AROUND UNG

UNG a national leader in producing Fulbrights

UNG topped a national list of four-year institutions for sending the most students abroad through the Fulbright U.S. Student Program for 2021-22 based on having seven alumni selected. The list, released by the U.S. Department of State, showed that UNG tied for first among institutions in its category and is the only public university in Georgia listed.

UNG has earned the designation as a national top producer of Fulbright students for five consecutive years. This spring, five from UNG were selected for 2022-23 Fulbrights. UNG has produced 27 Fulbright finalists in a five-year span.

Alumna wins Pickering Fellowship

Katherine Torres, ’21, has earned the Thomas R. Pickering Foreign Affairs Fellowship. She is one of 45 selections for the honor.

The fellowship prepares outstanding young people for Foreign Service careers. It is the fourth nationally competitive scholarship for Torres, who during 2021-22 taught English in Taiwan through the Fulbright U.S. Student Program.

Torres will receive up to $42,000 annually for a two-year period to complete a master’s degree program and participate in two summer internships designed to support her in becoming an excellent Foreign Service Officer. As a Pickering fellow, she has agreed to work with the Department of State’s Foreign Service for a minimum of five years.

Two students named Goldwater Scholars

Two UNG students have won the Barry Goldwater Scholarship for 2022-23, making UNG the only public university in Georgia with more than one recipient this year.

Anna Cronan and Alisha Paul placed among 417 sophomores and juniors selected from 1,242 nominees across the country. Cronan, a junior from Dahlonega, Georgia, pursuing a degree in

Anna Cronan biology, is a member of the Honors Program. Paul, a junior who was raised in Duluth, Georgia, and is pursuing a degree in

Alisha Paul biology, is also a member of the Honors Program, as well as a member of the nationally recognized McNair Scholars Program.

Cronan and Paul are the fourth and fifth Goldwater recipients from UNG.

The Barry Goldwater Scholarship and Excellence in Education Foundation was established by Congress in 1986 to serve as a living memorial to honor the lifetime work of U.S. Sen. Barry Goldwater, who served his country for 56 years as a soldier and statesman, including 30 years in the U.S. Senate.

$1.4 million grant to fund first-generation program

UNG was awarded nearly $1.4 million over five years to launch the Talent Search Program, which is funded by the U.S. Department of Education. Funds will be used for outreach programs targeted to potential first-generation college students.

Students will have access to resources such as dropout prevention, college and financial aid awareness, study skills, test-taking preparation, financial literacy, college and scholarship application assistance, dual-enrollment education, servicelearning opportunities, and more.

“The goal is to get a greater number of first-generation students from disadvantaged backgrounds to finish high school and complete a post-secondary education,” Sandy Ott, executive director of UNG’s Blue Ridge Campus and the grant’s principal investigator, said. “Our aim is to enlist 500 students each year for five years.”

Smith named VP of regional campuses

Dr. Steven Smith joined UNG as vice president of regional campuses on Aug. 1.

Smith serves as the chief administrator based at UNG’s Gainesville Campus and also oversees UNG’s regional campuses in Blue Ridge, Cumming and Oconee County. Smith succeeds Dr. Richard Oates, who has retired.

“Dr. Smith will bring strong experience to the recruitment, enrollment and retention of new and transfer students for our regional campuses,” President Bonita C. Jacobs said. “And I know he will also help strengthen community partnerships and alumni engagement in those campus communities.”

Smith comes to UNG from West Virginia University at Parkersburg, where he served since 2019 as the executive vice president for enrollment management, executive dean and CEO of the university’s Jackson County campus, and special assistant to the president for equity and inclusion.

Students take 2nd in NSA Codebreaker Challenge

UNG finished second out of 631 universities and colleges in the 2021 National Security Agency (NSA) Codebreaker Challenge that wrapped up in January.

“This is UNG’s fourth top-three finish in a row in the NSA Codebreaker Challenge,” Dr. Bryson Payne, UNG professor of cybersecurity and coordinator of student cyber programs, said.

The Challenge offers students a hands-on opportunity to develop their reverseengineering/low-level code analysis skills while working on a realistic problem set. Reverse engineering — the process through which an individual attempts to understand how a previously made device, process system or piece of software accomplishes a task — is a critical skill for those involved in the fight against malware, advanced persistent threats, and similar malicious cyber activities.

Individuals with such skills may be heavily recruited by NSA and Fortune 500 companies and are often hired to protect corporate computer systems and networks.

University System honors Rifenburg for student collaborations

Dr. Michael Rifenburg, associate professor of English, won the 2022 Regents’ Scholarship of Teaching & Learning Award from the University System of Georgia.

Rifenburg received especially high marks for his work with students as research and writing partners. He serves as co-director of first-year composition in the English department and senior faculty fellow for scholarly writing within UNG’s Center for Teaching, Learning, and Leadership.

He earned a Ph.D. from the University of Oklahoma, a Master of Arts from Auburn University and a Bachelor of Arts from Georgia College & State University. Rifenburg has worked at UNG since 2013.

Meek named ACE Fellow

The American Council on Education (ACE) announced that Dr. Rosaria Meek, assistant professor of Spanish, has been named an ACE Fellow for the 2022-23 academic year. Following nominations by the senior administration of their institutions and a rigorous application process, 46 fellows nationally were selected this year.

As a Fellow, Meek will observe and work with the president and other senior administrators at UNG, work with a mentor at the College of Charleston and participate in professional development with other ACE Fellows.

Meek joined UNG in 2015 and teaches at the Oconee Campus.

Partnership formed with US Cyber Command

Building on the university’s strong presence in cybersecurity, UNG is one of 70 universities, 14 community colleges, four service academies, and four federal graduate-level institutions selected to join the United States Cyber Command Academic Engagement Network.

Through this partnership, students will gain access to sponsored capstone mentorships and internships, fellowships and recruiting programs.

UNG is designated by the National Security Agency and the Department of Homeland Security as a National Center of Academic Excellence in Cyber Defense.

Master’s in teaching degree moves online

The College of Education switched its Master of Arts in Teaching (MAT) degree program from an in-person setting to a digital one to better serve students.

“This program is specifically for individuals who have a bachelor’s degree in one subject area, but they don’t have a degree in teaching,” Dr. Sheri Hardee, dean of the College of Education, said. “We moved the MAT program online, because a lot of post-baccalaureate students are working adults.”

In the first year, MAT students take only education courses and are certified to teach. The second year, they enroll in the upperlevel courses, which count toward the advanced degree. For more information on how to apply, visit go.ung.edu/mat.

Master’s in computer science to begin spring 2023

UNG will begin offering a master’s degree in computer science in the Mike Cottrell College of Business in spring 2023, pending Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges approval.

The degree will include concentrations in cyber operations and machine learning. Depending on the electives selected, students can also complete a graduate certificate in cybersecurity or technology leadership.

Full-time students can complete the master’s degree in one year, while part-time students will be able to finish in two years. Classes will vary from fully online to some hybrid and face-to-face instruction.

College of Education earns national seal of approval

The College of Education (COE) earned renewal of its national accreditation from the Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation.

In the past four years, an average of 239 UNG students per year completed the College of Education educator preparation program to become a K-12 teacher. For their final two years, pre-service teachers are immersed inside a K-12 classroom with a professional educator to prepare them to teach.

In addition, the COE scored Level 4, or exemplary, in the Preparation Program Effectiveness Measures which includes a performance-based assessment of teacher candidates, the Georgia Assessments for the Certification of Educators, a system of classroom teacher evaluations, an employer survey, and a survey of teachers at the end of their first year in the classroom.

Classroom named for former Gov. Deal

President Bonita Jacobs stands with Sandra Deal and former Gov. Nathan Deal at the door of the classroom in Young Hall recently named for Deal.

UNG President Bonita Jacobs commemorated former Gov. Nathan Deal’s three-year term as a Regents Professor and recognized his contributions to the university and the state by naming a classroom in Young Hall on the Dahlonega Campus in his honor.

In addition to teaching “Politics in the Peach State” to UNG students over the past three years, Deal contributed to the fourth edition of “The Basics of American Government,” a textbook written by UNG faculty and used widely throughout the state. He provided a unique view of politics both within Georgia and the nation as a professor, Dr. Dlynn Williams, department head and professor of Political Science and International Affairs, said.

Williams named new police chief

Greg Williams was named as the university’s new chief of police and director of public safety.

His appointment follows his tenure as interim police chief. He took over the reins of UNG Public Safety in May 2021 when former chief Justin Gaines stepped down.

Becoming the police chief seems to be the natural progression for the lifelong public servant. He has spent most of his career with police departments in higher education.

“I was raised in an environment of service,” Williams said. “Law enforcement has always been a calling for me.”

Upon graduation from the Georgia Public Safety Training Center in Savannah, Williams was hired as a dispatcher at Georgia College and State University in Milledgeville, Georgia, and he earned a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice. In 2011 he was hired as a police officer at the University of Georgia. His UNG career began in 2015 and he served nearly four years as associate director of emergency preparedness.

Nursing students give children vision screenings

The nursing department had a partnership during the 2021-22 academic year with Prevent Blindness Georgia offering free vision screenings for more than 1,000 children, primarily in elementary schools in Hall and Fulton counties.

Bachelor of Science in Nursing students enrolled in the pediatric course earned their vision training certificate through online training modules and a skills assessment via Zoom. They then served as screeners in the schools and at community clinics.

Thanks to a partnership with Prevent Blindness Georgia, UNG nursing students provided vision screenings at elementary schools in Hall and Fulton counties.