UGA Columns Jan. 21, 2020

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ISL assistant director’s ­career path influenced by his study abroad experience CAMPUS CLOSEUP

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The Concerto Competition on Jan. 23 brings cultures together through music

January 21, 2020

Vol. 47, No. 20

www.columns.uga.edu

UGA GUIDE

4&5

Project to transform STEM education is taking shape at UGA

By Abbey Miner

abbeym36@uga.edu

Dorothy Kozlowski

Hundreds of donors have committed more than $77 million for need-based aid for Georgia residents who attend UGA.

$77 million in 3 years GCS Program creates more than 500 need-based scholarships

By Clarke Schwabe ccschwabe@uga.edu

Thanks to the generosity of hundreds of donors, the University of Georgia has established more than 500 endowed, need-based scholarships, creating new, permanent pathways to higher education for Georgia residents from low-income backgrounds. “This achievement is a testament to the desire of so many individuals, families and organizations to make a positive difference in the lives of our students,” said President Jere W. Morehead. “I am deeply grateful to our donors for their incredible generosity and their commitment to our great university.” Announced in January 2017 and catalyzed by a $30 million gift from the Robert W. Woodruff

Foundation, the Georgia Commitment Scholarship Program doubles donors’ impact with a match from the UGA Foundation.To date, more than 320 donors have committed their resources to the program. In addition, several donors, inspired by the GCS Program, have committed more than the maximum $500,000 match, creating 32 endowed scholarships outside of the program as well as additional programming support for students. The result is more than $77 million committed to needbased aid at the University of Georgia in just three years. By providing support to UGA undergraduates with the greatest financial need, the GCS Program is a powerful tool for removing barriers and opening doors to education, a priority of the university’s

Commit to Georgia Campaign. And by providing that support to students across Georgia, the program creates a richer community on campus and stronger communities all over the state. “This scholarship has impacted not only me but also my family. Having the financial burden of education lifted from our shoulders has given me the ability to focus on what matters most at UGA,” said Kiarra Freeman, a nutritional sciences major. “I am beyond grateful for the resources, assistance and aid that the Georgia Commitment Scholarship Program has provided for me while I have been at UGA.” GCS donors run the gamut from young alumni councils to corporate partners to UGA Foundation Trustees. The Division of Academic

See SCHOLARSHIPS on page 8

ACADEMIC AFFAIRS

Two University of Georgia faculty members named Regents’ Professors for research efforts By Carolyn Payton

carolyn.payton@uga.edu

Two University of Georgia professors have been named Regents’ Professors for research that is recognized both nationally and internationally as innovative and pace-setting. The university’s newest Regents’ Professors are Pejman Rohani, University of Georgia Athletic Association Professor in Ecology and Infectious Diseases in the Odum School of Ecology and the College of Veterinary Medicine; and Ronald L. Simons, Distinguished Research Professor in the department of sociology in the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences. The appointments were recently approved by the board of regents, and this academic year marks the first time the university

Pejman Rohani

Ronald Simons

has recommended two faculty members for the award. “As the University of Georgia continues to increase the volume and impact of our research, we seek to recognize the exemplary faculty members whose work contributes innovative solutions to pressing challenges in health, security and community vitality and brings recognition to the university,” said S. Jack Hu, the university’s senior vice president for academic affairs and provost.

Rohani conducts research that focuses on the introduction of the ecological perspectives to infectious disease biology. His work investigates the importance of spatial synchrony in the outbreak of measles and pertussis for predicting the extinction and eradication of these major childhood infectious diseases. He has published 132 peerreviewed papers and co-authored influential books with the Princeton University Press and the Oxford University Press. Rohani has been principal investigator or co-investigator for nearly $32 million in external grant funding, including awards from the National Institutes of Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Rohani’s work has implemented a genetic algorithm See PROFESSORS on page 8

Just one year after its inception, a University of Georgia project to transform STEM education is fostering collaborations on campus as well as nationally. Funded by a $3 million grant from the National Science Foundation, the Department and Leadership Teams for Action program, or DeLTA, will engage more than 100 University of Georgia faculty across multiple departments to transform STEM education at institutions of higher education nationwide. Principal investigator Paula Lemons, an associate professor in

the department of biochemistry and molecular biology, explained that she and her colleagues have initiated a plan to organize action teams and train faculty participants. “We’re taking a distributed leadership approach to planning,” said Lemons, who leads an interdisciplinary center on campus known as Scientists Engaged in Education Research, or SEER. “We first had to come up with a training method for facilitators geared toward answering the question ‘How do you lead change?’ From there, our leadership team can work to provide tools and guidance needed for our facilitators to succeed.”

See STEM on page 8

GRADY COLLEGE

Peabody Awards ceremony moving to Los Angeles in June By Margaret Blanchard mblanch@uga.edu

Peabody announced on Jan. 14 that its annual ceremony, the Peabody Awards, will be held for the first time in Los Angeles at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel on June 18. Peabody Awards honor the most intelligent, powerful and moving stories told in broadcasting and digital media. These stories— from entertainment to documentary to news programming—shape our thinking and understanding of the world in which we live. Peabody celebrates unique and

diverse voices, from notable filmmakers and intrepid journalists to fearless comedians and innovative creators. The program is based at the Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication at the University of Georgia. “As the country struggles to find its footing in challenging times, the power of media narratives becomes paramount. Peabody provides a much-needed role as curator of the best stories that should be watched and heard, especially as the media landscape continues to evolve and becomes even more crowded with content and

See PEABODY on page 8

COLLEGE OF PUBLIC HEALTH

UGA students contribute to area’s first school-based health center By Rebecca Ayer alea@uga.edu

This past fall, the Clarke County School District opened northeast Georgia’s first school-based health center on Athens’ east side. The new clinic will provide comprehensive medical, dental and health care services to students at Gaines Elementary and Hilsman Middle schools, improving health care access for more than 1,200 children in Athens-Clarke County. It’s a monumental community health effort that four graduate students from the University of Georgia’s College of Public Health were able to be a part of through the support of a student-focused mini-grant program, launched in fall 2018 by the college faculty’s Diversity Committee.

The program, called Community Mini-Grants for Inclusion, Research and Engagement, awards funding to student-led community outreach projects that focus on addressing health disparities in Athens-Clarke County. Graduate students Shellie Bardgett, Michael Bien, Valerie Kimbrough and Nicholas Mallis, who all graduated with a Master of Public Health degree last year, received funding through the program in January 2019 for a research proposal exploring the potential need and impact of a school-based health center in Athens. “School-based health centers can play a big part in improving the health and academic success of students. The aim of our project was to talk to teachers, school nurses See HEALTH on page 8


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