2003 UGA COE EDUCATION magazine by University of Georgia College of Education

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DAnd IVLeading ERSThe ITWay Y Into The Future Mary Frances Early MMEd ’62 and EdS ’67

UGA’s First African-American Graduate

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reetings! A commitment to diversity is an integral part of UGA’s educational mission. Through its programs and practices, UGA seeks to foster understanding of and respect for cultural differences necessary for an enlightened and educated citizenry to participate fully in the global society of the 21st century. The results of that commitment are clearly evident in a recent report by Black Issues in Higher Education that ranks UGA 13th nationally in number of doctorates awarded to African Americans. More specifically, the report ranks UGA 14th in the number of education doctorates awarded to African Americans. The College of Education has long been at the forefront of UGA's quest for diversity and continues to lead the way into the future. Forty years ago, a young education student made history by becoming UGA’s first African-American graduate. And six years prior to that, another education student was the first woman to receive a doctorate at UGA. We are pleased to feature both outstanding alumni – Mary Frances Early (MMEd ’62 and EdS’ 67) who now heads the music department at Clark Atlanta University and professor emeritus of children’s literature Bernice Cooper (BSEd ’47, MEd ’53 and EdD ’56) – inside this issue. Our quest for diversity continues today, but it is also a quest for excellence as we strive to meet the educational challenges facing our state and nation. One of those challenges is how to best educate the children of Georgia's booming Latino population, which has risen 300 percent over the last few years. To address this issue, the College is partnering with The Goizueta Foundation to create UGA’s first Center For Hispanic Educational Advancement. Funded by a $3.5 million Goizueta grant, the Center will direct its focus on improving education for Hispanics in Georgia. The grant will endow a Faculty Chair, who will be a nationally eminent scholar in Hispanic studies, to direct the center. It will also fund scholarships and graduate assistantships to students interested in advancing Hispanic education. Two of our elementary education professors, Jim McLaughlin and Martha Allexsaht-Snider, have already been working to meet this challenge in recent years by developing a three-week cultural immersion course in which UGA student teachers and practicing Georgia teachers spend time in Mexican elementary schools and stay with Mexican families. This is just one example of our faculty taking a national leadership role. We must continue to be open to innovative approaches and rethinking traditional methods of teacher preparation if we are to meet the challenges ahead, but we must not lose sight of what makes a high quality teacher. Research tells us that teacher quality is a key determinant of student success. Here at UGA, we prepare our teachers to be diverse educators – not only knowledgeable in subject matter but also trained in best teaching methods and child development. We want our graduates to know how to teach. We want them to know about classroom management, differences in how children learn, curriculum design, assessment of student performance, learning disabilities, educational technology and much more. Eliminating these education requirements would likely guarantee that youngsters living in poverty will continue to be left behind because typically their schools must hire teachers who are less prepared and who must learn how to handle a classroom on the job. We are excited about taking “the road less traveled.” The state’s premier flagship institution is expected to do no less. Thank you for all of your support. The faculty and I are very appreciative of your generosity.

2003 Louis A. Castenell, Jr. Dean Jeri Benson Associate Dean for Academic Affairs George Hynd Associate Dean for Research and External Affairs Michael Padilla Associate Dean for Educator Partnerships EDUCATION is published annually by The University of Georgia College of Education and is produced by the Office of Communications and Publications, under the auspices of the Associate Dean for Research and External Affairs. MAGAZINE STAFF Editor Michael Childs Design A.W. Blalock Contributing editor Charles Connor Contributing design Troy Bassett Copy editor Julie Patton Editorial assistant Angela Shih Contributing writers Janet Jones Kendall, Deryl Bailey, Pamela Paisley, Cathy Lo, Brinna Sinclair Contributing photographers Paul Efland, Peter Frey, Rick O’Quinn CONTACT Michael Childs Director of Public Information College of Education G-9 Aderhold Hall The University of Georgia Athens, GA 30602 706/542-5889 mchilds@coe.uga.edu College Website: www.coe.uga.edu COE News Online: www.coe.uga.edu/coenews

ABOUT THE COVER College of Education alumna Mary Frances Early poses in her office at Clark Atlanta University where she heads the music department.Early was UGA’s first African-American graduate, receiving a master’s degree in music education in 1962.She returned to earn a specialist degree in education in 1967 and is currently working on a PhD in educational leadership. Cover design by A.W. Blalock Front cover photograph by Paul Efland Back cover photograph by Rick O’Quinn

I N S I D E

COVER STORY

DEPARTMENTS

20 First in Their Class Education alumni Mary Frances

2 Campus News 3 National Rankings, Facts & Figures

Early (MMEd ‘62 and EdS ‘67) and Bernice Cooper (MEd ‘53 and EdD ‘56) hold two historic and social milestones at UGA – the first African-American graduate and the first woman to receive a PhD. By Janet Jones Kendall

28 Honor Roll of Donors 30 Faculty, Staff Recognition 32 Student Honors / Student Spotlight 33 Alumni Honors

FEATURES

Building Bridges

Education research scientist Dottie Harnish is leading a one-year, $2.6 million project to redesign secondary technical education in the United Arab Emirates – a task that has presented some very sticky issues after September 11.

A Chance for Success

Now We See You!

A Tale of Two Teachers

Counseling professor Deryl Bailey writes about his innovative and successful program designed to help African-American male teenagers reach their full potential and why it’s needed now more than ever. By Deryl Bailey and Pamela Paisley

A select group of UGA scientists, including several College of Education researchers, is using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to make important new discoveries on how the human body and brain work, studying such topics as dyslexia, schizophrenia, diabetes, obesity, spinal cord injuries, cardiovascular disease and aging. By Michael Childs

Two UGA graduates write about what they learned in their first year of teaching and how the World Trade Tower’s tragedy brought together their two third-grade classes – one in New York City’s East Harlem and the other in suburban Gwinnett County – as penpals. By Cathy Lo and Brinna Sinclair

C A M P U S

N E W S

College reaches out with speakers bureau

he College of Education provides speakers and performance arts presentations for schools, civic groups, businesses and professional organizations. The COE Speakers Bureau involves nearly 70 faculty participants who are teachers and research scholars in the College. These faculty members often have nationally- and internationally-recognized expertise in their area of study and relate well to audiences that may vary in age, education,occupation, and religious and political beliefs. Topics include aging, health, exercise science, bullying, character education, gifted and creative, school behavior problems, and teaching science, mathematics and language education. For more information and a complete listing of faculty and topics, see the Speakers Bureau link at http://www.coe.uga.edu/research/

225 now enrolled in online special education program

apidly becoming one of UGA’s most popular online programs, Special Education Training on the Web (SETWEB) now has 225 students enrolled. A group of 65 teachers from 17 Georgia counties became the first cohort to complete the innovative special endorsement add-on certificate program in December 2001. This certification allows teachers to work with special needs students and makes them more marketable to school systems. The teachers are recommended for certification by the state’s Professional Standards Commission after passing state exams. There has been a critical shortage of special education teachers in Georgia schools over the last few years. The recruitment web site for Georgia’s public schools, (www.TeachGeorgia.org), recently listed 224 vacant special education positions in 62 Georgia counties. For busy teachers, these online courses offer the easiest route for additional certification because they are taught on the Web, in teleconferences and in three-day seminars. Designed by faculty of the special education department, the program takes seven semesters to complete. For more information,visit http://www.coe.uga.edu/setweb/

Special Ed awarded $175,000 federal grant for research

he U.S. Department of Education has approved a $175,000 grant for the College’s special education department as part of its Outreach Projects for Children with Disabilities Program. The grant,to fund the evaluation and implementation of the most effective special education programs in Georgia and Alabama school districts serving diverse student populations, is expected to be renewed for two more years and an additional $350,000. 2 ■ EDUCATION 2003

New UGA at Gwinnett Center students take a break in front of the new academic building

BSEd among first UGA undergrad programs in Gwinnett

tarting this fall, The University of Georgia is offering three undergraduate degree programs – including one in education – at the Gwinnett University Center in Lawrenceville. The programs are open to new transfer students (not currently enrolled at UGA), as well as to students who already hold a bachelor’s degree and are seeking a second degree, according to Bob Boehmer, who serves as UGA’s senior administrator for the Gwinnett programs. The College of Education is offering a BSEd in Instructional Psychology, Training and Technology. The degree should help those interested in developing training programs for adults. Graduates will find careers in human resource offices in businesses, as well as government agencies, hospitals and non-profit organizations. “There are many people in the Gwinnett area who have some college but need to complete a degree to advance their work setting or find more meaningful employment,” said Cheri Hoy, director of the School of Professional Studies in the College. “Also, many people are interested in teaching but would rather work with adults than children in K-12 settings. This degree is perfect for those individuals.” There were 40 slots open for this fall’s opening class, and the College will accept 40 more students into the program each semester. There will be one class per day and four classes per week – all scheduled at 5 p.m.to accommodate working adults. Faculty from five COE departments will teach the courses. Next fall,the College plans to offer the first teacher degree programs at Gwinnett – in special education and science education. As is already true of the graduate program offerings, admissions standards to UGA undergraduate degree programs at GUC will be on par with those at the main campus in Athens. Transfer students must have completed 60 hours of transferable course work and earned at least a 2.5 GPA.Prospective students must also meet the criteria for admission into the specific degree program they wish to pursue. For more information on UGA at Gwinnett, visit http://www.uga.edu/gwinnett

N A T I O N A L

R A N K I N G S

GRADUATE PROGRAMS RANK UGA TOP 10 RANKINGS WITH NATION’S BEST Five UGA Programs Rated in Top 10 UGA’s College of Education is listed among the nation’s top graduate schools in U.S. News & World Report’s 2003 edition of “America’s Best Graduate Schools.” The magazine uses a combination of factors including reputation, selectivity, placement success, faculty resources and research activity to rank graduate programs at 187 education schools. Overall UGA Education Rankings • 3rd among education colleges in the South • 15th among public schools in the nation • 23rd overall nationally Additional UGA Program Rankings Educational Psychology 14th Administration/Supervision 15th

FACTS & FIGURES Enrollment: 4,692 (47% graduate students) Faculty: 226 full-time, 340 graduate assistants Degrees & Programs: 90 graduate, 18 undergraduate Diplomas (2001): 600 graduate, 542 undergraduate

For full details on the U.S. News and World Report Best Graduate Schools rankings, visit their site at: http://www.usnews.com/usnews/ edu/grad/rankings/rankindex.htm Complete program specialty and department rankings can be found at: http://www.usnews.com/usnews/ edu/grad/rankings/edu/eduindex.htm

1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

Ohio State University - Columbus Penn State University - University Park University of Minnesota - Twin Cities University of Georgia University of Illinois-Urbana - Champaign Virginia Tech 7. University of Wisconsin - Madison 8. University of Missouri - Columbia 9. Colorado State University Oklahoma State University

Elementary Education 1. Michigan State University 2. Ohio State University - Columbus University of Wisconsin - Madison 4. Teachers College, Columbia University (NY) 5. University of Georgia 6. University of Illinois-Urbana - Champaign 7. Vanderbilt University (Peabody) (TN) 8. University of Virginia (Curry) 9. Indiana University - Bloomington 10. University of Michigan - Ann Arbor

Secondary Education 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8.

Michigan State University University of Wisconsin - Madison Stanford University (CA) Ohio State University - Columbus University of Georgia Teachers College, Columbia University (NY) University of Virginia (Curry) Indiana University - Bloomington University of Illinois-Urbana - Champaign 10. University of Washington

Counseling/Personnel Service

Living Alumni: Over 40,000 External Funds (2001-2002): • Research: $5,933,105 • Instruction: $4,307,371 • Outreach: $4,758,166 • Total: $14,998,642

Vocational/Technical

POINTS OF PRIDE Faculty • 12 Fulbright Scholars • 2 University Scholars • 9 Distinguished Research Professors • 1 Regents Professor • 6 Meigs Award winners (for teaching excellence) • 5 Walter B. Hill Award winners

Alumni • National Teacher of the Year in 1999 • 12 Georgia Teachers of the Year

Student Quality • Median GPA:3.7 • Median SAT: 1203 • 96.2% pass rate on the national Praxis II teacher exam

1. University of Maryland - College Park 2. University of Florida 3. Ohio State University - Columbus University of North Carolina - Greensboro 5. University of Minnesota - Twin Cities University of Wisconsin - Madison 7. University of Georgia Indiana University - Bloomington Penn State University - University Park 10. University of Iowa

Curriculum/Instruction 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

University of Wisconsin - Madison Michigan State University Teachers College, Columbia University (NY) Stanford University (CA) Ohio State University - Columbus University of Michigan - Ann Arbor University of Illinois-Urbana - Champaign 8. University of Georgia 9. Vanderbilt University (Peabody) (TN) 10. Indiana University - Bloomington

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STUTTERING

Researcher seeks answers on speech disorder that affects 5 percent of preschool children

nn Bothe has researched stuttering for more than 15 years. She believes she knows why some children never fully recover from the speech disorder that affects as much as 5 percent of preschool children across the nation. Bothe, an associate professor in communication sciences and disorders, is getting a chance to test her theories after being awarded a $1.07 million National Institutes for Health (NIH) grant. Stuttering generally affects preschool children between the ages of 3 and 5. About 1 percent of adults stutter. The disorder is more prevalent in males than females by about 4 to 1 in adults. Bothe will focus the first phase of her five-year project on developing a measurement standard to help researchers and clinicians define the severity of a child’s stuttering. She believes the variation in measurement of child stuttering is why treatment often fails. “Most current measurement systems for children’s stuttering are based on identifying individual disfluency types, such as repetitions or prolongations of speech sounds, despite the fact that this data is known to have poor reliability and questionable validity,” said Bothe. During the first phase of the project, the UGA researcher will record and gather hundreds of videotapes of children’s stutters, sending samples of their speech to about 10 of the world’s top child-stuttering experts for their judgement on what is and what is not stuttering. “Then we’ll develop training material. We’ll have an audio-visual, computerdriven training system in which we can really see and hear what we call a stutter,” Bothe said. Once the measuring tool is in place, she will look at why 20-80 percent of children who stutter seem to recover without treatment. Bothe believes the large range in percentage reflects the lack of a measurement tool and how experts differ in defining a stutter. “One hypothesis that has been around for 20 years now but has never been tested is that children who recov4 ■ EDUCATION 2003

er are actually when the child stutgetting some ters and what their treatment from siblings do. It might their parents,” be that it’s kind of a Bothe said. peer or sibling presIn the second sure that helps part of the projthem recover,” ect, she will said Bothe. seek 100 famiThe third part of lies in the the project will be a Southeast with treatment comparipre-schoolers son study in which who are just children of the 100 beginning to families participatAnn Bothe hopes to define a standard of stutter. She will ing in the study measurement for stuttering in children ask these famiwho do not recover lies to place a video camera in their during the eight-week observation will kitchen or wherever they have the be provided treatment. most interaction with their children. “We’ll be looking at how much the Anne Bothe can be reached at abothe@coe.uga.edu child stutters, what the parents say

First 25 Complete Coursework to be Technical College Leaders

eorgia’s technical colleges were instrumental in the state’s ranking as the top provider of work force training in the nation, according to Expansion Management Magazine (October 2001). These institutions served more than 101,000 degree-, diploma-, and certificateseeking students in fiscal year 2000. An additional 133,000 students were served in non-credit courses, and 100,000 in adult literacy programs. These are the people who provide the infrastructure for the state – trained workers in health care, industrial services, agriculture, business and engineering science technologies, and public service technologies. These are the police officers, firefighters, teachers’ aides, carpenters, plumbers, electricians, welders, hospitality workers, paramedics, nurses, dental assistants and hygienists that underpin the economic vitality of the state. And unlike many university graduates, who go on to make contributions outside of Georgia, most technical college graduates remain close to their communities. Recognizing the importance of these institutions and the critical need for effective leadership in them, two COE departments – occupational studies and adult education – along with the Institute of Higher Education initiated a cooperative doctoral program with a concentration in executive leadership for technical colleges. The degree offers preparation for an administrative position in a technical college, study with a cohort of peers who share common career goals, and a flexible delivery format that combines once-a-month classes with distance learning and online delivery. This fall, the first group of 25 technical college leaders is completing coursework, taking comps, and working on their dissertations, while a second group of 25 technical college leaders begins its doctoral work.

MEETING THE CHALLENGE OF A MULTICULTURAL SOCIETY A $3.5 million grant from The Goizueta Foundation establishes the College’s second endowed chair, a center for Hispanic educational advancement, graduate assistantships and undergraduate scholarships for students interested in advancing Hispanic learning.

College leading UGA effort to improve education for Hispanics in Georgia

he numbers are staggering. America’s foreign-born population topped 31 million in 2000 – an increase of 57 percent over a decade earlier and the highest in U.S. history, the U.S. Census Bureau reports. This rising trend in immigration began around 1970 when foreign-born Americans numbered 9.6 million and made up fewer than 1 in 20 people in the nation. By 2000, the proportion had reached 11.1 percent – about one of every nine residents. Latin America and Asia provided more than three-quarters of those immigrants. The majority, nearly 52 percent, came from Latin America, and 26 percent arrived from Asia, while just under 16 percent hailed from Europe. This national trend is even more pronounced in Georgia where the census bureau says 435,227 Latinos live – a 300 percent increase in Hispanic population over the last decade and the third fastest-growing in the nation. And demographers feel the actual Latino population for the state may be

Roberto C. Goizueta (above) established The Goizueta Foundation in 1992 to provide financial assistance to educational and charitable institutions. Above, the joy of learning is reflected on the faces of students in La Cana Elementary School in Veracruz, Mexico

■ By Michael Childs

EDUCATION 2003 ■ 5

closer to 1 million, owing to undercounts and illegal aliens. This rising tide of immigrants has resulted in dramatic demographic, economic and social shifts throughout Georgia. Communities, schools, social service agencies, local governments and businesses must find ways to serve this new population so they can fully participate in the civic opportunities and economic prosperity of the state. Responding to this challenge, the UGA College of Education, with the help of a $3.5 million grant from The Goizueta Foundation of Atlanta, is leading a major effort to help Georgia schools better educate children of the state’s booming Hispanic population. “Clearly, the 300 percent increase in Hispanic population in the state is something to which the university needs to respond,” said Michael Padilla, the College’s associate dean for educator partnerships who will oversee the center. “And since much of the growth has occurred in school-age population, it’s really critical that teachers know how to work with kids who don’t speak much English or whose families don’t speak much English.” UGA will use The Goizueta Foundation grant to: • Establish the Center for Hispanic Educational Advancement, which will provide training and information to help schools, teachers and parents develop ways to improve the academic success of Hispanic children in grades K-12. • Endow The Goizueta Foundation Chair for Hispanic Teacher Education in the College of Education. An internationally known scholar will be recruited to fill this position and provide intellectual leadership in addressing the educational needs of Hispanic youth. • Create The Goizueta Foundation Graduate Scholars Fund to support graduate students dedicated to Hispanic educational improvement. The assistantships will require the students to work with Georgia schools to better understand issues that affect educational success for Hispanics. • Establish The Goizueta Foundation Scholars Fund to provide need-based scholarships to UGA undergraduates who are fluent in Spanish and whose families live in the U.S. “While the grant is targeted to Hispanic education, it provides the req6 ■ EDUCATION 2003

UGA’s Fulbright S

uisite cross-cultural competencies necessary for today’s leaders; thus all students at UGA will benefit,” said Louis ■ By Michael Childs Castenell, dean of the College of Education and interim associate provost of UGA’s Office of Institutional Diversity. ducation professor Jim McLaughlin “Creating a culturally diverse and has spent so much time south of inclusive academic community is intethe border over the last several years he gral to The University of Georgia’s has rented a house there. educational mission,” said Castenell. He is one of UGA’s most knowledge“The growing Hispanic population is able experts on Hispanic teaching and creating significant and positive ecolearning and speaks warmly, almost revnomic and social changes in Georgia, erently, about the Mexican people. As he and this grant enables us to address talks about his research and collaboration one of that group’s most pressing with Mexican educators and elementary needs – the educational achievement school students over the last several and advancement of children and years, you can tell it’s a labor of love. young people.” McLaughlin and his education colUGA already offers many programs leagues have developed an innovative focused on Hispanics. In the summer three-week “cultural immersion” of 2001, the University’s public service course in Xalapa, Mexico, for UGA and outreach office drew some 300 teacher students and practicing teacheducators and community leaders to ers. The program has been so successcampus for a major conference on the ful that it is now UGA’s fourth largest economic and culStudy Abroad site. tural impact of McLaughlin, Latinos on the “As the world and the state of head of UGA’s midstate. A second dle school educaGeorgia become increasingly conference, on tion program, will connected, we must build strong Latino health and spend even more nutrition, was this communities that incorporate time in Mexico in past July, along 2003 as a Fulbright our needs as a multicultural with a professionScholar, conducting society. The University of al seminar to train research and teachextension specialGeorgia is honored to partner ing at the ists to help Universidad de with The Goizueta Foundation Hispanic families. Veracruzana and the to help ensure that Hispanic In addition, a Universidad number of acachildren and young people in Pedagogica demic and service Veracruzana, both Georgia receive an education departments offer in Xalapa. that prepares them for success seminars, cultural In the meantime, and social activiin the future.” a broader agreement ties and other profinalized this sumUGA President Michael F. Adams grams for and mer between UGA about Hispanics. and the Universidad The Center for Hispanic de Veracruzana has created an official Educational Advancement will use exchange program for university stufaculty expertise, like that of Fulbright dents and promises even more collaboScholar Jim McLaughlin, to find ways ration by scholars and researchers. to help Hispanic children succeed in “I’ve been developing these courses school. McLaughlin and his colleagues with my Mexican colleagues for the have developed a three-week cultural past several months, and we will coimmersion course in Mexico for UGA teach them starting in January,” said teacher students and Georgia teachers McLaughlin. “This is a new step. We in a partnership with the Universidad haven’t done anything like this before. de Veracruzana. Working with parThis is not just about collaboration ents, educators and officials in areas and exchanges. It’s also about curricu-

Please see GOIZUETA, Page 33

lum development.”

Scholar South of the Border

One action research course he is creating will engage rural Mexican teachers in analyzing life in their classrooms and in documenting student learning. Each teacher will do a research project that incorporates responses by students and community members. The end product will be an action plan to improve their teaching and communication with the community. Faculty and graduate students from the two Mexican universities and UGA will participate in this project – the partnership’s first full-scale collaboration in both teaching and research. The team, which will include UGA students from the colleges of education, family and consumer science, social work, and agriculture, will develop an ethnographic and participatory study to document “la vida cotidiana” (everyday life) in three rural schools and communities near Xalapa. The intention of the study is to strengthen leadership and planning within the community, improve economic conditions, and help improve the schools. The new agreement will also expand exchange opportunities for students and

students, and 41 school teachers from northeast Georgia have participated in what McLaughlin and his UGA colleague Martha Allexsaht-Snider call “The Xalapa Experience.” Offered in Maymester and June sessions, the program is designed to be a crash course in understanding cultural and linguistic diversity. “It’s hard on some people,” said McLaughlin, who brought the first group of teachers and education students to Xalapa in May 1999. “You come to Mexico, and the food is different, and you can’t drink the water, and for many of us – communication is limited.” But that is the point of the program which seeks to better prepare Englishspeaking Americans to teach the everincreasing number of Latino students in Georgia schools. Latinos now constitute the largest U.S. minority at nearly 13 percent. It is Georgia’s fastest-growing

UGA professor Jim McLaughlin talks with children at La Cana Elementary School in Ve r a c ruz, Mexico. At right, Cynthia Ballard, a counselor at Chase S t reet Elementary School in Athens, helps a student write in San Mar cos e l e m e n t a ry school research efforts and visits by scholars in both directions, McLaughlin said. “Our first two UGA students went down to Mexico as exchange students in August – one for a full year and the other for a semester,” said McLaughlin. “The new agreement will allow collaborative enterprises of all kinds. I think we’re really going places with this international network.” The expanding relationship between UGA and the two Mexican universities couldn’t be more timely with Georgia seeking to improve education for the children of a growing Hispanic population in the state. Fortunately for Georgia, McLaughlin and his UGA colleagues have been ahead of the curve on this challenge. Over the last three summers, some 43 UGA undergraduates, eight graduate

educational and economic constituency, now an estimated 1 million strong. During the three weeks in Mexico, participants live with host families and are involved in program activities 12 hours a day. Morning visits to social agencies, cultural sites, or local schools are followed by an intensive Spanish language and Mexican culture class, taught by a faculty member at the Please see MEXICO, Page 33 EDUCATION 2003 ■ 7

Building College helping UAE reform its technical education system

ollege of Education research scientist Dorothy Harnish never imagined three years ago when she headed a 19-member international consulting team to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) that her work could lead to The University of Georgia helping the Persian Gulf nation reform its entire secondary technical education system. But that’s exactly what Harnish, her UGA colleagues and partners at the Manukau Institute of Technology (MIT) in New Zealand will be doing in the 2002-03 academic year under a new $2.6 million agreement. And there’s a good possibility the project will continue on an even larger scale over the next five years. But getting to this point hasn’t been easy. It has taken courage, determination and perseverance in the face of unknown peril by those involved. As Harnish and 15 technical education experts from the U.S. and Australia prepared last fall to make the first of three visits to evaluate UAE technical

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schools, the September 11 terrorist attacks occurred. “We had booked flights to Dubai and were planning to leave for the UAE on September 27. We had worked with the UAE Ministry (of Higher Education) for nearly two years to get to this point,” said Harnish, project coordinator for the Occupational Research Group in the School of Leadership and Lifelong Learning. “After 9/11 we had to decide if we wanted to continue the project and if so, whether to reschedule immediately or after several months.” After consulting UAE officials and a variety of political and security experts here and abroad, the first 20day trip to Dubai was rescheduled for October 18. “I urged each of the team of experts to decide for themselves whether or not they still wanted to go,” said Harnish. “Several decided to pull out of the project due to the concerns of their families. We had five experts from Australia whose government canceled all international travel for educa-

tion personnel.” After losing over half the team, Harnish scrambled to find new experts and found willing partners in faculty from the Manaukau Institute who were already doing work in the UAE. Some 11 program experts, including Harnish and two agriculture experts from UGA, in fields ranging from automobile technology to electronics to machining made the October visit and subsequent visits in January and May of 2002. They evaluated curricula, teachers and labs in UAE technical schools to determine what areas needed improvement. The major reform will involve building new facilities, purchasing new equipment, changing vocational education curricula and policies, and hiring more vocational education teachers to meet the needs of a country that has become an international business and trade center. “It’s a great opportunity because we’ll be recreating a whole system (of vocational education) to make it better. At that scale – it affects an

Bridges UGA professors (left) Roger Hill, Robert Wicklein and Dorothy Harnish pose with Yahya Mahdi, head of the UAE Department of T echnical Education. At top right, one of the ornate administrative buildings of the University of Sharjah

entire country,” said Harnish. “It also opens up many possibilities in that part of the world to UGA students and faculty.” The proposal calls for UGA/MIT to provide 14 curriculum experts who will work full-time with all six of the technical schools in UAE to implement curriculum changes and teacher improvement strategies in the following programs: electronics, electrical installation, mechatronics, refrigeration/air conditioning, automotive, construction/surveying, machining/fabrication, telecommunications, technical drawing/drafting/computer-assisted design, agriculture, business management, IT/computer applications and accounting/banking. The experts will include UGA faculty and graduate students from occupational studies, educational leadership and adult education as well as agriculture, mathematics education, science education, instructional technology and language education. Future UGA-UAE collaborations might include jointly developing onsite- and Web-based education courses, student exchanges and placements, faculty exchanges and joint research.

Q&A

with Project Director Dorothy Harnish Q: What happened to the project after September 11 last year? A: I learned a lot about risk management in international projects. The main question was how safe would it be for Americans to go to an ArabIslamic country at that point? Would we be putting the team at risk of personal injury or harassment there? Would we still be welcome in UAE? Could we do the work in the schools? What would happen if other terrorist attacks followed in the U.S. while we were gone or in other parts of the world directed at U.S. citizens? Could we get home again if we were in UAE? How likely was any of this to happen? Would there be retaliatory strikes and in what part of the world? Would it affect travel into or out of UAE on the Persian Gulf? Who had information about this to guide us? Who would advise us about making this decision at UGA? Who would make the decision? Like most Americans, I was feeling terribly vulnerable and paranoid. I first contacted my liaison official in the UAE Ministry of Education and Youth, who happened to be out of the country at a WorldSkills competition in Korea at the time of 9/11, which complicated communications. They

Dorothy Harnish

Continued on page 10

EDUCATION 2003 ■ 9

urged me not to cancel the project but to wait a month to allow things to “calm down.” They were concerned and offered condolences but thought we might be “overreacting” and that going to UAE would not be a problem for us because it was so safe there. They didn’t seem to understand that this was now a new world for Americans. I then contacted the U.S. embassy in UAE (Abu Dhabi) and the U.S. Consulate office in Dubai. They had posted safety alert messages on their Web site and suggested areas of the city to avoid but basically just said Americans should “keep a low profile” for a while. The vice consul there said there were no specific threats to Americans in UAE and that things seemed to be going on as usual. I then contacted the U.S. Department of State Website and signed up to receive automatic email notices of safety warnings issued by the government. I also talked with the Middle East specialist in the Overseas Security Advisory Council of the U.S. State Department who was pretty reassuring that things were quiet in the UAE. He said there had been no demonstrations or incidents there in the week following 9/11 and that UAE was very business-oriented and out ward-focused and would send home anyone who caused trouble (e.g., Pakistani, Saudi or Afghanistani workers). I also talked with some Americans who were teaching ESL in the technical schools in UAE, and they confirmed that at first they were cautious about going out, but things seemed normal. After several weeks, I decided that we should reschedule the first visit because if we couldn’t do this, we would have to cancel the whole project. The UAE Ministry understood what we were up against and were pleased that we persisted in the project regardless of the national crisis here. I think it indicated to them that we were serious about our commitment to helping the schools and that they could rely on us even if times were tough. It was a courageous move and recognized as such, so we gained some respect from them.

10 ■ EDUCATION 2003

Q: How did that rescheduled visit in October 2001 go? A: It was my third visit to the country, but I felt very uneasy. We tried to “keep a low profile” but, not being quite sure what this meant, finally just relaxed and went on with our business, which was what everyone else seemed to be doing. There were no problems except for one student-related graffiti incident in one of the schools (an anti-U.S. message written on a classroom wall). This was handled immediately and appropriately by the administration. Q: How many UGA faculty will be involved in work over there, in what areas and for how long? A: There will be two from the College of Agriculture and several faculty and grad students from occupational studies, ed leadership, and maybe adult ed, also perhaps math or science ed, instructional technology and language ed. I will be able to fund up to 10 trips for UGA individuals to travel to UAE for up to two weeks each during the year to assist the project and schools.

A: We need to separate the Islamic extremists from other Muslims and Arabs and not discontinue all relationships with countries like UAE just because of the actions of these fanatics. Additional terrorist attacks against the U.S. would raise questions about our continuing involvement because international travel and the highly visible presence of Americans/Westerners in Arab countries could become mor e problematic and risky. But one comment frequently made to us in UAE after 9/11 was that we were probably safer in UAE and on Emirates airlines than in the U.S. where the attacks had taken place. There are so many variables to assess to determine when the dangers outweigh the benefits. We just take it one year at a time.

Q: How will this benefit UGA faculty, students and researchers? A: We will have a full-time, daily pres ence in all of the tech high schools in the country (business, agriculture, industrial/trades), with project experts in curriculum and administrative posi tions. We’ll have funding to suppor t trips to the schools for UGA faculty, grad students and other professionals who can work with our overseas proj ect staff, UAE teachers and administrators. We expect to have cooperative agreements with both the UAE and the Manukau Institute of Technology in New Zealand to explore and suppor t educational exchanges for students and faculty, as well as cooperative research. Student internships of one month or more will provide international opportunities for more UGA students – a UGA goal, particularly in a part of the world where we currently have very limited contacts and knowledge. People want to know more about Islam now, so the timing for this is good, I think. As long as they don’t go over there to try to convert them to Christianity!

Q: How would you respond to those who might question helping any Islamic country improve their technological education? A: I’m not sure what the issue is here. Writing off the entire Arab world because of some Islamic extremists/terrorists is as crazy as refusing to educate white American males because of the Oklahoma City bombing. It is important to work with stable, moderate Arab Islamic societies like UAE because they can be a moderating influence in this entire region. UAE is very progressive, modern, businessand trade-oriented, and has a high standard of living – not exactly a hotbed of extremists. Americans need to know more about Arab and Islamic cultures and peoples, now more than ever. Arabs are people like us with strong family values, generous and hospitable, who want a secure and comfortable life. The students in the tech schools can learn skills to run their country and contribute to its economic development and stability, the best insurance against terrorism – which is tied to poverty and desperation and exploitation/oppression, hardly the description of UAE. We’re helping improve education for human beings who are right now receiving a second-rate education and are being written off by some as the bottom of the heap educationally – like many vocational students in this country. We think we can change this. ■

Q: Could future terrorist attacks in the U.S. jeopardize the project?

Dorothy Harnish can be reached at harnish@coe.uga.edu

A Chance for

SUCCESS

Prof’s program focuses on developing, nurturing excellence in adolescent African-American males ■ By Deryl Bailey and Pamela Paisley Photos by Peter Frey

EDITOR’S NOTE: Deryl Bailey, an assistant professor in counseling, writes about his innovative program to help young African-American males reach their full potential. Pamela Paisley, professor of counseling, contributed to this article.

cross the nation, scores of adolescent African-American males find themselves alienated from the educational process, discouraged and disillusioned in their search for the American dream. Their absence is often conspicuous in upper level academic classes, while their presence is readily apparent in remedial classes. They outnumber white males on suspension and expulsion lists. They can be found on street corners and in shopping malls, often the objects of fear and contempt. Their legal troubles clog the calendars of the juvenile justice system. Many never have the opportunity to celebrate their 18th birthdays because of arguments resulting in violent deaths. They often walk away from their education, hopes and dreams because they do not see the educational and social

Deryl Bailey talks about program EDUCATION 2003 ■ 11

A CHANCE FOR SUCCESS systems as places for them to achieve. Many perceive these systems as institutions that collectively label them without affording them the opportunity to realize their potential as individuals. The poor academic and social performance of adolescent AfricanAmerican males has been linked to the lack of role models, low self-esteem, hopelessness, productivity dysfunction and low expectations by schools, communities and society at-large. Educators, researchers and community leaders often discuss the poor performance of adolescent AfricanAmerican males at professional meetings, but few have answers on how to assist them in recognizing and moving towards their optimal potential. One initiative designed to have an impact, Project: Gentlemen on the Move (PGOTM), was developed in response to the needs of AfricanAmerican adolescent males and has the potential to be adapted to a variety of groups from different ethnic and cultural backgrounds.

NUMEROUS AREAS OF CONCERN he current experience of adolescent African-American males provides numerous areas for concern. From the existing educational achievement gap between African-American males and their white counterparts to the continual overrepresentation of AfricanAmerican males in the juvenile justice system, too many adolescent AfricanAmerican males become a part of a growing number of negative social and academic statistics.

IN SOCIETY It has been reported that 1 of every 4 African-American males are in jail or under court supervision, and that there are more African-American men in their 20s under court control than are enrolled in college. Data from the FBI report, Crime in the United States, indicates that black adolescents represented 15 percent of the juvenile population in 1995, yet were involved in 28 percent of all juvenile arrests. Further, African-American adolescents comprised 43 percent of juvenile populations in public facilities and 34 12 ■ EDUCATION 2003

percent in private custody facilities. These statistics reflect the dilemma faced by adolescent African-American males and appear consistent with a 1990 prediction by the Center for the Study of Social Policy that 70 percent of working-age African-American men would be jailed, dead, alcoholic or hooked on drugs by the year 2000. The overrepresentation of AfricanAmerican males in the juvenile justice system makes it difficult for them to be involved in their community in positives ways, perpetuating a negative selfimage and disrespect for authority.

IN SCHOOLS Within the educational system, statistics reveal that minority and poor populations continue to be underserved. These students are less likely to be found in rigorous, college-bound courses and are more likely to be taught by out-of-field teachers. Across the board, schools comprised of predominately minority and/or poor populations have a smaller number of qualified teachers and fewer resources for instruction. African-American adolescent males do not escape the implications of these statistics. Their potential for achievement and postsecondary options becomes limited. They are placed in remedial or special education classes at a rate three times higher than their white male counterparts, while only 8.4 percent are identified and enrolled in gifted classes. Additionally, while African Americans represent only 17 percent of the total school population, they account for 32 percent of suspensions and 30 percent of all expulsions. Ultimately, the African-American male student has only a 1 in 12 chance of graduating from college, while his odds of becoming a high school dropout are 1 in 4.

INNOVATIVE

STRATEGIES ARE NEEDED Many educators, community leaders, and even some school systems believe that enrichment initiatives geared toward the special needs of young AfricanAmerican males could reverse the present trend towards failure within the educational system as well as society. Some of

these initiatives over the past decade have resulted in significant changes to curriculum and school missions or in the addition of after-school programs. While many programs available to African-American male youth incorporate common components, two central factors seem to be missing in their design – developmental and comprehensive approaches.

PGOTM: A

DEVELOPMENTAL AND COMPREHENSIVE APPROACH The mission of Project: Gentlemen on the Move (PGOTM) is to develop and nurture excellence in adolescent African-American males academically and socially. PGOTM is both developmental and comprehensive. Developmentally, this model identifies where each member is, socially and academically, and compares this information to where they should be (based on age and academic ability level) and then provides them with the skills they will need to reach their full potential. This is referred to as the “transformation.” The transformation is defined as a positive change or modification in the social and academic performance of PGOTM members. For some, transformation will begin to manifest shortly after joining the group. Others will emerge in stages over varying periods of time. PGOTM is comprehensive in that it takes a holistic approach to the empowerment and transformation of adolescent African-American males by addressing multiple aspects of their lives. The program intentionally and directly deals with issues that members face daily (i.e., how to appropriately respond to prejudice/racism in school and the community, how to combat peer pressure, etc.). The Gentlemen participate in community service projects as a way to develop leadership skills and unity among its members, while providing a service to their communities and establishing a sense of ownership and responsibility for the well-being of the community at-large. The group also provides avenues (i.e., dances, community service projects, and forums) for its members to interact with other groups of students, who are nor-

Cedar Shoals High School biology teacher Mary Bradbury-Bailey helps sophomore Maurice Glenn during a Saturday GOTM session

mally outside of their circle of friends, in an effort to remove the social barriers that exist between different cultures. PGOTM also enlists the support and assistance of the families. One such opportunity is the Parents of Gentlemen on the Move network (POGOTM). These parents are required to attend monthly meetings to discuss issues regarding their sons’ academic and social performance. In addition, workshops are held to assist parents with negotiating the educational system on their sons’ behalf. Parents also serve as advisory board members, offering suggestions for improvement of the overall program.

ASSUMPTIONS Embedded in the mission of PGOTM is a set of basic assumptions regarding young people: (1) all are capable of learning, (2) all know right from wrong but may not know or understand the consequences for their behaviors, (3) all young people want to do what is right (4) all are at-risk, (5) all deserve a quality education, (6) all have a right to fail, if they so choose (however, it is critical that the consequences for this choice are made clear along with the opportunities for personal growth), (7) all young people are worthy of forgiveness from others and themselves, (8) all are worthy of love, nurturing, guidance, support, and mean-

ingful opportunities, and (9) stereotypes of African-American males can only be changed by providing positive views of African-American males. These assumptions serve as the foundation and drive for the PGOTM model.

PROGRAM

BACKGROUND

PGOTM was created in a western North Carolina high school in the fall of 1989 due to concerns regarding the poor academic and social performance of some African-American male students. With the principal’s approval, a meeting was held with interested African-American male students. This meeting proved to be both encouraging and discouraging. The group composed of about 50 AfricanAmerican male students, ranging from those who constantly found themselves in trouble to those who were considered to be “ideal students,” met for two hours. After a brief explanation as to why they had been summoned and assurance offered that everything they said would be kept in confidence, the students were given the opportunity to express their feelings relative to their academic performance and overall school experiences. They reported feeling isolated, mistreated, and disrespected. They believed some teachers and administrators were prejudiced and, in some instances,

racists. After allowing them to vent for an hour, they were asked what they thought they could to do to change experiences at the school. The answer was a unanimous “nothing.” “Nobody wants to listen to us ... Nobody cares.” At this time, the idea of PGOTM was introduced to them. Several meetings were held over the next few weeks to establish group rules, goals, and to determine which students were seriously interested in participating. The following rules and expectations were explained: 1. Obey all school rules and policies. If there were rules or policies that we as a group believed to be unfair, then the group would develop a plan and challenge them (the rules) in an appropriate manner. 2. Respect yourself and others (with a strong emphasis on respecting young women). 3. Attend weekly meetings. 4. Abide by the group rules.

PGOTM

MEMBERSHIP

The membership roster varied from semester to semester as members dropped out of the program, school, transferred, were committed to juvenile detention centers, graduated, or as in one case, fell victim to homicide. While membership fluctuated, 15 committed students became the core of the program. The academic performance of these students ranged from below average to above average. Socially, some members were considered ideal students, meaning they never disrupted class, skipped class or school, or were ever deemed “trouble makers.” Others were all of the above. In terms EDUCATION 2003 ■ 13

A CHANCE FOR SUCCESS of family background, members came from low-income and middle class families. For the most part, members were raised in two-parent homes, although a few were raised in single-parent homes or lived with aging grandparents or other relatives (aunts, uncles, and in one case, an older sister). The education level of parents varied; some were well educated (college degrees and in some cases graduate degrees), while others had a high school education. All had dreams of their sons, grandsons, and brothers becoming good students and productive citizens rather than dropouts or homicide statistics and were very supportive of their participation in the program.

OUTCOMES

FROM PARTICIPANTS At the end of five years, approximately 300 African-American males had been on the PGOTM roster at one point or another. Many of these students went on to enjoy success in their personal lives: two are now playing in the National Football League (NFL), one is a senior pre-med student, one is a Teaching Fellow, another is a computer software engineer with the U.S. Department of Defense, one is a member of the U.S. Navy, and another is a senior majoring in fashion design. While many former PGOTM members fell through the cracks, it is obvious that many are doing well. Results from one study revealed that students who participated in the program on a regular basis obtained higher grade point averages (GPA) than did students who were referred to the program but chose not to participate.

REQUIREMENTS

FOR MEMBERSHIP First, students must be willing to improve upon who they are and work toward presenting the community with positive images of young AfricanAmerican males by enhancing their own academic and social performance. Included in social performance is a willingness to participate in community service projects. Referrals are accepted from teachers, administrators, parents, community members and PGOTM members, but 14 ■ EDUCATION 2003

any student interested in participating can request membership by attending a program meeting and completing the necessary paperwork, including parental consent forms.

EXPECTATIONS OF MEMBERS While it is important that the rules are strictly adhered to, it is also important that the program director is sensitive to the variety of factors (family situations, after-school employment obligations, and extracurricular activities) that may cause individual members to miss group meetings or occasionally violate a school policy. However, these factors should not be used as excuses for their behavior. Members are expected to accept the consequences for their behavior. Members of POGTM are also expected to: 1. Attend school every day. Members are constantly reminded, “If you’re not in school, you can’t learn.” 2. Be prepared for class everyday. They are constantly reminded that coming to class is only part of their responsibility. Being unprepared for class is considered “disrespectful to the teacher and fellow students.” 3. Show respect for school personnel (this includes teachers, administrators, counselors, cafeteria and janitorial staff, etc.). Showing respect for all is what being a “gentleman” is all about. 4. Never accept being “average.” In the past some teachers, administrators, and even parents challenged this philosophy. Their rationale was that “some students are just average and will never be able to perform beyond this.” While acknowledging that some students are average, members are taught that “being average” is not the goal of the program. The goal for PGOTM members is to become “the best” they can be. PGOTM strongly believes that if you expect students to be average, they will be average. However, if you expect students to be the best and assist them in doing so, they will inevitably become just that – the best. It is important to determine, with each group member, what his “best” is. A visual image of what this would look like is developed with an emphasis on behavior.

FOUR

CRITICAL COMPONENTS

The program consists of four components: (a) attention to process, (b) focus on identified areas of content, (c) support through individual and group counseling, and (d) specifically designed activities to achieve the goals of the program. Each component serves a role that is important to the effectiveness of the next component and is critical to the overall success of the program. The process component includes elements such as re c ruitment and re f e rral, selection, invitation, and monitoring. The content component involves skill development and the integration of new information pert inent to members’ academic and social growth. Academic topics include study of African, African-American and family histories, health-related issues and tips on enhancing academic excellence. Social development topics include improvement of self-efficacy, personal and business etiquette training, the importance of giving back to the community, and appreciation and respect for self, elders, women and culturally different individuals. Opportunities to be exposed to traditional African-American culture, as well as interactions with individuals from other cultures, are considered crucial. Both the academic and social topics are covered during four-hour mini-workshops held weekly and are referred to as Saturday Learning Institutes (SLI). The third component is the support component. Members are involved in individual and group counseling sessions which enable them to establish short- and long-term academic and social goals. Other areas of support include structured study sessions held during the first two hours of the SLI and intense exam preparation, known as the exam lock-in (held at the end of each semester). The exam lock-in is held the weekend prior to the final exams, and participation is mandatory. Another part of the support component is the Give Me A Reason: An Academic Incentive Program which provides a variety of rewards for academic

progress and excellence, such as money, t-shirts, travel, dining, and tickets for sporting and cultural events. Finally, the activity component includes field trips, college visitations, special event opportunities, and community service projects. Past community service projects have included community-wide Easter egg hunts for youngsters in grades K-5, an annual 5K road race called the PGOTM Race Against Drugs, and a one-day basketball clinic for elementary and middle school students. The first three activities (field trips, college visitations, special event opportunities) help broaden members' world views. The remaining activities provide avenues for developing leadership skills and a positive work ethic while fulfilling an identified need within the community. During the summer, group members are invited to participate in the PGOTM Summer Academy â&#x20AC;&#x201C; a oneweek session focusing on leadership development and self-improvement for group members.

SUMMARY

hen adolescents are provided adequate direction, support, and opportunities, they are better able to overcome many of the aca-

demic and social challenges that often hinder their development. This is especially true for African-American adolescent males. Over the past 12 years, PGOTM has been well received by schools and communities. While many participants continue to view their academic and social challenges as barriers, others have been able to accept the challenges for what they are, devise a plan of action, and move forward. The vision for PGOTM is that it will someday become widely used to assist adolescents of all cultural and ethnic backgrounds to realize their capacity to excel academically and socially. After directing PGOTM in three different high schools in the Southeast, three barriers to the vision of PGOTM's future emerged. First, dedicated adults are needed to implement and operate the program individuals with vision and a heart dedicated to the advocacy of young people. Working with adolescents demands time, high levels of energy, unending patience, and determination. Sadly, few have accepted the challenge in the past 12 years since there is no monetary award. Currently, a manual for PGOTM is being developed, as well as plans for adult leadership training, to assist in the

establishment of new programs. Secondly, operating an effective PGOTM chapter (a cohort of 25-30 young men) will require adequate funding, approximately $50,000 per year. That may seem like a lot, but consider these figures: during fiscal year 2000, the average national cost to house a youth in a Regional Youth Detention Center (RYDC) was $41,245 and $56,940 for a state-operated Youth Detention Center (YDC). Cost for an Intermediate Residential Treatment placement ranged from $47,450 to $74,825, and for an Intensive Residential placement, it ranged from $100,375 to $166,800. The lowest of these costs could very easily support one PGOTM cohort. It is important to note that the amount of needed funding will vary depending upon the structure of the program (i.e., ability of parents to contribute, total number of participants, number of paid tutors, etc.). The community, local businesses, churches, school districts, and other funding agencies must understand the importance of investing in a program that promotes positive development, prevents delinquent behavior and encourages academic success. Finally, quantitative and qualitative research is needed to determine the strengths and weaknesses of PGOTM. This research could provide critical information to strengthen programming efforts while providing documentation required by public and private funding agencies. â&#x2013; Deryl Bailey can be reached at dbailey@coe.uga.edu

Bailey helps Cedar Shoals High School (Clarke County) junior Ben Stevens with some work

EDUCATION 2003 â&#x2013; 15

Now We

See You!

Rebecca Shisler stands by MRI simulator where participants in the study are tested for claustrophobia. This screen image (bottom left) shows measurement of blood flow using the Doppler unit. Representative calf muscle images with MRI (bottom right) – notice that spinal cord injury patients (top in photo) have less muxcle and more fat.MRI profile images (opposite page) show morphological differences in the brain. Type I is average and the way most people’s brains appear. Type II is linked heavily to those with reading problems. Type III may or may not have reading problems. Type IV is associated with many deficits and is relatively rare. 16 ■ EDUCATION 2003

From learning disabilities to spinal cord injuries to chronic fatigue syndrome, COE researchers are using MRI to offer new hope for many ■ By Michael Childs

select group of UGA scientists, including several College of Education researchers, is using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to discover important new details on how the human body and brain work that could ultimately lead to earlier diagnosis or better treatment for a host of maladies. The researchers involved in the Biomedical and Health Sciences Initiative at UGA – armed with more information about body composition and

brain function than ever before, thanks to tools such as MRI, functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and magneto-encephalography (MEG) – are exploring topics like dyslexia, schizophrenia, diabetes, obesity, cardiovascular disease and aging. UGA scientists have attracted more than $5 million in imaging-related research funding over the past few years – a clear sign that funding agencies recognize the tremendous research potential these bioimaging techniques offer. In addition, these UGA researchers have submitted more than $2 million in grant proposals for new research. The potential for commercial applications of their research is also drawing interest. UGA scientists are conducting research that could be crucial to improving the health of large groups of individuals. They are using human imaging procedures to: • assess the effectiveness of exercise, pharmaceutical and stem cell treatments of

Parkinson’s disease, spinal cord injuries and other neurological disorders; • analyze the impact of exercise therapy and other non-invasive therapies to retard aging and reduce health risks; and • develop bioimaging protocols to identify those individuals at-risk for such problems as adult-onset Type 2 diabetes, schizophrenia, Alzheimer’s disease, and language and reading disabilities. How bioimaging came to UGA George Hynd, the College of Education’s associate dean of research and external affairs and a distinguished research professor, was one of the first scientists in the nation to use MRI scans to study structures in the brain important to language comprehension and reading in 1987. “We published that data in 1990, and it immediately gained a lot of attention because we showed that the brains of children who had specific learning disabilities

in reading were structurally different,” recalled Hynd. “But the really important part was that the (brain) structure started to develop within the fifth or sixth month of fetal development. That argues strongly that there are either significant genetic components or environmental factors (causing reading disability).” Hynd’s work with MRI was the solitary effort at UGA until the arrival in the mid-1990s of Stephen Miller, a clinical psychologist, who wanted to use MRI to investigate issues related to schizophrenia. “And then, unbeknownst to me, Gary Dudley, Kirk Cureton and Kevin McCully (in exercise science) began using MRI scans to examine muscles and blood flow,” said Hynd. “So about two or three years ago, we realized there was quite a cadre of people here on campus – all using the same technology to investigate different issues related to human development and function.” The group expanded to include some Medical College of Georgia researchers and formed the Georgia Bioimaging Collaborative to collect pilot data to assist researchers in the pursuit of federal grants. In 2001, they received a $345,000 grant from UGA’s

Office of the Vice President for Research to do just that. “That’s another example of how incredibly supportive UGA has been to those of us working in bioimaging,” said Hynd. “That support is why the College of Education is increasingly attracting topnotch young researchers interested in biological imaging to answer questions related to human development and health.” Conducting research through a variety of institutional resources like the Medical College of Georgia and using MRI capabilities leased on a time-available basis from private health organizations in Athens like St. Mary’s Hospital and Health South, seven UGA scientists have been awarded more than a dozen National Institutes of Health grants since 1999. The bioimaging group hopes to be a key strength in UGA’s Biomedical and Health Sciences Institute that will be located in the new Paul D. Coverdell Building. The group is requesting an investment of some $3 million from the Georgia Research Alliance to add key research technology components to create a Georgia Bioimaging Research Center on the UGA campus.

Student wins Fulbright to pursue MRI research in Norway

octoral student Jason Jason Craggs, a doctoral student in school psychology Craggs came to UGA who received a Fulbright to more than a year ago for study at the University of the opportunity to work Oslo in Norway, points to with Distinguished Research Professor George brain scans Hynd in his NIH-funded study using MRI to link certain patterns of brain development to individuals with reading disabilities or dyslexia. Craggs, who is working toward his PhD in school psychology with a specialty in pediatric neuropsychology, will continue his work this fall in Norway with one of the world’s top educational statisticians – thanks to a Fulbright Fellowship. The Ohio native will be working for a full year with Knut Hagtvet, a professor of educational psychology at the University of Oslo, and a visiting professor at UGA’s College of Education last year. Craggs is coordinator of structural and functional neuroimaging in the five-year, $1.2 million study of brain morphology and neurolinguistic ability in dsylexia, led by Hynd. He is hoping to expand on Hynd’s previous fMRI (functional magnetic resonance imaging) findings of different gyral patterns – structural differences in the brain – in adults and children who have reading and language problems. “We’re attempting to link children who have reading problems and their parents,” Craggs says. “This region of the brain can take one of four different shapes. Two of those shapes are common. Two are not. And the two that are not common are common for individuals with reading problems.” In the long run, the research could lead to early diagnosis and prevention of problems occurring from reading disabilities, rather than intervention for problems that have arisen as a result of years of difficulties. Craggs is the fourth student in educational psychology to receive a Fulbright in the past 15 years. On the UGA campus, only the Institute of Ecology and the School of Music have had as many. EDUCATION 2003 ■ 17

Now We

See You!

Who they are and what they do Here’s a brief glance at a few of the MRI researchers in the College of Education and a brief description of their research:

George Hynd Left to right: George Hynd, associate dean and UGA distinguished research professor, uses MRI to study brain morphology and learning disabilities Gary Dudley, UGA Distinguished Research Professor, is one of the nation's foremost authorities on neuromuscular function Kevin McCully, associate professor of exercise science, using MRI to measure blood flow in chronic fatigue syndrome patients Rebecca Shisler is studying how to help stroke victims restore speech

18 ■ EDUCATION 2003

associate dean for research and external affairs, UGA distinguished research professor of special education and clinical psychology, director of the Center for Clinical and Developmental Neuropsychology

eorge Hynd directs a $1.14 million National Institutes of Health (NIH) grant that is studying brain morphology and neurolinguistic difficulties in persons with dyslexia. He has found that differences in the developing brain’s cortex and gyral patterns are a possible indicator for risk of early reading and language problems in children. “This helps explain why some children behave in ways we consider inappropriate or have difficulty learning through traditional teaching methods,” said Hynd. “It helps us understand there's a population of children whose brains are basically developed in ways that can make behaving and learning more difficult. It tells us that this is not a result of bad teaching or poor parenting.” The findings highlight prenatal influences on the development on the brain that later put these children at risk for lear ning and behavior problems. It also provides some basic under standing as to how structure and function in the brain work. If researchers can determine why these structures of the brain develop differently – either from genetic or environmental factors – early intervention might be possible in the future. “There are two chromosomes

that have been implicated. So, if you can influence the effects of these genes on fetal development – in other words, prevent the manifestation of these genetically or environmentally caused disorders in learning behavior by changing the development of the brain structure – we might have a higher probability of impacting a favorable course for these kids,” said Hynd.

Gary Dudley UGA distinguished research professor of exercise science, director of the Muscle Biology Laboratory in the School of Health and Human Performance

hile groundbreaking stem cell research offers hope of recovery for some of the 450,000 people in the U.S. affected by spinal cord injuries, Gary Dudley is focusing on how to keep them in optimum health until such research can provide real solutions. There are about 10,000 new spinal cord injuries each year, mostly resulting from auto accidents, violence or falls. The majority (82 percent) of these injuries involve males between the ages of 16-30. Dudley is studying secondary complications of spinal cord injuries under four NIH grants totaling about $2.5 million, along with fellow exercise scientist Kevin McCully. Much of his work is collaborative in a biomedical research initiative launched last year that partners UGA and the Shepherd Center in Atlanta, the nation’s largest hospital for brain and spinal cord injuries. “We’re taking a sort of biological/mechanistic kind of perspective,” said Dudley. “Obviously, these people become really inactive and that can have a myriad of influences. It might increase their risk for cardiovascular disease, probably

increases their risk for developing diabetes, changes the way their arteries and veins and whole cardiovascular system work. It also probably affects their bones. These patients have an increased risk of fracture. Something as simple as transfer ring out of a bed to a chair can cause them to break a femur.” One long-term issue is how much adaptability muscles lose through inactivity. Dudley says that is not known yet. But in his previous studies, he has shown that weight training through electrical stimulation can build up inactive muscles. And that’s good news for stem-cell researchers such as UGA’s cloning expert Steven Stice, a key consultant for Athens-based BresaGen, which

holds 4 of the 64 lines of embryonic stem cells eligible for federally financed research through the NIH. Stice and BresaGen’s collaborative research focuses on Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s, diabetes, heart disease and spinal cord injuries. Dudley’s research has shown that despite spinal patients los ing a third of their muscle size in six months, the quality of the muscle did not change. The fatigueability did not change. Researchers were able to increase the size of these patients’ muscles back to their original size in just two to three months of work with electrical stimulation. That’s important because when stem cell research does start helping spinal cord patients recover their mobility, they can be in good cardiovas-

cular health and avoid the atrophy of disused muscles.

Kevin McCully associate professor of exercise science

evin McCully directs a $483,000 NIH grant designed to assess metabolic and blood flow abnormalities in chronic fatigue syndrome patients, a condition in which people become too fatigued to perform their normal daily activities. “I’m looking at whether blood flow is part of their problem,” said McCully. “The MRI data will tell us whether the distribution of blood within a muscle is the real problem or not. One of the things that happens when you get out of shape is that the distribution of blood is not efficient.” Researchers have patients exercise with their blood flow cut off to the calf. After exercising, they release the blood flow and track its distribution with the use of Doppler ultrasound and near-infrared spectroscopy to measure oxygen saturation from the large artery into the veins. “The actual total flow might be OK, but the metabolism is not OK,” he said. “So one possi-

that chronic fatigue patients need to exercise to improve distribution of blood flow. “In other words, training will reduce this problem, and that’s what we’re going to look at,” he said. While McCully has no answers yet, his early observations indicate that many things are happening to these patients. “The way I test them. The way they respond. They’re not all the same, which is what you’d expect from a disorder or a syndrome that’s not actually described,” he said. “But it’s certainly real. These people are devastated. And if we can think of something that helps them...well, that’s what we’re trying to do.” McCully believes results of his research could lead to other answers about how the body functions. “Whatever it is...once you start figuring these things out, there are orders and complexities of how people work. You get an understanding. So if we can explain chronic fatigue, we’re going to understand other things that we didn’t know before (about the whole body).”

same time and see how distracted they are in attending to this task,” said DeChicchis. “And we’ve seen an increase in the human brain dynamic response as difficulty of the task increased, which isn’t surprising, but we’re looking to see if there are group differences in this between older adults and young people.” DeChiccihis wants to find out if older people's brains, when put in a noisy situation, respond differently to retrieve information.

mal aging individuals. Shisler is hoping to find out what part of the brain is activated (or not activated) when auditory attention is deficient in comparison to older adults who have not had a stroke. She may also compare this to younger adults in their 20s to see if auditory attention deficits are just a result of aging or if they are specific to the effects on the brain from a stroke. “One of the interesting things is that typically individuals with aphasia were not thought to

Rebecca Shisler

have attention deficits. Attention difficulties are primarily associated with right hemisphere stroke,” said Shisler. “However, recent research has supported that individuals with aphasia do have attention deficits, although it hasn’t been determined exactly why or how. This is what I’m interested in.” The research has implications for how speech-language pathologists assess and treat individuals with aphasia. Cur rently, very little is done to formally assess or treat attention deficits for these individuals, and research suggests that by addressing attention deficits, there could be indirect remediation of some of the language issues. ■

Al DeChicchis associate professor of communication sciences and disorders

bility might be that although circulation is fine, it’s not distributed right. So there are parts of the muscle that are unhappy because they’re not getting enough circulation, and that could be what’s contributing to their impairment.” One possible implication of McCully’s research might be

l DeChicchis is directing a $5,000 Gerontology Consortium grant which involves using fMRI to measure neural activation of older people during an auditory attention/distraction task. The most common complaints older people have about their hearing is that while they can hear people, they just can’t understand them; or if they are in a big group where there is a lot of competition to be heard, they have difficulty understanding speech. “In the auditory-evoked potential study, we have them attend to a task given to them in one ear even though there are sounds in the other ear at the

assistant professor of communication sciences and disorders

ebecca Shisler is using fMRI in her study of auditor y attention in individuals who have suffered a stroke and subsequent language loss known as aphasia. Shisler is looking at a phenomenon termed “extinction,” which is when two sounds are presented simultaneously to each ear, individuals who have selective attention deficits are aware of only one of the items presented. She uses this paradigm to look at individuals who have had left hemisphere stroke and aphasia, right hemisphere stroke, and nor-

EDUCATION 2003 ■ 19

First Class

IN THEIR

â&#x2013; By Janet Jones Kendall Photos by Paul Efland

Mary Frances Early and Bernice Cooper hold two historic and social milestones at UGA â&#x20AC;&#x201C; the first African-American graduate and the first woman to receive a doctorate.

Mary Frances Early

s a young girl, Mary Frances Early decided to spend her life teaching music and directing band. But when she began pursuing her dream, the young Atlanta native quickly learned she would have to make her own way in what was, in the 1950s, a maledominated field. But that did not keep Early from surging ahead. “I thought if this is what I wanted to do, the fact that I was a woman shouldn’t make a difference,” Early said. She proved then what she has shown throughout a trailblazing career that passed most notably through the University of Georgia campus – Mary Frances Early is not easily deterred.

‘Why not me?’ Now chairperson and associate professor in the music department at Clark Atlanta University, Early holds a significant place in Georgia history – she is the first AfricanAmerican graduate of UGA. Although undergraduates Charlayne Hunter and the late Hamilton Holmes have been more celebrated over the past 40 years as the first African-American students to attend UGA, it was Early who received the first degree – a master’s in music education in May 1962. Early’s graduation was such a milestone in the state’s push toward civil equality that it drew attention from Martin Luther King, Jr., who wrote Early a letter praising her determination. Early has saved the letter in a scrapbook of “sacred material” she has kept over the years. “He was a role model because he talked about non-violence, which I truly believe in. I don’t think you can fight fire with fire. Listening to him gave me the courage to do what I had to do,” said Early, who attended King’s Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta while she attended UGA. “He wrote me a letter, and I treasure that. He said he was proud that I had finished the course and had sustained my efforts, despite what was going on.” At the time Early applied to the University, she was working full-time as a teacher and enrolled in post-graduate courses at the University of Michigan – a school where she was

both happy and accepted. However, when she heard about the struggles Hunter and Holmes were having because of the color of their skin, Early decided to change the direction of her own educational journey. “I sent in my application (to UGA) just after Char and Hamilton were evicted from campus for their own safety after a riot. ... And I thought, ‘Well, they have been brave enough to open up the undergraduate school, so somebody needs to step forward to open up the graduate school – why not me?’” she said. But getting into Georgia wasn’t easy for Early. During an interview, the young teacher was asked insulting questions such as whether she had ever been a prostitute and if she had any illegitimate children. “I was insulted because I was a teacher and an educator, and I happen to be African American. I didn’t live that kind of lifestyle then, and I never have,” Early said. “Eventually, they decided they really didn’t have any grounds to keep me out, and I received my acceptance letter.” But Early’s life didn’t get any easier as a UGA student. She frequently experienced actions of hate brought on by racial discrimination. Early woke up one morning to find the word “nigger” spray painted in red paint on her prized Ford Falcon, a car she had bought with money she had saved from teaching. Another time, Early was confronted by a line of UGA students who linked arms and stood in front of the library doors in an effort to prevent her from entering. Another occasion also stands out to Early. “When I took the GRE (Graduate Records Exam) at the agricultural auditorium, I sat down on this long row full of people, and when I did, everybody else got up. That was very upsetting, and I didn’t know how I was going to do on the exam,” she recalled. “Well, it turned out that I did OK.” Despite such acts of cruelty, Early continued to work hard on her studies at UGA. “In those days, anything could happen, and lots of things did happen to people, but I had a strong faith, and I knew that I was not doing anything wrong. I felt that I had to persevere,” Early said. “We really weren’t trying to make anyone

Bernice Cooper

EDUCATION 2003 ■ 21

uncomfortable; we simply felt we had the right to go to school here. I was born in Georgia, and my dad had paid taxes here just like everyone else.”

we weren’t brought up to talk about color. It wasn’t in our vocabulary to think that people were good or bad because of their skin color, so I was just sort of taken aback that it became a big issue ‘I just really enjoyed learning’ later in my life.” Growing up in the heart of Atlanta, But there were two times in Early's Early spent many summer days in the childhood that she does remember when Olive Branch Library just across the race was an issue – even if she didn’t street from the restaurant owned by her realize it at the time. father, John H. Early. “I remember once very vividly – I It was the love for reading and the think I was 8 – we were driving to encouragement of her mother, Ruth Florida for a golf tournament my dad Early, a public school teacher in was in, and we stopped at a little servMonroe, Ga., that inspired Early to ice station in south Georgia to get gas. Mary Frances Early become a teacher herself. We headed toward the restroom as they “While growing up, I looked to my were filling our tank, and the guy told mom for inspiration and motivation. She always made it clear my father, ‘You all can’t use the restrooms here.’ So my dad that the way one gets ahead is to be educated,” Early said. said, ‘Take the gas back out. We don’t trade with people “But she didn’t have to do a lot of arguing to get me to read or who won’t let us use their facilities.’ My mother was frightstudy because I enjoyed it. I was, what you would now call, a ened because at that time they were still lynching people in nerd. I just really enjoyed learning.” Georgia. But my dad was not afraid of anything. He did not Early’s interest in music came naturally, too. look for trouble, but he protected his family. That stuck in “My dad was an amateur singer. He sang at church and at my mind,” Early said. weddings and funerals, and he wanted me to accompany him. Another discriminatory incident Early recalls from her So, I started taking piano lessons at the age of 6. Above our childhood occurred on a bus trip with her mother to visit her restaurant was a piano studio, and I took lessons there for a grandmother in Monroe. year. But the teacher would rap you on the knuckles with a “As I said, my mother was fair and had hair that was brown pencil if you played a wrong note, so I told my dad, ‘I don’t and straight. When we got on the bus, we sat in the middle and want to take piano any more.’ But he wouldn’t let me give up. at that time, blacks were expected to sit in the very back seats,” He bought me a set of these books,” Early said pointing to her Early said. “The bus driver got up, came back and said to me, study shelf, “the International Library of Music, and we had an ‘You can’t sit there by that white woman.’ And I said, ‘But that’s old upright piano at home, so I just sort of taught myself until I my mother.’ That was something that really bothered me psywas in high school, and then I started taking lessons again.” chologically. I just couldn’t understand it. My mother did not Early’s desire to teach and her love for music finally came move. She just comforted me and told me it was OK.” together in a high school band class at Henry McNeal Turner High School in Atlanta. ‘I came to love Georgia ...’ “I had this charismatic band teacher, and I would watch Despite the discrimination she faced at UGA, Early does him, and I noticed how the students all seemed to like him,” have some fond memories of her days in the music educashe said, “and the music was so enjoyable and I said, ‘I think I tion department – a place which provided her solace and want to teach music.’” encouragement. After sharing her decision, Early’s band teacher took her to “I came to love Georgia as a school. I didn’t like a lot of what was then Clark College to play with the college band. things that went on sometimes, but the music department was As high school valedictorian, Early had scholarship offers to a place of refuge,” Early said. Spelman College and Brown University but decided to attend Early is quick to note the transition the University has Clark College and major in music education. undergone in the past 40 years, saying the school has exhibit“Back then, being a band director was not something ed a “greater awareness that bigger efforts need to be made to expected of women. In fact, I was one of only two women integrate the student body.” doing it in the whole city of Atlanta when I graduated from “I still think our state university should be a little more reflecClark,” Early said. “Even today there aren’t that many female tive of what our state looks like, but I think that eventually we’ll band directors. There are more, and that's good because I get there. By 2002, we ought to be looking at people as people don’t think that one’s gender should prescribe what you do.” and not people as colors,” Early said. “I am so happy now that there is an office of diversity, and I have met Dr. (Louis) Castenell, and I think he’s a wonderful person. He has a big job. ‘We weren’t brought up to talk about color.’ I think that gradually things are getting better. I think that there “I grew up in segregated Atlanta, but my parents were sort is a will to make it better, and I hope that in my lifetime I’ll see of protective, so we weren't put into situations where we were the kind of equity and diversity that our state university made to feel inferior because of our skin color,” Early said. deserves. But I don’t think we should forget our history, because “My mother was very fair, and my father was very dark. But 22 ■ EDUCATION 2003

“I am so happy now that there is an office of diversity, and I have met Dr. (Louis) Castenell, and I think he’s a wonderful person. He has a big job. I think that gradually things are getting better. I think that there is a will to make it better.”

if you know your history, it gives you direction as to what role you ought to play in the present and future.” As far as what Early's future holds, the 66-year-old has completed all coursework required to receive a doctorate degree in education administration at Clark Atlanta University. When she completes her dissertation, Early will receive her degree. Why would Early work on a degree so close to the end of her career? The same reason the trailblazer has done everything else in her life. “It’s just my personal goal.”

ernice Cooper had no intention of making a mark in state history when she enrolled at the University of Georgia in her early 20s. But in 1956, almost without knowing it, Cooper did just that when she became the first female to receive a doctorate from the state’s flagship institution. Cooper was teaching full-time while trying to finish her dissertation, but told her advisor she didn’t know if she could finish her paper that semester. “My advisors told me to finish it, and I would be the first woman to graduate with a doctorate from UGA,” Cooper said. “I wasn’t even aware of it until that moment. And even then, it wasn’t that big of a deal to me.” After receiving a bachelor’s degree in elementary education in 1947 and a master’s degree in the same field in 1953 – both from UGA – staying in Athens to work on a third degree just seemed natural to Cooper. “I don’t think my parents even got excited about it either,” Cooper said. “Not that they didn’t care or weren't supportive. They just weren’t very surprised by it.” Cooper grew up on a farm outside the small south Georgia town of Pavo as one of 14 children born to a farmer and a housewife. “We had the best time growing up on that farm. We had plenty of food but not much else. We didn’t realize we had any problems, though. We’d have sugar cane grindings where everyone would come over, and we would cook the cane down to syrup. We’d all just sit around and drink the syrup juice and chew on the cane. We also had peanut boilings in a big kettle that we used to wash clothes,” Cooper said with a laugh. “We had a lot of singing in our house. Many Saturday nights we’d all gather around the piano and sing hymns. We’d play baseball with a ball made from scraps of twine. First base was the tree over there, and second base was the bush over here. We never ran out of things to do. But it was not all fun and games. We picked cotton, gathered tobacco and did other farm chores.” From those humble beginnings, Cooper followed her love for reading, learning and teaching to earn three degrees and spend the next 35 years in the classroom. Thirteen of those years were spent teaching in elementary schools; the rest were spent teaching children’s literature at UGA. “Children’s literature is a groundwork, a beginning for long-term reading. Interest in books develops a lot of skills, and it gives vicarious experiences to children. It’s a fun activi-

ty as well as a learning experience,” Cooper said. Over the years, Cooper has noticed that children’s literature, like society in general, has gone through some major re f o rm a t i o n s . “Content wise, it deals with more of today’s reality – things like death and divorce,” Cooper said, adding that she has no problems with those changes. “I think children face things in real life, so reading about it is just a way to prepare them for what they might face in the future.” Cooper’s love for children’s literature led her to help teaching colleague Shelton Root start the Georgia Children’s Book Award Program in 1968. The program – which is still active – encourages schoolchildren across the state to vote for their favorite children’s book author out of 20 selections. The winner receives a Georgia Children’s Book Award at an annual conference held at the Georgia Center for Continuing Education. Later, Cooper and her colleagues added a second award – one for favorite picture book author. Cooper was chairperson of the selection committee for upper grades books – a role which she held from 1968 until her retirement 12 years later. During her time as a UGA professor, Cooper gave hundreds of lectures, served on dozens of committees and worked with thousands of aspiring teachers. One such group of students, however, will always stand out to her. “I joined four other faculty members to go to Japan one summer on a teaching grant. Our students were teachers who had come from Iceland, Germany, North Africa – really from all around the world – to teach the children of servicemen stationed in Japan. I taught the children’s lit part of the institute,” Early explained. “It’s not that big of a deal to teachers and students now, but at the time – for five college professors from Georgia to spend six weeks teaching in Japan - that was really something.” Only once did Cooper stray from teaching. She spent three years working at Robins Air Force Base during World War II. “We filled orders for parts needed to repair airplanes,” Cooper said. “It was war time, and everybody was needed for something. I decided this was something I could do to help out. One thing I enjoyed about it was when I went home, I didn’t take any work with me. It wasn’t that way with teaching.” Cooper returned to UGA and later served as chair of the elementary education department but never enjoyed the administrative role as much as teaching. “The interaction with the students and the feeling of accomplishment I got when we had done a good job,” Cooper said was what she enjoyed most about teaching. “I liked for them to be motivated and enjoy their classes – enjoy books and reading.” In spite of the many challenges Cooper knows teachers face today, she doesn't hesitate to encourage young college students to pursue a career in the classroom. “Go for it!” Cooper said with a smile. “It’s challenging, but it brings a good feeling of accomplishment. It’s hard work, but it is most definitely worth it.” ■ Janet Jones Kendall is a freelance writer and Newspapers in Education manager for the Athens Banner-Herald. EDUCATION 2003 ■ 23

A Tale of Two T Two COE graduates describe their first year of teaching – both in third-grade classes – but one in New York City’s East Harlem... By Cathy Lo (BSEd ‘01)

ven in the first grade I wanted to be a teacher. I taught my dolls and stuffed animals what my teacher taught me during the day. I even have a class picture of my dolls with a sign saying “Ms. Lo 1-201.” I now have a real class picture showing my 17 students and a sign stating, “3-337 Ms. Lo.” My dream of being a teacher faded as I grew up but was rekindled in the summer of 1998 on a mission trip called the Atlanta Urban Project. Thirteen college students and young adults organized two day camps for some children in Atlanta, mostly African American. At night, we’d have cultural discussions. The four African Americans with whom I worked spoke of the struggles and pain that people of color often face in America. I was culturally reawakened. I remembered when people made fun of me because of the way I looked. I remembered when I was in middle school, I wished I was white. I recognized my own prejudices and negative stereotyping. I recognized my ignorance in the whole matter of culture, which I believe to be the most important factor in a person’s identity. I became culturally inspired. Since then, I have spent my life learning more about issues of race and culture, focusing on African Americans in inner-city classrooms. My passion has led me to be immersed in the black culture of East Harlem, where I teach a third-grade class in a New York City public school. I had a very hard year as a first-year teacher. At times I felt hopeless. My dreams felt shattered, and I was disappointed in myself. I questioned myself: “Do I really want to teach? Do I really want to teach in the inner city? What if there are more bad days than good days?” Outside circumstances played a part in my struggles. My school was really disorganized. During my first week, I had no clue about what I was supposed to be doing. After attending a workshop for new teachers, I had only one full day to set up my classroom. I had no mentor. No one showed me around the school or provided me with a schedule. I didn’t even know where to take my students to lunch on the first day. I was not given standards for third grade or a curriculum until the second week of school. I did not even receive books or materials until the third day of school. The disorganization continued throughout the year. I was never given information I needed to be a successful teacher. For the first four months, I was told two different instructions on which subject to teach during a period. There were rarely precise, clear directions given at a reasonable time. Thank goodness for the classes at The University of Georgia, my student teaching experiences, and the books I read. Somehow, I managed. What my education at UGA did not prepare me for was what happened on September 11, 2001. Continued on page 26 24 ■ EDUCATION 2003

Lo works closely with her students, often one-on-one, to help them achieve. Lo’s students show the Flat Stanleys they made, complete with photos of the faces of their Gwinnett pen pals.

Teachers and the other in suburban Gwinnett County near Atlanta By Brinna Sinclair (BSEd ’01)

Sinclair helps two students with a tough word during a reading lesson in their Gwinnett classroom. Sinclair says often she has to teach two lessons for kids who learn at different rates.

have always known that I wanted to be a teacher. My mother has been a teacher for almost 30 years. I love children and the idea that I can help shape their lives. I “mother” everyone I know (much to their annoyance). And while I have always been an overachiever, I could never picture myself in the business world. A combination of all of these factors led me to become a teacher. When I graduated from UGA, I moved home to Gwinnett County. The school I work in is only three years old, but it is in the same cluster of schools I attended. This area of Gwinnett is very middle-class suburbia. I expected to have a lot of parent and community support, few children from problem homes and few cultural or language barriers. For the most part, that turned out to be true. That's not to say that I didn't have other challenges my first year. The summer before I started working I was a nervous wreck! It was hard trying to plan not knowing exactly what needed to be planned. I felt reasonably prepared by my college education, but I also realized that a university auditorium was a world away from an elementary classroom. I read The First Six Weeks of School by Wong and Wong and recalled things observed during my practicums. I thought about what kind of teacher I wanted to be and what kind I did not want to be. I tried to plan every detail about how I would conduct things – discipline, curriculum, lining up, taking attendance, sharpening pencils, going to the bathroom. The list seemed endless. I guess I envisioned a utopian classroom where everyone was touchy-feely, eager to learn, self-motivated and self-managing. I got my class list two weeks before school started. I am very lucky to be in a school where small class size is valued. I had 17 students. On the first day, I got a new student. He had a speech problem, his writing was illegible and his reading was below grade level. Later, I would learn that these only scratched the surface of his problems. From the outside, my class seemed pretty homogeneous. There were two Latinos, a Trinidadian, a Romanian, two African Americans and 12 white students. For the most part, this area of Gwinnett County is white. Lately, however, there has been a considerable influx of Latinos. I spent the first few days of school trying to foster a sense of community, belonging and ownership among my students. I wanted our classroom to be a safe haven for learning and exploring. I wanted my students to feel comfortable asking questions and sharing, so I really stressed acceptance. I strived to let the students have as much control in the classroom as possible. Together, we came up with a classroom contract of four behaviors, by which we agreed to abide. The students gave their handprint as their signatures Continued on page 27 EDUCATION 2003 ■ 25

Cathy Lo On my fourth day as a teacher, the World Trade Center tragedy occurred. The intercom was not working on my side of the building, so I heard what happened from other teachers. We noticed the many sirens wailing outside the classroom. Soon, parents came to pick up their children. I could not believe what was happening. Even though our school is on the upper east side of Manhattan Island, and the World Trade Center is on the lower west side, we went through chaos. We spent the rest of the afternoon in the gym for safety reasons. All the teachers had to remain calm, hiding our own fears and worries. Finally, at the end of the day, we had to figure out how to get home. Many teachers had to walk across bridges or stay at a friend’s house. When I got home and watched what happened on television, I didn’t know how to deal with it personally, much less as a teacher. We had Wednesday off, and Thursday the students came in two hours later, which hardly seemed like enough time. How was I going to explain what happened to my students? I didn’t understand the politics and story behind 9-11. I did not even understand how I felt; how could I be there for my students? We had counselors talk to us Thursday morning, but they did not explain how to talk to the students or what to say. What I did, I regret – I ignored the event. I gave the students time to write and draw about what happened, but I left the explaining to the parents. This event certainly contributed to the disorder that arose during the rest of the year, but I found my students were scarred long before September 11. I have never met such angry, disrespectful children in my life and in such quantity. Every day the administration had to deal with something. I did not think children could ever be like this. What made these children hate each other? What made them curse, yell and act violent? It seemed like the students were driven to put other students down. Through the year, I gained some insight into these questions. I walked around East Harlem and saw the world that surrounded them. While I was able to go home to a peaceful neighborhood at the end of the day, my students went home to fights, drugs, alcohol, hopelessness, racism and broken families. The East Harlem culture was my hardest challenge: trying to reach students with emotional and behavioral problems. I had students scream at me, walk out of my classroom, bang loudly on the door while I was teaching, throw pencils at me, call me racial names, initiate fights and physically hurt me. All these behaviors took time away from teaching and upset me. I was frustrated and tired. I spent many evenings crying, not knowing what to do. I spent endless hours trying to find ways and approaches to work with them. I had one student with whom I was not successful. He did all the aforementioned misbehavior. I gave positive and negative consequences, talked with him one-on-one, talked to his 26 ■ EDUCATION 2003

parents and worked with the administration. Nothing worked. By the end of the year, we were both ready to leave. However, I do have three success stories. All three students came in with attitudes and behavior problems, but by the end of the year, their behavior had changed 180 degrees. Those three and the other 10 students gave me more “good days than bad days.” After those endless days of frustration, hatred and stress, I think now of those 13 students with whom I developed personal relationships and am reminded of my passion for teaching. What did I do for these children? I spent the year modeling what happiness can do for them. I spent more than a quarter of my year talking things through when something occurred. We discussed respect, friendships, relationships, importance of education, manners, importance of community, culture and racism. I did not go with the approach recommended by my principal. She told me not to smile at my students for the first few months. I wanted to show my students when I was happy. I wanted to laugh and have fun. I also loved and cared for these students, and they saw that I did. They loved me back and did not want to get me upset or mad. We had a personal relationship. I was their teacher, but I was not unreachable. I made my mistakes and apologized. My first year of teaching was an eye-opening experience, and you would think that would be enough. But no. In the spring, the Union Federation of Teachers (UFT), whose members had worked in New York City for the past two years without a contract, was threatening to strike for the first time since the 1970s. But thankfully, before school was out, we had gained a new contract. Which brings us to next year. I lost my position as a thirdgrade teacher in my own classroom because of a lack of seniority. The principal placed me in an inclusion classroom, where I will be co-teaching children with special needs. I don’t mind this position, but I feel unsuited for it. I know I’ll probably have another difficult year because the administration is not supportive when problems arise in the classroom. We do not have a community in this school. My principal does not strive to create a community. How do we show community to our students if the adults don’t even have it? I realized the lack of community led to disorder among students and teachers, adding more frustration and stress. But I am coming back because there is something special about working with these inner-city children. They have a special spunk and attitude that drives them. I see these kids as being most hopeful, if they are opened to their potential. Tears come to my eyes when I think about how much these children have overcome this past year and the bond that we made. I have learned so much through them. After next year, I hope to attend a master’s/PhD program in Early Childhood Education, focusing on Urban Education. I will definitely return to the classroom because I would like to prepare future teachers for inner-city work. When people ask me about my first year, I describe it as frustrating, stressful, hateful, yet wonderful – extremely wonderful. ■ Cathy Lo teaches third grade at P.S. 30 Rafael Hernandez/Langston Hughes Elementary School in Manhattan, New York City.

Brinna Sinclair to the contract. I tried to provide my students many opportunities to make choices. The trick was to provide them with options I found acceptable so that no matter what they chose, it was all right by me. I always viewed my role as a guide rather than a teacher. My main goal was to create independent thinkers – able to solve their own problems and have confidence in themselves. The first few weeks went very smoothly. I thought I had the perfect class. They followed directions, listened intently and participated enthusiastically. After the first few weeks, problems started to arise. I got two more new students. Both had problems. One was below grade level academically, and the other had a severe attitude problem. I know I shouldn't admit this, but I was a little afraid of the girl with the attitude. I was hesitant to discipline her for fear of her reaction. She had been held back a year in school and was almost as tall as I was. She was AfricanAmerican and came from the city. She brought the issue of race into my innocent little classroom. She would say things like “my brother says white boys do this or that.” I felt like we were in this loving circle, and she was trying to break it apart. I was afraid that her behavior would rub off on others. She left about three weeks after she came. When she left, I had mixed feelings. I was relieved that her anger left my classroom, but I was worried because I knew she carried that anger with her. My other newbie also left as quickly as she came. I was just getting work samples together to try to prove that she needed extra academic help when she left. It’s hard when you become invested and try to help a child only to have them leave in the middle of things. Later in the year, I lost one more student and gained three. I felt like my classroom had a revolving door. It’s really hard to bring a child into the classroom after patterns and routines have been set. One big challenge I had during the year was dealing with the academic and social diversity in my classroom. I had three students who could not seem to get along with anyone. I often thought that if those three were gone, I could have my utopian classroom. Many times I pulled them aside and had “talks,” trying to relate to them on a one-on-one level. All three spent time with the counselor and sometimes even the principal. I never did resolve the situation to my satisfaction. One thing about being a new teacher is always wondering if a veteran teacher could have done a better job, and that's what I did. I felt that I had failed these students in some way, one in particular. I realized that teaching not only gives you the opportunity to affect a student’s life in a positive way, but in a negative way as well. I wonder if that child will look back on his third-grade year and hate me? There was a wide variety of abilities among my students. Five were gifted, three were below grade level, and the others fell somewhere in between. I often thought that I could teach

two different lessons for each subject and sometimes did. I wanted to make sure that my low students were grasping concepts, while at the same time my high students were being challenged. I tried to give my high students a little more freedom and provide them with some enrichment activities. Frequently, I would pull a group of low students to work through an assignment with me. Regularly, I had to use this time to re-teach topics or help students catch up on missing work. I had four students who constantly failed to turn in work. It was frustrating to be continually tracking down work! On one hand, I just wanted to say, “Forget it. It is their responsibility.” On the other hand, some students would have had too many zeros to make that possible. Overall, I spent more time worrying about my lower students than I did my higher ones. I was so scared that I would let one of them slip through the cracks. As a new teacher, I found it was easy to pick out the struggling kids, but hard to pinpoint why they were struggling. At our school we have a program for struggling students called Student Support Team (SST). It's a meeting (or series of meetings) where teachers, parents and administrators come up with strategies to help a child in the classroom and possibly qualify him/her to be tested for a learning or behavioral disorder. The frustrating thing about this was the amount of evidence you had to provide showing you had done everything in your ability to help this child. I always felt like I was going on trial. Often, I would take the same child back to SST again and again with very few improvements. One thing I felt passionate about was helping children see the bigger picture. If I taught only things that applied in our classroom, what good would that be in the real world? I really wanted my students to be able to make connections. I think the greatest experience we had this year was writing to our pen pals in New York. One goal of mine was to teach the kids that there was a huge world outside of Dacula, Georgia – the same as ours in some ways and different in other ways. I think my students learned some things about themselves through this process. At the end of the year, our pen pals sent us pictures of themselves. One student's comment stuck in my mind. “Why are most of these kids black or brown?” she asked. I realized that I had helped open her eyes to a world unknown and made her ponder things she had never considered. Looking back on my first year, I recall a lot of challenges and recognize a lot of room for improvement. That’s not to say that I didn't do the best I could! But worries plague me. Was I too easy on the students? What if they don't know all they need to know for fourth grade? But, I also remember many rewards. Not one day did I wake up and wish that I was not a teacher. I can't imagine a more satisfying job. I built a special bond with one child who did not have a good home life and no mother around. I really felt like I helped fill a void in her life. I saw her blossom from a sad, withdrawn child into an energetic and friendly one. I spent this year working so hard being a teacher. I plan to spend next year working to be a better one. ■ Brinna Sinclair teaches third grade at Freeman’s Mill Elementary School in Dacula, Ga. EDUCATION 2003 ■ 27

C O N T R I B U T I O N S

A N D

G I F T S

The College of Education

HONOR ROLL OF DONORS T

he UGA College of Education proudly recognizes and thanks the many alumni, friends and organizations who contribute their support to the college and its strategic initiatives. Donors to the college are making an investment in our students as the future educators of our children, leaders of our schools and top professionals in a wide array of other education- and healthrelated fields. These gifts serve to support the talented faculty and quality programs that characterize the college’s commitment to excellence and accountability. Please see more information on how you can make a gift to the College of Education inside this magazine. The Honor Roll of Donors recognizes gifts made to the College of Education through the University of Georgia Foundation from July 1, 2001 through June 30, 2002. Corporate – recognizing gifts from these entities at all levels. AOL Time Warner Foundation Athens Orthopedic Clinic Bank of America Matching Gifts Program BellSouth Telecommunications, Inc. Carolina Piedmont Foundation, Inc. Columbus Redstixx Baseball Delta Air Lines Foundation Education Development Center, Inc. Homeplace Learning in Retirement Marathon Ashland Petroleum, LLC Merrill Lynch & Co. Foundation, Inc. Nextel Partners, Inc. NovaCare NSSLHA Pfizer, Inc. St. Mary's Health Care System, Inc. Students of African Descent Technical Foundation of America Temple-Inland Foundation The UPS Foundation USX Foundation, Inc. Deferred – recognizing donors who have included the College in their estate plans through life insurance policies, bequests or pooled-income gifts. Mr. Neal Alford and Mrs. Nancy Alford Miss Martha Nell Allman Dr. Joan D. Berryman Mr. Charles R. Brown Dr. Verner F. Chaffin and Mrs. Ethel T. Chaffin The Honorable C. Saxby Chambliss and Mrs. Julianne F. Chambliss Mr. Cam D. Dorsey Jr. Ms. Sara Orton Glickman and Dr. Carl D. Glickman Dr. Sylvia McCoy Hutchinson Dr. Virginia M. Macagnoni Rep. Louise McBee Dr. Morley G. McCartney Ms. Mary Ann Morgareidge Mr. David John Mullen Jr. and Mrs. Cynthia Shields Mullen Mrs. Joan Burkes Land Neal * Ms. Eileen Russell Dr. Donald O. Schneider Prof. Julian C. Stanley Jr. Dr. Ellis Paul Torrance Dr. Curtis Ulmer and Mrs. Irene S. Ulmer Mr. Aubrey Sego Whelchel Mr. Gene Wyatt

28 ■ EDUCATION 2003

Dean’s Club – recognizing donors who have given a minimum of $1,000 during the year. Gifts at this level also qualify for the University of Georgia Annual President’s Club. Anonymous Dr. Ira E. Aaron Janice Puder Agron Martha Nell Allman Renee M. Babineau and Anthony J. Mitchell Betsy Arrington-Tsao and John P. Tsao Brian Christopher Bruce Bob and Maxine Burton Dr. Louis A. Castenell, Jr. Craig R. and Lisa B. Chaddock Sara Lucas Cooney and Dr. Thomas J. Cooney Dr. Bernice Louise Cooper Dr. George Olin Hallman Dr. Charles Thomas Holmes and Roselle Massey Holmes Ms. Carly Singmaster Hunt Chuck and Zanne Hunt Virginia Stewart Jarvis Randall and Rita Manning Dr. Denise Spangler Mewborn David John Mullen, Jr. and Cynthia Shields Mullen Barbara J. Rankin Estate Eileen Russell Estate Anne Howard and Robert H. Stolz Dr. William Walter Swan Dr. R. Curtis Ulmer, Sr. and Irene S. Ulmer Dr. Yancey and Jean Watkins Sharon Green Webber and M. Thomas Webber, Jr. Drs. John T. and Patricia S. Wilson Lois Cason Wooten and Frank L. Wooten, Jr. Dr. Russell H. Yeany Jr. and Brenda Yeany College Club – recognizing donors who have given a minimum of $500 during the year. Joan M. Buttram Bradley Caro Cook Dr. Bradley C. Courtenay and Nancy Talton Courtenay Gregory P. and Jennifer Hauck Hildegard K. Holmes Steve and Diane Horton Mark Allan and Joanie Kenny Hoyt Dr. Carl J. Huberty Charles H. Jarvis Doyle K. Mote and Patricia Taylor Dr. Whitney Lee Myers Bobbie P. and Val J. Porter Drs. Thomas C. Reeves and Patricia Mullins Erla Gortatowsky Zuber

Century Club – recognizing donors who have given a minimum of $100 during the year. Livy Beck Abele Robert Ernest Ade Dr. Stephen Kwasi Agyekum Edward B. Akin Naomi Shearouse Alderman Gary Franklin Allen Drs. Lewis Ray and JoBeth Allen Dr. Mary E. Anders Thomas Jackson Arnold Pauletta Youngblood Atwood Larry Dean Aull Mary Morris and Nolan Dudley Bair d Dianne Lee Baker Daniel Lee and Kimberly Y. Ball Julia Elizabeth Ball Mimi Leverette and Thomas W. Barnes Jr. Wanda Taylor and Earl D. Barrs Thomas A. and Lydia Roberts Bartley Dr. Richard Michael Barton Dr. Dorothy Ann Battle Verlene Sapp and Teddy Bennett, Jr. Dr. Sidney E. Benton Dr. Joan D. Berryman Deborah Yater and Carl W. Betsill Marian Fesperman Block Sharon L. Boatright Curtis L. Bragg Dr. Martha Clarkson Braswell and James A. Braswell Dr. Barney Cambon Brewton Jr. Laura Scott and Samuel W. Breyfogle Patricia Hughes and Charles W. Brigham, Jr. Lesley Martine Broadwell Phillip O. and Paula Hill Brock Francine Ennis Brown Joan Blackshear Brown Mary Anne Turner and William C. Browne Thomas Hardwick Bunch Lawrence Mandon Burke Mary Kathryn Burke Hunter Joyce Burt Dr. Ronald E. Butchart and Amy F. Rolleri Mary Ann Buxton Carol Hendon and John Rance Cain James J. Carroll Ruby L. Carson Janice Marilyn Carter Lorene Manning Carter Dr. Janice Louise Sapp Castles Patricia Owens Clay Clifford Lanier and Verlene P. Cobb Daniel Frank Cochran Barry V. and Mary M. Cohen Dr. Mary Jim Combs and Curtis E. Tate, Jr. Edna Mae Comstock Vicki Ann Connell and Hoyt Keith Kay

Dr. Charles Carter Connor, Jr. and Beverly H. Connor Diane L. Cooper Dr. Mary Kay Corbitt Connie Hughes Corley Julian Franklin Council II Dr. Carolyn A. Cox Robert Lee and Betty Terry Cox Jill Beck Coyle Maria Slowik Coyle Phyllis Causey Craft and Ken Craft Jr. Drs. Stephen E. and Margaret K. Cramer Angela Kay Crews Les Lee Linden Crim and Dr. Joe W. Crim James Patrick Crimmins Joan Holland Crissman Mr. and Mrs. Richard J. Croker Helen Lewis Crosland Dr. John Willie Culbreath Roberta Kathleen Culpepper Dr. Dominic A. D'Alesandro Jr. Dr. John Kenneth Davidson Sr. Alison Walden and Jonathan Mark Davis Mrs. Robert E. Davis Jr. Cy and Susan R. Dietrich Dr. Ernest K. Dishner Dr. William Marion Dodd Terry Rountree and Jimmy W. Donaldson Mark William Dorgan and Stephanie Frye Dorgan Dr. Beverly Joan Dryden Dr. David Lawrence Dugan Cheryl McDavid Dupree Fawzy Ebrahim Joseph E. and Nancy Y. Edens Charlotte Hitchcock Efurd Dr. Carolyn Kathryn Ehr Amanda Jo Ellis Dr. Mary Arnold Erlanger and * Michael C. Erlanger Wilsonia W. and Antonio E. Esteve David Nicholas Felfoldi Dr. Marc Eugene Fey and Sandra Hamilton Fey Jennifer Jones Fisk Annie Frances Flanigan Dr. William P. and June N. Flatt Brenda Bowen Floyd Dr. Mary Kathryn Floyd Donald L. Fogleman Kay Shearer and Stuart W. Fors James Michael and Mary Covin Fowler William C. and Jane Hardy Fowler Jamie Ann Fox Frances Cater Franklin Dr. Mary M. Frasier Charles Virgil Frazier Lewis Samuel Freedman Marilee Hanna and Philip Freshley Anita George Friday John D. Fuller Dr. LaRetta Matthews Garland

Drs. D. David and Elizabeth Groover Gehring Michael Lee Gilstrap Rozelle Glanton Sara O. Glickman and Dr. Carl D. Glickman Mary Nelson Goehring Dr. Lynda Thomas Goodfellow Dr. and Mrs. Samuel M. Goodrich Joy T. Elder Gorman Mary Hill Gould Anita Graham Joseph D. and Jean Kinney Grant Dr. June Wehrt Gray Dr. Velon H. Gray Dr. Charles H. and Barbara Black Green Dr. Martha Judith Greer Dr. James Wyatt Grimmer Kenneth Edward Griner Janis L. Hall Jean Travis Hall Robert Keith Halliday and April Sams Halliday Robert H. Hamilton Sr. Dr. Michael J. Hannafin Salina Metts and Thomas Lee Harkleroad Dr. Violet Joyce Harris Pamela C. Harrison Robert Charles Hart and Dr. Nancy Coleman Hart Drs. Andrew E. & Hathia A. Hayes and Dr. Harold Lee Hayes Dr. Jishen He and Dr. Peihua Sheng Jenny Harvey Herrington Patrick Morse Hill Dr. Richard K. and Joan C. Hill Dolly Bentley Hogan M. Lewellyn and Sue Brooks Holliman Patricia Leake and Henry Holliman Jerry Henry and Hoyt L. Hooper Drs. Arthur M. and Sharon G. Horne Dr. Sally Ann Hudson-Ross Martha McWhorter Hughes Dr. Annita Ward Hunt Anne Kelley Huppertz Dr. Sylvia McCoy Hutchinson Dr. Cynthia Rae Hynd Dr. George W. Hynd Dr. Joseph A. James III and Saleta Johnson James Sidney Albert Jenkins Mr. and Mrs. Stephen Durell Jessup Dr. Ann E. Jewett Celeste Coley and Willard Calhoun Johns Jr. Evelyn S. Johnson Dr. George W. Johnson Mari Jo Joiner A. Belle Jones Cheryl Ann Jones C. Mark and Sheila Wofford Jones Deuk Hee Jones Jennifer S. Jones Mr. and Mrs. Mike M. Jones Dr. Joan Alice Jordan Denise Ann Companik Juliana Harry H. Keller III Dr. and Mrs. Daniel J. King Dr. and Mrs. William B. King Drs. Pamela Bradley and Douglas A. Kleiber Sherrill Frith Knighton J. Loyd and Mary Elton Landrum Kelle Crowe and David M. Laushey Dr. Jamie Reese Lawrence Dr. Gene Rolf Layser Dr. Chester William Leathers David S. Levenson Dr. Jimmy Doyle Lindsey Dr. Roger William Liska Jane Gibbons and Kenneth J. Little, Sr. Timothy S. and Christine M. Lockwood Marcia Dalton and William S. Loyd Corneille Rylander Lucado

Teresa Ann Luttrell Dr. Richard L. Lynch and Genevieve A. Lynch Dave Mack Jr. Dr. Paul H. Madden Robert Henry Mair, III Drs. Janet Stillman and Roy P. Martin Bobbie Starr and Bill D. Mathews Carol Starnes and Stuart D. McCanless Dr. Thomas Fredrick McDonald and Barbara Terrell McDonald Earl P. and Marguerite Reynolds McInteer Kathleen P. McIntire Joe Miller McKelvey Jr. Joan Hawkins McMullan Mary Perkins and A. Steve McQueen II Angela D. Meltzer and Dr. Richard S. Meltzer Sandra Fitzgerald Metts Dr. Editha Barnes Mills Jeannette Mary Milone Carolyn Goss Mitchell Arthur Benjamin Mohor, Jr. Lucy Herbert Molinaro Patricia Brown Montarella Elizabeth Davis and Howard B. Montgomery Jr. John Hugheston Mooney Carol Speir Moore and Dr. Abner George Moore Jane Loring and James Hargrove Moore Martha Williams Moore Dr. Rebecca Marlene Moore Dr. Genelle G. Morain John Albert Moreland, III Connie Kimbrough and William E. Morgan III Ruth Wilbanks and Jack O. Morse Joyce E. Morway Suzanne M. Muller Betty Ann Murrah Donald G. and Susan F. Myers Frances Rowland and Dr. Walter P. Neely Nora Dale Lanier and Ryan Anson Nesbit Carol McGregor and Dr. William B. Nessmith Susan R. and Jim Newcomb Drs. Jenny and Steven Oliver Virginia Robertson Oliver Betty Jim Owings Emory Hugh and Harriett W. Palmer Patricia Rocker and Charles E. Parker Sr. Georgia Parthemos Peter James Paul Patricia Ann Pendergrass Milly Perry Larry Gardner Petty Patricia Gordon and William C. Phillips Carol Pierannunzi Dr. David Arthur Pierfy Margery Washburn Pinet Dr. Kenneth Wayne Pool and Dr. Jonelle Porter Pool Beth Sutton Pope Dr. Lacy DeWitt Powell Dr. Judith Preissle Patricia Padgett Price Dr. William F. Prokasy and Pamela P. Prokasy Diane Cook Pryor Dr. Francis Edward Rapley Robert C. and Susan Malone Reed Mr. and Mrs. E. Herschel Reeves Dr. Cecil Randy Reynolds Dr. Mikel Freeman Richardson Elias Rudolph Rigsby Ted James Rikard Janet G. Robertson John Campbell Rogers Allen Lloyd Rowell Debra Hensley Rowell Leonard L. Roy Jr. James Wells and Doris Hunt Rudisill

Dr. Thomas Edwin Rudolph Dr. Jacqueline J. Saindon and Dr. Stephen A. Kowalewski Mary Patterson Saunders Margaret Lex Schneider and Dr. Donald O. Schneider Becky W. Scott Marianne Olson and Roger Lamar Scott James Clifton and Betty Hodgson Seymour Sandra Keim Shackelford Dr. Edward Lewis Shaw Jr. Joseph C. and Celeste C. Shearouse Doris Hardigree Sheats Jane Eckard and Joseph M. Sheridan Sara Lee Simons Dr. and Mrs. Ronald D. Simpson Sara Ferguson Sloan Mr. and Mrs. E. Bruce Sloman Dr. Elizabeth Jane Wooten Smith Dr. Harold Graeme Smith Mae Whitehead Snelling Drs. Phyllis H. and Phillip Belton Sparling Rise Anne Spearman Edward F. Spilker Dr. David Craig Spinks Barbara Spletzer-Cheetwood Lester D. Springer Jr. Dr. Steven A. Stahl Dr. Martha Stephens Staples Judy Kennerly and Wayne L. Stebbins Bobby Nelson Stephens Harriet Hardeman Sutton Dr. Beverly Bradford Swanson Carol Duncan Sweny Dr. Julie I. Tallman Kathleen Gay Thompson K. Duane and Marlene Goldstein Tomlin Marian Elsie Travis Therese Pace Tuley Gilbert Hanson and Norma Junkins Underwood Phil and Madeline Van Dyck M. Layne Lee and Robert Guy Varnedoe Susan Hall and David N. Vaughan Jr. Dr. Lelia Vaughan Grant Russell Vennes, Jr. Frances E. Waddell Cynthia A. Matthews Warnock Dr. Karen E. Watkins Gene Guthrie and Julien D. Weeks Charles H. Westbrook Jr. and Margaret Devore Westbrook Jewel Grant Wheeler Dr. Mark F. Wheeler and Jan Bates Wheeler Joy Long Whitacre Herbert Thomas White Mary Carter Whitten Susan Ballou and Kenneth R. Wiles Catherine M. Williams Dr. Eugene C. Williams Nancy Gunter and George Hamilton Williams Augusta Mallory Willson Dr. James W. and Corene C. Wilson Dr. Roger Bradley Winston, Jr. Cathy Iller Wisenbaker and Dr. Joseph M. Wisenbaker Leslie Pitts and Bryan G. Wood Marie Trapnell Woodward M. Carole Morris and Earl Gary Wright Rod R. Wright and Barbara A. Johnson Wright Barbara Bowen Wyle Michele Franklin Yovanovich * Deceased

COE 2002-03

Scholarship Recipients The UGA College of Education awarded a total of $56,638 to 25 students for a variety of scholarships, most of which are funded by private donations to the College. Del Jones Memorial Scholarship Tanya Comer Robyn Davis Rachel Foster Tina Hall Sarah Hester Jennifer Parris Laura Roberts Kelly Rosamond Cheri Simmons Blakely Tsurusaki Thomas Van Soelen Torian White Mary Murphy Robinson Scholarship Jennifer Kesler Jillian Smith Rachel Sibley Sutton Scholarship Heidi Beamon Heather Breen State Normal School Memorial Scholarship John Maddox IV Elizabeth Sharp Student Teaching Scholarship Amy King Jessica Peace Philip Purser Megan Riddach Shirley Roberts Megan Skelley Karen Vetter

Thanks to Every Donor! EDUCATION 2003 â&#x2013; 29

Excellence F A C U L T Y

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Faculty Earn Recognition National/Regional/State Julia Reguero de Atiles, a senior academic professional in elementary education, was named the Georgia Association on Young Children’s (GAYC) Educator of the Year for 2001. Deryl Bailey, assistant professor of counseling,received a special recognition as Group Worker of the Year by the Association for Specialists in Group Work. John Dagley, associate professor and department head of counseling, was named a 2002 Fellow by the Association Specialists in Group Work (ASGW). Dagley was one of only six named nationally in recognition of extraordinary efforts of an individual on behalf of the ASGW. Linda Campbell, associate professor and director of UGA’s Center for Counseling and Personal Evaluation, was appointed to the Georgia State Board of Examiners of Psychologists, a six-member board selected by the governor to provide consumer protection, public health and welfare through regulation of the profession. She also received the Distinguished Psychologist Award from the American Psychological Association (APA) Division 29. Louis A. Castenell Jr., dean of the College of Education, was appointed to serve on the board of directors of the American Council on Education (ACE). ACE represents higher education before Congress, federal agencies, the Supreme Court,and the federal courts and works to coordinate the interests of all sectors of higher education into a single voice on issues of national policy. Ron Cervero, professor and department head of adult education, was one of three UGA researchers to receive the 2001 Imogene Okes Award for outstanding research from the American Association of Adult and Continuing Education (AAACE). Cervero received the 30 ■ EDUCATION 2003

Michael Ferrara, director of UGA’s athletic training program and an associate professor in exercise science, was named recipient of the 2001 Sayers “Bud” Miller Distinguished Educator Award from the National Athletic Trainers Association (NATA). Juanita JohnsonBailey, an associate professor of adult education and women’s studies, received the 2001 Frandson Award from the UGA Provost Karen Holbrook (L) presents Frances Hensley with University Continuing a 2002 Walter Barnard Hill Award. Education Association for her book, Sistahs in award along with Andy Herod, associate proCollege: Making a Way Out of No Way. fessor of geography, and Ben Salt, who earned Richard Hayes, professor of counseling, his PhD from UGA in adult education in 1999, received the 2002 Eminent Career Award from for their article, “Worker’s Education and the Association for Specialists in Group Work and Neoliberal Globalization: An Adequate American Counseling Association (ASGW/ACA).It Response to Transnational Corporations,” is the highest award given by the two groups to which appeared in the November 2000 issue recognize major contributions made to the field of Adult Education Quarterly. of group work. Diane Cooper, associate professor of counAndy Horne, professor of counseling, seling and coordinator of the College Student received the Outstanding Research of the Year Affairs Association program,received three Award from the APA Division 51. He also awards. She was honored by the American received The Professional Advancement Award College Personnel Association with the Annuit from the Association of Specialists in Group Coeptis Award for Professional Scholarship. She Work.Further, he was honored by The European also received the Melvene Draheim Hardee Branch of the American Counseling Association Award from the Southern Association for College as the organization’s Distinguished Member. Student Affairs and the Parker D. Young Judicial Yolanda J. Majors, an assistant professor in Affairs Leadership Award. language education, was one of only three scholBob Fecho, an assistant professor in reading ars in the nation to receive the 2002 Promising education, was elected to the executive commitResearcher Award by the National Council of tee of the Conference on English Education Teachers of English (NCTE). (CEE),a constituent group for teacher educators Jim McLaughlin, associate professor of elewithin the National Council of Teachers of mentary education and head of the middle English (NCTE). school education program, was named a

F A C U L T Y

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Fulbright Scholar for 2002-03 to conduct research and teach at two universities in Mexico. He also received a Rotary Grant for University Teachers from Rotary International. McLaughlin will be based in Xalapa in the Mexican state of Veracruz from January to July 2003.

University Awards and Honors JoBeth Allen, professor of language education, was named a UGA Senior Teaching Fellow. Louis A. Castenell, Jr., dean of the College of Education, received a 2002 Distinguished Alumni Award from the University of Illinois where he earned a doctorate in educational psychology. Albert DeChicchis, associate professor of communication sciences and disorders, received a Study in a Second Discipline award. Gary Dudley of exercise science and Andy Horne of counseling were named UGA Distinguished Research Professors. The honor is granted in recognition of outstanding research and other creative, scholarly accomplishments. Awardees receive a $7,000 permanent increase in salary and during their five-year appointment, receive annually a $10,000 fund to support scholarship. The pair join only six others in the College who have been named Distinguished Research Professors over the last two decades. Frances Hensley, director of the Georgia Systemic Teacher Education Program (GSTEP), was one of several UGA faculty honored with 2002 Walter Barnard Hill Awards for Distinguished Achievement in Public Service and Outreach.

College Awards and Honors Mary M. Frasier, director of urban initiatives and professor of educational psychology, has been named the 2002 Aderhold Distinguished Professor. Brian Glaser, the director of training for the Counseling Psychology Program, was recognized as the year’s Outstanding Teacher by students in that program. Peg Graham, an associate professor in language education, and Georgia Calhoun, an assistant professor in counseling and human development services, received the College’s Outstanding Teaching Faculty awards at UGA Honors Day this past spring. Andy Horne, a professor of counseling, received the College’s 2002 Russell H. Yeany, Jr. Research Award. Diane Samdahl, an associate professor in recreation and leisure studies, and Norm Thomson, an assistant professor in science education, received Keith Osborne Faculty Senate Teaching Excellence Awards.

Bales Receives 2002 Staff Award for Excellence Stephanie Bales, office manager for the department of 2002 Staff Award winelementary education,received the College of Education’s ners are (L-R)Linda 2002 Staff Award for Excellence. Chester, Betty Tanner Bales was presented a plaque and a $1,200 award April 17 and Stephanie Bales. at the State Botanical Gardens. The first runner-up, Betty Tanner, administrative coordinator in the department of counseling and human development services, was awarded $750,and second runner-up, Linda Chester, office manager for adult education,received $300. The awards were presented by Mary Frasier, professor of educational psychology and director of urban initiatives. Faculty members in elementary education use words like dedicated, determined,knowledgeable, and efficient to describe Bales. Faculty and students alike cite her problem-solving abilities, leadership, energy, helpfulness and efficiency. A COE staff member for 14 of her 18 years of work at UGA, Bales is primarily responsible for all budgetary matters within elementary education, all graduate records and is the frontline person dealing with current and prospective students. Faculty members say Bales has been instrumental in coordinating the department’s large graduate program,displaying a detailed knowledge of the three programs with seven different degrees and the policies, procedures and paperwork necessary in each. Bales’ organization,budget knowledge and attention to detail have also helped facilitate the successful development and delivery of two study abroad programs – in Xalapa, Mexico and Carpi, Italy – faculty members say. Bales was also praised by former students for her interaction and support.“I have not found anyone in a support staff position who compares to Ms. Bales in terms of productivity, commitment and overall effectiveness,” said Steve White, now an associate professor at George Mason University. The winners were selected from a list of 10 nominees that included Ron Braxley, Mary Cash, Harriet Elder, Dianne Fields, Jennifer Guyton, Donna Johnson and Michael Sims. The annual Staff Award for Excellence program is coordinated by the Staff Representiative Group of the College, Betty Disharoon Prickett,president.Judging was by a joint panel of College faculty and staff coordinated by Charles Connor, director of publications. Cash awards and other financial support were provided by the College.

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S T U D E N T

Bringing history to

H O N O R S

life

Doctoral student Melanie Pavich-Lindsay and collaborating artists capture St. Simons Island plantation’s history – for better and worse

“I

t has been said that it is impossible to understand race relations in contemporary America without a profound understanding of its institution of slavery,” says young history scholar Melanie Pavich-Lindsay. “History is often thought to be dry and factual;art to be elusive and subjective. By combining historical information and personal recollection with imaginative imagery, we attempt to affect in visitors a new level of understanding and identification with past human experience.” The combination to which she refers is a 2,000-square-foot multimedia installation, using historical artifacts and contemporary art to explore the 19th century slave community at Retreat Plantation on St.Simons Island, Georgia. “Retreat: Palimpsest of a Georgia Sea Island Plantation,” resulted from a collaboration between Pavich-Lindsay, a UGA doctoral candidate in social foundations of education,and Atlanta artist Lisa Tuttle that began in 1997. The installation is a visual and textual journey through the land that became known as Retreat Plantation.It is a multi-layered story of the people who lived on this piece of coastal land including indigenous peoples, European colonists, enslaved Africans, plantation owners, freedmen and women, golfers and vacationers. “The concept of a ‘palimpsest,’ a parchment or manuscript written upon two or three times with the earlier writing having been wholly or partially erased to make room for the next, is central to this work,” said Pavich-Lindsay. Historic artifacts accompanied by text,letters and documents tell the story. Maps are provided in each section, including a rendering of the plantation,its buildings and gardens. In the post-Civil War section,a newspaper article and photograph of Neptune Small (he took the last name “Small” after emancipation) are displayed.Small relates the story of his young master’s death at the Battle of Fredericksburg.He tells of going onto the battlefield to look for Henry Lord Page King, only to find him face down,his face shot away, recognizable only by the feel of his hair. Pavich-Lindsay’s 10-year research for a master’s thesis in history has also resulted in a new book titled, “Anna: The Letters of Anna Matilda Page King of St. Simons Island, Georgia, 1817-1859,” being published this fall by The University of Georgia Press. One excerpt from King’s letters describes the beating death of a young boy in nearby Brunswick. Another describes the wedding of Neptune to Ila, who had to return to her own plantation the morning after her wedding. In addition,she, Tuttle and artist Lynn Marshall-Linnemeier produced an artists’ book based on the installation titled “Look Back,” published by Nexus Press. A summer-long exhibit at the Atlanta Contemporary Art center and the artists’ book were supported by a $10,000 grant from the National Endowment for the Arts.

32 ■ EDUCATION 2003

Nita Paris, a recent doctoral graduate in educational psychology, received the 2002 Distinguished Dissertation Award of the Year from the Association of Teacher Educators (ATE). Paris, now an assistant professor of educational psychology and graduate program coordinator in secondary and middle grades education at Kennesaw State University in Marietta, received her PhD in applied cognition and development. Julio Rojas, a doctoral candidate in counseling and psychology, was one of two UGA students named 2002 K. Patricia Cross Future Leaders by the American Association of Higher Education (AAHE). Rojas was chosen for the honor because of his service to academic counseling, civic responsibility and participation in the Preparing Future Faculty (PPF) program. He has also served as an academic counselor at UGA’s College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences and provided substance and mental health counseling to residents of an Athens-area homeless shelter and has volunteered to help Hispanic clients gain access to psychological services. Drew Frank received UGA’s prestigious and highly competitive Presidential Graduate Fellows award.A program designed to recruit exceptionally qualified students to UGA,the awards include an annual stipend of $20,000 plus tuition for three to five years. Only 12 such awards are made each year. The 26-year-old Sandy Springs middle school teacher will begin pursuit of a master’s and doctorate in educational psychology and curriculum this fall. Frank received a BS in middle grades education from Kennesaw State University. While finishing his degree, Frank worked with enrichment students at Davis Academy, a middle school in Atlanta,and served as co-coach for the state’s representatives in national MATHCOUNTS competition in May 2001. He is the fourth COE recipient of the award since its inception three years ago. Other Presidential Graduate Fellows in the College include Amy Hackenberg in mathematics education, Julie Sanchez and Anna Kroncke, both in educational psychology.

A L U M N I

H O N O R S

GOIZUETA from page 6

Luann Purcell

Purcell to direct national special education group Luann Purcell, assistant superintendent for pupil services in Houston County, was selected as the new executive director for the Council of Administrators of Special Education (CASE).She began her duties July 1,2002. The executive director of CASE represents all local directors of special education across the country with other national educational leadership organizations. National offices of CASE will be housed on the campus of Fort Valley State University. Purcell has served as president of the Georgia Council of Administrators of Special Education (G-CASE) and as a member of the CASE Board of Directors. She has received top awards from both state and national organizations. Purcell received an EdD in educational leadership in 1990.Her major professor at UGA was Bill Swan.She and Swan have been the only two Georgia educators to receive the national CASE award in its 15-year history.

Story one of two Georgians receiving Milken Award Micah Story, an Athens resident who teaches agriculture and technology at East Jackson Middle School in Jackson County, was one of two Georgia teachers receiving the $25,000 Milken Family Foundation National Educator Award in 2001. Story, a 1996 master’s graduate of UGA, runs a mentoring program for disadvantaged students. The second award in Georgia went to Betsy Bunte, a literature teacher at Cobb County’s Campbell High School in Smyrna. Bunte and Story were both teachers of the year for their respective counties in 2000. The family foundation will distribute the awards to 120 teachers and administrators this year. The educators can spend the money as they wish.

with large Hispanic populations, the center will provide research data, resource materials and training to develop strategies for improving education for Hispanic students from kindergarten through high school. The Goizueta Foundation Chair for Hispanic Teacher Education will be only the second endowed faculty position in the College of Education. The person holding the chair will work closely with the Center for Hispanic Educational Advancement and will provide leadership and guidance for the overall Hispanic educational outreach effort. Michael Hannafin, professor of instructional technology, was appointed to the College’s first endowed chair as Charles H. Wheatley-Georgia Research Alliance Eminent Scholar in Technology-Enhanced Learning in 1995. Graduate students in education, social work, and family and consumer sciences will be eligible for assistantships from The Goizueta Foundation Graduate Scholars Fund. Recipients must be fluent in Spanish, have an interest in Hispanic educational issues and be willing to work with Hispanic education programs around the state. Scholarships from The Goizueta Foundation Scholars Fund will be awarded to incoming UGA freshmen with demonstrated financial need who are fluent in written and spoken Spanish. The scholarships will be renewable if recipients maintain at least a B average and make progress toward a degree. Roberto C. Goizueta established The Goizueta Foundation in 1992 to provide financial assistance to educational and charitable institutions. Goizueta was Chairman, Board of Directors, and Chief Executive Officer of The Coca-Cola Company until his death in October 1997. ■ A student answers a question during a class at La Cana Elementary Shcool in For more information visit Veracruz, Mexico www.coe.uga.edu/goizueta

MEXICO from page 7 School for Foreign Students. After “comida” (afternoon meal) with their homestay families, the group reconvenes for evening seminars. “We have many Mexican families now in Georgia, and we have not been prepared to educate them,” said McLaughlin. “Without some knowledge of how they feel or where they come from, all we see are foreigners in the local grocery checkout lines. But if we go to their country to learn something of their origin and feel a similar dislocation, then we can learn how to live together.” ■ Jim McLaughlin can be reached at jmcl@coe.uga.edu For more on COE Study Abroad opportunities visit www.coe.uga.edu/edpartner/oia.html

UGA professor and head of childhood education Mar tha Allexsaht-Snider reads a book to children at San Marcos Elementary School in La Cana EDUCATION 2003 ■ 33

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