The University of Georgia Magazine March 2013

GEORGIA The University of

March 2013 • Vol. 92, No. 2

In this issue:

• The 2013 fastest-growing Bulldog businesses

• After two players sustain career-ending spinal cord injuries, the Diamond Dogs rally around their teammates • From Peoplestown to the People’s Mayor, Evelyn Wynn-Dixon’s journey proves there’s no such thing as too late

Engineering job growth UGA’s newest college is attracting students who could fill an increasing number of engineering jobs in Georgia

Magazine

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March 2013 • Vol. 92, No. 2

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Close up 12 Risky business

Features 14 Top 10 Bulldog businesses 18 Engineering job growth Through a new College of Engineering, students can earn undergraduate and graduate degrees that will prepare them for jobs and help Georgia’s economy grow

26 Nothing for granted Chance Veazey and J.T. Taylor are sidelined with spinal cord injuries, but they continue to contribute to the Diamond Dogs and pursue degrees at UGA

32 Standing on the shoulders of many Evelyn Wynn-Dixon went from welfare to woman of distinction

Class Notes 38 Alumni profiles and notes Students in the first class of civil engineering at UGA get a tour of Sanford Stadium from Charles Whittemore, an assistant athletic director.

Photo by Peter Frey

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Cover illustration by Lindsay Robinson

Campus news and events

A new center in the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences brings together researchers from a variety of disciplines to better understand pathological gambling

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ON THE COVER

President Michael F. Adams on the new College of Engineering

Around the Arch

FINE PRINT Georgia Magazine (ISSN 1085-1042) is published quarterly for alumni and friends of UGA. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to: University of Georgia, 286 Oconee Street, Suite 200 North, Athens, GA 30602 In compliance with federal law, including the provisions of Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Sections 503 and 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, and the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, the University of Georgia does not discriminate on the basis of race, sex, religion, color, national or ethnic origin, age, disability, or military service in its administration of educational policies, programs, or activities; its admissions policies; scholarship and loan programs; athletic or other University-administered programs; or employment. In addition, the University does not discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation consistent with the University non-discrimination policy. Inquiries or complaints should be directed to the director of the Equal Opportunity Office, Peabody Hall, 290 South Jackson Street, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602. Telephone 706542-7912 (V/TDD). Fax 706-542-2822.

Departments 5 Take 5 with the President

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Tom S. Landrum, AB ’72, MA ’87, Senior Vice President, ­External Affairs; Tom Jackson, AB ’73, MPA ’04, PhD ’08, VP, Public Affairs; Deborah Dietzler, ­Executive ­Director, UGA Alumni Association; Alison Huff, Director of Publications; Eric Johnson, ABJ ’86, Director of UGA Visitors Center How to advertise in GEORGIA MAGAZINE: Contact Pamela Leed: 706/542-8124 or pjleed@uga.edu Where to send story ideas, letters, Class Notes items: Georgia Magazine 286 Oconee St., Suite 200 North Athens, GA 30602-1999 E-mail: GMeditor@uga.edu Web site: www.uga.edu/gm or University of Georgia Alumni Association www.alumni.uga.edu/alumni Address changes: E-mail records@uga.edu or call 888/268-5442

Magazine

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Cecil Bentley, BBA ’70, UGA journalism staff; Valerie Boyd, UGA journalism faculty; Bobby Byrd, ABJ ’80, Wells Real Estate Funds; Jim Cobb, AB ’69, MA ’72, PhD ’75, UGA history faculty; Richard Hyatt, Columbus Ledger-Enquirer; Brad King, MMC ’97, BVK Communications; Fran Lane, AB ’69, MEd ’71, retired director, UGA Visitors Center; Bill McDougald, ABJ ’76, MLA ’86, Southern Living; Leneva Morgan, ABJ ’88, Georgia Power; Swann Seiler, ABJ ’78, Coastal Region of Georgia Power; Robert Willett, ABJ ’66, MFA ’73, retired journalism faculty; Martha Mitchell Zoller, ABJ ’79

GEORGIA The University of

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ADMINISTRATION Michael F. Adams, President Jere Morehead, JD ’80, Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost Tom S. Landrum, AB ’72, MA ’87,

Senior Vice President for External Affairs Tim Burgess, AB ’77, Senior Vice President for Finance and Administration PUBLIC AFFAIRS Tom Jackson, AB ’73, MPA ’04, PhD ’08, Vice President Alison Huff, Director of Publications GEORGIA MAGAZINE Editor, Kelly Simmons, MPA ’10 Managing Editor, Allyson Mann, MA ’92 Art Director, Lindsay Bland Robinson, ABJ ’06, MPA ’11 Advertising Director, Pamela Leed Office Manager, Fran Burke Photographers, Paul Efland, BFA ’75, MEd ’80; Peter Frey, BFA ’94; Dorothy Kozlowski, BLA ’06, ’ABJ 10; Robert Newcomb, BFA ’81; Rick O’Quinn, ABJ ’87; Dot Paul; Andrew Davis Tucker Editorial Assistant, Chase Martin

MARCH 2013 • GEORGIA MAGAZINE

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TAKE

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— President Michael F. Adams on the new College of Engineering

Q: Why did you want to expand the engineering programs at UGA? A: Most importantly, because the state needed it. Engineering drives a lot of economic development and I have long felt that, as good as Georgia Tech is, the state was underserved in the development of domestic engineers, and particularly those who would stay and practice in Georgia.

Q: How are the UGA programs different from those offered at other institutions in Georgia?

A: This will never be a technological institute like Georgia Tech, and with all due Michael F. Adams respect, we don’t want to be that. The engineering programs here, like all our academic programs, are grounded in a strong liberal arts tradition, especially in the first two years. While we want to—and will—create engineers of national and international quality, we also want to do what we’ve done in other fields, which is to attract the best young minds in the state, educate them well and encourage them to stay and make a contribution to the state that has supported them.

Q: What is the value to UGA of having a College of Engineering?

A: It broadens our portfolio. We were one of a very few land-grant institutions without a full engineering program. This will greatly enhance our research program, not only in engineering, but across a range of fields. More than 75 percent of federal research dollars go to either engineering or medicine, so we have been competing in a national arena without a full set of arrows in our quiver.

Q: How does this benefit the state of Georgia?

A: It will increasingly keep many of the best minds in Georgia, in Georgia. There are more than 2,000 Georgia students studying engineering outside the state, and we believe that many of them, given the choice, would stay home and attend the flagship university of the state. We also believe that the intellectual activity and economic development will accrue to the benefit of the state.

Q: What do you see in the future for engineering at UGA? A: I think it will become a very significant college in the panoply of schools and colleges at UGA. It will enhance the quality of the students, the quality of the faculty, the quality of the research and the general educational climate of the place. Engineering will also aid research and development in a broad range of fields, including but not limited to computer science, biosciences, medicine and agriculture.

It is a very significant development in the academic history of the University of Georgia.

PETER FREY

Alex Gomez (left) and Will Costanzo use an oscilloscope and function generator to build and test an electronic filter in the engineering 4230 “Sensors and Transducers” class. Both students are senior biochemical engineering majors from Roswell.

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ARCH AROUNDTHE

Dorothy Kozlowski

UGA students who participated in ringing the Chapel bell are, from left, Leslie Hale, a graduate student from Athens, Clint Reeves, a junior from Flowery Branch, and Jin Kim, a junior from South Korea.

Better flu prediction?

UGA researchers are studying ways to more accurately predict emerging strains of influenza. The research is funded with a $1.12 million grant from the National Institutes of Health over the next four years.

The scientists, in chemistry and veterinary medicine, are refining a nanotechnology-based method that uses laser light beams to better predict strains of the flu with a risk of high mortality.

Influenza kills thousands of people each year worldwide, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that 3,000 to 49,000 flu-related deaths occurred annually in the United States alone from 1976 to 2007. Millions are immunized every year against influenza, but vaccines aren’t always effective because it is difficult to predict the flu strain for a given year.

Virulence—how easy or difficult it is for a disease to be passed along or to kill its host—is determined by the presence of molecules called virulence factors. Studies have shown that different types of influenza may contain the same virulence factors. The same protein, for example, was found in the different virus strains that caused both the 1997 Hong Kong bird flu and the 1918 pandemic known as the “Spanish flu” that killed nearly 50 million people. If certain proteins and other molecules within the viruses can be associated with particularly virulent strains of influenza, epidemiologists might be able to prevent the spread of those strains.

6 GEORGIA MAGAZINE • www.uga.edu/gm

Bell ringing Members of the UGA and Athens communities joined others across the country on Dec. 21, ringing the Chapel bell 26 times in honor of the victims of the Dec. 14 shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn. About 75 people observed the ceremony that began at 9:30 a.m., exactly one week from when the tragedy began to unfold. Typically the bell, located behind the university’s historic Chapel, is rung in celebration, often by sports fans after Georgia Bulldog victories. However, on this chilly morning, the bell’s tone was somber as observers silently reflected on the terrible tragedy. Twenty children and six school personnel were killed when a gunman armed with an assault rifle forced his way into the school and began shooting. The gunman earlier had killed his mother and later, after the school shootings, killed himself.

Fraser firs may soon be in Georgia Tired of driving to North Carolina for your freshly cut Fraser fir Christmas tree? A UGA horticulturist is developing a hybrid tree that combines the Fraser with the Momi fir, a Japanese cousin of the popular Fraser. Georgia’s hot summers and mild winters make it difficult for farmers to grow Fraser firs in most of the state. While they will grow in north Georgia, the downside is the trees can be affected by a root fungus, which if not treated can kill infected plants. Fir trees also produce new growth very early in spring, which makes them susceptible to the freezing temperatures that sometimes pop up in late March and damage Georgia crops. The Momi fir made its debut in Georgia in the early 1990s. It can grow in Georgia, but farmers have to be careful to provide irrigation to young plants for two or three years and adjust soil pH. A downside to farmers: It takes six to eight years for the tree to reach a desirable Christmas tree size. Traditional Georgia Christmas tree species like Leland cypress and Virginia pine are mature enough to sell in three to four years.

ROBERT NEWCOMB

Morehead in line for presidency

New website for Peabody Awards An expanded website for the George Foster Peabody Awards program, housed in the Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication, offers a revamped winners search function, a database that includes the judges’ citations for recipients dating back to the award’s inception in 1941, historic photographs and more than 6,000 photos from the past decade’s presentation ceremonies at the Waldorf Astoria in New York City. Many of the ceremony photos are available for free download. The Peabody staff will continue to update the database with recipient photos and acceptance speech video clips in the months ahead. You can find the site at www.peabodyawards.org.

Atlantic whale fossil spurs research UGA scientists are hoping to connect fossil remains of an Atlantic gray whale, which were hunted to extinction by the 1700s, to the Pacific gray whale, which exists in populations near prewhaling levels.

UGA researchers, working with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, discovered and fully recovered the large fossilized whalebone near Gray’s Reef National Marine Sanctuary approximately 20 miles off the Georgia coast in 2008. The discovery was published in the journal Paleontologica Electronica in November. The recovery of the fossil required two years, as it was embedded in substrate at the bottom of the ocean, 70 feet below the surface.

The bone was radiocarbon dated to approximately 36,000 years. A joint UGA and Emory University team restored the bone for study and display.

Get the full journal article at http:// palaeo-electronica.org/content/2012-issue-3articles/336-pleist.

UGA Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs Jere Morehead will be UGA’s next president, effective July 1. The University System of Georgia Board of Regents approved the selection in early February.

“Becoming president of the University of Georgia is a dream come true for a UGA graduate who has spent more than half of his life on this campus,” Morehead said.

“While the University of Georgia faces economic challenges, if we focus on our academic priorities we will reach new heights. The University is poised, thanks to the quality of the faculty, staff, and students, to become one of the greatest public universities in the United States.”

Morehead has been provost since 2010, prior to that serving as vice president for instruction, vice provost for academic affairs, director of the Honors Program and acting executive director of legal affairs. He is the Meigs Professor of Legal Studies in the Terry College of Business, where he has held a faculty appointment since 1986.

He earned his J.D. degree from the UGA School of Law in 1980.

Morehead will succeed President Michael F. Adams, who will step down on June 30 after 16 years in the position.

SPECIAL

MARCH 2013 • GEORGIA MAGAZINE

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AROUNDTHE

ARCH New online courses available

BEST IN SHOW A

BARK out to … Chuck Bargeron, associate director for the UGA Center for Invasive Species and Ecosystem Health in Tifton, who was named to the Invasive Species Advisory Committee for the National Invasive Species Council.

… Diane Marie Amann, Woodruff Chair in International Law, who was appointed by International Criminal Court BARGERON Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda as her special adviser on children in and affected by armed conflict. … Associate Professor of Agriculture Maria Navarro, who received the New Teacher Award from the U.S. Department of Agriculture as part of the National Awards Program for Excellence in College and University Teaching in Food and Agricultural Sciences.

AMANN

Professor Elizabeth Jean Reitz (anthropology), Professor Lisa Alayne Donovan (plant biology), Professor and Associate Head Nancy R. Manley (genetics), Professor and Head Allen J. Moore (genetics) and Professor Sally Walker (geology), who were named Fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. … Elizabeth Andress, a professor of foods and nutrition, who was named the 2012 recipient of the National Award for Excellence in Extension for her long-term success in combining research and education in food safety. …. Tianming Liu, assistant professor of computer science, who received a CAREER award by the National Science Foundation. … Sean Szad of Richmond Hill, and Will Spence of Perry, second-year doctoral students in the College of Pharmacy, who were chosen for the U.S. Navy’s Health Services Collegiate Program Medical Service Corps—a selective program that this year accepted only five recipients from applicants across the country.

ANDRESS

… School of Law third-year students Chandler L. Smith and Timothy F.J. “Tim” Dean, who placed first, and third-year students Nneka A. Egwuatu and Scott F. McAfee, who placed second, at the Third Annual Legal Ethics and Professionalism Moot Court Competition. McAfee was named the tournament’s best oralist.

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Thirty-four new online courses, including in-demand undergraduate courses, will be available beginning this summer.

Recognizing changing technology trends and the way in which today’s students learn, the university has made increasing student access to courses through online education a top priority. With the establishment of the Office of Online Learning in July 2012, the university has taken giant steps in providing a comprehensive resource for support and assistance for faculty who want to offer courses online for students.

The high-demand undergraduate courses will include a variety of subject areas, including English, Romance languages, mathematics, biology, geography, poultry science, education, business and family and consumer sciences.

Training for faculty began on Dec. 5 with an orientation workshop outlining expectations and goals of online learning. The training staff emphasized the importance of consistency of organizational structure within the online classes to allow a more seamless learning experience. Faculty also are trained to adhere to accessibility guidelines, making sure to give the classes a similar online style and provide text for any video or audio used.

Faculty will be able to use video and audio options to create an interactive format to aid faculty-student communication throughout the course. Faculty still will have office hours. Faculty and students may choose to set up Skype or online chat sessions or opt for telephone or face-to-face meetings for local students.

The 36 participating faculty—who include teaching award recipients—have online teaching experience varying from one semester to 11 years. They participated in the inaugural formal training for a number of reasons, including wanting to learn new teaching methods and wanting to be more responsive to student issues.

Beginning this summer, training will become available to any faculty member interested in developing an online course— undergraduate or graduate.

Learn more at http://ugaonline.uga.edu.

Coffee for a cause Whether you drink it black or doctored with cream and sugar, now your coffee can benefit UGA’s Department of Psychology. The department partnered with Athensbased Jittery Joe’s to create a new coffee blend called Freudian Drip.

The Viennese roast is described as “a dream blend that anybody can interpret: smooth, fullbodied and designed to facilitate introspection and thoughtful discussion.” The creation process included a blind taste test with students, and the label depicts Sigmund Freud smoking a cigar. Proceeds help the department fund programs, lectures, scholarships and travel for students and faculty. To purchase, visit the online store at www.jitteryjoes.com (a 12-ounce can is $11.99) or visit the Jittery Joe’s roaster on East Broad Street in Athens.

Another one for the Rhodes

PETER FREY

Honors student Juliet Elizabeth Allan of Atlanta was awarded a 2013 Rhodes Scholarship to attend England’s Oxford University, where she plans to pursue a master’s degree in modern Middle Eastern studies. She is one of 32 Rhodes recipients in the United States.

Allan, who is a UGA Foundation Fellow, plans to graduate from UGA in December with bachelor’s degrees in Arabic, economics, and international affairs as well as a master’s degree in international policy.

She is UGA’s fourth Rhodes Scholar in the past six years and the 23rd from UGA overall.

Allan is a member of UGA’s chapter of the Roosevelt Institute, a national student-run think tank, where she has written papers about energy policy and education and has also taught policy analysis to undergraduates. Allan has participated in the university’s Center for Undergraduate Research Symposium and presented results of her research on employment dynamics at two national conferences. She has also interned at the university’s Carl Vinson Institute of Government, through which she traveled to China during an annual training program the institute conducts in Beijing.

She has served as the co-director of the Thomas Lay After School Tutoring Program, where more than 100 UGA students provide educational help to elementary and middle-school students in Athens each semester. She also has researched issues involving early childhood education. She is a Presidential Scholar and member of the Phi Kappa Phi, Palladia and Blue Key honor societies.

Get more on UGA’s Honors and Foundation Fellows Programs at www.uga.edu/honors.

Get carded When UGA senior Andrew Wilkin was assigned the task of creating a profitable business without spending his own money, he decided that any profits should benefit those who really need help. So his New Venture entrepreneurship class project— inspired by his volunteer work at the Bigger Vision emergency shelter—was creating the Homeless Help Card, a coupon card with profits benefitting Athens-area centers for the homeless.

The card costs $10 and gets customers discounts at more than 30 local businesses. As of Nov. 1 Life On Life Ministries, the nonprofit supporting Wilkin’s project, had sold 262 cards and raised $1,590.

PETER FREY

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AROUNDTHE

ARCH Teens report dating violence

State high court comes to campus

ANDREW DAVIS TUCKER

Members of the Supreme Court of Georgia met on the UGA campus in January to hear oral arguments on a criminal death penalty case and a civil medical malpractice case. The university visit was a rare meeting outside the State Judicial Building in Atlanta. It was the fourth time since 1993 that the court has held oral arguments at the Georgia School of Law. Cases included Edenfield v. State (death penalty) and Shekhawat et al. v. Jones et al. (medical malpractice). In Edenfield, David Homer Edenfield is appealing the murder conviction and death sentence he received for the 2007 killing of 6-year-old Christopher Barrios Jr. in Glynn County.

In Shekhawat, two physicians with the Medical College of Georgia are appealing a Georgia Court of Appeals decision that found they were not entitled to sovereign immunity in the face of a lawsuit brought by the parents of an infant they treated who suffered a lifetime disability.

Fighting excess baggage

PETER FREY

If Tiffany Eberhard had her way, no one would use plastic or paper bags—everyone would employ reusable bags. The UGA student created a new campus organization, Bag the Bag, to raise awareness about the importance of reducing plastic and paper bag consumption. Eberhard and club members have handed out reusable bags at the Athens farmers market and visited area elementary schools, where they encourage children—and hopefully their parents—to utilize reusable bags. “Plastic bags are being produced at a very quick rate, and most are just being thrown away,” she told the Athens Banner-Herald in November.

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Nearly a third of those dating in middle and high school report abusive relationships, according to a UGA study published in the Journal of Youth and Adolescence. The study revealed that middle and high school students involved in physically violent romantic relationships consistently report violence across time and that they are likely to be both victims and offenders.

Researchers from the College of Public Health and members of the youth violence prevention work group at UGA followed a cohort of adolescents from northeast Georgia from sixth to 12th grade. Participants were surveyed each year for seven years. Each spring, students reported whether they had dated. If they did date, participants specified any acts of violence in the relationship, as well as their acceptability of these behaviors.

Among the sixth-graders who reported dating, 14 percent of boys and 24 percent of girls reported committing at least one act of physical violence. That same year, nearly 38 percent of boys and 22 percent of girls reported being victims of dating violence.

In 12th grade, 14 percent of boys and 32 percent of girls reported perpetrating dating violence while 32 percent of boys and 26 percent of girls reported being victims.

Not surprisingly, students in the high dating aggression group also reported a worse relationship with their partner. However, overall rating of care from the partner was high, suggesting that these relationships do offer some support in spite of the violence.

The study was funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Center for Injury Prevention and Control.

To read the abstract of the journal article, go to http://link.springer.com/ article/10.1007/s10964-012-9881-5.

GOING GREEN

Summer in Germany

Students win grants for green projects

UGA’s department of Germanic and Slavic studies this summer will launch a new study abroad program in the city of Freiburg, Germany.

The program will offer instruction in the German language and culture of environmentalism—specifically in Freiburg—that includes aspects of a community devoted to and affected by sustainable housing, transportation, energy production and consumption.

Known as a model for sustainable urban design and sustainable living since the 1980s, Freiberg is home for many environmental technology companies that export internationally. A city of 230,000 people, it is located in southwestern Germany near the French and Swiss borders. The area is known for its mild climate, medieval architecture, cultural scene and thriving university.

Classes for the summer study abroad program will be taught on the campus of the University of Freiburg, at their Language Teaching Centre, or Sprachlehrinstitut, a facility that attracts students from all over the world.

Learn more at www.gsstudies. uga.edu.

For the third year, the Office of Sustainability has awarded grants to students to implement projects that bolster UGA’s sustainability initiatives. This year seven students were awarded $26,000. In three years, the office has awarded $59,000 to fund 17 student-initiated projects.

Projects this year include: • An effort to curb poor water quality from storm runoff through the use of pervious concrete pavements.

• A plan to reduce the volume and mass of solid waste on campus by collecting organic, compostable waste in the Warnell School and delivering it to the UGArden for composting.

• A study of feasible alternatives to the current fossil fuel-based energy system at UGA. • A look at ways to optimize fish diet for maximum sustainability of fish production at the UGArden aquaponics system, and development of online outlets to share information about the project and aquaponics.

• An effort to increase usability and facilitate an easier method of bike sharing within UGA’s Bulldog Bikes program.

• Construction of a solar recharge station for UGArden’s new electric vehicle.

The vehicle will be used to deliver food grown in the garden to families in the Athens area.

• Expanding the reach of the Lunchbox Garden Project to other schools and increasing outdoor education. The project is an after-school gardening and nutrition education program at Barnett Shoals and Chase Street elementary schools.

Learn more about the grants and campus sustainability at http://www. sustainability.uga.edu/.

Study Earth science through NASA Starting this summer, the UGA department of geography will partner with NASA through DEVELOP, a national student internship program created to enhance training and development in Earth science. The UGA collaboration is only the second housed strictly at a university in the U.S. Initial UGA projects include analyzing the marshes of coastal Georgia, examining the correlations between public health and air quality in Washington County, Ga., determining the effects of ozone on hemlock conifers in the Great Smoky Mountains and assessing forest connectivity in Costa Rica.

DEVELOP is headquartered at NASA’s Langley Research

ZACH RICHARDSON

One of the projects funded with the 2012 sustainability grants was an effort to rid an area alongside Tanyard Creek of invasive plants, like English ivy and privet. Eight goats were brought in to live in a fenced-in pen next to the Hull Street parking deck.

Known as the Tanyard Creek Chew Crew, the goats fed on the invasive plants so that the area adjacent to the waterway could be restored with native species.

Center in Virginia and currently partners with 15 institutions around the world, most of which are closely associated with NASA centers. The program began in 1998 when the Digital Earth Initiative, a federal interagency project dedicated to increasing human understanding of the planet, began an effort to increase public access to federal information about the Earth and the environment.

UGA DEVELOP will be centered in the department of geography’s research labs closely associated with the use of satellite data.

Learn more about DEVELOP at http://develop.larc.nasa. gov. For more on the department of geography, go to http:// geography.uga.edu/.

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CLOSE UP

Associate Professor Adam Goodie explores the psychology behind pathological gambling.

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Risky business A new center at UGA studies gambling addiction

by Kelly Simmons photo by Dorothy Kozlowski (BLA ’06, ABJ ’10) When the Powerball lottery reached its peak in November 2012, the jackpot had rolled over for 16 consecutive weeks before two players, one each in Arizona and Missouri, picked the right numbers: 5, 16, 22, 23, 29 and Powerball 6.

The odds of wining the top prize: 1 in 175,223,510. Still, the slightest possibility of winning was enough to draw out millions to bet $2 per ticket on the big prize. More than 560 million tickets, a record for the Powerball at that time, were sold in 44 states and the District of Columbia.

For many, the tickets likely were a lark—a chance to daydream about the happiness riches could bring. For some, it could have been a first-time buy. Others spend a few dollars weekly on the chance for a payout. But for some, the weekly and bi-weekly games, local lotteries and scratch-off tickets are an irresistible lure, the idea of hitting the jackpot overriding rational thought and leading the player to invest his family’s food money, or a weekly paycheck, for the 1 in 175 million chance of a big payout.

These are the people Adam Goodie wants to know more about. An associate professor of behavioral and brain sciences in the Department of Psychology, Goodie runs the newly established Center for Gambling Research. Working with colleagues in other disciplines, such as social work, business, public health and family and consumer sciences, Goodie hopes to learn more about the addiction to gambling and its impact on families, societies, politics and the economy.

“There’s no such thing as being a skillful lottery player,” Goodie says.

“Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose. Life is full of uncertainty.”

Goodie has spent his career looking at how people make decisions. At some point he began to look specifically at decisionmaking and mental illness, focusing on pathological gambling.

“It’s people taking risks, unnecessarily,” he says. “They take too much risk and are insensitive to wins and losses. They don’t notice, or they do notice but think that the big one is right around the corner.”

Goodie’s research shows that people typically are willing to take more risk if they think some level of skill is involved in a game, such as poker or blackjack, that require some strategy. Winning can depend on how much skill you have at playing the game. But there still is risk involved.

“It also depends on how much skill the other people you are playing with have,” he says.

Terry College of Business Associate Professor David Mustard has done a lot of research over the years looking at policy implications of gambling. What has startled him is the magnitude of social problems and crime committed by pathological gamblers, whose numbers are estimated at .5 to 2 percent of the population.

He recalls a story some years ago about a woman in South Carolina who left

her child in the car while she played the slot machines. The child died.

“Some of these people have stolen hundreds of thousands of dollars from work,” he says. “The percentage of people is small. But the societal problems they create are dramatic.”

Those societal problems affect everyone, from families and employers of the addicted gambler to the taxpayers who bear the cost of the courts, prisons and social services that are required to address the issues.

The center provides an opportunity for researchers like Mustard and Goodie to look at gambling from a neutral perspective, Mustard says.

Goodie hopes their work will shape policy and help pathological gamblers better understand their chances of winning—and losing.

“Most people don’t become pathological gamblers,” Goodie says.

“Some people may have more flawed cognition with regard to the game. We have an opportunity if we can make them think more rationally about some simple facts about probability.”

Pathological gambling criteria 1. You have often gambled longer than you had planned.

2. You have often gambled until your last dollar was gone.

3. Thoughts of gambling have caused you to lose sleep.

4. You have used your income or savings to gamble while letting bills go unpaid.

5. You have made repeated, unsuccessful attempts to stop gambling.

6. You have broken the law or considered breaking the law to finance your gambling.

7. You have borrowed money to finance your gambling.

8. You have felt depressed or suicidal because of your gambling losses.

9. You have been remorseful after gambling.

10. You have gambled to get money to meet your financial obligations.

Source: National Council on Problem Gambling

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Top 10

Bulldog B u s i n e s

s e s

2013

The 2013 fastest-growing Bulldog businesses The Bulldog 100, a signature event of the UGA Alumni Association since 2010, recognizes the 100 fastestgrowing businesses owned or operated by UGA alumni. Companies must have a UGA alumnus as CEO, president or managing partner, or an alumnus who owns more than 50 percent of the business. Companies must have been in business for five years, have minimum verifiable revenues of $100,000 for the first of the three calendar years of business measured and must operate in a manner consistent with the university’s “Pillars of the Arch” character statement. Nominations are open each January. For the full list of Bulldog 100 companies and more information on the program go to www.alumni.uga.edu/b100.

1

Hitson

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Hitson Land and Timber Management Inc. P o r t

O r a n g e ,

F l

Greg Hitson (BSFR ’94) Established in 1997, Hitson Land and Timber Management Inc. is a full-service forestry consulting and land management firm that helps landowners maximize profits from their natural resources while protecting the recreational use and beauty of the forests.

Hitson also was the top fastest-growing Bulldog business in 2010.

2 3 4

Mom Corps A t l a n t a ,

G a

Allison O’Kelly (BBA ’94) Mom Corps is a staffing company for flexible employment.

O’Kelly founded the company in 2005 in an effort to draw more women back into the executive work force. O’Kelly and Mom Corps won the 2006 Working Mother magazine Entrepreneur Mom Award and the 2007 UGA Terry College of Business Outstanding Young Alumni Award.

O’Kelly

Sovereign Systems N o r c r o s s ,

G a

George Barkley (BBA ’94) Matt Cadogan (BBA ’96) Michael Hunsucker (BBA ’91)

Barkley Cadogan

Hunsucker

Sovereign Systems was founded in December of 2007 by a team of tenured business and IT professionals. The company is founded on the principle of providing industry-leading technical and consulting resources to manufacturers and end users. In 2012 Sovereign Systems was named one of the Best Places to Work by the Atlanta Business Chronicle.

The Leaders Lyceum A t l a n t a ,

G a

Keith Eigel (MS ’95, PhD ’98) The Leaders Lyceum creates unique learning environments to accelerate the development of leaders. The company’s application-driven approach meets individual leaders where they are and helps move them closer to where they need to be, leveraging relevant experiences both inside and outside of work to accelerate development of the whole person.

Eigel

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5 6 7

jobTopia A l p h a r e t t a ,

G a

Anthony Moore (BBA ’93) A startup venture in 2007, jobTopia delivers information technology and accounting/finance contract staffing, staff augmentation and executive search services. The company’s revenue has increased by 100 percent for three consecutive years, and jobTopia was the 2012 fastest-growing Bulldog business.

Moore

EvoShield B o g a r t ,

G a

Bob Pinckney (BBA ’82) EvoShield was established in 2005 by a group of UGA alumni interested in creating protective athletic gear from a revolutionary material. EvoShield now officially outfits all Major League Baseball teams, hundreds of college and NFL teams and is branching out to other areas of athletics. EvoShield was the 2011 fastest-growing Bulldog business.

Pinckney

Athens Fitness & MMA A t h e n s ,

G a

Adam Singer (BSBE ’98, MS ’07) Rory Singer (BSBE ’99) The Singer Brothers have trained together since 1987, practicing martial arts including taekwondo, kanzen goju ryu karate and aiki jiu jitsu, among Adam and Rory Singer others. Later they added boxing, muay thai kickboxing and Brazilian jiu jitsu. In 1997 they began training students at the Ramsey Student Center. Two years later they founded Athens Fitness & MMA/ The Hardcore Gym, the first mixed martial arts gym in Athens. Both men have been inducted into the Georgia Mixed Martial Arts Hall of Fame.

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8 9 10

Stadion Money Management W a t k i n s v i l l e ,

G a

Tim Chapman (M ’82) Since 1991, Stadion Money Management has managed clients’ investments for long-term goals like retirement, education and family legacy. The company offers separate account management services, proprietary mutual funds and retirement account investment advisory services. Stadion Money Management this spring will sponsor the Stadion Classic golf tournament at the UGA Golf Course for the fourth consecutive year.

Chapman

Social and Dish Boutiques S t a t e s b o r o ,

G a

Laura Lanier (AB ’00) Social and Dish are sister boutiques in Statesboro, Ga. Social, in the Market District, has a classic, preppy vibe, specializing in modern takes on staples like blazers, tailored shorts, shift dresses and denim. Dish, in Woodlands Square, is more eclectic, with items like beat-up cowboy boots and vintageinspired skirts and dresses.

Lanier

Needle Solutions J o h n s

C r e e k ,

G a

Joshua Needle (BBA ’99) Needle Solutions is a wireless network design company that helps companies provide wireless Internet access in any environment and provides ongoing analysis, monitoring and troubleshooting support to its clients.

For the full list of Bulldog 100 companies go to www.alumni.uga.edu/b100.

Needle

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Engineering job growth UGA’s newest college is attracting students who could fill an increasing number of engineering jobs in Georgia

by Lori Johnston (ABJ ’95) photos by Peter Frey (BFA ’94)

18 GEORGIA MAGAZINE • www.uga.edu/gm

Photo illustration with research professional Manjinder Singh operating a photobioreactor (PBR), a controlled condition system used for growing algae, which is analyzed for its nutrient concentration. The PBR is in a Biorefining and Carbon Cycling Program laboratory.

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From left: Matt McCue, a bio-engineering major from Augusta; Peter Kner, an assistant professor of engineering, and Jon Janssen, an agricultural engineering major from Cartersville, use an oscilloscope and function generator to build and test an electronic filter.

T

he deadline for early admission to UGA approached

and Andrew Swicegood, a student from Macon, had already applied to civil engineering programs at Vanderbilt and Clemson universities. He thought to himself, “I better make sure Georgia doesn’t have this major, or I’m going to be kicking myself.”

When Swicegood checked online and found civil engineering was a new major at UGA he quickly sent in his application to become a member of the College of Engineering’s inaugural class. He says other UGA students are surprised when he tells them his major.

“When I say civil engineering, they haven’t heard of that before. I was intending not to come to Georgia because I didn’t want to be like anybody else from my town, but now I realize it’s super unique because civil engineering

20 GEORGIA MAGAZINE • www.uga.edu/gm

just started,” he says.

The new College of Engineering— UGA’s 17th college or school—is a significant step toward keeping students like Swicegood in state for college and hopefully longer. Georgia has well below the national average of graduates with bachelor’s degrees in engineering and is trying to catch up to meet the existing demand from Georgia companies—and attract new opportunities. Georgia has nearly 3 percent of the national population, but only 1.84 percent of national jobs for civil engineers, 2.26 percent for electrical engineers and 1.22 percent for mechanical engineers, according to data by the U.S. Census Bureau and U.S. Department of Labor.

Companies have been forced to look to other states and countries to fill as many as half of all engineering

jobs in the state, according to a 2002 report by Washington Advisory Group commissioned by the University System of Georgia Board of Regents.

More than 180 years after UGA began offering engineering classes, the College of Engineering now offers six undergraduate degrees and seven graduate degrees. In fall 2013, electrical and electronics engineering and mechanical engineering programs will launch, expanding the number of undergraduate engineering degree programs at UGA to eight.

The college expects to expand from about 640 undergraduate and 70 graduate engineering students in fall 2012 to more than 1,300 students by fall 2015. The faculty is expected to grow from 46 to 58 faculty members in that time frame. UGA believes building a comprehensive engineering program will make the university more competitive in attracting faculty and garnering funding for research, which is critical to the College of Engineering.

UGA’s effort to re-engineer its engineering education is one of two major initiatives nationally in the U.S., but the only public effort. The other is Olin College outside of Boston, which was established in 2001 with a private endowment.

The impact of training and preparing more students to fill indemand and high-paying engineering jobs in Georgia could be substantial.

If 200 additional engineers in civil, mechanical and electrical engineering were added to the Georgia workforce the annual economic impact to the state would be $10.5 million, based on an average entry-level salary of $52,549 (according to the Georgia Department of Labor).

Companies, from Georgia Power to small engineering firms, are seeking to hire graduates who can bring practical skills to the workforce. UGA’s education offers project-based learning and teamwork exercises in addition

Alex Squires, of Richmond Hill, who got his undergraduate degrees in biological engineering and cognitive science in 2012, uses a device built for the veterinary school to perform minimally invasive brain biopsies. The device is used in diagnostic imaging to define a coordinate system to locate a tumor or sample for biopsy and precisely indexes the specific location. It is seen here with the skull of a dog.

Squires now is pursuing a master’s degree in engineering.

to mastering theory and concepts of engineering. The new College of Engineering has piqued the interest of businesses that are approaching UGA about creating internships and co-op programs.

“It’s been rewarding to observe the corporate and industry reaction,” says interim Dean Dale Threadgill, who has served as director of UGA’s Faculty of Engineering since 2001. “These were companies that weren’t talking to us before. They didn’t give us the time of day.”

Threadgill says companies tell him some job candidates from other schools are too focused on theory rather than practical knowledge and don’t bring relevant skills into the workplace.

Other graduates head straight into research, passing by open positions for engineers.

Employers already are impressed with UGA students’ and graduates’ practical knowledge and confidence in professional settings. Sarah Sliger, a December 2012 College of Engineering graduate, says that her boss during her

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Assistant professor of engineering Sudhagar Mani shows his students how to use a probe to check the surface temperature of a solar hot water heater panel.

2012 summer internship commented a number of times on her ability to participate in conversations about complex topics, while an intern from another school struggled to keep up.

Sliger landed a job with the same company, Eaton Corp., shortly after graduating, hired to be a supplier quality engineer at its supercharger plant in Athens.

Supporters of the new College of Engineering include Georgia Power, which has a long history of hiring agricultural engineers out of UGA. Georgia Power funded the creation of the Mickey A. Brown Endowed Professor in Engineering to honor 22 GEORGIA MAGAZINE • www.uga.edu/gm

Brown (BSAE ’69), an agricultural engineering major who worked for Georgia Power for 42 years and retired in December 2011. Brown is a member of the College’s Engineering Advisory Board, comprised of leaders from all over the world. The position will be a full-time, tenure-track professorship.

Like other companies, Georgia Power has identified a greater need to hire electrical and mechanical engineers, as well as civil engineers.

“The school is definitely going to help us in that regard. We need engineers all over this state,” says W. Craig Barrs (BBA ’80), the company’s executive vice president of external

affairs. “This is a new area (for UGA) and it fits a strategic need for our company, and what we believe is needed for a growing Georgia.”

Students and alumni say being affiliated with UGA’s new College of Engineering could give more recognition and validity in the eyes of employers, on top of the skills they’ve gained from the faculty and courses.

“I felt like I basically was able to hit the ground running once I started working and that the skills that I learned in the engineering classes at UGA did really prepare me for that,” says Julie Secrist (BSAE ’06), who works for an Atlanta engineering firm.

Top: Squires tests an MRI-safe EKG device in the medical robotics lab.

Left: Students in the medical robotics lab built this MRI-safe pneumatic agitator designed to test hardware that will be implanted in the heart. The device was built by the medical robotics lab run by assistant engineering professor Zion Tse.

Depth of Degrees Bachelor’s Degrees: The new degrees have the potential to attract many of the best and brightest applicants who now head out of state for an engineering education. Fewer than half of Georgia’s high school graduates who want an engineering degree and have SAT scores between 1,200 and 1,600 enroll in engineering programs in Georgia, choosing instead to study at schools in Alabama, South Carolina and Tennessee, for example.

“It made me real pleased that it was becoming a bigger program and being an actual school of engineering instead of the faculty of engineering,” says Eric Malinowski, a freshman civil engineering major from Alpharetta.

Math- and science-loving students see opportunity in engineering.

The need for civil engineers is expected to increase by 19 percent between 2010 and 2020, according to U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

UGA students also are being trained in sectors such as waste management and remediation, whose high projections of job growth (as much as 15 to 26 percent) indicate job security in the future.

Mechanical Environmental Electrical and Electronics Computer Systems Civil Biological Biochemical Agricultural

Graduate Degrees:

M.S. in Agricultural Engineering M.S. in Biochemical Engineering M.S. in Biological Engineering M.S. in Environmental Engineering M.S. in Engineering Ph.D. in Biological and Agricultural Engineering Ph.D. in Engineering

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“

Companies want your experience and what you’ve learned.”

—Maggie McBrearty (BSBE ’12)

Margaret McBrearty, from Macon, who graduated last year with a degree in biological engineering, sets up a surveying transit level to measure the change in the topography of the Athens-Clarke County Landfill as trash shifts and decomposes.

24 GEORGIA MAGAZINE • www.uga.edu/gm

Assistant Athletics Director Charlie Whittemore points out structural details of Sanford Stadium during an Introduction to Civil Engineering class tour of the facility last fall.

Maggie McBrearty couldn’t wait for July 2012, when the College of Engineering became official and she could add it to her resume and email signature. “I was counting the days to say, everybody, it’s official,” says McBrearty, who graduated in December 2012 with a degree in biological engineering.

As a student, she was a member of some of the College of Engineering’s numerous student organizations, which include Society of Women Engineers, the National Society of Black Engineers, Engineers Without Borders, the Society of Environmental Engineers, the Engineering Graduate Club, and the student branches of the American Society of Heating, Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Engineers and the American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers.

McBrearty recognized the value of her engineering education during a summer internship with Georgia Power

and a 20-hour-a-week job at the Athens Clarke-County Landfill in fall 2012. When she posted a class project on LinkedIn, she immediately got called for a job interview with Environmental Resources Management, a provider of environmental, health, safety, risk and social consulting services with more than 140 offices in 39 countries.

“Companies want your experience and what you’ve learned,” she says.

—Lori Johnston is a writer living in Watkinsville.

GET MORE www.engineering.uga.edu Want to give?

To make a gift to the College of Engineering, call Dean Dale Threadgill at 706-542-1653 or email tgill@engr.uga.edu.

MARCH 2013 • GEORGIA MAGAZINE

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26 GEORGIA MAGAZINE • www.uga.edu/gm

Nothing for

granted

After two players sustain career-ending spinal cord injuries, the Diamond Dogs rally around their teammates—on and off the field

by Bill Sanders (ABJ ’87)

The 2013 Georgia baseball team will debut some new, young talent this year and has several returning players who contributed to last year’s Diamond Dogs squad.

But perhaps the two most important players on the team won’t take the field at all. Chance Veazey and Johnathan “J.T.” Taylor are both confined to wheelchairs since suffering spinal cord injuries. Neither player had an at-bat last year.

Neither threw a ball or ran the bases. But they bring the heart, passion and an uncanny knowledge of baseball strategy and motivational skills to Foley Field.

“There is no place I’d rather be than here with my best friends, guys I love, guys who have bled together and cried together and have become like family,” says Veazey, who is paralyzed from the waist down. “No place I’d rather be than right here, right now.”

UGA baseball coach Dave Perno remembers the phone

ANDREW DAVIS TUCKER

Chance Veazey stops by his near-empty locker to pick up a note on his way to work with UGA Head Trainer Mike Dillon at Foley Field.

call he received in October 2009 while he was watching baseball on television.

“It was game one of the World Series between the Yankees and the Phillies,” Perno recalls. “I’m a big Yankees fan, and Chance is a big Phillies fan. When I got a call from Chance’s phone, I figured he was just going to be ragging me about the game.”

But it wasn’t Veazey. It was an Athens-Clarke County police officer, using Veazey’s phone. Veazey sustained a thoracic-level spinal cord injury when he crashed his scooter in downtown Athens while trying to avoid a collision with a car.

“I got to the emergency room, and we spent a lot of time together that day,” Perno says. “He knew his life had changed that day. I had to call his parents, and it was a difficult, emotional call.”

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Veazey, middle, and J.T. Taylor, right, chat with a teammate in the dugout at Foley Field.

Nearly 18 months after Veazey’s accident, Perno watched from the sidelines as his worst nightmare recurred.

Going for a fly ball, Taylor, in center field, collided headfirst into left fielder Zach Cone’s hip as the two dove for the ball.

Cone immediately leapt to his feet.

“We sat there for a minute, thinking, ‘Okay, J.T., get up. Get up,’” Perno says. “Then when I got there, he was conscious but he couldn’t move.

“You’ve got to be kidding me,” Perno thought to himself. “There is no way this can happen again.”

But it had.

Taylor’s neck was broken in the collision.

So many questions.

How would these young men with talented futures ahead, both on and off the field, deal with their debilitating injuries?

How would the team respond to the magnitude of the tragedy?

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Louis Favorite

After leaving the hospital Veazey arrived at the

Shepherd Center, a rehabilitation facility in Atlanta founded

by James Shepherd (BBA ’73), a bit resentful and not ready to accept that life, while radically different, could still be wonderful and full. But his attitude soon began to change.

“At Shepherd, it really was an unbelievable experience,” Veazey says. “I was resentful when I first got there, but you just can’t stay that way with all of the wonderful therapists, and doctors and facilities, and seeing everyone else’s attitude.”

Veazey had a steady stream of teammates and coaches visiting him while there. Mike Dillon, UGA head trainer, made the trip to Shepherd Center daily.

It made the transition back to Athens easier on Veazey, and the rest of the team, Veazey says.

“Because they came and saw me so much at the hospital, it wasn’t too much of a shock when I got back here and they saw me this way,” the Tifton native recalls. “They

had been around me in a wheelchair and had seen me progress.

“Being back has been easier than what I expected. It’s tough to sit and watch, but what gave me contentment was knowing that I had given it all I had on the field, every play, every pitch, every ground ball. There was nothing that I had left on the field.”

Months later, Dillon found himself back at Shepherd every day, this time visiting Taylor.

“You can’t put it into words, the emotional toll this took on everyone,” Dillon says. “My focus was working on getting them back to independence and a daily routine.

I tried not to think about the emotions. It was tough for everyone. I was just trying to do everything I could to make it a little easier.”

For years, Dillon worked with Georgia’s football team.

The fear of a spinal injury is always there in football.

Dillon never thought it would happen on the baseball diamond.

“Professionally, you are prepared for it, but you don’t consider it when you talk about baseball,” he says.

Taylor undergoes intensive therapy at the Shepherd Center in Atlanta.

ANDREW DAVIS TUCKER

Dillon helps Veazey place his feet on the pedals of a Functional Electrical Stimulation bike to work out his legs in the baseball training room at Foley Field.

Louis Favorite

Had he not been injured, Taylor likely would have completed his college career and be working his way through the minor leagues by now. The Acworth native played in 117 games with 91 starts as a Diamond Dog and was expected to be drafted in his junior season. Despite the injury, the Texas Rangers drafted the center fielder in 2011, their 33rd round pick.

“That caught me by surprise, and I can’t thank them enough,” Taylor says.

Since leaving the Shepherd Center and returning to Athens, Taylor has lived in an accessible dormitory room on campus with Ryan Payne, a sports medicine rehabilitation specialist who is Taylor’s caregiver and athletic trainer. Payne, 25, a graduate of Florida Southern College, takes Taylor back to Atlanta for therapy sessions at Shepherd.

“It’s really been a smooth transition since I got back to Athens,” Taylor said last year. “I’m getting a little better all the time. ” MARCH 2013 • GEORGIA MAGAZINE

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“Emotionally, it gets tough sometimes, but I’m strong enough to get through it. I’ve got friends, family and a team that are helping me strive to get better.”

—Johnathan “J.T.” Taylor

Phil gudenschwager

J.T. Taylor with former Bulldog teammates Justin Grimm (left), now a pitcher for the Texas Rangers, and Zach Cone, a rightfielder for the Hickory Crawdads, the Rangers Class A team in the South Atlantic League. Grimm and Cone were with Taylor when he received a Courage Award from the Tempe Sports Authority Foundation in March 2012.

This spring, Veazey would probably be in his fourth

Taylor in action as a Diamond Dog before his injury.

SPECIAL

30 GEORGIA MAGAZINE • www.uga.edu/gm

season as UGA’s starting second baseman. Or, he might have been in a position to be drafted last year.

Instead, he’s continuing to learn how to live life to the fullest in a wheelchair. When he returned to campus he lived with his same four roommates in an accessible home off campus.

“I pretty much picked up right where I had left off,” he said then. “I have the same roommates, am going to class, working out and going to the field four days a week, helping out with practice however I can. I’m living college like everyone else, probably more on the go than most.”

He’s a constant at most home games and on some road trips.

“I’ve been in this situation since I was a freshman, so in that sense, everything feels the same,” he says.

“I’m enjoying baseball and this team as much as ever.

I’m hoping to go out on a big winning season and then graduate in the fall.” Veazey is earning a business degree from the Terry College.

“I’ve got to get out some time and get in the real world, but I’m not in a real rush. I enjoy being in Athens.”

Taylor, a member of the UGA Athletic Director’s Honor Roll, plans to graduate in December with a degree in family and consumer sciences. Right now he’s

Taylor, left, and Veazey continue to help the Diamond Dogs as student assistants as they finish their academic work at UGA. They are pictured here in front of the 1516 Building, a residence hall on East Campus where Taylor lives.

focused on getting stronger and trying to regain use of his limbs.

“Rehab is going well,” he says. “I am getting stronger every day in my shoulders and triceps. Emotionally, it gets tough sometimes, but I’m strong enough to get through it.

I’ve got friends, family and a team that are helping me strive to get better.”

For the team, having the two former standouts at the field is a constant reminder of how quickly things can change.

“Everything we do is for those two guys,” says catcher Brett Deloach, one of Veazey’s roommates. “They were two of our hardest-playing guys. Now we’re learning how strong they are and how they look at the bright side of things.

ANDREW DAVIS TUCKER

Because of those two, we’re all stronger individuals. We’ve grown in character and integrity, and certainly as a team, we’ve bonded together that much more.

“No one takes anything for granted on this team anymore.”

Bill Sanders is a writer living in Acworth. A version of this story was originally written for Spinal Column, a quarterly magazine produced by the Shepherd Center in Atlanta.

GET MORE Learn more about the Shepherd Center in a Georgia Magazine story from 2003, online at www.uga.edu/gm/903/903Main.html.

MARCH 2013 • GEORGIA MAGAZINE

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32 GEORGIA MAGAZINE • www.uga.edu/gm

Standing on the shoulders of many From Peoplestown to the People’s Mayor, Evelyn Wynn-Dixon’s journey proves there’s no such thing as too late

by Allyson Mann (MA ’92) photos by Peter Frey (BFA ’94)

F

Evelyn Wynn-Dixon is serving her second term as mayor of Riverdale. She also works part time at a hospice. “I don’t know what it is not to work,” she says. “I’ve been working since I was a little girl.”

rom her office on the second floor of city hall, Riverdale Mayor Evelyn Wynn-Dixon has a bird’s eye view of the rest of the Town Center complex. To the left is the Riverdale Centre for the Arts, Business & Leisure Services—kids call it the spaceship because of its gently sloping, domed roof. To the right is a public plaza and amphitheater used for gatherings like the city’s Seafood & Beer Festival, held Labor Day weekend.

The $18.5-million complex was built during Wynn-Dixon’s first term as mayor of Riverdale. It opened in 2010, with the governmentcivic buildings serving as the first phase of a three-part project planned for the 27-plus acre parcel of land. Future growth will incorporate a mixed-use commercial component as well as residential housing.

From her vantage point, Wynn-Dixon (MSW ’95) can see the people of Riverdale arrive for city-sponsored events like concerts and free movies in the park (popcorn included). They also come for classes like Cardio Boot Camp and Nutrition 101. And they come to rent space in the Centre, which has a variety of facilities—meeting rooms, event halls, an entertainment lounge and a dance studio among others.

The view from her office window is very different from the view she faced early in 1974. Then, evicted from her home and a single mother with four kids to support, Wynn-Dixon stood on the Pryor Street bridge, looking out over I-75. She was preparing to jump.

MARCH 2013 • GEORGIA MAGAZINE 33

After finishing her bachelor’s degree at Georgia State University, Wynn-Dixon started going back to church and renewed her faith. “Every day is a good day,” she says.

“As long as we’re on this side of Jordan, it’s a good day.”

A life-altering decision Evelyn Wynn-Dixon grew up in Peoplestown, a historically black Atlanta community south of Turner Field and central Atlanta. She was the eldest of seven siblings born to Grover W. Favors and the late Sarah Dorsey Favors. Her Cherokee mother was “drop dead gorgeous,” Wynn-Dixon says. As a child she got caught charging a nickel to let the neighborhood kids touch her mother’s hair, which led to a whipping from her father.

Segregation was still the norm, but Wynn-Dixon remembers her childhood fondly. They were always busy— reading, doing chores or playing baseball. Kids came over to sit on the front stoop and listen to Motown music. Greats like Ray Charles, Harry Belafonte and Della Reese brought their shows to Atlanta. The Favors family attended church every Sunday and could sleep on the porch at night without fear. In the spring they went to the farmers market for fresh fruits and vegetables and made homemade ice cream 34 GEORGIA MAGAZINE • www.uga.edu/gm

to put on pound cake. People, church and family were the priorities.

“It was just awesome. We were happy,” she says. “We were poor, but we were happy.”

Wynn-Dixon attended Price High School and was known for being smart. Nicknamed Professor, she was expected to do well, perhaps become a doctor. She earned a scholarship to Fort Valley State University and got engaged.

She was the first in her family to attend college, and her future seemed bright. But shortly after starting college, Wynn-Dixon became pregnant.

“Because I wanted to be accepted and loved, I went against my principles,” she says. “I went against everything I knew was right.”

She came home in shame, with the knowledge that she had let down those who cared about her. Later she learned that her fiance had fathered a baby with her best friend. In 1968, at the age of 19—and unwed—Wynn-Dixon gave birth to son William. Six weeks later, her mother died.

“God looks out for drunks, babies and fools.

And I was about to be a fool.”

Rock bottom

Standing on the Pryor Street bridge, Wynn-Dixon considered her options. She believed that her life was over, and she was counting on an insurance policy that she thought would benefit her children. This moment of crisis came after six years of hard times.

After her mother died, Grover Favors rallied the kids and “showed us what family really meant,” WynnDixon says. Along with taking care of William, she tried to help her father raise her brothers and sisters. Her grandmother taught her to cook.

“Girl, the first biscuit I made would’ve knocked that wall down!” she says. “Oh my God, it was pure lead.”

Eventually her father remarried, and she married her friend George Wynn so that William would have a legitimate last name.

“That’s when my life turned to horror,” she says. “But it was really the beginning of my future.”

Wynn-Dixon and her husband had three more children—George, Demetrius and Maria. The family struggled, moving often to escape unpaid bills. Baby Maria had a medical condition that required treatment, and Wynn-Dixon would get up at 2:30 in the morning to walk with Maria to an 8 a.m. appointment at Scottish Rite Hospital on Clifton Road. When Maria was four weeks old, Wynn-Dixon’s husband left (they later divorced).

With no money, Wynn-Dixon was cutting up sheets for diapers and washing clothes by hand in the bathtub.

Her landlord held off eviction for a few weeks, but eventually they were turned

out. Rain ruined their few possessions so with only the clothes on their backs, Wynn-Dixon and the kids moved in with her sister, Gardenia. Not long after that, she was standing on the Pryor Street bridge. As she looked out over I-75, she noticed a large truck coming and found that she just couldn’t jump.

“God looks out for drunks, babies and fools,” she says. “And I was about to be a fool.”

Wynn-Dixon had realized that she didn’t want to die, but she still didn’t know how to solve her problems. She prayed and asked God for guidance, and the answer she heard was in her mother’s voice. It said, “Education is the way.”

Wynn-Dixon was a senior at Price High School when this portrait was taken in 1967.

One red dress In 1995 Wynn-Dixon put on a cap and gown and posed for a photo in Sanford Stadium with William and George.

She was graduating from UGA with a master’s degree in social work, but she wasn’t the first in her immediate family.

William and George had attended UGA on football scholarships and had already earned degrees.

“My experiences at UGA with my sons and myself are lifelong wonderful experiences,” she says. “That was a great part of my life.”

But before she enrolled at UGA, Wynn-Dixon had an uphill climb. After her epiphany on the Pryor Street bridge she graduated from Bryman School of Nursing and began working for a doctor, cleaning houses on the side to help make ends meet. The family moved into their own apartment, but it was infested with rats and roaches. Wynn-Dixon could hear the rats and would stay up all night to make sure they didn’t bite the baby.

Eventually her father and grandfather got rid of the pests. She continued her education at Atlanta Metropolitan College, earning an A.S. in social work/ philosophy, and then went on to Georgia State University for a bachelor’s degree in social work.

Life wasn’t easy as a single mother trying to further her education. WynnDixon often walked from Georgia State to Cleveland Avenue, which took twoand-a-half hours. One of her professors noticed that she wasn’t eating and began bringing her lunch. Wynn-Dixon was on welfare, but she was determined to achieve her goals.

“I used the system to get off the system,” she says.

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Left: Wynn-Dixon receives her employee of the year award while working as a case manager in neurology and gerontology at Grady Hospital in Atlanta. She won the award three years in a row. Above: A family photo shows Wynn-Dixon (in blue) with her children. From left, George, William, Demetrius and Maria. In front is Maria’s son Kali.

Right: Maria and Kali, one of Wynn-Dixon’s seven grandchildren.

The family pulled together, with William (BSEd ’91) watching the other kids after football practice so that Wynn-Dixon could work at night. Neighbors kept an eye on them and ran extension cords to her apartment when her power was cut off.

Although they didn’t have much, George (AB ’92, MEd ’96) remembers having fun.

“We had some of our best times when we had the least,” he says. “I didn’t realize we were poor until I went to college, because she did such a good job.”

And Wynn-Dixon was proud of her Bulldog sons. When George intercepted the ball in a game against Alabama, she ran the length of Sanford Stadium as he ran on the field. For her first UGA-Florida game, Wynn-Dixon packed a cooler with fried chicken, potato salad, bologna and Kool-Aid, driving from Atlanta on a tank of gas, with $20 for gas money to get back home. She and the younger kids slept in the car and washed up at the bus station before heading to the game. A UGA alumnus offered a hotel room for the kids, but Wynn-Dixon wanted them to learn that no one owes you anything.

“Man don’t work don’t eat,” she told them.

“The whole time they were at Georgia I had one red dress, and I bought a little bulldog [pin] that you could snap on the front of your dress. I wore that to every game, and I told people it was my 36 GEORGIA MAGAZINE • www.uga.edu/gm

good luck dress for the ’Dogs,” she says, and takes a long pause before continuing quietly.

“But it was all that I had.”

William and George had already graduated from UGA when their mother decided to pursue a master’s degree.

She’d been a Georgia fan before her sons attended UGA—thanks to Herschel Walker—and their positive experiences made it an easy choice. She was already working at a nursing home, but she saw many job opportunities in her field that required a master’s, and she wanted to see if she could do it.

“I was really showing my children can’t nobody stop you but you,” she says.

“And I wanted to see how far I really could go.”

She continued working nights at the nursing home and drove to Athens three days a week to attend classes.

“I still didn’t have a lot of money, and I used to ride down there on air and wonder how I’m going to get back,” she says.

“But I made it. That’s the bottom line.”

Her children provided inspiration.

“I knew what I had to do, and I couldn’t get on a pity party,” she says.

“They kept me going when I cried, [and] when I screamed. They understood that I wanted the best for them, and they never really complained. That was my backbone—my children.”

“Dude, you for real?”

Evelyn Wynn-Dixon’s office is full of two things—photos and awards. There are photos of her with celebrities like pro basketball player Kobe Bryant, but most of the framed images include her four children and seven grandchildren.

Trophies and plaques—Clayton County Chamber of Commerce 2011 Business Woman of the Year, Trail Blazer Award from Newtown Florist Club, among others—cover every surface and the wall behind her desk. Also on that wall is a framed letter from former UGA Coach Vince Dooley, remembering William and George fondly and congratulating her on being elected mayor.

After graduating from UGA, WynnDixon worked as a case manager at Grady Hospital, where she was employee of the year three years in a row. In 2003 she moved to Riverdale, where she still works part time at a hospice. She hadn’t planned on running for office, but a friend dreamed Wynn-Dixon was in politics and then her pastor told her he had a vision that she was mayor of Riverdale. Trusting that there was a divine reason for their visions, WynnDixon dipped into her savings and won her first election, taking office in 2008.

Commonly known as the People’s Mayor

“I was really showing my children can’t nobody stop you but you. And I wanted to see how far I really could go.” or the Mama of Riverdale, she ran unopposed in her second election.

Since she took office Riverdale’s crime rate is down 20 percent. The city has experienced economic growth and enjoyed a budget surplus that was achieved without layoffs or raising taxes, despite the recession. This feat got Wynn-Dixon invited to speak about Riverdale’s success at a 2010 White House special meeting of an agriculture committee.

“My thing is, because you live south of Atlanta, who says you have to live in squalor?” she says.

Last year Gov. Nathan Deal appointed her to the state’s Transit Governance Task Force. Later he called to ask if she’d join the board of directors of the Georgia Regional Transportation Authority.

“Dude, you for real?” she asked, before agreeing to serve.

George Wynn understands that it took a lot of initiative for his mother to go back to school while raising four children. Despite everything, they had a ball as a family, he says.

“She an angel. I don’t think they make them like that anymore,” he says. “I think they might have thrown away the mold.”

But Wynn-Dixon prefers to give the credit to others, starting with her father and siblings and continuing with her children.

“I am standing on the shoulders of so many,” she says.

“I tell my kids we had a lot of hard times, but from those hard times we’ve survived, and we’re able to help others now.”

Supporting today’s students When Evelyn Wynn-Dixon dropped out of college in 1967, there were few resources to help her get back in school. These days a student in her situation has more options. About 40 percent of students in the University System of Georgia (USG) and the Technical College System of Georgia (TCSG) previously would have been classified as nontraditional, says Lynne Weisenbach, USG vice chancellor for educational access and success.

“Large numbers of our students balance jobs, family and college at the same time.”

Gov. Nathan Deal’s Complete College Georgia initiative addresses this complexity by offering more online courses and flexible scheduling—including weekends. Clearly delineated career paths give students a better understanding of their choices, and online tools give them 24/7 access. Increased cooperation between USG and TCSG makes it easier for students to move more efficiently between institutions.

In the late 1960s, 75 percent of jobs required only a high school diploma. By 2020, about 60 percent of jobs will require some postsecondary education, according to the Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce.

“What we know is that to drive economic development, you need a well-educated workforce,” Weisenbach says. “It’s that simple.”

For more information, visit www.usg.edu/educational_ access/complete_college_georgia.

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NOTES CLASS

Dorothy Kozlowski

Richard Gnann IV (BFA ’12) was part of a team that created what they believe is the largest Bulldog mural in Georgia.

Located on an outside wall of the Waffle House on Epps Bridge Parkway in Athens, the mural is 15 by 20 feet. The idea for the project came from Joe Norman, professor of art, and Gnann worked on the project with UGA students Kathryn Goshorn and Ally White. Last summer the team spent three days—including one 13-and-a-half-hour work session—completing the mural, which was challenging because of its size and because it was painted on an uneven surface of broken-faced brick.

CLASS NOTES

Compiled by Chase Martin 1955-1959 Louie F. Deaton (BSF ’59) received the Volunteer of the Decade Award from the Cochran Mill Nature Center in Palmetto.

1960-1964 Robert G. Edge (AB ’60) of Atlanta received the Blue Key Service Award from the UGA chapter of the Blue Key National Honor Society. Ed Nichols (ABJ ’62) of Clarkesville was elected county commissioner from district 5 in Habersham County.

1965-1969 Sheryl Bolton (AB ’68, MA ’75) of Oakland, Calif., was named chief executive officer of Sally Ride Science, a science education company focused

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on igniting interest in science and science careers.

1970-1974 Ray Maddox (BSPH ’72) of Savannah received the annual St. Joseph’s/Candler James R. Lientz Humanitarian Award. Harriette Kirk Bohannon (BSHE ’74) received the Outstanding Service Award from the Family and Consumer Sciences Alumni Association. Glen Finland (ABJ ’74) of McLean, Va., was inducted into the Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication’s Grady Fellowship.

1975-1979 John W. Bembry (BSA ’75, DVM ’77) of Hawkinsville was named 2012 Georgia Tree Farmer of the Year at the Georgia Forestry Association Annual Conference in Savannah. Cindy A. Darden (BSHE ’75, MEd ’77,

PhD ’91) received the Distinguished Alumni Award from the Family and Consumer Sciences Alumni Association. Greg McGarity (ABJ ’76) of Athens was inducted into the Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication’s Grady Fellowship.

Walter B. Estes Jr. (AB ’77, MEd ’98) received the FACS Appreciation Award from the Family and Consumer Sciences Alumni Association. Robert T. Parker IV (BSA ’77) of Suwanee was named president and CEO of the National Peanut Board. James “Butch” Sanders (AB ’77) of McDonough is the new city manager of Snellville. Roger Hunter (BS ’78) of San Jose, Calif., received the 2012 Franklin College Outstanding Alumni Award. Stuart Mathis (BBA ’78) of San Diego, Calif., was named CEO of Quiznos. N. Alexander Nixon (BBA ’78, BSFR ’82) of Nixon Land Co. celebrated 30 years in the consulting

ALUMNI PROFILE

At Death’s Door Preserving land while producing spirits

by Kelly Simmons

“I’d like to order a Washington Islander,” Brian Ellison tells the bartender at The Branded Butcher in downtown Athens.

The drink, made with Death’s Door vodka, goes down easy for Ellison. As it should. The owner of Death’s Door Distillery in Madison, Wis., Ellison (BLA ’96) knows only the best ingredients go into the liquor in the drink.

The drink is named for the island in northeast Wisconsin where the organic red winter wheat is grown to make vodka, gin, whiskey and white whiskey. The brand is named after the strait separating the island from the mainland: Death’s Door Passage. This treacherous body of water in northern Lake Michigan is responsible for nearly 350 shipwrecks.

Since the operation began in 2007, the business has grown into a an international brand, selling in 40 states and a half dozen countries, including Italy, Spain, the United Kingdom, France and Singapore.

Making liquor was not on Ellison’s mind as a child growing up on a farm raising sheep and rabbits in McHenry County, Ill., northwest of Chicago. In fact, Ellison says he had no intention of ever moving back to the Midwest after coming to UGA for his degree in landscape architecture.

And for a while he didn’t. He held jobs in North Carolina, Colorado, Wyoming, Patagonia, Chile and even on a commercial fishing boat in Alaska before he became ill and found out he had a tumor in his brain.

After a successful surgery, he decided it was time to get serious about his future. He received an MBA in Barcelona, Spain, and worked for several years directing a nonprofit organization focused on international development. However, with a pregnant wife, Ellison moved to Madison, Wis., despite his intention of never moving back to the Midwest. It was here that he continued his work in economic development.

One of his assignments included traveling to Washington Island to determine whether something could be done to help the 700 or so people living up there. Once a big potato producing area, farming had died out in the 1970s and many of the people remaining on the land were living well below the poverty level.

He met brothers Tom and Ken Koyen, who were anxious to do something with their land, and they agreed to grow organic red winter wheat, a hearty grain that withstands the harsh Midwestern winters. They used the grain to make bread and pizza dough to sell to the limited hotels and restaurants on the island.

“There was no money there,” Ellison says. “We were not going to restore this island with bake sales.”

He took a bag of the wheat to a brewery in Wisconsin and

Brian Ellison

Special

asked the owners if they would use it to make beer. At first they said no, but after awhile began brewing “Island Wheat Ale.” The new product prompted the Koyen brothers to increase their wheat production from five to 100 acres.

Ellison then began thinking of using the wheat to make liquor. He enrolled in a distilling program at Michigan State University to learn about the process and found a distillery in Iowa that would let him use its facilities.

He joined a group of investors willing to build a 5,000-square-foot distillery near Madison and got the operation going closer to home. Demand for the liquor has increased so much that the wheat fields now cover nearly 1,000 acres—all certified organic—and Death’s Door Spirits has a state-of-the-art, 25,000-square-foot distillery, the largest craft facility, Ellison says, in the state of Wisconsin.

The Washington Islanders are seeing the results of Ellison’s success. Farming again is feeding the local economy and the beauty of the land is protected. And with its rapidly growing brand, more and more people are beginning to learn about the 35-square-mile island.

“It’s a product of integrity,” Ellison says of Death’s Door.

‘Everything we’re doing is intentional.”

MARCH 2013 • GEORGIA MAGAZINE

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CLASSNOTES

®

It is a great time to be a Georgia Bulldog!

Campus is showing signs of spring and looks amazing. Our university has one of the most beautiful campuses in the world and it is even more beautiful in spring. Spring is a wonderful time of year full of energy, new happenings, transformations and excitement. Speaking of new happenings, there are a number of upcoming alumni events that embrace the energy and excitement of the season.

On April 19 the UGA Alumni Association will honor distinguished alumni, faculty and friends at its annual awards luncheon. It is always a joy to come together and highlight some of the esteemed individuals that have made such a profound, Steve Jones positive impact on our beloved institution. Please visit alumni. uga.edu for more information about this year’s exceptional honorees and to reserve your seat.

Later in the spring, we will again partner with the UGA Athletic Association to present the popular “UGA Days” tour. Coming to a city near you, host Chuck Dowdle will be joined by members of the university’s administration, Coach Mark Richt, Coach Mark Fox and other special guests to discuss the latest in UGA news and achievements. We’re painting towns across the Southeast red and black and invite you to join us. Stay tuned to our website for dates and locations.

We are also busy planning for summer and will be sending out additional information about summer events. Jumping ahead to fall, please save the date of Sept. 19. On Sept.

19, we will gather at the Georgia Aquarium to present the third annual 40 Under 40 event.

This signature recognition program has become a touchstone event for the university community, and we are proud to recognize the excellence of these 40 accomplished young UGA graduates. There are only a few weeks left until the April 12 nomination deadline, so visit www.alumni.uga.edu/40u40 to nominate a deserving alum today.

I also encourage you to nominate a business for the 2014 Bulldog 100. Now in our fifth year of celebrating the fastest-growing businesses owned or operated by UGA alumni, we have been pleased at the increasing quantity and quality of each year’s group of nominees.

Go to alumni.uga.edu/b100 for details.

These signature events are just a sampling of the full range of programming offered by the UGA Alumni Association and its chapters. UGA graduates are growing the Bulldog spirit in your community—please don’t miss out. Watch your email and visit your chapter’s Web page to learn more about upcoming events in your area.

As always, thank you for representing the excellence of the University of Georgia and its more than 275,000 alumni worldwide. Happy Spring! Go Dawgs!

—Steve Jones (BBA ’78, JD ’87), president UGA Alumni Association

UNIVERSITY OF GEORGIA ALUMNI ASSOCIATION Deborah Dietzler, Executive Director ALUMNI ASSOCIATION OFFICERS Steve Jones BBA ’78, JD ’87 President, Atlanta Tim Keadle BBA ’78 Vice President, Statham Ruth Bartlett BBA ’76 Treasurer, Atlanta Jennifer Chapman BBA ‘97, MAcc ‘98, JD ‘02 Assistant Treasurer, Athens Julie Reynolds BSHE ‘81 Secretary, Lawrenceville Vic Sullivan BBA ’82 Immediate past president, Albany

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ALUMNI ASSOCIATION WEBSITE www.alumni.uga.edu 800/606-8786 or 706/542-2251 To receive a monthly e-newsletter, enroll at: www.alumni.uga.edu ADDRESS CHANGES E-mail records@uga.edu or call 888/268-5442

forest and land brokerage business.

Kim Mehaffey Kilgore (BSEd ’79) of Armuchee was honored with the 2012 Dr. Eugene Odum Lifetime Achievement Award presented by the Environmental Education Alliance of Georgia. Brian Tankersley (BSA ’79, MAEX ’89) of Tifton was awarded the UGA College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences Alumni Association 2012 Award of Excellence and the UGA D.W. Brooks Award of Excellence for Public Service Extension Programs.

1980-1984 L. Jonathan Holston (AB ’80) of Smyrna is the new resident bishop of the South Carolina Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church. Georgia Schley Ritchie (AB ’80, JD ’83) of Atlanta joined Barnes & Thornburg LLP’s Atlanta office as an attorney of counsel in the litigation department. Todd Holbrook (BSFR ’81) of Conyers was named head of the Georgia Wildlife Federation. Bruce Nellsmith (BFA ’81) of Edisto Island, S.C., is credited for helping create and run a thriving art department at Newberry College. He has been with Newberry College for 20 years.

Buck Belue (M ’82) was named as a member of the Georgia Sports Hall of Fame Class of 2013. Pam Fountain (ABJ ’82) of Tallulah Falls joined the staff of Brenau University as the assistant director of development based at the Gainesville, Ga., campus.

H. James Williams (PhD ’82) was selected as the next president of Fisk University. Harrileen Jones Conner (BSHE ’83, MEd ’91) received the Emily Quinn Pou Professional Achievement Award from the Family and Consumer Sciences Alumni Association. Jeff Jowdy (ABJ ’83) of Franklin, Tenn., was inducted into the Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication’s Grady Fellowship.

Garry Spence (AB ’83) of Charlotte, N.C., was sworn in as a member of the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission’s 19-member governing

UGA Alumni Association Educator appreciation at Bethune Elementary The UGA Alumni Association is proud of UGA graduates working in K-12 schools. To show its appreciation, the Alumni Association hosts special events throughout the year to honor those educators making an impact on our next generation. The events are held on each school’s campus and may include lunch and special gifts for alumni. To schedule an event for your school, please email Wanda Darden at wdarden@uga.edu.

ALUMNI calendar Sat., March 16 6th Annual Dawg Trot 5K Run/Walk 8 to 10 a.m.

Join hundreds of UGA alumni and friends for a scenic walk, jog or run across campus. Athens’ largest 5K has become an annual tradition, providing an early-spring opportunity for Bulldogs from near and far to journey back to Athens.

Sat., April 6 G-Day Tailgate

Come out to Tate Plaza and enjoy a fun-filled tailgate with the Student Alumni Association. Enjoy crafts, food, giveaways and appearances from the UGA Redcoats and cheerleaders.

Sat., April 13 UGA Ring Ceremony 10 a.m.

Join Alumni Association President Steve Jones and Executive Director Deborah Dietzler as they present UGA students with their class rings in front of friends and family members at the UGA Hotel and Conference Center at the Georgia Center.

Special

Malena Mitchell (BBA ’04), a media specialist, and Whitney Niles (BSEd ’11), a second-grade teacher, of Mary M. Bethune Elementary School in Atlanta, attended their school’s UGA Educator Appreciation event on Dec. 14.

For more information: alumni@uga.edu (800) 606-8786 www.alumni.uga.edu

board. Eileen Brandon (ABJ ’84) of Evans received the 2012 Outstanding Fundraising Professional Award from the Greater Augusta chapter of the Association of Fundraising Professionals. Henry Grady III (BBA ’84) of Atlanta was inducted into the Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication’s Grady Fellowship.

Fri., April 19 UGA Relay for Life 7 a.m.

Join the Athens Area Chapter of the UGA Alumni Association for the UGA Relay for Life and support the fight against cancer with fellow Bulldogs.

Get more information on these and other events at www.alumni.uga.edu/calendar.

1985-1989 Marie T. Cochran (BFA ’85) of Cullowhee, N.C., featured her site-specific artwork at North Georgia College & State University.

Cochran is the founding curator of the Affrilachian Artist Project. W. Andrew Tomlin II (BSFR ’85) is vice president of commercial banking with Synovus Financial Corp. in

Huntsville, Ala. Tim Mapes (ABJ ’86) of Atlanta was inducted into the Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication’s Grady Fellowship.

William Schofield (BSEd ’86, MEd ’92, EdS ’94) of Gainesville received a 2012 Professional Achievement Award from UGA’s College of Education. Clint Meeks (BSPH ’87) of Waynesboro was appointed to a

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CLASSNOTES

I

WHY give “We believe in the Disability Resource Center’s mission of giving all UGA students, regardless of their disabilities—visible or non visible—the tools and opportunities to succeed at UGA. I loved my time at Georgia. It was a privilege to be a student and play tennis here, and it’s a small way Francie and I give back to the university that has meant so much to me.”

— John Mangan (BBA ’82) on why he and Frances Mangan have given two Mangan Family Scholarships to the Disability Resource Center and recently endowed the John F. and Frances Mangan Jr. Men’s Tennis Scholarship Rye, N.Y., native John Mangan was drawn to the University of Georgia after meeting former UGA tennis coach Dan Magill on a recruiting trip. He was a walk-on to the men’s tennis team his freshman year but earned a scholarship for his next three years of school. UGA won three SEC conference championships while he was on the team, and Mangan earned All-American and All-SEC honors over his four years at UGA. As a senior he was co-captain and led the team as the number one singles player.

Earning the scholarship was special for Mangan and one of the reasons he says he gives back to UGA. A finance major, Mangan lives in Charlotte with his wife, Frances, and three daughters.

Special

four-year term on the Burke County Development Authority. He is owner/ operator of Liberty Square Pharmacy.

Laura Lewis Thompson (BSPH ’87) was named one of Winn-Dixie’s 2012 Pharmacists of the Year. Bent Gay (BS ’85, BSPH ’88) of Dublin was one of three finalists for the 2012 Long-Term Pharmacist of the Year Award, as part of the Next-Generation Pharmacists Awards. Melissa Kirkpatrick (BFA ’89) of Hidden Hills, Calif., received the 2012 Franklin College Outstanding Alumni Award. Belinda Skelton (BSHE ’89) of Atlanta started her own weekend radio show, “Belinda Skelton’s Atlanta Lifestyles.”

1990-1994 Geoff Pope (AB ’90, JD ’93) was invited to join the Belli Society. Mary

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Want to give? Go to www.externalaffairs.uga/os/makegift.

Fair Davis (ABJ ’91) was elected commissioner of district 3 in Augusta.

Sharon Greenland Kendrick (BSFCS ’91) of Fayetteville, N.C., was elected to the position of vice president of education for the North Carolina chapter of the Hospitality Sales and Marketing Association International.

Tommy Peagler (BSFR ’93) is a forestry instructor at Okefenokee Technical College in Waycross, Ga. Robert Berdanier (BBA ’94) of Sewickley, Pa., was named chief financial officer of A. Stucki Company.

Heather Stepp McCormick (BBA ’94, MEd ’96) of Athens was named as a member of the Georgia Sports Hall of Fame Class of 2013. Alicia Carlisle Vaughn (BBA ’94) of Dalton was named Whitfield County finance director.

1995-1999 Trip Tollison (AB ’95) of Savannah was named interim president and CEO of the Savannah Economic Development Authority. Jonathan J. Tuggle (BBA ’95) of Atlanta was named on Georgia Trend Magazine’s annual list of “40 under 40: The Best and Brightest for 2012.” Terra Smith Elstun (BSEd ’96) of Moseley, Va., worked on the set of Steven Spielberg’s “Lincoln” and had a small role in the movie. Brian Crow (BSAE ’97) of Atlanta was named chief operating officer of Verdeeco Inc. Misty Harris Holcomb (ABJ ’98) of Atlanta was named among “40 Under 40: The Best and Brightest” by Georgia Trend Magazine for 2012. Jeffrey Lawrence (BSFR ’98) was named senior manager of business development

ALUMNI PROFILE with Rayonier. Paulette Perryman (AB ’98) of Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., was admitted to practice law in the District of Columbia and New York in 2012.

Shannon Register (BSFCS ’98) of Spring, Texas, won the Prism Award for the Best Website of the Year for her company Register Real Estate Advisors. Jason Shepherd (AB ’98) and Manuela Shepherd welcomed their second child, Natalie Dora Shepherd, Oct. 26. Carrie Shope Campbell (AB ’99, ABJ ’00) and husband Sean welcomed their second child, Grady Borne Campbell, Sept.

21. Chris Cohilas (AB ’99) of Albany was named a partner in the Albany law firm Watson Spence.

2000-2004 Travis Baird (BBA ’00) of Charleston, S.C., was promoted to technical operations executive at eGroup Inc. Kelly Zappas Dedeaux (ABJ ’00) and Glenn Dedeaux (MAcc ’00) welcomed their second daughter, Anne Catherine, May 11. Jennifer Holloway (BMus ’00) of Athens received the 2012 Franklin College Outstanding Alumni Award. Jenny Reville (BSFR ’00) and husband David welcomed their daughter, Sophia Grace, Nov. 21, 2011. Tobin Carr (BBA ’01, BSAE ’01) of Decatur received the Young Alumnus Award from the UGA chapter of the Blue Key National Honor Society. Carol Guy (BSFR ’02) and Seth Stapleton (MS ’05) welcomed their first child, Jonah Kai, Sept. 3, 2011. Tamlin Hall (BSA ’02) of Los Angeles, Calif., received the David and Lynn Angell Fellowship Award in Comedy Writing for his script for a comedy plot entitled “Young.” Jeffrey Nance Pennington (BA ’02) and Catherine “Brooke” Pennington (BA ’02) of Atlanta welcomed a baby boy, John Arthur Pennington, July 28. Julia Burdell (ABJ ’03) and Reagan Wolfe (BBA ’03) of Atlanta were married June 16 on St. Simons Island. Otis A. Brumby III (BBA ’03, JD ’06) of Marietta was named publisher of the Marietta

Pedal pusher Radiologist and UGA alumnus fights for cyclists

by Chase Martin Within three years of moving to Savannah, Dr. Drew Wade was already bettering the lives of patients and residents alike.

Wade (BS ’97, AB ’97), also a graduate of Emory’s medical school, partnered with South Coast Medical Group in 2006, practicing radiology.

“It’s been rewarding to come out of training and go into a good Special practice,” he says.

Drew Wade But that’s just his day job. When he’s not using imaging technologies to help his patients, Wade is striving to make Savannah and the state of Georgia safer for bicyclists. An avid biker himself, he noticed the community’s needs shortly after moving.

“I ride every day, to work, for fun, mostly to just get around, and I was part of a small group of people who saw the need for someone speaking up for people riding bikes,” Wade says. “No one was really advocating for this at the time.”

The solution? The Savannah Bicycle Campaign, a nonprofit Wade started in 2008. The campaign educates cyclists and motorists alike about how to safely share roads, fights for improving bicycle facilities in Chatham County and promotes bicycling as a healthy, safe activity for recreation and sustainable transportation.

Of the various successes of the campaign, one of the first stands out.

“Initial funding goals were to get a southbound bike lane from downtown (Savannah),” Wade says. “Since there was only a northbound lane, there were a lot of accidents occurring at the time.”

The project required six neighborhood associations to agree on a plan to change the big two-lane street, which is now smaller, calmer and safer for bikers and motorists.

Money for such projects comes from fundraisers hosted by the organization, including the annual Midnight Garden Ride. The event includes a midnight bike ride, a concert and various contests. Wade says 650 people participated in the ride in September.

In addition to his work in Savannah, Wade in 2009 became chairman of Georgia Bikes!, another nonprofit that works to improve biking conditions across the state.

One of the organization’s highlights is its role in advocating the Georgia Department of Transportation’s Complete Streets policy, which calls for the active inclusion of bike, pedestrian and transit accommodations in transportation infrastructure.

“It’s one of the most progressive projects in the country,” Wade says.

GET MORE https://bicyclecampaign.org/ www.georgiabikes.org

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CLASSNOTES

ALUMNI PROFILE

Time to shine Active alumnus coaches individuals and delivers motivational speeches

by Chase Martin

During her undergraduate days at UGA, Stella Bailey (BSHE ’69, MHE ’71) stayed busy with campus organizations, among them helping new students become oriented to the Athens campus.

Following graduation, she used those leadership skills as well as her education in home economics to launch a career providing customer service seminars and etiquette classes.

Stella Bailey Today, her business is in life coaching and motivational speaking.

“I refer to myself as a communications coach,” she says. “I had always wanted to be a motivational speaker.”

Her speech topics include “Positive Parenting,” “The Best Time is Now” and “You Were Born to Shine,” which Bailey delivered to the Georgia Women of Achievement, an organization dedicated to honoring important women in Georgia’s history. Her goal is to teach people to have a positive approach to life, and to value their talents and use their own skills to achieve success.

“Whatever your age is today, I want you to go home and make a list of your talents and your gifts, and then put them to use—as a student, in your professional life and in your volunteer work,” Bailey told the Georgia Women of Achievement as the keynote speaker for the group’s 2012 induction luncheon.

“Let your talents help you accomplish your dreams. What would the Georgia Women of Achievement, our stars, say to us today? They would tell us to develop our God-given talents, to follow our dreams and to surround ourselves with positive, affirming people. I think they… would shout in unison, ‘women of Georgia, you were born to shine.’”

After her career’s early start, Bailey moved into individual coaching for selfconfidence, public speaking and interview skills. Now, after 20 years, Bailey has been a positive influence for many.

“One of the most successful stories involved my coaching of a client who was hearing impaired,” she says. “He had a degree in library science, and I was able to help him get a job as a librarian.”

She also recalls a UGA function when she was approached by a former client, now a UGA professor, who told Bailey that she had influenced his decision to complete his Ph.D. “When I can work with clients and see their growth, I’m like any other coach: proud and pleased.”

GET MORE www.beastarwithstella.com

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Dorothy kozlowsi

Daily Journal. Blake Culberson (BBA ’03) and Ashley Ledford Culberson (BA ’02, JD ’05) welcomed their first child, Aubrey Elizabeth, April 18.

Amy-Katherine Gray (AB ’03) was promoted to manager within KPMG LLP’s management consulting practice, specializing in people and change solutions. Catherine Morrison Harris (ABJ ’03, JD ’06) of Memphis, Tenn., was selected as a member of the Memphis Business Journal’s “Top 40 under 40.” Trevor Jones (AB ’03) was hired by Fortson, Bentley and Griffin P.A. in Athens.

2005-2009 Heather Fleming (BSFR ’05, MFR ’08) and Ben Fleming welcomed Asa Quinn Fleming, born Aug. 17.

Sara Freeland (ABJ ’05) of Athens was promoted to public relations coordinator in UGA’s Office of Public Affairs. Douglas Harden (AB ’05) was selected for promotion as the associate director of information protection in the Nashville, Tenn., field office of the FBI. Roswell Lawrence (BBA ’05) and Tionya Lawrence (BS ’07) celebrated their second wedding anniversary in Paris, France. Nicole

Pfleger (BSEd ’05) of Marietta received a 2012 Crystal Apple Award from UGA’s College of Education.

Tyler Cochran (BSFR ’06) joined the National Wetlands Research Center as a contractor in 2007 and completed her master’s degree in ecology and evolution with an emphasis in environmental toxicology in 2011.

Pamela Haight (BSEd ’08) of Alpharetta was named the 2012 Fulton County Teacher of the Year. Brooke Williams (BSEd ’08) was named East Jackson Middle School’s Teacher of the Year. Chelsea Cantillo (AB ’09) was named head softball coach at Bowling Green State University.

Hillary L. Chinigo (AB ’09, JD ’12) of Marietta joined the law firm of Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP as a firstyear associate. Alexandra Walker (AB ’09) of Cumming finished two years of Peace Corps service in Togo, West Africa.

2010-2012 Christopher Todd Wells (AB ’10) of Playa Del Rey, Calif., received the 2012 Franklin College Outstanding Alumni Award. Russell Henley (BSFCS ’11) of Macon won the Chiquita Classic for his second Web.com Tour title. Robby Arrington (BSES ’12) of Albany is now the Altamaha Riverkeeper. Alex Jordan (BSEH ’12) of Monticello is volunteering with the Peace Corps in Tanzania. Amanda Peabody (BSEd ’12) of McDonough was named one of Georgia’s 44 best and brightest new teachers by Georgia Power.

GRAD NOTES Arts and Sciences J. Larry Durrence (MA ’68, PhD ’71) of Lakeland, Fla., served as interim president of College of the Mainland in Texas City, Texas, from Jan. 2, 2012 until Oct. 28, 2012.

James N. Ihle (MS ’69, PhD ’71) of Memphis, Tenn., received the 2012 Franklin College Outstanding Alumni Award. Daniel Guyton (MFA ’04)

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MARCH 2013 • GEORGIA MAGAZINE

45

CLASSNOTES

NEWBOOKS One World, Big Screen: Hollywood, the Allies, and World War II University of North Carolina Press (2012)

By M. Todd Bennett (PhD ’01) Closely analyzing film, diplomatic correspondence, propagandists’ logs and movie studio records, Bennett rethinks traditional scholarship on World War II diplomacy by examining the ways that Hollywood and the Allies worked together to prepare for and enact the war effort.

Around the Southern Table Oxmoor House (2012)

By Rebecca Lang (ABJ ’99) Join ninth-generation Southerner Rebecca Lang as she serves up 150 fresh, fromscratch recipes and shares the beloved tables, serving pieces and hospitality that make Southern meals such a pleasure.

Banjo Songs AuthorHouse (2012)

By Jack B. Hood (AB ’69, JD ’71) In this novel, Sam Stone, a retired assistant U.S. attorney in Birmingham, Ala., defends a PakistaniAmerican physician who is accused of murdering his brother due to an attempted honor killing in the family.

Mystery in Philosophy: An Invocation of Pseudo-Dionysius Rowman & Littlefield (2012)

By Michael Craig Rhodes (AB ’96, MA ’99)

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Through an original discussion of the great early champion of ‘negative theology’, Pseudo-Dionysius, Rhodes develops a rich and attractive concept of being as an “icon” of transcendent mystery.

Dare Not Blink Navigator Books (2012)

By Gerald Gillis (BBA ’70) This thriller follows an Atlanta business executive who finds himself in the fight of his professional life after the sudden and unsettling death of the firm’s founder.

Brittle Innings Fairwood Press (2012)

By Michael Bishop (BA ’68, MA ’69) In 1943, with the country at war, 17-year-old shortstop Danny Boles joins a Class C baseball farm club in the Chattahoochee Valley League and sets out on an odyssey into strange relationships, dramatic escapades and lessons about life, dreams, desire and growing up. Reprint of the 1994 publication.

Silver’s Odyssey AuthorHouse (2012)

By Henry C. Duggan III (BBA ’63) Set in 1622, this work of historical fiction chronicles a soldier’s survival trek through coastal and inland Florida after the sinking of the silverladen Spanish galleon Atocha in the Florida Keys.

The Decline of the Daily Newspaper: How an American Institution Lost the Online Revolution Peter Lang Publishing (2012)

By Keith Herndon (ABJ ’82) This book describes the failure of the U.S. newspaper industry to adapt in the online era, examining the issues and forces that shaped the industry from the formative years of the online era through today’s wireless-based marketplace.

Couillon: A Novella Nellie Writes (2012)

By Nellie (Sara Stark) Williamson (BA ’86) Janice, a naïve 30-something from one of New Orleans’ old money families, is obsessed with Brad. But when Janice makes a voodoo doll Brad becomes the obsessed, and Janice has to grow up fast, learning that wishes should be well thought out and that dolls aren’t for play.

Ghosts of Grandeur: Georgia’s Lost Antebellum Homes and Plantations Donning Company Publishers (2012)

By Michael W. Kitchens (BBA ’88) After 17 years of research, Kitchens records the stories of 94 of Georgia’s great antebellum mansions that have been lost to fire, neglect and “progress,” featuring more than 200 images of these vanished homes and their grounds.

Powers Not Delegated BQB Publishing (2012)

By James Rodney Page (ABJ ’69) This fast-moving political thriller follows Georgia Congressman Tyler Armistead as he faces enormous obstacles if he chooses to run for president as the Liberty Party candidate. The book is set against a backdrop of corrupt Democratic administration, an out-of-touch Republican Party and demons that resulted from combat during the first Gulf War. Wandering in the Woods: A Book of Poetry Xlibris Publishing (2012)

By Philip M. Mathis (EdD ’73) The beauty of nature, life and woodland ecosystems emerge from rhythmic, evocative language in Mathis’ second book of poetry.

Ready, Set, Go! 10 Steps to Building A Career You Can Be Passionate About!

BookLogix (2012)

By David Reddick (BBA ’68) This book is about getting to the next opportunity and keeping a positive attitude, a common sense game plan offering real advice from real experience.

You WANT to be ‘Left Behind’: Essays on the Bible and Popular End Times Teachings CreateSpace (2012)

By J.M. Smith (BFA ’00) This book looks at various issues surrounding popular End Times teachings.

I’m Sorry For Your Loss: Hope and Guidance in Managing Your Grief Incredible Messages Press (2012)

By Lillian Lang Meyers (AB ’48) Grief educator Lillian Meyers shares her expertise, personal experience and compassion in clear, accessible language, with stories of courageous individuals who have lost loved ones, mourned deeply and reconnected with life in positive ways.

The Indomitable Investor: Why a Few Succeed in the Stock Market When Everyone Else Fails Wiley (2012)

By Steven M. Sears (ABJ ’90) This book provides a new approach to investing based on how Wall Street insiders approach the market.

Alexander to Constantine: Archaeology of the Land of the Bible Yale University Press (2012)

By Mark A. Chancey (AB ’90, MA ’92) with Eric M. Meyers This overview of Palestine’s archaeological record from Greek and Roman periods sheds new light on the cultural environment in which early Judaism and Christianity emerged.

ONLINE Find more books by UGA graduates at www.uga.edu/gm SUBMISSIONS Submit new books written by UGA alumni to gmeditor@uga.edu. Please include a brief description of the book and a hi-res pdf or jpg of its cover.

Serving

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nourishment with culinary spirit 77 NATIONAL AWARDS

University of Georgia Food Services foodservice.uga.edu (706) 542-1256 MARCH 2013 • GEORGIA MAGAZINE

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CLASSNOTES

ALUMNI PROFILE

Oh my heart Mike Martin’s talent and love for UGA helped him create a hit television ad for his alma mater

by Chase Martin

When UGA put out a bid for a new public service announcement, Mike Martin pitched an idea that now airs for all the Bulldog Nation.

Martin (ABJ ’95) and three other UGA graduates came together to collaborate on the task, dubbing themselves the Bulldog Collective. Their idea is now the iconic, distinctive Chapel bell commercial that made its first appearance last football season.

“Any university can show happy students in classrooms and pretty trees and green grass,” Mike Martin Martin says. “We really tried to find things that made Athens unique, and the experience of being a student here unique.”

He decided to center the spot on UGA’s famous Chapel bell, remembering the distinctive noise and celebratory nature of the bell. Then, the group contacted Athens’ own R.E.M. and gained permission to use their song “Oh My Heart” as the musical accompaniment.

“They had never before allowed any of their songs to be licensed for commercial use,” Martin says. After securing the song he sent out requests for volunteers.

The day of the shoot, nearly 200 UGA alumni, students, employees and community residents of all ages lined up to ring the bell. When the spot aired last football season, Martin says the positive response was overwhelming.

Martin’s success goes beyond the PSA. He has worked for various advertising agencies across the country, with clients like McDonald’s, Harley-Davidson and Dunkin’ Donuts.

“One of the most fun things I’ve worked on was during my time in Minneapolis. I pitched and won the Jack Link’s Beef Jerky account.” Martin’s pitch would become Jack Link’s “Feed your wild side” slogan.

After tiring of Minnesota’s cold winters, Martin returned to Atlanta to start a company, Skylab-B Communications. He works one-on-one with businesses to develop marketing strategies, giving each company specialized attention.

“Some companies need an army, and some need the Green Berets,” he says. “We’re the Green Berets.”

Skylab-B’s clients range from an Atlanta mattress store to the Department of Homeland Security. Martin works with Homeland Security’s Blue Campaign, which strives to raise public awareness of human trafficking.

“Having my own business is one of the most humbling things I’ve ever done,” he says. “I can really see the things I am good at, and the tasks that require outside help.”

GET MORE www.facebook.com/UGAchapelbell

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Peter Frey

of Fayetteville had his play “Rosie the Retired Rockette” run in two Atlanta Christmas productions. Judith Mank (PhD ’06) of London, England, received the 2012 Franklin College Outstanding Alumni Award. George Felis (PhD ’09) is now a lecturer in the Department of Philosophy and Religion at the University of North Carolina Wilmington.

Business James Coleman Watson III (MBA ’75) of Clarkesville joined Farmers & Merchants Bank Lakeland as senior city executive.

Education Dennis J. Nielsen (MEd ’71, EdD ’73) of Hilton Head Island, S.C., was named to the South Carolina State University board of trustees.

Patricia “Tricia” Jones (MEd ’75) of Knoxville, Tenn., earned her doctorate in education from Tennessee State University. Pat Widdowson (MEd ’75) retired from Surry Community College. Richard Richey (MEd ’76) of Murrayville was awarded the Toccoa Falls College Alumni Award.

Bruce Bracken (MA ’77, PhD ’79)

of Williamsburg, Va., received a 2012 Lifetime Achievement Award from UGA’s College of Education.

Kathy Dosser (MEd ’80) was named teacher of the week at Belvoir Elementary. Russell Vandiver (EdS ’89) of Gainesville retired as president of Lanier Tech. Robert “Bob” Heaberlin (EdD ’00) received the AMLE National Distinguished Educator Award. Vicki Tarleton (MEd ’00) of Evans received a 2012 Crystal Apple Award from UGA’s College of Education. Matthew McBee (MEd ’04, PhD ’06) of Kingsport, Tenn., received the 2012 APF Esther Katz Rosen Early Career Research Grant by the American Psychological Foundation. Valerie Hepburn (PhD ’06) of St. Simons Island announced in fall that she will resign as president of the College of Coastal Georgia at the end of spring semester. She plans to continue work in health care policy in Australia, where she has worked before. Rebekah Benjamin (MA ’09,

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CLASSNOTES

ALUMNI PROFILE

Breaking barriers Terry College’s first black female graduate helped lay the foundation for future minority students, including her son

by Lori Johnston (ABJ ’95)

Margaret Davis Vaughn grew up dreaming of attending a historically black college and pledging a black sorority. But Vaughn’s parents and school officials in her hometown of Madison, Ga., envisioned a different future for the Pearl High School valedictorian.

Special “My decision to go to UGA Margaret Davis Vaughn and A. David Vaughn III was not my decision,” says Vaughn (BBA ’70), who was the first African-American female to receive an undergraduate degree from the Terry College of Business. “But because UGA provided an excellent educational opportunity and lasting friendships, I am thankful they made that decision for me.”

Vaughn entered UGA soon after Harold Black and Tyrone Barnett had become Terry’s first black graduates in 1966. She and her college roommate were among the first students to live in Brumby Hall. After classes, Vaughn would socialize with other African-American students at Memorial Hall, but she felt isolated from the rest of the student body.

As Vaughn succeeded in the classroom, the social climate began to change as a few white students started studying with her. As a child, she had accompanied her father, Nathaniel Davis Sr., when he collected money from rental properties he managed—and that influenced her decision to major in accounting. By the time she graduated, Vaughn had a different outlook on her college years: “I was happy to have a degree from the Terry College!”

Vaughn went to work for the IRS in 1972, and she is a licensed CPA. She retired in 2004, but still works as a consultant.

It’s funny how things turn out in life. Vaughn and her late husband planned for their son to attend a historically black college. But A. David Vaughn III (BBA ’00) ended up following in his mother’s footsteps by attending UGA and majoring in finance at Terry.

On a recent visit to campus, Vaughn and three friends listened to black students speaking positively about UGA. “We were so happy to hear that,” says Vaughn, “and we claim some small credit for it.”

— Lori Johnston is a writer living in Watkinsville, Ga.

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PhD ’12) of North Adams, Mass., joined Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts as an assistant professor in the psychology department.

Family & Consumer Sciences Sohyun Park (PhD ’06) received the Pacesetter Award from the Family and Consumer Sciences Alumni Association.

Forestry & Natural Resources Kirk Stodola (PhD ’11) married Alison Price (MS ’08) April 30.

Journalism & Mass Communication Janita Poe (MA ’87) is now community hub director of Alabama Media Group in Montgomery, Ala. Heather Butros Simpkins (MA ’99) of Richmond, Va., and husband Jason welcomed a baby boy, Thomas Alan Simpkins, Sept. 25.

Air Force

Health Professions

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2- and 3-year scholarships are available for those enrolled in a graduate program. If selected, the Air Force will pay full tuition, and provide a monthly stipend of approximately $2,122. After completing the degree you will enter the Air Force as a 1st Lieutenant or Captain for a 3-year commitment.

Contact: Technical Sergeant LaTerance Dyson Air Force Health Professions Representative 2400 Lake Park Drive Suite 260 Smyrna GA 30080 www.AirForce.com/healthcare LaTerance.Dyson@us.af.mil (770) 432-1872

Star rising

Former UGA golfer Russell Henley (BSFCS ’11) won the first professional tournament of his career in January, setting a record at the Sony Open in Honolulu with a score of 63 on his final round, seven strokes under par. The win secured Henley a berth in the Masters tournament in April. Still a student and playing as an amateur in May 2011, Henley won the Stadion Classic golf tournament on the UGA golf course. He was only the second amateur in history to win an event on the Nationwide tour.

Christian Peterson/Getty Images

VOLUNTEER TO ASSIST WITH GEORGIA’S DISASTER RECOVERY SERVGA is a statewide secure database of pre-credentialed healthcare professionals and other volunteers who want to help in case of a public health emergency.

Registering at www.servga.gov is quick and can be done within minutes. Name, address, contact information and occupation type completes the initial registration process. In order to be eligible, Responders are also encouraged to complete a Profile Summary.

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MARCH 2013 • GEORGIA MAGAZINE

51

CLASSNOTES

Civil War art at Met David Vaughan (AB ’84) owns the largest personal collection of Civil War photographs. Through September 2013, some of that collection is on display in an extensive exhibit at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. “The Civil War and American Art” explores how American artists responded to the Civil War and its aftermath. It features works made by leading figure painters such as Winslow Homer and Eastman Johnson, landscape painters such as Sanford R. Gifford and Frederic E. Church and photographers such as Mathew Brady and George Barnard. Vaughan is a member of the UGA Libraries Board of Visitors. Get more on the exhibit at www.metmuseum.org/exhibitions/ listings/2013/civil-war.

Included among alumnus David Vaughan’s photographs exhibited at the Metropolitan Museum of Art is this one of the Fincher Brothers, two of seven volunteer Confederate soldiers from Forsyth County during the Civil War. The exact identity of the men in the photo is not known but they are among the five Fincher men who served as enlisted men in Company I, 43rd Georgia Infantry, in 1862.

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SPECIAL

ALUMNI PROFILE Law Watson White (LLB ’50) of Marietta re-retired at age 91 as a judge in Cobb County. Luis Aguilar (JD ’79) of Atlanta received the NFL Hispanic Heritage Leadership Award after being selected by the Falcons. James E. Brim III (JD ’79) of Gainesville became a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers. Mark McDonald (JD ’82) of Atlanta was elected chair of the National Trust Partners Network and will serve as an ex-officio member of the National Trust for Historic Preservation’s board. James Sibold (JD ’82) of Dunwoody received the Distinguished Service Award for 2011 from the Employee Relocation Council of America. David Darden (JD ’83) of Kennesaw was elected president of the Council of State Court Judges and was appointed to serve on the Code of Judicial Conduct Revision Committee.

Richard Greenberg (JD ’83) of Tallahassee, Fla., was selected as a super lawyer in the field of criminal defense for the sixth consecutive year. Thomas C. Chubb III (JD ’89) of Atlanta was named president of Oxford Industries.

Toby Clarkson (JD ’96) of Boothbay Harbor, Maine, purchased Boothbay Family Dentistry. Cheri Grosvenor (JD ’96) of Atlanta received the Jacobs Bowl Volunteer Award from the United States Tennis Association Southern Section for her pro bono work as legal counsel for USTA Southern and the BB&T Atlanta Open. Lee B. Garrett (JD ’99) of Marietta was named general manager of the Marietta Daily Journal.

Harold “Hal” Davis Jr. (JD ’00), wife Anna Watkins Davis (JD ’99) and daughter Ella welcomed Magdalene “Maggie” Jackson Davis April 4.

Pharmacy Briana Baxley (PharmD ’04) and Brett Aycock married Aug. 18.

Social Work John Paul Ezeonyido (MSW ’11) of Lilburn is the pastor of Christ Our Hope.

World traveler Alumnus flies C-17 aircraft for the U.S. Air Force

by Chase Martin

Few people can say they’ve been to each of Special the seven continents. Even Brian Dodson fewer can say they flew there themselves.

Maj. Brian Dodson (BBA ’02) is one of the few. A pilot in the U.S. Air Force, Dodson flies Boeing C-17s, large military transport planes.

Dodson was commissioned into the Air Force as a second lieutenant the day he graduated from Georgia. He graduated in the top 10 percent of his class from flight school and was able to choose which aircraft he would fly.

“My dad was in the Air Force too, and I remember him telling me that if I chose to go fly for Air Mobility Command, I would get to see the world,” Dodson says.

He started his first C-17 assignments in Charleston, S.C., completing missions that took him across the Atlantic. He also worked as an executive officer for a squadron commander, taking on leadership roles and responsibilities. After five years in Charleston, Dodson was reassigned to Joint Base Lewis-McChord in Tacoma, Wash., where he flew similar missions, serving the Pacific area and working as a flight commander. As his father told him, he has been able to see the world.

“I’ve done everything you can possibly think of in a C-17, and it’s taken me all around the world,” he says, noting his favorite stops—Argentina, Kenya, South Africa and New Zealand.

He’s even been to Antarctica, where he runs supply missions for Operation Deep Freeze, flying in equipment, supplies and personnel.

“It’s a surreal moment when you fly in and touch down on an ice runway,” he says. “It was one of the coolest missions.”

Many of Dodson’s missions are airdrops, in which he delivers supplies to ground-based units.

“The scariest, but yet coolest mission was an airdrop in Afghanistan, in these valleys between really high terrain, ” he says. His plane descended to a couple of thousand feet with mountains on either side. He made the drop, then had to make an aggressive climb to clear the cliffs.

“Flying is just part of it, though. I’ve been really fortunate to do a lot of cool things in the C-17,” Dodson says. “I flew Vice President Biden to the first match of the 2010 World Cup in Pretoria, South Africa.” He also has flown the secretary of state and the secretary of defense.

His latest missions, however, have him on the ground. Dodson is an instructor at the Squadron Officer School at Maxwell Air Force Base in Montgomery, Ala., where he will remain for a couple of years before returning to missions.

“It’s a stark change from what I’ve been doing. But at the same time, I bring a lot of experience, so I’m looking forward to it,” he says. “But I’ll always love flying.”

MARCH 2013 • GEORGIA MAGAZINE

53

CLASSNOTES

Curtis Beall, 1922-2013

Curtis “Coot” Beall (BSA ’47), UGA’s oldest-living cheerleader, died Jan. 10 after a battle with prostate cancer. Hailing from Dublin, Ga., Beall was the first of his family to graduate from college. His education was interrupted by service with the Marine Corps during World War II, but after earning his degree he returned to UGA to cheer on the sidelines at nearly every Beth Newman homecoming game, missing last fall’s due to illness. He is the author of Memoirs of a Marine Dawg: From Rose Bowl to Pacific Theater. The book raised more than $10,000, all of which was donated in support of the UGA cheerleaders.

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Help UGA and your classmates keep up with what’s happening in your life— both personally and professionally—by sending Class Notes items to one of the addresses listed below. And please include your hometown to help us keep our alumni database up to date.

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“They really play off each other and in a way teaching is similar to performance. You have to plan, you have to be prepared, but you also have to make that connection in real time. You have to be flexible…. I can’t imagine one without the other. I think my performing would be more lackluster, my teaching kind of dull if I did one without the other.”

—Jean Martin-Williams on her dual career as a professor and as a professional musician, performing with the Georgia Woodwind Quartet as well as with orchestras throughout the world.

Jean Martin-Williams Professor, Hugh Hodgson School of Music Director, Lilly Teaching Fellows B.A., M.A. and D.M.A. in Horn Performance, Manhattan School of Music, New York Josiah Meigs Distinguished Teaching Professorship Photo by Andrew Davis Tucker, shot on location at the Whitmire Farm in Bishop, Ga., with horses, riders and assistance from the UGA Equestrian program. The horn she is holding is a historical reproduction of a natural, or valveless, horn handcrafted by Richard Seraphinoff. A natural horn was used to signal the start of the hunt and is the predecessor to the modern horn.

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