of Sports Physiology and Performance and included Keely Hawkins, Sridevi Krishnan, Lara Ringos and Vanessa Garcia of Texas Tech University as co-authors.
At its March 22 meeting, the University Council approved a proposal for the 2018-2019 Academic Calendar from the Educational Affairs Committee by a 79-44 vote. Under this proposal, classes for the fall semester would begin Aug. 13, 2018, and end Dec. 4, 2018. Classes for the spring semester would begin Jan. 9, 2019, and end April 30, 2019. Extensive discussion on the proposal included the length of the calendar; concerns over the fall and spring start dates from students and faculty members regarding internships and conferences; SACSCOC requirements; federal and University System of Georgia calendar guidelines; the final exam policies of UGA and other USG schools, as well as the notion of counting final exam time as instructional time; restrictions faced when developing an academic calendar; and research that will be conducted by the board of regents to provide clarity on the academic calendar issue across the USG. The proposal will now go to UGA President Jere W. Morehead for final approval.
SPIA’s 2017 Getzen Lecture on Government Accountability to be delivered April 12
The 2017 Getzen Lecture on Government Accountability will be given April 12 at 1:30 p.m. at the Chapel. Sponsored annually by the public administration and policy department in the School of Public and International Affairs, this year’s lecture will be given by Charles H. Ramsey, a nationally recognized innovator, educator and practitioner of community policing. Open free to the public, the lecture will be followed by a reception at Founders Memorial Garden. Ramsey is the former commissioner of the Philadelphia police department and former chief of the Metropolitan police department of the District of Columbia. A native of Chicago, Ramsey began his career as an 18-year-old cadet in the Chicago police department where he later served as a patrol officer, sergeant, lieutenant and captain. Additionally, he served as the commander of the narcotics section before spending two years as a deputy chief of the police force’s patrol division. In 1994, he was appointed deputy superintendent. The Getzen Lecture on Government Accountability is an annual lecture series made possible by UGA alumni Katherine Getzen Willoughby and Dan Hall Willoughby Jr. in honor of her parents, Evangeline Sferes Getzen and Forrest William Getzen, lifelong advocates of public service and education.
Southeast Chemical Biology Symposium to be held April 14 in Coverdell Auditorium
The Southeast Chemical Biology Symposium, “Small-Molecules for Understanding Life and Managing Disease,” will be held April 14 from 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. in the Coverdell Auditorium. A keynote speech by Stuart L. Schreiber, the Morris Loeb Professor of Chemistry and Chemical Biology at Harvard University, is open free to the public. Organized by the UGA Chemical Biology Group, the conference will feature talks selected from abstracts submitted by faculty, postdoctoral scholars, graduate students and undergraduate students. The symposium will include a poster session and collaborative interactions between scientists from all career stages. Schreiber is director of the Center for the Science of Therapeutics and one of four founders of the Broad Institute, where he is a Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigator and a member of the National Academy of Sciences. His research integrates chemical biology and human biology to advance the science of therapeutics. He is known for having developed systematic ways to explore biology, especially disease biology, using small molecules and for his role in the development of chemical biology. Schreiber’s keynote presentation will conclude the symposium. More information on the Chemical Biology Group is available at cbg.uga.edu.
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For a complete listing of events 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.
UGAGUIDE
EXHIBITIONS
To Spin a Yarn: Distaffs, Folk Art and Material Culture. Through April 16. Georgia Museum of Art. 706-542-4662. hazbrown@uga.edu Advanced and Irascible. Through April 30. Georgia Museum of Art. 706-542-4662. hazbrown@uga.edu Expanding Tradition: Selections from the Larry D. and Brenda A. Thompson Collection. Through May 7. Georgia Museum of Art. 706-542-4662. hazbrown@uga.edu Equality Under the Law: History of the Equal Rights Amendment. Through May 12. Hargrett Library Gallery, special collections libraries. 706-542-8079. jclevela@uga.edu Necessary Words & Images: 70 Years of The Georgia Review. Through May 12. Hargrett Library Gallery, special collections libraries. 706-542-8079. jclevela@uga.edu Michael Ellison: Urban Impressions. Through May 21. Georgia Museum of Art. 706-542-4662. hazbrown@uga.edu A Championship Tradition: The NCAA Tennis Tournament in Athens. Through May 30. Rotunda, special collections libraries. 706-542-5788. hasty@uga.edu On the Stump—What Does it Take to Get Elected in Georgia? Through Aug. 18. Special collections libraries. 706-542-5788. jhebbard@uga.edu
MONDAY, APRIL 10 MULTICULTURAL MIGRANT FICTIONS CONFERENCE This conference brings together international and U.S. scholars working in multiculturalism, especially the immigrant narratives of Italian-, Jewish- and Indian-American literatures. 277 special collections libraries. 706-542-2748. figueira@uga.edu PASSOVER Jewish religious observance. CONCERT One of UGA’s large wind bands, the Symphonic Band, will perform. 8 p.m. Hugh Hodgson Concert Hall. 706-542-4752. ccschwabe@uga.edu
School of Law to host Rural Healthcare Symposium April 21 By Heidi M. Murphy hmurphy@uga.edu
The UGA School of Law will host the second annual Rural Healthcare Symposium April 21 in the Larry Walker Room of Dean Rusk Hall starting at 9 a.m. The conference is part of an annual effort to bring attention to the national rural health care crisis. The event is free and open to the public, but advance registration is strongly advised. “Rural America faces unique and difficult health care delivery problems that often go overlooked by policymakers and legislators who do not work or live in those areas,” said Fazal Khan, Georgia Law associate professor and symposium organizer, who holds both medical and law degrees.“Since Georgia has been at the center of this crisis for some time, we view our flagship university in Athens as the ideal setting to help promote awareness, learning and practical solutions to this growing challenge.” Fellow symposium organizer and founder of Boling & Company Bill Boling said there is no more urgent issue facing America today than sustaining and improving access to health care for Americans. “With five hospital closures in the past several years, Georgia has the third most closures in the country,” he said. Key topics to be explored at this year’s daylong conference include the opioid epidemic and addiction treatments, an overview of current rural health care legislation and public policy, the impact of technology on rural health care delivery, the economic realities facing rural providers and an inside look at the operations of rural health care facilities. There will be a lunchtime address by Georgia Sen. Dean Burke, a physician and rural health advocate from Bainbridge. Plenary session addresses will be provided by Dr. Bruce B. Struminger, the associate director of Project Echo, an internationally renowned telehealth initiative, and James B. Langford, the executive director of the Georgia Prevention Project, a statewide drug prevention program aimed at teens and young adults. Panelists include representatives from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the National Rural Health Association, the Georgia Health Policy Center, the Georgia Hospital Association, Georgia Medicaid and several regional hospitals as well as academic experts from around the country. For more information and to register, visit www. bolingandcompany.com/rhs. For attorneys, five continuing legal education credits are available for $25. This event is co-presented by the School of Law and Boling & Company with assistance from the Healthcare Georgia Foundation, Stroudwater Associates and the law school’s Health Law Society.
columns.uga.edu April 10, 2017
4&5
Faculty soloists take the stage for Thursday Scholarship Series finale By Clarke Schwabe ccschwabe@uga.edu
The final concert in the 2016-2017 Thursday Scholarship Series brings together some of the Hugh Hodgson School of Music’s best instrumentalists, including faculty and students, to perform three concertos in Hodgson Concert Hall April 13 at 7:30 p.m. The ARCO Chamber Orchestra and a graduate student wind ensemble will provide a lively backdrop for five faculty soloists to create the musical fireworks that will close out the concert series’ season. The genesis for this performance began in a Sao Paolo airport, where Levon Ambartsumian, Regents’ Professor and Franklin Professor of Violin, and Jaclyn Hartenberger, UGA Wind Symphony conductor, were relaxing during their return to the U.S. after teaching in Brazil. Their conversation turned to collaboration between their ensembles—Ambartsumian also directs ARCO—and the seed was planted. The combination of strings and wind ensemble would create some unique pairings, but before long they developed a program. “All three works have one thing in common: a very unusual combination of instruments,” said Ambartsumian. That commonality led to the naming of the program: “Keys, Winds and Strings: A Curious Collection of Concerti by Bach, Stravinsky and Schnittke.” “It’s been a lot of fun to study and prepare these pieces because of the unique instrumentation,” said Hartenberger. “It will be a real treat to hear these underperformed pieces in this unconventional concert format.” Bach’s Concerto for Flute, Violin, Harpsichord and Orchestra in A minor features Shakhida Azimkhodjaeva, violin faculty; Angela Jones-Reus, professor of flute;
and Evgeny Rivkin, professor of piano, as soloists playing alongside ARCO. Hartenberger argues that though this work’s pairing of instruments is not such a novel concept today, in its time it explored new sounds via instrumental pairings as much as the other works on the program. Concerto for Piano and Wind Instruments by Stravinsky is next on the program and is the first of two works that will feature a Hodgson School graduate student wind ensemble conducted by Hartenberger. Anatoly Sheludyakov, resident accompanist, will be piano soloist. Stravinsky’s piece is another oddity of its time. Not only was it unusual to combine piano and winds in the music world of the 1920s, but the composition represented a departure from Stravinsky’s style that had created his most famous work, “The Rite of Spring.” The final piece on the program is Alfred Schnittke’s Concerto No. 3 for Violin and Chamber Orchestra. Schnittke’s work was actually the first added to the program—an easy choice due to its unique combination not just between soloist and ensemble but within the ensemble. The concerto calls for 11 woodwinds, four strings and a violin soloist. Ambartsumian will return to the stage to take on soloist duties for the close of this unique concert. “How many concerts feature three concerti?” said Hartenberger. “Talk about really showing off the ability of the HHSOM faculty. These works not only stretch the listener, but more so, stretch the ability of our featured soloists.” Tickets to the concert are $20 each or $6 with a UGA student ID and can be purchased at pac.uga.edu or the PAC box office. Those unable to attend can watch the concert live on the Hodgson School’s website at music.uga.edu/streaming.
TUESDAY, APRIL 11 GLOBAL DISEASES: VOICES FROM THE VANGUARD Global Diseases: Voices from the Vanguard, a series featuring professionals addressing global disease issues, concludes with a talk by Richard W. Steketee, director of the Malaria Control and Elimination Partnership in Africa Program, on “Eliminating Malaria—Can the Glass Ceiling be Broken?” The series is presented by the UGA Grady College Health and Medical Journalism program and the UGA Center for Tropical and Emerging Global Diseases. 5:30 p.m. Chapel. 706-542-1210. pthomas@uga.edu CONCERT The many choirs of the Hugh Hodgson School of Music will perform at the UGA Choral Showcase, which features the UGA Hodgson Singers, Glee Clubs, Collegium Musicum and African American Choral Ensemble. 8 p.m. Hugh Hodgson Concert Hall. 706-542-4752. ccschwabe@uga.edu FULL MOON HIKE: PINK MOON See the garden come alive at night. Each walk will focus on a different topic such as the moon, constellations or nocturnal creatures. 8 p.m. Meet at the fountain in front of the Visitor Center, State Botanical Garden. 706-542-6156. ckeber@uga.edu
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 12 LUNCH & LEARN Join the Richard B. Russell Library for Political Research and Studies and partners for a weekly lunch and learn series focused on developing a better understanding of Congress. Civic Knowledge = Civic Power invites guest speakers from the political science department to give brief talks on topics connected to the history and function of this branch of government, followed by informal discussion with attendees. Coffee and light desserts will be provided. This week’s topic is: Congress and the Media: Shaping Public Perceptions, presented by Audrey Haynes. This program series is sponsored by the Richard B. Russell Library for Political Research and Studies, the School of Public and International Affairs, the UGA College Republicans and the UGA Young Democrats. For more information, email russlib@uga.edu or call 706-542-5788. 12:30 p.m. 277 special collections libraries. SOFTBALL vs. Georgia Tech. 6 p.m. Jack Turner Stadium. 706-542-1621.
Willie Cole will deliver the Holbrook Lecture April 13.
Willie Cole to discuss creative process at Holbrook Lecture By Alexandra Kenneweg akenn@uga.edu
Nationally recognized artist Willie Cole will deliver the Alfred Heber Holbrook Lecture at the Georgia Museum of Art April 13 at 5:30 p.m. Open free to the public, the lecture is sponsored by the Friends of the Georgia Museum of Art. It will be followed by a reception. “In this day and age, when the arts and humanities seem to be shunted aside, under attack and definitely
The final Thursday Scholarship Series concert of the season brings together faculty and students for three concertos. Featured faculty performers include, from left, Levon Ambartsumian, Shakhida Azimkhodjaeva, Jaclyn Hartenberger, Angela Jones-Reus, Evgeny Rivkin and Anatoly Sheludyakov.
underfunded, the Alfred H. Holbrook Lecture is more important than ever in introducing artists, art historians, critics and especially ideas to our audiences,” said William Underwood Eiland, the museum’s director. “We are fortunate this year to have Willie Cole as our speaker, not only because of his artistry but also because his works make us think.” Cole has received awards from Aljira: A Center for Contemporary Art, the David C. Driskell Prize from the High Museum of Art and the Augustus Saint-Gaudens Memorial Fellowship. He held the Lamar Dodd Fellowship at the UGA Lamar Dodd School of Art in 2005. Cole is known for assembling sculptures from common domestic objects to create a larger metaphorical and symbolic meaning. For example, his untitled work on display in the museum’s exhibition Expanding Tradition: Selections from the Larry D. and Brenda A. Thompson Collection (on view through May 7) resembles a chicken but is made entirely of women’s shoes held together with galvanized wire. “Willie Cole is one of the most creative and original artists working today,” said Curlee Raven Holton, director of the David C. Driskell Center at the University of Maryland, which organized a traveling exhibition of Cole’s work last fall. “His iconic archetypal images penetrate our consciousness to connect to a primal source in each of us. He is masterful in how he can take a common object like well-worn shoes and resurrect from them a new spirit and meaning. He refashions impoverished objects from our world of the discarded and disowned with a self-assured agency of transformation to assert his own vision of art and beauty.” Cole will speak about the creative practice as spiritual pursuit, focusing on the links he makes among the visual arts, music, history, world religion and the environment. The Holbrook Lecture honors the founder and first director of the Georgia Museum of Art. Holbrook founded the museum with a collection of 100 American paintings in honor of his wife Eva Underhill Holbrook and served as director emeritus until he was nearly 100 years old. Scholars including Adrienne Childs, Francis Naumann and Alexander Nemerov have delivered previous Holbrook Lectures.
THURSDAY, APRIL 13 THANK A DONOR DAY Since 2012, UGA students have gathered on Thank a Donor Day to show their appreciation for the support of alumni and friends. At this celebration, students will have creative opportunities to thank those donors who have enriched their experiences at UGA. There will be prizes, photos with Hairy Dawg, music, and more. 9 a.m. Tate Plaza, Tate Student Center. 706-542-3919. jddotson@uga.edu DISCUSSION In “The Good, the Bad and the Ugly of ‘Best’ Practices,” cosponsored by the SEER Center, Mark McDaniel, professor of psychological and brain sciences and the founding co-director of the Center for Integrative Research on Cognition, Learning and Education at Washington University in St. Louis, presents a number of experimental demonstrations of test-enhanced learning showing that quizzing results in subsequent improvement on exam performances relative to target content that is not quizzed or that is presented for restudy. 2 p.m. Reading room,
Calendar items are taken from Columns files and from the university’s Master Calendar, maintained by Marketing & Communications. Notices are published here as space permits, with priority given to items of multidisciplinary interest. The Master Calendar is available at calendar.uga.edu/.
Miller Learning Center. lcrawley@uga.edu LECTURE “Family Instability as a Major Public Health Issue: Crisis and Opportunity,” Kristina Coop Gordon, University of Tennessee. 2 p.m. Third floor, North Tower, Miller Learning Center. 706-542-1173. lavner@uga.edu SPRING EXHIBITS RECEPTION The Richard B. Russell Building Special Collections Libraries will host its biannual reception celebrating new exhibitions. The event will include light refreshments, spotlight tours, live music and gallery games. 5:30 p.m. Second floor, Exhibition Hall, special collections libraries. 706-542-8079. jclevela@uga.edu CONCERT The Collegium Musicum, which specializes in music of the Medieval, Renaissance and Baroque periods utilizing a small roster
of strong singers, will perform. 6 p.m. Ramsey Concert Hall, Performing Arts Center. 706-542-4752. ccschwabe@uga.edu
FRIDAY, APRIL 14 GOOD FRIDAY Christian religious observance. TERRY LEADERSHIP SPEAKER Doug Benn of the Cheesecake Factory speaks about leadership and his experiences. The Terry Leadership Speaker Series, presented by the Institute for Leadership Advancement, brings well-known leaders from a variety of organizations to share their unique leadership styles and experiences with students. 10:10 a.m. Chapel. valeriej@uga.edu UGA ENGINEERING DISTINGUISHED SEMINAR SERIES Ajit Yoganathan, a pioneer in basic and translational
TO SUBMIT A LISTING FOR THE MASTER CALENDAR AND COLUMNS Post event information first to the Master Calendar website (calendar.uga.edu/). Listings for Columns are taken from the Master Calendar 12 days before the publication date. Events not posted by then may not be printed in Columns.
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cardiovascular research, will discuss the significant contributions engineers have made to health care over the past few decades. 1 p.m. Auditorium, Riverbend Research Lab South. 706-870-5166. mwooten@uga.edu PHILOSOPHY COLLOQUIUM “Punishment and the Treatment for Crime,” David Birks, University of Oxford, University of Kiel. Reception will follow lecture. 3:30 p.m. 115 Peabody Hall. 706-542-2823.
SATURDAY, APRIL 15 FAMILY DAY Explore works of art by African-American artists in the exhibition Expanding Tradition: Selections from the Larry D. and Brenda A. Thompson Collection, then create art inspired by the ones in the show. 10 a.m. Georgia Museum of Art. 706-542-4662. SOFTBALL vs. Mississippi State. 2 p.m. Jack Turner Stadium. 706-542-1621.
SUNDAY, APRIL 16 EASTER Christian religious observance. GALLERY TALK Join collector Michael Ricker for a discussion of the objects in To Spin a Yarn: Distaffs, Folk Art and Material Culture. 2 p.m. Georgia Museum of Art. 706-542-4662. SOFTBALL vs. Mississippi State. 2 p.m. Jack Turner Stadium. 706-542-1621.
MONDAY, APRIL 17 HONORS WEEK 2017 April 17-21. UGA will celebrate outstanding students, faculty, staff and alumni at numerous events during Honors Week.
COMING UP INTERNATIONAL AGRICULTURE DAY April 18. Events include an afternoon lecture, reception and awards program. This year’s keynote address, “The Struggle for Enough: Why Half the World’s Farmers Go Hungry,” will be given by J. Scott Angle, former CAES dean and current resident and CEO of the International Fertilizer Development Center. 3:30 p.m. Georgia Museum of Art. 706-542-1073. ogp@uga.edu (See story, page 2). ECOLOGY SEMINAR April 18. “Spatial Self-Organization and its Implications for Ecosystem Robustness,” Corina Tarnita, Princeton University. A reception follows the seminar at 4:30 p.m. in the lobby hosted by Rico Holdo. 3:30 p.m. Auditorium, ecology building. 706-542-7247. bethgav@uga.edu HUGH HODGSON FACULTY SERIES April 18. The UGA Hugh Hodgson School of Music’s Reid Messich, assistant professor of oboe, will conclude the Hugh Hodgson Faculty Series with his recital. Tickets are available at pac.uga.edu or the PAC box office. $12; $6 with a UGA student ID. 8 p.m. Ramsey Concert Hall, Performing Arts Center. 706-542-4752. ccschwabe@uga.edu
NEXT COLUMNS DEADLINES April 12 (for April 24 issue) April 19 (for May 1 issue) May 3 (for May 15 issue)
6 April 10, 2017 columns.uga.edu
FACULTY PROFILE
Early bloomers
Amen Corner, one of the most famous stretches of fairway in America, came into play early at this year’s Masters Tournament, which wrapped up April 9 at Augusta National Golf Club. But, according to Mother Nature Network, it has nothing to do with tee shots or putts on the famously named 11th, 12th and 13th holes. Typically, the white, pink, dark pink, purple, fuchsia and red blooms of azaleas provide a picturesque background to Augusta National’s fairways. This year, however, the azaleas bloomed about a month early. “It’s the weather,” John Ruter, the Armitage Endowed Professor of Horticulture and director of the UGA Trial Gardens, told mnn.com. “We’ve had a very mild winter with temperatures in the upper 70s for an extended period of time. Azaleas don’t have a large chilling requirement, so they are going to go ahead and bloom.” This past winter was the fourth warmest winter in the area since 1875, the first year weather records were kept in the area.
Amazing algae
In a process called photosynthesis, plants use sunlight to transform water into hydrogen and carbon dioxide, its food, and oxygen that is released into the air. But photosynthesis doesn’t just happen on land—it happens in the ocean, too. “Phytoplankton are tiny, single-celled algae basically, that live in the ocean,” Liz Harvey, assistant professor of marine science at University of Georgia’s Skidaway Institute of Oceanography, told Georgia Public Broadcasting. “They conduct photosynthesis just like land plants, trees and grass do, and they are prolific. They grow everywhere in the ocean.” In fact, their role is just as important as land plants, according to Harvey. “Phytoplankton are important as they produce about 50 percent of the oxygen that you breathe. Land plants produce about half, and then phytoplankton produce about half. These tiny little microscopic organisms are actually very, very important for helping to sustain life on Earth,” she said. Despite the significant role they play in providing oxygen, that’s not their only job. “Phytoplankton are eaten quite regularly and serve as food for other small organisms, which are then eaten by larger organisms, which eventually lead up to fish, whales and sharks and all the really cool things that we think about when we think about the ocean,” she said.
Buzz-worthy
There’s an adage about teaching old dogs new tricks, but Clint Perry and other researchers at Queen Mary University of London wanted to know more about animal intelligence. They worked with bumblebees, which have 100,000 times fewer neurons than humans do, to see if the bumblebees could learn to roll a ball. They started by building a platform with a porous ball in the center. When a bee went up to the ball, it could access sugar water. Then, they moved the ball to the edge of the platform, this time without any sugar water as a reward. The bees had to figure out that they needed to move the ball to the center from the edge. Researchers demonstrated this with a plastic bee at the end of a stick, and the bees completed the task. According to Perry, this suggests that bees, which are important crop pollinators, could in time adapt to new food sources if their environment changed. “They’re just more behaviorally flexible than people generally thought an insect could be,” Dorothy Fragaszy, a comparative psychologist at UGA’s Franklin College of Arts and Sciences who studies tool use in primates, told NPR’s Morning Edition.
Andrew Davis Tucker
Emily McGinn oversees the Willson Center Digital Humanities Lab, consults with faculty and students, and develops DH curriculum.
Coordinator helps faculty, students ‘think differently’ about data use By Leigh Beeson lbeeson@uga.edu
It took Emily McGinn some time to figure out what she wanted to do with her life. She worked in marketing for a wedding invitation company for eight years, as an intern at Weber-Shandwick Public Relations in London and wrote more than 250 articles for real estate magazines Broker Agent Magazine and Top Agent Magazine. She earned two degrees in English and a doctorate in comparative literature before a chance project introduced her to the digital humanities while working on her doctorate. “I was voted most likely to be able to learn the technology we needed out of the group for the project we wanted to do,” McGinn said.“Then it became clear that combining the outside knowledge that I had from the corporate world with the academic side was a good fit for me. Digital humanities wasn’t something that I knew existed or that I actively sought out.” After serving as a post-doc at Lafayette College in Pennsylvania, where she established the role of digital humanities fellow, McGinn moved more than 700 miles south to take the inaugural position of digital humanities coordinator where she oversees the Willson Center Digital Humanities Lab, consults with faculty and students, and develops DH curriculum at UGA. “I have an enormous amount of autonomy in my role at UGA, which is great but also terrifying,” McGinn said. “I can really take this position in whatever direction I want to build it.”
One of her first tasks was introducing people to the concept of digital humanities and what research methods it entails, a task that is ongoing in her faculty learning community in the Center for Teaching and Learning and in the classes she helps develop and teach with faculty from all across campus. “Digital humanities involves using the power of the computer to aggregate humanities information. So, for instance, instead of reading one book, you can read 1,000 books at once,” McGinn said. “It enables humanities scholars to ask different research questions about the material they’re studying. I wouldn’t be able to ask my own brain if I read 1,000 books to remember all these things about themes, syntax, patterns and the like and index them, but I can with a computer.” McGinn pairs up with faculty to develop projects that students can take to earn the digital humanities certificate, which introduces students to the hands-on quantitative side of humanities research. One of her favorite projects so far has been Death and Human History in Athens, a project that has spanned five classes—two classes in history and classes in African-American studies, historic preservation and human osteology from the anthropology department. McGinn goes into each class to work directly with the students, teaching them via workshops and trainings about data collection. “Going forward, I think we’re going to see much more of an emphasis on data,” she said. “And as much as I really, really resist ‘scientizing’ the humanities—I really don’t want to do that at all—I think there is merit to
FACTS
Emily McGinn
Digital Humanities Coordinator Willson Center Digital Humanities Lab and UGA Libraries Ph.D., Comparative Literature, University of Oregon, 2014 M.A., English, Clark University, 2007 B.A., English, Clark University, 2003 At UGA: 1 year, 3 months
expanding the horizons of humanities scholars and letting them explore datadriven methodologies.” Digital humanities at UGA recently received a boost among faculty when it became eligible for the Study in a Second Discipline fellowship from the Office of the Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost. The impetus was largely due, McGinn said, to a push by Roxanne Eberle, an associate professor of English in the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences. McGinn is currently working with Eberle each week on a project analyzing the letters of Amelia Opie, a British novelist and poet from the late 1700s. She’s also collaborating with digital humanities coordinators throughout the state to figure out how best to share resources like experts, technology and tutorials. “Thinking about data in a different way is useful for a lot of disciplines,” McGinn said. “I’m open to helping anyone, and I’m willing to work on many different projects in whatever form they take.”
ACADEMIC AFFAIRS
Members of promotion, tenure committees announced In accordance with UGA Guidelines for Appointment, Promotion and Tenure, the membership of the University Review Committees are being announced. University Review Committee members for 2016-2017 are: • Fine and Applied Arts—Lisa Fusillo (chair), Jean Kidula, Alisa Luxenberg, Sandy Martin, Ron Miller, Mark Reinberger and David Zerkel. • Health and Clinical Sciences— Shiyou Chen, Marsha Davis, Holly Kaplan (clinical), Eric Lafontaine (chair), Michele Lease, Erin Lipp, Danny Mead and Matthew Perri. • Humanities—Mario Erasmo (chair), Cindy Hahamovitch, Jared Klein, John Lowe, Margaret Quesada,
Tim B. Raser and Hyangsoon Yi. • Life Sciences—Mark Harrison, Nancy Manley, Kelley Moremen, Silvia Moreno, Catherine Pringle, Eric Stabb (chair) and Jeanna Wilson. • Physical Sciences—Casimir Akoh, Lynne Billard, William Dennis, Steve Holland, Krys Kochut, Ramana Pidaparti (chair), T.N. Sriram and Sally Walker. • Social and Behavioral Sciences— Chalandra Bryant, Jamie Carson, William Finlay, John Grable, Nik Heynen (chair), Hilda Kurtz, Stephen Miller and Jennifer Samp. • Professional and Applied Studies [A]—Paige Carmichael, John Dayton, Patti Hunt-Hurst, Rhett Jackson,
Elena Karahanna, Harold Mulherin and Stacey Neuharth-Pritchett (chair). • Professional and Applied Studies [B]—Martha “Marty” Carr, Michael Chamberlain (chair), Julian Cook, Sharon Crowell-Davis, David Mustard and Betsy Vonk. • Professional and Applied Studies [C]—Janice Hume (chair), Rick Lewis, Rusty May (clinical), Trena Paulus, Susan Sanchez, Jacek Siry, Ralph Steuer and K.A.S. Wickrama. • Professional and Applied Studies [D]—Gary Baxter, Robert Branch, Alberta Ellett, Jennifer Gaver, Elizabeth Weeks Leonard, Doug Peterson (chair), Bryan Reber and Paul Thomas.
COLLEGE OF EDUCATION
columns.uga.edu April 10, 2017
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SIGNATURE LECTURE American historian discusses conservative intellectual movement By Leigh Beeson lbeeson@uga.edu
Victoria Hasko, bottom left, associate professor of TESOL and world language education, and Nicholas Holt, bottom right, director of innovation and technology in the College of Education, recently hosted Russian faculty members at the university through a linkage grant aimed at developing new web-based teaching materials for second language learners.
Exchanging expertise
UGA and Russian faculty develop new studies and teaching materials for second language learners By Kathryn Kao kathk1@uga.edu
Creating innovative materials to teach Russian grammar is a challenging task. But with the development of new technologies that allow for cross-cultural communication, both students learning a second language and faculty members conducting cutting-edge experiments can tackle these challenges head on from thousands of miles apart. As part of a program sponsored by the Eurasia Foundation U.S.Russia University Partnership grant, four UGA faculty members from the College of Education and the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences traveled to Moscow and Khabarovsk, Russia, to collaborate with key experts in the fields of second language acquisition, crosscultural communication and educational technology. “The purpose of the university partnership grant is to get faculty at our institution and a partner institution talking about new ideas, enhancing foreign language education and organizing instruction in general,” said Victoria Hasko, an associate professor in the College of Education’s language and literacy education department who serves as the grant’s project director and principal investigator. “It’s an opportunity for faculty to collaborate and decide what avenues of their work they want to explore.” In addition to exchanging ideas on future projects, faculty members conducted experimental studies on bilingualism and cognition using eye-tracking methodology, as well as developing web-based teaching materials for second language learners. “We are trying to approach teaching Russian from a conceptual or cognitive angle using tele-collaboration to get our students interested,” said Tatiana Khrushcheva, an associate professor of linguistics at the Pacific National University in Khabarovsk, Russia.
Russian language speakers encode space and time differently than English native speakers, and teaching students how to understand verbs of motion on a cognitive level is a difficult feat for educators. The grant team is working on developing teaching materials that expand beyond translational work and focus more on meaning and concepts that exist between the two languages. Khrushcheva and her colleagues visited UGA earlier this year to investigate the use of digital tools in the field. Both she and Hasko are working with Keith Langston, a professor of Slavic studies and linguistics, and Olga Thomason, a lecturer in Russian, to improve online instructional materials and enhance language acquisition. As part of the study, UGA and Russian students communicated via Skype, WhatsApp and email. One assignment asked Russian students to translate texts and provide a written copy of the translation in English to UGA students. The latter group then recorded an audio file pointing out errors and giving suggestions for improvement to their Russian partners. “This contact gives an insider’s point of view on many conflicting cultural situations and ambiguous cultural concepts that complicate intercultural communication,” said Thomason. “The idea was to use course tasks as a starting point for intercultural communication between the UGA and Russian students.” The last component of the linkage grant allowed faculty members to discuss the use of educational technology in the classroom. Nicholas Holt, the director of innovation and technology in the College of Education, shared the benefits of using technology as a teaching tool. “All of these exchanges as the planet gets smaller are important bridges to be built,” said Holt. “I wanted to push a bit outside of the comfort zone and say there might be some things that are outside of the cultural norm that get students excited or keep faculty engaged.”
WEEKLY READER
Modern conservatism is a patchwork of sects and ideas that is held together by three ideological threads—freedom, virtue and safety, historian and author George Nash argued during his Signature Lecture presentation March 22 in the Miller Learning Center. People have the misconception that the 2016 election ushered in the demise of a splitting conservative movement, but history shows that conservatism in the U.S. always consisted of multiple groups with differing points of view, Nash said. “Perhaps the most important thing to assimilate about American conservatism is that it is not, and has never been, monolithic,” he said. “It is a coalition built upon ideas, with many points of origin and diverse tendencies that are not always easy to reconcile.” Beginning around the time of the end of World War II, there were three major sects of conservatism: the classical liberals or libertarians, who resisted the threat of the “ever-expanding” state to liberty in post-New Deal 1940s America; traditionalists, who promoted a rejection of moral relativism and a return to moral teachings “to reclaim and civilize the spiritual wasteland created by secular liberalism” in post-World War II America; and militant anti-communists, largely consisting of former communists and former socialists who warned of the perils facing the U.S., Nash said. The growing distrust of communism served as a unifier for the sects of conservatism, holding together the formerly disparate groups. As the decades progressed, newer forms of conservatism appeared, such as the neoconservative movement of the 1960s and 1970s, which saw former liberals slowly move toward conservative principles. In the 1970s, the religious right appeared, largely focusing on their opposition to legalized abortion, Nash said. “On its face, the American conservative movement may appear to be an unstable alliance, especially in 2017 when the fissures have grown,” he said. “But for three generations, it has also proven remarkably resilient.”
CYBERSIGHTS
ABOUT COLUMNS
Book looks at immigration, education quality
U.S. Latinization: Education and the New Latino South By Pedro Portes and Spencer Salas SUNY Press Hardcover: $90
Pedro Portes, who holds the Goizueta Foundation Distinguished Chair for Latino Teacher Education in UGA’s College of Education and is director of the Center for Latino Achievement and Success in Education, has released a book that demonstrates how educators and policymakers should treat the intertwined nature of immigrant education and social progress to improve current policies and practices. U.S. Latinization: Education and the New Latino South was co-edited by Spencer Salas, an associate professor of middle, secondary and K-12 education at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. It offers new insights addressing the cultural development of the U.S. as a result of increased Latino and Asian immigration. U.S. Latinization: Education and the New Latino South brings together voices that address the social and geographical nature of achievement and that serve as a methodological resource for educational leaders and policymakers committed to access, equity and educational excellence.
Columns is available to the community by subscription for an annual fee of $20 (secondclass delivery) or $40 (first-class delivery). Faculty and staff members with a disability may call 706-542-8017 for assistance in obtaining this publication in an alternate format. Columns staff can be reached at 706-542-8017 or columns@uga.edu
Editor Juliett Dinkins
USG upgrades its Perks at Work program
perksatwork.com
USG Perks at Work, the employee discount program offered by the University System of Georgia, has been upgraded to allow more personalization for participants, which includes those at UGA. Enrollment in the program is available throughout the year. The website offers employee-
only discounts and savings on popular brands. The website also can be tailored to what each employee uses the most. The site is also mobile friendly, allowing users to access their perks on their smartphones. Employees can also invite up to five family members to join the site and have access to the provided discounts.
Art Director Jackie Baxter Roberts Photo Editor Dorothy Kozlowski Senior Writer Aaron Hale Communications Coordinator Krista Richmond The University of Georgia is committed to principles of equal opportunity and affirmative action. The University of Georgia is a unit of the University System of Georgia.
8 April 10, 2017 columns.uga.edu CORRELL
COMMENCEMENT
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MBA students work on group projects in the Correll Hall innovation lab.
maximizes the business student experience, helping them learn, network and leave UGA equipped to become leaders in their careers. Over spring break, Mike Nakayama, a second-year MBA student, met with classmates Rahul Potluri and Joshua Newby in one of the project team rooms for a class assignment. The rooms are outfitted with a few chairs, a table and a computer, all the ingredients needed for small group collaboration. And these rooms are reserved exclusively for graduate business students and allow Nakayama and his classmates to do their work in the same building in which they take classes. “They definitely facilitate the teamlearning aspect of our program,” said Nakayama. That’s necessary as nearly every fulltime MBA course at Terry College features a team project aimed at preparing students for collaboration in the business world. Nakayama said he couldn’t imagine trying to work on group projects without these rooms designated for Terry College students in master’s programs. One of the unsung elements of the new building has been its ability to create an environment that promotes community. Master’s students have nearly everything they need in Correll Hall so they don’t have to scatter across campus or go to their homes to study and work on projects. “Because they’re always there, there’s a
Bulletin Board UWC fashion show
The University Woman’s Club will hold its 2017 spring fashion show, “Swing into Spring,” April 11 at 11 a.m. The event, which also includes a luncheon and the installation of new officers, will be held at the Georgia Club, 1020 Chancellors Drive, Statham. Guests are welcome, but tickets are required. A portion of the proceeds from ticket sales will support the UWC scholarship fund for women at UGA.
Alumni Association nominations
The University of Georgia Alumni Association is accepting nominations for the 40 Under 40 Class of 2017 and the 2018 Bulldog 100. The 40 Under 40 program recognizes UGA graduates younger than age 40 who are making a difference in their professions and communities. The Bulldog 100 celebrates the fastest-growing businesses owned or operated by UGA alumni. Submit nominations for 40 Under 40 at alumni.uga.edu/40u40 and for Bulldog 100 at alumni.uga.edu/b100. Bulletin Board is limited to information that may pertain to a majority of faculty and staff members.
Dorothy Kozlowski
community,” said Jason Colquitt, the William Harry Willson Distinguished Chair, who was involved in the building’s classroom design. “That’s what you want in a business school. It makes you feel like you’re not alone in this, while helping you broaden your network.” With conference and interview rooms and event spaces, Correll Hall hosts alumni and employer programs that enable students to network and transition from college to a new career. And instructional spaces are designed for optimal leadership development. The bottom floor of Correll houses the business innovation lab, used by entrepreneurship classes and other courses that emphasize creativity and design thinking. The lab, which resembles the kind of creative space one might find at a tech startup in Silicon Valley, has movable tables and chairs, whiteboards and six big-screen monitors attached to tracks in the ceilings. The monitors can be moved around for presentations or group work. Jodi Barnes, a lecturer in the Institute for Leadership Advancement, relies on her classrooms’ designed flexibility to incorporate media and active-learning exercises to prepare future leaders. “When it comes to softer skills, it’s about setting up simulations and workplace scenarios where students can feel what it’s like to be in a difficult management situation and to react in real time,” she said.
GRA
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GRA plays a crucial role in the growth of Georgia’s economy. “The state is looking to create more high-value, knowledge-based jobs, and that requires the development of new industry based on research outcomes from our universities,” said C. Michael Cassidy, president and CEO of the Georgia Research Alliance. “We’re building the pipeline of pre-eminent research that will generate ideas that can be launched into new companies that will create jobs and build the economy for the state.” Eminent Scholars on the UGA campus bring expertise in subjects ranging from bioinformatics to crop genomics to vaccines and viral immunity. They establish major programs like the Center for Molecular Medicine, led by Steve Dalton, GRA Eminent Scholar of Molecular Cell Biology. And students benefit tremendously from the high-caliber learning environments created in the Eminent Scholar laboratories, where they have opportunities to contribute to important advances. Norris is the fourth and Kyle is the fifth GRA Eminent Scholar recruited to UGA since 2015; such rapid growth has contributed to a greater than 20 percent cumulative increase in research expenditures during the past two fiscal years, said David Lee, UGA vice president for research. “Our Eminent Scholars are performing state-of-the-art research and pushing the boundaries of knowledge in ways that benefit human health and well-being,” he said. “Their work attracts significant external funding from federal, private and nonprofit sources.” Recruiting researchers worthy of the GRA Eminent Scholar designation takes substantial resources, and the university is willing to make the investment, Lee said.
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his 27th year as the studio host for Turner’s NBA coverage. Johnson serves as the studio host for NBA TV’s Fan Night as well as Turner and CBS’ NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Championship coverage. He also serves as a play-by-play announcer for TBS’ coverage of the MLB postseason and for Sunday MLB on TBS games throughout the regular season. He provides commentary for the network’s coverage of the PGA Championship each year. Johnson called Atlanta Braves games on SportSouth from 1993-96 with his dad, Ernie Johnson Sr. He began his career, while attending the University of Georgia, as a news and sports director for WAGQ-FM in Athens. Following graduation, Johnson joined WMAZ-TV, Macon, as a news anchor. In 1981, he served as a news reporter for WSPA-TV, Spartanburg, South Carolina, and from 1983-89 he worked for WSB-TV in Atlanta as a weekend sports anchor and reporter. He covered the 1992 Olympic Winter Games in Albertville, France, and the 1994 Olympic Winter Games in Lillehammer, Norway, as well as the Goodwill Games. “Ernie Johnson is an outstanding alumnus of the University of Georgia, and we are delighted that he is returning to campus to provide the spring undergraduate Commencement address,” said UGA President Jere W. Morehead. “As an accomplished sportscaster for American and international sporting events, he has been part of our nation’s cultural fabric for decades. I look forward to the words of wisdom he will share with our graduates.” Johnson recently authored his first book, the upcoming Unscripted: The Unpredictable Moments That Make Life Extraordinary. He has received the Bill Hartman Award, the Musial Award, the “John Wooden Keys to Life Award” presented by Athletes in Action;,a Georgia Associated Press Award for sports reporting in 1988 and a United Press International Award for Sportscasting in 1984. Shepherd teaches in the department of geography at UGA. He is the host of The Weather Channel’s award-winning Sunday talk show Weather Geeks and a contributor
to Forbes magazine. Shepherd was the 2013 president of the American Meteorological Society. In 2014, Ted Turner and his Captain Planet Foundation honored Shepherd with its Protector of the Earth Award. He is also the 2015 recipient of the Association of American Geographers Media Achievement Award, the Florida State University Grads Made Good Award and the University of Georgia’s Sandy Beaver Award for Excellence in Teaching. Shepherd spent 12 years as a research meteorologist at NASA-Goddard Space Flight Center and was a deputy project scientist for the Global Precipitation Measurement mission. President George W. Bush honored him in 2004 with the Presidential Early Career Award for pioneering scientific research. Shepherd is a Fellow of the American Meteorological Society and has authored nearly 100 publications. “Dr. Shepherd is one of the world’s preeminent scientists and one of this university’s most accomplished and productive faculty members—always pushing the boundaries of his field,” Morehead said. “Our graduate students will benefit tremendously from his message.” Shepherd routinely appears as an expert before the national media, the White House and Congress. He serves on several national boards and served as editor for two major journals. Shepherd’s research is funded by NASA, the National Science Foundation, the U.S. Department of Energy and the U.S. Forest Service. Shepherd received his bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degrees in physical meteorology from Florida State University. “Graduate education prepares students for the kind of globally relevant scholarship and outreach that Dr. Shepherd exemplifies,” said Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost Pamela Whitten. “With wit, clarity and expertise that comes from years at the forefront of his field, he conveys the wonder and complexity of science to people across the nation and around the world.” For more information on UGA’s Commencement ceremonies, visit commencement.uga.edu. The ceremonies will be streamed live at www.ctl.uga.edu/ctlcable.
SEC
CURO
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which could allow for advances in drugs or vaccines to treat or prevent parasitic diseases. “Dr. Docampo is advancing research with implications for millions of people around the world while also educating and mentoring students who themselves will go on to improve global health,” said Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost Pamela Whitten. “His work exemplifies the vital role this institution plays in creating healthier communities in Georgia and beyond.” Docampo joined the UGA faculty in 2005 after serving as a faculty member at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. His career also included serving as a visiting scientist at the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences and as a visiting professor at Federal University of Rio de Janeiro and at Rockefeller University. Docampo, who has written more than 300 peer-reviewed articles and chapters in top scientific journals, currently acts as the principal investigator on four grants from the National Institutes of Health totaling more than $7.2 million, and Brazilian grants fund a second laboratory in Campinas, Sao Paulo. In total, his research has garnered more than $20 million from organizations such as the NIH,World Health Organization, American Health Association, Georgia Research Alliance and GlaxoSmithKline. Docampo has received numerous teaching and mentoring awards, and he is a Fellow of the American Academy of Microbiology and of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. He currently serves as the editor-in-chief of the Journal of Eukaryotic Microbiology, as well as on the editorial boards of four additional journals. In addition to the medical degree and two doctoral degrees he earned from the University of Buenos Aires and Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Docampo was awarded an honorary doctorate degree from the National University of San Martin in Argentina in 2013.
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event. In 2014, participation broke 250 and has been skyrocketing ever since. “It has been a great pleasure to observe the growth of undergraduate research across the UGA campus in recent years,” said David S. Williams, associate provost and director of the Honors Program. “This growth is the result of both student interest and faculty support. To be able to offer students up to a full four years of faculty-mentored research in any field of study is truly amazing.” Much of the growth is due to a $1,000 research stipend the university launched in 2014 as part of a series of academic enhancements. Known as the CURO Research Assistantship, the program now awards 500 stipends annually. “The success of the CURO Research Assistantship has resulted in dramatic growth in participation for the CURO Symposium,” said Martin Rogers, associate director of the Honors Program and CURO. “The wide distribution of majors, faculty departments and subject matter we see in our Symposium program reflects the expansive impact of that initiative.” At the heart of the numbers are students like CURO Honors Scholar Sydney-Alyce Bourget from Jonesboro, a third-year ecology major in the Odum School of Ecology who studies with professor Jeb Byers. She is fascinated by invasive plants. This summer, she’ll analyze cordgrass impact on the Georgia coast. “I’ve always had the desire to learn and investigate things, and UGA definitely solidified my passion for doing research and for learning,” she said. To help students in their research, CURO offers coursework, support staff and information sessions on how to begin conducting research. In addition to stipends, the program offers $3,000 summer fellowship grants. Research through CURO fulfills the university’s newly implemented experiential learning requirement.