UGA Columns Oct. 26, 2015

Periodicals Postage is PAID in Athens, Georgia

News Service University of Georgia 286 Oconee Street Suite 200 North Athens, GA 30602-1999

®

The University of Georgia

College of Education class marries clinical practice with community service INSTRUCTIONAL NEWS

3

UGA unit, Department of Education partner to make fourth-grade booklet Vol. 43, No. 14

October 26, 2015

www.columns.uga.edu

schupska@uga.edu

Peter Frey

Alice Walker, the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Color Purple, poses for a photo during her visit to UGA. Walker, who came to UGA as the Delta Visiting Chair for Global Understanding, spoke to capacity crowds Oct. 14 at the Chapel and Oct. 15 at the Morton Theatre in downtown Athens.

‘Learn along the way’

Pulitzer Prize-winning author Alice Walker inspires as inaugural Delta Visiting Chair aahale@uga.edu

Alice Walker, the Pulitzer Prizewinning author of The Color Purple, delivered a message of courage, empathy and self-empowerment to the UGA and Athens communities this month. Walker, who came to UGA as the Delta Visiting Chair for Global Understanding, spoke to capacity crowds Oct. 14 at the Chapel and Oct. 15 at the Morton Theatre in downtown Athens. Her message, which Walker delivered with her thoughtful, Zen-like tone, resonated with UGA students like Mansur Buffins, a second-year social studies education and African-American studies major. Buffins got to meet with Walker for an intimate conversation with several other students at

the Willson Center for Humanities and Arts Oct. 14. “I love how she lives freely,” Buffins said. “My takeaway is that I should stop worrying about what other people think of my ideas and goals and get rid of that fear of other people’s criticism and learn along the way.” Walker is the first AfricanAmerican woman to win the Pulitzer Prize in fiction. Beyond her most famous novel, The Color Purple, she has written six other novels, four collections of short stories, four children’s books and volumes of essays and poetry. Throughout her public life, she has been an international activist for civil and human rights and a forceful advocate for women and girls. Walker is the inaugural Delta Visiting Chair, which was

established by the Willson Center for Humanities and Arts through the support of the Delta Air Lines Foundation to host outstanding global scholars, leading creative thinkers, artists and intellectuals who teach and conduct research at UGA. As part of her visit, Walker met with students from UGA, Emory University and Spelman College as well as high school students from Walker’s birthplace of Putnam County at the Willson Center parlor. In this cozy setting, students asked Walker questions about her writing, her relationships and her philosophies about life. For Juhi Varshney, a third-year women’s studies and biochemistry double major at UGA, it was an opportunity to have a face-to-face talk See WALKER on page 4

UGA LIBRARIES

Sandra Deal to discuss book during UGA visit By Jean Cleveland jclevela@uga.edu

Georgia’s first lady Sandra Deal will be joined by her co-authors Oct. 28 on a visit to the UGA Libraries to discuss Memories of the Mansion: The Story of Georgia’s Governor’s Mansion, published by the University of Georgia Press. Open to the public, the talk will be held at the Richard B. Russell Building Special Collections Libraries at 10 a.m. “All homes have a story to tell, and the Georgia Governor’s Mansion is no exception,” Deal said. Deal wrote the book with

2

Ryan Seacrest to headline UGA spring Commencement By Stephanie Schupska

By Aaron Hale

CAMPUS NEWS

Kennesaw State University history professors Jennifer W. Dickey and Catherine M. Lewis to chronicle the history of the Georgia Governor’s Mansion, which opened in 1968 and includes a distinguished collection of American art and antiques. The book contains personal anecdotes and more than 200 photos from the collections of former first families. Former first families Maddox, Carter, Busbee, Harris, Miller, Barnes and Perdue shared stories and photographs about what it was like living in the “people’s house.” The foreword by Betty Foy Sanders details the complicated process of planning

the new mansion. Atlanta architect A. Thomas Bradbury’s neoclassical design features a 30-column colonnade to evoke Southern charm and grandeur while accommodating state functions and family living quarters. “The mansion has one of the most valuable collections of early federal-era art and antiques in the world, and its origin is now recorded for posterity,” said UGA Press Director Lisa Bayer.“As a unit of Georgia’s flagship university, the UGA Press is honored to have published this rich, meticulously documented, utterly engaging story of our state’s current history through its first families.”

When Ryan Seacrest takes the stage for the UGA spring Commencement ceremony May 13 in Sanford Stadium, he will have two tasks—inspire a new class of UGA alumni and receive an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree from the university he attended as a freshman. The Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia approved Seacrest’s honorary degree during its Oct. 14 meeting. Other than an earned doctorate, the honorary degree is the highest recognition UGA can bestow and is given to recognize a person who has a sustained record of achievements of lasting significance. Seacrest holds pre-eminent positions in broadcast and cable television as well as nationally

syndicated radio and local radio. He is celebrated internationally as host of the top-rated prime-time talent showcase American Ryan Seacrest Idol on Fox. He is host and executive producer of ABC’s annual New Year’s eve program Dick Clark’s Rockin’ Eve with Ryan Seacrest. He also has an agreement with NBCUniversal that includes on-air broadcasting and producing duties across the NBC and E! networks. On radio, Seacrest is host of On Air with Ryan Seacrest, his market-topping nationally syndicated Los Angeles morning drive-time show for iHeart Media’s 102.7 KIIS-FM, as well as a

See COMMENCEMENT on page 8

DIVISION OF MARKETING AND COMMUNICATIONS

Vice president for marketing and communications named By Rebecca Vander Plaats rebeccavp@uga.edu

Tom Jackson, who became heritage communications executive with the University System of Georgia earlier this year. As vice president for marketing and communications, HobsonPape will report directly to Morehead and will oversee the Division of Marketing and Communications, currently known as the Public Affairs Division. The office comprises four departments: news service, publications, broadcast/ video/photography and the Visitors Center as well as WUGA-FM. Under Hobson-Pape’s direction, the division will serve as the central communications and marketing unit at UGA. “The University of Georgia

Karri Hobson-Pape, cofounder and partner at Inflexion Point Marketing Group in Atlanta, has been named vice president for marketing and communications at UGA. “Karri brings the ideal combination of professional experience and strategic vision required to advance the institution’s critical marketing and communications functions,” said UGA President Jere W. Morehead. “I look forward to working with her as a member of the university’s senior leadership team.” Hobson-Pape’s appointment is effective Jan. 1. She succeeds See MARKETING on page 8

CENTER FOR UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH OPPORTUNITIES

CURO Research Assistantship Program exceeds expectations By Camie Williams camiew@uga.edu

In its first year alone, UGA’s Center for Undergraduate Research Opportunities Assistantship Program has given more than 250 students hands-on experiences in fields ranging from molecular engineering to linguistics. The CURO Research Assistantship Program was launched in fall 2014 and offers $1,000 stipends for a nonrenewable semester of independent research

under the supervision of faculty members across campus. A total of 258 undergraduates from 78 majors participated during the 2014-2015 academic year, and more than 100 currently are taking part. Although the Honors Program coordinates CURO, more than half the assistantship participants were from outside of the program. “Participation has exceeded our expectations, especially in the interest we are seeing from faculty looking to support undergraduates

See CURO on page 8

2 Oct. 26, 2015 columns.uga.edu

Around academe

Census Bureau: Women more likely than men to have college attainment

For the first time in 75 years, women take the lead in college attainment, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. The Census Bureau began tracking higher education attainment in 1940, when 5.5 percent of American men had bachelor’s degree and 3.8 percent of women had one. For decades, American men were ahead of their female counterparts in earning a college degree. But in 2014, the percentage for men earning a bachelor’s degree was 29.9; it was 30.2 percent for women. Overall, college attainment of the population as a whole has increased 30 percent since 1940.

MIT to offer half-online degree

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology will begin offering massive open online courses for students earning a master’s of engineering in logistics degree. The program, which will launch next year, will offer half of the program through MOOCs for the duration for the 10-month program. This half face-to-face program will cut down time students spend on campus and could save them tens of thousands of dollars in tuition. The MOOCs for the degree will be completed for the first half of the program, giving students a chance to try before financially committing themselves on campus.

Preserve pumpkins

News to Use

Whether canned, dried or frozen, there are some important tips to keep in mind when preserving pumpkins. Canned, cubed pumpkin • Wash the pumpkin and remove the seeds. • Cut the pumpkin into 1-inch-wide pieces and peel them. • Cut the flesh into 1-inch cubes. • Boil for two minutes in water. • Fill jars with hot pumpkin cubes and add hot cooking liquid to cover them. Freezing • Wash and cut the pumpkin into cooking-sized sections. • Remove the seeds. • Cook until soft in boiling water, in steam, in a pressure cooker or in an oven. • Remove the pulp from the rind and mash. • Place the pan of pumpkin in a pan of cold water to cool, stirring the mash occasionally. • Pack the pumpkin into rigid containers, leave room and freeze. Drying pumpkin • Preheat an electric dehydrator to 140 degrees. • Wash and peel the pumpkin and remove all seeds and fibers from the flesh. • Cut into small, thin strips about 1-inch wide by 1/8-inch thick. • Blanch strips for three minutes in steam above boiling water. Dip the pumpkin strips briefly in cold water to stop the cooking process. • Place the strips into the dehydrator by spacing them apart in a single layer. Remove when they are brittle. Source: College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences

ATHLETIC TEAMS HAVE WON

41 NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS

29

SINCE 1999

See more information about UGA athletics and studentathletes at discover.uga.edu.

FINANCE AND ADMINISTRATION

UGA unit, Department of Education partner to make fourth-grade booklet By Matt Chambers mattdc@uga.edu

As a child, Sam Pittard had a rolledup copy of the U.S. Constitution printed on faux parchment that he used to read. He even saved it to this day. Now, the senior graphic designer is helping Georgia children have their own copy of some of the most important documents in America’s history. Pittard and others in Bulldog Print + Design, the newly combined unit that contains staff from what used to be University Printing and Central Duplicating, worked with the state Department of Education to create “The Words That Built America.” The booklet contains a copy of the Constitution and other historical documents and songs. A copy of the booklet, which was designed by Pittard, was given out this fall to every one of the 150,000 fourthgraders in Georgia. “I remember my old parchment printed copy of the Constitution and how much I loved having that,” Pittard said. “Now, hopefully some child somewhere in the state will feel that way after having this booklet.” The booklet project, which was privately funded and used no taxpayer dollars, came about in May when the Department of Education partnered with Bulldog Print + Design. “(The Department of Education) didn’t really have anything other than the core concept that they knew they wanted the Constitution in it,” Pittard said. “So I asked them about including things like the Declaration of Independence, “Star-Spangled Banner” and the

Dorothy Kozlowski

Sam Pittard, a senior graphic designer, designed the “The Words That Built America” booklet, which was distributed to every fourth-grader in Georgia.

Pledge of Allegiance, and they loved it.” Pittard also wrote an introduction for each section and included some facts in the “Did You Know?” sections. “I really wanted things to grab a fourth-grader’s eye and keep them engaged,” he said. “I really enjoyed working on this project. In fact, in doing a bit of the research, I learned a bit myself, and I actually read the Constitution for the first time since probably high school.” Pittard is quick to point out that

FRANKLIN COLLEGE OF ARTS AND SCIENCES

NYU professor discusses reactions to Lincoln’s death in Gregory Lecture By Matt Chambers mattdc@uga.edu

Throughout her 25 years of teaching about the Civil War, Martha Hodes, a professor of history at New York University, always had a few lines about Abraham Lincoln’s assassination in her lectures. After 9/11, however, she began to look at that historical event in a new light. “9/11 made me think about how people responded to transformative events in everyday life,” said Hodes, who gave the 2015 Gregory Distinguished Lecture in the Chapel Oct. 15. Hodes said in her lecture, “Mourning Lincoln: The Assassination and the Aftermath of the Civil War,” that she wanted to understand a catastrophic event on a human scale, which prompted her to begin reading through letters and diaries written by Northerners and Confederates in the “hours and days after Lincoln’s assassination.” Similar to how the world was grieving and in shock after 9/11, many of the public records after Lincoln’s death presented a nation in mourning, Hodes said, but individual feelings and reactions varied. Among African-Americans, there was a feeling of trepidation, an unease about how this change would affect their newly found freedom. For some Confederates, those fighting and those supporting the troops, their recent defeats and surrender overshadowed the president’s death. “Many white Southerners seemed to barely register the assassination,” Hodes said, showing scanned copies of

journals and other accounts. While the assassination wasn’t at the forefront of their thoughts, some Confederates did revel in it. Others spoke of a foreboding future without the president because, according to Hodes, many Confederates felt Lincoln would have been “liberal in his mercy.” Hodes said that most Lincoln mourners placed the blame for his death on the institution of slavery. She quoted one source who wrote that “Lincoln had been sacrificed to slavery.” During her research, Hodes was fascinated by how people from both sides of the Civil War continued to record information about daily life, intertwining writings about lovers and business with their thoughts on the president’s assassination. This immersion in daily life allowed people to have a diversion from grief and a way forward after Union victory, Hodes said. Designated as one of the university’s fall Signature Lectures, the Gregory Lecture is made possible by the Amanda and Greg Gregory Civil War Era Studies Support Fund. UGA President Jere W. Morehead thanked the Gregorys, who attended the lecture, for their support of UGA’s academics and said that Hodes’ lecture was an “excellent and distinguished addition to this lecture series.” Stephen Berry, UGA’s Gregory Professor of the Civil War Era and co-director of the Center for Virtual History, praised Hodes’ work prior to her lecture for its focus on the emotional complexity of history.

while he designed the booklet, about a dozen others were involved in the entire process. “I’m proud of the whole group to be able to turn this out,” he said. Max Harrell, manager of Bulldog Print + Design, said the staff had to pull “double duty” to make the project successful. “It was a true team effort here; the staff did a wonderful job,” he said. “I think this would probably be the largest project this department has ever produced.” Debi Huckaby, a senior marketing professional in Bulldog Print + Design, said the project helps show how UGA’s units can be “on the same team” with state departments. “The project is a great illustration of a partnership between K-12 and higher ed in the state of Georgia,” she said. “We’re all here to enrich the lives of all students, and this kind of illustrates that.” The efforts of everyone involved in the project were recognized at the state Capitol as Georgia’s School Superintendent Richard Woods presented the booklet to Gov. Nathan Deal. During the event an ROTC color guard presented the flags and a fourth-grade class sang “You’re a Grand Old Flag.” “It was nice to get to the Capitol and get a sense that this project was something bigger than what we did,” Pittard said. “I’m proud to be a part of something that not only is showcasing the words that built our country, but I am excited that fourth-graders now have something so early in their lives that will reference those things.”

Religion professor hosts anthropology, theology conference By Elizabeth Holmes

lizholmes.uga@gmail.com

Derrick Lemons, a faculty member in the religion department of UGA’s Franklin College of Arts and Sciences, recently hosted the mini-conference “Theologically-Engaged Anthropology.” Funded with a grant from the John Templeton Foundation, the meeting is one of two mini-conferences being held to form collaborations between anthropologists and theologians from around the world. Scholars Joel Robbins, University of Cambridge; Francis X. Clooney, Harvard Divinity School; Don Seeman, Emory University; Brian Howell,Wheaton College; Paul Kollman, University of Notre Dame; Jon Bialecki, University of Edinburgh; Timothy Larsen, Wheaton College; Michael Rynkiewich, Asbury Theological Seminary; James Bielo, Miami University-Ohio; and Khaled Furani, Tel Aviv University, were invited to the conference. Along with Lemons, the scholars met Sept. 20-22 in Atlanta to discuss what theology could contribute to cultural anthropology and ethnography. Everyone wrote a paper addressing the topic, and each paper was discussed at length. These papers, along with the works from the second conference in February in England, will be combined and published in an edited book. “This conversation attempts to rectify a historical split between theology and anthropology and take advantage of the obvious commonalities,” said Clooney, director of Harvard’s Center for the Study of World Religions. “But it is a complicated subject and needs further study.”

INSTRUCTIONAL NEWS

columns.uga.edu Oct. 26, 2015

3

Digest UGA Miracle, Florida Dance Marathon programs competing in fundraising

Every week, more than 20 children from around Athens-Clarke County meet at the Ramsey Student Center for a one-on-one clinical session with a UGA student. “This is one of the classes that the College of Education offers where students actually get hands-on practical experience,” said Ashley Fallaize, a doctoral student studying motor behavior.

Promoting growth

College of Education class marries clinical practice with community service By Kathyrn Kao kathk1@uga.edu

A line of pool noodles, beach balls and rubber chickens may seem like the perfect props for a pool party, but for students taking the adapted physical education class offered by the College of Education’s kinesiology department, they make up an essential component of a long-established program. Every week, more than 20 children from around Athens-Clarke County meet at the Ramsey Student Center for a one-on-one clinical session with a UGA student. While the children all have different needs and impairments, the goal is always the same: to facilitate and assess their physical and motor development. “I’ve always looked at the class as a clinical practicum for the students first,” said Michael Horvat, a professor in the department of kinesiology.“It gives them hands-on experience because who wants to sit through three lectures a week?” Horvat, who is also the director of the Pediatric Exercise and Motor Development Clinic, has been designing and providing activity programs for children with disabilities for over three decades. Since his arrival to the university, the clinic, which previously focused on game playing and recreational activities, has evolved into a vital source of firsthand knowledge for a large pool of students, including future physical therapists,

physical education teachers and athletic trainers. “This is one of the classes that the College of Education offers where students actually get hands-on practical experience,” said Ashley Fallaize, a doctoral student studying motor behavior. “For physical therapy majors, it’s invaluable because they have to get clinical observation hours and have an opportunity to interact with children who have special needs.” The clinic offers students a rare opportunity to expose the children to new physical activities. Ranging in age from 2 to 14, each participant has a disability that hinders physical and motor development, such as cerebral palsy, autism, mitochondrial disorder, muscular dystrophy, spina bifida and more. “The practicum is a time for students to take theory and put it into practice,” Horvat said. “But it’s also an opportunity for kids who aren’t traditionally active to participate in some type of exercise program. And that’s why a lot of those kids like to come back semester after semester.” Generally, student programs involve half an hour in the gym and another half an hour in an aquatic setting. The latter sometimes poses a challenge to participants who are initially reluctant to get into the pool. It’s also the place where the most obvious progressions are seen. For Laura Stevens, a senior majoring in exercise and sport science

with a disability certificate from the Institute of Human Development and Disability in the College of Family and Consumer Sciences, the pool was where she remembers feeling the most excited about her student’s accomplishments. Chase Jones, 5, has autism spectrum disorder, which is often characterized by low spatial awareness and a short attention span. “I was super excited when I got Chase to float on his back,” Stevens said. “When he floats, he stops scripting. So with autism, a lot of times kids will talk extraneously, but he was very relaxed and focused on the task, which was a lot of fun for me to see. He’s just a joy.” According to Fallaize, PEMDC is one of the few clinics that takes advantage of the pools at Ramsey. The students are not specifically teaching the children how to swim, but instead, use the water to develop physical and motor functioning. However, several children do end up learning some important survival techniques like floating on their backs, Stevens said. “Our goal is to help the children as they try to keep up with their siblings in playing catch or when they go bowling and swimming with their family,” Fallaize said. “Every child has made progress, and they’ve all benefited.They stay consistent, and they come back each semester to work on different skills.”

UGA study: Species extinction can doom parasites srdevine@uga.edu

The effects of an animal population’s extinction may echo beyond the original species, new UGA research finds. Loss of a population could ultimately result in the extinction of parasites, which are critical for a healthy ecosystem. UGA researchers focused this particular study on a Brazilian fish community and their associated parasites. The study, published in Scientific Reports, which used publicly available data from a previous long-term ecological research study, looked at fish and parasite communities in a river in South America. “We looked at how the loss of fish host species influenced loss of parasite

species,” said the study’s lead author Tad Dallas, a doctoral candidate in UGA’s Odum School of Ecology. “Our goal was to consider the whole ecosystem and to consider overall biodiversity, which includes parasite species that require host species to survive.” Previous extinction research has focused more on free-living species and less on the potential for the extinction of host species to cause further extinctions of parasite species. Based on the study’s results, these secondary extinctions have major implications to the diversity of parasites and the structural stability of the hostparasite network. Using the data, Dallas and co-author Emily Cornelius, a doctoral candidate at the University of Wisconsin-Madison,

Waters Lecture to be held Nov. 4

The College of Pharmacy’s 2015 Kenneth L. Waters Lecture will be held Nov. 4 at 3:30 p.m. in Pharmacy South 101. William A. Zellmer will give a lecture titled “The Perils of Ignoring Pharmacy’s Deepest Threat.” The lecture is open free to the public. Zellmer is a consultant, writer and speaker on strategic and professional issues in pharmacy practice and education. He holds appointments as contributing editor of the American Journal of Health-System Pharmacy and as a historian for the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists. He also serves as project director for the annual Pharmacy Forecast report issued by the ASHP Foundation and is president of the American Institute of the History of Pharmacy. Begun in 1982, the Kenneth L. Waters Lecture Series honors the late dean emeritus who led the pharmacy college from 1948 until his retirement in 1977.

iGEM team wins gold at competition

UGA’s International Genetically Engineered Machine, or iGEM, team won a gold medal and was runner-up for the best measurement project award at the 2015 iGEM Giant Jamboree in Boston. iGEM is an annual international collegiate synthetic biology competition, which originated from MIT. The 2015 event included 280 iGEM teams and more than 2,700 attendees from across the globe. The competition seeks to promote synthetic biology research awareness and collaborations to develop practical solutions for the real world. The teams are judged on their research novelty, impact toward real world solutions, outreach, collaborations and more. The 2015 UGA iGEM team included 16 undergraduates from the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences and the College of Engineering, led by Rebecca Buchanan, who is studying biochemistry and molecular biology.

UGA Foundation updates contributor counting for fiscal year 2015

ODUM SCHOOL OF ECOLOGY By Sydney Devine

UGA students will aim for two victories against the University of Florida this weekend. As the football teams go head to head, UGA Miracle will compete against Florida’s Dance Marathon program in a rivalry fundraising challenge. Throughout the week, UGA Miracle will rally the Bulldog Nation to raise funds for Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, while Florida does the same for its local Children’s Miracle Network Hospital. The official count begins Oct. 29 and the winner will be announced Nov. 2. To support these students’ efforts, visit www. ugamiracle.org. UGA Miracle is the leading student-run philanthropy on campus with more than 1,100 members and record-breaking fundraising totals. Last year, more than 1,600 students raised $683,251 for Children’s, bringing its total amount raised to more than $4.7 million in the past 20 years. Its capstone event is Dance Marathon, a 24-hour event held in late February in the Tate Student Center.

studied different scenarios that could occur in a community of fish, for example, removing species that may be larger or have a large number of parasites on them to get an idea of the effects it would have on parasite diversity and network structure. The study found that these extinctions are, in a sense, a ripple effect, and the extinction of one could lead to the extinction of other important parasites. They identified key species from the group they were studying and then found that when key species go extinct, the network’s stability is compromised. “The network is not just the fish community but is composed of the interactions between the fish and their associated parasites,” Dallas said.

The University of Georgia Foundation has discovered a programming error in its contributor counting for fiscal year 2015. Over a period of a few months, some contributors, who had given to both the Athletic Association and the UGA Foundation, were double-counted. Instead of having approximately 63,784 contributors, as originally reported, the actual number is 59,086, a 5 percent increase over the previous year. This error has now been corrected. Fiscal year 2015 still remains a record-breaking year on two key fronts: total giving of $144.2 million and total contributors of 59,086.

PERIODICALS POSTAGE STATEMENT Columns (USPS 020-024) is published weekly during the academic year and biweekly during the summer for the faculty and staff of the University of Georgia by the UGA News Service. Periodicals postage is paid in Athens, Georgia. Postmaster: Send off-campus address changes to Columns, UGA News Service, 286 Oconee Street, Suite 200 North, Athens, GA 30602-1999.

4 Oct. 26, 2015 columns.uga.edu

GRADY COLLEGE

COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING

Engineering professors create interactive recycling bin prototype By Molly Berg

mberg14@uga.edu

Fitbits, a wearable electronic device that measures a person’s activity, are on the rise due to their interactive nature and ease of use. Two UGA College of Engineering professors have taken the Fitbit concept and applied it to recycling with their WeRecycle bin. “When you’re active with a Fitbit, the device smiles at you,” said Jenna Jambeck, an associate professor in the College of Engineering. “You get automatic feedback for doing something good. We used the same kind of idea when creating WeRecycle.” First conceived in 2010, the WeRecycle bin is the invention of Jambeck, assistant professor Kyle Johnsen and former graduate student Eliana Mozo Reyes. By using lights and sounds as well as counting the number of items recycled, the creators of WeRecycle have developed a rewarding and entertaining device to encourage recycling. “The bin works by attracting attention through lights and sounds, detecting the deposit of an item into the bin and then providing feedback in the form of a current count of items recycled in the bin and additional lights and sound,” Johnsen said. In the last few years, the three have created a WeRecycle bin prototype as well as created their own registered LLC for the product. The prototype uses the existing recycling bins on UGA’s campus, adding handmade circuitry and lights to their lids. “We did this to reduce both the cost and the materials used,” Jambeck said. “We didn’t want to create something that was unnecessarily using extra resources.” Because the WeRecycle device is battery powered, it potentially could function for years before the batteries need to be changed. They also could be recharged by the sun if the device is outside. “All electronics are tucked away under the lid, so changing the bag is easy and shipping the lid is all that is necessary because we use standard ‘slim jim’ bins,” Johnsen said. While not yet on the market, WeRecycle already has been tested in the halls of the Driftmier Engineering Center. “We saw that students were coming up and recycling multiple things at once,” Jambeck said. “The bin’s lights naturally attract people to come over and see what it does.” The bin is intended to help address the international problem of recycling, which is that only 30 percent of proper materials are recycled. “We don’t properly value the cost of the entire life-cycle of our products,” Johnsen said. “When we recycle, we keep track of these products and can control when, where and how they are disposed. Extracting any remaining value of a product is vital because the energy source that enables the creation and transport of most of these products is nonrenewable.” Already with their WeRecycle LLC, Jambeck and Johnsen have created a website, a mobile app and social media accounts. Once the product is on the market, user data can be tracked using these features. “We want to be the leaders in sustainable recycling, where we optimize the ‘point of contact’ with the consumer, so that the bins reach their full performance,” Johnsen said. Jambeck and Johnsen said that before going on the market, the bin needs to harvest renewable resources around itself, detect what’s going into it, reduce “false positives” of items and provide more feedback about what’s being recycled. While the bin still is being developed, Jambeck is hopeful that the product will one day be on the market. “So far we’ve done a Kickstarter and applied for a grant,” she said. “Right now, the bin isn’t available beyond our prototype. We’re hoping that will change in the near future.”

ON THE WEB werecycle.co

Peter Frey

Alice Walker, left, the Pulitzer Prize-winning author and Delta Visiting Chair for Global Understanding, joined Valerie Boyd, an associate professor and the Charlayne Hunter-Gault Distinguished Writer in Residence at the Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication, for a public conversation held at the Morton Theatre. Walker also read a few pages from her award-winning novel The Color Purple. Boyd currently is editing Walker’s journals for publication in an upcoming book.

‘Inhabiting someone else’s skin’ Journalism professor curates, edits Alice Walker’s journals for upcoming book

By Sarah Freeman freemans@uga.edu

For Valerie Boyd, the study of Alice Walker is a highly intimate, unique and immersive experience. The two met while Boyd was writing a biography on Zora Neale Hurston. An associate professor of journalism in UGA’s Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication, Boyd was personally selected by Walker two years ago to curate and edit the author’s journals for a book, due out in fall 2017. Gathering Blossoms Under Fire: The Journals of Alice Walker will be published by 37 Ink, an imprint of Simon and Schuster. Boyd’s work on the journals is supported in part by a 20152016 Willson Center faculty fellowship, one of the university’s critical supports for research in the humanities and arts. “I feel honored that Alice Walker is entrusting me to read her journals and to edit a selection of them for the world to read as well,” said Boyd, who also is the college’s Charlayne Hunter-Gault Distinguished Writer in Residence. Sifting through the journals has been no small task. In 2007, Walker turned over her personal archives to the Manuscript, Archives and Rare Book Library at Emory University.

The personal journals begin in 1962, when Walker was a student at Atlanta’s ­Spelman College, and span more than 50 years, consisting of about 65 notebooks. Walker is now 71. “Can you imagine journaling consistently for 50 years?” Boyd said. “The journals allow you to see the whole arc of her life in the day-to-day recording of it. Everything is there—her development as a woman, a mother, a daughter, a writer, an activist and an artist. My job is easy in some ways; I just have to assemble all of this raw material into a cohesive book, following the narrative threads that naturally emerge in the journals.” According to Boyd, Walker writes about a range of topics over the years, including her first trip in an airplane to study abroad, when she was 18, teaching herself to write a novel and everyday subjects like gardening or making dinner. “To see the daily walk of human life is really interesting,” Boyd said of her work in the archives. “These are personal journals, which means they can be quite intimate, so doing this kind of research is really like inhabiting someone else’s skin for a while and getting to look behind someone else’s eyes. It’s been quite fascinating and

emotional in some ways.” While most of the Walker Collection at Emory is open to visiting scholars, the journals, due to their personal nature, are restricted until 2027, or after Walker’s death, whichever comes later. Walker has given Boyd (and her graduate student assistant) exclusive access to read the journals. Boyd has been a fan of Walker’s work since she was in high school, but it was through Boyd’s first book, Wrapped in Rainbows: The Life of Zora Neale Hurston, that she met Walker. Walker, too, was inspired by Hurston, and Boyd reached out to Walker during her research on Hurston, who Boyd describes as “the most significant black woman writer of the first half of the 20th century.” Boyd is pleased with the progress on the book so far and expects to have the manuscript completed and delivered to the publisher by next fall. “It means everything to have the opportunity to work with her,” Boyd said. “Alice changed American literature in significant ways and has had a major influence not just on me but on many writers of my generation, and subsequent generations, and on American literature itself. It’s a wonderful gift to have the opportunity to walk side by side with her.”

relations and ­ i nternational affairs major, said she was surprised at how candid and relaxed Walker was with her lecture at the Chapel. “She spoke to the audience like it was a coffee shop chat,” she said. “And there were some very funny moments. I like the way she spoke by telling stories.” What stuck out to Katti was Walker’s description of racism as “unnatural.” Walker said racism in the South led to whites acting “unnaturally” when they discriminated against AfricanAmericans. Valerie Boyd, an associate professor of journalism at UGA’s Grady College, moderated Walker’s evening appearance at the Morton Theatre. Boyd is editing Walker’s journals for an upcoming book (see story, above). She asked Walker about her childhood in Eatonton, her activism on international and women’s issues, and her philosophy on freedom. On that last question about freedom, Walker said, “It means the way that I am is the way I’m supposed to be.”

In all of her appearances, Walker talked about her love for reading. As a child, she said, reading was what made her aware of the world beyond her hometown. It inspired her to travel, to write and find humanity in others. “I discovered you could leave Eatonton and go to 18th-century London for a whole afternoon, and no one would even know,” she said at the Morton Theatre. “(Reading) is the door to the you that you can become.” Nicholas Allen, the director of the Willson Center, said Walker’s visit was a compelling beginning for the Delta Visiting Chair. “Alice Walker shared a vision of empathetic intelligence with our students, faculty and friends across the community,” said Allen, the Franklin Professor of English. “In years to come, the Delta Visiting Chair will bring generations of the world’s leading artists and creative thinkers, and Alice Walker’s visit was a rich and thought-provoking experience to begin this journey.”

WALKER from page 1 with one of America’s great authors. “It was surreal to have read her work and then to have an intimate conversation with her,” Varshney said. “It was indescribable.” During the conversation, Walker asked students about their studies and career aspirations. She implored them to pursue their passions. “You have a perfect right to exist as you,” she told them. “If you love something and you’re really, really interested, there is nothing that will get in the way.” At her appearance at the Chapel, Walker shared stories about her international journeys to the Soviet Union, Cuba, China and Uganda. From each of these trips, she said, she found kindness from people who were supposed to be enemies of the U.S. She challenged mainstream ideas of Western consumerism and U.S. foreign policy and said that it’s important for Americans to learn about people in other nations. Nisha Katti, a fourth-year public

UGAGUIDE

columns.uga.edu Oct. 26, 2015

For a complete listing of events, 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.

EXHIBITIONS

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

Travels on the Bartram Trail: Beth Thompson’s Possible Perceptions. Through Nov. 29. Visitor Center, State Botanical Garden. 706-542-6014, connicot@uga.edu.

WOMEN’S SOCCER vs. Florida. To be televised on the SEC Network. 7 p.m. Turner Soccer Complex. 706-542-1621.

Infiltro: In-Vitro. Through Nov. 30. Gilbert Hall. bkaplan@uga.edu. Roads, Rivers and Red Clay: Ceramics by Ron Meyers. Through Dec. 18. Circle Gallery.

5

SAMURAI FILM SERIES SCREENING Seven Samurai with an introduction by Hyangsoon Yi, director of UGA’s Center for writer and activist whose cur- Asian Studies. 7 p.m. Georgia Museum of rent passion is sustainability. Art. 706-542-4662, hazbrown@uga.edu.

By Jean Cleveland jclevela@uga.edu

The environment and Set Off for Georgia… Through Dec. 23. civil rights will be the focus Hargrett Library Gallery, special collecof this year’s Georgia Writers tions libraries. 706-542-8079, Hall of Fame events Nov. 8-9. jclevela@uga.edu. Taylor Branch and Janisse Ray will be inducted Unbeaten, Untied, Undisputed: Georgia’s into the hall Nov. 9, along 1980 National Championship Season. with posthumous honorees Through Dec. 23. Special collections Vereen Bell and Paul Hemplibraries. 706-542-8079, Taylor Branch hill. The ceremony begins at jclevela@uga.edu. 10:30 a.m. Nov. 9. All events are in the auditorium of the Before the March King: 19th-Century Richard B. Russell Building Special Collections Libraries. American Bands. Through Jan. 3. Georgia “The Georgia Writers Hall of Fame celebrates our Museum of Art. 706-542-1817, state’s literary tradition, and this year we are proud to hazbrown@uga.edu. induct four outstanding Georgia writers,” said Toby Graham, university librarian and associate provost. In Time We Shall Know Ourselves: PhotoBranch is best known for his landmark history of graphs by Raymond Smith. Through the civil rights era. Ray’s writing is deeply influenced Jan. 3. Georgia Museum of Art. by the natural world. Bell’s fiction first brought the 706-542-1817, hazbrown@uga.edu. Okefenokee Swamp into the national consciousness, and Hemphill explored themes related to the workSamurai: The Way of the Warrior. Through ing class South. Jan. 3. Georgia Museum of Art. “Our programming will focus on the topics of civil 706-542-1817, hazbrown@uga.edu. rights and the environment, ones that connect this year’s inductees and that are of particular relevance to Georgia,” Seeing Georgia: Changing Visions of Graham said. Tourism in the Modern South. Through The activities begin Nov. 8 with three discussions: July 30. Special ­collections libraries. • At 1 p.m., “Sustainability: Preserving our Environ706-542-5788, jhebbard@uga.edu. mental Heritage” will feature Ray and UGA students. With UGA’s Office of Sustainability, the Georgia MONDAY, OCTOBER 26 Writers Hall of Fame presents a series of “lightning talks” presented by selected UGA students and Ray about BLOOD DRIVE sustainability. Ray is an award-winning environmental 2:30 p.m. Brumby Residence Hall.

The five- to six-minute student presentations will focus on their research in relation to Watershed UGA, a town-andgown initiative to involve the UGA campus and the Athens community in restoring local streams. • Attention turns to civil rights at 2 p.m. for “A Conversation Janisse Ray with Branch and UGA Students about the Civil Rights Movement,” with footage from the Civil Rights Digital Library. A panel of UGA students has selected a series of short film clips from the Civil Rights Digital Library that align with events detailed in The King Years: Historic Moments in the Civil Rights Movement, written by Branch. Each student has prepared a question for Branch about these events and how they relate to contemporary issues and events. The panel of students was selected by Barbara McCaskill, a UGA English professor and a member of the Georgia Writers Hall of Fame’s board of judges. • At 4 p.m., an author discussion featuring Branch and Ray will be held, followed by a reception. Moderated by Hugh Ruppersburg, a University Professor of English, Branch and Ray will discuss what it means to be a Georgia writer and will share details of their writing life. The Georgia Writers Hall of Fame is part of the Spotlight on the Arts festival, a 10-day event highlighting UGA units and facilities, from visual arts and creative writing to music, dramatic arts, dance and more to foster an awareness and appreciation of the arts and an environment conducive to artistic innovation. This year’s festival will take place Nov. 5-14.

2015 PEABODY-SMITHGALL LECTURE “Genealogy, Genetics and Race,” Henry Louis Gates Jr., Alphonse Fletcher University Professor and director of the Hutchins Center for African and African American Research at Harvard University. Part of the Signature Lecture series. 3 p.m. Morton Theatre, 195 W. Washington St.

Learning in Science Classes,” Jill C. Sible, an assistant provost for undergraduate education and a professor of biological sciences at Virginia Tech. 9:30 a.m. Reading Room, Miller Learning Center. 706-583-0067, tchagood@uga.edu.

SUSTAINABLE FOOD SYSTEMS SEMINAR SERIES LECTURE “Natural Enemies Playing Games: Where to Find Them and How to Keep Them,” Jason Schmidt, an assistant professor in UGA’s College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences. 3:30 p.m. 103 Conner Hall. 706-542-8084, sustainag@uga.edu.

MULTI-AUTHOR TALK AND SIGNING The UGA Press and UGA Libraries will WORKSHOP co-host a talk and signing with authors “Designing Learning Activities for Sandra Deal, Catherine Lewis and JenSCALE-UP Science Classes,” Jill C. Sible, nifer Dickey about their book Memories of Virginia Tech. 1 p.m. 326 Biological the Mansion. 10 a.m. Special collections sciences building. 706-583-0067, libraries. 706-542-4145, tchagood@uga.edu. asharp@uga.edu. (See story, page 1).

706-542-0116, michelleegas@uga.edu. GLEE CLUBS FALL CONCERT 8 p.m. Hugh Hodgson Concert Hall, Performing Arts Center.

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 28

BLOOD DRIVE Noon. Georgia Center.

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 30 STUDENTS’ FALL BREAK GEORGIA STATISTICS DAY 2015 9 a.m. Georgia Center.

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 31 EXHIBITION OPENING Crowned with Glory and Immortality will feature ornamental needlework of Georgia and investigate both feminine skills and girlhood education in the state. Through Feb. 28. Boone and George-Ann Knox Gallery II, Georgia Museum of Art. hazbrown@uga.edu.

SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 1 DAYLIGHT SAVING TIME ENDS 2 a.m. VOLLEYBALL vs. Florida. 1:30 p.m. Ramsey Student Center. 706-542-1621. PERFORMANCE The Athens Flute Choir will perform its fall concert inside the tropical conservatory. 2 p.m. Visitor Center, State Botanical Garden. 706-542-6014, connicot@uga.edu.

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 2

Resources. 2:30 p.m. Center for Teaching HISTORY OF MEDICAL SCIENCE and Learning Classroom. 706-542-1355, SERIES LECTURE ehoran@uga.edu. “Reading Outside the Canon: Some New Thoughts on Medicine in the Time of HIDDEN VOICES: Galen,” Vivian Nutton, a professor of the GROWING UP INTERSEX history of medicine and culture at the This continuation of Lambda Alliance’s First Moscow State Medical School. Hidden Voices series features intersex 2 p.m. 250 Miller Learning Center. speaker and activist Pidgeon Pagonis. 6 p.m. 150 Miller Learning Center. uga. COMING UP lambda@gmail.com. CONCERT The UGA British Brass Band, led by former New York Philharmonic principal trumpet Philip Smith, will perform traditional and contemporary repertoire in the classic British brass band tradition. 8 p.m. Hugh Hodgson Concert Hall, Performing Arts Center. 706-542-4752, ccschwabe@uga.edu.

WATERS LECTURE “The Perils of Ignoring Pharmacy’s Deepest Threat,” William A. Zellmer. 3:30 p.m. 101 Pharmacy South. (See Digest, page 3).

SPOTLIGHT ON THE ARTS OPENING CELEBRATION Nov. 4. The opening celebration for the 2015 Spotlight on the Arts festival will LUNCHTIME GALLERY TALK feature a sampler of student music, With Vivienne Varay, one of the nine artdance and dramatic performances, as VOLLEYBALL ists featured in the exhibition Forms of well as opening remarks from UniverAdornment: Flesh and Erotic. Noon. Plaza vs. Ole Miss. 9 p.m. Ramsey Student sity System of Georgia Chancellor Hank Center. 706-542-1621. Gallery, Lamar Dodd School of Art. Huckaby and UGA President Jere W. 773-965-1689, kgeha@uga.edu. Morehead. A reception will be held at the Lamar Dodd School of Art following the THURSDAY, OCTOBER 29 SHOUKY SHAHEEN LECTURER WORKSHOP celebration. Sponsored by the UGA Arts “The Mysterious Joseph Blackburn: Fash- “Getting a Head Start Towards Tenure: GALLERY TALK ionable Faces and Figures in the Colonial Expectations and Strategies for the First Hyangsoon Yi, a professor of comparative Council. 7:30 p.m. Hugh Hodgson Concert Hall, Performing Arts Center. Atlantic World,” William Rudolph, San TUESDAY, OCTOBER 27 Three Years…” Presenter: Gary Green, literature and director of UGA’s Center for 706-583-0728, camiew@uga.edu. Antonio Museum of Art. 5:30 p.m. assistant dean and associate professor of Asian Studies, will give a gallery talk on WORKSHOP S151 Lamar Dodd School of Art. the Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Samurai: The Way of the Warrior. 2 p.m. “SCALE-ing UP Student Engagement and REDEDICATION The rededication of the Louis B. Sohn Library on International Relations, in its new home in the renovated Dean Rusk International Law Center, will include a reception. Kannan Rajarathinam, UGA alumnus and head of office for the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq, will speak on “The United Nations at 70: Pursuing Peace in the 21st Century.” 4 p.m. Larry Walker Room, Dean Rusk Hall.

BOOK CLUB October’s selection: Swamp Water by Vereen Bell, a 2015 inductee into the Georgia Writers Hall of Fame. To include a discussion on works connected to upcoming/ ongoing exhibitions and programs at the special collections libraries. 5:30 p.m. 258 special collections libraries. 706-542-5788, jhebbard@uga.edu.

Calendar items are taken from Columns files and from the university’s Master Calendar, maintained by University Public Affairs. Notices are published here as space permits, with priority given to items of multidisciplinary interest. The Master Calendar is available on the Web at calendar.uga.edu/.

BLOOD DRIVE Noon. Health Sciences Campus.

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.

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

NEXT COLUMNS DEADLINES Oct. 28 (for Nov. 9 issue) Nov. 4 (for Nov. 16 issue) Nov. 11 (for Nov. 30 issue)

6 Oct. 26, 2015 columns.uga.edu

UGA tree health expert Kamal Gandhi was named a Science Policy Fellow for the Entomological Society of America, just one of five scientists across the country named to the program. The fellowship program was formed in 2014 to support scientists for two-year terms. As a FelKamal Gandhi low, Gandhi will attend virtual and in-person educational events to learn more about science policy and funding decisions made at the federal level of government. She also will participate in conferences that focus on developing federal science policy and budgets, help draft policy statements and meet with legislators. Gandhi, who joined the Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources in 2008, teaches forest health protection and has been conducting research on issues that affect conifer and hardwood trees, including the effects of exotic insects like the Asian ambrosia beetles, European woodwasp and emerald ash borer. Gandhi’s research is particularly important in the South, where forestry is a billion dollar industry in what is called the “wood basket of the world.” College of Pharmacy faculty members Dianne May and David DeRemer were named Fellows of the American College of Clinical Pharmacy. They both work in the college’s clinical and administrative pharmacy department. DeRemer is a clinical associate professor; May is a clinical professor who also works in the college’s Division of Experience Programs. May’s professional interests include drug information, drug policy/formulary management, drug literature evaluation, gastroesophageal reflux disease and adverse drug reaction monitoring/reporting. She is the incoming chair for the ACCP Drug Information PRN. DeRemer’s research interests include bone marrow transplant, clinical/translational research, hematologic malignancies and supportive care. He is chair-elect for ACCP’s Hematology/Oncology PRN. Fellowship in ACCP recognizes excellence in the practice and science of clinical pharmacy. Achieved by less than 5 percent of ACCP membership, this top award is bestowed to individual members who have demonstrated sustained contributions to the organization and exceptional performance in clinical practice and/or research. May and DeRemer were recognized at the ACCP Global Conference awards ceremony Oct. 18 in San Francisco; both maintain their practice site at the Georgia Regents University campus in Augusta. Sami Yli-Piipari, a faculty member in the College of Education, was named to the international editorial board of the journal Teaching, Research and Media in Kinesiology. The online peerreviewed international research and practice journal addresses both applied and theoretical issues in kinesiology. Sami Yli-Piipari Yli-Piipari is an assistant professor in the department of kinesiology where he directs the Children’s Physical Activity and Fitness Laboratory. His scholarly inquiry is focused on the promotion and examination of children’s and adolescents’ health behaviors, specifically physical activity. He is a specialist in school physical activity issues examining the role of physical education, school physical activity and school physical activity policies on children’s health and academic performance. He also applies the latest technological innovations to motivate and engage children in health-enhancing physical activity. Kudos recognizes special contributions of staff, faculty and administrators in teaching, research and service. News items are limited to election into office of state, regional, national and international societies; major awards and prizes; and similarly notable accomplishments.

FACULTY PROFILE

Robert Newcomb

Lizzie King, left, an assistant professor in the Odum School of Ecology and Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources, examines research space in Driftmier Woods with Dessa Dunn, a UGA graduate student.

Nature revival: Ecology professor studies ecological restoration By Beth Gavrilles bethgav@uga.edu

Picture a scene in the drylands of Kenya—a vast open expanse of grasses and bare earth, with very few trees, dotted here and there with cattle and goats. Then think of Driftmier Woods, a pocket of old growth Piedmont forest tucked between the Driftmier Engineering Center and the Family and Graduate Housing complex on the UGA campus. The two places could hardly be more different. For ecologist Lizzie King, however, both offer an opportunity to gain insights about coupled social and ecological systems, ecosystem services and ecological restoration, subjects that are the focus of her research and teaching as a faculty member in the Odum School of Ecology and Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources. Kenya is where King’s interest in ecology began on a family trip when she was 13. Her father, the director of the Yerkes National Primate Research Center at the time, was helping establish a wildlife reserve in Kenya. “Seeing conservation biologists in action inspired me,” said King, who majored in biology in college and returned to Kenya as a Fulbright Scholar to study the ecology and conservation status of a rare, recently discovered species of aloe. “After being there for a while, though, it began sinking in that there were bigger problems afoot than the status of this one plant,” she said. “There was a lot of land degradation. I started seeing the human side of environmental issues.”

King explored her growing interest in the intersection of ecological and social systems in her doctoral dissertation, with a focus on restoration ecology and sustainability. “Balancing an ecosystem’s capacity for self-renewal with the services that human societies also require of them is a universal issue that challenges our human-environmental relationships everywhere,” she said.“Restoration ecology is tasked with providing the knowledge to help us navigate those situations toward more sustainable futures, particularly where things have already gone wrong.” Since arriving at UGA in 2012, King has turned her attention to an area in need of restoration closer to home. She and her students are studying the UGA Chew Crew to understand how using goats in restoration is impacting the ecosystem services provided by natural areas on campus. Those services include not only the maintenance of biodiversity and ecological function, but also cultural services such as recreation and aesthetic value. “We’re also looking at how students’ involvement in restoration changes their own environmental ethics and creates a positive feedback, so that the activity increases their future enjoyment of natural spaces and environmental work,” she said. King also serves on the executive committee of the Center for Integrative Conservation Research, which coordinates the Integrative Conservation or ICON doctoral program, in collaboration with the Odum School, Warnell and the anthropology and geography

FACTS Elizabeth “Lizzie” G. King Assistant Professor, Odum School of Ecology and Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources Ph.D., Population Biology, University of California, Davis, 2004 M.S., Population Biology, University of California, Davis, 1998 B.A., Biology, Reed College, 1993 At UGA: 3 years

departments in the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences. “ICON is one of the most exciting interdisciplinary programs in the country,” King said. Students choose a focal discipline and receive rigorous training in that area, but also learn to work and communicate across multiple fields of social and natural sciences. “It’s putting a lot of the skills needed of an interdisciplinary team into one person,” King said. The description also fits King herself. “Being here in one of the best ecology programs and one of the best schools of natural resources, and back in the Southeast which is my home, is a real win-win-win situation for me,” she said. “It’s a really exciting place, with the Center for Integrative Conservation Research, to have so much support and enthusiasm for this type of work. That’s not a luxury that all interdisciplinary scholars have.”

PUBLIC SERVICE AND OUTREACH

Faculty-staff leaders to take part in Fisher Leadership Academy Seventeen faculty-staff leaders have been selected to participate in UGA’s 2015-16 Public Service and Outreach Vivian H. Fisher Leadership Academy. Facilitated by the J.W. Fanning Institute for Leadership Development, the academy is a nine-month program designed to build leadership capacity among high-level performers who have outreach as the major part of their duties within PSO. The academy gives participating faculty-staff an opportunity to cultivate leadership skills while developing a deeper understanding of the scope and reach of UGA’s public service and outreach mission. “Vivian Fisher personified the public service mission here at UGA. She understood that preparing faculty-staff for future leadership positions within

PSO is vital to our future success,” said Jennifer Frum, UGA vice president for public service and outreach. “That’s why we’ve named the PSO Leadership Academy in her honor and continue to provide faculty-staff with this important professional development opportunity.” The 2015-16 participants represent eight public service and outreach units, cooperative extension, two academic units, and the Office of the Vice President for Public Service and Outreach. They are Joseph Allen, Georgia Center for Continuing Education; Mary Beth Bass, Fanning Institute for Leadership Development; Mona Behl, Georgia Sea Grant; Michelle Elliott, Archway Partnership; Shannon Ferguson, Carl Vinson Institute of Government; John Graham, State Botanical Garden;

Sheldon Hammond, College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, Cooperative Extension; Lauren Healey, Fanning Institute for Leadership Development; Kyle Hensel, Georgia Small Business Development Center; Kris Irwin, Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources; ­Beverly Johnson, Carl Vinson Institute of Government; Emily Newdow, Georgia Center for Continuing Education; Andrea Scarrow, College of Family and Consumer Sciences, Extension and Outreach; Kelly Simmons, Office of the Vice President for Public Service and Outreach; Trina Von Waldner, College of Pharmacy; Josh Walton, Georgia Small Business Development Center; and Theresa Wright, Carl Vinson Institute of Government.

BLUE KEY HONOR SOCIETY

columns.uga.edu Oct. 26, 2015

Bill Cowsert

Terry England

Steve Jones

Peter Shedd

7

Tricia Chastain

Distinguished service

Blue Key chapter to recognize 5 for their contributions to UGA, state, nation By Stephanie Schupska schupska@uga.edu

UGA will honor five individuals at its annual Tucker Dorsey Blue Key Alumni Banquet Nov. 6 at the UGA Center for Continuing Education. A reception will begin at 6:30 p.m. with the dinner and program to follow at 7:30 p.m. Senate Majority Leader Bill Cowsert (RAthens), Rep. Terry England (R-Auburn) and Judge Steve Jones will receive Blue Key Service Awards; Professor Emeritus Peter Shedd will receive the Faculty Blue Key Service Award; and Tricia Chastain, president of the Georgia Student Finance Commission, will be presented with the Young Alumnus Award. Recipients of the AT&T Student Leadership Award, the Richard B. Russell Student Leadership Award and the Tucker Dorsey Memorial Scholarship will be announced at the event. The 2015-2016 Blue Key initiates also will be recognized during the banquet. Banquet tickets are $30 for individuals. Sponsored eight-seat silver tables are $300, and the eight-seat gold tables are $500. To reserve tickets, contact Janet Lance at 706-542-0017 or jholcomb@uga.edu.

Bill Cowsert

Cowsert was elected to the Georgia state Senate in 2006 and was elected senate majority leader in 2014. He represents the citizens of Clarke, Oconee and Walton counties in the 46th District. He serves on the Senate committees for appropriations, finance, health and human services, judiciary, reapportionment and redistricting, regulated industries and utilities and rules. Born in Jackson, Mississippi, and raised in Macon, Cowsert graduated from Macon Central High School. He earned a bachelor’s

degree in business administration from Presbyterian College and is a 1983 graduate of UGA’s School of Law. Cowsert is a founding partner of the Athens-based law firm Cowsert & Avery. He is the past president of the Athens Sertoma Club and the Clarke County Heart Association and is a board member of the Athens Touchdown Club.

Terry England

England represents the 116th District in the state House of Representatives, which includes most of Barrow County and its municipalities. He first was elected to the House in 2004. Since 2011, he has served as chair of the House Appropriations Committee. A 1984 graduate of Winder-Barrow High School, England attended UGA, majoring in agricultural engineering. He has spent his working life as a farmer and agribusinessman. He and his wife, Cindy, live on a farm that has been in England’s family for 150 years. His businesses have included Pete’s Little Idaho Tater Farm and the Homeport Farm Mart. England is president and CEO of Pete’s Enterprises Inc., which provides consulting in marketing, hiring practices, workplace safety and food safety for the construction and agribusiness industries. In 2003, England served as chair of the board of the Barrow County Chamber of Commerce. He was a board member for six years and served on various committees for 15 years. The organization honored him with its Presidential Award and, in 2013, named him Citizen of the Year.

Steve Jones

In 2011, Jones was appointed a U.S. district judge by President Barack Obama. Prior to his appointment, he served as a superior court judge in the Western Judicial Circuit and

WEEKLY READER

Ecologist co-authors revised snakes book

Snakes of the Southeast Revised Edition By Whit Gibbons and Mike Dorcas UGA Press Paperback: $28.95

Fifty-three kinds of snakes can be found in the Southeast, almost half of all species native to North America. Filled with more than 300 color photographs, this new edition of Snakes of the Southeast is the most comprehensive authoritative guide to the snakes of the region. At the heart of the book are its heavily illustrated descriptions of each species. The book includes a wealth of information about the importance of snake conservation and the biology, diversity, habitats and ecology of snakes as well as information about the interactions of humans and snakes. The book, which is co-authored by Whit Gibbons, professor emeritus of ecology at UGA and the Savannah River Ecology Laboratory, promotes a better understanding of the conservation of this fascinating, but often maligned, group of animals.

presided over the Western Judicial Circuit Felony Drug Court Program. Previously, he was an Athens-Clarke County Municipal Court judge, an assistant district attorney for the Western Judicial Circuit and the director of the Athens Child Support Recovery Unit. Jones has offered his time and leadership to numerous academic, community, legal and social organizations. He is a managing trustee and secretary for the UGA Foundation and is a member of the UGA Athletic Association board. He is the former chair of the Georgia Judicial Qualifications Commission, the UGA School of Law’s Board of Visitors and the Athens Area Community Foundation. He also served on the Georgia Supreme Court’s Commission on Equality and Domestic Violence Committee. Jones has won many awards for his judicial and community service, including the UGA School of Law’s Distinguished Service Scroll Award, UGA’s Fulfilling the Dream Award and the State Bar/YLD Judicial Service Award, among others. Jones earned his bachelor’s degree in 1978 and his Juris Doctor in 1987 from UGA.

Peter Shedd

Shedd received a bachelor’s degree in 1974 and a Juris Doctor in 1977 from UGA, after which he clerked for Anthony Alaimo, then the chief judge of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Georgia. In 1978, Shedd returned to UGA as a Terry College of Business faculty member. At UGA, he served as an associate dean, executive assistant to the president and interim vice president for instruction. He also directed the education and training program of the Consortium on Conflict Resolution and Negotiation and served as faculty director of the executive leadership program within the Georgia Leadership Institute.

Shedd was among a group of Terry faculty responsible for implementing the college’s first executive MBA program. Prior to his retirement in 2009, he served as director of Terry’s full-time MBA program. As a University Professor Emeritus of Legal Studies, he continues to teach in Terry’s executive and professional MBA programs. The Council for the Advancement and Support of Education named Shedd its Georgia Professor of the Year in 1993. He is also a Josiah Meigs Distinguished Teaching Professor. From 1987 to 2007, he served as faculty adviser to UGA’s chapter of the Blue Key National Honor Society.

Tricia Chastain

On Jan 12, Chastain assumed her new role as president of the Georgia Student Finance Commission, an appointment given by Gov. Nathan Deal. GSFC administers the state’s scholarship, grant and loan programs. Prior to joining GSFC, Chastain was the associate vice president for government relations at UGA. In this role, she was responsible for managing the university’s relationships with the governor’s office, the General Assembly, the board of regents and statewide elected and appointed officials. Chastain began her career in government working in the office of U.S. Sen. Johnny Isakson when he was a member of the U.S. House of Representatives. She held a variety of positions for Isakson over 11 years and, from 2007-2011, served as Isakson’s state director. Chastain graduated summa cum laude in 2000 from UGA, where she served as student body president and as an orientation leader. She is a member of the Leadership Georgia Class of 2015 and was recently recognized as a UGA 40 Under 40 honoree. She is a board member of the REACH Foundation and Great Promise Partnership.

ABOUT COLUMNS

CYBERSIGHTS

Columns is available to the campus community by ­subscription for an annual fee of $20 (second-class 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 Art Director Janet Beckley Photo Editor Dorothy Kozlowski

Career Center updates its site

Senior Reporter Aaron Hale

www.career.uga.edu

The UGA Career Center recently redesigned its website to better engage students in the career search and preparation process. The responsive aspect of the site allows for better access via mobile devices, and the use of large images at the top of the page will more effectively engage visitors.

Reporter Matt Chambers

The addition of a blog, more in-depth stats from the Class of 2014 Career Outcomes Survey (providing detailed employment information, salary statistics and graduate school information) and other fresh content will encourage return visits to the site.

Copy Editor David Bill 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. I

7 8 5

8 Oct. 26, 2015 columns.uga.edu

MARKETING

PUBLIC SERVICE AND OUTREACH

From left, interns Caitlin Shea-Vantine, Yesenia Feliciano, Jessica Hernandez and Kayla Clark participate in shark identifying training. The interns will spend 50 weeks on Skidaway Island at the Marine Education Center and Aquarium. They will offer educational programs and participate in community outreach.

UGA Marine Extension, Georgia Sea Grant welcome 2015-16 interns Four recent college graduates have been awarded one-year marine education internships with UGA Marine Extension and Georgia Sea Grant. Funded by Georgia Sea Grant, one of 33 National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Sea Grant programs located throughout the country, the interns will serve as educators for students, teachers and the general public. The interns will spend 50 weeks on Skidaway Island at the Marine Education Center and Aquarium, part of Marine Extension, which is a unit of UGA Public Service and Outreach. They will offer educational programs focused on the ecology of Georgia’s estuaries and coastal islands. Interns also will participate in community outreach by judging science fair projects, teaching during science nights at local schools and field-testing educational curricula. The interns were selected from an international pool of applicants and began their training in September. They are Kayla Clark from Old Chatham, New York; Jessica Hernandez from Bakersfield, California; Caitlin Shea-Vantine from Bridgeport, Connecticut; and Yesenia Feliciano from

Perth Amboy, New Jersey. The new cohort brings a range of skills and experiences to the program. Clark, who graduated from Smith College in Northampton, Massachusetts, with a degree in sociology, worked as an environmental educator at multiple locations. An avid researcher of marine animal life, Hernandez received her degree in biology from Pomona College. Shea-Vantine, who became interested in marine life after her experience at the Maritime Aquarium summer camp, located in Norwalk, Connecticut, earned a biology degree from Saint Michael’s College in Colchester, Vermont. Feliciano, who has a bachelor’s degree in marine science from Stockton University, has experience with peer mentoring in an underwater robotics course. “I am always surprised at the quality of the interns we get from around the country,” said Mark Risse, director of UGA Marine Extension and Georgia Sea Grant. “It is a real win-win situation where we get some of the best and brightest students to work with our programs, and they get a one-year internship that will help them land the career of their choice.”

Bulletin Board Dental clinic fall special

The University Health Center’s dental clinic is having a $99 fall special until Dec. 23. The special includes a routine cleaning, bitewing X-rays and exam. Call 706-542-8700 to schedule an appointment.

New PAC card

The Performing Arts Center has introduced a new PAC VIP Card exclusively for UGA faculty and staff members. The VIP Card entitles faculty and staff to receive a 20 percent discount off regular ticket prices. The VIP Card has a $250 credit that can be used to purchase tickets for all Performing Arts Center-sponsored performances. Cardholders may select one or more tickets to any PAC performances throughout the 2015-2016 season, and they automatically will receive a 20 percent discount on all tickets purchased with the card. For more information, stop by the Performing Arts Center box office or call 706-542-4400.

Dream Award nominations

Nominations are being accepted until Oct. 30 for the President’s Fulfilling the Dream Award.

The award highlights the work of local community members and UGA faculty, staff and students who have made significant contributions to social justice, race relations, justice or human rights. Nomination forms are available at http://t.uga.edu/1O1 or by calling OID at 706-583-8195.

Flu shots

Flu shots for faculty and staff are available by appointment at the University Health Center. The shots are given Tuesdays through Fridays at the Allergy Travel Clinic. To make an appointment, call 706-542-5575. The clinic staff also will give flu shots without an appointment during “walk-in Wednesday” on Oct. 28. Flu shots are $20 (quadrivalent) and $35(high-dose for those 65 years or older) for the uninsured; the paperwork for everyone else will be filed with insurance. A valid UGA ID is required for those who get a flu shot. Dependents must be accompanied by a parent or spouse/partner. Bulletin Board is limited to information that may pertain to a majority of faculty and staff members.

from page 1 has a wonderful story to share,” Hobson-Pape said. “I will bring a collaborative approach to advancing the reputation of this great institution and look forward to working in partnership with UGA’s scholars, students and alumni around the globe to highlight their influential work. I am honored, too, to become a part of the UGA community and to join its exceptional leadership team and talented staff.” Hobson-Pape was selected following a national search by a 15-member search committee chaired by Jennifer Frum, vice president for public service and outreach. In a career that spans more than 20 years, Hobson-Pape has spearheaded multimillion dollar marketing and communications campaigns for IBM Corporate Marketing, where she was a senior marketing strategist, and Emory University’s Goizueta Business School, where she was executive director of external affairs. She also has managed marketing efforts for GE Capital as well as Meridian Management SA, which was a marketing partner of the International Olympic Committee. Through her marketing strategy firm, Inflexion Point Marketing Group, she has

led the development of transformational strategies for Fortune 500 businesses, nonprofit organizations and public and private institutions of higher education in Georgia. In addition to her professional roles, Hobson-Pape has served for the past five years as executive director of the Sheth Foundation, a nonprofit that develops marketing scholars and scholarship globally and furthers the development of marketing thought. She also co-founded the publishing firm Marketing Classics Press, which serves the marketing field through the preservation of formative knowledge. She is the author of the Georgia history book Images of America: Virginia-Highland and is a member of the historic preservation committee of the Virginia-Highland Civic Association. Hobson-Pape holds a bachelor’s degree from Vanderbilt University and an MBA from Emory University. She received the Recent Alumni of the Year award in 2005 and was named Distinguished Alumni of the Year for Goizueta Marketing Strategy Consultancy in 2011 by Emory University’s Goizueta Business School.

COMMENCEMENT from page 1

CURO

nationally syndicated Top 40 radio show. Seacrest is being honored by the university for his commitment to youth-oriented initiatives. Seacrest’s philanthropic efforts include his service as chairman of the Ryan Seacrest Foundation, which has opened eight broadcast media centers, known as Seacrest Studios, in pediatric hospitals across the country. Through these studios, patients have the opportunity to explore the creative realms of radio, television and new media and are provided with a variety of programming during their hospital stays. Students from local journalism schools intern with the studios to learn about broadcasting, programming and operating a multimedia center. “We look forward to welcoming Ryan Seacrest back to the UGA campus,” said President Jere W. Morehead. “Through Seacrest Studios, he has channeled his success into a source of comfort and creativity that has positively impacted the lives of pediatric patients and their families while providing significant learning opportunities for students. I am sure he will have a compelling message to deliver as the Commencement speaker.” Seacrest is also honorary chair of the Grammy Foundation and is on the board of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. Seacrest, who attended UGA in 1992, moved to Hollywood to pursue a broadcasting career that he began as a radio intern while attending Dunwoody High School. Twenty-four years later, he is known internationally for his work in television and radio. “Ryan Seacrest is an American icon, one of the movers and shakers of the entertainment industry worldwide, a household name—and a Georgian,” said Charles Davis, dean of the Henry W. Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication. “Given Grady’s booming entertainment and media studies department, and the state’s robust growth in film and entertainment, I can think of no finer representative to grace Sanford Stadium’s podium in May. It’s a homecoming fit for a star.” In addition to his on-air duties, Seacrest launched Ryan Seacrest Productions in 2006, which has become an entertainment production powerhouse. RSP currently is producing the E! hit series Keeping Up with the Kardashians and the spin-offs Kourtney and Khloe Take the Hamptons, Dash Dolls and Shahs of Sunset on Bravo. RSP also produces “E! Live From the Red Carpet” awards programs. RSP is producing a scripted drama series for NBC called Shades of Blue, which stars Jennifer Lopez. RSP also produced the Emmy Award-winning reality series Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution. As an entrepreneur, Seacrest has investments in media and entertainment companies including Civic Entertainment Group, a marketing services company; Pinterest; FlightCar; attn:, a news media company targeted at millennials; and Mobile System Security through Seacrest Global Group.

in the pursuit of original research,” said Martin Rogers, who oversees CURO as associate director of the Honors Program. “I am endlessly encouraged by the passion and dedication that our faculty show to our undergraduate researchers.” Over the past 15 years, more than 2,000 UGA undergraduate students have participated in CURO courses, which allow students to receive credit hours for their work, and CURO Summer Research Fellowships, which award $3,000 for fulltime research work through the summer. The new CURO Research Assistantships add the incentive of a stipend during the academic year. In its first year, 195 faculty members from 14 schools and colleges worked with undergraduates through the program. Kevin McCully, a professor of kinesiology in the College of Education and director of the Exercise Muscle Physiology Laboratory, said undergraduate students’ help is a kind of “front line” in his research. With five undergraduate students receiving assistantships last year, his lab conducted tests on new technologies that could be used to help patients dealing with chronic illnesses and disabilities. One student’s inquiry has led to a possible $40,000 grant. “We have great kids who want to get involved in research; the assistantships are expanding their opportunities,” McCully said. “There is a long list of students who want to do this.” One such student is Hannah Bossie, who received a CURO Research Assistantship to work in McCully’s lab during fall 2014, just prior to her graduation. Inspired by a boy with a mitochondrial disease who she cared for as a nanny, Bossie had an idea for a research project, and it changed her life’s path. “Getting to be involved in research for a population I am so passionate about made me do a complete 180-degree turn and decide I wanted to do research forever,” said Bossie, who is pursuing a master’s degree in exercise physiology with McCully as her mentor. “My undergrad project provided the pilot data for this bigger more comprehensive study, and that entire project would not have been possible without a CURO Assistantship,” Bossie said. “It was a phenomenal experience to have a question and get to play an active part in finding a solution.” Pamela Whitten, senior vice president for academic affairs and provost, said that the success of the CURO Research Assistantship program reflects the growing interest of students in hands-on learning experiences. “Undergraduate research, servicelearning, study abroad and internships are transformative experiences that position students for success after graduation,” Whitten said. “UGA is making more of these opportunities available to students as we implement our experiential learning requirement for fall 2016, and I appreciate the dedication of the many faculty and administrators who are helping take our learning environment to an even higher level.”

from page 1