UGA Columns Oct. 1, 2018

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UGA researcher uses bioinformatics to gather data on infectious diseases RESEARCH NEWS

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Thursday Scholarship Series continues with hits from the big band era Vol. 46, No. 10

October 1, 2018

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UGA GUIDE

4&5

Farm Tour highlights diversity of state’s agriculture industry

By Clint Thompson cbthomps@uga.edu

Dorothy Kozlowski

PREP@UGA Scholar Jilarie Santos Santiago, center, consults with her faculty mentor Stephen Hajduk, left, and postdoctoral mentor Michael Cipriano.

Grad school ready PREP@UGA Scholars program trains next generation of life sciences researchers

By Camie Williams camiew@uga.edu

As an undergraduate student in Maryland, Ian Liyayi planned to major in nursing but got lost on the campus tour and found himself in the biochemistry department. He liked that even better.

When it came to preparing for graduate school, Liyayi didn’t want to get lost along the way, so he applied for the University of Georgia’s competitive PREP@UGA Scholars program to give him more experience before he began applying to doctoral programs.

“This program gets you fully ready for grad school because you get a ton of time in the lab,” said Liyayi, a current scholar who said he enjoyed research experiences in his undergraduate years at Stevenson University but didn’t gain much hands-on laboratory experience on long-term projects.

“I knew I wanted to do graduate school, but I didn’t feel like I was completely ready,” said Liyayi, a native of Kenya who grew up in Baltimore. “This program seemed like a perfect fit.”

With funding from a National Institutes of Health grant, the PREP@UGA Scholars program was created five years ago. Earlier this year, co-directors Erin Dolan and Mark Tompkins received a $2.1 million, five-year grant renewal, which will continue to fund a cohort each year of six to eight scholars from underrepresented groups or with limited opportunities in the STEM fields at their undergraduate institution.

To date, 32 students have participated in the program. About one in four later enrolled in a UGA doctoral program, with the remainder going on to graduate programs at other institutions. Programs such as PREP@UGA have helped make

UGA the nation’s top public flagship university for the number of doctoral degrees it awards to African Americans.

“Undergraduate students are in the mindset of taking classes, but in grad school they don’t just consume knowledge, they create it,” said Dolan, Georgia Athletic Association Professor of Innovative Science Education in the department of biochemistry and molecular biology, part of the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences. “This program smooths that transition to graduate school and to thinking like a scientist.”

While students spend most of their time in a laboratory, they also go through professional development workshops and benefit from the advice of a faculty mentor and an advanced graduate student or postdoctoral mentor. “It’s a holistic program,” Dolan said. “We focus See PREP on page 8

DIVISION OF STUDENT AFFAIRS

UGA Homecoming Week celebrates Bulldog spirit

By Don Reagin

dreagin@uga.edu

University of Georgia Homecoming Week 2018—“Home is Where the Arch Is”—is underway with activities and events for all members of the university community.

Activities for students are scheduled throughout the week, and the weekend features events for alumni and the Oct. 6 football game against Vanderbilt, including the crowning of the Homecoming king and queen.

Homecoming Week activities got underway on Sept. 28 at 10 p.m. as members of registered student organizations painted

Sanford Drive at the Tate bus stop. The street painting will be on display throughout the week.

The annual Bulldog Bash is scheduled on Oct. 1 on Tate Student Center Plaza from 9 a.m.3 p.m. with games, free food and giveaways for students.

A Lip Sync competition is scheduled on Oct. 2 at 7 p.m. in the Tate Student Center Grand Hall. Student organizations will prepare three-minute acts consisting of song, dance and lip syncing, and they will perform for a panel of judges. Admission is free.

Following the Lip Sync, Grand Hall will be transformed into a Silent Disco where students can dance the night away to their own

personal DJ. The Homecoming Committee will partner with Serve UGA to host Stop & Serve on Oct. 3 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Tate Plaza.

The event is free and will give students the opportunity to engage in several quick service-related projects benefiting the Athens community.

Comedian Fortune Feimster will bring her stand-up act to Tate Grand Hall on Oct. 4 at 7 p.m. Feimster made her television debut on Last Comic Standing and starred on the situation comedy The Mindy Project. Admission is free for students with valid UGACards.

See HOMECOMING on page 8

University of Georgia President Jere W. Morehead traveled to South Georgia Sept. 25 to learn more about Georgia’s top industry—agriculture—during his annual Farm Tour. The tour’s stops highlighted the diversity of the agriculture industry, ranging from the Pure Flavor Greenhouse Complex in Fort Valley to Premium Peanut in Douglas.

The 2018 Farm Tour marked the sixth year that Morehead, joined by Georgia Commissioner of Agriculture Gary Black and members of the Georgia General

Assembly, visited farms and connected with the state’s agriculture industry leaders. Each year, the Farm Tour visits a different region of the state to understand the range of challenges and opportunities facing Georgia’s farmers. The annual event provides a critical opportunity to connect the state’s land- and sea-grant institution to Georgia’s communities, businesses and leaders.

“We are proud of our ongoing efforts with the university to further deepen the communication channels between our farming community and those who support it,” said Black. “This annual Farm

See FARM on page 8

COLLEGE OF ENVIRONMENT AND DESIGN

Magazine ranks CED in top tier for landscape architecture programs

By Melissa Tufts mtufts@uga.edu

The UGA College of Environment and Design has just been ranked No. 4 in the nation for its Bachelor of Landscape Architecture program and No. 8 for its Master of Landscape Architecture program.

The annual rankings are created by Design Intelligence magazine, which invites professionals to vote for schools most admired for a combination of faculty, programs, culture and student preparation for the profession. There are more than 50 graduate programs in

landscape architecture in the U.S. and 42 undergraduate programs.

Design Intelligence is the only national professional source of rankings for landscape architecture and related design fields.

“Well, clearly, this is exciting news for us. Overall we have hovered in the top five and top 10 nationally for many years, but seeing us at No. 1 and No. 2 in some specific categories is especially gratifying. Congratulations to the faculty, staff and students who make this such a dynamic institution,” said Sonia Hirt, CED dean and Hughes Professor in See RANKING on page 8

OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT

Nominations being accepted for President’s Medal until Nov. 1 The University of Georgia will award the 2019 President’s Medal to recognize the longstanding, extraordinary contributions of individuals who have supported deserving students and meaningful academic programs, advanced research that creatively explored solutions for the challenges of our times and inspired community leaders to engage in enhancing the quality of life of Georgians through their support of the university.

The medal, conceived by the UGA Emeriti Scholars, will be presented during the annual Founders Day program on Jan. 28.

The celebration will begin with a luncheon and be followed by the annual lecture.

Nominations are now being accepted for the President’s Medal.

Nominees must have a connection to the university but cannot be a current UGA employee. Individuals currently serving as appointed and elected officials in local, state or federal positions also are ineligible.

The President’s Medal recipient must be willing to be present at the Founders Day celebrations to receive the award.

Nominations must be received by the UGA Office of the President no later than Nov. 1.

Submit a nomination letter, a resume or biography of the nominee and at least two letters of support to the attention of Arthur L. Tripp Jr., Office of the President, Administration Building, 220 S. Jackson St., Athens, GA 30605.

Nominees not selected may be considered for the following two years.

2 Oct. 1, 2018 columns.uga.edu

BLACK FACULTY AND STAFF ORGANIZATION

GRADY COLLEGE

Multimedia journalist named to Knight Chair

BFSO recognizes six students and four staffers at Founders’ Luncheon

By Emily Webb

sew30274@uga.edu

File photo

Sarah Freeman

Sabriya Rice has been named to the Knight Chair in Health and Medical Journalism in Grady College.

By Sarah Freeman freemans@uga.edu

Sabriya Rice, a multimedia journalist with more than 15 years of experience in health reporting, has been named to the Knight Chair in Health and Medical Journalism at the Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication.

“We’re thrilled to add a journalist of Sabriya’s caliber to Grady College,” said Charles N. Davis, dean of Grady College. “She’s worked as a health and medical reporter in newspapers, magazines, in digital and in broadcasting—a true rarity. Her career path is reflective of the multiplatform, digital-first nature of the field these days, so we’re incredibly excited for what Sabriya brings straight from the profession to academia.”

Rice is a seasoned reporter covering health care, science and medicine. For the past two years, she has worked as the business of health care reporter for the Dallas Morning News, writing about trends in the health care industry. She also served as the quality and safety reporter for Modern Healthcare Magazine for three years. Visual storytelling and graphics are important aspects of her multimedia features.

In addition to reporting, Rice has been a director of media relations for the American Cancer Society and a writer/producer for CNN, working with CNNHealth.com, Dr. Sanjay Gupta and Elizabeth Cohen. Her focus on health care storytelling began with a series of jobs as producer and on-air reporter for Quest Network Blue Zones, a project that told stories of longevity and high life expectancy in international locations including Costa Rica and Greece.

The Knight Chair in Health and Medical Journalism is an endowed chair funded by the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, which supports journalistic, artistic and community endeavors. It is part of a national network of Knight Chairs in Journalism.

“Ensuring the next generation of journalists are equipped with the digital skills and know-how to address the important topics of our time is vital to ensuring a strong future for journalism,” said Jennifer Preston, Knight Foundation vice president for journalism. “The dynamic experience Sabriya brings to this position will help Grady students meet this goal.”

Currently in its 13th year, the Knight Chair directs Grady’s Health and Medical Journalism master’s degree program, teaching students how to cover health and medicine through a variety of storytelling platforms.

“Health care is a high-stakes industry, and well-trained health and medical journalists play a crucial role in helping the public to sift through increasingly complex amounts of information,” Rice said of the responsibilities her new role holds. “The demand is high as the nation continues to undergo major shifts in how health care is funded, as advances bring about new understanding of disease states and treatment, and as globalization facilitates the spread of emerging conditions. I look forward to helping prepare the next generation of health care communicators to ask tough questions, to know where to access data and to think creatively to reach the intended audience via multiple platforms.”

In addition to her new academic responsibilities, Rice also serves on the board of the Association of Health Care Journalists.

She has been the recipient of several fellowships including the Mayo Clinic-Walter Cronkite Medical Journalism Fellowship awarded this past May. Rice has a Bachelor of Arts degree in film and television from the University of Notre Dame and a master’s degree in communication studies from the University of Miami.

The Knight Chair was formerly held by Patricia Thomas, who retired in 2017. The Knight Foundation has endowed more than two dozen chairs at leading universities to help educate the next generation of journalists, encourage classroom innovation, foster new technology and techniques, and contribute thought leadership to academia and the news industry alike.

The Black Faculty and Staff Organization’s 16th annual Founders’ Award Scholarship Luncheon celebrated the achievements of six students and four staff members at the university.

Speaking at the event, UGA President Jere W. Morehead told those in attendance that students are what make the university special and that needbased scholarships fulfill an important role in helping some students realize their educational goals.

“We continue each and every year to admit classes of impressive students, and we owe it to these very bright individuals the ability to access this institution in an affordable manner,” Morehead said. “Scholarships, like the ones awarded at today’s luncheon, can truly make a difference in the ability of students to choose this institution and in the ability of those students to remain at this institution and to ultimately graduate from this great university.”

Keynote speaker Maurice Daniels, dean emeritus and professor emeritus of UGA’s School of Social Work, was a founding member of the BFSO. He spoke about the beginning of the organization and the advocacy role it played in the creation and development of the department of Minority Services and Programs, the Institute for African American Studies, the African American Cultural Center, the Office of Institutional Diversity, the Presidential Minority Advisory Committee and several university-wide initiatives to recruit and retain African American faculty, staff and students.

Daniels said that there is more work to be done for equality.

“We are the beneficiaries of the struggles and sacrifices of the Hamilton Holmes, the Charlayne Hunters, the Mary Frances Earlys and the Donald Hollowells,” Daniels said. “It is our duty to try to build on the ­foundation

Andrew Davis Tucker

Pictured from left are Natalie Morean, Khalid Ziad, UGA President Jere W. Morehead, Camara Carter, Marques Dexter and Magali Lapu. The students, including Amaja Andrews, who is not pictured, are 2018 recipients of scholarships from the university’s Black Faculty and Staff Organization.

that these pioneers so aptly laid before us.”

Proceeds from the luncheon, held Sept. 19 in Grand Hall of the Tate Student Center, go toward the BFSO scholarship fund and programming. At the luncheon, a total of $3,000 in scholarships was awarded to six s­tudents, according to Susan M. Williams, vice president of faculty for BFSO and chair for the scholarship committee.

Williams, a faculty member in the College of Veterinary Medicine, said the student scholarship selection process included reviewing essays, extracurricular activities, honors and recognitions, GPA and letters of recommendation. Each awardee was presented with a $500 scholarship.

Camara Carter, a veterinary medicine student, received the Mark Dawkins Leadership Award. Amaja

Andrews, a sophomore in applied virology technology and anthropology, received the Melanie A. Burden Community Arts Award. Magali Lapu, a fourth-year international affairs and French major, was awarded the Myron G. Burney Service Award. A Founders’ Award was presented to undergraduate Natalie Morean, a fourth-year human development and family sciences student; professional student Khalid Ziad in the College of Pharmacy; and graduate student Marques Dexter, a third-year doctoral student in sport management and policy.

The inaugural Ed Wilker Memorial Egalitarian Awards, which recognize occupational excellence, were presented to current UGA staff members Josh Cowart, Freddie Hardy and Teresa Lopes and recent retiree Charles Merritt.

FRANKLIN COLLEGE OF ARTS AND SCIENCES

National Science Foundation grant will be used to bring state-of-the-art spectrometer to campus

By Jessica Luton jluton@uga.edu

UGA soon will be home to a new state-of-the-art spectrometer that will benefit researchers across campus and beyond. The instrument, known as an electron paramagnetic resonance spectrometer, is funded by a nearly $350,000 grant through the National Science Foundation’s Major Research Instrumentation program.

“The MRI program serves to increase access to multi-user scientific and engineering instrumentation for research and training in our nation’s institutions of higher education and not-for-profit scientific and engineering research organizations,” said Todd Harrop, associate professor of chemistry and principal investigator for the grant. He applied for the grant with Regents Professor of Chemistry Michael Johnson as co-principal ­investigator.

NSF awards MRI grants so universities or institutions can acquire research instruments that can be used throughout the university community that might be too costly otherwise.

The EPR, according to the grant ­application, plays a significant role in an

array of potential research endeavors on campus.

EPR plays a crucial role in identifying and characterizing species with unpaired electrons such as paramagnets and free radicals in fields ranging from chemistry and materials science to nanotechnology, biology and medicine. The instrument stands to impact research university-wide.

The EPR spectrometer, which will arrive on campus in a few months after it’s been built to specifications, has major benefits over older versions that exist on campus currently.

“An EPR spectrometer yields detailed information on the geometric and electronic structure of molecular and solid-state materials, and it is used to obtain information about the lifetime of free radicals, short-lived, highly reactive species involved in valuable chemical transformations and the initiation of pathological tumor growth,” said Harrop. “The majority of the measurements with the current equipment are made at extremely cold temperatures which require the use of liquid helium, an expensive and depleting resource. The new instrument, however, is not only updated with better software and electronics, but also

uses a helium recirculating system so that cryogens, such as liquid helium, are no longer required. It is essentially a ‘walk-up’ instrument.”

More than 25 researchers, from at least eight departments and five colleges, already plan to use this instrument in their research, but as a result of the ease of use of the new equipment and low cost, the equipment will also enhance educational opportunities for students on campus, as use of the instrument will be included in undergraduate and graduate curricula in the future.

While the NSF grant provides for most of the cost of the nearly $500,000 piece of equipment, the grant requires that the university or institution share the cost for MRI program grants.

“It’s an honor to receive this grant because only 17 percent of proposals were funded in the past award year,” said Harrop. “Each institution can only submit two grant proposals for an MRI grant each year, and UGA has not received one in nearly 10 years. With nearly 850 proposals submitted this year, we are proud to have been chosen to receive the grant and are excited to see how this advances research here at UGA.”

RESEARCH NEWS

columns.uga.edu Oct. 1, 2018

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Digest Peabody Media Center will host ‘An Evening with American Vandals’

Peter Frey

Jessica Kissinger uses bioinformatics to gather data on infectious diseases, making it accessible and searchable by the global research community.

Data boost

Why thinking like Travelocity could accelerate disease research

By Aaron Hale

aahale@uga.edu

From leisure to health, digital databases can streamline nearly every facet of modern life.

Remember when making travel plans to a single destination took hours? Now booking flights, hotels and rental cars is just a few clicks—and a credit card—away thanks to travel sites like Expedia, Travelocity and others.

Travelers get to compare competitors on price, amenities, customer reviews and proximity to popular locations. The sites pull together multiple data points from various sources (such as pricing from the seller, reviews from users and maps from Google) and organize them for customers to view. Jessica Kissinger, the director of UGA’s Institute for Bioinformatics, is doing for infectious disease research what travel sites did for vacation planning.

All over the world, researchers are racing to stop the spread of deadly and debilitating pathogens such as malaria.

As those researchers and public health officials determine, or record data about a disease, Kissinger and her colleagues work to make that data accessible and searchable by the global research community for free.

“We take data generated by others

and make them better,” said Kissinger, a Distinguished Research Professor of Genetics. More specifically, Kissinger and a team of cell biologists, geneticists and computer scientists pull disease data from a variety of sources, translate them into standard formats and make them searchable.

How does building a database fight disease? Data helps researchers construct and test their ideas about how to create treatments for diseases or map out ways to halt their spread.

“We don’t give them answers,” Kissinger said. “We give them a framework in which to generate and test hypotheses.”

Kissinger and her team have built databases to take on malaria and other infectious diseases such as toxoplasmosis, cryptosporidiosis and trypanosomiasis. They are also creating tools for studying childhood malnutrition and factors related to disease, and making them accessible to all as they become publicly available. These databases service more than 70,000 unique users a month from more than 100 countries.

To put it simply, her work saves time.

It speeds the pace of discovery for the next possible solution, the next cure.

Without these databases, researchers could spend weeks, months, even years researching existing literature on

a disease in the library or re-creating work in the lab.

“I like to see how molecules change over time,” she said. “When I started in school it was about how a gene or protein evolved.”

It turned out that her field was evolving too. Technology was allowing researchers to understand molecules through bigger data sets. Now, scientists aren’t just looking at individual genes but entire genomes, which are the complete sets of genes in a cell or organism.

As the field evolved, Kissinger learned and embraced the technology.

Over time, she shifted her balance away from the so called “wet lab,” where she worked directly with the organisms, to focus mostly on the computer-based “dry lab.”

“These are tools by biologists for biologists,” she said. “We have a lot of computer scientists in the middle, but I think it is that sense of being a member of that community, having your finger on the pulse of what’s going on, that allows you to keep the tools useful.”

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.

SAVANNAH RIVER ECOLOGY LABORATORY

Researchers giving gopher tortoises a ‘head start’

By Vicky L. Sutton-Jackson vsuttonj@srel.uga.edu

Research from the University of Georgia indicates that head-starting— raising a species in captivity and releasing it into a protected habitat after it has grown large enough to be less vulnerable to predators—is a useful intervention for boosting the state’s gopher tortoise population, which has been declining in numbers for decades due to predation, poaching and loss of suitable habitat.

Seventy percent of head-started tortoises raised from donor eggs were still alive a year after release at Yuchi Wildlife Management Area in Burke County, according to research by Tracey Tuberville and Dan Quinn. They published their findings in the Journal of Wildlife Management.

The gopher tortoise, Georgia’s state reptile, is a keystone species whose burrows provide shelter for more than

250 other species, said Tuberville, an associate research scientist at the Savannah River Ecology Laboratory and adjunct faculty at the Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources.

Despite predation risks at the release site, survival rates were higher than survival reported for their wild counterparts, according to Quinn, a graduate student at SREL and Warnell during the research.

Quinn conducted two soft releases of yearlings at YWMA during consecutive years. The team said the second release was the largest tortoise release in the state to date.

Forty-two of 145 yearlings were radio tracked and monitored for a year following the soft releases, providing information to inform future headstarting efforts.

Tracking data revealed that the juveniles demonstrated a strong rate of site fidelity, remaining together in a protected area, which allows them to

reproduce. This means the soft-release technique is not necessary, according to Tuberville.

Instead, the researchers will implement multiple releases in various locations to help reduce predation risk.

Predators included fire ants, raccoons and dogs, with fire ants accounting for the majority of fatalities.

Head-starting efforts at YWMA will continue with tortoises that are 2 to 3 years old, an age when they are less susceptible to predators, Tuberville said. Additional research will evaluate whether the positive effect on postrelease survival warrants the additional time in captivity.

Co-authors on the study include Kurt Buhlmann, University of Georgia, Savannah River Ecology Laboratory, Aiken, South Carolina; John B. Jenson, Georgia Department of Natural Resources, Wildlife Resources Division, Forsyth; and Terry M. Norton, St. Catherines Island Foundation, Midway.

The Peabody Media Center and the Peabody Student Honor Board will host “An Evening with American Vandals” at 7 p.m. on Oct. 4 at the Tate Student Center Theater. Following a screening of an episode from the second season of American Vandal, creators of the Netflix Original Series will participate in a question-and-answer session. The event is free and open to the public. The Peabody Media Center is based at UGA’s Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication.

The first season of American Vandal, a truecrime parody set in a California high school, was honored with a Peabody Award earlier this year for providing “an unexpectedly profound lesson of what is unearthed when a quest for the truth loses its way.” Tony Yacenda, co-creator, and Ari Lubet, executive producer, will be on hand to discuss the creative process.

‘The Georgia Review’ schedules release party for summer 2018 issue

To celebrate the release of its summer 2018 issue, The Georgia Review will host a reading by authors Julia Elliott and Ed Pavlic Oct. 5 at 8 p.m. at Cine, 234 W. Hancock Ave. Open free to the public, the event will include music by guitarist Mitchell Powers. A reception with light refreshments will follow the reading.

Elliott’s debut story collection, The Wilds, was chosen by Kirkus, BuzzFeed, Book Riot and Electric Literature as one of the best books of 2014, and it was a New York Times Book Review Editors’ Choice. Elliott, who holds a doctorate in English from the University of Georgia, teaches English and women’s and gender studies at the University of South Carolina in Columbia. Her short story “Hellion” appears in the new issue of The Georgia Review.

A Distinguished Research Professor in the English department and in the Institute for African American Studies at UGA, Pavlic has published 11 books. His forthcoming book, Let It Be Broke, will be published in 2020. The summer 2018 issue of The Georgia Review features a critical essay by Pavlic that offers a new framework for understanding the later work of poet Adrienne Rich.

Powers is a graduate of UGA’s music performance program, with an emphasis on classical guitar. He is also drummer and singer in the Americana rock band The Powers.

Football player named to Allstate Good Works Team for community service

Georgia junior place kicker Rodrigo Blankenship has been named to the 2018 Allstate AFCA Good Works Team.

Blankenship, a 2017 CoSIDA Academic AllDistrict selection, has volunteered for a variety of community service opportunities during his time in Athens. He is a member of the UGA Athletic Association’s Leadership Academy and has given his time to the following activities and many more: spokesperson for “No More,” which is a public service announcement against domestic violence and sexual assault; visitation at Camp Sunshine, which provides support programs for children with cancer and their families; volunteer for the “Empty Bowl” luncheon, which is sponsored by the Food Bank of Northeast Georgia where hand-painted ceramic bowls done by the football players were part of a silent auction to raise funds for needy families; and volunteer for Home Runs for Hometown Rivals, which is a softball game at UGA’s Foley Field for Special Olympians.

Fans are encouraged to visit ESPN.com/Allstate to vote for the 2018 Allstate AFCA Good Works team captain now through Nov. 23.

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

For Home and Country: World War I Posters from the Blum Collection. Through Nov. 18. Georgia Museum of Art. 706-542-4662. gmoa@uga.edu.

Vernacular Modernism: The Photography of Doris Ulmann.

Through Nov. 18. Georgia Museum of Art. 706-542-4662. gmoa@uga.edu.

Poppies: Women, War, Peace. Through Dec. 14. Special collections libraries. 706-542-7123. jclevela@uga.edu.

War of Words: Propaganda of World War I. Through Dec. 14.

Special collections libraries. 706-542-7123. jclevela@uga.edu.

One Heart, One Way: The Journey of a Princely Art Collection.

Through Jan. 6. Georgia Museum of Art. 706-542-4662. gmoa@uga.edu.

Fighting Spirit: Wally Butts and UGA Football, 1939-1950.

Through May 10. Rotunda, special collections libraries.

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

MONDAY, OCT. 1 CONCERT A performance by the Repertory Singers. 3:30 p.m. Ramsey Hall, Performing Arts Center.

TUESDAY, OCT. 2 TUESDAY TOUR AT TWO Also Oct. 9. Enjoy a 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, special collections libraries. 706-542-8079. jclevela@uga.edu.

Netherlands: Lessons Learned and Future Perspectives,” Thijs Bosch, researcher, National Institute for Public Health and the Environment. RSVP for lunch. 12:20 p.m. CEID conference room. 706-542-1930. tross312@uga.edu.

ECOLOGY SEMINAR Clay Cressler, assistant professor, biology department, University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Host: Andrew Park. Reception follows seminar at 4:30 p.m. in the ecology building lobby.

3:30 p.m. Auditorium, ecology building. 706-542-2968. bethgav@uga.edu.

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

ITALIAN BASS WEEK Week-long event with guest artists from Italy. Concerts are Oct. 2, 3 and 5 in Edge Hall at 6 p.m. Hugh Hodgson School of Music.

WEDNESDAY, OCT. 3 MIDTERM For fall semester.

CLASS In “Warm Season Grasses of the Georgia Piedmont,” students will learn to recognize common grass species of the Georgia Piedmont and will dissect grass plants to learn the basic structures that are useful for identification in the field. The last two hours of the class will be spent in the field examining a variety of native and exotic grasses. Bring a hand lens. $50, general admission; $45 for Friends of the Garden. 9 a.m. Visitor Center, classroom 2, State Botanical Garden. 706-542-6136. cscamero@uga.edu.

DISEASE ECOLOGY SEMINAR “Molecular Epidemiology of Bordetella pertussis in the

Circle Gallery features works by two artists

mtufts@uga.edu

Diane Solomon Kempler and Katherine Mitchell will have an exhibit of their works in the Circle Gallery, Oct. 3-Dec. 7.

Inspired by microscopic images of natural objects, Kempler’s exhibit of ceramics is titled Garden of Biotanical Delights. Mitchell’s exhibit is titled Hearing the Trees. In conjunction with the exhibit, there will be a free gallery talk and opening reception Oct. 3 from 4:30-6 p.m.

Kempler is interested in the evolution theory in biology where modifications of objects occur

in successive generations. Using hand building techniques with clay, her primary medium, she creates works that reference the world of microbes and molecules.

Over the years, Mitchell has moved back and forth between her interest in architectural form and the natural world. These paintings are a series of work focused on a favorite tree, a White Oak, which she had come to love. She is drawn to geometry, to the layering of systems and patterns and to embedding texts within these works.

The Circle Gallery at the College of Environment and Design is open weekdays from 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.

‘Music from the Scottish Isles’ comes to Athens

Julie Fowlis brings “Music from the Scottish Hills” to the Performing Arts Center on Oct. 10 at 7:30 p.m.

By Bobby Tyler btyler@uga.edu

The music of the Scottish Isles will fill Hodgson Hall when UGA Presents brings Julie Fowlis to the Performing Arts Center Oct. 10 for a 7:30 p.m. concert.

Fowlis is known to millions of children and parents around the world for singing the theme song to Brave, Disney Pixar’s Oscar-winning animated film set in the ancient highlands of Scotland.

For her “Music from the Scottish Isles” program, Fowlis will be joined by fiddler Duncan Chisholm, guitarist Tony Byrne and Eamon Doorley on guitar and bouzouki. Their concert will feature traditional Scottish Gaelic songs.

Fowlis was brought up on North Uist in Scotland’s Outer Hebrides, the last area in Scotland where Scots Gaelic is as prominent as English. She has been a proud standard bearer for Gaelic music and culture over the course of her award-winning career.

Fowlis has won several BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards and Scottish Traditional Music Awards, and in 2014 she made history as the first Gaelic solo artist to win a Scottish Music Award. She was the first solo Gaelic singer to be radio playlisted on the BBC, and she performed live to a TV audience of one billion people at the opening ceremony of the Glasgow Commonwealth Games in 2014.

Tickets for the concert start at $15 and can be purchased at the Performing Arts Center box office, online at pac.uga.edu or by calling 706-542-4400. A limited number of discounted tickets are available to current UGA students for $6 to $10 with a valid UGA ID (limit one ticket per student).

A pre-performance talk will be given by Mary Helen Hoque, a graduate music student at the University of Georgia. The talk begins at 6:45 p.m. in the Performing Arts Center’s Ramsey Concert Hall.

The concert is sponsored by Gregory and Jennifer Holcomb.

The UGA Performing Arts Center is at 230 River Road in Athens.

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/.

Thursday Scholarship Series continues with big band hits

OPENING RECEPTION Circle Gallery talk and opening reception for Nature Speaks: Artworks by Katherine Mitchell and Diane Kempler. 4:30 p.m.

Jackson Street Building. mtufts@uga.edu. (See story, below.)

NATIVE PLANT SALE OPENING RECEPTION Experience first access to a selection of more than 175 Georgia native plant species at the Mimsie Lanier Center for Native Plant Studies opening plant sale reception. This casual event will feature native plant inspired specialty beverages curated

by The Expat, seasonal and locally sourced hors d’oeuvres and first access to a plethora of native plants. Sponsored by The Expat. $50. 5 p.m. Mimsie Lanier Center, State Botanical Garden. 706-542-6132.

ALL-ACCESS PASS SERIES Join the UGA Libraries and WUOG for a screening of Athens, GA: Inside/Out (1987, 1 hour, 22 minutes). Led by the success of the B-52s and R.E.M., Athens, Georgia, was the most happening music scene in the country by the mid-1980s. Following several different bands from different genres, this film paints Athens as a magical artistic environment where bands are not in competition but co-exist in harmony. 7 p.m. Instruction Lab, Main Library. 706-542-1114. amywatts@uga.edu.

THURSDAY, OCT. 4

The UGA Jazz Ensemble will perform new takes on several jazz classics at 7:30 p.m. on Oct. 4 at Hugh Hodgson Concert Hall.

By Camille Hayes

ECONOMICS SEMINAR SERIES Christian Moser, Columbia University. 3:30 p.m.

C014 Benson Hall. roozbeh@uga.edu.

By Melissa Tufts

4&5

STAFF COUNCIL MEETING 2:30 p.m. 348 Miller Learning Center. 706-910-9230. ahannem9@uga.edu.

NATURE RAMBLERS Also Oct. 11. Join Nature Ramblers and learn more about the natural areas, flora and fauna of the State Botanical Garden.

Sessions will start with a reading by a nature writer. This is a ramble not a hike; participants will stop to view interesting plants, insects, butterflies, mushrooms, etc., along the way.

9:30 a.m. Visitor Center and Conservatory front fountain, State Botanical Garden. 706-542-6156. ckeber@uga.edu.

Works by Katherine Mitchell, left, and Diane Solomon Kempler, right, will be on display through Dec. 7.

columns.uga.edu Oct. 1, 2018

CONNECT TO PROTECT NATIVE PLANT SALE Also Oct. 5 and Oct. 11. Join the staff and volunteers of the Mimsie Lanier Center for plant shopping among 100 Georgia native plant species. Native plant experts can guide selections.

All of the plants are grown at the garden, the majority from locally collected seeds and all without harmful chemicals. Find plants that support Georgia’s birds and insects and see behind the scenes at the Mimsie Lanier Center. All sales benefit the center’s conservation efforts and the “Connect to Protect” community outreach program. 4 p.m. Mimsie Lanier Center, State Botanical Garden. 706-542-6132.

FILM A Lasting Thing for the World: The Photography of Doris Ulmann. Doris Ulmann, a noted New York photographer, spent the last several years of her life traveling through the southern Appalachian mountains in search of people whose way of life moved or intrigued her. Using Ulmann’s photographs and correspondence, archival film and interviews with historians and individuals photographed by Ulmann, award-winning Kentucky filmmaker Heather Lyons explores the life and work of one of America’s most important and prolific photographers. Produced with support from the KET Fund for Independent Production.

Sponsored by UGA Parents Leadership Council. 7 p.m. Georgia Museum of Art. 706-542-4662. hazbrown@uga.edu.

SOCCER vs. South Carolina. 7 p.m. Turner Soccer Complex.

FRIDAY, OCT. 5 SALE A sale of 50 percent off all Group Fitness Passes (includes unlimited, mind/body, cycle, water, FTR and group fitness) begins Oct. 5. Prices vary. Ramsey Student Center. 706-542-8023. lisawilliamson@uga.edu.

FRIENDS FIRST FRIDAY “Cool and Colorful Conifers,” Barbie Colvin. Includes a full breakfast. $12. 9 a.m. Visitor Center, Gardenside Room, State Botanical Garden. 706-542-6138. lpbryant@uga.edu.

INTERNATIONAL COFFEE HOUR 11:30 a.m. Memorial Hall ballroom. 706-542-5867. bgcecil@uga.edu.

WOMEN’S STUDIES FRIDAY SPEAKER SERIES “Hypervisible Invisibility: Centering Black Girls in Educational Research,” Sherell McArthur, educational theory and practice.

12:20 p.m. 214 Miller Learning Center. 706-542-0066. tlhat@uga.edu.

FRIDAY FOOTBALL TOUR Join curator Jason Hasty for a closer look at Fighting Spirit: Wally Butts and UGA Football, 1939-1950 at 3 p.m. each Friday before UGA home football games. Tours are open to the public; no reservation is required. Rotunda, special collections libraries.

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

PERFORMANCE The Reduced Shakespeare Company performs The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged) [Revised]. See 37 plays in 97 minutes. This irreverent classic is a fast-paced

ceh822@uga.edu

The Hugh Hodgson School of Music will continue its 2018-2019 Thursday Scholarship Series with “An Evening of Hits from the Big Band Era” by the University of Georgia Jazz Ensemble on Oct. 4 at 7:30 p.m. in Hodgson Concert Hall.

Led by Dave D’Angelo, professor of jazz studies, the UGA Jazz Ensemble will perform a number of original arrangements from the big band libraries of Duke Ellington, Count Basie, Les Brown, Woody Herman and Tommy Dorsey.

“This program will feature the big band hits from the days of ballroom dancing, which are standard literature for every jazz musician, as well as the foundation for all music in this genre that followed,” D’Angelo said.

Audiences will recognize “Take The ‘A’ Train,” “April In Paris,” “Opus 1,” “One O’Clock Jump” and many others.

“This evening will be one to tap your feet to the

romp through the Bard’s timeless plays. Written by Adam Long, Daniel Singer and Jess Winfield, with additional material by Reed Martin. Directed by Reed Martin and Austin Tichenor. In the spirit of Shakespeare himself, RSC shows contain some occasional bawdy language and mild innuendo. All children (and parents) are different, so this show is PG-13: Pretty Good If You’re Thirteen. Tickets start at $40. 7:30 p.m. Fine Arts Theatre, Fine Arts Building. 706-542-4400. ugaarts@uga.edu.

SATURDAY, OCT. 6 CLASS “Basic Botany: Lives of the Plants” explores the biology of flowering plants in this introduction to general plant anatomy, morphology, physiology and genetics with an emphasis on relating form to function. This course presents basic information about plants on which other courses in the native plant certificate will build. Students will be introduced to plant cells, tissues and vegetative organs (roots, stems and leaves), as well as reproductive organs (flowers, fruits and seeds). Basic live processes of plants, including photosynthesis, respiration and transpiration, will be discussed, as well as Mendelian genetics. $105, general admission; $94.50, members. 9 a.m. Visitor Center, classroom 2, State Botanical Garden. 706-542-6156. cscamero@uga.edu.

HOMECOMING TAILGATE Join alumni and friends of the Terry College in the Business Learning Community courtyard for a tailgate buffet, live music, and family fun. Tailgate starts three hours prior to kickoff. jenallen@uga.edu.

HOMECOMING TAILGATE College of Public Health faculty, staff, current students and alumni will cheer on the Bulldogs at the 2018 UGA College of Public Health Homecoming Tailgate. Come out two hours before kickoff at the UGA Memorial Garden, located just outside the north tower (and 2nd floor bridge) of the Miller Learning Center. Food and refreshments will be provided. cphalumni@uga.edu.

FOOTBALL Homecoming vs. Vanderbilt. Sanford Stadium. Time and television station to be announced.

SUNDAY, OCT. 7 SALSA LESSON The Salsa Club at UGA offers weekly lessons in Cuban salsa dancing for beginners and advanced dancers. No experience or partner necessary. 4 p.m. 407 Memorial Hall.

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.

familiar tunes from the big band era,” said D’Angelo, who grew up in a musical environment listening to music of this era and playing at a very early age.

The program will have guest faculty performers from the Hugh Hodgson School of Music as featured soloists. Professors Brandon Craswell, trumpet, and Connie Frigo, alto saxophone, will join in the musical festivities. Also adding to the evening will be special guest arranger Scott Silbert, former Navy Band saxophonist.

D’Angelo said he’s excited for this opportunity for the UGA Jazz Ensemble student musicians to become better versed in this era’s style of music.

Tickets are $20 for adults and $6 for students and children and can be purchased at pac.uga.edu, the Performing Arts Center box office or by phone at 706-542-4400. All proceeds directly support student scholarships at the Hugh Hodgson School of Music.

The concert also will be streamed live on the Hodgson School of Music website at music.uga.edu/live-streaming.

ugasalsaclub@gmail.com.

COMING UP COLUMBUS DAY Oct. 8. Classes in session; offices open.

ONE HEALTH SEMINAR Oct. 9. “The United Nations and its One Health Approach,” Juan Lubroth, chief veterinary officer for the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization. 11 a.m. S175 Paul D. Coverdell Center for Biomedical and Health Sciences.

706-542-5568. ssanchez@uga.edu.

ECOLOGY SEMINAR Oct. 9. “Limits to Predictability in Community Ecology,” Benjamin Blonder, assistant professor, Macrosystems Ecology Laboratory, School of Life Sciences, Arizona State University.

Host: John Drake. Reception follows seminar at 4:30 p.m. in the ecology lobby. 3:30 p.m. Auditorium, ecology building.

706-542-2968. bethgav@uga.edu.

PERFORMANCE Oct. 9. Alice Birch’s experimental piece, Revolt. She Said. Revolt Again., interrogates comfort and complacency, holding up a mirror to often problematic relationships with sex, gender and (most of all) language. Revolt. She Said. Revolt Again. is a play about revolutionizing the body, mind and spirit in a profound way. Mature audiences only. $12; $7 for students. Performances run at 8 p.m. on Oct. 9-13. Cellar Theatre (Room 55), Fine Arts Building. 706-542-4247. wclay87@uga.edu.

ARTFUL CONVERSATION Oct. 10. Callan Steinmann, curator of education, will lead a group conversation on Gerald Brockhurst’s painting “Portrait of Jeanne Laib (Levin).” 2 p.m. Georgia Museum of Art. 706-542-4662. hazbrown@uga.edu.

ALL-ACCESS PASS SERIES Oct. 10. Join the UGA Libraries and WUOG for a screening of Sonita (2015, 1 hour, 30 minutes). After her family attempts to sell her into marriage, a young Afghan refugee in Iran channels her frustrations and seizes her destiny through music. Grabbing the mic, she spits fiery rhymes in the face of oppressive traditions. 7 p.m. Instruction Lab, Main Library. 706-542-1114. amywatts@uga.edu.

ECONOMICS SEMINAR SERIES Oct. 11. Thomas Buchmueller, University of Michigan.

Sponsored by the James C. Bonbright Center for the Study of Regulation. 3:30 p.m. C014 Benson Hall. roozbeh@uga.edu.

NEXT COLUMNS DEADLINES Oct. 3 (for Oct. 15 issue) Oct. 10 (for Oct. 22 issue) Oct. 17 (for Oct. 29 issue)

6 Oct. 1, 2018 columns.uga.edu

FACULTY PROFILE

Dust in the wind

Marshall Shepherd, the Georgia Athletic Association Distinguished Professor of Geography and Atmospheric Sciences in the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences, was quoted in Africa Times about the recent media attention regarding African dust.

African dust has contributed to many of the recent weather problems, including the yellowtinged skies of Portugal during the recent Iberian Peninsula heat wave and the suppression of storms in the Atlantic Ocean hurricane season. Saharan dust is transported to Amazonia, North America, Europe, the Middle East and China, according to a 2016 global assessment from the World Meteorological Organization. There are concerns about the links between Saharan dust and human respiratory problems, coral diseases and even the red tides.

“It will be important going forward to understand this mega-dust generating region because the dust plays a role in the Earth’s climate and even meteorological processes,” said Shepherd, who is the director of UGA’s atmospheric sciences program.

Jaws of life

Allen Moore, associate dean for research in the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, was quoted in Science magazine about a recent study regarding burying beetles.

Unlike most other bugs, which abandon their eggs almost immediately after laying them, the burying beetles protect and feed their young until they are big enough to fend for themselves. But an evolutionary biologist at the University of Cambridge has been altering the family dynamic for lab-reared beetles. Half the time, they remove the female after her eggs are laid, and half the time they leave the family intact. The team repeats the experiment over and over and monitors each generation for physical and behavioral changes.

After 30 generations, the motherless beetle larvae evolved larger and stronger jaws. When larvae have to survive on their own, the ones with the biggest jaws are able to reach their meal, so they survived, and their young tend to have ever bigger jaws.

The work points out that the evolution of cooperation depends not only on how an individual changes through time, but also how the individuals interact with change, according to Moore, who also is Distinguished Research Professor of Genetics.

“We are social and so group composition matters for our evolution as well,” said Moore, who was not involved in the study. “The parents’ behavior depends on what the babies are doing, not just what the parents are doing.”

Cold and flu germs

Judy Harrison, a professor and extension foods specialist in the College of Family and Consumer Sciences, was quoted on CNN about avoiding back-to-school germs and illnesses.

According to Johns Hopkins Medicine, elementary school children get six to eight colds on average each school year. High school kids get about half that, but both groups are at high risk for the flu.

Children are most likely to get colds in the fall and winter, because they are indoors and in close contact with fellow germy kids and because cold viruses love low humidity. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention highly recommends students get vaccinated each flu season and for students to stay home if they are sick.

Harrison has conducted studies that show that most children don’t know how to wash their hands properly, as only 28 percent knew the right method. Properly washed hands cut down on gastrointestinal problems, as well as cold and flu.

“I teach them to sing ‘Happy Birthday’ to themselves twice to make sure they wash for at least 20 seconds,” said Harrison, who designed the “Wash Your Paws, Georgia!” hand-washing ­initiative.

Dorothy Kozlowski

Amy Pollard’s upcoming performances include a solo faculty concert featuring all French music Oct. 8 at 7:30 p.m. in Ramsey Recital Hall, followed by a Halloween performance with her studio class students Oct. 29 at 7:30 p.m. in Ramsey Recital Hall. Both performances are open free to the public.

Childhood choice is instrumental in faculty member’s career path

By Jessica Luton jluton@uga.edu

For Amy Pollard, the bassoon is an instrument unlike any other.

Pollard, an associate professor of bassoon at the Hugh Hodgson School of Music, picked up a bassoon in middle school after playing the flute for a few years. She was intrigued by pictures and music literature about the instrument that she found in her band class and asked to play it.

According to Pollard, the instrument truly is diverse—able to blend with woodwinds, play alongside percussion parts or stand on its own as a solo instrument.

“I think it has a really fascinating sound,” said Pollard. “The bassoon can create a lot of different tonal colors and a lot of the octaves sound very different. When we play in orchestra, we most often play parts with the other woodwinds, but we also get to play with the strings and the brass sections.

Usually with each piece, we have a role within all of those areas, and we get to collaborate with a variety of sections in a way that other instruments don’t.”

Much like the instrument, Pollard serves diverse and varied roles as a faculty member at the School of Music.

As the bassoon professor, she teaches

students in hourlong individual weekly sessions, but also teaches bassoon studio class, a reed making seminar and a First-Year Odyssey course on managing performance anxiety; coaches a woodwind quintet; and teaches graduate pedagogy and literature courses.

Beyond teaching, she also plays bassoon in a host of solo, chamber and large orchestral performances each year—at UGA, with professional orchestras and as a visiting performer to other universities. She’s even the principal bassoonist for the Atlanta Ballet.

Despite the busy teaching and performance schedule, the most rewarding part of the job is being able to get to know her students on an individual level.

“I’m able to help them realize their goals in a very specific way that maybe isn’t possible for faculty members who teach very large classes,” said Pollard.

“I see my students for four years, if they’re an undergraduate, or at least two years if they’re a graduate student so I’m able to form a personal bond with them and help them, not only in their careers, but also in their personal lives.

I can help them learn how to schedule their time and how to take steps toward achieving their individual goals. Feeling like I have an impact on them in a very specific way is an amazing feeling.”

FACTS

Amy Pollard Associate Professor of Bassoon Hugh Hodgson School of Music Franklin College of Arts and Sciences D.M.A., Musical Arts, University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, 2012 M.M., Music, University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, 2006 B.M., Music, Louisiana State University, 2004 At UGA: 10 years

Pollard, who has been at UGA for 10 years, really appreciates the collegial atmosphere among professors at Hodgson.

“The faculty that I work with are really wonderful. They’re not only excellent musicians, but great people as well,” she said. “Everyone is very supportive of each other here, attending each other’s performances and collaborating on chamber music pieces, but we are all also very invested and focused on student success.

“We are all trying to keep students’ interests in mind and determine the best educational ­ experience for our students,” Pollard said.

COLLEGE OF AGRICULTURAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES

Sherrier joins faculty as CAES department head

By Clint Thompson cbthomps@uga.edu

Janine Sherrier is the new crop and soil sciences department head in the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences. Her vision involves helping Georgia farmers be successful now and for decades into the future.

UGA’s campuses Janine Sherrier in Athens, Griffin and Tifton house UGA crop and soil sciences faculty and staff. The department aims to provide modern technology and science-based knowledge to students, farmers, consumers, agribusinesses, nonprofits and governmental agencies across Georgia.

Sherrier came to UGA because the crop and soil sciences department

is known for its beneficial Cooperative Extension programs, applied and basic research and academics. But she is driven to continue to strengthen the department’s programs. Sherrier said the department will address issues that might become problematic in the future. Growers face increasing costs, complex regulations and intense competition for resources.

“Everywhere I’ve traveled in Georgia, I’ve heard from growers about how important the department of crop and soil sciences is to their industry,” she said. “In crop and soil sciences, the faculty have particular strengths in plant genetics and breeding, soil geochemistry and sustainable management practices. One of my goals is to bridge and leverage those strengths to generate novel resources for our growers.”

With Sherrier’s long-term vision for the department and Georgia agriculture, she advocates for agricultural

management strategies that generate high crop yields and growers’ economic success while emphasizing careful stewardship of natural resources.

Sherrier previously served as a professor of plant and soil sciences at the University of Delaware and held the first dual appointment with the Delaware Biotechnology Institute. At the University of Delaware, she established an internationally competitive research program about beneficial-plantassociated microbes. Work by her team there led to the development and marketing of a bioinoculant, approved by the Environmental Protection Agency, that is available to growers today.

Sherrier earned a bachelor’s degree in biology from Baylor University and a doctorate in biology from Texas A&M University. She also completed postdoctoral research programs in genetics at the John Innes Centre and in biochemistry at the University of Cambridge in the United Kingdom.

PUBLIC SERVICE AND OUTREACH

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7

COLLEGE OF AGRICULTURAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES

Shannah Montgomery

Kinsley Baker participated in the 2017-2018 Lynda B. Williamson Foundation Women’s Leadership Academy, which is led by UGA’s J.W. Fanning Institute for Leadership Development.

Fanning Institute helps women in southeast Georgia grow as leaders

By Charlie Bauder

charlie.bauder@fanning.uga.edu

As a counselor in the Upper School at Bulloch Academy in Statesboro, Kinsley Baker has a great job and a good quality of life.

It wasn’t always this way. In fact, when Baker began the 2017-2018 Lynda Brannen Williamson Foundation Women’s Leadership Academy she also had a “great job,” she said. “But it was a challenge to manage work-life balance.”

The leadership program, developed by UGA’s J.W. Fanning Institute for Leadership Development for the Lynda Brannen Williamson Foundation in Statesboro, helped Baker realize she needed a change.

“Each session really hit home for me and was so relevant to where I was in my life and in my career,” Baker said. “I learned so much about myself, how I work with others and how I manage conflict. What I learned had a lot to do with me taking that step forward.”

Lynda Williamson, a civic leader in the Statesboro community, established the foundation before her death in November 2014 to help guide and mentor young women in southeast Georgia. The leadership academy focuses on servant leadership, mentoring and developing a personal leadership style.

“Women in leadership roles face unique challenges and situations,” said Lisa Lee, president of the Lynda B. Williamson Foundation. “We wanted to create a program that would address those specific issues and provide a safe space for women to discuss leadership, learn from each other and grow together.”

Fanning Institute faculty, led by Maritza Soto Keen and Carolina Darbisi, cover topics like personal leadership, communication and conflict, strategies for effective

l­eadership, career and professional skill development and multigenerational leadership. The class also meets with local and state leaders.

“We created a curriculum to examine leadership through a woman’s lens,” Keen said. “By raising these unique issues and allowing women to talk about them and share with each other, they develop their personal leadership abilities and build a network of women leaders that can work together to strengthen their communities.”

Program participants also work together on a community service project, which helps them bond.

So far, 48 women have graduated from the program, held each year since 2015-16.

The first two groups organized activities in the Statesboro area, including a career day for women that offered interview training, resume development and professional makeovers. The 2017-18 class plans to create a mentoring program for high school girls, which will cover social media etiquette, resume building and conflict management.

“We want to take what we have learned and pass it on to the next generation,” Baker said. An alumnae group formed by program graduates also will provide support for the program and its community service efforts moving forward.

The program is a strong community partnership, said Matt Bishop, director of the Fanning Institute.

“At the Fanning Institute, we believe that communities become stronger when they empower as many people as possible with the tools and knowledge to lead and contribute,” Bishop said. “We are proud to partner with the Lynda Brannen Williamson Foundation on the Women’s Leadership Academy, and we look forward to seeing the impact that these women will have on future generations in southeast Georgia.”

WEEKLY READER

Pictured from left are Amrit Bart, director of UGA’s Office of Global Programs, UGA alumnus Hiram Larew and UGA graduate student Chandler Mulvaney.

Alumnus helps graduate student attend national conference in DC

By Denise H. Horton

denisehhorton@gmail.com

Having spent a year in Ghana providing support to farmers and leading a 4-H-style program for children, Chandler Mulvaney knows a bit about international agriculture.

But the opportunity to attend this year’s meeting of the Association for International Agriculture and Rural Development still provided many eye-opening opportunities.

The master’s student in agricultural and environmental education met representatives of industries, universities, government agencies and nongovernmental organizations during the AIARD annual conference in Washington, D.C. While many professional meetings have a reputation for being dry, Mulvaney said the AIARD conference was small and community driven.

“Everyone seemed to know each other,” he said. “But that meant everyone knew those of us who weren’t members. They welcomed us and came up and talked with us throughout the conference.”

Mulvaney was one of about two dozen students to attend the conference from throughout the U.S. A dozen of those students were selected by AIARD via a competitive fellowship program.

“I had applied for the fellowship program but found out in late April that I wasn’t selected,” Mulvaney said. “That same week, I was notified that the Office of Global Programs had a scholarship available for the conference. I applied and was selected to attend that way.”

The scholarship is funded by UGA alumnus Hiram Larew, who retired in 2015 as director of international programs for the U.S. Department of Agriculture National Institute of Food and Agriculture.

“International agriculture is so important to Georgia’s economy and to UGA CAES programs,” Larew said. “I’ve been pleased to support international agriculture students from UGA like Chandler and, last year, Maria Moore as they’ve attended the AIARD national conference. Being able to attend AIARD will hopefully boost their interests and startup careers.”

In addition to meeting Larew and other AIARD members, Mulvaney also attended presentations by a variety of professionals on research addressing issues in international agriculture.

This year’s conference was titled “Business UnUsual: Aligning Critical Intersections of Agriculture, Health and Food” and, among other issues, explored the ways technical interventions intersect with cultural factors in creating change, a topic that is of particular interest to Mulvaney, who is headed to Uganda this fall to conduct research for his master’s thesis.

“I’ll be gathering qualitative research in a village in Uganda that focuses on farmers’ decisions to adopt or reject the use of fertilizer,” he said. “Most research focuses on the economic factors for adoption of new farming practices, but there are also cultural reasons that can influence decisions; that’s what I want to uncover by interviewing both men and women farmers.”

As he reflects on his experiences at AIARD, Mulvaney said he’s grateful to have the opportunity to meet professionals who share his passion for international agriculture.

“I hope to some day have a career that is focused on the types of applied agriculture that so many of the AIARD members seem to have,” he said. “I hope I’m able to connect my research back to working with farmers in Africa, assessing their needs and helping them.”

CYBERSIGHTS

ABOUT COLUMNS

New book explores state’s coastal history

Coastal Nature, Coastal Culture

By Paul S. Sutter and Paul M. Pressly University of Georgia Press Hardcover: $92.95 Paperback: $32.95

In Coastal Nature, Coastal Culture, editors Paul S. Sutter and Paul M. Pressly have brought together work from leading historians as well as environmental writers and activists that explores how nature and culture have coexisted and interacted throughout human history along the Georgia coast, as well as how those interactions have shaped the coast today.

Published by the University of Georgia Press, Coastal Nature, Coastal Culture examines how successive communities of Native Americans, Spanish missionaries, British imperialists and settlers, pulp and paper industrialists, vacationing northerners, Gullah-Geechee, nature writers and many others developed distinctive relationships with the environment and produced well-defined coastal landscapes.

Together these histories suggest that contemporary efforts to preserve and protect the Georgia coast must be as respectful of the history of the coast as they are of natural landscapes, many of them restored, that now define so much of the region.

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

UGA Presents launches redesigned website

pac.uga.edu

UGA Presents has launched a completely redesigned website.

With the appointment of Jeffrey Martin as the new Performing Arts Center director, the time was right to unveil a different look to reflect the new direction in programming.

In planning the site, the Performing Arts Center staff looked at cutting-edge performing arts

websites from around the world and took inspiration from major institutions such as New York’s Carnegie Hall, using a sleek and elegant look.

The major function of the website is to sell tickets, so the focus of the design is to easily convey information to patrons and direct them to the ticketing page.

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 Oct. 1, 2018 columns.uga.edu PREP

from page 1 on the research experience and the career around it.”

For Jilarie Santos Santiago, those mentors have helped her realize her potential in just her first few weeks on campus. “I am stepping out of my comfort zone,” said the graduate of the University of Puerto Rico Humacao, who is currently conducting research in Stephen Hajduk’s lab.

As an undergraduate, Santos Santiago worked on a project for several years to determine a way to thwart parasitic nematodes from destroying the plantain harvest on her home island, but she wanted to explore other areas of life sciences research and learn new techniques before beginning a doctoral program. She also wanted to improve her

FARM

communication skills, and she’s excited to learn more about the process of publishing research articles.

“The transition to a Ph.D. program, it can be overwhelming. Even this building is confusing when you come from a small college,” Santos Santiago said from her lab in the Davison Life Sciences Complex. “It can be a lot to take in, but if you don’t take the first step, you never do it. This was the right first step for me.”

Tompkins, a professor of infectious diseases in the College of Veterinary Medicine, said his experience as a mentor for a PREP@ UGA Scholar last year drove home the impact of the program on students, the research team and on academia as a whole.

“It’s a win-win for the students, the faculty member and the research mentor,” he said.

“The perspectives that the scholars bring add a richness to the lab. For the university and academia, the program will have an intangible impact on increasing diversity in the long run.”

Tompkins’ former scholar, Carlie Neiswanger, who has recently begun her doctoral program in pharmacology at the University of Washington, said her experience as a PREP@UGA Scholar was “nothing short of life-changing.”

After a rocky start to her undergraduate education, she found her passion as a returning student but didn’t believe she had the grades and test scores to make graduate school an option. But her postbaccalaureate experience

HOMECOMING

from page 1

The 2018 Farm Tour included a variety of stops where participants had the opportunity to examine vegetable crops, orchards, irrigation research and peanut shelling.

Tour is a prime example of what great objectives can be accomplished through a strong partnership and joint collaboration. Every year, I look forward to the opportunity of helping make that connection between these two very important sectors of our state.”

Sam Pardue, dean and director of the UGA College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, accompanied Morehead and Black on the tour along with state Reps.

Terry England and Tom McCall.

“What’s impressive about these farm tours that President Morehead participates in every year is that they’re never the same,” Pardue said. “Agricultural diversity is a big reason why the industry is No. 1 in Georgia.

It’s great that President Morehead is willing

Peter Frey

and able to see that diversity up close.”

This year’s tour started at Pure Flavor Greenhouse Complex in Fort Valley. The company opened a location in the state in 2017 and produces tomatoes and cucumbers year-round in a 75-acre greenhouse complex. The produce grown by Pure Flavor is part of the $1.1 billion value of Georgia’s vegetable crops.

The Farm Tour also traveled to Pecan Ridge Plantation in Bainbridge. The business is operated by two UGA graduates, Rob (BSA ’96) and Eric Cohen (BSA ’00), and spans five counties throughout South Georgia and North Florida.

This stop featured a pecan orchard in Decatur County part of the Cohen brothers’

Bulletin Board University Woman’s Club

The University Woman’s Club will meet Oct. 9 at 11 a.m. in the Fellowship Hall of Alps Road Presbyterian Church, 380 Alps Road. Guest speaker for the meeting will be Jack Baurele, UGA’s Tom Cousins Swimming and Diving Head Coach.

Tickets for the Dec. 11 holiday luncheon also will be available for purchase. For more information, contact Shirley Jaeger, publicity chair, at shirley.jaeger1961@gmail.com.

Award nominations

Nominations for the 2019 ServiceLearning Teaching Excellence and Service-Learning Research Excellence Awards are due Nov. 28. All full-time, permanent UGA faculty members are eligible for nomination. The awards recognize faculty for innovative service-learning course design as well as scholarship that stems from academic service-learning work. Award recipients receive a $2,500 faculty development award and will be rec-

changed that while providing lessons in independent thinking and problem solving that have given her confidence going into her doctoral program.

“I knew that I wanted to stay in research after graduation, but I was at a loss for what the next steps would be if I wasn’t prepared for graduate school. The PREP program was a near-perfect solution for me,” said Neiswanger, an alumna of Washington State University. “Not only did I get to experience what it means to work full time in a lab while learning to balance things like classes and social life, it truly made me feel prepared for graduate work. … I worked really, really hard, and it paid off. Now I’m ready for the next step.”

ognized at the annual faculty awards banquet. Nominations by deans and department heads, faculty colleagues or self-nominations will be accepted.

To view nomination packets and award guidelines and to view previous award winners, visit https://bit.ly/2PY8wOz. For questions, contact Shannon Wilder, director of the Office of Service-Learning at 706-542-0535 or swilder@uga.edu.

Free golf clinic

The UGA Golf Course will host a free golf clinic for UGA staff and faculty Oct. 11 at the UGA driving range. Players from all skill levels are welcome to participate. Session topics include driving and chipping. To reserve a space, email Clint Udell, PGA golf instructor, at cudell96@uga.edu and indicate if you would like to borrow golf clubs for the clinic.

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

1,400-acre pecan operation.

Eric Cohen also showed off his dog, Tate, who is trained in locating truffles in pecan orchards, a gourmet delicacy that is highly desired by restaurants and chefs. Reflecting on his business, Cohen credited UGA Extension pecan specialist Lenny Wells and plant pathologist Tim Brenneman for the success the Cohen family has enjoyed in producing pecans.

“This year, we’ve had more rain, something like 40 out of 60 days of rainfall. When you get that much, scab disease will normally just take you out. This year, we’re in great shape, and a lot of that is attributed to the research done by the university,” Cohen said. “In 2012, we had so much rainfall that we didn’t make but a third of the crop that year. We’ve had similar conditions this year, and we have less scab than we had last year.

That’s because of the work by the university and Cooperative Extension helping and being on top of things.”

Georgia is the country’s largest producer of pecans, with a farm gate value of $355.8 million in 2016.

Irrigation research is vital to improving state crops like cotton, peanuts and vegetables. The Farm Tour visited UGA Stripling Irrigation Research Park in Camilla to see how water factors into the development of crops over the course of the growing season.

Calvin Perry, superintendent of SIRP, highlighted irrigation scheduling work by UGA College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences precision ag specialists Wes Porter and George Vellidis.

“What is unique about the research here is it’s often very practical and can be transferred to our growers very easily and quickly. I think that’s what we tried to key in on. This isn’t back-in-the-lab research that takes 20 years to reach a grower; what we do is provide information that can go directly to growers immediately,” Perry said.

The tour’s final stop was at Premium Peanut, the largest single shelling facility in the world. Premium Peanut was founded in 2014, when seven buying points in Georgia came together to form the business.

“The diversity of Georgia’s agriculture industry is reflected in the wide-ranging research efforts and expertise of UGA faculty and staff and in the flourishing businesses of our alumni,” said Morehead. “The annual Farm Tour is an excellent way to demonstrate the deep connections between the university and our state’s No. 1 industry and to learn more about the ways in which UGA is helping this industry to grow and thrive.”

RANKING

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The Homecoming parade kicks off Oct. 5 at 6 p.m. and winds through downtown Athens. Led by Army and Air Force ROTC members and the Redcoat Band, the parade will include floats, displays, spirit squads and appearances by UGA athletes and university and Athens dignitaries. UGA President Jere W. Morehead will serve as grand marshal.

Following the parade, the Homecoming Carnival, hosted by the University Union Student Programming Board, will be held on the Legion Field parking lot as well as the field itself from 7-11 p.m. with games, midway rides and free food. Admission is free for students with valid UGACards and $5 for non-students.

Voting for Homecoming king and queen will be open to students from Oct. 1 at 8 a.m. through Oct. 5 at 4 p.m.; the ballot can be accessed on the UGA mobile application under the “UGA Polls” link.

Homecoming Court members, all of whom are seniors, their majors, hometowns and sponsoring organizations are: • Caroline Carder, marketing, Cumming (Panhellenic Council); • Brooke Carter, business management, Kingsland (The Defender-Advocates Society); • Michelle Kancheva, exercise and sport science, Sofia, Bulgaria and Duluth (Dean William Tate Honor Society); • Avalon Kandrac, biological engineering, Roswell (College of Engineering); • Lauren Slappey, marketing and real estate, Milton (Zeta Tau Alpha); • Jack Bush, mechanical engineering, Savannah (College of Engineering); • Dwain “Chip” Chambers, biology and economics, Watkinsville (Dean William Tate Honor Society); • Joshua Clifford, geography and comparative literature, Kingsland (IMPACT UGA); • Ammishaddai Grand-Jean, political science and economics, Jonesboro (Student Government Association); and • Destin Mizelle, psychology, College Park (New Student Orientation).

Bailey Marshall, a fourth-year psychology-neuroscience major from Asheville, North Carolina, serves as director of the Homecoming Committee.

The Homecoming Committee and the University Union Student Programming Board are registered student organizations within the Tate Student Center’s Center for Student Activities and Involvement.

For more information about Homecoming events, call 706-542-6396 or see http://homecoming.uga.edu.

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Landscape Architecture and Planning.

This year, the environment and design college scored in the top five rankings in all of the focus categories except one.

In the healthy built environments category, the BLA program ranked No. 1 in the nation, and the MLA program, ranked No. 4. The BLA program ranked No. 2 in seven other categories, including construction materials, design technologies, engineering fundamentals, interdisciplinary studies, project planning and

management, research, practice management and transdisciplinary collaboration.

The MLA program ranked in the top five in 11 out of 12 focus categories.

Established in 1994, Design Intelligence is an independent company that assists firms and organizations in the fields of architecture, engineering and construction through the Design Futures Council by offering leadership events and networking, conducting public and privately commissioned studies and publishing practical research.