A. Spring 16

[ SPRING 2016 • VOL. 1 • NO. 1 ]

THE BIG REVEAL

Augusta University’s new brand

Anything But Typical

The Constant Callback

Stronger for the Struggle

Welcome Home

AUGUSTA’S AUDACIOUS LANDMARK

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tarted in 1913, gutted by the Great Augusta Fire of 1916 and opened in 1918, the Lamar Building of 1974, known then as the Southern Finance Building, was a monument to owner Eugene Holley’s stature and wealth.

Politically, Holley was a power broker. Elected to the Georgia State Senate in 1964, he was on the influential Appropriations Committee and able to steer resources toward several important Augusta projects, including guiding a measure that secured funds to establish the Medical College of Georgia’s School of Dentistry, now The Dental College of Georgia. As a businessman, his association with the oil industry financed an increasingly lavish lifestyle that culminated in the construction of the Lamar Building’s glass penthouse, designed by world-renowned architect I.M. Pei, who would later design the glass pyramid at the Louvre.

Known locally as the toaster, the wedge-shaped penthouse, which made the building the tallest in Augusta, may have been the most audacious aspect of the project, but those lucky enough to make it inside were treated to a host of breathtaking appointments, including handpicked, handcarved Italian marble, historical artifacts from the 17th century and the era’s highest-tech indulgences. Ever the showman, Holley would often impress guests by ordering carryout from the neighboring Pinnacle Club and then sending his helicopter to pick it up.

While such high-flying excess captivated the Augusta community for a time, public opinion turned on Holley just after Christmas 1975, when he erected a 36-foot-tall illuminated cross on the top of the building, something he called “a present to Jesus on his birthday.” That marked the beginning of the end, and by May 1978, the bank had foreclosed on the building, selling it for just $300,000 more than the cost of the penthouse. While it no longer buzzes with the same level of activity, the Lamar Building continues to dominate the skyline.

VIDEO Visit magazines.augusta.edu to see I.M. Pei’s surprising contributions to Augusta.

IN PLACE

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PHIL JONES

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CONTENTS Welcome Home IN PLACE............................................................................................. 1 ON THE CALENDAR.......................................................................... 4 3 QS .................................................................................................... 5 DISPATCH FROM............................................................................... 6 FROM THE WIRE................................................................................ 7

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ANSWERS ALONG THE WAY........................................................... 9 EYE ON CAMPUS............................................................................. 10

On Our Way SECRET LIVES................................................................................... 38 THROUGH THE LENS...................................................................... 40 CLASS NOTES.................................................................................. 43 HISTORY & HERITAGE..................................................................... 46 VALUE ADDED................................................................................. 47 IN THE FIELD.................................................................................... 48

28 A. [Augusta’s Alumni Magazine] Senior Vice President, Office of Advancement Susan Barcus Vice President, Division of Communications and Marketing Jack Evans Executive Editor Kristina Baggott Senior Editor Karen Gutmann Editor Eric Johnson Assistant Editor John Jenkins Alumni Affairs Liaison Susan Everitt Art Director Tricia Perea Senior Photographer Phil Jones © 2016 AUGUSTA UNIVERSITY 2

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Closer Look THE BIG REVEAL.............................................................................. 16 A seemingly overwhelming challenge is met: Augusta University’s new branding employs a monolithic approach that ties together the vast parts of our organization in a way that is both symbolic and meaningful.

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THE CONSTANT CALLBACK.......................................................... 22 Alumnus Roy Lewis comes out of retirement to transform an almost nonexistent high school theater program into a success. He’s doing what he loves to do: teaching students that success on stage can equal success in life.

STRONGER FOR THE STRUGGLE.................................................. 28 Administrative Director of Patient- and Family-Centered Care Bernard Roberson never let obstacles stand in the way of helping others. Learning from setbacks and applying those lessons, today, he helps integrate patients and families into the health care system, and helps the health system understand patients and families.

ANYTHING BUT TYPICAL................................................................ 32 Augusta University alumnus Karin Hauffen wasn’t remade by his university. He wasn’t reformed, reshaped or rebuilt by it. He didn’t become someone new. He grew. But so did his university.

32 ALUMNI AFFAIRS OFFICE

Associate Vice President, Alumni and Donor Engagement Kristina Baggott Senior Director, Alumni Affairs Scott Henson Director, Alumni Affairs Susan Everitt MCG Alumni Affairs Coordinator Kim Koss Alumni Affairs Coordinator Callie Hagler Cosper Administrative Assistant Jackie Thomas 706-737-1759 alumni@augusta.edu A., Augusta University’s alumni magazine, is published twice a year by the Office of Advancement and the Division of Communications and Marketing to connect the university with alumni, friends, the state and the world. ma g a zi n e s. au gu sta. e d u |

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ON THE CALENDAR

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MAY

SPRING COMMENCEMENT

PHOTOS BY ANTHONY CARLIE/STORIES2TELL

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Celebrate the achievements of Augusta University’s Class of 2016 at the James Brown Arena. Check augusta.edu/students/graduation for details.

DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION SUMMIT

AUGUST

22-26

SEPTEMBER

WEEK OF WELCOME

Students get back into the swing of things with a week’s worth of fun, including free films, information sessions and the famous Lemonade Brigade.

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APRIL 27

APRIL 28-MAY 1

JULY 14

INVESTITURE CEREMONY

ALUMNI WEEKEND

DCG ALUMNI RECEPTION

President Brooks Keel’s return to his alma mater will be complete with his ceremonial inauguration at the Augusta Convention Center. Don’t miss the pageantry of this historic event.

Seek out your fellow alumni during a fun-filled weekend that brings you back to the campus where it all began.

Visit augusta.edu/alumniweekend for the latest information.

Alumni from The Dental College of Georgia gather for a special reception during the annual Georgia Dental Association convention at scenic Amelia Island. gadental.org/annual-meeting

For more information: 706-737-1759 or alumni@augusta.edu • augusta.edu/alumni 4

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Build partnerships, engage the community in meaningful dialog and connect awareness to action at the sixth annual Diversity and Inclusion Summit, hosted by Augusta University’s Office of Diversity and Inclusion. augusta.edu/diversity/summit

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3 Qs

PARDON NDHLOVU PARDON NDHLOVU came to Augusta University as an international student from Zimbabwe. During his time as a student, Ndhlovu also served as a graduate assistant coach for both the cross country and track and field teams. In 2015, he tentatively qualified for the 2016 Olympics in Rio.

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You graduated from the MBA program in December. What have you been doing since graduation?

My focus is on training for the 2016 Olympics in Rio. At the end of April, I will find out if I’ve made the team.

I am currently looking to train with other marathoners who can help me be competitive at the world stage.

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What will you need to do in order to be competitive in Rio?

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What does it take to be an elite athlete?

I’ll do marathon-specific training.

The goal will be to run under 2:10 or 2:08. I’ll do research on the previous Olympic times and find some training camps I can join that will push me to be my best.

You have to be driven to get out the door and put in hours to train and improve. Believe in the process, and be patient enough to know that regardless of what you do today, you won’t see immediate results tomorrow. You have to have specific goals.

Pardon Ndhlovu (MBA ‘15)

VIDEO Learn more about Ndhlovu’s journey from running shoeless in Zimbabwe to dreams of Rio at magazines.augusta.edu.

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DISPATCH FROM

Doris Kirchheim Walters (BA ‘68)

SACRAMENTO, CALIFORNIA

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etired Lt. Col. Doris Kirchheim Walters took the long way from Augusta to Sacramento, California.

Graduating from Augusta College in 1968 with a bachelor’s degree in history and deciding she didn’t like her prospects as a teacher, Walters answered a postcard from an Air Force recruiter and never looked back.

“I got it on Friday, put it in the mail on Saturday and got a call on Monday,” she says.

“I had a physical on Tuesday, an interview Tuesday evening and, on Wednesday morning, I was driven to Atlanta, sworn in and flown to Texas for Officer Training School.”

From that time on, she’s been a trailblazer.

Stationed everywhere from Labrador to Europe to a couple of stints in California, she joined at a time when there were fewer than 200 female line officers [nonmedical] in the Air Force.

“I was in the Air Force 13 years before I was ever on a base with another woman,” she says.

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“It was even longer than that before I was ever around a woman who outranked me.”

Challenging, yes. But Walters always found a way to rise above.

“I learned to make it in a man’s world, but I leaned on my Southern charm to do it,” she says. “I’ve always been delightful … and competent.”

She put down roots in Sacramento after she retired in 1988, working for California Gov. Pete Wilson as one of seven members on the California Veterans Board. Later, she became involved in state-level politics, and now, she helps nonprofits work their way through long-term projects.

On a recent visit to attend her 50th high school reunion, Walters was impressed

by Augusta University’s prominence in her hometown.

“Augusta gave me a strong foundation for my life,” she says. “I’m happy to be able to say, ‘I’m a graduate of Augusta University.’”

PHILOSOPHY “I wish more people would be inspired by looking around themselves. Look to your teachers, look to your pastors, look to your neighbors, and I don’t think there is any reason why you can’t do well.”

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CIVIL RIGHTS LEGEND SPEAKS MED STUDENTS CIVIL RIGHTS ACTIVIST Joan Trumpauer Mulholland visited Augusta University as the keynote speaker of the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Birthday Celebration held on Jan. 15.

The annual event, hosted by Augusta University, Paine College and Augusta Technical College, celebrates the life and achievements of King and other prominent civil rights activists.

Mulholland, who was the first white student to integrate Tougaloo College in Mississippi, had a few words for the late doctor.

“We know it wasn’t just you, all by yourself, but you were the inspiration, the voice and the spokesperson for all of us, for all of us thousands of folks who were following you and working for change,” Mulholland said.

And when Mulholland says “us,” she truly means “us.”

Her involvement with the fight for civil rights as a Freedom Rider brought her faceto-face with the Ku Klux Klan. It also earned her a cell on death row at the Mississippi State Penitentiary.

Those struggles, she said, only helped to strengthen her resolve, as similar acts strengthened the resolve of other civil rights activists across the country.

One act was the March on Washington, an event Mulholland remembered fondly.

“Now, at that March on Washington Speech, he was dreaming,” she said. “That wasn’t even part of the speech. King gave his speech, and then he just went off, pie in the sky dreaming.

Us students, we thought, ‘Man, get your feet back on the ground and do something!’”

Looking back, Mulholland said she

FUNDRAISE FOR CHOG

could now appreciate what King’s speech accomplished.

“Today, I can see that that dream was really a beautiful expression of the world we wanted IN DECEMBER, first- and second-year to see and we’re not there yet,” she said. “We’ve medical students participated in the still got a long, weary road. But you know, you Employee Advisory Council fundraiser. just do one little thing, and you don’t know However, they took their involvement where it’ll lead.” one step further and also raised She cited the lunch counter sit-ins and money for a toy drive to benefit the the expression of the Freedom Rides, Children’s Hospital of Georgia. claiming both had an immeasurable The Employee Advisory impact on American civil rights.

Council fundraiser allowed “Four guys sat at a lunch Augusta University counter in Greensboro,” employees to purchase she said. “Within weeks, READ MORE AT a Roary stuffed animal, thousands of people were JAGWIRE.AUGUSTA.EDU the CHOG mascot, for demonstrating across the $10. The stuffed animal country. Virtually every was then placed in a gift southern town with a college bag and donated to CHOG had students sitting at those patients. lunch counters. Mississippi was a In addition to their involvement little behind the times; they didn’t get with this fundraiser, the Medical to it until 1963, but I was there.”

College of Georgia classes of 2018 and Dr. Brooks Keel, president of Augusta 2019 furthered their participation by University, said it was a tremendous honor purchasing toys for the children. to host the Martin Luther King Jr. Birthday “We felt we could get involved by Celebration on the university’s historic purchasing the Roarys as well as raising Summerville Campus and that it was fitting money to donate toys,” said Chrissy for such a celebration to be hosted by higher Callaway, Class of 2019 vice president. education institutions.

“Our classmates and colleagues really “Let us pledge to continue his legacy of enjoy the different ways we approach leadership, to both be today’s leaders but also fundraising.” to strive to educate and inspire tomorrow’s Together, the students were able to leaders,” he said. “To have the courage, the raise more than $1,500. They purchased vision and the passion to make the world a 72 Roary stuffed animals through the place where Dr. King’s enduring dream holds Employee Advisory Council fundraiser. true for all.”

All remaining funds were used to buy toys to donate to CHOG. “We feel that it is very important to give back to the community that supports us, and putting a smile on a CHOG patient’s face allows us to do “This change will be more easily recognized that,” Callaway said. “It is so rewarding by prospective students as well as employers to bring joy into a situation that can hiring our graduates,” he said. “Additionally, be very scary for both the children and students will experience an increase in their families.” internships and full-time opportunities as a Callaway, along with the community result of this name change.” vice presidents of the classes of 2018 The program, which provides students and 2019, delivered their toys to with a broad foundation of technical skills Stephanie Grayson, CHOG child life and understanding, is closely tied with the specialist, on Dec. 14. university’s cyber initiative.

HULL DEGREE PROGRAM RENAMED IN JANUARY, the Board of Regents granted Augusta University’s request to change the name of one of its degree programs.

The Bachelor of Science in Applied Information Systems and Technologies, a degree program offered by the James M. Hull College of Business, was renamed a Bachelor of Science in Information Technology.

According to Dr. Mark Thompson, interim dean, the name change more effectively describes the curriculum and content of the program.

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ADDING DIVERSITY TO LIBRARY RESOURCES THREE AUGUSTA UNIVERSITY faculty members have added some new color to the university libraries’ website.

Lindsay Blake, Dr. David Kriegel and Dr. Lara Stepleman co-developed the new LGBT Health Care Resources page — accentuated by the world-renowned rainbow-colored LGBT pride flag — using a Community Technology Improvement Award from the Southeastern/Atlantic National Network of Libraries of Medicine.

The new site is divided into two sections, one for providers and one for potential patients, to accomplish two important goals.

“We had two goals,” said Blake, assistant professor in the Robert B. Greenblatt, MD Library. “To assist and educate faculty and volunteers working with the LGBT population in the Equality Clinic and to provide a site where LGBT individuals could look for a collection of health resources specifically for their needs.”

The Equality Clinic is a free, student-run clinic dedicated to abolishing barriers to health care. Through serving the health needs of the underinsured in the LGBT community and educating current and future providers in the practice of providing informed, compassionate care, the Equality Clinic hopes to address some of the current health disparities faced by the LGBT community.

The LGBT Health Care Resources provider site outlines ways health care professionals can create an LGBT-inclusive environment, including suggested language and care procedures for treating LGBT patients, according to Stepleman.

“The provider site has specific sections for medical and mental health issues and current standards of care and treatment guidelines,” she said. “For example, the Equality Clinic treats a large number of transgender individuals, and there are international guidelines for care that are frequently updated with regard to best practices for hormone and surgical intervention as well as mental health care and assessment.”

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LESSONS FOR YOUNG LEADERS AUGUSTA UNIVERSITY hosted the 2016 Leadership Academy Summit on Jan. 23.

Hosted as part of the NCAA Division II Military Pilot Program, the academy summit was intended to provide up-and-coming community leaders with a chance to learn from and engage with current leaders in both the field of education and military sciences.

Guest speakers included “Leadership Giants” Cathy Cox, president of Young Harris College, and Brig. Gen. Jeff Foley (Ret.).

Two Augusta University speakers, Dr. Lance Evans, associate director of the Office of Leadership Development, and Dr. Jan Mitchell, associate professor of general dentistry, also presented to students and young military leaders.

Approximately 100 attendees participated

in the summit. Invitees included members of Augusta University ROTC, Student Government, senior student-athletes and members of the Student Veterans Association.

The Student-Athlete Advisory Committees (SAAC) from all Peach Belt Conference schools were also invited. Clint Bryant, director of athletics, said the university was proud to host the academy summit.

“We must challenge ourselves every day to be the best leaders and those that we serve to be the very best that they can to achieve levels of peak performance,” Bryant said.

“We at Augusta University, in partnership with the NCAA, Ft. Gordon and the Peach Belt Conference, are committed to providing this level of commitment to our best and brightest.”

MEN’S GOLF COACH IN HALL OF FAME AUGUSTA UNIVERSITY MEN’S GOLF Head Coach Jack O’Keefe has been inducted into the 2016 Arkansas Golf Hall of Fame, the Arkansas State Golf Association (ASGA) announced on Feb. 1, 2016.

O’Keefe grew up in Little Rock, Arkansas and entered his third season with the Jaguars after being named head men’s golf coach at Augusta University on Dec. 2 during an 11 a.m. news conference at the J. Fleming Norvell Golf House. O’Keefe became the sixth full-time head coach in the program’s storied history.

As a collegian at the University of Arkansas, O’Keefe was a four-time AllAmerican, a two-time All-SEC selection and an All-Southwest Conference performer from 1989-93. He registered three individual victories as his Razorback squads captured 10 team tournament titles over his last two seasons.

A 2010 graduate of the University of Arkansas with a BS in Education, O’Keefe is married to Susan Fruits of Russellville, Kentucky.

GIVING KIDS REASON TO SMILE STUDENTS AND FACULTY from The Dental College of Georgia and College of Allied Health Sciences at Augusta University provided free dental care for nearly 125 local children at the university’s annual “Give Kids A Smile” event on Feb. 5.

Part of a national initiative to offer free oral health screenings and treatments to underserved children, the American Dental Association launched the “Give Kids A Smile” program in 2003. Since then, the program

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has provided more than 5 million children with free oral health care.

More than 100 students and a dozen faculty members and residents volunteered to provide cleanings, sealants and restorative dental work to children screened from Rollins Elementary School, Heritage Academy, New Holland Mennonite School and the university’s Healthy Grandparents Program, among others.

ANSWERS ALONG THE WAY

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[ BARBARA SIMS

Representative Barbara Sims (R – Augusta) surprised the area’s political pundits last June when she announced that she wouldn’t be running for another term. After a decade in office, she leaves Atlanta as the chairman of the State Properties Committee and secretary of the Economic Development and Tourism Committee, while also serving on the Appropriations, Rules, Health and Human Services, Transportation and Science and Technology Committees. > I AM ONE OF THE PEOPLE WHO REMEMBERS when Augusta University was Augusta Junior College. My husband’s father was the comptroller at Augusta Junior College. > BEING A REPRESENTATIVE isn’t a 40day job [the number of days in a legislative session] like people think. When you make that commitment, you’re going to serve 365 days a year. > I DON’T WANT ANYONE TO EVER THINK that I’m smarter than someone, because I’m not. Maybe it’s just that I received more facts. > THE GREAT THING ABOUT BEING A REPRESENTATIVE is having access to people who can help solve the problems of my constituents. When you’ve accomplished something that somebody was devastated they could not do – that is the greatest. > IF YOUR DISTRICT NEEDS AND THE STATE NEEDS ARE AT OPPOSITE ENDS, you have a dilemma. The oath taken to uphold the Constitution of our state might appear to be opposing district views, but often what benefits the state benefits the district. It’s a matter of looking at the whole story and looking at the long-term decision. > I WANT TO BE AVAILABLE to the people in my family. You can’t go to a

basketball game or a dance recital and be in Atlanta. > COMING HOME ON FRIDAY NIGHT AND GOING BACK ON SUNDAY AFTERNOON is very wearing. When I first started, my hands were so wet with fear that I would have to drive with two Kleenexes on my hands. Now, I don’t have to do that anymore.

> ACROSS THE STATE, AUGUSTA UNIVERSITY IS MAKING A DIFFERENCE, and I think that’s awesome. We’re training dentists, we’re training doctors and nurses, we’re making businesses grow because of our great business school. We’re everything you want to be – liberal arts, medicine. And I think that’s great.

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Close up of a Chinese drum on display at the Confucius Institute.

Photo By Phil Jones | NIKON D800, 14.0-24.0 MM LENS, 1/60 SEC@F/5.6, ISO 1600 Continued on next page

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HIDDEN FROM THE EMPEROR

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t 100 years old, this antique Chinese drum is thought to be the oldest artifact in Augusta University’s Confucius Institute Museum, located in the Kelly Administration Building on the Health Sciences Campus.

However, it’s likely to have been crafted by Chinese immigrants in America rather than in China, according to museum staff. One hundred years ago in China, the five-clawed dragon was a symbol of Imperial power, and its depiction was reserved exclusively for the emperor. Anyone else who incorporated the image in a design was suspected of wanting to usurp the emperor’s throne — and would have met with a quite unhappy end.

The museum opened in 2014 when Augusta’s CI was established in partnership with Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine.

The Chinese Ministry of Education sponsors CIs to promote Chinese language and culture, strengthen educational and cultural exchanges, and deepen friendship and understanding among nations.

Augusta’s CI is one of 500 in 134 countries around the world, and the only one in the United States with Traditional Chinese Medicine as an area of emphasis.

“All of us know that the world is unbelievably flat right now … and anybody who is going to be looking for a job is going to have to have some kind of global experience on their transcript,” said Augusta’s CI Director Cindi Chance.

The institute provides the university one language and two TCM instructors. This fall, a Chinese language teacher will begin teaching in Richmond County elementary schools – at no cost to the school district.

Opportunities to travel to China are among the many benefits of the institute. In May, 20 students and 10 faculty members from across many disciplines will visit China for two weeks, with all costs but airfare paid by the Chinese education agency. The Augusta University Jazz Ensemble has been invited to help Shanghai University of TCM celebrate its 60th anniversary and will spend time there learning and sharing musical traditions across the two cultures.

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LASTING LEGACIES APRIL 28 - MAY 1, 2016

Alumni Weekend Signature Event Our Keynote Speaker, Archie Manning, will present “Leadership Lessons I’ve Learned as a Player, a Businessman, and a Father” Saturday, April 30, 5–6:30 p.m.

Maxwell Theatre, Summerville Campus The greatest rewards don’t come from winning the game—they come from playing the game. As a 14-year veteran quarterback and the father of two Super Bowl champion quarterbacks, Peyton and Eli, Archie Manning knows the importance of instilling and living by four principles for success: leadership, depending on others, being flexible and playing the game. The 2016 Distinguished and Presidential Alumni Awards will be presented at this event.

$10 for Alumni, $15 for Non-Alumni D RESS: Business Casual COST:

2 0 1 6

D I S T I N G U I S H E D

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P R E S I D E N T I A

Register Now for Early Bird Prices: augusta.edu/alumniweekend

#AugAW16 L I K E US O N FACEBO O K :

Augusta University Alumni

ALUMNI WEEKEND HIGHLIGHTS President’s Cookout Make plans to join Augusta University President Brooks Keel and First Lady Tammie Schalue at their home for the President’s Cookout. The President’s Cookout is an old-fashioned cookout for alumni, families and students to enjoy. This event has plenty of food and fun for everyone, as well as a live band and children’s activities. Parking will be available at Woodlawn United Methodist Church located at 2220 Walton Way, Augusta, GA.

Saturday, April 30 Noon–2 p.m.

Twin Gables (Rain Location – JSAC Ballroom, Summerville Campus) C O ST:

Free

DRESS:

Casual

Alumni Weekend Farewell Brunch honoring the 2016 Jag20 Award Recipients Keynote Speaker: Jeb Blount

A U G U S TA

U N I V E R S I T Y

Sunday, May 1

11:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m.

Legends Club $35 per person $55 after April 1

C O ST: DR ESS:

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Business Casual

Be sure to join us for this very special event as we honor the third class of Jag20 award recipients. Enjoy a hearty, southern-style brunch and network with fellow alumni and friends.

The Jag20 is a group of 20 outstanding alumni under the age of 40 who are emerging leaders, making an impact in their field and in their community. Jeb Blount, Augusta College ’92, founded SalesGravy.com, the most visited sales employment website.

Today, Jeb is a sought-after speaker and corporate consultant who touches thousands of business professionals each year with his compelling speeches, books, articles and audio programs.

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A W A R D

R E C I P I E N T S

(Listed below from left to right)

Mark Swanson BA ’93 Simona Murph EdS ’12 Tammi Pavey AS ’85, BS ’97 Sharukh Khajotia PhD ’97 Brad Usry BBA ’82 Karen Minyard MSN ’79 Clarence Joe MD ’77 Jennifer Mitchell-Frazier BBA ’03, MBA ’05 Louvenia Annette Rainge DMD ’90 Tina Cross BS ’75 *Only degrees from Augusta University are listed.

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Closer Look

THE BIG REVEAL Campus and community blown away

by Augusta University’s new brand

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PHIL JONES

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AT 8 A.M. ON JAN. 21, 2016, the day the new Augusta University branding was unveiled, 1,000 brand starter kits were hand-delivered across the institution, and by the time the first of the Swag Stops had opened, exchange tables giving faculty, staff and students the opportunity to swap legacy-branded merchandise for a new Augusta University T-Shirt, the verdict was in.

By Eric Johnson The new look was a success.

“I am just overwhelmed and blown away at how great all this stuff really looks,” said President Brooks Keel, wearing a newly branded cap in front of the Swag Stop on the Health Sciences Campus. “I think it really sets the stage for where we’re going.”

As soon as the Board of Regents announced the name change back in September, everyone involved knew that the visual identity created to support the new name had to be done right. This was the name – and the look – that would endure.

“I’ve never been more excited and more scared at the same time,” said Daniel Stewart, studio director at Wier/Stewart, the local firm hired to create the university’s new brand identity. “There’s not another thing that we could do that we would see more than the Augusta University branding.”

To get it right required more than just creatives bouncing ideas off each other. It required research. A lot of research.

“I think the most challenging aspect of the rebranding was also probably the most important, and that was getting the design study right,” said Jack Evans, vice president for communications and marketing. “There are so many people who are so passionate about representing the university and so many different ideas about how it should be captured and how it should be portrayed. It was really important for us to get a study together that could help people understand the different roles that the different parts of the visual identity system play.”

Tying together the vast parts of the organization in a way that was both symbolic and meaningful wasn’t easy. Far more than a logo, the new visual identity is a system built upon the idea that everything – the three Augusta campuses, the medical center, the satellite campuses and the practice groups – is part of the Augusta University whole.

Called a monolithic approach, the system serves as the visual Continued on next page

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Communications and Marketing staff assemble 1,000 brand starter kits for launch day delivery. ma g a zi n e s. au gu sta. e d u |

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“

We thought that the clarion call of the bell could bring everyone together in a way that reflected the university.

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— Jack Evans

identity for everything under the Augusta University umbrella, which creates a stronger brand awareness for everyone.

“We wanted a monolithic branding strategy so that the world would know that, whether you were interfacing with one of our academic departments or visiting one of our clinics or attending one of our performances, you were engaging with an organization that was excellent, that was outstanding and was all part of Augusta University,” said Dr. Karla Leeper, executive vice president for strategic communication and chief marketing officer.

Finding that unifying, inclusive image was difficult because there was no one thing that was immediately recognizable as representing everything. But while there may not have been any one physical thing uniting it all, there was, however, an idea: bells.

Ringing bells has traditions across the organization. Historically, the Summerville bell would ring for important events, and on the Health Sciences Campus, bells are rung when babies are born at the medical center and when patients finish their last round of chemotherapy at the Cancer Center. Our student newspaper has been known as the Bell Ringer since 1958.

So the design team expanded on that idea, incorporated architectural cues from the Augusta community and came up with the shield: an A-frame bell tower in a U-shaped shield.

“We thought the clarion call of the bell could bring everyone together in a way that reflected the university,” Evans said.

To further develop this idea, bell towers could be constructed at multiple locations so that the bells could ring simultaneously during significant events, like commencement or winning a national championship.

When compared against similar brand elements from other institutions, it was important that all the marks developed for Augusta University were consistent with, but distinctive from, those of its aspirant institutions.

“We used a grid as we were comparing marks to make sure our stuff was appropriate,” said Samantha Mellinger, part of the Wier/Stewart team. “It was challenging, but we knew we were on the right track.”

To check their work on the university seal, they were even more stringent, putting it on a chart with 40 other university seals. On close inspection, the seal, which appears on diplomas and on other official documents, is a unique celebration of Augusta University’s diverse heritage, with a torch representing education, research and healing, oak leaves representing Summerville’s Arsenal Oak, and the columns and pediment of the Old Medical College representing the Health Sciences Campus, all enclosed in the marks of the Summerville sundial, which stand for the university’s history, progress and potential.

While such attention to history was important, equally important was how the brand would resonate with the greater community.

“Augusta is a college town,” Evans said. “That was sort of the design mantra. The communications and marketing team and our consultants all carried that with us. We wanted to make sure we reflected that and captured that energy with the brand.”

The victory A and the athletic wordmark represent dramatic departures from past looks, while the updated jaguar retains many of the visual elements fans had expressed a fondness for.

“It’s the jaguar, but now he has a game face,” is how Athletic Director Clint Bryant put it.

“The new jag is about the new university. It’s a whole new jaguar, so I think it represents the consolidated university very well.”

With banners up around Augusta and people wearing the new brand becoming more and more commonplace, it’s obvious the new look has been embraced.

“I think we’re going to see a lot of community pride around the new designs,” Evans said.

“That’s part of the strength of the array of visual identity that we have. There’s something for everybody, and we think people are going to show their pride for Augusta University.”

That excitement was voiced on Day One by none other than the man in charge, who holds degrees from both legacy institutions.

“I’m excited to see both of my universities – my undergraduate and graduate universities – finally, truly becoming one and being unified with the health system under one mark,” Keel said. “It’s really an exciting day for us.”

Visit jagwire.augusta.edu/brand for the full story of our new brand.

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21 PHIL JONES

WIER/STEWART

WIER/STEWART

KIM RATLIFF

THE CONSTANT

CALLBACK

FOUR YEARS AGO, the theater program at the Academy of Richmond County was practically nonexistent. It had approximately 40 students with one beginning theater class and a couple of music classes, but there were no productions and no advanced course offerings. It existed, but barely.

By Brennan Meagher Something needed to change.

So, at a time when, according to the Georgia Budget and Policy Institute, 42 percent of Georgia school districts were reducing or eliminating their art and music programs, educators and administrators at ARC planned to do the exact opposite.

They decided to build the program.

It was a bold move.

Tim Spivey, then-principal of ARC, remembers wanting to give students who weren’t necessarily interested in athletics an opportunity to be involved with extracurricular activities.

He believed that if his students were involved in extracurricular activities, they would be more successful academically. To achieve that for his nonathletes, it was only natural to lean on his fine arts department, which was already strong.

“When you have a good fine arts department, it gives all students a chance to participate in something,” Spivey said. “People want to be involved in successful programs. It’s contagious, and it makes the school atmosphere better.”

But no matter how strong the department may have been, there was no avoiding the fact that the Theater Department needed help. In order to draw kids in, Spivey needed to find someone to breathe life into it, so he turned to Mollie Baldwin, an ARC music teacher who shared his belief in the theater program’s potential, for advice.

“For 20 years, I taught chorus and music classes at Richmond but saw such a need for theater,” Baldwin said. “You find a child who has a need for self-expression, but maybe they don’t have musical ability. Theater speaks to a whole different set of skills.”

But recognizing the need was the easy part. Finding someone to take it over was the challenge.

And yet, Baldwin had an idea.

She’d first heard about the guy from her high school drama director, long before she’d accepted a job teaching at ARC. He was legendary, in fact, and his reputation had only grown during the 30 years she continued to bump into him at competitions. And while in education circles, he was best known as one of the masterminds behind Harlem High School’s nationally renowned drama program, he had also built a reputation around the Augusta area for his involvement with the Augusta Players, Fort Gordon Dinner Theatre, Le Chat Noir and other theater organizations.

In fact, they even sang together in the church choir, he as a choir member and Baldwin as the director.

And though the word was already out that he was planning to retire from teaching full time at Harlem, he’d mentioned to her how it might be nice to continue teaching part time somewhere else.

So, when Spivey decided he wanted to beef up the drama program, for Baldwin, there was only one candidate: Roy Lewis.

THERE ARE NO SMALL PARTS, ONLY SMALL ACTORS. Originally from Ellabell, Georgia, a small, rural community outside of Savannah, Lewis grew up on a 600-acre farm. He spent his days raising Continued on next page

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Roy Lewis (EdS ‘10)

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chickens, pigs and cows. Together, Lewis and his family planted seeds, plowed the land and performed various chores needed to keep the farm running.

Lewis was in elementary school when he made his debut in a school play.

He was the smallest billy goat in the Three Billy Goats Gruff. It was this role that sparked his interest in theater.

However, growing up on a farm didn’t leave much time for theater.

Even if Lewis wanted to be involved with a theater company, he couldn’t.

The farm was more than 20 miles from town. He was isolated.

But performing in that play had awakened something in him, and Lewis began looking for creative ways to entertain himself and his three sisters.

“We would run and play and let our imaginations run wild, like the weeds on the farm,” he said.

And he would sing. He would sing to anyone who was around, and if no one was around, he would sing to the cows. Real songs, made up songs – it didn’t matter what he was singing, it only mattered that he was singing. Some days, when his mother couldn’t find him, she just listened closely. Lewis’ singing was his personal compass.

In spite of all that rehearsing, it wasn’t until high school that Lewis acted in his first formal play with a script, and it would be years until he commanded a stage, or a classroom.

Lewis would eventually accept a job teaching drama at Harlem. It didn’t take long for him to begin making waves.

DIRECTOR’S CUT “I was always impressed with the care Roy took with his students,” Baldwin said. “He was about looking at what gifts each child had hidden away, and he would find a way to bring those gifts out in his students. Roy seemed to show them that with discipline and desire, they could develop their gifts. It made such a positive difference.”

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the opportunity to learn. Theater, he says, teaches students how to work together, learn from one another and prepare for the world outside of high school.

Although Lewis spent many years as the drama director at Harlem, his focus was never finding and nurturing the next Broadway or Hollywood star.

His teaching philosophy is much simpler than that, and the impact much larger.

“I want to help each student find their path, define their goals and discover who they are and what they want to become,” Lewis said. “No one can exist alone. We all need each other.”

Through theater, Lewis is teaching his kids valuable life skills that, he hopes, will outlast high school.

His efforts have not gone unnoticed.

Once he had a student who joined his class in order to spend extra time with a girlfriend, a tough guy who thought he was too cool for acting.

It didn’t bother Lewis that the kid was there to pursue a girl. It never matters to him why students join his class. He’s just glad they do, because he knows theater can do so much for them.

“Kids come in and they’re resistant because they don’t want to fail and be embarrassed,” he said. “But when you’re in theater, you have to be honest with yourself in order to be honest with the audience.

They’re very quick to see through and judge any falseness. When I get them up on stage, they have to be honest. You can’t hide on stage.

That in itself is life-changing.”

In this case, he convinced the student to be a lead in a play. Many years later, the student thanked him.

“Before your drama class, I didn’t feel as though I fit anywhere, and I was a genuine teenager with angst,” he wrote in a text. “Your devotion to your craft changed me as a person. Thanks for allowing me to become my own person.”

This student is now a teacher, and that text is still saved on Lewis’ phone.

These gifts of gratitude, as Lewis calls them, are not uncommon.

Students recognize his desire to make a difference in their lives.

In all, Lewis spent more than 30 years teaching at Harlem, often working up to 80 hours a week. And if that weren’t enough, he even returned to school. His belief in the power of education and his commitment to his students was that strong. He enrolled at what was then Augusta College and pursued a specialist degree in teaching and curriculum.

It was the right decision.

“The program was great,” Lewis said. “The faculty was helpful in guiding me to make the best choices for my career.”

Lewis found himself among friends when he attended class. This made it easy to share ideas, teaching strategies and effective teaching skills.

“Although we may differ in some areas, all good educators work for the best for each student,” he said. “Each student can learn, and as educators, we are challenged to ensure that learning occurs for the betterment of each student so that they may discover success in their educational journey.”

Lewis left Augusta College with his specialist degree, feeling refreshed and excited to continue teaching.

“I always feel like there’s one more student I can reach,” he said. “I don’t do this for the money. I teach because I have a passion for it. At the end of the day, kids are kids and all they want is to be loved.”

So when Baldwin asked, Lewis said yes and accepted the position at ARC. A NEW BEGINNING In May 2012, Lewis retired from Harlem High School, and in August, he opened the doors to his classroom at ARC and slowly started building the theater program. He taught three classes and worked with students on after-school performances.

Lewis was quickly building the foundation of a successful theater program.

Nothing was off-limits.

His classroom was, and still is, the auditorium at ARC. It was built in 1926, and it has stayed more or less the same ever since. The need for renovation severely limited what Lewis and his students could accomplish on stage, so he got to work identifying the changes that needed to be made.

Lewis upgraded the theater’s lighting system and bought a new light board. Stock pieces were organized and equipment was updated. He started a costume collection, even teaching his students the basics of sewing. Three classes became four, and Lewis was teaching beginning, intermediate, advanced and technical theater classes.

The program was growing quickly, just as Spivey had hoped, and within Lewis’ first year at ARC, the students competed in a one-act play competition. They won the region and went on to place third in the state.

It was the department’s first production.

Later in that same year, students performed their first full-length musical, Once on This Island.

“Usually, theater programs do not build this fast,” Baldwin said. “It’s all because Roy came in with more than 30 years of experience, and he has such a passion for teaching.”

While all the changes took time and effort, Lewis’ focus on his students has never wavered.

“I want to make a positive difference in their lives,” he said. “Whether I get to see it, or realize it, is not as important to me as their journey. I really want them to find the best in life.”

In a recent rehearsal for an upcoming competition, Lewis advised his students to reflect on their monologues. He urged them to find a connection with the character. The point of this exercise, he explained, was to push his students to look within and be honest with themselves.

Lewis’ students find that most of their activities have a similar dual purpose – to succeed on stage and develop life skills.

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In one lecture, Lewis warned his students that anything can happen when you’re on stage – it’s how you react to it that matters. Your costume may rip, but you’ve got to keep going, he said. You can’t drop your guard or give up.

He wants his students to develop grace under pressure, not only because it will help them grow as actors, but because it’s a valuable skill for life beyond the stage.

“When you’re in situations where you’re interviewing for jobs or applying for scholarships, you need to be able to present yourself well and handle the situation,” he said.

With Lewis, nothing is accidental – not the lessons learned and not even the choice of plays, although sometimes their impact can be surprising. Lewis sees each activity as a way to make his students well-rounded people.

Case in point, a recent play, Four Little Girls: Birmingham 1963.

He thought the play would be a great educational opportunity for his students.

It turned out to be much more than that.

After the performance, a man approached Lewis and his students.

He was in tears as he explained what the play meant to him. This man had marched in Selma.

“It was so moving, and the kids just embraced him,” Lewis said. “At that moment, worlds changed. These experiences are making them better-rounded people. It’s opening up worlds for them that aren’t just words in a book, but reality.”

Lewis’ passion for teaching isn’t limited to the students in his theater class, but extends to the entire ARC student body. A former high school basketball player, Lewis has a heart for athletics. In addition to teaching a full-time workload as a part-time teacher, he is also the assistant basketball coach for the junior varsity girls’ team.

He is the team’s number one motivator and supporter, explains Peaches Stephens, the girls’ head basketball coach at ARC. “Roy not only provides basketball knowledge, but his best asset is in providing motivation and inspiration to the team,” she said.

“Even when they’re down, he’s always there to boost them up, make sure they think positive thoughts and grow and learn from every experience, win or lose.”

Former students are not surprised to hear of the affection ARC has for Lewis.

Keith Manasco currently works as a music teacher at C.T. Walker Magnet School. He met Lewis when he was a sophomore at Harlem.

Manasco had been singing in church choir since the fourth grade, so he was already well-acquainted with the world of music, but he didn’t have theater experience. In spite of that, Lewis convinced him to audition for a nonspeaking role in Fiddler on the Roof.

Manasco landed the role. It was his first musical theater experience.

He describes the experience as magical.

“Mr. Lewis gave a shot to an inexperienced singer from Pennsylvania and turned him into a teacher of 11 years who now 26 | SP R I N G 2 0 1 6 A. [ Au g u sta Univ e rsity’s Alu mni Mag az in e]

continues to share musical theater with his students,” he said.

“Calling him a teacher would be a serious injustice, because he was and continues to be so much more. He is what I strive to be as a teacher.”

Manasco’s perception of Lewis is not uncommon. In fact, many of his students feel similarly.

Joseph Alvarnaz began Lewis’ class as a shy student who didn’t venture outside of his close-knit group of friends, but that’s not how he ended class.

By the time he graduated high school, he was the front man of a local band that played concerts across the Augusta area. He gives Lewis the credit for this transformation.

“He pushed me to open up, and I probably wouldn’t be the person I am today without having experienced his classroom and the things he was preaching to us,” Alvarnaz said. “He made us get up on stage and wouldn’t take no for an answer. You had to get up in front of people, and you had to climb outside of yourself and play pretend like a child.

In his class, you felt safe to do that. I took that personally and took that into my own life afterwards.”

Alvarnaz is now a Spanish teacher at Cross Creek High School and again gives credit to Lewis.

“It’s common knowledge that you teach how you learn,” he said. “You pick the greatest things you’ve experienced, and you try to emulate them.

I think his personality and how he approached his students is how I model my classroom.”

Lewis’ ability to connect with and inspire his students is unique.

Doug Joiner, professor at Augusta University and Lewis’ friend, describes Lewis as an originator. There are replicators and originators, and Lewis is an originator.

“That’s a compliment,” Joiner said. “Anyone can copy.”

CURTAIN CALL Under his supervision, the Theater Department at ARC has continued to grow. Students have experienced success on both a regional and a state level. ARC is home to Governor’s Honors finalists and will host a regional August Wilson monologue competition.

ARC students have traveled around the state of Georgia to perform at the Georgia Theater Conference. They participate in regional one-act play competitions, and every year, Lewis’ students perform a spring musical which utilizes both faculty and students.

Four years ago, there were 40 students in the theater program, and now Lewis has 150 students, with no signs that it’s losing momentum. In fact, with the program’s continued growth, administrators are planning on hiring a full-time drama director.

One that will replace him.

And Lewis is fine with that. Once again, he’s willing to leave his legacy in the hands of a new teacher, but don’t expect him to retire any time soon. As long as there are students willing to learn, you can expect Lewis will still be around, lending a hand.

“

I always feel like there’s one more student I can reach.

“

— Roy Lewis

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PHOTOS BY PHIL JONES

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Bernard Roberson (BA ‘95)

STRONGER FOR THE STRUGGLE

BERNARD ROBERSON’S FUTURE was just unfolding as a health crisis threatened to stop him in his tracks.

By Christine Hurley Deriso Up through early adulthood, the native of Metter, Georgia, had managed to reconcile oversized ambitions with underwhelming financial resources. He started working in a drugstore as a boy to save money for college, a single-minded pursuit to compensate for his family’s modest means.

And his hard-earned savings filled the bill . . . at least temporarily. He enrolled at Mercer University in Macon, Georgia, but had to regroup when his money ran out after his sophomore year. No matter. The everresilient and preternaturally optimistic young man dusted himself off and forged a new game plan. He enrolled in the U.S. Air Force.

But soon thereafter, he began to experience increasingly debilitating stomach problems. Doctors suspected colon cancer, and a surgery on his 23rd birthday followed. The cancer scare was ruled out, but gastrointestinal abnormalities would require lifelong treatment from that point on. He retired from the military at age 23. “The last thing you want to deal with in your early 20s is a medical issue,” says Roberson.

‘JUST AS GRAND’ Frustrated but unbowed, he segued seamlessly to game plan number three. He enrolled in Augusta University (then Augusta College), where he fondly recalls a nurturing, supportive environment

at every turn. In the Admissions Department, Registrar’s Office, classrooms and everywhere in between, virtually everyone he encountered seemed determined to help him succeed. “These were folks who really helped push me through,” Roberson says, citing many who remain friends to this day. “[Augusta University] was very rewarding for me, and particularly importantly in my case, it was affordable. I’d spent two years at Mercer, so I had something to compare it to. The education was just as grand as the one I got from a private university.”

By the time he earned his bachelor’s degree in 1995, he was champing at the bit to jumpstart his twice-delayed career. He knew he wanted to work with the public, particularly vulnerable citizens, demonstrating the compassion borne of his own life experiences. He worked for the Aiken Housing Authority in South Carolina helping families reintegrate into the workforce, then served as director for community development for United Way of Aiken County, helping public-housing residents establish a firm foundation. “It was all about teaching people skills and life skills,” Roberson says. “That was very rewarding.”

That’s where he reconnected with longtime friend Dr. Robyn Hatley, professor of surgery at Augusta University’s Medical College of Georgia. “I was teaching classes for United Way, and Dr. Hatley recommended me as a social worker,” he says.

In 1999, Roberson joined Augusta University’s teaching hospital, Continued on next page

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now called Augusta University Medical Center. “I worked in orthopedics, then the kidney transplant program, then neuroscience, and from there it just kept growing,” Roberson says.

He knew he wanted to work with the public, particularly vulnerable citizens, demonstrating the compassion borne of his own life experiences.

CLICKING OFF GOALS Roberson was clicking off goals in other areas of his life as well: He and wife Sevi were raising a son and daughter, and Roberson was earning a master’s degree in management with a concentration in hospital administration from Troy University.

But once again, health problems threatened to derail his future. “In 1999, I had my first bout with my heart and ended up needing a heart cath,” he says. The procedure – the insertion of a tube into a large blood vessel leading to the heart, enabling physicians to visualize its function – led to a diagnosis of calcification in the lining of the heart valves. “The symptoms almost exactly mimic a heart attack,” he says.

Pretty daunting – except this time, Roberson was fortified not only with his own sunny optimism, but with his wife’s “refusal to be a young widow,” he says with a laugh.

“I put my foot down and told him he had to take care of himself,” says Sevi. “It’s difficult for him to do that because he’s all about giving. But we want to keep him around.”

Today, Roberson’s condition is closely monitored, and blood pressure medication, ready access to nitroglycerin tablets and other modifications have enabled him to push forward without missing a beat.

He laughs that his gastrointestinal issues had somewhat of an upside at this point in his life: He had a head start on the work involved in optimizing one’s own health. “I was already wellaccustomed to making dietary changes,” he says. He would prefer, of course, to have incorporated exercise and healthy eating into his routine on his own terms, but he’s sanguine about the cards he was dealt. He is also heartened that his firsthand challenges further illuminated his understanding of the patient experience – an understanding that made the next stage of his career a natural fit.

‘A GREAT JOURNEY’ In 2006, Roberson was named director of family services development for Augusta University’s health system, then appointed to his current role of administrative director of patient- and family-centered care. “Everything I’ve been through prepared me for what I do: helping integrate patients and families into the health care system, and helping the health system understand patients and families. It’s been a great journey.”

Building on Augusta University’s industry-wide reputation as a pioneer in the field, he

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counsels patients and families as well, urging them to be wellinformed and highly engaged champions of their own health. “If a medicine is making you light-headed and unable to focus, for instance, you need to speak up and say, ‘This isn’t the medicine for me,’” Roberson says. “Patients need to assert their needs, ask questions and convey vital information. And their health care providers need to listen. There’s a learning curve on both ends.”

He also inured his staff to an environment very similar to the one he creates for patients and families. “My staff members aren’t my employees, they’re my colleagues,” he says. “What we accomplish, we accomplish together.”

OPENING DOORS As fulfilling as his team’s impact is on health care, Roberson is even more heartened by the impact he and his wife have had on their children. Son Aaron, 23, is a senior at Kennesaw State University, and daughter Maya, 20, attends Georgia Southern University. Both excel academically, and both “really have a servant mindset, which is exactly what we wanted for them,” Roberson said. “They’re always willing to help others regardless of personal sacrifices, and they find that in helping others, they’re helping themselves.”

Roberson counsels to his children the same values he counsels to those in his professional life, including respect, compassion, dedication and teamwork. He encourages them to “get into the trenches” and make a difference in the world. They seem to have internalized the message well.

Aaron, for instance, has been on the Kennesaw State University’s Student Government Association all four years of college, a tenure culminating in this year’s role as president. He prides himself as a strong advocate for his classmates and a resonant voice regarding important issues, even (maybe especially) controversial ones.

He also utilizes social media and other resources extensively to help ensure that his classmates are well-informed voters come Election Day in November. He urges them to become involved in campus politics as well, for instance by arranging an annual Meet the President event. He applauds the event’s role in helping students “have meaningful conversations with administrators and their peers to allow them to have a better understanding of things important to them here on campus.”

Daughter Maya takes a different but equally impactful approach to service. For example, rather than hitting the beach during spring break this year, she completed mission work in the Dominican Republic.

“Our son goes, goes, goes all the time, just like his dad,” says Roberson’s wife, who also exemplifies a strong work ethic as director of management for the Augusta Housing Authority. “And our daughter has a very giving heart. We’re so proud of who they’ve turned out to be.”

Their children return that pride unabashedly. Roberson notes that they still love hanging out with their parents, laughing that they keep commandeering their parents’ 25th-anniversary plans. “I’d planned to take Sevi to Hawaii, but the kids wanted to go, so we did that two years early,” Roberson says. “So we thought about a cruise, and the kids said they want to come along for that, too. But to have grown children who want to be with their parents? You can’t ask for more than that.”

As for Roberson’s ongoing health issues, he insists that nothing is holding him back. “I’m doing great; I can’t complain one bit,” he says.

“And I’m very proud of the work we’re doing. What I’m doing with my life is bigger than any problem I could have.” ma g a zi n e s. au gu sta. e d u |

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Karin Hauffen (BBA ‘14) and Dr. Jay Hegdé, assistant professor of Ophthalmology

ANYTHING BUT TYPICAL

YOU MIGHT THINK you’ve read this story before. In a way, you have.

In part, it’s about a student of modest means pushed to his limits by his education. Challenged every step of the way, the student finds a place to flourish, rises to the top and then builds upon his experience to become a more well-rounded individual.

By Nick Garrett In a sense, it sounds like a typical college success story.

Karin Hauffen is the student in question. A recent graduate of the James M. Hull College of Business, Hauffen is a shy, clumsy, good-natured giant of a man. He lives in Augusta, where he works remotely as a Dynamics AX Developer for eBECS North America, an Atlanta-based Microsoft partner. Like many young professionals, he is plagued by self-doubt, though, to meet him, you’d never guess it.

But despite his winning personality and admirable work ethic, no one can seem to nail down just how unique his achievements really are.

Part of the problem is that he’s done a lot. On top of earning two associate degrees, certificates, a bachelor’s degree and landing a fulltime job with a major software company, Hauffen is also the lead author on a research paper. The subject? Creating naturalistic 3-D objects for use in studying the perceptive capabilities of humans and macaques.

Impressive, sure, but still very familiar.

On the surface, that’s what makes Hauffen’s story so remarkable: The fact that it’s almost unremarkable. He wasn’t remade by his professors, wasn’t reformed, reshaped or rebuilt by formal education.

He didn’t become someone else.

He grew.

And that’s where this familiar story takes a turn. Because there’s the part you’ve already heard, the part about a shy student who grew to become a more well-rounded individual, but there’s also the part you haven’t — the part about the university that grew, and prospered, alongside him.

And that story is anything but typical.

A PLACE TO FLOURISH Dr. Jay Hegdé’s office is located on what is now Augusta University’s Health Sciences Campus, and the room contains the usual office fare: a gray desk, a gray phone and a variety of uncomfortable-looking rolling chairs. The space is austere, lit intermittently by sunlight filtered in through tinted shades or the dim glow of computer monitors. At the back of the room, however, nestled atop a long stretch of window sill, a handful of potted plants sunbathe in full view of the green space beyond.

It’s a curious juxtaposition.

In a way, it’s also a mirror of the university’s promise: to provide a place of shelter, a place of learning where brilliance can flourish — both in and outside the lab. Such was the case with Hauffen, Continued on next page

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though, in hindsight, he refuses to call anything he accomplished here “brilliant.” It was all just — at least, he believed — what was expected of him.

That’s part of the magic of this story. Neither he nor the faculty who guided him want to take credit for his success. Somehow, that would cheapen the achievement.

Instead, Hegdé puts it this way: “With Karin, we got to witness a clear evolution.”

That evolution began in the spring of 2009.

CHALLENGES Now an assistant professor of ophthalmology, Hegdé first joined the Brain and Behavior Discovery Institute at the Medical College of Georgia in the fall of 2008. A specialist in the study of primate visual neuroscience and electrophysiological recording techniques in awake subjects, Hegdé quickly set about establishing new studies in his particular niche.

One of those studies focused on the relationship between neural activity and object perception.

“This was a kind of novel research about how we see,” he explained.

“A lot of it involves high-tech, computer-intensive things.

Part of the research involved developing a program to print naturalistic 3-D objects for testing the visual perception of macaques.

By breaking these objects apart and distributing their fragments, he hoped to see if subjects could determine which object category the pieces belonged to on a better-than-chance basis.

Normally, the task wouldn’t have been an issue. Programming is second nature to many researchers in the field. Had he wanted to, Hegdé could have easily written the code himself.

The issue wasn’t the amount of work, but rather the amount of time the work would take.

“I knew I’d rather have an assistant do it so that I could supervise them while working on other aspects of the research,” he said.

That left him with a problem.

Prior to consolidation, MCG didn’t have a computer science program. Student assistants and interns were sometimes called in to help with research, but the nearest candidates with programming experience were nearly three miles away at what was then Augusta State University. Without a formal pipeline between the two schools, finding those candidates was often difficult.

Hegdé, frustrated, turned his search elsewhere.

After a time, he was introduced to John Arena, the former dean of Information and Engineering Technology at Augusta Technical College. After speaking through email, the two settled on a likely candidate, a student who had recently earned dual associate’s degrees in programming and e-commerce.

That student, Hauffen recalls cheerfully, also happened to be in the middle of an intense job hunt.

“I was looking everywhere for work,” Hauffen said. “Around then, I heard Hegdé was looking for someone with my skill set. I was very nervous.”

And with good reason. Hauffen knew next to nothing about working in a lab. At the time, though, there was a shortage of techbased opportunities in Augusta.

Left with few other options, Hauffen applied.

“We set up an interview by email,” Hegdé explained. “All I knew at the time was the name Karin Hauffen.”

A Germanic name meaning “pure,” Karin is traditionally feminine.

The son of a Hispanic father and an Irish-German mother, Karin’s name is pronounced with a rolling Spanish “r” and, when pronounced correctly, sounds more like Ka-REEN or Ka-DEEN. Of course, on paper, his name looks like it would be pronounced Ka-REN. “My father mentioned he wanted to name me something unique,” Hauffen explained, chuckling. “He definitely succeeded.”

You can almost see where this is going, can’t you?

On the day of their meeting, Hegdé was expecting someone else when a brusque knock sounded at his door. When he answered, he said he was immediately taken aback.

“Here I was expecting a woman and this big guy twice my size shows up,” Hegdé said, gesturing to represent the extreme height difference between them. “He’s a big dude.”

For his part, Hauffen said he remembers feeling a similar anxiety about their meeting, albeit for very different reasons.

“I was nervous and intimidated, and it’s funny, because … I tower over him,” Hauffen said. “Researchers move between things almost like they have everything planned for the day. It was a process, learning my way around him.”

After moving beyond their initial shock, the pair quickly set to work hammering out the details of their new partnership. In so

GROWING TOGETHER 2008

2009

Hauffen begins work as an assistant at Medical College of Georgia (MCG).

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2010

2011

Hauffen, working as a member of Hegdé’s lab group, publishes his first research paper.

MCG becomes Georgia Health Sciences University (GHSU).

Hauffen is lead author on his second research paper.

Hauffen enrolls in Augusta State University (ASU).

At ASU, Hauffen is named a Watson-Brown Scholar, a Hull Scholar and makes Dean’s List.

doing, Hauffen encountered the first of many challenges.

“There were limitations involved with hiring Karin,” Hegdé said.

Because he lacked a bachelor’s degree, hiring him and, more importantly, paying him what he was worth, proved challenging.

Hauffen was dismayed. His education had never felt like a problem before. After all, he understood the material. The things he didn’t already know, he would pick up quickly enough.

He knew he could do it, because he always had before.

“It fit my personality,” he explained. “I’ve always liked solving puzzles, figuring things out.”

Knowing that, Hegdé took a chance on Hauffen.

“I hired the kid and told him you can come learn the programming stuff in my lab, but there is an actual programming job I need you to do,” he said.

Despite a few other hiccups in the hiring process, the pair set up a contract. Soon after, Hauffen was on his way.

He worked from home at first, owing in part to the fact that he was already working two other jobs to support his family — one as a cook at Cracker Barrel and another as a freelance developer. Money was tight. When he worked in Hegdé’s office, he had to drive his family’s car to do so.

Not fully aware of the constraints Hauffen was dealing with, Hegdé

gave his new assistant upwards of three months to finish the project.

He was surprised, then, when Hauffen returned with it in just three weeks.

“It was perfect,” Hegdé said.

Smiling, he added, “That was my first inkling that this was a really smart kid.”

A STUDENT OF MODEST MEANS The moment marked a pivotal change in Hauffen’s life. Having already seen him perform once, Hegdé set out to find new and more imaginative challenges for his new assistant to conquer. The first was overcoming his sense of self-doubt, a task which, Hegdé lamented, was too big for just the two of them.

“I started giving him things he swore he had no business doing, no aptitude for, he was certain he was going to fail,” he said. “I would say, ‘Yeah, yeah, very nice. Now, go do it.’”

And Hauffen would.

Time and again, he pushed himself to learn new material.

Sometimes for the sake of programming. Other times, for the sake of research. The fruits of his labor soon paid off.

Within the first few months, he had taught himself MATLAB, a specialized programming language used in highly computational research. He learned the ins and outs of the lab and familiarized Continued on next page

2012

2013

2014

2015

ASU and GHSU consolidate, becoming Georgia Regents University (GRU). For the first time, Hauffen is working, learning and conducting research at the same university.

An article in Time magazine features the consolidation of GHSU and ASU as a model for university mergers. Hauffen enters his senior year and his fourth year working for Hegdé.

Hauffen graduates from GRU with a bachelor’s degree in management information systems — a program that originated at ASU — and years of medical research experience from MCG.

GRU becomes Augusta University, making it easier to produce multidisciplinary graduates like Hauffen.

ma g a zi n e s. au gu sta. e d u | 35

himself with the specialized equipment within. He even learned how to work with other people, a skill he said he’d never previously valued. And he learned to do it all flawlessly.

But as with all great stories, Hauffen’s successes were overshadowed by troubles.

Though his educational evolution was well underway, his social journey was just beginning.

Now a member of a large team at eBECS North America, Hauffen admits that he had some social “quirks” when he first started working for Hegdé.

“When Karin first started working for me he would take off his shoes in nonrestricted areas like the office,” Hegdé explained. “He was more comfortable that way; that was how he worked at home. I told him he would have to wear his shoes when he worked as a courtesy to his labmates.”

Although Hauffen did so without question, the incident was only one of a handful of growing pains.

Another involved toilet humor.

“He had a marketing course, I remember, and the professor wanted his students to learn to be good salespersons,” Hegdé recalled, detailing an incident very early in Hauffen’s undergraduate career.

“He wanted the students to pick a product and pitch it to the class, a show and tell of sorts.”

Karin, to his chagrin, chose to pitch toilet paper. It wasn’t a terribly surprising choice, though.

At the time, Hegdé described his assistant’s sense of humor as that “of an overgrown boy.”

During lab time, Hauffen was engrossed in research related to depth perception. More specifically, he and his fellows were scanning eye movements to determine how patients move their heads to compensate for impaired vision, a condition known as parallax.

Defined as the perceived displacement or difference of an object’s position when viewed along two separate lines of sight, parallax could be described as something seeming “out of place” from a certain point of view.

“

When I think of Karin, I think of a very highly motivated, engaged student who was in charge of his own destiny.

— Melissa Furman

“

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Despite his brilliance in the lab, that was precisely how Hauffen felt.

His mannerisms, he felt, were something of a hindrance, though no one in the lab considered him so. But something else bothered him. Something he couldn’t quite put his finger on, though he’d experienced it before.

RISING TO THE TOP “In high school, I was all over the place,” Hauffen said.

A brilliant analytical thinker he always excelled at math and science. What really stuck with him, though, was his interest in computers.

Before working in the lab, earning an advanced degree had never factored into the equation of his life. He said the reason he went to tech school in the first place was just to see if it was something he “wanted to dabble in.” But the more time he spent in the lab, the more he realized something was missing.

The people around him were all doctors.

“Over my first couple of years as an employee, I was around people way more educated than me,” Hauffen said, breathing a sigh. “I think that was when I realized I really wanted to continue my education.”

So, naturally, he did.

Shortly before the consolidation of ASU and Georgia Health Sciences University, Hauffen enrolled at the Hull College of Business.

It was a tremendous decision. In retrospect, he said it was one of the best he’d ever made, though, at the time, returning to school was difficult. University life was trying, especially as a full-time student working two jobs. Balancing classes with newfound responsibilities soon became an almost daily struggle. Hauffen felt like he was underwater.

But that isn’t the Karin Hauffen Melissa Furman remembers.

“When Karin came in, he immediately built relationships with academic advisors and was always very on top of planning what he wanted to do,” said Furman, assistant dean of the Hull College of Business. “When I think of Karin, I think of a very highly motivated, engaged student who was in charge of his own destiny.”

It’s not a statement Furman makes lightly. Prior to joining Hull and taking on the role of assistant dean, she worked for four years as a member of Augusta University Career Services, guiding students and recent graduates to careers in their given fields. As a result, she said she’s learned how to spot a certain class of students.

“In the college, I meet people, sometimes freshmen and sophomores, who I know are presumed super stars,” she explained.

“These are students who I know are going to make it, who I invest in and try to mentor. He was a presumed super star.”

Classes at Hull transformed Hauffen. Or rather, they transformed his self-perception.

“When I first started, I was also balancing two jobs, so it was a little bit stressful,” he said. “People like Dr. Todd Schultz and Melissa, they made me more excited about choosing my degree. Working with them made me feel like I’d made a good choice.”

From Furman’s point of view, it was certainly the right choice.

“He was featured on our website, in our newsletters,” Furman said.

“He was a Hull Scholar, an ADP Scholar, a Pamplin Scholar; Karin was sort of our ‘go-to’ success story.”

Suddenly, the shy lab assistant with the “boyish” sense of humor was making a name for himself. He started moving away from his more “childlike” tendencies and began focusing more on his

professional prospects, chasing scholarships and internships — any and every accolade he could achieve to further his budding career as a developer.

And once it started growing, that list of accomplishments went on seemingly without end.

“He received so much scholarship money, he kind of maxed out,” Furman explained. “There were scholarships he was actually awarded that he couldn’t accept because he’d maxed out the amount of money he could receive from a financial aid perspective.”

Today, he says he’s thankful for the experience. Thankful, and a little sleepy.

“I think having so much on my plate actually helped me in the long run,” he said with a grin. “It made me appreciate sleep when I graduated, though. I had to catch up on four years of sleep.

A MORE WELL-ROUNDED UNIVERSITY In Hauffen, two separate educations — two points of view — intersected. The Medical College of Georgia made him a stronger programmer and a better researcher. At the same time, Augusta State University and Hull were making him a better professional.

Today, on either campus, the Karin Hauffen who first arrived at Augusta University is nearly unrecognizable. Though he’s still the same good-natured giant, he’s somehow different, now. He holds his head a little higher. His wit, once boyish, is now dry and charming.

And while he still indulges in the occasional shoeless telecommute session, he cuts a dashing figure in a suit.

He’s a well-rounded student — the kind of alumnus universities hope for.

That said, no one on either campus will claim responsibility for his success.

“I think inside he knew he was worth that much,” Furman said. “He just needed the reinforcement of people telling him, ‘You’re amazing.’

That was a proud moment for me, when he finally realized his worth.”

Likewise, Hegdé believes Hauffen owes it all to himself.

“This kid has everything going for him,” Hegdé said. “I keep telling him, ‘if you don’t be your bonehead self, keep your nose clean and keep doing everything you’re doing, then the sky is the limit.”

Predictably, though, Hauffen won’t claim responsibility for it either. In his mind, his accomplishments run tangentially to his own efforts, the former and the latter related, though, perhaps, not correlated. Some things never change.

“I owe Augusta University so much, not just for helping me grow up a little bit and being more mature, but also for making it to where I am now,” Hauffen said. “I had no idea I was ever going to go this route, but I’m so glad I did.”

Regardless of who is responsible for Hauffen’s growth, though, it’s clear that his story could only have happened where it did, in a place where two equal parts combined to form a much greater whole.

“As a consolidated university, we now have the potential for a lot more kids like Karin,” Hegdé said. “Kids for whom various kinds of internships or research experiences or other kinds of work experience would make a huge difference. We are a much better place now for developing students like Karin in the future.”

That is the ultimate takeaway from Hauffen’s story.

Because from the very beginning, the story was never solely his.

Along every step of the way, the schools that would become Augusta University were playing a role, too. A role that has now consolidated opportunities for a new generation of students.

And that makes this story anything but typical. ma g a zi n e s. au gu sta. e d u | 37

PHIL JONES

On Our Way

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[

SECRET LIVES

]

GRETCHEN CAUGHMAN

DAY JOB: Provost, Executive Vice President For Academic Affairs SECRET LIFE: Quilt Maker

D

r. Gretchen Caughman has been defying expectations since she was a graduate student at the Medical University of South Carolina, when she applied for – and won – a National Science Foundation grant without consulting anyone else at the university.

“I was naive and figured it was just like a contest entry where you fill it out and see if you win,” she laughs. “When I got the award notice, I took it into the main office, and they kind of went, ‘Did we know about this?’”

They may not have known, but they were pleased.

Now provost and executive vice president for academic affairs, the versatile Caughman is probably best known for being a constant, steadying influence during a period of tremendous change, but many are surprised to learn that she has a secret life in what is often perceived to be an almost antiquated pastime: quilt making.

University administrator/quilt maker. The two sides just don’t seem to be a part of the same coin, but here Caughman insists she’s not the only one defying expectations.

“I think many people who haven’t seen modern quilting have an idea that it is kind of that old fashioned, stodgy kind of thing that only your grandmother would be interested in,” she says. “But there are just remarkable works of art that are being created out there, and they’re definitely not what Grandma had on her bed.”

Growing up a sewer – not only did she make most of her clothes in high school, she made her wedding dress, too – she first became interested in quilting around the year 2000, and soon after that she got the idea of making a quilt to decorate the wall space in her new office when she was appointed dean of The Graduate School.

She hasn’t looked back since, though it’s never been just about the finished product. She finds the meditative quality of stitch work relaxing after the chaos of her work day. And while she works in a converted bedroom that has its share of technology, when it comes to design, she mostly forgoes the computer programs in favor of putting scraps of cloth on her flannel-covered design wall.

“There’s something much more satisfying about having your hands on the fabric,” she says.

Most of her quilts are given away or will be passed down to her two sons, though she does admit to being interested in the competitive world of quilt shows. But not just yet. She’s still got some work to do on the biggest quilt of her career: Augusta University.

PHOTO GALLERY View a selection of quilts close up at magazines.augusta.edu. ma g a zi n e s. au gu sta. e d u | 39

]]

IN THE PLACE THROUGH LENS

PHIL JONES

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PHIL JONES

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1

EDUCATION DAY

2

HOMECOMING

On Dec. 15, more than 2,500 Richmond County fifth-graders stormed Christenberry Fieldhouse to cheer on the Jags and get up close and personal with Augustus.

In February, junior Sunny Devarapalli and sophomore Kara Walker address the crowd as the 2016 Homecoming King and Queen.

3

SNOW ON CAMPUS

4

GIVE KIDS A SMILE

It didn’t last long, but a January dusting of snow turned our campus into a winter wonderland.

On Feb. 6, approximately 125 local children received free dental care from students and faculty from The Dental College of Georgia and the College of Allied Health Sciences.

4 BARRY KOENIG

5

PHIL JONES

PHIL JONES

3

DAY AT THE CAPITOL Feb. 11 was the first time students and administrators from the entire university went to Atlanta to meet with legislators at the statehouse.

5 ma g a zi n e s. au gu sta. e d u | 41

THE HONOR OF YOU R PR ES ENC E I S R EQU ES T ED AT T H E I NV ES T I T U R E OF

BROOKS A. KEEL, PhD AS THE INAUGURAL PRESIDENT OF AUGUSTA UNIVERSITY

WEDNE S DAY, THE TWENTY-SEVENTH OF APRI L TWO THOUSAND AND SI XTEEN AT TWO I N THE AFTERNO ON

TH E AUGUSTA C ONVENTION C ENTER 901 REYNOLD S STREET | AUGUSTA, GEORGI A RE CEP TION I MMEDI ATELY FOL L OWI NG TH E FAVOR OF YOUR REPLY I S REQUESTED BY THE TH IRTEE NTH OF A PRI L VI A AUGUSTA.EDU/I NAUGURATION 706-721- 6917

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[ IN MEMORIUM

'I GOT YOU' SHANNON HILLIARD JOHNSON, a former Augusta State University baseball player, was killed in the Dec. 2, 2015, tragic shooting in San Bernardino, California.

According to Denise Peraza, one of Johnson’s co-workers, the native Georgian died saving her life.

Peraza recalled, “I will always remember his left arm wrapped around me, holding me as close as possible next to him behind that chair,” she said. “Amidst all the chaos, I’ll always remember him saying these three words, ‘I got you.’ I believe I am still here today because of this amazing man.”

Johnson, along with 13 of his co-workers, was killed by another co-worker in the San Bernardino Public Health Department.

Augusta University is raising funds to honor Johnson, and the Jaguar baseball team is wearing an honorary decal on their batting helmets for the 2016 season to remember him.

The circular decal features the American flag with Johnson’s initials and the quote “I got you.”

“Shannon Johnson is a true American hero, but he’s also part of Jaguar Nation,” Jason Eller, Augusta University baseball head coach, said. “Although his time with us was short, our memory of him should live on. We want our students, athletes and community to remember not only what he did, but who he was. Shannon is one of us. Once a Jaguar, always a Jaguar.”

Johnson joined the Augusta University Jaguars for the 1992 baseball season as a catcher. He wore No. 13 and split time behind the plate under head coach Skip Fite.

In 2004, he received a Bachelor of Science in Health Science from Cal State University, San Bernardino. He had plans of pursuing his doctorate in the same area. In 2005, he went to work for San Bernardino County as an Environmental Health Specialist where he remained employed until the time of his death.

1960s

Dr. Philip Roberts (MD ’62) received the Lamartine Hardman Cup award from the Medical Association of Georgia. After working in private practice in Albany for a decade, Roberts joined the Phoebe Putney Memorial Hospital in 1990 and became the medical director of the Phoebe Cancer Center before retiring in December 2014.

1970s

CLASS NOTES

]

Health's One Health Medical Group, in Madisonville, Kentucky.

Dr. Jim Vaught (PhD ’77), International Society for Biological & Environmental Repositories president and founding member, joined the Scientific Advisory Board of CloudLIMS. Vaught is currently a senior research fellow at the International Prevention Research Institute (Lyon) and a consultant for a number of international biobanking activities.

Dr. Steven Bentley (MD ’78) published A License to Heal: Random Memories of an ER Doctor, an intriguing compilation of emergency room stories. Bentley’s career UPDATE YOUR spans more than 30 years ADDRESS. in various North Carolina

1980s

Dr. Steven L. Carpenter (MD ’88) was advanced by the American College of Physicians to the level EMAIL US AT emergency departments. of Master, the highest designation given by the ALUMNI@AUGUSTA.EDU Dr. Arthur Fleischer (MD organization. Carpenter ’76), medical director of is currently chair of the ultrasound, Cornelius Vanderbilt Department of Internal Medicine Chair Professor of Radiology and for Mercer University School of OB/GYN, Vanderbilt University Medical Medicine’s Savannah campus; professor of Center, joined The Expert Network, an medicine at Mercer University School of invitation-only service for distinguished Medicine; and clinical assistant professor at professionals. the Medical College of Georgia.

Dr. John S. Harvey (MD ’78) was sworn in as president of the Medical Association of Georgia on Oct. 17, 2015. The ceremony was in concert with the organization’s 161st House of Delegates meeting. Harvey has cared for his patients in the Atlanta area for over 30 years.

Dr. William Durrett (MD ’85), owner of the Pain & Brain Center at Aiken Neurosciences and Pain Management in Aiken, South Carolina, will be published in the Leading Physicians of the World as a new member of the International Association of HealthCare Professionals.

Dr. Michael Lam (MD ’76) is a boardcertified cardiologist with Owensboro

Susan Grant (BSN ’83), senior executive for nursing at Royal Oak, Michigan-based

We can't share your news unless you share your news.

Tell us what you've been up to at alumni@augusta.edu

ma g a zi n e s. au gu sta. e d u | 43

[

CLASS NOTES

]

1972

FLASHBACKS BILLBOARD MAGAZINE’S TOP TUNE “The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face,” Roberta Flack

OSCAR-WINNING FILM The Godfather

ON CAMPUS Don Titus H.J. Huisman establishes The Sickle Cell Center on the Health Sciences Campus.

IN THE NEWS President Richard M. Nixon makes an unprecedented eight-day visit to the People’s Republic of China and meets with Mao Zedong.

The Pioneer 10 spacecraft is launched from Cape Kennedy, to be the first manmade satellite to leave the solar system.

Atari kicks off the first generation of video games with the release of their seminal arcade version of Pong, the first game to achieve commercial success.

Beaumont Health, was appointed executive vice president and chief nursing officer.

Dr. Mary Jane Hamilton (BSN ’82), dean of the College of Nursing and Health Sciences at Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi, was selected as the Augusta University College of Nursing Phoebe Kandel Rohrer Distinguished Alumna and Presidential Alumna award recipient.

The Texas House of Representatives also honored Hamilton in March with a resolution congratulating her for receiving this award and for her achievements in the nursing profession.

Dr. Michael Makowski (MFRI ’88), partner with Tomoka Eye Associates in Daytona, Florida, received the University of Central Florida Alumni Association and College of Medicine Professional Achievement Award.

An ophthalmologist, Makowski’s focus is on cataract surgery, glaucoma, oculoplastics and corneal transplant.

Justice State Advisory Group. Vignati is the deputy commissioner of the Division of Community Services for the Department of Juvenile Justice. He earned a bachelor’s degree in political science from Augusta University and a master’s degree in public administration from Georgia State University.

1990s

Dr. Marilyn Hockenberry (PhD ’92), Bessie Baker Professor of Nursing at Duke University School of Nursing, was appointed associate dean for research for the Office of Research Affairs.

Dale Inglett (BFA ’98), associate professor of art in the College of Liberal Arts & Sciences at Alfred University in Alfred, New York, received a New York State Council on the Arts and the Arts Council of the Southern Finger Lakes grant.

Vice Adm. Matthew Nathan (MD ’81), Navy surgeon general and chief, U.S. Navy Bureau of Medicine and Surgery, retired during an official ceremony at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center on Dec. 7, 2015.

Dr. Thomas R. Kelley (MD ’91) was named chief of quality and clinical transformation at Orlando Health. Kelley is a practicing primary care physician and continues to see patients in his Longwood, Florida, office.

Dr. Clyde Lanford “Lanny” Smith (MD ’89), general medicine and primary care, received the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center’s 2015 Latino Achievement Award in recognition for his contribution to advancing exceptional care for the Latino community.

Dr. W. Curt LaFrance Jr. (MD ’95) has published his second and third books, Taking Control of Your Seizures: Workbook (with Dr. Joel M. Reiter, Dr. Donna Andrews and Charlotte Reiter) and Treating Nonepileptic Seizures: Therapist Guide (with Dr. Jeffrey Peter Wincze). LaFrance is director of neuropsychiatry and behavioral neurology at Rhode Island Hospital and associate

Joe Vignati (BA, Political Science '87) was appointed by Gov. Nathan Deal to the Juvenile

IN MEMORIUM Alice K. Batson (MSN ’76)

William L. Elliott (BA ’82)

Grace J. Krome (AA, Nursing ’77)

Evelyn C. Berg (AA, Core Curriculum ’40)

Douglas J. Fechtel (MD ’83)

George K. Larsen (MD ’80)

Patricia A. Bormolini (BSN ’83)

Ellen O. Fuller (BSN ’60)

Steven C. Lipham (DMD ’10)

John B. Butler (DMD ’81)

Alyson C. Jenkins (BA, Sociology ’91)

Paul McNealy (MEd ’83, ’91)

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[ professor of psychiatry and neurology at Alpert Medical School, Brown University.

Dr. Kenneth Peavy (DFRI ’90), periodontist in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, offers advanced gum recession treatment using the Chao Pinhole Surgical Technique, a revolutionary method for treating gum recession and an alternative to gum-grafting techniques of the past with less invasive procedures.

Dr. Christopher Shaffer (MEd ’98), dean of university libraries at Troy University, was one of only 10 librarians in the United States selected to receive the 2015 I Love My Librarian Award. The New York Public Library and The New York Times are cosponsors of the award, which is administered by the American Library Association.

Dr. Larry Weddle (DFRI ’99), owner of Weddle Orthodontics in Westminster, Colorado, has launched a new, more patientfriendly website: drweddle.com/treatment/ early-treatment.

2000s

Dr. Robert Carey (MD ’00), urologic surgeon and head of Sarasota Memorial’s Robotic Uro-Gyn Epicenter, was ranked among the best in Florida for prostate removal in ProPublica's first-ever Surgeon Scorecard.

Carey is the highest-rated surgeon with the lowest adjusted complication rates in the state in his subspecialty.

Dr. Garett Seeba (DMD ’09) completed his oral and maxillofacial surgery residency

in June 2015 at Louisiana State University, New Orleans. He now is in group private practice in Webster, Texas.

Dr. Stephanie M. Simonson (MD ’02), radiologist at Cambria Somerset Radiology in Johnstown, Pennsylvania, will be published in the Leading Physicians of the World as a new member of the International Association of HealthCare Professionals.

Dr. Matthew J. Socha (PhD ’09) was named assistant professor of biology at The University of Scranton in Scranton, Pennsylvania.

2010s

CLASS NOTES

]

Clinician during the annual Thomas P. Hinman Dental Meeting.

Mary Christina Elder (MHS ’14) and Paul Joseph Formella were married on Sept. 26, 2015, in Lenoir City, Tennessee. Elder is employed as an occupational therapist at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston.

Sean Matthews (BA, History ’15) was named director of women's basketball operations at Furman University in Greenville, South Carolina.

SHARE YOUR NEWS.

Ashlyn Thomas (MHS ’15) married Brett DeLoach on Nov. 14, 2015, at DeMott Vineyards at Gin Creek, Hartsfield, Georgia. Thomas is an occupational therapist for the Pierce County and Brantley County school systems.

EMAIL US AT Dr. Abiodun Akinwuntan ALUMNI@AUGUSTA.EDU (MPH ’12) was named dean of the University of Kansas School of Health Professions in Kansas City, Dr. Rebekah Thomas (MPA ’13) Kansas, effective Jan. 18, 2016. has joined the Georgia Campus of Akinwuntan served as associate dean for the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic research in the College of Allied Health Medicine in Suwanee, Georgia, as an Sciences and professor of physical therapy, assistant professor in the Physician ophthalmology and neurology at Augusta Assistant Studies Program. Thomas University between 2005 and 2015. graduated in 2008 from Drake University with a Doctorate of Pharmacy and then Dr. Lauren Bowersox (MFRI ’15) joined completed two years of general and Atlanta West Dentistry in Marietta, specialty pharmacy residency training at Georgia. Bowersox is one of the youngest Grady Health Systems in Atlanta. dentists in the country to receive a Mastership with International Congress of Oral Implantologists. This year, she was recognized as the Outstanding Table

Betty H. Metts (MD ’55)

Gail D. Robertson (BSN ’75)

Margie D. Pitts (BSN ’62)

Roslyn Seligman (MD ’61)

James E. Pruett (MD ’57)

Robert C. Silver (MFRI ’74)

William H. Rhodes (MD ’61)

Audrey B. Watkins (AA, Core Curriculum ’50)

Otis J. Woodard (MD ’57)

“A purpose of human life, no matter who is controlling it, is to love whoever is around to be loved.”

Kurt Vonnegut

ma g a zi n e s. au gu sta. e d u | 45

HISTORY & HERITAGE

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ARCHIVE

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Julia Flisch (in white blouse at far right) with students at the all-female Georgia Normal and Industrial College that she helped found in 1890.

LIFELONG FIGHT TO ‘GIVE THE GIRLS A CHANCE’ SIXTY-FOUR-YEAR-OLD Julia Flisch stands at the front of a classroom at the Junior College of Augusta. Many of her male students regard her with frank suspicion and barely concealed hostility.

It’s 1925, it’s the South, and Flisch is the only female founding faculty member of JCA, a legacy institution of Augusta University. It’s not easy. But this courageous and tenacious activist, writer and educator had never taken the easy path.

As the nation celebrates Women’s History Month, Augusta University salutes Julia A. Flisch, a pioneering educator who, upon her death in 1941, was praised for doing “more than any other person to advance the cause of women’s education in the state of Georgia.”

Born in Augusta in the first year of the Civil War, Flisch moved with her family to Athens as an infant where her father operated a sweets shop across from the University of Georgia.

After graduating from Lucy Cobb Institute in 1877, Flisch applied to the all-male university.

She was denied admission, as were all women at that time – an event that likely drove her lifelong commitment to women’s education.

When the family returned to Augusta, 21-year-old Flisch wrote a letter to the local paper sharply criticizing the social restrictions of the South. Her battle cry – “Give the Girls a Chance!” – became the theme of her life’s work. Her efforts led to the formation of the allfemale Georgia Normal and Industrial College in Milledgeville (now Georgia College and State University). GNIC was the first state-supported institution for females in Georgia, which meant that higher education became an option for women beyond those from the wealthiest families. Flisch also pushed for a curriculum similar to that available to men.

After teaching at the Milledgeville school she helped found, Flisch moved to Wisconsin where she earned a master’s degree in history.

She was offered faculty positions at prominent universities but opted to return to the South.

For 18 years, Flisch taught at the Tubman High

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School for Girls, encouraging her students to aspire to careers in law and medicine. In 1889, 20 years after it had rejected her, the University of Georgia gave her its first honorary master’s degree conferred upon a woman.

Thirty-six years later, at the age of 64, Flisch joined the initial faculty of the Junior College of Augusta as dean of women and professor of history. Disgruntled colleagues encouraged male students to disrupt her classes. Despite the hostile reception, Flisch became one of the most respected faculty at the institution, admired by colleagues and students alike for her intellect. Dr. Edward Cashin wrote in A History of Augusta College, “Her students were convinced that she had two brains: The story was handed from one class to the next as solemn fact and added a new dimension to the wonder which surrounded her.”

Flisch taught at our university for the remainder of her career, and her enduring legacy is reflected in the rich diversity of our students to this very day.

VALUE ADDED

] PHIL JONES

[ Sawyer Branham

MUSICAL GIFTS SINCE ITS 1786 DEBUT performance in Vienna, Austria, Mozart’s The Marriage of Figaro has been performed countless times around the world.

It’s a big production. A full three hours in length, it’s an energetic recounting of servants Figaro and Susanna’s wedding day, humorously complicated by the licentious interest of Figaro’s aristocratic employer in the bride-to-be.

The story is witty and entertaining, but as is true with all opera, music is its driving force.

Enthralled audiences had the opportunity to experience that force during three performances of The Marriage of Figaro presented by the American Opera and Musical Theater Institute at Augusta University over the recent Valentine’s Day weekend.

Sawyer Branham, an Augusta native pursuing a bachelor’s degree in music and vocal performance at Augusta University, played Susanna.

“It’s a really big role, really demanding,” she said. “Susanna is on stage the whole time, and singing in Italian is a challenge in itself.”

Branham expressed great appreciation for the support she received from many people connected to the school and production. But two names kept coming up: Tonya Currier and Gene Fleischer.

Currier, a part-time voice faculty member and the administrative director of the American Opera Institute, is the reason Branham wanted to return to Augusta after briefly studying music elsewhere.

And Fleischer and his late wife, Lucille, with their generous and longtime patronage of opera in Augusta, are the reason she was able to.

Currier, an accomplished and awardwinning operatic soprano, has long been part of an active and generous group of local opera enthusiasts working to bring top-quality

performances and vocalists to Augusta.

Chief among that group have been the Fleischers, who arrived here in the ’70s and immediately immersed themselves in the local music community. Growing up poor in New York City, Lucille’s love for opera began during free performances of the Metropolitan Opera at the local library. Gene is an accomplished musician who plays several instruments.

Their 1942 marriage, which lasted 71 years until Lucille’s death in 2013, was born amid a mutual appreciation for music, which Gene continues to this day.

The Fleischers long supported both the city’s Augusta Opera and the university’s music programs, establishing two endowments with the university’s foundation that support opera and music scholarships.

Branham is a scholarship recipient. “Without his contributions to the Augusta Opera Scholarship fund, I couldn’t afford tuition,” she said.

After the Augusta Opera shut its doors in 2013, Gene was a founding benefactor of the American Opera and Musical Theater Institute housed within the university’s Music Department.

“The care and nurturing of young singers is really important to him,” said Currier. “It’s not just that he brings opera to the community, but he’s enabling students to have these experiences.”

Gene underwrote the production of The Marriage of Figaro – the first opera performed in Augusta in four years. Its mix of professional and student performers provided students tremendous opportunities to learn from the pros and grow in their craft.

Branham especially appreciates the personal interest Gene takes in her and other students’ work. “That someone of his stature in the community is taking time out of his schedule to see us perform … that just means so much,” she said. ma g a zi n e s. au gu sta. e d u | 47

IN THE FIELD

]

PHIL JONES

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TIED TO THE COMMUNITY

L

ongtime athletic director Clint Bryant has a 28-year track record of giving back to the Augusta community, and over the years, he’s worked hard to weave that dedication into the fabric of the Augusta University Athletics Department.

“All 13 of our teams do different things as community service projects,” Bryant says. “At the Boys and Girls Clubs, the Easter Seals, the YMCA – we do a lot with kids, and we do a lot with the military community, too.”

Bryant has continued to build upon the school’s 25-year relationship with Fort Gordon, growing that engagement from a Military Day to a Military Week to last year’s Military Game, where the school’s hosting of 1,000 soldiers was seen in over 100 million homes on the CBS Sports Network.

And then there’s the annual Education Day basketball game that brings 2,500 fifth-graders from the desks of Richmond County Schools to the seats of Christenberry Fieldhouse. This year, the kids didn’t just see a game, they were also introduced to about a dozen Augusta University administrators, faculty and staff members who were once Richmond County grade schoolers.

Bryant says it’s important for the kids to make the connection between those running the school, including the man that just happens to be the president of the university, and themselves.

“We wanted them to come to Augusta University and see people who looked like them who were once sitting in the same seats they were sitting in and realize it’s not out of the realm of possibility that they can go to college here,” Bryant says.

Among those kids a was a group of fifth-grade boys from Gracewood Elementary who are part of Jocks and Gents, a mentoring program established by assistant men’s basketball coach Jamie Quarles, who just so happens to have received his undergraduate degree and master’s degree from Augusta University.

Approximately once a month, team members accompany Quarles to the school, catch up a little with the kids and then help them with a project, like organizing their binders, making Christmas cards for patients at the medical center or learning the importance of dressing for success.

“Interacting with those kids is important because it gives them someone to look up to,” Quarles says of the program. “And it’s perfect when the kids come to the Education Day game, because they feel special. All the fifth-graders in the county are there, and those kids from Gracewood actually have a relationship with members of the team. That’s tough to beat.”

A Jocks and Gents tie tutorial for fifth-graders at Gracewood Elementary

VIDEO See what inspires coaches to give back at magazines.augusta.edu.

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