UGA Columns May 14, 2018

Periodicals Postage is PAID in Athens, Georgia

Division of Marketing & Communications University of Georgia 286 Oconee Street Suite 200 North Athens, GA 30602-1999

Disease ecologist developing warning system to predict new infectious diseases RESEARCH NEWS

3

ASO assistant conductor will lead a performance of Vivaldi’s ‘Four Seasons’ Vol. 45, No. 35

May 14, 2018

www.columns.uga.edu

UGA GUIDE

5

Benham to deliver keynote at School of Law Commencement

By Claire Taylor

lawprstu@uga.edu

Dorothy Kozlowski

Charles Kelley and David Haywood of Lady Antebellum perform “Georgia on My Mind” at the conclusion of their keynote speech during Commencement in Sanford Stadium.

Georgia on their minds Commencement speakers extol virtues of education and power of UGA degree

By Krista Richmond and Emily Webb krichmond@uga.edu, sew30274@uga.edu

On a brilliant spring evening between the hedges in Sanford Stadium, more than 4,500 University of Georgia undergraduates were serenaded into alumni status with a performance of “Georgia on My Mind” by keynote speakers David Haywood and Charles Kelley of Lady Antebellum.

More than 5,800 students received their undergraduate or graduate degrees in Commencement ceremonies on May 4. They heard words of wisdom from the guest speakers about the importance of education and were urged to follow their dreams and passions (see Cybersights, page 7).

Haywood and Kelley, Terry

College of Business alumni and members of the multiplatinum and award-winning trio Lady Antebellum, shared how the lessons they learned in the classroom helped them chase their dreams outside the classroom.

Haywood spoke about how they started writing music together while pursuing their degrees.When they graduated in 2004, they each took jobs in the business world but continued to find time to write together. It was Charles’ brother, Josh, who encouraged them to make the move to Nashville to write music professionally.

“It was a bit of a risk for us to go to Nashville,” Haywood said,“but at the same time, it wasn’t really that big of a risk at all” because they had their UGA degrees.

Kelley also reminded the undergraduates about the importance of

being open to things they haven’t even dreamed of yet: “There is more than one clear path and direction.”

Haywood and Kelley concluded with a performance of the 1930 classic “Georgia on My Mind” made famous by Georgia native Ray Charles.

Prior to that, student guest speaker Hunter Glenn Smith, who received his bachelor’s degree in political science, reminded the new graduates that education also comes from untraditional means.

“We are a community of stories,” he said to the 4,576 undergraduates who became the 215th graduating class from UGA. “It is the lessons taught outside the classroom that most help us learn to live, grow and lead.”

Earlier in the day at the graduate ceremony in Stegeman Coliseum, See COMMENCEMENT on page 8

UGA ATHLETIC ASSOCIATION

Supreme Court of Georgia Justice Robert Benham will deliver the keynote address at the University of Georgia School of Law’s Commencement to be held May 19 at 10 a.m.

Benham, a 1970 graduate of the School of Law, was the first African-American ever appointed to the state Supreme Court. He served the court as chief justice from 1995 to 2001.

Prior to his appointment to the court, Benham was a judge on the Georgia Court of Appeals

for five years.

Previously, Benham worked as a trial attorney for the Atlanta Legal Aid Society and in private practice. He also served as special assistant attorney general in Cartersville and worked for two terms as the president of the Bartow County Bar Association.

Benham is currently a member of the American Judicature Society, the National Criminal Justice Association, the Federal-State Jurisdiction Committee and the Governor’s Southern Business Institute. He is also

See LAW on page 8

ODUM SCHOOL OF ECOLOGY

Doctoral student awarded Ford Foundation Predoctoral Fellowship

By Beth Gavrilles bethgav@uga.edu

Denzell Cross, a doctoral student in integrative conservation and ecology at the University of Georgia, has been awarded a Ford Foundation Predoctoral Fellowship. This highly selective award—approximately 65 were given in 2018—provides three years of support for study in pursuit of a doctorate.

It recognizes academic excellence; promise for future achievement as a scholar, researcher and teacher in higher education; and capacity to use diversity as a resource to enrich the education of all students. Cross is the fourth UGA student to receive the award.

Cross studies the impacts of landscape-scale disturbance on urban watersheds in Georgia using

trait-based ecology and historical data.

Specifically, he is exploring how the structure and function of communities of macroinDenzell Cross vertebrates— small creatures like insects, crayfish and snails—living in streams and rivers change through time in response to increasing urbanization.

His work will help inform management and conservation efforts in urban environments.

“Denzell has been such a fantastic addition to my lab and to the Odum community,” said Cross’ doctoral advisor Krista Capps, assistant professor in the Odum See FELLOWSHIP on page 8

FRANKLIN COLLEGE OF ARTS AND SCIENCES

Paynes lauded at indoor athletic facility naming UGA to host international ‘Dirty Surrounded by friends, family program was Jim Nantz of CBS father, Porter Payne, forever tied and a multitude of supporters, Billy Payne was front and center April 30 at the celebration naming event of Georgia’s indoor athletic facility that bears the name of him and his father, Porter.

The Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia in February approved the official name of the facility as the William Porter Payne and Porter Otis Payne Indoor Athletic Facility in honor of former UGA all-star football player Billy Payne and his father, the late Porter Payne, also a former Bulldog letterman. The naming is the result of gifts totaling more than $10 million secured from friends of Billy and Porter Payne.

Master of ceremonies for the

who has anchored the network’s coverage of the Masters since 1989.

Among those participating in the program were UGA President Jere W. Morehead, J. Reid Parker Director of Athletics Greg McGarity, Hall of Fame golfer Jack Nicklaus, former Atlanta Mayor and U.N. Ambassador Andrew Young, current Augusta National Chairman Fred Ridley, UGA football coach Kirby Smart and Vince Dooley, Billy Payne’s former coach.

“Countless individuals across our great state and indeed all over the nation and around the world have benefited from the vision and leadership of Billy Payne,” Morehead said. “We are proud to have his name and the name of his late

to our storied athletic program.”

Former CEO of the Atlanta Olympic Games and chairman of Augusta National, Payne graduated from UGA in 1969 with a degree in political science, and he earned his law degree from Georgia Law in 1973. Both he and his father lettered in football at UGA, Billy from 1966-68 and Porter from 1946-49.

“It is a great day for the University of Georgia to honor Billy Payne and his father, Porter,” McGarity said. “We are exceptionally proud to have the Payne family name honored by placement on one of our most significant athletic facilities.”

Payne launched a successful bid to bring the 1996 Centennial See DEDICATION on page 8

Work’ conference May 17-19

By Alan Flurry

aflurry@uga.edu

The University of Georgia will host the 2018 Southern Labor Studies Association conference, a biannual gathering of scholars, students and activists.

The conference will be held in the Richard B. Russell Building Special Collections Libraries and at other UGA and Athens sites May 17-19. Registration, $90 for non-members and $65 for SLSA members, is available online at southernlaborstudies.org. Several events will be free and open to the public.

Attendees from around the U.S., England, Northern Ireland and India will discuss the past and present of labor and working-class history in the U.S. South.

Panels, workshops, roundtables and keynotes will discuss many subjects including mining, farming, food processing, textiles, the nuclear power industry, foreignowned auto factories, construction workers’ safety, black labor in the U.S. Army, Jim Crow, convict labor, anti-union sentiment, enslaved household workers and concubines in the American South and Latino/a workers. There will also be a special

See CONFERENCE on page 8

2 May 14, 2018 columns.uga.edu Why I Give

Commit to Georgia 2018

Name: Aaron Hale Position: Associate Editor, Georgia Magazine, ­Division of Marketing & ­Communications At UGA: Five years Aaron Hale

Beneficiary of his gift to the university: The Georgia Fund Why he contributes: “As an employee and as a student, UGA has given me a lot. I give back through my work but also through payroll deduction. It’s to show I believe in what we’re all doing here.”

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

Around academe

Robot completes college course

Bina48, a sentient robot created by Hanson Robotics, successfully completed a college course at Notre Dame de Namur University in California. The course, which was on the philosophy of love, was taught by William Barry, an associate professor of philosophy and the director of NDNU’s Mixed Reality Immersive Learning and Research Lab. Bina48 has received a lot of media attention since its creation and has been heralded as the most sentient robot ever created.

As part of the course, the robot participated in class discussions via Skype, debated students from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point and even delivered a presentation with another student in the class.

Barry hopes that the robot will eventually be able to teach a course of its own.

US leads in student perceptions of education quality, survey finds

Postgraduate students believe United States universities offer higher-quality education than other countries, this according to a survey conducted by the International Development Program, or IDP Education.

IDP places students who want to study internationally in programs around the world and recently conducted its sixth Student Buyer Behaviour Study among 4,200 students in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the U.K. and the U.S. to measure student attitudes toward global education systems.

The study found that over the past year, more students have wanted to attend Canadian or Australian universities, which IDP believes is due to Canada’s welcoming policies and clear study-migration plans. Canada also ranked higher in affordability, graduate employment opportunities and safety.

Opt into deskside recycling system

News to Use

UGA employees who wish to opt into the Self-Service Deskside Recycling System can ask their building supervisor to enact the change.

Participants will give up their traditional wastebasket in exchange for a 7-gallon bin for mixed recyclables and a small side-saddle for landfill items. In addition, participants commit to empty both bins as needed into the appropriate recycling and landfill bins in a hallway or other common area near their office.

This system reduces the amount of plastic bags used for office waste, helps participants to be more mindful of the things they discard and frees up building service workers to focus on other tasks.

Not sure what goes in which bin? Everything you need to know is on the SingleStream Recycling page at https://bit.ly/2rgENpc. If you don’t know who your building supervisor is, ask your department’s facilities liaison.

Source: Office of Sustainability

UGA RETIREES ASSOCIATION

More than 200 retirees thanked for service to university at reception

By Emily Webb

sew30274@uga.edu

The Office of the President, the Office of the Provost and the University of Georgia Retirees Association hosted a reception on April 26 to honor the 277 faculty and staff members who have retired since May 2017.

Speaking at the event, University System of Georgia Chancellor Steve Wrigley and UGA President Jere W. Morehead thanked retirees for their commitment to UGA. “Our faculty, staff and students represent this institution’s most treasured assets, and you have applied your expertise and support to making this university a better place,” Morehead said. “On behalf of our students and our alumni, I want to thank you for your unwavering support for the University of Georgia.

There is something very special about the University of Georgia, and I want to thank you for making it even more special by the contributions you have made to this institution.”

Forty-three retirees attended the reception, which recognized former staff and faculty members from several schools, colleges, departments and units, including the biochemistry and molecular biology department’s Daniel DerVartanian, who worked at UGA

Faculty and staff who have retired since May 2017 were honored at a reception April 26.

for 48 years.

“Listening to the range of positions and roles that were recognized today,” said Wrigley, “really captures the complexity of this institution and the many people who in so many ways contribute to making it a great place.”

Also recognized at the event were new UGARA board members Tom Jackson, Hugh Ruppersburg,Anne Sweaney and Floyd Downer. The new officers for the UGARA board are Nancy McDuff, president; Henry Hibbs, presidentelect; Marilyn Huff-Waller, secretary; and Tom Eaton, treasurer. The new board members and officers will begin their roles on July 1.

Retirees were encouraged to stay involved with UGA through the

ACADEMIC AFFAIRS

Search underway for public health dean

relationship that UGARA provides and to try something new.

“I encourage you to get involved in your community and remain involved with this institution,” said Wrigley.

“That really is what we’re here for—to make a difference, to leave things better than we found them. I congratulate you and wish you well in this next chapter of your life.”

McDuff echoed the chancellor’s sentiments.

“Our thanks to all of you for what you’ve done for the institution,” she said.

“I hope that you enjoy retirement and the wonderful adventure that having a little free time on your hands may present: a chance to travel, to give back to the community by volunteering.”

COLLEGE OF FAMILY AND CONSUMER SCIENCES

Researcher leads effort to reduce neural tube defects

By Sam Fahmy

By Cal Powell

UGA Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost Pamela Whitten has appointed a committee to begin a national search to fill the position of dean of the College of Public Health.

Lisa K. Nolan, dean of the UGA College of Veterinary Medicine, will chair the search committee, which includes faculty, staff, alumni and student representation.

Additional search committee members are Diane Baird, administrative manager and human resource liaison, dean’s office; Megan Bramlett, Master of Public Health student; Phaedra Corso, UGA Foundation Professor of Human Health in the health policy and management department; Marsha Davis, associate dean for outreach and professor in the health promotion and behavior department; Brittani Harmon, clinical assistant professor and doctor of public health program coordinator in the health policy and management department; Curt Harris, assistant professor in the health policy and management department and associate director of the Institute for Disaster Management; Alan Kim, an undergraduate student majoring in environmental health science; Brooks McCommons, senior director of development for constituent programs in the university’s Division of Development & Alumni Relations; Jessica Muilenburg, associate professor and graduate coordinator in the health promotion and behavior department; Luke Naeher, professor in the environmental health science department; Mumbi Okundaye, associate academic professional in the college’s Office of Academic Affairs and Master of Public Health program director; Ye Shen, associate professor in the epidemiology and biostatistics department; Christopher Whalen, Distinguished Research Professor and Ernest Corn Professor of Infectious Disease Epidemiology in the epidemiology and biostatistics department and director of the Global Health Institute; and Xiaozhong “John” Yu, assistant professor in the environmental health science department.

The committee will be assisted by the UGA Search Group in Human Resources.

Phillip L. Williams, who has served as dean of the College of Public Health since its founding in 2005 and holds the Georgia Power Professorship of Environmental Health, recently announced that he will be stepping down from his role and retiring Dec. 1.

A University of Georgia researcher is leading an international effort to reduce neural tube defects, such as spina bifida, in developing countries. The research is backed by a $734,437 grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to the hosting organization, Nutrition International.

Lynn Bailey, a noted expert in folate research and head of the foods and nutrition department within the UGA College of Family and Consumer Sciences, is chair of an expert advisory group assembled last year by Nutrition International to develop a “roadmap for action” for preventing NTDs. The group is charged with building global capacity for folate testing laboratories in low and middle-income countries along with effective folic acid fortification programs and NTDsurveillance systems to document the effectiveness of these approaches to prevent NTDs. The term of the initial phase of funding is 18 months.

Bailey was chosen to lead the group due to a lifetime of work in the research of folate, an essential B vitamin required for DNA synthesis and normal growth and development.

Maternal folate deficiency within the first month of pregnancy is a major cause of NTDs, with a global estimate of around 260,000 affected pregnancies annually.

It’s predicted that developing countries are most likely to have lower folate status and thus be at much higher risk of NTDs. These impoverished countries also present the most challenges in assessing folate status, implementing folic acid intervention programs and establishing birth defect surveillance programs.

The majority of NTDs can be prevented with folic acid interventions including mandatory fortification of the food supply and in some cases targeted folic acid supplementation.

One of the initial tasks of the expert advisory group is to conduct a landscape analysis to prioritize countries where intervention is most desperately needed.

Many impoverished regions lack the resources to establish the required infrastructure to fortify foods.

While some funding will be directed toward establishing regional labs to assess folate status and conduct blood analysis, another key component of the project includes engaging global partners, governments and advocates in efforts to not only implement folic acid fortification but also to build capacity to sustain these programs.

The project is the result of a technical consultation also chaired

by Bailey and hosted by Nutrition International that began in 2016 and includes global partners like the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the World Health Organization.

“The exciting thing about this opportunity is it brings together individuals who have boots on the ground in developing countries and really understand what’s workable in a low-resource environment where the NTD risk is very high,” Bailey said.

sfahmy@uga.edu

jcpowell@uga.edu

RESEARCH NEWS

columns.uga.edu May 14, 2018

3

Digest Southeast Quantum Computing Workshop to be held at UGA May 18

GREAT COMMITMENTS Andrew Davis Tucker

John Drake’s research looks at how climate, evolution and human activity spread diseases and how to predict future outbreaks.

Sounding the alarm

UGA disease ecologist building warning system to predict emergence of new infectious diseases

By Aaron Hale

aahale@uga.edu

Think of Jenga, the game in which two players remove wooden blocks from the lower part of the tower and place them at its top. After a few turns, the now skeletal tower becomes unstable. Just before it crashes and the game’s winner is determined, the tower wobbles back and forth. It’s reached its tipping point.

That wobble, the reflection of a physical phenomenon called “critical slowing down,” can happen in an ecosystem just before the emergence of a new infectious disease—at least in theory—said John Drake, a Distinguished Research Professor in UGA’s Odum School of Ecology.

When a devastating Ebola outbreak swept through West Africa, no one saw it coming. By the time it was contained, it had claimed tens of thousands of lives.

Other deadly outbreaks such as Zika virus or avian flu have the potential to take a catastrophic toll.

Researchers at UGA and other institutions are working tirelessly to develop effective treatments for these

diseases. But what if health officials could predict where outbreaks are poised to occur before they do—to find that wobble before everything comes crashing down—and establish preventive measures?

Drake believes predicting an ecosystem’s critical slowing down before an outbreak is the key. He and other researchers are working to devise an early warning system for infectious diseases, which could save lives and allow public health resources to be used more efficiently and effectively.

Such a system would take a holistic view of how a disease spreads within an ecosystem, keeping in mind that most emerging infectious diseases originate in animals. The system will use computers to analyze large amounts of data measuring environmental, epidemiological and other factors looking for signs of trouble.

“Infectious disease is a problem for human health and public health, but being trained as an ecologist is a huge asset,” said Drake, director of the UGA Center for Ecology of Infectious Diseases. Drake is an international leader in the growing field of disease

ecology, which studies how climate, evolution and human activity interact to spread diseases.

If the tipping point of an epidemic is like a wobbling Jenga tower, then constructing a system to detect disease outbreaks before they reach an epidemic is “a tricky scientific puzzle,” said Drake. The tricky part, or at least one of them, is figuring out which factors will be able to sound the alarm.

Of course, disease ecologists aren’t building big jigsaw puzzles on a table top. They are creating intricate models in computers. These models attempt to encapsulate the key factors that lead to a disease outbreak.

For Drake, the puzzle-solving aspect of this work and the opportunity to do something that no one has done before is what drew him to scientific study. But now he’s driven by a commitment to finding solutions for deadly diseases.

Editor’s note: This story is part of the Great Commitments series, which focuses on cutting-edge research happening on UGA campuses. Read more about UGA’s commitment to research that changes lives at greatcommitments.uga.edu.

OFFICE OF SUSTAINABILITY

Semester in Review highlights value of community

By Emily Webb

sew30274@uga.edu

The Office of Sustainability strives to create a culture of sustainability at the university through leadership and community. The spring 2018 Semester in Review program on April 26 recognized UGA students, faculty and staff members who have achieved that goal.

“It’s always wonderful to participate in this event,” said UGA President Jere W. Morehead. “It clearly is an important event at the University of Georgia, and that’s a positive development for this institution and for the Athens community.”

Sustainability efforts and education at UGA have grown significantly over the years, according to Kevin Kirsche, the director of the Office of Sustainability.

Since 2007, energy use has been reduced by 21 percent and water use reduced by 25 percent. Greenhouse gas emissions have been reduced by 20 percent since 2010. There are now over 2,000 courses related to sustainability, and 160 students are enrolled in the Undergraduate

Certificate for Sustainability.

During the program, Kirsche spoke about the importance of seasons in nature and in life.

“On campus, collectively, we experience the seasons also,” he said. “We all work hard for the harvest of opportunity and tangible benefits for all in our communities. Soon, we’ll see new fruits from our labors.”

The Semester in Review program included a poster session with more than 40 presentations from students and classes. Several students involved with the Office of Sustainability presented at the event, including Amalie Gee, a public relations major; Jackie Langmo, an environmental health sciences major; Meagan Bens, a master’s student in learning, leadership and organizational development; Nick Slagel, a doctoral student in foods and nutrition; Megan Reeves, a communication studies major; Melissa Ray, a master’s student at the Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources; and Gabi Rosenthal, a photography major in Grady College.

Twenty-one students who graduated May 4 with a sustainability certificate also were recognized at the program.

Sustainable UGA recognized four people for their contributions to advancing sustainability on campus and in the local community. Nethra Rajendran, a management information systems and international business double major in the Terry College of Business, was named Outstanding Undergraduate Student. Berea Antaki, a textiles, merchandising and interiors student at the College of Family and Consumer Sciences, was named Outstanding Graduate Student. Puneet Dwivedi, an assistant professor of sustainability sciences at the Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources and the Center for Integrative Conservation Research, was named Outstanding Faculty Member. ­UGArden’s JoHannah Biang, an agricultural specialist with UGA Cooperative Extension, was named Outstanding Staff Member.

To learn more, visit sustainability. uga.edu.

UGA will host a regional workshop on quantum computing and quantum information science on May 18 in the Center for Simulational Physics in the physics building. The second Southeast Quantum Computing Workshop is free, but registration is required.

Quantum computers, which use quantum states of subatomic particles to store information, was initiated as a field in 1980, and though its development remains in the early stages, some online capabilities are now available.

Large-scale quantum computers would be able to solve certain problems faster than ­classical computers and also to solve problems that are not practically feasible on classical computers.

Invited speakers for the workshop include Eugene Dumitrescu, research scientist at Oak Ridge National Laboratory; Jeffrey Cohn, ­doctoral candidate at Georgetown University; and Muyuan Li, doctoral student in ­computational science and engineering at Duke ­University.

The growing impact and capacity of ­quantum computing is the focus of the regional workshop, which will offer researchers an ­opportunity to share short presentations on their work with interested colleagues.

To learn more and to register for the conference, visit https://bit.ly/2HVhr3D.

Conservation innovation grant to fund UGA cover crop research

A $198,000 U.S. Department of Agriculturesponsored Conservation Innovation Grant will support ongoing University of Georgia research on cover crops and the effects of those crops on water quality and availability for row crop production.

The grant, which is administered through the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service, enables scientists from the UGA College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences to join Clemson University in collaborating on this research.

Wes Porter, UGA Cooperative Extension irrigation specialist, and George Vellidis, CAES precision agriculture expert, conduct the cover crop research on the university’s Tifton campus.

The research started on Sept. 21, 2017, and will continue through July 2020.

The grant funds research focused on water quality and conservation, Porter said. The UGA team wants to determine whether deep-rooted crops, specifically wheat and rye, reduce nutrient runoff and improve infiltration and soil moisture in fields.

Student documentary receives nomination for regional Emmy Award

A short documentary film produced by a student team in the entertainment and media studies department at UGA’s Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication is a ­finalist in a major regional competition.

The film, Classic City Queens, has been ­recognized as a nominee in the long-form, ­nonfiction category for a Student Production Award by the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences Southeast. The awards ­ceremony will take place June 9 in Atlanta.

Students Trey Leonard (producer), Andie Leeds (director), Alana Casto (editor) and ­Connor Gettmann (sound recordist) developed it as a project for EMST 5170, “Documentary ­Production,” taught in spring 2017 by Melissa Jackson.

It shines a light on the drag community of Athens through the eyes of UGA student Alex Suarez.

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.

4 May 14, 2018 columns.uga.edu

OUTREACH NEWS

GRIFFIN CAMPUS

Pike County high school students complete STEM Academy internships

By Ashley Biles

ashley.biles@uga.edu

It is not often that high school students get to work with world-renowned research scientists before they enter college. However, for six seniors from Pike County High School, that is exactly what happened during the 20172018 school year.

The students are the second class of Pike County High School’s STEM Academy to complete the STEM Internship Program on the University of Georgia Griffin campus. To be eligible to apply for the program, students must be enrolled in the Pike County STEM Academy in their junior year and have a minimum GPA of 3.7.

Through the program, the students worked alongside UGA research scientists to become better prepared for postsecondary education and future careers in STEM fields.

This year’s interns included Nathan Dodson, Ansley Fancher, Isabella Patel, John Tomko, Thomas Ware and Tia Watts. Three days a week, the students worked with mentors like UGA horticulturists Dario Chavez and Rachel Itle, FoodPIC director Kirk Kealey, food science and technology sensory scientist Koushik Adhikari and USDA-Plant Genetic Resources Conservation Unit peanut curator Shyam Tallury. At the end of the program, the students had completed a minimum of 120 internship hours per semester.

“The UGA Griffin and Pike County STEM Academy partnership allows student interns to gain experiences in research and lab techniques that are not available in a high school setting,” said James Stanford, assistant principal for Pike County High School.“This opportunity is remarkable because high school students are able to intern at the Griffin campus working on authentic research with professors who are experts and leaders in their fields.”

The interns agree with Stanford’s sentiments, and all of them noted during their project presentations how grateful they were to have the chance to work with such renowned scientists. Each student gave a presentation on their experience April 12 at the End of Program Celebration at UGA’s Griffin campus.

Fancher and Ware assisted Tallury on “National Peanut Collection Maintenance and Characterization.” Fancher said she was amazed at the amount of experience she was able to gain as a high school student. She spent most of her time working in the lab using state-of-the-art equipment while working on the project. While touring the UGA main campus in Athens, Fancher spoke with a college junior who is just getting to use the equipment Fancher and Ware used during their STEM internship.

“It was amazing that she had just used the gel electrophoresis system as a junior in college and here we are using it as seniors in high school,” said Fancher.

Dodson and Tomko interned with Kealey and the FoodPIC team during the second semester. Their project, “Product Development of Low Cost Cattleman’s Carolina Tangy Gold Barbeque Sauce,” gave them the chance to not only work in the lab, but also gain hands-on experience working with the client.

The pair was charged with recreating the barbeque sauce for a restaurant that uses it as a base for its wing sauce.

The client wanted to determine if it would be more cost efficient to make the barbeque sauce recipe from scratch as opposed to purchasing the Cattleman’s brand. Dodson and Tomko toiled away in the kitchen until they had a near exact recipe and ultimately did find it would be more economical for the client to make the sauce rather than purchase it. During their presentation, both said how much they enjoyed the internship and appreciated the chance to be a part of every step of the process.

Watts and Patel both worked with horticulturist Itle during the second semester on her blueberry research.

Watts’ project was the “Analysis of Flavor Volatiles in Southern Highbush and Rabbiteye Blueberry Type” while Patel’s was the “Comparison of Seed Traits in Blueberry Cultivars Treated with Rescue Treatments.”

During her presentation, Patel said she learned a lot about Georgia-grown blueberries and the state’s blueberry industry through the internship.

“I have now learned just how important blueberries are to Georgia’s economy,” she said, describing her experience as “eye-opening.”

Exposing young people to different scientific fields and industries is a large part of why Stanford is glad his students have the chance participate in the program.

“Interns gain insight on the importance of scientific inquiry and witness firsthand how the research taking place at UGA Griffin impacts the world,” he said. “We are so fortunate to have UGA Griffin as a partner. The support and resources provided by faculty mentors and the university is amazing.”

Photo courtesy of the Office of Public Service and Outreach

Students in the Institute of Leadership Advancement worked with UGA’s Archway Partnership on capstone projects that served communities across Georgia.

In the field

Archway Partnership, Terry College of Business partner to serve communities, provide opportunities to students

By Leah Moss

leahmoss@uga.edu

Michael Veal adjusted his hard hat. It was not every Saturday the Terry College of Business student ventured into a kaolin mine, one of the giant valleys throughout Washington County.

More than a field trip, this was an opportunity for Veal, along with nine other students in the Institute for Leadership Advancement at Terry, to learn about kaolin, a mineral found in Washington County. As their ILA capstone project, the students helped the community evaluate the potential for a museum to highlight kaolin, which has created jobs and shaped lives in the middle Georgia community for more than 50 years.

“Everything in that town is named after kaolin,” said Veal, whose father’s family lived in Washington County through four generations. “Their shopping center is named after kaolin, and there is a kaolin park.”

ILA partnered with UGA’s Archway Partnership on three capstone projects, required of all students receiving a certificate in the Leonard Leadership Scholars two-year program. In Hart County, a team of 10 ILA students helped create a tourism marketing plan for Hart State Park on Lake Hartwell. In Griffin-Spalding County, students helped with rebranding.

ILA faculty member and service-learning liaison Jodi Barnes said the Archway Partnership was chosen for capstone projects because UGA already has a strong presence in those communities and can easily identify the needs to be addressed.

While most classes devote all their resources to one organization, Barnes said, the model Archway provides is unique.

“For us, the model is very different. The service-learning project lasts an entire year,” said Barnes. “Archway offers expert local contacts for these groups, and ultimately they’re

supporting and enriching the greater state of Georgia.”

Begun in 2005 by UGA Public Service and Outreach and UGA Cooperative Extension, the Archway Partnership places UGA faculty in Georgia communities, providing them access to the resources of UGA to help address critical locally identified needs and opportunities.

The kaolin museum was identified as an opportunity for Washington County to showcase the chalky, white substance used in products including glossy paper, cosmetics and rocket ships.

Like many in the town, Trey Sheppard’s livelihood has been shaped by kaolin. He is vice president of crude kaolin mining operations for Howard Sheppard Inc., a Sandersville business that goes back three generations.

Sheppard realized the museum would be more valuable if it reflected the historical context of kaolin. Two UGA professors, Dorinda Dallmeyer, a professor in the College of Environment and Design, and her husband, David Dallmeyer, a professor of geology from the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences, made a presentation to Sheppard and the students.

According to the professors, kaolin formed due to the location of the fall line, a geological boundary running across the state from Augusta to Columbus. In prehistoric times, the fall line was the shoreline between Georgia and the Atlantic Ocean, when most of the present-day state was underwater. Fall lines are the borders where the land would have “fallen” into the ocean.

Sheppard believes knowing this history of the state, and how it relates to modern discoveries like kaolin, is important.

These factors have all shaped Georgia.

“Whether it’s school groups or people traveling through, we think it would be a great resource to bring people to the community,” said Sheppard. “It’s really for people all around this area to understand what we were like millions of years ago.”

FRANKLIN COLLEGE OF ARTS AND SCIENCES

Researchers discover how corn breaks genetics laws

By Alan Flurry

aflurry@uga.edu

Modern genetics is based on the idea that genes are passed on to progeny in a predictable fashion, as first described by 19th-century Austrian botanist Gregor Mendel. He determined that genes exist in pairs, and each one of the two has an equal chance of being transmitted to the next generation.

However, in rare exceptions, chromosomes are able to cheat this process and are passed on at a higher frequency.

It may come as a surprise that many heirloom varieties of corn contain just such a cheater. Called Abnormal chromosome 10, it cheats in the female part of the flower during meiosis, where it is

regularly transmitted about 75 percent of the time instead of the normal 50 percent.

Now a team of researchers at multiple universities led by UGA Distinguished Research Professor of Genetics Kelly Dawe has discovered that Ab10 encodes a cluster of genes that code for specialized motor proteins. These motor proteins bind to chromosomes and actively pull them to the reproductive egg cell. The molecular motors are only found on Ab10, and they enable the Ab10 chromosome to bypass Mendel’s law and be transmitted to more than 50 percent of the offspring.

The paper, “A kinesin-14 motor activates neocentromeres to promote meiotic drive in maize,” was published

in the journal Cell.

These so-called meiotic drive systems are suspected to have evolved and gone extinct many times in the history of both plants and animals. As in sports and other conflicts, the presence of cheaters has favored the evolution of new biological rules that thwart the cheaters and ensure overall fairness. It is rare to visualize a cheater in action, and rarer still solve its molecular mechanism.

“The mystery had been known for many years before I began studying it, and we have been trying to solve the problem in our laboratory for over 20 years,” Dawe said.“It was very satisfying to finally find the genes, and even more satisfying to learn that molecular motors are powering the process.”

UGAGUIDE

columns.uga.edu May 14, 2018

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

FACS 100 Centennial. Through May 18. Special collections libraries.

706-542-3386. connicot@uga.edu.

Master of Fine Arts Degree Candidates.

Through May 20. Georgia Museum of Art. 706-542-4662. gmoa@uga.edu.

Images of Awakening: Buddhist Sculpture from Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Through June 17. Georgia Museum of Art. 706-542-4662. gmoa@uga.edu.

Kenneth Storey. Through July 1.

Visitor Center, State Botanical Garden.

706-542-8717. wtonks@uga.edu.

A Legacy of Giving: C. Herman and Mary Virginia Terry. Through Aug. 5. Georgia Museum of Art. 706-542-4662. gmoa@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, MAY 14 DROP/ADD Through May 15. For extended summer session. For undergraduate and graduate level courses.

TUESDAY, MAY 15 RAMADAN Through June 14. Islamic religious observance.

TUESDAY TOUR AT TWO Also May 22 and 29. Guided tour of the exhibit galleries of the Walter J. Brown Media Archives and Peabody Awards Collection, the Hargrett Rare Book and Manuscript Library and the Richard B. Russell Library for Political Research and Studies. 2 p.m. Rotunda, second floor, special collections libraries.

706-542-8079. jclevela@uga.edu.

WORKSHOP The Georgia Museum of Art presents “Drawing in Nature” at the State Botanical Garden. Join artist Toni Carlucci to learn some of the secrets to drawing plants, flowers and other objects of nature using techniques that are fun, effective and easy to practice at home.

Open to children ages 6 and older.

Pre-registration is required. Limited to 25 participants. 4 p.m. Visitor Center, classroom 1, State Botanical Garden.

706-542-6158. ckeber@uga.edu.

MURAL DEDICATION The UGA School of Public and International Affairs, Office of Government Relations and Office of Instruction invite guests to an event to dedicate the Police-Community Relations Mural.

In the summer of 2017, freshman UGA students in Brian Williams’ First Year Odyssey Seminar class, “The Current State of Police-Community Relations: Problems and Prospects,” partnered with Athens police officers and children from local youth outreach programs to paint a mural depicting police-community relations. Parking will be available on the surrounding streets as well as at the Clarke County School District Office

on Dearing Ext. 4:30 p.m. Food for the Soul, 1965 W. Broad St., 706-542-5626. tcoley@uga.edu.

BASEBALL vs. Presbyterian. $5-$8. 6 p.m. Foley Field.

WEDNESDAY, MAY 16 TOUR AT TWO Sarah Kate Gillespie, curator of American art, will lead a special tour of A Legacy of Giving. 2 p.m. Georgia Museum of Art. 706-542-4662. hazbrown@uga.edu.

THURSDAY, MAY 17 NATURE RAMBLERS Also May 24. Join Nature Ramblers and learn more about the natural areas, flora and fauna of the Garden. 9:30 a.m.

Visitor Center & Conservatory front fountain, State Botanical Garden.

706-542-6156. ckeber@uga.edu.

MEETING Medical Reserve Corps members monthly meeting. Topic will be psychological first aid overview. 5:30 p.m.

Garden Room, Rhodes Hall.

706-542-5845. prepare@uga.edu.

THIRD THURSDAY Seven of Athens’ established venues for visual art hold “Third Thursday,” an event devoted to art in the evening hours, on the third Thursday of every month. The Georgia Museum of Art, the Lamar Dodd School of Art, Lyndon House Arts Center, Glass Cube & Gallery@Hotel Indigo-Athens, Cine, the Classic Center and ATHICA will be open from 6 to 9 p.m. to showcase their visual-arts programming. Full schedules are posted at 3Thurs.org.

YOGA IN THE GALLERIES Participate in a yoga class surrounded by works of art in the galleries. Led by instructors from Five Points Yoga, this program is free and open to both beginner and experienced yogis. Space is limited and available on a first-come, first-served basis; tickets are available at the front desk starting at 5:15 p.m.

Yoga mats provided. 6 p.m. Georgia Museum of Art. 706-542-4662. hazbrown@uga.edu.

THURSDAY TWILIGHT TOUR Docent-led tour of highlights from the permanent collection. 7 p.m. Georgia Museum of Art. 706-542-4662. hazbrown@uga.edu.

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

FRIDAY, MAY 18 MIDTERM, WITHDRAWAL DEADLINE For May session.

90 CARLTON: SPRING The Friends of the Georgia Museum of Art and the Board of Advisors of the State Botanical Garden of Georgia present a reception to celebrate Bloom Where You’re Planted: The Collection of Deen Day Sanders with refreshments, gallery activities, door prizes and “Ask

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/.

the Experts” from 7-8 p.m. RSVP to gmoarsvp@uga.edu or 706-542-4199.

Register at http://bit.ly/­­90c-spring2018.

Free for members; $5 suggested donation for nonmembers. 5:30 p.m.

Georgia Museum of Art.

5

ATLANTA SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA TO PERFORM VIVALDI’S ‘FOUR SEASONS’

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

SATURDAY, MAY 19 FAMILY DAY Celebrate spring at this special flowerthemed Family Day. Create a piece of art in the Michael and Mary Erlanger Studio Classroom. 10 a.m. Georgia Museum of Art. 706-542-4662. hazbrown@uga.edu.

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

SUNDAY, MAY 20 OPENING RECEPTION Enjoy an opening reception for Kenneth Storey’s exhibition of lithographs and photographs. 2 p.m. Visitor Center, State Botanical Garden. 706-542-6014. connicot@uga.edu.

CONCERT Antonio Vivaldi’s four concertos, known as The Four Seasons, are among the world’s best-loved compositions. Each concerto represents one of the four seasons of the year. The ASO’s associate concertmaster Justin Bruns will be the violin soloist. $30-$66. 3 p.m.

Performing Arts Center. 706-542-4400.

(See story, right.)

TUESDAY, MAY 22 TODDLER TUESDAY In celebration of spring, “In Full Bloom” will focus on paintings of flowers.

This 40-minute program is designed for families with children ages 18 months to 3 years. Space is limited; email sagekincaid@uga.edu or call ­706-542-0448 to reserve a spot.

10 a.m. Georgia Museum of Art. MEETING The monthly titles for The Rest of the Book Club Meeting are selected (and discussions led) by Special Collections staff who help to create displays and programs. May selection: The Hardboiled Virgin by Frances Newman. 5:30 p.m.

258 special collections libraries.

706-542-5788. jhebbard@uga.edu.

WEDNESDAY, MAY 23 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.

Stephen Mulligan, assistant conductor of the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, will lead a performance of Vivaldi’s Four Seasons.

By Bobby Tyler btyler@uga.edu

The Atlanta Symphony Orchestra returns to Athens May 20 to close out the Performing Arts Center’s 2017-2018 season with Vivaldi’s The Four Seasons, one of the most beloved works in classical music.

Justin Bruns, ASO associate concertmaster, will be the violin soloist, and Stephen Mulligan will conduct the program, which also includes Mendelssohn’s Italian Symphony. The performance will begin at 3 p.m. in Hodgson Concert Hall.

“Antonio Vivaldi composed more than 230 concertos for solo violin,” said Atlanta Symphony Orchestra program annotator Ken Meltzer.

“Among these, The Four Seasons is by far the best known. Indeed, almost three centuries after its composition, The Four Seasons remains one of the most popular works in all of concert music.”

The Performing Arts Center will unveil the roster of artists for the 2018-2019 season immediately following the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra performance.

Tickets for the concert are $30 to $66. They 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 given by Meltzer at 2:15 p.m. in Ramsey Concert Hall in the Performing Arts Center.

The Performing Arts Center is at 230 River Road on the main campus in Athens.

Aug. 1-9. 11:30 a.m. Legion Pool.

706-542-7774. (See Bulletin Board, page 8.)

MINDFULNESS RETREAT Also May 25 at 9 a.m. Kaira Jewel Lingo will lead “Art is How We Live: Mindfulness in the Midst of Complexity.” Lingo teaches meditation and mindfulness internationally, with a focus on activists, people of color, artists, educators, families and youth. Each retreat date can stand alone, but attendees are encouraged to attend both. The event is free, but registration is limited and required. Please call 706-542-0448 or email sagekincaid@uga.edu. 2 p.m.

Georgia Museum of Art.

MONDAY, MAY 28 MEMORIAL DAY HOLIDAY No classes; offices closed.

THURSDAY, MAY 24 LEGION POOL Legion Pool opens for the summer season. Pool admission is open to UGA students, faculty and staff as well as members of the “Friends of Campus Life.” Hours are 11:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. daily through July 31 and 3-7 p.m.

TUESDAY, MAY 29 FULL MOON HIKE: FLOWER MOON Each walk will focus on a different topic such as the moon, constellations or nocturnal creatures. Be prepared to hike up to 2 miles on the wooded trails and in the garden. A backpack carrier is suggested for those bringing young

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.

children or infants. Pre-registration is required. $5/person or $15/family.

8 p.m. Fountain in front of Visitor’s Center, State Botanical Garden.

706-583-0894. bwboone@uga.edu.

COMING UP CLASSES END May 30. For May session.

TOUR AT TWO May 30. Docent-led tour of highlights from the permanent collection. 2 p.m.

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

FINAL EXAMS May 31. For May session.

RESEARCH SYMPOSIUM May 31 through June 1. Join Marine Extension and Georgia Sea Grant for the 2018 Research Symposium. Georgia Sea Grant-funded scientists from across the state will share their latest research on coastal topics, including sustainable aquaculture and healthy coastal ecosystems. $30. Graduate students and advisory board members can attend free of charge. To RSVP, email Angela Llewllayn at angelal@uga.edu by May 15. 1 p.m. Georgia Center.

NEXT COLUMNS DEADLINES May 16 (for May 29 issue) May 30 (for June 11 issue) June 13 (for June 25 issue)

6 May 14, 2018 columns.uga.edu

M. Kathleen Kern has been appointed i­ncoming editor of RUSA’s journal Reference and User Services Quarterly. Kern began as editor-­ designate in early February and will assume the position of editor July 1.

She is currently director of the Miller Learning Center at the University of Georgia Libraries. Kern has published widely, including a book, multiple peer-reviewed articles, book chapters and other articles. She also has worked as an adjunct instructor for the library schools at both the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and Rutgers University. Kern previously served as a column editor and a member of the publication’s board as well as an occasional referee for the journal. She is also a past president of RUSA. Reference and User Services Quarterly is the official journal of the Reference and User Services Association of the American Library Association.

Its purpose is to disseminate information of interest to reference librarians, information specialists and other professionals involved in user-oriented library services.

Meghan Boenig, head coach of UGA’s equestrian team, has been named SEC Coach of the Year for the fourth consecutive year.

The SEC Awards are voted on by coaches.

Boenig is in her 16th season as head coach and has been the only head coach of the program.

Meghan Boenig Under her guidance, UGA has earned six NCEA national championship titles and three SEC titles.

Janice Simon, Josiah Meigs Distinguished Teaching Associate Professor of Art History in the Lamar Dodd School of Art, received the President’s Award of the Nineteenth Century Studies Association for “sustained service to the association and significant contributions to 19th-century studies.”

The award was presented during the luncheon banquet of the association’s 39th annual conference this spring in Philadelphia.

Lori Ringhand, associate dean for academic affairs and Hosch Professor in the School of Law, received a Fulbright ­Distinguished Chair Award to spend the spring 2019 semester as a visiting professor at the ­University of Aberdeen in Scotland.

Ringhand’s Fulbright Lori Ringhand ­research will explore the ­different approaches to campaign finance regulation taken by the U.S. and the United K ­ ingdom.

The Fulbright Scholars Program supports U.S. scholars and students working and studying abroad and strives to promote international understanding and cooperation across communities and academic disciplines. The Fulbright Distinguished Chair Awards are considered the most prestigious appointments in the Fulbright Scholar Program and are awarded to eminent scholars who have a significant publication and teaching record.

Additionally, Ringhand has been selected from among UK Fulbright award recipients to present a 2019 Fulbright Gresham College Lecture. Gresham College is one of London’s most prestigious institutions of higher learning.

Ringhand is the eighth UGA School of Law faculty member to be awarded a Fulbright grant.

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.

FACULTY PROFILE

Dorothy Kozlowski

Dorothy Carter aims to help organizations and companies build teamwork and leadership skills with her work in industrialorganizational psychology.

Professor aims to solve workplace challenges through better practices

By Jessica Luton jluton@uga.edu

For Dorothy Carter, the field of industrial-organizational psychology has the potential to help organizations, researchers and companies solve grand challenges.

As an assistant professor at UGA for the past three years, she has applied I/O psychology principals to do just that. In her Leadership, Innovation, Networks, and Collaboration, or LINC, Laboratory, she and her research team work to help provide solutions for an array of organizations.

“I/O psychology is the study of people in the workplace,” she said. “There are many topics within that broad heading. My research is focused on teamwork and leadership in organizations.

“Every organization has certain teamwork issues that need to be addressed,” she added. “For example, how do you get a team of people who are from different backgrounds to work together effectively and solve organizational problems? I/O psychologists try to make the workplace more effective for organizations and employees by applying systematic scientific principles to these types of challenges.”

Most recently, she was awarded a grant to work with NASA and ­researchers at other institutions around the country to facilitate the teamwork needed to send a team of astronauts on a long-duration spaceflight mission to Mars.

“To send a team of humans to deep space will require effective teamwork processes, like information sharing, backup behavior and coordination.

These teamwork processes will need to happen not only among the members of the team that is traveling to deep space, but also on Earth among members of mission control and other teams at different locations around the world,” she said. “In fact, teams are going to need to work together with many other teams from different backgrounds, different areas of expertise and different geographic locations. In order to make that system of teamwork happen effectively, we’ll need to apply best practices from I/O psychology. For example, how should we train people to work in these systems? How should we intervene to make the patterns of communication and collaboration more effective?”

Using an array of methods—interviews with subject matter experts at NASA, analysis of archival documents, agent-based computational modeling and laboratory studies—their goal is to deliver a set of countermeasure interventions to NASA to help facilitate the necessary teamwork across an array of possible situations.

In addition to her research with NASA, Carter investigates teamwork in many other Earth-bound organizations. For instance, she works with a global leadership development company called the Center for Creative Leadership to better understand the teamwork relationships that are needed among

FACTS Dorothy Carter

Assistant Professor Department of Psychology Franklin College of Arts and Sciences Ph.D., Industrial-Organizational Psychology, Georgia Institute of Technology, 2016 M.A., Industrial-Organizational Psychology, Georgia Institute of Technology, 2013 B.S., Psychology, Wright State University, 2010 At UGA: Three years

members of top management teams in organizations.

She also has been working with the Georgia Clinical & Translational Science Alliance to help with the grand challenge of making sure that basic scientific research related to medicine translates to real world practice in a meaningful way. For the past decade, the Georgia CTSA involved Atlantaarea universities and hospitals such as Emory, Georgia Tech and the Morehouse School of Medicine. The most recent iteration of this grant, however, included the University of Georgia as a means to extend translational research to the entirety of the state.

“A key goal of the Georgia CTSA is to break down barriers to collaboration across participating institutions and disciplines on a variety of levels,” Carter said.

OFFICE OF INSTRUCTION

Jones named director of student financial aid

By Tracy N. Coley tcoley@uga.edu

The University of Georgia has named Anthony Jones, director of financial aid at Appalachian State University, the new director of the Office of Student Financial Aid following a national search.

Jones succeeds Bonnie Joerschke, who retires at the end of June.

Jones has led an accomplished career in student financial aid on university campuses and in Washington, D.C. From 2010-2013, Jones was a senior policy analyst and director of Higher Education Regulations Study and director of policy research. He was then appointed as the deputy executive director for the Advisory Committee on Student Financial Assistance. Prior to that, he

was a consultant and peer reviewer at the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators and a policy analyst in the Office of Postsecondary Education for the Anthony Jones U.S. Department of Education from 1999-2008.

As director of the Office of Student Financial Aid at ASU, a position he has held since 2013, Jones was responsible for the administration of all federal, state, institutional and private financial aid programs and oversight, interpretation, implementation and administration of student financial aid programs, including

federal, state, institutional and private.

Jones has worked in financial aid offices at Tusculum College, North Carolina State University and the University of North Carolina-Greensboro.

He returns to the University of Georgia where he first served as a graduate research assistant in the Division of Finance & Administration and in the Office of Student Financial Aid from 2007-2010. He holds a master’s degree from Tusculum College and a bachelor’s degree from UNC-Greensboro.

The director of student financial aid reports to the vice president for instruction and works under an enrollment management model that includes the offices of Undergraduate Admissions and the Registrar. Jones’ appointment is effective June 15.

DIVISION OF FINANCE & ADMINISTRATION

columns.uga.edu May 14, 2018

Over and out

OUTREACH NEWS

Engineering students solve school’s noisy cafeteria problem

Longtime UGA chief of police to retire June 30

By Leigh Beeson

By Leah Moss

lbeeson@uga.edu

When Jimmy Williamson retires June 30, he will have spent 30 years working in law enforcement for the University System of Georgia, all but two of them at UGA. But when he first became a UGA police officer in 1988, he wasn’t planning for a career in law enforcement. He had earned an associate degree in agronomy at Middle Georgia College while working as a deputy in his local sheriff’s office and was now eyeing UGA’s turf management program.

Determined to continue working to put himself through school, Williamson joined the UGA police force and began taking classes.

“My grades suffered just a little bit, but I got it done,” he said, smiling.

Four and a half years later—taking only one extra semester to finish his degree—Williamson graduated from the university with a bachelor’s in agronomy.

But when he started looking for jobs in turf management, he realized that he had it pretty good in law enforcement and decided to pursue a career in it instead.

“I had actually gotten an offer and was hired by the Secret Service, but I was talking to the recruiter and asked him what the best thing and worst thing about the job was,” Williamson said. “And he said, ‘The worst thing is that I didn’t see my family. I didn’t see my kids grow up. I missed birthdays. I missed Christmases. I thought the job was great until about my 12th year when I was standing in the back of a ski chalet somewhere out west with the vice president because he wanted to go skiing for Christmas Eve at 4 a.m.”

At the time, Williamson wasn’t even dating, but he knew he someday wanted a family.

“I called him the next day and said, ‘No, thank you.’ ” A little while later, his alma mater, Middle Georgia College, was looking for a police chief, so he applied for that position.

He was only 25; the youngest officer on the force there was a solid decade older.

But Williamson got the job. After a year and a half there, though, he was ready for a change. Both UGA and Warner Robins police departments had captain’s positions open, but Atlanta had recently been named the host city for the 1996 Summer Olympics, and Williamson knew the games were an opportunity he shouldn’t pass up. He accepted UGA’s offer.

When it was announced that Sanford Stadium would host the women’s soccer final and that Stegeman Coliseum would be home to both gymnastics and indoor volleyball, Williamson got to work planning for the inevitable influx of people.

“I actually went to the World Cup to try to figure out soccer because we didn’t know much about it,” he said. “World Cup soccer is a whole lot different than Olympic soccer, but it was a good experience.”

Right before the Olympics started, Williamson was promoted to assistant chief of the department, a post he held until 2004, when he assumed his current position. Under his leadership, the UGA Police Department created a bomb squad, introduced K-9 units and implemented motorcycle units.

7

leahmoss@uga.edu

Dorothy Kozlowski

Jimmy Williamson will retire from the UGA Police Department on June 30 after 30 years in law enforcement with the University System of Georgia.

“We’ve done a lot of good things in the police department, but what I try to tell everybody is that I don’t corner the market on ideas,” he said.

UGA officers also were some of the first in Georgia to start wearing body cameras and to implement other progressive policing strategies.

Williamson also has emphasized the importance of building rapport with both the UGA and Athens communities, emphasizing that officers are “public servants with enforcement power.

“The quality of the staff we’ve built is probably what I’m most proud of. How do I know that we do quality work?

Because I hear it continuously,” he said. “For the last eight to 10 years, our written compliments have outpaced our complaints over seven to one. People normally write when they’re really upset, so the fact that we’re getting written compliments, in emails and handwritten notes or cards, we know we’re doing something right.”

As for the future, Williamson plans to run for sheriff of Oconee County in two years.

“A lot of law enforcement agencies vow to protect and serve and are really good at understanding the protect piece, but the service side is what we forget. There are some things that I can bring to the table to increase the service level in Oconee,” he said. “And I’m too young not to do anything else.”

WEEKLY READER

Book details 1998 ‘Panic’ party in Athens In April 1998, Southern jam band Widespread Panic held a free, open-air record release show in downtown Athens, its home base. No one involved could have known that the predicted crowd of 20,000 would prove to be nearly five times that size. The ultimately successful show, now known as “Panic in the Streets,” went on to become a cult favorite of Panic fans and a decisive moment in Athens music history. This event still holds the record for the world’s largest record release party, but the full story of how the event came to be has not been told until now.

Widespread Panic in the Streets of Athens, Widespread Panic in the Streets Georgia places readers at the historic of Athens, Georgia event, using in-depth investigation and

By Gordon Lamb interviews with the band, city officials University of Georgia Press and “Spread Heads” who were there.

Paperback: $19.95 The book is part of the University of Georgia Press’ Music of the American Ebook: $19.95 South series. Music journalist Gordon Lamb’s narrative takes the reader from conception to aftermath and uncovers the local controversies and efforts that nearly stopped the show from happening altogether.

The Rocky Branch Elementary School cafeteria will soon be less noisy, thanks to students from the University of Georgia.

In the coming weeks, students in the College of Engineering will install sound-absorbing panels they created on the walls of the cafeteria at the Oconee County school. Third-grade students at Rocky Branch will decorate the panels with pictures of fruits and vegetables.

The idea came to Ben Davis, an engineering professor with experience in sound and acoustics, after he was asked to visit the school during lunch period.

“The cafeteria creates a ‘cocktail party’ effect,” Davis said. “Students talk at a normal level, the sound bounces off the walls, students raise their voices to be heard, and the sound gets even louder.”

Davis decided to turn the problem into a servicelearning opportunity for his graduate students.

Service-learning at UGA is the application of academic skills and knowledge to address a community needs, issue of problem and to enhance student learning. Students who enroll in official servicelearning courses receive credit for experiential learning, a requirement for all UGA students since 2016-17. Almost 6,000 students enrolled in one or more service-learning course during the 2016-17 academic year, according to the Office of ServiceLearning, which is part of the offices of the Vice President for Public Service and Outreach and the Vice President for Instruction.

Davis and his students worked alongside thirdgrade students and their teacher, Christina Crowe, at Rocky Branch taking detailed measurements and making diagrams of the cafeteria. Crowe and her students used an iPad to measure the sound in the cafeteria and learned it exceeded the standards recommended by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration.

Based on all of the information collected, the UGA students assembled a prototype of a soundproof panel. Constructed with wood and insulated with rockwool, an inflammable material, the panels are wrapped with sound fabric, a material designed to reduce noise. The fabric allows sound to pass and be absorbed by the rockwool. When they took the panel prototype back to the school, it provided an opportunity for the elementary school students to learn more about the science of sound.

The engineering students also benefited from the project.

“I liked the service-learning project better than our other projects because we get to directly see our work in use,” said Haynes Curtis, a master’s student in engineering.

CYBERSIGHTS

ABOUT COLUMNS 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

Lady Antebellum members deliver keynote

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s11tnPhQmLI David Haywood and Charles Kelley, UGA graduates and part of the multiplatinum trio Lady Antebellum, gave this year’s spring undergraduate Commencement address.

They told the 4,576 undergraduates about their own journey after graduating from the University of Georgia from the business world to

writing music professionally. They also encouraged those graduating to be willing to take risks and be open to new ideas and experiences.

“There is more than one clear path and direction,” Kelley said.

They ended by serenading the new alumni and guests with an acoustic version of “Georgia on My Mind.”

Communications Coordinator Krista Richmond 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 May 14, 2018 columns.uga.edu COMMENCEMENT

from page 1

Chad Osburn

More than 1,200 students received degrees during the graduate Commencement ceremony.

Denise Spangler, the new dean of UGA’s College of Education, also spoke about the importance of education.

“I hope that your time at Georgia has been filled with opportunities to learn,” she said to the estimated 265 doctoral candidates and 993 master’s and specialist degree students. “Academics, yes, but also to learn about yourself and others, especially those who are different from you. For many of you, graduate school is the best opportunity people ever have to engage deeply with new ideas and with people who are different from you.

“I hope that we have challenged you and caused you to re-examine what you know and believe and on what basis you know or believe it,” Spangler said. “I hope that you will take with you a propensity to ask questions, to interrogate assumptions, to speak up, to act to improve the world around you.”

Spangler spoke of the sacrifice made by students and their families and congratulated students on persevering despite the challenges they have faced during graduate school, whether that was full-time or parttime work or moving across the country or the world to come to UGA. “You have an education. A graduate education.You are, indeed, a very special group of people,” she said. “You can use your privilege, because that’s what an education gives you.”

The Class of 2018 committed to removing barriers and opening doors by breaking the UGA Senior Signature class gift record with 2,342 signatures and $125,000 raised to go toward student scholarships. The goal was to match last year’s record of 2,164 signatures and $110,000. A plaque was unveiled at the annual Senior Send-Off event April 25 and is now hanging in Tate Plaza.

FELLOWSHIP from page 1

LAW from page 1

School of Ecology and Savannah River Ecology Laboratory. “His proposed work has the potential to fundamentally change how we understand the long-term impacts of urbanization on animal communities. ​The recognition of Denzell’s potential as a scientist from the Ford Foundation is wonderful and exceptionally well-deserved.”

The doctoral program in integrative conservation combines disciplinary depth in one of four areas—anthropology, ecology, geography or forestry and natural resources—and collaboration across disciplines and fields of practice, with a focus on solving the complex conservation challenges of the future.

“Denzell is a perfect example of the kind of scholar we hope to train in the integrative conservation program,” said Meredith Welch Devine, director of interdisciplinary graduate studies in the UGA Graduate School. “His work has great potential not only to advance our scientific understanding, but also to make a real difference in how we approach conservation in urban contexts. This fellowship from the Ford Foundation is a wonderful recognition of this outstanding scholar.”

The Fellowship is administered by the Fellowships Office of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine.

a trustee of the Georgia Legal History Foundation and a member of the National Conference of Chief Justices. He is a past vice president of the Georgia Conference of Black Lawyers, was a board member of the Federal Lawyers AssoRobert Benham ciation and was a former chairman of the Governor’s Commission on Drug Awareness & Prevention.

In addition to his law degree from the University of Georgia, Benham earned his bachelor’s degree from Tuskegee University and his Master of Laws from the University of Virginia. He also attended Harvard University.

After law school, Benham served in the U.S. Army Reserve, attaining the rank of captain.

Approximately 210 students will receive degrees at the ceremony, including 194 who have earned the Juris Doctor, 16 who have earned the Master of Laws and four who have earned the Master in the Study of Law. This year’s Commencement will be held in Stegeman Coliseum.

DEDICATION from page 1

Bulletin Board Parking permit

Registration for the first and largest­ round of parking permits for the 20182019 school year will end June 29.

After this date, fewer permit assignments will be available, and employees will be placed on the waiting list for a parking permit.

Visit parking.uga.edu to register for a parking permit. Assistance with registration is available in the Parking Services Office weekdays from 7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Bridge closure

Recently started campus construction will impact parking spaces and bus routes. Gillis Bridge on Sanford Drive will be closed this summer for maintenance. The bridge, which closed May 7 to all pedestrian, vehicular, cycling and transit traffic, will reopen Aug. 7.

Parking on Sanford Drive also is unavailable during the project. Bus routes affected by the construction include Health Sciences route, the North South route, the Orbit route, the Russell Hall route and the University Village route. Additionally, buses will not run the Ag Hill route from May 31-Aug. 7 Maps detailing the potential vehicular and pedestrian routes as well as the adjusted bus routes during this project are at https://bit.ly/2Kx53Va.

Legion Pool to open

Legion Pool at the University of Georgia will open on May 24 for the summer season. Hours of operation are 11:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. daily through July 31 and 3-7 p.m. Aug. 1-9.

Use of Legion Pool is limited to students with valid UGACards who pay activity fees on the Athens campus; faculty and staff with valid UGACards; guests of students, faculty and staff; and Friends of Campus Life members.

All guests must be accompanied by the UGACard holder.

Admission is $3 for students, $4 for faculty and staff, $3 for children ages 3-15 (who must be accompanied by an adult) and $5 for guests and members of Friends of Campus Life.

Friends of Campus Life memberships are available for a minimum $40 donation at the Tate Student Center business office, open Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Membership dues help support the student programs and services offered by the Tate Student Center.

An open house will be held on May 23 from 1-6 p.m.; swimming will not be permitted, but passes will be sold at the pool concession window.

Legion Pool is administered by the Tate Student Center within UGA’s Division of Student Affairs. For more information, visit http://tate.uga.edu/ legionpool or call 706-542-7774.

Research study participants

Researchers at the UGA Bone and Body Composition Laboratory are conducting a study to determine how dietary protein influences bone health and cognitive function in children ages 9-13.

For more information, email bone@uga.edu or call 706-542-4918.

Faculty Fellows Program

The Division of Student Affairs is accepting applications for the Faculty Fellows Program until May 18.

The Fellows Program is a yearlong opportunity for selected faculty members to create seamless learning opportunities for students by integrating co-curricular learning into their teaching or service work.

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

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

Andrew Davis Tucker

Billy and Martha Payne visited UGA’s main campus for the naming of the William Porter Payne and Porter Otis Payne Indoor Athletic Facility.

Olympic Games to Atlanta and was named president and CEO of the Atlanta Committee for the Olympic Games in 1991. He continued in his leadership role and became the first person in modern history to land an Olympic bid and then to remain president and CEO during the games.

A founding member and chairman of Centennial Holding Company, a privately held real estate investment company in Atlanta, Payne became chairman of Augusta National Golf Club, home of the Masters Tournament, in 2006. He retired from that position following the annual tournament in 2017.

Porter Payne was an All-SEC offensive

CONFERENCE

lineman in the late 1940s and was elected as the team captain of the 1949 team. While at Georgia, the Bulldogs won two SEC championships (1946 and ’48) and played in three bowl games: 1947 Sugar Bowl, 1948 Gator Bowl and 1949 Orange Bowl. He was a teammate of the legendary Charley Trippi with whom he enjoyed a lifelong friendship.

Following his college career, Porter Payne was selected to play in what was then the College All-Star Game featuring the college all-stars who had completed their eligibility against the NFL defending champion. Porter and the College All-Stars defeated the defending world champion Philadelphia Eagles, 17-7.

from page 1

multimedia session on the 1991 Hamlet fire, which killed 25 workers in North Carolina.

Keynote presentations include “Heard it on the Grapevine: Slave Labor, Mobility and Power in Antebellum America” by Susan O’Donovan, the Dunavant University Professor at the University of Memphis, as well as a lunchtime keynote by Maurice Hobson of Georgia State University on the subject of his new book, The Legend of the Black Mecca: Politics and Class in the Making of Modern Atlanta.

Two authors of the multi-prize winning Like a Family: The Making of the Southern Cotton Mill World will participate as well as novelist Wiley Cash, whose forthcoming book tells the story of Ella May Wiggins, singer, spinner, single mom and martyr of the 1929 Loray Mills Strike in Gastonia, North Carolina.

Among the sessions free and open to the public are a talk by Vimal Kumar, founder of the Movement for Scavenger Community,

on the collection by hand of human waste in India; two sessions on organizing in the South today; and a mini-film festival, starting at 8:30 a.m. on May 19.

Film screenings include A Strike and an Uprising by Anne Lewis; Union Time: Fighting for Workers’ Rights by Matthew Barr; The Committee by University of Central Florida faculty and students; and A Day’s Work, a film on temp work by Dave DeSario.

The last event, also free and open to the public, will be a panel discussion on “Queer Labor in the South” at 7 p.m. on May 19 in the Morton Theatre.

The “Dirty Work” conference is funded in part by the Office of the Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost, the Office of Research, the Willson Center for Humanities and Arts, the Southern Historical Association, the history department in the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences, the Southern Labor Archives and the University of Georgia Press.