UGA Columns Feb. 13, 2017

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Researchers receive Moore Foundation grant to study global ocean microbiome RESEARCH NEWS

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Bluegrass duo Dailey & Vincent to perform concert Feb. 16 Vol. 44, No. 25

February 13, 2017

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UGA GUIDE

4&5

College of Pharmacy opens new educational facility in Augusta

By Mickey Montevideo mickeym@uga.edu

Dorothy Kozlowski

The 43,000-square-foot Center for Molecular Medicine, led by Stephen Dalton, is scheduled to open in the fall.

‘Transforming research’

For the first time in its more than 40-year history, the UGA College of Pharmacy’s program in Augusta has its own facility.

Located on the Augusta University Health Sciences campus, the new facility offers a 50-seat classroom, eight small group learning spaces that feature video connectivity to other UGA College of Pharmacy campuses across the state, a collaboration lounge, faculty and administrative offices, and a full-service kitchen and break area.

Prior to this new site, the program was housed in rented and

shared buildings.

“With this new site, we’ve more than doubled the educational space for our expanded course offerings in Augusta,” said Susan Fagan, the Albert W. Jowdy Distinguished Research Professor and the college’s interim director of interprofessional education. “In addition, classroom and small group areas feature state-of-the-art technology and connectivity, allowing us to provide a truly superior academic experience for our professional pharmacy and graduate students.”

The college obtained approval from the Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia and

See PHARMACY on page 8

UGA center aims to find new cures for diseases WILLSON CENTER FOR HUMANITIES AND ARTS

By Aaron Hale

aahale@uga.edu

The University of Georgia is pushing into new frontiers of biomedical research. A new home for this effort, the Center for Molecular Medicine, is under construction and anticipated to open in the fall.

When complete, the 43,000-square-foot research facility will host teams of scientists working to uncover new treatments for such maladies as obesity, cardiovascular disease, diabetes and neurological disorders.

“The research emphasis of the center is to study different aspects of human disease and use that information to develop therapeutics and diagnostics,” said Stephen Dalton, director of the center and a GRA Eminent Scholar of Molecular Cell Biology.

Researchers will explore diseases at the molecular level to understand the effects of drugs and genes.

“The emphasis is on translating this information into something practical and useful that can impact the health of people in Georgia and beyond,” Dalton said.

The building’s design allows for flexibility, anticipating both the present and future needs for research equipment to ensure the investment will pay off decades from now.

The center, which broke ground December 2015, will be adjacent to the Complex Carbohydrate Research Center on Riverbend Road. The proximity between the two centers is aimed to encourage cross-disciplinary interaction between investigators—often a recipe for research success. The center will also be a training ground for graduate and undergraduate students to become the next generation of biomedical scientists.

David Lee, the UGA vice president for research, called the CMM an expansion of the university’s commitment to solving global

challenges through translational research.

“The University of Georgia has a strong tradition of transforming research into products and innovations that improve lives and advance economic development in Georgia and beyond,” Lee said.

“The Center for Molecular Medicine will continue that tradition by expanding our knowledge of human diseases and finding new ways to diagnose, prevent and treat them.”

Supported by the Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia, Gov. Nathan Deal and the General Assembly provided $17 million in state funds for the new building, and these funds were matched by $8 million in nonstate funds, bringing the total project cost to $25 million.

The center was announced in 2012, with Dalton as the founding director. The center is expected to house around 10 faculty research groups once recruitments are completed.

WASHINGTON SEMESTER PROGRAM krichmond@uga.edu

For many students, the start of the new semester means moving back into the dorms and settling in to new classes. For the inaugural group of Chambliss Fellows, the start of the new semester meant moving to a new city and embracing opportunities to learn firsthand how government runs in the nation’s capital.

Tristan Bagala, a double major in marketing and political science; Ishana Ratan, a double major in international affairs and economics; and Eleanor Traynham, a double major in political science and public relations, arrived Jan. 4 at

Delta Hall, UGA’s privately funded $12 million residential learning community in Washington, D.C., to start their internships through the Washington Semester Program.

Bagala is working in Sen. Ben Sasse’s office, Ratan is working with the Center for American Progress, and Traynham is working in Sen. Johnny Isakson’s office.

The students already knew about their internships but didn’t find out they were chosen as Chambliss Fellows until mid-December.

“I thought, ‘Oh my goodness, this is too good,’ ” said Ratan. Traynham agreed, saying she was “honored but shocked” that she’d been chosen for the opportunity.

Bagala, from Cut Off,

By Dave Marr

davemarr@uga.edu

The Jane and Harry Willson Center for Humanities and Arts will welcome internationally acclaimed Irish writer Colm Toibin to the University of Georgia as the second annual Delta Visiting Chair for Global Understanding March 15-17.

Toibin will hold public speaking events on and off the UGA campus, as well as participate in more personal interactions with students and faculty during his visit.

The Delta Visiting Chair, established by the Willson Center through the support of The Delta Air Lines Foundation, hosts outstanding global scholars, leading creative thinkers, artists and intellectuals who teach and perform research at UGA. Its first honoree was

Alice Walker in 2015.

The chair is founded upon the legacy of the Delta Prize for Global Understanding, which from 1997-2011 Colm Toibin was presented to individuals including Nelson Mandela, Mikhail Gorbachev, Ted Turner, Desmond Tutu and Jimmy and Rosalyn Carter, whose initiatives promoted world peace by advancing understanding and cooperation among cultures and nations.

Toibin is a prize-winning novelist, short-story writer, dramatist and critic whose works have been translated into more than See CHAIR on page 8

DEVELOPMENT AND ALUMNI RELATIONS

Inaugural Chambliss Fellows start internships in Washington, D.C.

By Krista Richmond

Author Colm Toibin coming to UGA as Delta Visiting Chair

Louisiana, is no stranger to politics.

His father served as an adviser to former President Bill Clinton.

“I had a pretty firm grasp on what working in politics was like ... but I think my biggest surprise on the Hill has been the importance, and size, of congressional staffs. The amount of work that is required simply to keep a Senate office working is incredible,” he said.

In particular, Bagala is taking this opportunity to see if a life in Washington, D.C., is right for him.

Ratan, from Augusta, is looking to combine her internship with research related to her thesis on the economics of drug trafficking, See FELLOWS on page 8

University unveils 2017 Bulldog 100 rankings; businesses soar

By Kelundra Smith kelundra@uga.edu

The UGA Alumni Association recognized the 100 fastest-growing companies owned or operated by UGA alumni during the eighth annual Bulldog 100 Celebration Feb. 4 at the Atlanta Marriott Marquis.

The 2017 fastest-growing business was Chicken Salad Chick, helmed by President and CEO Scott Deviney, who received his degree in economics from UGA’s Terry College of Business in 1995.

Under Deviney’s leadership, to date, the company operates

62 restaurants and has sold 146 franchises in eight states, selling chicken salad in 15 flavor profiles. In 2016, Chicken Salad Chick landed at No. 37 on Inc. Magazine’s annual list of the 500 fastest-growing companies in the U.S., raking in $9.8 million in 2015 with a growth rate of more than 6,000 percent in the past three years. The company has also been named one of FastCasual.com’s top Movers and Shakers and one of Nation’s Restaurant News’ 2015 Breakout Brands. The company is based in Auburn, Alabama, and was started by a stay-at-home mom

See RANKINGS on page 7

2 Feb. 13, 2017 columns.uga.edu Why I Give

Georgia Fund 2017

Name: Amanda Farmer Position: Lecturer, J.M. Tull School of Accounting At UGA: 11 years Beneficiary of her gift to the university: Terry College of Business

Amanda Farmer

Why she contributes: “I contribute because I believe education is more than academics. It is my hope that my contribution will be used to facilitate an environment in which all students can learn, grow and realize their full potential.”

Source: Office of Development

To make your contribution to the Georgia Fund, please contact the Office of Annual Giving at 706-542-8119 or visit give.uga.edu.

Around academe

Armstrong State/Georgia Southern consolidation committee appointed

University System of Georgia Chancellor Steve Wrigley has appointed the Armstrong State University–Georgia Southern University Consolidation Implementation Committee.

The 41-member committee consists of 20 representatives each from Armstrong State and Georgia Southern and one representative from Savannah State University. The committee had its first meeting Feb. 1 at the USG System Office.

The consolidation implementation committee is charged with the responsibility to work out the many details associated with the consolidation. Information about the proposed consolidation will be available and updated at consolidation.georgiasouthern.edu and consolidation.armstrong.edu.

Longtime US senator joins faculty at Johns Hopkins University

Barbara A. Mikulski, the longest-serving woman in the history of Congress and Maryland’s longest-tenured U.S. senator, has joined the faculty of Johns Hopkins University as a professor of public policy and adviser to the university’s president.

Mikulski, who retired from the Senate in January after completing her fifth six-year term, will participate in lectures, seminars and symposia across the university. She also will organize gatherings featuring nationally known policymakers and other leaders.

Mall walking helps people stay active

News to Use

Mall walking is a great way to stay active during the winter. The mall is an often underutilized public space for those who wish to exercise in comfort and safety. Shopping malls can offer temperature-controlled buildings, accessible bathrooms, free water fountains, flat and level walking routes, well-lit and safe environments with security present, benches to rest and no memberships required, so family and friends can walk with you.

Research studies suggest that when individuals exercise with a friend who is also motivated, they are more likely to exercise longer, harder and enjoy it more. Whether you are alone or with others, walking has many physical benefits.

Most malls open their front doors at least an hour early for mall walkers to have free rein.

For more information on increasing your level of physical activity and walking, see the tips from UGA Extension at www.fcs.uga.edu/ extension/health-lose-weight-exercise.

Source: UGA Cooperative Extension

2017 HOLMES-HUNTER LECTURE

MARTA CEO discusses how action leads to change at annual lecture

By Krista Richmond krichmond@uga.edu

Keith Parker’s life is all about action.

As the general manager and chief executive officer for the Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority, he takes action by seeing that Atlantans and other visitors to the city get to their destinations with more than 400,000 passenger boardings each day. He’s also learned several important lessons by taking action in his personal activism.

“If you don’t jump in, you’ll miss every single shot. If you don’t take the chance and take the risk, you’ll never be able to play big. And I’m one who believes that if you play big, you win big,” he said.

Parker delivered the 2017 HolmesHunter Lecture Feb. 2 in the Chapel to approximately 250 attendees. Sponsored by the President’ Office, the lecture honors Charlayne Hunter-Gault and the late Hamilton Holmes. Held annually since 1985, the lecture also has been designated one of UGA’s Signature Lectures for 2016-2017.

“Each year, the university celebrates the legacy of Dr. Hamilton Holmes and Ms. Charlayne Hunter-Gault, the first two African-American students to enroll

at our state’s flagship institution,” said Arthur Tripp, assistant to UGA President Jere W. Morehead. “This lecture has consistently provided a platform to explore ideas, race relations and civil rights.”

Parker first came across Holmes’ name when he started at MARTA. “There are only two of our 38 stops that are named after people. One is the Martin Luther King station. That goes without explanation. The other is the Hamilton E. Holmes station,” he said.

“When I think that the name of such a person adorns our rail station, I can only juxtapose that with the fact that Mr. Holmes opened so many doors that now allow so many to navigate all that UGA has to offer.”

Parker’s own collegiate years saw him taking action as well. As a student at Virginia Commonwealth University, he was active in several causes and helped start the Office of Minority Student Affairs.

“Change can happen, but it does require action,” he said. “Leading through action gets you pumped up. It really puts you in the game of life, waking up each morning choosing to take action rather than sit and watch and wait for someone else. Hamilton Holmes. Charlayne Hunter-Gault. Martin Luther King.

Peter Frey

MARTA CEO Keith Parker delivered the 2017 Holmes-Hunter Lecture Feb. 2.

They didn’t wait.”

Also during his time at VCU, Parker volunteered at Blackwell Elementary School, which included “one of the toughest neighborhoods in all of Richmond.”

“During volunteer activities, that’s when you really learn leadership skills.

That’s where you learn the ability to motivate. You learn more about yourself from stepping up to lead than you will if you just sit back,” he said.

FRANKLIN COLLEGE OF ARTS AND SCIENCES

Munch and learn: History department offers programming to increase interest by nonmajors

By Jim Lichtenwalter

james.lichtenwal25@uga.edu

Lectures and academic discussions at UGA normally don’t focus on illegal activities. However, that is exactly what Stephen Mihm, an associate professor of history, discussed last fall during his lecture “How Do You Counterfeit Money (In Nineteenth Century America)?” During the 30-minute talk, Mihm described the ins and outs of America’s counterfeit scene during the 1800s to 32 pizzamunching students.

The talk was a Lunchtime Time Machine lecture, a monthly series hosted by the history department, in which faculty members talk about historical topics ranging from the counterfeit trade to ancient Roman toilets.

Open to the public, Lunchtime Time Machine is just one of the many initiatives the history department hosts to promote itself and combat a national decline in students undertaking history as an academic discipline.

A study conducted by the American Historical Association found that there was an 8 percent drop in student enrollment in history classes between the 20122013 and 2014-2015 academic years.

Additionally, 40 percent of the history departments taking part in the study said their faculty weren’t very involved in student ­recruitment.

While UGA’s history department saw a 14 percent decline in its undergraduate enrollment for the same time period, the entire department is taking steps to recruit more students.

“We have various initiatives in place,” said Jamie Kreiner, an assistant professor and the director of undergraduate studies in the history department.

Lunchtime Time Machine is just one of those initiatives, which are designed to appeal to students from outside the department. Professors give lectures on an aspect of their research. Mihm, for example, has written a book on the subject of counterfeiting: A Nation of Counterfeiters: Capitalists, Con Men and the Making of the United States.

“Most undergrads don’t really know what the history department does, so we have these lectures where faculty ­members present their research in an easy-to-understand, accessible yet complex way,” Kreiner said. “Each seminar asks something about history in the way an actual historian thinks.”

The remaining lectures in the series for spring semester are “How is the jellyfish the allegorical figure of global capitalism?” by Jake Short on Feb. 14, “What was the best brewery in Savannah in 1735?” by James Owen on March 14 and “How did slaves survive the Civil War?” by Scott Nesbit on April 11.

Each lecture will be held at 12:30 p.m. in Room 101 of LeConte Hall.

Another initiative is the History at Work speaker series, which educates both current and prospective students on the marketability of a history degree.

As part of Black History Month, the department will co-host the discussion

“From Attica to Ferguson: Race and the Criminal Justice System” Feb. 13 at 4:30 p.m. in Room 271 of the Richard B. Russell Building Special Collections Libraries.

Additionally, the department is now offering undergraduate scholarships to support international study opportunities as well as funding for research trips to regional archives.

It seems that the department’s efforts are paying off. While the number of history majors is down, Kreiner said the number of students enrolling in history courses has increased over the past year.

“With so much political, economic and social turmoil in the United States and around the world, we are confident that students and the public at large will recognize the value of history to understand how and why we got to this point,” said Claudio Saunt, head of the history department. “In short, history is more important than ever.”

OBITUARY

M. Howard Lee

M. Howard Lee, Regents Professor of Physics at UGA, passed away Nov. 18, 2016, after a brief illness.

A memorial service will be held Feb. 20 at 2:30 p.m. in the Chapel.

The service will be followed by a reception in the Hill Atrium of the Georgia Center.

A theorist who studied statistical mechanics and many-body problems aimed to resolve challenging issues within the framework of statistical physics, Lee had taught and conducted research in UGA’s physics and astronomy department since 1973.

A native of Pusan, South Korea, Lee is survived by his wife, Peggy; their daughter, Jennifer Katharine Lee; a granddaughter, Emily Katharine ­Fischbach; a son-in-law, Glenn Fischbach; two brothers on the West Coast; a sister who lives in Seoul, South Korea; and numerous nieces and nephews.

Lee was a Senior Fulbright Scholar

at the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven from 1979-80 and a visiting professor at Seoul National University via the AID program in 1980.

He was elected a Fellow of the American Physical Society in 2001.

Howard Lee In the early 1980s, Lee developed the analytical approach known as the Recurrence Relations Method, which had great impact on statistical physics, as evinced by the over 500 citations to the key papers.

“Howard was deeply committed to his teaching, a beloved professor in the department by the graduate students and his classroom lectures—often described as group conversations—became legendary,” said Loris Magnani, a professor of astronomy at UGA.

RESEARCH NEWS

columns.uga.edu Feb. 13, 2017

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Digest University of Virginia professor to give annual Ferguson Lecture Feb. 16

Metabolic link

Peter Frey

A Moore Foundation grant allows Mary Ann Moran to continue research about important metabolic links that take place in oceans.

Researchers receive Moore Foundation grant to study global ocean microbiome

By Alan Flurry

aflurry@uga.edu

A $1.3 million grant from the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation will allow UGA researchers to uncover answers about an important metabolic link that takes place in the Earth’s oceans.

Microorganisms in the largest microbial habitat on Earth, the ocean microbiome, function similarly to microorganisms in the human gut; they perform chemical transformations that keep the whole system healthy.

Phytoplankton, the microbial primary producers of the ocean, take up carbon dioxide and provide the building blocks for all marine life, while bacteria use these building blocks to direct the carbon to different functions in the ocean.

The billions of marine microorganisms present in every liter of seawater represent a structured ecological community that regulates how the Earth functions, from energy consumption to respiration, and including the operation of carbon and nitrogen cycles. However, the precise metabolic links between phytoplankton and bacteria have proven difficult to analyze.

Now, thanks to the Moore

Foundation grant, UGA researchers are working to uncover the details of these metabolic transformations to assess the rates at which metabolites move between microbial primary Arthur Edison producers and consumers in the surface ocean.

“The flux of key phytoplanktonderived metabolites into other marine organisms is the foundation of ocean biology,” said Mary Ann Moran, Distinguished Research Professor of Marine Sciences in the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences and principal investigator on the grant. “We’re looking at the step after marine phytoplankton use CO2 to create the building blocks: How fast are specific metabolites released from these primary producers cycled by bacteria?”

The importance of carbon cycling on Earth is clear, but understanding how carbon is obtained by bacteria, sustains bacterial growth and respiration, and connects the various microbial communities of the ocean has proven surprisingly elusive. How much carbon gets stored in the ocean and what sets

that amount is also difficult to quantify because of the challenging chemistry involved and the fact that current techniques are hindered by the presence of salt in seawater.

“Half of the carbon fixation on Earth is carried out by marine phytoplankton, and half of that gets released to bacteria. So for a full quarter of the world’s total photosynthesis, we are missing information about how metabolites are transformed at the earliest stages,” said Arthur Edison, Georgia Research Alliance Eminent Scholar in the Franklin College department of biochemistry and molecular biology, department of genetics, Institute of Bioinformatics and Complex Carbohydrate Research Center.

The UGA team designed a research plan that tracks chemicals of interest into bacterial cells, requiring a combination of new technologies and recent innovations in conventional spectroscopy.

“But the game changer that will really give us a sensitive signal is called dissolution dynamic nuclear polarization,” Edison said. “This tool, plus a lot of patience in the lab, will allow us to see one molecule change into another, change into another, change into another, as long as the signal lasts.”

GRADY COLLEGE OF JOURNALISM AND MASS COMMUNICATION

Study: Generation gap could advance PR industry Millennials are often criticized for the different values, qualities and skills they bring to work, according to a new study of millennial communication professionals, or MCPs, by UGA, The Plank Center for Leadership in Public Relations and the Institute for Public Relations.

Although the new study confirms the generational differences between millennials and older professionals, it concludes that some differences like millennials’ strong values for diversity, transparency and social responsibility will help advance and enrich the profession.

Juan Meng, an associate professor of public relations at the UGA Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication and a Plank scholar, was the co-principal investigator, along with Bruce K. Berger, research director of The Plank Center.

The study also reveals a talent management ecosystem organizations can use to attract, engage, develop, retain

and gain from top millennial talent.

A survey of 420 MCPs and 420 professionals, or MGRs, who manage them revealed sharp differences in perceptions about millennials’ workplace values and attributes, engagement, leadership capabilities, and recruiting and retention drivers.

Among the biggest differences of opinions are the following: • More than 80 percent of MCPs said they’re ambitious and passionate about work, but only half of their managers agreed. MCPs rated themselves much higher than MGRs did in work centrality (ambition, passion for work and professionalism), rewards and recognition, risk-taking and work-life-social values.

• Almost three-quarters (70.9 percent) of MCPs said they are ready to lead. They rated their capabilities much higher than MGRs did for their communication knowledge, vision, team leadership skills, ethical orientation, strategic decisionmaking and relationship-building skills,

and readiness to lead.

Particularly, MCPs said meaningful career planning, more mentoring and equal pay for men and women would increase retention rates.

According to the study, the generational differences are real, but so are some bright hopes and qualities within them. “MCPs see the world differently—from context to connectivity to crisis—but they are digital natives with great passion for leadership and strong values for transparency, social responsibility, diversity and community—all touchstones for our profession today.

We can draw from these skills and values to enhance practice and build a brighter future,” Berger said.

To fulfill the goal of the talent management ecosystem, “the key is to contextualize and personalize actions in each process,” said Meng. “Organizations lean heavily on context, but the combination of the two is far more powerful.”

The College of Environment and Design’s annual Vincent Eleanor Ferguson Lecture will be held Feb. 16 at 5 p.m. in lecture hall 123 of the Jackson Street Building.

Open free to the public, the lecture “Cities, Nature and Health: How Can Biophilic Design Build Human Well-being?” will be given by Jenny Roe, professor of design and health at the University of Virginia. An environmental psychologist and former landscape architect, Roe also is the director of the Center of Design and Health at the School of Architecture at Virginia.

She has expertise in how the design of the built environment can maximize human flourishing.

Biophilia refers to human tendencies to seek connections with nature and other forms of life. Roe’s presentation will explore how biophilic design at a citywide level can generate positive health and well-being.

Before Roe’s move to the U.S. in 2015, she was the Leader in Human Well-being and Behavior Change for the Stockholm Environment Institute, a global think tank researching how to build sustainable, resilient and healthy cities. Her research has pioneered methods for quantifying the health benefits of good urban design, using physiological indicators such as the stress hormone cortisol and mobile electroencephalography (EEG) to explore emotional activity on the move in cities. Much of her research explores health inequities in economically disadvantaged communities, including racial/ethnic minorities, children and teenagers, the elderly and people with chronic health conditions.

Center for Simulational Physics to hold 30th annual workshop Feb. 20-24

The UGA Center for Simulational Physics will hold its 30th annual workshop Feb. 20-24. “Recent Developments in Computer Simulation Studies in Condensed Matter Physics” will highlight advances in applications, algorithms and parallel uses of computer simulation methods.

While the CSP and workshop were established for the study of condensed matter systems, trends and developments in science have opened this pursuit to a variety of disciplines, including biological processes.

This year, the roster of invited speakers represents institutions from Georgia Tech to the University of Tokyo as well as a presentation from a former dean of science from the Universidade Federale de Minas Gerais in Brazil, an institution with which UGA has been developing strong ties. Participants from every populated continent have registered for the workshop.

All workshop discussions and presentations will take place at the CSP in the physics building on Sanford Drive. A reception will be held Feb. 22 for workshop participants. Registration is free for UGA students and faculty. Details are at csp.uga.edu.

UGA alumna selected for Knauss Fellowship

UGA alumna Shiyu “Rachel” Wang has been awarded the John A. Knauss Marine Policy Fellowship for 2017. Sponsored by the National Sea Grant College Program, the yearlong fellowship matches current and recent graduate students with hosts in the legislative and executive branches of government.

Wang is spending one year working as an aquaculture program fellow in the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Office of Aquaculture.

The office creates employment and business opportunities in coastal communities; provides safe, sustainable seafood; and maintains healthy and productive marine populations, species, ecosystems and vibrant coastal communities.

Wang was among 125 Knauss fellowship applicants from across the country. Sixty-five were chosen for the 2017 class, representing 29 of the 33 state Sea Grant programs.

Wang received her master’s degree in marine sciences from UGA and holds a bachelor’s degree in chemistry from Ocean University of China.

Georgia Sea Grant is currently accepting applications for the 2018 Knauss fellowship. For information on applying, visit https://t.uga.edu/2MX.

PERIODICALS POSTAGE STATEMENT Columns (USPS 020-024) is published weekly during the academic year and

biweekly during the summer for the faculty and staff of the University of Georgia by the Division of Marketing & Communications. Periodicals postage is paid in Athens, Georgia. Postmaster: Send off-campus address changes to Columns, UGA Marketing & Communications, 286 Oconee Street, Suite 200 North, Athens, GA 30602-1999.

For a complete listing of events at the University of Georgia, check the Master Calendar on the web (calendar.uga.edu/­).

The following events are open to the public, unless otherwise specified.

Dates, times and locations may change without advance notice.

UGAGUIDE

EXHIBITIONS

Artists of the New York School. Through March 19. ­Georgia Museum of Art. 706-542-4662. hazbrown@uga.edu Driving Forces: Sculpture by Lin Emery. Through April 2. ­Georgia Museum of Art. 706-542-4662. hazbrown@uga.edu To Spin a Yarn: Distaffs, Folk Art and Material Culture. Through April 16. ­Georgia Museum of Art. 706-542-4662. hazbrown@uga.edu Advanced and Irascible. Through April 30. ­Georgia Museum of Art. 706-542-4662. hazbrown@uga.edu Expanding Tradition: Selections from the Larry D. and Brenda A. Thompson Collection. Through May 7. ­Georgia Museum of Art. 706-542-4662. hazbrown@uga.edu (See story, below.)

Necessary Words & Images: 70 Years of The Georgia Review.

Through May 12. ­Hargrett Library Gallery, special collections libraries. 706-542-8079. jclevela@uga.edu Equality Under the Law: History of the Equal Rights Amendment.

Through May 12. ­Hargrett Library Gallery, special collections libraries. 706-542-8079. jclevela@uga.edu The NCAA Tennis Tournament in Athens. Through May 30.

Rotunda, special collections libraries. 706-542-5788. hasty@uga.edu On the Stump—What Does it Take to Get Elected in Georgia?

Through Aug. 18. Special collections libraries. 706-542-5788. jhebbard@uga.edu

MONDAY, FEBRUARY 13 PUBLIC PRESENTATION Candidates for the position of dean will share their strategy for achieving still greater heights of excellence for the College of Veterinary Medicine. 9:30 a.m. H237, College of Veterinary Medicine main building.

SCREENING The Venezuelan historical epic Bolivar, Man of Difficulties will be screened, followed by a Q&A session with actor Gilbert Laumord (in person) and director Luis Alberto Lamata (via videoconference). The film explores a pivotal moment in the life of one of the key architects of Latin American independence. This event is part of Laumord’s residency. 3:30 p.m. 214 Miller Learning Center.

GLOBAL GEORGIA INITIATIVE: VIET THANH NGUYEN “Nothing Ever Dies: Ethical Memory and Radical Writing in The Sympathizer,” Viet Thanh Nguyen, Pulitzer Prize winner for his 2015 novel, The Sympathizer. Part of the Signature Lecture Series. 4 p.m. Chapel.

DISCUSSION: FROM ATTICA TO FERGUSON A discussion on race and the criminal justice system featuring

Seong-Jin Cho to give Feb. 17 recital

By Bobby Tyler btyler@uga.edu

The UGA Performing Arts Center presents award-winning pianist Seong-Jin Cho Feb. 17 at 8 p.m. in Hodgson Concert Hall. His program will include Schubert’s Sonata No. 19 in C Minor and Chopin’s 24 Preludes.

Cho’s recital was originally scheduled for Ramsey Concert Hall but quickly sold out, so his performance has been moved to Hodgson Concert Hall to accommodate ticket demand. Patrons who purchased tickets for Ramsey Hall are being issued new tickets for Hodgson Hall.

Born in Seoul, Seong-Jin Cho South Korea, in 1994, Cho came to the world’s attention in 2015 when he won first prize at the Chopin International Piano Competition in Warsaw. Four years prior to that, he won third prize at the Tchaikovsky Competition when he was only 16, and in 2009 he won first prize at the Hamamatsu International Piano Competition in Japan, becoming the youngest winner in the competition’s history.

Cho has performed with some of the world’s major orchestras, including the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Mariinsky Orchestra, Munich Philharmonic Orchestra, Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra, Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra, Czech Philharmonic Orchestra, Budapest Festival Orchestra, Danish National Symphony Orchestra, Russian National Orchestra and Radio France Philharmonic.

Tickets for Cho’s recital are $36 and can be purchased at the Performing Arts Center, online at pac.uga.edu or by calling the box office at 706-542-4400.

Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor, Princeton University, and Heather Thompson, University of Michigan. The discussion will be following by a book signing featuring Taylor’s From #BlackLivesMatter to Black Liberation and Thompson’s Blood in the Water: The Attica Prison Uprising of 1971 and Its Legacy.

This event is sponsored by the history department, the Office of Institutional Diversity, the Willson Center for Humanities and Arts, the Institute for African American Studies and the departments of sociology and political science. 4:30 p.m. Auditorium, special collections libraries. history@uga.edu

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 14 TOUR D’AMOUR: LOVE STORIES IN THE ARCHIVES This one hour tour will take a closer look at love stories from the archives in the galleries of the special collections libraries. Tales of love from the fickle to the forbidden revealed through the documents, artifacts and audiovisual materials on display.

2 p.m. Second floor rotunda, special collections libraries.

706-542-8079. jclevela@uga.edu CONCERT Renee Fleming is one of the most acclaimed singers of our time and has been awarded the National Medal of Arts, America’s highest artistic honor. $62-$112 for non-UGA students; call the box office about UGA student tickets. 8 p.m. Hugh Hodgson Concert Hall. 706-542-4400. ugaarts@uga.edu

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 15 PUBLIC PRESENTATION Candidates for the position of dean will share their strategy for achieving still greater heights of excellence for the College of Veterinary Medicine. 9:30 a.m. H237, College of Veterinary Medicine main building.

THE INNOCENTS: IDEAS FOR CREATIVE EXPLORATION CONVERSATION Atlanta-based contemporary chamber ensemble Bent Frequency, Allen Otte and John Lane will discuss the collaborative and cross-disciplinary aspects of their performance project “The Innocents,” which examines the issue of wrongful conviction in the American penal system. This event is part of the three-day “The Innocents” residency event. Noon. S160 Lamar Dodd School of Art. 706-542-4752. ccschwabe@uga.edu THE INNOCENTS: “COLLABORATION AND COMMUNITY: CULTIVATING A PERFORMATIVE VOICE” Join Atlanta-based contemporary chamber ensemble Bent Frequency, Allen Otte and John Lane as they discuss how their work as contemporary musicians has broadened into culturallyand socially-relevant interdisciplinary performance projects that inspire artistic development and purpose beyond the playing of their instruments. This event is part of the three-day “The Innocents” residency. 7 p.m. Dancz Center for New Music, Hugh Hodgson School of Music. 706-542-4752. ccwschabe@uga.edu

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 16 THE INNOCENTS: SCHOOL OF LAW DISCUSSION A panel moderated by UGA School of Law professor Russell Gabriel will discuss aspects of the death penalty, the process of exoneration and how it can inspire art and music. Featuring the

sdotson@uga.edu

The Georgia Museum of Art at the University of Georgia is showing nearly 60 works by AfricanAmerican artists in the exhibition Expanding Tradition: Selections from the Larry D. and Brenda A.Thompson Collection, on view through May 7.

The Thompsons donated 100 works by African-American artists to the museum in 2012, on the heels of Tradition Redefined: The Larry and Brenda Thompson Collection of African American Art, a traveling exhibition drawn from their collection.

Expanding Tradition is a second exhibition highlighting the couple’s commitment to collecting art over the last several decades through a new selection of works borrowed from their extensive private collection.

Expanding Tradition also serves as the inaugural exhibition for Shawnya Harris, the Larry D. and Brenda A. Thompson Curator of African American and African Diasporic Art. Like the earlier exhibition, it offers a chance to expand scholarship on artists of color who, until recent years, have been overlooked. In addition, the Thompsons’ gift of the endowed curatorial position that Harris occupies furthers a larger mission of fostering inclusivity in American art history and the museum profession.

Harris said that both the exhibition and its accompanying catalog, which will be published by the

Calendar items are taken from Columns files and from the university’s Master Calendar, maintained by Marketing & Communications. Notices are published here as space permits, with priority given to items of multidisciplinary interest. The Master Calendar is available at calendar.uga.edu/.

4&5

Dailey & Vincent to perform Feb. 16 concert

By Bobby Tyler btyler@uga.edu

The UGA Performing Arts Center will present Dailey & Vincent Feb. 16 at 8 p.m. in Hodgson Concert Hall. Country Music Television calls Dailey & Vincent the “rock stars of bluegrass.”

Winner of 14 International Bluegrass Music Awards, Dailey & Vincent has been honored as entertainer of the year three times. The duo has also been nominated for three Grammy Awards, in addition to winning four Dove Awards, including Bluegrass Album of the Year and Bluegrass Song of the Year.

Prior to forming Dailey & Vincent, Jamie Dailey was a four-time International Bluegrass Music Award winner for vocalist of the year. Darrin Vincent was a five-time Grammy winner who had been voted bluegrass bass player of the year four years in a row.

The duo has performed in historic venues nationwide from Carnegie Hall to the Ryman Auditorium, where they first debuted their music as a duo in 2007.

For their Athens concert, Dailey & Vincent will be joined by guitarist Jeff Parker, guitarist/vocalist Aaron McCune, fiddler Patrick McAvinue, banjo player Jessie Baker, guitarist Shaun Richardson and keyboard player Buddy Hyatt.

Tickets for the concert are $26 to $41 and can be purchased at the Performing Arts Center, online at pac.uga.edu or by calling the box office at 706-542-4400. UGA students can purchase tickets for $6 with a valid UGA ID, limit one ticket per student.

Patrons are invited to Make It An Evening with a tour and free dessert at the Georgia Museum of Art at 6 p.m.

Georgia Innocence Project’s interim director and first exoneree as well as John Lane and Allen Otte, composers of “The Innocents,” this discussion is part of the three-day “The Innocents” residency. 12:30 p.m. Hatton Lovejoy Courtroom, Law School.

706-542-4752. ccschwabe@uga.edu THE INNOCENTS A three-day residency by Atlanta-based contemporary chamber ensemble Bent Frequency and guest artists Allen Otte and John Lane culminates in the performance of Lane and Otte’s groundbreaking work “The Innocents,” followed by Bent Frequency’s performance of Frederic Rzewski’s “Coming Together” and “Attica.” 6 p.m. Atrium, Lamar Dodd School of Art. 706-542-4752. ccschwabe@uga.edu PERFORMANCE See Project Safe’s 18th annual production of Eve Ensler’s award-winning play The Vagina Monologues. Women of all ages and backgrounds perform monologues ranging from humorous to devastating, profound to profane. This year, the monologues

Georgia Museum of Art showcases nearly 60 works by African-American artists

By Sarah Dotson

columns.uga.edu Feb. 13, 2017

examine the promise of inclusion being offered to visitors to the museum and broader audiences.

Paintings and other works in the exhibition range from the late 19th century to the contemporary era, making for a comprehensive look at African-American art history. Visitors will gain insight into the complex relationships among race, gender, class, politics and the economy through the works of art, the catalog and related programming.

Featured artists include contemporary artists Willie Cole, Whitfield Lovell, Kevin Cole and Kara Walker as well as historical artists such as Elizabeth Catlett, Charles Sebree, Beauford Delaney and Benny Andrews.

The exhibition also includes rare Depression-era works by Norman Lewis, Charles White, Dox Thrash and Rose Piper.

Related events include a tour of the exhibition with Harris Feb. 15 at 2 p.m.; “Conversation on Collecting,” a discussion with the Thompsons and Curlee Raven Holton, director of the David C. Driskell Center, Feb. 23 at 5:30 p.m.; the museum’s annual Black History Month Dinner ($75, $55 members) Feb. 24 at The Expanding Tradition exhibit includes 6 p.m.; a gallery conversation paintings such as this one by Hiram with Sage Kincaid, assistant cuMalone, born in Winterville. rator of education, March 22 at museum, “continue the unfolding 2 p.m.; an artists’ panel discussion narrative of this important collec- March 23; and Family Day tion of American art.” By presenting April 15 from 10 a.m. to noon. All artists and themes central to the events are open free to the public collection’s development it will unless otherwise indicated.

Bluegrass duo Dailey & Vincent will perform in Hodgson Concert Hall Feb. 16 at 8 p.m.

will shine a special spotlight on violence against women in the workplace. All proceeds go to Project Safe’s work of ending domestic violence through crisis intervention, ongoing supportive services, systems change advocacy and prevention and education. $15. Play runs at 8 p.m. Feb. 16-18 and Feb. 19 at 3 p.m. Chapel.

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 17 2017 ALUMNI SEMINAR Through Feb. 18. This year’s theme is “A Sense of Place.” The keynote speaker is Roy Blount Jr., author, humorist and panelist on NPR’s Wait, Wait ... Don’t Tell Me. This annual two-day educational gathering will allow participants to reconnect with alumni and friends while enjoying lectures by leading faculty and exclusive campus tours. $275.

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 18 UGA MIRACLE’S DANCE MARATHON UGA Miracle’s Dance Marathon, the capstone event of the organization, is a celebration of the year supporting Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta emotionally and financially. During the event, participants hear Miracle families’ stories, learn a dance over 24 hours, enjoy local Athens entertainers, eat six meals from sponsors throughout Athens and much more. At the end of the event, see the total raised for Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta this year revealed and participate in the “Circle of Hope” with the Miracle family. 10 a.m. Feb. 18 through 10 a.m. Feb. 19. Tate Student Center.

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 19 SYMPOSIUM: TALE OF BLACK HISTORIES Symposium exploring the French Caribbean play Tale of Black Histories, created collaboratively under Edouard Glissant’s direction, and its translation and restaging in the U.S. This event is part of visiting artist Gilbert Laumord’s residency. 9:45 a.m.

Balcony Theatre, Fine Arts Building. 773-575-8674. sahakian@uga.edu

MONDAY, FEBRUARY 20 PRESIDENTS DAY Classes in session; offices open.

SEMINAR “Growing More with Less: Tiny House Utilization in the Farming Industry,” Will Johnston, founder and director of Tiny House Atlanta. Part of the Sustainable Food Systems Initiative Seminar Series. 3:30 p.m. 307 Conner Hall. 706-542-8084. sustainag@uga.edu

COMING UP SIGNATURE LECTURE Feb. 21. “The Elephant in the Room,” Rick Ridgeway, vice president of environmental affairs, Patagonia clothing company. Part of the Signature Lecture series. Sponsored by the UGA Office of Sustainability. 6:30 p.m. Grand Hall, Tate Student Center.

READING Feb. 21. The University of Georgia Creative Writing Program, with the University of Georgia Press, is pleased to present a reading by Christopher Salerno, winner of the 2016 Georgia Poetry Prize. Salerno’s collection, Sun & Urn, features poetry that pushes beyond the tragedies of loss to the wilder realms of renewal and meaning. Reading alongside Salero is poet Daniel Schoonebeek, whose collection of poems Trebuchet was published by the UGA Press in 2016. 7 p.m. Cine, 234 W. Hancock Ave. cwp@uga.edu

TO SUBMIT A LISTING FOR THE MASTER CALENDAR AND COLUMNS Post event information first to the Master Calendar website (calendar.uga.edu/). Listings for Columns are taken from the Master Calendar 12 days before the publication date.

Events not posted by then may not be printed in Columns.

Any additional information about the event may be sent directly to Columns. Email is preferred (columns@uga.edu), but materials can be mailed to Columns, Marketing & Communications, 286 Oconee Street, Suite 200 North, Campus Mail 1999.

Upcoming University Theatre production to explore sibling rivalry

By Dina Canup dinac@uga.edu

University Theatre presents Christopher Durang’s Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike, directed

by Kristin Kundert, an associate professor of theatre in UGA’s Franklin College of Arts and Sciences.

Performances will be held in the Cellar Theatre Feb. 16-18, 21-25 at 8 p.m. and Feb. 26 at 2:30 p.m. Tickets are $16, $12 for students, and can be purchased at drama.uga.edu/box-office, by phone at 706-542-4400, or in person at the Performing Arts Center or Tate Center box office.

Vanya (MFA acting candidate Larry Cox Jr.) and his adopted sister Sonia (MFA acting candidate Katie Butcher) have spent their entire lives staring out the window of their family home while their sister Masha (MFA acting candidate Anna Pieri) roamed the world as a Hollywood star.

The aging ingenue returns home for a surprise visit with her young, sexy lover Spike (finance and theatre major JD Hyers), a would-be actor who was once almost cast in a film.

Tensions mount as the three siblings grapple with regrets over their pasts and fears over what their futures may hold. While proving that siblings are never too old to get on each other’s nerves, Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike also shows that there’s no one like family to remind each other of what is most important.

“This play was a huge hit off-Broadway and then on Broadway just a few years ago; now it’s being performed by the top theaters throughout the country ,” said David Saltz, head of the theatre and film studies department. “It’s no wonder. The play is sexy and smart, and it vividly captures the sort of quirky relationships that develop only within very close families.”

“It’s nice to be able to go into the theater and laugh,” said Kundert. “The play encourages us not only to laugh at the characters, but to recognize and laugh at ourselves.” Eccentric and uniquely spiritual Cassandra (theatre major Lauren King), self-centered and larger-than-life Masha, sexy and insensitive Spike, compassionate and artistic Nina (theatre major Rebeca Ispas), calm and quiet Vanya, heart-on-her-sleeve Sonia—“all are odd in their own ways,” Kundert also said. “But all speak to quintessential human questions: Where do we fit? And what’s really important?”

NEXT COLUMNS DEADLINES Feb. 15 (for Feb. 27 issue) March 1 (for March 13 issue) March 8 (for March 20 issue)

6 Feb. 13, 2017 columns.uga.edu

FACULTY PROFILE

Unusual environments

Coral reefs are generally associated with oceans, but a team of scientists, including Patricia Yager, a professor in UGA’s School of Marine Programs, recently discovered a coral reef system in the plume of the Amazon River, where it empties into the ocean.

“The coolest thing about these reefs is that there are corals living at least part of their year in the dark, below the turbid Amazon plume,” Yager told Live Science. “We didn’t expect that, and we are still trying to understand how their metabolism works.”

When river water meets the ocean, it changes factors like salinity levels, pH, sedimentation, temperature, light penetration and nutrient availability, which is usually unfavorable for reef growth.

In particular, scientists are looking at how reef animals thrive in this environment.

“They also live in a fast current (North Brazil Current) that likely keeps them from getting too covered with mud, but it may also deliver food particles at a high rate, so the reef animals can suspension feed,” she said. “Whether their food comes from the river plume is still to be investigated.”

Special treatment

With a seeming increase in narcissism, researchers are starting to wonder: What happens when a generation of narcissists becomes parents?

“We very rarely study the parents’ narcissism and then predict what will happen to the kids,” said Keith Campbell, a professor of psychology in UGA’s Franklin College of Arts and Sciences.

Narcissistic parents have high expectations of their children, pushing them to excel in all areas. They also tend to believe their children are “special” and worthy of exceptional opportunities and treatment.

“One thing you would see with narcissistic parents is using their kids as a route to self-advancement,” Campbell told The Washington Post. “As a narcissistic parent, you look good and feel good because of the success of your kid. The same way that a narcissist can have a trophy spouse, you can have a trophy kid.”

Working out(doors)

Most people think losing weight or simply getting in shape means spending hours in the gym. But farmers may have everything they need for a fitnessboosting workout right on their land.

Simple adjustments could make big changes. Try adding ropes from barn rafters to climb or do suspended push-ups. Or they could be used for a battle ropes workout by grabbing the ends and slamming them down, alternating sides. Rest long-handled tools across your shoulders and twist from side to side to work your core. For something more gentle, grab a yoga mat and find a peaceful spot on the land for a yoga or Tai Chi session.

Walking instead of taking a four-wheeler is another way to improve fitness, suggests Nathan Eason, a public service representative with the UGA Cooperative Extension.

“You will be more in tune with the needs of your property, and you will burn calories and get fit,” he told Successful Farming at agriculture.com.

Rain, rain, go away?

Welcome rains during December 2016 and the first week of 2017 provided hope for Georgia farmers looking for relief from a statewide severe drought, according to Pam Knox, agricultural climatologist and UGA Cooperative Extension specialist.

Georgia farmers should be encouraged by the wet, wintry conditions the area saw in mid-January.

“Drought does typically tend to decrease over the winter for a couple of reasons. We do tend to get more rain, and temperatures are cold, so we don’t get a lot of evaporation. The plants also aren’t growing, so they aren’t using much moisture either. Whatever we do get is going back into the soil,” Knox told PORK Network. “That’s just what we need.”

According to UGA’s Georgia Automated Environmental Monitoring Network, only 1.61 inches of rainfall were recorded in Tifton from Sept. 3 through Dec. 3, 2016. From Dec. 1, 2016, through Jan. 3, 2017, rainfall accumulation in Tifton measured 11.54 inches, almost twice as much as the 6.67 inches recorded from Dec. 1, 2015, through Jan. 3, 2016, in the same location.

Andrew Davis Tucker

Hitesh Handa is working to create a new generation of biocompatible coatings for medical devices.

Engineering faculty member works to make medical devices safer

By Mike Wooten

mwooten@uga.edu

Implantable medical devices such as central venous catheters, stents, endotracheal tubes and vascular grafts are vital tools in today’s health care arsenal.

Yet these devices designed to help us recover from illness and injury often lead to serious and even deadly complications including infection and thrombosis.

Hitesh Handa, an assistant professor in the UGA College of Engineering, is working to make medical devices safer by creating a new generation of biocompatible coatings.

“Infections and clotting are big issues with medical devices,” said Handa. “For example, treatment of these infections often includes antibiotics and other antimicrobial agents, such as silver.

However, these materials often fail to prevent the infection, and there is a growing concern about their use due to the emergence of bacterial resistance to antibiotics and antimicrobial agents.”

Complications from medical implants lead to extended hospital stays, higher medical costs, increased discomfort for patients and even death.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates 100,000 people in the U.S. die each year from health care-acquired infections.

At UGA’s Riverbend Research Laboratories, Handa is developing biocompatible medical device coatings that incorporate nitric oxide. A gas

produced by the body, nitric oxide is a potent antimicrobial agent and an accelerant in wound healing. It’s released in arteries and veins to help prevent blood from clotting. Sinuses release the gas to fight off infection when we have a cold.

“Basically, what we are trying to do is mimic what the bodies does,” said Handa.

In addition to next-generation medical device coatings, Handa is working to create wound dressings that prevent infection and promote healing by releasing nitric oxide. He’s also working with a colleague at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs on a microfluidic artificial lung, a device that patients can wear like a backpack while awaiting a lung transplant. Other projects include the creation of antimicrobial packaging materials for hospital applications and the use of nitric oxide to combat the growth of potentially dangerous biofilm on medical implants.

Handa received a highly competitive Career Development Award from the National Institutes for Health for his work on nitric oxide-releasing medical coatings. His work also has attracted funding from the Department of Veterans Affairs, the CDC and industry partners. He and his research team have published 14 articles and filed two patent applications in the past two years.

Handa first became aware of the potential benefits of nitric oxide in medical settings while working as a

FACTS

Hitesh Handa Assistant Professor College of Engineering Ph.D., Material Science and Engineering, Wayne State University, 2008 M.S., Material Science and Engineering, Wayne State University, 2007 B.S., Polymer Science and Chemical Technology, Delhi College of Engineering, India, 2002 At UGA: Two years

researcher with a biomedical startup company in Ann Arbor, Michigan. He later joined the surgery department at the University of Michigan Medical School as a research faculty member.

“I had an engineering background and I had experience in industry, but I needed experience working directly with physicians and surgeons to understand the real problems that biomedical engineers need to solve,” said Handa, who joined UGA in 2015 as the first hire made by the College of Engineering’s new dean, Donald Leo. A UGA Lilly Teaching Fellow, Handa leads a biomaterials course for undergraduate and graduate students.

His experience working with physicians, surgeons and industry collaborators provides firsthand knowledge of the challenges faced by the health care industry that he shares with students.

DIVISION OF FINANCE AND ADMINISTRATION Lawrence named assistant to VP for finance and administration

By Taylor West and Brett Jackson tawest@uga.edu, eribrett@uga.edu

Roswell Lawrence Jr. has been named assistant to the vice president for finance and administration and director of client relations.

Lawrence most recently worked at the Health Sciences Campus where he facilitated on-site coordination for the services and support offered by finance and administration units and served as the primary liaison with faculty, staff and other campus units. His new position is an expansion of that role for the entire Division of Finance and Administration.

“Roswell did such an exceptional job in his previous role that he essentially worked himself out of a job, which is why

I know he is the perfect fit for this new role,” said Ryan Nesbit, vice president for finance and administration.

A native of Greensboro, Lawrence received a Roswell Lawrence Jr. bachelor’s degree in business administration with an emphasis in accounting from UGA in 2005. He received an MBA from Piedmont College in 2009 and a Master of Divinity degree from Luther Rice College & Seminary in 2013. He is pursuing a doctorate in educational administration and policy at UGA. Lawrence joined the university’s

finance and administration team in Accounts Payable in 2007. As assistant to the vice president, Lawrence provides strategic planning support for the division’s customer service initiatives through data collection, client and customer service surveys, and solicitation of personal feedback and input.

He helps ensure effective communication between the Finance and Administration Division and other departments.

“Building strong relationships across campus is essential to understanding how I can best serve the university,” Lawrence said. “My goal is to enhance the experience by providing more effective communication support for all of finance and administration.”

OFFICE OF RESEARCH

‘Improved health’

Human Subjects Office paves way for clinical research

By James Hataway jhataway@uga.edu

As UGA continues to invest in research focused on improving human health, the Human Subjects Office is working to become more effective at protecting subjects while also boosting efficiency.

Housed in the university’s Office of Research, the HSO performs professional and administrative functions in support of the Institutional Review Board, the faculty-led research oversight committee charged with ensuring that research involving human subjects is conducted in compliance with federal, state and institutional policies and procedures.

“UGA’s research portfolio is poised to expand rapidly in the area of clinical and translational research,” said Christopher King, associate vice president for research and director of the Office of Research Compliance. “Our researchers have excelled at basic biomedical research, but there is a real need, both locally and nationally, to translate these basic discoveries into improved health for people.

“The collaborative relationships we are developing with the Augusta University/ UGA Medical Partnership, and Piedmont Athens Regional and Saint Mary’s hospitals, as well as local medical practices, will increase UGA’s capacity to conduct research that addresses pressing health issues,” King said.

With these new partnerships in mind, the HSO recently began a quality improvement review to strengthen the university’s Human Research Protection Program.

“We want to do everything we can to ensure that our human subjects are protected while also avoiding bottlenecks

Dorothy Kozlowski

Human Subjects Office staff, from left, Brooke Harwell, Angela Bain, Kim Fowler and Mysti Scheuer assist researchers working on improving human health.

in the administrative process,” said Kimberly Fowler, interim director of the HSO. Process improvements and investigator education and training are major thrusts of quality improvement, she explained.

In years past, it was customary for all research proposals involving human subjects to receive the same review even when not required by regulation. Now, following the implementation of new risk-based policies and procedures, the HSO will evaluate each proposal on a case-by-case basis, only involving the IRB when required by regulation.

“For example, there were 843 submissions to the Human Subjects Office between Jan. 1 and Oct. 31 of 2016. All of these were reviewed by the Human Subjects Office, but only 184 proposals required IRB review,” Fowler said.

Not only does this new

review process help speed the approval of new proposals, but it also allows the IRB to focus resources on the growing number of clinical research projects. In the last three years, the number of clinical studies increased nearly 160 percent, from 27 studies in 2014 to 70 studies in 2016.

The IRB also has grown from 15 members to 51, with several new board members specializing in clinical research.

This increase in the number of board members also has allowed the IRB to review applications more frequently, holding two meetings per month rather than just one.

Those meetings are split between two major working groups, a social and behavioral board and a clinical board.

Fowler and other HSO staff also hold workshops with faculty, staff and students to help them better understand the human subjects policies

WEEKLY READER

and procedures, and they encourage members of the university to reach out if they would like HSO staff to visit a lab or classroom.

These improvements to HSO procedures are part of an effort to achieve accreditation from the Association for the Accreditation of Human Research Protection Programs, an independent nonprofit organization that evaluates research organizations to ensure that their HRPPs meet standards for quality and protection.

“The protection of human subjects is paramount, and we are working toward this accreditation to ensure that we put in place a review process that is as efficient as it is rigorous,” Fowler said.

For more information about the HSO or to speak with someone in the office, visit research.uga.edu/hso.

columns.uga.edu Feb. 13, 2017

RANKINGS

from page 1 and her software salesman husband after selling chicken salad at PTA meetings.

The remainder of the Bulldog 100 top 10 was as follows: 2. Kabbage Inc., Atlanta 3. The Holly Purcell Group, Athens 4. Charlotte Lucas Interior Design, Charlotte, North Carolina 5. SMD LLC, Huntersville, North Carolina 6. Two Maids & A Mop, Birmingham, Alabama 7. Specialized Veterinary Services, Fort Myers, Florida 8. Lake Country Pharmacy & Compounding Center, Greensboro, Georgia 9. Cruise Planners, Decatur 10. Rev Coffee Roasters, Smyrna The Atlanta office of Warren Averett CPAs and Advisors partnered with the UGA Alumni Association to review nominated businesses’ financial records to determine the ranked list.

Nominations for the 2017 Bulldog 100 were accepted between February and May 2016. To be considered for the list, each organization must have been in business for at least five years, experienced revenues in excess of $100,000 for the calendar year 2013 and be owned or operated by a former UGA student who either owns at least 50 percent of the company or is the CEO, president or managing partner. The Bulldog 100 recognizes the fastestgrowing businesses regardless of size by focusing on a three-year compounded annual growth rate.

Approximately 490 nominations were received for the 2017 Bulldog 100. The class includes companies of all sizes, providing services and products in a variety of industries, including pharmaceuticals, law, IT, consulting, retail and pest control. Companies as far west as California and as far northeast as New York made the list this year.The average compounded annual growth rate for this year’s Bulldog 100 businesses was 44 percent.

The 100 businesses and the 131 alumni who lead them were recognized by the UGA Alumni Association during the Feb. 4 event.

The evening began with an exclusive reception for honorees hosted by FirstData, a global leader in commerce-enabling technology and solutions.

This year’s keynote speaker was Debbie Storey, retired executive vice president of AT&T Mobility Customer Service and author of the book Don’t Downsize Your Dreams. Storey spoke about the importance of strong leadership development for success in business.

“The UGA Alumni Association is excited to honor our graduates who are founding and leading these prosperous enterprises,” said Ruth Bartlett, president of the UGA Alumni Association. “It is inspiring to see the influence these businesses have on our students. Student participation in Bulldog 100 allows our scholars a unique opportunity to network with these accomplished business leaders and also to observe the best examples of success from people who once were where they are now.”

To view the complete list of 2017 Bulldog 100 businesses or nominate a business for the 2018 Bulldog 100, see www.alumni.uga.edu/b100. Nominations are being accepted through May 31.

CYBERSIGHTS

ABOUT COLUMNS

Book analyzes digital poetry collection

Poesía y poeticas digitales/ electronicas/tecnos/newmedia en America Latina Edited by Luis Correa-Diaz and Scott Weintraub Ediciones Universidad Central Open-access e-book

Luis Correa-Diaz, a professor of Spanish in UGA’s Franklin College of Arts and Sciences, and Scott Weintraub, an assistant professor of Spanish at the University of New Hampshire, are co-editors of Poesia y poeticas digitales/electronicas/tecnos/ new-media en America Latina: definiciones y exploraciones.

Translated as Digital Poetry and Poetics—Electronic—Techno—New Media in Latin America, the book contains 20 essays that analyze new media poetics in the U.S. and several Latin American countries, including Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Cuba, El Salvador, Mexico and Peru.

The book follows a recently published “sampling” of digital poetry in the Chilean poetry journal Aerea: revista hispanoamericana de poesia, edited

by Correa-Diaz. It can be purchased as a Kindle book through Amazon.

Published by Ediciones Universidad Central, the book is available as an openaccess e-book, with distribution through a Creative Commons 2.5 license.

7

Columns is available to the community by ­subscription for an annual fee of $20 (secondclass delivery) or $40 (first-class delivery).

Faculty and staff members with a disability may call 706-542-8017 for assistance in obtaining this publication in an alternate format.

Columns staff can be reached at 706-542-8017 or columns@uga.edu

Editor Juliett Dinkins

CAES website undergoes redesign

caes.uga.edu

The UGA College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences launched a revamped version of its website in late fall of 2016.

Last redesigned in 2005, the website now features information and news about the college’s academic, research and Extension endeavors in a mobile friendly environment.

CAES’s web design team

dramatically increased the number of photos and visual elements on the site. These visuals will be updated regularly to encourage visitors to spend more time exploring and learning about the college’s students, research priorities and statewide impact.

The redesign also introduces a new college calendar and updated news section.

Art Director Jackie Baxter Roberts Photo Editor Dorothy Kozlowski Senior Writer Aaron Hale Communications Coordinator Krista Richmond The University of Georgia is committed to principles of equal opportunity and affirmative action.

The University of Georgia is a unit of the University System of Georgia.

8 Feb. 13, 2017 columns.uga.edu

PHARMACY from page 1

CHAIR

from page 1 30 languages. He is the author of the acclaimed novels The Master and Brooklyn, a regular contributor to the New York Review of Books and a contributing editor at the London Review of Books.

“Colm Toibin’s writing addresses our ideas of home, identity, love and belonging,” said Nicholas Allen, Franklin Professor of English and director of the Willson Center.

“Toibin is also an illuminating critic who brings his sharp intelligence to bear on literature from the classics to the present.

His reading and conversations will speak to the diversity of students across the campus.

Ireland possesses one of the world’s great literary traditions, and Toibin is one of its leading contemporary artists. Ireland shares deep connections with Georgia, which we will celebrate during Toibin’s visit in the week of St. Patrick’s Day.” The first public event of Toibin’s visit will be a March 15 screening of the 2015 film adaptation of his 2009 novel Brooklyn at Cine, 234 W. Hancock Ave. A public reception and book signing event with Avid Bookshop will begin at 6:30 p.m. in the CineLab, followed by the screening at 7:30 p.m., which is open free to the public but with limited seating available. Toibin will take part in an audience question-and-answer session after the film.

On March 16 at 3:30 p.m., Toibin will give a reading and talk, “Staying Home, Leaving Home: Ireland and America,” in the Chapel.

It will be followed by a book signing event at Avid Bookshop on Prince Avenue at 6 p.m.

On March 17 at 7 p.m., Toibin will have a public conversation in the SeneyStovall Chapel with Irish writer and editor Fintan O’Toole, followed by a special St. Patrick’s Day performance by singer Iarla

O Lionaird. O’Toole is a columnist, literary editor and drama critic for the Irish Times and one of Ireland’s leading public intellectuals.

O Lionaird is one of Ireland’s most renowned singers. He is a member of The Gloaming and performed Casadh an tSugain (Twisting the Rope) in Brooklyn.

From March 15-25 in the Barrow Hall Gallery, the College of Family and Consumer Sciences will host “1950s Fashion Inspired by Colm Toibin’s ‘Brooklyn,’ ” an exhibit from the college’s historic clothing collection curated by Monica Sklar, an assistant professor of textiles, merchandising and interiors. See http://www.fcs.uga.edu for more information.

Toibin has been shortlisted three times for the Man Booker Prize for his novels The Blackwater Lightship (1999), The Master (2004) and The Testament of Mary (2012). The Master won the International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award, the Stonewall Book Award and the Lambda Literary Award and was named Novel of the Year by the Los Angeles Times. Brooklyn won the Costa Novel Award, and the film, adapted by screenwriter Nick Hornby, directed by John Crowley and starring Saoirse Ronan, was nominated for three Academy Awards: best picture, best actress and best adapted screenplay.

“The Delta Visiting Chair for Global Understanding is an opportunity to showcase the excellence and diversity of research in the humanities and arts at the University of Georgia,” said UGA Vice President for Research David Lee. “It involves students, faculty and the community in culture and creativity, and I invite you to share in these readings and conversations about the relationship between Ireland and America in the literature and film of Colm Toibin.”

Bulletin Board CTL Fellows deadlines

The Center for Teaching and Learning announces deadlines for the Lilly Teaching Fellows, Senior Teaching Fellows and Writing Fellows programs.

Each spring semester, 10 tenuretrack assistant professors who are recent recipients of a doctorate or terminal degree in their discipline or profession and who are in their first, second or third year at UGA are selected for the Lilly Teaching Fellows Program. Deadline is March 10.

Eight senior faculty members are selected each spring for the Senior Teaching Fellows Program to be provided with an opportunity to focus on undergraduate instruction as well as professional and personal renewal in honor and recognition of their dedication as teaching scholars.

Deadline is April 10.

Up to 12 faculty selected as CTL Writing Fellows meet regularly to discuss the most effective ways to teach and respond to student writing.

Deadline is April 18.

Flu vaccine study subjects

The UGA Clinical & Translational Research Unit is looking for individuals ages 65-90 who have not yet received a flu shot this season to take part in a study evaluating the flu vaccine. Participants will receive a free flu shot as well as $90 for completing the study. For more information, call 706-713-2721 or email ctru@uga.edu.

Winter golf special

The UGA Golf Course is offering UGA students, faculty and staff an opportunity to experience the range of service and amenities for a discounted price with its Winter Golf Special.

Partnering with UGA Dining

Services, the Winter Golf Special includes an 18-hole green fee, an 18-hole cart fee and a hot dog, bag of chips and 20 ounce beverage from the Champion’s Cafe for $35 plus tax.

This offer is valid Monday– Thursday in February.

Open to students, faculty, staff, alumni and the general public, the UGA Golf Course welcomes both experienced and beginner golfers alike with six sets of tees to help golfers of all abilities enjoy their round on the course.

To take advantage of this offer, call the UGA Golf Course ahead of time for tee time availability.

For more information, visit golfcourse.uga.edu or call the UGA Golf Course at 706-369-5739.

WIP course proposals

The Franklin College Writing Intensive Program invites proposals from Arts and Sciences faculty in all disciplines for innovative courses that encourage writing.

The WIP aims to enhance undergraduate education by emphasizing the importance of writing in the disciplines by offering “writingintensive” courses from classics to chemistry, from music to microbiology throughout the college.

Faculty who teach WIP courses are supported by a teaching assistant specially trained in writing-in-thedisciplines pedagogy.

Visit www.wip.uga.edu to find proposal forms and guidelines, as well as information about the program.

The deadline for proposal submissions is March 14. Email questions to Lindsey Harding, program director, at lharding@uga.edu.

Bulletin Board is limited to information that may pertain to a majority of faculty and staff members.

a long-term ground lease from Augusta University in 2015, and the $3.2 million demolition and renovation of the former dialysis clinic began in January 2016.

Eight months later, the 10,000-squarefoot site opened its doors to students.

Open house festivities were held in late January, where Fagan told the more than 100 guests and attendees that inspiration for the design of the facility came from collaborative efforts with building and design experts, faculty members and students enrolled in the program.

Designs for the project were developed

by May Architecture + Interiors of Atlanta, construction of the facility was completed by the Augusta office of Christman Construction Inc., and Ben Liverman from UGA’s Office of University Architects was the project manager.

A second phase of the Augusta expansion is planned for the near future and will support the college’s Program in Clinical and Experimental Therapeutics, which aims to identify new treatments for diseases such as

FELLOWS

cancer, stroke, dementia and heart disease.

New laboratory space will also support the planned expansion of the master’s in pharmacy programs on the Augusta campus.

The College of Pharmacy campus in Augusta provides an academic setting for 30 third-year students; 40 fourth-year students; eight doctoral students; eight residents, along with two postdoctoral fellows; an international exchange visitor and five staff members.

Students enrolled in the program gain experiential learning through rotations at University Hospital, Augusta University Medical Center, Doctors Hospital, Charlie Norwood VA Medical Center, Eisenhower Medical Center and other community health care settings. In addition, the site also hosts staff who administer the Medication Access Program, which provides medications to transplant patients in Georgia.

Other campuses of the UGA College of Pharmacy include the main campus in Athens, Savannah, Albany and a pharmaceutical regulatory affairs program in Gwinnett.

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Shown, from left, in back, are Sen. Saxby and Julianne Chambliss. In front, from left, are the inaugural Chambliss Fellows, Eleanor Traynham, Tristan Bagala and Ishana Ratan.

which she completed in fall 2016, by doing data analytic work that puts an economics perspective on something that is typically in the political science field.

“I’m really excited to keep doing the work I did on my thesis and expand upon that,” she said.

She’s also looking forward to having a say and contributing to the policymaking process.

Traynham, from Macon, hopes this internship is the start of a career in Washington, D.C. “It’s my dream to work on the Hill,” she said, “so interning is a pretty essential first step.”

Traynham knows she wants to work in politics and plans to take this opportunity to decide on the exact role she’d like to play and where she sees herself in the future.

“It’s very fast paced, and every day is different. So far I really enjoy working in that environment,” she said. “I have learned to never be afraid to ask questions.”

The fellowship program is part of the Chambliss Leadership Forum, which honors the commitment of public service that has defined the lives of former Sen. Saxby Chambliss and his wife, Julianne, and provides a platform to share his insights and expertise with the next generation of leaders.

“I knew I wanted to give back meaningfully to the people of this state who gave me the honor of serving them in the U.S. House and Senate for 20 years,” Chambliss said.

“One way I am able to do this is to provide an avenue for young people to go and have an experience in our nation’s capital in Congress or one of the executive branch agencies.”

The Chambliss Leadership Forum consists of three programs: an annual fundraising dinner, the Chambliss Fellows Program and a campus lecture series. The forum’s overarching commitment is to student achievement and success at the University of Georgia.

The Chambliss Fellows Program, which aims to fund 10 students per year, came about from the collective input of UGA President Jere W. Morehead and Chambliss, along with several of Chambliss’ former staff members.

“During his final days in office after a lifetime of public service, I can distinctly remember sitting in Sen. Chambliss’ office along with President Morehead as we discussed this program. We felt then it would have a monumental impact on the students involved. Just two years later, it’s an honor to see the first class of Chambliss Fellows move into Delta Hall and begin pursuing the opportunity of a lifetime,” said Andrew Dill, director of federal relations with UGA’s Office of Government Relations.

The Chambliss Leadership Forum provides a $5,000 stipend for students chosen as Chambliss Fellows, who intern at least 40 hours per week. Supporters include the Coca-Cola Company, Southern Company, Altria, Home Depot, Northrop Grumman and General Dynamics.

To become a Chambliss Fellow, students must first apply and be accepted into the Washington Semester Program. Once accepted, they can apply for a Chambliss Fellowship. Any participant in the Washington Semester Program is eligible to apply, regardless of major. The Chambliss Leadership Forum selection committee then reviews applications, looking for “well-rounded students who show a strong commitment to public service in our state, nation and world,” according to Dill.

“There is no question that I think this experience will better prepare these Fellows for their future careers, regardless of which field they enter or what career path they take,” Chambliss said. “There is an opportunity to network with folks from Georgia as well as every other part of our great country, or in specific industry areas, that is just unparalleled.

“They will be challenged with a fastpaced environment to think on their feet and face a variety of issues,” he also said.

“They will be exposed to a variety of agendas and opinions and learn how to navigate an environment where not everyone agrees. All of the skills needed to succeed in a congressional office will ultimately help that young person succeed in life in their profession or in the business world.”