8 May 18, 2015 columns.uga.edu
Tim Foutz, a professor in the College of Engineering, received the 2015 Outstanding Teaching Award from the Southeastern Section of the American Society for Engineering Education. Presented annually, the award recognizes exceptional contributions to engineering or engineering technology education through outstanding classroom performance. Given to one person each year, the award was presented to Foutz April 13 at the society’s Southeastern Section annual conference in Gainesville, Florida. Mary Ann Johnson, the Bill and June Flatt Professor in Foods and Nutrition in the UGA College of Family and Consumer Sciences, is vice presidentelect of the American Society for Nutrition. Johnson’s four-year term, which begins June 1, includes serving as vice president-elect, vice president, president and past president. In addition to her role as professor, Johnson also serves as the foods and nutrition department’s graduate coordinator, as an adjunct professor in kinesiology and on the faculty of UGA’s gerontology department. Juanita Johnson-Bailey, director of the Institute for Women’s Studies at UGA, is the 2015 recipient of the Eleanor Roosevelt Fund Award, an honor given by the American Association of University Women for outstanding contributions to equality and education for women and girls. Juanita Johnson-Bailey will receive Johnson-Bailey the award, which includes a $5,000 honorarium, in June at the AAUW national convention in San Diego. Established in 1989, the Eleanor Roosevelt Fund Award is given for a range of activities including classroom teaching, educational and research contributions, and legal and legislative work in equity for women and girls. Johnson-Bailey is a Meigs Professor in the College of Education’s lifelong education, administration and policy department and the Institute for Women’s Studies, a unit of the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences. The Association County Commissioners of Georgia honored two Carl Vinson Institute of Government faculty members with 2015 Leadership Development Advocate of the Year Awards for facilitating an extensive redesign of ACCG’s government training curriculum. Senior Public Service Associate Sherri Lawless and Public Service Associate Phillip Boyle were recognized at ACCG’s 2015 annual conference held April 17–20 at the Savannah International Trade and Convention Center. Boyle and Lawless were honored for their work with ACCG staff and county commissioners from throughout Georgia in an ongoing program to redesign the curriculum for 78 courses in ACCG’s Lifelong Learning Academy. The academy offers a variety of professional development courses to help commissioners enhance and maintain proficiency in key leadership skills. Joel Lee, the John A. Drew Professor of Health Administration at the College of Public Health, is the 2015 recipient of the Association of Schools and Programs of Public Health/Pfizer Award for Teaching Excellence. The award recognizes a graduate public health faculty member who is outstanding in teaching and mentoring students toward distinction in public health research, teaching and practice. A national panel of public health scholars selected Lee for the honor, which was presented during the association’s annual meeting in Arlington, Virginia. The ASPPH represents public health schools and programs accredited by the Council on Education for Public Health.
CAMPUS CLOSEUP
Robert Newcomb
Benjamin Gray, a nutrition education coordinator at the University Health Center, teaches cooking classes, counsels students on health and wellness and mentors the Peer Nutrition Educators group.
All in good taste: Nutrition education coordinator encourages wellness By Molly Berg
mberg14@uga.edu
When Benjamin Gray was growing up, he wanted to pursue a career in food so bad he could taste it. “I was really lucky to have a mom who cooked every day,” Gray said. “I was often around kitchens, though I realized I had different tastes than my mom. So I began adding flavors—admittedly, mostly barbecue sauces—to change the dishes to reflect my own tastes.” A native of Arizona, Gray planned to attend culinary school at Johnson & Wales in Rhode Island to further his cooking skills. “I initially wanted to own a restaurant,” Gray said.“During culinary school, I realized the restaurant industry wasn’t for me. That led me to nutrition.” After earning his associate’s degree at Johnson & Wales, Gray decided to become a dietitian instead. Gray returned home and got his bachelor’s degree in nutritional sciences from the University of Arizona. He then applied to internships across the U.S., a requirement for those who want to become registered dietitians. “I had lived in the Northeast and Southwest already,” he said. “Because I wanted to go someplace new—in either the Northwest or Southeast—I applied to programs in both areas.” As fate would have it, Gray was matched with UGA. He packed up for the trip south and moved to Athens in 2009 to start the combined master’s degree and dietetic internship the university offers in the College of Family and Consumer Sciences.
After completing the program, Gray got a job at the University Health Center as a nutrition education coordinator. It’s a versatile position that allows him to teach cooking classes, counsel students on health and wellness and mentor the Peer Nutrition Educators group. Alongside Katherine Ingerson, a registered and licensed dietitian for UGA Food Services, Gray runs the Peer Nutrition Educators program, which gives students the chance to educate their peers about healthy eating habits. “We train the students over the summer,” Gray said.“Then starting in the fall, the students give presentations around campus on nutrition. I get to work with a number of dietetics students at UGA.” Along with the peer nutrition work, Gray teaches students of all majors ways to improve their health and wellness. He estimates that he interacts with nearly 2,000 students each semester when he combines the cooking classes, oneon-one counseling sessions and class presentations. “Being part of the University Health Center, our mandate is to serve students,” Gray said.“Frequently I have days leaving work where I think, ‘I just had a really awesome interaction with a student. I think they have a new perspective on health and nutrition.’ ” Outside of work, Gray spends time playing in or coaching Ultimate Frisbee tournaments around the country. Also an avid traveler, Gray spent time working in New Zealand in between his undergraduate and graduate degrees. “I spent nine months, the majority of which were in Wellington, working a number of jobs,” he said.
FACTS
Benjamin Gray Nutrition Education Coordinator University Health Center M.S., Nutrition, UGA, 2011 B.S., Nutritional Sciences, University of Arizona, 2008 A.S., Culinary Arts, Johnson & Wales, 2005 At UGA: 3 years, 9 months
When students leave for summer break, Gray opens up his cooking classes to faculty and staff. This summer he’ll teach two classes, one on July 9 and the other on July 22, to interested employees. “The two dishes I’m teaching— shrimp puttanesca and smoky mustard salmon—have been popular in the past,” he said. “People are often skittish about making seafood, though they enjoy eating it. Each class will work with a seafood recipe for participants to learn.” Each class, which will be taught from 11:30 a.m. to 12:45 p.m., is limited to 12 participants and costs $10. Sign up beginning July 2 at http://www.hr.uga. edu/training. “Instead of telling people to eat healthy, I encourage them to eat to support health and wellness,” Gray said. “Health and wellness encompasses mental, spiritual and cultural factors. It’s important because you get to explore new cultures, textures and tastes. “Supporting health and wellness allows you to be physically active and alert,” he added. “It lets you enjoy whatever experience you’re in.”
RETIREES April
Twenty-five UGA employees retired April 1. Retirees, their job classification, department and length of employment are: Steve G. Arnold, program specialist II, Lamar Dodd School of Art, 30 years; James B. Austin Jr., project superintendent, Facilities Management Division-construction department, 19 years, 7 months; Rebecca Gay Auxier, research professional II, Center for Applied Isotope Study, 32 years, 6 months; Amy Sue Blum, data management specialist II, assistant dean’s office, Griffin campus, 12 years, 2 months; Nancy Virginia Clark, senior accountant, Georgia Center: Business Administration, 10 years, 7 months; T. Dudley Cook, research technician III, crop and soil sciences, Tifton campus, 28 years, 2 months; Icelene L. Echols, building services worker II, Facilities Management Division-building
services, South Campus, 17 years; Joel H. Eizenstat, work management supervisor, residence hall facilities administration, 12 years, 6 months; Gary M. Gauthreaux, computer operations supervisor, EITS, 27 years, 6 months; Maria E. Gimenez, associate director, School of Law, 20 years, 8 months; Barbara Johnson, administrative associate I, Small Business Development Center, 11 years; Lula A. Kendricks, building services worker II, Facilities Management Division-building services, North Campus, 21 years, 1 month; Randy M. Lackey, architectural designer, Facilities Management Division-engineering department, 36 years, 6 months; Galena R. Lau, bindery operator III, Central Duplicating, 22 years, 4 months; Susan P. Lazo, administrative associate I, Student Financial Aid Office, 16 years, 8 months; David Lawrence Linvill, public service associate, UGA Extension-Southeast
District, 22 years, 9 months; Mollie McLott Martin, admissions specialist, Admissions Office, 16 years, 7 months; John S. Maynard, senior public service associate, Small Business Development Center, 16 years, 11 months; Keith M. Oelke, senior executive director, Office of Development, 19 years, 1 month; Cheryl B. Prichard, IT director, Georgia Center: Technical Support Services, 29 years, 9 months; Marie N. Roberts, senior budget analyst, Savannah River Ecology Laboratory, 25 years, 8 months; Carl B. Seay, IT professional associate, EITS, 11 years, 5 months; Ronnie M. Smith, electrician, Facilities Management Division-Electrical Shop, 20 years, 2 months; Crystal June Williamson, administrative associate I, Admissions Office, 26 years, 7 months; and John K. Wunderlich, director, Office of the Vice President for Research, 29 years, 9 months. Source: Human Resources