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Homecoming festivities to kick off on Oct. 12, run through Oct. 17 CAMPUS NEWS
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The University of Georgia Amy Pollard to showcase bassoon in Oct. 12 Hugh Hodgson faculty recital
Vol. 43, No. 11
October 5, 2015
www.columns.uga.edu
UGA GUIDE
4&5
NSF grant to be used for new pilot graduate education program By Rachel McDaniel racmcd08@uga.edu
Andrew Davis Tucker
From left, Clarke Middle School eighth-graders Stephanie Jimenez, Abril Fuentes-Mandujano and Gimena Gutierrez look at new UGA T-shirts that they received inside Terrell Hall during a recent campus visit as part of the Gear Up for College program.
Geared for success
The National Science oundation has awarded UGA a F $495,754 grant to institute a pilot graduate education program that will give students experiential learning opportunities prior to and throughout their studies. Students in the Research Traineeship-Innovations in Graduate Education program will learn about problem solving, interdisciplinary teamwork, leadership, communication and engagement. The new program will address the reality that “21st-century scientists and engineers must possess skills that enable them to reach beyond the laboratory, across disciplines and into communities to identify issues and develop solutions that increase both resilience and sustainability.”
It will be led by Julie Coffield, an associate dean in the Graduate School; Meredith Welch-Devine, the Graduate School’s director of interdisciplinary studies; Ikseon Choi, an associate professor of learning design and technology in the College of Education; Matthew L. Bishop, director of public service and outreach’s J.W. Fanning Institute for Leadership Development; and K. Paige Carmichael, Meigs Professor of Pathology in the College of Veterinary Medicine. During the summer before their graduate studies begin, students in the program will attend an eightweek “boot camp.” There, they will get early exposure to professional skills training and the application of these skills to specific problems facing Georgia communities. The boot camp will be followed by a challenge course
See GRANT on page 8
Admissions office’s Latino outreach program SCHOOL OF LAW honored by White House Law school launches Atlanta they’re really unaware of how to Spanish as he’s greeting and work- Semester in Practice program By Matt Chambers navigate the college process,” said ing with the students. mattdc@uga.edu Shortly after UGA’s historic campus came into view, nearly two dozen Clarke Middle School students gathered in front of the Arch before spending a day learning how they can one day return to campus and earn a degree. The students, who are highachieving Latino students, visited UGA Sept. 21 as part of the university’s Gear Up for College program. Administered by the Office of Admissions and developed by the J.W. Fanning Institute for Leadership Development, a public service and outreach unit, the program is part outreach, part admissions pitch. “A lot of these kids, although they’re very bright, will be firstgeneration (college students) so
Jonathan Brunson, assistant director of admissions for outreach, who has managed the program since its inception in 2008. “Although it’s a fun day for them, they’re still here to learn how to prepare for selective college admissions.” During their visit, the students participated in interactive activities to help them understand the college process. They explored possible majors, and discussed financial aid and career options. The group also had lunch on campus with a current Latino student and went on a tour of campus. “Of course, we want them to come to the University of Georgia, but this is about getting them ready for college anywhere,” said Brunson, who often will speak in
Students’ questions to Brunson cover everything from campus life to admissions requirements. He recalled once walking through the Miller Learning Center with the group. One of the program participants saw a college student napping in a chair and asked, “Can you take naps in college?” “They’re in eighth grade, and it’s their first time on UGA’s campus for many of them so they don’t know what college life is like at all,” Brunson said. Gear Up for College has grown a lot since it started. In the first year, there were six campus visits with a total of 150 students. This year, the program is projected to reach 300 Latino students during See OUTREACH on page 8
TERRY COLLEGE OF BUSINESS
Report: Asians, Hispanics driving US economy By Matt Weeks
mweeks@uga.edu
Growth in the U.S. market is increasingly driven by Hispanic and Asian consumers, to the tune of nearly $2 trillion per year.That’s one takeaway from the 2015 Multicultural Economy Report from UGA’s Selig Center for Economic Growth. The nation’s projected total buying power in 2015 is $13.5 trillion, a 213 percent growth since 1990. That number is bolstered by an increasingly diverse populace, according to the annual report, which provides a comprehensive statistical
overview of the buying power of African-Americans, Asians, Native Americans and Hispanics for the U.S. and each of its states. For example, the U.S. Hispanic market in 2015 will be $1.3 trillion, which is larger than the GDP of Mexico. In 2020, that amount will reach $1.7 trillion.The Asian market, comprised of 18.3 million Americans, will be $825 billion in 2015 and grow to $1.1 trillion in 2020. “The Asian and Hispanic markets will really drive the U.S. consumer market,” said Jeff Humphreys, director of the Selig Center. “Those two groups will account for a
isproportionate amount of growth. d The African-American market still will expand at a rate that’s compelling, but the Asian and Hispanic markets are where you see the really fast-paced growth.” The report predicts that AfricanAmerican buying power will be $1.2 trillion in 2015 and reach $1.4 trillion in 2020, up from $320 billion in 1990.The report also breaks down the buying power of minority subgroups, such as Mexicans and Puerto Ricans in the Hispanic category, and Asian Indians, Chinese and Japanese in the Asian category.
See REPORT on page 8
By Heidi M. Murphy hmurphy@uga.edu
The UGA School of Law will expand its footprint with an Atlanta campus that will open for the 2016 spring semester. The first program to be launched at the new facility will be the Atlanta Semester in Practice, which will offer secondand third-year students the opportunity to receive full-time, practical experience through placements in the judicial, government, corporate and nonprofit arenas. “The opportunity to receive hands-on, full-time training will greatly benefit our students as they seek to begin their careers in the legal profession. In addition, the agencies and companies that
provide placements will be receiving the assistance of some of our nation’s brightest law students,” said Georgia Law Dean Peter B. “Bo” Rutledge. “We are excited to begin this new chapter in the law school’s storied history and look forward to the opportunities an Atlanta campus will bring to our students, alumni and employers.” Students electing to spend a semester at the Atlanta campus will work full time in placements that include the Office of the Governor, the Office of the Attorney General, the Georgia Supreme Court and the House Democratic Caucus, as well as a number of other government, nonprofit and corporate locations. In addition
See PROGRAM on page 8
INSTITUTE FOR WOMEN’S STUDIES Women and Girls in Georgia Conference to be held Oct. 9-10 By Terri L. Hatfield tlhat@uga.edu
UGA’s Institute for Women’s Studies is hosting its sixth Women and Girls in Georgia conference Oct. 9-10 in the Miller Learning Center. The theme of this year’s conference is sustainability. Presentation topics will explore the intersections of social, economic and environmental challenges as they relate to women and girls in the state, including environmental justice,
local food, food insecurity, climate change, environmental health, recycling and conserving on college campuses and protecting Georgia’s honeybee population. This year’s conference will include an opening-night keynote lecture by Carolyn Sachs, a professor of rural sociology and head of the women’s studies department at Pennsylvania State University. Her lecture, “Gender Networking for Environmental Sustainability: From the Local to the Global,” will
See CONFERENCE on page 8