UGA Columns March 19, 2018

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Office of Undergraduate Admissions makes changes to summer orientation CAMPUS NEWS

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Athens Music Project to present ‘A Night at the Morton: Soul Celebration’ Vol. 45, No. 28

March 19, 2018

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4&5

Two Lady Antebellum members to address spring graduates

By Emily Webb

sew30274@uga.edu

From left: Alex Reed, Christine Albright and Michael Cacciatore have been named recipients of the Richard B. Russell Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching.

‘Extraordinary faculty’ Three faculty members receive Russell Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching

By Camie Williams camiew@uga.edu

Three University of Georgia faculty members have been named recipients of the Richard B. Russell Awards for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching, the university’s highest early career teaching honor.

“Extraordinary faculty members such as this year’s Russell Award recipients are the foundation of the learning environment at the University of Georgia,” said Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost Pamela Whitten, whose office administers the awards. “By creating memorable and engaging classroom experiences, they make students active participants in the learning process.”

The 2018 Russell Award winners are Christine Albright, an assistant professor of classics in

the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences; Michael Cacciatore, an assistant professor of advertising and public relations in the Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication; and Alex Reed, associate professor and director of the legal studies certificate program in the Terry College of Business.

Albright, who joined UGA’s faculty in 2012, is a national leader in using a teaching pedagogy known as “Reacting to the Past,” which allows students to role play as they learn about historic events such as the assassination of Julius Caesar.

She also created an annual Latin and Greek Banquet that enhances students’ understanding of culture during the classical time period, and she spearheaded the annual Homerathon, a two-day performance of the poetry of Homer that

has exposed students in other fields to the classics.

Albright is a Teaching Academy Fellow and an Online Learning Fellow. She serves as coordinator of elementary languages and graduate coordinator for the classics department.

Cacciatore, who joined the UGA faculty in 2013, places an emphasis on student engagement and active learning, whether in a small seminar course or in his large introductory public relations course that enrolls more than 250 students. He incorporates current events and campaigns into classroom discussions, and he reenvisioned his introductory course to build writing skills and integrate a greater level of discussion to better position students for entering a competitive job market.

See AWARD on page 8

COMMIT TO GEORGIA CAMPAIGN

University of Georgia alumni Charles Kelley and Dave Haywood of the multiplatinum trio Lady Antebellum will deliver the spring undergraduate Commencement address May 4 at 7 p.m. in Sanford Stadium.

Denise Spangler, the Bebe Aderhold Professor in Early Childhood Education in UGA’s College of Education, will deliver the graduate Commencement address that same day at 9:30 a.m. in Stegeman Coliseum. Tickets are not required for either ceremony.

Hunter Smith, who will receive

his bachelor’s degree in political science, is the student speaker for the undergraduate ceremony.

“We are excited to welcome Charles Kelley and Dave Haywood back to their alma mater,” said UGA President Jere W. Morehead.“They are multitalented musicians who have impressed the world, and the University of Georgia is very proud of all they have accomplished. We look forward to their inspiring comments.”

Lady Antebellum, which has received seven Grammy Awards, recently released its latest single “Heart Break.” The song is the title track from the group’s No. 1 sixth

See COMMENCEMENT on page 8

COLLEGE OF EDUCATION

Study aims to improve muscles in children with cerebral palsy

By Kristen Morales kmorales@uga.edu

It’s not just large muscle movement and heavy weights that help build human muscles; small, quick movements can help train muscles as well.

This is the idea behind a new University of Georgia study that aims to improve muscle quality and strength and balance control in children with cerebral palsy.

By standing on a small vibrating platform for 10 minutes a day— something that can be done at home as part of a family’s regular routine—researchers plan to measure the effects on muscle development, balance and physical activity over a 12-month period.

Because of damage to areas of the brain that affect movement, people with cerebral palsy have

problems maintaining their balance and participating in physical activity. While there is no cure, interventions such as vibration therapy may make a positive change in someone’s life.

“We’ve done some pilot work suggesting it does have a positive effect on their muscles and bones, and as we’re conducting these studies, parents are telling us their children are falling less,” said Christopher Modlesky, who is conducting the study with a $3 million grant from the National Institutes of Health. “We suspect that vibration is having a direct effect on their muscles by increasing their activity. It may also have an indirect effect by improving their balance and increasing their use of muscles through increased physical activity. Physical activity is very See MUSCLES on page 8

SCHOOL OF SOCIAL WORK

Removing barriers, opening doors: Scholarship Varela, MacArthur ‘genius’ grant helps student earn first college degree in family winner, to give Hollowell Lecture

By Leigh Raynor lraynor@uga.edu

Undergraduate Mitzi Samano Leano is the first Georgia Bulldog in her family and the first to pursue a college degree. The University of Georgia was the school of Leano’s and her family’s dreams. A Georgia Commitment Scholarship made this dream a reality.

“UGA was academically and socially where I wanted to pursue my education and reach my overall goals,” Leano said. “My scholarship is the only thing keeping me here.

Without it, I wouldn’t be able to pay for my education.”

Leano was the first to be awarded the Ernesto and Jamie Perez Scholarship. When she received her scholarship notification, she felt “utter disbelief.” She read the letter out loud to her family and “the whole house erupted in joy.”

Before this news, Leano and her family considered universities closer to home to save on room and board expenses. Unlike UGA, many of the options Leano looked at did not have graduate degree programs in her intended field: ­dietetics. This is another reason she is grateful that the Perez Scholarship helped her get to Athens.

“It would have been tough

to stay on the path that I’m on once I finished my bachelor’s [at another university.] That’s really why I was more Mitzi Samano Leano than inclined to come to UGA,” Leano said. “That’s why my scholarship was such amazing news.”

Ernie Perez, 1989 UGA alumnus, established his family’s scholarship as part of the Georgia See COMMIT on page 8

By Laurie Anderson laurie@uga.edu

A Latina activist who turned to photography as a means of advancing social justice will present the annual Donald L. Hollowell Lecture March 20 at the University of Georgia. Maria Varela, a recipient of the MacArthur “genius” grant, will present “Time to Get Ready” at 3 p.m. in the Chapel. This event is open free to the public.

Varela was the first Latina to document through the camera lens the civil rights struggles of minorities in the rural South and Southwest. As a field worker for the

Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee in the 1960s, she began photographing AfricanAmericans for a voter literacy Maria Varela program. She went on to capture images of voting rights marches and AfricanAmerican life that were picked up by news services, turned into posters and calendars and used to motivate communities to enact change.

See LECTURE on page 8

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WARNELL SCHOOL OF FORESTRY AND NATURAL RESOURCES

Admissions offers tips for successful college visits

News to Use

March is the month many high schools schedule their spring breaks. Families with college-bound students may be embarking on campus visits, which can be one of the most enjoyable parts of the college search. These tips from Amanda Dale, senior associate director of undergraduate admissions, will help you make the most of your time.

Before you visit: Schedule visits to multiple schools. Even if you have one dream school, be sure to visit a few other colleges as well. If you’re interested in a large public university, plan to see a small private college so that you can compare.

Mind the calendar. When scheduling your visit, check out the college and community calendars as well as local news for that day. You can catch a sporting event or theatrical performance on campus or attend a program in the community to help you get a feel for the town.

Sign up for the campus tour. While it’s the most obvious thing to do, the official campus tour is worth your while. Register with the Admissions Office or Visitors Center before your trip and come prepared with questions.

On some campuses, such as the University of Georgia, tours are led by students who can give you the inside scoop.

Dress appropriately. Be sure to dress for the weather and for comfort. A portion of most campus tours will include a walking tour, so wear comfortable shoes.

Plan to venture out on your own. After your official tour, you’ll have a chance to explore campus on your own. Before you arrive, plan your post-tour schedule. Check online for a campus map. Schedule time to meet with someone in the program you’re considering or sign up for a residence hall tour.

While you’re on campus: Talk to students. The best way to learn about a school is to talk to the students. Come equipped with questions for your student tour guides or any students you chat with while on campus.

The student should take the lead. While parents will have their own list of priorities, the student should drive the tour experience. Plan to visit places that matter to the student.

Eat the food. Have a meal while you’re on campus. Students spend a great deal of their time in the dining halls, eating and studying, so it’s worth the visit.

Document your visit. You’ll receive a lot of information, from majors to student organizations to statistics about the university, during your visit. Take notes, snap photos and grab any materials that are offered so you can digest all of it later.

Listen to your head but trust your heart.

All colleges have a list of great programs and organizations. Make a pros and cons list for each of the schools you’re considering but remember to listen to your heart.

RESEARCH PRODUCTIVITY The management department at the UGA Terry College of Business ranked in the top 10 for research productivity for 2017. The rankings aggregate articles published in the eight top-tier management research journals written by faculty in management departments from 150 U.S. business schools. The top 10 universities on the list are:

University

On March 6, the University of Georgia’s Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources dedicated a classroom and its Center for Forest Business after prominent alumnus Harley Langdale Jr. Langdale, who graduated from UGA in 1937, died in 2013. Gifts from his estate and the Harley Langdale Jr. Foundation totaling $3.6 million allowed the Center for Forest Business to expand its education efforts and research, as well as its service to the forest industry and private landowners. The center has been renamed the Harley Langdale Jr. Center for Forest Business.

“Harley Langdale Jr. was the consummate entrepreneur,” said Bob Izlar, director of the center. “When he encountered obstacles, he found innovative ways around them, whether it was browbeating the chairman of the regents, reforming national banking laws, helping enact capital gains tax treatment of timber or creating new and sustainable markets for economic development of forestland.

His life was a model for all Georgia,” he also said. “We are humbled by the legacy he has imparted to us.”

Langdale’s family, the Harley Langdale Jr. Foundation, Warnell faculty

BALDWIN HALL SITE Update on research of Baldwin Hall annex site Last spring, the university announced it would support additional research to learn more about the lives of individuals whose gravesites were discovered during the construction of the Baldwin Hall annex. Vice President for Research David Lee is coordinating that research, which includes two facets.

Articles

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Washington 24 2.

Pennsylvania 19 3.

Texas A&M 16 3.

Minnesota 16 5. Indiana 15 5.

New York 15 5.

Arizona State 15 8. UGA 12 8. Rice 12 10.

Maryland 11 Source: TAMUGA Rankings of Management Department Research Productivity

John W. Langdale III, president and CEO of The Langdale Company, speaks at the dedication of a classroom and the Center for Forest Business at UGA’s Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources. The room and center were named in honor of alumnus Harley Langdale Jr.

and UGA President Jere W. Morehead attended the dedication ceremony.

In addition to the classroom and center, he also will be recognized with a named professorship, the Harley Langdale Jr. Endowed Chair in Forest Business.

Langdale graduated from what was then the George Foster Peabody

The first is being led by professor Marguerite Madden, director of UGA’s Center for Geospatial Research, to construct a GIS database of the evolving UGA campus from the late 1800s to present. Lee reports that Madden has made “significant progress” on this database, which is being used to create a series of digital timeseries maps with interactive capabilities, including historic photos, stories and other media to reveal insights into the lives of the individuals. Madden has engaged with the community by including local high school students

SCHOOL OF LAW

Alumnus donates 10 pieces of artwork to School of Law

By Heidi Murphy

hmurphy@uga.edu

Source: UGA Office of Undergraduate Admissions

Rank

Warnell School dedicates center, classroom in honor of alumnus

William Elliott Stiles Jr., an accomplished artist, Atlanta attorney and University of Georgia School of Law alumnus, is donating 10 pieces of his work to his alma mater. The hand-painted originals will portray various legal themes and contain references to the School of Law. “I am very grateful William is donating some of his unique artwork to the law school,” School of Law Dean Peter B. “Bo” Rutledge said.

“His collection will enhance our collection and provide thoughtprovoking imagery for members of the law school community for decades to come.”

Stiles, a 2006 cum laude graduate of the law school, began painting while in high school and said this creative activity was a much-needed stress reliever during his time as a law student. In fact, while studying in Athens, he created and donated a piece titled “The Common Law” to the school. This painting reflects relevant case law, theories, ideas and history examined during the first

semester of legal studies.

The new pieces he plans to donate to the school are part of his “Concept C o l l e c t i o n ,” which is “firmly rooted in the William practice of law Stiles Jr. and has excerpts of U.S. Supreme Court opinions in the background,” according to Stiles.

He began this body of work after experiencing a significant health scare in 2015. While recovering, he was encouraged by law school classmates and former professors to return to this creative outlet. Stiles said his law school family “helped to restore his confidence” and rediscover this stress reliever.

It is anticipated that Stiles’ new artwork will be installed in the main part of Hirsch Hall this summer.

Stiles, who specializes in commercial vehicle litigation, currently practices with Bey & Associates in Atlanta. He is married to Amber Barrow Stiles, who is also a 2006 graduate of the School of Law.

School of Forestry in 1937. Over the next few decades, he became one of the foremost pioneers in Georgia’s forest industry.

Langdale was one of the first foresters to make the move from producing turpentine to planting trees for harvest.

His vision and passion ushered in an era of tree farming and sustainability.

on her research team.

In the second component, an expert at the University of Texas is preparing nuclear DNA libraries from samples of the remains of individuals buried at the Baldwin Hall site.

These libraries will be analyzed by a researcher at Harvard University with unique expertise in working with ancient DNA. The Texas collaborator hopes to have this work completed by the fall, Lee reports.

The university plans to provide more details once the research is completed.

University mourns passing of Douglas, former administrator Dwight O. Douglas, 76, former vice president of student affairs at UGA, died Feb. 22.

A native of Mt. Carmel, Illinois, Douglas was a graduate of Mt. Carmel High School. After high school, he received a Bachelor of Science in education Dwight Douglas and a Master of Science in education from Eastern Illinois University. Douglas then pursued and obtained his doctorate in education from the University of Tennessee-Knoxville.

Douglas joined UGA in 1972 as the director of housing. From 1974-1975, he was the associate dean of student affairs. From 1976-1978 he was dean of students. Douglas was associate vice president of academic affairs from 19781980. From 1980-2000, he served as vice president of student affairs.

Douglas is survived by his wife, Carol, his children Terri Moore of Athens, Staci Douglas Calhoun (Gregory) of Washington D.C.; and Dana Ashley (Alan) of Jefferson, as well as seven grandchildren and one great-grandchild.

OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT

columns.uga.edu March 19, 2018

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Digest Human rights researcher and advocate to discuss Thailand’s shifting role

Kyle Tschepikow

On March 7, President Jere W. Morehead hosted a luncheon with members of the 2016-2018 class of Lilly Teaching Fellows. The Lilly Teaching Fellows program provides, over the course of two years, early-career faculty with opportunities to enhance skills associated with teaching excellence.

COLLEGE OF PUBLIC HEALTH

Speaker: Data can help provide more complete picture of health

By Lauren Baggett lbaggett@uga.edu

Data equals health.

That is how providers must approach patient care if they want to improve the health of our communities, Dr. William Tierney told attendees at the March 1 Health Informatics Institute seminar, part of the Provost’s Notable Lecture Series.

Tierney trained to be a general internist, but he spent the majority of his career advancing the field of medical informatics and now serves as the Inaugural Chair of Population Health at the Dell Medical School at the University of Texas at Austin.

His lecture,“Information: The Lifeblood of Population Health,” tracked 40 years of innovation in health information science, starting with the early adoption of electronic medical records in the 1970s to how data is being used today inside and outside health care settings to help people live healthier lives.

Data is more important than ever,

said Tierney, because it can help provide a more complete picture of health.

The U.S. is spending trillions of dollars on health care, more than any other developed nation, but life expectancy, rates of chronic disease and infant mortality rates remain some of the poorest among those same developed nations.

Health is shaped by more than ­access to quality health care, he said.

In fact, almost 40 percent of health is determined by social factors such as education, income or where you live.

Providers need to understand how these factors are affecting their patients’ health, said Tierney.

To do that, they need data, and Tierney encourages researchers and practitioners to make use of the multiple sources of data available to them.

For example, schools in Austin measure the body mass index of each student every year.These data can help providers more precisely target geographic areas where children are at elevated risk for obesity and intervene at a younger age.

In another striking example of

how data can inform action, Tierney shared a demographic map of Austin, which clearly illustrated a delineation between the city’s white and minority neighborhoods.

In a series of maps overlaid with health outcomes data, Tierney revealed that minority neighborhoods experience more poverty, lower access to grocery stores and higher incidence of cancer and chronic disease.

In response, Tierney is leading a study to assess the social and structural health needs of low-income neighborhoods in Austin, and Dell Medical School is committed to meeting these as well as clinical ones.

This project represents a shift in the mindset of medicine, said Tierney, and it will take some experimenting to find solutions to problems outside of the examination room.

“If you don’t have the data you need to answer the question, go get it,” he said. “We are in the early stages of the data revolution, and it’s up to us to shape the outcomes.”

WILLSON CENTER FOR HUMANITIES AND ARTS

UGA will host national arts, research meeting in November; presentation proposals being sought

By Dave Marr

davemarr@uga.edu

The Alliance for the Arts in Research Universities, or a2ru, a consortium of more than 40 researchintensive universities committed to advancing interdisciplinary, arts-oriented research, will hold its 2018 national conference at UGA Nov. 1-3.

The conference theme is Arts Environments: Design, Resilience and Sustainability. A call for proposals for conference presentations is open now through April 6.

The call from a2ru is for panel, paper, performance and working group proposals from “researchers, field leaders and practitioners about arts-integrative research, practice and curricula that explore the intersections, synergies and interfaces between arts, environments and their influence on design, resilience and sustainability.”

For information, visit http://a2ru.org.

“The University of Georgia is looking forward to welcoming scholars and practitioners from across the nation for an exploration of the arts and their relationship with the environment,” said Russell Mumper, vice provost

for academic affairs and chair of the UGA Arts Council. “The conference coincides with our annual Spotlight on the Arts festival, which showcases the performing, literary and visual arts at UGA and provides yet another reason to visit Athens.”

Spotlight on the Arts is Nov. 1-11.

UGA was selected to host the conference in part for its close integration with the city of Athens, an international destination for the arts and creative culture that is particularly renowned for its diverse and adventurous music and food scenes.

“The University of Georgia is a natural fit and ideal backdrop for a2ru’s 2018 national meeting,” said Laurie Baefsky, executive director of a2ru.

“Located in the heart of Athens, UGA has a long history with the city that is

embedded in a shared and complicated civic and a­ cademically informed narrative. Home to R.E.M, The B-52s and generations of other groundbreaking artists, Athens also is one of the hippest music destinations in higher ed.”

“This is an extraordinary opportunity for faculty and students to explore interdisciplinary approaches to complex topics and intractable problems,” said Isabelle Loring Wallace, associate professor of contemporary art in the Lamar Dodd School of Art and associate academic director for arts and a2ru at the Willson Center for Humanities and Arts. “This year’s conference will allow UGA to showcase the university’s ongoing research in sustainability and place making, while at the same time benefiting from conversations with faculty at other institutions who are similarly engaged.”

A Willson Center Faculty Research Cluster serves as the university’s point of connection to a2ru. Along with the Willson Center, UGA’s membership is sponsored by the Office of the Provost, the Arts Council, the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences, the Lamar Dodd School of Art and the Office of Research.

The University of Georgia School of Law’s Dean Rusk International Law Center will host Benjamin Zawacki, a human rights researcher and advocate, to discuss his book Thailand: ­Shifting Ground between the US and a Rising China on March 20 at 11:45 a.m. in the Larry Walker Room of Dean Rusk Hall located on North ­Campus. The event is open free to the public.

Zawacki’s book, published last year by the University of Chicago Press, explores Thailand’s evolving foreign relations and the geo-political implications in Southeast Asia.

Joining Zawacki for the discussion is Ari D. Levine, an associate professor in UGA’s history department. Levine specializes in the cultural and intellectual history of early modern China.

This event is co-sponsored by the International Law Society and the UGA history department.

Register at http://bit.ly/2tCKtyc.

Campus and community partners host fourth annual school lunch competition

Local chefs will once again take on the School Lunch Challenge March 24, creating tasty dishes that meet USDA requirements for the National School Lunch Program. Attendees will have a chance to sample the creations at the cooking competition from noon-1:30 p.m. in the cafeteria of Whitehead Road Elementary School.

The 2018 event will offer 250 free tickets to the general public. The centerpiece of the event is a cooking competition that invites participating teams, advised by nutritionists from the Clarke County School District, to create dishes in accordance with USDA guidelines for the National School Lunch Program. A panel of student judges drawn from CCSD schools will vote to determine an overall winner. The winning team’s plate will be incorporated into the CCSD school lunch menu during the 2018-2019 school year.

The event is open free to the public but ­attendance is limited. Tickets are available at http://bit.ly/2IigG1f. Attendees are encouraged to bring donation items to benefit the Food 2 Kids program operated by the Foodbank of Northeast Georgia. For more information, contact Jan ­Hebbard at jhebbard@uga.edu or 706-542-5788.

Equal Justice Foundation to hold annual benefit auction for student fellowships

The University of Georgia School of Law’s Equal Justice Foundation will host its 33rd annual benefit auction March 24 at 6:30 p.m. at The Foundry at Graduate Athens. The evening will include both a silent and live auction, which will begin at 8 p.m.

Proceeds from the event will go toward EJF summer fellowships, which help support School of Law students working in summer public interest positions for little or no compensation. The event is open free to the public.

Items and packages collected for this year’s auction include gift cards to popular Athens restaurants and shops, meals at Five & Ten and The National, private hand-dipped ice cream making lessons, a hog roast, group rounds of golf and ballroom dance lessons as well as other packages and gift certificates.

The Equal Justice Foundation is a student-run organization devoted to the promotion of public interest law. Learn more at http://bit.ly/2IjuSaj. The auction is being held in conjunction with the School of Law’s annual Alumni/Alumnae Weekend, which will include the Distinguished Service Scroll Awards Luncheon recognizing alumnus Don L. Waters, alumna Sally Q. Yates and faculty member Larry D. Thompson as well as continuing legal education and networking opportunities.

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

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

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

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

Dates, times and locations may change without advance notice.

UGAGUIDE

EXHIBITIONS

James Rose: The Mid-Century Experience. Through April 21.

Circle Gallery, Jackson Street Building. 706-542-8292.

Opera in Print: Fin-de-Siecle Posters from the Blum Collection. Through April 22. Georgia Museum of Art. 706-542-4662. gmoa@uga.edu. (See story, below.)

Crafting History: Textiles, Metals and Ceramics at the University of Georgia. Through April 29. Georgia Museum of Art. 706-542-4662. gmoa@uga.edu.

Ingrid Bolton. Through April 29. Visitor Center, Classroom 1, State Botanical Garden. 706-542-6014. connicot@uga.edu.

FACS 100 Centennial. Through May 18. Special collections libraries. 706-542-3386. connicot@uga.edu.

Wrestling Temptation: The Quest to Control Alcohol in Georgia.

Through Sept. 21. Special collections libraries. 706-542-7123. alexis.morgan@uga.edu.

MONDAY, MARCH 19 WITHDRAWAL DEADLINE For spring semester.

PERFORMANCE The performers of TAO: Drum Heart create an energetic and unforgettable production. $39-$46. 8 p.m. Hodgson Concert Hall, Performing Arts Center. 706-542-4400.

TUESDAY, MARCH 20 DISCUSSION Benjamin Zawacki, a Bangkok-based human rights researcher and advocate, will present his recently-published book on ­Thailand’s evolving foreign relations and the geo-political ­implications in Southeast Asia. 11:45 a.m. Larry Walker Room, Dean Rusk Hall. 706-542-7875. hardweare@uga.edu. (See Digest, page 3.)

LECTURE “Soft-Psy Strategy: U.S. Media Intervention in the Middle East,” Matt Sienkiewicz, Boston College. Part of the Department of Communication Studies Colloquium Series. Sponsored by the Willson Center and Peabody Media Center. 12:30 p.m.

502 Caldwell Hall.

DONALD L. HOLLOWELL LECTURE Maria Varela’s presentation will focus on how the principles that governed the SNCC can continue to advance civil and human rights in the 21st century. 3 p.m. Chapel. 706-542-0244. lcornel@uga.edu. (See story, page 1.)

SEMINAR “A Macroecological and Phylogenetic Perspective on Biodiversity: From Free Living Animals to their Pathogens,” Patrick Stephens, assistant research scientist, Odum School of Ecology. 3:30 p.m.

Auditorium, ecology building. A reception will follow in the ecology building lobby. 706-542-7247. bethgav@uga.edu.

FILM SCREENING Live from Bethlehem chronicles the struggles, failures and triumphs of the Ma’an News Network, the only major independent news source in the Palestinian Territories. Written by Matt Sienkiewicz, associate professor of communication and international studies at Boston College. Sponsored by the Willson Center, the Peabody Media Center and the communication studies department in the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences. 6 p.m.

350 Miller Learning Center.

DISCUSSION Eidson Distinguished Professor in American Literature LeAnne Howe will host writer Brian Clements for a poetry reading and discussion on Bullets into Bells: Poets & Citizens Respond to Gun Violence, the book he co-edited. Clements is the founding coordinator of the M.F.A. program and professor of writing, linguistics and creative writing at Western Connecticut State University. This event is sponsored in part by Avid Bookshop.

6:30 p.m. Cine. 706-542-2659. cwp@uga.edu.

Opera in Print: Fin-de-siecle Posters from the Blum Collection shares some of the decadence of the opera scene during the Belle Epoque.

Exhibition showcases Belle Epoque opera art

By Stephanie Motter

stephanie.motter25@uga.edu

The glitz, glam and spectacle of the opera scene during the Belle Epoque (French for “beautiful era”) are unfathomable to the general public now, but art from the era captures some of its opulence. Posters that promoted these operas make their drama, music and visuals tangible. Visitors can see some of them in the exhibition Opera in Print: Fin-de-siecle Posters from the Blum Collection, which is on view at the Georgia Museum of Art through April 22.

The Belle Epoque lasted from the 1870s through the 1910s. It was a time of optimism, regional peace, economic prosperity and cultural innovation before the chaos and destruction of World War I. The arts flourished.

The invention of lithography, the process of printing using a stone or metal plate, allowed for the extensive production of posters in this era. Quickly becoming the dominant form of mass communication, posters lined every public surface, making the streets an art gallery. Because posters were a new concept and medium, artists had freedom to explore form and content. Their lavish designs still influence the advertising industry today.

Jules Cheret, Alfred Choubrac, George Dola and Roger Chancel are among the artists who created the posters in Opera in Print. Considered the father of the modern poster, Cheret invented a new form of lithography that allowed for more color and innovative typography. Choubrac introduced technical advances to lithography that reduced the cost of producing posters. These artists specialized in posters for the opera houses and Parisian nightlife.

Abigail Kosberg, the graduate intern for the museum’s Pierre Daura Center, is the curator of Opera in Print. She has been working on the exhibition for 18 months.

“Visual/advertising culture is an aspect of art history that gets little attention because we don’t always view advertisements as art,” she said. “These posters show how, right from the beginning of mass media, artists saw advertisements as a means of artistic expression. They provide us a window not only into the artistic culture and trends of the turn of the century, but also show a fantastic intersection of different art forms.”

SEMINAR “Augustine on Love, Conflict and the Goods We Hold in Common.” Part of the Religion and the Common Good Seminar, supported by the Willson Center for the Humanities and Arts 7 p.m.

248 Miller Learning Center. 706-542-1603. rlfoster@uga.edu.

CONCERT Aspen String Trio. $39. 8 p.m. Ramsey Concert Hall, Performing Arts Center. 706-542-4400.

PERFORMANCE BFE is a darkly comic coming-of-age tale by playwright Julia

By Dave Marr

davemarr@uga.edu

Athens Music Project, an interdisciplinary research initiative of the University of Georgia Hugh Hodgson School of Music, will present “A Night at the Morton: Soul Celebration” March 21 at 7 p.m. at the Morton Theatre, 195 W. Washington St. The interactive performance event, supported by a Public Impact Grant from the Willson Center for Humanities and Arts, is the third installment of this biannual program organized and directed by UGA music professors Jean Ngoya Kidula and Susan Thomas. Sponsors include the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences, the Hugh Hodgson School of Music, the Institute for African American Studies and the Morton Theatre.

The program is designed for music lovers of all ages and backgrounds.

Embraced as a lifestyle, passion, musical genre and label, soul will be explored through interviews, performances and audience interaction.

“Soul as a way of testifying is at once religious and sacred, secular and profane, reverent and irreverent, social and political, personal and communal. It is celebration, observation, contemplation and even lamentation,” said Kidula, professor of music and ethnomusicology. “The testimony resounds locally, nationally and globally. As such, it transcends its African-American inception and American m ­ ainstream

UGCho that details an Asian-American teen’s struggles with identity, her agoraphobic mother and a rash of local murders targeting blonde girls. $12; $7 for students.

Performances are at 8 p.m. through March 24 and March 25 at 2:30 p.m. Seney-Stovall Chapel. 706-542-2836. wclay87@uga.edu.

The Thursday Scholarship Series will feature UGA Hodgson Singers in a March 22 performance.

The concert will be held at 7:30 p.m. in Hodgson Concert Hall, which is located in the Performing Arts Center next to the Hugh Hodgson School of Music.

The Hodgson Singers are the flagship choral ensemble of the music school. Membership is contingent upon excellence in musicianship, vocal artistry and dedication.

The choir was recently invited to take part in the American Choral Directors Association Southern Division Convention in Louisville, Kentucky. As one of 15 choirs chosen out of nearly 100 to perform at the conference, the Hodgson Singers were among one of four collegiate mixed choirs invited, which is the most competitive category of ensemble.

“The March 22 program will feature both sacred and secular selections from many time periods,” said Daniel Bara, conductor and director of choral activities. “Many of the texts suggest a return to the

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

appropriation; it is spoken far and wide.”

The headliner for the event is rhythm and blues legend Theodis Ealey, currently residing in Stone Mountain. His band director, jazz guitarist Victor Hodge, will open the segment.

Other artists include soul-pop singer Ansley Stewart, an Athens native now living in Atlanta; Athens community group The Notes; and UGA Kalakaar, an a cappella student group.

Jacqueline DjeDje, emeritus professor and chair of ethnomusicology at UCLA (originally from Jesup), will interview renowned gospel singer Sylvanus “Zeke”Turner, a native of Athens.Turner’s subsequent performance and that of the Hull Family Singers of Hill Chapel Baptist Church will demonstrate the prominent role and ethos emanating from gospel music in the foundation, structure, practice and message of soul.

The array of performers and interviews will present salient examples of foundational co-genres and sub-genres of soul, demonstrate several mainstream industrialized iterations of soul and display soul’s posterity in historical, contemporary and global music statements.

The event is open free to the public, but tickets are required for admission. Tickets may be picked up at the Morton Theatre during business hours, weekdays from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. and from 3-6 p.m. Tickets also may be reserved by emailing mortontheatre@accgov. com or calling 706-613-3771.

Rhythm and blues musician Theodis Ealey will headline Athens Music Project’s “A Night at the Morton: Soul Celebration” March 21 at 7 p.m. at the Morton Theatre.

UNIVERSITY COUNCIL MEETING 3:30 p.m. Tate Theatre, Tate Student Center. 706-542-6020. univcouncil@uga.edu.

SOFTBALL vs. Georgia Southern. 6 p.m. Jack Turner Stadium.

LECTURE “Comparing Sex Differences In Reproductive Inequality Between Humans and NonHuman Mammals: What’s Going on with Women?,” Monique Borgerhoff Mulder, anthropologist, University of California, Davis. This event is part of the Department of Anthropology Speaker Series and is co-sponsored by the African Studies Institute. 3:30 p.m. 264 Baldwin Hall. 706-542-1433. debchas@uga.edu.

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 21

THURSDAY, MARCH 22

LECTURE Speaker: Namita Wiggers, the director and co-founder of Critical Craft Forum. She teaches applied craft and design at the Oregon College of Art and Craft, the Pacific Northwest College of Art and Portland State University. Her scholarship and writing often deals with analyzing aspects of craft and their relation to societal status. Presented in conjunction with the exhibition Crafting History: Textiles, Metals and Ceramics at the University of Georgia. Noon. Georgia Museum of Art. 706-542-4662. hazbrown@uga.edu.

LUNCHTIME TIME MACHINE This installment of the history department’s undergraduate lecture series, “What Did Imaginary Cities Look Like in the Middle Ages?,” features Ari Levine, who specializes in the cultural and intellectual history of early modern China. He teaches courses in Chinese, East Asian and world history and is the author of Divided by a Common Language: Factional Conflict in Late Northern Song China. He currently is completing a book project on urban space and cultural memory in the Northern Song capital of Kaifeng. 12:30 p.m. 101 LeConte Hall. 706-542-2053. history@uga.edu.

DIALOGUES IN DIVERSITY The Dialogues in Diversity Lunchtime Series provides an opportunity for UGA faculty and staff to engage in discussions related to diversity and inclusion. This dialogue will focus on UGA’s service mission in a global, knowledge society and the role of faculty and staff in fostering university-community partnerships and multicultural competent engagement. Dialogues in Diversity is open to all UGA faculty and staff. Lunch is provided, and space is filled on a first-come basis. There is no cost to attend, but registration is required. Noon. 473 Tate Student Center. diversitytraining@uga.edu.

COMPETITION Collegiate Next Great Consumer Brands is a nationwide pitch competition where start-up teams from all over the country come to Athens to pitch their consumer or retail brand, business or business idea to a panel of judges and live audience.

Learn more at https://www.terry.uga.edu/events/next-greatconsumer-brands. 5 p.m. Oconee River Room, Classic Center.

706-542-9164. ep@uga.edu.

LECTURE “Why Stories Matter: Using Multi-Storied Texts to Challenge Dominant Discourses in the Classroom and Beyond,” Jennifer Whitley, language and literacy education. Part of the Women’s Studies Friday Speaker Series. 12:20 p.m. 214 Miller Learning Center. 706-542-2846. tlhat@uga.edu.

LUNCH & LEARN “Healthy Eating,” Whitni McConnell, nutrition education coordinator. Noon. Training and Development Center.

TOUR AT TWO Docent-led tour of highlights from the permanent collection. 2 p.m. Georgia Museum of Art. 706-542-4662. hazbrown@uga.edu.

The Hodgson Singers’ March 22 concert will feature sacred and secular selections from different time periods. ceh822@uga.edu

4&5

Athens Music Project event scheduled for March 21

Hodgson Singers to perform March 22 concert

By Camille Hayes

columns.uga.edu March 19, 2018

simplicity of nature to recognize and reclaim our inner calm. While other pieces reflect upon the death of loved ones.”

Concert attendees will hear selections from composers both old and new. The concert will conclude with two well-known rousing Southern hymnal tunes: “Precious Lord, Take My Hand” by Georgia composer Tommy Dorsey and the gospel tune “I’ll Fly Away” in a new arrangement by Shawn Kirchner.

“As always, I try to select music that is of diverse styles and which draws the listener into the point of view of the poet and performers,” Bara said. “We always strive to have our choral concerts be emotionally engaging and quasi-dramatic events for the audience, and ones that leave the listener wanting more.”

Joining Bara on stage for this performance will be assistant conductor Lee Wright and Elena Lyalina, who accompany the Hodgson Singers on piano.

Tickets for the concert are $20 for adults and $6 for students. They can be purchased online at pac.uga.edu or by phone at 706-542-4400. For those unable to attend, the concert will be streamed at music.uga.edu/streaming.

PANEL DISCUSSION Panelists for “Crafting History: Beyond the Object” include Namita Wiggers; Mia Hall, interim chair of the art and design department at the University of Arkansas and the next director of Penland School of Crafts, North Carolina; Sarah Schleuning, curator of decorative arts and design, High Museum of Art; and Marilyn Zapf, assistant director at the Center for Craft, Creativity & Design, Asheville, North Carolina. 5:30 p.m. Georgia Museum of Art. 706-542-4662. hazbrown@uga.edu.

BASEBALL vs. South Carolina. $5-$8. 7 p.m. Foley Field.

SATURDAY, MARCH 24

FREE FACULTY/STAFF GOLF CLINIC The University of Georgia Golf Course staff will host a free golf clinic for UGA staff and faculty. Players from all skill levels are welcomed to participate. To reserve a space, email PGA golf instructor Clint Udell at cudell96@uga.edu and indicate if you would like to borrow golf clubs for the clinic. 6 p.m. UGA Golf Course.

SPRING BIRD RAMBLE Join the Oconee Rivers Audubon Society for a morning bird walk at the State Botanical Garden. Look and listen for spring migrants. ORAS members will help participants spot and identify the feathery creatures. All birding levels are welcome. Bring binoculars, if available. 8 a.m. Main parking lot, State Botanical Garden.

CINECITTA 10: TENTH ANNUAL ITALIAN FILM FESTIVAL The fourth and last film of the series is Italian Youths in the Movies: Quando sei nato non puoi piu nasconderti (2005).

7 p.m. 150 Miller Learning Center. brcoper@uga.edu.

FOURTH ANNUAL SCHOOL LUNCH CHALLENGE Tickets are available at https://schoollunchchallenge2018. eventbrite.com. Noon. Whitehead Road Elementary School.

706-542-5788. jhebbard@uga.edu. (See Digest, page 3.)

TEDXUGA TEDxUGA is an independently organized TED event that showcases UGA’s leading thinkers and doers. The event will feature faculty, staff, alumni and student presenters as they share their ideas worth spreading. The theme for this year’s event is “Connect.” At TEDxUGA 2018, participants will explore the stories, experiences and ideas that emerge when things connect. $15 students; $20 faculty, staff, alumni and community. 7 p.m. Theatre, Classic Center. 706-521-3572. tedxuga@uga.edu, general information; tedreg@uga.edu, registration information.

BASEBALL vs. South Carolina. $5-$8. 2 p.m. Foley Field.

THURSDAY SCHOLARSHIP SERIES Performance by the UGA Hodgson Singers. $20; $6 student/ child. 7:30 p.m. Hugh Hodgson Concert Hall, Performing Arts Center. 706-542-4752. (See story, left.)

FRIDAY, MARCH 23 SYMPOSIUM “The Image of the Buddha in South Asia: Trans-Regional Diversity, Localized Idioms and Iconographic Innovation.” These lectures accompany and will be oriented toward contextualizing the exhibition Images of Awakening: The Buddhist Sculptural Heritage of Afghanistan and Pakistan. Through March 24.

Georgia Museum of Art. 706-542-4662. hazbrown@uga.edu.

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

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

GLOBAL GEORGIA INITIATIVE “Conversation with Student Composers: Experimentation, Preparation and Performance,” Robert Spano, artistic director of the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra. 12:30 p.m. Edge Recital Hall, Hugh Hodgson School of Music. 706-542-3966. wcha@uga.edu.

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.

SUNDAY, MARCH 25 BASEBALL vs. South Carolina $5-$8. 1 p.m. Foley Field.

MEN’S TENNIS vs. Tennessee. 1 p.m. Dan Magill Tennis Complex.

COMING UP WORKSHOP March 27. “To Participation Grade or Not?” is open to all faculty, post docs and graduate students. 2 p.m. 372 Miller Learning Center. 706-583-0067. megan.mittelstadt@uga.edu.

ISSUES IN INFORMATION SEMINAR March 28. This event will be a lecture/discussion about the legal aspects of defamation and libel, specifically in the context of the recent publication of Fire and Fury and attempts to prevent this book’s release. The presenter is William Lee from UGA’s Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication.

5:30 p.m. 248 Miller Learning Center. 706-542-0703. ithomas@uga.edu.

NEXT COLUMNS DEADLINES March 21 (for April 2 issue) March 28 (for April 9 issue) April 4 (for April 16 issue)

6 March 19, 2018 columns.uga.edu

FACULTY PROFILE

Payday loans

Mehrsa Baradaran, the J. Alton Hosch Associate Professor of Law in UGA’s School of Law, was recently quoted in a Tampa Bay Times article about a new federal rule on payday loans.

Floridians, mostly in poor neighborhoods, took out a staggering 7.7 million payday loans over 12 months in 2016 and 2017. Nearly a third of all customers took out at least 12 loans that year, a clear sign of the “debt trap” from which lenders profit, critics said.

“Is it bad to take out one of these loans? I think the answer is yes,” said Baradaran, who also is the law school’s associate dean for strategic initiatives. “If you can get this money from any other source, it’s best to avoid them. It might be the rational choice. It might be the only choice. But it doesn’t put you in a better position.”

Inside tract

Dan Colley, director of UGA’s Center for Tropical and Emerging Global Diseases, was quoted in a New York Times article about a study being conducted to find a vaccine for schistosomiasis.

Seventeen volunteers in the Netherlands agreed to host parasitic worms in their bodies for 12 weeks to help advance research toward a vaccine for the chronic disease that afflicts more than 200 million people a year, primarily in sub-Saharan Africa and South America.

A Dutch ethics board agreed with researchers who said the risk is extremely small. At the end of the study, all of the student volunteers will be given Praziquantel, which is supposed to clear any infection and kill the remaining parasites. Colley, a schistosomiasis researcher, said the drug is “not terribly effective.”

Given that the worms’ life span is five to 10 years, “That is a long time to have something as ugly as a schistosome living in your blood vessels, putting out excrement and things,” said Colley, who also is a professor in Franklin College’s cellular biology department.

Valuable venom

Ellen Martinson, a postdoctoral research a­ ssociate in UGA’s College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, was recently quoted in a National Geographic article about how wasp venom could help Parkinson’s research.

An emerald cockroach wasp can control the minds of roaches with its venom. The wasp will start by stinging the midsection of a roach, and the toxic venom will paralyze the animal’s front legs for five minutes. With the second strike, the wasp stings the brain, and the roach falls into a lethargic state in which it can’t move by its own will. For years, researchers have been working to use natural venom for good. A team led by Michael Adams, a professor of entomology and neuroscience at the University of California, is investigating the venom to see how it could be used to guide future research in Parkinson’s disease.

“Parasitic wasps have these crazy venomous effects,” said Martinson, who is in UGA’s department of entomology and was not involved in the study.

“We’re mostly just now in the exploratory phase.

Now, it’s just kind of a treasure hunt that we can build on over time.”

Sweat it out

Janet Buckworth, a professor in UGA’s College of Education, was recently quoted in a Women’s Health article about the benefits of sweating.

Buckworth said sweat can help you feel connected to your workout and make you feel more satisfied afterward.

“We always worry about looking presentable, but being drenched in sweat forces you to shift your focus from your appearance to your experience,” said Buckworth, who is head of the education college’s kinesiology department. “Our bodies are never going to visibly change by the end of one run or strength-training session. We know this, but all crave instant proof of our hard work.”

Tiffany Washington, an assistant professor in the School of Social Work, specializes in aging and health.

Dorothy Kozlowski

School of Social work faculty member teaches students how to help others

By Laurie Anderson laurie@uga.edu

The older married couple faced the classroom, a little nervous. He’d been diagnosed with dementia; she was his caregiver. At the invitation of Tiffany Washington, an assistant professor in the School of Social Work, they had agreed to tell their story before a room full of social work students and faculty who were interested in how they maintained a good quality of life.

When they were finished, the audience applauded loudly. The couple smiled, happy to help.

Maintaining quality of life is a challenge for anyone facing a chronic condition, said Washington, who specializes in aging and health. It’s also a concern for social workers, who often provide services to older adults.

That is why in 2015 Washington developed the Houseguest Program with funding from the Office of ServiceLearning and in partnership with the Athens Community Council on Aging.

Now in its fourth year, the graduate-level course brings students into homes of families affected by dementia to provide respite to caregivers.

The innovative approach benefits families and has significantly increased student interest in services for people with dementia and their caregivers.

Research papers and presentations about the program also have excited academic scholars, who have expressed interest in expanding it.

“There is a general student ­ ­disinterest

in working with the aging population, so we have to think of creative ways to expose them to it,” said Washington.

For developing the program, Washington received the UGA Creative Teaching Award and the Office of Service-Learning’s Service-Learning Research Excellence Award.

The honors are well-deserved, say former students.

Shannon Griffiths, who received her master’s degree in social work from UGA in 2017, credits Washington with helping to awaken her interest in oncology and geriatrics. Griffiths now works as a palliative care hospital social worker.

Washington was “a major inspiration” said Kareeme Morrison, who also received a master’s degree in social work from UGA in 2017. Morrison is a manager in Jamaica’s Steps to Work Programme, an initiative aimed at breaking the cycle of inter-generational poverty on that island nation.

Born in New Haven, Connecticut, Washington moved with her family to rural North Carolina while she was in grade school. Her experiences as a medical social worker sparked her interest in finding more effective interventions for older individuals with chronic kidney disease. After earning her doctorate in social work at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, she was urged by a faculty mentor to look at the University of Georgia.

She liked what she saw.

“I didn’t want to be at an institution that only fostered good research or only fostered good teaching, but that valued

FACTS

Tiffany Washington

Assistant Professor Director, Interdisciplinary Study Abroad in Ghana School of Social Work Ph.D., Social Work, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 2013 M.S.W., Social Work, North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University/ University of North Carolina at Greensboro, 2002 B.A., Communication Studies, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 2000 At UGA: Five years

both. And the commitment to public outreach was very obvious,” she said.

Outreach is important to Washington. She is active in her church and has volunteered for service trips to the Dominican Republic and New York.

In the secular world, she also leads a Maymester course in Ghana, where students perform service projects and are exposed to West African social support practices.

An avid cyclist and crafter, Washington also is generous with her spare time.

She plans to teach cycling to others and in January presented co-workers with homemade red earrings to celebrate the Georgia Bulldogs’ football season.

“I think it’s just an honor to have a job that I love, that I enjoy going to,” she said. “How many people wake up and say, ‘I love what I do?’ That’s rare.”

COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING

Kisaalita named Georgia Athletic Association Professor

By Mike Wooten

mwooten@uga.edu

William Kisaalita, a member of the University of Georgia faculty since 1991, has been named a Georgia Athletic Association Professor in Engineering. The GAA established the endowed professorship to encourage leadership in multidisciplinary projects that address global challenges.

Kisaalita teaches both undergraduate and graduate-level courses in the UGA College of Engineering. His research in tissue engineering focuses on cell-based biosensors with applications in drug discovery. In addition, he works to develop technology that assists people in low-resource settings. ­ Kisaalita’s efforts to design a

­b iofuel-powered cooler to keep milk safe and healthy to drink in areas without electricity, particularly subSaharan ­A frica, earned a $1 million research William Kisaalita grant from the U.S. Agency for International Development.

“I am deeply humbled and honored by this recognition of my work by the Georgia Athletic Association,” said Kisaalita. “I am also encouraged to continue engaging our students in solving challenges in places that are often ignored. What seems a small difference can be made huge from the perspective of those in these settings.”

Throughout his career, Kisaalita has developed research activities and international service-learning projects that have engaged students in helping solve real-world problems.

“William is an inspiring instructor and researcher and his work is an excellent example of how engineering directly touches people’s lives,” said Donald Leo, dean of the College of the Engineering. “Our college is grateful to the Georgia Athletic Association for its support of faculty members like Dr. Kisaalita who are committed to tackling the world’s grand challenges.”

Kisaalita received his doctorate in chemical engineering from the University of British Columbia in Vancouver and a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from Makerere University in Kampala, Uganda.

7

OFFICE OF INSTRUCTION

Getting to know UGA Office of Undergraduate Admissions makes changes to orientation

columns.uga.edu March 19, 2018

GEORGIA MUSEUM OF ART Anthropologist discusses arts, sciences at first Aralee Strange Lecture

By Jim Lichtenwalter

By Stephanie Dixon

james.lichtenwal25@uga.edu

stephanie.dixon@uga.edu

The University of Georgia Office of Undergraduate Admissions is continuing to make significant changes to the summer orientation experience, thanks in large part to the feedback received from students, parents and families, and staff who have participated in the process.

Through post-orientation surveys and input from university faculty, staff, campus partners and external review teams, UGA has implemented organizational changes to orientation that help streamline the process. These changes have allowed the orientation staff to focus on the most necessary information for students and families as well as add flexibility in the schedule.

The most notable change in the new student orientation process is the reduction of a full two-day event filled with required information sessions to a friendlier day-and-a-half format in which parents and students may choose the most applicable sessions. Students still are given the option of an overnight stay in a residence hall.

Other changes to summer orientation include a new program for parents and family members that focuses on their role as supporters in their student’s transition to UGA. Their sessions focus on guiding students through the transition process and highlighting on-campus resources for them and their students.

“Our program has seen a great deal of evolution in recent years,” said Alton M. Standifer, director for new student orientation. “As we continue to improve our practice and gain regional and national recognition for our work, aligning our staff to meet the needs of our incoming population is yet another example of us working towards setting a strong standard as the birthplace of public higher education in America.”

In addition, UGA has streamlined communications with students and families through the launch of a new “Welcome to UGA” app that provides direct access to academic and campus resources, orientation session schedules for both parent and student sessions, FAQs, student to-do lists and other general information.

This new streamlined communication continues with a new monthly newsletter to parents and families with topics relevant to their student’s first year at UGA. The newsletter includes reminders of academic and campus resources, information on new academic initiatives, and other resources that their students might need during their first year of college.

Lastly, UGA has expanded the 2018 summer orientation staff from 12 to 15 student orientation leaders to better meet student needs. This marks the first time in 19 years the student orientation staff has increased.

Since the late 1960s, the UGA orientation leaders have served as the first point of contact for first-year and transfer students at the university. Through memorable skits, songs and words of encouragement, the orientation leaders provide students with a high-energy, upbeat and positive welcome

Andrew Davis Tucker

Changes to the summer orientation experience include a dayand-a-half format and a new program for parents and family members that focuses on their roles as supporters in their student’s transition to UGA.

to their college careers. The orientation leaders serve as an important resource for parents and families who choose to attend the summer orientation sessions.

“As we see an increase in the number of orientation guests, we needed to add additional staff members in these key roles to continue providing the level of customer service and hospitality that parents and families have come to expect from UGA Orientation,” Standifer said.

The new orientation leaders receive extensive training before they each lead 24 summer orientation sessions for first-year and transfer students, two orientation sessions for international students and two appearances at the Freshman College Summer Experience.

The 2018 orientation leaders, their hometowns and majors are Danielle Au, Alpharetta, advertising; Emily Austin, Douglasville, psychology; Ja’Kyra Austin, Hampton, biochemistry and molecular biology; Elizabeth Digiovanni, Marietta, music therapy; Ammishaddai Grand-Jean, Jonesboro, political science and economics; Cole Harper, Ocilla, psychology and political science; Will Harper, Peachtree Corners, marketing; John Kutteh, Collierville, Tennessee, communication studies; Taylor Maggiore, Bishop, journalism; Madison Metcalf, Evans, human development and family sciences; Destin Mizelle, Riverdale, psychology; Isabella Nixon, Cumming, interior design; Gabrielle Pohlman, Pike Road, Alabama, biology; Navdeep Singh, Lithonia, pharmaceutical sciences; and William Yancey, Douglasville, finance.

WEEKLY READER

Learning through the arts is important to linguistic anthropologist Shirley Brice Heath.

“My work—all my life—has been embedded in creating, building and assessing community learning resources for the most disadvantaged populations,” said Heath, who is the Marjorie Bailey Professor in English and Dramatic Literature and an emerita professor of linguistics at Stanford University.

As part of the Aralee Strange lecture series, Heath delivered the inaugural Strange Lecture Feb. 22 at the Georgia Museum of Art. Her talk, “The Arts as Brick and Mortar of Community Building,” focused on the combination of art and science in the study of community learning sites and how a community’s engagement in the arts holds benefits for its members.

During the lecture, Heath examined three important points, gleaned from decades of research: the combination of arts and sciences, why a combination of these two disciplines matters today more than ever and what happens when different types of artists are put together.

One of several projects Heath spoke about was her work with the Public Theater’s Public Works program in New York City. In 2013, the initiative produced a three-night musical production of The Tempest at the Delacorte Theater in Central Park.

The production involved nearly 200 amateur performers from a network of local community organizations such as The Fortune Society, which assists formerly incarcerated individuals.

The group of actors spanned different ages and ethnicities, spoke different languages and had different abilities. They rehearsed for 16-18 hours per week. Heath said she went from group to group, observing them as they learned new artistic skills during rehearsals.

What she discovered was that the actors were tapping into what researchers call “lifelong learning.”

Heath also saw the production change the views of some performers.

“We were able to expand the vision, the horizons, of these individuals,” she said.

Heath’s lecture also was part of the university’s spring 2018 Signature Lecture series. It is funded by the Aralee Strange Fund for Art and Poetry at the Georgia Museum of Art. Created by donors Kathy Prescott and Grady Thrasher, the lecture series honors their friend Aralee Strange, a poet, filmmaker and playwright who lived in Athens and died in 2013.

CYBERSIGHTS

ABOUT COLUMNS

Poetry collection shares war’s emotional toll

My American Night

By Christopher P. Collins University of Georgia Press Paperback: $19.95

Christopher P. Collins, a former military officer and 12-year veteran of the U.S. Army Reserve, has written a brutal, yet reflective, collection of poems that come to grips with the horrors of war.

Published by the University of Georgia Press, My American Night is a collection of lyric poems that wrestles with a sense of self that has become fragmented by the experience of war.

Collins, who has completed three overseas combat deployments in Afghanistan and Iraq, extracts the emotional shrapnel of these tours and examines their toll on his civilian life. He considers the two sides of himself that have been wrought in these parallel lives. One is the self of the citizen-soldier and the other is the self of the husband and father. His poems reveal the brutal ways in which these selves collide and bleed into one another.

Collins, who lives in Independence, Kentucky, teaches composition and creative writing at the University of Cincinnati. He also received the 2017 Georgia Poetry Prize from the UGA Press.

Columns is available to the community by ­subscription for an annual fee of $20 (second-class 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 Communications Coordinator Krista Richmond

Parking and transit info on new website

tps.uga.edu

Transportation & Parking Services has launched a website to assist users in finding information about parking and transportation at UGA. The website combines Campus Transit with Parking Services so that all information is one, centralized location. Users can track

buses, view campus parking maps and find information about parking permits and lots.

Additionally, the website features parking information for visitors, lists the parking deck rates and has the prices for parking permits for students, staff and faculty.

Art Director Jackie Baxter Roberts Photo Editor Dorothy Kozlowski Writers Kellyn Amodeo Leigh Beeson 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 March 19, 2018 columns.uga.edu COMMENCEMENT

MUSCLES

from page 1

UGA alumni Dave Haywood, left, and Charles Kelley of Lady Antebellum Denise Spangler will deliver the will deliver UGA’s spring undergraduate Commencement address. graduate Commencement address.

studio album, Heart Break. Their current release follows more than 18 million units, nine No. 1 hits,ACM and CMA “Vocal Group of the Year” trophies three years in a row and other honors including seven Grammys, Billboard Music Awards, People’s Choice Awards and Teen Choice Awards.

Along with his success as part of Lady Antebellum, Kelley also earned a Grammy nomination for “Best Country Duo/Group Performance” for the title track of his solo record “The Driver” and has penned No. 1 hits recorded by artists including Luke Bryan and Darius Rucker. In addition to co-writing four chart-topping Lady Antebellum hits, including the six-times platinum hit “Need You Now,” Haywood also has written for artists such as Miranda Lambert. The multi-platinum trio will team with Darius Rucker this summer for their co-headlining Summer Plays On Tour, which kicks off July 19.

Kelley and Haywood, both Georgia natives, received B­achelor of Business Administration degrees from UGA in 2004.

The graduate address will be given by Spangler, who is interim dean of the education college. A professor of mathematics education, Spangler holds a bachelor’s degree in elementary education and a master’s degree in mathematics, both from Illinois State University. She earned her doctoral degree in mathematics education at UGA. An award-winning instructor, Spangler is a member of the UGA Teaching Academy and is a recipient of the Richard B. Russell Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching. The majority of her career has involved helping elementary education majors learn to teach mathematics to children in ways that build on

the numerical and spatial thinking that they develop from interacting with the world. She also teaches graduate courses on mathematics teaching and teacher education. She has graduated more than 30 doctoral students during her time at UGA. Spangler’s research is tightly integrated with her teaching. She seeks to understand how novice teachers put into practice what they have learned from their teacher education programs, their experiences in schools and their own experiences as students—and how they balance these sometimes competing influences. The author of approximately 100 publications, including journal articles, book chapters and books, she has received continuous funding for her work since joining the UGA faculty in 1995.

“Dr. Spangler is an exemplary professor and administrator who has made a positive impact on the lives of countless numbers of students—from elementary school to the university level—through her teaching, research and service,” Morehead said. “She will provide a compelling message to our graduates.”

In addition to her teaching and research, Spangler has served on and chaired a number of committees and task forces at UGA. Additionally, she was an elected member of the board of education for the Clarke County School District for 12 years and served two terms as vice president of the board. Her national service includes chairing editorial panels for journals in mathematics education and serving on the board of directors for the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics.

Vi s i t h t t p s : / / c o m m e n c e m e n t . u ga . edu for more information about UGA’s Commencement ceremonies.

Bulletin Board Research study participants

Researchers at UGA and the Oak Ridge Associated Universities are conducting a study to understand how adults think about adult vaccines and to get their reactions to vaccine education materials.

People ages 19-49 who didn’t get a flu shot or vaccine last year and don’t plan to get one this year are being sought for the study.

Eligibility will be determined through telephone screening. Eligible subjects will first be sent an online questionnaire to complete, then will be scheduled for a research visit lasting around 60 minutes. During the research visit, participants will view immunization-related education ­materials and complete study ­questionnaires.

Subjects will receive compensation of $30 for completing the study. No vaccinations will be given as a part of this study.

The study will be conducted at the Clinical and Translational Research Unit on the UGA Health Sciences Campus.

For more information, call 706-713-2721 or email ctru@uga.edu.

Moss Fellowship deadline

The Center for Teaching and Learning is accepting applications for Sarah H. Moss Fellowships, which provide funds for travel and related expenses for faculty pursuing advanced study in institutions of higher learning abroad and in the U.S.

Information and application materials are at http://bit.ly/2CLBQRr. Applications are due March 30.

Faculty research grants

The Division of Student Affairs is accepting proposals until April 13 for FY19 funding for research partnerships. The grants support projects that incorporate a Student Affairs facility, program or service into their research.

For more information, visit partner.studentaffairs.uga.edu or email Beate Brunow at b.brunow@uga.edu.

Learning technologies grants

The Center for Teaching and Learning is accepting proposals until April 13 for its 2018-2019 Learning Technologies Grants Program.

Projects must focus on the innovative use of technology to assist students in meeting the educational objectives of their academic programs.

This year, projects must employ the use of active learning and/or open educational resources.

Grant award recipients will be announced by late June. Funds will be available after July 1.

Complete details about the program, including proposal requirements, are at http://ctl.uga.edu/ltg.

Send questions about the program to Sherry Clouser, CTL assistant director of learning technologies, at sac@uga.edu.

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

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low in children with CP. If we can increase it, their future development of chronic diseases, such as diabetes and osteoporosis, may be reduced.”

Modlesky, the UGA Athletic Association Professor of Kinesiology in the College of Education’s kinesiology department, plans to launch the study in the coming months.

He is now recruiting participants for the randomized controlled trial—specifically, 44 children with cerebral palsy, ages 5-11, who can walk without an assistive device. They will take part in a six-month intervention with a six-month follow-up to determine the effects of the intervention. To take part in the study or for more information, email the Neuromusculoskeletal Health Lab at uga. cp.research@gmail.com or call 706-395-5085.

Children will be required to come into the new Neuromusculoskeletal Health Lab at UGA’s Ramsey Center for testing five times during the 12-month study. Three of the test points will include muscle assessment using an MRI scanner at UGA’s Bio-imaging Research Center. The children also will wear physical activity monitors at each testing point throughout the study. Half of the participants will be given a vibrating plate to take home and, with the assistance of UGA researchers, set up for daily use.

Other participants will receive a plate that

simply makes a noise, for research control purposes.

The collaborative study includes Dr. Robert Bruce, an orthopedic surgeon at Emory University and director of the cerebral palsy program for Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, as well as Karl Newell in the College of Education’s kinesiology department and Ye Shen from UGA’s College of Public Health.

Modlesky said he and his team will be studying several aspects of participants’ physical health during the study, including muscle strength, balance, physical activity and physical function. If what researchers saw in pilot tests continues, Modlesky said children may see an added benefit of greater overall confidence in their movement.

“Really, our lab is looking at what’s going to help children perform better overall. It’s not just about having stronger muscles and improved balance. In the end, you want the children to have better health and a better quality of life,” he said. “If a child thinks certain movements are too challenging, then they probably won’t be as physically active.

But if the movements are easier to perform and they feel more confident about them, they will probably be more active. Stronger muscles and better balance should lead to more physical activity and better health.”

AWARD

COMMIT from page 1

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Cacciatore has been recognized three times as his department’s teacher of the year and twice by the UGA Career Center. He served as a Teaching Academy Fellow as well as a Plank Center Educator Fellow.

Reed, who joined the insurance, legal studies and real estate department in 2010, continuously updates his course material to include real-world examples of legal business concepts. He developed role-play simulations for his course on negotiations and incorporated innovative components from highly acclaimed programs into the class.

Reed was instrumental in the development of the legal studies certificate program six years ago, and he took over as director of the program in 2015.

Reed has received Teaching Excellence Awards from his department and college.

He currently serves on the Terry College’s Diversity and Inclusion Advisory Board and is also president of the Southeastern Academy of Legal Studies in Business.

Established during the 1991-1992 academic year by the Russell Foundation to honor the late U.S. Sen. Richard B. Russell, the Russell Awards include a $7,500 cash award, and recipients are honored at the Faculty Recognition Banquet during UGA Honors Week. Nominations for the Russell Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching are submitted by deans and considered by a committee of senior faculty members and undergraduate students.

To be eligible for the award, a faculty member must have worked at UGA for at least three years and no more than 10 years in a tenure-track position.

To learn more about the Russell Awards, see https://t.uga.edu/2Zp.

Commitment Scholarship Program in 2017.

Through this program, the UGA Foundation matches gifts of $50,000, $75,000 or $100,000 to endow an undergraduate need-based scholarship. Perez wanted to help remove the financial barriers that many students face while also honoring the UGA education that led to his professional success.

Leano developed a passion for nutrition the summer before her first year at UGA. Now, she is pursuing a degree in dietetics from the College of Family and Consumer Sciences. She is interested in a career helping pregnant women with their “nutritional journeys.” She especially would like to assist young mothers-to-be who don’t have access to trustworthy nutritional advice.

Leano also joined the Hispanic Student Association’s first-year committee and is helping plan the spring gala. Additionally, she is a member of TRIO, a federal program that offers resources like quiet study spots and free tutoring to first-generation college students. Through her campus involvement, Leano found a “tight-knit group of people,” who have helped her transition to college life.

As Leano continues her UGA journey, she plans to seek mentors who can help her achieve her ultimate ambition to start her own clinical dietetics practice. As a Georgia Commitment Scholarship recipient, she will benefit from programming that helps students build a professional network. From success panels with graduating seniors to luncheons with alumni from top corporate employers, the Georgia Commitment Scholarship program enhances the financial support provided to recipients with academic and career coaching.

LECTURE

from page 1 She continued to work on behalf of marginalized people after moving to New Mexico, where her activities included photographing efforts by Chicanos to reclaim land rights. In 1990 she was awarded a $305,000 MacArthur Foundation Fellowship for her part in founding nonprofit cooperatives that improved health care, social services and employment in isolated Hispanic and Native American communities.The fellowship is often referred to as the “genius” grant.

“Maria Varela is a civil rights trailblazer who overcame barriers based on gender, race and culture to advance social change,” said Llewellyn J. Cornelius, the Donald L. Hollowell Distinguished Professor of Social Justice and Civil Rights Studies at the UGA School of Social Work. “For over five decades, she has utilized her skills as a listener, an observer and a communicator to increase literacy, voter participation and enable traditional rural cultures to thrive.”

Varela co-authored Rural Environmental

Planning for Sustainable Communities, published in 1992 by Island Press. Her photographs have been included in books and featured in galleries and museums, including the New York Public Library, the Smithsonian Institution and the National Museum for Mexican Art in Chicago.

The Donald L. Hollowell Lecture is named for the civil rights attorney who was the lead counsel in Holmes v. Danner, the landmark case that in 1961 secured the right for African-Americans to attend the University of Georgia. This year’s lecture is sponsored by the Center for Social Justice, Human and Civil Rights; the School of Social Work; the Latin American and Caribbean Studies Institute; the Office of Institutional Diversity; the School of Public and International Affairs; the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences and its Office of Inclusion and Diversity Leadership; the College of Family and Consumer Sciences; and the Institute for African American Studies.