University of Georgia Magazine March 2016 by University of Georgia Alumni Magazine

GEORGIA The University of

Magazine

March 2016 â&#x20AC;˘ Vol. 95, No. 2

PE ABODY AWARDS AT

As the barrage of electronic media continues to grow, the influential UGA institution reminds us that stories matter

UGA senior Ian Brown (top) teaches children during a master class at Escuela de Bells Artes in David City, Panama. In January, Brown and UGAâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Hodgson Wind Ensemble participated in a service-learning trip to Panama, presenting a series of concerts and classes to children and young adults in less advantaged communities and donating gently used instruments to music schools. Photo by Sierra Grady

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“We give back because we believe it makes a difference … a difference in the lives of UGA’s greatest asset, its students.” Caroline (ABJ ’03) and Patrick (BBA ’02) Bladon

Why do you give? Tell us at giving.uga.edu/whyigive 1

GEORGIA MAGAZINE • www.ugamagazine.uga.edu

Features

In 1956, Lassie accepted a Peabody Award from Bennett Cerf (left), chairman of the Peabody board, and John Drewry, Grady dean. COURTESY OF PEABODY AWARDS

Peabody Awards at 75 Beginning with radio in 1941 and expanding over the years to include broadcast television, websites and podcasts, the University of Georgia’s Peabody Awards program continues to embrace new forms of electronic media in its quest to recognize excellence. A milestone anniversary provides an opportunity to raise awareness of the coveted awards.

28 Two presidents, one goal UGA President Jere W. Morehead and Emory President James Wagner are forging a partnership with goals including creating a national hub for infectious disease research and bolstering Georgia’s bioscience sector. A look inside some of the collaborations striving to make a better, safer world.

ON THE COVER The Peabody medallion bears the likeness of George Foster Peabody, a native Georgian, industrialist, financier and benefactor of the university. Photo by Peter Frey

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The University of

GEORGIA

Magazine

March 2016 • Vol. 95, No. 2 GEORGIA MAGAZINE Allyson Mann, MA ’92, Editor Margaret Blanchard, AB ’91, MA ’98, Managing Editor Lindsay Robinson, ABJ ’06, MPA ’11, Art Director Pamela Leed, Advertising Director Fran Burke, Office Manager

5 Q&A President Jere W. Morehead (JD ’80) on the academic quality of UGA students.

Peter Frey, BFA ’94; Robert Newcomb, BFA ’81;

Rick O’Quinn, ABJ ’87; Andrew Davis Tucker; and Dorothy Kozlowski, BLA ’06, ABJ ’10, UGA Photographers MARKETING & COMMUNICATIONS Karri Hobson-Pape, Vice President Janis Gleason, Executive Director

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UGA = Big Impact The university has a significant economic impact on the state, contributing more than $4.4 billion annually.

Tiny Dawg House Students in a fall semester servicelearning class built a 150-square-foot dwelling that was donated to a Georgia farmer.

11 Weeding Out Johnsongrass A $5 million grant will support UGA research to combat a widespread agricultural weed.

16 Fulfilling the Dream Stacey Y. Abrams delivered the keynote address when UGA presented the Fulfilling the Dream Award to three university and community leaders in January.

Class Notes 34 Shark Bait Alex (BBA ’09) and Jonathan Torrey (AB, BBA ’07) survive diving into ABC’s “Shark Tank.”

38 Project RENEW Chuck Searcy (AB ’79) has spent two decades helping to clean up unexploded ordnance in Vietnam.

48 Breasta Fiesta Friends and family gather to remember the late Sara Papp (BBA ’00) and raise money for the Atlanta 2-Day Walk for Breast Cancer.

56 Back Page Historian Stephen Berry studies “old, unhappy, far-off things.”

Close Up 18 The Kudzu Kid Jacob Schindler received a patent for KEHTA, his kudzu-killing device.

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Send Class Notes to gmeditor@uga.edu Send address changes to records@uga.edu

ADMINISTRATION Jere W. Morehead, JD ’80, President Pamela Whitten, Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost Ryan Nesbit, MBA ’91, Vice President for Finance and Administration Kelly Kerner, Vice President for Development and Alumni Relations Rahul Shrivastav, Vice President for Instruction David C. Lee, Vice President for Research Jennifer Frum, PhD ’11, Vice President for Public Service and Outreach Victor Wilson, BSW ’82, MEd ’87, Vice President for Student Affairs J. Griffin Doyle, AB ’76, JD ’79, Vice President for Government Relations Timothy M. Chester, Vice President for Information Technology Change your mailing address by emailing information to records@uga.edu or call 888-268-5442. Advertise in Georgia Magazine by contacting Pamela Leed at pjleed@uga.edu or 706-542-8124. Find Georgia Magazine online at ugamagazine.uga.edu. Submit Class Notes or story ideas to gmeditor@uga.edu. 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, 119 Holmes-Hunter Academic Building, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602. Telephone 706-542-7912 (V/TDD). Fax 706-542-2822.

Q&A

with President Jere W. Morehead (JD ’80)

Q: The academic quality of students at UGA continues to rise. What are some recent accomplishments that demonstrate our students’ abilities? A: In the past year, UGA students have won a number of national and international scholarships that recognize their achievements at this institution and pave the way for the next phase of their careers. In November, Honors student Meredith Paker was awarded a highly competitive Marshall Scholarship to pursue a master’s degree in economic and social history at the University of Oxford. UGA students also won Goldwater, Truman, Udall, Schwarzman, Boren and Fulbright scholarships in the last year, as well as Phi Kappa Phi and National Science Foundation Graduate Research fellowships, among others. Q: What prepares our students to succeed? A: From the moment UGA students arrive on campus, innovative programs such as the Freshman College Summer Experience and the First-Year Odyssey Program introduce them to the many resources available to tailor their education to their personal goals. Experiential learning activities, in which students apply their knowledge to realworld situations through research, study abroad, internships, service-learning or entrepreneurship, complement their classroom studies and enhance their chances for success during college and beyond. We know, for example, that study abroad can lead to improved academic performance and higher graduation rates, and servicelearning courses can positively impact students’ salaries after graduation. UGA students also are encouraged to develop relationships with faculty mentors, who can provide valuable guidance and open doors to new opportunities.

Q: How important is private support as a means of contributing to individual student success? A: UGA remains an excellent value—in fact, Kiplinger’s placed UGA 12th on its list of 100 best values among public colleges and universities for 2016. Many students still need significant financial assistance to complete their degree, however, and UGA offers a number of scholarship programs funded through private support. The Chambliss Fellows Program, which supports students who are interning in UGA’s Washington Semester Program, and the Coca-Cola First Generation Scholars Program, which provides mentoring and financial support to students who are the first in their families to attend college, are good examples. Through the generosity of private donors, we are able to help outstanding students succeed at UGA. Q: How is private support important for creating a world-class learning environment for all students? A: We are fortunate to have generous alumni and friends who understand the importance of providing state-of-the-art facilities for teaching, research and service. Through their support, we have advanced a number of capital projects in the past year. Last fall, we dedicated Correll Hall, the first phase of the new Business Learning Community, which provides classrooms, a business innovation lab, team project rooms and offices for the Terry College of Business. This facility was funded entirely by $35 million in private donations. Construction of phase two, including Amos Hall, and the planning and design of phase three are now underway. Both of these projects have a public and private component. The College of Veterinary Medicine’s new Veterinary Medical Center and Delta Hall, UGA’s new residential learning community in Washington, D.C., opened last spring and also were made possible by private support.

MARCH 2016 • GEORGIA MAGAZINE

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UGA = BIG IMPACT FOR GEORGIA Georgia’s flagship university has a significant economic impact on the state—contributing more than $4.4 billion annually, according to a new study by a UGA economist. Jeffrey Dorfman, a professor in the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, measured variables generated by the university such as the increase in earnings that graduates receive, revenues from the licensing of inventions, and the creation of business and jobs from public service and outreach units. “Nowhere is the bond between the state of Georgia and the University of Georgia more evident than in our far-reaching economic impact,” says President Jere W. Morehead. “The contributions of UGA faculty, staff, students and alumni are helping to ensure a strong economic future for our state.” Explore an interactive map or download the report at ecdev.uga.edu/uga-serving-georgia.

GEORGIA MAGAZINE • www.ugamagazine.uga.edu

UGA’s Georgia Museum of Art added 320 objects to its permanent collection in 2015, including “Girl Sewing (The Chinese Robe),” an American Impressionist painting by Frederick Carl Frieseke. The museum purchased the painting with funds given through the Chu Family Foundation by David Chu, a Distinguished Research Professor emeritus in UGA’s College of Pharmacy, and his wife, Jane. Unveiled in January, the painting is on view in the museum’s permanent collection galleries. Additional acquisitions include a 17th-century portrait of Archbishop William Laud by Sir Anthony van Dyck; a painting by Alan Campbell (AB ’89, MEd ’96, PhD ’01) of UGA’s Four Towers barn, now the UGA Visitors Center; a rare, untitled etching by German Expressionist Paula Modersohn-Becker; and a large collection of turned-wood art that will make up the exhibition “Turned and Shaped: Wood Art from the Collection of Arthur and Jane Mason,” opening May 14. For more information, visit georgiamuseum.org.

Paker named Marshall Scholar Honors student Meredith Paker has been named a recipient of the Marshall Scholarship to pursue graduate studies in the United Kingdom. Paker is UGA’s third Marshall Scholar in the last decade and seventh overall. A native of Madison, Wis., and a recipient of UGA’s Foundation Fellowship and the Stamps Leadership Scholarship, Paker plans to pursue a master’s degree in economic and social history at the University of Oxford. After completing her master’s, her goal is to pursue a Meredith Paker doctorate in economics and begin a career as an academic economist. “I am so pleased for Meredith, and I am appreciative of the excellent faculty mentoring she has received,” says David S. Williams, associate provost and director of UGA’s Honors Program. “I think it is important to note that Meredith is not only a gifted thinker and researcher, but it is clear that she is also deeply passionate about using her intellect for the betterment of society.” Paker will graduate in May with a bachelor’s degree in economics from the Terry College of Business and a minor in mathematics from the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences.

FUTURE IS BRIGHT FOR UGA President Jere W. Morehead announced several initiatives as part of his 2016 State of the University address on Jan. 20. As part of its role in promoting prosperity, UGA has launched the Georgia Certified Economic Developer program through the Carl Vinson Institute of Government. The threeyear certificate program will provide tailored training to economic development professionals across the state. The president also revealed a new private-sector partnership with the Southern Company to address campus sustainability by improving Lake Herrick, which has been closed for public use since 2002 because of poor water quality. UGA continues to make strides in preparing undergraduates for an ever-changing world by instituting the experiential learning initiative, which goes into effect for incoming freshmen this fall. Morehead noted as an example the CURO Research Assistantship Program, which allows students to assist faculty in research. Due to its success, he has increased the program’s annual budget to $500,000, allowing more students to participate. Additional efforts to boost the undergraduate experience include fostering student entrepreneurship and hiring more faculty. The president also noted the importance of innovative UGA research that continues to improve human health, create a safe, sustainable world and change lives.

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Students Joel Van Asch (left) and Matthew Nahrstedt work on the Tiny Dawg House, built by students as part of a UGA course, that was delivered to a Georgia farmer in December.

TINY DAWG HOUSE UGA students participating in a service-learning course during fall semester built a Tiny Dawg House for one lucky Georgia farmer. The 13 students enrolled in “Green Building and the Tiny House Movement” were trained to use power tools before constructing the oneroom, 150-square-foot dwelling. The house offers living, kitchen and bath areas and features a composting toilet and shower, energy efficient appliances and lighting that adhere to LEED standards. The course was created and taught by David Berle (MLA ’01), associate professor in the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, and Kim Skobba, assistant professor in the College of Family and Consumer Sciences. Berle and Skobba funded the project with a $30,000 grant from the Community Foundation for Greater Atlanta, and they worked with nonprofit Georgia Organics to identify a recipient for the house. In December, the Tiny Dawg House was delivered to Darby Weaver, who works for Walker Organic Farms in Sylvania.

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BARK OUT TO … Julie Luft, Athletic Association Professor of Science and Mathematics Education, who contributed to a report on science teachers’ learning produced by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine.

David Chu

… David Chu, Distinguished Research Professor emeritus in the College of Pharmacy, and Wayne Hanna, professor of crop and soil sciences, who were named to the 2015 class of the National Academy of Inventors Fellows.

… the College of Environment and Design, which ranked in the top 10 in four categories in DesignIntelligence magazine’s 2016 edition of America’s Best Architecture and Design Schools. Daniel Nadenicek, the college’s dean, also received a nod as one of the 25 Most Admired Educators. … Mehrsa Baradaran, associate professor in the School of Law, who participated in a banking reform panel discussion with U.S. senators in November in Washington, D.C. … the Traffic Safety Research and Evaluation Group, which received a grant from the Georgia Governor’s Office of Highway Safety. The group, led by Carol Cotton (BSEd ’77, MEd ’78, PhD ’99) in the College of Public Health, will evaluate the effectiveness of more than 100 educational and law enforcement-focused programs funded by the office. Mehrsa Baradaran

… Terence Centner, professor in the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, for receiving a national award for excellence in college and university teaching for food and agricultural sciences from the Association of Public and Landgrant Universities, the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the American Association of State Colleges and Universities.

Terence Centner

… Arthur Edison, GRA Eminent Scholar in NMR Spectroscopy and professor, who was selected to lead a presentation at Pittcon, the world’s largest conference and exposition on laboratory science, for his work in magnetic resonance.

… Adeline Kenerly, a student in broadcast journalism and political science, who assumed the crown of Miss Georgia 2015 in October. As first runner-up, she took the place of Betty Cantrell, who was crowned Miss America 2016 in September. … the Georgia Museum of Art for awards from the Southeastern Museums Conference: “Tristan Perich: ‘Machine Wall Drawings’” won among exhibitions under $25,000, and “El Taller de Gráfica Popular: Vida y Arte” received a silver award for exhibition catalog in the publications design competition.

GEORGIA MAGAZINE • www.ugamagazine.uga.edu

Adeline Kenerly

INAUGURAL WOMEN FACULTY FELLOWS CHOSEN Nine faculty members will hone their leadership skills and gain a deeper understanding of the challenges and opportunities confronting research universities as part of the inaugural class of the Women’s Leadership Fellows Program. The program is part of the Women’s Leadership Initiative, launched in spring 2015 to address recruitment, retention and hiring as well as work-life balance at UGA. The 2015-16 Women’s Leadership Fellows are Valerie Babb, director of the Institute of African-American Studies and Franklin Professor of English; Marsha Davis, associate dean of outreach and engagement for the College of Public Health and professor of health promotion and behavior; Ellen Evans, director of the Center for Physical Activity and Health and professor of exercise science in the College of Education; Susan C. Fagan, assistant dean of the College of Pharmacy’s Augusta campus and Distinguished Research Professor; Jean Martin-Williams, director of the Lilly Fellows Program in the Center for Teaching and Learning and Josiah Meigs Distinguished Teaching Professor of Music in the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences; Laura Meadows, director of the Carl Vinson Institute of Government; Peggy Ozias-Akins, director of the Institute for Plant Breeding, Genetics and Genomics in the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences; Marisa Anne Pagnattaro, associate dean for research and graduate programs in the Terry College of Business and Josiah Meigs Distinguished Teaching Professor of Legal Studies; and Usha Rodrigues, associate dean for faculty development in the School of Law and M.E. Kilpatrick Chair of Corporate Finance and Securities Law.

Lavelle named Schwarzman Scholar UGA Honors student Torre Lavelle was named to the first class of Schwarzman Scholars, receiving funding for a one-year master’s program at Tsinghua University in Beijing. She is one of 111 recipients chosen from more than 3,000 applicants from 135 countries. Lavelle, a senior from Macon, is a UGA Foundation Fellow pursuing a bachelor’s degree in ecology from Torre Lavelle the Odum School of Ecology and an Honors interdisciplinary degree in political ecology from the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences. In addition to extracurricular activities that have taken her around the globe, she was an intern at the U.S. Department of State, focusing on international conservation policies and economic development in African nations. The Schwarzman Scholars program was founded by Blackstone co-founder Stephen A. Schwarzman, who personally contributed $100 million to launch the program at Tsinghua University. While pursuing degrees in public policy, economics and business, and international studies, recipients will live on the campus of the new Schwarzman College.

NEW RESIDENCY PROGRAM HONORS LATE JUDGE Law students will learn from top federal judges as part of the new B. Avant Edenfield Jurist in Residence program. The program was made possible through a gift from Allen W. Yee (BS ’99, JD ’03), a former clerk of the late Edenfield (BBA ’56, JD ’58), who was a longtime federal judge on the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Georgia. “Judge Edenfield’s astute legal mind and passion for justice made him a hardworking judge who demanded much of those in his courtroom. To those who clerked for him, he was a true friend and mentor,” says Yee, a senior attorney with the Coca-Cola Co. The program is designed as a series of minicourses with one or more judges spending time on campus each year. The inaugural Edenfield Jurist in Residence is Lisa Godbey Wood (AB ’85, JD ’90), who currently serves as chief judge of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Georgia. Her course will focus on sentencing. David Sentelle, former chief judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, will be the second Edenfield Jurist in Residence.

UGA junior Yasmin Johnson braved cold temperatures Jan. 18 as she and other student volunteers participated in the MLK Day of Service, planting 30,000 daffodil bulbs near the intersection of highways 10 and 78. The event was sponsored by the Center for Leadership and Service, part of UGA Student Affairs. The Martin Luther King Jr. federal holiday was created in 1983; in 1994, Congress designated it the only federal holiday observed as a national day of service—a “day on, not a day off.”

CHAD OSBURN

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ARCH President’s Medal awarded to Massey, Willson UGA bestowed one of its highest honors on two influential Georgians, presenting the President’s Medal to Francis “Abit” Massey and the family of the late Jane Seddon Willson in January. The medal recognizes extraordinary contributions of individuals who have supported students and academic programs, advanced research and inspired community leaders to enhance Georgians’ quality Francis “Abit” Massey of life. “Through their influential vision and tremendous generosity, both Abit Massey and the late Jane Willson have had a profound impact on UGA,” says President Jere W. Morehead. Massey (BBA ’49) graduated from UGA and earned a Juris Doctor from Emory University. Known to many as the “dean of the poultry industry,” he served as executive director of the Georgia Poultry Federation from 1960 to 2009. He and his wife, Kayanne, Jane Willson have more than 18 family members who attended UGA. The Massey family was named the UGA Alumni Association Family of the Year in 2014. Willson died in November at the age of 92. Together with her late husband, Harry, she established a tradition of giving that spanned more than six decades. In addition to endowing the Willson Center for Humanities and Arts, the couple’s gifts include funding for two professorships.

NEW DEAN FOR CAES A noted poultry science researcher and administrator will lead UGA’s College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences starting this month. Samuel Pardue will begin his appointment as dean and director of the college March 14. Samuel Pardue Pardue was previously associate dean and director of academic programs at NC State’s College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. Prior to being named associate dean, he was department head of poultry science, which in 2012 was named the Prestage Department of Poultry Science in honor of a $10 million gift he helped secure. “Dr. Pardue has demonstrated extraordinary leadership in advancing agricultural instruction, research and extension,” says Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost Pamela Whitten. “I am confident that he will work with our faculty, staff, students, alumni and other supporters to take our College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences to an even higher level of excellence.” During his tenure at NC State, Pardue helped double the number of poultry science majors, expanded distance education offerings and acquired external funding to modernize teaching laboratories. He secured $2.5 million in external funding for his research, holds three patents and has published nearly 100 journal articles, book chapters and abstracts.

Molecular medicine gets a new home

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An architectural rendering of UGA’s new Center for Molecular Medicine, a unit that has operated in various locations on campus since its founding in 2012.

UGA broke ground Dec. 1 on the new Center for Molecular Medicine, a 43,000-squarefoot facility that will continue to advance UGA’s efforts in human health research. When finished, the building on Riverbend Road will house up to 10 research groups whose primary goal will be to conduct research that positively impacts human health. The facility will include laboratories, faculty offices, shared cell culture facilities and other shared spaces that support research. “The Center for Molecular Medicine is an expansion of the university’s capacity to translate research into products and other innovations that support economic development and enhance the quality of life in our state, our nation and the world,” says UGA President Jere W. Morehead. “Here, the very best researchers will investigate the molecular and cellular basis of human disease and develop new ways to diagnose, treat and prevent diseases that affect millions of people worldwide.” The Georgia Board of Regents, Gov. Nathan Deal and the General Assembly approved $17 million in state funds for the facility, which was leveraged by $8 million in non-state funds.

GEORGIA MAGAZINE • www.ugamagazine.uga.edu

Weeding out Johnsongrass

BYNUM BOLEY

A father and son pause before continuing their climb at Amicalola Falls State Park in north Georgia. At 729 feet, Amicalola Falls is the tallest cascading waterfall in the Southeast.

Ecotourism may protect natural landscapes

JAMES H. MILLER, USDA FOREST SERVICE, BUGWOOD.ORG

If environmentalists want to protect fragile ecosytems from landing in the hands of developers—in the U.S. and around the globe—they should team up with ecotourists, according to a UGA study published in the Journal of Ecotourism. Environmentalists often fear that tourists will trample all over sensitive natural resource areas, but tourism may bring the needed and only economic incentives to help drive conservation, says study co-author Bynum Boley, assistant professor in UGA’s Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources. “Ecotourism destinations benefit in the form of enhanced tourism competitiveness from the protection of quality natural resources,” he says. “Meanwhile, the conservation of these natural resources is increasingly valued since these pristine natural resources are the foundation of the ecotourism industry and the driver of all economic benefits associated with ecotourism.” Tourism is a $7.6 trillion global industry, provides 277 million jobs and is a primary income source for 20 of the world’s 48 least-developed countries, according to the World Travel and Tourism Council. It also subsidizes environmental protection and helps protect, conserve and value cultural resources that might otherwise be undervalued by the host community, Boley says. The study was co-authored by Gary Green, also an associate professor at the Warnell School.

Researchers led by UGA faculty have received a $5 million grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to find new ways of combating Johnsongrass, one of the most widespread agricultural weeds in the world. Native to the Mediterranean region, Johnsongrass has spread across every continent except Antarctica. It was introduced to the U.S. in the 1800s as a forage crop, but it quickly spread into surrounding environments, causing millions of dollars in lost agricultural revenue each year, according to the USDA. “Weeds like Johnsongrass are a major challenge for agricultural producers around the world,” says Andrew Paterson, Regents Professor, director of UGA’s Plant Genome Mapping Laboratory and principal investigator. “To make matters worse, widespread adoption of herbicideresistant crops has been associated with a dramatic increase in herbicide-resistant weeds. With 21 genetically similar but different types of Johnsongrass known to be resistant to herbicides, it will only become more problematic in the future.” The naturalization of Johnsongrass has also allowed the plant to develop cold and drought tolerance, resistance to pathogens and the ability to flourish in low-fertility soils. During the five-year project, the researchers will investigate the weed’s capabilities and underlying genes, searching for new management strategies to benefit farmers.

Johnsongrass, also known as Sorghum halepense

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ARCH Rankings The university scores high across several measures: Online programs: UGA is ranked No. 3 among all universities for best online graduate programs in education and No. 5 for best online bachelor’s programs overall, according to the 2016 U.S. News & World Report. Administered through the office of online learning, a unit of the office of the vice president for instruction, online degree programs incorporate new and innovative teaching methods by pairing faculty with staff who are formally trained in instructional design and distance education. Study abroad: More students studying abroad pushed UGA into 11th place among all U.S. institutions in the 2015 Open Doors Report. More than 2,200 UGA students studied abroad for academic credit in the 2013-14 academic year, an 11 percent increase over the previous year and more than double the national rate. The Open Doors Report is published annually by the Institute of International Education in partnership with the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs. Value: Kiplinger’s Personal Finance placed UGA 12th out of 100 best values among public colleges and universities for 2016. The magazine publisher assesses value by measurable standards of academic quality and affordability for in-state students. UGA was the only school from the state of Georgia to make the top 20.

GEORGIA MAGAZINE • www.ugamagazine.uga.edu

DESTINATION DAWGS Students with intellectual or developmental disabilities will be able to enjoy the full UGA experience with the launch of a new inclusive postsecondary education program, Destination Dawgs, beginning in spring 2017. The program, housed in the College of Family and Consumer Sciences’ Institute on Human Development and Disability, aims to assist those students as they transition into adulthood by fully immersing them in UGA life. Still in development, Destination Dawgs aspires to have students reside in on-campus housing, audit classes and be supported by peer mentors who will assist the students in courses and on campus to improve their independent living skills. “The goal is for Destination Dawgs participants to come out of the program with a platform for getting a good job and for leading a good adult life,” says Carol Britton Laws, assistant clinical professor and coordinator of UGA’s Disability Studies Certificate program. “The unemployment rate for people with disabilities nationally is about 75 percent, and we’re trying to help students build skills and gain experiences that are marketable.”

First-ever hatchery revives oysters UGA’s Marine Extension is poised to revive the state’s oyster population with the first-ever hatchery on Skidaway Island. Launched in December, one goal of the hatchery is to produce an attractive, easyto-open single oyster that can be marketed to upscale restaurants. The hatchery is expected to produce between 5 million and 6 million spat, or baby oysters, per year by 2018. Such oysters are worth an estimated $1.6 million when harvested, according to experts at the UGA Shellfish Research Laboratory. Funded through 2016 by the Georgia Department of Natural Resources (DNR) Coastal Management Program, the hatchery is a collaborative effort between UGA Marine Extension specialists, DNR resource managers, the Georgia Department of Agriculture and the Georgia Shellfish Growers Association. “I’m incredibly proud of our first-ever oyster hatchery in the state,” says Mark Risse, director of UGA Marine Extension, a unit of the university’s Office of Public Service and Outreach. “We hope to grow the oyster industry and allow farmers to produce oysters in a faster, more cost-effective way.” The UGA Shellfish Research Laboratory, part of Marine Extension and headed by Thomas Bliss, has conducted research on single-oyster cultivation for more than 30 years.

PETER FREY

2016 BULLDOG 100 CELEBRATED The UGA Alumni Association recognized the 100 fastest-growing companies owned or operated by alumni at the seventh annual Bulldog 100 Celebration Jan. 30 at the Atlanta Marriott Marquis. The fastest-growing business was SMD LLC, founded by Shane Douthitt (MS ’99, PhD ’00) and Scott Mondore (MS ’01, PhD ’02). The North Carolina-based talent management and analytics company enables businesses to monetize people management. The remaining top 10 Bulldog 100 are: 2. CAMFormulas.com, Brooklyn, N.Y. 3. Kabbage Inc., Atlanta 4. 6 Degrees Group, Alpharetta 5. Specialized Veterinary Services, Fort Myers, Fla. 6. Your Pie Franchising, Athens 7. Verisail Partners, Atlanta 8. CALIPSO LLC, Charleston, S.C. 9. Builders Specialty Contractors, Boynton Beach, Fla. 10. Red Clay Communications Inc., Atlanta View the complete list of 2016 Bulldog 100 businesses at alumni.uga.edu/b100.

Students Elvis Bui (left) and Joshua Vu demonstrated kendo, a Japanese martial art, with Shinai practice swords during Spotlight on the Arts. Nearly 22,000 people attended Spotlight, sponsored by the UGA Arts Council and held in November. In its fourth year, the annual festival offered more than 100 events and exhibitions including concerts, plays, dance performances, book talks and art openings during a two-week period.

Two professors receive prestigious teaching award UGA faculty members Dawn D. Bennett-Alexander and Melisa “Misha” Cahnmann-Taylor each received a 2015 Elizabeth Hurlock Beckman Award for teaching excellence in November. They are two of only 10 professors nationwide to receive the award. The Beckman Award honors faculty members “who have inspired their former students to make a significant contribution to society” and carries a $25,000 prize. Bennett-Alexander is an associate professor of employment law and legal studies in the Terry College of Business. She is the author of several textbooks including the seminal Employment Law for Business, now in its eighth edition and the most widely used employment law textbook in the nation. Cahnmann-Taylor is a professor of language and literacy education in the College of Education. She has expanded bilingual education in Georgia by recruiting bilingual adults to become certified teachers and led a six-year, $1 million federal grant program to support this effort.

Dawn D. Bennett-Alexander

Melisa “Misha” Cahnmann-Taylor

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ARCH Burg joins faculty Karen J.L. Burg, a cutting-edge bioengineer, joined the College of Veterinary Medicine in January as its Harbor Lights Chair in Small Animal Studies. Burg’s placement is part of the Presidential Extraordinary Research Faculty Hiring Initiative launched in 2014, which helps recruit internationally recognized scholars. Burg’s research focuses on absorbable polymers, biofabrication and tissue engineering. Seven of her inventions have been patented, one of which is the basis of a biomedical company focused on developing tools to help doctors quickly diagnose and combat breast cancer. Her research team is also finding ways to use normal, healthy cells to build replacement parts for cancer or bone trauma patients who have had unhealthy or damaged tissue removed. “Dr. Burg brings an extraordinary record of accomplishment to the University of Georgia, and she will play a significant role in expanding this institution’s capacity to inquire and innovate to improve human health,” says Pamela Whitten, senior vice president for academic affairs and provost. Burg was previously vice president for research and professor of chemical engineering at Kansas State University.

COURTESY OF THE NATIONAL SOCIETY FOR HISTOTECHNOLOGY

Karen J.L Burg

SPECIAL

UGA student Claire Snyder (left) and Brittany Wortham (right) enjoy summertime fun at an Extra Special People day camp last June. The nonprofit is partnering with UGA’s College of Environment and Design and Georgia Tech’s College of Architecture to create Camp Hooray, a fully accessible overnight camp for children and young adults with developmental disabilities.

UGA, GEORGIA TECH PARTNER ON CAMP HOORAY UGA and Georgia Tech are partnering with Extra Special People (ESP) Inc. to create Camp Hooray, a fully accessible overnight camp for children and young adults with developmental disabilities. The project will use the expertise of the university’s College of Environment and Design and Georgia Tech’s College of Architecture to make the space sustainable and accessible. Located on a 70-acre parcel of land in Jackson County, the camp will offer traditional activities including music, sports and games, art, swimming, boating, archery, field days, talent shows and overnight stays—while providing a safe, fun and meaningful experience for campers of all abilities. The project is an opportunity for ESP to expand its mission. For 30 years, the Watkinsville-based organization has focused on enhancing the lives of children with developmental disabilities and their families by emphasizing their abilities, not disabilities. Students from both universities will meet with volunteers, donors and parents of campers to share ideas and weigh alternatives. “Our students gain practical experience through real-world projects,” says Dan Nadenicek, dean of the College of Environment and Design. “The studio environment and service-learning are unique among all teaching settings and lead to strong friendships and lifetime associations.”

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Law school opens first child abuse victim clinic UGA’s School of Law is the first in the nation to offer students experiential learning opportunities via a clinic dedicated to assisting victims of child sexual abuse. Initial funding was provided by Atlanta attorney Marlan B. Wilbanks (JD ’86). A longtime advocate for child protection issues, Wilbanks describes the clinic as a place “to educate, prepare and sensitize the next generation of lawyers as to the ways victims can be protected.” Emma Hetherington (JD ’11) has been named inaugural director of the clinic. Previously in private practice, she represented individuals in child welfare dependency proceedings and special education cases as well as survivors of child sexual assault and exploitation. The opening of the Wilbanks Child Endangerment and Sexual Exploitation Clinic comes on the heels of the passage of legislation creating a twoyear window of relief from the statute of limitations for bringing civil charges in the case of child sexual abuse. It is expected that many of the clinic’s first clients will be those now eligible to bring civil charges against their abusers. “We are honored to expand our public service footprint and help those in society who too often remain voiceless,” says Peter B. “Bo” Rutledge, dean of the law school.

University launches joint law/business degree The School of Law and the Terry College of Business have joined forces to offer students two highly sought after degrees. The J.D./M.B.A. program equips students for careers in law and banking, entrepreneurship, finance, international business or commercial interests. The three-year J.D./M.B.A. option is a pioneering program within higher education. Students will take one year of legal studies, another focused primarily on business school curriculum and a third of law school courses. The program was designed as a costeffective alternative for those interested in careers in corporate law. Graduates of the program will have a distinct advantage in a competitive marketplace. Since 2008, the number of law school graduates in business-related employment has approximately doubled.

LET THE SUN SHINE Georgia Power leaders joined UGA officials, Georgia Public Service Commissioner Tim Echols and community and business leaders to dedicate a new 1-megawatt solar tracking demonstration project in December. Located on a 10acre site owned by UGA, the project is the result of a utility/university collaboration to demonstrate and advance solar energy in Georgia. “The complex problems facing our world today, such as the need to expand our sources of energy, require not only interdisciplinary efforts but also multi-institutional efforts that involve higher education, private industry and government,” says UGA President Jere W. Morehead. “The Solar Tracking Demonstration Project is a perfect example of this type of broad collaboration, and the University of Georgia is pleased to be part of this exciting endeavor.” Research will be conducted under a two-year collaboration with UGA researchers, spearheaded by the College of Engineering, to study solar forecasting and the effects of solar panel soiling—contaminants accruing on the surface— versus performance. Data analysis and performance reporting will occur through a Georgia Power partnership with the Electric Power Research Institute.

ROBERT NEWCOMB

A new 1-megawatt solar tracking demonstration project, located on a 10-acre site at UGA, will demonstrate optimal orientation and tracking technology suited for Georgia’s climate and energy demand.

MARCH 2016 • GEORGIA MAGAZINE

AROUNDTHE

ARCH

DOROTHY KOZLOWSKI

Happy Birthday! UGA turned 231 this year, celebrating with a variety of events during Founders Week in January. The annual Founders Day Lecture was delivered Jan. 27 by Thomas C. Reeves, professor emeritus of learning, design and technology in the College of Education, whose speech explored a compelling topic: “So You Think You’re Smarter Than a Robot: The Race Between Human Learning and Deep Learning.” Additional events included a T-shirt giveaway, a canned food drive and a celebration in the Tate Student Center Plaza. Digital greetings from faculty, staff and students were compiled to create a birthday video that received 70,000 Facebook views by the end of January. Take a look at youtube.com/ watch?v=C7y955alvWY.

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University System of Georgia Chancellor Hank Huckaby (left), Stacey Y. Abrams (third from left) and President Jere W. Morehead (right) congratulate recipients of the 2016 President’s Fulfilling the Dream Award: Homer Wilson (second from left), Darren Anglin (third from right) and William Kisaalita (second from right).

DREAM AWARD RECOGNIZES SERVICE UGA presented three awards to Athens and university community members for exemplary community service Jan. 22 as part of the 13th annual Martin Luther King Jr. Freedom Breakfast, held to commemorate the life of the late civil rights leader. The event is sponsored by UGA, the Athens-Clarke County Unified Government and the Clarke County School District. More than 600 people attended the breakfast, where William Kisaalita, a professor in the College of Engineering; Homer Wilson, owner of Wilson’s Styling Shop; and Darren Anglin, a senior from Covington, received the President’s Fulfilling the Dream Award for significant efforts to build bridges of unity and understanding as they strive to make King’s dream of equality and justice a reality. The late Richard M. Graham, UGA’s first full-time African-American faculty member, also was recognized. The keynote speaker was Stacey Y. Abrams, House minority leader for the Georgia General Assembly and state representative for the 89th House District. The Martin Luther King Jr. Freedom Breakfast and the President’s Fulfilling the Dream Awards are spearheaded by the UGA Office of Institutional Diversity.

Morehead to chair SEC group President Jere W. Morehead will serve as chair of a working group appointed by the Southeastern Conference (SEC) to review and discuss issues concerning compliance with NCAA regulations and effective operation within the NCAA governance process. NCAA Commissioner Greg Sankey announced in July that he would convene the SEC Working Group on Compliance, Enforcement and Governance, a collection of campus leaders to review and discuss NCAA issues. “Compliance with NCAA regulations and the development of processes for effective participation by the SEC in NCAA governance are critical to the future of this conference,” Morehead says. “This working group is a proactive initiative to put the SEC in position to be a leader for many years to come in the development and enforcement of NCAA rules and regulations while solidifying our culture of compliance with those rules.” The working group will develop new strategies for renewing and strengthening the conference-wide commitment to NCAA compliance while continuing to fulfill the conference competitive objectives.

LAW SCHOOL CREATES FELLOWSHIP PROGRAM UGA’s School of Law has established an elite fellowship program as a result of a $2 million founding gift from The John N. Goddard Foundation. Initially, the program will offer three law students annually the opportunity for externships and guided research experiences, opportunities to meet top legal leaders and a full tuition scholarship. Dean Peter B. “Bo” Rutledge said the program will attract the best and brightest and will place Georgia Law among a small group of institutions offering fulltuition-plus law school scholarships. “I am thankful to the Goddard Foundation for their generous leadership gift that will make this new level of legal education possible at Georgia Law.” The Distinguished Law Fellows program is modeled after UGA’s prestigious Foundation Fellows program. The initial fellows of the law school’s program will be known as Philip H. Alston Jr. Distinguished Law Fellows. Benefits of being an Alston Distinguished Law Fellow will include a professional development stipend to be used at the end of the first and second years of law school for summer externships, study abroad offerings or research projects; special travel opportunities to meet some of the nation’s foremost legal advocates and jurists, including U.S. Supreme Court justices; and a full-tuition scholarship.

HUNNICUTT LEADS GRIFFIN CAMPUS Lew K. Hunnicutt became assistant provost and campus director at UGA’s Griffin campus in November. Previously he was vice president of extended services at Frank Phillips College in Texas, where he was responsible for the operation of two branch campuses and oversaw extended education programs such as continuing education and corporate development. “Dr. Hunnicutt has a proven record of linking campus resources with community-identified needs,” says Senior Vice President and Provost Pamela Whitten. “He is ideally suited to lead UGA-Griffin in its vital mission of expanding educational opportunities and conducting research and outreach that contribute to the economic vitality of our state.” Hunnicutt earned a bachelor’s degree in animal science from Tarleton State University in Stephenville, Texas, and holds master’s degrees in reproductive biology, animal science and general agriculture. He earned a doctorate in animal science from the University of Wyoming in Laramie.

LEADERSHIP GIFT NAMED FOR FORMER COACH A $500,000 gift to the J.W. Fanning Institute for Leadership Development will create the Suzanne Yoculan Leebern Fund to support students through the Embark program. The gift, made by University System of Georgia Board of Regents member Don Leebern Jr. (M ’60), will provide support for students who have been orphaned, placed in foster care, are under court protection or legal guardianship, or Suzanne Yoculan Leebern who are identified as homeless. “Students in these situations have faced significant obstacles in their lives and, impressively, have attained the academic credentials to attend the University of Georgia,” says Suzanne Yoculan Leebern. “We wanted them to have somewhere to turn for help.” Embark is offered through the Fanning Institute, a unit of the Office of Public Service and Outreach, and provides leadership training for students who are homeless or who have been in foster care and have no immediate support system. Funds can be used for orientation expenses, meal plans, travel, housing, furnishings, books, supplies, social opportunities, campus mentoring, emergencies/crises or any other expense deemed appropriate. Suzanne Yoculan Leebern is UGA’s former head gymnastics coach. During her 26-year tenure, she led the Gymdogs to 10 NCAA championships, 16 Southeastern Conference titles and 22 NCAA Regional crowns.

MARCH 2016 • GEORGIA MAGAZINE

CLOSE UP

The Kudzu Kid UGA student’s patent takes on the vine that ate the South by Rebecca McCarthy photos by Peter Frey (BFA ’94)

hile other kids in Lake Park were collecting “Star Wars” figurines, Jacob Schindler was trying to figure out how to colonize Mars. For a middle school science fair project, he wanted to use kudzu to terraform the Red Planet and make it livable. Kudzu was an obvious choice; it was everywhere in South Georgia’s Lowndes County, where he grew up, and seemed to be virtually indestructible. If it could take over whole sections of Earth’s landscape, why not Mars? His sixth grade teacher, Cyndi Harrell, told Jacob that sending humans to Mars to plant kudzu wasn’t likely to happen in time for the science fair, so Jacob shelved the space travel

idea but kept his focus on kudzu. For the school’s science fair, he designed an experiment to expose kudzu plants to Martian gases—helium, nitrous oxide, carbon dioxide and oxygen—to learn if kudzu could survive in that planet’s atmosphere. That first living room experiment had the potential for disaster. Schindler hadn’t properly sealed the canisters of nitrous oxide, oxygen and carbon dioxide, and a stray static spark could have led to an explosion. Luckily, the only spark was in his imagination. The project led him to more ideas, more entries into various fairs and conventions and a commitment to continuing his investigation. Now a senior at UGA, Schindler

is studying landscape architecture and continuing his work with kudzu while benefitting from the world-class learning environment the university provides. In 2014, 10 years after he began his research, Schindler received a patent for a device that can eradicate kudzu without harming neighboring plants.

The “miracle vine” Kudzu first appeared in the United States in 1876 at the Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia, brought in by Japanese exhibitors who built a garden including a variety of plants. Americans loved kudzu’s big leaves and fragrant blossoms and began using it as an ornamental in their home gardens. Nurseries sold the plant for animal forage; one in Florida sold kudzu through the mail. In the 1930s, the U.S. Soil Conservation Service began touting kudzu for its ability to stop soil erosion. Workers in the Civilian Conservation Corps planted hundreds of acres of kudzu during the Great Depression, and farmers were paid $8

Right, senior Jacob Schindler, a landscape architecture major, became interested in kudzu while working on his sixth-grade science fair project. After 10 years of research, he created the KEHTA (Kudzu Eradicating Helium Technology Apparatus), a device that earned him a patent. Left, though initially popular, kudzu was branded a weed in the 1970s for its ability to smother trees, plants and even houses in any landscape.

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The KEHTA delivers helium into the soil, killing kudzu without harming neighboring plants. The device consists of a hollow stainless steel pipe with a drill bit on one end and a T connector and valve at the other end for attaching to a helium tank.

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for every acre they planted. Throughout the 1940s, Channing Cope, an Atlanta radio personality and farm editor for the Atlanta Constitution, extolled the virtues of kudzu and traveled through the Southeast starting kudzu clubs to honor what he called “the miracle vine.” But the fast-growing vine soon became a nuisance, and the federal government removed it from its list of recommended ground cover plants in 1953. Two decades later, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) branded it a weed. The problem with kudzu is that it smothers the trees and other plants in any landscape in which it takes hold. It can grow as high as 100 feet, and the tap root can snuggle into the ground up to 12 feet deep and weigh as much as 200 pounds. Vines that touch the ground can eventually root there, and older vines can be up to 4 inches thick. James Miller, a USDA Forest Service research ecologist emeritus in Auburn, Ala., has estimated that power companies spend about $1.5 million annually fighting kudzu. Humming happily during drought, tinged only slightly from frost, kudzu today covers an estimated 7.5 million acres, mostly in the South.

Shifting focus As a kid, Schindler says he was shy and had different interests from most of his peers, as well as a visual processing disorder that kept him from playing sports. His parents enrolled him at a martial arts academy where the instructor was James Corbett (BSA ’88, MEd ’91, EdS ’92), who would become his adviser for Future Farmers of America—an integral part of his education. “FFA was my bread and butter, where I learned public speaking and made friends, starting in middle school,” Schindler says. Corbett, an agricultural education teacher at Lowndes High School, “taught me the scientific method, which I need for my projects. The FFA got me through high school.” As he was preparing to graduate from high school, Schindler was contacted by landscape architects in WinstonSalem, N.C., for a kudzu eradication. It was an introduction to a profession he hadn’t known existed. It didn’t change his college plans—he’d applied to UGA for its excellent agricultural programs—but it shifted his focus to the College of Environment and Design (CED) and a degree in landscape architecture. Pratt Cassity met Schindler when he enrolled in Cassity’s freshman seminar. “[He has] such a sharp mind, he astounds me,” says Cassity, director of public service and outreach for CED’s Center for Community Design and Preservation. “You rarely see students in high school [applying for] patents. I can see him researching human-sensitive and Earth-sensitive design options in the future.” Having perhaps solved the problem of stopping kudzu

from achieving world domination, Schindler recently has been wondering about its potential benefits. He’s learned that people in Japan and China grind the root for use as a starch substitute in baked goods and dry the leaves for tea. There may even be medicinal uses for kudzu; researchers are exploring a drug extracted from kudzu root that may help in the treatment of alcoholism. Maybe, just maybe, Schindler has come to believe, kudzu isn’t the foot-a-day green monster most people think it is. “Maybe invasives aren’t as bad as everyone thinks,” he says. “Maybe we can get some use out of them if we can just control them.”

KEHTA = Bye-Bye Kudzu When Schindler’s not doing projects for his landscape architecture courses—he graduates in May—his attention is focused on the KEHTA, his patented Kudzu Eradicating Helium Technology Apparatus, that delivers helium into the soil where the plant grows. The KEHTA looks innocuous, like something you might use with a welding mask. It’s a few feet of hollow stainless steel pipe with a drill bit on one end, a series of holes along the length of the pipe, and a T connector and valve at the other end for attaching to a helium tank. During an eradication mission, Schindler uses a power drill to insert the drill bit into soil adjacent to the root and opens the valve, saturating the soil with helium. The whole process takes about 15 minutes and may need to be repeated in larger areas to assure coverage. After a few weeks, the result is dead kudzu. He’s had successful kudzu-killing projects in Decatur, Lowndes County and Madison, Fla. The best part for Schindler? The KEHTA eradicates without involving any hazardous chemicals. There’s no drift, no chance of neighboring plants dying along with the kudzu. There’s just harmless helium. In fact, one of his experiments showed that loblolly pines exposed to helium grew faster than trees that weren’t exposed. Schindler may have created the environmentally friendly kudzu killer that people in the South have been wanting for decades, and a multinational agricultural company is talking with him about manufacturing and marketing the device. Corbett likes to tell a story about the 2013 FFA nationals, where Schindler was named an American Star in Agriscience for his kudzu project. A friendly guy approached Schindler and his mom and asked the teenager whether he had a research paper on his project. His teacher jumped into the conversation and said no, there was no paper. He feared the stranger would take Schindler’s ideas and capitalize on them. “I told Jacob he had to get a patent on his device because we didn’t want someone profiting from what he had done,” Corbett says. “He worked too hard for that to happen.” —Rebecca McCarthy is a frequent contributor to Georgia Magazine.

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Cipriani Wall Street in New York City serves as an elegant backdrop for a revamped Peabody Awards ceremony for winners and guests in May 2015. The University of Georgia sponsors the annual program, which recognizes excellent storytelling in electronic media from around the world. PHOTO BY ILYA S. SAVENOK / COURTESY OF PEABODY AWARDS

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PE ABODY AWARDS

As the barrage of electronic media continues to grow, the influential UGA institution reminds us that stories matter by Margaret Blanchard (AB ’91, MA ’98)

revolutionary chef with a passion for French cuisine. A seasoned journalist trusted by Americans to bring the news of the day into their homes each evening. Families of all shapes, colors and sizes. Comedians, artists and activists. The common thread linking these may not be immediately evident, but dig a little deeper and there’s a connection: All are in the elite club of recipients of a George Foster Peabody Award. Perusing the list of winners reveals a who’s who of media and culture—from Julia Child to Walter Cronkite, “All in the Family” to “The Simpsons,” Carol Burnett to Oprah Winfrey, Steven Spielberg and Spike Lee. Since its founding 75 years ago, the Peabodys have been issued under the auspices of the University of Georgia’s Henry W. Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication. What originated as a desire to acknowledge the best in radio has become an award that reflects compelling storytelling across all forms of electronic media. The carefully curated awards support the university’s stature as a preeminent institution of learning, often serving as catalysts for change across the globe. In his third year as executive director of the Peabodys, Jeffrey Jones is committed to bringing the awards program into an expanded media landscape while maintaining its core credential: to recognize excellence in storytelling.

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DEFINING EXCELLENCE

Peabody Awards Director Jeff Jones has made a number of changes to the program, including launching a lecture series on the program’s extensive archives, housed in the Richard B. Russell Building Special Collections Libraries. PAUL EFLAND

“We feel that if the story matters to us as citizens, then it will receive a Peabody Award,” says Jones, who also holds the Lambdin Kay Chair for the Peabodys. “For us, it’s to recognize that media can be an important voice, and shape who and what we are, if we pay attention to the best that media have to offer.” During his tenure, the awards program has undergone several changes. The entry process was streamlined to receive digital submissions. Initial screening committees now include media experts from across the country, broadening the university’s outreach and invigorating the awards selection process. Jones also created a formal advisory board of 25 upper-level media and entertainment industry executives, including CEOs, television and radio programming heads, entertainment lawyers, talent agents and others, who serve as consultants offering their assistance in furthering the interests and increasing the prominence of the awards. He also struck a deal with the television network Pivot, part of Participant Media, to carry the awards ceremony, reimagined from a midday lunch to an evening event replete with a red-carpet walk. Last year’s gala at Cipriani Wall Street included guest presenters like Tina Fey and Charlie Rose, with Fred Armisen as emcee. The star power and extra flash appears to be working—the event garnered mentions from almost 650 media outlets, a record. The changes are a necessary reflection of the times as well as a way to call attention to the worth of the Peabodys, according to Jones. “There’s a lot of competition. There are new awards shows all the time and we can’t just rest on our laurels,” he explains. “What we do matters and we need to push that out there.”

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One thing that hasn’t changed is the rigorous selection process for identifying the best stories from a given year. From local news coverage on natural disasters to cuttingedge cable TV programs to interactive websites, Peabody Awards are given to productions deemed significant not only for their ability to tell a story, but for making an impact on or reflecting society. Submissions pass an important first hurdle. A screening committee of senior level professors and doctoral students considered experts in their fields cull through almost 1,200 entries, choosing the best of the best, and whittling the field to 300-400 submissions. These are passed on to the Peabody board of jurors, where the real test begins. Over three meetings in Washington, D.C., Los Angeles and Athens, 17 jurors from diverse backgrounds screen entries, critiquing and hashing out their differences. Past and current jurors describe a grueling process of long, often heated, discussions. The board has included luminaries such as the publisher Alfred A. Knopf, politician Barbara Jordan, game show personality John Daly and Federal Communications Commission Chair Newton Minow. Three-time award winner and former juror Charlayne Hunter-Gault (ABJ ’63) has a unique perspective on the process. “After I became a judge I wondered, ‘How did I ever get a Peabody?,’” she says with a laugh. “We are tough!” However, she notes that the required unanimous vote for winners keeps things in check.

COURTESY OF PEABODY AWARDS

John E. Drewry (ABJ ’22), dean of what was then the Henry W. Grady School of Journalism, was instrumental in establishing the Peabody Awards at UGA in 1940. By 1967, the award had grown in prestige by recognizing icons like Ed Sullivan (center) and Bob Hope (right), both honored three times for their contributions to television entertainment and international understanding.

“It’s such an amazing thing when we get to that final vote and we have unanimity,” she explains. “That says a lot to me about collegiality and respect for different points of view and the kind of history Peabody has.” The experience is also an eye-opener to the “huge explosion of content” within electronic media today, says Eddie Garrett, vice chair of the board. Garrett is executive vice president and head of strategy for Weber Shandwick, a global public relations and consumer marketing firm. He was also a part of the CNN team that won a 2005 Peabody Award for coverage of Hurricane Katrina and its aftermath. “By the end [of judging] you’re mentally, physically and spiritually drained, but then the awards show happens and you’re filled back up again,” he says. Being part of the Peabodys is a twofold honor for these University of Georgia alumni. “I still feel like this will be the highlight of my career,” says Garrett, who pursued his undergraduate degree in the early 1990s and earned a master’s in business administration in 2008. “Anytime someone either finds out that I went to Georgia or am involved with the Peabody Awards, I have to have a five-minute conversation about it … it’s something I’m really proud of.” Hunter-Gault considers it a way to give back. “I not only look at it as a service to the University of Georgia and the college of journalism but to the profession and the industries that we examine and award,” she says.

THE GEORGIA CONNECTION The road to becoming elite wasn’t a given. When an award to honor prestigious radio programming was first proposed to the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) in the late 1930s, radio wasn’t considered “erudite” enough to be recognized for such distinction,

COURTESY OF PEABODY AWARDS

A hallmark of the Peabody Awards is its recognition of groundbreaking television programs such as “The Mary Tyler Moore Show,” which judges noted as “the benchmark by which all situation comedies must be judged” in 1977. Above, Grady Dean Scott Cutlip (left) and UGA President Fred Davison flank the eponymous star of the show. The popular sitcom, created by James L. Brooks and Allan Burns, ran from 1970-1977.

according to Jones. In a time when newspapers were the primary news medium, radio seemed a frivolous diversion for the masses. But Lambdin Kay, manager of WSB Radio in Atlanta, was determined to change that perception. With Lessie Smithgall (ABJ ’33), a continuity editor at the studio, making introductions, Kay approached John E. Drewry, dean of UGA’s journalism school, about sponsoring the awards. Using Columbia University’s Pulitzer Prize as a guideline, they developed a plan that was endorsed by the NAB and the board of regents of the university system in 1940. The awards program was named for George Foster Peabody, a native Georgian, industrialist, financier and major benefactor of the university. Although he died before seeing the legacy carrying his name, his daughter, Marjorie Peabody Waite, served on the first advisory board and commissioned the design of the distinctive bronze medallion. Over the years, the status of the

awards grew within the broadcast industry—so much so that receiving a Peabody today is equated with the Pulitzer Prize for print media. As veteran journalist Dan Rather noted after receiving the award in 2004: “The Peabodys have become the closest we have in electronic journalism to the Pulitzer. Within the industry, within the craft, to win a Peabody is not just special, it’s very special, it’s extra-special.” Part of the reason for the prestige is that the Peabodys have stayed true to its original mission, which the industry appears to appreciate and value. The actor Edward James Olmos touched upon this in a post-ceremony interview after “Battlestar Galactica” received a Peabody in 2005. Olmos was a cast member of the sci-fi drama that aired on the SciFi network. “The integrity of the Peabodys over the last 65 years has been monumental. They actually brought a sense of balance to the understanding of the usage of the electronic media,” he said.

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COURTESY OF PEABODY AWARDS MIKE COPPOLA/ COURTESY OF PEABODY AWARDS

A ‘DIAMOND IN THE ROUGH’

Left, Neil deGrasse Tyson poses with a 2014 Peabody Award presented to “COSMOS: A SpaceTime Odyssey.” Tyson, an astrophysicist, hosts a reimagined version of the original production, also a Peabody winner (1980). Above (l-r): Host and writer Sarah Koening, producers Julie Snyder, Dana Chivvis and Emily Condon, and editorial advisor Ira Glass accept a Peabody for “Serial,” the first podcast to be honored with the award.

The status of the awards is only part of the story. As the clearinghouse for entries since the awards began, UGA has amassed the third-largest media archive in the country, behind the Library of Congress and the University of Southern California-Los Angeles. For years, much of the archives languished in storage due to a lack of exhibit space on campus. When the university’s Richard B. Russell Building Special Collections Libraries opened in 2012, it included a permanent gallery for the Peabody Collection, which includes artifacts and interactive kiosks with clips from awards ceremonies and entries from over the years. The building also features 30,000 square feet of climate-controlled storage to house materials. Ruta Abolins, director of the Brown Media Archives and Peabody Awards Collection, credits the building with

raising the profile of the archives and its importance as a cultural touchstone. “I don’t know any place where you can get a slice of media history like this,” she explains. “The real benefit is looking at an entire year of programming—it shows the real flavor of the year in the U.S. and abroad and what was important.” The archives are also a record of technology and how media have changed over the years, with the Peabodys highlighting innovative programming or delivery methods— from blogs to podcasts to interactive websites—long before they reach the public consciousness. The challenge is making the archives more accessible by digitizing files for the current electronic environment—currently just 7 percent is available in digital format. “UGA already has the capability—

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it is an academic institution with a formidable library and video archive facility and great material. It just requires a lot of effort to get it into the place where it would be seen for the asset that it is. It’s like a diamond in the rough,” says John Huey (AB ’70), the former editor-in-chief of Time Inc. who’s serving in his third year on the Peabody board. To raise awareness about the “tremendous reservoir” housed in the Peabody Collection, Jones and his team have hosted the first of two academic conferences that focus on the scholarly potential of the archives. The results will be preserved in the inaugural volume of a book series dedicated to the Peabody Archives and produced by the University of Georgia Press. “It’s a way to recognize that this is a treasure trove we’ve not fully mined,” he says.

PEABODY FIRSTS: 1941 First radio awards for programs broadcast in 1940 1948 First television programs: Include “Howdy Doody” and ABC’s “Actor’s Studio” 1961 First international production: The BBC’s “An Age of Kings,” a cycle of Shakespeare’s history plays 1962 First full-color weekly production: “Walt Disney’s Wonderful World of Color”

PETER FREY

Members of the Peabody Student Honor Board provide staff support and serve as the eyes and ears for future media. Here, Alex Estroff (left), a journalism and political science major, and Shelby Silverman, a mass media arts and theatre major, explore innovative digital storytelling with fellow board members in the program’s offices on campus.

CONTINUING THE LEGACY Students have long been a part of the Peabody Awards, serving as ushers at special events and the awards ceremony. The experience offers a behind-the-scenes education in the industry and event planning. Savanna Thompson, a senior mass media arts major, appreciates the experiential learning opportunity and being a part of the prestigious event. “Just being in an environment with that many incredible minds was humbling,” she says of the 2015 production. “There’s a lot of passion and it was inspiring to be around.” Thompson is chair of the newly formed Peabody student honor board, which Jones has charged with serving as the eyes and ears of the future by identifying innovative storytelling across digital platforms. Students will cull through websites, seeking out the best in digital narratives for a Futures of Media Award to be issued prior to the Peabody Awards ceremony in May.

“They trust us,” Thompson says. “It’s really nice to have that from people who are so important in this field.” For Jones, students are a way to keep a pulse on new forms of storytelling but also cultivate a relationship with the younger generation, showing them what matters in the onslaught of media at their fingertips. “We want University of Georgia students to be engaged in the same thing that the Peabody does, but recognizing media that is more infiltrated in their own lives,” he says. As electronic media continue to evolve, there’s no way to tell what the landscape will look like in 10 or 20 years. But the Peabodys, and stewards like Jones who guide it on behalf of the University of Georgia, will be there to take a measured look. “And that’s the power of what Peabody does,” he says. “We realize it doesn’t matter in electronic media where you tell your story, it just matters that you’re telling your story and it’s powerful, and it matters to us now.”

1965 First award for coverage of the Vietnam War to CBS News’ Morley Safer 1981 First cable television program: Home Box Office and Ms. Magazine for “She’s Nobody’s Baby: A History of American Women in the 20th Century” 1996 First animated series: “The Simpsons” 2003 First website: transom.org 2012 First blog: ScotusBlog 2013 First viral video: “A Needed Response” 2014 First podcast: “Serial”

The University of Georgia’s 75th Annual Peabody Awards Ceremony Saturday, May 21, 2016 Cipriani Wall Street, New York City For more info contact peabody@uga.edu

MARCH 2016 • GEORGIA MAGAZINE

President Jere W. Morehead, University of Georgia

ANDREW DAVIS TUCKER

President James W. Wagner, Emory University

BRYAN MELTZ

TWO PRESIDENTS, ONE GOAL UGA-Emory partnership targets global health research by Lori Johnston (ABJ ’95)

ixty miles separate UGA and Emory University.

For years, faculty, researchers and investigators from both schools have driven those miles, talked on the phone and emailed to combine expertise, share resources and brainstorm about how they can work together. Now, the presidents of both universities are providing more support and resources to grow the partnership, which currently has active grants totaling at least $65 million and involving work by both institutions to address global health challenges.

GEORGIA MAGAZINE • www.ugamagazine.uga.edu

UGA President Jere W. Morehead (JD ’80) and Emory President James W. Wagner are uniting with a clear focus and purpose to expand the collaborative effort, which began organically and seeks to pave the way for improvements in health care. They met shortly after Morehead was named president in 2013 and have been meeting often since then. They believe that UGA and Emory have the potential together to achieve major science breakthroughs, create a national hub for infectious disease research and introduce life-saving discoveries in areas such as influenza, tuberculosis,

malaria and HIV. The partnership also could help bolster the state’s bioscience sector through the creation of startup companies and licensed products, boosting Georgia’s stature in the United States and globally. “For the University of Georgia to work with another great university like Emory does much to help us leverage our state resources in a way that will ultimately benefit the state more than if we just did it on our own,” Morehead says. After a meeting on Emory’s main campus in Atlanta in the fall, Morehead and Wagner showed their solidarity by sitting side by side at one end of a conference table for a discussion of the partnership. Morehead believes Emory’s collaborations with public institutions, including its nationally recognized work with Georgia Tech in biomedical engineering, will be one of Wagner’s legacies when he leaves his role in August. “Now we’re building a similar opportunity with the University of Georgia, and I am confident that Jim has done so much work on this issue that it will continue after he steps down as president,” Morehead says. “Seeing collaborations such as the Emory/Georgia Tech collaboration or the Emory/ University of Georgia collaboration, those are very positive things for the state of Georgia.”

we ask. I think the presidents may help provide some of the will,” Wagner says. “At least they listen to us while we’re in the room,” Morehead says, smiling. “They’re very polite,” Wagner quips. “They’re very polite.” Both institutions already have seen results via multimillion dollar research grants and discoveries in infectious disease, as well as vaccine and antiviral research and development. Some successes result from longtime friends and colleagues working together, while others stem from more recent efforts. “It’s building more and more momentum and collaboration between the two universities,” says Ralph Tripp, Georgia Research Alliance (GRA) Eminent Scholar and GRA Chair of Animal Health Vaccine Development in UGA’s College of Veterinary Medicine. Three key contracts and grants demonstrate how the public-private partnership already is seeing success: •

The Emory-UGA Center of Excellence for Influenza Research and Surveillance received a $3.6 million federal contact, with potential funding totaling $26.7 million over seven years, for the surveillance of swine influenza viruses and investigations of swine immune responses. The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health, awarded the contract in 2014.

•

UGA and Emory are part of a consortium in the midst of a five-year contract worth up to $19.4 million to study the malaria epidemic. It’s one of the largest contracts ever awarded in this field by the NIAID and helped establish the Malaria Host-Pathogen Interaction Center. The center is led by Emory’s Mary Galinski and co-principal

HIGH HOPES FOR SUCCESS During ongoing meetings, Morehead, Wagner, UGA Provost Pamela Whitten, Emory Provost Claire Sterk and other senior administrators from both institutions review existing relationships and explore new opportunities and ways to advance the partnership. Once they identify experts and programs with common interests, the university presidents expect to see progress by the next meeting. “Is there a will and is there an opportunity? That’s what

Tripp and Orenstein are investigating swine influenza viruses and immune responses via a $3.6 million contract awarded to the Emory-UGA Center of Excellence for Influenza Research and Surveillance. CEIRS was launched and funded in 2007, when the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases created a network of six national centers. Those centers played a key role in the nation’s response to the 2009 H1N1 influenza pandemic. Ralph Tripp

SPECIAL

Dr. Walter Orenstein

JACK KEARSE

MARCH 2016 • GEORGIA MAGAZINE

Quinn first met Blumberg while working at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Now at UGA, Quinn is collaborating with Blumberg to develop a rapid diagnostic test for latent tuberculosis, which affects about one-third of the world’s population.

UNITED FOR A GREATER IMPACT

Dr. Henry Blumberg

JACK KEARSE

Fred Quinn

DOT PAUL

investigator Jessica Kissinger, a UGA genetics professor and director of UGA’s Institute of Bioinformatics. Georgia Tech and the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) Foundation also are involved in the contract. •

A five-year, $2.8 million NIH grant is funding efforts to develop a vaccine that could prevent the early phase of HIV spread and could protect against HIV infection and AIDS. Biao He, GRA Distinguished Investigator and Fred C. Davison Distinguished University Chair in Veterinary Medicine at UGA, and Dr. Paul Spearman, Emory professor of pediatrics and microbiology, are collaborating on a vaccine that uses a virus known as PIV5. UGA’s He is the world’s leading expert in the use of PIV5 as a vaccine.

The strength of the UGA-Emory partnership lies in the institutions’ complementary research programs and their willingness to share resources and expertise. UGA’s focus on “one health,” or the fusion of multiple disciplines including environmental health, animal health and human health, complements Emory’s tremendous expertise in human health, says David Lee, UGA’s vice president for research. When the Food and Drug Administration awarded Fred Quinn, UGA Athletic Association Professor of Infectious Diseases, a $1 million grant to develop a new diagnostic test for tuberculosis, he turned to Emory’s Dr. Henry M. Blumberg for collaboration. Blumberg’s research focuses on tuberculosis, which kills about 1.5 million people worldwide each year, and he also provided a key connection to a clinical research network in Atlanta. Without Blumberg’s help, Quinn would have needed to turn to colleagues in another major city, such as Miami, New York or Los Angeles. Quinn and Blumberg, a professor in the Division of Infectious Diseases at the Emory School of Medicine and professor of epidemiology and global health at the Emory Rollins School of Public Health, are developing a highly sensitive and specific rapid diagnostic test to identify latent tuberculosis, a form that affects about one-third of the world’s population.

The Malaria Host-Pathogen Interaction Center is funded by a five-year contract worth up to $19.4 million. Scientists led by Galinski are building a “molecular encyclopedia” cataloguing how malaria parasites interact with their human and animal hosts. Kissinger leads a team that is organizing, distributing and mining the massive quantities of data produced by the project with the goal of identifying new opportunities to diagnose the disease, which causes an estimated 660,000 deaths annually. Jessica Kissinger

GEORGIA MAGAZINE • www.ugamagazine.uga.edu

ROBERT NEWCOMB

Mary Galinski

JACK KEARSE

TURNING INNOVATIONS INTO ENTERPRISES Emory is one of the top collaborators in UGA’s biomedical portfolio, says Derek Eberhart, director of UGA’s Innovation Gateway, which seeks to move technologies to the marketplace through licensing and startups. The schools hold joint intellectual property and licenses for numerous projects. Eberhart says Georgia and Emory are among the top 75 in the world in the number of issued patents. Both schools have strong commercial programs, and their Tech Transfer offices work together. Three examples reflect recent UGA-Emory successes: • Pharmasset: Emory and UGA jointly owned anti-HIV technologies that were licensed to this clinical-stage pharmaceutical startup.

David Lee

PETER FREY

UGA’s vice president of research credits the Georgia Research Alliance for funding the development of science and technology in core facilities at both institutions, as well as fostering a climate of interaction.

UGA and Emory’s influenza contract is a surveillance effort seeking to identify flu viruses in swine that could potentially become human pandemic strains as well as evaluating the immune response to flu viruses and vaccines. The research is being led by Tripp on the UGA side, focused on animals, and Dr. Walter Orenstein, a professor of medicine and associate director of the Emory Vaccine Center. Tripp often talks with Emory experts two or three times a week to discuss approaches, ideas and tools. “We move faster by working together,” Tripp says. In addition to faculty expertise, the research programs meet different needs. UGA faculty cite Emory’s experienced Clinical Trials Unit, which provides access to human patients, and the Yerkes National Primate Research Center, for primate research related to work in malaria, HIV and other infectious agents.

• Cocrystal Pharma: This biotechnology company developing novel antiviral therapeutics for human diseases merged in 2014 with RFS Pharma, a biotech company founded by renowned drug developer and Emory professor Raymond Schinazi. RFS Pharma, founded in 2004, originally licensed a series of anti-HIV drugs from Emory University and the UGA Research Foundation. • Glycomics research: UGA’s Complex Carbohydrate Research Center (CCRC) and Emory’s Glycomics Center have had successful interactions with industry through research services, direct technology licensing and startup company formation. Biotechnology company Galectin Therapeutics established a collaborative drug discovery program with Geert-Jan Boons, carbohydrate chemist at the CCRC and UGA Foundation Distinguished Professor in Biochemical Sciences.

Geert-Jan Boons

DOROTHY KOZLOWSKI

Boons and biotechnology company Galectin Therapeutics have partnered on a collaborative drug discovery program. He is UGA Foundation Distinguished Professor in Biochemical Sciences and a carbohydrate chemist at the Complex Carbohydrate Research Center. The CCRC is one of few comprehensive centers of glycoscience expertise, with 16 faculty-led research groups and a history of attracting nearly $250 million in total research funding.

MARCH 2016 • GEORGIA MAGAZINE

Likewise, experts with UGA colleges and schools, such as the College of Veterinary Medicine, and facilities such as the Animal Health Research Center are attractive to Emory. The Animal Health Research Center is a biosafety level 3 agriculture facility that has the ability to work on highly pathogenic influenza infections. Emory provides critical expertise and the clinical context for the research. “Otherwise we would have to reinvent the wheel,” Tripp says. “Now, there’s an ecosystem of people working in animals and humans and trying to understand how we can look at the dynamics and evolution with flu and animals so that we can prevent transmission to humans. If you can block transmission, you can block disease.” UGA also is in discussions with Emory about potential future partnerships with its new Clinical and Translational Research Unit on UGA’s Health Sciences Campus. Together, the schools can conduct animal trials and human clinical trials that are necessary when working with a vaccine, diagnostic test or therapeutic candidate in development for general human use. Likewise, experts with UGA colleges and schools can look at transmission of the influenza virus from a bird to a pig collaboratively with Emory looking at the human side. “That is a beautiful example of where we can team up to look at the whole picture,” Quinn says.

a lab with Dr. David Stephens, now vice president for research in Emory’s Woodruff Health Sciences Center. “We’ve had an advantage with already-established collaborations, and we’ve continued them over the years,” Quinn says. He adds that having the presidents meet and provide opportunities for UGA and Emory to collaborate could speed up efforts. It’s been a natural, organic and evolving effort. Lee says: “There was this very strong foundation of collaboration, so I think the purpose of the conversations (between the presidents) to a large degree is: How do we build on that further?” New UGA professors, such as GRA Eminent Scholar in Infectious Diseases Ted Ross, are developing projects of interest with Emory faculty counterparts. The Emory relationship was not a deciding factor when Ross

accepted the UGA position, but he says it could sway other noted researchers to join UGA and help expand its research enterprise. “UGA works with a lot of stellar institutions around the country, and that’s really important. Emory is one of those,” says Ross, who conducted his post-doctoral work at Emory from 1998-00. Ross, who is developing UGA’s first vaccine center, is working closely with Rafi Ahmed, GRA Eminent Scholar, world-renowned immunologist and director of the Emory Vaccine Center. The interactions are in the infancy stage, but could be promising in terms of developing a universal flu vaccine if clinical trials are approved, Ross says. “The more interactions we have, the more ability to get funding for academics as well as business, which

MUTUAL APPRECIATION Administrators and faculty say the UGA-Emory collaboration has been going on for decades. In many cases, the faculty, researchers and investigators know each other from working together previously in doctoral programs and organizations such as the Atlanta-based CDC. For example, Quinn first met Blumberg at the CDC, where he also worked in

Biao He

PETER FREY

Dr. Paul Spearman

JACK KEARSE

He and Spearman are collaborating on an HIV vaccine that induces the immune system to attack the virus before it can spread through the body. The vaccine uses another virus, known as PIV5, that He is an expert on—he’s had preliminary success using it to develop a vaccine for rabies, which kills at least 50,000 people a year worldwide.

GEORGIA MAGAZINE • www.ugamagazine.uga.edu

Rafi Ahmed

JACK KEARSE

Ted Ross

helps economic development in this state,” Ross says. “It brings in high-level faculty that end up spinning off companies that stay here in Georgia. It helps the whole state of Georgia.” Lee and others see the potential for UGA and Emory to be involved in new frontiers in health, such as complex carbohydrate research. In 2015, Robert Haltiwanger, one of the nation’s leading glycobiology researchers, joined UGA’s Complex Carbohydrate Research Center as the GRA Eminent Scholar in Biomedical Glycoscience. “With all of the clinical expertise that Emory has, how do we marry up our expertise in glycoscience with their expertise in cancer and other areas in order to actually advance this whole field?” Lee says.

ADVANCING THE EFFORT In 2015, both schools also agreed to make core research facilities open to faculty and researchers at each school for the same rates and terms. Emory has 14 core facilities; UGA has 16. “The doors are wide open for researchers from Emory to go to a UGA facility and vice versa. That’s an illustration of making better use of existing resources,” Wagner says. After the administrators began meeting, UGA also joined Emory and Georgia Tech as collaborators in the Regenerative Engineering and Medicine (REM) research center. Its directors include Steve Stice, GRA Eminent Scholar and director of UGA’s Regenerative Bioscience Center. A seed grant program seeks to stimulate and encourage collaborative research. “The heart of the Seed Grant program is that investigators at UGA, Emory or

ANDREW DAVIS TUCKER

The partnership between Ross—who joined UGA in August—and Ahmed is new, but early interactions could be promising in terms of developing a universal flu vaccine if clinical trials are approved. Ross will serve as director for UGA’s newly developed Center for Vaccines and Immunology, which promises to unite researchers from different parts of campus to find new ways to combat dangerous pathogens. Ahmed is director of the Emory Vaccine Center.

Georgia Tech will get a grant if they’re partnered with an investigator at one of the other institutions,” Lee says. Three UGA/Emory teams were awarded 2015-16 REM seed grants. Lee also credits the Georgia Research Alliance for funding the development of science and technology in core facilities at both institutions and helping connect counterparts between institutions. “They have helped develop our climate of interaction, and they continue to encourage it in concrete ways,” Lee says. The days of the lone investigator working on a single project with continual funding are gone. Researchers are more attuned to seeking partners at other institutions. “That truly is the nature of science to try to collaborate. We all find our niche to work from and instead of just keeping your discoveries to yourself, working together opens all kinds of new avenues and new funding,” Tripp says. UGA and Emory are competing together for a common goal: to defeat influenza, cancer and other global health problems. “There is a greater proportion of strength that comes from people who are doing similar work joining, or from people who are doing complementary work joining, and the partnership not only allows, but encourages both of those,” Wagner says. “That really sums up the partnership,” Morehead says. “As we try to strengthen Georgia’s economy and Georgia’s stature in the nation and in the world, having more public-private partnerships is an important and positive ingredient.” —Lori Johnston, a frequent contributor to GM, operates Fast Copy News Service.

MARCH 2016 • GEORGIA MAGAZINE

NOTES CLASS

Shark bait

SPECIAL

Brothers (left to right) Alex (BBA ’09) and Jonathan (AB, BBA ’07) Torrey jumped into ABC’s “Shark Tank” in November and came away with $150,000 for their homegrown clothing line, Umano. The community-minded company puts children’s art designs on adult clothing, using a portion of profits to donate backpacks full of school supplies to schools in poverty-stricken areas. The brothers’ pitch involved expanding their business to meet demand—the Umano line is currently in Bloomingdale’s stores, but the Torreys want to sell directly to consumers via their website. The brothers’ enthusiastic, earnest presentation convinced sharp-toothed investors Lori Greiner and Mark Cuban to join forces for 20 percent of the company.

CLASS NOTES

Compiled by Margaret Blanchard

Harold Berkman (BBA ’49) of Wellington, Fla., has established the Harold and Muriel Berkman Charitable Foundation Inc., which provides scholarships to veterans or those who serve in the U.S. military. Berkman is former vice dean and professor of management and marketing at the University of Miami. He is founder of the Academy of Marketing Science.

director of the Preston Robert Tisch Brain Tumor Center at the Duke Cancer Institute, will receive nearly $7 million to support ongoing research using immunotherapies. Bob McTeer (BBA ’63, PhD ’71) of Frisco, Texas, received a 2015 Alumni of Distinction Award from UGA’s Graduate School. He is director of both Westwood Holdings Group and Beal Bank. He also serves as economic adviser to Commerce Street Capital. He is former chancellor of the Texas A&M University System.

1960-1964

1965-1969

1945-1949

Darell Bigner (BS ’62) of Mebane, N.C., received an Outstanding Investigator Award from the National Cancer Institute in October. Bigner,

Carl Myers (BS ’66, MS ’69) of Los Alamos, N.M., received a 2015 Alumni of Distinction Award from UGA’s Graduate School. Myers retired from

GEORGIA MAGAZINE • www.ugamagazine.uga.edu

the Los Alamos National Laboratory in 2005, where he led the Earth and Environmental Sciences Division. He also served as a senior technical adviser with the International Programs Office, Office of Civilian Radioactive Waste Management, and the U.S. Department of Energy with an emphasis on Russia. Marcia E. Mulkey (AB ’67, MA ’68) of Westchester, Penn., received a 2015 Alumni of Distinction Award from UGA’s Graduate School. She is a visiting scholar at the Temple University Beasley School of Law. Previously she served in several senior-level legal and executive programs at the Environmental Protection Agency. Robert D. Boyd (BFA ’68) of Atlanta and his fellow partners at Boyd, Collar, Nolen &

ALUMNI PROFILE

On the SEC Network beat ESPN reporter shines on the field and off by Andy Johnston (ABJ ’88) Maria Taylor races across the South most of the year. As a reporter with ESPN’s SEC Network, which has 70 million subscribers, Taylor (ABJ ’09, MBA ’13) makes quick weekly stops at the quaint college towns that populate the conference. She flies into town. She interviews athletes and coaches and records features the day before the games. Taylor then hustles around football fields every Saturday, chasing stories TRAVIS BELL/ESPN IMAGES and hunting down the latest injury Maria Taylor (right) shares a selfie moment with SEC Network Anchor Dari Nowkhah. reports. And then she’s gone. “It’s a whirlwind,” she says. “I’m constantly trying to catch my breath, but I can’t get it.” folks at the network, and by 2012 she was one of ESPN’s And those are just her weekends. sideline reporters and an analyst and reporter for college Even when she’s at home in Ballantyne, a fashionable basketball, volleyball and football games. suburb south of Charlotte, N.C., Taylor rarely stops going. Two years later, Taylor was one of the first hires by the She lives three minutes from ESPN’s campus, where SEC Network, which launched in August 2014. she rushes from meetings to interviews to the studio, “When I think about it like that, it’s pretty amazing,” where she anchors a variety of network shows for football, she says of her quick rise. “It’s a reminder that you never women’s basketball and volleyball. know who is watching. This time, it was another Georgia The busy pace suits Taylor, whose rare days off grad. If he hadn’t taken the time to do that, it might have transform often into new adventures. There are towns to taken longer to get on this stage.” explore, new restaurants to try and friends to visit. Taylor envisions pushing her career beyond sports. “As soon as I have time not to do anything, my mind She’d like to try more long-form feature reporting, which wanders,” she says. “My mom always says, ‘You’re going she finds most fulfilling, and then move into a role as the to want to get a house now. You’re going to want to get a host of a news show. new car. You’re going to want to do something because you She even jokes about continuing the UGA connection get bored easily.’ That’s always been my personality.” on “Good Morning America,” where Amy Robach (ABJ ’95) Taylor is no stranger to athletics. An all-state volleyball is a host. and basketball player at Centennial High School in “I’ve always said that my end goal would be a morning Alpharetta, she continued as a rare two-sport collegiate show or something that would allow me to touch on athlete at UGA. The constant practices, travel and study everything,” Taylor says. “So it’s not necessarily sports. prepared her well for her current pace of life. You’re talking politics. You’re talking entertainment. And After graduation, Taylor worked for the now defunct you’re ... talking news and things that are going on in the Comcast/Charter Sports Southeast (CSS), where her world around you.” on-camera poise and personality impressed ESPN.com’s —Andy Johnston is a writer living in Bogart. Mark Schlabach (ABJ ’96). He put her in contact with

MARCH 2016 • GEORGIA MAGAZINE

The UGA Alumni Association advances the academic excellence, interests and traditions of Georgia’s flagship university by inspiring engagement through relevant programming, enhanced connections, and effective communications.

Alumni Affinity Groups

All UGA graduates are members of the Alumni Association with the following benefits and resources:

ALUMNI CHAPTERS

The UGA Alumni Association offers programming for specific segments of the alumni population to allow graduates with shared experiences to network and socialize while discovering how they can remain connected to UGA through all Alumni Association offerings. Affinity groups include Women of UGA, UGA Black Alumni, Multicultural Programs and Young Alumni. Learn more at alumni.uga.edu or call (404) 814-8820.

Alumni, friends and family members are invited to participate in programs hosted by UGA’s more than 120 alumni chapters.

CAREER SERVICES The UGA Career Center provides resources to help alumni find meaningful careers via its office in the Atlanta Alumni Center in Buckhead.

CONNECTIONS (Left) Carolina Baca (BBA ’13), a representative for ALDI Inc., speaks with a student during the UGA Career Center’s Fall Career Fair in Athens. Alumni are encouraged to find ways to hire UGA students and fellow graduates.

TYLER DANIELS (ABJ ’10, MPA ’13)

GET INVOLVED

(Below) Eight past presidents of the UGA Alumni Association were recognized on the field during the UGA vs. Missouri Homecoming football game on Oct. 17: (l-r) Steve Jones (BBA ’78, JD ’87), Vic Sullivan (BBA ’82), Trey Paris (BBA ’84, MBA ’85), Swann Seiler (ABJ ’78), Carl Swearingen (ABJ ’67, MA ’69), Frank W. “Sonny” Seiler (BBA ’56, JD ’57), Abit Massey (BBA ’49) and Tim Keadle (BBA ’78).

ONLINE ALUMNI DIRECTORY View contact information for fellow graduates and share your own at gail.uga.edu.

Let All the Big Dawgs Eat Food Scholarship It’s a sad reality that some UGA students have to choose between paying for school and eating healthy meals. UGA and generous alumni are offering scholarships for meal plans to help alleviate hunger on campus. A gift of $4,000 provides one student with yearlong meals; $100 feeds one student three meals a day for one week. All scholarships are need-based and verified by the Office of Student Financial Aid. Support this cause by visiting t.uga.edu/1Wr and making a gift today. For more information, email swpitts@uga.edu.

TYLER DANIELS (ABJ ’10, MPA ’13)

GEORGIA MAGAZINE • www.ugamagazine.uga.edu

Update us!

Have you moved? Gotten married? Keep your record up to date at alumni.uga.edu/myinfo.

EVENTS THURSDAY, MARCH 31

Class of 2016 Senior Signature Spring and fall graduating students are invited to make a gift to the university to secure their name on the Class of 2016 plaque in Tate Plaza. alumni.uga.edu/seniorsignature

CONNECTIONS

FRIDAY, APRIL 8

40 Under 40 Nomination Deadline Each year, the UGA Alumni Association recognizes 40 outstanding alumni under the age of 40. Nominations for the Class of 2016 are open at alumni.uga.edu/40u40 until midnight.

FRIDAY, APRIL 15

UGA Alumni Awards Luncheon Tate Student Center Grand Hall For more than 70 years, the Alumni Association has recognized distinguished alumni, faculty and friends who have demonstrated outstanding commitment to UGA. alumni.uga.edu/alumniawards

SATURDAY, APRIL 16

G-Day Football Scrimmage The annual spring football game will be held in Sanford Stadium. All alumni, friends and fans are invited.

UGA ALUMNI ASSOCIATION

The UGA Alumni Association hosted alumni and friends on a tour of the Amalfi Coast in Italy in October. Here, attendees gather for a group photo in front of Mount Vesuvius in the Gulf of Naples. Learn more about UGA Alumni Tours at alumni.uga.edu/tours.

SOCIAL MEDIA Stay connected with @ugaalumniassoc on Instagram!

FRIDAY-SUNDAY, APRIL 29-MAY 1

2016 Alumni Seminar Return to campus for a weekend filled with engaging seminars, classes and tours led by leading UGA researchers, faculty, staff and students. alumni.uga.edu/alumniseminar

THURSDAY-SUNDAY, MAY 19-22

Peabody Awards Weekend The university will host events in New York City for alumni and friends in the days surrounding the Peabody Awards, which recognize excellence in electronic media. For more events, visit alumni.uga.edu/calendar.

(l-r) Danielle Timmons (BSHP ’10) and Kimberly Love (BSFCS ’10) enjoyed the Homecoming game against the University of Missouri on Oct. 17.

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

MARCH 2016 • GEORGIA MAGAZINE

CLASSNOTES

ALUMNI PROFILE

Healing through renewal Veteran helps clean up deadly reminders of the past in Vietnam by Margaret Blanchard (AB ’91, MA ’98) Few people have the opportunity to revisit the past in an attempt to right a wrong. But for the past 20 years, Chuck Searcy (AB ’79) has been doing just that in Vietnam’s Quang Tri Province. Located in the midsection of the country, the area is considered the most heavily bombed place in history—more than Germany during the entirety of World War II. It’s estimated that approximately 10 percent of munitions released over Quang Tri didn’t detonate, resulting in DUC TUE DANG large areas with unexploded ordnance In 2013, Chuck Searcy (left) and members of the Project RENEW staff (UXOs). For years following the end of met near a village in the Trieu Phong district of Vietnam before an the Vietnam War, surprise explosions in operation to survey and clear the explosive remnants of war in the area. farmlands and fields across the country killed or maimed more than 100,000 people. he returned from a 3-year stint in the Army almost 50 “It was just a fact of life,” Searcy explains in a phone years ago. A Thomson native, he found a changed UGA call from Hanoi, where he lives most of the year. “The campus—gone were the clean-cut, conservative-looking people lived in vague fear, and there seemed to be no real students of 1966. solution to the problem.” “By 1970, it was long hair and beards … a whole Enter Project RENEW. Searcy, on behalf of the different scene—it seemed like half the campus had Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund, worked with the turned into a bunch of hippies,” he recalls. local government and international non-governmental He joined the Vietnam Veterans Against War (VVAW), organizations to form Project RENEW (Restoring the which provided a forum for people opposed to the conflict. Environment and Neutralizing the Effects of the War). But Searcy says he wasn’t one to make a big splash and Launched in August 2001, the project is a model program rabble-rouse on College Avenue, instead attending area for the removal of unexploded war debris and keeping civic meetings to talk to people about his experience and people safe. help them understand his position. With experience in newspaper publishing, politics Years later, this unassuming, determined passion (he served in President Jimmy Carter’s administration) is what drives Searcy to finish a job he’s started. Project and as executive director of the Georgia Trial Lawyers RENEW also provides support to families of those exposed Association, Searcy had the necessary skills for bringing to Agent Orange during the Vietnam War. people together to work toward a common goal. Searcy plans to retire to Athens eventually. For now, he Fourteen years later, as international advisor to the continues to work to “close the circle” and heal the scars program, he’s confident Project RENEW is working. of war. He encourages fellow veterans—or anyone with a “I really do see an end point for us in five to seven desire to see the country—to visit to “see what peace and years, bringing real closure to this problem,” Searcy says reconciliation is all about.” of the group’s efforts to clean up UXOs. “That feels good, “I’ve seen vets break down and cry on the shoulders of as a veteran and American citizen.” Vietnamese, who are also veterans, who pat them on the It’s also part of the healing process that began when back and say, ‘It’s OK, you did your duty and it’s over now.’”

GEORGIA MAGAZINE • www.ugamagazine.uga.edu

SPECIAL

Art works Libby Bailey (BFA ’74, MFA ’76, PhD ’92) was honored for her longtime passion and commitment to visual arts with a Governor’s Award for the Arts and Humanities in October. Fittingly, the award is a one-of-a-kind, handcrafted blown-glass sculpture by Georgia artist Matt Janke. Bailey, a professor of art at Wesleyan College in Macon, specializes in Medieval/Renaissance art in Tuscany. She is also a painter, printmaker and art historian. Bailey is founder of the college’s Adopt-A-Painting program, where donors support the conservation and restoration of artworks in the college’s collection—the program has preserved more than 120 paintings to date.

Tuggle were recognized for the fourth consecutive year in U.S. News & World Report’s “Best Law Firms” in November.

1970-1974

Jerry Johnson (BSA ’70) of Griffin received the 2015 Inventor’s Award from the UGA Research Foundation for his work breeding wheat varieties for farmers in Georgia and across the Southeast. He retired as professor in the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences. Judi Jackson Reiss (BBA ’70, MEd ’72) of Yardley, Penn., was elected to the board of supervisors of Lower Makefield Township, Bucks County. Jimmy Forrest (BSA ’72) of Ward, S.C., received an Alumni Award of Excellence from UGA’s College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences in September. He is president of Dixie Belle Peaches Inc. in Ridge

Spring, S.C. Larry Edwards (BBA ’73, MBA ’74) of Milledgeville was elected to the board of directors of the Georgia College & State University Foundation. He was also appointed to the advisory board of GCSU’s College of Business. Tom Jackson (AB ’73, MPA ’04, PhD ’08) of Watkinsville received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Georgia Education Advancement Council in November. He is heritage communications executive for the University System of Georgia. Peter Shedd (BBA ’74, JD ’77) of Athens received a Faculty Blue Key Service Award from UGA’s Blue Key Honor Society in November. Shedd is University Professor Emeritus of Legal Studies in the Terry College of Business, where he continues to teach in its executive and professional MBA programs. He was director of the full-time MBA program

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MARCH 2016 • GEORGIA MAGAZINE

CLASSNOTES

WHY give until his retirement in 2009. Shedd was faculty adviser to the Blue Key Honor Society from 1987-2007.

1975-1979

JOHN KELLEY JR./UGA SPORTS COMMUNICATIONS SPECIAL

Former UGA football great A.J. Green (second from left) was joined by his wife, Miranda (left), and parents, Dora and Woodrow Green (right), at Sanford Stadium during the Bulldogs’ Nov. 7 game versus Kentucky. The university recognized A.J. and Miranda Green for endowing three scholarships.

Star power Former UGA football great A.J. Green shares success by Chip Stewart (ABJ ’79) The thunderous ovation from a sold-out Sanford Stadium crowd in November was a familiar sound for A.J. Green. But this time the former football star wasn’t being praised for his athletic prowess, but for the generosity he and his wife have shown the University of Georgia by recently endowing three scholarship funds. Even before he signed a letter of intent to play football at UGA in 2008, Adriel Jeremiah Green (M ’12) was clearly a special talent. The three-sport athlete at Summerville High School in South Carolina was ranked No. 1 of top high school football prospects of 2008 in Sports Illustrated. As a Bulldog, Green went on to become SEC Freshman of the Year in 2009 and would earn All-SEC honors during a distinguished career as one of the team’s greatest receivers. Today he’s catching footballs and breaking records in the professional ranks for the Cincinnati Bengals—a key player for a team that’s become a regular in the NFL playoffs. While he’s enjoyed great success in the pros, Green has never forgotten where he came from and has chosen to honor his past with a generous gift that benefits the university and aspiring students from his home state. The A.J. Green Family Football Scholarship will support a student-athlete on the UGA football team. The Greens stipulated that the scholarship recipient represent “in an outstanding manner in the classroom as an honor student, on the playing field, in the community, and demonstrate a commitment to the university and its football program.” Two additional awards, known as A.J. Green Family Scholarships, are earmarked to support need-based students, with first preference given to those from South Carolina. “I’m very excited and thankful that we were in the position to give back to the University of Georgia,” Green says. “My time at UGA is still close to my heart. It was definitely important for me to give back while I’m still playing professionally and I’m fortunate that we are able to do that.” giving.uga.edu

GEORGIA MAGAZINE • www.ugamagazine.uga.edu

John W. Boykin (AB ’76) of Dunwoody is founder and CEO of Business Golf International, which in November was selected to develop and execute a series of premier-level golf events in support of Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals across the country. Julius Shaw (BBA ’76) of Rome retired as executive vice president of Shaw Industries after 40 years. Jim Speake (BLA ’76) of New York City has released “Sweet Life,” his second recording of songs. Mark Baker (BLA ’77) of Hilton Head Island, S.C., was named to the UGA Alumni Association’s Bulldog 100 of 2016. The list recognizes the 100 fastest-growing businesses owned or operated by UGA alumni. Baker is principal of Wood + Partners Inc., a landscape architecture and planning firm. Randall Copeland (BSA ’77, MS ’79) of Allentown, Pa., was named vice president of operations of Just Born Quality Confections in November. Just Born is maker of candies such as Peeps, Mike and Ike, and Hot Tamales. Copeland was formerly with Manischewitz Company. Dan Walker (BS ’77) of San Antonio, Texas, retired as a health care administrator from the Navy. Steve Jones (BBA ’78, JD ’87) of Atlanta received a Blue Key Service Award from UGA’s Blue Key Honor Society in November. Jones was appointed a U.S. district judge in 2011. He is a managing trustee and secretary for the UGA Foundation and member of the UGA Athletic Association board. Kessel Stelling Jr. (BBA ’78) of Columbus was elected chairman of the University System of Georgia’s board of regents in November. He is chairman and CEO of Synovus Financial Corp.

CONGRATULATIONS

2016 TOP 10 PARTNER

BULLDOG 100 BUSINESSES 1. SMD, LLC Huntersville, NC Scott Mondore (MS ’01, PHD ’02) Shane Douthitt (MS ’99, PHD ’00)

SPONSORS MARQUEE

2. CAMFormulas.com Brooklyn, NY Josh Harwell (AB ’05)

3. Kabbage, Inc. Atlanta, GA Marc Gorlin (ABJ ’95)

4. 6 Degrees Group Alpharetta, GA Tracy Bates (BBA ’87)

PLATINUM

5. Specialized Veterinary Services Fort Myers, FL Jason Eisele (BS ’96, DVM ’02) Melissa Eisele (BBA ’97)

6. Your Pie Franchising

AFFINITY

Athens, GA Arthur Allen French (BS ’77) Drew French (BBA ’05) Bucky Cook (BBA ’77)

7. Verisail Partners Atlanta, GA Scott Voigt (BBA ’07, MACC ’08) Taylor Stanfill (BBA ’06) Thad Gilliam (BBA ’07)

8. CALIPSO, LLC Charleston, SC Laurel Hays (BSED ’89, MED ’90)

RED

9. Builders Specialty Contractors Boynton Beach, FL Scott Fiske (AB ’93)

10. Red Clay Communications, Inc. Atlanta, GA Joshua W. Jones (ABJ ’08, AB ’08)

View the 2016 Bulldog 100 ranked list and nominate a company for the 2017 list by visiting alumni.uga.edu/b100.

CLASSNOTES

ALUMNI PROFILE

Wanderlust redefined Alumnus finds happiness and a permanent home in Panama by Katie Morell Panama is a country in the middle of a growth boom. Multinational companies are increasingly setting up shop within its borders, once blighted neighborhoods like the historic Casco Viejo district are now bustling with boutique hotels and farm-totable restaurants, new museums are opening, and perhaps the biggest economic driver—the Panama Canal—is unveiling a $5.25 billion expansion in mid-2016. At the center of it all is Rob Harper (AB ’03), co-owner and director of business development for NAMU Travel Group, a Central American travel agency specializing in customized tours. Harper grew up in Marietta, where his family was active in Sister Cities International, a nonprofit diplomacy network. Over the years, they developed a close relationship with a family from Heredia, Costa Rica, regularly hosting each other on trips to their respective countries. After graduating with a degree in political science and minor in Spanish, Harper decided to give Central America a try. “I called up my host family in Costa Rica and asked if I could live with them for a few months,” he remembers. “I’d known them for so long at that point that they were thrilled and I came right down.” Harper soon found a job as a vacation planner with a local travel company and stayed until late 2005. He returned to Atlanta, but soon after received a call that would change the course of his life. His former employer was looking to expand his MARK EDWARD HARRIS agency to Panama and asked Harper to become part owner and Rob Harper gets wet in the Santa Juana Reserve in Costa Rica. spearhead the operation on the ground. “From 2007 to 2013, I ran the Panama office specifically for Panama Vacations,” he says. “I was in charge of all aspects of that operation.” 1980-1984 In 2013, the company rebranded as NAMU Travel Group, encompassing David Dial (AB ’80) of Marietta was Costa Rican Vacations and Panama Vacations (today Nicaragua Vacations has been added to the list). Harper is still based in Panama City, but spends more of selected to Georgia Trend magazine’s 2015 his time attracting business from around the globe. International travel—about Legal Elite rankings in general practice/ 30 weeks per year—currently defines his life. And even though Athens is usually trial law. Dial is managing partner thousands of miles away from where he may land on any given day, UGA stays on of the law firm Weinberg, Wheeler, the forefront of his mind. Hudgins, Gunn & Dial. Laura Meadows “Before many of my trips, I will jump on UGA’s alumni site and try to find (BSA ’81, EdD ’13) of Atlanta received grads who live in the country I’m going to,” Harper says. “I like to connect with a 2015 Alumni of Distinction Award people who live in their home country but went to UGA to study.” from UGA’s Graduate School. She is Harper has encountered people from all over thanks to a concerted effort to director of the Carl Vinson Institute of connect with his UGA roots. On a recent trip to Peru to hike the Inca Trail, he met Government, a unit of the office of public up for dinner with a few graduates originally from Lima. service and outreach. Prior to her work at Back home in Panama City, tourists are flooding into the country like never UGA, Meadows was appointed the first before, keeping Harper and his team happily busy. “Right now, Panama has an executive director of the OneGeorgia energy of opportunity about it,” he says. “It is attracting people and business from Authority. Julie T. Suppes (BSHE all over the world, and I love being part of it.” ’81) married David Suppes on July 25. The couple reside in Dacula, where she —Katie Morell is an independent journalist based in San Francisco. has moved her interior design business,

GEORGIA MAGAZINE • www.ugamagazine.uga.edu

Reynolds Interiors Inc. Kim Boyd (BBA ’82) and her daughter, Kathryn Boyd (BBA ’12, MAcc ’13), of Atlanta have moved their real estate team to Atlanta Fine Homes Sotheby’s International Realty. Dan Lowring (BBA ’82) of Bogart was named chief financial officer and corporate secretary for Chainalytics Inc., based in Atlanta. Dennis L. Chastain (ABJ ’84) of Dacula was named president/CEO of the Georgia Electric Membership Corporation.

1985-1989

Karen Bennett (BBA ’85, MBA ’11) of Brookhaven was named senior vice president and chief human resources officer of the Cox Media Group. She previously worked in the same roles at YP. Richard Costigan (AB ’88) of Granite Bay, Calif., is chair of the board of trustees for the California Museum, which hosted its annual hall of fame honoring people who have made an impact on the state in October. Costigan is senior director

of state & government affairs at Manatt, Phelps & Phillips LLP. He and his wife, Gloria Kirby Costigan (BSEd ’89) have three children, Eric, Emma and Andrew. Angela Dodd (BS ’88, DVM ’00) and Lisa Stacy (DVM ’07) opened their small animal veterinary practice, Animal Wellness Center of Athens, in November. Terry England (M ’88) of Auburn, Ga., received a Blue Key Service Award from UGA’s Blue Key Honor Society in November. England represents the 116th District in the Georgia House of Representatives. He is president and CEO of Pete’s Enterprises Inc., which provides consulting to the construction and agribusiness industries. Kim Houlne (AB ’88) of Plano, Texas, received the 2015 Stevie Award for Women in Business Lifetime Achievement from American Business Awards. She is president and founder of Working Solutions, an ondemand contact center. Wes Millner (BBA ’88) of Atlanta married Nancy Hurst of Chattanooga, Tenn., on Aug.

16. He was also selected as directorate of readiness and promoted to colonel with the U.S. Army Medical Command in Tampa, Fla. Millner is a builder and associate broker in real estate. K. Michele Golivesky (AB ’89) of Atlanta received a 2015 Your Honor Award from the Legal Marketing Association’s southeastern chapter. She is director of business development and marketing for Taylor English Duma LLP. Brent Layton (AB ’89) of St. Louis was named chief business development officer for Centene Corporation, a Fortune 500 company providing services to government health care programs. He and his wife, Kelly Martin Layton (BFA ’90), have two sons, Davis and Luke. Cindy Robinett (BBA ’89) of Savannah was recognized in Insurance Business America magazine’s Elite Women in Insurance, an annual listing of women who have changed the face of the industry. She is managing director of Seacrest Partners, an insurance brokerage and consulting firm.

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MARCH 2016 • GEORGIA MAGAZINE

Reading list

Books by UGA Alumni

Fallen Land St. Martin’s Press (2016) By Taylor Brown (AB ’05) Set in the final year of the Civil War, this debut novel follows a young couple fleeing a dangerous band of marauders seeking a bounty reward. Brown’s short story, “Rider,” was winner of the 2009 Montana Prize in Fiction by Cutbank, the literary journal of the University of Montana. Aunt Fanny Learns Forestry: Managing Timberland as an Investment Forisk Press (2015) By Brooks Mendell (PhD ’04) A tutorial on key obligations, risks and metrics of owning and managing timberland investments. Mendell, a former UGA faculty member, is founder and president of Forisk Consulting, which provides research and education in forestry, timberland and wood bioenergy sectors.

GEORGIA MAGAZINE • www.ugamagazine.uga.edu

The Circus Is In Town: A Baseball Odyssey Outskirts Press (2015) By Robert A. Hilliard (MA ’78) This real-life “field of dreams” story tells of the purchase of a St. Louis Cardinals farm team and the development of Skylands Park amid the cornfields of Sussex County in rural New Jersey. Hilliard has worked in marketing communications as a consultant and corporate executive to the automotive and pharmaceutical industries. Lawyer Games: After Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil Dog Ear Publishing (2015) By Dep Kirkland (AB ’72, JD ’75) Savannah native and former chief assistant district attorney Kirkland reveals the true story of the infamous murder case that resulted in Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil, the bestselling book and movie.

The Marriage Pact Thomas Dunne Books/ St. Martin’s Press (2015) By M.J. Pullen (pen name for Manda Pullen Turetsky (AB ’97, MBA ’99) A romantic comedy about two friends attending UGA who make a pact to marry when they turn 30, only to find that when the time arrives, life and love aren’t what they imagined. My Southern Kitchen: Shrimp, Collards and Grits Branning Publishing (2015) By Pat Branning (ABJ ’67) The second in a series of books featuring front porch yarns, homegrown recipes and art celebrating the Southeastern lifestyle. Branning was formerly women’s editor for WSB radio in Atlanta. The Painter 3-Day Ranch Press (2015) By J.W. Deas (BSEd ’96) Set in Athens in 1992, this coming-of-age novel explores how Andy—a liar and fake artist—must choose between the false life he’s painted or finding his true self.

Due to the number of submissions, we cannot list all books received. Priority is given to books released within the current year, within two years prior and to submissions with high quality, high-res photos of book covers. The list may be edited for reader interest and regional relevance.

Pinpoint Yawn’s Publishing (2015) By Ty Wheeler (BSA ’95) The story of average guy Scott Smart, whose world is rocked by an unknown sniper on a mission to ruin Smart’s idyllic life. Make It Zero: A Movement to Safeguard Every Child Moody Publishers (2015) By Jennifer Bradley Franklin (ABJ ’02) and Mary Frances Bowley Tying shocking statistics to real stories, the book explores childhood vulnerability and offers specific ways to end it. Franklin is a multiplatform journalist and editor; Bowley is the founder and president of Wellspring Living, an organization fighting sexual exploitation since 2001.

The 9 Virtues of Exceptional Leaders: Unlocking Your Leadership Potential Deeds Publishing (2015) By N. Karl Haden (PhD ’91) Practical advice and helpful exercises from the founder and president of the Atlantabased Academy for Academic Leadership. The author guides aspiring leaders in developing character and habits rooted in classical and contemporary values. Balance of Night CreateSpace Independent Publishing (2014) By Allan P. Avery (BSFR ’71) A modern military procedural about the routine yet demanding service of Marine Corps KC-130 Hercules squadron during peacetime. The author is a former naval aviator and airline pilot.

The Clock Strikes Midnight MuseItUp Publishing (2014) By Joan Curtis (AB ’74, MA ’78, EdD ’85) What would you do if you found out you had only three months to live? That’s the question Janie Knox faces in this mystery. The book placed first in mainstream/literary fiction in the Royal Palm Literary Awards from the Florida Writers Association and received a silver medal in fiction/suspense in the Global eBooks Awards for 2015. Is Living Well Still The Best Revenge? CreateSpace Independent Publishing (2013) By Bowdre Phinizy Mays Jr. (AB ’48) The author and former insurance executive shares history and world travels in lively vignettes of life in “old Georgia,” specifically Athens, Atlanta and his native Augusta.

The Girl in the Maze Alibi Random House (2015) By Randal Jackson (BA ’83) A psychological thriller about a schizophrenic young woman implicated in a murder in a small coastal Georgia town. The debut novel from Jackson, who produces earth science and exoplanet websites at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California. Editor’s note: The December 2015 issue of Georgia Magazine included an incorrect term for the subject of the book, Dixie Mafia Gangster: The Audacious Criminal Career of Willie Foster Sellers by Max Courson (ABJ ’58, MA ’59). Sellers was a bank burglar and bank robber, not a swindler.

MARCH 2016 • GEORGIA MAGAZINE

CLASSNOTES

ALUMNI PROFILE

Ripe rewards Alumna is sole female winemaker at Biltmore by Rebecca McCarthy Seeking adventure and the chance to see the world, Sharon Fenchak (MS ’99) joined the U.S. Army when she finished high school in Cresson, Pa. The most memorable part of her almost seven years in the service was being stationed in Italy, where she “fell in love with wine.” That experience led her to study food science at Pennsylvania State University and at UGA. Since leaving Athens, Fenchak has made her passion her career: She’s a winemaker at the Biltmore Estate in Asheville, N.C., where she has Sharon Fenchak worked since 1999. “During college, I had [an] idea to grow grapes on my grandmother’s property in southwest Pennsylvania, make wine and have a resort,” Fenchak says with a laugh. “It wasn’t the best idea. Vitis vinifera grapes, European grapes that give us merlot and cabernet, do not grow well there.” Her mother was teaching nursing at Athens Technical College, so Fenchak thought UGA would be a good fit. She focused on wine under the tutelage of William Kerr, her major professor in food science and technology, who earned degrees at the University of California-Davis, renowned for its winemaking program. When she wasn’t in class, she worked at Habersham Vineyards and Winery in Helen. “What drew me to wine is the science of it, and UGA was great for giving me a strong science background,” Fenchak says. “With wine, you want a healthy and clean fermentation, so my daily activities often focus on chemistry and microbiology.” To grow V. vinifera grapes successfully, she says, you need high temperatures in the day and cooler temperatures at night to preserve both acidity and sugar in the grape and allow for proper flavor development. Biltmore has a production facility with 12 employees who create 1.6 million bottles of wine a year. Many of them, Fenchak says, win awards.

GEORGIA MAGAZINE • www.ugamagazine.uga.edu

SPECIAL

Her job involves everything related to wine production from start to finish. She walks the Biltmore vineyard to determine the optimum time to pick grapes. She guides the production crew, and works closely with winemaker and Vice President Bernard Delille on all aspects of the winemaking process. Only 10 to 15 percent of the grapes in Biltmore wines come from the historic site’s vineyards, “because there are certain varietals that just won’t grow here. The growing conditions in western North Carolina won’t support a pinot noir or thin-skinned grape,” Fenchak explains. To flesh out its own crops, the Biltmore Winery purchases grapes from California, Washington and Oregon. The goal is to the find the viticultural areas where certain varietals grow best and purchase from those growers. Biltmore has been working with specific California vineyards and purchasing grapes for more than 20 years. The Biltmore vineyard focuses on grapes that grow best there, such as chardonnay, cabernet sauvignon and cabernet franc. “We always try to be true to the varietal character,” Fenchak says. “I want people to be able to identify a chardonnay.”

1990-1994

Meridith McGue Casey (BSEd ’90) of Dallas, Texas, has started a line of T-shirts for women called Maniac, with 100 percent of net profits going to charities that treat mental health. George Robinson IV (AB ’91) of Wake Forest, N.C., is associate professor of missions and evangelism and Richard and Gina Headrick Chair of World Missions at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary. He is married to Catherine Jourdan Robinson (BSEd ’92), and they have three children, Aidan, Tori Beth and Caleb. Chuck Couch (BBA ’92) of Atlanta was promoted to corporate vice president of sales for Mizuno USA, a global leader in sports apparel, footwear and equipment. He was formerly vice president of product management in the company’s golf division. Carri Clanton Smith (BSFCS ’92) of Tallahassee, Fla., is director of advancement at Maclay School. She has three children. Alisa

Cleek (BBA ’93) of Marietta has joined Taylor English Duma LLP as a partner on its employment and labor relations team. Arlene Feddo Knox (BSA ’93, MA ’05) of Fort Myers, Fla., joined Planned Parenthood of Southwest and Central Florida as senior director of philanthropy for Collier and Lee counties. She previously held positions with the Southwest Florida Community Foundation and the American Red Cross. Mel Bolling (BSEd ’94) of Monroe, Utah, was named forest supervisor for Fishlake National Forest in central Utah. He has worked for the U.S. Forest Service for more than 20 years.

Collar, Nolen & Tuggle were recognized for the fourth consecutive year in U.S. News & World Report’s “Best Law Firms” in November. Bo Warren (BSA ’95) of Monroe received an Alumni Award of Excellence from UGA’s College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences in September. Warren is director of the Georgia Center of Innovation for Agribusiness. Drew Cronic (BSEd ’97) of Canton was named the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics Region 1 Coach of the Year by the American Football Coaches Association. He is head football coach at Reinhardt University in Waleska. Amanda Mercier (AB ’98) of Blue Ridge was named to the state’s Court of Appeals. She is a superior court judge in the Appalachian Judicial Circuit. Hamilton Williams II (BLA ’98) of West Palm Beach, Fla., was promoted to associate principal at GreenbergFarrow, an international architecture, engineering, planning and development services

1995-1999

Bryan Lackey (BSAE ’95) of Auburn, Ga., was named city manager of Gainesville. He is the former director of planning and development in Gwinnett County. Jonathan J. Tuggle (BBA ’95) of Atlanta and his fellow partners at Boyd,

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CLASSNOTES

ALLYSON MANN

Breasta Fiesta Friends and family gathered in October to honor Sara Papp (BBA ’00), who died in 2009 following complications from treatment for breast cancer. Held at Creature Comforts in Athens, the event also brought together 13 artworks created by Papp during her illness. Diagnosed in her mid-20s, Papp—sometimes called Sara Belle—used art as a coping method, creating pastels and paintings that she gifted to friends and family. Papp’s legacy also includes funding for the Atlanta 2-Day Walk for Breast Cancer; from 2010-15, the team known as Breasta Fiesta has raised $235,395 in her name. Led by Katie Barkley (BSEd ’99), the team set a 2016 goal of raising $80,000; at press time, they had already raised more than $16,000. Above, family and friends who came together to celebrate Papp’s life included (front row, left to right) Sarah Shanahan; Susan Wolfe, mother; Addie Hudson, 10, niece; Madeline Bates, UGA senior; (second row) Kevin Bates (BBA ’00); Heather Bodner (BBA ’00); Barkley; Michele Logan (BBA ’00); Meredith Blencoe (ABJ ’99); Josi Adler (BSA ’98); Max, 14 months, nephew; Dana Papp Hudson, sister; (third row) Allen Eaves (BBA ’04); Joe Wolfe, stepfather; and Dennis Papp, father. For more, visit sarabellepapp.com and breastafiesta.com.

firm. He is a manager of the development services and civil engineering departments in the firm’s Atlanta office. Rebecca Lang (ABJ ’99) of Athens was named to Georgia Trend magazine’s list of 40 Under 40 outstanding Georgians in October. She is a TV chef and cookbook author.

2000-2004

Tricia Chastain (ABJ ’00) of Roswell received the Young Alumnus Award from UGA’s Blue Key Honor Society in November. Chastain is president of the

Georgia Student Finance Commission, which administers the state’s scholarship, grant and loans programs. She is a member of the Leadership Georgia Class of 2015 and was recognized as a 40 Under 40 honoree by the UGA Alumni Association in September. Stacey Godfrey Evans (AB ’00, JD ’03) of Smyrna was named to Georgia Trend magazine’s list of 40 Under 40 outstanding Georgians in October. She is an attorney and represents the 42nd District in the Georgia House of Representatives. Lewis D. Webb (BSA

GEORGIA MAGAZINE • www.ugamagazine.uga.edu

’00) of Americus was named to Georgia Trend magazine’s list of 40 Under 40 outstanding Georgians in October. He is president and owner of The DGR Group Inc. Wealth Management. George Emami (AB ’01, MBA ’10) of Forsyth opened The Brokery LLC of Macon, a real estate firm. Lisa Jakelski (AB ’01) of Rochester, N.Y., received the 2015 Aquila Prize for the best English-language article in Polish studies from the Polish Studies Association in November. Jakelski, an assistant professor of musicology at the Eastman School of Music, researches the intersections between musical expression and social and political practices in 20th and 21stcentury composition. Russ Pennington (BSEd ’01, MBA ’06) of Brookhaven has joined McGuireWoods Consulting as senior adviser focusing on engineering and environmental regulatory processes. Laura Rea (ABJ ’01) of Brookhaven joined TRICK 3D, an immersive content studio, as executive producer. She was formerly head of production at CSE, an integrated marketing firm. Adam Smith (BSA ’01) of Douglas was named to Georgia Trend magazine’s list of 40 Under 40 outstanding Georgians in October. He is a commercial lender with the First National Bank of Coffee County. Ben Graham (BBA ’02) of Ooltewah, Tenn., was named senior pastor of Grace Baptist Church in Chattanooga. Josh Henry (AB ’02) of Atlanta and Los Angeles is a filmmaker and actor. His short film, “Poker Face,” won the Extra Mile Award at the Sydney Indie Film Festival in Australia in October. Megan Green (BSA ’03) of Good Hope received a Young Alumni Award from UGA’s College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences in September. She is manager of equine and large animal veterinary services at Merial, a global animal health company. Travis Moore (BSA ’03) of Dallas received a Young Alumni Award from UGA’s College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences in September. Moore is brewmaster for AnheuserBusch in Cartersville. Josh Simmons (BS ’03) of Thomasville has joined

Archbold Memorial Hospital as a medical oncologist/hematologist in the hospital’s Lewis Hall Singletary Oncology Center. John A. Sugg (AB, ABJ ’04) of Atlanta has been named shareholder of the law firm of Davis, Matthews & Quigley PC.

2005-2009

Chase Cain (ABJ ’05) of Los Angeles is a news reporter for KNBC-TV and a producer for Hulu. He won his third Emmy Award for news anchoring last summer. Andrew Gast (BSEd ’05) of Ranchester, Wyo., was named executive director and CEO of the Antelope Butte Foundation, working to reopen the Antelope Butte Ski Area in northern Wyoming. Jessica Mullis (BFA ’05) of Atlanta was promoted to art director at InComm, a prepaid and payment solutions company. She also was voted programming chair of the board of the Atlanta chapter of the American Institute of Graphic Artists. Mario Cambardella (BLA ’06, MEPD ’11, MLA ’13) of Gainesville was appointed urban agriculture director of Atlanta. He will lead the city’s efforts to become a leader in urban sustainability. Julia Diaz (BS ’06) of Atlanta joined UGA’s Skidaway Institute of Oceanography in Savannah as an assistant professor. Kelly Hermans (ABJ ’06) of Salt Lake City, Utah, is a marketing and communications associate at Rowland Hall, an independent school and ski academy. Phil Bonelli (BBA ’07) of Gainesville was named vice president of commercial banking for Wells Fargo’s North Georgia region, which includes Athens, Dalton and Rome. Mike Homer Jr. (BSFR ’07, MS ’11) of Abilene, Texas, is Inland Fisheries-Abilene District supervisor of the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department. Rory A. Weeks (AB ’08, MA ’12, JD ’13) of Atlanta is an associate in the law firm of Butler Wooten Cheeley & Peak LLP. His practice areas include business torts, product liability and personal injury. Carmen Byce (BSA ’09) of Franklin, Texas, received a Young Alumni Award from UGA’s College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences in September. She is program coordinator

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ALUMNI PROFILE

Down the stretch Veterinarian’s career path leads to Churchill Downs by Lori Johnston (ABJ ’95) Foster Northrop (BSA ’86, DVM ’89) has lived “the greatest 2 minutes in sports” over and over again at Churchill Downs, where he has cared for winners including Kentucky Derby champion Barbaro. His practice, Northrop Equine, based in Louisville, Ky., works with thoroughbred racehorses at Churchill Downs and Keeneland in Lexington, Ky., and Palm Meadows in Boynton Beach, Fla. If a horse gets injured at the Derby or other live televised races, viewers also may see him discussing the injury, through the American Association of Equine Practitioners’ (AAEP) “On Call” program. Northrop was one of the veterinarians who cared for Barbaro during his exciting but tragically short career. He met the horse when Barbaro was 2, a year before his electrifying 2006 Derby win. Weeks later, Barbaro injured his leg during the Preakness Stakes. After a string of surgeries and further complications, the champ was euthanized in 2007. “He’s one of the neatest horses I’ve ever been around,” Northrop says. “His Derby performance was an incredible race. It was a very dominating win. Two weeks later, I went from the greatest joy to unbelievably crushing devastation.” During vet school, an externship at California’s Alamo Pintado Equine Medical Center, a pre-eminent equine clinic, turned Northrop from his initial interest in cattle to horses. “I would have never found horses if it hadn’t been for UGA and the vet school and externships,” he says. But he didn’t run for the roses immediately after UGA. His father, former Callaway Gardens president and CEO Hal Northrop, connected him with zoologist Jim Fowler. He accompanied the Georgia native to Zimbabwe to conduct big game research and work on his TV show, “Mutual of Omaha’s Wild Kingdom,” and projects for National Geographic. After a short stint at the National Zoo in Washington, D.C., Northrop began working in 1989 with legendary equine veterinarian Dr. John R. Steele on Standardbred racehorses and world-renowned show horses. Northrop, a celebrated Georgia football walk-on in the early 1980s, knows what it’s like to prepare mentally and physically for a sporting event. He combines an athlete’s

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SPECIAL

Foster (left) and Megan Northrop and their son, Colton, pose with American Pharaoh, Triple Crown Champion.

mindset with his veterinarian expertise as each Derby approaches. “You’ve done everything to keep the horse sound, healthy and happy,” he says. “That last week going into the Derby is basically the horse training and praying he doesn’t step on a nail, that he doesn’t develop a fever, that a fan doesn’t run by his stall and spook him. It’s amazing how much could go wrong.” An advocate for improving horse welfare, Northrop serves on The Jockey Club’s welfare and safety committee and as vice chairman of the AAEP’s racing committee. Through the Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance, Northrop estimates that he and his wife, Megan, have helped about 200 horses. “I’m known around the racetrack as a guy when you need to [retire] a horse, you find me,” he says. “We end up converting them from an ex-racehorse to a show horse or trail horse or fox hunter. I feel good about finding them new homes.”

for Asia at the Borlaug Institute for International Agriculture at Texas A&M AgriLife. Robert Clark (BBA ’09) of Atlanta was promoted to chief financial officer of The RADCO Companies, a real estate developer.

Suit up!

Hadley Dreibelbis (left) and Josh Delaney attended the opening ball for the 85th season of the National Symphony Orchestra at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., in September. Dreibelbis (AB, ABJ ’14) is an account executive specializing in higher education communication at Widmeyer Communications, and Delaney (AB, ABJ ’11) is a legislative assistant for Sen. Elizabeth Warren.

2010-2014

Aaron Sayama (AB ’10, MPA ’13) of Atlanta received the Hillary Rodham Clinton Fellowship from the Fulbright U.S. Student Program for 2015-16. He will serve in Timor-Leste in southeast Asia as a special assistant in the country’s Ministry of Justice. Samuel Thomas (AB ’10) of Colbert has opened his own law firm in downtown Athens, focusing primarily on family and criminal law. Zach Finkel (BBA ’11) of Atlanta was promoted from director to vice president of private equity at The RADCO Companies. Harry Valentine (AB ’11) of Athens is making a feature film in Los Angeles called “Mystery Weekend Package.” Kathryn Boyd (BBA ’12, MAcc ’13) and her mother, Kim Boyd (BBA ’82), of Atlanta have moved their real estate team to Atlanta Fine Homes Sotheby’s International Realty. Zach Hogue (BBA ’12) of Atlanta founded Ambos, a company specializing in hand-crafted leather boots from artisans in Guatemala. He previously worked in international business development for Georgia-Pacific. Pete McDonald (ABJ ’12) of Decatur received an English teaching assistantship from the Fulbright U.S. Student Program for 2015-16. He will serve in Greece. Maggie Johnston (AB ’13) received an English teaching assistantship from the Fulbright U.S. Student Program for 2015-16. She will serve in South Korea. Erin Daughtrey (BSFR ’14) of Woodbine participated in Miami University’s Earth Expeditions global field course in Baja California, Mexico. She is a wildlife technician with the National Park Service and a graduate student in Miami’s Global Field Program. Ashleigh Starnes (AB ’14) of Laramie, Wyo., received an English teaching assistantship from the Fulbright U.S. Student Program for 201516. She will serve in Turkey.

Ashley Ware (AB ’14) of Dacula made her film debut as part of the cast of “In Retrospect,” a musical comedy web series.

2015

Mckinley Alden (AB, AB ’15) of Decatur received an English teaching assistantship from the Fulbright U.S. Student Program for 2015-16. He will serve in Bulgaria. Tiffany Chu (AB, MAT ’15) of Lilburn received an English teaching assistantship from the Fulbright U.S. Student Program for 2015-16. She will serve in South Korea. Sam Goren (BBA ’15) of Marietta is an assistant manager with Turner Broadcasting. Adrienne Winzer (AB ’15) of Villa Rica received an English teaching assistantship from the Fulbright U.S. Student Program for 2015-16. She will serve in South Korea.

GRAD NOTES

Agricultural & Environmental Sciences

Jared Whitaker (MS ’06) of Statesboro was named cotton agronomist with UGA’s Cooperative Extension Service.

Arts & Sciences

James Nels Ihle (MS ’69, PhD ’71) of Memphis, Tenn., received a 2015 Alumni of Distinction Award from UGA’s

SPECIAL

Graduate School. He is the department chair of chemistry and the Edward F. Barry Endowed Chair in Biochemistry at St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital Inc. He also teaches biochemistry at the University of Tennessee, Memphis. Ihle is responsible for the first-time purification of the cytokine interleukin 3, which are proteins that enhance the natural response of the body to disease. Ron Goode (PhD ’73) of Dallas, Texas, received a 2015 Alumni of Distinction Award from UGA’s Graduate School. He is president and CEO of The Goode Group, a pharmaceutical consulting firm. He has had leadership positions at global pharmaceutical companies including Pharma-Links, Unimed Pharmaceuticals, Searle Corporate and Pfizer Pharamceuticals. Michael Tomasello (MS ’77, PhD ’80) of Leipzig, Germany, received a 2015 Alumni of Distinction Award from UGA’s Graduate School. He is director of the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology. He also teaches psychology at Duke University. Tomasello’s research interests focus on the processes of social cognition, social learning, cooperation and communication in human children and great apes. Antonio Puente (MA, PhD ’78) of Wilmington, N.C., received a 2015 Alumni of Distinction Award from UGA’s

MARCH 2016 • GEORGIA MAGAZINE

CLASSNOTES

the College of Saint Rose in Albany, N.Y. Bynum researches German songs (lieder) and has received a Fulbright Fellowship toward their study. Andrea Daniel (MPA ’92) of Elberton was named executive vice president of Athens Technical College in November. She was previously vice president for economic development services at the college, where she has worked for 20 years.

Business

SPECIAL

Worthy woman Melaney Smith’s can-do attitude is changing lives by providing children in need with books to read through Books for Keeps. Smith (BBA ’89) launched the Athens-based nonprofit six years ago to provide low-income students with books during the summer months, when they are less likely to read due to lack of access. So far, the organization has distributed 185,000 books to children in Northeast Georgia. Smith’s grassroots efforts are paying off in other ways as well—in November she was named one of L’Oreal Paris’ Women of Worth 2015, netting $10,000 to support Books for Keeps. She and nine fellow nominees were honored at a celebration in New York City in December.

Graduate School. He teaches psychology at the University of North Carolina and is a visiting professor at the Universidad de Granada in Spain. His research focuses on the interface between culture and neuropsychology. John Blair (PhD ’87) of Manhattan, Kan., received the Dr. Ron and Rae Iman Outstanding Faculty Award for Research from the Kansas State University Alumni Association. He is a university distinguished professor and the

Edwin G. and Lillian J. Brychta Professor of Biology at K-State. His research focuses on the ecology and conservation of grasslands. Blair leads the Konza Prairie Long-Term Ecological Research program, which is funded by the National Science Foundation. Leroy Bynum (DMA ’92) of Schenectady, N.Y., received a 2015 Alumni of Distinction Award from UGA’s Graduate School. He is dean of the School of Arts and Humanities at

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Paul Goebel (MBA ’76, PhD ’80) of Lubbock, Texas, became interim dean of the Jerry S. Rawls College of Business Administration at Texas Tech University in January. He is associate dean of undergraduate programs and the James E. and Elizabeth F. Sowell Professor of Finance at Texas Tech. Al H. Dallas (MBA ’03) of Augusta was named to Georgia Trend magazine’s list of 40 Under 40 outstanding Georgians in October. He is assistant to the director at Augusta University’s (formerly Georgia Regents University) Cancer Center. Susan Summers (MAcc ’09) of Athens attended the 2015 Emerging Leaders Program, a leadership workshop sponsored by UGA’s Graduate School. She is a student in the master’s of landscape architecture program in the College of Environment & Design.

Education

Robert C. Fore (EdD ’76) of Chattanooga, Tenn., was appointed interim dean of the University of Tennessee College of Medicine Chattanooga. Randy Kamphaus (PhD ’83) of Eugene, Ore., received a 2015 Alumni of Distinction Award from UGA’s Graduate School. Kamphaus is professor and dean of the College of Education at the University of Oregon. He is best known for his research in classification methods, differential diagnosis and assessment of learning disabilities, and attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder. Melanie Poudevigne (PhD ’04) was recognized for becoming a certified consultant of the Association for Applied Sport Psychology at its annual conference

in Indianapolis in October. She is a professor and program director in health and fitness management at Clayton State University and an affiliate faculty member in public health at Georgia State University. Shea Kidd Houze (MEd ’06) of Hattiesburg, Miss., was named director of New Student and Retention Programs at The University of Southern Mississippi. She was previously associate director of external affairs for the university’s alumni association.

Journalism & Mass Communication

Hala Moddelmog (MA ’81) of Atlanta received a 2015 Alumni of Distinction Award from UGA’s Graduate School. She is president and CEO of the Metro Atlanta Chamber. She formerly held executive positions with Church’s Chicken, Susan G. Komen for the Cure and Arby’s Restaurant Group. Michael Cass (MMC ’95) of Nashville, Tenn., is a speechwriter and communications adviser

for Nashville Mayor Megan Barry, who was elected in September.

Law

Nathaniel Lee ( JD ’82) of Indianapolis received the 2015 Rev. Charles R. Williams Excellence Award from the Indiana Black Expo Inc. in July. The award was given to Lee and his late wife, Carman, for their contributions to youth and community through The Lee Foundation, a nonprofit organization that provides assistance to families in Central Indiana. Nathaniel Lee was inducted into Morehead State University’s Alumni Hall of Fame in 2013. Bill Cowsert ( JD ’83) of Athens received a Blue Key Service Award from UGA’s Blue Key Honor Society in November. Cowsert represents the 46th District in the Georgia Senate. He is a founding partner of the Cowsert & Avery law firm. Brian Rickman ( JD ’01) of Clarkesville was named to the state Court of Appeals. He is district attorney

of the Mountain Judicial Circuit. Kevin Gooch (JD ’04) of Decatur was named to Georgia Trend magazine’s list of 40 Under 40 outstanding Georgians in October. He is a partner in the finance group at Alston & Byrd LLP. Rob Fortson (JD ’05) of Atlanta was named to Georgia Trend magazine’s list of 40 Under 40 outstanding Georgians in October. He is vice president of state government relations for McGuireWoods Consulting. Carl E. Jones Jr. (JD ’06) of Philadelphia was appointed head of the Office of Environmental Justice in Pennsylvania’s Department of Environmental Protection. He was formerly with Tucker Law Group LLC. Tamika Montgomery-Reeves (JD ’06) of Wilmington, Del., was confirmed as a vice chancellor of the Delaware Court of Chancery. She is the first African American and the second female to serve on the court. Montgomery-Reeves is a partner with the firm of Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati.

MARCH 2016 • GEORGIA MAGAZINE

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Hall of Famer Charlayne Hunter-Gault (ABJ ’63) returned to her hometown to be inducted into the Atlanta Press Club’s Hall of Fame in November. Above, former classmate and retired CNN president Tom Johnson (ABJ ’63) presents her with a lifetime achievement award, which recognizes journalists whose careers represent the highest standards of journalistic integrity. A video tribute with personal messages from industry colleagues lauded Hunter-Gault’s bravery in breaking down barriers for African Americans and women. She was also praised for maintaining high ethical standards from her first days as a reporter for The New York Times to her awardwinning coverage of national and international stories for “PBS NewsHour.”

Social Work

Loreal Massiah (MSW ’05) of Morrisville, N.C., is a medical social worker with the Rex Cancer Center in Raleigh. She advocates on behalf of cancer patients, traveling with members of the Leukemia Lymphona Society to meet with legislators in Washington, D.C. Carla Smith (MSW ’05) of Decatur was named to Georgia Trend magazine’s list of 40 Under 40 outstanding Georgians in October. She is human resources/policy and talent management director for Signature HealthCARE.

Veterinary Medicine

Ben Brackett (DVM ’62, BSA/MS ’64, PhD ’66) of Athens received a 2015 Alumni of Distinction Award from UGA’s Graduate School. He is a retired

professor and department chair of physiology and pharmacology at UGA. He pioneered the first repeatable in vitro fertilization and influenced the first IVF production of animals and humans both nationally and globally. Guillermo Zavala (MAM ’92, MS ’98, PhD ’01) of Flowery Branch joined the USA Poultry & Egg Export Council as director of veterinary services in November. He is founder of Avian Health International LLC, a consulting business specializing in controlling infectious diseases in commercial poultry and egg flocks. Zavala was on faculty at UGA for 11 years and remains an adjunct professor teaching avian medicine. Lisa Stacy (DVM ’07) of Colbert and Angela Dodd (BS ’88, DVM ’00) opened their small animal veterinary practice, Animal Wellness Center of Athens, in November.

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On studying what he calls “old, unhappy, far-off things:” “There are myriad reasons for studying the past. People will always say if you don’t learn the lessons of the past, you’re doomed to repeat them. That’s all too easy—it doesn’t work that way. The past has lessons for us, I think, things that we should live up to. A sense of who we are, or were. There’s also a lot to live down— things that we’re still trying to get right, and I think that’s the old, unhappy part of things.”

Stephen Berry Amanda and Greg Gregory Professor of the Civil War Era Co-Director, Center for Virtual History history.uga.edu/directory/stephen-berry Photo shot by Andrew Davis Tucker on location with a double-barreled cannon at the entrance to Pittard Park in downtown Winterville.

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