“We are defined by the stories we tell about ourselves.”
This perspective comes from rhetorician and literary critic Kenneth Burke (1897-1993). Written more than a half-century ago, at the height of Burke’s impact, these words continue to provide insight because they center on the most essential way that we make meaning in our lives. The stories we tell to each other work to socially construct our world and make us who and what we are. They help us make sense of our world.
The story of the University of West Georgia gets told, time and again, in the lives and pursuits of its students, alumni, faculty, and staff. Our institution’s story is one of continual innovation and a fierce determination to create value for our region and state. Our story is one of place, shared purpose, and an abiding passion for learning.
Focus magazine sets out to share the rich and diverse stories of one particular and special group at UWG: our faculty. Our institution attracts scholars from across the country and around the globe, and their research and mentorship are inarguably world class.
In this issue, you’ll read an interview with Dr. Agnieska Chwialkowska, a native of Poland and an associate professor in the Richards College of Business. Her research on global wind energy initiatives and sustainability suggests ways to make the world healthier and more economically and politically stable. You’ll also reach into outer space with astrophysicist Dr. Nicholas Sterling, whose work in “galactic archeology” and the deaths of stars recently garnered a grant from the National Science Foundation worth almost a third of a million dollars. As you will see, Dr. Sterling’s research includes seven UWG students currently participating in cutting-edge data analysis.
From the power of wind to the demise of stars, we move to questions that arise in our everyday lives: healthcare and electoral politics. Read what Nursing professor Dr. Denise Morris suggests about how to bring about both excellence and equity to our healthcare systems. Then consider the words
of Dr. Soo Moon, who teaches in the School of Communication, Film, and Media, on media polarization during major election years like 2024.
Faculty members such as these—and all of the others featured in this issue—are essential mentors to our students. Often, such teachers become heroes. I can identify with that sense of respect and emulation when a student enters academia, led by a devoted educator and scholar. Indeed, it was through my mentors at various institutions that I became familiar with Kenneth Burke. His work has shaped my professional life and perspective.
“Stories
are equipment for living.”
Think about the word equipment that Burke chose in that quote. It suggests the necessary tools for success. Maybe that is one way of thinking about a college education, as equipment for living. It is part of the story of growth and development and discovery and preparation.
The University of West Georgia has a compelling story to tell, a story of accomplishment inside and outside the classroom. It is a story of highly equipped faculty members from various disciplines, backgrounds, and cultures, all working together to tell new stories—and to reinforce the old stories still worth telling.
Kenneth Burke lived for nearly a century. He put forward some of the most inventive and insightful theories about persuasion, narration, and the story of language in human cultures. He and his legacy encourage me to seek excellence, to help UWG enlarge and refine its story, and to celebrate the people—the makers of place—who give and achieve so much at our institution.
I hope you enjoy this debut issue of Faculty Focus
Brendan B. Kelly, Ph.D. President University of West Georgia
5 31 41 5 31 41 20 20 26 26
fEATURES
Angieszka Chwialkowska
John Morris
Nick Sterling
Brittney Baxter & Carrie Carmack
PUB CRAWL
Patrick Erben
Hannes Gerhardt
IN THE NEWS
Soo Moon
Denise Morris
AFTERSCHOOL ACTIVITIES
Marian Buzon
Marion Franklin Cannon
Jason Kesler
Tom Peterson
PARTING WORDS
Pauline Gagnon
Eilis Crean
5
fEATURES
There’s a lot of talk these days about alternative energy sources. To find out more about one supply of energy that is taking the world by storm (wind storm, at least), Focus spoke with associate professor Agnieszka Chwialkowska, of the Richards College of Business.
We’ve come a long way from those 250-yearold Dutch windmills that charmed Napoleon and became iconic images of picturesque agrarian life. In what significant ways do the massive, high-tech windmills of today differ from their rather quaint predecessors?
While both traditional windmills and modern wind turbines harness the power of the wind, there are notable differences in scale, technology, and purpose between the two. Dutch windmills typically stood from 20 to 30 meters tall and were made of wood, with sturdy timber frames supporting sails crafted from canvas. These traditional windmills were primarily used for tasks like grinding grain or pumping water. Modern wind turbines are specifically designed to generate electricity and can reach towering heights of over 100 meters, with large blades typically made of fiberglass-reinforced composites or carbon fiber. These lightweight yet durable materials allow the blades to efficiently capture wind energy and convert it into rotational motion to drive a generator which produces electricity, while withstanding the stresses of rotation.
MHowever, it’s important to acknowledge that along with their environmental benefits, modern wind turbines have also raised concerns about their impact on wildlife, particularly birds and bats. Efforts are ongoing to address and mitigate these concerns through research, technology, and responsible siting practices.
Where does the U.S. stand internationally in terms of annual wind energy production? Do you have a sense of wind energy expanding or contracting in the U.S.?
odern wind turbines are specifically designed to generate electricity and can reach towering heights of over 100 meters, with large blades typically made of fiberglass-reinforced composites or carbon fiber.
While wind energy in the United States still lags behind fossil fuels in total energy production, it has made significant strides, particularly in recent years, surpassing other renewable energy sources like hydroelectric power in terms of installed capacity— and it will continue to grow. Considering the global landscape, Denmark and Germany maintain their positions as pioneering technological leaders. However, over the past decade, the U.S., along with China, has emerged as a key player, with General Electric Renewables being one of the top three wind power turbine manufacturers (behind Danish Vestas and German SiemensGamesa). GE is thus among the top ten global leaders in wind-turbine manufacturing, which collectively account for over 80% of the global wind power market share.
Moreover, modern wind turbines incorporate cuttingedge technologies such as computerized control systems, sensors, and materials. These advancements not only optimize efficiency but also enhance reliability, allowing for remote monitoring and maintenance to ensure optimal performance. Unlike their predecessors, modern wind turbines are typically integrated into electricity grids, enabling them to contribute to the overall energy supply. They often form part of expansive wind farms, where multiple turbines work in tandem to generate substantial amounts of electricity.
Much of your research focuses on market and cultural attitudes about sustainability. What are some of the major hurdles that the U.S. faces with regard to sustainability, environmental ethics, and alternative energy initiatives?
When I first moved here, I was taken aback that recycling was voluntary and came at an additional cost. It was even more surprising to discover that my blue recycling bin was designated solely for paper and aluminum cans. Thus, engaging in socially responsible behavior here is both financially burdensome and requires extra effort (e.g., a drive to the recycling center). Contrast this with my native Poland, where households face higher
bills if they opt out of recycling, or with South Korea, where trash disposal costs are contingent upon the quantity and size of garbage bags used (the trash has to be packed in very specific bags). In countries like Austria and Finland, where I pursued my studies, neighborhoods are equipped with multiple bins for various recyclables, offering convenience. Finland offers monetary incentives for recycling plastic bottles and aluminum cans at grocery stores located just around the corner. Thus, the underlying issue here in the U.S. (at least in Georgia) is our failure to facilitate sustainable practices effectively. My research on overcoming barriers to sustainability shows that we can encourage many sustainable everyday behaviors by reducing the perceived effort associated with these behaviors.
In some ways, we even encourage wastefulness and behaviors that are not in the best interest of the environment. Another surprising observation upon my arrival was the grocery bagging process. I noticed that instead of filling the bags to capacity, the person packing them would often place only a few items in each bag before reaching for another. It struck me as wasteful, but to be honest, I was also a little bit worried that I would have to pay for each bag. In many countries, bringing your reusable bag is the norm, and if you forget to take it with you, you will need to purchase a quality bag at the checkout, as small plastic bags are not even available for sale.
Furthermore, the contrast in environmental education between some countries and the United States is striking. In many places, children are instilled with the values of recycling and sustainability from an early age, fostering a deep-seated respect for nature. Contrast this way of living in harmony with nature to our American dominance over nature. Changing
this mindset will require significant incentives and educational efforts over many years. Educators, marketers, media, and policymakers will have to work jointly to foster this shift.
Do you think that American and international corporations can solve the environmental problems that arose with industrial capitalism? Can Big Business fix this Big Mess?
It’s intriguing how our default response to the problem of excessive consumption often involves even more consumption. Yet, if we were to embrace minimalism, consume less, and adopt a more frugal lifestyle while also reducing waste, we could make a significantly more positive impact on the environment than simply purchasing more “green” products.
Big Business certainly possesses the financial resources to develop and implement innovative processes that minimize environmental impact or even reverse some of the damage caused. It could also embrace principles of a circular economy that can amplify our efforts towards sustainability. Designing products to be reused, repurposed, or recycled at the end of their lifecycle can minimize waste and conserve resources. Embracing circularity would encourage a shift away from the linear “takemake-dispose” model of consumption towards one that prioritizes sustainability and long-term resilience.
While Big Business can do its part, there are numerous other proactive steps we can take on an individual level. Rather than relying solely on or delegating responsibility to Big Business, we can take matters into our own hands. One effective approach is to vote with our money and support local businesses and farmers, especially those practicing regenerative
agriculture. This not only helps reduce the carbon footprint associated with transporting goods over long distances but also supports practices that prioritize soil health and biodiversity. In essence, by reconnecting with our roots, opting for local and sustainable options, and embracing the principles of a circular economy, we can collectively make a positive impact on the envi ronment while also fostering stronger communities and economies.
You are European by birth and upbringing. How and why did you become a business professor at an American university? Do you think that your career choices were driven in any way by a desire to share outside perspectives with American students, colleagues, and business leaders?
Having had the opportunity to study in Austria and Finland, as well as traveling, I’ve developed a profound fascination for cultural diversity. Working in international environments has brought me genuine enjoyment, and transitioning to a professorship in the U.S. felt like a natural progression. During my doctoral studies at the University of Vaasa, I visited UWG and spent several weeks in the Marketing Department conducting research for my dissertation. This experience allowed me to immerse myself in our campus environment, and I came to love it. Teaching has always been my passion, and UWG felt like the perfect fit for me. The Richards College of Business has a mission centered on transforming lives, which resonated deeply with me. Observing my colleagues embody this ethos in their daily work and witnessing their dedication to engaging with students and prioritizing their learning confirmed my belief that UWG is a place where I can make a positive impact on my students’ lives. This solidified my sense that it was the ideal environment for me to pursue my academic and teaching career.
Dr. Agnieszka Chwialkowska is an associate professor of marketing at the University of West Georgia and the Director of Assessment at the Richards College of Business. She earned a Ph.D. in management from Nicolaus Copernicus University and a Ph.D. in marketing from the University of Vaasa. Dr. Chwialkowska’s research interests encompass international business and marketing, crosscultural consumer behavior, green marketing, and sustainability. She teaches international marketing, sales management, and advertising.
A proponent of open education, Dr. Chwialkowska has received two Affordable Learning Georgia grants: the Transformation Grant (2021) and the Continuous Improvement Grant (2023). She was honored as the Governor’s Teaching Fellow (2019) and the Chancellor’s Learning Scholar (2020-2022). Professor Chwialkowska was selected as the UWG Nominee for the Regents’ Scholarship of Teaching and Learning Award in 2023. She has been recognized with numerous awards for Teaching (2019, 2022) and Research (2018, 2021, 2022, and 2023), including Research Excellence, Strategic Initiative, Research Influence, and Interdisciplinary Research. She was named RCOB’s Research Scholar (2018, 2021) and received the Robert J. Stone Endowment for Entrepreneurial Studies grant (2020, 2022, and 2023).
NO SHERPA REQUIRED
Photography Professor John Morris on His Latest Project
What a thing is often concerns us less than what a thing is used for. It is this tension that sparks my interest in both the medium of photography and the exploration of the Walt Disney World Resort.
The theme parks in Orlando can be used by visitors in a variety of ways:
• they can be seen and felt as amusements;
• they can be regarded as spectacles of something grand or unusual (or of a strange exchange—from having an actual, concrete experience like visiting Mount Everest to the more abstract desire to possess that experience from afar); and
• they can be viewed as flash points for cultural and ideological differences.
These are only a few of their potential purposes.
What is the real Disney World?
What is the curated experience that Disney offers to and of the world?
I don’t know. What I do know is that I am consciously photographing Disney World through the perspectives of early photographers such as Francis Frith, Maxime Du Camp, Charles Marville, and Isidore van Kinsbergen.
Like these pioneers, I strive to be present in the work via its framing. Which is to say, I offer images that act as windows through which to see (as well as signals of my visual and conceptual experience) and as mirrors for viewers to consider their own responses to the images.
Photographs enable us to represent through the translocation of time and space and are often failures of authenticity. But they can be instrumental as signs for questioning our own belief in what we sense to be real and true.
John Morris, MFA UWG Associate Professor of Art
No Sherpa Required, archival inkjet, 16
Keepin’ It Real (or Not)
Focus asked philosophy professor Dr. Robert Lane to study one of Morris’s Disney shots and to weigh in on the tricky spaces that lie between reality and representation, fact and illusion, strict truths and slippery lies.
What is the real Mount Everest? It depends on what you mean by “real.” Disney World’s “Expedition Everest” attraction is as real as any other physical object, in the following sense: its being is independent of any of our thoughts about it or any other representations of it.
20”
This photograph depicts the illusion and humor that can be found in the fabricated landscapes of Disney World.
Were humanity to disappear tomorrow, the Disney Everest would still be there. But it’s not the real Everest . . . it’s a simulacrum, not the genuine article. By underscoring the similarities between the two Everests, Morris’s photography raises questions about what ultimately matters in the distinction between the real-and-genuine and the real-butfake.
Robert Lane, Ph.D. UWG Professor of Philosophy
x
(2019)
This shot plays with scale and reveals itself rather quickly as visual deception. From forced perspective to the painted San Francisco street and skyline, the image gives clues that pose larger questions about representation and its relationship to the authentic.
California Dreaming, archival inkjet, 16” x 20” (2024)
Dr. Nick Sterling
As strange as it may seem, everything in our world—from the oxygen that we breathe, to the carbon that makes up living beings, to precious metals—was formed in the hearts of stars or in stellar explosions billions of years ago. The chemical evolution of the universe, its gradual transition from pure hydrogen and helium just after the Big Bang to its present day composition of 2% heavier elements, is a topic at the forefront of modern astrophysics research. The origins of trans-iron elements (atomic number > 30) are poorly understood compared to lighter ones, yet are uniquely sensitive to the physics of giant stars and critical for the burgeoning field of “galactic archaeology,” which aims to reconstruct the history of a galaxy from the chemical abundances of stars formed at different epochs in the past.
UWG professor Nick Sterling and collaborators at the University of Texas were awarded a $322,600 National Science Foundation grant to investigate the production of trans-iron elements in low-mass stars (up to eight times the Sun’s mass) that die by ejecting a “planetary nebula” of glowing ionized gas. Like forensic scientists, this team studies stellar deaths to piece together how heavy elements were formed in the preceding red giant stage of
evolution. Using 3- to 10-meter telescopes in Chile, Hawaii, and Texas, Dr. Sterling is observing the visible light and infrared spectra of planetary nebulae in the Milky Way and the nearby Magellanic Cloud galaxies to determine accurate and precise chemical abundances of several heavy elements. This project will reveal new insights into the relative contributions of low-mass and high-mass stars to the cosmic abundances of trans-iron elements, refining the ability of astronomers to investigate the history of the universe through observations of presentday stars and nebulae.
Undergraduate students at UWG are playing a key role in this research: seven students are currently analyzing new observational data and will have opportunities to participate in remote observations with world-class research observatories. As part of the broader impact of this grant, Dr. Sterling is organizing and leading “Astronomy Day” outreach events to be held each semester at the UWG Newnan campus for high school students. Each event will feature hands-on learning activities focusing on light and spectroscopy, a panel discussion with college students majoring in STEM disciplines, and a keynote speaker from a local industry. The first Astronomy Day was held on March 8, 2024.
Dr. Nick Sterling is a Professor of Physics at UWG. He earned his Ph.D. in Astronomy from the University of Texas at Austin, and held prize postdoctoral fellowships at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center and at Michigan State University before joining UWG in 2013. He and his collaborators have pioneered the field of nebular spectroscopy of heavy elements, and he also has interests in computational and experimental atomic physics to understand the behavior of atomic ions in astrophysical plasmas. Dr. Sterling has published more than 30 refereed journal articles, and has been awarded more than $600,000 in external grants from the NSF and from NASA since joining UWG. He is proud to have mentored a diverse team of more than 30 undergraduate UWG research students, many of whom have presented at state and national conferences and are published authors.
Large and Small Magellanic Clouds
Team Players
Math and English Professors Collaborate in the Core
What we call today the “core curriculum” began with an age-old quest for the unity of knowledge. For the ancient Greeks and Romans, a well-rounded education was essential to good citizenship. It fostered breadth of understanding and genuine contributions to society. This view expanded during the medieval era, the Renaissance, and beyond—with the express goal of cultivating what the Yale Report of 1828 described as “the discipline and furniture of the mind.”
However, the Industrial Revolution and the fragmentation of many once-accepted beliefs— triggered in large part by the writings of Karl Marx, Charles Darwin, and Sigmund Freud—planted seeds for higher education to shift from broad training to highly specialized degree programs. And yet, the quest for unity rather than separation of knowledge (the soul of a classical approach to learning) survives in our core classes.
The Department of General Education at UWG has been grappling with how a core education— including foundational knowledge built over centuries of human connection and discovery— can prepare and serve learners in the twenty-first century. Two members of that department, Carrie Carmack and Brittney Baxter, have begun offering math and composition classes connected by theme and complementary assignments.
Carmack, a senior lecturer in first-year math, and Baxter, a lecturer in first-year writing, met in 2020. After noticing that Carmack’s algebra and precalculus classes contained writing assignments (asking students to write about everything from their feelings about math to researched reflections on how other cultures use and apply mathematics), Baxter suggested a co-taught class, where the writing and research instruction taught in English 1102 could be connected to the processes taught in core-level math. The profs teamed up, and the results were . . . well . . . pretty remarkable.
A powerful sense of community burgeoned among the students taking both classes together. Suddenly, they showed a newfound excitement about their work—especially in a researched final presentation on a topic of the students’ choice. Now in its third iteration, the connected course “Patterns and Power” has led Carmack and Baxter to speak on interdisciplinary initiatives in core education at the Lilly Conference on College and University Teaching. Several students have presented work at UWG’s “At the Core Conference,” too, with topics ranging from the cultural and mathematical importance of traditional Mexican embroidery, to patterns of geological processes, to the math behind geometric shapes in medieval Islamic art. Finally, the two lecturers (and now close friends) jointly received the Center for Interdisciplinary Studies Faculty/Staff Excellence Award in 2023.
Brittney and Carrie are helping students develop a holistic understanding of what they learn in any particular class and field of study. With this kind of “cross-training,” students see how disparate knowledge and skills can be put to use creatively and analytically—in order to address the complexities that define our world beyond
Associate Dean of University College
Brittany Baxter and Carrie Carmack
Dr. Patrick Erben, Professor of English, is past president of the Society of Early Americanists and a member of the Early American Literature editorial board. His publications include The Francis Daniel Pastorius Reader and A Harmony of the Spirits: Translation and the Language of Community in Early Pennsylvania (UNC Press, 2012). With UWG colleague Dr. Rebecca Har rison, he is also the editor of the critical collec tion Early America and the Modern Imagination: Rewriting the Past in the Present (Edinburgh UP). The volume invites teachers, scholars, and students to consider what our vision of the ear ly American past reveals about our handling of crucial issues in the present. For the volume, Dr. Erben also collaborated on an essay on early American concepts of womanhood with UWG student Cryslin Ledbetter.
Dr. Patrick Erben
Before the internet brought almost unlimited information access, early modern thinkers engaged in the challenge of discerning truth from deception among expanding knowledge systems. Seventeenth-century scholars participating in the network known as “the Republic of Letters” contended with the growth of print media and new empiricist approaches superseding religious and secular authorities. In this context, Francis Daniel Pastorius (1651-1719), early modern polymath and founder of Germantown, PA, played a key role in brokering the transatlantic flow of ideas and the negotiation of community in America.
Professor Erben embraced the formidable task of editing, translating, and publishing a cross-section of Pastorius’s writings: printed descriptions of early Pennsylvania; religious polemics; medicinal and botantical handbooks; commonplace books and attempts at a comprehensive knowledge collection anticipating Diderot’s Encyclopédie; poems circulated among friends; and a cache of letters to correspondents in America and Europe.
The resulting Francis Daniel Pastorius Reader (Penn State Press, 2019) invites readers to wrestle with the conflicting points of view Pastorius attempted to balance. How do we reconcile the varieties of new knowledge and media with the various conundrums they pose, without losing our sense of identity, community, and value? Though Pastorius enjoyed a privileged education, political prominence, and property, his work grappled with issues of slavery, women’s rights, and the obligations of leadership. Both highly learned and deeply religious, Pastorius subjected all knowledge and actions to a crucial test: how did each item and pursuit serve both God and humanity?
Led by Dr. Erben as general editor, the Pastorius Reader is a collaboration with legal scholar Alfred Brophy (University of Alabama) and historian Margo Lambert (University of Cincinnati), with translations by several individuals connected to UWG: Dr. Chad Davidson (Italian), former history graduate student Dr. Nathan Michalewicz (Latin), and former history professor Dr. Nadja Williams (Greek).
Dr. Gerhardt’s book received a 2023 “Outstanding Academic Title” award from publishing unit of the Association of College & Research Libraries and the American Library Association. As Choice notes, “Gerhardt’s writing is straightforward and easily digestible, which allows readers of all backgrounds to grasp the social issues at stake in economic and social theories. This work is more than just a critique of capitalism; it presents a blueprint for a more equitable, sustainable future.”
Dr. Hannes Gerhardt
Not long after the turn of the millennium, renowned social theorist Slavoj Žižek quipped in an interview, “Thirty, forty years ago, we were still debating about what the future will be: communist, fascist, capitalist, whatever. Today, nobody even debates these issues. We all silently accept global capitalism is here to stay.” Yet, at the same time, human history shows us that systemic shifts in our social and economic arrangements do happen, propelled by new ideas, emerging technologies, and peoples’ desires. Inspired by this basic truth, Dr. Hannes Gerhardt has spent the last few years articulating one possible paradigmshifting trajectory that humanity may already be in the process of initiating. It is, in short, a shift to a commonsbased form of thinking and doing, where our most critical resources are viewed not as private- or government-held assets, but as shared endowments that are most optimally maintained, generated, and managed when they are controlled by and for the people.
The idea that such a socio-economic turn may be in the making is inspired by the emergence of digitally based technologies, which hold the potential to massively expand the commons into new realms of knowledge and production, opening up tremendous opportunities for achieving a sustainable prosperity for all. Realizing this potential, however, depends on the adoption of openness, cooperation, and shared ownership/governance over the narrow, competitive pursuit of profit and the subsequent imposition of artificial scarcity. In his new book, Capital to Commons, Dr. Gerhardt comes to call this vision and nascent movement “compeerism,” which he positions in a context that is shaped by scarcity-busting digitization that nonetheless must contend with the intractable limitations defined by our physical world. While the book covers many affirming examples of commons-
aligned actions—from the cooperative movement to the use of alternative, block-chain-based management systems pursuing values not captured by money—it also offers a detailed inventory of the many challenges that a compeerist trajectory is confronted with.
Dr. Hannes Gerhardt is Professor of Geography at UWG. His research spans a range of topics within political and economic geography. One theme that manifests itself frequently in this work is that of the “geographical imaginary”—how places are imagined to be and the consequences of these imaginings on decision making and actions. Dr. Gerhardt has written numerous journal articles and is co-author of Contesting the Arctic, Politics and Imaginaries in the Circumpolar North, which was based on extensive field work funded by a grant from the National Science Foundation. His most recent book, From Capital to Commons, Exploring the Promise of a World Beyond Capitalism, reflects his growing interest in the relationship between technology, the commons, and the market. In addition to scholarship, Dr. Gerhardt is an enthusiastic teacher committed to exploring the big issues of our time with his students while also preparing them to be thoughtful and capable members of society.
IN THE NEWS
How We Pick a PreSIDENT These Days
Dr. Soo Moon
There was a time when people gathered in the living room around the TV after dinner to watch presidential election campaign news. They would then decide which candidate to support in the upcoming election. They often read “real” newspapers. Back in 2008, new assistant professor Soo Jung Moon was one of those readers. Her daily routine on the UWG campus included picking up a free copy of The New York Times and poring through its pages.
But what about today? How has the internet changed
researchers like Moon, whose research has focused on political communication, particularly in presidential elections. She has examined the triangular relationships among media, voters, and candidates. Her research on X (formerly Twitter) as a news source and the effects of partisan media are examples of recent projects.
“The effects of partisanship,” says Dr. Moon, “are aligned with polarization. The diversity of news channels has accelerated the polarization of media messages and the polarized nature of the public.” In the past, liberal and
Dr. Soo Moon joined the UWG faculty in 2008 after completing her Ph.D. in journalism at the University of Texas at Austin. Prior to her academic career, Moon worked as a professional journalist for twelve years in Seoul, Korea. She teaches various journalism courses such as media ethics, news writing, computer-assisted reporting, and critical issues in journalism. Her research focuses on social implications of the media.
Teaching Excellence & Equity in Healthcare
It’s 7:00 a.m. in a hospital somewhere in Georgia. A patient is about to interact with the healthcare team assigned to her care. There’s a flurry of activity, with nurses, doctors, and support staff changing shifts and receiving patient reports for the unit. Everyone has a common goal: to provide top-notch healthcare to this and every other patient in the hospital. But excellence does not occur simply in this place and time. It starts back in the classrooms where healthcare professionals are trained.
Dr. Denise Morris, a professor in UWG's Tanner Health Systems School of Nursing, understands the vital role that nurses play in the health and wellness of others. She also grasps the importance of cultural sensitivity and holistic care. That’s why her research focuses on what she calls the “cultural self-efficacy” of nurse educators. According to Dr. Morris, “In addition to teaching the basic skills for meeting a patient’s medical needs, it is also important for nursing faculty to have the confidence—or selfefficacy—to teach students how to engage with a diverse group of patients.”
Utilizing social cognitive theory, Dr. Morris studies how personal factors—belief systems, cultural and regional biases, hidden assumptions and value systems among nurses and nursing faculty—can compromise patient care. “Even though nursing schools are equipped with foundational curriculum requirements,” says Morris, “it is also important to explore whether that same across-the-board equity exists when nursing students are taught about, and exposed directly to, diverse cultural interactions.” Morris believes that our healthcare-education systems need to provide faculty with a range of professional opportunities to increase their levels of cultural self-efficacy. By training teachers to be “experts in equity,” we can create a ripple effect, she argues, where nursing students learn to provide holistic, person-centered care for diverse patient populations.
In a recent study, Dr. Morris compared the cultural self-efficacy of rural and urban nurse educators across seven states in the Southeast. Her findings suggest that equity and cultural sensitivity are on the rise in healthcare, but that much work needs to be done. Along with her colleagues in the Tanner Health System School of Nursing, she is determined to bring about change in this crucial facet of her field.
Dr. Denise Morris, Ph.D., RN, is an assistant professor of nursing in the Tanner Health System School of Nursing at UWG. She served as the inaugural chair of the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee in the School of Nursing, and represented UWG as a Chancellor Learning Scholar. On a national level, Dr. Morris is currently participating in the Diversity Leadership Institute as a fellow for the American Association of Colleges of Nursing. Her scholarship centers on implicit bias, diversity in the nursing curriculum, and the cultural self-efficacy of nursing faculty.
Afterschool activities
Road Work
Dr. Marian Buzon
For quite a while now, associate professor of geology Marian Buzon has been studying some pretty cool facets of the ground not only at but also far beneath our feet. An expert in the fields of minerology, petrology, and crystallography (no, this has nothing to do with chakra jewelry or healing stones), not to mention the use of talc in the cosmetics industry, Dr. Buzon has been digging her hands in the dirt, so to speak, since the start of her career.
In her free time, however, this geology prof prefers to race across rather than scrupulously inspect the firm earth. She does so one stride after the next. Up hills and down. Through rain and sun and wind. In sneakers designed precisely for the task. And she’s been at it for the past twenty-five years.
Dr. Buzon says that her reasons for running have evolved from a purely competitive drive to a healthier appreciation of being outside and meeting people. Running has helped her make friends in new settings, including adjusting to college at SUNY New Paltz, moving across the country for graduate school in Idaho, and bouncing back east for her position at UWG.
Before accepting the job in 2016, Buzon made sure there would be a running community for her here. Fortunately, the West Georgia Track Club, based in Carrollton, had formed about a year before she relocated. She attended her first group run within a month of moving to Georgia and instantly made friends. A few weeks later, she met her future husband in the group. They’ve been running together ever since.
When asked about her greatest successes in the sport, Dr. Buzon recalls the first time she ran a half marathon— over thirteen miles—in under an hour and forty-five
minutes. (That’s an average of less than eight minutes per mile.) “I couldn’t have done it without the Palouse Road Runners—a bunch of ‘old guys’ in Idaho who took me under their wing and taught me how to train.”
Buzon’s success in this and later races “inflated her confidence,” she says, “and significantly affected her judgment.” As a result, she couldn’t decline when a close friend from college (met through running) encouraged her to enter the lottery for the 2023 Chicago Marathon, one of the largest marathons in the world. She won a slot and started hitting the roads in earnest. The regimen meant battling West Georgia’s high temps and blanketlike humidity. As you may already have guessed, Buzon and her friend finished the marathon. It took just over four hours.
“There are a lot of great resources in the West Georgia area for people who want to start running or walking on a regular schedule,” says Buzon. “Weekly runs organized by the West Georgia Track Club are open to anyone. The regulars at these runs (Thursday evenings and Saturday mornings) understand that everyone moves at a different pace, so there’s no pressure to push too hard. Also, the local running store, Sole Roots, is owned and staffed by experienced, friendly runners who are full of good advice. They provide coaching, as well, to help runners achieve their fitness and running goals.”
In Buzon’s view, the benefits of running are worth the effort. These include a more regular sleep schedule and more balanced diet, as well as increased social opportunities and a range of mental-health benefits. Dr. Marian Buzon has spent the last eight years teaching UWG geology students and advancing her research in the field. She has also been running—to stay healthy and happy.
Dr. Marian Buzon was born and raised in rural upstate New York, she earned a B.S. in geology at the State University of New York at New Paltz, where she also studied chemistry, law, and politics. She earned her doctorate in geology at the University of Idaho in 2016, and was hired that same year as the mineralogist for the UWG geology program.
the personal(ity) touch
Walk past lecturer Marion Franklin Cannon’s office on the second floor of the TLC, and you’ll more than likely find a computer-science student seeking some extra help or just chatting while snatching Hershey’s Kisses from the well-stocked candy bowl on her desk. By all accounts, Marion is about as personable a professor as they come. But she’s not just a friendly face and a technology whiz: she’s also a certified practitioner of the popular Myers-Briggs Type Indicator.
As professor Cannon explains, “MyersBriggs is an assessment framework based on the theories of Carl Jung. Unlike simple ‘personality tests,’ it doesn’t focus on socalled good or bad traits. Instead, it uses a strategically designed questionnaire to explore our unique preferences in four key areas, then combines them into a four-letter personality type (such as INFP or ESTJ).”
“My fascination with the Myers-Briggs system,” says Marion, “began when I realized how often miscommunication and conflict stemmed from differences in how people operate. Learning about the unique perspectives offered by each type became a tool for greater understanding and empathy. Also, knowing my own preferences has improved my self-awareness, and made me a better communicator and teacher. I can tailor my teaching approach to different learning styles and create genuinely inclusive and responsive classroom environments.”
“myers-briggs isn’t about labeling or limiting anyone. it’s a guide to personal development that promotes self understanding and compassion for those around us.”
Marion Franklin Cannon
areas of us
Introversion (I)
Extroversion (E)
Do you gather and recharge your energy by internal focus and reflection or within the bustling external world?
Sensation (S)
Intuition (N)
Do you perceive information through tangible facts and details or by seeking patterns and the “big picture”?
Thinking (T)
Feeling (F)
Do you make decisions guided by objective logic or by prioritizing relationships and values?
Judging (J)
Perceiving (P)
Do you interact with the world through structure and planning or with open-ended flexibility?
Writin’, Strummin’, and Singin’...
Jason Kesler, faculty member in the Department of General Education’s FirstYear Writing Program, learned his love of music from his mother, an amateur pianist and singer. Jason began taking piano lessons as a youngster—first from a neighbor, then from a music student at West Georgia College (now the University of West Georgia). He still remembers coming to campus for those lessons and taking the stairs to the third floor of the Humanities Building to meet his instructor in one of the practice rooms. Jason studied piano for about seven years but stopped in high school when he started playing snare drum in the marching band. Several friends in the band were writing and performing their own original songs.
Jason didn’t start playing guitar or writing his own tunes until he attended UGA, where he earned a BA in English with a minor in linguistics. At the time, Athens still had a serious music scene. Although friends of his formed bands
and played at local clubs, Jason took time to hone his craft. It wasn’t until he moved back to Carrollton to attend graduate school at UWG and earn an MA in English that he began playing and singing his own songs. He spent many Thursday nights at the Corner Café’s open mic, meeting musicians with whom he’d eventually play in bands like the Outlets, Pellum Blue, and National Era.
Several years ago, Jason continued his education at the University of the South in the School of Letters, earning an MFA in creative writing. As part of his coursework, he adapted such literary classics as Sherwood Anderson’s Winesburg, Ohio and Charles Dickens’s A Christmas Carol into song. Jason increasingly looks for ways to share his love of creativity in his writing courses, crafting assignments that allow students to write personal narratives or poetry as well as draw illustrations as part of his composition curriculum. He still plays music in a rough-and-ready, quasi-country-folk-rock outfit called Adamson Avenue.
Scan to Listen and follow
Cruising Altitude
Associate professor in the Department of Educational Technology and Foundations, Dr. Tom Peterson has built quite a lofty career at UWG, beginning in 1991. The recipient of the Regents College of Education’s Teaching Excellence Award in 2000, the Outstanding Faculty Member Award in 2001, and the Outstanding Service Award in 2022, Peterson (now 80 years old) has spent the last three decades at UWG guiding future and practicing teachers.
His research has focused on a range of complex questions in education, including how to ignite hope in marginalized students; how to create openness and trust between public schoolteachers, students, and administrators; and how to heal damaged communities through philosophy and spirituality. What’s more, his creation of the SPARK mentoring program has taught hundreds of educators effective ways to engage with at-risk kids.
When he’s not flying high as a professor and advocating for K-12 teachers and students, however, Dr. Peterson takes to the skies. In fact, at this point, he has been flying for over 50 years and logged more than 3,000 hours in the cockpit. “There’s nothing like being up there at 1,000 or 10,000 feet,” says Peterson, “flying through and above clouds.”
Dr. Peterson was exposed to air travel early in life. His parents were Christian missionaries stationed in Singapore, and the family sometimes took trips to neighboring countries—Thailand, Cambodia, and China, to name a few—often in DC-3 planes like the one pictured below. Later, back in the States, young Tom attended a summer camp in Minnesota, where he spotted a poster advertising seaplane rides. All he needed was $5. He forked over his lunch money, and as he puts it, “instantly fell in love with the feeling of lifting off and springing into the air.” By 1967, Peterson had secured his private pilot license, and he has kept it valid ever since.
When asked about his most memorable experiences in the wild blue yonder, Peterson recalls a little excursion he took after graduating from college. “A friend wanted me to co-pilot a Cessna 185 to Kenya. We should have died several times on that trip. We got lost over the Atlantic with no radio contact; we had trouble with icing on the wings; we ran out of fuel and had to land in Uganda.” Peterson remained on the continent for a year, earning a license to fly in South Africa. He piloted a plane all the way to the Cape of Good Hope and made a film entitled Flying African Safari
As if all that weren’t enough, Peterson then earned his commercial license and started teaching others how to fly. “I love to help student pilots develop their skills and learn how to take off and land on their own. Many of the ones I’ve taught have become pilots for major airlines.” From flight instructor to UWG professor, Peterson has devoted his life to teaching—always reaching for new challenges, always climbing to new heights.
Trials in the Sky
Over the years, Dr. Peterson has faced more than a few tight spots while piloting a plane. Here are few nailbiters from his tenure in the air.
• Two emergency landings—one on a highway near Albuquerque at night, the other (due to engine failure) in North Carolina
• Flying through a hurricane over the Atlantic and a sandstorm in the Sahara Desert
• Running into severe thunderstorms at night over the Mediterranean, where his plane experienced St. Elmo’s Fire (a rare natural phenomenon that occurs when an aircraft’s windshield and wingtips flash wildly with miniature lightning)
Parting Words
A WElCOME BaCk a
fter serving nine years as a university dean, Pauline Gagnon is excited to return full time to the classroom as a professor deeply devoted to interdisciplinary studies and the performing arts. To honor Dr. Gagnon’s tenure as an administrator, Focus magazine asked one of her former Theatre students and longtime staff members, Arielle Vaughan, to say a word about Gagnon as a mentor, boss, and friend.
Witnessing Pauline’s leadership over the years has been nothing short of inspiring. She navigates every challenge with patience, grace, and integrity, making sure to lift up the next generation of leaders with her. That’s one of the things I admire most about her. She’s not one to cling tightly to the vast reserve of knowledge and experience she has gained over the years. She shares it with anyone who expresses interest in advancing their career. Pauline plants seeds and then watches as her protégés grow into department chairs, program coordinators, associate deans, and fellow deans. Personally speaking, I wouldn’t be where I am today without all of the knowledge and kindness she has poured into me. Her mentorship has meant the world, and I know many others share that sentiment.
Pauline’s 34-year career at UWG cannot be defined solely by the numerous administrative roles she has held, including nine years as a dean. I could go on and on about her achievements. For me, her time here has been defined by the daffodils she brings from her garden every February; by the tins of toffee that circulate in the office all through December; by her plant collection and willingness to share clippings (I still have the jade plant she gave me seven years ago); and by the look of pure joy in her eyes when she returns from teaching a class.
From my perspective, Pauline Gagnon’s time at UWG can be summed up in one word: care.
a Fare THEE WEll
Whenever a legendary faculty member decides to retire, it’s important to pay tribute, to bid farewell in proper fashion. If that faculty member is a painter as gifted as Eilis Crean, who served on the UWG art faculty for 21 years and now holds the title Professor Emerita of Art, then a suitable send-off means a lavish gallery show and a lush exhibition catalogue, complete with an introductory essay by an insightful art historian. More than 60 of Crean’s artworks were displayed in the Vault Gallery in Newnan, and Eilis Crean: Fields of Recognition was published by the Vault Gallery Press in commemoration of her talent and her years in the classroom at UWG. Sample a few of her paintings here, and read a bit of what UWG art professor Dr. Nathan Rees has to say about Crean’s vision and skill:
“In the contemporary Western world, visual experience is often imagined as a continuum tracing a line between two poles: on the one end, naturalistic art representing specific visual experiences of the surrounding world, and on the other, non-representational compositions of pure form, where space, color, line, and volume exist purely on their own terms with no connection to an external reality. Eilis Crean’s art asks a fundamental question: are abstraction and representation really opposing terms? How might those two fields of visual experience be reconciled—and to what ends? It would be tempting to suggest that Crean works in the midfield between abstraction and representation. But in fact, what gives her work so much impact is that it rejects the logic of a continuum between those terms. Engaging with Eilis Crean’s painting opens up a diffuse space of visual experience, allowing us to encounter representation across multiple fields of recognition where seeing isn’t always reduced to the physical act of ocular apprehension at a specific instant. Instead, in Crean’s work, seeing is a process that reaches across time and space, bringing perception, memory, and the somatic sensation of place into the viewing experience.”
Dream Abstraction #62, acrylic on Arches cold press watercolor paper, 30 x 22” (2023)
Proceeds of a Procession #1, digital collage & inkjet print on Canson paper, 14.5 x 20.5” (2024)
The Focus series highlights UWG faculty and staff across the university and celebrates the wealth of contributions they make in serving the mission of our institution.
