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Read more about the 2021 Engaged Scholar on Page 5.
Read more about the 2021 University Professors on Page 2. Vol. 48, No. 34
HONORS&AWARDS April 19, 2021
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2021 Josiah Meigs Teaching Professors Five faculty members were named Josiah Meigs Distinguished Professors for 2021. The professorship is the university’s highest recognition for instruction at the undergraduate and graduate levels. Meigs Professors receive a permanent salary increase of $6,000 and a one-year discretionary fund of $1,000.
Andrew Davis Tucker
Dorothy Kozlowski
Dorothy Kozlowski
Andrew Davis Tucker
Andrew Davis Tucker
Joseph W. Goetz
John M. Mativo
Lori A. Ringhand
Jo R. Smith
Zachary A. Wood
Professor Department of Financial Planning, Housing, and Consumer Economics College of Family and Consumer Sciences
Associate Professor Department of Career and Information Studies Mary Frances Early College of Education
J. Alton Hosch Professor of Law School of Law
Associate Professor Department of Small Animal Medicine and Surgery College of Veterinary Medicine
Professor Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Franklin College of Arts and Sciences
Not every professor has cofounded a clinic, a center, a company and an entirely new field of study, but Joseph W. Goetz has. Goetz began at the University of Georgia in 2006, and since then, he has curated the financial planning program into one of the top three See GOETZ on page 8
Whether it’s mentoring students, teaching extra course loads or volunteering his time, John Mativo takes an active role in serving the University of Georgia community. Mativo’s assigned time is 40% teaching, 40% research and 20% service. He teaches four courses
Lori Ringhand isn’t just a leader in the law school. She’s also a leader within the profession of law as a whole—especially with regard to educating both her students and U.S. citizens about democracy, the Constitution and the Supreme Court. Ringhand began at the University of Georgia in 2008. In both 2010 and 2015, she earned the law school’s highest teaching honor, the
It’s fair to say that teaching takes up most of Jo Smith’s professional life. Smith was hired in 2009, and since then has created and managed five didactic courses, coordinated two additional courses and taught in another 12 classes. Her current didactic teaching load is made up of
Zachary Wood’s love for teaching is undeniable. Wood joined the biochemistry and molecular biology department in 2007 as an assistant professor and remains active in not only undergraduate education, but also graduate education.
See MATIVO on page 8
See RINGHAND on page 8
See SMITH on page 8
See WOOD on page 8
Distinguished Research Professors
The title of Distinguished Research Professor recognizes senior faculty members who are internationally recognized for their innovative body of work and its transformational impact on the field. The Professorship is awarded to individuals working at the very top of their discipline, who are recognized as preeminent leaders in their fields of study.
Peter Frey
The work of Nik Heynen, professor in the Department of Geography, is centered in the scholarship of social and environmental justice and has helped forge closer connections between the academy and society. He is interested in how the social constructs of race, class and gender have intersected to produce uneven geographical development. He studies how social movement institutions organize across space to identify and secure adequate See HEYNEN on page 8
Peter Frey
Amy Ware
Andrew Davis Tucker
Ping Ma, professor in the Department of Statistics, is a world leader in developing statistics, machine learning and data science tools to address modern scientific problems. With rapid advances in technology, the volume of information that scientists can collect has increased dramatically, but these giant datasets often require powerful supercomputers for effective analysis. In a true breakthrough,Ma developed algorithms that enable scientists who
Debra Mohnen, Georgia Athletic Association Professor in Complex Carbohydrate Research and professor in the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology,has made internationally recognized contributions to the field of plant cell-wall glycobiology with significant impacts on biomass and bioenergy research. In 75 peer-reviewed publications, which have generated more than 500 citations annually since 2013, she has advanced understanding of
Cas Mudde, Stanley Wade Shelton UGA Foundation Professor in the Department of International Affairs, is recognized as one of the world’s leading social scientists writing on populism and far-right politics. Instead of viewing radical-right parties as fleeting or outside modern democracy, he has argued that they are part of modern democracy, even if their existence could threaten democratic ideals. He has conceived of populism as a
See MA on page 8
See MOHNEN on page 8
See MUDDE on page 8
Chad Osburn
Andrew Zawacki, professor in the Department of English, has gained distinction as a poet,translator, editor and critic.He has published five celebrated books of poetry, numerous chapbooks and limited-edition books, critical essays in prestigious literary journals and a highly visible Poetry Foundation blog. Four of his poetry books have appeared in France in French translation, and another is forthcoming. For many years, he served as co-editor of the See ZAWACKI on page 8
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2021 HONORS & AWARDS
University Professors
University Professors receive a permanent salary increase of $10,000 and yearly academic support of $5,000. Nominations from the deans of UGA’s schools and colleges are reviewed by a committee, which makes a recommendation to the provost.
Timothy Adams Jr.
James Moore
Mildred Goodrum Heyward Professor Hugh Hodgson School of Music Franklin College of Arts and Sciences
Josiah Meigs Distinguished Teaching Professor, Distinguished Research Professor Department of Large Animal Medicine, Director of Educational Resources College of Veterinary Medicine
Timothy Adams is a highly accomplished composer, recording artist and author of numerous pedagogical materials. Over the course of his 40-year career as a musician, he has worked with many of the world’s leading musicians, conductors, composers and recording artists, including Leonard Bernstein, Luciano Pavarotti, Yo-Yo Ma, Tony Bennett, James Taylor, John Denver and Linda Ronstadt. Under his direction, the percussion studio in the Hodgson School has grown in both reputation and achievement to its current status as one of the finest such studios in the nation. His former students Submitted photo have an extraordinary record of success, many of whom have careers in military bands, orchestras across the United States and Asia, and on Broadway. Adams is a passionate advocate for innovation, change and growth in all music fields and a champion for advancing diversity, equity and inclusion. His current academic work includes a commission from the Erie Philharmonic in which he is composing a piece honoring the life and work of Harriet Tubman. He is also working on a collaboration called “8:46” with Grammy-winning bassist Dwayne Dolphin. This project will address social and racial injustices brought to light in the summer of 2020. Adams is an in-demand speaker, with venues including New York University and the Peabody Conservatory of Music of Johns Hopkins University. He also recently received the See ADAMS on page 8
James Moore is considered an international expert for his research on gastrointestinal diseases and endotoxemia, a life-threatening equine emergency. His research has increased awareness, improved equine endotoxemia treatments and made UGA a global center of excellence for colic research. Moore has written approximately 140 peer-reviewed articles and several book chapters, and he has edited four textbooks. He has also been instrumental in developing more than 40 interactive books on a Andrew Davis Tucker wide range of veterinary medicine topics, including small animal dentistry and equine lower respiratory disease. Along with being recognized as a leader in equine medicine research, Moore is a recognized innovator of new instructional tools in veterinary medicine. He has developed electronic resources that help veterinary students learn anatomy and physiology by turning complex subjects from textbooks into 3D models and animations. These materials help reduce student anxiety and improve their confidence in veterinary medicine. Moore has received numerous honors and awards, including the Apple Distinguished Educator designation, the American College of Veterinary Surgeons Merit Award, the American Association of Equine Practitioners Distinguished Educator Award and the UC Davis Alumni Achievement Award.
See MOORE on page 8
Creative Research Medals
The university established the Creative Research Medals in 1980 to recognize a distinct and exceptional research or creative project, performed by a mid-career faculty member, with extraordinary impact and significance to the field of study.
Terry Allen
Andrew Davis Tucker
Dorothy Kozlowski
Andrew Davis Tucker
Amanda J. Abraham, associate professor in the Department of Public Administration and Policy, is a top researcher in the field of addiction health services. She studies sociological dimensions of addiction treatment, ranging from organizational change to the impact of government policy on treatment accessibility and quality. She has identified crucial policy questions involving the opioid epidemic, pursued new research approaches and offered evidence-based policy recommendations that could change the epidemic’s trajectory. Her research has documented what type of insurance coverage matters most for gaining or restricting access to needed medications and services during the epidemic. Her studies also highlight where serious gaps in treatment occur for Medicare and Medicaid enrollees. She pinpoints particular geographic areas, such as the Southeast, with the largest gaps between opioid use disorder treatment need and estimated treatment capacity for Medicaid enrollees. Her research also reveals a serious shortage of OUD medication providers in Medicare and highlights implications for access to needed treatment.
David T. Gay, professor of mathematics, has made breakthroughs in topology through the development of “trisections of 4-manifolds,” a novel way of representing and studying the topology and geometry of 4-dimensional spaces. In dimensions 3 and 4, manifolds are the models for the universe (considering space as 3-dimensional, and space-time as 4-dimensional). In recent decades, the study of manifolds has been one of the most active fields of research in mathematics, building historical interactions between mathematics and physics. In 2016, Gay, in collaboration with Robion Kirby, introduced the notion of a trisection of a 4-manifold and proved the foundational existence and uniqueness results, an effective way of constructing and studying all smooth 4-manifolds. This transformative finding led to a series of papers by Gay and others, introducing new concepts and approaching longstanding problems in new ways.
Liza Stepanova, associate professor of piano in the Hugh Hodgson School of Music, conceived a project in 2017 to respond to anti-immigrant sentiment. After meticulous research including a newly commissioned work, Stepanova gathered works by nine living composers with immigrant backgrounds living and working in the United States. Three years later, the result was her 2020 album E. Pluribus Unum, released on Navona Records, featuring piano works by wellknown and established composers plus up-and-coming young artists. As an immigrant herself, she has brought together compositions that address and reflect composers’ origins, immigrant experiences and distinct contributions to American musical life. The album has been praised and reviewed in significant national and international outlets, including all three of the top classical musical journals in the United Kingdom. In this project and others, she reveals a penetrating intellect, a deep sense of purpose, and a commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion.
Zachary Wood, professor in the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, and his team have challenged the longstanding structure-function paradigm in biology. In a 2018 paper published in Nature, Wood and graduate student Nicholas Keul reported results of experiments on the function of unfolded parts of proteins called intrinsically disordered segments. For 50 years, biologists believed that only the folded structure of proteins was important for function, and the unfolded portions were considered “junk segments” left over from evolution. But Wood and his team discovered that the unfolded segments harness entropy to produce a force that can alter the activity of the folded portion of a protein. This finding shows that disordered segments can be functional, and since the only requirement is a lack of structure, these segments are easy to evolve. Wood and his team have inspired new research initiatives worldwide and could reshape understanding of protein structure for decades to come.
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Early Career Scholar Awards Established by the UGA Research Foundation, these awards recognize junior faculty whose research, creative and scholarly achievements indicate a trajectory toward an exceptional, sustained research career and an imminent rise to international stature in their field of study.
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Katherine Ehrlich, assistant professor in the Department of Psychology, leverages cutting-edge biological methods to understand health consequences of problematic parenting, racial discrimination and socioeconomic disadvantage. Her research often focuses on how children’s experiences become embedded in their physical health, including their immune systems, during development. In one study, she and her colleagues examined whether early-life adversity versus current stress more strongly predicted inflammatory response to challenge over time. From children’s blood samples drawn over several years, the researchers found that adversity in early life predicted enhanced interleukin-6 production whereas current stress did not. This research could provide critical information about sensitive periods for immune system development. In another study, she reported that children’s attachments to their parents were associated with asthma management. Her more recent research explores health disparities and resilience among high-achieving African American children and youth.
Dorothy Kozlowski
Peter Frey
Brandon Rotavera, an assistant professor with appointments in the College of Engineering and the Department of Chemistry, conducts fundamental studies to advance scientific objectives related to sustainable transportation energy for next-generation combustion systems and climate change. His research program bridges experimental measurements with computational modeling to solve basic science questions, including how reactions of new biofuels differ from those of conventional hydrocarbons, to understand how ignition occurs and how pollutants form during combustion. He has developed unique experimental spectroscopic methods to measure important chemical species and is a rising authority in the field of chemical kinetics and combustion, particularly biofuel oxidation. His research is transforming basic understanding of the gas-phase physical chemistry of biofuels and their impacts on combustion and atmospheric chemistry. His group aims to provide fundamental science to further advance the development of engines that operate in “low-temperature combustion” mode, which provides increased efficiency and reduced pollutant emissions.
Demi Thomloudis, assistant professor in the Lamar Dodd School of Art, is an accomplished researcher in the small, intensely competitive field of contemporary jewelry. Her investigation of the human body and its relationship to jewelry has manifested in consistently strong works of art that challenge assumptions about jewelry and its meaning, power and value. Her research, which explores jewelry’s capacity to express the interrelationship of person and place, has earned her an international reputation in the field, as well as numerous accolades and invitations to participate in prestigious exhibitions and residencies. Over the last five years, she has had four two-person exhibitions and one solo exhibition; invitations to exhibit in 20 internationally recognized group and juried exhibitions; 28 nationally recognized exhibits; and was included in dozens of books, articles, exhibition catalogs, newspapers and online media that have reviewed or reproduced images of her work.
Creative Research Awards
These awards recognize established investigators whose overall scholarly body of work has had a major impact on the field of study and has established the investigator’s international reputation as a leader in the field. Awards are given annually in each of three discipline areas, named for three renowned UGA professors.
Peter Frey
Rachel Gabara, associate professor of French in the Department of Romance Languages, works at the intersection of cinema studies, African studies and French and Francophone studies. She has expanded the understanding of literature and film from Africa and Europe in rigorous scholarship grounded in extensive archival research supported by the Fulbright Scholar Program and the National Endowment for the Humanities. In a book and a number of essays on autobiographical narrative, transnational modes of nonfiction film and African cinema in a global context, Gabara has examined the complex connections between the two continents during the colonial and postcolonial eras. She is currently completing a second book, Reclaiming Realism, the first comprehensive study of documentary filmmaking in West and Central Africa. Gabara serves as film review editor for the African Studies Review and has organized and facilitated a variety of events with African filmmakers and about African cinema.
Dorothy Kozlowski
Lawrence Sweet, Gary R. Sperduto Professor in Clinical Psychology, is an internationally recognized transdisciplinary researcher. Trained as a clinical neuropsychologist, he is a methodologist with specializations in cognitive assessment and multimodal neuroimaging. He also creatively combines knowledge from other disciplines, departments and programs to generate insights into pressing challenges in public health and clinical psychology. He has published in top journals in several areas of research, including human development, behavioral medicine, cognitive neuroscience and neuropsychology. His neuroimaging approaches, taught to his trainees, have advanced understanding of neurocognitive risk markers of depression, addiction, stroke, vascular dementia and other conditions. His research has contributed to knowledge of the human lifespan from early-life adversity to aging. He has created an outstanding record of training successful researchers, offering mentorship across disciplines and at every level of career development. His impact is reflected in new generations of scientists across numerous fields.
Andrew Davis Tucker
M. Stephen Trent, UGA Foundation Distinguished Professor of Infectious Diseases, is a driving force and an international leader in the area of bacterial cell surfaces and cell envelope biology. His work has affected the development of novel antibiotics and the generation of vaccines, providing a broader understanding of bacterial pathogenesis for the treatment of infectious diseases. He exploits a wide range of bacterial pathogen prototypes, representing different modes of infection, to highlight unique questions in cell envelope biology and bacterial surface remodeling. He has developed a series of complementary, innovative and well-funded projects that ask leading-edge questions in See TRENT on page 8
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2021 ENTREPRENEUR OF THE YEAR
Dorothy Kozlowski
2021 INVENTOR OF THE YEAR
Hitesh Handa conducts translational research focused on the development of biocompatible medical device coatings that prevent infection. He founded inNOveta Biomedical LLC to facilitate commercialization of his research discoveries, and his research has led to four issued patents and multiple pending patent applications. Handa’s novel coating technology releases nitric oxide that inhibits blood clotting and infection. In fall 2019, he was selected as one of two inaugural UGA Faculty Innovation Fellows, an accolade recognizing Handa’s passion and commitment to moving his technologies to the market. In 2020, inNOveta Biomedical was awarded more than $1 million in Small Business Technology Transfer Phase II funding from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the National Institutes of Health to develop his patented technology for the prevention of catheter-associated infections.
Dorothy Kozlowski
John Ruter is the Allan Armitage Endowed Professor of Horticulture and director of the Trial Gardens at UGA.The research he conducts focuses on breeding and releasing herbaceous and woody ornamental cultivars and developing Camellia oleifera as a new oilseed crop for the United States. His program has developed numerous ornamental cultivars with economic impact over the last 14 years, with more than 30 being licensed to companies in Georgia, across the United States and internationally. Most notable of the licensed plants are Hibiscus and Ilex (Holly) cultivars, with useful ornamental traits for various landscape applications. Previously,Ruter was awarded the D.W.BrooksAward for Excellence in Research from the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences. Ruter is a Fellow of the International Plant Propagators’ Society and an award-winning author of four books and more than 500 scientific and popular publications.
Public Service & Outreach Eight University of Georgia faculty and staff members will be recognized this week for their commitment to public service and outreach.
Walter Barnard Hill Fellow
The Walter Barnard Hill Fellow Award for Distinguished Achievement in Public Service and Outreach is named for Chancellor Walter B. Hill, who led the University of Georgia from 1899 to 1905. Hill was a pioneer who helped define the university’s modern public service and outreach mission. The Hill Fellow recognizes faculty for long-term achievements and special projects that have extraordinary impact, and collaborative efforts that improve quality of life in Georgia. Only past UGA Hill Award winners are eligible to become a Hill Fellow. Each Hill Fellow receives a medallion, a permanent salary increase and $2,000 in discretionary funds per fiscal year for three consecutive years to advance his or her public service work.
Robert Kemerait Jr.
Professor and Extension Specialist Department of Plant Pathology College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences
During his 21 years at UGA, Robert Kemerait Jr. has made significant inroads in securing the food supply, both here and abroad, by helping growers protect their crops against diseases, nematodes and weather. He specializes in disease and nematode management of peanut, corn, cotton and soybeans, and led the effort to create Peanut Rx, an internationally recognized disease forecasting tool for peanut farmers. Kemerait has been a part of USAIDfunded development projects with farmers in Guyana, Haiti and the Philippines. Submitted photo
Walter Barnard Hill Award
The Walter Barnard Hill Award also is named for Chancellor Walter B. Hill. The Hill Awards recognize distinguished achievements by public service faculty who have contributed to a better quality of life for the people of Georgia. Each award recipient receives a medallion, a permanent salary increase and a framed certificate in honor of his or her achievement.
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Carolina Darbisi is a senior faculty member at the J.W. Fanning Institute for Leadership Development. Darbisi has helped build strong pipelines of leadership among women, multicultural populations and in public health circles.
Shannah Montgomery
Chad Osburn
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Shannah Montgomery
Leigh Askew Elkins is a senior faculty member at the Carl Vinson Institute of Government. Elkins has been instrumental in helping communities integrate natural resources into economic development projects and protecting the state’s environment.
Keri Grandy Hobbs is a UGA Extension 4-H specialist with the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences. Hobbs’ work resulted in a more efficient program to prepare volunteers for 4-H, which has been adopted across Georgia and in other states.
Mark Lupo is a business education and resilience specialist for the UGA Small Business Development Center. Lupo has built a national reputation as an expert in business continuity and emergency preparedness.
David Tanner is associate director of state services and support for the Carl Vinson Institute of Government. Tanner helped lead an overhaul of Georgia’s juvenile justice system, through which more than 7,000 youth were redirected from detention to community-based mental health programs.
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STAFF AWARD FOR EXCELLENCE
ENGAGED SCHOLAR The Engaged Scholar Award recognizes a tenured associate or full professor who has made significant career-spanning contributions to the University of Georgia’s public service mission through scholarship, service-learning opportunities for students and campus leadership. The awardee receives a $5,000 faculty development grant to sustain current engaged scholar endeavors or to develop new ones.
Edward Delgado-Romero
The Public Service and Outreach Staff Award for Excellence acknowledges individuals for their exceptional job performance, workplace creativity and innovation and commitment to service. The honoree receives a certificate, a cash award and an engraved crystal memento.
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Professor of counseling and human development services and Associate Dean, Mary Frances Early College of Education The first and only Latinx faculty member tenured and promoted within his department, Edward Delgado-Romero has increased UGA’s engagement with the Latinx community and helped diversify the student body. He has formed town-gown partnerships that address the critical mental health needs of the Latinx population and helped train the next generation of bilingual and bicultural psychologists and social workers. He worked with the local community to establish a psychology clinic where UGA graduate students provide free services to Spanish-speaking clients.
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Lisa Gentit
Marine Resource Specialist UGA Marine Extension and Georgia Sea Grant Since Lisa Gentit joined the unit as a research technician in 2003, she has steadily increased her responsibilities, most recently overseeing the extensive field and lab work on a critical research collaboration with a North Carolina biotechnology company.
2021 Service-Learning Teaching Excellence Awards
Two University of Georgia faculty members have been recognized by the Office of Service-Learning with Service-Learning Teaching Excellence Awards for 2021. These awards recognize faculty for excellence in developing, implementing and sustaining academic service-learning opportunities for UGA students. Since 2011, 22 UGA faculty have received these awards.
Gary T. Green
Andrew Davis Tucker
Candice Hollenbeck
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Professor and Assistant Dean of Academic Affairs Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources
Senior Lecturer Department of Marketing, Terry College of Business
Since 2000, Gary T. Green has developed and taught multiple service-learning courses in topics such as environmental interpretation, tourism and sustainable development, and wilderness management. In his courses, more than 500 undergraduate and graduate students have developed real-world expertise in areas such as trail recommendations for the USDA Forest Service, interpretive signs and exhibits for nature centers and parks, and plans for enhancing sustainability for international tourism agencies. Green has also engaged his students in evaluating Georgia state parks’ programming and recreation services for particular demographic groups, resulting in substantive changes to make these offerings more inclusive. A 2018-19 Service-Learning Fellow, Green also has been recognized with numerous teaching awards including the Meigs Distinguished Teaching Professorship and the Richard B. Russell Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching.
Every semester for the past five years, Candice Hollenbeck has engaged a hundred students in her Integrated Marketing and Brand Communication service-learning courses to work with dozens of Athens-area small businesses and nonprofit organizations dedicated to causes such as domestic abuse prevention,animal welfare,literacy,food insecurity,youth development and more. Under her supervision, and with feedback from both the clients and from industry professionals, student groups apply marketing principles to real-world needs,providing brand identity and target market research, developing social media campaigns, promoting events, creating infographics and websites, and supporting fundraising initiatives. Her students regularly praise the value of these projects, the hands-on experience gained and the satisfaction of helping local organizations. Hollenbeck was previously recognized as a 2019-20 Service-Learning Fellow.
“Congratulations to the faculty, staff, students, alumni and friends being recognized during Honors Week. We celebrate your achievements and your contributions to the University of Georgia community. Thank you for helping us reach new heights of excellence in teaching, research and public service.” —President Jere W. Morehead THE VIRTUAL CELEBRATION OF ACADEMIC EXCELLENCE PREMIERES AT 2 P.M. ON WEDNESDAY, APRIL 21, ON THE UNIVERSITY’S YOUTUBE CHANNEL.
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Editor Krista Richmond
Photo Editor Dorothy Kozlowski
Art Director Jackie Baxter Roberts
Writers Leigh Beeson Haley Major
The University of Georgia is a unit of the University System of Georgia. The University of Georgia is committed to principles of equal opportunity and affirmative action.
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Richard B. Russell Awards
Three UGA faculty members received a Richard B. Russell Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching in 2021. Russell Awards recognize outstanding teaching by faculty early in their academic careers. The Richard B. Russell Foundation in Atlanta supports the program, and award recipients receive $10,000.
Peter Frey
Jennifer Birch
Associate Professor Department of Anthropology Franklin College of Arts and Sciences Jennifer Birch has a passion for building communities—whether that is studying communities built hundreds of years ago or building a community among her students. “My commitment as an educator focuses on engaging students’ intellectual curiosity; supporting student needs and well-being, especially with regard to advising and professional development; creating a welcoming and inclusive community for students; program-level curriculum development; and a personal commitment to building a campus network aimed at developing pedagogical skills related to teaching, learning and student support,” she said. In her time at UGA, Birch has taught 2,035 students in 14 distinct courses, including 10 new courses and six substantially redesigned courses, ranging from large sections of Introduction to Anthropology to small senior undergraduate and graduate seminars. She also regularly advises graduate students. “Dr. Birch is an enthusiastic, well prepared, highly knowledgeable professor. She is always willing and ready to answer questions to ensure you understand the materials and her expectations. These characteristics led me to take five courses with her over the last two years. I am grateful I had the opportunity to learn under her tutelage,” one former student wrote. A colleague pointed to her Archaeology of Warfare and Archaeology and Society courses as examples of her unique approach to undergraduate teaching. She engages these classes as learning communities in the process of walking students through the unique historical circumstances of anthropological issues. Birch said one of her proudest achievements was leading an effort to develop a program-level curriculum map for anthropology. This resource serves as a guide for curriculum planning, developing new courses, and for conducting annual program reviews for the Office of Curriculum Systems. “I see my duty as an instructor to engage their minds and expose them to ideas from which their own passions may grow,” she said. Birch was a finalist for the Graduate School’s Outstanding Mentor Award in 2018 and 2020, in addition to receiving a UGA-Liverpool Faculty Exchange Grant and an Online Learning Fellowship from UGA’s Office of Online Learning. She also serves on various committees in her department. “Jennifer Birch is dedicated to preparing students for success after graduation by building confidence in their abilities through data-driven research that equips students with the tools they need to succeed in developing a career path,” one colleague wrote. “Her pedagogical approach is centered around active learning and instruction supported by the outcomes of discipline-based education research in archaeology. She guides students toward developing expertise in disciplinary concepts through inquiry-based thinking by giving them an active role in their learning experiences.” — Krista Richmond
Peter Frey
Jonathan Peters
Dorothy Kozlowski
Emily Sahakian
Associate Professor Department of Journalism Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication
Associate Professor Departments of Theatre & Film Studies and Romance Languages Franklin College of Arts and Sciences
Jonathan Peters loves teaching, and his courses cover a variety of topics, from communication law to reporting to feature writing. “It’s challenging and richly rewarding, and every day I play the roles of educator, comedian, mentor, guide and counselor. I get to build meaningful relationships with students and be part of their growth as professionals and human beings,” he said. That variety extends to how his classes are taught. As a UGA Online Learning Fellow in the 2017-2018 academic year, Peters developed the plan for Grady College’s core law course to be taught online for the first time. And all of his classes, no matter the format, include a dynamic combination of lectures, discussions, podcasts, role-playing exercises, reading and legal hypotheticals. “I’m very intentional, too, about the classroom atmosphere I try to create—one that is open, civil, welcoming, informal, mutually respectful and filled with humor. I try to reinforce that atmosphere in all of my contacts with students—in lectures, hallway conversations, office meetings, emails, even exams,” he said. It’s something his co-workers have noticed, as well. “Dr. Peters earns students’ attention and trust through a combination of approachability, dedication and mutual respect. While his deep knowledge of the issues is always evident, he is a relaxed teacher who frequently finds ways to connect with students through casual exchanges such as good-natured sports rivalries or self-deprecating humor. He also finds creative ways to present the course material,” one colleague wrote. In addition to teaching, Peters supervises undergraduates in their completion of research projects, some presented at the CURO Symposium, and collaborates with undergraduates on his own research, “out of a strong belief that they can develop a deeper understanding of their field through that work,” he said. He also serves as a coach for the Student Veterans Resource Center. Peters is part of three committees at Grady College, and he’s the co-author of a leading media law textbook. He’s also a volunteer lawyer for the Student Press Law Center. In 2019, he was named the Department of Journalism’s Teacher of the Year. “Good teachers impact their own students in positive and long-lasting ways; excellent teachers help grow knowledge beyond the bounds of their own classrooms. Professor Peters is one of those,” another colleague wrote.
For Emily Sahakian, education extends far beyond the walls of a classroom. With dual appointments as associate professor of theatre and associate professor of French, she takes her students from the stage to the islands of the French Caribbean. On that journey, her students are encouraged to step outside of their comfort zones and to integrate new ideas into their worldviews. “I believe that meaningful learning occurs when we see ourselves as part of a community. When we grapple with key questions as a group, students better remember course content, take note of intellectual and research processes, and learn the value of multiple perspectives. Students gain the confidence and skills needed to articulate and refine their own contributions, and they learn to appreciate what their classmates and community partners bring to the table,” Sahakian said. An example of this is the split-level community-based theatre course Sahakian developed from the ground up. One student wrote that the course “enabled us to interact meaningfully with the course texts, our classmates, the professor and the community beyond the university.” Sahakian is able to share her passion for both theatre and French in her Topics in French Literature and Culture course, which offers students studying both areas an opportunity to explore the other and how they come together. “I deeply appreciate the interdisciplinary work that Dr. Sahakian brings to and encourages at UGA. Her passion for knowledge and commitment to her students encourages critical thinking not only about language, theater and works of literature, but also more broadly about the relations between academia, UGA and the world at large,” one former student wrote. Additionally, Sahakian regularly supervises directed readings and teaching apprenticeships for undergraduate and graduate students. She has supervised multiple Honors research projects, CURO papers and undergraduate student performances and has served as the faculty advisor for two student organizations. She also serves as the undergraduate coordinator for the theatre department, the coordinator of their Double Dawgs degree and as the faculty liaison for the partnership between UGA and the University of the Antilles. Sahakian has been named a Teaching Academy Fellow, Service-Learning Fellow and a Sarah H. Moss Fellow. She also won the Service-Learning Teaching Excellence Award. “Dr. Sahakian is a profoundly talented, dedicated and innovative teacher who has made tremendous contributions to undergraduate education at UGA, in the Department of Theatre and Film Studies, the Department of Romance Languages and beyond,” one colleague wrote.
— Krista Richmond
— Krista Richmond
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First-Year Odyssey Teaching Awards
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Four University of Georgia faculty received a First-Year Odyssey Teaching Award in recognition of their success teaching an FYO Seminar. The FYO Teaching Award recognizes outstanding instructors who have demonstrated creativity or innovation in instruction, connection to the instructor’s research and incorporation of FYOS program goals into the seminar. This year’s recipients have been fully engaged with their students, provided them with a strong connection to the university through their research and other activities and tied their curriculum directly to FYOS program goals.
Peter Frey
Dorothy Kozlowski
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Kristina Jaskyte Bahr, an associate professor at the School of Social Work, introduces students to design thinking fundamentals and how to capitalize on their creativity to problem solve. This fall, using her research on innovation, change, creativity and design thinking, Bahr’s “Design Thinking for Social Innovation” called on students to redesign the beginning of the semester freshman experience. This timely topic engaged students in a real-time, personal dilemma and allowed a natural pathway to introduce UGA opportunities and resources. Through reflection, collaborative dialogue and faculty interviews, students gained significant creative confidence and efficacy.
A research agenda broadly focused on leisure and play with diverse audiences informed Shira Chess’ seminar, “Board Game Design.” With guidance from Chess, an associate professor in entertainment and media studies in the Grady College, students became reacquainted with the value that creativity and innovation play not only in academic life, but also in facing a new stage of life: college. Small groups collectively worked to design and build a unique game throughout the semester, emphasizing the importance of brainstorming, group work, community, connection and above all, play. In showing students how creativity enhances learning, Chess lays the groundwork to empower students to implement these practices throughout college.
In his seminar “Research Evidence, Alternative Facts, and Fake News,” Erik Ness, an associate professor at the Institute of Higher Education, challenges students to examine how policymakers make use of evidence, information and rhetoric. Using his research on higher education politics and policies, Ness guides students to consider alternative viewpoints and lean on research evidence to support writing assignments such as a “dueling policy memo” where students write two memos on opposite ends of the same issue. Through debate and critical thinking, Ness introduces first-year students to the fundamental foundation of academic practice: vigorous debate and examination of ideas.
Elizabeth E. Saylor, clinical assistant professor in the Mary Frances Early College of Education, uses her research on the marginalization of women in history, feminist theory, gender inequality and intersectionality to teach “HERstory.” Students learn the influence women play in historical events beyond those few who are widely recognized. Engaging students through documentaries and role-playing interviews, Saylor encourages students to look beyond their preconceived ideas of history. Capitalizing on viewing things through a different lens, Saylor encourages students to learn about their new Athens and UGA community through a historically focused scavenger hunt.
2021 Creative Teaching Awards The Office of Instruction announces four faculty recipients of the 2021 Creative Teaching Award: Leah Carmichael (International Affairs), Tina Carpenter (Accounting), Jennifer George (Human Development and Family Science) and William Hollingsworth (Computer Science). The Creative Teaching Awards are presented annually on behalf of the Office of Instruction to faculty who have demonstrated exceptional creativity in using either an innovative technology or pedagogy that extends learning beyond the traditional classroom or for their creative course design or implementation of subject matter that improves student learning outcomes in their courses. New this year, creative teaching practices could have taken place during the 2019-20 academic year or in response to the pandemic, during the spring, summer or fall of 2020. The Office of Instruction recived 31 nominations from 14 schools and colleges.
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Leah Carmichael, a professor in international affairs, creatively reimagined her popular study abroad course “The International Politics of Food” by focusing on issues that drive participation in study abroad programs. Originally scheduled to take place in Verona, Italy, in summer 2020, the new online class was restructured to study how students’ personal food preferences tied in with national, religious, political and economic phenomena.
Tina Carpenter, associate professor in accounting, transitioned her “Forensic Accounting and Fraud Examination” course online, including her award-winning fraud simulation. This transition provided collaborative learning opportunities that encouraged student engagement from afar. Combining data analytics, critical thinking and problemsolving skills, students worked in small groups to apply complex fraud detection techniques to a UGA-centric fictionalized case, allowing for hands-on learning experiences despite the hybrid teaching format.
Jennifer George, a senior lecturer in human and family development, took a new approach to her course “The Science of Studying Human Development and Family Science.” In this class, she brought archived data from the Richard B. Russell Special Collections Library into her course. Students used qualitative data analyses to develop a holistic understanding of individuals and families over a period of several decades and incorporated their research into meaningful written assignments.
William Hollingsworth, senior lecturer in computer science, anticipating the challenges of teaching in a hybrid format, adapted his custom-designed online tutoring program, Grafstate, over the summer of 2020 for his classes. He expanded the functionality of this tool significantly and made it available to colleagues throughout his department. This enabled the use of this tool for a wide range of classes and supported effective teaching during the pandemic.
8 April 19, 2021 columns.uga.edu
2021 HONORS & AWARDS
GOETZ from page 1 programs in the United States. He’s also a co-founder of financial therapy—an entirely new field of study that’s now utilized both at UGA and around the globe. “For the past 15 years, he has created, developed and implemented innovative clinics, centers, programs, courses and internship sites unlike any other professor on campus—all to enhance students’ learning,” wrote an associate dean. Goetz teaches two classes each semester, with an assigned allocation of effort of 50% teaching and 50% research over nine months. Still, he’s voluntarily taught additional classes on multiple occasions. Goetz has taught 10 varying courses, as well as a First-Year Odyssey course, and his average teaching evaluation score is consistently well above the department average. He also spends hundreds of hours outside the classroom, offering one-on-one mentoring to students and regularly serves on doctoral committees for students of other disciplines. “Dr. Goetz has played a pivotal role in my journey as a doctoral student,” one former student wrote. “His thought-provoking and
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compassionate teaching style has challenged me to think critically about course concepts and to consider the ethical implications of my future work. As the chair of my doctoral committee, Dr. Goetz has empowered academic, research and professional successes, and coached me through the inherent challenges of pursuing an advanced degree.” Goetz also co-created a cross-disciplinary teaching and service clinic,theASPIRE Clinic; a financial planning company, Elwood & Goetz Wealth Advisory Group; and founded several community-based partnerships and service models—all of which have provided numerous experiential learning opportunities for his students. As a result of his teaching, Goetz has won a plethora of awards, the most recent of which include the Bill and June Flatt Outstanding College Teacher of the Year and the Creative Teaching Award, both in 2019. “I can think of no other professor more deserving of the Meigs Professorship,” a colleague wrote. — Madeline Laguaite
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during the year,as well as summer courses and a First-Year Odyssey course. In addition, Mativo also has volunteered to carry extra teaching loads, just to help students graduate on time. Since 2007, Mativo has leveraged his expertise in both education and engineering for the success of students. “Dr. Mativo cultivates one of the most cheerful and uplifting classroom environments I have had the pleasure of learning in,” one former student wrote. “No matter how frustrating our material, Dr. Mativo led us through it confidently, encouragingly and with a contagious smile. He started every Monday class asking us how our weekends were and if we’d had time to spend enjoying the outdoors.” Mativo has mentored students in capstone projects, equips graduate students with research methods and involves students in service-learning activities. “One of Dr. Mativo’s greatest contributions has been his commitment to experiential learning. This is observed best through his high level of involvement in establishing and leading the UGA Student Branch of the Society of Automotive Engineers,” wrote an assistant dean. “I have witnessed him being the primary individual in securing the necessary funds—more than $57,000—to support the student chapter.”
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Mativo is also a member of both the Research and Innovation in Learning, and the Engineering Education Transformation Institute, and as such, uses his experience to enhance learning for both graduate and undergraduate students. “Dr. Mativo works to ensure that UGA students develop good habits of the mind so that they continually search for ways to improve their own learning. His teaching motivates students to be creative and persistent by making his teaching relevant to real-world applications,” wrote a department chair. He has also received a plethora of awards and recognitions, two of the most recent being the SAE Outstanding Faculty Advisors Program International Award and the Richard B. Russell Excellence for Undergraduate TeachingAward.Mativo’s accolades come as no surprise when students, faculty and colleagues praise him and his teaching so highly. “He looks for the long-term learning effects of his instruction. His lessons are challenging and focused. He consistently offers opportunities for students to apply classroom material to real-life situations, hence ensuring access to current information,” a colleague wrote. — Madeline Laguaite
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C. Ronald Ellington Award for Excellence in Teaching. In 2017, Ringhand received the John C. O’Byrne Memorial Faculty Award for Furthering Student-Faculty Relations. Her most recent honors include being awarded a Stanton Foundation course development grant for 2020-2021 and being named a Fulbright Distinguished Chair in spring 2019. “One of the greatest hopes of any educator is to have a profound and lasting impact on students. Lori undeniably has,” a dean wrote. Ringhand’s teaching load includes courses covering constitutional law, election law and state and local government law. This load regularly puts her among the school’s faculty with the most student-contact teaching hours. “Professor Ringhand provides students with an incredible model to aspire to, especially for female-identifying students.Women
entering the legal profession are often sent conflicting messages about who they should be,” one former student wrote. “Professor Ringhand is the role model that I and many students need to validate our hopes about our own future identities.” Ringhand’s professional activities—such as her current work as the interim director of the Dean Rusk International Law Center and her numerous professional publications— exemplify her dedication to the field and to UGA. She’s nationally recognized as a Supreme Court scholar and from 2015-2018 served as the law school’s associate dean for academic affairs. She also served as a UGA Provost’s Women Leadership Fellow from 2016-2017.
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from page 1 international journal Verse, arguably the most important poetry magazine of the last decade. He has edited and translated several volumes of contemporary French and Slovenian poetry. Awarded a National Endowment for the Arts translation fellowship, a Howard Foundation poetry fellowship and many other honors, he has secured a reputation for his wide knowledge of European history and poetic forms. He continues to innovate, including new explorations of text and image, as photography has become a significant part of his creative practice.
from page 1 23.5 hours of lectures and 16 hours of labs. As her teaching expertise has developed, she has been a source of didactic pedagogic training to other faculty in the College ofVeterinary Medicine and veterinary specialists and provides 21 weeks of clinical teaching per year to D.V.M. students, among others. Because small animal internal medicine relies heavily on clinical reasoning, Smith also takes time to “diagnose the learner”—in other words, she works closely with students who’ve failed clinical rotations to help them succeed. “Dr. Smith’s excellence is not by accident; it is intentional, it is purposeful, and it is her habit over many years. She is among the most—if not the most—consistently dedicated teachers that I have seen,” one of her colleagues wrote. “To teach is to give, and she is our best giver.” Since 2015, Smith has served as the Small Animal Internal Medicine (SAIM) Residency program director, which lays the foundation for residents to take a certification exam. The
number of residents has doubled during her tenure. She also developed a specialty SAIM internship that aims to boost SAIM Service’s capacity to see patients. Although Smith is certainly a leader and educator of the field, she’s also an official and unofficial mentor to many students. She’s a faculty advisor for Broad Spectrum, a student extension of the Lesbian and Gay Veterinary Medical Association, and a contributing member of the Bulldawg Support Network. “Dr. Smith helped to focus our college’s faculty and administration on the importance of wellness for our students and practicing veterinarians,” wrote one of Smith’s colleagues. Smith was also awarded the Zoetis Distinguished Teaching Award in 2018 for her dedication and outstanding achievement in the field. In 2019, she received the David Tyler Award for Advances in Teaching.
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During his time at UGA, he’s trained and mentored undergraduates through his Scientific Reading and Analysis class and has brought new teaching tools into his introductory biochemistry courses. He also created a First-Year Odyssey course in 2012 to introduce freshmen to careers in scientific research. In addition to teaching, Wood maintains a leading research lab where he studies protein structure with a team composed of graduate and undergraduate students. He is committed to experiential learning, and since coming to UGA, a majority of his peer-reviewed publications include undergraduates as co-authors. “Dr.Wood’s research expertise is in protein structure and function, and he prides himself on reducing the complexity of the subject to an interesting and digestible level,” a colleague said. “He is so dedicated to optimal delivery that he attends all of the classes of his co-teachers, and we jointly review afterwards our effectiveness and connections between the subsections. This is an uncommon effort but pays off for reinforcing content and keeping consistency for the students.” Wood has received many awards over the past years, some of the most recent including the Richard B. Russell Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching Award in 2016 and the Outstanding Professor Award in 2014, recognized by the Student Government Association. “He engages his students during lectures, which helps us to understand and remember concepts,” a former student wrote. “He didn’t just stand behind his computer or the podium to talk. He walked around the front of the room, used his arms to show how molecules interacted and connected processes that we were learning to things we could understand.” Other professors in the biochemistry and molecular biology department concur that Wood’s instruction skills not only stand out but also transform the ways in which students learn material. One colleague points out that Wood’s energy and excitement is admirable. “I am truly fortunate to have a colleague that shares that infectious energy,” a colleague wrote. “More importantly, the students become interested in such a manner that they are extremely motivated to take a real stake in the learning process. In essence, they become more than just curious; they become vested on their own behalf.” — Madeline Laguaite
Cleveland Institute of Music Distinguished Alumni Award and was a featured speaker in their 2020 commencement ceremony. “Tim approaches everything about music with the passion and wonderment of a new enthusiast,” legendary jazz musician Wynton Marsalis wrote in a nomination letter. “He investigates, experiments, discovers, implements and shares his findings with a missionary seriousness.”
— Madeline Laguaite
“thin-centered ideology” that views society as split between a corrupt elite and a virtuous people, and as an illiberal but somewhat democratic response to liberal but somewhat undemocratic governance. In eight authored or co-authored books and 58 journal articles, he has influenced a new generation of scholars who apply his insights to a wide range of political phenomena. His recently co-authored book is an original, empirical study of contemporary Israeli settlers as a social movement and of their impact on Israeli politics and society.
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complex carbohydrates (glycans) that form the outer layer of plant cells. Pectin is essential for plant growth and form, yet the biosynthesis of this molecule was essentially a mystery. She took a biochemical approach, establishing assays, purifying enzymes and identifying the associated genes. She also discovered novel aspects of cell-wall biosynthesis that have transformed the field, including discoveries that pectin has many more forms and roles than previously expected. Greater understanding of pectin biosynthesis in multiple crops is enabling plant modification to increase agricultural output.
— Madeline Laguaite
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“He has excelled, developed national and international recognition, and had meaningful impact on every level and in all mission areas of a land-grant institution—teaching and learning; research and discovery; administrative, leadership and other service; and outreach and community engagement,” wrote Rustin Moore, dean of the College of Veterinary Medicine at The Ohio State University, in a nomination letter. “Not only that, but he has demonstrated what it takes to remain an engaged, relevant, productive and contributing member of the academy for 40 years and counting.”
HEYNEN from page 1 resources for communities. Heynen currently serves as the co-director of UGA’s Cornelia Walker Bailey Program on Land and Agriculture. He is a steering committee member of the NSF “Housing Justice in Unequal Cities” research network, bringing together research communities to study evictions, homelessness, displacement, segregation and informal housing settlements. He is also an advisory board member for a new partnership, funded by the Mellon Foundation, between UGA’s Willson Center for Humanities and Arts and the Penn Center National Historic Landmark District.
MA from page 1 lack supercomputing access to analyze big data using personal computers and even iPads and smartphones. He is a pioneer in introducing so-called “nonparametric” theory and methods to “let data decide the optimal model automatically.” Ma has collaborated productively with scientists from a variety of fields, allowing them to draw valid conclusions and predictions from experimental and observational data, including those of seismic data based on dynamics of the Earth, streaming data from the Internet of Things, and epigenetic modifications unique to every individual.
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pathogen biology. The impressive breadth of microorganisms under investigation by his team is matched by successful integrations of multidisciplinary approaches ranging from animal models of infection to genomics, enzymology and structural biology. As a result, his work has offered detailed mechanistic investigations, as well as important broader insights that have afforded major advances.