University of Georgia Magazine Spring 2023

The President’s Pen

President Jere W. Morehead discusses UGA’s limitless potential.

UGA to Z

Highlights from across the UGA community.

On the Bulldog Beat

Visit UGA’s newest art gallery.

Bulldog Bulletin

News for UGA alumni.

Class Notes

The UGA alumni community—it’s a small world, after all! Experience a downtown Athens boutique and the 16th tee at Augusta National, all with UGA grads.

Faculty Focus

Get to know Dan Coenen, Harmon W. Caldwell Chair in Constitutional Law, School of Law.

FEATURE 16 Engineering a Community

Since its launch in 2006, the Peach State Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation has benefited more than 1,300 UGA students of color as they make their way through STEM education.

18

Meet the I-STEM Complex

Location! Space! Collaboration! Innovative research! Parking! UGA’s new I-STEM Research Complex has it all!

22

Just This Old Sweet Song

The sounds of Georgia take shape as UGA’s Special Collections Libraries document the state’s rich and diverse musical traditions.

28

Back2Back

We are (still) the champions, my friends.

Discover Georgia’s

CONTENTS

CONTENTS

cover photo by andrew davis tucker

UGA photographer Andy Tucker took this photo of the Georgia Bulldogs’ back-toback national trophies, but he didn’t work alone. More than half a dozen marketing and communications staff worked on lighting, staging, and even throwing the confetti you see here. That confetti, by the way, was the same confetti used in the national championship celebration at SoFi Stadium in California. Go Dawgs!

andrew davis tucker

Back2Back, p.28.

Twice as Nice

the celebration of georgia’s second consecutive national title wasn’t confined to the field at SoFi Stadium in southern California. When the final whistle blew, thousands of fans in red and black took to the streets of downtown Athens and spaces all over campus to cheer the Bulldogs. The Chapel Bell rang for hours, and the Arch stood stoically as the crowd hustled from place to place.

dorothy kozlowski

SPRING 2023

VOLUME 102

ISSUE NO. 2

GEORGIA MAGAZINE

Editor · Eric Rangus MA ’94

Associate Editor · Aaron Hale MA ’16

Writers · Leigh Beeson MA ’17, Erica Techo AB ’15, and Jayne Roberts

Art Director · Jackie Baxter Roberts

Advertising Director · Kipp Mullis ABJ ’93

Photo Editor · Peter Frey BFA ’94

UGA Photographers · Andrew Davis Tucker, Dorothy Kozlowski BLA ’06, ABJ ’10, and Chamberlain Smith ABJ ’18

Contributing Writers · Elizabeth Elmore BBA ’08, ABJ ’08, Clarke Schwabe ABJ ’08, and Alexandra Shimalla MA’19

Contributing Designer · Amy Gunby BFA ’20

Editorial Interns · Ireland Hayes, Rachel Cooper, and Navya Shukla

MARKETING & COMMUNICATIONS

Vice President · Kathy Pharr ABJ ’87, MPA ’05, EdD ’11

Senior Director for Integrated Media Communications · Rod Guajardo

Senior Executive Director for Operations & Fiscal Affairs · Fran Burke

ADMINISTRATION

President · Jere W. Morehead JD ’80

Senior VP for Academic Affairs & Provost · S. Jack Hu

VP for Finance & Administration · Ryan Nesbit MBA ’91

VP for Development & Alumni Relations · Kelly Kerner

VP for Instruction · Marisa Anne Pagnattaro PhD ’98

VP for Research · Karen J. L. Burg

VP for Public Service & Outreach · Jennifer Frum PhD ’09

VP for Student Affairs · Victor Wilson BSW ’82, MEd ’87

VP for Government Relations · Kevin Abernathy AB ’99

VP for Information Technology · Timothy M. Chester

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Powered by Purpose

This academic year marks my 10th year leading the University of Georgia. By any measure, it has been a tremendous decade for the UGA community, powered by shared purpose and a dedication to excellence.

Among our historic milestones and achievements over the decade, UGA has been ranked a top 20 public institution by U.S. News & World Report for the past seven years, while student enrollment eclipsed 40,000 and demand for a UGA degree doubled. Our research enterprise grew by more than 50% in the past 10 years as well, as annual research expenditures surpassed a half-billion dollars. We helped individuals across the state create over 3,000 businesses and 26,000 jobs and earned national recognition for working with Georgia communities to address critical needs.

With our considerable momentum, UGA is positioned like never before to reach new heights of excellence as we teach, inquire, and serve to shape a better tomorrow. In the year ahead, we will:

• Enhance our world-class instruction through expansion of domestic field study programs, donor support for experiential learning, and active learning practices that increase student engagement.

• Elevate and improve the student experience by consolidating key services into a one-stop shop tailored to students’ needs and available through a dynamic website and in-person support.

• Expand graduate programs and fellowships to attract top graduate students and address immediate and future needs of Georgia’s labor market.

• Maximize facilities devoted to scientific inquiry through continued modernization of Science and Ag Hill and completion of the new Poultry Science Building.

• Build industry partnerships through an Industry Ambassador Program and an Industry Advisory Council to increase UGA’s impact as an economic driver.

The past decade may long be remembered as one of our best, but I foresee an even brighter decade ahead. As the world seeks new leaders, new solutions, and new opportunities, the University of Georgia will answer the call. I am deeply grateful for your unwavering commitment to our vital mission. Working together, ours is a future with limitless potential.

“I am deeply grateful for your unwavering commitment to our vital mission. Working together, ours is a future with limitless potential.”

A decade of impact and a future with limitless potential

Jere W. Morehead President

UGA Z to

UGA Spotlights Excellence in Arts and Humanities

The University of Georgia’s 11th Annual Spotlight on the Arts celebrated the visual, performing, and literary arts on campus through events and performances in November.

The event featured dozens of exhibitions by students (like

these dancers from the Young Choreographers Series), faculty, and professional artists, including performances by the Grammy Award-winning Soweto Gospel Choir at the Performing Arts Center.

Highlights from across the UGA community

“The arts and humanities enrich the learning environment at UGA, and the festival highlights the abundance and diversity of programming and scholarship on our campus,” says S. Jack Hu, senior vice president for academic affairs and provost.

SPOTLIGHT ON THE ARTS

BEYOND THE ARCH

UGA Wins National Outreach Award

The University of Georgia’s Archway Partnership earned the C. Peter Magrath Award for Community Engagement. This award provides national recognition for outstanding community-university engagement and includes a $20,000 prize, which will be used to further expand the Archway Partnership.

The Archway Partnership is a UGA Public Service and Outreach unit that boosts economic development by connecting community partners to the vast student and faculty resources available within UGA’s 18 schools and colleges. For example, the Connected Resilient Community program, a recent partnership initiative, provides underserved Georgia communities with the resources they need to thrive in a competitive economic development landscape.

Since 2005, more than 200 faculty and 1,500 students have participated in the program, gaining real-world research and learning opportunities in the process. UGA faculty members have also secured more than $20 million in community-based research grants for the partnership since 2009.

TOP DAWG President’s Medal Honors Dedicated Arts Benefactor

The University of Georgia presented the 2023 President’s Medal, one of its highest honors, to Robert G. “Bob” Edge AB ’60, a UGA alumnus, attorney, civic leader, and advocate for the performing arts. The medal recognizes the remarkable contributions of individuals who have dedicated their lives to supporting the university.

Edge served for several years as a trustee of the UGA Foundation, including two years as chair. He was instrumental in establishing the Foundation Fellowship, the university’s premier academic scholarship for undergraduates, and in 2016, he helped create the Distinguished Law Fellows program in the School of Law.

A dedicated supporter of the arts, Edge chaired the steering committee for the $15 million campaign to build the Performing and Visual Arts Complex in the 1990s. Edge has also served the boards of numerous civic, educational, and arts organizations. He continues to serve as senior counsel in the Atlanta law firm of Alston & Bird.

ADVANCING SCIENCE

Five Faculty Elected as AAAS Fellows

Five University of Georgia faculty were named Fellows for the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), bringing the university’s total representation on this prestigious list to 42.

Fellows are elected annually by the AAAS Council for extraordinary achievements leading to the advancement of science. UGA’s new Fellows (pictured below from left to right) were:

• Joseph Hermanowicz, a professor in the Department of Sociology.

• Ping Ma, a Distinguished Research Professor in the Department of Statistics and adjunct professor of computer science.

• Lisa Nolan DVM ’88, MS ’89, PhD ’92, the Georgia Athletics Association Distinguished Professor and dean of the College of Veterinary Medicine.

• Ronald Simons, a Regents’ Professor and Fellow in the Center for Family Research and co-director of the Center on the Biological Embedding of Social Events and Relationships.

• Stephen Trent, the UGA Foundation Distinguished Professor in the Department of Infectious Diseases.

“This is a special recognition for our researchers because it comes from their own peers in the field,” says Karen Burg, vice president for research. “We are continually growing our UGA contributions to thought leadership and innovation in a wide range of scientific disciplines, and it’s gratifying to see our faculty honored for their incredible work.”

graphic by lindsay bland

andrew davis tucker

Visit GEORGIAMUSEUM.ORG for more information on 75th anniversary events or to learn more about the museum’s history.

More than 3,200 Earn Their Diplomas at Joyous Fall Commencement

UGA’s annual Fall Commencement celebrated the 3,202 students—1,681 undergraduates and 1,521 graduate students—who met the requirements to walk across the stage and can now call themselves alumni of the University of Georgia.

“No matter what you do next, you can make a difference. You must make a difference. Each and every one of you has the know-how and, I hope, the can-do attitude, to make a difference wherever you are. And when you do, you won’t just be changing our communities—you will be changing our nation and our world,” said commencement speaker Chris Womack, the chairman, president, and CEO of Georgia Power.

The new graduates also received encouraging—loving, really—words from student speaker Michael Banks AB’22, AB’22, a Jere W. Morehead Honors College student who earned bachelor’s degrees in journalism and international affairs.

“Fall in love with your process, fall in love with your friendships, and try to fall in love with the person behind it all—you. If you do all of that falling, then I think, just maybe, the rest will fall into place,” he said.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY

Museum of Art Celebrating 75th Anniversary All Year

Throughout 2023, the Georgia Museum of Art will celebrate its 75th anniversary.

The museum opened to the public on November 8, 1948, following a gift from Alfred Heber Holbrook, a retired lawyer from New York. At the time, it was the largest gift of art to a Southern university ever, initially numbering 100 American paintings by artists including Georgia O’Keeffe, Thomas Eakins, and Winslow Homer.

“I see the museum of the future as an instrument for serving Georgia and the entire region,” Holbrook said in a news story from 1945.

Holbrook added that he selected UGA “because he had found more evidence of genuine art culture in Athens than any university he had visited in the South.” After the museum’s opening, Holbrook remained dedicated to sharing art with the public and often toured paintings around the state in a car provided by the Georgia Center for Continuing Education.

Since Holbrook’s initial gift, the museum’s collection has grown to more than 17,000 objects, and it now occupies a large contemporary building with 22 galleries (including a sculpture garden) on UGA’s East Campus.

New Vaccine Targets LifeThreatening Fungal Infections

Fungal infections cause 1.5 million deaths each year, and there’s currently no vaccine to prevent them.

However, a new vaccine from the University of Georgia could be the first clinically approved immunization to protect against invasive fungal infections, a growing concern as antifungal drug resistance increases.

“There’s a significant unmet clinical need for this kind of prevention and also treatment, particularly among immunocompromised individuals,” says Karen Norris (above), lead investigator on the new study and a Georgia Research Alliance Eminent Scholar. “The patient population at risk for invasive fungal infections has increased significantly over the last several years.”

The experimental vaccine has proven effective in multiple models against the three most common fungal pathogens that are responsible for more than 80% of fatal fungal infections.

WELCOME NEW ALUMNI

andrewdavis tucker

Michael Banks, a Jere W. Morehead Honors College student who earned bachelor's degrees in journalism and international affairs, delivered the student address at Fall Commencement.

A gift of 100 American paintings in 1948 from Alfred Heber Holbrook led to the opening of the Georgia Museum of Art. In the years that followed, Holbrook would load up a state-provided car and share his love of art across the South.

UGA Partners with AthensClarke County Schools to Provide Free Community Care

The new Clarke Middle Health Center opened in fall 2022 to provide free medical, mental health, and legal services to AthensClarke County students, staff, and families.

The center is part of a collaboration between the Clarke County School District (CCSD) and the Augusta University/ University of Georgia Medical Partnership’s Athens Free Clinic.

After the Athens Free Clinic and CCSD teamed up in 2021 to provide more than 1,650 COVID-19 vaccines to students, staff, families, and employees, leaders applied for a UGA Presidential Interdisciplinary Seed Grant and received a $94,000 grant to support a nine-month pilot period for the center.

Students from the Medical Partnership are among those who provide checkups and treat ailments.

“We have a unique opportunity as a medical school to try to address social and structural determinants of health and health equity,” says Dr. Suzanne Lester, the director of the Athens Free Clinic.

“Allowing our medical students, our counseling students, and our law students to interact in this setting with patients and families means when they finish their training, they are more likely to go into primary care and community-based service.”

DIVERSE COMPOSITION

Hip-Hop Meets Classical in Local Ensemble

The Athens Hip-Hop Harmonic is an innovative, multiyear collaboration between the Classic City’s hiphop community and the Hugh Hodgson School of Music, combining the talents of hip-hop artists and classically trained musicians in Athens.

The project blends the arts with local culture through the concept of “creative placemaking,” an effort to enhance quality of life and creativity, while forming a distinct sense of place for all involved.

The community engagement project was founded in August 2021 by Connie Frigo, an associate professor of saxophone in the School of Music, who developed it in collaboration with Athens hip-hop artists, and faculty members and student composers from the School of Music.

The group’s repertoire includes a variety of music styles ranging from classical, rap, and spoken word. The ensemble has performed in a variety of venues in Athens, from the UGA Hugh Hodgson Concert Hall to Creature Comforts, and has many concerts still to come.

A

Clinic assistant Jessica Moore, a College of Public Health graduate student, answers the phones at the Clarke Middle Health Center. Moore is one of several UGA students working part time at the clinic.

self-portrait of the Athens Hip-Hop Harmonic, an ensemble that combines the talents of local hip-hop artists and classically trained musicians from the Hugh Hodgson School of Music.

ER Physicians Turn to Fashion Merchandising Students

Emergency room doctors have to make rapid-fire decisions when determining appropriate medical care for patients. But that task becomes more challenging when incoming patients are unresponsive or too young to give basic information like their height.

Athens emergency physician Lewis Earnest came up with an intriguing solution to that problem.

His idea was to create bed linens with repeating patterns that a health care provider can quickly scan to determine a patient’s height. The design would also have a QR code linked to a webpage that automatically calculates the needed dosage of medication.

Earnest, who works in the St. Mary’s Health Care System, recently tasked fashion merchandising students in UGA’s College of Family and Consumer Sciences with bringing his concept to life.

Earnest selected six student designs from assistant professor Laura McAndrews’ class as prototypes for the new fitted bed sheets.

Now, St. Mary’s health care professionals will select the winning design for a 100-sheet trial run at St. Mary’s Good Samaritan Hospital in Greensboro, Georgia.

The leadership of the new center includes (from left to right): Rebecca Hutchins with the Georgia Tech Research Institute, Tonia Parrott of the Georgia Department of Public Health, and Justin Bahl of the University of Georgia.

PRIORITIZING PUBLIC HEALTH

CDC Funds Pathogen Genomics Center of Excellence

The University of Georgia and the Georgia Tech Research Institute, in partnership with the Georgia Department of Public Health, have received a fiveyear, $17 million cooperative agreement from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to establish a Pathogen Genomics Center of Excellence.

The center aims to strengthen public health responses to infectious disease threats and support public health workforce development.

The award is part of a $90 million investment by the CDC to build a network of centers in five states. Each center consists of a health department and one or more academic institutions.

Collectively, this work focuses on bringing innovations out of the lab and into use in public health departments across the United States.

STRONGER COMMUNITIES

UGA Program Connects Veterans to Farming Education

For many veterans, returning to civilian life is a dramatic shift from a fast-paced and service-based military life.

A program at the University of Georgia is helping ease that transition through farming education and opportunities for Georgia veterans and more.

Farm Again gives lifelong farmers, veterans, and those entering the industry for the first time the necessary insights to successfully apply for grants. The program also teaches them about the industry and what it takes to sustain a farming career.

Nearly 50 veterans and more than 1,500 farm families have benefited from Farm Again and Georgia’s AgrAbility program since its founding in 2005 .

christopher moore

Iteago Felton spent 32 years in the Army. He took part in UGA's Farm Again program and now owns 3T Farms in Lincolnton. "[Farm Again] gives us the knowledge, a new community of farms and veterans, and a sense of pride because you know you are of service to your community again," he says.

Four UGA Students Awarded Prestigious Scholarships

RHODES SCHOLAR

Natalie Navarrete, Boca Raton, FL Majors: International Affairs, Russian, and Spanish Minor: Latin American and Caribbean Studies

Natalie Navarrete is one of just three public university students in the U.S.—and the only student in Georgia—to earn the prestigious 2023 Rhodes Scholarship. Navarrete is a Morehead Honors College student and Foundation Fellow. Her research focuses on Russian investment in Latin America, post-COVID smuggling related to Latin America, and the influence of Russian media on Latin America. Navarrete plans to pursue a master’s degree in Russian and East European studies and expand her research while at the University of Oxford.

MARSHALL SCHOLARS

Natalie Moss, Norcross, GA

Majors: Anthropology and Geology

Minor: Biology

Lauren Wilkes, New Orleans, LA

Major: Data Science

Minor: Chinese Language and Literature

UGA is the only public institution of higher learning in the United States to have multiple recipients of the Marshall Scholarship this year.

Natalie Moss and Lauren Wilkes will continue their studies in the U.K. next year through the Marshall Scholarship, which is among the most selective graduate scholarships for Americans.

Moss plans to pursue two master’s degrees through the scholarship. She will study the human skeleton in depth to increase her understanding of biological anthropology in prehistory in the modern world.

Wilkes studies machine learning with the goal of building intelligent computer defense systems secure enough for real-world use. She will continue her studies through two master’s degrees, ultimately hoping to build machine learning systems that advance positive social impact.

SCHWARZMAN SCHOLAR

Elise Karinshak, Lawrenceville, GA

Majors: Marketing and Data Science

Minor: Studio Art

Elise Karinshak will combine her study of artificial intelligence and digital communication at UGA with a degree from Tsinghua University in Beijing, China, starting next fall. As UGA’s newest Schwarzman Scholar, she will join students from around the world as they pursue one-year master’s degrees in global affairs.

Scholars chosen for this highly selective program live in Beijing for a year that includes studying and cultural immersion, attending lectures, traveling around the region, and developing a better understanding of China.

Karinshak’s work as a Schwarzman Scholar will inform her future research, which will be designed to improve communication technologies and deepened by the crosscultural experience she will gain in China.

CORRECTION

In the Winter 2022 Georgia Magazine story “Weather Program,” the degrees available through the atmospheric sciences program were misstated. The University of Georgia offers a bachelor’s degree program in atmospheric sciences and a graduate certificate program in atmospheric sciences. Georgia Magazine regrets the error.

Family Is What You Make It

They weren’t born wearing red and black. They didn’t ring the Chapel Bell after exams, take an Orbit bus around campus, or toss their graduation cap between the hedges. But as the saying goes: Family is what you make it.

And making the University of Georgia part of their family is exactly what many UGA parents have done since attending their first orientation session with their child.

During the university’s last fiscal year (July 1, 2021, to June 30, 2022), over 7,000 parents gave more than $14 million to support UGA. Parent donors gave to a variety of areas in varying amounts: from small, annual gifts that provided reliable funding to major pledges that created endowed funds.

“To provide the best learning environment possible, we have to do whatever we can to meet the ongoing needs of our students,” says Vice President for Student Affairs

Victor K. Wilson BSW ’82, MEd ’87. “Support from parents has done and continues to do so much to change lives. We’re grateful and encourage more parents to get involved.”

Parents’ reasons to give vary, but their commitment is the same: providing generous gifts that will ripple across generations. Some are interested in improving the educational experience for their own children and their peers. Others hope to provide resources to help students avoid juggling multiple jobs to pay for school. And many want to ensure the safety and well-being for all students no matter their backgrounds.

“This next generation is the future, and I think it’s our role to support that future to the greatest degree possible,” says Alison Lewis, who established a scholarship with her husband, Rob Carnegie, in their son’s name. “I believe a strong way you can do that is through the education and experiences provided in college.”

Lewis and Carnegie were always involved in the organizations educating their children— starting from their kindergarten days. When their oldest son headed to UGA, they decided to give their time and money to the university—this time by joining the Parents Leadership Council (see sidebar) and establishing a scholarship fund to support a

Terry College of Business student for years

to come.

“As an alumna and UGA parent who has worked in the campus community for years, my heart has been warmed by the outpouring of support from fellow parents over the years,” says Andrea Parris ABJ ’83, senior director of parent giving. “The sky truly is the limit when it comes to how parents envision their support making a difference, and I’ve enjoyed seeing them join our Bulldog family alongside their students.”

WHAT IS THE PLC?

• The Parents Leadership Council is a group of highly engaged UGA parents who are eager to be involved on campus while directly enhancing undergraduate student life.

• A primary focus of the council is to support the PLC Grant Fund. Through an annual commitment of $5,000 or more, PLC members invest in student areas of high impact. Since the council was established in 2012, it has awarded more than $5.7 million to organizations supporting student life.

• Learn more at give.uga.edu/plc.

This next generation is the future, and I think it’s our role to support that future to the greatest degree possible. I believe a strong way you can do that is through the education and experiences provided in college. ”

–Alison Lewis, who established a scholarship with her husband, Rob Carnegie, in their son’s name.

IN THEIR WORDS …

These parents represent thousands more who have felt moved to support the University of Georgia financially. Their reasons vary, but their commitment is shared.

JENNIFER D. AND MARTY FLANAGAN ATLANTA, GEORGIA

“We have seen up close the power of private support to enhance the student experience across UGA’s campus. We’ve talked with students, faculty, and administrators and know that our gifts will directly change lives—now and for generations to come.”

PRASHANTHI AND ROHINI JELLA LAWRENCEVILLE, GEORGIA

“Because we arrived in the early 1990s with international student status, we know what it means to be a college student in the U.S. with limited financial resources. We also know what an education from a great institution can do for someone’s life.”

CHRISTIE AND SCOTT KRASE CHAPPAQUA, NEW YORK

“Students’ mental health is a top priority and concern for us, which is why we chose to not only establish the Sunshine Fund at UGA but challenge our peers on the Parents Leadership Council to help take it to the next level. A student can’t succeed at UGA without first focusing on the day-to-day well-being.”

JEFF AND ALLISON MITCHELL BLACKSBURG, VIRGINIA

“To have your daughter attend UGA from out of state, it’s just special. Spend any time here and you get it. We’ve met so many alumni, and their joy and passion are infectious. We’re happy to celebrate our daughter and support UGA.”

If you’re a Bulldog parent looking to get more involved or wanting to make a financial commitment to an area of campus that has supported your son or daughter, email Andrea Parris at aparris@uga.edu

Engineering a Community

The Peach State LSAMP is helping STEM students of color tap into their leadership abilities.

WRITTEN BY ERIC RANGUS MA

When Rosalba Mazzotta was in the midst of her internship at a firm in the energy industry, the fourthyear biochemical engineering major took the opportunity to brush up on some of her research.

She counted the number of employees of color. She also counted the number of white employees named John.

They were the same. Four.

Mazotta’s parents are both university professors—her mother teaches Japanese, her father, finance—so she is no stranger to diversity in academic circles. But in STEM fields, longtime barriers to students of color have only recently started to crumble.

And there is a still a long way to go. Mazzotta wants to help tear down those barriers forever. That’s what drew her to the Peach State Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation (LSAMP). And that's why she sits on its advisory board, and why she is excited to help make STEM education at UGA a more popular path for all.

An Encouraging Start

The Peach State LSAMP’s mission is to encourage students from underrepresented groups to study science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. Since its launch in 2006, the UGA-led, statewide consortium has been doing that job very well.

Enrollment from underrepresented groups in STEM fields increased 325% over the last 17 years at UGA alone. And the number of STEM bachelor’s recipients is up 550%. Some 1,300 students at UGA have benefitted from Peach State LSAMP programming.

While those figures are encouraging— outstanding, even—that doesn’t mean the work to grow STEM education is over.

In many ways, it’s just getting started.

Mentorship Matters

“LSAMP has exposed me to inspiring students that have increased my capacity for mentorship—a topic I hold dear to heart because of those who took the time to invest in me and always motivate me to look for ways to do the

same,” says Nicholas Myers, a secondyear double major in biochemistry/ molecular biology and mathematics.

Myers credits fellow advisory board member Eric Okanume as one of his first mentors. Now they serve together.

“I feel blessed to have been guided and counseled by so many individuals who genuinely care about my success and well-being,” says Okanume, a fourth-year major in agriculture.

“Nick and I first met while I was representing LSAMP at the UGA Black

Student Convocation Organizational Fair in the fall of 2021. Since then, he has been an exceptional peer and friend. The idea that I can do something to inspire someone else to pass on this same feeling is beyond exhilarating, and I strive to positively impact others every day.”

Angela Birkes knows firsthand the doubts, angst, and isolation many STEM students face.

As a mechanical engineering student at Howard University in

’94

Peach State LSAMP advisory board members Kimata Thomas, Nicholas Myers, Jamye Thigpen, Rosalba Mazzotta, and Eric Okanume outside Terrell Hall on North Campus.

the 1980s, Birkes was one of few Black women pursuing a degree in the field. She remembers what it felt like to have nowhere to turn for support.

Birkes went on to earn a doctorate in civil and environmental engineering, but she never forgot the challenges she faced along the way.

“It’s a wonderful thing to have someone to talk to who can share in some of your experiences. Mentors can tell you how they overcame problems and offer lessons learned,” says Birkes, who has served as

As in Okanume’s and Myers’ cases, upperclassmen mentor younger students as well, and students from all years take part in the bridge program. One of Peach State LSAMP’s most successful innovations, the bridge program brings 14 to 18 graduating high school seniors to Athens over the summer for a three-week introduction to STEM education. Many bridge program students go on to pursue undergraduate degrees in STEM subjects and frequently advance to graduate school.

The Faculty Equation

The LSAMP concept is not exclusive to Georgia.

More than 40 states and Puerto Rico have an LSAMP in some form. LSAMPs receive a combination of federal and other funding. Each state runs its version of the program.

six universities

• University of Georgia (lead institution)

• Fort Valley State University

• Georgia Institute of Technology

• Georgia State UniversityPerimeter College

• Kennesaw State University

• Savannah State University

director of the Peach State LSAMP since 2010. UGA President Jere W. Morehead JD ’80 and Senior Vice Provost Michelle Cook are the co-principal investigators.

That’s why building a community among Peach State LSAMP students and encouraging mentorship has become standard practice. Program alumni often come back to meet with students or to serve on alumni panels. If they can’t make it back in person, they’ll hop on Zoom to provide guidance and support to LSAMP students.

In 2022, the National Science Foundation awarded UGA $2.5 million to expand the initiative, a signal that the UGAled alliance is on the right track.

The new federal funding will enable Peach State LSAMP to launch workshops to introduce students to high-demand STEM areas like data science, mass spectrometry, and scanning electron microscopy.

In 2021, the Peach State LSAMP piloted a partnership with the Georgia Research Alliance called the GRA Student Scholars, which enabled 10 of the state’s university students to work alongside some of Georgia’s most accomplished scientists and engineers. The 2022 GRA grant helped that program to expand to 15 students in 2022.

One of the faculty members who hosts Peach State LSAMP students is Art Edison, GRA Eminent Scholar and Board Trustee in UGA’s Complex Carbohydrate Research Center.

Students in Edison’s lab conduct experiments, use advanced scientific equipment, and learn the fundamental processes of scientific inquiry. Edison says working with the GRA and the Peach State LSAMP has transformed his ideas about teaching and supporting underrepresented minority students.

“The LSAMP program has empowered me to realize how much we can do if we just make an effort,” he says. “We need more qualified students in the United States to go into the sciences, and this program helps ensure that we achieve that goal.”

For more information about how to get involved with Peach State LSAMP, visit PSLSAMP.UGA.EDU

The Peach State LSAMP includes

Meet the I-STEM Complex

State-of-the-art facilities, collaborative workspaces, and a whole lot of clean lines and natural light make the new research buildings highly functional and aesthetically pleasing. And it’s making UGA a desirable neighborhood for some of the best faculty and grad students around.

They look traditional from the outside. But don’t let that fool you.

Inside the University of Georgia’s new Interdisciplinary Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (I-STEM) Research Buildings, the vibes are all modern, sleek, and sophisticated, with an emphasis on open workspaces and common gathering areas to promote cross-disciplinary projects.

The research complex adds a whopping 201,000 square feet for research and instruction in chemistry, engineering, and other scientific fields of study.

But I-STEM is just the start of a larger plan to modernize existing facilities on South Campus, including the original Chemistry Building and the Biological Sciences Building, to support the institution’s growing research enterprise.

That research enterprise has grown exponentially over the past decade, surpassing the half-billion dollar mark in research and development for the first time in fiscal year 2022. With new facilities like the I-STEM complex and soon-to-be-renovated spaces across Science and Ag Hill and all over campus, that number is only expected to grow.

“The story of the STEM buildings is really a story of our long-term work planning and strategizing around how to modernize and bring these mid-century science facilities we have on South Campus into the 21st century in a real systematic and strategic way,” says Lara Mathes, director of campus planning.

The I-STEM complex kicks off that larger renovation project by relocating faculty and staff to the new buildings. With some of those older buildings cleared out, the experts in UGA’s architects office will soon start putting their plans for the older buildings’ major renovations in motion.

If those renovations are anything like the I-STEM buildings, UGA students, faculty, and staff are in for a treat.

“I feel like the general mood of the chemistry faculty has been elevated,” says Gary Douberly, associate dean for the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences and professor of chemistry, who recently moved into I-STEM 2. “We’re in a new, literally brighter space. Everybody is just happy to be here, and it creates a really excellent work environment for our students.”

WRITTEN BY LEIGH BEESON MA ’17

andrew davis tucker

phiotos by andrew davis tucker

ALL BRICK EXTERIOR!

NATURAL LIGHT!

COLLABORATIVE LAB SPACE!

STATE-OFTHE-ART FACILITIES!

STUDENT STUDY AREAS!

MODERN CLASSROOMS!

A Lab and Workspace Worth the Wait

When Brandon Rotavera interviewed for a faculty position in 2015, engineering Dean Don Leo made a compelling case: We’re getting a new building for many of our chemistry and engineering faculty, and it’s going to be worth the wait.

Rotavera was in.

He signed on with joint appointments in the College of Engineering and the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences, something reflective of the interdisciplinary nature of the I-STEM complex.

This was before the Driftmier Engineering Center’s multipart renovation, of course. That project modernized the building that was originally built in 1966, renovating more than 84,000 square feet of new classrooms, instructional labs, and collaborative common spaces to the facility in 2020.

Completed in 1960, the Chemistry Building is unmistakable with its midcentury modern aesthetic, lack of windows on multiple sides of the brick exterior that house lecture classrooms, and elevated

entrance access via stairs or concrete ramp. (Those features won’t be changing with the Chemistry Building’s upcoming renovation, keeping the character of the building. But the windowless corridors and labs with antiquated electrical, plumbing, and mechanical equipment will.)

But Rotavera and his lab wound up on a very different part of campus than either of those buildings.

He and his lab called the Riverbend Research Lab North building home for the years prior to their big move to I-STEM 1 in November 2021. Riverbend wasn’t a particularly convenient spot for his crew with its location off College Station Road, far removed from both the College of Engineering’s home base and the Chemistry Building.

Rotavera’s research centers on the chemistry of biofuels, a reliable source of energy that can be produced from renewable resources and carbon-capture technologies. His lab’s work informs the design of next-

generation combustion engines that support sustainable fuels, with the ultimate goal of lowering the carbon footprint of the transportation sector.

The Rotavera lab works closely with several other groups that now call I-STEM home, like professors Eric Ferreira and Geoffrey Smith from the Department of Chemistry, and Rawad Saleh in the College of Engineering.

“Our group conducts basic science research, but there’s a real, practical outcome to what we do,” Rotavera says. “At the end of the day, the scientific output from our work directly translates to advancing technologies that have tangible societal impact.”

To do that, his group requires ample lab space for a specialized diagnostics and highpressure chemical reactor that replicates the temperatures and pressures of an actual engine. And they also need space to conduct computational modeling of combustion.

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Graduate student Anna Doner talks with Brandon Rotavera, associate professor of chemistry, along with fellow graduate student Samuel Hartness in the common spaces inside the I-STEM Research Building 1.

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I-STEM Research Building 1

302 East Campus Rd. | 1.3 miles from the Arch! $79.6 million (includes the parking deck for both buildings) 100,000 sqft

Multi-student/faculty

Built in 2021

3-story deck

2-acre lot

$796 per square foot

Overview

The location of the Interdisciplinary STEM Research Building 1 simply cannot be beat! The three-story all brick building is nestled in the heart of the South Campus science and engineering corridor at the corner of Cedar Street and East Campus Road.

I-STEM 1’s prime location promotes collaboration among the researchers and their colleagues in life sciences, agriculture, computer science, and biomedicine, who frequent the building to use its instrumentation facilities. Those facilities include spaces for nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, mass spectrometry, electron microscopy, and more.

Boyd Graduate Research Center, the Shirley Mathis McBay Science Library, and all the departments housed on Science and Ag Hill are just steps away from I-STEM 1’s beautifully arched doorway. And there’s a three-story parking deck to boot!

More than 30 College of Engineering and Franklin College chemistry faculty members and over 100 graduate students working in areas ranging from cell imaging and microfluidic separation to combustion chemistry and medical robotics are lucky to call this bright and open building with flexible, open lab space their new home!

I-STEM RESEARCH COMPLEX

SANFORD STADIUM

THE ARCH

andrew davis tucker

I-STEM Research Building 2

302 East Campus Rd. | 1.3 miles from the Arch!

$64 million 101,000 sqft

Multi-student/faculty

Built in 2022

3-story deck

2-acre lot

$640 per square foot

Moving into a New Space

The wait to get into I-STEM 1 was infinitely worthwhile.

Everything Rotavera and his students need is now housed under one roof, with easy access to colleagues for collaborative projects funded by the National Science Foundation and the U.S. Department of Energy.

“Potential graduate students who apply here and visit campus have to find real value in what we’re doing. From a student’s perspective, if you’re committing yourself to work on a Ph.D. for five years, you want to ensure that you are able to excel and work on meaningful, cutting-edge research in order to position yourself for the career you want,” Rotavera says.

Sam Hartness BSBCHE ’20, MS ’22 first started working in Rotavera’s lab as an undergraduate researcher as part of the Center for Undergraduate Research Opportunities, or CURO, in 2018. Hartness liked what he was doing enough to stick around to get his master’s degree as well. And now he’s working toward his Ph.D. in engineering.

“Being at UGA, we attract and develop exceptional students at both the undergraduate and graduate levels, and it really enhances the rewarding experience of being an academic,” Rotavera says of students like Hartness. “Now the university’s commitment to our research is visually reflected in having this world-class space within which we can conduct high-quality research.”

The university’s investment in the STEM fields was clear to doctoral student Annabelle Webb when she interviewed with Rotavera.

“When applying to graduate school, people told me, ‘Go where there’s funding,’” says Webb, who is working on her doctorate in chemistry. “That’s one thing that is very clear here. The research is valued monetarily, and that definitely will attract people to join the chemistry and engineering programs, for sure.”

Overview

Though the I-STEM buildings are connected, don’t call I-STEM Research Building 2 a repeat of its sister!

With a similar feel to its shiny neighbor I-STEM 1, but with an additional 1,000 square feet of learning and research space, I-STEM 2 is the perfect home base for building collaborations among chemistry, engineering, biomedicine, computer science, and other scientific disciplines.

I-STEM 2 is conveniently located right off East Campus Road, with easy access to the Davison Life Sciences Building, the Odum School of Ecology, and the Warnell School of Forestry, among others. And there’s plenty of parking in the shared three-story deck under the I-STEM complex.

The building boasts three levels of flexible, open lab space as well as an 88-seat classroom! There’s also ample office and support space for faculty and graduate students alike. A central common area with a beautiful grand staircase leading up to the second floor of the three-story building provides the ideal environment for innovative partnerships between disciplines. Whiteboards and TV screens line the walls of the common space, showcasing the latest news and work of the building’s new residents, while booth-like seating gives students and faculty alike a casual place to grab a bite with colleagues.

It attracted Josh DeJongh, a fifth-year student in the Double Dawgs program for engineering and a master’s student in the Rotavera lab. A NASA Pathways Engineering Intern and a veteran of the U.S. Air Force, DeJongh started working with Rotavera in summer 2021 and has received multiple awards from the College of Engineering and UGA’s Student Veterans Resource Center for his work in STEM.

“What I do is a little bit different than what some of the others do in the lab,” he says. “I have no background in chemistry. My work focuses on developing a computational fluid dynamics, or CFD, model of the reactor that the lab uses for all the combustion reactions. And with that, we can make predictions about what’s going on in the reactor and infer detailed information at the interface of fluid mechanics and physical chemistry.”

Bringing together chemistry and engineering students and faculty—in addition to others in scientific fields—is at the heart of the I-STEM Complex.

“It’s a significant recruiting advantage,” Rotavera says. “The visuals of I-STEM are obviously compelling. But there is also a clear sense that a lot of impactful work is being produced here, and I think students ultimately want to be part of a highly productive environment. To that end, the investments that the UGA leadership continues to make in STEM research and education is paying dividends.”

andrew davis tucker

tis Redding, Whisperin’ Bill Anderson, Outkast, R.E.M., Gladys Knight, Alan Jackson, Lena Horne, the Allman Brothers Band, TLC.

See the common thread yet?

Trisha Yearwood, the Indigo Girls, Ma Rainey, Little Richard, Lil Nas X, Toni Braxton, Johnny Mercer, Ray Charles.

How about now?

Their music, personas, and stories are just as rich, diverse, and complicated as the state from which they hailed.

“Georgia, Georgia. The whole day through.”

Thanks to music streaming services, the sound of Georgia is as accessible as a high-speed internet connection.

But does that accessibility also come at a cost if our only exposure to music comes passively?

Is something missing if our only musical experiences are solitary—just our mobile phones transmitting songs directly into our earbuds? Do we miss out if all the songs we hear are curated by an algorithm that knows just enough about our tastes to keep us listening?

THE POWER OF THE TANGIBLE

Think about some of the all-time classic hits from Georgia musicians.

The Allman Brothers’ “Sweet Melissa,” the B-52s’ “Love Shack,” and TLC’s “Waterfalls” all stand alone as remarkable works of art.

But there’s something about seeing the physical objects related to the songs or musicians—an apologetic “Do Not Disturb” sign scribbled by Gregg Allman on a crumpled manila envelope, the painted door to the Love Shack from the 1989 music video, or a TLC concert poster.

There’s power in the tangible, says Jan Hebbard, exhibition coordinator at the Hargrett Library. Perhaps especially so in our digital age.

“People connect to music,” Hebbard says. “And they love these original pieces that are part of that history. These physical things, like the instruments and the ephemera, are just something I feel like everybody has a connection to.”

If that’s the case, Maggie Neel, a UGA doctoral student in history, will remember the ins and outs of Georgia music for some time.

Each summer, the UGA Special Collections Libraries hires student workers to curate

If so, Georgia music lovers can dig even deeper into the music, the musicians, and the communities that forged the sound at the University of Georgia’s Special Collections Libraries.

The Hargrett Rare Book & Manuscript Library, one of three special collections at UGA, stores a growing collection of Georgia music artifacts that range from elaborate performance costumes, concert posters, and instruments to a robust assortment of other memorabilia that breathe life into the state’s musical traditions.

The Walter J. Brown Media Archives & Peabody Awards Collection, which is one of the nation’s largest publicly accessible media archives, preserves Georgia music’s audio and video recordings.

The collection’s genesis began with the Georgia Music Hall of Fame in Macon, which celebrated the state’s musical heritage from 1996 until it closed in 2011. Much of that collection came to Athens just as the Special Collections Libraries Building opened.

Since then, the Hargrett Library has worked to fill in and expand its holdings to fully capture the breadth of the state’s music.

exhibitions of the libraries’ holdings. Neel came on board in 2020 to curate the first exhibition for the music collection since the Georgia Music Hall of Fame’s closing.

This past fall, the Hargrett Library featured the “Georgia on My Mind: Finding Belonging in Music History” exhibition on the second story of the Special Collections Building, complete with flashy performance costumes, authentic instruments, and other artifacts on display.

Although Neel has never focused her academic study on music, she fully immersed herself in the topic. She built a 10-plus hour Spotify playlist of Georgia music brimming with gospel, hip hop, Southern rock, alternative rock, country, roots, R&B, classical, jazz, and so much more.

Maggie Neel, a doctoral student in history, experienced a kind of magic while handling the artifacts of Georgia’s musical greats

In the summer of 2020, Neel had limited access to the library’s material due to pandemic restrictions. So she listened to hours and hours of Georgia music while conducting online research for the exhibition.

When she could finally come in and handle the objects, well, that’s when the magic happened.

Neel says there’s a kind of aura to some of these objects.

“There’s something about the material that has communicative, inspirational, and evocative power that just words on a page or lectures don’t have,” she says.

For instance, a Ray Charles performance outfit was missing buttons, and sweat marks stained the armpits of a shiny silk jacket. The blemishes reveal something about the performer, noted Sara Idacavage, a fashion historian working on her doctorate at UGA’s College of Family and Consumer Sciences. The wear and tear reveal a legendary performer’s work ethic and humanity— even icons get pit stains.

When objects are stored in the special collections vault, they’re often in a sterile white box that blandly lists the contents. Still, there’s an alluring anticipation in lifting the lid to see what’s inside. An experience akin to tearing open a Christmas present.

“That moment where you bring something out, and you didn’t know what it was going to be or look like or feel like, and then you get that moment of like, ‘Oh my gosh, That’s it!’” she says. She once opened a box labeled to contain a suit worn by Whisperin’ Bill Anderson ABJ ’59. She was astounded when out of the box she pulled a bright red, intricately embroidered, rhinestonestudded cowboy suit—a genuine Nudie suit from the famous tailor Nudie Cohn. Anderson wore the elaborate ensemble on the cover of his 1967 greatest hits album.

“Realizing that, oh my gosh, this was something I could never have expected. It was incredible.”

Above, the door from the B-52’s 1989 music video “Love Shack.”

Right, Jan Hebbard, a library exhibition coordinator, examines the details inside a Ray Charles performance jacket. Costumes and other Georgia music artifacts are available for the public to view at the Special Collections Libraries Building.

"GEORGIA, GEORGIA, NO PEACE, NO PEACE I FIND. JUST THIS OLD, SWEET SONG KEEPS

GEORGIA ON MY MIND"

THE FUTURE OF THE MUSIC COLLECTION

The Georgia music exhibition went on display in August 2022 and came down four months later. Currently, individual items are available upon request for the public to view and even handle, in most instances, at the Special Collections Libraries Building.

But the music isn’t over yet.

The Special Collections Libraries is working on expanding its holdings to be more representative of Georgia’s diverse tradition.

“The Georgia Music Hall of Fame collection we inherited was incredible and very diverse as it was, but it wasn’t as diverse or reflective of Georgia music as it could have been,” Neel says. “Part of my work was to identify what genres, musicians, areas, etc., were underrepresented in the collection. The library has been addressing those gaps by targeting new acquisitions in that area.”

In January, the libraries hired a new Georgia music curator, Ryan Lewis, to grow the music collection.

Top, this colorful suit worn by Whisperin’ Bill Anderson was designed by the famous designer Nudie Cohn. Anderson wore this ensemble for his 1967 Greatest Hits album.

"Georgia on My Mind"

Song

by Hoagy Carmichael, Ray Charles, and Stuart Gorrell

MUSIC AND THEIR SCENES

Not surprisingly, given the strong connections between UGA and local musicians, the collection includes a rich sampling of items from Athens’ storied music scene. Thrift-store chic dresses and wigs from the B-52s, a poster from Widespread Panic’s storied “Panic in the Street” concert, and a New York Rocker magazine featuring Pylon.

But the collection also documents some of Georgia’s other notable music scenes. Macon produced the likes of the Allman Brothers Band, Otis Redding, and Little Richard. And Atlanta continues to generate some of the most acclaimed hip-hop, R&B, and soul acts.

MCINTOSH COUNTY SHOUTERS

As bright as Georgia’s musical stars shine, the collection also documents music at the grassroots level. This includes albums from gospel groups, church hymnals, and traditional costumes from the McIntosh County Shouters, a coastal Georgia group who perform the ring shout and continue the musical heritage of the Gullah-Geechee.

"GEORGIA, CAN YOU HEAR ME CALLIN'; I'LL BE HOME IN JUST A WHILE. AND IF I HAD TO

"TALKING 'BOUT, OH GEORGIA, TAKE ME TO YOUR SOUTHLANDS. I SOMETIMES FEEL THAT LIFE IS ROLLING ON. OH GEORGIA,

MACON

I'D BE CRAWLIN' JUST TO SHARE ANOTHER

COSTUMES

For many artists, performance costumes can communicate nearly as much as a song, says Sara Idacavage, a fashion historian working on her doctorate at UGA’s College of Family and Consumer Sciences.

Think of the iconic looks of David Bowie, the Beatles, and James Brown.

“They can express a musician’s heritage, beliefs, or aspirations—serving as a powerful link between artists and their audiences,” says Idacavage, who consulted on the “Georgia on My Mind” exhibition.

The Hargrett Library’s music collection includes several performance costumes from Georgia musicians—everything from a modest dress bought from Sears worn by Polly Lewis of the gospel group the Lewis Family to a purple sequined suit from Ronnie Milsap to a sleek gown with a colorful flowing skirt worn by Lena Horne.

INSTRUMENTS

A drum kit from the late Todd Nance of Widespread Panic is on loan to the Hargrett. The collection also includes an orange Gibson electric guitar played by Chet Atkins, a

banjo once owned by Rosa Lee Carson, who performed as Moonshine Kate, circa the 1920s. GM

“Georgia” Song by Elton John

MORNIN' SMILE"

"Walkin' Back to Georgia" Song by Jim Croce

LEAD ME THROUGH YOUR HEARTLANDS. I NEED TO SEE THEM ONE MORE TIME BEFORE THEY'RE GONE"

Back2Back

We are (still) the champions, my friends.

WRITTEN

PHOTOGRAPHY BY ANDREW DAVIS TUCKER, PETER FREY BFA ’94, CHAMBERLAIN SMITH ABJ ’18 DOROTHY KOZLOWSKI BLA ’06, ABJ ’10, TONY WALSH AB ’19

Red and black confetti falling from the rafters. The Redcoat Band breaking into a loop of Glory, Glory. Kirby Smart on a stage, raising the College Football National Championship trophy high above his head. An army of Georgia Bulldogs players fanned across the turf, arms up, index fingers pointed skyward.

BY ERIC RANGUS MA ’94

We’re No. 1.

It all felt familiar, but that didn’t dampen the excitement. Not even the out-of-character rain showers that blew through the sides of the roofed SoFi Stadium in southern California dampened the excitement.

Is there a single play or an image that defines the Georgia Bulldogs’ national championship season of 2022? Not from UGA’s 65-7 dismantling of TCU in the College Football Playoff National Championship Game.

How could you really pick just one? After a while, victory became a blur.

It wasn’t Ohio State’s missed 50-yard field goal attempt that sealed Georgia’s 42-41 win in the Peach Bowl, either. The kick was no gimme, and the Bulldogs didn’t have much to do with it anyway.

The three plays before that miss, though—a stuffed run and two pass breakups—those were pretty important. If Ohio State gained seven more yards, you’d likely not be reading this story.

First-team All-American safety Christopher Smith was a threat on special teams, too. His return of a blocked kick for a touchdown against LSU ignited the Bulldog attack.

Kenny McIntosh played a significant role for the 2021 champs and expanded it in 2022. He led the Bulldogs in rushing with 823 yards and added 43 receptions. His 12 touchdowns (10 rushing, 2 receiving) led the team.

Are you not entertained?!?

Could it be any one of the 76 touchdowns Georgia scored on the season? Probably not, but it would be fun to watch them all again.

Maybe it’s the Georgia defense throwing various Tennessee Volunteers down in the slop of a waterlogged Sanford Stadium, proving who really was the top team in the nation. But, again, that entire game was series of moments—offensive and defensive—that built on the one that came before.

There probably isn’t a single image to define this second consecutive national championship season. The story of the 2022 Georgia Bulldogs is one of consistent excellence. Choppin’ wood. Not beating themselves. And beating the daylights out of others.

Familiarity can often breed complacency. But not with these Junkyard Dawgs.

Javon Bullard intercepted two passes and recovered a fumble, all in the first half of the College Football National Championship Game. That performance earned him Defensive MVP honors. Bullard was also named the Peach Bowl’s Defensive MVP.

We’re No. 1. Again.

“This year’s team was different,” said head coach Kirby Smart, following the Bulldogs’ win over TCU. “They just had this eye of the tiger. They weren’t going to lose.”

And they didn’t, even though there was no guarantee. Following the 2021 national championship, 15 Bulldogs were drafted by the NFL, the most ever from a single school.

More than 70 players returned, however, many of them ready to step into expanded roles and hungry to prove that they belonged there. Throughout the season, Smart stressed the importance of hard work, and the Bulldogs played the entire season with a target on their back that’s worn by every defending national champion. They weren’t phased.

Still, even in a perfect season, nothing ever goes perfectly.

But whenever the Bulldogs were faced with a challenge, they rose to meet it. They set a standard of excellence that continues to climb higher. It is a rare and remarkable thing to see.

Georgia now has four national titles—only six teams have more in the AP Top 25 era, which began in 1936. And a compelling argument can be made that this latest one is the Bulldogs’ most impressive.

The 2022 Bulldogs won 15 games (three more than the beloved 1980 champs), including an SEC title (which eluded the 2021 champs). Georgia is also the first team to repeat as national champions in the College Football Playoff era, which began in 2014, and is just the fourth repeat winner in the last 30 years.

In the AP Top 25 era, no team has ever won three national championships in a row.

Stetson Bennett threw for four touchdowns and rushed for two others against TCU. He was untouched on both of his rushing TDs.

Kirby Smart is just the third coach in the last 40 years to win consecutive national titles.

A(NOTHER) SEASON TO REMEMBER

SEPT. 3, ATLANTA, GA

NO. 3 UGA 49 (1-0)

NO. 11 OREGON 3 (0-1)

Georgia began its national title defense in spectacular fashion, piling on a pretty good team from Oregon in front of a national television audience. If there were questions about whether the Bulldogs had replaced the talent lost to the NFL draft, they were answered very quickly.

SEPT. 10, ATHENS, GA

NO. 2 UGA 33 (2-0)

SAMFORD 0 (1-1)

The Bulldogs’ home opener was an opportunity to take a national championship victory lap and stretch their legs before the start of the SEC schedule the following week.

SEPT. 17, COLUMBIA, SC

NO. 1 UGA 48 (3-0, 1-0)

SOUTH CAROLINA 7 (1-2, 0-2)

Back atop the AP poll, where they probably should have been in the first place, the Bulldogs made quick work of the Gamecocks and left no doubt they were the team to beat in the SEC.

SEPT. 24, ATHENS, GA

NO. 1 UGA 39 (4-0, 1-0)

KENT STATE 22 (1-3)

The Golden Flashes proved to be a tougher opponent, perhaps, than most fans expected.

OCT. 1, COLUMBIA, MO

NO. 1 UGA 26 (5-0, 2-0)

MISSOURI 22 (2-3, 0-2)

Truly tested for the first time, the Bulldogs overcame a 10-point, fourthquarter deficit on the road at Missouri. Georgia never lost its cool, but after two wobbly performances, it did lose its No. 1 ranking.

OCT. 8, ATHENS, GA

NO. 2 UGA 42 (6-0, 3-0)

AUBURN 10 (3-3, 1-2)

Georgia fell to No. 2 and took out its frustrations on Auburn.

Brock Bowers and Darnell Washington (below) were the best tight end combo in the nation. No one else was even close. They combined for 91 receptions and 9 receiving touchdowns. Bowers, a first-team All-American, added 3 TDs on the ground.

OCT. 15, ATHENS, GA

NO. 1 UGA 55 (7-0, 4-0) VANDERBILT 0 (3-4, 0-3)

The 100th anniversary of UGA Homecoming was a joyous celebration for all. Except for the Commodores.

OCT. 29, JACKSONVILLE, FL NO. 1 UGA 42 (8-0, 5-0) FLORIDA 20 (4-4, 1-4)

It’s great to be a Florida Gator? No, not really.

NOV. 5, ATHENS, GA NO. 3 UGA 27 (9-0, 6-0) NO. 1 TENNESSEE 13 (8-1, 4-1)

Georgia retained its No. 1 ranking in the AP poll, but when the first College Football Playoff rankings came out, the Bulldogs sat at No. 3. They were looking up at Tennessee, ranked No. 1 in that particular poll for the first time, and the Volunteers swaggered into Sanford Stadium with the intention of keeping it. They did not.

Georgia routed the upstarts in orange, holding Tennessee without a touchdown until the game’s waning moments. The more than 92,000 fans at Sanford Stadium were fired up too. Reaching noise levels louder than a jet plane, the crowd unnerved the Vols, who were penalized seven times for false starts. A second-half rainstorm washed away any lingering Tennessee hopes, and Georgia earned a statement win.

NOV. 12, STARKVILLE, MS

NO. 1 UGA 45 (10-0, 7-0)

MISSISSIPPI STATE 19 (6-4, 3-4)

There was no post-Tennessee hangover, and Georgia hit the road to dispatch the SEC’s other Bulldogs.

NOV. 19, LEXINGTON, KY

NO. 1 UGA 16 (11-0, 8-0)

KENTUCKY 6 (6-5, 3-5)

The win over the Wildcats wasn’t pretty, but it clinched both the SEC East and a perfect regular-season conference record. No small accomplishment.

Georgia sacked Tennessee quarterback Hendon Hooker six times during the Vols unpleasant and very wet visit to Sanford Stadium.

With two national titles, UGA X is Georgia’s most decorated mascot.

Georgia fans flocked to LA, ready to celebrate.

NOV. 26, ATHENS, GA

NO. 1 UGA 37 (12-0, 8-0)

GEORGIA TECH 14 (5-7, 4-4)

Looking ahead, but not really, to the SEC Championship, Georgia notched its fifth straight win (and 18th out of the last 21) over the Ramblin’ Wreck.

DEC. 3, ATLANTA, GA

SEC Championship

NO. 1 UGA 50 (13-0, 8-0)

NO. 14 LSU 30 (9-4, 6-2)

With a midseason win over Alabama on its resume and fond recollections of its 2019 trip to the SEC title game, which led to a national championship, LSU came to Atlanta on a high.

It didn’t last long.

Georgia made up for that 2019 game (a 37-10 loss) and solidified the top seed heading into the College Football Playoff.

DEC. 31, ATLANTA, GA

Chick-Fil-A Peach Bowl

NO. 1 UGA 42 (14-0, 8-0)

NO. 4 OHIO STATE 41 (11-2, 8-1)

At times sloppy, maddening, exhilarating, and exhausting, the 2022 Peach Bowl was a game for the ages.

Georgia did not play its best by a long shot, but dug deep when it mattered, twice overcoming 14-point deficits, including one in the fourth quarter. When Ohio State missed what would have been a game-winning field goal as time ran out at the exact moment the ball dropped in Times Square to ring in 2023, it symbolically announced that this would be Georgia’s year. Again.

JAN. 9, INGLEWOOD, CA College Football Playoff

National Championship

NO. 1 UGA 65 (15-0, 8-0)

NO. 3 TCU 7 (13-2, 9-1)

Was this the most dominating performance in a national championship game ever?

The 58-point margin of victory was the largest in bowl history. Any bowl.

The Bulldogs rewrote the offensive record book for the College Football Playoff (most points, most touchdowns, etc.), while the Georgia defense threw a blanket over a Horned Frogs team that had scored 28 points or more in 13 of its previous 14 games. Masterful in every way.

Hey what’s that comin’ down the track? A huge machine that's red and black.

At midnight in the Peach Bowl, Ohio State turned into a pumpkin.

UGA’s New Learning Sanctuary

Visit the university's downtown hub for contemporary art.

WRITTEN BY IRELAND HAYES

In Ancient Greece, an athenaeum was a sanctuary dedicated to learning. People gathered to learn from artists and scholars; it’s an ancient concept that the University of Georgia has adapted to fit the 21st century. The Athenaeum, a contemporary art gallery in downtown Athens, has been a hub for nationally and internationally renowned artist and their work since its opening in September 2021. The versatile space provides an extraordinary educational and cultural resource to UGA students, visitors, and the Athens community.

As the Lamar Dodd School of Art’s contribution to the University of Georgia’s Innovation District, the space hosts cutting-edge exhibitions, creators, and innovative programming designed to connect art to vital issues. New ideas and cross-disciplinary conversations that take place in the Athenaeum push the bounds of contemporary art and UGA’s place in the industry.

Student works on display at the spring 2022 MFA Exit Show in the Athenaeum Gallery. The pieces are part of the exit exhibition, Downstream, the culmination of the students' three years of work in the Lamar Dodd School of Art.

Renowned American contemporary silhouettist Kara Walker’s work was on display in the Athenaum through March 24. In her collection, Kara Walker: Back of Hand, a series of works on paper, Walker draws inspiration from her own experiences growing up as a young Black woman in the South.

Funding the Future

The Athenaeum was recently awarded a $60,000 grant from the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts to support Fabienne Lasserre: Listeners, a sculpture and painting hybrid exhibition premiering in the space in January 2024.

Doreen Baingana reads a passage from her book Tropical Fish: Tales From Entebbe, a work of historical fiction that follows a Ugandan girl as she navigates the uncertain terrain of adolescence. The book is Baingana’s fiction debut, but it depicts the reality of the struggles faced during times of dictatorship in Uganda. After reading several passages, Baingana discussed the work on October 26 with an audience gathered in the Athenaeum and took questions.

ireland hayes

sidney chansamone

DAWG DAY OF GIVING

March 30

UGA is calling all Dawgs to join in a 24-hour, worldwide fundraiser to support students and further advance the university’s reputation as an academic and athletic powerhouse. Answer the call at givingday.uga.edu

SENIOR SIGNATURE DEADLINE

March 31

All students who earn degrees between May and December 2023 are invited to make a $30 Senior Signature gift. As a thank you, students’ names are included on the class plaque in Tate Plaza. Details at alumni.uga.edu/senior-signature.

G-DAY SPRING SCRIMMAGE

April 15

Join your back-to-back national champion Georgia Bulldogs between the hedges in Sanford Stadium for their annual spring scrimmage. Details at georgiadogs.com.

championship chapters

During the Bulldogs’ 2022 championship football season, 80 alumni chapters around the world hosted nearly 1,000 individual game-watching parties for local alumni and fans. While countless Bulldogs attended these gatherings, more than 7,300 individuals checked into a game-watching party during the season for a chance to win a football signed by head coach Kirby Smart BBA ’98

YOUNG ALUMNI ROOFTOP TAKEOVER

April 23

Young alumni are invited to Skyline Park at Ponce City Market in Atlanta for an afternoon of Bulldog revelry surrounded by beautiful views of the city. Details at alumni.uga.edu/calendar

BULLDOG 100 NOMINATION DEADLINE

July 31

Know a business owned or led by a UGA grad? Nominate them for the 2024 Bulldog 100, which recognizes the fastest-growing Bulldog businesses. Nominate at alumni.uga.edu/b100

100 years of uga rings

Wear your UGA pride wherever you go with an official UGA Ring, a tradition that began more than 100 years ago. Browse styles and order yours at alumni.uga.edu/ring

Bitcoin Depot Named 2023 Fastest-Growing Bulldog Business

In February, the 100 fastest-growing businesses owned or led by UGA alumni gathered in Sanford Stadium to find out the final rankings for the 2023 list. As the countdown wound down, Bitcoin Depot landed at No. 1. Based in Atlanta and led by Brandon Mintz BBA ’16, Bitcoin Depot operates more than 7,000 cryptocurrency ATMs across the United States and Canada. View the final rankings for all 100 businesses at alumni.uga.edu/b100.

Free Career Webinars for Alumni

The UGA Career Center offers UGA alumni free career resources and tools year-round at career.uga.edu/alumni. Here are just two of the webinars offered this spring to help you build your dream career.

• Thriving In Your Role in a Virtual or Hybrid Format – April 19

• Improving Your Conflict Competence – May 17

Check out what's going on for alumni and update your email or mailing address with UGA.

class notes

The fab’rik of Life

The night the first fab’rik opened in 2002 was a raging success.

Customers swarmed the Atlanta clothing boutique where everything is under $100 in the best way. Hundreds lined the sidewalk outside waiting for a chance to get in the doors. Founder and CEO Dana Spinola saw years of coffee-fueled days starting to really pay off.

She went home that night and slept soundly for the first time in a long time. The next day, fab’rik would open to the public, and Spinola BBA ’96 herself would greet shoppers at the door, decked out in some of the store’s finest.

That’s when it all quite literally came crashing down.

“As I’m pulling into the store, I see the windows are shattered and glass is everywhere,” Spinola remembers. “I walked in, and everything was gone. Not just the clothing. They took the register, the stereo system, the lighting, everything off the mannequins. Nothing was left except a few coat hangers.”

Spinola sunk to the floor in utter disbelief. Everything she’d been working to build in a year, gone in one night.

But when she called her dad, a seasoned entrepreneur himself, he had some tough love for her.

“He didn’t laugh, but he said, ‘Welcome to owning your own business, sweetheart,’” Spinola says with a laugh. Spinola thought she had become a business owner the night before. But that morning, broom in hand and nailing up temporary plywood to thwart more crooks—that’s when the reality of being an entrepreneur set in.

So Spinola did what she always does. She went to work.

After cleaning up the store, she convinced the vendors who’d given her clothing to sell to send replacements, promising that she’d sell everything in the next 30 days. And she did.

Compiled by Ireland Hayes, Rachel Cooper, and Navya Shukla

chamberlain smith

ALUMNI PROFILE

1965-1969

Charles W. Clowdis Jr. BBA ’67 is the managing director of Trans-Logistics Group, a consulting group specializing in the transportation field in Chattanooga, TN.

Mark Warren BS ’69 was named a 2022 Georgia Author of the Year

for his book Song of the Horseman, published in August 2021.

1970-1974

Vince King ABJ ’74 is president and CEO of Hangar Creative, a start-up entertainment and music rehearsal facility in Nashville.

1975-1979

Linda Logan AB ’77 is the senior urban planner for Stockbridge and a liaison to the Stockbridge Planning Commission.

Walter Caserio BS ’78 retired after 35 years from his position as plant sanitation manager at Miller Brewing Company in Albany, GA.

“When I coach people on owning their own business, I don’t sit down with anyone and say, ‘Guess what. You’re going to have 40 stores in a couple of years, and one day the work will be done,’” says Spinola, referencing the ever-growing number of fab’rik franchises across the country. “What happens is you put grit into your business every day for the rest of your life.

It will grow, and your vision will grow because of the people that believe in it.”

Spinola didn’t plan on having dozens of stores in as many states when she first opened her doors. “One store was a lot and enough,” she laughs. But her customers started calling, demanding more fab’riks in new locations.

“They’d say, ‘I was just in Raleigh, and I forgot my dress for a wedding. And you don’t even have a fab’rik there. This is ridiculous!’” Spinola says. “I didn’t know how to handle that in the beginning. I’m just like, ‘I’m sorry?’”

Her business degree kicked in. “This is supply and demand,” she thought at the time. So Spinola began franchising stores in a very strategic way.

“I wanted character, not the same thing at every store,” she says. “So I found women that know Athens, that know Austin, that have roots and wanted to build a business of their own and make an impact in their community while having the flexibility to start a family and grow that way— with women, like me, that loved high style and had heart. This type of growth was never the initial plan; it’s grown beyond anything I could have ever imagined.”

In the Athens store, for example, shop owner Melissa Ripley BCFCS ’11 stocks oversized sweatshirts embroidered with a surprisingly subtle, sequined bulldog alongside an impressive selection of red-

1985-1989

Sheila Terrell-James BBA ’86 has been a Realtor in the Atlanta Metropolitan Area for more than 23 years.

Selena Blankenship BSHE ’89, MEd ’05, PhD ’09 is the chief human resources officer for the Clarke County School District. She

and-black earrings. But next to the vintage-inspired Georgia Bulldog T-shirts are everyday essentials, the kinds of clothes women reach for day after day.

These foundational pieces can make or break the versatility of a woman’s wardrobe, and they don’t always come cheap. But at fab’rik, Spinola makes sure the average woman can walk out of the store without busting open her piggy bank while still receiving superb customer service.

In 2009, Spinola expanded the brand to also include a nonprofit branch called free fab’rik, which builds free boutiques in women’s shelters and safe houses. The “stores” have all the same charm as the retail fab’riks—white walls, beautiful rugs, mannequins, fashion books, even a chandelier—but all the clothing is free. Survivors choose complete outfits (shoes and accessories included) from the racks with fashion advice from volunteer stylists without worrying about the price tags.

Free fab’rik hosts these shopping sprees for a variety of organizations serving survivors of human trafficking and domestic violence. The weekly, free boutiques are a way to remind these women that their community cares.

“At these events, you hear stories that break your heart, but you also see the power of an outfit,” Spinola says. “You know, when a woman says, ‘This is the outfit I’m going to wear to court to get custody of my son,’ and then you call the safehouse two weeks later and she got him back. Do I believe it was the outfit? No. But I do believe in the confidence the outfit gave her.

“At fab’rik, we believe that while clothes can’t change the world, the women who wear them can because we watch it happen day after day, and it is absolutely one of the most important and beautiful things we do.”

Written by Leigh Beeson MA ’17

Dana Spinola BBA ’96

serves on the advisory team for the Athens P-20 collaborative and is a member of the National Working Group on Teacher Retention.

1990-1994

Calita Richards PharmD ’90 was named the 2022 Tom C. Sharp Pharmacist of the Year by the Tennessee Pharmacists Association.

Mark Hodges ABJ ’93 is the marketing and communications manager for Shriners Children’s Texas, a special pediatric hospital in Galveston.

Steve F. Reagin BBA ’94 was promoted to president of Signature Bank of Georgia in Atlanta in November.

Tangela Robinson BBA ’94 is a patient consultant at NxStage Medical, a subsidiary of Fresenius Medical Care.

Bernard Stanford BBA ’94 was promoted to East Metro Atlanta president of United Community Bank.

Healing Brain Injuries

Ross Zafonte BS ’81

you go to Athens, and it really influences your genome forever. And I think that’s important—it’s something bigger than yourself.”

Over the last two decades, Zafonte has focused on improving understanding of the physical symptoms of traumatic brain injury, with the goal of better addressing the health needs of individual patients.

“By defining these elements, we can check whether some clinical treatments are valuable or not valuable,” Zafonte says. “It’s a chance to see the challenges and opportunities of treatments.”

An improved understanding of these injuries also improves preventive measures.

When Ross Zafonte’s grandfather had a stroke, he felt the need to do more. He wanted improved treatment options and better therapies.

So when he entered medical school, Zafonte dedicated himself to improving care for future patients.

“I began to ask, ‘Is this all we can do? Can we do better?’ That shaped how I thought about this subject, and I started looking at specificity in care rather than generalities,” says Zafonte BS ’81, now an internationally recognized researcher and pioneer in the brain and spinal cord injury field, as well as in treatment and recovery from those injuries. “I became very interested in how we understand a number of issues related to the recovery process.”

Written by Erica Techo AB ’15

1995-1999

LaShekia Hughes BBA ’95 was appointed to the State Disciplinary Review Board by the Georgia Supreme Court in July. In September, she celebrated her 25th work anniversary with GEICO where she is a senior

Zafonte earned his bachelor’s degrees in psychology and biochemistry from the University of Georgia in 1981. Now, he is president of the Spaulding Rehabilitation Network, the Earl P. and Ida S. Charlton Professor, chair at Massachusetts General Hospital and Brigham and Women’s Hospital, and Harvard Medical School’s Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation. He also serves as the principal investigator of the Football Players Health Study at Harvard.

The groundwork laid by his education at UGA helped strengthen his role as a leader.

“My time at UGA resonates in so many different ways,” Zafonte says. “There are a lot of wonderful institutions in this country, but there is something that changes when

More care is available following a brain injury now, Zafonte says, which can prevent further injury or longer-term health effects down the line. His research has led to numerous awards, including the Innovative Clinical Treatment Award from the North American Brain Injury Society, the 2020 American Academy of Physical Medicine’s Distinguished Member Award, the American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicines Stanley Coulter and Edward Lowman Award, and a Public Service Medal from the United States Department of the Army for his work with veterans.

It’s an impressive list of accolades, but Zafonte is most proud of his work’s impact on advancing the conversation around traumatic brain injuries and the mentees he has trained.

“We’re pushing issues forward and hopefully starting to improve the quality of life of people with brain injuries and concussions,” he says, “including our military service members and those playing a sport at the highest level.”

investigator.

Monica Johnson M ’96 is an associate broker and sports entertainment Realtor with Keller Williams Realty Cityside in Atlanta.

Troy Potts AB ’96 founded Publica Coffee Roasters in Watkinsville

in 2022.

Ivy Sears BBA ’96 is a real estate broker with two ERA Real Estate franchises in LaGrange and Stockbridge.

Brenda Hodges Vazquez BSFCS ’98 started a new position as a regional development officer at

Wellstar Healthcare System. Michelle Nicholson AB ’99 is a project scientist at Solas Energy Consulting in San Antonio.

Tifani Pool BBA ’99 started a new position as the director of the Statesboro location of East Georgia State College in October.

It’s a Small World

Mitch Powers AB ’96

As a music-loving UGA student in the 1990s, Mitch Powers was living the dream.

A communications studies major, Powers AB ’96 was a DJ at WUOG, the university’s beloved independent radio station. He also worked as a campus marketing rep for MCA Records.

He spent a lot of time talking with fellow music fans—students and townies alike. And he handed out a lot of CDs. In the 1990s, this was a coveted gig.

Powers’ UGA experience led him directly to Los Angeles and his first job out of college—eight years on the marketing team at Universal Music. But perhaps most importantly, it was Powers’ time interacting with fans in Athens that set him up for the job he has now.

D23: The Official Disney Fan Club has more than one million members with nearly as many different interests. As vice president and general manager for D23, Powers and his team are responsible for engaging with them all.

“We have fans who love Disney history, and we lean into that,” he continues, noting that he and his staff are as big of fans of Disney properties as the D23 members themselves. “We have things that are hap-

Written by Eric Rangus MA ’94

pening right this second, either in our theme parks, in movie theaters, or on Disney+ [the company’s streaming service], and there are a lot of fans who love just looking toward the future.” Even with all these fans and all these passions, Powers and his team aim for a personal, more focused touch that makes the enormous club a small world after all.

D23 is a reference to the 1923 founding of The Walt Disney Company, an anniversary that will be celebrated all year with efforts that include new attractions at the Disneyland Resort, the massive traveling Disney 100: The Exhibition open at the Franklin Institute in Philadelphia, and much more.

In line with these fan opportunities, the D23 team’s work is about communication and engagement. They produce a quarterly print publication that covers everything from Marvel movies to the Disney Vacation Club, they create exclusive member benefits, and, most importantly, they put together can’tmiss fan events. Last September, the D23 Expo, the ultimate three-day Disney fan event held in southern California, returned after a three-year hiatus. It brought Powers back into his element.

“It’s really a critical moment to engage with fans on a deeper level, and these are some of the most important fans we have,” Powers

says. For instance, one of the highlights of the D23 Expo 2022 was sneak previews of upcoming Disney films. Some of them, like Avatar: The Way of Water, premiered over the holidays. Others, like a reimagining of Snow White with Gal Gadot as the evil queen, got early, early previews delivered by the stars themselves.

“Human interaction is so important. Being able to get to the heart of people’s passions is something we think a lot about,” Powers says. That interaction is also crucial to Powers’ unofficial duties in the UGA fan club. When groups of UGA students visit California, he leads them on a tour of Walt Disney Studios and answers all their questions, which range from his own job experience to the wider Disney universe. And, many of the students are fans themselves.

“I love hosting the students on campus,” Powers says. “If I can help serve as a mentor, I love it. I mean, when I was younger, I didn’t really know where point A to point B was going to take me. I didn’t know what point B was. So the advice I’d give a student is just, you never know where your career is going to take you.”

After all, sometimes Point B can be right in the middle of the Happiest Place on Earth.

2000-2004

Bentley Christopher BSFCS ’00 is the CEO of ValuTeachers in Ponte Vedra, FL.

Jami Willingham BBA ’02 was elected president of the Atlanta chapter of the Risk and Insurance Management Society.

Donald B. Stewart III BSFCS ’02 is the president of Stewart Brothers, a fourthgeneration, family-owned paving contractor based in Atlanta.

Walter Young Jr. BS ’03 retired from his position after 26 years of service as a navy meteorology and oceanography officer with the U.S. Navy in April 2022. He started a new position as science, engineering, and technology advisory contractor at the Office of Naval Research in Arlington, VA.

Zachary Sawyer BBA ’04, MAcc ’05 was promoted to CFO of Ashton Woods Homes in January.

2005-2009

Latasha Barnes AB ’05, AB ’05 is the owner and managing attorney of The Barnes Law Office in Atlanta.

Taylor Dibbert AB ’05 was elected to the board of the Takoma Park Silver Spring Food Co-op in Takoma Park, MD.

Jacqueline Smith AB ’06 is a victim’s advocate for the Cordele Judicial Circuit in Fitzgerald.

Jennifer Colosimo ABJ ’07 started a new position as the editor of My Home Improvement magazine in Atlanta.

Michael H. MacNabb BLA ’07 was elected as partner with blueWATER Civil Design, a civil engineering firm based in Greenville, SC, in October.

2010-2014

Kathryn Garvin AB ’11 is the assistant director of operations and communications for the Office of Admissions and Financial Aid at the Candler School of Theology at Emory University.

Halie D. Smith AB ’12 started a new position as an associate in the domestic relations and family law section of Davis, Matthews & Quigley.

Building a Community

“I felt a sense of calling to do more,” says Blount, who founded Team Up Mentoring just one year after she graduated from UGA. “It was like I was in the right place at the right time to do something. I saw this was a need, and I couldn’t walk away.”

Blount’s work has been noticed.

At the end of last year, she was named one of L’Oréal Paris’ “Women of Worth for 2022.” Out of thousands of nominations, Blount was one of 10 women to receive a $20,000 grant and a trip to Los Angeles to meet and network with the other honorees.

“When I got the email, I thought it was junk mail,” laughs Blount, who was secretly nominated by a co-worker. “Being chosen was confirmation that the work we’re doing is important. People outside of the local community see the value of what Team Up Mentoring is providing and, indirectly, see the value of the families we work with.”

Team Up Mentoring will use the award money from L’Oréal to assess its programming with the hope of expanding beyond its base in Walton and Barrow counties.

The journey to get the nonprofit to where it is today, with eight staff serving 135 clients, was challenging. Blount, working solo and part-time while she taught sixth through 12th grade, struggled for years to find the funds to help Team Up blossom. In 2019, the organization finally had a dedicated space, so Blount could stop working from her apartment.

Anna Blount came to UGA as a first-generation college student with her career already mapped out: She was going to become a veterinarian.

But while juggling classes and working at a local vet’s office, Blount also volunteered at a church, working with underprivileged children. Through this volunteering, she ended up fostering a child—unexpectedly. It was an eye-opening experience that set her on a new course.

“I got a glimpse of how the system worked and how difficult it was for that young person to navigate all the formalities,” Blount recalls. “It was overwhelming, and I wondered how common this experience was for other kids.”

Blount BS ’05 is now the founder and executive director of Team Up Mentoring, a Monroe-based case management and mentoring nonprofit that serves children and families who have dealt with traumatic experiences. Other services are typically short-term, but children who have faced trauma need continual support. Blount realized this was a gap she could fill.

Written

Alexandra Shimalla

Children enter the program as early as 3 years old and can participate until they’re 21. The organization’s year-round youth programming is entirely dependent on a child’s individual needs, backed by research of the most effective ways to overcome traumatic childhood experiences, and focused on the power of long-term relationships. They also offer summer camps and field trips, counseling, food, transportation, and scholarships for autistic children.

Team Up’s family services department works with caregivers to outline steps toward achieving goals like becoming a first-time homeowner. “We try to foster generational change for families affected by trauma. They’re dealing with a lot of obstacles to success however they define it,” Blount says. “Something special happens when you’re working with both generations at the same time. You all become a team.”

The depth and breadth of this relationship builds trust among the children, their caregivers, and the staff at Team Up Mentoring. That trust is the first step toward healing.

“I tell my staff all the time that the ultimate win is when people leave us feeling seen for who they are,” Blount says. “The greatest impact we’re making is that people leave us feeling seen, known, and

loved.”

by

MA ’19

Anna Blount BS ’05

Jacqueline Hall AB ’13 is the chief operations officer at Wired for Addiction in Jupiter, FL. She is a member of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers Corrections Committee

and International Society of Substance Use Professionals.

Palmer Hicks AB ’13 is a sales executive at CJIS Group and is a mentor in the UGA Mentor Program.

Robin Studdard BSFR ’14 married Mitch Vincent in Bandon, OR, in September, and she is an application support specialist for Weyerhaeuser Company.

Alex Zimmerman BSES ’14 owns Fishwater Charters, an offshore fishing charter business in St. Croix, U.S.Virgin Islands.

Not So Secret Agent

builder who stakes a place among the most connected and powerful figures in the entertainment industry.

“When I started at UTA, our client list sat on one page,” Kramer says. “And we had some white space on that page,” Kramer says.

In those early days, clearly there wasn’t a whole lot of mail to deliver. But working at what was then an upstart agency gave him access and an unfettered opportunity to learn the business. He attended meetings, worked as an assistant, and eventually began representing talent.

While Kramer today oversees a large swath of UTA, which has grown to nearly 2000 employees stretching from LA to London, he continues to represent some of those early clients and sign new ones. And UTA’s client roster now encompasses film and TV stars, directors, series creators and much more. It has branched out into such areas as sports, music, publishing, digital and representing brands.

Unlike many others in the entertainment business, he can’t point to one big break that led to his success. He speaks instead to the importance of a good work ethic.

In Kramer’s case, that work ethic is shaded with an approachability and affability that is easy for anyone to see.

“A lot of it is just working really hard, and believing in the mission of representing artists,” he says. “If you do that with all your heart and you pour yourself into it, good things will happen.”

Kramer actually got his first taste of the entertainment business while a student in the Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication. He interned with the Georgia Film Commission in between his junior and senior years and worked as a production assistant on a TV movie called Murder in Mississippi. It was the only production in Atlanta at the time, and it was a successful one, earning three Emmy nominations and winning one.

As an intern he did a little bit of everything.

“I opened the office, I closed the office, I worked on the set, I picked up people from the airport,” he recalls. “I quickly decided that I wanted to be in the movie business.” Graduate school at USC followed, and Kramer never looked back.

Well, actually, he looks back a little.

When David Kramer landed his first full-time job, two years after graduating from UGA and fresh out of film school at the University of Southern California, he started at the bottom.

The very bottom. As in the mail room in the basement of United Talent Agency (UTA). That was 1992.

More than 30 years later, he’s still at UTA. But his view is much nicer.

In September, Kramer ABJ ’90 was promoted to president of Beverly Hills-based UTA, which is now one of the largest talent agencies in the world. It is just the most recent highlight in a career that has seen Kramer become an accomplished agent and business

Written by Eric Rangus MA ’94

Kramer balances his time with philanthropic work through the UTA Foundation, and membership on boards—such as Project Angel Food, which provides and brings meals to people with serious illnesses. He also serves on the board of UCLA’s Jonsson Cancer Center and UGA’s own Peabody Awards, just one way he keeps his ties to Georgia. He visits campus whenever he comes back east, hosts student groups out west, and even delivered Grady’s convocation via iPhone in 2020.

“UGA students today are so much more sophisticated and informed than my friends and I were,” Kramer says. “I was a young person who drove out to LA hoping I could figure out my future, and I was fortunate enough to do that. Ultimately, everyone has to go down their own path, but helping young people try to fulfill their own dreams about working in the industry is something I enjoy.”

David Kramer ABJ ’90

my georgia commitment

She did the math.

Ellen Bailey says her degree in that discipline laid a foundation for a successful career as a serial entrepreneur.

“I still rely on the rigor and problem-solving processes of the classical mathematics I learned at UGA to take big business problems and divide them into smaller problems more easily solved,” Bailey says.

After graduation, Bailey launched her career in her hometown of Atlanta. In that first year out of college, she donated $72 to her alma mater. She has kept up that annual UGA contribution, in varying sizes, throughout her impressive career.

Bailey first excelled in real estate. She then joined a condominium management company that grew to become one of the five largest in the country. Next, she helped launch a successful chain of restaurants.

When she wanted to turn a new page, Bailey entered book publishing. Then, switching again, she helped take a health care practice of five doctors in one building and grow it to 30 physicians in 14 offices. Today, a sharp-witted 81, she’s still busy—now as managing director at a thriving business consultancy in Midtown Atlanta.

“I know how to run a small business,” Bailey explains. “And I know how to turn it into a real business.”At every stage of her career, Bailey has given back to communities and organizations that support people’s well-being, gravitating toward health care and children.

Her actions speak loudly.

In 2018, after 28 consecutive years of giving to UGA, Bailey decided to elevate her giving by establishing the Ellen

Agnor Bailey Math Scholarship Fund to support students in mathematics. Along with the scholarship, Bailey has made scores of smaller donations through the decades—sums of $35 to $1,500. These supported a variety of funds and departments across campus.

Why? She says it’s simple math.

“A student at UGA can earn a HOPE Scholarship, live and eat modestly on campus, and still graduate with significant debt,” Bailey says. “For some

kids, debt like that can affect career choices. Think of a student who hopes to be a teacher or go into public service. We need to do anything we can to help lighten that financial load. If we want our children and grandchildren to succeed, we’ve got to give back—however and whatever we’re able.”

Bailey’s half-century of financial support illustrates her motto: “Every donation makes a difference, no matter the size.”

Annual gifts to the university come in all sizes and from Bulldogs around the world—and when they do, the collective power is astounding. Collective, annual donations help transform the research, teaching and service taking place at the university today and for generations to come.

Ellen A. Bailey BS ’62 has given back to UGA for 60 years and counting. Every gift, small and large, matters.

2015-2020

Lauren Cole AB ’15, AB ’15 was promoted to associate in the Intellectual Property Group at Frost Brown Todd, a national law firm that specializes in the technology industry.

Samuel Hempel BS ’15, AB ’16, MA ’16 is an economist for the Federal Reserve Board in Washington, D.C.

Meredith Zimmerman BBA ’15 owns and operates Meredith

Zimmerman Photography, a wedding and lifestyle photography business in St. Croix, U.S.Virgin Islands.

Joe Nedza BBA ’16 is opening the first permanent location of his local pop-up Smiley’s Burgers in Five Points in Athens.

Contey Smith BSFCS ’16 cofounded Motus Wealth Management in Atlanta in January 2022.

Melissa Davies AB ’18, AB ’18 is

a judicial law clerk for the U.S. Federal District Court in the Southern District of Georgia.

Jon Kiger Jr. BBA ’18 is a sales team supervisor for RTS Carrier Services in Nashville.

Charles Orgbon III BSES ’18 released his first full-length album, Blackberry, in October.

Clark Sukaratana BBA ’18, MA ’20 is a stewardship specialist at Shorecrest Preparatory School in St. Petersburg, FL.

Caroline Finn BS ’20, MS ’20 completed a two-year predoctoral fellowship in clinical neuroscience at the Yale School of Medicine, where she studied autism. She is now a medical student at the Medical College of Georgia.

Thomas Graser AB ’20, BSME ’20 is a mechanical design engineer II at Gulfstream Aerospace Corporation in Savannah.

2021-2022

Alex English AB ’21 is a freelance multimedia journalist specializing in digital content for the WNBA and the NBA, specifically Renee Montgomery Entertainment.

Theodore Joseph Miller BS ’21, BS ’21 had his article “What Did Students Value in Their Courses During Emergency Remote Instruction in Spring 2020?” published in The Classic Journal, Issue 8.1, in December.

Félix Ortiz AB ’21 is a communications and marketing associate for the Friends of the Birmingham Botanical Garden.

Kehli West MAT ’21 is a marketing teacher at Baldwin County High School in Milledgeville.

Christian Andrews BBA ’22 started a new position as a budget analyst at the Georgia Department of Corrections.

Jake Cliett BS ’22 had his article “El cáncer de próstata en México” published in The Classic Journal, Issue 8.1, in December.

Liz Fields BBA ’22 is pursuing a Master of Science in Business Analytics from Terry College of Business.

Lola Henry BS ’22 had her article “Is Memory Reliable?” published in The Classic Journal, Issue 8.1, in December.

Team Player

DeRetta Rhodes BS ’92, PhD ’10

An active baseball roster consists of 26 players. But it takes many more people to make up a team.

The Atlanta Braves employ more than 450 full-time staff, plus hundreds of parttimers. These staff members (teammates, really) support not just the players, but every aspect of the game and franchise operation. It’s everything from ushers who help fans to their seats to web managers who keep the Braves looking good online.

All of them fall under the purview of DeRetta Rhodes.

“We like to encourage people to consider Braves games a destination activity,” says Rhodes BS ’92, PhD ’10, the Braves’ executive vice president and chief culture officer. “Everything we do touches on the experience of fans and the community.”

Rhodes had more than 20 years of experience in human resources when she joined the Braves in 2019 as their senior vice president for HR. Since then, Rhodes was promoted to executive vice president and chief capital officer, and, just prior to the 2022 season, she became chief culture

Written by Eric Rangus MA ’94

officer. That role added community affairs and communication departments to her portfolio.

Rhodes’ new title digs much deeper than a simple rebrand. It speaks to a more thoughtful, intentional way that the Braves organization aims to relate to its community.

“Culture is the way in which someone feels about the organization that they’re part of,” Rhodes says. “Everything we do, we’d like to think, ties into how people are engaged in the organization—whether it’s related to community relations, our foundation work, or how we communicate to our community, fans, and staff.”

One important aspect of the organization’s culture is its approach to diversity, equity, and inclusion, an area that has been a part of Rhodes’ career since before the terms were even formalized.

Rhodes’ current role is simply the latest step in a career that has been defined by growth and experiences that have built on each other. In 2020, Rhodes created a DEI council for the Braves that explores issues of social justice through the prism of a pro-

fessional sports organization.

“Diversity is what people see of you,” Rhodes says. “But inclusion is about feeling welcome, so I have seen that evolution. And then as we have gone through the pandemic and also seen recent instances of social injustice, that’s where you see the equity part of it, as well.”

Rhodes’ sense of community is something that her UGA experience helped her discover.

Rhodes majored in hotel and restaurant management in the College of Family and Consumer Sciences and eventually returned for a Ph.D. in adult education. She is a past president of the FACS alumni board and received the college’s Distinguished Alumni Award in 2020. She currently serves on the full UGA alumni board and is an in-demand speaker for campus presentations ranging from TEDxUGA to the Terry College of Business Professional Women’s Conference.

“It’s important for me to tell a story that’s impactful,” Rhodes says. “I hope people see me as an authentic storyteller, not just about my career but also my personal experience.”

Staying the Course

Ryan Lavner ABJ ’09

Not everyone gets to live out their dream job, but for Ryan Lavner

ABJ ’09, being an Emmy award-winning golf writer seems to suit him pretty well.

Augusta National. St. Andrews. Pebble Beach. Though his home base is Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida, each year Lavner travels to about 14 tournaments around the world as a senior writer for the Golf Channel. He spends his week interviewing players, talking to tour officials, and, sure, sneaking in a few holes when he can.

“I’ve really enjoyed being able to tell the backstories of guys who worked their way up through the mini-tours, as well as these can’t-miss players like Jordan Spieth and Justin Thomas, who I covered as junior golfers and everyone just knew that they were going to be fantastic,” Lavner says. “Everyone has a different backstory to reach the pinnacle of the sport.”

Lavner grew up in Canandaigua, New York, a world away from the hot Georgia summers. Being a sportswriter was always the plan, and Lavner knew he wanted to live in a completely different environment with

Written by Jayne Roberts

big-time athletics to cover. So the University of Georgia was a natural choice.

After graduating from the Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication, he went to work for a small newspaper in Sebring, Florida.

“It was a two-man staff, so I did everything from writing to shooting, editing to page design,” he says. “It was an all-encompassing job, and I absolutely loved it.”

In 2010, he got the opportunity to write about a women’s amateur golf tournament called the Harder Hall Invitational. Lavner covered it with the same dedication and energy as if he were at the Masters, writing six to eight stories a day with detailed features and his own photos.

Lavner’s passion caught the eye of a senior writer who was covering the event for Golfweek magazine. They swapped information, and a week later, a job opened up as though it were meant to be. Two years later, Lavner signed with Golf Channel, and he’s been there ever since.

Now, in addition to his award-winning writing, Lavner also does live hits for Golf

Today, Golf Central, and Live From, and works on longer-form TV features. As modern media has evolved, he has also moved on to producing digital videos and podcasts. Often, he’ll join TV segments from the comfort of his home office, broadcasting through a live camera feed. The different formats allow him to talk about golf in different ways for different audiences.

“I think I’d get really bored if I was just doing one thing—if I was just writing stories, or if I was just doing TV, or the only thing I had to worry about was the podcast,” he says. “I like the versatility and doing a little bit of everything.”

Lavner met his wife at UGA and has been married for nearly a decade. Together, they have two young children, and though they’re not quite old enough to pick up a putter, Lavner looks forward to the day when they can be out on the course with him and fall in love with golf the same way he did.

“Being able to combine my two passions, golf and writing, into a career,” he says, “I can’t ask for anything more.”

PAINTING THE TOWN IN RED AND BLACK. AGAIN.

When the Georgia Bulldogs won their second consecutive national title, the outpouring of emotion from UGA alumni and fans was enough to paint the sky red and black. Not to mention, the lights of the Empire State Building, which glowed in Bulldog colors, just like it did last year.

It all began with Bill Elder, managing director and executive vice president at RXR Realty. Elder’s youngest daughter, Eliza, is a third-year studying real estate at UGA. He had already started planning the lighting of the Helmsley Building at 230 Park Avenue when he realized he had an opportunity to go even bigger.

Elder had a previously scheduled call with Tony Malkin, chairman, president, and CEO of the company that owns the Empire State Building, which presented the perfect opportunity to request a favor. Malkin was happy to oblige, and the iconic skyscraper celebrated UGA’s national championship win in January 2022 and again in 2023.

Elder’s role in this red and black takeover is spectacular enough on its own, but it becomes even more so in light of the journey he and his wife, Katie, took to become UGA fans.

Once Eliza enrolled at UGA, Bill and Katie (pictured above) were approached by members of the Parents Leadership Council, a group of highly engaged parents who support student-focused organizations and efforts on campus (see page 14). They have been members ever since and plan to serve as chairs of the council's Grants Committee beginning this August.

Vesper Henry AB ’22 started a new position as an LGBTQ researcher at Media Matters for America.

Mary Sinsheimer AB ’22 was recently hired by Aflac and is currently working toward her insurance licensing.

grad notes

ARTS & SCIENCES

Robert Michaels MS ’71 released his book Civics and Science: Contemporary Issues for Civil Democracy in September.

Joseph P. Hester PhD ’73 serves on the editorial board for the Journal of ValuesBased Leadership He also contributes to the journal.

Linda Eyerman MMEd ’75 released her first novel, Six Widows Mansion, in November. Carlos Garcia-Quijano PhD ’06 was promoted to full professor in anthropology and marine affairs at the University of Rhode Island.

BUSINESS

John Mayfield Jr. MBA ’20 was appointed the director of sales at Defendify, an allin-one cybersecurity company.

EDUCATION

Jason Fitzer MEd ’10, PhD ’18 started a new position as the first director for the Center for Fraternity & Sorority Life at San Diego State University.

JOURNALISM & MASS COMMUNICATION

Elias Saliba MFA ’22 graduated from the inaugural class of the Grady College Master of Fine Arts in Film, Television, and Digital Media in August. He won Best Writer of a Short Film at the Cobb International Film Festival 2022 for his film Lavender, and his short film Julia was selected for the 2021 Beaufort International Film Festival.

FAMILY AND CONSUMER SCIENCES

Kristi-Warren Scott PhD ’15 is the health economist in the health division at the Office of Management and Budget in the Executive Office of the President in Washington, D.C.

PHARMACY

Emily Heckmann PharmD ’17 is a clinical pharmacist at Rose Medical Center in Denver and welcomed her first child, Evangeline Heckmann, in May 2022.

SOCIAL WORK

Ellen Biros MSW ’98 released her book Recovering from Narcissistic Mothers: A Daughter’s Guide in August.

PUBLIC HEALTH

Morgan Barnett MPH ’13 started a new position as senior clinical research coordinator at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta.

VETERINARY

Emily C. Hoppmann DVM ’05 is the owner and sole practitioner of Elgin Veterinary Hospital in Elgin, SC, with a focus on exotic animals.

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Dan Coenen

University Professor

Josiah Meigs Distinguished Teaching Professor

Harmon W. Caldwell Chair in Constitutional Law School of Law

Dan Coenen went into law because he didn’t have another plan.

He had no interest in math, science, or medicine. But he had a general sense that lawyers helped people in trouble.

“I found meaning and delight in thinking hard about knotty legal problems and discussing the mysteries of the law with others,” he says of his law school days.

Now he leads those discussions at the University of Georgia School of Law, guiding the next generation of legal scholars and practitioners on their own journey.

You view lawyers as public servants. What does that mean to you?

In its essence, the legal profession is a helping profession.

Lawyers render service by assisting others as they grapple with serious challenges, difficulties, and oftentimes extreme personal crises. Good lawyers work in these settings not only by providing technical assistance, but by attending to the client as a whole person, with attentiveness, kindness, and empathy. At least for me, this sort of lawyering, in its nature, involves public service in its most admirable form.

Lawyers also provide public service by operating the legal system. In so doing, they provide something that countless other societies historically have lacked and still lack in far too many instances: a rich blend of selfgovernment, stability, opportunity, private choice, and public order.

What do you wish people understood about the practice of law?

Many people view lawyers in a negative light. Perhaps the reason why is that people associate lawyers with conflict and dispute, which most of us do not like at all.

It is critical to recognize, however, that conflict and dispute are an endemic part of the human condition, that conflict and dispute take countless and often extremely difficult forms, that systems for resolving conflict and dispute must exist in any society, and that the American system of dispute resolution—which is overseen and implemented by members of the legal profession—therefore serves a critical need.

andrew davis tucker

Endowed chairs—positions that receive supplemental support generated from private donations—are essential to recruiting and retaining leading faculty who are committed to world-changing research and preparing the next generation of problem-solvers, pioneers, and leaders. Learn more about supporting UGA’s leading faculty at GIVE.UGA.EDU