Special Ed associate professor named Governor’s Teaching Fellow

said, “but it’s also intense, and it moves quickly.”

He applied for the Governor’s Teaching Fellow program because he’s always rethinking his approach to “everything.”

“I am realizing there are a hundred different ways to deliver academic content, and a lot of them are more effective than what I have been doing and thought was successful,” Sumowski said. “I am reminded how much more there is to learn about our craft.”

Endere completes USG leadership institute

Professor Dr. Rob Sumowski is one of 12 faculty members from across the state selected as a 2022-’23 Governor’s Teaching Fellow.

Former Georgia Governor Zell Miller started the yearlong symposium in 1995 to provide state education faculty with opportunities to learn important teaching skills.

“I’m honored, partly because the program was begun by Governor Zell Miller, a staunch advocate for public education and a man I met as a young teacher,” Sumowski said. “I’m also honored because everywhere I look on this campus, there are faculty who are so good at what they do that it makes my head spin. The idea that I might be considered as even approaching the high bar set by my colleagues humbles me.”

Sumowski will attend a series of meetings at the Louise McBee Institute of Higher Education at the University of Georgia. Fellows spend three days a month in master classes learning how to become more effective instructors.

The symposium is “a chance to pause and reflect on improving our delivery of instruction,” Sumowski

As part of the program, each fellow identifies a key academic project to focus on. Sumowski chose to redesign a course called “EDEX 4334: Teachers as Leaders” that senior special education majors take prior to graduation.

“The goal of this redesign is to proactively address some of the realworld challenges our graduates are about to confront, such as managing colleagues vertically (administration) and horizontally (peer educators) and supervising paraprofessionals, while dealing with time management, workload and stress,” he said. “I hope the benefits of redesigning this course will directly impact teacher retention and reduce attrition among our program’s graduates during the first years of their teaching careers.”

Georgia College & State University Senior Budget Director Josefina “Fina” Endere completed The University System of Georgia Executive Leadership Institute.

The Executive Leadership Institute is a comprehensive 120-hour leadership development program facilitated by leading experts in leadership. Successful candidates enhance their leadership skills to prepare for potential high-level advancement within the USG.

Georgia College Vice President for Finance & Administration Lee Fruitticher nominated Endere to participate in the ELI program.

Dr. Erin Weston nationally recognized for dissertation

– Dr. Rob

Dr. Erin Weston, director of firstyear experience, has been recognized for her research and dissertation. She has been named by NASPA— Student Affairs Administrators in Higher Education—as the runner-up for the Melvene D. Hardee Dissertation of the Year Award.

Few things make an immediate impact as great as the university’s visiting scholar programs. Periodic academic visitors, whether long- or short-term, are a boost for everyone involved.

Visiting scholars participate in the productive activities of a new department; expose Georgia College & State University faculty to novel ideas and fresh perspectives; engage students with people who are prominent in their fields; and build heightened recognition for the university.

“The purpose of visting scholar programs is to provide our students, our faculty, our colleges and departments with opportunities for visitors to interact with and allow them the opportunity to engage in ways that would expand and enrich the student and faculty experience,” said Dr. Costas Spirou, provost and vice president for Academic Affairs.

In 2022, three experts came for week-long visits.

Former Olympian Butch Reynolds worked directly with students and faculty in the College of Health Sciences on issues of substance abuse and ethics in exercise science. In March, Dr. Peter Cardon spent a week with students and faculty in the department of information systems and computer science. A professor of clinical business communication at the University of Southern California, Cardon shared his deep interest in information technology and how artificial intelligence influences communication.

In April, the economics department hosted College of Charleston Economics Professor Dr. Douglas Walker. A former Georgia College faculty member, Walker talked to students about the socioeconomic impacts of gambling.

Whether visiting scholars come for a week or a year—they all greatly supplement life on campus, Spirou said.

Martha Daniel Newell visiting Scholar Dr. Carla Walter taught students about global perspectives of indigenous dance and religious histories.

Through classes and public lectures, Walter helped students and community members learn to use dance as a lens for understanding different cultures.

The Newell Scholar position was created in 2011 for long-term visitors from any academic discipline in the College of Arts and Sciences (COAS).

The Paul D. Coverdell Visiting Scholar attracts policy scholars within humanities and the social sciences.

Veteran public administrator turned university professor Dr. Victoria Gordon used her Coverdell position to focus on the 19th Amendment, which guaranteed women the right to vote. This Fall, Gordon engaged Milledgeville Mayor Mary Parham-Copelan in a conversation that resulted in the Milledgeville City Council adopting a proclamation on the importance of the 19th Amendment. She also organized panels focusing on women in politics and a lecture during Constitution Week.

“Visiting scholars are an important piece to our endeavors and quest for academic excellence,” Spirou said. “These interactions are not just for faculty and students but the community too. It brings vibrancy to the intellectual environment here on campus and in Milledgeville.