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Researchers harness power of metabolism to reverse aggressiveness in leukemia RESEARCH NEWS
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Hodgson Wind Ensemble opens School of Music season in Sept. 1 concert Vol. 45, No. 5
August 28, 2017
www.columns.uga.edu
UGA GUIDE
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University launches 113 ‘Double Dawgs’ degree programs By Sam Fahmy
sfahmy@uga.edu
Andrew Davis Tucker
Associate research scientist and co-instructor Artur Muszynski talks through some questions with nutrition science major Liana Mosley, chemistry major Caria Evans and genetics major Jason Kobylanski during their Introductory Biochemistry class in one of the two new SCALE-UP classrooms.
Optimal learning environment One year later, Science Learning Center lives up to its promise
By Aaron Hale
aahale@uga.edu
UGA’s Science Learning Center was engineered to foster collaboration and problem-solving skills to prepare students for thriving careers in the STEM, or science, technology, engineering and math, fields. The facility, which opened last August, is enhancing the learning environment and addressing the demand for STEM classes at the university. Part of America’s economic success comes from leading the world in translating discoveries into products, saidTimothy Burg,director of UGA’s Office of STEM Education. As the U.S. works to maintain this edge and the state of Georgia looks to secure its economic future, they will rely on a new generation of talented engineers, mathematicians, biologists, chemists and computer scientists who have exceptional skills, imagination
and vision. “Companies must complete projects that have hard constraints, unclear solutions, require multiple disciplines’ perspectives, span multiple countries and governments, extend ethical reasoning and require new technology,” Burg said. “Students who graduate with proven skills in these areas are needed.” UGA students seem to be answering the call. Nearly one in five UGA students now graduates with a degree in a STEM discipline, and selection of a STEM major is up by nearly 75 percent in the last five years, thanks in large part to the growth of UGA’s College of Engineering. Given this rising interest in STEM fields, the timing of the 250,000-square-foot SLC was just right. During the fall 2016 and spring 2017 semesters, students filled an average of nearly 13,000 seats in the SLC for instruction per semester.
An average of 60 courses across approximately 375 course sections were taught each of those semesters. But it’s not just the size of the facility that’s been an asset for students. The SLC delivers an optimal learning environment through the building’s design and by professors’ attention to effective teaching strategies. “The Science Learning Center was designed to incorporate the evolution of teaching with active learning methods,where students are challenged to provide more sophisticated demonstrations of what they have learned, beyond the traditional mastery of facts and techniques, and develop collaboration skills that will help them beyond the classroom,” said Rahul Shrivastav, the university’s vice president for instruction. Devanshi Nayak, a senior biochemistry and molecular biology See SCIENCE on page 8
Students at the University of Georgia now have more than 100 opportunities to earn both a bachelor’s degree and a master’s degree in five years or less through a new linked-degree program known as Double Dawgs. The Double Dawgs program enables students to save time and money by earning a master’s degree in one year instead of two. Upon graduation, they enter the workforce with a more advanced complement of knowledge and skills. Faculty members in 14 of the university’s schools and colleges
have created 113 Double Dawgs programs to date, giving UGA one of the nation’s largest selections of accelerated master’s programs.The complete list of Double Dawgs programs is online at doubledawgs. uga.edu, and additional programs will be added as they are approved. “The Double Dawgs program was created to give our ambitious students a competitive advantage after graduation while helping lower the overall cost of obtaining a graduate degree,” said President Jere W. Morehead. “It also helps to meet the demand across the state—and beyond—for highly qualified workers with advanced,
See DEGREE on page 8
WILLSON CENTER
Willson Center to kick off 30th anniversary celebration Sept. 6 By Dave Marr
davemarr@uga.edu
The Willson Center for Humanities and Arts celebrates its 30th anniversary at the University of Georgia this academic year, beginning with a public reception and a panel discussion on “The Humanities and Arts Today.” The panel will include leaders of several prominent national and regional humanities and arts organizations. The reception, which is free and open to the public, will be held Sept. 6 at 6 p.m. in the Willson Center, 1260 S. Lumpkin St. Light hors d’oeuvres and beverages will be provided. Parking will be available at the Office of International Education, 1324 S. Lumpkin St., and in other nearby UGA lots. If you
plan to attend, RSVP to Winnie Smith at wsmith78@uga.edu or at 706-542-4304. The discussion, moderated by Nicholas Allen, Franklin Professor of English and director of the Willson Center, will be held Sept. 7 at 10 a.m. in the auditorium of the Richard B. Russell Building Special Collections Libraries. The panelists are Laurie Baefsky, executive director of the Alliance for the Arts in Research Universities (a2ru); Stephen Kidd, executive director of the National Humanities Alliance; Sara Guyer, president of the Consortium of Humanities Centers and Institutes; John McGowan, past director of the Institute for the Arts and Humanities at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill; See WILLSON on page 8
PUBLIC SERVICE AND OUTREACH
Whirlwind tour introduces new UGA faculty to sites across state of Georgia By Kelly Simmons
simmonsk@uga.edu
Thirty-nine new faculty members spent five days on the road the week before the fall semester began, traveling from the mountains to the coast to see firsthand the economic engines that drive the state of Georgia. Agriculture and agritourism highlighted the first day, as the tour stopped at Jaemor Farms near Gainesville, Wolf Mountain Winery in Dahlonega and Amicalola Falls State Park in Dawsonville, where the group spent the first night. “I wouldn’t come to these places on my own, at least initially, because
I’m new to Georgia,” said Ruchi Singh, an assistant professor in the department of legal studies and real estate at the Terry College of Business. “This is really interesting and an awesome experience.You get to learn so much that you wouldn’t have experienced otherwise.” In Atlanta, the tour stopped at the state Capitol to learn about the Georgia General Assembly and then walked to the University System of Georgia offices to sit in on part of a board of regents meeting. Over the week, the faculty passed through 43 of Georgia’s 159 counties and 14 cities, stopping at the National Center for Civil and Human Rights in Atlanta; in downtown Senoia, where The Walking
Dead is filmed; the Georgia Public Safety Training Center in Forsyth; Robins Air Force Base in Warner Robins; the Okefenokee Swamp in Waycross; and Gulfstream Aerospace and the Georgia Ports Authority in Savannah. The tour also included stops at the UGA Griffin and Tifton campuses and at UGA Marine Extension and Georgia Sea Grant and the Wormsloe Institute for Environmental History, both in Savannah. At Marine Extension and Georgia Sea Grant, the faculty members went on trawls aboard the R/V Georgia Bulldog and R/V Sea Dawg, toured the UGA Aquarium See TOUR on page 8
Jessica McGowan
During a stop in Atlanta, participants on the New Faculty Tour had their photo taken on the Georgia Capitol steps with UGA President Jere W. Morehead, interim UGA Vice President for Public Service and Outreach Laura Meadows and several state government officials.