UGA Columns Jan 9, 2017

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Franklin College study: Plant compounds may boost brain function in older adults RESEARCH NEWS

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Violinist Frank Huang to take stage Jan. 11 at Ramsey Concert Hall Vol. 44, No. 20

January 9, 2017

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UGA GUIDE

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University launches new Women’s Staff Leadership Institute

Dorothy Kozlowski

Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources graduates Joe Vaughn and Jennifer McDaniel turn their tassels during the fall undergraduate Commencement ceremony.

Powerful position

Commencement speakers advise graduates to take advantage of opportunities to make impact

By Leigh Beeson and Krista Richmond lbeeson@uga.edu, krichmond@uga.edu

More than 2,700 students received their undergraduate or graduate degrees Dec. 16 during fall Commencement ceremonies.

The new UGA alumni are in a privileged position to make an impact on not just their communities but on the nation and the world, but it is up to them to take advantage of that opportunity, according to the speakers at the ceremonies.

Jon Meacham, a journalist and Pulitzer Prize-winning biographer, addressed the 1,649 graduating students at the undergraduate

c­ eremony, telling them to look to the past when feeling anxious about the political climate in the U.S. “History does have the capacity to bring us together,” he said, “for the story of the American journey is ultimately the story of obstacles overcome, crises resolved, freedom expanded and strength enduring.”

This election cycle has been described as one of the most vitriolic in modern times, but America is a nation founded amid fear and anxiety, a nation of “perpetual crisis and provisional consensus,” Meacham said.

Despairing over the future of the nation is nothing new, he said, citing Patrick Henry’s declaration in 1788 that the new American republic was in extreme danger of dissolution.

Concern about the future is “not entirely unique” to modern day.

“Democracy is not only about winning the argument—it’s also inevitably about the freedom to make the arguments we believe in,” Meacham said.“So if you’re unhappy about politics right now, it might help to know that Americans have been unhappy about politics from the very beginning.”

Describing compromise as the “oxygen of democracy,” Meacham encouraged the graduates to remember that diversity of thought and of people makes the nation strong.

“The point of a republic, the point of the world you’re inheriting, is the preservation, not necessarily See COMMENCEMENT on page 8

PUBLIC SERVICE AND OUTREACH

Lawmakers prepared for current legislative session at Institute of Government’s 30th Biennial Institute

By Roger Nielsen nielsen@uga.edu

Georgia General Assembly members delved into critical state issues at the 30th Biennial Institute for Georgia Legislators, coordinated by the Carl Vinson Institute of Government to help lawmakers prepare for the 2017 legislative session.

The Biennial Institute, held Dec. 4-6 at UGA, concluded with Gov. Nathan Deal urging legislators to continue the pro­ grams that have made Georgia a national leader in job creation and

economic vitality.

Georgia’s economy is among the country’s most robust because of infrastructure improvements the General Assembly supported, Deal told legislators at the Biennial Institute’s closing luncheon at the Georgia Center for Continuing Education.

“While much of the nation is seeing an economic slowdown, Georgia is moving forward,” Deal said.

Almost all of the state’s 56 senators and 180 representatives attended the Biennial Institute, including nearly three dozen who

begin their first terms as the 2017 legislative session convenes today.

The Biennial Institute offered these Gov. Nathan Deal freshman legislators the chance to network with their new colleagues and learn more about key matters they will face as they represent their constituents in Atlanta. The Biennial Institute See INSTITUTE on page 8

Human Resources has launched the Women’s Staff Leadership Institute, a new leadership development opportunity for UGA staff members that is aligned with the Women’s Leadership Initiative launched in 2015 by President Jere W. Morehead and Provost Pamela Whitten.

Through a nomination and selection process, this annual program will offer a group of UGA staff members the chance to explore leadership opportunities, reflect upon key leadership traits and skills and support one another in issues that female leaders face in higher

education administration.

The inaugural Women’s Staff Leadership Institute cohort will meet monthly from April-October 2017 to attend workshops and have conversations with senior administrators at UGA. The nomination and selection process to participate is now underway. Any UGA staff member with a specific interest in women’s leadership development is encouraged to consider this program.

More information, including nomination instructions, is available at www.hr.uga.edu/WSLI.

KIPLINGER’S RANKING

UGA ranks 10th on magazine’s list of best values in public colleges UGA moved up two spots to No. 10 on Kiplinger’s Personal ­Finance list of 100 best values among public colleges and universities for 2017.

Kiplinger’s quality measures include the admission rate, the percentage of students who return for sophomore year, the student-faculty ratio and the four-year graduation rate. Cost criteria include sticker price, financial aid and average debt at graduation.

UGA was only one of two universities from the SEC that made the top 20 (the other being the University of Florida, which ranked at No. 7). The only other school from Georgia in the top 20 was Georgia Tech at No. 9. Georgia is one of only three states with two

public schools in the top 10.

“The University of Georgia is committed to providing a world-class education at an affordable cost,” said President Jere W. Morehead. “I am pleased that our ongoing efforts were once again recognized by this national ranking.”

U.S. News & World Report recently ranked UGA No. 18 on its list of “Best Public Universities,” and Forbes ranked UGA No. 17 on its “Top 25 Public Colleges 2016” list.

The Kiplinger rankings are available online at kiplinger. com/fronts/special-report/collegerankings/. The rankings will also appear in the February 2017 issue of Kiplinger’s Personal Finance, on newsstands now.

OFFICE OF RESEARCH

LIGO director to give 2017 Boyd Distinguished Lecture

By James Hataway jhataway@uga.edu

David Reitze, executive director of the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory at the California Institute of Technology, will deliver the 2017 George H. Boyd Distinguished Lecture.

He will speak Jan. 12 at 3:30 p.m. in Room 202 of the physics building. His lecture is titled “Last Tango in Space: Detecting Gravitational Waves from Binary Black Hole Mergers for the First Time Ever Using LIGO.” The Boyd Distinguished Lecture Series, supported by UGA’s Office of Research and the William S. and Elizabeth K. Boyd

­F oundation, brings national leaders and policymakers to UGA in science, education and related fields to discuss applications of David Reitze research to contemporary issues in education. The lectures are open free to the public.

“The detection of gravitational waves, with its implications for Einstein’s theory, was one of the most important scientific advances in recent times,” s­ a id UGA Vice President for See LECTURE on page 8

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Around academe

Albany State University, Darton State College consolidation finalized

The Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia granted final approval Dec. 9 for the creation of the new Albany State University from the consolidation of Albany State University and Darton State College.

The consolidation became effective Jan. 1.

The new ASU builds upon the HBCU mission to serve an increasingly diverse student population and community and will continue to serve the access mission, offering workforce related degrees. Both institutions were key business and community partners; the new ASU will expand on those partnerships for the benefit of the region and state.

Arthur Dunning, the president of Albany State, is president of the newly consolidated Albany State University.

USG board of regents names new president of Valdosta State University

The Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia named Richard A. Carvajal president of Valdosta State University. His appointment was effective Jan. 1.

Carvajal most recently was interim president of Darton State College in Albany. Prior to that, he was president of Bainbridge State College.

Carvajal holds a doctorate in educational administration with emphasis in higher education from the University of South Carolina in Columbia, a master’s in college student personnel administration from Southern Illinois University at Carbondale and a bachelor’s in mass communication/sociology from East Central University in Ada, Oklahoma.

University’s inclement weather policy and notification process announced

News to Use

During periods of inclement weather, UGA follows a set procedure for announcing operational changes.

The university makes one of three announcements: UGA is open and operating on a regular schedule; UGA is closed; or UGA will delay opening until a specific time.

Notices are posted on Twitter and Facebook, an all-campus email is sent via ArchNews and the announcement also is published on the UGA home page (www.uga.edu).

Information also is provided to Athens radio stations and Atlanta TV and radio stations.

In Athens, inclement winter weather often develops overnight. In such cases and depending on conditions, attempts are made to post announcements and notify media by 6:30 a.m. for the start of the class day. If the inclement weather develops during morning rush hour or during daytime on a school/workday, the same notification procedures listed above are followed.

When weather conditions are such that closings occur two or more days in succession, the procedure is followed each day, with an announcement being made each day by 6:30 a.m.

In that conditions can change unexpectedly overnight, an evening announcement usually will not be made for the next day except in the most extreme weather circumstances.

On days when UGA generally is scheduled to be closed (Saturdays, Sundays and holidays), the university does not usually make blanket closing announcements. Departments and units that have normal operations on weekends and holidays, or units planning to host or present special programs on those days, should make their own prior arrangements with employees and participants, notifying them how to proceed in case of inclement weather.

When UGA officially is closed, it is closed for everyone: faculty, staff and students.

Departments will designate in advance those expected to report to work during a weather emergency.

Announcements for weather closings at UGA campuses in Buckhead, Gwinnett, Griffin and Tifton are handled by those campus administrators separately from the main campus announcements.

Source: Division of Marketing & Communications

PERFORMING ARTS CENTER, WILLSON CENTER FOR HUMANITIES AND ARTS

Alonzo King LINES Ballet residency will include performance, lectures

By Bobby Tyler and Dave Marr

btyler@uga.edu, davemarr@uga.edu

Choreographer Alonzo King and his LINES Ballet company will visit UGA and Athens for a series of events Jan. 15-18, including a performance by the company presented by the UGA Performing Arts Center and a lecture by King for the Global Georgia Initiative of the Willson Center for Humanities and Arts.

King’s Global Georgia talk, “A Life in Art,” will be held Jan. 17 at 11 a.m. in the New Dance Theatre in the dance building. LINES Ballet will perform Jan. 17 at 8 p.m. in the Fine Arts Theatre. A pre-concert lecture will be given at 7:15 p.m. prior to the performance in the Fine Arts Building Balcony Theatre.

King founded the San Franciscobased Alonzo King LINES Ballet company in 1982 with a mission to create bold, new dance innovations that break the mold of what ballet can be.

LINES Ballet thrives on collaboration, pairing music from all over the globe with King’s unique choreography that digs into the mysteries of movement, bringing honesty and spirituality to the stage.

In addition to its biannual home seasons, the company’s international tours have included the Venice Biennale, Montpellier Danse, Maison de la Danse, the Wolfsburg Festival, the Edinburgh Festival, the Spoleto Festival and Monaco Dance Forum.

After a recent performance in France, a critic for Le Monde wrote, “Alonzo King possesses a sort of magical science of gesture and spatiality. The technique is classically based—the

women are en pointe—but the capacity for choreographic innovation is boundless.”

The residency by King and the company also will include master classes for students in the dance department and a talk in the APERO Lecture Series hosted by the Institute for African American Studies and the African Studies Institute. The master class workshop with King and members of the LINES company will take place Jan. 17 at 2 p.m. in Room 272 of the dance building. King’s APERO lecture and conversation will be held Jan. 18 at 12:20 p.m. in Room 480 of the Tate Center.

Also on Jan. 18, the Performing Arts Center will present LINES Ballet in a performance for area school-children in grades five through 12. The performance takes place in the Fine Arts Theatre at 10 a.m., and reservations are required.

Additionally, King and members of the company will take part in a “Day of Dance” in celebration of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Jan. 16 at the East Athens Educational Dance Center. The event is open free to the public. Details are at dance.uga.edu.

“This is an extraordinary opportunity for UGA and the Athens community to have such a world-class artist and company on our campus and in our midst,” said Lisa Fusillo, professor and head of the dance department. “Alonzo King is an internationally renowned choreographer, and his company is in demand around the world. A Georgia native, King will be bring LINES Ballet ‘home’ for the very first time during the company’s 30th anniversary season.”

AGRICULTURAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES

Three UGA faculty teams awarded Sustainable Food Systems Fellowships

Choreographer Alonzo King and the LINES Ballet company will hold a series of events in Athens, including a Jan. 17 performance at 8 p.m. in the Fine Arts Theatre.

Tickets for the Fine Arts Theatre performance are $41-$52 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. All other events are open free to the public.

Sponsors of the performance and residency include South Arts in partnership with the National Endowment for the Arts and the Georgia Council for the Arts, the President’s Venture Fund, the Office of the Provost, the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences, the UGA Parents and Families Association and Southern Co.

COLLEGE OF ENVIRONMENT AND DESIGN

‘Places for the Spirit’ traveling exhibit opens Jan. 12 at Circle Gallery with public reception

By J. Merritt Melancon jmerrit@uga.edu

The UGA Sustainable Food Systems Initiative has awarded three interdisciplinary teams of faculty with its third round of Sustainable Food Systems Fellowships.

These fellowships, which will be given to graduate students beginning in fall 2017, will be paid for by a grant from the USDA National Institute for Food and Agriculture. This is the second NIFA grant that the initiative has received to fund its fellowships. Six master’s degree students have benefited from this program since 2013.

The initiative’s goal is to set up a collaborative framework to enable interdepartmental faculty to collaborate on questions of agricultural production, energy, water, the environment, economics, health and nutrition.

The selection committee has chosen three projects for funding: • Warnell School of Forestry associate professor Robert Bringolf and College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences assistant professor Nick Fuhrman will develop a resource program for teaching farmers about sustainable aquaponics systems.

• College of Family and Consumer Sciences assistant professor Chad Paton and senior research scientist Dave Hoisington, director of the UGA-housed U.S. Feed the Future Peanut and Mycotoxin Innovation Lab, will investigate improving agricultural production methods of increasing vitamin A intake in sub-Saharan Africa.

• Assistant professors Janani Rajbhandari-Thapa and Donglan Zhan in the College of Public Health’s health policy and management department and assistant professor Melissa Hallow in the College of Engineering and epidemiology and biostatistics department will investigate and model the interaction between consumer behavior and food supply and how that relationship can help support a healthy and sustainable food system in Georgia.

The Circle Gallery in the UGA College of Environment and Design will feature the photography of Vaughn Sills in the exhibit Places for the Spirit: Traditional African American Gardens Jan. 12-Feb. 28. The exhibit and its opening reception, which will be held Jan. 12 at 4:30 p.m., are open free to the public.

Places for the Spirit is a traveling exhibit of African-American gardens photographed by Sills and made into a book in 2010 (Trinity University Press). A graduate of the Rhode Island School of Design, Sills taught photography at Simmons College in Boston from 1987-2013. In 2015, she was the featured artist in a solo exhibition at Smith College Botanic Garden in Northampton, Massachusetts. “In my photography, I explore our link to the natural world—how we live and develop cultures within the natural world and how we influence that world,” Sills said. “I look at how the environment, both the natural and the built, helps to create the individual experience of reality as well as the ways in which family and culture affect the individual. I am particularly interested in creating images that suggest how our physical and social environment influences our inner experience, including our spiritual experience—or at least my own.”

RESEARCH NEWS

columns.uga.edu Jan. 9, 2017

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Digest Finalists for dean of UGA School of Public and International Affairs to visit campus

Dorothy Kozlowski

Cutter Lindbergh, left, a doctoral candidate in the psychology department, and Stephen Miller, director of the Bio-Imaging Research Center, used fMRI technology to see how different levels of carotenoids, chemical compounds derived from fruits and vegetables, affected brain functioning in older adults.

Memory bank

Plant compounds may boost brain function in older adults, Franklin College study says

By Leigh Beeson lbeeson@uga.edu

The same compounds that give plants and vegetables their vibrant colors might be able to bolster brain functioning in older adults, according to a recent UGA study.

The research from the psychology department is the first to use fMRI technology to investigate how levels of those compounds affect brain activity and showed that study participants with lower levels had to rely on more brain power to complete memory-oriented tasks.

People get these compounds, known as carotenoids, from their diets, and two of them, lutein and zeaxanthin, have been shown in previous research to bolster eye and cognitive health in older adults. What isn’t known is the neural mechanisms underlying the relationship between these compounds and cognition, said Cutter Lindbergh, first author of the study and a doctoral candidate in the psychology department of the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences.

“If you can show that, in fact, there’s a real mechanism behind this, then you could potentially use these nutritional supplements or changes in diet, and you

could easily intervene and potentially improve cognition in older adults,” said L. Stephen Miller, a professor of psychology and corresponding author of the study.

With Miller’s help, Lindbergh used fMRI technology, also known as functional MRI, to gauge the brain activity of more than 40 adults between ages 65 and 86 while they attempted to recall word pairings they were taught earlier.

The researchers then analyzed brain activity while the participants were in the machine, finding that those individuals with higher levels of lutein and zeaxanthin didn’t require as much brain activity to complete the task.

The researchers determined the level of the compounds in two ways: through serum samples, which are done using a blood sample, and through retinal levels that are measured using noninvasive flicker photometry, which relies on lights to determine levels of the compounds in the eye.

In this study, participants with lower levels of lutein and zeaxanthin had to use more brain power and relied more heavily on different parts of the brain to remember the word pairings they were taught. People with higher levels, on the other hand, were able to minimize the

amount of brain activity necessary to complete the task. In other words, they were more “neurally efficient.”

“It’s in the interest of society to look at ways to buffer these decline processes to prolong functional independence in older adults,” Lindbergh said. “Changing diets or adding supplements to increase lutein and zeaxanthin levels might be one strategy to help with that.”

The study showed no relationship between the levels of the compounds and the number of words participants could recall, but this finding, while somewhat unexpected, demonstrated how the brain went into overdrive to compensate for any diminished cognitive functioning.

The next step is to study whether interventions like changing one’s diet to include more vegetables containing the carotenoids or by adding nutritional supplements could boost individuals’ neurocognitive performance.

The study, “Relationship of lutein and zeaxanthin levels to neurocognitive functioning: An fMRI study of older adults,” was published in the Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society. The research was funded in part by Abbott Nutritional Products and UGA’s Bio-Imaging Research Center.

GRADY COLLEGE OF JOURNALISM AND MASS COMMUNICATION

Peabody launches center for research, production

By Margaret Blanchard mblanch@uga.edu

Peabody is launching The Media Center at Peabody, a scholarly research center and digital media production arm of the Peabody Awards. The announcement was made by Jeffrey Jones, executive director of the awards program and new center. The Media Center at Peabody is based at UGA’s Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication.

The Media Center’s three primary areas of focus are: • Peabody Programs. The Media Center at Peabody will engage in programming that outwardly extends the yearly awards winners, as well as critical scholarly engagement with the changing media industry landscape. The Media Center is in the process of launching the Peabody Digital Network, a new digital media production arm of Peabody. Through alliances with a variety

of distribution outlets, the network will produce and circulate content that illuminates the social and political relevance of award-winning stories and guide public engagement with them.

Additional program initiatives include podcasts with award-winning screenwriters, showrunners and producers; and panel discussions, symposia and conferences that link storytellers with groups working to address such issues.

• Peabody Archive. Peabody is home to the third largest archive of audiovisual materials in the U.S., housed in UGA’s special collections libraries. Through books, films and digital media productions, The Media Center’s Cultural Memory Project will connect past and present­­, recovering vital voices from yesterday’s storytellers and inserting them into debates over issues of the day.

The Cultural Memory Project focuses on what these stories can contribute to current social discourse, as well as how they can inform a re-evaluation of what

constitutes cultural memory of who and what the U.S. is as a nation.

• Peabody Academy. The Media Center will partner with industry organizations and previous Peabody Award winners to engage aspiring screenwriters, producers and filmmakers through master classes, seminars, workshops, internships and other educational activities. The academy’s focus is connecting Peabody winners with the storytellers of the future, with an emphasis on telling stories with the power to engage and transform.

Jones is joined by a group of television and media studies scholars from across the country who serve as the inaugural class of Peabody Fellow Scholars (2017-2019): David Craig, University of Southern California; Aymar Christian, Northwestern University; Jonathan Gray, University of Wisconsin, Madison; Amanda Lotz, University of Michigan; Jason Mittell, Middlebury College; and Barbie Zelizer, University of Pennsylvania.

Three finalists for the position of dean of the University of Georgia School of Public and International Affairs are visiting campus this month to meet with members of the university community.

A committee chaired by Charles N. Davis, dean of the Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication, conducted a national search to identify the finalists. The committee was assisted by the UGA Search Group in Human Resources.

Each finalist will make a public presentation from 9:30-10:30 a.m. in the Tate Student Center Reception Hall (Room 135). The finalists and the dates of their presentations are: • R. Karl Rethemeyer, associate professor and interim dean of the Rockefeller College of Public Affairs and Policy at the University at Albany-State University of New York, Jan. 10.

• Sara McLaughlin Mitchell, professor of political science at the University of Iowa, Jan. 12.

• Matthew Auer, professor of environmental studies, vice president for academic affairs and dean of the faculty at Bates College, visited Jan. 5.

The CVs of the finalists, along with candidate feedback forms and the itineraries for their campus visits, are available at https://t.uga.edu/2S0.

Swimmer becomes first student-athlete named Dean William Tate Scholar

UGA swimmer Chantal Van Landeghem was inducted into the Phi Beta Kappa Honor Society and was named the organization’s 2016 Dean William Tate Scholar.

The Dean William Tate Scholar is an award given annually to an outstanding inductee of Phi Beta Kappa, having earned a perfect 4.0 in his or her field of study. Van Landeghem, a senior studying psychology, is UGA’s first-ever studentathlete to receive the award.

Chantal Van Landeghem During the ceremony, the Olympic bronze medalist, nine-time SEC champion and one-time NCAA champion, gave remarks to the newly inducted Phi Beta Kappa class and was presented with a Phi Beta Kappa key.

Other student-athletes inducted into Phi Beta Kappa were fellow swimmer Patrick Humphreys and equestrians Liza Finsness and Allie Harbert.

Humphreys is a junior from Athens studying biochemistry and molecular biology, and Spanish. He was chosen for the SEC Academic Honor Roll during his freshman and sophomore years and serves as one of the swimming and diving representatives on the StudentAthlete Advisory Committee.

Finsness, a senior from Wellington, Florida, is studying biology. She was named the 2015-16 SEC Rider of the Year on Equitation on the Flat and was named First-Team NCEA Academic All-American.

Harbert, also a senior, is from Orlando, Florida, and has twice been named to the SEC Academic Honor Roll.

Experts to discuss economy, regulations, 2018 farm bill at Georgia Ag Forecast

The Georgia Ag Forecast seminar series will be held Jan. 18-27. UGA agricultural economists will present insights into the latest market and regulatory conditions for the state’s largest industry.

Hosted by the UGA College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, the 2017 seminar series will be held in Macon, Marietta, Carrollton, Tifton, Bainbridge, Lyons, Waynesboro and Athens.

Economists from the Center for Agribusiness and Economic Development and from the college’s agricultural and applied economics department will deliver the economic outlook, which will focus on Georgia’s major commodities and the way that global markets, weather patterns and historical trends will affect them. Attendees in Marietta, Carrollton and Athens also will hear from Brent Credille, a livestock research veterinarian from the UGA College of Veterinary Medicine.

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PUBLIC SERVICE AND OUTREACH

DIVISION OF STUDENT AFFAIRS

UGA is top research institution for service to student veterans

By Don Reagin

dreagin@uga.edu

UGA has been named the top tier one research institution in the nation in Victory Media’s Military Friendly Schools 2017 rankings. The designation recognizes the university for its outstanding commitment to and programs for student veterans and their families.

Nearly 1,200 colleges and universities nationwide have achieved the Military Friendly designation, which results from a comprehensive school-by-school assessment of veteran and military student success rates.

“We are delighted by these national recognitions highlighting our support for student veterans,” said Victor K. Wilson, vice president for student affairs. “For all that these remarkable students have given of themselves to our nation, it is our honor to provide outstanding, tailored resources to aid in their academic, personal and professional success.”

UGA’s comprehensive service to student veterans is the result of collaborations across multiple divisions and departments, including Academic Affairs, Student Affairs, the Office of the Dean of Students, the Athletic Association and the Student Veterans Resource Center.

Founded in spring 2013, the SVRC serves as the go-to location for wayfinding and entry into an array of services provided by the university, while offering wide-ranging support to and advocacy for student veterans.

Kyle McReynolds, president of UGA’s Student Veterans Association, said the partnerships among campus divisions and departments, as well as community support, have positioned the university to achieve the premier designation.

“We can only attribute this accomplishment to the dedicated support from our campus and community partners,” he said. “I am proud of the way the university is serving our veterans in their return to college.”

McReynolds is a U.S. Air Force veteran from Warner Robins studying business management. He also served as student office manager for the SVRC. For the full Military Friendly Schools rankings, see http://militaryfriendly.com/schools/.

UGA also was recently named one of Military Advanced Education magazine’s “Top Schools” for 2017. UGA will be included with other colleges and universities that provide outstanding service to military veterans in that publication’s 2017 Guide to Colleges and Universities.

For the first time, UGA has also attained a spot on U.S. News & World Report’s annual list of “Best Colleges for Veterans.”

The university was honored again this year by Military Times Magazine as a “2017 Best for Vets” institution and continues to maintain active affiliation with both the Student Veterans of America and the Got Your Six campaign, through which faculty and staff attend training sessions to become certified as veteran-friendly.

“It is our goal for the University of Georgia to be a place where our student veterans can thrive,” said UGA President Jere W. Morehead. “My thanks go to the team of faculty, staff and students across campus who coordinate the many services and resources for our student veterans.”

Shannah Montgomery

A group of Public Service and Outreach scholars packed Thanksgiving dinner supplies for Turkeypalooza 2016 at the Athens Community Council for Aging as part of the second annual Day of Service on Nov. 18.

Community impact UGA employees give back to their communities on Day of Service

More than 225 UGA employees fanned out across Athens-Clarke County, contributing 550 total hours of service to nonprofit organizations during the Public Service and Outreach second annual Day of Service on Nov. 18.

In addition, PSO and Cooperative Extension employees in other counties also participated in projects in their communities.

Projects ranged from installing compost bins at local middle schools, cleaning the kitchen at the Athens Area Homeless Shelter and clearing trails at Dudley Park. In all, there were 14 service projects in Clarke County for employees to choose from.

At the Sweet Olive Animal Rescue Farm in Winterville, five public service and outreach employees helped dig holes for fence posts. Co-founder Kat Howkins was so excited to have a full crew working on her farm, she brought them cinnamon rolls as a treat.

“It allows us to fulfill projects we just can’t do as two people trying to run this place,” Howkins said. “We have volunteers but having a dedicated, sophisticated group of workers is amazing. They have put in those fence posts in the last hour. It’s so awesome.”

In Brunswick and Savannah, UGA Marine Extension and Georgia Sea Grant employees cleaned up trails

and beaches.

In Athens and across the state, 105 employees collected supplies for local schools. Across campus, employees collected canned goods for Campus Kitchen at UGA’s annual Turkeypalooza, which provided a Thanksgiving dinner to food-insecure seniors and their families. The State Botanical Garden of Georgia, a public service and outreach unit, collected the equivalent of 5,500 pounds of food (including cash gifts) winning the campus collection competition.

Vice President for Public Service and Outreach Jennifer Frum began her day at Hilsman Middle School where she used a power drill to help co-workers from the J.W. Fanning Institute for Leadership Development and the Office of Service-Learning build a wash-and-weigh station for produce grown in the school’s garden.

Frum worked alongside Shannon Wilder, director of the Office of Service-Learning, which coordinated the Day of Service, measuring wooden boards to be cut. Wilder said the project is a tangible reminder of how important her daily work is.

“I think we’re wired to try to make a difference,” Wilder said. “We think about that every day as we come to work and how what we do really matters to the state of Georgia. Days like this are

days that we can really see the impact that we’re having.”

That was obvious at Dudley Park, too, where massive piles of branches were stacked on the banks of the Oconee River. Volunteers, including the Carl Vinson Institute of Government’s Scott Pippin, took a brief break for a group photo in the warm late afternoon.

Pippin, who works with planners across Georgia, said he enjoyed the manual labor. It was different to see an immediate physical product instead of working in the office on projects that may take years to complete.

“It’s great to actually see what you’ve done in a day instead of the long-term vision of the stuff we normally work on,” he said. “It’s an immediate gratification of feeling like we did something today that made a difference.”

UGA Public Service and Outreach includes the Archway Partnership, the Carl Vinson Institute of Government, the J.W. Fanning Institute for Leadership Development, the Georgia Center for Continuing Education and Hotel, Marine Extension and Georgia Sea Grant, the Small Business Development Center, the State Botanical Garden of Georgia and the Office of Service-Learning, which also reports to the UGA vice president for instruction.

SCHOOL OF LAW

Law school dedicates Rusk Hall courtroom in honor of Butler family

By Lona Panter lonap@uga.edu

The UGA School of Law recently dedicated the James E. Butler Courtroom in the school’s Rusk Hall, honoring three generations of the Butler family: James E. Butler, 1977 alumnus James E. “Jim” Butler Jr. and 2008 alumnus James E. “Jeb” Butler III. The occasion also marked the portrait unveiling of Jim Butler. The painting, by artist Beth Stephens, now hangs outside the courtroom.

Jim Butler has had a large impact on the legal profession both inside and outside the courtroom. Four times over his career, he was lead counsel in a case setting the record for the largest verdict in Georgia. He has litigated cases in 31 states and served as lead counsel in five cases where the verdicts exceeded $100 million.

Jim Butler also has been a generous donor to the law school, establishing the James E. Butler Scholarship, assisting in the creation of the Sic Vos Non Vobis Scholarship and helping to launch the school’s Challenge Fund last year, which successfully doubled the law school’s annual fund in a single year and enabled Georgia Law to offer up to 66 new quarter scholarships to deserving students.

“Jim Butler’s investment in the School of Law is an investment in the people whom it produces and the values they will reflect as they join him in a noble profession,” Georgia Law Dean Peter B. “Bo” Rutledge said. “Thanks to his generosity, present and future law students will hone their advocacy skills and learn from judges in the courtroom bearing his family’s name—and be reminded of a great courtroom lawyer and the values he represents.”

Ian McFarlane

The Butler family attended the dedication of the James E. Butler Courtroom at the UGA School of Law. From left are Justin Patteson, Emily Patteson, Catherine Patteson, Kim Cofer Harris, Jim Butler, Ava Harris, Catherine Butler, David Gunter, Anne Butler and Jeb Butler.

In addition to Jim Butler’s family, in attendance were UGA President Jere W. Morehead, former deans Rebecca Hanner White and David E. Shipley, Associate

Dean Emeritus Paul M. Kurtz, numerous members of the state and federal judiciary and colleagues, including Joel O. Wooten Jr., Butler’s longtime law partner.

UGAGUIDE

columns.uga.edu Jan. 9, 2017

For a complete listing of events, 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.

EXHIBITIONS

Storytelling: The Georgia Review’s 70th Anniversary Art Retrospective. Through Jan. 29. ­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

On the Stump—What Does it Take to Get Elected in Georgia?

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

TUESDAY, JANUARY 10 CANDIDATE PRESENTATION Candidates for the position of dean will share their strategy for achieving still greater heights of excellence for the School of Public and International Affairs at the University of Georgia.

9:30 a.m. 135 Tate Student Center. (See Digest, page 3).

FACULTY CONCERT Faculty concert featuring Michael Heald, Maggie Snyder, David Starkweather, D. Ray McClellan and guest violinist Lorenz Gamma. 8 p.m.

Ramsey Concert Hall. ccschwabe@uga.edu

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 11 ARTFUL CONVERSATION Join Carissa DiCindio, curator of education, for an in-depth discussion on Purvis Young’s painting “Angels from Heaven and Earth.” 2 p.m. Georgia Museum of Art. 770-542-4662. hazbrown@uga.edu CONCERT Frank Huang, concertmaster of the New York Philharmonic, is joined by pianist Gilles Vonsattel. $36; free for UGA students with ticket. 8 p.m. Ramsey Concert Hall. 706-542-4400. ugaarts@ uga.edu. (See story, top right).

THURSDAY, JANUARY 12 WORKSHOP SEER Center Spring 2017 Workshop Series’ Introduction to Science Education Research Methods Workshop 1, “Human Test Subjects and Approval by the Institution Review Board,” will be presented by Kim Fowler, IRB, and Julie Stanton, cellular biology. Registration is strongly encouraged. 345 Science Learning Center. brickman@uga.edu CANDIDATE PRESENTATION Candidates for the position of dean will share their strategy for achieving still greater heights of excellence for the School of Public and International Affairs at the University of Georgia.

9:30 a.m. 135 Tate Student Center. (See Digest, page 3).

SCHOOL OF MUSIC PROFESSOR PLAYS SOLO PIANO CLASSICS BY CHOPIN, DEBUSSY, HAYDN

By Clarke Schwabe

DEC./JAN.

FRANK HUANG TO GIVE CONCERT AT RAMSEY CONCERT HALL

By Bobby Tyler

ccschwabe@uga.edu

btyler@uga.edu

Evgeny Rivkin, professor of piano at the UGA Hugh Hodgson School of Music, will perform a solo recital of works from Chopin, Debussy and Haydn when the Thursday Scholarship Series makes its 2017 debut in Hodgson Concert Hall Jan. 12 at 7:30 p.m.

Rivkin has performed across the globe, mentored countless musicians in his 21 years at UGA and performed solo recitals in the Hodgson School’s flagship concert series for nearly his entire tenure.

The first piece of the program is Haydn’s Piano Sonata in E-flat major.

Written between 1789 and 1790, the work is commonly considered to be the beginning of the Austrian composer’s late, mature style, featuring frequent alternations between staccato and legato and smoother transitions than his earlier works.

Chopin’s Piano Sonata No. 2 in B-flat minor completes the first half of the program and displays Rivkin’s talent as he performs one of the 19th-century piano virtuoso’s most well-known works.

Though the emotional, four-movement sonata has become an influential work, in its time, it was not met with acclaim.

After intermission, Rivkin will perform Book 1 of Debussy’s “Preludes,” 12 pieces written in the space of three

OPENING RECEPTION Opening reception for Places for the Spirit: Traditional African American Gardens, a traveling exhibit of African-American gardens photographed by Vaughn Sills and made into a book in 2010. 4:30 p.m. Circle Gallery. mtufts@uga.edu (See photo, page 2).

STUDIO WORKSHOP: BIOMORPHIC ACRYLICS Join Athens-based artist and educator Erin McIntosh for a four-part series of studio-based courses that will focus on biomorphic abstraction and acrylics as expressed through various techniques and acrylic mediums, including applications for both abstract and representational works. This workshop is open to artists of all levels of experience.

The cost of the course is a $15 materials fee, which will cover all necessary supplies for the four sessions. Space is limited; call 706-542-8863 or email callan@uga.edu to reserve a spot. 6:30 p.m. Georgia Museum of Art. THURSDAY SCHOLARSHIP SERIES CONCERT Evgeny Rivkin, professor of piano, will perform a solo recital. $20; $6 with a UGA student ID. 7:30 p.m. Hugh Hodgson

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

5

Evgeny Rivkin

months between 1909 and 1910. Each of the preludes within the book has a title that describes some aspect of that composition. But those titles were written at the end of the works, suggesting that Debussy wanted readers to develop their own interpretation of the music without being influenced by the titles.

Tickets to the concert are $20 each or $6 with a UGA student ID and can be purchased at pac.uga.edu or the PAC box office. Those unable to attend can watch the concert live on the Hodgson School’s website at music.uga.edu/streaming.

To view the performance calendar, subscribe to the weekly email concert listing or learn more, go to music.uga.edu.

Concert Hall. 706-542-4752. ccschwabe@uga.edu (See story, above).

FRIDAY, JANUARY 13 2017 MARTIN LUTHER KING JR. FREEDOM BREAKFAST The Rev. Raphael Gamaliel Warnock, senior pastor of Ebenezer Baptist Church, will give the keynote address. $25; $200 for a table of eight. Purchase tickets at diversity.uga.edu. 7:30 a.m.

Grand Hall, Tate Student Center.

BALLET The timeless fairy tale of Cinderella is brought vividly to life in this enchanting full-length production featuring lushly painted sets, lavishly detailed costumes, and classic choreography accompanied by the unforgettable music of Sergei Prokofiev. $72; $6 for UGA students. 8 p.m.

Jan. 13 and 14. Fine Arts Theatre. 706-542-4400. ugaarts@ uga.edu. (See story, right).

SATURDAY, JANUARY 14 FAMILY DAY: FACES OF THE GEORGIA MUSEUM OF ART Explore the many faces of the Georgia Museum of Art with portrait-themed gallery activities in the permanent collection, then

create your own portraits in the Michael and Mary Erlanger Studio Classroom. 10 a.m. Georgia Museum of Art. 706-542-4662. hazbrown@uga.edu

MONDAY, JANUARY 16 MARTIN LUTHER KING JR. HOLIDAY No classes; offices closed.

GYMNASTICS vs. N.C. State. Faculty and Staff Appreciation Meet. $10 adults, $6 youth. 2 p.m. Stegeman Coliseum. 706-542-1621.

COMING UP WORKSHOP Jan. 17. The Best Practices in Quantitative Data Collection 2 workshop will cover researchbased recommendations for both the design and implementation of survey methodology.

2 p.m. North Instructional Plaza. ckuus@uga.edu PERFORMANCE Jan. 17. Alonzo King’s LINES Ballet has captured the spotlight in the international world of dance. $14-$52; $6 for UGA students.

8 p.m. Fine Arts Theatre.

706-542-4400. ugaarts@ uga.edu. (See story, page 2).

The UGA Performing Arts Center will present violinist Frank Huang, concertmaster of the New York Philharmonic, Jan. 11 at 8 p.m. in Ramsey Concert Hall.

Huang will be joined by pianist Gilles Vonsattel for a program featuring works by Frank Huang Beethoven and Prokofiev. Athens audiences will have the rare opportunity to hear the duo in concert before they perform the program at Carnegie Hall.

Huang was named concertmaster of the New York Philharmonic beginning with the 2015-2016 season.

Prior to moving to New York, he was concertmaster of the Houston Symphony from 2010-2015.

A native of Beijing, China, Huang has had great success in competitions since age 15, winning top prizes in the Walter W. Naumburg Foundation’s Violin Competition, the Hannover International Violin Competition, Premio Paganini International Violin Competition, the Indianapolis International Violin Competition and D’Angelo International Competition, among others.

Swiss-born American pianist Vonsattel is recipient of an Avery Fisher Career Grant and winner of the Naumburg and Geneva competitions. He returns to the UGA Performing Arts Center where he captivated audiences with a solo recital on the Ramsey Hall Series last season.

Tickets for the concert 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.

STATE BALLET THEATRE OF RUSSIA TO PERFORM ‘CINDERELLA’

By Bobby Tyler btyler@uga.edu

The UGA Performing Arts Center will present the State Ballet Theatre of Russia in Cinderella Jan. 13 and 14 at 8 p.m. in the Fine Arts Theatre. In the grand Russian tradition, the full-length story ballet will feature lushly painted sets, lavish costumes and classic choreography accompanied by the memorable music of Sergei Prokofiev.

In addition to composing masterworks that include seven symphonies and Peter and the Wolf, Prokofiev created scores for two of the greatest ballets of the 20th century, Romeo and Juliet and Cinderella.

Using a scenario by Nikolai Volkov that was based on Charles Perrault’s fairy tale, Prokofiev composed the music for Cinderella between 1940 and 1944, taking a break during that period to compose his opera, War and Peace.

The ballet received its premiere in 1945 at the Bolshoi Theatre and was noted for its melodious compositions and jubilant music.

The State Ballet Theatre of Russia’s version of Cinderella was choreographed by Vladimir Vasiliev, a Moscow native who enjoyed an illustrious career as a premier dancer with the Bolshoi Ballet.

Tickets for Cinderella are $62 to $72 and can be purchased at the Performing Arts Center box office, online at pac.uga.edu or by calling 706-542-4400. UGA students can purchase tickets for $6 with a valid UGA ID, limit one ticket per student. A pre-concert lecture will be offered 45 minutes prior to each performance.

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.

NEXT COLUMNS DEADLINES Jan. 11 (for Jan. 23 issue) Jan. 18 (for Jan. 30 issue) Jan. 25 (for Feb. 6 issue)

6 Jan. 9, 2017 columns.uga.edu

This past fall, College of Environment and Design professor James Reap was appointed by President Barack Obama as a new member of the Department of State’s Cultural Property Advisory Committee. Reap is one of 11 new appointees selected to aid the White House in key administrative posts.

The Cultural Property Advisory Committee, which was established in 1983, advises the president on “appropriate U.S. action in response to requests from state parties for assistance in protecting their cultural heritage.”

“These fine public servants bring a depth of experience and tremendous dedication to their important roles,” said Obama.

The members of the Cultural Property Advisory Committee serve renewable, three-year terms. Reap is one of four new members appointed in 2016. The committee’s members are broken up into certain profiles, such as anthropology, international sale of cultural property, or general public interest. (Members can only be appointed by the president.)

Reap, the CED’s coordinator of the Master of Historic Preservation program, is currently a board member of the Lawyers’ Committee for Cultural Heritage Preservation, the U.S. Committee of the Blue Shield and a founding member and former board member of the Georgia Alliance and National Alliance of Preservation Commissions. He also provides training and technical assistance to preservation commissions throughout the U.S. In addition, Reap was last year’s recipient of the CED Alumni Association’s Distinguished Faculty Award.

Henry F. Schaefer, director of UGA’s Center for Computational Quantum Chemistry, visited three universities in China Nov. 5-10. At the Peking University Graduate School, he presented the Nanyan Lectures as part of the Alexander von Humboldt Forum. At the University of Science and Technology in Wuhan, he delivered the Xuayuan Lectures.

Finally, at Fudan University in Shanghai, Schaefer received the Wu Nankai Prize in Chemistry.

Mary M. Atwater, a professor of science education at the College of Education, is the Sachs Distinguished Lecturer in residence at Teachers College, Columbia University for the 2017 spring semester.

The lecture series was created in 1924 with the intention of bringing distinguished scholars to the university. During her tenure, Atwater will deliver the annual Sachs Distinguished Lecture and meet with faculty and students at Teachers College. Additionally, she will conduct research on faculty microaggression in higher education in the New York City Mary Atwater area.

In 2015, Atwater began serving a three-year term as a member of the Committee on Equal Opportunities in Science and Engineering, a congressionally mandated committee that advises the National Science Foundation on ways to broaden participation, particularly of women, underrepresented persons and persons with disabilities, in scientific, engineering and related fields.

She is also the immediate past president of the National Association for Research in Science Teaching. As the organization’s first African-American female to be elected president, she led the effort to establish the association’s first research interest group, the Continental and Diasporic Africa Science Education.

Prior to serving as president-elect of NARST, Atwater was the organization’s elected chair. She is also an inaugural Fellow of the American Educational Research Association and a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

Kudos recognizes special contributions of staff, faculty and administrators in teaching, research and service. News items are limited to election into office of state, regional, national and international societies; major awards and prizes; and similarly notable accomplishments.

CAMPUS CLOSEUP

Dorothy Kozlowski

Rosemary Segreti, interim registrar, painted a piece for the 49 Portraits Project honoring the victims of the Pulse nightclub shooting in Orlando, Florida, in June 2016. The goal of the project is to display the portraits then give them to the victims’ families.

Works of art: Interim registrar creates watercolor portraits with meaning

By Leigh Beeson lbeeson@uga.edu

Rosemary Segreti didn’t have an art background when she started painting with watercolors. Now seven years later, she’s won several awards for her work and often paints during weekends and when she takes vacations from her job as interim registrar at UGA. Segreti has been part of the UGA family for more than a decade. But when she’s not helping students resolve issues with class schedules or streamlining procedures to increase efficiency in dealing with everything from transcript requests to general registration, she’s an artist who specializes in portraits.

“My job is very demanding, and I know people take me to be a very serious person because of what I do,” Segreti said. “I think a lot of people will be shocked to find out I paint.”

Segreti’s journey with watercolors began after she moved her mother to Athens from their native New York.

Although she was legally blind, Segreti’s mother wanted to take painting lessons at the independent living facility in which she was staying. Segreti’s wife joined her, and soon after that Segreti decided to give painting a shot as well.

She was surprised to find she not only

“really, really enjoyed” it but also was good at it.

“This cliche that claims if you’re left-brained you can’t be right-brained, I don’t really believe it,” said Segreti, referring to the stereotype that claims people are either logical and analytical (left-brained) or creative and artistic (right-brained). “I think you can be both.”

One of Segreti’s most recent paintings is part of the 49 Portraits Project, a national group of artists who are creating portraits of the 49 victims of the Pulse nightclub shooting in Orlando, Florida, in June. Begun by an Armstrong State University art instructor, the goal of the project is to hold an exhibit of the portraits and ultimately give them to the families of those who were killed.

“When I opened up the picture of all the 49 victims, I zeroed in on this one guy, Simon Adrian Carrillo Fernandez,” Segreti said. “I just looked at his eyes and thought this seems like a really sweet guy. My wife prompted me to do the portrait, but I thought this sounded like a really cool thing to do for the families of the victims.”

Painting Fernandez’s portrait was an honor, Segreti said, and she hopes it can provide his family with some bit of comfort after such a devastating event.

FACTS Rosemary Segreti

Interim Registrar Office of the Registrar M.S., Information Systems, Brooklyn ­College of The City University of New York, 1997 B.A., Sociology and Health Education, Queens College of the City University of New York, 1983 At UGA: 10.5 years

The portraits are expected to be delivered to the families around the one-year anniversary of the shooting in June, and digital versions are permanently archived on the website http://49portraits.com. Until Fernandez’s portrait can get to his family, where it belongs, Segreti keeps a copy of it as the lock screen on her phone.

“The portrait project reminds me of one drop of water falling in a pond,” Segreti said. “It started off as just one person, and then it ripples to 10 people in Georgia working on it, and then all of a sudden it’s people all over the country. This energy about helping people recover from such a tragic situation is very inspiring.”

DIVISION OF FINANCE AND ADMINISTRATION

Associate VP for facilities, University Architects named

By Jim Lichtenwalter

james.lichtenwal25@uga.edu

Gwynne Darden has been named associate vice president for facilities and University Architects in the Division of Finance and Administration.

Darden oversees both the development of the university’s physical campuses and planning in the Office of University Architects to ensure that construction projects are compatible with the university’s physical master plan. She also helps locate appropriate sites for project construction and oversees the development of project designs.

Darden, who joined UGA in 2001, graduated from Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri, with a dual bachelor’s degree in architecture and history.

She earned her master’s degree in architecture from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1996.

Darden worked in UGA’s Office of Facilities Planning as a senior project Gwynne Darden manager where she coordinated the design and construction of projects for the UGA Athletic Association. In 2013, Darden was promoted to assistant vice president for facilities planning and oversaw project budgets, designs and schedules. She also planned milestone reviews with the University System of Georgia’s Real Estate and Facility Office.

“Gwynne has served UGA with great distinction throughout her 16 years in the Office of University Architects. Her career at UGA has been marked by her deep commitment to collaborate effectively with clients and colleagues as well as with the architects and contractors who are retained to design and construct a broad array of facilities for the university,” said Ryan Nesbit, vice president for finance and administration. “I look forward to continuing our work together to advance the strategic priorities of the university.”

Darden said that her new role gives her more opportunities to work with campus leaders in both the preservation and expansion of UGA’s facilities.

OFFICE OF INTERNATIONAL EDUCATION

Global partnership UGA, Brazilian foundation to support collaborative international research

Jane McPherson, left, an assistant professor in the UGA School of Social Work, and Zelia Maria Profeta da Luz, director of Fiocruz Centro de Pesquisa Rene Rachou in Brazil, collaborate on a maternal health research project during the workshop held in Minas Gerais in October.

By Susan Myers Smith suesmith@uga.edu

UGA and the Minas Gerais State Research Foundation have launched a partnership to support international research collaboration with grant awards up to $15,000 to tackle issues, such as Zika and other infectious diseases, that are important to both Georgia and Minas Gerais, a large state located in southeastern Brazil.

The grant program was announced late last fall in Tiradentes, Minas Gerais, where 12 UGA faculty joined their Brazilian counterparts from the Oswaldo Cruz Foundation, the Federal University of Minas Gerais and the Federal University of Vicosa for a workshop focused on creating new joint research initiatives in human and animal health, bioinformatics and genomics. UGA faculty need not have attended the workshop to participate in the grant program.

“UGA faculty already have important collaborations with colleagues in

Brazil and in the state of Minas Gerais in particular,” said David Lee, vice president for research at UGA. “With this new joint support, we hope to deepen and expand our relationships.”

Grant awards will support preliminary research, partnership development and proposal preparation.

Eligible proposals must identify and commit to pursue specific sources of external funding as a result of the activities enabled by the program.

The program is jointly funded by the Minas Gerais State Research Foundation (whose Portuguese abbreviation is FAPEMIG) and UGA’s Office of Research, in conjunction with UGA academic units.

“Brazil is already home to more of UGA’s international partnerships than any other country in the world,” said Brian Watkins, UGA’s director of international partnerships. “Given our shared areas of research, ranging from biomaterials to infectious diseases to agriculture and bioinformatics, Minas Gerais is an ideal strategic target for

WEEKLY READER

collaboration with the University of Georgia,” The UGA-FAPEMIG program continues an increasing commitment to international research and service at UGA, following the Global Research Collaboration Grant Program that was launched in April to encourage UGA faculty to pursue externally funded research initiatives abroad.

“I have been involved in instructional and research collaborations with Brazil since my tenure as head of the department of Romance languages, subsequently as associate dean in Franklin College of Arts and Sciences, and especially in my current role,” said Noel Fallows, associate provost for international education. “The strong base of established partnerships in the region has enabled faculty across the university to escalate the research relationship with the state of Minas Gerais to the institutional level, which in turn will provide concrete opportunities for large-scale grant funding in future years.”

columns.uga.edu Jan. 9, 2017

Nominations being accepted until Jan. 23 for 2017 International Education Awards

The Office of International Education invites nominations of outstanding faculty and staff engaged in promoting international education for the International Education Awards. Deadline for receipt of nominations is Jan. 23.

Recipients of awards will be honored at the annual OIE awards reception scheduled for late spring 2017.

• Richard Reiff Internationalization Award. This award is given in honor of Richard Reiff, former executive director of the Office of International Education at UGA, past president of NAFSA: Association of International Educators, founding executive director of Phi Beta Delta International Honor Society, creator of UGA’s study abroad fair and former chair of the international committee of the University System of Georgia.

The Reiff Award honors a tenured or tenure-track faculty member who has made major contributions to the overall internationalization of UGA. These contributions could include, for example, advancing education abroad opportunities for students, enriching the experiences of international students and scholars at UGA, engaging in significant research of international scope, advancing UGA’s international partnerships and engagement as well as promoting campus internationalization.

• OIE Study Abroad Award. UGA is among the top institutions in the U.S. for the number of students studying abroad each year. This distinction is possible only through the efforts and dedication of UGA faculty and staff.

The OIE Study Abroad Award honors a faculty or staff member who has made major contributions to the study abroad effort at UGA by working directly with a study abroad or exchange program and/or contributing to the infrastructure that advances UGA’s overall study abroad effort. Faculty at all ranks, as well as professional staff members (e.g. academic advisors, program coordinators) are eligible.

• Open Arms Award. The Open Arms Award is given in honor of Mary Ann Kelly, who played a leadership role in the International Student and Scholars and Immigration Services unit of OIE. Over the years, Kelly worked tirelessly on behalf of international students, scholars and faculty on the UGA campus and opened her home regularly to those who were far from their homes during the holidays and school breaks. Her dedication and hospitality serve to inspire all of us to welcome UGA’s international students and scholars with “open arms.”

The Open Arms Award honors UGA faculty or staff who have gone above and beyond their formal duties in facilitating the presence of international students and/ or scholars at UGA and making their experience at the university productive and positive.

• International Diversity Award. The International Diversity Award is given each year to a faculty or staff member who has shown dedication to promoting diversity in its many forms within international populations and activities at UGA. Recipients may be honored for a variety of activities, including recruiting students from underrepresented populations for study abroad; educating international students about U.S. cultural, ethnic, religious or other forms of diversity; increasing the inclusion of students with disabilities in a variety of international activities; bringing attention to international and comparative aspects of courses or cocurricular activities devoted to diversity.

To nominate an individual for one of these awards, download and complete the nomination form at http://oie.uga.edu/ awards/nominate.html and attach the requested materials.

CYBERSIGHTS

ABOUT COLUMNS

Book details artists’ individual approaches

Animism and Shamanism in Twentieth-Century Art: Kandinsky, Ernst, Pollock, Beuys

By Evan R. Firestone Routledge $150

Wassily Kandinsky, Max Ernst, Jackson Pollock and Joseph Beuys were the leading artists of their generations to recognize the rich possibilities that animism and shamanism offered. Evan Firestone, professor emeritus of art history at UGA’s Lamar Dodd School of Art, brings the four together to compare their individual approaches to anthropological materials and to define similarities and differences between them.

The importance of indigenous beliefs in animism for Kandinsky’s philosophy of art and practice is analyzed for the first time.

Ernst’s collage novel, La femme 100 tetes (1929), is shown to extensively utilize shamanism.

Firestone also demonstrates how shamanism was employed by Pollock to express his desire for healing and transformation.

Firestone further argues that the German edition of Mircea Eliade’s Shamanism: Archaic Techniques of Ecstasy (1957) helped to revitalize Beuys’ life and art.

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

Literary journal launches new website

thegeorgiareview.com

The Georgia Review has launched a new website in WordPress.

Delivered in thoughtful, minimalist design, the new mobileresponsive site is content-oriented in its philosophy, providing more immediate access to current-issue features and a clean backdrop for engaging with individual works of art and literature online.

The updated site also makes fully searchable the journal’s considerable archives, and for Review customers, a simplified e-commerce experience has been introduced along with enhanced security features.

The update to The Georgia Review’s site coincides with the journal’s 70th anniversary.

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 Jan. 9, 2017 columns.uga.edu

INSTITUTE

COMMENCEMENT from page 1

Chad Osburn

Lance Cpl. John Michael Robinette, right, surprised his mother, Michelle Robinette, moments after she received her doctorate in language and literacy education.

the resolution, of differences of opinion,” he said. “We have always grown stronger the wider we’ve opened our arms and the more we’ve opened our hearts.”

Meacham advised students to be curious, graceful and hopeful; to love their neighbors; and to vote in every election. He also offered some less conventional advice for a graduation speaker, suggesting they read detective novels, try to look up from the screens of their electronic devices every now and again and subscribe to magazines and buy hardcover books.

Tonya H. Cornileus, vice president of learning and organizational development at ESPN, echoed the sentiment of privilege to 1,108 graduate students and guests during the graduate ceremony. The UGA alumna, who earned her doctorate in adult education/human resources in 2010 and her master’s in human resources and organizational development in 2004, told degree candidates that she feels privileged to have earned her degrees from the University of Georgia and reminded them of how privileged they are for the same reason.

“I start with that truth, graduates,” she said.

“The truth is, you are special, and this is a big

moment. Let us not underestimate what you have accomplished here.Attaining your graduate degree says something quite magnificent about who you are.”

Cornileus challenged graduates to consider what it means to be privileged and to rise up and ask, “What now?”

“So what does your privilege then ask of you? What does the world expect, or better still, what does the world need from you as an achiever? Let that question always be with you. May you always ask yourself, ‘What am I to do with this one life I’ve been given?’ Keep asking yourself that question until you know.

And when you know, do,” she said.

She reminded students that their education can benefit their community and that they have a responsibility to give back to the world, telling them that she’s sure they will recognize various needs.

The crowd at the graduate ceremony included many family and friends, including Lance Cpl. John Michael Robinette, who surprised his mother, Michelle Robinette, moments after she received her doctorate in language and literacy education.

Bulletin Board Student life grant proposals

The UGA Parents Leadership Council is accepting grant proposals for the 2017-2018 academic year to fund programs and events that enhance the student experience at UGA. Grant applications are due Jan. 27 by 5 p.m. Grants will be accepted only from UGA schools, colleges, units, departments, divisions or student organizations registered with the Center for Student Activities and Involvement.

Proposals must demonstrate a direct and positive effect on student life at UGA. Grants will be awarded in February by a committee established by the Parents Leadership Council.

Since 2002, the council has funded $1.6 million in grants to various programs and organizations on campus including the Counseling and Psychiatric Services Center at the University Health Center, the Office of the Dean of Students, Designated Dawgs Safe Rides program, Campus Kitchen at UGA and more.

For a complete list of guidelines and requirements, visit https://t.uga.edu/2O0.

For more information, email Anna Gray, parent and leadership giving coordinator, at annagray@uga.edu.

University Woman’s Club

The University Woman’s Club’s next general meeting will be held Jan. 10 in

the Fellowship Hall of Central Presbyterian Church, 380 Alps Road.

Guest speaker for the program, which will begin at 11:30 a.m., is Paul Schroeder, a professor of clay mineralogy in the geology department of UGA’s Franklin College of Arts and Sciences.

Schroeder will discuss his research on hydraulic fracturing, also known as fracking, for gas and oil.

Volunteer judges needed

The Office of Academic Special Programs is seeking UGA graduate students and professionals to serve as judges for three youth academic competitions: the Georgia Science and Engineering Fair, the Georgia Junior Science and Humanities Symposium and Northeast Georgia National History Day. The science and engineering fair lets middle and high school students showcase their original research, compete for awards and interact with top scientists from around the state.

Graduate- and professional-level scientists and engineers are needed to interview the students about their research and select award winners.

Judging will take place March 31 at the Classic Center. All volunteer judges will go through orientation and training that morning. Approximately 300 judges will be needed to evaluate more than

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also provided a unique introduction to state government and budget process specifically for freshman legislators.

The Biennial Institute came to order the afternoon of Dec. 4 with welcoming remarks

by Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle, Speaker of the House David Ralston, UGA President Jere W. Morehead and Institute of Government Director Laura Meadows. Former Air Force chief of staff Mark A. Welsh III, now dean of the Bush School of Government and Public Service at Texas A&M University, delivered an inspirational keynote address on the importance of working on behalf of all citizens.

Over the subsequent two days, the Biennial sessions explored a diverse set of state priorities, including financing public education, transportation infrastructure needs and improving Georgians’ lives through health care technology. Legislators attended a number of instructive policy sessions featuring panels of state agency executives, legislative committee chairs and experts from industry, business and higher education.

Additional speakers included University System of Georgia Chancellor Steve W.

LECTURE

Wrigley and UGA political science professor Charles S. Bullock.

Bullock parsed the 2016 elections for lawmakers, and Wrigley described how the university system is increasing graduation rates while keeping enrollment costs in check. About 62,000 students graduated this year, up 14 percent from five years ago. Tuition remained unchanged, and the university system began offering free digital textbooks for many courses—saving students millions of dollars, he said.

Nearly 400 guests registered to attend this year’s Biennial Institute. The Carl Vinson Institute of Government, a UGA public service and outreach unit, has coordinated the Biennial Institute since its inception in 1958.

The Institute of Government works with the Georgia General Assembly to organize and assemble the resources and expertise needed for the informative Biennial presentations.

The Institute of Government provides customized assistance, applied research and professional development for government leaders and employees across Georgia and internationally.

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­ esearch David Lee. “We are honored and R excited to have one of the leaders of this ambitious and challenging campaign visit campus and serve as our 2017 Boyd Distinguished Lecturer. This series is designed to bring scientific leaders to campus for discussions with faculty and students, and Dr. Reitze fits the mold perfectly.”

On Sept. 14, 2015, LIGO observatories in Livingston, Louisiana, and Hanford, Washington, detected gravitational waves created 1.3 billion years ago by two black holes that merged to produce a single, more massive, spinning black hole.

Like a stone dropped into the still waters of a pond, this cataclysmic event sent ripples in space-time radiating outward into the surrounding universe, with the waves passing over Earth only last year. The detection of these waves confirms, after more than 100 years, a major prediction of Albert ­Einstein’s General Theory of Relativity.

650 exhibits.

The deadline to complete the GSEF Judge Volunteer Form, available online at https://t.uga.edu/2Qz, is Jan. 20.

The Georgia Junior Science and Humanities Symposium is sponsored in conjunction with the research programs of the U.S. Army, Navy and Air Force. The symposium lets high school students prepare a scientific paper to present in front of a panel of judges and their peers in the format of an academic, scientific conference.

GJSHS is seeking graduate- and professional-level scientists and engineers to serve as paper readers Jan. 17-31 and event judges Feb. 26, 27 or 28. The greatest need is for paper readers and event judges on Feb. 27 as well as those with expertise in medicine and health science or environmental science.

Interested individuals should complete and submit the GJSHS Judge Volunteer Form, available online at https://t.uga.edu/2QA, as soon as ­possible.

The Northeast Georgia National History Day contest gives middle and high schools students the chance to conduct historical research, deliver a presentation, receive constructive feedback and advance to statewide and national level competitions.

Judging will take place Feb. 11 from 8:45 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Students and

In his talk, Reitze will discuss what makes gravitational waves so difficult to detect and how the ability to do so opens an unprecedented new window to the cosmos.

Reitze completed his doctorate at the University of Texas, Austin, where his research focused on ultrafast laser-matter interactions. He held research positions at Bell Communications Research and the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory before joining the physics faculty at the University of Florida in 1993.

He began working on LIGO in 1996 as the initial LIGO Input Optics subsystem leader. Reitze was the spokesperson for the LIGO Scientific Collaboration from 2007 to 2011 and took an extended leave of absence from the University of Florida in 2011 to serve as LIGO’s executive director.

Reitze is an elected Fellow of both the American Physical Society and the Optical Society.

professionals interested in history will judge exhibit, documentary, performance, paper and website projects.

Interested individuals should complete and submit the NHD Judge Volunteer Form, available online at https://t.uga.edu/2QB, as soon as ­possible.

Student employee recognition

The UGA Career Center, in coordination with the National Student Employment Association, is accepting nominations until Feb. 7 for the university’s Student Employee of the Year.

The top 100 student employees will be invited, along with their nominating faculty/staff member, to an awards luncheon April 12 at the Tate Student Center.

All undergraduate students enrolled at UGA and employed on campus and all graduate students who are on the student employee payroll and are performing student employee jobs can be nominated. Graduate administrative, research or teaching assistants are not eligible.

Visit bit.ly/SEOTYUGA for more information.

Contact Aaron Brown at agb@uga. edu or 706-583-5475 with questions.

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