University of Georgia Magazine May 2009

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GEORGIA May 2009 • Vol. 88, No. 2

Extending education Campuses in Tifton, Griffin and Gwinnett allow UGA to reach beyond Athens

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GEORGIA MAGAZINE • MAY 2009

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GEORGIA THE UNIVERSITY OF

Cecil Bentley, BBA ’70, UGA journalism staff; Valerie Boyd, UGA journalism faculty; Bobby Byrd, ABJ ’80, Wells Real Estate Funds; Jim Cobb, AB ’69, MA ’72, PhD ’75, UGA history faculty; Richard Hyatt, Columbus Ledger-Enquirer; Brad King, MMC ’97, BVK Communications; Fran Lane, AB ’69, MEd ’71, retired director, UGA Visitors Center; Bill McDougald, ABJ ’76, MLA ’86, Southern Living; Nicole Mitchell, UGA Press; Leneva Morgan, ABJ ’88, Georgia Power; Donald Perry, ABJ ’74, Chick-fil-A; Victor Profis, ABJ ’73, MA ’77, Southern ­Living; Chuck Reece, ABJ ’83, consultant; Swann Seiler, ABJ ’78, Coastal Region of Georgia Power; Robert Willett, ABJ ’66, MFA ’73, retired journalism faculty; Martha Mitchell Zoller, ABJ ’79, WDUN-AM

MAY 2009 • Vol. 88, No. 2

photo by Andrew Davis Tucker 2 MAY 2009 • GEORGIA MAGAZINE

Campus news and events

Campuses in Tifton, Griffin and Gwinnett allow UGA to reach beyond Athens

by Kelly Simmons

have a tough mission—changing a culture

by Allyson Mann (MA ’92)

28 Patent power

UGA inventions bring in money for the university and raise the institution’s profile in research circles

by Sam Fahmy (BS ’97)

32 Butterfly dreams

Cat Thompson (BSEd ’88, MEd ’90)

uses horses to help special needs

children improve their communication skills

by Lauren Flemming

CLASS NOTES 36 Alumni profiles and notes Junior painting and drawing major Jille Natalino (left) of Marietta and art professor Joe Norman put finishing touches on a mural in Norman’s office. Norman and his students painted the mural for the Ebenezer Baptist Church West in Athens. photo by Andrew Davis Tucker

s

The screensaver on a computer in a classroom on the Griffin campus makes it clear these students are not in Athens. In the background is assistant professor Velma Zahirovic-Herbert, who is teaching a housing and contemporary society course.

Around the Arch

24 An ounce of prevention

UGA’s alcohol education programs

s

ON THE COVER

on UGA’s extended campuses

FEATURES 18 Extending education

FINE PRINT Georgia Magazine (ISSN 1085-1042) is published quarterly for alumni and friends of UGA. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to: University of Georgia Alumni Records, 394 South Milledge Avenue, Suite 100, Athens, GA 30602-5582

In compliance with federal law, including the provisions of Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Sections 503 and 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, and the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, the University of Georgia does not discriminate on the basis of race, sex, religion, color, national or ethnic origin, age, disability, or military service in its administration of educational policies, programs, or activities; its admissions policies; scholarship and loan programs; athletic or other University-administered programs; or employment. In addition, the University does not discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation consistent with the University nondiscrimination policy. Inquiries or complaints should be directed to the director of the Equal Opportunity Office, Peabody Hall, 290 South Jackson Street, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602. Telephone 706-542-7912 (V/TDD). Fax 706-542-2822.

6

EX-OFFICIO MEMBERS

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

DEPARTMENTS 5 Take 5 with the President

s

GEORGIA MAGAZINE ADVISORY BOARD VOLUNTEER MEMBERS

MAGAZINE

s

ADMINISTRATION Michael F. Adams, President Arnett C. Mace Jr., Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost Tom S. Landrum, AB ’72, MA ’87,

Senior Vice President for External Affairs Tim Burgess, AB ’77, Senior Vice President for Finance and Administration PUBLIC AFFAIRS Tom Jackson, AB ’73, MPA ’04, Ph.D. ’08, Vice President Alison Huff, Director of Publications GEORGIA MAGAZINE Editor, Kelly Simmons Managing Editor, Allyson Mann, MA ’92 Art Director, Cheri Wranosky, BFA ’84 Advertising Director, Pamela Leed Office Manager, Fran Burke Photographers Paul Efland, BFA ’75, MEd ’80; Peter Frey, BFA ’94; Robert Newcomb, BFA ’81; Beth Newman, BFA ’07; Rick O’Quinn, ABJ ’87; Dot Paul; Andrew Davis Tucker Editorial Assistants, Caroline Buttimer, Lauren Flemming

GEORGIA MAGAZINE • MAY 2009 GEORGIA MAGAZINE • MAY 2009

3 3

The

GeorgiaC lub

Named one of “America's 100 Best Master-Planned Communities” Where to Retire Magazine, July, 2007

s and ys, Brown The Bradle cktails enjoying co Sullivans

Jessie and John playing in the children’s fountain

We all went to see Becky play with the UGA Symphony -I was so proud

W

We loved th e Art Show a nd Wine Reception in the Village Hall

Home Sweet Home!

oon great aftern Finishing a e on the cours

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The Georgia Club is located off Highway 316 at Craft Road, just 32 miles east of I-85 and 4.2 miles west of Highway 78.

4 MAY 2009 • GEORGIA MAGAZINE

TAKE

5

—President Michael F. Adams on UGA’s extended campuses

Q: What prompted the decision to begin offering degree programs in Tifton?

A: The expansion in Tifton was prompted by two things. First was a request from numerous people in the area that we begin offering enough courses in that area so people could get a degree without having to leave home. Second, we already had in Tifton several hundred employees and some truly outstanding professors. The professors were mostly doing research and it just seemed to make sense to me there, as it does everywhere, to take the results of that research into the classroom.

Q: What is the mission of the campuses in Tifton, Griffin and Gwinnett County, and how does it differ from that of the Athens campus?

Michael F. Adams

A: The mission of those campuses is the same as in Athens—the multiple missions of teaching, research and service. They do broaden the service borders. As the flagship and the largest, most academically comprehensive institution in the state owned by the taxpayer, we have a responsibility to meet special needs. I’ve already talked about Tifton; Griffin we did in concert with our friends at Gordon College and people in the Griffin community.

The Gwinnett area was one of the largest counties in America without the availability of graduate education, so we established graduate level work offered by five schools and colleges there.

Q: What are the benefits to students at these campuses that students here in Athens don’t have?

A: The benefits to the students are obvious—accessibility, the value of a UGA degree and the movement out of our traditional service zones as far as age and archetype. At the Tifton campus you will find a student population largely oriented toward agriculture, in concert with the research I mentioned earlier. At the Griffin campus is a large number of students just completing two-year curricula who feed perfectly into a UGA setting, and at Gwinnett and Lenox, we are largely serving working adults who want to enhance themselves. Those are missions that the average person doesn’t normally think about for UGA, but we are broadening the service area and the types of people we are able to serve.

Q: Is it easier to get into programs in Tifton, Griffin and Gwinnett and are the diplomas the same as those received by students in Athens?

A: It is not easy to get in anywhere today at UGA because our demand is so high, but it might be a touch easier at Tifton and Griffin simply because the seats are available. The degrees are the same and the quality is at least as good.

Q: Are there plans for any additional campuses?

ANDREW DAVIS TUCKER

The Intellicenter building off I-85 and Sugarloaf Parkway serves as the Gwinnett campus for UGA graduate and continuing education programs.

A: Going forward, we remain open to other state needs that may arise and we continue to look at two or three additional international locations other than the three we already own in Costa Rica, Italy and England. But frankly, the economic situation is such that we would need an upturn in our resource base and need to meet some Athens needs that have arisen during the economic downturn before we talked about establishing further offcampus efforts.

GEORGIA MAGAZINE • MAY 2009

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ARCH AROUNDTHE

BETH NEWMAN

Uga VII poses at the library with some of the memorabilia his owners are donating to the special collections. Among the papers are correspondence dealing with Uga V’s selection by Sports Illustrated as the nation’s number one mascot and his appearance in the film “Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil.”

BLAST FROM THE PAST

Uga leaves his “papers” to UGA

A new Web site called Goin’ Back: Remembering UGA (www.uga.edu/livinghistory) features video interviews with prominent alumni as well as former faculty and staff members. From football star

The legacy of the beloved Georgia mascots Uga I through VII will be preserved

Charley Trippi (BSEd ’51) to country music legend “Whisperin’” Bill Anderson

at UGA thanks to a gift from the family

(ABJ ’59), the site lets the people who lived through university history tell its

of Frank W. “Sonny” and Cecelia Seiler

story in their own words. Interview

to the special collections at the University

subjects are selected from a pool

of Georgia library. Letters and business

of individuals developed through

correspondence related to the dogs, as well as

a combination of suggestions

photos and letters from fans, will go into the

from faculty, staff and alumni

university archives for safe-keeping. Sonny

and recommendations from an

and Cecilia Seiler have owned all seven of

advisory committee with special

the white English bulldogs that have served

historical knowledge of the

as the Georgia mascot, beginning with Uga I

campus and its people.

(“Hood’s Old Dan”) who was a wedding gift

To suggest an interviewee

given to Sonny and Cecilia in 1956.

for Goin’ Back, contact Alice

For more on the library’s special

Vernon at avernon@uga.edu or

collections go to www.libs.uga.edu/special_

706/542-3672.

collections/index.shtml.

6

MAY 2009 • GEORGIA MAGAZINE

Hold the phone!

In-room telephones at UGA are going the way of the dinosaur. By fall semester they will have been removed from undergraduate residence hall rooms, requiring students to use their mobile phones. Research shows most of them already do. Surveys of 7,000 campus residents revealed that 90 percent never used their landlines, or did so fewer than two times a week. University officials say the savings from upgrading and maintaining the phone service will allow them to enhance residence hall life, perhaps by expanding wireless Internet technology to all rooms. For security purposes, the landline phones will remain in residence hall offices, staff rooms and apartments, in graduate student and family housing, and in rooms that accommodate students with disabilities.

Landscape architecture leads the field The UGA College of Environment and Design’s landscape architecture programs received top national rankings for a fifth year in a row. The bachelor’s program was ranked first in the nation, and the master’s program was ranked second in the 2009 edition of America’s Best Architecture & Design Schools. Both programs have placed in the top five for the past five years.

Graduates of the college also placed first in three of seven skill assessments used in the ranking, including sustainable design, security design and computer applications.

Both graduate and undergraduate programs offer Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design certification as part of the curriculum. Only 14 percent of the programs surveyed nationally can match that claim, putting UGA at the cutting edge of sustainable design.

UGA’s College of Environment and Design is the only college in the U.S. dedicated specifically to landscape architecture and historic preservation and features the largest landscape architecture faculty anywhere. For information about the college, go to www.ced.uga.edu.

Ad research again at top of the field UGA was ranked number one in advertising research for the third time, according to the fall issue of the Journal of Advertising. It held the spot previously in 1990 and 1998.

The ranking was based on the number of articles published in the top three U.S.based advertising journals from 1997 to 2006, which included Journal of Advertising, Journal of Advertising Research and Journal of Current Issues and Research in Advertising.

The university also had four scholars appearing among the top 25 researchers in terms of productivity, three Grady College faculty members and one Terry College of Business professor.

Following UGA in the top five comparative institutional rankings were Michigan State University, University of Alabama, University of Florida and Auburn University.

GRAMMY WINNER! Retired art professor and folk music historian Art Rosenbaum was awarded a Grammy in February for “Art of Field Recording Volume I: Fifty Years of Traditional American Music Documented

by Art Rosenbaum.” The four-disc box set was named best historical album and was also nominated for best liner notes—they feature Rosenbaum’s sketches and paintings as well as photos by his wife, Margo. The album includes recordings Art and Margo Rosenbaum look through photographs Margo took of the artists featured in the Grammy Award-winning album “Art of Field Recording Volume 1.” The album was also nominated for best liner notes—a 96-page booklet including artwork and photos.

PETER FREY

made by Rosenbaum while he was a student at Columbia University in the 1950s.

GEORGIA MAGAZINE • MAY 2009

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AROUNDTHE

ARCH

BEST IN SHOW A BARK OUT TO

. . . Associate dean and law school professor Paul M. Kurtz, who received the National Child Support Enforcement Association’s Child Support Community Service Award at the association’s 2009 Policy, Forum and Training Conference in Washington, D.C. . . . Hal G. Rainey, professor of public administration in the School of Public and International Affairs, who received the 2008 Dwight Waldo Award—the highest honor for scholarship conferred each year by the American Society for Public Administration. . . . Deryl Bailey, a professor in the College of Education, who received the 2009 Don Dinkmeyer Social Interest Award from the American Counseling Association.

HAL RAINEY

. . . Two UGA College of Education programs that received a joint Special Recognition Award from the American Camp Association. The recipients are the recreation and leisure studies program and the learning, design and technology program.

. . . Daniel J. Nadenicek, dean of the UGA College of Environment and Design, who was honored by The Council of Educators in Landscape Architecture with the Outstanding Administrator Award. . . .The UGA chapter of the International Association of Business Communicators, which was named the 2009 IABC Student Chapter of the Year. . . . Education professor Deborah Tippins, who was named the national Outstanding Science Teacher Educator of the Year for 2009 by the Association for Science Teacher Education.

DANIEL NADENICEK

. . . Law professor Walter Hellerstein, who was presented with the National Tax Association’s most prestigious award, the Daniel M. Holland Medal, for distinguished lifetime contributions to the study and practice of public finance. . . . The Executive MBA program at UGA’s Terry College of Business, which was ranked among the top 25 in the U.S. and the top 60 in the world by Financial Times. . . . Shawna Scott, who was one of three students honored with a 2009 Campus Pride Voice & Action National Leadership Award, which recognizes the contributions of LGBT young adult leaders at colleges and universities across the country. ... Chemistry professor Gregory Robinson, whose research has been featured for three straight years in the journal of Chemical and Engineering News.

SONIA ALTIZER

8

. . . Sonia Altizer, associate professor in the Odum School of Ecology, and Chad Fertig, assistant professor in the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences, who were among 68 researchers honored with the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers, presented at the White House.

MAY 2009 • GEORGIA MAGAZINE

SPECIAL

JOHN A. MALTESE AND JOHN MALTESE

Musical treasure hunt leads to a gem A 30-year search by a UGA political science professor resulted in the rediscovery of the largest collection of classical music from the dawn of the recorded age.

John A. Maltese, along with his father, violinist John Maltese, discovered nearly 200 wax cylinders of classical music incised on a Thomas Edison phonograph from the 1890s in the archives of the Institute of Russian Literature in St. Petersburg, Russia. Having first heard about the cylinders in 1971, at the age of 11, John A. Maltese calls the discovery “an event of remarkable serendipity.”

The recordings contain the voices of Tchaikovsky and Tolstoy, and the only known recordings of many musicians in Tchaikovsky’s circle.

UGA AND CDC PARTNER TO FIGHT DISEASE UGA and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have launched a new collaboration focused on understanding and controlling threats to human health. Scientists from both institutions will conduct joint studies on rabies, malaria, tick-borne diseases, avian influenza and measles. The new approach was developed to promote the strengths and capabilities of both UGA and CDC scientists and facilities and to develop new methods, products, tools and interventions that can improve health.

PETER FREY

Let it snow UGA students, faculty, staff—and most of Athens—got a rare day off from school on March 2 after 6-8 inches of snow fell on north central Georgia. The last time that UGA cancelled classes due to weather was Feb. 1, 2007. The March storm was the first heavy snowfall to hit the Athens area since 1987, when more than six inches fell on campus. The most snow officially recorded in Athens was 8.7 inches in March 1983.

UGA GETS $8.3 MILLION BOOST FOR STEM CELL RESEARCH The National Institutes of Health awarded UGA researchers a fiveyear, $8.3 million grant for research on development of stem cells and cancer cells. Scientists will be studying the role of cell-surface sugars, called glycans, and their effect on stem and cancer cell growth.

UGA became an NIH-designated Center for Biomedical Glycomics in 2003 after receiving a $6.2 million grant from SPECIAL the agency. Since then, the university has used mouse cells to understand the role glycans play in identifying stem cells and cancer cells. With the new grant, scientists will follow a similar line of research except they’ll use human cells.

In conjunction with the NIH grant, the Georgia Research Alliance has awarded UGA $750,000 as matching funds for equipment purchases.

To learn more, go to the following sites: NCRR Center for Biomedical Glycomics, http://glycomics.ccrc.uga.edu; UGA Complex Carbohydrate Research Center, www.ccrc. uga.edu; The UGA Cancer Center, www.uga.edu/cancercenter.

Age is just a number Carl Jordan is at the age when he could be enjoying a leisurely retirement, yet he’s still working hard to make an impact on the ecosystem. A senior research scientist at the Odum School of Ecology, Jordan was named a 2008 Purpose Prize Fellow by Civic Ventures think tank. The award is given to people over the age of 60 who are taking on some of society’s biggest challenges.

For the past 25 years, Jordan has studied the impact of conventional agriculture and forestry on the biodiversity of ecosystems throughout the world.

TERRY AMONG TOP IN LICENSING EXAMS Accounting students from the Terry College of Business logged the second highest pass rate in the country for 2007 graduates taking the Certified Public Accountants licensing exam for the first time.

Seventy-eight percent (39 of 50) of the graduates of the J.M.Tull School of Accounting at UGA passed, according to the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy. Only Wake Forest University had a higher pass rate, with 29 of 35, or 83 percent, of its graduates passing the exam.

UGA’s 2007 pass rate is up six percentage points from 2006. Since 1998, Tull School graduates have consistently scored first-time pass rates two-and-a-half to three times higher than the national average.

ANDREW DAVIS TUCKER

Ecology Professor Carl Jordan with the horses at the Spring Valley EcoFarm in Winterville, Ga., on Nov. 27, 2007.

GEORGIA MAGAZINE • MAY 2009

9

GOING GREEN Sustainable recreation

ANDREW DAVIS TUCKER

Lacrosse players take the fields at the new Club Sports Complex on South Milledge Avenue, which was dedicated in March with a kickball game between administrators and students.

UGA opened new club sports fields this spring on land along South Milledge Avenue near the Red Barn. In creating the fields, the university employed environmentally friendly practices, including using recycled concrete to construct the parking lot for the fields.

About 200 tons of concrete were harvested from the College of Pharmacy construction site to be used for the parking lot. The irrigation system for the field draws water from a retention pond fed by wells drilled for that purpose. A drainage system for water runoff from the parking lot filters water through gravel and rocks to the retention pond. LED parking lot lighting is powered by solar panels; field lighting is computer controlled and can be accessed on site or off. The facility’s bathrooms are fitted with composting toilets that use just three ounces of water per flush. Wooden split rail fencing borders the property, keeping the site in context with the surrounding farmland.

Clean and green

ANDREW DAVIS TUCKER

Students check out exhibits on environmental awareness and recycling at the March Sustainapolooza event at Legion Field.

Sustainapalooza

Recycling, conservation and renewable energy took center stage March 19 as the UGA Go Green Alliance and the physical plant sponsored Sustainapalooza, a festival to raise awareness of sustainable practices. While bands perfomed in the amphitheater at Legion Field, students mingled among more than 50 exhibitors, including campus and community environmental organizations. Energy for the event was offset through a partnership with the Georgia Power Green Energy program, which generates energy by capturing methane from landfill gas, which is then used to power an electric generator. To learn more about the Go Green Alliance at UGA, go to http://gogreen.uga.edu.

10

MAY 2009 • GEORGIA MAGAZINE

UGA is one of only two universities in the country to earn the Cleaning Industry Management Standard Certification (CIMS) with Honors. UGA received the award for the Physical Plant Building Services Department’s work in the 28 buildings on North Campus that comprise UGA’s new “Green Corridor.” CIMS applies to the management, operations and performance systems of cleaning organizations.

UGA plans to roll out the green program across campus. The initiative began in 2007 to improve indoor air quality and reduce air contaminants and has led to the elimination of more than 300 products from the university’s overall chemical inventory.

Recycle to win

The Georgia Recycling Coalition’s 2008 award for Best Collegiate, University or Institutional Program went to UGA. Recycling saves about $13,000 each month for UGA. The university holds frequent sustainability-related events on campus, including waste audits, Earth Day and America Recycles Day.

Recyclemania

UGA is once again participating in the RecyleMania national competition. Last year, the university won a 3rd place “Gorilla Prize,” which recognizes larger schools that recycle the highest gross tonnage of combined paper, cardboard, bottles and cans during the 10-week competition. There are 510 schools registered for the 2009 RecycleMania competition.

AROUNDTHE

ARCH UGA GETS ITS FIRST HOWARD HUGHES AWARD Opeoluwa Fawole, a sophomore microbiology major, was selected to participate in the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Exceptional Research JOELLE WALLS OPEOLUWA FAWOLE Opportunities Program this summer. Fawole, an Honors student from Lawrenceville, is the first UGA student to receive this honor.

The Howard Hughes Medical Institute is a non-profit medical research organization that seeks ways to advance biomedical research and strengthen science education through its initiatives. The research program was created in 2003 to encourage and support outstanding undergraduate researchers by providing mentored research opportunities with leading scientists.

Fawole will be conducting biomedical research for 10 weeks this summer. As an undergraduate researcher, Fawole has been investigating the genetic behavior of Plasmodium falciparum, a mosquito-transmitted parasite that can cause the most severe cases of malaria in people.

After graduation in spring 2011, she hopes to attend medical school and one day provide medical services to people in underdeveloped countries.

MORE HONORS FOR FAUST Christina Faust, a UGA Honors student and Foundation Fellow from Athens, spent 2008 collecting awards. In November she became one of 12 national recipients of the George J. Mitchell Postgraduate Scholarship, which she will use to study immunology and global DOT PAUL health at the National University CHRISTINA FAUST of Ireland, Maynooth. Last spring she was named a Morris K. Udall Scholar, an award honoring students planning careers related to environmental or Native American policy, and was also awarded a Harry S. Truman Scholarship, a national honor recognizing students preparing for public service careers. Faust is pursuing a dual bachelor’s/master’s degree in ecology. She would like to earn a DVM and a Ph.D. in ecology of infectious diseases and use her knowledge and expertise working with environmental non-profits or non-governmental organizations.

President Emeritus Henry King Stanford dies Henry King Stanford, who served as interim UGA president for one year, died in Americus on New Year’s Day. He was 92.

Stanford had retired from a nearly 30-year career as a college president when he agreed in 1986 to temporarily fill the position vacated by President Fred C. Davison, who died in 2004. Charles Knapp succeeded Stanford, becoming president in July 1987 and serving until 1997.

“Henry King Stanford is a real hero of Georgia history,” UGA President Michael F. Adams said. “Though his decades of public service and leadership included only a short time at the University of Georgia, his impact on the institution was substantial. He steered UGA through tumultuous waters, refocused the institution on its core mission, and prepared it for much of the progress made in the years since he was president.”

Stanford was president of the University of Miami from 1962 to 1981.

He also had been president of Georgia Southwestern College (now Georgia Southwestern State University) in Americus (1948-50), Georgia State College for Women (now Georgia College and State University) in Milledgeville (195356) and Birmingham Southern College in SPECIAL Alabama (1957-62).

PRESIDENT HENRY KING STANFORD

He came to Athens following a federal court trial in which UGA instructor Jan Kemp claimed she had been fired for speaking out against alleged preferential academic treatment for athletics. The jury ruled in Kemp’s favor.

In 1987, the Board of Regents bestowed the title of President Emeritus on Stanford, and in 1992 his official portrait was added to the collection of portraits of other former UGA presidents.

He is believed to be only the second person to serve in the 20th Century as an interim leader of UGA, which has had 21 permanent presidents in its 224-year history.

Stanford, whose wife Ruth died in 2002, is survived by four children: Henry Stanford Jr., Lowry Stanford, Rhoda Stanford McCabe, and Peyton Stanford, and a sister, Annabell Nickel.

GEORGIA MAGAZINE • MAY 2009

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ARCH

Students get Udall, Goldwater scholarships

BETH NEWMAN

WATCHING HISTORY UNFOLD Students gathered at the Tate Student Center (top) at noon on Jan. 20 to watch Barack Obama take the oath of office to become the 44th president of the United States and the first African American to hold the office.

At left, Cynthia Sherk, a senior accountant in UGA’s Contracts and Grants division, watches PAUL EFLAND the swearing-in ceremony from the Chapel, where the televised event was projected onto a large screen.

“All Pro Dad” program extends to UGA Former NFL head coach Tony Dungy joined forces with UGA head football coach Mark Richt in Athens in March to announce the expansion of Dungy’s national fatherhood program into collegiate football. “All Pro Dad” is dedicated to strengthening the bonds between fathers and their children.

The program encourages dads to spend one minute a day reading the All Pro Dad Play of the Day email, one hour a month at one of 1,200 All Pro Dad’s Day Breakfast chapters nationwide, and one day a year attending an All Pro Dad Father & Kids Experience with their children. The Father & Kids Experience, a football-themed interactive event for dads and their children, will be held at UGA at a date to be announced later. Dungy helped found the program in 1997.

For more information, go to www.AllProDad.com.

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MAY 2009 • GEORGIA MAGAZINE

Two UGA undergraduates were awarded the Morris K. Udall award and another was selected as a Barry M. Goldwater scholar for 2009.

Ashley Dronenburg, a junior from Lawrenceville, and Mark Milby, a junior from Marietta, were selected for the Udall awards, which recognize outstanding undergraduate students pursuing careers related to the environment or Native American policy.

It is the first year that UGA has had two Udall award winners.

Muktha Natrajan, a sophomore from Martinez, received the Goldwater scholarship, awarded to outstanding undergraduate students in math, science and engineering.

Muktha’s sister Nithya won the award in 2007. UGA students have received Goldwater awards in each of the past eight years.

Ashley Dronenburg

Mark Milby

Muktha Natrajan

Warnell School gets $6.7 million to study Appalachians The National Science Foundation awarded $6.7 million to a project headed NANCY EVELYN

by UGA for research on the effect of climate change and urbanization in the southern Appalachian Mountains. The grant extends the work of the Coweeta LongTerm Ecological Research Project, funded since 1980.

Under the new grant, researchers will focus on the effects of human settlement and climate change in the Appalachian region.

Problems tied to climate change and pressure from immigrating residents from surrounding urban areas present huge challenges for the area. The southern Appalachian Mountains have always been a vacation area for urban Southerners, but increasing evidence suggests that in the next century the area could become a sprawling megalopolis.

The Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources will oversee the grant and will work with a team of faculty members from several UGA colleges and departments, as well as collaborators at a number of other universities.

For information on the program, go to www.forestry.uga.edu.

UGA honors Dooley

Yoculan’s last bow

The Vince Dooley Athletic Complex was formally dedicated in November before UGA’s final 2008 regular season home game against Georgia Tech. The ceremony included the unveiling of a statue of the former coach being carried on the shoulders of players from his 1980 national championship team.

Dooley was the football coach for the bulldogs from 1963 to 1988 and athletics director from 1979 to 2004. He and his football teams won 201 games and six SEC titles during his 25-year tenure, along with a national championship and national Coach of the Year honor in 1980.

ANDREW DAVIS TUCKER During his time as athletics director, VINCE DOOLEY the Bulldogs won a total of 23 national championships and 78 SEC titles.

The athletic complex on the southwest end of campus includes Butts-Mehre Heritage Hall, Spec Towns Track, the Woodruff Practice Fields, Stegeman Coliseum, the Coliseum Training Facility, the Rankin M. Smith, Sr. Student-Athlete Academic Center, Foley Baseball Field, and the Dan Magill Tennis Complex including the Henry Feild Tennis Stadium and the Lindsey Hopkins Indoor Tennis Courts. A garden and sculpture commemorating Dooley was constructed at the corner of Pinecrest Drive and Lumpkin Street, adjacent to Butts-Mehre Heritage Hall. The sculpture was created by Athens sculptor Stan Mullins.

After nearly 26 years as head coach of the Gym Dogs, Suzanne Yoculan made her final appearance in Stegeman Coliseum on March 14, completing an undefeated regular season with a win over the University of Michigan. In her tenure at UGA Yoculan has won nine NCAA titles and was hoping for a 10th as GM went to press in early April. Her teams have won 20 NCAA regional competitions and 16 Southeastern Conference championships.

Perhaps as impressive as her team’s athletic accomplishments are their academic records. Nine Gym Dogs made the 2008 SEC Academic Honor Roll, and eight were selected for the National Association of Collegiate Gymnastics Coaches Academic All-America Team. For the second straight year, the Gym Dogs had the highest combined GPA of any UGA team.

Assistant coach Jay Clark, in his 17th season with the Gym Dogs, will take over as head coach prior to the 2010 season.

Athletics funding bolsters academics The UGA Athletic Association will contribute $6 million of its revenues over the next three years to academic affairs to help offset cuts in state budget appropriations.

The association’s board of directors voted unanimously to approve Athletics Director Damon Evans’ request to provide the university with $2 million each year for the next three years to support teaching, research and academic programs.

State funding for instruction was reduced by 9 percent this past academic year, forcing the UGA administration to freeze some vacant positions and reduce spending for faculty travel and university maintenance. The Athletic Association contribution will help offset some of those reductions. Since Evans became athletic director four years ago, the Athletic Association has contributed or pledged a total of $8 million to academic programs.

Former coach in hall of fame Former Georgia coach Ron Polk is among 10 players and coaches named to the 2009 National College Baseball Hall of Fame Induction Class. Polk spent two seasons as Georgia’s head coach from 2000-01 and led the Bulldogs to a 79-48 record, the 2001 SEC title—UGA’s first since 1954­—and an appearance in the College World Series. He is one of only three coaches to lead three different schools to the College World Series—Georgia, Georgia Southern and Mississippi State. Polk concluded his 35-year career as head coach last year at Mississippi State and is now serving as a volunteer assistant at UAB. Current head coach David Perno was an assistant under Polk at UGA.

ANDREW DAVIS TUCKER

UGA SPORTS COMMUNICATIONS

Suzanne Yoculan waves to the crowd at her last regular season home meet as head coach of the Georgia Gym Dawgs.

GEORGIA MAGAZINE • MAY 2009

13

L During a weekly visit to Coile Middle School, Gio Carrion addresses questions from students about a Roadmap to College handout they received during a visit to UGA. From left, Carrion with students Rosalva, Melissa, Daicy and Lisbeth.

paying it

forward

by Kelly Simmons photos by Dot Paul

J was a newcomer to the United States, a Duluth High School

ust seven years ago Gio Carrion

sophomore with little understanding of American school systems and the process of applying to college.

This month, Carrion will graduate from UGA, with a degree in economics.

But the lessons he’s learned along the way won’t leave with him.

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MAY 2009 • GEORGIA MAGAZINE

Senior Gio Carrion is using his experience as a U.S. immigrant to help middle school students prepare for college

They’ll stay with the 30 Athens middle school students that Carrion has mentored—and the many more he has influenced—during his four years at UGA.

Carrion is the UGA Fanning Institute’s first undergraduate fellow, a position created to provide students a chance to have a handson service and outreach experience before graduating from college.

In that role Carrion has served as student coordinator for the Big Dreams (Sueños Grandes) Project at Coile Middle School, one of Athens

lowest-performing schools with a large population of Latino students.

Through the project, Carrion has encouraged students to stay in school and pursue postsecondary education, despite the obstacles many of them face. He has brought in speakers from UGA to help the students understand what they need to do now to prepare for college.

Most importantly, he has shared his story—of moving to a new country as a young man—to show the students that college is an achievable goal.

“These kids had never envisioned anything beyond middle school,” says Kelli Bivins (MEd ’01), a Coile Middle School teacher.

“They see Gio is doing this. They can see themselves now in a posthigh school situation.” the project is a way to F orpayCarrion, forward the help he received

when he first started thinking about college. He was just 14 in 2002 when his parents decided to move to the U.S. from Peru. The economy there was crumbling and although both parents had been gainfully employed—his dad was an engineer, his mom a nurse—they could no longer find jobs. His brother, Enrique, then a high school junior, began exploring the possibility of college.

Enrique found out where to take the SAT, how to apply to college and where to turn for financial assistance.

He graduated from Georgia State University and now is enrolled in a master’s program at the University of Massachusetts.

His effort paved the way for Carrion, who learned of the Latino Youth Leadership program, a summer initiative for high school students, sponsored by UGA. Gio Carrion enrolled in the program the summer of 2004. He returned the next summer, an incoming freshman at UGA. Each summer since he has returned to serve as a mentor to other high school students.

“I want to be able to provide some help to people who resemble the situation I was in,” he says. “I want to help them with the things I didn’t understand.”

Danny Bivins (MHP, ’00), who coordinates the undergraduate fellowship program at Fanning and is married to Kelli Bivins, kicks things off with a slide show. On the screen is a map of North and South America, showing countries where some of the children were born.

“How long did it take you to get here?” Bivins asks the students.

“A long time,” says one boy who came to Georgia from Mexico.

“That’s 1,800 miles,” Bivins says.

“UGA is just three miles from Coile.

The students break into small groups and set off to tour the campus with Carrion and other student mentors. For the next few hours, they sit in on classes, visit the Tate Student Center, snap pictures of the football stadium, and take a peek at Carrion’s room at Oglethorpe Residence Hall before heading to lunch.

Though awed by the selection

at Snelling dining hall, most come to the table with hot dogs and pizza.

“I was not planning to go to college; I thought it was boring,” says Josefina, a seventh grader at Coile. “Then I met Gio and he was telling us lots of cool things about it.”

Jennifer, also in seventh grade, says she wants to become an immigration lawyer to help people who come here with little knowledge of the system.

“I want to help them have rights,” she says softly.

These students, Danny Bivins says, might never have had such ambitions if it weren’t for Gio. “He is helping to demystify the steps along the way.” GM GET MORE For more about the Fanning Institute’s Latino Youth Leadership program, go to www.fanning.uga.edu.

is a crisp February morning I twhen the 30 students arrive for

their much-anticipated UGA visit.

Carrion and Bivins have prepared them for weeks.

Carrion, right, leads the middle school students, including Daicy, center, on a tour of campus during a recent visit to UGA. Daicy hopes to one day attend college to become an architect.

GEORGIA MAGAZINE • MAY 2009

15

ANDREW DAVIS TUCKER

UGA professor Dan Colley is taking on one of the world’s most stubborn parasitic diseases with the help of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

Colley CAN

by Sam Fahmy (BS ’97)

H

alfway into a lecture on a disease that most people haven’t heard about and can barely pronounce, Dan Colley displays a slide titled “The Faces of Schistosomiasis.” It’s pronounced SHIS-toe-SO-my-uhsis, by the way.)

On the left side is an adolescent boy with a belly so swollen that it

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MAY 2009 • GEORGIA MAGAZINE

UGA professor Dan Colley is leading a global effort to control a debilitating disease that infects 200 million people worldwide

looks like he’s pregnant. The real problem is that parasitic worms have been breeding in his bloodstream for so long that their eggs have clogged his liver, causing it and other internal organs to swell. On the right side of the slide is a picture of a dozen elementary school children in a dusty village near Cairo, Egypt. One of them is waving to the camera, and they’re all smiling.

The prevalence of schistosomiasis in this village is 70 percent, the professor of microbiology tells his audience, many of whom are undergraduates aspiring to be public health workers.

“So 70 percent of those kids have schistosomiasis, and one of them is going to get sick like this kid,” Colley says, motioning to the boy with the distended stomach, “if we

don’t treat them.”

Schistosomiasis and other neglected diseases have been at the center of Colley’s professional life for nearly 40 years. Now as director of the UGA Center for Tropical and Emerging Global Diseases, he is embarking on what could be his biggest challenge yet. As the principal investigator on an $18.7 million grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Colley will be leading an international team of scientists on a quest to reduce dramatically the burden of a disease that currently afflicts 200 million people, most of them in impoverished communities in Africa and South America.

As a young post-doctoral researcher at Yale who studied the immune system on a cellular level, Colley didn’t know what schistosomiasis was when he volunteered to teach an immunology class in Brazil and to work on a project to help control the disease there. In the decades since, he’s become one of the world’s foremost experts on schistosomiasis, regularly traveling the globe to share his insights and to continue a longstanding research project in Kenya. He and his colleagues have found that treating people for schistosomiasis increases the amount of time it takes for them to be reinfected, suggesting that a protein or multiple proteins in dead or dying worms activates the immune system.

Identifying and isolating these proteins may ultimately lead to a vaccine for a disease that kills up to 200,000 people each year, impairs the growth and learning of children, and leaves millions of adults too sick to support their families.

Colley also sees benefits of his research closer to home. He explains that understanding how

SPECIAL

These children near Cairo, Egypt, live in a village where 70 percent of the population has a potentially deadly parasitic disease that stunts physical and cognitive growth. UGA professor Dan Colley has spent nearly 40 years searching for ways to curb schistosomiasis for the benefit of these children and 200 million other infected people worldwide.

the parasitic worms can live in the blood vessels for decades without triggering an immune response could revolutionize organ transplantation by eliminating the need for immunosuppressant drugs.

People with schistosomiasis are less prone to allergies and autoimmune diseases such as multiple sclerosis, and understanding why may shed light on those conditions, too.

The Gates Foundation grant— the largest medical grant in the university’s history—is focused on identifying the most efficient, cost-effective and sustainable way to administer drug treatment to reduce the number of people who are sickened and killed by schistosomiasis and, where possible, to eliminate it entirely.

“Fundamentally, what I care about is understanding this situation well enough to do something about it,” Colley says. “These are real people and they have real lives.” GM —Sam Fahmy is the science writer for the UGA News Service.

The threadlike parasitic worms that cause schistosomiasis can live in the bloodstream for up to 40 years. Understanding how they evade the immune system for so long could revolutionize organ transplantation by eliminating the need for immunosuppressant drugs.

GEORGIA MAGAZINE • MAY 2009

SPECIAL

17

Campuses in Tifton, Griffin and Gwinnett allow UGA to reach beyond Athens

18 MAY MAY2009 2009 •• GEORGIA GEORGIAMAGAZINE MAGAZINE 18

Extending

EDUCATION

by Kelly Simmons photos by Andrew Davis Tucker

W

hen Sarah Brewer graduat-

ed from high school and entered Gordon College four years ago she assumed she would transfer to UGA for her final two years of study.

It was not the ideal solution.

Brewer had a management track job in her hometown of Williamson and a boyfriend there she planned to marry. So when she learned that she could get a UGA degree in consumer economics in Griffin—19 miles from her home—it was an easy decision.

“I didn’t have to move,” says Brewer, 22. “It’s closer to work and home and family.”

UGA began offering undergraduate and graduate degrees at its experiment station campus in Griffin in 2005. Degree programs at UGA’s Tifton station began two years earlier. Since the mid-1980s, UGA has offered graduate degree programs and continuing education courses at a variety of locations in Gwinnett County. Last summer, UGA moved those programs to a new facility just off I-85 in Lawrenceville, which provides space for future expansion.

“This really is a reflection of the concept that the state is our campus,” says Bob Boehmer, associate provost for institutional effectiveness and extended campus educational programs.

“UGA has people, land and buildings at various locations around the state.

We also have people in those areas Mary Leidner, district consultant for the USDA National Resources Conservation Service, teaches students from the Tifton campus about water and soil conservation during a trip to a local farm.

who need access to everything from public services to master’s degrees in education.”

Currently, the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences offers programs in Tifton, serving about 50 students. In Griffin, which draws from a larger population of students, programs are offered in agricultural and environmental science, business, family and consumer science, microbiology and education. About 125 undergraduate and graduate students are enrolled at that campus. The Gwinnett campus draws in an additional 500-600 students earning graduate degrees in social work, education, pharmacy, food technology, business and public administration.

Another 271 students are enrolled in traditional, executive and fast-track MBA programs at the Terry College of Business campus in Atlanta’s Buckhead community.

The extended campuses offer students, who might be tied to a local community for work or family commitments, opportunities to pursue degrees that aren’t offered at nearby institutions.

Perry White, 23, got his associate’s degree at Abraham Baldwin College in Tifton and then transferred to UGA at Tifton to earn his bachelor’s degree in agricultural science and environmental systems.

“I get more hands-on learning (in Tifton),” says White, whose father and grandfather went to ABAC. “Lots of the people doing the studies and research are teaching the classes. What you’re learning you know you’re going to be using in your career.”

The extended campuses in Tifton and Griffin have long existed as experiment stations where UGA scientists conducted research. Tifton is home to research on coastal plain farming, while Griffin houses the

university’s extensive food product safety division. When the university decided to offer classes at those sites, it meant students would be learning from some of the foremost experts in their fields.

Peggy Ozias-Akins, an internationally recognized horticulturist, is based in Tifton where she does genetics research on peanuts.

“It’s an important part of our mission overall,” Ozias-Akins says of the teaching component. “It has really been a positive change to the program.”

Communities that are home to the extended campuses understand their value as well. In Griffin, voters approved a special local option sales tax to pay for a student learning center on campus. The center is near completion and should be ready for student use in the fall of this year.

“The community was very Angela Allen was the first student to earn a bachelor’s degree in consumer economics at the Griffin campus.

GEORGIA MAGAZINE • MAY 2009

19

excited about having this opportunity here,” says Marilyn Johnson, program coordinator for the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences on the Griffin campus.

The Gwinnett campus has a different mission than Tifton and Griffin in that it offers only graduate level programs and continuing education programs for professionals.

UGA’s involvement in Gwin-

nett began in the mid-1980s with graduate and continuing education programs offered at various locations in the county. In 2002, UGA began offering bachelor’s degree completion programs at the Gwinnett University Center, where other University System of Georgia schools offered courses. When the Board of Regents in 2004 decided to create a four-year state college at that location, UGA

J

stopped admitting students into its undergraduate programs there, though students already enrolled were given through spring 2008 to complete their degrees.

In order to be able to continue and increase UGA’s graduate and continuing education programs in Gwinnett, the university last summer moved its programs to the facility just off I-85 and Sugarloaf Parkway.

Currently classrooms are busy at night with students—many of them part-time—working on advanced degrees. In coming months, Boehmer says the population using the building will grow as demand in that area increases for graduate, continuing education and non-credit programs.

“Gwinnett is going to be filled during the daytime with non-credit opportunities,” he predicts.

For Atlanta resident Aiken Hackett, being able to take classes in the master of public administration program at the Gwinnett campus means less time in the car. It takes two hours in rush hour traffic to get to Athens for her 6:30 p.m. classes, compared to 20-30 minutes to get to Gwinnett.

“I have three more hours of my day to be able to work and take care of my life,” says Hackett, director of governmental affairs for the American College of Rheumatology.

Students have different reasons for wanting to attend the extended campuses. Many, like Brewer, want to stay close to home or need to live at home to save money. Others say simply that they don’t want to go to a big school. And while many students on the campuses now are traditional age,

Faculty and staff meet in a conference room at the Gwinnett campus for a teleconference. The Gwinnett facility features state-of-the-art audio and video technology.

20 MAY 2009 • GEORGIA MAGAZINE

the schools also appeal to working adults who can’t commute to Athens to complete their education.

Angela Allen is one of those.

Twenty years earlier she had gotten an associate’s degree from Valdosta State University before quitting school to get married. In 2006, with two grown children and an empty house, she had thought about returning to school.

Colleges that offered programs of interest to her, however, were too far from her Thomaston home.

She was in her car one day when she noticed a billboard advertising UGA programs in Griffin. “UGA is

closer than you think,” the billboard read. Allen copied the number from the ad and called the next morning.

In 2008 she became the first student from the Griffin campus to graduate with a bachelor’s degree in consumer economics.

“If you can’t go to Athens, come here,” Allen tells potential students.

“A UGA degree is a UGA degree.”

Indeed there is no distinction between the degrees, whether they’re earned on the main campus or on one of the extended campuses, Boehmer says. And unfortunately, for those who think getting in to Tifton

Consumer economics major Sarah Brewer takes notes during a class in housing and contemporary society at the Griffin campus.

or Griffin might be easier, students must meet the same requirements for admission and face the same academic demands. Students enrolling in the bachelor’s degree completion programs must complete at least 60 hours of transferable core coursework at another institution and have a GPA that meets UGA’s standards for admission.

Once admitted, students at the extended campuses have many of the

GEORGIA MAGAZINE • MAY 2009

21

A lounge area in the Flynt Building on the Griffin campus provides a comfortable place for students and faculty to meet, study or relax.

22 MAY 2009 • GEORGIA MAGAZINE

same privileges as Athens students, though admittedly fewer. Instead of full commencement ceremonies, the schools have smaller receptions on their campuses. Students who want to participate in the May, December and August commencement events in Athens can do that, however.

“We encourage them to do it,” says Erin Womack, program coordinator for the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences at the Tifton campus, “because it is the home of their university.”

Because the extended campuses are not residential campuses, there are no residence halls or dining facilities.

However, each campus offers on-site student affairs activities and programs similar to some of those in Athens.

Both the Griffin and Tifton campuses have student ambassadors who participate in recruiting events and conferences. Womack took students from Tifton to an Ambassador Leadership Conference at the University of Kentucky last year.

Students also are encouraged to participate in service learning projects in their communities. Last year, students in Griffin took part in a project with Chick-fil-A to raise money for a book scholarship fund.

The extended campuses also provide space for students to gather, study or relax. At Tifton, students have their own keys to the lounge and can get in on nights or weekends to use the computer or work on group projects.

“We’ll use a classroom to have our own study session rather than gathering at someone’s house,” says Kyle Dekle, 20, an agriculture education major at the Tifton campus.

Students get one-on-one attention from faculty and close guidance in registering for classes.

“I look over every single advising report every single semester,” Womack says. “I haven’t had a student yet

Students Jesse Thompson (left) and Heath Herndon take a genetics class to learn the process of improving crop yields and how to increase favorable crop traits.

that hasn’t graduated on time.”

That kind of intimacy can make it difficult to skip class, students joke.

“Pretty much everyone knows where you are if you aren’t there,” Dekle says.

The extended campuses are the key to the future for UGA, which has reached its enrollment limit at 32,500 students in Athens. University officials are exploring other programs that would be a good fit for the populations surrounding Tifton, Griffin

and Gwinnett.

“We do feel like this campus has something to offer that a huge campus like Athens can’t,” Tifton’s Ozias-Akins says. “There’s more one on one. You have immediate access to business, faculty and fields.” GM GET MORE For more on UGA’s extended campuses go to www.uga.edu/academics/ campuses.

GEORGIA MAGAZINE • MAY 2009

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There’s no shortage of nightlife for UGA students who drink alcohol. Downtown Athens—located across the street from UGA’s famous Arch—features 40 bars and clubs.

UGA’s alcohol education programs have a tough mission—changing a culture

AN OUNCE OF

by Allyson Mann (MA ’92)

photos by Peter Frey (BFA ’94) 24 MAY 2009 • GEORGIA MAGAZINE

PREVENTION

A 20-year-old University of Georgia student who tried to drive home after a night of drinking passed out at a stop sign Sunday with the car still running, police said.

An officer found the woman about 1:45 a.m. at the intersection of Woodland Hills Drive and South Milledge Avenue. The woman was hunched over and clutching a cell phone, with the engine running and the vehicle in drive, according to police.

The officer reached inside the car, put it in park and turned off the ignition.

The woman, who awoke a few minutes later, told police she’d had too much alcohol while playing a game of beer pong at a house party earlier that night, police said.

Police arrested the student for driving under the influence and underage possession of alcohol.

—Athens Banner-Herald, Jan. 18, 2009

T

he story above is exactly the kind of incident that UGA administrators would like to prevent.

One of those administrators is Kim Ellis. During summer orientation sessions, she explains UGA’s policies on alcohol to several thousand incoming freshmen. She outlines the minimum sanctions for possession or consumption of alcohol: first violation, alcohol awareness class and probation for six or 12 months; second violation, suspension for current and one subsequent semester. When Ellis gives them advice on what will attract police attention—jaywalking, public urination, falling asleep in a bush— the students laugh.

And yet within the first month of fall semester, at least one of those students will get caught with alcohol and will be required to visit Ellis in her official capacity as associate dean of students for judicial programs.

“They come in and I say, ‘What did I tell you?’” Ellis says, “and they say ‘I know.’”

N Philip Tapley (BSFCS ’07) checks IDs at a bar in downtown Athens.

ot all college students, or all UGA students, consume alcohol.

But of those who do, a percentage make poor decisions—the kinds of decisions that lead to accidents and headlines. Alan Campbell refers to this percentage as a “visible minority.”

“It’s actually a relatively small percentage of our students who

are engaging in some really visible misconduct,” says Campbell, senior associate dean for student support.

According to Mike Friedline, alcohol/drug counselor at the University Health Center (UHC), that number is about 20 percent in any college population. The number of students who drink is much higher: The Core Alcohol and Other Drug Survey, conducted at UGA in 2007, indicated that 72 percent of UGA students had consumed alcohol within the previous 30 days. Nationally, that figure was 71 percent in 2005.

Many of these students had their first drink before they arrived on campus. Forty-five percent of 12th graders, 34 percent of 10th graders and 17 percent of 8th graders surveyed reported using alcohol in the past 30 days, according to a study published in 2006 by the National Institutes of Health.

“Many parents think that their student never drank until they got here,” Campbell says. “It’s frustrating when people define it strictly as a UGA problem.”

Regardless of when they begin, students will drink alcohol—it’s an accepted fact at UGA, although no one condones drinking among students under 21. But everyone recognizes that the Animal House attitude is ingrained within our culture’s notion of college life, and UGA’s reputation in this area extends well beyond GEORGIA MAGAZINE • MAY 2009

25

Erin English (left) and Deanna Walters demonstrate how what looks like one serving can actually exceed one standard drink (1 oz. 100 proof liquor, a 12 oz. beer, or a 4.5 oz glass of wine). English and Walters, both alcohol educators with UGA’s John Fontaine, Jr. Center for Alcohol Awareness and Education, use this presentation to educate students about the importance of understanding how much they’re actually consuming.

the boundaries of campus. UGA is a perennial favorite on The Princeton Review’s annual ranking of top party schools, placing seventh this year.

Junior Kiel Zanone, 21, served as an orientation leader last summer and was asked frequently about UGA’s reputation as a party school.

“It’s frustrating, because there’s so much academic integrity here,” she says.

Junior Darryl Tricksey, 20, agrees.

“The reputation is deserved, but it’s no different than other schools,” he says. “The party and academic coexist.”

UGA’s academic rise has been clouded somewhat by the party school reputation. Like other universities, UGA has had its share of fatal incidents involving students and alcohol.

The best known of these is probably Lewis Fish, who died in 2006 at the age of 19 from a lethal mixture of alcohol and illegal drugs. These cases concern Campbell the most.

26 MAY 2009 • GEORGIA MAGAZINE

“I see how problematic the highrisk behavior can be in the lives of our students, so that’s really my concern,” Campbell says. “I’m not as concerned about the students that are drinking responsibly and engaging in low-risk behavior. That’s an issue and it’s one that’s likely to result in consequences for the student, but I’m much more concerned about the high-risk behavior.”

J

ack Fontaine (M ’79) knows something about high-risk behavior. His battle with alcohol and drug addiction began while he was a student and continued for a decade before he got it under control. And though Fontaine stayed clean and sober, alcohol affected his life again in 2000 when his son John, 16, was killed in a car accident. John was riding with a friend who’d been drinking.

In 2006 Jack and his wife, Nancy, endowed UGA’s John Fontaine, Jr. Center for Alcohol Awareness

and Education. The $2 million gift honored their late son and supported their desire to prevent others from experiencing the pain of addiction or worse.

“Nancy and I did this for one person—that was our son. We’re satisfied if we save just one person,” Jack says. “The significance of one person is tremendous. One person could have saved John’s life.”

The Fontaine Center provided support that gave UHC new resources: the CORE survey on alcohol use, a computerized screening program to assess student needs, a graduate assistant and a variety of handout materials—including coasters that explain the 0-1-3 low-risk drinking guideline.

(Zero alcohol if you’re under 21; one drink per hour; no more than three drinks on any day and never three drinks daily.)

“The Fontaine Center has led to a cohesive and more concise concept of alcohol education and prevention,” says Gloria Varley, assistant director of UHC and manager of the Fontaine Center.

The Fontaine Center also provided a public face for a movement that was reaching a critical mass by 2006. A year earlier, President Michael Adams expressed concern about the consequences of the party school mentality.

“If there is a growing belief here that Monday and Tuesday and Wednesday and Thursday nights are no different than Friday night, then we have a problem, and we need to address it,” he said in his January 2005 State of the University address.

A year later UGA police began arresting underage students with alcohol, rather than simply citing them. In April 2006, UGA’s minimum sanctions were established and the parental notification policy (requiring judicial programs to notify parents when an underage student is found to have violated UGA’s Code of Conduct

on alcohol) was upgraded to apply to the first and all subsequent offenses.

That same month, a mandatory online alcohol education program for freshmen was stipulated—with students unable to register for classes until they’ve passed the test administered at the end of the program.

Partnerships between campus and community allowed educators to send a consistent message, for the first time, and to reach students in a variety of ways. Orientation sessions, run by the admissions office, include alcohol education for both students and parents. Athens-Clarke County automatically sends police reports to UGA’s judicial programs office. The Athletic Association’s Choices program provides alcohol education to freshman athletes. These are just a few of the groups involved in getting the word out.

“It takes a village,” says Erin English, alcohol/drug prevention coordinator at UHC. “It’s a group effort, really.”

So with all of these groups dedicated to promoting a common

message, how did the student at the beginning of the story end up passed out over her steering wheel?

“We can say things; folks aren’t necessarily going to hear it,” Friedline says. “We’ve got to figure out a different way to have that impact.”

In addition, knowledge does not always lead directly to behavior, says English.

“A lot of people know what to eat to be healthy, and they don’t do it,” she says.

Alcohol also has different implications than other health issues—sex, for example. In Varley’s 22 years at UGA, she’s found that students are far more interested in learning about sexual health, which is associated with disease and death, than alcohol, which is associated with fun and partying.

“It is a culture change. There is no question,” Varley says. “College campuses all over the country are working on changing a culture, a culture of drinking, and as we always joke, ‘It doesn’t just take a village; it takes the whole Bulldog Nation.’”

I

t’s a sunny afternoon in February, and junior Connor McCarthy is sitting outside in downtown Athens.

McCarthy is former president of the Student Government Association and a tour guide at the Visitors Center, so he knows a lot of UGA folklore.

As one story goes, UGA’s founders considered several sites when deciding where to place campus. They looked at a site in nearby Watkinsville but ultimately rejected it because there was a tavern nearby. They were concerned that “spirits” would be a bad influence on students, so instead they chose the current location—which in 1801 was a forest.

McCarthy is at a pub when he tells this story. The UGA Arch that marks the edge of campus is about 100 feet away.

“The second you take a single step off campus, you’re downtown,” he says. “And we have one of the larger bar scenes in the nation.”

Two hundred years after founder Abraham Baldwin tried to steer UGA students down the straight and narrow, alcohol is still an issue. It may not be part of the campus, but it’s part of the culture. And UGA administrators will continue to search for new ways to approach an old problem.

“What does it take to change a culture?” Varley says. “We ask ourselves that all the time.” GM

GET MORE John Fontaine, Jr. Center for Alcohol Awareness and Education www.uhs.uga.edu/aod

Freshmen Wadrick McCluskey (left) and D.J. Haynes create a music video at Space Jam, a Dawgs After Dark event in March. Dawgs After Dark is UGA’s late-night programming division, offering an alcohol-free alternative to downtown nightlife. DAD is free for students and features interactive activities, movies, concerts and other entertainment.

Community Campus Coalition for the Prevention of Alcohol and other Drug Abuse in Athens-Clarke County and UGA www.uga.edu/coalition Find Allyson Mann’s first-person account of taking the Freshman Alcohol Course at www.uga.edu/gm

GEORGIA MAGAZINE • MAY 2009

27

Patent power

by Sam Fahmy (BS ’97) photos by Andrew Davis Tucker

UGA inventions bring in money for the university and raise the institution’s profile in research circles

28 MAY 2009 • GEORGIA MAGAZINE

B

en Franklin, Thomas Edison, Steve Jobs and . . . professors at UGA? Many people don’t know it, but some of the same faculty members who educate the n next generation of Georgia’s leaders are also prolific inventors.

According to the non-profit Association of University Technology Managers, UGA is among the top U.S. universities when it comes to licensing faculty inventions and discoveries. The UGA Research Foundation Inc. (UGARF), a non-profit organization created 30 years ago to support the university’s research mission, earned nearly $24 million in licensing revenue in 2008 alone.

Much of that revenue plants the seeds for tomorrow’s discoveries and innovations. The first $10,000 of net revenue goes to the inventor. Of the additional funds the inventor receives 25 percent, the inventor’s research program receives 10 percent and the inventor’s department or unit receives 10 percent. The remaining 55 percent goes to UGARF to support promising faculty research.

“Going from discovery to commercialization is a complex and painstaking process that takes a lot of time,” says Sohail Malik, director of UGARF’s Technology Commercialization Office. “But we take pride in disseminating technologies that benefit the public while at the same time bringing revenue to the university to support research.”

UGARF has more than 700 active patents in fields as diverse as agriculture, biotechnology and engineering. Here are a few of the people behind the innovations.

PHOTO ILLUSTRATION

SCOTT SHAMP:

New possibilities for new media

The bits and bytes that undergird technology don’t excite UGA New Media Institute Director Scott Shamp, but the possibilities that come with new technologies certainly do.

“We’re not interested in building technology from the bits up—there are other places that are going to do that,” says Shamp (ABJ ’81, MA ’83), a professor in the Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication. “What we do here is explore how technologies can be combined in new and interesting ways.”

In his office, Shamp proudly displays a framed patent certificate for his “cloud in a box” technology, which he and graduate students created in 2003 to facilitate communication within a wireless zone. A business district that offers wireless Internet access, for example, could provide a listing of shops and restaurants or even alert users to sales or lunch specials for that day. If the user is not logged on to his or her computer, the system can push messages or ads to their cell phone.

Shamp has three additional patents pending. One technology delivers movie trailers to the cell phones of theater-goers. If you’ve just seen “The Dark Knight, ” for instance,

you’d get previews for other superhero or action/adventure movies.

Another technology allows museum visitors to use their cell phones to get information about the exhibit they’re viewing. The system he’s most excited about—created with his mother in mind—allows users wearing a radiofrequency id bracelet to see pictures uploaded by their friends and family on a specially designed digital frame.

“She could see a photo that I took two minutes ago on my cell phone,” Shamp says. “Now that’s pretty cool.”

GEORGIA MAGAZINE • MAY 2009

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JOY DORAN PETERSON: Waste not, want not

Joy Doran Peterson tends to get one of two responses when she tells people she’s looking for more efficient ways to produce ethanol.

“Most people think it’s a good idea,” the professor of microbiology says, “but sometimes people have very strong opinions about food crops being used to produce ethanol.”

Fortunately, Peterson has no interest in turning food into fuel. Working with former graduate student Sarah Kate Brandon (MS ’08) and Professor Mike Eiteman, Peterson has developed a process that dramatically increases the amount of ethanol that refineries can produce from non-food plants such as switchgrass, corn stalks and even yard clippings. The team has developed a similar process for pine and other wood, which is especially important to Georgia’s $18.5 billion forestry industry.

DAVID CHU:

Dreams of new treatments

When David Chu says creating new drugs is a 24-hour job, he’s not exaggerating. Designing new molecules to thwart the replication of viruses such as hepatitis and HIV is creative work, but there are times when solutions elude him. He’s been known to wake up from dreams with an idea and then scramble in the dark to find pen and paper so that he can get it down before it escapes him.

“I still have those kinds of dreams,” says Chu, distinguished research professor emeritus in the College of Pharmacy.

About 95 percent of drug development results in disappointment, Chu says. Often molecules envisioned in a flash of insight can’t be created in the lab. Sometimes new compounds are created but aren’t effective against the virus. Sometimes compounds that are promising in animal studies turn out to be useless in humans.

“You’re lucky if you can come up with one compound in your lifetime that gains FDA approval,” Chu says. “I haven’t reached that point yet, but hopefully I will.”

His most promising opportunity comes from a hepatitis B drug that was approved in 2006 by the South Korean equivalent of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and is already used there and in other Asian countries. The drug, known as Clevudine, is now in the final stages of clinical trails in the United States and could gain FDA approval as soon as next year.

“This work is difficult and time consuming,” Chu says. “But it’s also very rewarding to see my ideas translated into drugs that can help patients.”

30 MAY 2009 • GEORGIA MAGAZINE

“Having a renewable energy source that boosts employment in our state, that is better for the environment and that uses low-value or waste materials is a win-win for everybody,” says Peterson, the director of the university’s Biofuels, Biopower and Biomaterials Initiative.

Her process pre-treats plant material with hot water under pressure before exposing it to enzymes and genetically engineered bacteria that digest and ferment the material to create ethanol. The process eliminates the need for harsh chemicals that would otherwise be necessary and creates sought-after byproducts that can be used as flavor enhancers, in cosmetics and for their anti-microbial activities.

“You could almost pay for your whole process if you could get those compounds in a recoverable form and sell them,” Peterson says. “Economically and environmentally, it’s very powerful.”

SCOTT NESMITH:

Blueberries delight

Scott NeSmith (BS ’83, MS ’86) grew up on a farm in South Georgia and understands the challenges that the state’s farmers face.

“Rural economies are largely based on agriculture,” the professor of horticulture says, “and blueberries are one of the bright spots that are increasing in value and sustaining communities where some of the more traditional commodities like tobacco are declining.”

In 2005, blueberries surpassed one of Georgia’s best known crops—peaches—in value, and their acreage around the state continues to grow. Last year, blueberries brought $75 million in revenue to Georgia farmers, a tremendous increase from just a decade ago, when the crop was valued at $10 million.

Nesmith has created six patented blueberry varieties, each the result of a 12-year selective breeding process in which only the top two plants derived from an initial group of 3,000 make it to the fields. Among other things, he’s looking for berries that have just the right combination of sweetness, acidity and visual appeal for the consumer. With input from farmers, he also selects for bushes that are hearty and produce plenty of fruit that can be easily harvested and withstand shipping.

“The varieties that we’re developing are going right into the hands of farmers,” NeSmith says. “It’s research that’s impacting people’s lives.”

GET MORE

—Sam Fahmy is the science writer for the UGA News Service.

For a searchable list of UGA technologies available for licensing, visit www.ovpr.uga.edu/tco/industry/technologies.

GEORGIA MAGAZINE • MAY 2009

31

by Allyson Mann (MA ’92)

I

24 MAY 2009 • GEORGIA MAGAZINE

butterfly DREAMS Cat Thompson uses horses to help

special needs children improve their communication skills

by Lauren Flemming

photos by Andrew Davis Tucker

T

he wind whips up bits of straw and dirt by the stables

where Tinkerbell stands waiting, her saddle and reins ready. In a few minutes, Grayson Riggott—all four years and 40 pounds of her—climbs onto the half-ton mare’s back and orders her around the ring, barking directions to the fence posts where toy animals have been positioned.

“Where do you want to go?” Cat Thompson (BSEd ’88, MEd ’90) asks Grayson.

“Umm, over there!” shouts Grayson, pointing to a toy megaphone across the fence.

“Ok, then say, ‘Let’s go over there, Tinkerbell,’” Thompson instructs.

“Let’s go over there, Tinkerbell!” Grayson tells the horse clearly.

While it looks as if they’re playing a game, the exercise is actually a form of speech therapy called hippotherapy, which builds upon a child’s self-confidence on the horse to produce more refined speech patterns. Thompson launched the hippotherapy and therapeutic riding program at her Watkinsville, Ga., farm in 2006, after spending years as a Cat Thompson and her daughters, Mary Catherine (far left) and Amanda (far right), help four-year-old Grayson Riggott (on horse) with her speech skills during a lesson.

GEORGIA MAGAZINE • MAY 2009

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Grayson Riggott helps groom Tinkerbell before her hippotherapy lesson at Thompson’s farm.

“Some of the kids are just maxed out on traditional therapy. They don’t want to do it anymore. They come out here and it’s a whole new world.”

—Cat Thompson

26 MAY 2009 • GEORGIA MAGAZINE

speech therapist in Athens hospitals and schools and in private practice.

“She loves it,” says Grayson’s father, John, who watches from outside the fence. “Cat’s got her saying a lot more of her sounds better than she was before and talking, trying to look people in the eye.”

Grayson, who has sensory integration dysfunction, language processing disorder and a pragmatic language disorder, began the therapy last July.

There’s no denying the impact that the horses have on the children in terms of building their self-esteem, their gross motor skills and their language capabilities, Thompson says.

In fact, it was after practicing hippotherapy with one of her own children that Thompson began the practice.

Alli was an autistic patient when Thompson worked at St. Mary’s

Hospital in 2001. The two-year-old girl had been abused and suffered from seizures as well as other medical issues.

“She began her life with what seemed like every strike against her,” says Thompson, who immediately bonded with Alli and took her home to the farm.

On the back of a horse and within a loving environment, Alli gained the strength and balance to walk. She learned the power of communication and found a reason to laugh and smile. Her new home was a place where her body and heart could feel safe, Thompson says.

Thompson and her husband began providing foster care to children, including Alli, who they later adopted. Since then, they have adopted six children and have had one biological child.

Alli died in 2002. By then Thompson had seen her home become a place for healing and happiness. She felt the desire to share the life-changing joy that Alli experienced with other special-needs children in the community. Soon, Butterfly Dreams Farm was born.

Hippotherapy works because the horse’s gait simulates the movement of a child walking. This allows them to develop better muscle control and organization of the brain when they’re on top of the horse during a speech lesson. Horses also help align the child’s posture so they can work on basic communication skills.

“Some of the kids are just maxed out on traditional therapy,” Thompson says. “They don’t want to do it

Thompson (left) and her daughter Mary Catherine (right) help Grayson Riggott lead Tinkerbell around the fence during therapy.

Grayson Riggott speaks into a toy megaphone during a hippotherapy lesson. She tells Tinkerbell where she wants to go next, practicing balance and posture on top of a horse which helps her develop her speech.

anymore. They come out here and it’s a whole new world. Suddenly speech therapy is the most fun thing they’ve ever done.”

In addition to therapy, Thompson teaches children how to care for the horses and develop a love for them as she did when she was young.

“I’ve been riding horses since I was a kid,” she says, “and it’s very therapeutic for me. A lot of these kids can’t access regular sports, they can’t go play on the little league team. So this is something they can really call

their own, and it doesn’t matter if they have autism or cerebral palsy.” GM —GM editorial assistant Lauren Flemming is a senior from Charlotte majoring in magazine journalism.

GET MORE For more on hippotherapy and therapeutic riding at Butterfly Dreams, go to www. butterflydreamsfarm.org.

For information about communications sciences and special education in the UGA College of Education, go to www.coe.uga. edu/csse.

GEORGIA MAGAZINE • MAY 2009

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NOTES CLASS

DANCN IG WT IH TH (A ETHENST )ARS Courtney Gale (BSA ’98) received a standing ovation at “Dancing with the Athens Stars” in March. Gale and her partner, Ron Putman, at right, performed to Gloria Gaynor’s “I Will Survive” and took home the second-place audience favorite award. The performance was a comeback of sorts for Gale, an Athens-Clarke County police sergeant who was stabbed multiple times in 2007 while working a security shift at a local supermarket. She was still recovering from her injuries when she started dance lessons with Putman last fall. Six months later, her performance on “Dancing with the Athens Stars” helped raise $93,000 for Project Safe, an anti-domestic violence agency. The event is modeled after the popular TV show.

COURTESY OF COURTNEY GALE

CLASS NOTES Compiled by Caroline Buttimer and Lauren Flemming

1945-1949 David Ching Heng His (MSA ’49) of Albuquerque, N.M., received the Spirit of America Award at the 49th National Biennial Convention of the Chinese American Citizens Alliance in San Francisco in 2007. He was honored as an agricultural scientist, educator, senior Olympian, volunteer and goodwill ambassador.

1950-1954 Albert Leroy Crittenden Jr. (BSPh ’54) of Dunwoody completed his fourth consecutive appointed term as the public affairs assistant district staff officer of the 7th Coast Guard District Auxiliary. He previously served two elected terms as Division 2 captain. Crittenden’s career in the Coast Guard Auxiliary, the volunteer

36 MAY 2009 • GEORGIA MAGAZINE

arm of the U.S. Coast Guard, began 16 years ago when he retired as the Atlanta district sales manager for Eli Lilly & Company.

1955-1959 Ronald M. Bradley (BSEd ’57) became the first Georgia coach to win 1,000 boys basketball games when Heritage of Conyers defeated Morgan County High School 53-18 on Dec. 22. His wife, Jan, has attended all but five of his games.

1960-1964 Joseph Meeks (BM ’61, MFA ’63) of Kennesaw was named an International Steinway Artist by the legendary piano maker Steinway & Sons. The international roster of Steinway artists includes many of the most prestigious pianists of the last 150 years. A.D. “Pete” Correll (BBA ’63) of Atlanta received the Woodrow Wilson Award for corporate citizenship from the Woodrow

Wilson International Center for Scholars of the Smithsonian Institution. Correll is the chairman of the board of Grady Memorial Hospital Corporation, which took over control of Grady from a governmental authority in May 2008.

Garland Thompson (BSA ’63) of Douglas was reappointed to the Georgia Water, Soil and Conservation Council

by Gov. Sonny Perdue. Charles Jackson Dudley (AB ’64) of Blacksburg, Va., retired in July after 34 years of service as the director of the University Honors Program at Virginia Tech. James E. Purcell (BA ’64), Robert Johnson (BA ’70, JD ’73), R. Neal Glenn (MBA ’75), B. Lee Vaughn Jr. (BS ’95) and Julia Purcell Brown (BA ’97) are among 13 business people starting a bank in Elberton and Hartwell that has received preliminary approval from the FDIC and the state of Georgia. Doyle G. Shaw (BBA ’64) retired from DeKalb County government after 33 years of

ALUMNI PROFILE employment. Shaw was director of the purchasing and contracting department and chief procurement officer.

1965-1969 Kenneth Joseph DeCerce (BSA ’67) of Clifton Park, N.Y., is the banking officer, branch manager, of First Niagara Bank in Clifton Park. Jeanie Daniel Duck (BSEd ’67) received a Lifetime Achievement Award from Consulting magazine at The Waldorf-Astoria in New York on Oct. 30. Jim Cothran (MLA ’68) received the following awards either as principal of a team or as an individual: 2008 Georgia Chapter of the American Society of Landscape Architects (GA ASLA) Award of Merit for the Oakland Cemetery master plan, 2008 GA ASLA Award of Merit for the Historic Columbia Foundation cultural landscape master plan and the 2008 GA ASLA Award of Merit for Georgia Historic Landscape Initiative. Cothran works for the landscape architecture firm Robert Co.

1970-1974 Carole Cole (ABJ ’70) of Atlanta recently retired from her job at Delta Airlines. Pamela Ludlow Robinson (AB ’70) of Roswell received her Ph.D. from Capella University in training and performance improvement. She is a business analyst for Macy’s Systems & Technology. Rick Malone (AB ’72) of Smyrna is the president of the National Association of Prosecutor Coordinators. Robert C. Giles (ABJ ’73) of Marietta is a manuscript editor of college football and basketball history books for Whitman Publishing Company in Atlanta. In his spare time, he is working on a collection of short stories.

Roger Harris (BBA ’73) of Athens was recognized as one of Accounting Today’s 2008 Top 100 Most Influential People in Accounting. Tom Jackson (AB ’73, MPA ’04), UGA vice president for public affairs, received his Ph.D. in higher

Reviving the craft Irvin Alhadeff keeps his family’s leather-working tradition alive just steps from the Arch

by Kali Justus (ABJ ’08)

It pays to do what you love. Just ask Irvin Alhadeff (AB ’71), owner of Masada Leather & Outdoor, who has turned his interest in leather-working into a successful retail business for more than 30 years.

As a leather craftsman, success means being able to “change with the times,” says Alhadeff, recalling the leather-fringed halter tops of the 1970s, the Western wear craze of the 1980s and ANDREW DAVIS TUCKER the sophisticated European styles that are IRVIN ALHADEFF popular today.

Change has also meant selling outdoor apparel and footwear from brands such as The North Face and Patagonia alongside Alhadeff’s custom handmade leather products, including belts, handbags and sandals, at the downtown Athens store.

Masada’s floorplan combines Alhadeff’s leather workshop and traditional retail space, allowing him to observe new trends first hand.

Customers can watch as Alhadeff “tools” a design onto a leather belt (a process that involves striking a thin metal stake with a wooden mallet) as they shop. Alhadeff can design, cut, stitch, oil and dye a complete piece—from hide to handbag—in as short a time as 45 minutes. Some take several hours.

Visiting the workshop is a nostalgic, sensory experience. You hear the rhythmic click…click…click of Alhadeff’s mallet and smell the buttery soft English calfskin.

A framed photo of a 1982 Sports Illustrated cover featuring Herschel Walker wearing blue jeans and one of Alhadeff’s custom belts hangs near an old-fashioned stitching and finishing machine.

Alhadeff enjoys sharing his craft with others.

“It’s in my blood,” he says. Literally. Alhadeff’s ancestors were Jewish immigrants who brought the leather trade to Atlanta in the early 1900s.

Alhadeff earned his bachelor’s degree in history at UGA and was pursuing a master’s degree in medieval history at Florida State University when he sought an apprenticeship with a leather belt- and sandal-maker in Tallahassee, Fla. It was there he developed an interest in his family’s craft.

He gave up his dream of a life in academia—and the offer of a post-doctoral appointment at Duke University—to pursue leather-working as a career.

His first job was hand-tooling leather belts, wristbands and wallets on the streets of Gatlinburg, Tenn., but it was not long before Alhadeff returned to Athens and opened the small 500 sq. ft. “70s hippie leather shop” that became Masada, which is named for a historic battle site in Israel.

Since then he has been a fixture in the ever-evolving downtown Athens retail mix, serving as president of the Downtown Athens Business Association.

In the future, Alhadeff plans to open a studio separate from Masada to allow him space to work on new designs and continue his age-old craft for years to come.

—Kali Justus is a freelance writer living in Atlanta.

GEORGIA MAGAZINE • MAY 2009

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CLASSNOTES

ALUMNI chapters

Bulldogs connect through local alumni chapters and clubs

by Lauren Flemming Whether UGA graduates stay in Bulldog country or venture to the far corners of the states, they’re likely to find a community group sporting red and black and eager to socialize with a fellow Dawg.

“We strive to welcome new members, build lasting professional connections and friendships and keep the spirit of Athens alive,” says Valerie Elston, president of the D.C. Dawgs, one of the larger out-ofstate alumni association chapters.

The UGA Alumni Association now has 39 alumni chapters, 53 clubs and 92 organizations established across the United States, with two international organizations in London and Germany. Chapters are formed in areas with at least 1,000 UGA grads, while clubs serve areas with at most 999 grads. Groups sponsor

game-watching events, dinner clubs and holiday parties, among other things. Members of the D.C. Dawgs mentor UGA students participating In the Washington Semester Program.

About three-fifths of the quartermillion UGA alumni live in Georgia, many served by the 22 in-state chapters and clubs. The Fulton County chapter is the association’s largest.

Outside of Georgia, the states with the most UGA alumni are Florida, North Carolina and South Carolina. In addition to D.C., larger out-of-state chapters are in New York, Chattanooga, upstate South Carolina and Charlotte.

In addition to socializing and networking, the chapters perform community service and fundraising activities. Some of the organizations they’ve helped are Relay for Life, Toys for Tots and the Salvation Army.

Alumni across the country

SPECIAL

Caroline Jones (AB ’05), membership coordinator; Christa Koubek (BBA ’01); Valerie Elston (AB ’04, ABJ ’04), president; and Robin Muthig (AB ’06), golf tournament coordinator, welcome D.C. Dawgs to Penn Quarter Sports Tavern for the UGA v. Central Michigan football game.

participate in Paws Across America National Volunteer Day, in which association chapters and clubs take part in a local Habitat for Humanity project.

Each fall, groups participate in the Dawgs Feeding Dogs Campaign, which collects and donates pet food to local no-kill animal shelters in honor of Uga. In 2008, more than 14,000 pounds of pet food were donated in honor of Uga VII. The Jacksonville, Fla., chapter has earned more than $6,300 through a local golf tournament, which they donated to the Alumni Association’s Endowed Scholarship Fund.

“Younger alumni appreciate the community service activities because at the university it’s easier to plug into those kinds of events and activities,” says Debbie Dietzler, executive director of the UGA Alumni Association. “When you move away, it’s harder to get involved.”

GET MORE D.C. Dawgs sponsored dinner for the fall 2008 Washington Semester Students at Red Rocks Pizza in Columbia Heights, D.C. D.C. Dawgs works closely with the Washington Semester Program to enhance students’ D.C. experience and help build lasting professional connections.

38 MAY 2009 • GEORGIA MAGAZINE

SPECIAL

To learn more about the UGA Alumni Association or find a chapter or club in your area, go to www.alumni.uga. edu/alumni/programs.html.

education from UGA in December.

David Mason (BA ’73, MA ’78, PhD ’82) is Regents professor of political science at the University of North Texas.

Mason holds the Johnie Christian Family Professorship in Peace Studies at UNT, where he also directs the University’s peace studies program. He is completing a year as editor-in-chief of International Studies Quarterly, the flagship journal of the International Studies Association.

Burgett H. Mooney III (BBA ’73) of Rome was elected to the Southern Newspaper Publishers Association board of directors. Sherril York (BSEd ’73) of Bloomington, Ind., is the executive director of the National Center on Accessibility, which promotes access and inclusion for people with disabilities in parks, recreation and tourism, and is a leading authority on access issues unique to park and recreation programs and facilities. The center is located at Indiana University. Sammy Bruce McDaniel (BBA ’74) of Snellville joined the Shelby Publishing Co. as southeast regional manager.

1975-1979 Richard Oliver Barrett (ABJ ’75) of Greenville, S.C., is a broker for Bentley Commercial. Doug Canup (BSA ’75) of Hayesville, N.C., retired as the director of USDA Rural Development’s single-family housing program. He served for the same federal agency for his entire career, since 1977. Michael P. Haggerty (BBA ’75) of Dallas was named to Best Lawyers in America for 2009 for the field of real estate law.

He was also selected as one of Texas Monthly’s Texas Super Lawyers in 2008.

He is a partner in Jackson Walker’s Dallas office and is currently head of the Jackson Walker Financial Services practice group. Emanuel Larkin Jr. (MEd ’75) of Waynesboro is magistrate judge of Burke County for a term ending Dec. 31, 2012. Sandra Derrick (BSHE ’76, MEd ’80) of Dalton retired from the Whitfield County School System

after 30 years of service. Robert C. Fore (EdD ’76) of Chattanooga, Tenn., is professor of internal medicine and associate dean for academic affairs at the University of Tennessee College of Medicine Chattanooga. He was named Emeritus Professor of Medical Education for Mercer University School of Medicine in Macon. Fore also published a book, Peanut Oil: Reflections from an Aging Southern Boy, with cover endorsements from Vince Dooley and Swann Seiler (ABJ ’78).

A. Allen French (BS ’77) of Alpharetta is president of the Hinman Dental Society. The 800-member Atlanta dental society sponsors the annual Thomas P. Hinman Dental Meeting, which provides continuing education to over 23,000 dental professionals each March at the Georgia World Congress Center.

Albert Hodge (BBA ’77) of Rome, Ga., was chosen as one of Atlanta Business Chronicle’s Who’s Who in Education.

Dawn Worthey (ABJ ’77) worked for 20 years in corporate marketing in the telecommunications industry before achieving a dream to dance in the Atlanta Ballet’s holiday classic “The Nutcracker.” In 2001, she was featured on “The Oprah Winfrey Show” in a segment which explored commitment to living a creative lifestyle aligned with passion. Upon semi-business retirement, Worthey began studying art, music and dance. At 43, dancing with a professional company and partnered with a second-year graduate from The Juilliard School, Worthey performed on the Fox Theater stage in Atlanta to a full house and achieved her dream.

James Patrick Burns (ABJ ’78) of Cape Girardeau, Mo., accepted an Emmy at a special ceremony in St. Louis for KFVS-TV’s “The Breakfast Show.”

The award from the Mid-America Chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences was for best morning/daytime broadcast.

Burns is a long-time “Breakfast Show” anchor. Stephen Douglas Powell

(BBA ’78) of Rowlett, Texas, graduated on Dec. 12 with a Ph.D. in leadership and church ministry from Southern Baptist Theological Seminary and has been hired as an adjunct professor at Dallas Baptist University in the Graduate School of Leadership. David Shipley (ABJ ’78, MA ’81) of Birmingham, Ala., is the director of international studies at Samford University in Birmingham, Ala. Shipley will oversee study abroad programs in Great Britain, Germany, France, Italy, Greece, Spain, Costa Rica, Peru, Indonesia, China and South Korea. Sam Silverstein (BBA ’78) is the 2008-09 president of The National Speakers Association. As a professional speaker, Sam speaks internationally on accountability, leadership and building successful organizations. He and his wife, Renee, live in St. Louis, Mo., and have four children. Wanda Sauley Fennell (BMus ’79) of Fredericksburg, Va., was honored for 20 years of service as minister of music with Grace Baptist Church in Richmond, Va. Rick Hamilton III (BBA ’79) of Marietta joined HLB Gross Collins P.C., an

GEORGIA MAGAZINE • MAY 2009

39

CLASSNOTES

Atlanta-based public accounting and consulting firm, as a tax principal.

1980-1984

WILLIAM TULLIS/TULLIS PHOTOGRAPHY

Josh Darnell receives treatment from occupational therapist Lisa Dowling.

Alumnus, former GM editor, recovers from war injuries Lt. Joshua Darnell (ABJ ’04) is recovering at the veteran’s hospital in Augusta from wounds he suffered in a suicide bomber’s attack in Afghanistan in January.

Darnell, who was with the Army’s 3rd Brigade, 1st Infantry Division, suffered catastrophic joint damage and nerve damage to his right arm and multiple shrapnel wounds during the attack, which occurred while he was on routine patrol of a market in Hutal, Afghanistan. A suicide bomber with 40-50 pounds of homemade explosives under his robes detonated himself as Darnell and other soldiers passed by.

Doctors initially feared Darnell would lose his arm. However, after 12 surgeries at Eisenhower Army Medical Center in Augusta and seven weeks of occupational therapy at the Charlie Norwood Veterans Administration Medical Center, Darnell has regained some use of his hand and fingers and some sensation.

Darnell received a Purple Heart award from the office of the president of the United States. The Purple Heart is awarded to any member of the armed forces who is wounded or killed while serving in active duty. He is expected to remain hospitalized until early fall. He and his wife Melissa (BSEd ’04) live in Oconee County.

Darnell worked as an assistant editor for Georgia Magazine from July 2004 to February 2006. He enlisted in the military in March 2006 and went to Afghanistan in June 2008.

40 MAY 2009 • GEORGIA MAGAZINE

James R. Edwards (AB ’80, MA ’83) joined the MITA Group, a Washington, D.C., public affairs and corporate consulting firm, as principal. His practice specializes in government relations. Kim Michael (BA ’80, JD ’83) of Watkinsville has formed the new firm of M. Kim Michael P.C., located in Bogart, Ga. Michael will continue to concentrate in the areas of domestic relations and misdemeanor criminal law. Carol Mohor (BFA ’80, EdS ’93) of McDonough was selected to receive the 2009 Georgia Elementary Art Educator of the Year Award from the Georgia Art Education Association.

Phil L. Samples (BSPH ’80, PharmD ’92) of Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio, is the director of medical operations for the Headquarters Air Force Materiel Command and recently received the 2008 Andrew Craigie Award from the Association of Military Surgeons of the United States. The competitive award is presented to an individual for a career of outstanding accomplishment in the advancement of professional pharmacy within the federal government. Richard A. Bennett (ABJ ’81) of Athens joined Hendley and Associates, a real estate and development company. Warren H. Franklin (BS ’81) of Shalimar, Fla., retired with the rank of colonel from the U.S. Air Force after more than 32 years of military service. He is now self-employed as a custom furniture craftsman. LeCretia Johnson (BBA ’82) accepted the OCSE Commissioner’s Award for Exemplary Service at the 18th National Child Support Enforcement Training Conference Awards Luncheon on behalf of the Georgia Office of Child Support Services from Commissioner Margot Bean in Washington, D.C., in August. Ian Feinberg (ABJ ’83) of Atlanta received the state’s Perkins

Award as the Georgia Teacher of the Year in the technical college system of Georgia. Feinberg is the lead instructor of the television production technology program at Chattahoochee Technical College in Marietta. Mark Lloyd (BS ’83, DVM ’89) of Winterville is the veterinary medical head for the United States Humane Society. Lloyd works to address the needs and care of animals that are in disaster areas throughout the U.S. Holly Meidl (BBA ’83) of Nashville, Tenn., was featured in Business Insurance’s Women to Watch 2008. She is responsible for directing 550 Marsh colleagues who provide daily service to more than 1,900 health care clients.

Denise Michelle Moran (ABJ ’83) of Atlanta joined Macro International as an editor. David Tolleson (ABJ ’83) of Roswell was elected to a third term on

the Roswell City Council. Tolleson also serves as the executive director of the National Down Syndrome Congress.

David Chandley (ABJ ’84) just celebrated his 20th anniversary at WSB-TV as on-air meteorologist. He received the Certified Broadcast Meteorologist designation from the American Meteorological Society.

This is the highest mark of distinction and recognition available in broadcast meteorology. Mike McCurley (AB ’84) of Watkinsville is the senior vice president of the new First Century Bank branch in Athens. Carolyn Brault Seefer (BBA ’84) is Teacher of the Year at Diablo Valley College for the 2008-09 academic year.

This is the first time a business professor has been selected for this honor. She has been teaching at DVC, a large community college in the San Francisco Bay area, since 1996.

1985-1989 Bob Behler (ABJ ’85) is in his first season of being the radio play-byplay voice of the Boise State Broncos football and basketball teams. Sonia Bell-Nichols (BS ’85) of Locust Grove graduated from Mercer University School of Law and is now a project manager at Georgia Appleseed Center for Law and Justice. John Hayden (BS ’85) of Saint George, Utah, is vice president of environment, safety and health for the National Stone, Sand & Gravel Association in Alexandria, Va. Jennifer L. Cote (BBA ’86) of Roswell released a new book, The Ark, The Reed, and The Fire Cloud, book one in The Amazing Tales of Max and Liz series.

James Parker (BBA ’86) of Charlotte, N.C., was named senior vice president, finance and development, for MedCath

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GEORGIA MAGAZINE • MAY 2009

41

CLASSNOTES

Corporation in 2007. Claud Spinks (BSEd ’86) of Stockbridge is the athletic director at Eagle’s Landing High School in McDonough. He is also the head track and cross country coach. Swain Whitfield (AB ’86) of Blythewood, S.C., was elected to the at-large seat on the South Carolina Public Service Commission, which regulates all investor-owned utilities in the state, in 2008. Polly O’Grady (BSA ’87) of St. Louis Park, Minn., was promoted to vice president of technology at Weber Shandwick. Edward Peace (BSA ’87) of Braselton is director of single family housing programs for USDA Rural Development in Georgia. Robin Thomas (ABJ ’87) of Atlanta is senior vice president of strategic research for Disney-ABC Domestic Television.

Elizabeth Fretwell (BA ’89) is deputy city manager in Las Vegas, Nev. Allen Mitchell (BBA ’89) of Cumming is a national bank examiner with the Office

of the Comptroller of the Currency in Atlanta. Michael Ostergard (BBA ’89) of Marietta was named North American managing partner for Accenture’s corporate direction consulting practice.

1990-1994 Corporate partners Joseph Bebee Alexander (BBA ’90) and Gerry Lee Williams (BBA ’92) of Atlanta left Hunton & Williams for DLA Piper on Aug. 1. Paul H. Matthews (AB ’91, PhD ’01) of Athens is celebrating his 15th year as scoutmaster of Troop 149. The troop has more than 60 boys and 60 adult volunteers (many with UGA connections) from the ClarkeOconee area. He has guided 52 young men to scouting’s highest rank and has Eagles scattered across the country. He will be honored at the troop’s official 50th anniversary ceremony on May 2.

Chris Gunter (BS ’92) is director of research affairs for the new Hudson-

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42 MAY 2009 • GEORGIA MAGAZINE

Alpha Institute of Biotechnology in Huntsville, Ala. Kim Pulliam Muraczewski (BBA ’92) of St. Louis, Mo., and husband Matt celebrated the birth of their son, Tyler Jacob, on June 11. McCall Wilder (ABJ ’92) of Atlanta showcased her boutique, McCall Wilder Designs Couture Clothing for Children, at a pre-Golden Globes event for celebrity parents at the Boom Boom Room in Los Angeles, Calif.

Customers included Tim Allen and his wife, Jane; Chris Noth of Sex and the City; and Angela Kinsey of The Office.

Denise Stone Ciccarelli (BA ’93) of Mt. Pleasant, S.C., is a graduate of the Diversity Leaders Initiative Lowcountry Class III. Chosen by nomination and application, participants in the DLI come from all demographic groups and sectors to build leadership skills while also examining and pursuing solutions to challenges and opportunities most pressing to communities. Ciccarelli is the director of development for the Medical University of South Carolina’s College of Nursing. Susan Simpson Irwin (ABJ ’93) was recognized as the Dr. Mark Coppage Scholar by the DeKalb Medical Center Foundation and is currently pursuing a bachelor of nursing degree from the University of West Georgia. The scholarship is awarded to a nursing student who exhibits the desire to serve their community in a compassionate way. Jay P. Ferguson Jr. (BA ’94) of Atlanta was named to partner at Duane Morris LLP in Philadelphia, Pa. He practices in the area of commercial litigation, with an emphasis on employment litigation.

Rob Hays (BBA ’94) recently marked 10 years as controller for Hennessy Lexus of Gwinnett. Hays is also the controller for Hennessy Porsche in Roswell. Pamelyn McGrew (BA ’94) of Smyrna earned the Project Management Institute’s most recognized and respected global credential, the project management professional.

Where are

theynow?

ROB SUTHERLAND (BS ’96, MS ’96) RHODES SCHOLAR, POTTER

As a UGA student in the 1990s, Rob Sutherland studied biology, earning his bachelor’s and master’s degrees at the same time. He went on to Oxford University as a 1996 Rhodes Scholar, studying molecular ecology.

Today, Sutherland tends shop at Good Dirt, the Athens pottery studio he owns with his wife Kim.

“Firing the kiln is like doing an experiment,” he says. “You’ve got things you can control and you try to understand the system to produce the best results you can. Having a science background and being able to understand the chemistry really helps. I think potters without any higher education at all would have trouble. I can tinker and figure out what the problem is or why something isn’t working.”

It was after his time in England, where he earned a Ph.D., that he realized he did not want to be a scientist.

“I landed in a lab, and that’s probably what ruined me on science,” he says. “I didn’t love it enough to put up with the day in, day out of transferring liquids from one tube to another and waiting for results. I stuck with it, but by the time I was done with [the program], I just didn’t want to do that kind of work anymore.”

After a short stint teaching science and math at an Arizona school, he and Kim returned to Athens. They took a class at Good Dirt and Sutherland realized his creativity. He knew he wouldn’t be returning to science.

He bought the studio in 2004 and began a new career path. He teaches classes and cares for his 6-year-old son Rowan.

“It’s kind of weird when your business stems from your hobby,” he says. “I still enjoy what I’m doing, but now I can make money doing it. We’re not getting rich, but we’re not struggling, and I love what I’m doing.”

—by Caroline Buttimer

ANDREW DAVIS TUCKER

While at UGA, ecology professor Jim Porter (second from left) referred to Sutherland as his best student in 25 years. Eugene Odum (at left), the “father of modern ecology,” and President Knapp also offered Sutherland congratulations on winning the Rhodes scholarship.

SPECIAL

Where are they now? is a feature in GM that spotlights students who made a name for themselves while at UGA. Have a standout classmate you’d like to catch up on? Email Kelly Simmons at simmonsk@uga.edu.

GEORGIA MAGAZINE • MAY 2009

43

CLASSNOTES

1995-1999 Maj. Chris Carter (AB ’95) and wife Celeste Elizabeth Carter (BBA ’99) of Richmond Hill welcomed their first child, Jackson Lee Carter, on June 29. Wendy Cooper (AB ’95) won third place in Image08, the photography contest hosted each year by the New York chapter of the American Media Photographers, for her image “The Voyeur.” Wendy Cooper Photography in Savannah specializes in lifestyle, travel, still life and portrait photography.

Sarah Coile Galloway (BSFCS ’95) and husband John Galloway of Nashville, Tenn., welcomed the birth of their third son, John Chandler Galloway, on Nov. 18. Jennifer Morrell (ABJ ’95) of Cumming is editor for Masonry magazine, a national trade publication serving the construction industry. She is also

44 MAY 2009 • GEORGIA MAGAZINE

vice president of the Atlanta Chapter of the American Society of Business Publication Editors and president of the Forsyth County Chapter of the UGA Alumni Association. Brian Mixon DeLoach (BS ’96) is chief of medical staff and medical director of student health services for Georgia Southern University. His wife, Holly Stowe DeLoach (BS ’96), worked for several years as an environmental health specialist and is now staying home to raise their son, Mixon, who was born on April 30, 2007. Jonathan Riley Granade (AB ’96) of Atlanta is a shareholder in the law firm Casey Gilson P.C., focusing on business and personal injury litigation. Granade and his wife, Samantha Granade, welcomed the birth of their daughter, Riley Elizabeth, on Oct. 2. They also have a 3-year-old daughter, Ansley. Scott Hitch (BS ’96, JD ’99) of Roswell, a partner at Balch & Bingham LLP, was

designated as a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design Accredited Professional by the U.S. Green Building Council and the Green Building Certification Institute. Elisa Rodriguez Rzymski (AB ’96) of Fort Lauderdale, Fla., welcomed the birth of her second daughter, Isabel Victoria, on Dec. 9.

Matthew Young (M ’96) of Savannah was installed as president of the Home Builders Association of Greater Savannah. Young is the founder and president of Regal Builders Inc. Leigh Majors Arwood (AB ’97) and husband Josh Arwood of Atlanta welcomed the birth of their second child, Collier Benjamin Arwood, on Jan. 13. Michael J. Hake (BBA ’97) and Erin D. Hake (BBA ’98) of Marietta welcomed the birth of their new daughter (and future Georgia Bulldog), Kendall Elizabeth, on Sept. 8. Mike Nichols (BLA ’97) is serving his first term as Solana Beach, Calif., mayor. Katy Austin Smith (BS ’97) of St. Simons Island had her jewelry line, Afterglow, featured at a jewelry and fashion show at Meo’s Suite in June.

Lesley Murphy Cahalan (BSPh ’98) of Greensboro, N.C., and husband Lee celebrated the birth of their son, Reid Alexander, on May 2, 2008. Lorraine Riffle Hawley (ABJ ’98) of Arlington, Va., was selected by the U.S. Department of State to serve as a Franklin Fellow in the Department of State’s Franklin Fellowship Program. The one-year fellowship will allow her to contribute in the areas of energy and environment, trade and investment, and public-private partnership. Hawley currently works as an international government affairs representative for Chevron Corporation in Washington, D.C. Jennifer Mitchell Landon (ABJ ’98) of Lawrenceville and husband Jason celebrated the birth of their second son, Wyatt Russell, on Aug. 27. Shannon Register (BSFCS ’98) of Spring, Texas, is now a residential realtor with Coldwell Banker United Realtors.

James Kevin Shields (BBA ’98) and

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GEORGIA MAGAZINE • MAY 2009

45

CLASSNOTES

NEWBOOKS Transcending the New Woman: Multiethnic Narratives in the Progressive Era

University of Missouri Press, 2009

By Charlotte Rich (PhD ’98) The dawn of the twentieth century saw the birth of the New Woman, a cultural and literary ideal that replaced Victorian expectations of domesticity with visions of social, political and economic autonomy. This book is the first study focusing solely on multiethnic women writers’ responses to the ideal of the new woman in America.

About Them Dawgs!

The Scarecrow Press, Inc., 2008

By Patrick Garbin (BBA ’98) Georgia football has captivated the hearts and minds of fans for more than a century. Spanning 116 years of Bulldog football, About Them Dawgs! provides a game-by-game recap of 24 of the school’s most notable seasons.

The Poetry Alarm Clock

iUniverse Inc., 2008

By Jill Jennings (AB ’69, MA ’75) The Poetry Alarm Clock illustrates people you feel you already know as well as new ones you’ll want to know more about within this collection of ironic, ridiculous and sometimes tragic poems.

How The Brain Grew Back Its Own History

Bright Hill Press, 2008

By Liz Beasley (PhD ’05) How the Brain Grew Back Its Own History is a collection of spare, image-driven poetry that explores the intersection of inner and outer worlds.

Skywalker: Close Encounters on the Appalachian Trail

Indigo Custom Publishing, 2008

By Bill Walker (BBA ’82, MAcc ’83) In this first-hand account of hiking the Appalachian trail, the author recalls meeting fellow hikers and the camaraderie they shared in the woods, as well as the abundant beauty of the trails themselves and advice for future hikers.

Sea Vigil: Poems

St. Johann Press, 2008

By R. Cary Bynum (BFA ’62) Sea Vigil is a collection of poems written over many years of

46 MAY 2009 • GEORGIA MAGAZINE

trips to the Georgia and Florida Gulf coasts. The seaside and its enduring old resorts, beaches and islands served as inspiration and a safe haven for the author, spending genial hours in the company of the sea.

Critical Success: The 2 Rules of 3

AuthorHouse, 2008

By D.S. Brown (BBA ’00) According to the author, critical success is the planned achievement of something urgent and essential, utilizing skillful planning and judgment for the express purpose of attaining personal prosperity. Learn why achieving critical success should be a priority in life for you, your children, your family and your community.

Spalding Gray’s America

Limelight Editions, 2008

By William W. Demastes (MA ’79) The book captures the essence of Gray’s theatre background and career as a storyteller while illustrating a quirky, insightful, full-color portrait of America.

Banjo Playing

AuthorHouse, 2008

By Jack B. Hood (AB ’69, JD ’71) Sam Stone, an assistant U.S. attorney from Alabama, visits his ex-wife in Rio De Janeiro, only to be pursued by old enemies and criminals who try to take his life. He discovers old and new banjo tunings and learns life lessons about telling the truth during his travels in Brazil.

Fixing Hell: An Army Psychologist Confronts Abu Ghraib

Grand Central Publishing, 2008 Co-authored by Gregory Freeman (ABJ ’86) and Col. Larry C. James An intense and insightful personal narrative, Fixing Hell is the story of Abu Ghraib told by a soldier sent by the Army to restore order and ensure the abuses that took place there never happen again.

Dua: A Collection of Short Stories

Dorrance Publishing, 2008

By Haron Kyim (BFA ’98) Included in this collection are stories of love, ranging from pure and true to inappropriate and questionable, stories of quasi-realistic future, and of bioengineering and animal testing gone bad.

Are You Ticklish Today?

Tate Publishing, 2008

By Keith Pankey (BSA ’94) and his wife Michelle Pankey Are You Ticklish Today? is a silly, fun children’s book written by a husband and wife complete with rhyming schemes that will entertain and delight your child.

ONLINE

Find more books by UGA graduates at www.uga.edu/gm

Courtney Cameron Shields (BBA ’99) of Montevallo, Ala., welcomed the birth of their daughter, Cassandra Gail Shields, on Sept. 17. Derek Coleman Smith (AB ’98) of Charlotte, N.C., was named sports editor of the Belmont Banner News. He recently joined the Gastonia Grizzlies of the Coastal Plains Baseball League as director of media relations and broadcasting. Katie Throne (AB ’98) of Athens was awarded the National Association of Realtors’ Green Designation, the only green real estate professional designation recognized by NAR. Throne is one of the first realtors in the country to obtain the designation and the only realtor in Athens. Laura Wall (BFA ’98) of Greensboro, N.C., received the Gold Ozzie Award for best overall design for Winterthur magazine in the association/non-profit category and the Silver Ozzie Award for best overall design for Renaissance magazine in the custom publishing category. Folio awards are among the most prestigious awards in magazine publishing, drawing more than 2,800 international entries that are evaluated by more than 100 expert judges. In addition, Wall spoke on the “Top 10 Essentials of a Top Designer” at the fall Folio Show conference.

Brianna Schencke Grant (AB ’99) of Duvall, Wash., wrote the book We are Girls Who Love to Run, which won a 2008 Moonbeam Children’s Book Award.

Alexander Hodson (AB ’99) of Bogart is a partner at Quarterman & Hodson P.C. The firm focuses on commercial and residential real estate law and corporate law. Jason Meentemeyer (AB ’99) of Lavonia graduated from the Georgia Banking School on May 9, 2008.

Meentemeyer has been with Northeast Georgia Bank for nine years and is a vice president. Skip Sullivan (EdD ’99) of Carrollton was chosen as one of Atlanta Business Chronicle’s Who’s Who in Education. Krista Anderson Volzke (BBA ’99) and her husband, Spencer, of Omaha, Neb., celebrated the birth of their first child, Grace Muriel Volzke, on

IT’S GREAT TO BE A BULLDOG! As a third generation UGA graduate, it has been an honor to serve as president of the UGA Alumni Association. Our organization has a bright future, with a talented board of directors that gives unselfishly to their alma mater.

One highlight of my presidency has been the privilege of recognizing outstanding UGA graduates and friends at our annual Alumni Awards luncheon, one of our signature events. This year’s recipients are truly exceptional: Upshaw Bentley, dean Sharon Nickols, the late Vivian Fisher, Hugh Durham and the family of Bill Young Sr. (See page 52.)

Another highlight has been seeing our latest signature event come to fruition, and one that I am excited to announce. 100 Best Bulldog Businesses will celebrate the UGA entrepreneurial spirit and commemorate the 100 fastest-growing businesses owned or operated

by UGA graduates. We will honor the top 100 at a banquet next January, during which the top 10 will be revealed. For information about 100 Best Bulldog Businesses or to nominate a company, go to www. uga.edu/alumni/100bbb.

I want to thank UGA Alumni everywhere for the many kind words of encouragement and for loyal support of UGA during my term. It is indeed GREAT to be a Georgia Bulldog.

Sincerely,

Trey Paris (BBA ’84, MBA ’85) UGA Alumni Association Board President UNIVERSITY OF GEORGIA ALUMNI ASSOCIATION Deborah Dietzler, Executive Director ALUMNI ASSOCIATION OFFICERS Trey Paris BBA ’84, MBA ’85 President, Gainesville Vic Sullivan BBA ’82 Vice President, Albany Tim Keadle BBA ’78 Treasurer, Lilburn Harriette Bohannon BSFCS ’74 Secretary, Augusta Swann Seiler ABJ ’78, Immediate Past President, Savannah

ALUMNI ASSOCIATION WEB SITE www.alumni.uga.edu/alumni To receive a membership brochure, call: 800/606-8786 or 706/542-2251 Annual membership: $35 (single), $50 (joint) To receive a monthly e-newsletter, enroll at: www.alumni.uga.edu/alumni ADDRESS CHANGES E-mail records@uga.edu or call 888/268-5442

GEORGIA MAGAZINE • MAY 2009

47

CLASSNOTES

Oct. 6. Volzke works as a learning events coordinator with Gallup. Thomas H. Wilkins (AB ’99, MA ’02) is a member of the editorial board for The Investment Professional, a quarterly journal with a worldwide readership published in New York by practicing investment professionals.

2000-2004 Michael Conley (ABJ ’00) of Sharpsburg joined CeloNova Biosciences Inc. as the marketing associate and sales liaison. CeloNova develops stealth defense polymers for medical implants. Jennifer Duvall (BSFCS ’00) of Athens has her own fashion and makeup blog called “JennySue Makeup.” Gena Knox (BLA ’00) of Athens, founder and CEO of Fire & Flavor, was chosen as one of Georgia Trend’s 40 Under 40 in 2008.

Jaime McCutcheon Otero (ABJ ’00) of Omaha, Neb., married Benjamin

48 MAY 2009 • GEORGIA MAGAZINE

Otero on Sept. 13. She is currently the weekend anchor at WOWT, the topranked TV station in Omaha. Matt Pollard (BBA ’00) of Marietta was promoted to managing consultant of Forsythe Solutions Group and received the company’s 2008 A-Player award.

Steven Scites (AB ’00) and wife Ashley welcomed the birth of their son, Nathan Alan, on Nov. 18. The Scites also have a 2-year-old son, Jacob. Brian L. Johnson (AB ’01) is the city administrator for Garden City, a small town located just outside of Savannah. Under his leadership, Garden City is currently building an innovative mixed-use town center near I-16, which will serve as the new home of the municipality’s city hall. Lauren Sather (BSFCS ’01) of Savannah joined First Chatham Bank as assistant vice president and deposit sales manager. Jennifer M. Boozer (ABJ ’02) is with Buckhead Life Restaurant Group.

She teaches ballroom dancing through the Evenings at Emory Continuing Education Program. T. Joy Holloway (AB ’02, JD ’06) of Washington, D.C., joined the law offices of Odin, Feldman & Pittleman as an associate with the firm’s corporate, securities, tax and finance practice group. Brian Emery Shea Jones (ABJ ’02) and his wife, Jennifer Carden Jones (BS ’03), of Los Angeles, Calif., are expecting their first child in July. Brian is a development executive at Cartoon Network Studios in Burbank, Calif., and Jennifer teaches kindergarten in North Hollywood, Calif. Marybeth Lawson (BSEd ’02) and her husband, Shane, of Macon celebrated the birth of their daughter, Riley Elizabeth Lawson, on Feb. 15, 2008. Jeremy Maxfield (ABJ ’02) and Amanda Woods Maxfield (AB ’03) welcomed the birth of their second daughter, Ella Ryan Maxfield, on Feb. 28, 2008. Ella joins big sister Adalyn.

Jon Ostenson (BBA ’02, MBA ’06) married Jenny Rutherford on Oct. 24.

Jon is the manager of strategic planning for Carter’s Inc. Haley Hunt Poss (ABJ

’02) of Alpharetta completed the first portion of a three-year professional development program that will lead to certification as a tourism marketing professional. Katherine Stohler (AB ’02) of Chattanooga, Tenn., was hired

by RecruitWise as an account executive.

Brett Achey (BBA ’03) and Jeremy Faughtenberry (BBA ’04) of Lilburn founded Mercury Investments LLC in 2008. By leveraging their financial and marketing backgrounds from UGA, Mercury Investments is on the forefront of small to mid-cap money management.

Rickie L. Brown (BSA ’04) of Albany joined the law firm of Moore, Clarke, DuVall & Rodgers P.C. Eric Knox (BBA ’04) of Nashville, Tenn., joined the law offices of Bass, Berry & Sims in October. Matthew Newton (BFA ’04) entered the master’s program for fine arts at Hunter College in New York City, with projected completion in 2011.

John Sugg (ABJ ’04, BA ’04) joined Davis, Matthews & Quigley P.C. as an associate in the business and commercial litigation section. Andrea Whitaker (BA ’04) of Perry graduated from basic combat training at Fort Jackson, S.C. She attended Officer Candidate School in the U.S. Infantry School at Fort Benning and was commissioned as a second lieutenant on Jan. 29. Jeffrey Yarvis (SSW ’04) of Bethesda, Md., is the first social worker to receive the Association of Military Surgeons of the United States honor of Uniformed Services Social Worker of the Year for his research on PTSD. In addition, Yarvis was named U.S. Army Social Worker of the Year, inducted into the Order of Military Medical Merit, and inducted into the Randolph High School Hall of Fame for his humanitarian efforts in Iraq, Bosnia and Haiti. He also published his first book, Subthreshold Post Traumatic Stress Disorder: A Comparison of Veterans with Different Levels of Traumatic Stress—Implications for the Prevention and Treatment of PTSD.

I

WHY give

2005-2009 Christopher Arnold (BBA ’05) of Macon was named an associate at the law office of Jones, Cork and Miller LLP. Ernest Roeber Burriss IV (AB ’05) of Leesburg has joined the law firm of Gardner, Willis, Sweat and Handleman as an associate. Katherine Floyd (BS ’05) joined the Atlanta office of Jones Day and recently passed the Georgia Bar. Victoria Heather Mitchell (BA ’05) of Orlando, Fla., joined the law firm of Holland & Knight LLP as an associate in the commercial litigation practice group.

Dean Roy (BBA ’05) of Atlanta founded a social networking Web site for families, called Sharefam.com. Stephen Shull (BSFCS ’05) of Marietta was hired as the director of development for the College of Humanities and Social Sciences at Kennesaw State University.

Mathew Sweezey (BSA ’05) of Atlanta created a Web site, www.mechanixloop. com, to help car owners find the highest rated local auto repair center in their area. The site launched in October.

Sophie Siv Walters (BSFCS ’05) of Milledgeville graduated from Wesleyan College with a master’s degree in early childhood education and is teaching kindergarten in Macon, where she lives with her husband, Jeremy Walters (BSFR ’04). Philip Heath Ward (BA ’05, MPA ’08) of Charleston, S.C., is in his first year at the Charleston School of Law. Allison O’Grady (ABJ ’06, BS ’06) of Marietta is one of 272 members of AmeriCorps’ National Civilian Community Corps (NCCC) who have completed 10 months of full-time service to communities in need. NCCC projects assist with disaster relief, improve the environment, enhance education, increase public safety and address unmet human needs. As a team leader, O’Grady served as a role model, educator, safety manager and liaison between the campus and project sponsor. O’Grady’s class responded to 22 disaster callouts nationwide in

“

It has been my great pleasure to give

to the Odum School of Ecology in support of the undergraduates in ecology. They are an exciting group of young scientists with whom to work. I have enjoyed reading about the experiences of the students who have visited Selvatica, the wilderness rainforest preserve with which I am involved, and I have sensed the excitement in these students that has derived from their learning experiences. I have been involved in hiring many students and recent graduates of the School of Ecology to work on the Little Cumberland Loggerhead Turtle Project and the Jumby Bay Hawksbill Project over the years. One recent graduate, Ben Morrison (BS ’08), has just completed two years of sea turtle research on Little Cumberland Island, and he has used this experience to move on to a new environmental position on Little St. Simon’s Island. It is deeply satisfying for me to

”

follow the development of such student careers and to feel an integral part of the system.

—Rebecca Bell

Rebecca Bell has been a friend of UGA’s School of Ecology for decades through her friendship with ecology professor Jim Richardson and his wife Thelma. A Middlebury College and University of Kansas graduate, Bell met the Richardsons in 1972 at Little CumberSPECIAL land Island, where she lives part-time. She has been involved in many ecology projects, including the Georgia Sea Turtle Cooperative; Rainforestry Inc., a tropical conservation project in Costa Rica; and the Jumby Bay Hawksbill Research Project in Antigua and the West Indies. As director of the Little Cumberland Island Sea Turtle Project since 1985, Bell has worked with many students from the Odum School of Ecology. In addition, Bell makes an annual gift to the Ecology Fund, which is the backbone of support for all Odum School programs.

To learn more about the Odum School of Ecology, go to www.ecology.uga.edu.

GEORGIA MAGAZINE • MAY 2009

49

CLASSNOTES

ALUMNI PROFILE

On Broadway Kenneth Roberson has made a name for himself as a dancer, actor and choreographer

by John English

Kenneth L. Roberson came to UGA from his hometown of Thomson for a journalism degree. When he left, his minor in drama took him to Broadway.

“I had lots of chances to perform,” Roberson (ABJ ’79) says. “I was in ‘Uncle Remus Tales,’ a drama department production which toured the state. I performed with the Pomoja student troupe, which dipped into the black vernacular— pageantry, spirituals and dance. I sang in the UGA Glee Club. Those experiences shaped and helped me do what I’m doing now.”

JOHN ENGLISH

Roberson began his theatrical career as KENNETH ROBERSON a dancer. He got his first break by winning a scholarship to the Alvin Ailey American Dance Center and then danced in three Broadway shows—“Oh, Kay,” “Jelly’s Last Jam” and “Black and Blue,” which also took him to Paris for a six-month run.

Becoming a choreographer gave him new opportunities to be creative.

“As an artist, I wanted to make up things—that’s what good theater is about—and to make change,” he says.

As a choreographer, Roberson has earned credits in top regional theaters such as the Alliance Theatre in Atlanta, Arena Stage in Washington, D.C., the Pasadena Playhouse in Los Angeles and the Post Street Theatre in San Francisco.

His New York credits include “All Shook Up,” “Purlie,” “Harlem Song” and the 2004 Tony Award-winning musical “Avenue Q,” which features puppets.

“I had an opportunity to experiment with that show and to share my sense of humor,” he says of “Avenue Q.” “The show is both profane and profound; it talks about life and the rites of passage of people in their 20s. The puppets gave us leeway to talk about it all—racism, poverty and other current issues.”

Roberson also earned credits as a director/choreographer for shows at Baltimore’s Center Stage and the Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park and on television productions such as “Lackawanna Blues” for HBO and John Leguizamo’s “House of Buggin’.”

He has proven to be an adept fundraiser for worthy causes, having co-produced three major benefits for the Rainforest Foundation using Broadway talent. It was very satisfying working with Sting and his wife Trudie Styler on these $2,500-a-plate dinner shows, which brought in $1 million for Rainforest projects, Roberson says.

“They do great work, and I had a chance to put a multi-racial face on these shows,” he says. “I am very proud of them.”

“It has been challenging going into the arts because artists in the U.S. are not as respected as they are in other countries. But I have been fortunate to live a great life in the arts and am so thankful for the way things are turning out.”

—John English, professor emeritus of journalism at the University of Georgia, is a frequent contributor to GM.

50 MAY 2009 • GEORGIA MAGAZINE

2008 including large-scale responses to Hurricanes Gustav and Ike. Scott Parker (AB ’06) of Savannah was selected by Bank of America as a winner in its MyExpression Search for Alumni Passion contest. He won for his poignant 100-word essay which reflected his pride for both his alma mater and his country. Michael Allen Camp (AB ’07) of Covington was hired by the Rockdale County Sheriff’s Office as a crime analyst to help identify crime patterns and trends.

GRAD NOTES Agriculture Lisa McKinley (MAExt ’93) of Atlanta received a Superior Accomplishment Recognition Award and a Time-Off Award for her efforts in the area of Concentrated Animals Feeding Operation enforcement under the Clean Water Act.

Arts & Sciences Pat Wingo (MA ’64, PhD ’66) and husband Calvin Wingo (PhD ’69) of LaGrange had their house featured in the Hydrangea Festival tour of homes.

Duane King (MA ’72, PhD ’75) was named executive director of Gilcrease Museum, a world-renowned museum which houses the largest collection of art and artifacts of the American West, located in Tulsa, Okla. Sarah Hobbs (MFA ’00) of Marietta is a photographic artist whose work was featured in an exhibition titled “Modern Angst” at the Sumter County Gallery of Art in November. Steven Elliott-Gower (MA ’86, PhD ’89) of Athens is the director of the honors program and associate professor of political science at Georgia College and State University.

Dean M. Simon (MS ’86) of Lawndale, N.C., received the prestigious Wildlife Management Excellence Award from the Southeastern Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies. Daniel Guyton

(MFA ’04) had his play, The Mother of God Visits Hell, accepted for production at both the Alive Theatre in Los Angeles, Calif., and the Town & Gown Players in Athens.

Business W. Bartley Hildreth (PhD ’79) received the 2008 Aaron Wildavsky Award for lifetime scholarly achievements in public budgeting and financial management from the Association of Budgeting and Financial Management of the American Society for Public Administration. Sheri Roberts (BBA ’85, MBA ’86, JD ’92) of Covington was appointed judge for the Newton County Juvenile Court for a term of four years. Clifford “Skip” Schulte (MAcc ’92) of Bellevue, Ky., was nominated for a national Welcome Back Award for his activities related to the de-stigmatization of clinical depression.

Schulte works with the Tri-State Suicide Prevention Coalition and speaks to groups about depression, suicide and prevention. Albert Reilingh (MBA ’03) of Mableton joined the consulting team at Abel Solutions as a project manager and business analyst.

Education Miriam Adderholdt (PhD ’84) of Claremont, N.C., received the John Curtis Gowan Graduate Student Award from the National Association for gifted children. The award is given annually to the top 10 graduate students in educational psychology and gifted education in the U.S. Jimmy Donald Puckett (MEd ’75, EdS ’80, EdD ’84) of Buford is a professional development specialist for the Georgia School Board Association’s professional development team. Dorothy Harris (EdD ’85) of Florence, S.C., professor of education and coordinator of the early childhood education program at Francis Marion University, was selected for the Joseph Walker Coleman Sr. Chair in Elementary Education. Elwin Tilson

(EdD ’86) of Savannah was appointed to department head of radiological sciences at Armstrong Atlantic State University.

Mary Franks Theokas (EdD ’99) of Shelby, N.C., is the assistant vice chancellor for student success at the University of South Carolina Upstate.

She will reposition the offices of the Career Center, Center for Student Success and Opportunity Network to enhance the services provided to students in an effort to increase student retention and improve graduation rates. Glenner Richards (PhD ’03) of Springfield, Mo., received the 2008 Orville & Jewel Mills Young Faculty Award for Excellence in Teaching. The award recognizes professors under 45 who have fewer than 10 years of teaching experience. Andy Waligowski (MEd ’99) of Mount Pleasant, S.C., is the relationship manager for Reeher LLC, a software and analytics firm focused on institutional advancement and alumni relations, and will relocate to Charlotte, N.C. Debi West (MAEd ’99, EdS ’04) of Suwanee, the lead visual arts teacher at North Gwinnett High School, was named the 2009 Georgia Art Educator of the Year from Gwinnett County Public Schools. Christine Kraemer (MMEd ’02, MM ’04) of Athens, the music teacher and band director at Cousins Middle School in Covington, was named 2009 Teacher of the Year by the Newton County School System. Joe Hayes (MEd ’05) and Emily Hayes, of Ashland, Mo., welcomed the birth of their son, Jackson Jerome Hayes on Sept. 18. He weighed 7 pounds, 10 ounces, and was 20¼ inches long.

Law Lori T. Chesser (JD ’87) was selected to Best Lawyers in America for 2008.

She is a senior shareholder of the Davis Brown law firm and the chair of the firm’s immigration department.

Robin Shearer (JD ’87) of Athens

became presiding judge of the juvenile courts of the Western Judicial Circuit.

Benjamin Stacey Richardson (JD ’92) of Columbus was selected as the 2008 Solicitor General of the Year for the state of Georgia by the Georgia Association of Solicitor Generals.

Dorsey Reese Carson Jr. (JD ’96) is the managing partner of the Jackson, Miss., office of Burr & Forman LLP. Erin Reynolds Chance (JD ’99) and husband Stephen Chance, both of Atlanta, received the Georgia Trial Lawyers Association’s 2008 Community Service Award for their unwavering commitment to ending childhood cancer. Michael P. Doerr (JD ’99) is principal of Harness, Dickey & Pierce P.L.C., a national intellectual property law firm. Emily Diaz (JD ’00) of Jacksonville, Fla., was chosen as one of Jacksonville Business Journal’s 40 Under 40 in 2008. Timothy V. Johnson (JD ’00) of Tucker was promoted to counsel

GEORGIA MAGAZINE • MAY 2009

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2009 Alumni Award Recipients

The Young family Bill Young Sr., Bill Young Jr. and Howard Young are part of a family that has extensive ties to UGA and has provided major financial assistance through donations and leadership of the UGA Foundation. Bill Young Sr. (BBA ’54) met his wife, Jane (M ’57), at UGA. Bill Young Jr. (BBA ’78) and his wife, Margaret (AB ’85), as well as Howard Young (BBA ’82) and

Upshaw Bentley Upshaw Bentley (BBA ’47, LLB ’49) has practiced law in Athens since earning his law degree. Still affiliated with the Fortson, Bentley and Griffin law firm, Bentley was mayor of Athens from 1976 to 1979.

Sharon Nickols Sharon Nickols served as dean of the College of Family and Consumer Sciences from 1991 until 2006. She now serves as the Janette McGarity Barber Distinguished Professor in the Department of Housing and Consumer Economics.

his wife, Becky (AB ’82), are also UGA alumni. Bill Young Sr. is an emeritus trustee of the UGA Foundation. Bill Young Jr. has served on the UGA Foundation board of trustees since 2003 and has been chair since 2007. Howard Young is on the advisory board for UGA’s Honors Program.

Vivian Fisher

Hugh Durham

Vivian Fisher was UGA’s associate vice president emeritus for public service and outreach when she died last August. She worked in PSO for 27 years, starting as a Cooperative Extension Service agent.

Hugh Durham coached UGA’s men’s basketball team from 1979 to 1995, compiling a 297-216 won-lost record—the best of Georgia’s men’s basketball head coaches.

Durham was the first UGA coach to take a basketball team to a post-season tournament.

To read the farewell letter from outgoing Alumni Association President Trey Paris go to www.uga.edu/gm.

For more on the UGA Alumni Association, go to www. alumni. uga.edu.

52 MAY 2009 • GEORGIA MAGAZINE

CLASSNOTES ALUMNI PROFILE

by Hunton & Williams LLP. James Stevens (JD ’01) of Mableton was elected to partnership at the law office of Kilpatrick Stockton. Kenneth L. Alger II (JD ’03) of Woodstock, Va., was named Virginia’s Young Lawyer of the Year for 2008. Gary T. McDermott (JD ’05) of Charlotte, N.C., was the 2008 winner of the Mecklenburg County Bar Pro Bono Attorney of the Year Award.

McDermott is an attorney with Womble, Carlyle, Sandridge & Rice, and devoted more than 125 hours in 2007 alone to helping Habitat for Humanity of Charlotte. Mary Beth Hand (JD ’03) of Macon is a partner at Sell & Melton LLP. She has been at the firm since 2003, and her practice areas include eminent domain, constitutional litigation and general civil litigation. Matthew Chambers (JD ’08) of Winston-Salem joined the law firm Kilpatrick Stockton as an associate in October 2008. Larry Evans (JD ’08, BS ’05) joined the Atlanta office of Jones Day and recently passed the Georgia Bar. Stephanie Steele (JD ’08) joined the Atlanta office of Jones Day and recently passed the Georgia Bar.

Lights, camera, action!

Three UGA grads have joined forces to build a theater program at Piedmont College

by Caroline Buttimer Just an hour north of Athens, three University of Georgia alumni have transformed a sleepy theater program into a vibrant department with a state of-the-art showplace for productions.

Rick Rose (EdD ’84), who retired from UGA in 2004, was recruited

by Piedmont College in 2005 for his extensive experience in both theater and education. A year later, he brought on two other UGA graduates, Bill Gabelhausen (MEd ’00) and Henry Johnson (MFA ’91). Since then, the theater program has tripled in size, growing from just 10 students majoring in theater in 2006 to 30 in 2008—significant for a college of just 2,000 students. A firstclass performing arts theater, the Swanson Center, opened in 2007.

Rose, who was a student and employee at UGA, is happy to return to his craft.

“The most important thing to focus on is how to help people, individuals and groups, to accomplish their goals and to be a healthy and productive part of the organization,” he says.

The three men share the responsibilities of the department. Rose focuses on acting, while Gabelhausen helps students learn to direct productions.

Johnson teaches scene painting.

“It’s been great to work together, because we each have our own strengths,” Johnson says.

Gabelhausen, who worked professionally in New York City before teaching drama at Oconee County High School for 12 years, has a degree in secondary education, which is critical to the role he holds now.

“Without doing that, I never would have been able to design and implement this program at Piedmont College,” he says. “In creating the drama education program here, I found myself constantly drawing on both of my graduate degrees. I was blessed to be a part of two programs that not only offered in-depth theory but incredibly valuable practice as well.”

The classroom is lively as students tease Gabelhausen about his balding head and gripe (mostly in jest) about Johnson’s strict attention to detail in painting scenery.

It’s the environment the men had hoped to provide when they took over the program.

“Students learn best when they feel comfortable,” Johnson says.

“That’s what it’s all about,” Rose adds. “Teaching students.”

—Caroline Buttimer is a junior from Kennesaw majoring in magazine journalism and French.

RICK O’QUINN

Henry Johnson, Bill Gabelhausen, Rick Rose

GEORGIA MAGAZINE • MAY 2009

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A bulldog’s view of the inauguration SYDNEY JONES

SPECIAL

Junior finance and international affairs major Lucas Puente (left), who interned for the office of U.S. Sen. Barack Obama as part of UGA’s Washington Semester Program in the fall of 2008, returned to the Capitol in January for the inauguration.

Here he is pictured with his father Antonio Puente (PhD ’78) and Jill Turner, a sophomore majoring in international affairs.

While students, faculty and staff gathered in front of television screens across campus to watch the swearing-in ceremony of President Barack Obama, many Bulldogs braved the frigid weather to get a more personal look. In the audience on the National Mall in Washington were members of the D.C. Dawgs Alumni Association chapter as well as students who traveled to the nation’s Capitol for the events. Some from UGA had a better view than others, working as staff to organize the crowds or in their military capacity.

SPECIAL

Sydney Jones (BA ’03) worked during the inauguration, seating members of Congress in their designated places on the platform.

Arthur Tripp (left), a political science major from Lawrenceville, and friend Pedro Paz pose for a photo with the presidential limousine passing in the background.

SPECIAL

SPECIAL

U.S. Air Force Capt. Mary Olsen (ABJ ’03), a public affairs officer for the Department of Defense who serves as a social aide to the White House, presents the flags flown during the inaugural ceremony to President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden following an inaugural luncheon at the Capitol.

54 MAY 2009 • GEORGIA MAGAZINE

SPECIAL

Members of the D.C. Dawgs alumni chapter and friends huddle together on the lawn to await the inaugural festivities.

Shown here are (top row, left to right) Mandy Goodwin, Christa Koubek (BBA ’01) and D.C. Dawgs president Valerie Elston (BA ’04). On the bottom, left to right: Robin Muthig (BA ’06), Meg Manthey (AB ’05), Jason LaBumbard, Kim Jaindl-Brannigan and Dan Brannigan.

Psychology Marie Nix (MS ’96, Ph ’02) of Sunset, S.C., is the new chair of Lander University’s psychology department.

Public and International Affairs Michael Wald (MPA ’06) of Loganville is the appointed regional director of the U.S. Department of Labor’s Southeast Office of Public Affairs.

and veterinarian at the new Pet Emergency and Trauma Services clinic in Bozeman. Ashley A. McAulay (DVM ’08) of Lancaster, S.C., joined Twin Oaks Animal Hospital in Silverstreet, S.C.

Obituaries can be found online at www.uga.edu/gm.

Social Work April Davis Greenhoe (MSW ’04) of Bonaire married Rob Greenhoe on Nov. 21. An intimate ceremony with close family and friends was held in Pigeon Forge, Tenn. April is a social worker for Heart of Georgia Hospice in Warner Robins, and Rob is a chief warrant officer stationed at Fort McPherson.

Veterinary Medicine Deborah D. Joiner (DVM ’05) of Bozeman, Mont., is a new shareholder

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And please include your hometown to help us keep our alumni database up to date.

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GEORGIA MAGAZINE • MAY 2009

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BACK PAGE

ARVIN SCOTT

Hugh Hodgson School of Music lecturer “Drumming for Success” civic youth program founder/director B.A., Berklee College of Music M.Ed., Cambridge College Ph.D., The Union Institute and University Photographed by Beth Newman on location at the State Botanical Garden

5656MAY 2009 • GEORGIA MAGAZINE MAY 2009 • GEORGIA MAGAZINE

“I

can’t remember not being attracted to drumming. The feeling that I experience when hearing the sound—it was a strong emotional response that I had and there was a direct connection. I knew that there was something about drums and percussion that I identified with immediately.

I just knew that it was central to the way that I move through the world and function. I would not have a Ph.D. if it had not been for percussions.

It was all about following music but percussion in particular and wanting to learn as much about it as I possibly could.”

—Arvin Scott on how he became interested in drumming as a career path.

For more on Scott’s youth program, go to www.drummingforsuccess.com.

For more on the UGA Hugh Hodson School of Music, go to www.music.uga.edu.

Celebrating UGA Alumni Excellence in Business Successful business leadership is as valuable now as ever. We have found that many of these successful leaders have something in common: they are University of Georgia graduates. The UGA Alumni Association believes there is no time like the present to celebrate these exceptional alumni and their successes.

We are proud to present the 100 Best Bulldog Businesses, an annual list of the 100 fastest growing businesses owned or operated by UGA alumni. Nominations for the inaugural list are now open and will be accepted through June 30, 2009. A banquet honoring the top 100 will be held in January 2010 in Atlanta, where the top 10 will be revealed.

If your company is interested in participating in this event as a sponsor, please contact Atlanta alumni center director, Meredith Carr ‘00, at mcarr@uga.edu or 800.606.8786. For nomination forms and more information, please visit our website at www.uga.edu/ alumni/100bbb.

Excellent leadership in business; just another reason for UGA alumni to be Proud to Say Georgia! Join today!

Visit the website at www.uga.edu/alumni/100bbb.

Non-Profit Org. US Postage PAID University of Georgia

University of Georgia Alumni Records 394 South Milledge Avenue, Suite 100 University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602-5582 Change Service Requested

Mix Business with Breakfast in Buckhead

TERRY THIRD THURSDAY EXECUTIVE SPEAKER SERIES

2009 SCHedUle March 19, 2009 Doug Curling Former President, COO, Director ChoicePoint, Inc.

June 18, 2009 Robin Loudermilk Jr. President and CEO Aaron Rents, Inc.

septeMber 17, 2009 David M. Ratcliffe President, CEO, Chairman of the Board Southern Company

april 16, 2009 Jeff Genthner Senior Vice President, General Manager FOX Sports South and SportSouth

July 16, 2009 Eric Zeier (BBA ’07) VP, Sales Manager, Consumer Real Estate Bank of America Former Georgia All-American Quarterback, Bulldog broadcaster, WNGC / WGAU

OctOber 15, 2009 James Wells, III President and CEO SunTrust Banks, Inc.

May 21, 2009 Bonney Shuman (BBA ’80) CEO, Stratix Corporation

august 20, 2009 R. Timothy Stack President and CEO Piedmont Health Services

nOveMber 19, 2009 Howard McLure (BBA ’79) President CVS Caremark Pharmacy Services

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