University of Georgia Magazine Summer 2019

summer 2019

The Next Chapter

New York City’s alumni chapter makes the big city feel like home.

CONTENTS

Sydney and SK give insight into the life of a UGA tour guide. p. 18

the magazine of the university of georgia summer 2019

INSIDE 5

The President’s Pen

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UGA to Z

President Jere W. Morehead on public service and outreach.

Learn more about the Institute for Resilient Infrastructure Systems at UGA. p. 22

Accomplishments and accolades from across the UGA community.

34

On the Bulldog Beat UGA’s School of Art is named for Lamar Dodd. Who was this legendary artist and educator?

36 Bulldog Bulletin News, events, and photos from the UGA Alumni Association.

38

Class Notes UGA alumni are leading global companies, exploring the mysteries of the brain, and helping build a new Star Wars theme park.

56 Faculty Focus Get to know Usha Rodrigues, M.E. Kilpatrick Chair of Corporate Finance and Securities Law.

dorothy kozlowski

FEATURE

ON THE COVER

16 Ready to Launch

UGA’s first-year living-learning community focused on entrepreneurship just concluded its debut year. What did residents think about it?

18 Guided Tour

UGA’s student tour guides are the face of the university to thousands of prospective students and other visitors to campus each year. They take their job seriously but have fun doing it.

22 Building Bridges

The multidisciplinary Institute for Resilient Infrastructure Systems is seeking innovative solutions to state and national problems ranging from flood control to sanitation.

28 New York State of Mind

If you can make it there, you can make it anywhere. More than 6,000 UGA alumni live in the New York City area, and their connections to each other are just as strong as they are to their university.

Photo illustration by Jackie Baxter Roberts

Broadway and Broad St. intersect only in the hearts of the nearly 6,200 UGA alumni who live in New York, but what a crossing it is! Midtown Manhattan’s 1776 Building, seen in the background above, sits at the corner of Broadway and W. 57th St.

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Garden Spot with its grand opening in march, the alice h. richards Children’s Garden has proven to be a welcoming place of learning and fun. The new 2.5-acre children’s garden is the centerpiece of the State Botanical Garden of Georgia in Athens.

It’s an interactive outdoor classroom for children of all ages that includes a vegetable garden, chestnut tree house, giant watermisting mushrooms, a replica of a north Georgia cave, and much more. Richards, the garden’s namesake, was a charter member of the State Botanical Garden’s board of advisors. The State Botanical Garden is a UGA Public Service and Outreach unit.

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dorothy kozlowski

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summer 2019

VOLUME 98

ISSUE NO. 3

georgia magazine

Editor · Eric Rangus MA ’94 Associate Editor · Aaron Hale MA ’16 Writers · Kellyn Amodeo ABJ ’09, Leigh Beeson MA ’17 Art Director · Jackie Baxter Roberts Advertising Director · Kipp Mullis ABJ ’93 Office Manager · Fran Burke UGA Photographers · Peter Frey BFA ’94, Rick O’Quinn ABJ ’87, Andrew Davis Tucker, Dorothy Kozlowski BLA ’06, ABJ ’10, Chad Osburn Contributing Writer · Elizabeth Elmore BBA ’08, ABJ ’08 Editorial Interns · Rachel Floyd AB ’19, Mary Calkins, Madeleine Howell

marketing & communications Vice President · Karri Hobson-Pape Executive Director · Janis Gleason Brand Strategy Director · Michele Horn

administration President · Jere W. Morehead JD ’80 Interim Senior VP for Academic Affairs & Provost · Libby Morris VP for Finance & Administration · Ryan Nesbit MBA ’91 VP for Development & Alumni Relations · Kelly Kerner VP for Instruction · Rahul Shrivastav VP for Research · David C. Lee VP for Public Service & Outreach · Jennifer Frum PhD ’09 VP for Student Affairs · Victor Wilson BSW ’82, MEd ’87 VP for Government Relations · Toby Carr BBA ’01, BSAE ’01 VP for Information Technology · Timothy M. Chester

Change your mailing address by contacting e: records@uga.edu or ph: 888-268-5442 Find Georgia Magazine online at news.uga.edu/georgia-magazine Submit Class Notes or story ideas to gmeditor@uga.edu

advertise in Georgia Magazine by contacting Kipp Mullis at e: gmsales@uga.edu or ph: 706-542-9877 fine print

Georgia Magazine (issn 1085-1042) is published quarterly for alumni and friends of UGA. postmaster | Send address changes to: University of Georgia 286 Oconee Street, Suite 200 North Athens, GA 30602

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andrew davis tucker

The University of Georgia does not discriminate on the basis of race, sex, religion, color, national or ethnic origin, age, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, genetic information, or military service in its administrations of educational policies, programs, or activities; its admissions policies; scholarship and loan programs; athletic or other University-administered programs; or employment. Inquiries or complaints should be directed to the Equal Opportunity Office 119 Holmes-Hunter Academic Building, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602. Telephone 706-542-7912 (V/TDD).

Fax 706-542-2822. https://eoo.uga.edu/

THE PRESIDENT’S PEN

Serving the State of Georgia Public service and outreach are at the heart of UGA

Public service and outreach are embedded in virtually everything we do at the University of Georgia. As a land-grant and sea-grant institution, UGA has a long history of addressing a wide range of challenges across our state.

UGA has a presence in each of Georgia’s 159 counties. We work within the Athens community through programs such as Campus Kitchen, in rural parts of the state and small Georgia towns through Downtown Renaissance, on the coast through the Stormwater Management Program, and in urban areas through the Center for Urban Agriculture. Through these and hundreds of other programs, faculty and staff support UGA’s engagement efforts across eight Public Service and Outreach units, Cooperative Extension, Georgia 4-H, and each of our 17 colleges and schools.

“Devoting even more time and energy to the people and the communities we were created to serve will be key as we strive to remain one of the great public universities of the 21st century.”

Students also are integral to these efforts. More than 6,000 students participate in service-learning courses at UGA each year. Hundreds more volunteer their time through IMPACT service trips to address issues such as human trafficking and homelessness. In all, UGA students contribute hundreds of thousands of service hours to communities each year. This spring, to help students learn more about our state and how UGA serves its citizens, the university launched the Student Tour of Georgia—another way we are preparing students to become the next generation of leaders in Georgia.

UGA’s investments in outreach yield significant benefits for the state. For example, the Small Business Development Center, with 17 locations, has helped Georgians create nearly 1,800 new small businesses (almost one new company per day) and more than 13,000 new jobs over the past five years. Another program—the Archway Partnership, serving seven counties—was recognized last fall with a national award from the University Economic Development Association for its work with residents in Hawkinsville to save a local hospital from closing and improve medical services for this rural community.

As we develop UGA’s new strategic plan for 2020–2025, one of the three missioncentered themes on which we are focused is strengthening partnerships with communities across Georgia and around the world. Devoting even more time and energy to the people and the communities we were created to serve will be key as we strive to remain one of the great public universities of the 21st century.

Jere W. Morehead President

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UGA Z

News, accomplishments, and accolades from the UGA community

to

RESEARCH NEWS

Leaping Lizards!

A group of University of Georgia researchers led by geneticist Douglas Menke has become the first in the world to successfully produce a genetically modified reptile—specifically, four albino lizards—using the CRISPR-Cas9 gene-editing tool.

Gene manipulation using CRISPR typically involves injecting solutions into an animal’s newly fertilized egg or single-cell embryo, which causes a mutation in the animal’s DNA. However, female reptiles can store sperm for long periods, making it difficult to pinpoint

the exact moment of fertilization.

Working with the common brown anole, Menke’s team microinjected CRISPR proteins into multiple immature eggs while they were still inside the lizards’ ovaries. Within weeks, they realized their goal when four baby albino lizards hatched.

“This work could have far-reaching impact not only for the study of reptile genetics but also for the advancement of genomic medicine and application in humans,” says David Lee, UGA’s vice president for research.

hannah c. schriever

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UGA to Z INNOVATION AT UGA SHOWCASE SHOWDOWN

I-Corps Helps Launch New Products

UGA doctoral student Homeira Azari of FiteBac gives her team’s pitch during presentations of new startup companies and ideas at the I-Corps Winter Showcase at Ciné.

The ideas ranged from blueberry sensors to ballistic materials as 11 teams of UGA faculty and student innovators worked toward translating research into marketable products.

These teams were the latest cohort from UGA’s I-Corps, a National Science Foundation-funded accelerator program, that helps researchers pinpoint real-world problems, identify solutions, and transform those solutions into commercialized products. They tackled such challenges as improving berry harvesting, improving the flexibility and breathability of ballistic vests, identifying where potholes will form before they appear, and improving inventory management for scientific labs.

The teams underwent an intensive sixweek program that included extensive customer research to help them develop, refine, and perfect their products.

andrew davis tucker

INNOVATION AT UGA ALL INCLUSIVE

Symposium Highlights Entrepreneurs

Chief Product Officer of Advanced Functional Fabrics of America, co-founder of the fashion line brrr°, and UGA alumna Tosha Hays speaks during the STEM Institute Workshop: “Innovation at UGA, for all of UGA.”

andrew davis tucker

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As momentum is building around entrepreneurship and innovation at UGA, the university is working to ensure that all the makers, thinkers, and doers on campus are empowered by this initiative (see p.16).

“Innovation at UGA, for all of UGA,” a day-long symposium co-sponsored by the Office of STEM Education and the Office of Research, brought together a variety of innovators and entrepreneurs of all stripes to discuss the particular challenges and opportunities that face those looking to make an impact in the commercial world.

It featured discussion with UGA students, faculty, and notable alumni, like keynote speaker Tosha Hays BS ’87. Hays was part of the senior management team at Spanx for 10 years. She left in 2014 to start her own brand, brrr°, which makes cooling fabrics for active wear and other types of clothing.

graphic by lindsay bland robinson

UGA to Z NEW FACES

OUR TOWN

New Provost Steps in July 1

Celebrating a Century of Athens Art

S. Jack Hu, vice president for research at the University of Michigan, has been named the University of Georgia’s next senior vice president for academic affairs and provost, effective July 1.

Hu was among four finalists identified through a national search to fill the institution’s chief academic officer role. Libby V. Morris, director of UGA’s Institute of Higher Education, served as interim provost for the 2018-19 academic year.

“I believe Dr. Hu possesses the unique background and experience to continue elevating our national prominence in research, innovation, and graduate education while building on our superior undergraduate learning environment,” says President Jere W. Morehead JD ’80.

“I am humbled and honored to join the University of Georgia as its next provost,” Hu says.

“As the birthplace of public higher education in America, the University of Georgia has a tremendous reputation for its commitment to excellence in education, research and innovation, and public engagement. I look forward to working with the campus community to build upon the university’s momentum in these important areas.”

S. Jack Hu, vice president for research at the University of Michigan, was chosen as the next senior vice president for academic affairs and provost.

In celebration of the 100th anniversary of the Athens Art Association, the Georgia Museum of Art will show “Our Town and Beyond: Works by Early Members of the Athens Art Association.” Originally founded with some 20 members in 1919, this organization welcomed both men and women. The exhibition will showcase works from early members such as Laura Blackshear, Annie May Holliday, Lucy May Stanton, and Lamar Dodd (see page 34), who helped propel the group forward after the 1930s by aligning it with the student art association he established at the University of Georgia.

Our Town and Beyond: Works by Early Members of the Athens Art Association Georgia Museum of Art May 18 through Aug. 11, 2019

GET A JOB

Class of 2018 Employment Well Above National Average

For the second year in a row, 96 percent of University of Georgia graduates are reported to be employed or in graduate school within six months of graduation—11.7 percent higher than the national average.

Of those students, 63 percent were employed full time; 19 percent were attending graduate school; and approximately 12 percent were self-employed, interning full time, or were employed part time. Nearly 3,000 unique employers hired UGA graduates, with Amazon, Delta Air Lines, The Home Depot, and Teach for America being among the most popular for the Class of 2018.

96 12 19 63 PERCENT

of UGA graduates were employed or in graduate school within 6 months

of these graduates

For more information, visit CAREER.UGA.EDU/OUTCOMES.

Within six months of graduation, 96 percent of UGA’s class of 2018 was employed or in graduate school. That’s 11.7 percent higher than the national average.

PERCENT

were self-employed

PERCENT

were attending graduate school

PERCENT

were employed full time

shannah montgomery

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UGA to Z Mentoring a student is one of the easiest and most important ways that alumni can get involved at UGA.

SCAVENGER HUNT

Wildlife is Abundant in Chernobyl

The Chernobyl Exclusion Zone in Ukraine remains without people 33 years after the nuclear disaster, but wildlife is abundant, according to new UGA research.

A one-month camera study showed 10 mammal and five bird species scavenging the area, according to James Beasley, associate professor at the Savannah River Ecology Laboratory and the Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources.

“We’ve seen evidence of a diversity of wildlife in the [exclusion zone] through our previous research, but this is the first time that we’ve seen white-tailed eagles, American mink, and river otter (right) on our cameras,” Beasley says.

In the study, fish carcasses were placed at the edge of open waters at the Pripyat River and in nearby irrigation canals, mimicking the natural activity that occurs when currents transport dead fish carcasses to the shore. Within a week, 98 percent of the fish carcasses were consumed by a multitude of scavengers.

edwin hammond

EQUIPPING FUTURE LEADERS

UGA Launches Universitywide Mentor Program

SHINING BRIGHT

UGA is a Top Producer of Fulbright Scholars

The University of Georgia’s record-breaking number of acceptances for the Fulbright U.S. student program this year earned the university its highest ranking yet on the student list of Fulbright Top Producers.

UGA tied for 16th—along with Stanford University, University of Virginia, University of Texas at Austin, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and Villanova University—in its third time on the student list.

The Fulbright student program offers students and alumni the opportunity to research, study, and teach in more than 140 countries around the globe. The program, sponsored by the U.S. Department of State, aims to improve intercultural relations through providing grants in all fields of study.

Seven students and alumni received Fulbright academic and creative grants this year, and nine alumni received Fulbright teaching assistantship awards. Sixteen UGA students and recent graduates are currently participating in the 2018-2019 Fulbright U.S. student program.

Maggie Little, center, is surrounded by her students at an all-girls middle school on Jeju Island in South Korea. A UGA Honors alumna from Cumming who graduated in May 2018, Little is teaching English through the Fulbright U.S. student program.

special

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The University of Georgia has launched the UGA Mentor Program, the first university-wide initiative to connect students directly with more than 319,000 living alumni. UGA graduates can now invest in a student’s future wherever they are and whenever their schedule allows.

Mentors can create an online profile at mentor. uga.edu starting June 1, and students will begin connecting with mentors in August based on criteria including industry, major, and location. Mentees and mentors commit to a 16-week mentorship, investing just a few hours per month. Each mentoring pair establishes its own preferred frequency of interactions and the method of communication. The UGA Mentor Program creates relationships that will help students grow both personally and professionally. The hope is that some of these mentorships will last long beyond the specified timeline and will become a support system for the next generation of leaders as they progress.

Individuals who are interested in mentoring a student can create their profile at mentor.uga.edu.

UGA to Z The New Materials Institute is developing marketable plastic alternatives, like these biodegradable resin beads, to reduce waste.

dorothy kozlowski

INNOVATION AT UGA TO MARKET, TO MARKET

Sustainable Solutions

UGA’s New Materials Institute (NMI) is developing innovative, sustainable solutions for the world’s growing waste problem, and others are taking notice. NMI has been awarded a grant as the third site for CB2, the National Science Foundation’s Center for Bioplastics and Biocomposites.

As a CB2 site, the NMI’s commitment to minimizing waste through designing bio-based, biodegradable, or completely recyclable materials is strengthened further.

“The field of new and sustainable materials has quickly become one of the University of Georgia’s research strengths as we look for innovative ways to leave a healthier planet for future generations,” says David Lee, UGA vice president for research.

“This CB2 award fits with our strategy of developing effective partnerships with colleagues in both academia and industry to move this critical field forward.”

SCHOOL OF LAW

SPIA

REMOVING BARRIERS AND OPENING DOORS

Supporting FirstGeneration Law Students

Sharod J. McClendon (top) and Tyler C. Mathis helped create the First-Generation Student Association, which they hope will help create an inclusive community for students who are the first in their family to attend college.

Thanks to a $3 million gift—the largest outright donation in school history—the University of Georgia School of Law will be able to continue transforming the legal education experience for many of its first-generation college graduates.

The First-Start Scholars Program, created by a lead gift from Kathelen V. Amos JD ’82 and the Daniel P. Amos Family Foundation, will begin awarding scholarships in fall 2019. Students will receive a partial-tuition scholarship as well as a professional development stipend.

Additionally, current law students and first-generation college graduates Tyler C. Mathis and Sharod J. McClendon have established the School of Law’s First-Generation Student Association.

The association is meant to help “foster a community of people relying on each other and feeling like they belong here,” McClendon says.

MOVING ON UP

Rising Through the Rankings

UGA continues to climb the USNWR rankings, with six colleges and schools rising in their individual categories.

TERRY COLLEGE

Six University of Georgia schools and colleges rose in U.S. News & World Report’s latest rankings of the nation’s best graduate schools, one of the strongest showings by UGA in the list’s history.

The rise of these six schools and colleges—the School of Law, the School of Public and International Affairs, the Terry College of Business, the School of Social Work, the College of Education, and the College of Engineering—reflects the university’s growing national and international reputation for academic excellence, says UGA President Jere W. Morehead JD ’80.

The rankings appear in the 2020 edition of U.S. News & World Report’s Best Graduate Schools guidebook.

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UGA to Z (From left) Bioinformatics doctoral students Noah Legall, Corey Schultz, and Ruijie Xu during the fourth-annual hackathon hosted by UGA Hacks.

CODE WEEKEND

They Can Hack the Work

More than 300 students from around the state descended on the University of Georgia in February for UGAHacks4, a computer programming event where teams worked on an array of projects from the bottom up.

The student-organized 36-hour hackathon, now in its fourth year, was an opportunity for students ranging from novice coders to experienced programmers to work together on “challenges” and earn prizes. They hacked together projects that tackled everything from promoting physical fitness and raising mental health awareness to helping farmers track and perform analytics on their cows.

dorothy kozlowski

WELL DRAWN

PROJECT RENOVATION

Teaching Science Through Comics

Investments in Research

Labs and research-support spaces across campus will soon be getting an upgrade, thanks to a $1.5 million presidential initiative that seeks to build on the university’s dramatic growth in research activity.

Presidential renovation funds have been distributed to nine schools and colleges and will be used to upgrade labs and replace core equipment that enables faculty members to conduct research and be more competitive in seeking grant funding.

These lab renovation funds come at a time when sponsored research awards have increased by 34 percent over the past five years at UGA and coincide with recruitment initiatives that will bring up to 25 new faculty members to campus.

Alice Hunt, former associate research scientist with UGA’s Center for Applied Isotope Studies (CAIS), was looking for a medium to embed scientific knowledge and teach critical thinking. It was a tall ask, but soon it hit her: comic books.

Hunt storyboarded the concept, ran it by fellow researchers, and, with an illustrator’s help and the assistance of CAIS Director Jeff Speakman, brought the idea to life.

Carbon Comics currently consists of two bilingual (English and Spanish) issues. The first focuses on explaining radiocarbon dating (above), a process used to determine approximate ages of objects that contain organic material, while the second focuses on teaching archaeometallurgy, the study of historic use of metals.

The third issue is in the works for 2020, but in the meantime, Hunt will work with colleagues at the Center for Teaching and Learning, where she is now the assistant director for instructional development, to bring the existing comics to life online.

A $1.5 million initiative to upgrade labs across campus is enabling faculty, such as Regents Professor Michael Strand, to enhance their research productivity.

dorothy kozlowski

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c o m m i t t o g e o r g i a c a m pa i g n

together, SOLVING GRAND CHALLENGES

we can improve maternal and child health around the world What is an endowed faculty position?

Endowed positions provide critical financial resources to help faculty leverage their expertise and research activities against the grand challenges facing the state, nation, and world. Endowed positions are essential to recruiting and retaining leading faculty members like Cordero who are committed to world-changing research and preparing the next generation of problem-solvers.

G

eorgia, like many states, is struggling with extremely poor maternal mortality ratings. According to a 2018 report by the United Health Foundation, Georgia’s maternal mortality rate was 46.2 deaths per 100,000 live births—nearly 10 times the rate of California. The preterm birth rate has increased in the last three years, giving Georgia the fourth-highest preterm birth rate in the country. As the state’s flagship university, UGA has the responsibility to help reverse this trend.

The College of Public Health and José F. Cordero are leading the way.

Cordero is an international leader in infant and maternal health who has dedicated his career to addressing health disparities and the health of mothers, children, and minorities.

His 40-year career has included identifying nutritional deficiencies in infant formula, advocating for nutrient fortification in corn masa flour to prevent neural tube defects in Hispanic children. He also has championed early diagnosis for children with autism, studied environmental risk factors for preterm births, and explored how Zika virus infection is impacting pregnant women in Puerto Rico.

Since arriving at UGA in 2015, Cordero has hit the ground running. He codirects the PROTECT Center in Puerto Rico, which studies how exposure to environmental contamination has contributed to a high rate of preterm births. He mentors students in infectious disease research. And he hopes to launch a group prenatal care program in Georgia counties that lack adequate obstetric services.

Thanks to private funding for endowed positions, such as the Patel Professorship (see opposite page), renowned faculty researchers at UGA are better equipped to improve lives across the state and around the globe.

WHEN THE WORLD CALLS, BULLDOGS ANSWER.

i i i : s o lv i n g g r a n d c h a l l e n g e s

JOSÉ F. CORDERO GORDHAN L. AND VIRGINIA B. “JINX” PATEL DISTINGUISHED PROFESSOR IN PUBLIC HEALTH

“The endowment provided by the Patel Distinguished Professorship in Public Health will be instrumental in expanding research and service opportunities in maternal and child health and will lead to healthier babies and mothers in Georgia and throughout the world.”

The Patel Professorship was established with support from the UGA Research Foundation, Patel family members, and UGA colleagues to honor Gordhan Patel and his wife, Jinx. Patel was a long-time UGA faculty member, dean of the Graduate School, and former vice president for research. He retired from UGA in 2005, but he and his wife remain involved on campus and in the local community. This support elevates the work being undertaken by esteemed faculty members like José Cordero.

gabriel gonzalez

Through the Commit to Georgia Campaign, the Bulldog family can help fund groundbreaking research that will improve lives across the state and the world. Every gift matters. GIVE.UGA.EDU/SOLVING-GRAND-CHALLENGES.

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ready to

launch

What it’s like to live in UGA’s first living-learning community dedicated to innovation and entrepreneurship. written by eric rangus ma ’94

F

or her first year at the University of Georgia, Abby Davis could have lived most anywhere she wanted. She chose the fourth floor of venerable Creswell Hall.

“I’ve always had an entrepreneurial spirit. I just knew I wanted to start a business someday,” says Davis, an international business and finance major from Santa Clarita, California, a suburb of Los Angeles. “I was looking at a lot of schools, and I knew I wanted to get an entrepreneurship certificate. UGA was the only one with a living-learning community.”

A recent trend in university housing is to integrate academics into residence hall life. The Launch Pad is one such living-learning community, created specifically to spark innovation. Its first 26 residents, all aspiring entrepreneurs, moved in last August. The community was such a success that the 2019-20 Launch Pad will include up to 40 residents.

The Launch Pad is tailor-made for students like Jared Zengo, a computer science major from Athens, who started a business making art installations out of Rubik’s Cubes when he was 16. “I just love entrepreneurship,” Zengo says. “Launch Pad is like coming into UGA with a built-in group of friends because we are all in this together.”

“I’ve seen an unbelievable sense of camaraderie develop,” says Cali Brutz, lecturer and associate director of the UGA Entrepreneurship Program. She co-developed and co-taught the First-Year Odyssey course on entrepreneurship with fellow lecturer and co-director Don Chambers and remains a mentor to the Launch Pad residents.

“When everyone came in that first day, they were still trying to find their place. There was a lot of stress,” Brutz continues. “Now

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entr epre neur ship

program

A

nyone can become an entrepreneur anytime. An increasing number of budding art, business, science, and communications leaders are finding their way at UGA. The University of Georgia’s Entrepreneurship Certificate Program has grown from 33 students in 2015 to more than 420 students in 2018-19, and while the program is housed administratively in the Terry College of Business, it’s open to students of all majors. Certificates are available at both the undergraduate and graduate levels, and the comprehensive curriculum includes training to help students become future innovators in the public, private, and nonprofit sectors.

“What we’re trying to do is make sure students in the

everyone is finding their groove. To me, a lot of the college experience is about learning that you don’t have to put on a front that you know it all. Instead, you take the resources that are available to you and improve yourself.”

The “living” aspect of the Launch Pad is similar to other residence halls, but in addition to general conversations about dinner, class, and Netflix premieres, there is also an intriguing sense of purpose.

“I like that there are people I can bounce ideas off of,” says Hannah Abdulhaaq, an economics major with a fashion merchandising minor from Douglasville. Like Zengo, she entered Launch Pad with some entrepreneurial experience in hand, having started a clothing resale business in high school. “For

program develop the skill set and know what it takes to start their own business by themselves, wherever they are in life,” says director Bob Pinckney BBA ’82.

Making entrepreneurship a certificate program was a strategic decision. Creating a major or minor would require placement in a specific college; a certificate ensures the program stays interdisciplinary. Another facet of this strategy is a new focus on entrepreneur-specific facilities like the Launch Pad and Studio 225.

“These facilities represent a significant investment, and they are head-and-shoulders ahead of what most any other university in the country has,” Pinckney says.

a creative person, it’s great to get immediate feedback.”

On the “learning” side, Launch Pad residents have keycard access to their own renovated co-working space off the lobby of Creswell Hall. The space is stocked with tables and stools, sofas and ottomans, snacks, a refrigerator, and a 3D printer. There are other perks too, including membership in the Four Athens Tech Incubator, membership in the Society of Entrepreneurs, and opportunities to meet one-on-one with successful entrepreneurs.

They also have the option of taking part in the Idea Accelerator, an eight-week program hosted by the Entrepreneurship Program that focuses on customer discovery. Students enter the accelerator with their ideas

and have to come up with a business model, target market, and other particulars, and then present it, Shark-Tank-style, to a panel of judges. It can be humbling.

“It builds perseverance,” says Charley Sun, a mechanical engineering major from Marietta, who went through the accelerator in the fall. “If you make it, though, your ideas become stronger, you build more of a foundation, and you end up with more confidence the next time.”

All of this year’s Launch Pad students will be living elsewhere in 2019-20, but they won’t be forgetting their time on the fourth floor of Creswell anytime soon.

“I’m going to want to come back here in 10 years to see how it is,” Davis says. “There are big things coming for this program.” GM

studio 225 C

andrew davis tucker

Launch Pad students take advantage of their dedicated space on the first floor of Creswell Hall.

reswell’s Launch Pad isn’t the only new UGA space dedicated to entrepreneurship. The renovated UGA Student Entrepreneurship Center, Studio 225, opened in March and will serve as the epicenter for student innovation. Located at 225 W. Broad St. in downtown Athens, the dynamic 11,000-square-foot space will help students of all majors cultivate original ideas, propel business startups, and engage with industry partners. It will house the Idea Accelerator, office space for faculty in the Entrepreneurship Program and steer students toward an understanding of best practices as they develop their ideas.

“It will be a focal point for supporting the community entrepreneurial ecosystem in Athens,” says Pinckney. “By having a place where people can work alongside each other, even though they may be working on their own projects, it creates an opportunity for what we call ‘serendipitous interactions.’ You might start with one idea then pivot to another because of a conversation you had at the coffee maker. We are all stronger if we are working together.”

Studio 225 represents the first phase of the vibrant downtown Innovation District that President Jere W. Morehead JD ’80 announced in September 2018.

Get involved: TERRY.UGA.EDU/ACADEMICS/ENTREPRENEURSHIP

aj re

yno

l ds

GUIDED TOUR written by kellyn amodeo abj ’09

peter frey

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75 minutes.

That’s how long you have to tour a campus of 730plus acres. To take in the culture of more than 35,000 undergraduates. To discover the academic rigor of one of the nation’s best public universities. To experience the place you may call home for the next four years. All in 75 minutes.

It’s a daunting task, but you’re not going at it alone.

Enter the student tour guides of the University of Georgia Visitor Center, like Sarah Kathryn “SK” Lasseigne.

“Remember, our mascot is the Bulldog, not the Chihuahua!” she yells, waking up the guests on the 9 a.m. campus bus tour. Few of them know quite what she means, but they will soon learn. “I want to hear barks that sound like Bulldogs!”

SK raises her arm and teaches the riders how to Call the Dawgs as they pull up to North Campus, where their journey of learning about the history, statistics, and opportunities at UGA begins.

Had you asked SK four years ago where she’d be today, Athens would probably not have been the answer. “When I ended up choosing UGA, I was surprised. It was unexpected,” she says.

SK grew up in Roswell, just 75 miles from Athens, and she knew many of her classmates would attend UGA. But she wanted to branch out. She traveled from the northeast to New Orleans visiting schools but never bothered touring the one an hour and a half down the road.

But she quickly realized the academic and scholarship opportunities at UGA were unparalleled.

“I realized just how much this school has to offer.”

Today, she uses her story as a connection point with students from across the state who may not know the caliber of education and the array of opportunities at UGA. “I have a special place in my heart when I meet a kid who’s in-state and looking at Georgia but doesn’t know much about us,” she says. “I get to show them the academic opportunities, the research, the study abroad, the internships, all of that, but that we’re also this really cool community of people.”

SK is one of 67 guides at the Visitors Center, which has employed almost 500 students since it opened in 1996. It’s a selective group; each year, hundreds of applications flood the center, but only about 25 new tour guides are added annually.

The tour guides are some of the most academically accomplished students on campus, and they’re also plugged into the community service and networking scenes.

SK, a rising fourth-year, balances three majors, participation in multiple service organizations, and sorority membership. She mentors freshmen through the Student Government Association, she’s on the executive board for the Dean William Tate Honor Society, and she was selected to be an orientation leader this summer.

dorothy kozlowski

SK Lasseigne (top), a rising fourth-year from Roswell, and Sydney Guion, a rising secondyear from Wilmington, North Carolina, are two of the 67 student tour guides at the UGA Visitors Center.

andrew davis tucker

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Same with Sydney Guion, a new tour guide and rising second-year public relations major with sociology and Spanish minors from Wilmington, North Carolina.

She’s on the Student Government Association Student Forum, was on her hall council, and she’ll be a Dawg Camp counselor this summer. She also cheers on the Dawgs as a member of the Spike Squad. As someone who has always been heavily involved, she made a deal with her parents that she would only join three clubs her first year as to not over-extend herself.

“I’m on way more email lists than three,” she laughs.

Student tour guides are the face of the university for thousands of families and prospective students who visit campus every year. But they aren’t delivering a routine sales pitch—when it comes to facts and figures, Georgia sells itself.

The mission of the UGA tour guides is

to lend a thoughtful, personal voice to the intimidating idea of life after high school and to show prospective students what it’s like to be a part of the University of Georgia community.

“The University of Georgia can be daunting,” Sydney says. “I ask my groups ‘what are you scared of?’ Because once that fear gets out of the way, they can really open themselves up to what they can learn here, what they can give this university, and what the university can give back to them.”

The tour guides are becoming increasingly important as interest in the university continues to grow.

In 2018, the Visitors Center hosted nearly 44,000 guests, a 32 percent increase from the previous year. The uptick in interest isn’t surprising; UGA recently rose to No. 13, its highest ranking ever, on U.S. News & World Report’s list of best public colleges.

And the success of multiple athletic pro-

grams helped skyrocket the university to the national stage.

With more attention on Georgia, the country’s best and brightest are looking to Athens as their potential collegiate home.

The Visitors Center and the Office of Undergraduate Admissions have partnered to create an all-inclusive UGA visit experience.

Prospective students and their guests hear presentations from admissions officers who can answer the nuts and bolts questions of the application process and university statistics, and then they hop on a bus to hear the personal stories of the tour guides while exploring the picturesque campus.

“We wanted to work with the Visitors Center to make the experience all about the student,” says Amanda Sale, senior associate director of admissions for marketing and recruitment. “We wanted to build a journey from the moment they set foot on campus to prepare them to apply but also to give them

Sydney leads her group in ringing the Chapel Bell, a UGA tradition.

andrew davis tucker

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SK chats with a prospective student outside of the Miller Learning Center on a campus tour.

VISIT.UGA.EDU where you can schedule a tour of dorothy kozlowski

a taste of what it’s like to be a student at UGA.” By joining forces, the Office of Undergraduate Admissions and the Visitors Center have streamlined the campus visit process for prospective students, giving them a comprehensive introduction to things like the application process, the academic requirements, and scholarship opportunities before their tour. The consolidation of information helps Sale and her team keep in touch with students after their visit, so when application time rolls around, qualified students across the nation are reminded of their trips to Athens and of the myriad opportunities at Georgia.

“Our high rankings have catapulted us onto the radar of academically qualified students.

Nationally, students are seeing Georgia as a viable academic option when it was previously a more regional grasp,” Sale says. “Getting them in our communication pipeline is important because we want them getting our emails, seeing our videos, reading our stories.”

Prospective students get a taste of those stories on the tour. For SK, her focus is getting personal, leaving the tour on a first-name basis with all prospective students.

“I’m going to ask you where you are in this process, what questions you have, maybe even what you had for breakfast. I just want to get to know you,” she tells the group.

SK reflects on her own experiences with each passing building. She stops the group at the Holmes-Hunter Academic Building and talks about seeing UGA legend Charlayne HunterGault ABJ ’63 deliver her namesake lecture last year. She pauses at Peabody Hall to mention her favorite religion professor, who had a major impact on her college career.

“Students are making a really big decision based on a limited amount of time spent in the place,” SK says. “The tours are important because they don’t just introduce students to what the school is about, but it’s that first—and sometimes only—taste of what it actually feels like to be here, what it’s like to see students walking to class, what the interactions look like, the feel of the UGA culture.”

Sydney, who visited more than 30 colleges on her hunt, including UGA, says her tour was the biggest factor in her decision to attend.

“The tour at UGA was about the student making this place even better. I felt like the university was going to put stock in me, and I wanted to help make it better. UGA gives me so much—connections, an amazing education—so I wanted to give my all to the university and give back to Athens.” GM

campus, take a virtual tour, download maps, and more. In-person campus tours are open to prospective students and their guests, alumni, visiting academics, corporate partners, and fans of the university. geo rgia maga z ine | s umm er 2 019

21

B U I L D I N G

BRIDGES

written by leigh beeson ma ’17

A

merica has a problem.

Its infrastructure is overwhelmed, with much of it susceptible to natural disasters and even typical weather events.

Sea-level rise and an increase in the number of extreme storms certainly aren’t helping matters. Couple that with a dramatic rise in population and urbanization over the past 50 years, and you’re almost asking for a massive, nationwide system failure.

“Conventional engineering has done and continues to do great things,” says Brian Bledsoe, Georgia Athletic Association Distinguished Professor in UGA’s College of Engineering. “But it’s had some not so great consequences that have left us vulnerable. Nature-based solutions need to play a lot more prominent role, working together with conventional infrastructure.”

That’s where the University of Georgia’s Institute for Resilient Infrastructure Systems, a center that draws from a dozen units across campus, comes in.

At two years old, the interdisciplinary institute better known as IRIS is hitting its stride, partnering with fellow universities, institutions, and local and federal government agencies to redesign infrastructure to be more cost-effective and environmentally friendly. As the director of the institute, Bledsoe is leading the charge.

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Solving problems, like how to incorporate green engineering principles into modern infrastructure, requires a wide array of expertise.

In the Institute for Resilient Infrastructure Systems, aquatic ecologists like Krista Capps, engineers, climatologists, and more are working to find answers to today’s most pressing problems.

A NEW ERA

“Infrastructure” refers to any engineered solution that supports or is essential to the basic functions of modern society, like bridges, roads, sewage systems, and levees.

The goal is to make everyday life safer and easier for communities. And, for a while, the country’s infrastructure did just that.

But as the U.S. population grew, so did the acreage of impermeable surfaces, like parking lots and buildings, that can make an area more prone to flooding.

In March, Iowa was slammed by a “bomb cyclone” storm system that caused catastrophic flooding and infrastructure damage to the tune of $1.6 billion. Nearby Nebraska didn’t fare much better, ringing in at $1.3 billion in flood-related damage.

Closer to home, heavy rains in Atlanta caused tens of millions of gallons of raw sewage to overflow across Fulton County.

Many of the sewers in Atlanta and other cities across the nation built in the mid20th century are combined sewers, which transport both storm- and wastewater to treatment plants. But the infrastructure often can’t keep up with 21st century rainfall.

Built to overflow when water levels get too high, the sewers pour untreated sewage into surrounding surface waters.

Homeowners on the coast are watching the shoreline encroach closer and closer to their structures as sea levels continue to rise.

And as groundwater levels continue to rise, residents are experiencing more frequent malfunctions of their septic systems, with raw sewage bubbling up in drainage fields that puts public health at risk.

“When conventional infrastructure fails, it doesn’t fail gracefully. It often fails catastrophically,” Bledsoe says.

Take, for example, a typical seawall or levee. Although built to withstand a lot of water, the structures often aren’t capable of holding back the unprecedented rainfall wrought by powerful storms like 2018’s Hurricane Florence and the previous year’s Harvey. “When the sea wall breaks, that’s it,” says Bledsoe. Homes are flooded, businesses crippled, lives ruined.

“We’re in a new normal climate of more intense or frequent extreme weather events.

The 100-year flood is becoming common rather than an anomaly” says Marshall Shepherd, Georgia Athletic Association Distinguished Professor of and program direc-

tor for UGA’s atmospheric sciences program.

“The 2009 Atlanta Floods ‘500-year event,’ stalling hurricanes (as Harvey and Florence did), and rapid snowmelt (like this spring in Nebraska) are impacting society now, not far off into the future. How resilient are we to that risk? In this new era, do we need to be thinking about a more climate- or hydroclimate-resilient system?”

North Carolina, with its $36 billion poultry and almost $2 billion hog industries, wasn’t prepared for Florence. The lagoons holding hog waste overflowed, adding dangerous pollutants to the floodwaters, and millions of animals drowned. The storm cost the state almost $17 billion in damage.

“Are those poultry and pig farms going to get flooded out every time a hurricane hits?” Shepherd asks. “That’s where I think an institute like IRIS comes in because we bring together scholarly expertise across the spectrum. I know about rain. Krista Capps (an assistant professor in the Odum School of Ecology and the Savannah River Ecology Lab) knows about sanitation and waste systems. Brian Bledsoe knows hydraulics.

The brilliance of IRIS is that we can come together and think about the problem as a system to figure out how to solve it.”

peter frey

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23

From top: Brian Bledsoe, Krista Capps, Clark Alexander, and Craig Landry.

IN DEEP WATER UGA’s Skidaway Island campus is ground zero for the university when it comes to experiencing rising sea levels and extreme storms firsthand. Over the past 83 years, sea level has risen more than 10 inches at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Fort Pulaski tide gauge, about 8 miles north of Skidaway. Scientists expect waters to rise by at least 6 inches in the next 50 years.

Skidaway Island is nestled right along the intracoastal waterway, with UGA’s campus backing up directly onto the marsh. Predictably, when Hurricane Matthew hit in 2016 and Irma the following year, some of the coastal campus flooded.

The island got lucky, though. The damage could’ve been much worse.

Preparing for the next storm is top of mind for Clark Alexander, director of UGA’s Skidaway Institute of Oceanography. Partnering with Bledsoe and 13 other co-PIs from the Carl Vinson Institute of Government, Marine Extension and Georgia Sea Grant, and multiple colleges and departments across campus, lead PI Alexander received a Presidential Seed Grant in 2017 to determine ways to make the campus more resilient over time to rising seas and more intense storms.

Resiliency for the island may look like a higher sea wall that protects the upland from rising waters. It may look like a shoreline protected with oysters to stop erosion and a raised bank with natural vegetation. Or maybe it lies somewhere in between: traditional infrastructure paired with natural structures to achieve an efficient and more eco-friendly solution.

Craig Landry BSA ’96, MS ’99, a professor of agricultural and applied economics, is likewise focusing on sea level rise and its effects on local communities.

One pattern that stuck out to Landry and his IRIS colleagues is that bulkheads seemed to cluster together. Bulkheads are retaining walls that physically block water from eroding land but destroy coastal habitats in the process, particularly if there are multiple ones in the

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same area. After analyzing the issue, they found that one of the most influential reasons for building a bulkhead is if the property owner’s neighbors had one, with other factors such as erosion and distance to the shoreline playing a lesser role. Using their predictions, the IRIS researchers are able to predict where bulkheads will likely be built.

“These predictions can help us better understand where wetlands are most likely to become imperiled as they attempt to migrate inland in response to sea level rise,” Landry says.

Sea level rise also poses another less obvious but equally important risk in coastal areas: As waters rise, so do groundwater levels, and with that comes the prospect of failing septic systems.

One of the first problems that pops up when discussing what to do about potential septic overflow is that there’s no map showing where each and every septic tank is located. Some people may not even know they’re using septic. So UGA Marine Extension and Georgia Sea Grant, a Public Service and Outreach unit, began developing data sets with GIS (geographic information system) coordinates for each tank along the coast.

Once all the tanks are located, the question becomes what can be done to make sure these tanks don’t contaminate surface water.

“People take waste treatment for granted. It’s just something where you flush a toilet, and it disappears,” says Scott Pippin JD ’06, MEPD ’13, an attorney based in the Carl Vinson Institute who specializes in environmental health and policy. He also serves as the NOAA-funded project’s PI. “Most people, particularly those in decision-making positions, don’t have any firsthand contact with problems like this.”

IRIS models future water table elevations under sea level rise to predict which septic systems are the most vulnerable. That’s where Pippin and his colleagues come in, teaching government officials how to use that research to prepare for impending problems.

But it’s not just coastal areas that are facing hazards.

Heavy rainfall is causing countless rivers to breach their banks more frequently.

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dorothy kozlowski

National regulations require people living in floodplains to buy flood insurance, but the situation isn’t as simple as the black lines on a map would indicate (see left).

“You can see neighborhoods developed right along the boundary of that line. You’re either in the mapped floodplain or you’re not,” says Tim Stephens, a doctoral student in Bledsoe’s lab. Although those individuals wouldn’t legally be required to buy flood insurance,

it doesn’t mean they’re actually in the clear. The Office of the Inspector General found that less than half of floodplain maps are accurate.

Working with colleagues at Princeton, the University of Arizona, and Northeastern University on the National Science Foundation-funded project, Bledsoe and Stephens are determining how best to present floodplain maps so that people will better understand the risks posed by floods.

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Graduate students William Mattison, Daniel Buhr, and Devan Fitzpatrick, who all work in Georgia Athletic Association Distinguished Professor Brian Bledsoe’s lab, survey a construction site where Taliaffero Springs Road crosses the Chattooga River in northwest Georgia.

Repairing aging infrastructure, particularly bridges, presents an environmental hazard: disturbing the natural flow of the water and the habitats of the creatures that live there. IRIS members from the College of Engineering, College of Environment and Design, and Odum School of Ecology are working with the Georgia Department of Transportation to determine how temporary jetties and dams—built to enable cranes and other construction vehicles to access all parts of a bridge—affect biological habitats, hydraulics, and bank stability of a river.

daniel buhr

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ALL TOGETHER NOW

GIVE.UGA.EDU/ENGINEERING

Infrastructure challenges in the face of extreme weather and rapid urbanization are complex but not impossible to solve. Known in the field as “wicked problems,” there are many actors invested in the outcomes, and there are a lot of interrelated, moving parts, says Capps. It takes experts in multiple fields to solve them. UGA’s variety of expertise in the sciences coupled with its research prowess uniquely positions the university to become a center of excellence for resilient infrastructure, engineering solutions that work with the ecosystem, not against it.

“We’re not a bunch of ivory tower academics here,” says Shepherd. “We are scientists who are trying to think about the end-to-end solutions that will make the lives of Georgians better.”

And with these just being a few of the projects IRIS researchers are working on, the institute is hitting the ground running. GM

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27

State of Mind susan waltman

AB’73, MSW ’75

written by eric rangus ma ’94 photos by peter frey bfa ’94

samia mceachin

AB’18, BSHP ’18 28

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shelby clayton

ABJ ’15

“To come together under one roof in a city that’s hundreds of miles away from my home is special.”

I

nyc chapter president

f you can make it there, you can make it anywhere. No sleep ’til Brooklyn. Concrete jungle where dreams are made of. Pick a song lyric, and you’ll probably touch on someone’s New York story. If those lines don’t speak to you, maybe this one will.

Glory, glory to ole Georgia.

More than 6,100 University of Georgia alumni live in New York’s five boroughs and the neighboring areas of Long Island, Westchester, Connecticut, and New Jersey.

It’s the second largest alumni community outside of Georgia and, in many ways, its

patrick klibanoff

BBA’14, ABJ’14 “There are so many people and they go out of their way to help each other.

That’s what’s unique about the Georgia experience in New York.”

nyc chapter co-vice president most spirited. And that spirit, that energy, flows down from the president of the New York alumni chapter, Shelby Clayton ABJ ’15.

“Joining the alumni chapter was really like finding my home away from home,” she says. Clayton works as a client account manager for Twitter. A native of Atlanta, Clayton moved to the city shortly after graduating, immediately connected with the UGA alumni chapter and soon volunteered for leadership positions. She started as social media manager, moved up to vice president, and became president in 2018.

“I was still getting to know the city,” she

says. “Through the chapter, I was able to find like-minded individuals with shared experiences. Joining the board only made that connection stronger.”

After they graduate, UGA alumni automatically become members of the Alumni Association. The Alumni Association’s worldwide network of 88 chapters provides opportunities for those alumni to connect to the university and to each other. The administration of the chapters is done in Athens, but it’s local alumni volunteers who do the work on the ground.

The first connections are usually

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29

mallory o’brien

ABJ ’12

“You put on that name tag at events and people immediately come up to you and ask for advice.”

carolyn carreno

“The chapter opens doors and you meet a lot of different people.”

nyc chapter co-vice president social—a game-watching party here, an after-work get-together there—but like most worthwhile relationships, they deepen with time. Professional networking, community involvement, mentorship, and even forging ties with new members of the UGA community often follow. The work is labor intensive, especially if the alumni community is large.

Fortunately for Clayton, she is able to lean on the 11-member leadership team that’s just as dedicated to UGA and maybe even more energetic than she is. At the heart of it all is keeping a strong connection to their alma mater.

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BBA ’16

“Something about moving to New York makes people really consider their identity.

For a lot of people, especially a lot of Southerners, it’s where they went to school,” says Amanda Mull ABJ ’09. Mull, a native of Marietta, moved to Brooklyn about eight years ago. A journalism major at UGA, she made ends meet as a freelance writer for years before joining The Atlantic as a staff writer in fall 2018.

“For a lot of Southerners that I know, and this goes beyond Georgia alumni, the act of moving here makes you consider how much you appreciate people and traditions you grew up with,” she says.

nyc chapter sec liaison In New York, alumni volunteering frequently appeals to a specific demographic.

Most are young, early-career professionals.

They aren’t that far removed from their college life, and while they almost uniformly have fond memories, they don’t necessarily want to relive them. They want to move ahead. Mull, who graduated in 2009, is the oldest among the board members. And even though she is barely in her 30s, she takes her mentorship role seriously.

“I love talking to alumni who are new to the city, being able to comfort them, and letting them know it’s going to be OK,” she says. “You’ll get used to the city. You’ll

amanda mull

ABJ ’09

“It’s nice to be able to feel like a representative of the university.

That matters a lot to me.”

marlena lewis

BFA’10

“We are constantly building community and diversity in the city.”

nyc chapter co-chairs, cultural & affinity programming find a decent apartment. Your roommates won’t be like this forever. You won’t have roommates if you stick with it. I’m able to serve as an example of someone who came here young, entered a precarious industry, figured it out, and has made it so far.”

Networking with mid-career and senior alumni is important as well. Event director Mallory O’Brien ABJ ’12 recalls a chance meeting at the chapter holiday party that turned into an important cross-generational event.

Barbara Woods AB ’81, a former New York chapter leader and past member of the Alumni Association board, introduced her

to a fellow alumna who wanted to host an event or lunch-and-learn to offer financial advice. O’Brien started setting it up immediately, knowing it would appeal to a broad section of alumni—which is exactly what it did when it took place a few weeks later.

“It’s important to leverage established alumni,” she says. “They have a lot of experience in the city and a lot more connection.”

Another way to reach out to new audiences is through freshman sendoffs, which bring new UGA families together with UGA alumni just before the start of the school year. Not only do these gather-

ings introduce first-year students to their new communities, they get their parents involved too.

“More and more students are coming to Georgia from non-traditional markets,” says co-vice president Patrick Klibanoff BBA ’14, ABJ ’14. “It’s an untapped stakeholder we can engage even more.”

It’s a lot of work, but according to Clayton, it all comes down to one thing.

“This is a way to give back to the university that really gave a lot to me in terms of my education, my network of friends, and even my career,” she says. “That motivated me to find ways to give back. It’s rewarding to hear geo rgia maga z ine | s ummer 2 019

31

keya wondwossen

AB’10

“Whether it’s game-watching, service opportunities, or something in between, we have so many different options to get involved.”

katie holt

ABJ’14

“I grew up to believe you don’t forget who you are and where you’re from. And I feel like my UGA experience brought me back to that.”

nyc chapter co-chairs, partnerships these stories. I may have passed by people on Lumpkin and may not have met them until this very moment in New York.

“I want to encourage any UGA alumni, if they are thinking about moving to New York, there is a home for them here. We’re here to welcome you with open arms.”

THE RELATIONSHIP BUILDER Even though she’s a New Jersey native and has been a resident of New York for most of her professional life, for Susan Waltman AB ’73, MSW ’75, staying engaged with the University of Georgia has been easy. She just brings some of the UGA’s most

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talented students to her.

Waltman is the executive vice president and general counsel for the Greater New York Hospital Association (GNYHA), a center for health care advocacy and expertise that serves more than 50 hospitals across the New York region.

In 2005, Waltman started an internship program that brings two UGA Honors students to GNYHA for two months each summer. The placements are ideal for students with interests in public health, health administration, and health policy. In addition to informal visits throughout the work day, Waltman schedules weekly lunches with her interns to check their progress, address

concerns, and celebrate triumphs.

Once the internship is over, the relationship with the students often isn’t. Waltman has certainly written her fair share of recommendation letters for graduate schools, medical schools, and all sorts of jobs. She receives frequent emails from past interns as well.

“From day one, Susan made me feel welcome,” says Eytan Palte AB ’16, who interned with Waltman the summer after his sophomore year at UGA. “She was a wonderful mentor, always helping me find projects and people to talk to and learn from.”

After graduating from UGA, Palte moved back to New York to attend medical school

katie sorrels

ABJ ’11

“My dad went to law school at UGA, and I’ve been bleeding red and black for as long as I can remember. When I moved to New York, I immediately reached out to the alumni chapter. I wanted to get plugged in.”

nyc chapter alumni association liaison at Columbia. He is now in his third year, and one of his recommendation letters was written by Waltman.

“It’s been such a rewarding experience,” she says. “I really think that this is the best thing that I do in my life: meeting and working with these wonderful young people.”

Another of the interns was Samia McEachin AB ’18, BSHP ’18. She interned at GNYHA two summers ago, graduated last summer with a degree in health promotion, and started her job as a project manager for emergency preparedness with GNYHA in January.

In the years since Superstorm Sandy caused billions of dollars of damage to the

sarah hughes

AB ’14

“I’ve lived in five places in the last five years. With the people in New York, the chapter provides stability.”

nyc chapter chair, communications

New York area, emergency preparedness has taken on increased importance. For instance, with a mild late-afternoon February snowstorm on the way, McEachin spent the morning in a conference call with dozens of hospital administrators making sure they were ready should there be any weatherrelated traffic injuries or problems.

Day-to-day responsibilities mean that Waltman and McEachin don’t get to see as much of each other as they did during her internship, but the mentee knows her mentor isn’t far away.

“It’s invaluable having mentors to guide you and also give you the freedom to explore something that interests you,”

Whatever your next chapter, your Bulldog family will be there: ALUMNI.UGA.EDU/FIND-CHAPTER

McEachin says.

Waltman’s dedication to helping the next generation has not gone unnoticed in Athens. In 2017, she received the Blue Key Service Award, one of the highest honors given to a member of the UGA community.

“It’s fascinating when you receive an honor for what you think is just the right thing to do, which is give back to your school,” says Waltman, who also serves on the UGA Foundation Board of Trustees. “I am made better and richer by being able to work with people like Samia and Eytan.” GM

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33

Painting a Legacy

ON THE BULLDOG BEAT

written by kellyn amodeo abj ’09

L

amar Dodd’s heart was always in Georgia.

Born in Fairburn in 1909 and raised in LaGrange, Dodd knew from an early age he wanted to be an artist. At 12 years old, he convinced the dean of LaGrange Women’s College to let him sit in on art classes. The cost? Mowing the college’s lawn.

Dodd attended Georgia Tech to pursue a degree in architectural studies but soon dropped out to pursue his true love: painting. Doing that meant leaving home and heading to the Big Apple.

In New York, Dodd became consumed by the American scene, the idea that American artists should only focus on American subjects— American history, landscapes, and people. Then he took it a step further, focusing on his home: the South.

“Dodd preached a sort of gospel of the Southernist scene and even said, ‘Nothing in Cairo or Paris or Rome is as beautiful as Shades Mountain in Birmingham or a washer woman in LaGrange,’ ” says Bill Eiland, director of the Georgia Museum of Art and author of The Truth In Things: The Life and Career of Lamar Dodd.

Dodd became a nationally known artist, and today is regarded as one of the most influential artists from the 20th century South.

He was hired by the University of Georgia in 1936 to help expand its art department. Since he lacked a college degree, the decision was not a popular one. But administrators believed he could substitute a formal education as long as he was a practicing artist.

“He was a working professional artist, and until his death (in 1996), he remained a working professional artist. While he was an administrator, he was showing, exhibiting, creating art,” Eiland says.

The university formally established an art department in 1933 as a division of the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences. Although it was academically comparable to other programs, it lacked the prominence and funding of other departments on campus.

“Art wasn’t being taken seriously as a career,” says Kendal Jacques BFA ’17, communications manager of the Lamar Dodd School of Art. “Dodd wanted to show people that this was something

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y Lamar Dodd was instrumental in the establishment of the Georgia Museum of Art, the state’s art museum. Founder Alfred Holbrook (right) was searching for a home for his 100-plus works of art and a warmer climate. Charmed by Dodd, the campus, and administration, Holbrook moved from New York to start a museum in the basement of what is today the Administration Building.

“Let us strive to make art which is truly our own interpretation of the lives we live today.”

—Lamar Dodd

you could actually make a life out of.”

Using his vast connections and celebrity within the art industry, Dodd raised the profile of UGA’s art school and secured a dramatic increase in funding, laying the foundation for one of the nation’s most comprehensive art departments.

With more than 1,200 students, the art program is one of UGA’s most popular fields of study. The Lamar Dodd School of Art boasts state-ofthe art facilities and world-renowned artists and teachers among its 57 faculty members.

The school remains dedicated to the fine arts like painting and sculpture, but the curriculum has shifted to accommodate applied arts such as jewelry and metalworks. The art department also has multiple resources for students to help them thrive as artists after college.

The Arts Career and Entrepreneurship Space program, a joint venture with the Hugh Hodgson School of Music, provides career support to students seeking a future in music, art, or design. Managed by

a former gallery owner, the program gives students face time with someone who has managed galleries in major cities like New York and now smaller communities like Athens.

And the Ideas for Creative Exploration initiative enables students to conduct research with departments across campus, bridging the gap between art and other fields.

Dodd’s legacy on campus is much more than a name on a school. His influence on his home state is one that lives on in paintings, in sculptures, in exhibitions, in installations, and in the creative minds of Georgia artists around the world.

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35

THE NATION

news and events

from the uga alumni association

Reliving the Glory Days The university hosted more than 100 alumni and friends for the 2019 Alumni Weekend in late March. Attendees were treated to an “Orientation Dinner” with UGA President Jere W. Morehead JD ’80, breakfast and lunch in Bolton Dining Commons, classes with leading UGA faculty members, a reception at an alumni-owned venue in downtown Athens, tickets to TEDxUGA, and a final “Commencement Brunch” in Sanford Stadium with Hairy Dawg. Attendees stayed in town afterward to participate in optional activities, such as a tour of the Sanford Stadium West End Zone, a tour of the Georgia Museum of Art with director Bill Eiland, and a Sketching UGA class on North Campus. The next Alumni Weekend will be March 26-28, 2020—see you there!

A BULLDOG BARK TO ...

special

adam linke

More than 430 young alumni, family, and friends gathered on the rooftop of Ponce City Market in Atlanta on March 31 for a UGA takeover that included games such as “Skyline Steg,” “Commit to the Skee,” “Snelling Smash,” and the “Kirby Derby.” A portion of each registration is helping fund scholarships for UGA students.

Hundreds of UGA alumni volunteers from UGA affinity groups and chapters around the country gathered in Athens in early March to exchange best practices and gain the skills to plan events and programs for UGA’s more than 319,000 living alumni. Chapter volunteers from as far as Oregon and as close as Athens were in attendance—dressed in red and black, of course!

CHAPTER SPOTLIGHT

special

In March, alumni chapters hosted UGA IMPACT students who were spending their spring breaks volunteering across the country. The Upstate South Carolina Chapter hosted students in Greenville for a painting class. Check out their Arch paintings!

CHAPTER NAME: Boston CHAPTER PRESIDENT: Heather Ward AB ’05, AB ’05 NUMBER OF ALUMNI IN THE AREA: 1,162 This Chapter of Excellence plans diverse events for the Boston Bulldog community.

This spring, they hosted two networking happy hours, a G-Day game-watching party, and Dawg Day of Service events at Community Servings and at Boston Hope Lodge. In the fall, you’ll find this chapter gathering to cheer on the football team at Clery’s on Dartmouth Street. adrianne mathiowetz

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SOCIAL MEDIA

Stay connected with @ugaalumniassoc on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.

Atlanta-area realtor Venanta Alexandria Silickaite BS ’11 proudly participated in a community service project hosted by the Atlanta Alumni Chapter in February at the Atlanta Community Food Bank.

UGA 40 Under 40 honoree Ryan Leveille BBA ’13, MBA ’18 (second from right) joined students in the Terry College Institute for Leadership Advancement for a Coffee Chat in February. He shared insights into his career and the ways purpose and excellence have driven his life.

@venanta_alexandria

@uga.ila

DON’T MISS OUT WEDNESDAY, JUNE 19 UGA in Washington Reception UGA alumni, friends, and elected officials from Georgia will get together at Union Station for this annual gathering in the nation’s capital. alumni.uga.edu/calendar/gm

The New Orleans Alumni Chapter hosted UGA students in March who were participating in community service projects during their spring break.

Jemir Martinez MBA ’16 and Alia Chernnet BBA ’10, MBA ’17 are tying the knot in July, but not before they show off their UGA pride in matching football jerseys. The couple met while earning their MBAs from UGA.

FRIDAY, JUNE 28 Young Alumni Night at SweetWater Brewing Co. Join hundreds of young alumni for this annual event in Atlanta hosted by the UGA Young Alumni Leadership Council. alumni.uga.edu/youngalumni/gm

For more events, visit alumni.uga.edu/calendar.

@nola_dawgs

@mylady18

Mark L. Baker BLA ’77 (standing) is president of Wood + Partners, a landscape architecture firm. In March, he and his team welcomed UGA students to their Hilton Head Island office to share insights into a career in landscape architecture.

contact us: Moved? Changed your name? Added a new Bulldog to the family? Let us know! alumni.uga.edu/myinfo or (800) 606-8786. @woodpartners1988

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class notes

Compiled by Rachel Floyd AB ’19, Mary Calkins, and Madeleine Howell

1960-1964 David Tyre BSF ’60 was inducted into the Wayne County Sports Hall of Fame.

1970-1974 David Crippen BS ’71 is a professor emeritus of critical care medicine and neurological surgery at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center in Pennsylvania.

1975-1979 Michael Phillips AB ’75 retired from his position in the trust department of SunTrust Bank in Atlanta.

Sandra Derrick BSHE ’76, MEd ’80 is president of the UGA Family and Consumer Sciences Alumni Association board of directors.

Polly Powers Stramm ABJ ’77 published her book Bless Your Heart & Mind Your Mama; Sassy, Sweet & Silly Southernisms, a compilation of many Southern sayings and phrases.

1980-1984 James Edwards Jr. AB ’80, MA ’83 received an Eagle

38

special

Award from Eagle Forum Education & Legal Defense Fund for his work on patent policy.

Joe Brand BSEd ’81 is a generosity specialist at Generis in Atlanta, helping churches and nonprofits with fundraising goals.

Sheryl Nolan BSHE ’81 is senior mortgage adviser at Neighborhood Mortgage in Alpharetta.

Jackie Angel BSW ’82 is a teacher at Milton High School in Fulton County.

She has been the social studies department chair at Milton since 2005.

Dennis Hewatt BBA ’83 is chairman and chief execu-

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MOVIE MAKER

Short-Film Wonder In the digital age, many people spend more time looking at their screens than the outside world, and many have seemingly forgotten the beauty of America’s public lands. One UGA alumnus has used that unfamiliarity to his advantage. Through their company, Sea Raven Media, Will Pattiz AB ’13 and his brother Jim are using short-film innovation to spotlight the country’s national parks.

Their award-winning series of internet-based videos, More Than Just Parks, earned raves for its stunning visual quality and creativity. It is the basis for many other films meant to reveal the beauty and importance of the nation’s public lands.

Building on the success of their ongoing National Parks series, the Pattiz brothers launched an even more ambitious series, More Than Just Forests, in 2018. The latest project is a partnership with the U.S. Forest Service that aims to connect viewers to each of the country’s 155 national forests.

“We consider ourselves more than just filmmakers,” Will says. “We’re storytellers who understand that film has the power to engage and move an audience like no other medium.”

CLASS NOTES APPLAUSE FOR ALUMNI

Ambassador of Science

Jonathan Jones BSBChE ’13

christopher mark productions 2018

W

e are a society reliant on scientific innovation, from the screens we check at our desks to the food we eat at our tables. So, the public discourse around science—or really the lack thereof—is worrisome for an engineer like Jonathan Jones.

“I think society is due for a greater level of conversation about science because it’s not something that we should be afraid of,” he says.

Jones BSBChE ’13 is a biochemical engineer by training and works in project management for Corteva Agriscience, a global agricultural company based in Indianapolis.

For his part, Jones isn’t waiting for the conversation to start on its own. He’s taking the conversation to his community. Shortly after starting his job, Jones established the local chapter of Science Ambassadors in Harbor Beach, Michigan, which was aimed at bringing science to the community for all ages. His team engaged K-12 students through hands-on activities focused on topics such as where our food comes from.

“We were trying to teach them some of

the main principles and techniques that we use in agriculture,” Jones says. That means digestible lessons on complex topics like genetics. To make these topics more approachable to early learners, they developed activities like DNA phenotype bracelets using colored beads, pipe cleaners, and mirrors to explain human traits like hair color and texture.

“Each of us are made up of the same components,” he says. “But when our components are assembled together in various ways, it makes each of us unique.”

The goal is to inspire the next generation of scientists and engineers and have those kids continue that conversation with their parents. Science Ambassadors is also an opportunity for Corteva Agriscience employees to engage with their communities. Jones has continued to stay engaged even after a move to Indianapolis.

For him, this kind of outreach is personal.

“I got interested in science, not inside my home, but at school,” he recalls. An elementary school science program inspired him to explore the world around him. He learned how to set up DIY ex-

periments watching Zoom on PBS. His curiosity only grew as he enrolled at UGA as a first-generation college student. The possibilities of a career in science began to take shape—starting with a happy accident.

“When I started at Georgia, I thought that I registered for biological engineering, but I actually registered for biochemical engineering,” he says. After learning about the field, a spark ignited, and he dove in.

“I’m a planner, but some of my best decisions have been unplanned and it has always turned out amazing.”

In 2018, Jones was named to UGA’s 40 under 40. That same year, he was recognized at the annual Black Engineer of the Year Awards in Washington, D.C., for his leadership in the Science Ambassadors program. He looked to his past as well as the future when he accepted the Eugene M. DeLoatch Legacy Award.

“I’m where I am today because someone decided to invest in me, to believe in me, to inspire me,” he said. “I think the next generation is worth investing in as well.”

written by aaron hale MA '16

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CLASS NOTES tive of the Atlanta-area Yaarab Shriners.

Christopher Sumner BSEd ’83, MEd ’84 retired from his position as school psychologist in the Lee County (GA) School System.

Trey Paris BBA ’84, MBA ’85 was inducted into James Magazine’s Georgia Lobbyist Hall of Fame.

1985-1989 Julie Brown ABJ ’85 has served as president and CEO of the Georgia Foreign-Trade Zone since 1997.

William Ray II BBA ’85, MBA ’86, JD ’90 was confirmed by the Senate to the position of judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia.

Andre Mackey BSPH ’88 received his doctorate in pharmacy from the University of Florida in December 2018.

Wayne E. Grannis AB ’89 was appointed judge of the Juvenile Court of Cobb County.

1990-1994 Ruth Daniel BBA ’93 is a franchisee for H&R Block, owning and operating seven franchises across Georgia with her husband, John Daniel AB ’87.

John Thelan BLA ’93 is president of Landmark Carolinas, a landscape architecture firm based in Asheville, North Carolina.

Robb Hays BBA ’94 is a controller at Hennessy Lexus of Gwinnett.

1995-1999 Brian S. Johnson ABJ ’96 was appointed deputy director of

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CLASS NOTES APPLAUSE FOR ALUMNI

Scholarly Activity

O

n june 19, 2017, the kennedy Center in Washington hosted the annual Presidential Scholars Honors Dinner.

The Presidential Scholars program, which honors distinguished high school seniors from across the country, debuted a new award that evening to recognize non-alumni who have supported the program in outstanding ways: the Felice Kaufmann Award.

And its first recipient was … Felice Kaufmann.

“Oh my gosh, it was such an honor, but it was like attending your own funeral!” says Kaufmann PhD ’79, displaying the sense of humor she sprinkles liberally into conversation.

Kaufmann is one of the first contemporary researchers—although she prefers the term “storyteller”—to longitudinally study gifted children. For more than 40 years, Kaufmann has followed the Presidential Scholars, writing about the ups and downs of their lives and careers.

When she entered the master’s program at Columbia Teachers College in New York, Kaufmann intended to study child development. When the time came to register

Felice Kaufmann PhD ’79

peter frey

for classes, the line for child development was really long. A different line across the way was much shorter. Kaufmann decided to stand in that one—for the class “Nature and Needs of the Gifted”—and her career was born.

Kaufmann first encountered the Presidential Scholars in the late 1970s while she was a doctoral student at UGA. She was a chaperone during a Scholars trip to Washington, D.C., which culminated with an address from President Jimmy Carter. He told the students that they “would be the leaders of the next century.”

“What does that do to a 17-year-old who hears that?” Kaufmann says. “At that moment, I decided that this is something I wanted to study someday. I never imagined that it would be longitudinal. It’s the only thing I’ve studied my entire career.”

Kaufmann focused on the 604 Presidential Scholars who made up the first five years of the program, 1964-68. With boundless pre-internet energy and copious shoe-leather sleuthing, Kaufmann found 522 of them and 325 participated in the study.

Today, some four decades later, Kaufmann is still in touch with 197 of those Scholars. “I

feel maternal toward all of them, even though they are all my age. I watched them grow up.”

Over the years in tandem with several university teaching jobs, Kaufmann published articles on the scholars. She’s long been an in-demand speaker on the subject of gifted education, and whenever she gave an address in the proximity of one of her subjects, they met up.

Kaufmann is semi-retired now and living on Manhattan’s Upper West Side. She still takes the occasional speaking gig, such as a visit to UGA in 2015 to honor the 100th birthday of legendary American psychologist E. Paul Torrance, her mentor during her doctoral days.

Working with John Knox, chair of the Presidential Scholars Alumni Association and a professor of geography at UGA, Kaufmann helped establish the Presidential Scholars collection in the Richard B. Russell Special Collections Libraries. All of her papers will eventually end up there, but she is still holding on to a lot of her work.

“I still have the paper questionnaires these people had their hands on, and I just can’t bear to give them up,” Kaufmann says. “I might still have one more study in me.”

written by eric rangus MA ’94

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CLASS NOTES planning and development for

2000-2004

Gwinnett County.

Christopher Currie AB ’00 is a

David Katz AB ’96 is a partner with

director for the United States Gov-

Adams and Reese law firm in the

ernment Accountability Office. He

Atlanta office.

serves on the Homeland Security

Miranda Reid ABJ ’96 is a teach-

and Justice Team where he leads

er in the Dekalb County School

the agency’s work on a number of

District.

homeland security issues, including

Sarah Stanley Fallaw AB ’98, MS ’98,

national preparedness, emergency

PhD ’03 published The Next Million-

management, and critical infra-

aire Next Door: Enduring Strategies

structure protection.

for Building Wealth.

Mike Huffman BSFR ’01 is a forester

Kimberly Feldman AB ’98, MEd

at the Berry College Land Resources

’00 earned a doctorate in lan-

Department.

guage, literacy, and culture at the

Jessica Faber ABJ ’02 is the deputy

University of Maryland-Baltimore

director in the Office of Acquisition

County.

and Assistance for the U.S. Agency

John Minahan BBA ’98 was ap-

for International Development.

pointed chief executive officer of

Matthew Allen ABJ ’04 formed JBMC

Rivermend Health in Atlanta.

Media and acquired Birmingham Fun and Family Magazine, a monthly publication serving families in the

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CLASS NOTES APPLAUSE FOR ALUMNI

Top Dawg

L

ike a true bulldog, eric spett couldn’t let his moment standing in front of a room full of hundreds of University of Georgia grads pass without Calling the Dawgs.

Spett and his business-to-business marketing platform, Terminus, had just been named No. 1 on the Bulldog 100 for 2019, the fastest-growing businesses owned and operated by UGA alumni.

When his name was called, Spett BBA ’10 brought a black napkin from the table to spin over his head like any good UGA fan would.

“This is my one opportunity to do this,” he said. The room joined in.

“Go Dawgs! Sic ’em. Woof! Woof! Woof!”

For Spett, the award had special meaning because UGA is where his entrepreneurial dream began. As students, Spett and classmate Dave Goldstein BBA ’10 began working on their first startup during their senior year. They spent hours in the study rooms at what was then called the Student Learning

Eric Spett BBA ’10

decisive moment events 2019

Center (now the Miller Learning Center), coming up with FishList, a digital platform for the seafood industry, and bringing it to life. Spett says he received some invaluable guidance from Terry College faculty Mark Huber PhD ’98 and Craig Piercy MBA ’92, PhD ’01. Designing a sophisticated business plan, Spett and Goldstein won top honors at UGA’s Next Top Entrepreneur contest.

But after pouring four years, their life savings, and everything they had into their company, FishList failed. Spett was devastated. “I was mentally, physically, emotionally, and financially wrecked,” he recalls.

Looking to pick himself back up, Spett reached out to Atlanta tech-entrepreneur David Cummings, the founder of Atlanta Tech Village. Cummings gave the humbled Spett a position at his latest startup, the ecommerce marketing firm Kevy, and predicted that he would be starting a new company within two years.

At the time, Spett was still scarred over

the demise of FishList. “But he put the bug in my ear,” Spett says. Sure enough, within a matter of months, Spett felt inspired to give it another try.

Cummings invested the seed money to start what would become Terminus. The firm hosts a platform that promises to help B2B companies efficiently target and sell to the right sales accounts. Five years in, the company has taken off. Terminus was named one of Atlanta’s fastest-growing businesses and one of the best places to work by Atlanta Business Chronicle. The company already has over 200 employees and has raised roughly $30 million in venture capital.

Even with all those honors, Spett says the Bulldog 100 recognition was “one of the most meaningful.” His Terry College faculty mentors, Piercy and Huber, were at the ceremony, and it was an opportunity to reflect on how far he’s come.

“Being honored nine years later as the fastest-growing Bulldog business is a huge honor.”

written by aaron hale MA ’16

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43

CLASS NOTES Birmingham, Alabama, market.

2005-2009

assistant at the J.W. Fanning

Advocates of Virginia.

Leigh Ellen Magness BSW ’04,

Melanie Baringer AB ’05 is

Institute for Leadership Devel-

Parker Browne BBA ’08 is

MSW ’06 is co-owner of the Ath-

owner of Hologram Salon,

opment.

international sales manager for

ens Center for Counseling and

a luxury boutique salon in

Patrick Stapleton ABJ ’07 is

Eagles West Outfitters.

Play Therapy. She also founded

Athens.

the vice president of brand

Anne Martucci BSFCS ’08

Little Athens Children’s Muse-

Michelle Floyd ABJ ’07 is

marketing at NBC4 Telemundo

published The Search for Your

um in 2017, a mobile museum

marketing coordinator for

44 in Washington, D.C.

Best Furever Friend: An Animal

that serves more than 1,000

Peachtree Lighting in

Sarah Wexler ABJ ’07 married

Alphabet Adventure, which

children annually with interac-

Covington.

Daniel Smith in October 2018.

teaches young readers about

tive exhibits at pop-up events.

Brittany Pope BSA ’07, BS ’07,

Jara Butler AB ’08 is organizing

the alphabet and friendship.

MAL ’10 is a public service

director at Planned Parenthood 2010-2014 Amanda Price AB ’11 was selected to present “Social Justice: Using Comics to Find Student Voice” at the National Art Education Association’s National Convention in Boston, Massachusetts.

Alexa Pisczak ABJ ’12, JD ’15 is the assistant general counsel at Fox Factory in Braselton.

Meghan Armstrong BSFCS ’13, MSW ’15 is a research professional at UGA’s Carl Vinson Institute of Government.

Emily Escoe ABJ ’13, MBA ’18, JD ’18 is an attorney at Fortson, Bentley and Griffin, in Athens.

Paige Jones AB ’13, ABJ ’13 married Phillip Jones BS ’15, ABJ ’15 in October 2018.

Rob Law BBA ’13 is a financial planner at the Creative Financial Group in Atlanta.

Rebecca McCormack AB ’13 was promoted to senior director for America Rising Corporation in Arlington, Virginia.

Jerico Phillips AB ’13 is an attorney with the Employment Law Solution in Atlanta.

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CLASS NOTES APPLAUSE FOR ALUMNI

Brain Power

A

Stephanie Yarnell-Mac Grory BS ’06

peter frey

s a student at uga, stephanie yarnell-mac grory envisioned working at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). She wanted to track down and fight epidemics, and she angled her schoolwork in that direction, excelling at every step. She was a UGA Presidential Scholar, a CURO Scholar, and a member of the Honors Program. She triple-majored in ecology, biology, and microbiology, and after graduating with highest honors, she entered a combined MD/ PhD program, which are notoriously difficult to get into.

Her doctoral work involved tracking down and identifying the cause of an emerging epidemic, but through the process, she realized infectious disease research was not what she wanted to do with her life. After successfully defending her dissertation in record time, she returned to clinical rotations. With only nine months before she had to declare the medical specialty that would determine the rest of her career, Yarnell-Mac Grory BS ’06, understandably, felt the pressure. But her clinical rotation on the psychosis ward was a turning point; she became fascinated by the ways in which the brain could malfunction—and found a new purpose.

“Then I started looking into the research and realized that the brain is one of those areas where there is so much left to explore,” she says. “From there, it was easy to decide what I was going to do.”

After graduating first in her medical school class, she joined Yale University’s Neuroscience Research Program and completed her residency, as well as fellowships in forensic and addiction psychiatry. Yarnell-Mac Grory is now the chief fellow in the Addiction Psychiatry Fellowship Program at the Yale University School of Medicine, where she works with patients struggling with substance abuse. Many are veterans who battle not just addiction but war-related injuries that are not necessarily physical. In the clinic, she treats their symptoms, and then she goes to her lab, where she researches their causes.

“I am humbled listening to their stories,” she says. “Some of the things they have experienced are catastrophic. Many of the veterans coming back from Iraq and Afghanistan are suffering from traumatic brain injuries—and many other conditions—that psychiatrists can address.”

In 2018, Yale named Yarnell-Mac Grory an emerging biomedical scholar (one of its highest awards for young researchers) and sent her to Washington, D.C., to advocate for the role of science in policy. She also spends a lot of time talking to Yale medical students and residents, encouraging them to enter psychiatry, an underrepresented but much-needed field.

On the research side, Yarnell-Mac Grory is the principle investigator on two current studies. One uses functional neuroimaging techniques to investigate the effects of oleoylethanolamide on alcohol use in real time. The other involves tracking and characterizing the fentanyl epidemic, something Yarnell-Mac Grory is particularly passionate about addressing, as she is involved in community projects in Connecticut to fight the opioid epidemic.

“Psychiatry is a field where you can make a dramatic difference in people’s lives,” Yarnell-Mac Grory says. “You can also make an incredible difference in the field. There are so many projects that need to be done—we are only just getting started.”

written by eric rangus MA ’94

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CLASS NOTES Ryan Brown M ’14 opened Ryan Brown Law, a criminal defense law practice in Newnan.

Kayla Sklar ABJ ’14, BBA ’14 edited her first feature-length documentary, Rams, which was a New York Times Critic’s Pick in November 2018 and directed by Gary Hustwit.

2015-2019 Nicole Bigman AB ’15, BS ’15 is an associate at Weinberg Wheeler Hudgins Gunn & Dial’s Atlanta office.

Frederick Johnson Jr. BBA ’15 is a customer service manager in construction at PulteGroup in Atlanta.

Elizabeth Lewis BBA ’15 is strategy supervisor for PHD Worldwide marketing and advertising company in New York City.

Tyler McMartin BS ’15 is attending Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine.

Shelby Brown AB ’16, MPA ’18 is donor services coordinator for Girl Scouts of Greater Atlanta.

Seth Hartshorn BBA ’16 is a commercial insurance underwriter for Berkshire Hathaway Homestate Companies in Alpharetta.

Rees Horton AB ’16, BS ’16 is attending Duke Law School in Durham, North Carolina.

Garrett Scantling BSFCS ’16 is a financial adviser at Principal Financial Group in Jacksonville, Florida.

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CLASS NOTES

our georgia commitment providing future leaders with a wealth of opportunities

F

or michael AB ’81 and doris Boudens, supporting students means more than helping them pay expenses. It means giving future leaders the opportunity to grow while on campus.

The couple knows firsthand that a college degree demands determination. Both worked to support their educational goals.

Juggling a job, academics, and campus activities took discipline, but each found a community that helped them achieve success.

The Boudens have established four Georgia Commitment Scholarships to enable driven students to fully benefit from their UGA experiences. The scholarship program matches gifts in the amount of $50,000, $75,000, or $100,000 to establish endowed undergraduate need-based scholarships.

“I have achieved what I have because I had a foundational experience at Georgia,” says Michael, who also serves as a UGA Foundation Trustee. “Doris and I want to give young adults the opportunity to receive an education because we know how it betters people’s lives.”

Originally from New York, Michael did not set foot on campus until his first day as a Bulldog. He fell in love. His family’s finances required that Michael pay for his own tuition, and although that was difficult, he prioritized taking advantage of the breadth of opportunities at UGA. “I had to be disciplined,” Michael says.

“That built my character and gave me a sense of organization and focus that helped me later in life.”

Michael found support from friends and professors. Overcoming challenges gave him self-confidence, a key attribute to his professional pursuits. Today, Michael is enjoying a successful career with Wellington Management Company and is proud of its global expansion.

A graduate of George Washington University, Doris also appreciates the opportunities higher education afforded her.

GIVE.UGA.EDU

Michael and Doris Boudens find parallels between their college experiences and those of students facing financial hardship today. Just as they were committed to succeeding in school, they are committed to helping today’s students do the same.

edwin hammond

Through Michael and their two daughters, both UGA alumnae, she’s formed a close connection to the university. She enjoys spending time with the students she and Michael support through the Georgia Commitment Program. From overcoming long commutes to campus or paving the way as first-generation college students, she admires the students’ drive.

“These are impressive and passionate students,” Doris says. “When you consider what they’ve had to do to commit to their

academics, they are exceptional.”

Though the Boudens live near Boston, distance has not diminished their commitment to Georgia. In fact, the arrival of their first grandchild has inspired dreams of another Bulldog in the family.

“The UGA community exists around the world,” Michael says. “You have this institution that you can come back to, that you can continue to feel a part of. And that’s a lifelong experience. It’s terrific for our family to have that connection.”

Since 2017, more than 400 need-based scholarships have been created for UGA students through the Georgia Commitment Scholarship Program. Thanks to the generosity of more than 270 donors, this fundraising initiative is coming to a close as matching funds run out. If you are interested in establishing a Georgia Commitment Scholarship, please visit GIVE.UGA.EDU/GEORGIA-COMMITMENT.

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CLASS NOTES

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CLASS NOTES APPLAUSE FOR ALUMNI

Out of this World

A

long time ago in a galaxy not so far, far away …

A young Eric Baker ABJ ’90 was making his own Star Wars playsets because store-bought versions weren’t good enough.

The son of an art teacher and a building contractor, Baker made his own Yoda masks from forms he sculpted, molded, and casted with help from his mom.

Now, he’s a creative director with Walt Disney Imagineering, working on the Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge-themed lands opening in Disneyland this summer and Walt Disney World this fall.

“I love taking these worlds and bringing them from film to something people can actually go see and touch and really be a part of,” he says.

Baker attended the University of Georgia where he studied telecommunications and theatrical design. He knew he wanted to make films, so he learned model building, special effects, and set design through his course work. As a student, his first job in the industry was at Cable 13 doing Larry Munson’s makeup for his Tuesday night show.

After graduation, Baker found work at

Eric Baker ABJ ’90

special

Nickelodeon doing props on the hit show Clarissa Explains it All, coming up with games to gross people out for Double Dare, and testing pool games for Nickelodeon Guts.

That led to other film and TV work including The Mickey Mouse Club, Sesame Street 3D Movie, Bad Boys 2, and the Tom Hanks mini-series From the Earth to the Moon (which earned Baker an Emmy nomination).

But after 20 years in film production, the industry was changing, so Baker took an entry level model-building job with Universal Studios’ creative department.

They asked him to build a castle—which turned out to be Hogwarts. For the next two years, Baker built concept models for Universal’s Harry Potter theme parks in Orlando, California, and Japan.

The worlds are fully immersive, from taking the Hogwarts Express train from Platform 9 ¾ to drinking a cold butterbeer on the giant benches of the Leaky Cauldron. The worlds are layer upon layer, from haunted portraits to fountains that come alive with a souvenir wand.

special

The work Baker did for Diagon Alley in Orlando (which has 106,000 props) was such a game changer that the Themed Entertainment Association created a new award for it: the Paragon award, which won’t be awarded again until someone tops the Wizarding World of Harry Potter.

And Baker is up to the challenge.

Disney took notice of Baker’s work and offered him the job he’d dreamed of since he was a young Padawan: Star Wars. Now he’s overseeing construction of thousands of pieces of props and set dressing for the immersive Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge, which means a lot of flying between Florida and California (commercial, not on an X-wing).

He’s visited the Star Wars film sets and Skywalker Ranch where he photographed some of the original props from the film, which was another dream come true for him. “Star Wars changed my life,” he says.

But ultimately, his job comes down to using the Force for good.

“I love going to work in the morning to see the look on kids’ faces the first time they come into the park. That’s the most rewarding thing I do: making people happy.”

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CLASS NOTES

Elizabeth Trent AB ’16, ABJ ’16 is

master’s candidate in Russian

coordinator at Hemsworth

Prevention in the National Sal-

a brand marketing specialist at

and East European studies

Communications in Law-

monella Reference Laboratory.

Groupon in Chicago.

at the University of Oxford.

renceville.

The fellowship was provided

Jordan Pye BBA ’17 married

Davidson is senior editor for

Lyndsey Jackson AB ’18 is a

by the Oak Ridge Institute for

Abby Williford AB ’18 in

Russian and Eastern European

financial crimes compliance

Science and Education.

March.

Affairs for The International

analyst at Goldman Sachs in

Adam King BS ’18, MS ’18 is a

Monika Ammerman AB ’18 is

Scholar, and is a contributor

Dallas, Texas.

computer scientist at Genera-

a coordinator at Tesla in Palo

for Global Security Review and

Brent Jenkins BS ’18 earned a

tion Orbit in Atlanta.

Alto, California.

FPRI’s Bear Market Brief.

fellowship position at the Cen-

Vyom Shrivastava MS ’18 is a

Anna Davidson AB ’18 is a

Julie Hong AB ’18 is an account

ters for Disease Control and

trust and safety engineer at Credit Karma in San Francisco.

gradnotes agricultural & environmental sciences Bernardo Aguilar-Gonzalez MS ’92 is the executive director at Neotrópica Foundation in Costa Rica. He is also a member of the board of directors of the International Society for Ecological Economics and an adjunct faculty member at Northern Arizona University.

arts & sciences Joseph P. Hester PhD ’73 was selected for the advisory board of the Humanities Bulletin. His article “Seeking Community in a Divided World” was published in the first volume of the Bulletin in Spring 2018, and his article “Veiled Assumptions and the Failure of Ethical Conversations” was published in the second volume in Fall 2018. Hester also serves on

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CLASS NOTES APPLAUSE FOR ALUMNI

Design Online

L

Jessica McRae ABJ ’04

special

ike most college students, Jessica McRae moved a lot when she was pursuing her bachelor’s degree in the Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication.

But unlike most of her classmates, she always had a specific idea of how she wanted each new space to look.

“I moved every single year, from the dorm room to the sorority house to apartments,” says McRae ABJ ’04. “I would sketch out the room before I moved in, and I would thoughtfully plan everything. Interior design has always been a hobby and a passion.”

After graduating with a degree in public relations, McRae began working in the healthcare industry as a pharmaceutical sales rep and then as a marketing professional for an Atlanta ophthalmology practice. When she had the second of her three children, she left the workforce to stay home with her kids.

But the more she was home, the more she was tweaking things around the house.

One of her sorority sisters went into interior design, so McRae would text her photos to

special

get an opinion on what to place where. Her friend would then send her links to the perfect products to complete her look, which gave McRae an idea.

“There has to be a way that anybody could work with a designer like this and just get bite-sized advice as they need it,” she thought. The idea behind her company, SwatchPop!, was born.

McRae paired up with friend Kristen Yonson, a fellow design enthusiast, to build the web-based company. SwatchPop! is the eHarmony of the design world. It matches clients with professional designers who have a similar style and allows them to collaborate on decorating projects big and small, using SwatchPop!’s “a la carte” design menu. Clients upload photos of their space and provide measurements and a budget to ensure they get a design plan that works.

They can even send their designers links to Pinterest inspiration boards they’ve created

and then go back-and-forth with the designers on a chat screen so that the final product is a true reflection of the client’s personality. In as little as three days, clients receive a design mock-up showing them where pieces should go, how they’ll look in the redesigned space, and a clickable shopping list of items handpicked for their space. (SwatchPop! doesn’t directly sell the products on the list, so there’s no pressure to buy.)

“It’s a realistic way for anybody, anywhere to have access to professional designers,” McRae says. “Your design plan itself is like a blueprint for your design, so you’re going to see visual images of how everything looks.

You’re going to see detailed instructions. If your designer tells you to choose a piece of art for above the sofa, she’s also going to tell you to hang it five to eight inches above your sofa. It’s like the best parts of Pinterest but amplified because it’s so specific to your space and your style.”

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CLASS NOTES

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CAREER CAPPER

Finishing ‘Breakfast’ Jim Burns ABJ ’78 (above left with co-anchor Crystal Britt), retired after 36 years of anchoring and producing the Emmy Award winning program, The Breakfast Show, in Cape Girardeau, Missouri.

At the age of 16, Burns’ stint in commercial radio helped him realize his passion for broadcast news. He pursued his calling at the Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication where he “received valuable ‘hands-on’ experience in television,” Burns says.

In November 1979, Burns was hired at KVS12 as weekend anchor, weekday reporter, and anchor/producer of a news magazine program. In June 1982, Burns was promoted to the morning anchor chair where he’s sat ever since.

The entire time, The Breakfast Show maintained its No. 1 ranking, sometimes logging ratings nearly 80 percent higher than its nearest competition.

“I’m very appreciative of the viewers who have watched and supported me over the years,” Burns says.

Burns’ future plans involve devoting more time to family and recreation and possibly additional work in broadcasting.

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CLASS NOTES APPLAUSE FOR ALUMNI

How Stuff Works

Greg Guyer BS ’83

I

t was 1977, and greg guyer was attending Athens Academy. He loved math but was fairly indifferent to science.

Charles Koelsche changed that.

The 10th grade chemistry teacher was an alumnus of the University of Southern California and a former science education professor at the University of Georgia. His enthusiasm for science was infectious, and Guyer credits Koelsche as the person who inspired his 30-plus years in the pharmaceutical industry.

“He taught me how everything is made up of chemicals, molecules, and a finite list of elements—all that good stuff—and I just loved it,” says Guyer BS ’83. “Chemistry helped explain how a lot of things worked, like chemical reactions and why things were certain colors or why things tasted or smelled a certain way. It explained things that I never really appreciated.”

After graduating with a chemistry degree from UGA, Guyer headed to Washington, D.C., where he worked on research for the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for a decade while getting a doctorate in analytical chemistry. His boss was always in the lab and suggested Guyer might enjoy leading teams of researchers in an administra-

merck & co.,inc.

tive capacity.

As director of the FDA’s Office of Generic Drugs, his teams grew from five people to 100. Along the way, Guyer

continued doing scientific research on the side.

When a senior director position at the pharmaceutical company Merck opened up in 1994, he jumped at the opportunity. Guyer spent the next 20 years working his way up, eventually becoming a senior vice president and managing over 6,500 employees. Four years ago, he took a position with Bristol-Myers Squibb and hasn’t looked back.

“My favorite part of being in the pharmaceutical industry is having an opportunity to bring products to market that truly save lives and improve people’s quality of life,” says Guyer, now the global head of operations at the company. “Actually watching and listening to patients talk about how our products changed their lives, that’s the best part.”

With his impressive background in the pharmaceutical industry, Guyer was asked to serve on the University of Georgia Research Foundation, a position he values immensely.

“The university has always been at the foundation of everything I’ve done,” he says, “and it’s been a tremendous experience to see how many smart people we have at the University of Georgia that are making a difference in the world.”

written by leigh beeson MA '17

the editorial board for the

incongruities of aesthetics

tions. Foster is also a co-host

Gabe Snell MEd ’18 is a cap-

Journal of Values-Based

and emotions.

of Modish Skills Lifestyle

tain and training manager in

podcast.

the G-37 training directorate

Leadership for which he is a frequent contributor.

business

Donna Stonecipher PhD ’11

Franki Foster MBA ’14 is own-

education

published her book of prose,

er and business manage-

Wagner Pierre MEd ’12 is a

Transaction Histories, which

ment consultant of Intrinsic

science teacher with GEMS

gathers six series of poems

Value Consulting, specializ-

Education at Dalian Ameri-

journalism & mass communication

that explore the disobedient

ing in corporate communica-

can International School.

Lauren C. Teffeau MMC ’05

in the individual training division of the U.S. Army.

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CLASS NOTES APPLAUSE FOR ALUMNI

Leading a Path to Brilliance

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V

irginia “gina” coleman drosos is in the business of reinvention.

In August 2017, Drosos took over as CEO of Signet Jewelers, the world’s largest retailer of diamond jewelry and parent company of more than a half dozen brands, including Kay Jewelers and Zales. She started Signet’s three-year “Path to Brilliance” transformation plan, which is aimed at making the company more customer-oriented and creating a more agile and efficient culture.

“I knew we needed to transform ourselves in order to redefine what it means to be the jewelry category leader,” says Drosos BBA ’85.

“Jewelry is so much about moments, so we’re really focused on innovating not just at the product level but on a broader scale where we can create new moments or reinvigorate existing ones to highlight the power of jewelry to celebrate life and express love.”

Drosos’ path of rebranding didn’t start at Signet, but at her very first internship a year after graduating from UGA at Procter & Gamble (P&G). Her first assignment was representing Spic & Span floor cleaner.

“I literally started at the bottom, the floor written by kellyn amodeo ABJ '09

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of the company,” she laughs.

Through her 25-year tenure at P&G, Drosos worked her way to Group President, Global Beauty Care, modernizing mature brands like Olay, Old Spice, Cover Girl, Secret deodorant, and more.

“We reimagined what Olay could be, from grandma’s pink skincare cream to a global brand,” she says. Under her leadership, Olay grew from a $180 million to a $2.5 billion iconic brand. She even launched an Olay body wash, the first body wash introduced in America.

From P&G, she took her arsenal of entrepreneurial skills to Assurex Health, a personalized medicine startup where she served as president and CEO. She delivered significant revenue growth and executed the strategic sale of the company for up to $410 million.

During the sale, Drosos interviewed for the CEO position at Signet. She had served on the Board of Directors for five years, and with her understanding of consumer product revitalization, she was just what the company needed.

As Signet’s first woman CEO, she’s building

Gina Coleman Drosos BBA ’85

special

a diverse team that represents the consumer.

“If we want to be able to be responsive to customers, we need to be more reflective of who our customer base is and the changing nature of those customers,” she says in reference to the company’s 33,000 employees.

“The power of inclusion and diversity helps us to be more agile, efficient, and competitive.”

Crediting UGA as the “quintessential college experience,” Drosos reflects on how she developed personally and professionally as a student.

“The University of Georgia encourages thinking and leading across a broad variety of opportunities,” she says. “You get to hone your academic skills, leadership skills, and social skills, and in business, all three of those things come together.”

For Drosos, the connection to the university didn’t stop with a diploma. She serves on the Terry Dean’s Advisory Council, has spoken at numerous university events, and is on campus every fall Saturday cheering on the Bulldogs with her children, Will and Claire, who are both current UGA students.

CLASS NOTES published her debut science fiction novel, Implanted.

law Patrick Millsaps JD ’00 wrote a letter to Ariana Grande after the May 2017 Manchester bombing. The letter went viral and was recently published in Letters to Change the World: From Pankhurst to Orwell.

Michael Geoffroy JD ’01 was named the Boys & Girls Club of North Central Georgia’s Board Member of the Year.

Geoffroy is the board chair for the Newton County Boys & Girls Club.

veterinary medicine Jake Tripp DVM ’13 is a veterinarian at Bartow Animal Hospital in Cartersville with his father, Andy Tripp DVM ’79.

want to reach the bulldog nation? advertise in Georgia Magazine Published quarterly and mailed to the household, your advertising message reaches your audience directly, giving you one of the strongest demographic buys in the region. For information on advertising in the award-winning Georgia Magazine, contact gmsales@uga.edu or 706-542-9877.

send us your notes Help UGA and your classmates keep up with what’s happening in your life— both personally and professionally—by sending Class Notes items to one of the addresses listed below. And please include your hometown to help us keep our alumni database up to date. If you send a photo, please make sure it is a resolution of 300 dpi.

Class Notes is the first section we work on, so keep these deadlines in mind: for the Spring (March) issue, submit by December 1; for Summer (June), submit

by March 1; for Fall (September), submit by June 1; for Winter (December), submit

by September 1.

Quickest way to send Class Notes E: gmeditor@uga.edu W: ugamagazine.uga.edu

Or send a letter to: Georgia Magazine 286 Oconee Street, Suite 200 North University of Georgia Athens, GA 30602-1999

UGA Alumni Association Please submit online at alumni.uga.edu/classnote

@universityofga

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FACULTY FOCUS

Usha Rodrigues M.E. Kilpatrick Chair of Corporate Finance and Securities Law School of Law

“I was a humanities major, and if you had told me while I was in college that I would wind up as a corporate lawyer and law professor, I would’ve laughed. Now, I love trying to convince business-skeptical students about the beauty and joy of business law. I tell them that business law is really just about governance.

The same questions of control, power, and minority oppression that arise in politics are present in business law. That fascination with governance powers my scholarship and inspires my teaching.”

Academia is in Usha Rodrigues’ blood. With both parents teaching in higher education, she grew up in libraries and research labs.

When she began practicing corporate law, Rodrigues knew she’d found her passion, the topic she wanted to research, write about, and teach for years. All corporations face the same challenges—how to aggregate capital, manage it, and distribute profits—but how they go about doing that varies greatly.

It keeps Rodrigues’ work everchanging.

Regularly reminding students of the Oracle of Delphi’s saying to “know thyself,” Rodrigues is committed to showing students that they, too, can find their own special niche in the world of law. And it might just surprise them by being business law.

peter frey

Endowed chairs, positions that receive supplemental support generated from private donations, are essential to recruiting and retaining leading faculty who are committed to world-changing research and preparing the next generation of problem-solvers, pioneers, and leaders. Learn more about supporting UGA’s leading faculty at give.uga.edu/gm.

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