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Office of Instruction names new registrar, associate vice president for instruction CAMPUS NEWS
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Georgia Museum of Art exhibition showcases work of late Italian designer Vol. 45, No. 1
July 17, 2017
www.columns.uga.edu
UGA GUIDE
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Alumni Association unveils 40 Under 40 Class of 2017 By Kelundra Smith kelundra@uga.edu
The State Botanical Garden of Georgia plans to break ground on the Alice H. Richards Children’s Garden on Sept. 1.
Ready to grow
Design underway, groundbreaking set for Alice H. Richards Children’s Garden By Kelly Simmons
simmonsk@uga.edu
The State Botanical Garden of Georgia has hired a designer and a construction manager for the Alice H. Richards Children’s Garden and plans to break ground Sept. 1. Koons Environmental Design, of Athens, will lead plans for the garden, to be nestled in an area between the Alice Hand Calloway Visitor Center and the administration building. The construction manager from Allstate Construction, of Perry, will oversee a superintendent based in Athens for the project. “I am delighted with our choice of design firm and construction manager for the project,” said Jenny Cruse-Sanders, director of the State Botanical Garden of Georgia, a unit of UGA Public Service and Outreach. “It is clear to me that
the entire team—garden staff, university architects, UGA leadership, and the designer and construction manager—are all thinking about this project in the same way. We are all excited to create something unique and rooted in the creativity and sense of place in Athens.” Both Koons and Allstate have a history of successful projects at UGA, Cruse-Sanders said. UGA, in partnership with the garden’s board of advisors, has raised more than $4.3 million for the $5 million children’s garden, which includes an initial $1 million gift from the family of Alice H. Richards, for whom the garden is named. Richards, who was from Carrollton, was a charter member of the State Botanical Garden Board of Advisors and one of the garden’s most devoted
and beloved supporters until her death in 2007. To help raise funds locally, the garden launched a Georgia Funder crowdfunding page in March, with a goal of raising $10,000 by Sept. 8. The 2.5 acre accessible, funfilled, educational environment will include a canopy walk in the trees, a tree house, creature habitats, handson garden plots, an underground zone, edible landscapes, and a bog garden and pond. One component, an amphitheater in the woods, was completed in 2015. The garden is expected to be open to visitors by early 2019. “We are looking forward to welcoming a new generation to the garden,” Cruse-Sanders said. To contribute to the Alice H. Richards Children’s Garden through Georgia Funder, go to https://t.uga.edu/34z.
The University of Georgia Alumni Association has unveiled the 40 Under 40 Class of 2017. The program began in 2011 and celebrates the personal, professional and philanthropic achievements of UGA graduates who are under the age of 40. This year’s class includes alumni from a variety of industries ranging from law to agriculture. Among the honorees are ESPN’s Maria Taylor; Georgia Teacher of the Year Casey M. Bethel; state Rep. Sam Watson, who represents Colquitt, Thomas
and Tift counties; and Maritza McClendon, the first woman of color to represent Team USA on the Olympic swim team. The honorees will be recognized during the seventh annual 40 Under 40 Awards Luncheon Sept. 14 at the Grand Hyatt Atlanta in Buckhead. Ernie Johnson Jr., a 1978 UGA graduate, will serve as keynote speaker for the event. Johnson is a co-host on TNT’s Inside the NBA and is the lead announcer for Major League Baseball on TBS. He delivered UGA’s 2017 undergraduate Commencement address in May. Registration will
See ALUMNI on page 4
COLLEGE OF AGRICULTURAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
Peanut genetics expert joins CAES as first Distinguished Investigator By J. Faith Peppers pepper@uga.edu
David Bertioli, a world-class expert in the genetics and genomics of peanut species, will join the University of Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences as a professor and the university’s first Georgia Research Alliance Distinguished Investigator. “We are so pleased to have David join us as a Georgia Research Alliance Distinguished Investigator,” said Sam Pardue, dean and director of the UGA College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences. “His research will be an important element in continuing UGA’s tradition of excellence in plant breeding and genomics.” Bertioli joins the UGA Institute for Plant Breeding, Genetics
and Genomics, which is home to some of the most respected plant genetics experts in the world. He will lead research important David Bertioli to Georgia’s $600 million peanut industry. “We are fortunate in Georgia to have strong support from the Georgia Research Alliance, the Georgia Seed Development Commission, the Peanut Foundation, the National Peanut Board, the American Peanut Shellers, the Georgia Peanut Commission, Mars Inc. and the J.M. Smucker Company to help recruit Dr. Bertioli to our faculty,” Pardue See INVESTIGATOR on page 4
PUBLIC SERVICE AND OUTREACH
HONORS PROGRAM
University partners with ACC
Undergraduate cognitive science and linguistics major to help educate youth offenders becomes first UGA student selected as Beinecke Scholar By Charlie Bauder probation for misdemeanor crimiBy Stephanie Schupska schupska@uga.edu
Shawn Foster, a University of Georgia Honors student majoring in cognitive science and linguistics, was one of 20 students nationwide selected as a Beinecke Scholar. He is the first UGA student to receive the honor, which awards $34,000 to third-year students with demonstrated financial need who will pursue graduate studies in the arts, humanities or social sciences. Foster plans to earn a doctorate in linguistics. A firstgeneration college student, he
is from the 800-person town of Franklin, which is situated in west Georgia between Carrollton and LaGrange with Alabama as its closest neighbor. “Shawn certainly deserves the recognition and support provided by the Beinecke Scholarship,” said David S. Williams, associate provost and director of the Honors Program. “He is as gifted a student as I have ever met while also being perhaps the most humble. What makes Shawn truly stand out is his pure inquisitiveness. I think he has an unlimited future as a researcher.” In Foster’s first independent
research project, started this past January, he is digging into l a n g u a g e ’s changes and variations across the South with Shawn Foster Margaret Renwick, an assistant professor of linguistics in the UGA Franklin College of Arts and Sciences. He intends “to continue his research in this and other areas, ranging See SCHOLAR on page 4
Charlie.Bauder@fanning.uga.edu
A partnership between the University of Georgia and AthensClarke County is helping young criminal offenders turn something negative into a positive. Twenty-eight young people from Athens-Clarke County recently graduated from YouthServe, a diversion program offered through the J.W. Fanning Institute for Leadership Development, AthensClarke County Municipal Court and ACC Probation Services. The program allowed participants aged 17 to 24 who are on
nal offenses to engage in community service projects and leadership development activities designed to steer them in the right direction. Participants also satisfy their community service requirement by completing the program. “The goal of the program is to provide the participants with an opportunity to reflect on their actions and think about how they can be better leaders to avoid making poor decisions again,” said Emily Boness, a public service associate with the Fanning Institute. Participants learned about
See YOUTH on page 4