summer 09 - ugags magazine

The Univers i ty o f Georgia

SchoolM A G A Z I N E

Graduate

Historic WormsloeReveals Past p.11

Can Bryan DavisDo it All? p.5

Tyson TurnerTackles TB p.19

Summer2009 Vo l u m e 5

Number 1

http://issuu.com/action/page?page=6



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The Univers i ty o f Georgia

SchoolM A G A Z I N E

Graduate

Graduate School Magazine S U M M E R 2 0 0 9 1

"Curiosity is, in great and generousminds, the first passion and the last.

— Samuel Johnson

Front Cover: The Accountant, a photo

illustration of student Bryan Davis created in

the style of Surrealist artist René Magritte,

by Nancy Evelyn.

summer

CONTENTS

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news and highl ights

Letter from the Dean

Cover StoryBryan DavisNewlyminted accountant BryanDavis is a multitaskingviolinist, choreographer and world traveler. Now he’staking to a different stage as he works on a powerfulfinancial ethics committee.

Scholars for TomorrowJessica and Drew: WormsloeUGA’s first Wormsloe Fellows unearth informationconcerning Wormsloe, a pre-Revolutionary historicsite and Georgia’s oldest tidewater plantation.

Scholars Worth WatchingTyson TurnerA third-year medical student and UGA publichealth graduate student sheds new light on tuberculosisin Georgia.

Where Are They Now?Bernice CooperShe was the first woman to earn a doctorate at UGA inthe 1950s. Bernice Cooper shares her story.

David FosterHarvard Forest is a grand-scale experiment in landconservation. David Foster met with UGA graduatestudents to discuss his vision.

In Memoriam: Michael Johnson

Harriet Fulbright

Terry Coffey: Why I Give

In BriefGraduate School news and notes

Last WordCaesar Dawgustus

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U.S. News & World Report:UGA Graduate Programs OnceAgain Lead the Nation

This spring, U.S. News & World Report’s 2009

edition of America’s Best Graduate Schools once

again rated University of Georgia graduate

programs with America’s best. The College of

Education, School of Law, School of Public and

International Affairs, and two graduate programs in

the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences were

highly ranked.

The May 2009 edition singled out UGA’s

educational studies, which has one of the nation’s

largest enrollments, and law studies among UGA’s

academic, professional and specialty graduate

programs. Also recognized with high national

ratings were UGA’s graduate programs in

psychology, public administration and fine arts.

In addition, the report gave high ratings to

specialty programs in education and public admin-

istration. Graduate School Dean Maureen Grasso,

stated in a press release the rankings indicated the

high caliber work of the students and faculty alike.

She added the Graduate School would continue

promoting innovative research and preparing

future leaders.

UGA President Michael F. Adams called UGA’s

graduate and professional programs “among

the best in America.” He called these programs

“engines of economic growth for the state of

Georgia.”

Last year’s report also recognized a large number

of UGA graduate programs.

The publication’s methodology and complete list of

rankings can be viewed online at www.usnews.com.

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message from

Dean Mau reen G r a s so

By now, I hope you have noted the envelope inside each issue of theGraduate School Magazine, and, more important, that you are returning itwith a check. Every dollar that comes to us through the magazine goes intoour graduate fellowship endowment. This fund enables us to offercompetitive financial-aid packages to outstanding graduate students fromaround the nation and the world.

As state funds are reduced in this period of economic difficulty, we areincreasingly dependent upon private support for the well-being of graduateprograms at the University of Georgia. Friends often ask me how I can solicitsupport for the Graduate School every waking minute. The answer is easy: Iask because I believe it is the most important action we can take to ensurethe future leadership of our state, nation and world. When the cause is thisworthy, it’s not hard asking others to share the burden.

This University’s influence reaches far and wide, yet we have not realized ourfull potential as an educational leader. Both the quantity and quality of ourgraduate students need to grow. My hope is that you will join with me in theongoing effort to attract first-rate graduate students to UGA and ensure ourlegacy of leadership.

Please take a moment—pull the envelope from the magazine and make yourcontribution. Your gift, no matter the size, makes an enormous difference inthe lives of our graduate students. It’s also fully tax deductible. Take pride insupporting UGA and in knowing that you are helping it remain one of theleading public research universities in the nation. From the bottom of myheart, I thank you.G

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MAUREEN GRASSO

D e a n

cover story


having debt, and want zero debt, but theyhaven’t learned about managing the debtto achieve that goal. Many students in myage range go out to eat a lot, go to bars alot…instead of being resourceful withtheir money. In addition to that, they signup for credit cards with zero interest forseven months that balloons up to 13percent. Come on guys...let’s start readingthe whole contract.”

So they graduate strapped with asignificant debt load that Davis findsworrying. “Most college students aregraduating making $30,000, andgraduating with that amount of debt.They aren’t necessarily graduating withgood habits,” he says.

Davis had paid internshipsthroughout his student years, but stillhad to take out loans to finance his

avis (BBA ’09 MAcc ’09) hasone word of caution for money-strapped college students who

lean heavily upon credit cards: Don’t.He dislikes his recent plunge into debt asa graduate student and keeps it to theabsolute minimum. Yet his parents, wholive and work in Augusta, Ga., recentlyadvised Davis there will always be somelevel of debt to shoulder and thatreasonable debt is acceptable. Bryansays contrary to what most folks thinkabout his generation, he and his friendsreally want zero debt.

Trouble is, Davis says, despite fearsabout debt his classmates are graduatingwith massive credit card obligations.“We’re gong to see the repercussions ofthis years from now. My peers don’t like

BY CYNTHIA ADAMS

PHOTOS BY NANCY EVELYN

THE GROUP ABBA POPULARIZED “MONEY, MONEY, MONEY”—a catchy tune even though the lyrics were a lament. More

recently, Meryl Streep lustily reprised the money song in the musical film,Mamma Mia! But college students, who have witnessed

loan sources drying up, and who are increasingly turning to credit as a means to finance books, expenses, even tuition, are

singing another song. STUDENT BRYAN DAVIS SAYS THEY’RE SINGING THE BLUES when it comes to the topic of money.

AND HE SAYS IT’S UP TO HIS GENERATION TO FIX THIS.

Bryan Davis: He sings, he dances, he

plays the strings and he is about to make

the debut of his life stepping onto the

World Financial Stage. No single entry

into life for this young accounting star,

Who is Dancing His Wayto a Dream...

prolific

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graduate education. To keep his ownobligation in check, Davis found a creditcard with five percent interest. He buysfood items in bulk and reins in hisweakness for lobster dinner atApplebee’s. He has learned, he laughs,to pop a Stouffer’s frozen meal in themicrowave and economize.

“I come from humble beginnings,”the scholar says. “I’m not afraid to eat afrozen dinner. My dad works incommercial products at John Deere. Mymother is a guidance counselor in aCatholic high school.” Davis says hisparents taught him responsibility andaccountability by example.

But on April 6, the accountingwunderkind, who is completing both abachelor’s and a master’s degree in onlyfour years, still hasn’t had a chance towork on his own income taxes. (Healready has a job waiting with Ernst andYoung LLP)

The reason Bryan Davis is stilltrying to get around to filing his incometaxes is really quite simple: He worksconstantly, and he’s dancing, singing,and playing the violin as fast as he can—literally. Davis scarcely ever sleeps morethan five or six hours a night. He multi-tasks so much it could give a personbrain freeze just reading about his dailyschedule.

For as long as he can remember,Davis has always been a young man in ahurry. “Even since middle school, I’vealways been busy jumping from clubmeeting to club meeting to orchestrapractice to violin lessons to choir

rehearsal to church to work and homeall over again.”

He entered college at age 18 as asophomore, with a whole-year’s worth ofcredits under his belt (with a HOPEscholarship) by taking AdvancedPlacement courses at the Davidson FineArts Magnet School in Augusta.

“I came in with 30 credit hours andpassed enough exams to come in assophomore…and I was able to enterwith the Fresh College SummerExperience Program, which gave me sixmore credit hours.” The beginning ofhis UGA course work led him toimportant UGA mentors like PamKleiber in the Honor’s Program andMark Dawkins in the Terry College ofBusiness. These mentors helped him toreview his life goals and dream joboptions, and to think very, very big.Davis may be running a slight budgetdeficit, but he’s very much in the blackwhen it comes to dreams opening wide.

His military background shows inmany ways. Bryan Davis sits attentively(with military-straight bearing) wearinga yellow Ernst and Young golf shirt andcrisp khaki slacks. He was born in CapeCanaveral. His father is retired from the

military and his two siblings are in themilitary. Davis is prone to ultra-polite“Yes Ma’am” answers; he has polish,assurance, and at the same time heexudes likeability.

His dark eyes are framed by wirerim glasses, his hair is neatly trimmed,his shoes spotless, and he wears a watchbut no jewelry. He already looks the parthe is about to assume—a polishedfinancial prodigy.

Davis fields questions with unusualease. Of course, he is used to questions:He’s already passed each of the fourexams to become a certified publicaccountant, and did this while juggling afull-time academic schedule, an heroicworkload and extracurricular obligations.He attended preparatory classes Ernstand Young offers accounting studentsearning C.P.A.s alongside his course work.

This summer, Bryan traveled toBeijing, Shanghai, and Dalian duringtheUGAMaymester to study globalizationand IT systems for nearly a month. Onreturn, he boarded a plane and headedto Connecticut, where he joined fiveother interns chosen nationwide to workat the Financial Accounting StandardsBoard (the FASB) in Norwalk.

cover story

nimble & cur

“I come from humble beginnings,” the scholar

says. “I’m not afraid to eat a frozen dinner.”—Bryan Davis

“It’s an organization, nationallyrecognized, who set the accountingstandards for the U.S. They’re supposedto be independent and yet in a time ofcrisis like this, [their accountingrestrictions] are making financialinstitutions show a loss…Congressthreatened to overthrow them,” Davisexplains. He and other young interns aregoing to assist the FASB in rewritingthose national standards.

What is it like for Davis to step intothis role in a troubled time whencorruption abounds? “As an accountant,it’s great; had I gone to Wall Street infinance I might have been laid off bynow, as there are people being laid offleft and right. As an accountant, though,you always need them, particularly inthis time. Accountants are anindispensable part of any businessmodel. Not only do they capture pastevents on the financial statements, butthey are great financial advisors andconsultants and often provide generalbusiness advice as well. There’s hugedemand for auditors to come behindand check companies to be sure they’renot committing fraud.”

The role with FASB is a massive jobto land on such young shoulders—Davisis only 22. He will spend one year atFASB before beginning a position as acertified public accountant working atErnst and Young LLP in Atlanta. “It’s verytough to see a lot of my friends whodon’t have jobs, and they’re graduatingand don’t have anywhere to turn,” he says.

His future employer appreciates

what a significant opportunity it is to bean architect of a new ethics standard forthe nation’s financial industries. Theydeferred his start date in Atlanta untilsummer of 2010, urging him to participate.

Davis, despite his apparent calm,says he feels the weight of the FASB jobeven though he is thrilled by thechallenge. Never before has accountancybeen such a hot topic. Never before haveaverage Janes and Joes been directlyaffected by the standards guidingfinancial institutions. In the aftershock offinancier Bernie Madoff ’s massivescandal, and the collapse of AIG, termslike Ponzi scheme and financialmalfeasance are now painfully familiar.

“It’s nerve-wracking to go to theFASB in Connecticut as a student whohas course work knowledge and not realexperience. We’re expected to think on acertain level. But, the market has neverseen what’s going on today,” says Davis.There are no precedents to guide them.

He’s thankful to have such anauspicious start in business, thoughDavis knows that his internship with theFASB will pit him against accountingwunderkinds plucked from Ivy Leagueschools. He admittedly worries thatthey’ll be geniuses who eat, sleep and


ious

“We’re gong to see the repercussions of this years from

now.My peers don’t like having debt, and want

zero debt, but they haven’t learned aboutmanagingthe debt to achieve that goal.” —Bryan Davis

Whi le a t UGA, Davis has not only

pursued a BBA andMAcc in accounting,

but he has also worked with the Arch

Society and UGA Housing. Davis

volunteers as a business consultant for

the East Athens Development

Corporation through the Leonard

Leadership Scholars Program. He also

is a member of the Corsair Society, the

Delta Epsilon Iota Honor Society and

Abenefoo Kuo Honor Society. He

interned on Wall Street at UBS

Investment Bank and will go to work for

Ernst and Young LLP in Atlanta after his

year-long assistantship with the

Financial Accounting Standards Board

in Norwalk, Connecticut.

Davis shown with mentor Mark Dawkins,

associate dean in the Terry College of

Business.

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talk accounting. And have interest innothing else. This is where Davis differssharply from other accountants.

Though he is surely analytical andexcels in business, Davis has an equalpassion for the arts. He is also an active,accomplished musician, dancer andchoreographer.

“The summer of 2005, when I gothere, I began my involvement with theUGA symphony orchestra. I playedviolin, and I’ve been playing for 13 yearsnow,” Davis says. The symphony isnormally exclusively filled with musicmajors—but in Davis’s case, theconductor made an exception.

Davis once thought he wouldbecome a professional musician.Like his mother who sings, his fatherwho plays the trumpet and piano, andhis grandmother who plays the pianoand organ, Davis is innately gifted andself-taught.

He had an interest in business andmusic, and entered the music businessprogram.

“While I was working as an internonWall Street as an analyst and then gotto do it (with USB Investment Bank), Isaw it wasn’t my dream job.” Davis, whoworked 80-hour weeks, says he “was

turned off by the cut-throatedness, thebackstabbing,” and says he didn’t feel hefit the accepted culture of Wall Street.

“I didn’t feel completely at easewith everyone at all. Coming from theSouth, I had a lot to prove, as most ofthe kids came from the northeastern IvyLeagues.” He found his greatest joy inattending New York Broadway showsand the Philharmonic SymphonyOrchestra.

Back in Athens, Davis continued amaddening schedule until he graduatedin May. And even after graduation, hefeels certain he’ll eventually get an MBAfrom Harvard, Columbia or theWharton School. On a typical day filledwith classwork, Davis attended meetingsuntil 8 p.m. Afterward, Davis went todance rehearsals until 10:30 p.m. Hewas active in the Pamoja dancers, aneclectic performance group in theAfrican-American Cultural Centerunder the direction of Laretha Spain-Shuler. Pamoja, the Swahili word forunity, performed at the Morton Theaterbefore moving its latest show to a largerstage and venue at the Oconee CountyCivic Center outside Athens.

Davis choreographed and dancedin the April show called Up Close and

Personal. “It was mostly hip-hop pieces,but we’re very versatile…ballet, jazz,lyrical,” he says.

After cramming for and passingfour Georgia state accountingexaminations, then getting in his classesand the performance work he loved,Davis somehow managed to squeeze instudent activities (he often had threemeetings a day), worked as a residentialadvisor in a dorm and coped withstudent calls throughout the night, whilementoring other students as a graduateadvisor. (He helped give programs forstudents every other week.)

Before rest, he faced the prospect ofhours of work left to do. “There washomework and study; lots of meetingsand group projects,” he says.

“I try to get five or six hours sleep anight; it works for me to go to sleep andwake up and finish work while it’s fresh.”

Davis has literally danced as fast ashe could. Now, this amazing graduatetakes a much larger stage, a star turn fora young man with dancing feet, a nimblemind and many dreams to fulfill.

8

cover story

stellar

“I try to get five or six hours sleep a night; it works for me to go

to sleep and wake up and finish work while it’s fresh.”—Bryan Davis

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“Bryan Davis nimbly moves between life as an artist

and as a polished financial prodigy.” —Dean Grasso

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scholars for tomorrow

For centuries, this site has been passed down through the descendants of the original owner, Noble Jones. Today, UGA has a unique

relationship with Wormsloe through both the Wormsloe Foundation and the Craig Barrow family. The current occupants, Craig Barrow III (AB ’65) and Diana Deas

Barrow (AB ’65) met on the UGA campus during their freshman year. Newly elected trustee of the Wormsloe Foundation, Charles Knapp, president emeritus of

UGA, said, "I am so pleased to have the opportunity to be involved with the work of the Wormsloe Foundation. There is great potential in

strengthening the already productive relationships between Wormsloe and the University of Georgia."


BY CYNTHIA ADAMS


ost spectacular and famousof all isWormsloe’s entrance—the mile-long, oak-lined drive

summons the bewitching beauty ofthe low country and ancient tidewaterplantations. Live oaks, dripping withSpanish moss, lead to the still-occupiedancestral plantation house, which hassubsequently passed down throughmany generations. It is owned by CraigBarrow III, a direct descendant ofNoble Jones.

Jones, one of the original Colonialfounders of Georgia, was a multitaskingnobleman: surveyor as well as a builderand draftsman. He was sometimes aconstable and doctor.

Most likely, Jones had his choice ofhome sites convenient to Savannah inthe 1730s. Yet Jones chose a protected,lush site on the Isle of Hope. Here hestaked out and leased 500 acres of themost beautiful lands to be had in thetidewater area and soon built a fortifiedguardhouse.

AS OLD AS GEORGIA ITSELF:More Than 200 Years ofHistory Encapsulated in aSINGLE PLACE

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The Storyof Historic

Wormsloe

Subsequently, Jones received royalapproval to build a larger structure anda permanent home in 1740. Laterincarnations of the original Wormsloehouse evolved, but it is what is largelyinvisible that makes Wormsloe moreintriguing. Beyond the vista of the oakapproach road, reportedly the most-photographed site in all of Georgia, liesecrets that are being mined by UGAgraduates who are working on an inter-disciplinary project that is the first ofits kind.

Surely, Wormsloe is a much-photographed and popular touristdestination. Yet it is more than a beauty-drenched place with formal gardens andcoastal vistas. It is deluged withinformation. Today, Wormsloe providesa setting for research and educationalprograms near lands where indigenousIndian tribes once hunted and fished,and where Sea Island cotton was oncegrown by early Georgian colonials. (The

first concrete date for Wormsloe SeaIsland cotton is 1806. During thecolonial era, Jones cultivated silkworms,ranged cattle, with subtropical fruits, andpossibly planted indigo.) It is a prehistoricsite but also a pre-RevolutionaryWar site.

“Wormsloe is to Georgia whatJamestown is to Virginia,” says GraduateSchool Dean Maureen Grasso.

“The funding of graduate studentsto conduct interdisciplinary research isthrilling and is a legacy for others tofollow. These two graduate studentsworking alone in their disciplines onlycan contribute a small piece of a puzzle.But working together as an interdiscipli-nary team, learning the language andnuances of each other's fields, they bringan understanding and perspective toWormsloe that would not be otherwisepossible.”

In the shade of oaks old enough to havebeen seedlings during the AmericanRevolution, Jessica Cook Hale moves inwide sweeps with ground-penetratingradar, assessing and plotting a patch ofearth not far from a family cemetery atWormsloe. The work is tedious,unobtrusive and painstaking, but it mayyield up an artifact or treasure for thegraduate student.

Each time she works at Wormsloe,Cook Hale has breath-taking momentsof discovery. Pieces of pottery shard, orceramic fragments called “sherd” areamong her most exciting recent finds. “Ihave found Wilmington Phase sherds onthe Old Avenue; these date to circa 500AD or thereabouts,” she says. CookHale is half of a multi-disciplinaryresearch team, as one of Wormsloe’sfirst Fellows, who will help decipher themany mysteries of the location.

Sarah Ross, the president of theWormsloe Foundation and director of

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“The Joneses/De Rennes added on to the original plantation house structure in 1851, 1854, 1858, and again in the 1870s and 1890s. The house

was remodeled as it appears today in the late 1930s/1940s (taking it back roughly to the way it looked in the 1850s),” says Drew Swanson, a

doctoral student in history and a Wormsloe Fellow.


theWormsloe Institute for EnvironmentalHistory, calls the methodologies andscholarship employed at Wormsloe“journal worthy.” She says it is yieldinginformation that may be used fordecades. The team sends in monthlyreports to Ross. Together, the Instituteand the Graduate School are theprimary sources of the Fellows’ funding.

“It’s remarkable when graduatestudents make such significantcontributions to the study of science andenvironmental history,” Ross says, inpraise of the two Fellows from UGA.

Earlier this spring, Cook Hale, agraduate student in geoarchaeology, andDrew Swanson, a graduate student inenvironmental history, sat at a UGAconference-room table surrounded withmaps—lots and lots of maps. Some aredetailed images and survey maps of thehistoric site designated for research andconservation as the Wormsloe Institutefor Environmental History. Others arecopies of historic maps that help unlocksecrets of the past concealed beneathWormsloe’s sandy soil. Cook Hale andSwanson are the first Wormsloe Fellows,conducting interdisciplinary research forthe institute.

The Wormsloe site is so rare, sopristine and relatively unchanged, thatthe history it harbors has beencompared to that of the historicJamestown site in Virginia. It is also evenmore intriguing than Jamestown as aliving site which contains the ancestralhome of a historic figure of mythicstatus, Georgia colonist Noble Jones.

Since the 1700s, Wormsloe hasestablished significant connections withthe State of Georgia. Its owners havehad distinction in education, medicine,politics, law and letters.

Today, Wormsloe has evolvedbeyond a famously scenic site into aliving laboratory for research,conservation, preservation and education.Paul Sutter (associate professor, of history)and Ervan Garrison (department head,anthropology) are the academic advisorsfor the two Fellows, and members ofthe Wormsloe Science Council (WSAC).

The graduate students’ mentors,Marguerite Madden, professor anddirector of the Center for RemoteSensing and Mapping Science (CRMS)and member of the WSAC, and TommyJordan, associate director, coordinate thedata generated by the Fellows at the

Wormsloe Institute for EnvironmentalHistory. The institute’s director sharesoversight of the Fellows’ work.

For Cook Hale and Swanson,Wormsloe presents incomparablearchaeological and historic riches tomine. Physically, Wormsloe even containsruins that date back to the aboriginalIndians who lived in the southeasternUnited States around 2000 BC. Theaboriginal “shell middens,” or mounds,to be found on the Wormsloe groundsare believed to be remnants of the LateArchaic period. Given that the landsremained consistently in one family fornine generations has meant it is pristine inmany important ways as a physical site.

Academically, Wormsloe was rarefor another reason, as the place of originof an historic library and manuscriptcollection of inestimable worthdeveloped by Wormsloe’s prior owners.

“About two years ago ErvanGarrison asked Tommy [Jordan] ifCRMS could do a GPS survey of thebuildings and grounds of Wormsloe,”says Madden, “That fall I went withTommy to help him collect GPS points.”(Garrison is a full professor in bothgeology and anthropology.)

A team of UGA graduate students, the

first Wormsloe Fellows at the newly

created Wormsloe Institute for

Environmental History, hope to unlock

some of Wormsloe’s extensive secrets.

Their interdisciplinary research is an

exciting means to synthesize these

historic parts into a comprehensive

whole. Jessica Cook Hale, on left, and

Drew Swanson shown on right.

GPS, the acronym for GlobalPositioning System, is a satellitenavigation system developed by theUnited States Department of Defenseand fully operational since 1995. GPS iswidely used for navigation, but also inland surveying and map-making. GPSreceivers calculate positions via GPSsatellites. A constellation of 24 GPSsatellites are monitored via the U.S. AirForce and the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency.

Madden prepared to join colleagueJordan for what she anticipated wouldbe a few days of fieldwork in a pleasantcoastal setting. “Little did we know thatwhen we entered the gates at Wormsloeand met Craig, Diana, and Sarah wewould instantly be welcomed to join oneof themost exciting research opportunitiesof my career! It was love at first step onlive oak-lined Wormsloe Avenue.”

During that first field trip Rossrolled up her shirtsleeves and helpedMadden and Jordan do the GPS survey.

“We spent three days talking aboutsatellites and remote sensing, GIS andgeovisualization, spatial analysis andmobile mapping,” Madden recalls. (GIS,or Geographical Information System,refers to the computer system whichstores, analyzes, integrates and displaysdata pertaining to geographical positionsor grid coordinates. GIS is useful inrevealing information culled from otherexisting data, such as soil types,pollution, etc. It also allows users toanalyze the results in a map-like form.)

“I could tell right away that Ross‘got it’. She saw the geographicframework, computer images and mapsas the critical integrating tool for thevarious types of research she wasbeginning to envision for Wormsloe.”Madden’s blood started racing as sherealized the rare opportunity unfoldingbefore them.

“All of the studies would take placein time and space. All of the collecteddata could be organized, stored and

displayed for all to see and use. Thearchaeologists could plan theirexploration with knowledge of ongoingmarsh ecology experiments and historicaldocumentation of past land use. Theecologists and historians would knowwhat the archaeologists had found andincorporate those studies into their own.”

Nothing yet, Madden says, hadintegrated the artifacts with the propertyin a deeper way. There is one park rangerwho lives on the site, and another threeor four who work at the park. The rangerswere aware of where everything was,Madden says, and had begun creatingsite maps.

“It was an amazing experience to bea part of this conceptualization of theWormsloe Institute for EnvironmentalHistory.”

The Historical Perspective

Noble Jones, who lived from 1702 to1775, is the great-great-great-greatgrandfather of the current occupant ofthe Wormsloe plantation. Craig BarrowIII (AB ’65) is also related to David C.Barrow, chancellor of the University ofGeorgia from 1905 to 1925 as well as toAlonzo Church, UGA president from1829 to 1859.

Through the Barrow side of thefamily, Craig Barrow III is the ninthgeneration graduate of UGA, andthrough the Jones/De Renne side of thefamily, he is the ninth generation ownerof Wormsloe.

He walks the land, discussing its

previous incarnations as a silkwormfarm, a dairy farm and even a SeaIsland cotton plantation. Like thoseancestors stretching in a long line beforehim at Wormsloe, they have shared anear reverence for place that isparticularly Southern. He mentions hisgreat grandfather, who lived here from1938 to1945. While Barrow didn’t knowhis grandfather, he says, “We did knowhe loved the land.”

As Barrow walks the property,pointing out various sites with clearpleasure, he indicates a pre-Revolutionary hand-dug fort, or battery.He points toward the site where a ricemill operated in another century and adairy barn once stood. He discusses thefacts and lore that subsume the place,including the stills that wouldoccasionally pop up when enterprisingmoon shiners were emboldened totrespass. And yes, he tells about thefamous Benjamin Franklin letter writtento one of his ancestors that once hungnonchalantly onWormsloe’s library wall.

Wormsloe’s a historic site to manythrilled academics and scholars, but forBarrow, this is home.

Wormsloe: A Place of Lettersand Scholarship

The Wormsloe grounds include adetached library housing a massivecollection of Georgiana acquired by theUniversity. (The stunning libraryremains privately held by the family.)Those contents are the key component

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“How to tell the story of Wormsloe as if the landscapeitself was telling the story?” asked Jordan.

This is the only plantation in Georgia THAT HAS

REMAINED IN THE SAME FAMILY.”

of the historical research underway byhistory student Drew Swanson.Swanson’s work is concentrated uponthe letters, papers and publicationsacquired by the University of Georgiafrom Wymberly Jones De Renne. Thecollection is known as the De RenneCollection.

The De Renne family name has acomplicated history of its own. NobleJones descendant (a great-grandson) andWormsloe heir, George FrederickTilghman Jones, changed his name firstto George Wymberly Jones and later toGeorge W. J. De Renne in the 1860s.(Some speculate it had a much nicer ringto it than the simple name GeorgeJones.) The plantation’s original spellingchanged from Wormslow to Wormsloesometime before George W. J. DeRenne’s tenure.

Jones descendants, now known asthe De Rennes, returned to Savannahduring Reconstruction, having left theSouth during the Civil War. They didnot live on the property for much of the1860s and 1870s. Instead, they rentedthe plantation to northern investors andsharecroppers.

GeorgeW. J. De Renne, a passionatecollector of Georgiana, made the familyname synonymous with literature andpublication. It was G. W. De Renne whofirst initiated printing historical booksand pamphlets, and who beganassembling an astonishing historicalcollection of Georgia historicalmemorabilia. This was no ordinarycollection—De Renne acquired manyrare and invaluable books, includingpersonal letters and documents fromillustrious figures such as BenjaminFranklin and General Robert E. Lee.The family eventually possessed a copyof the Permanent ConfederateConstitution (now also in the De RenneCollection housed within the HargrettRare Book and Manuscript Library atUGA.)

The collection the De Renne family

amassed was treated with due respect,and originally housed it in a worthyGreek Revival stone library that wascompleted in 1908 near the Wormsloefamily house. Wymberley Jones DeRenne was the builder of the Wormsloelibrary. He also was perhaps the family’sgreatest collector of rare books andmanuscripts. The library itself was notonly astonishingly beautiful, but practical,in that it was also fireproof.

However, GeorgeW. J. De Renne’sgrandson, W. W. De Renne, becameinsolvent during the Great Depression,and eventually sold off much of thelibrary’s important works in 1938. Themajority of the collection was acquiredby the University of Georgia. He laterrelocated to Athens, Ga., where he livedwith his wife in a relatively simple houseon Hill Street. De Renne spent theremainder of his life as curator of theDe Renne Collection.

Simultaneously, De Renne’s sister,


“The deed to the original 500

acres of land that became

Wormsloe was a crown grant to

Noble Jones,” explains Sarah

Ross, the president and director

of the Wormsloe Institute. Ross

has oversight of the institute’s

activities, and she is at the heart

of the multidisciplinary project

now underway.

Elfrida Barrow, had resolved herbrother’s debts. She took possession ofWormsloe, sparing it from likely sale.Barrow, a poet and publisher, was anintellectual woman with a passion forliterature and history. She deepenedWormsloe’s connection to scholarshipand publication when she created anonprofit Wormsloe Foundation in1951. Under the imprint of thisfoundation, numerous historical workshave been published by the UGA Press.

Famous writers and poetsfrequented Wormsloe, cementing itsliterary reputation. UGA historianMerton Coulter began a life-longaffiliation with Elfrida Barrow andauthored a book about the earlygenerations of the family in 1951.

It was also Barrow’s decision toprotect Wormsloe in perpetuity bygiving 750 acres to the foundation,

excluding 50 acres and WormsloeHouse from the bequest. Later, in 1973,the lands were transferred to the State ofGeorgia. The Georgia Department ofNatural Resources opened an 822-acresite on the Isle of Hope in 1979.

Today, Wormsloe also contains amuseum, nature trail, and historic ruins.Those ruins include Noble Jones’fortified tabby fort and residence as wellas a family cemetery. William Kelso,who is affiliated with Emory, excavatedthe fort, according to Ross. Keslo iscredited with having discovered thehistoric Jamestown site.

Excluded from public access are thefamily house, the De Renne library andformal grounds, as well as the WormsloeInstitute Conservation Lab and renovatedhistoric cabin now used by WormsloeFellows while they are working onsite.

Wormsloe Foundation also owns

and operates a 15-acre parcel of landwhich includes the cabin. Here the workof the Fellows is conducted, as well as inthe UGA's Hargrett Rare Book andManuscript Library.

Fellows’ Work and Study Area

Since November 2007, the WormsloeFellows have been involved with theirwork at Wormsloe. That month, CookHale traveled to the site with professorsJordan and Madden. They took picturesof the site and they walked—a lot.

“Archaeologists walk with theirheads down,” Cook Hale says. CookHale found herself staggered by the site.“You can be walking around and find apiece of pottery from the 1700s. But wefirst went all over the island with a parkranger.” Cook Hale says.

She also discovered the significantvalue of a second Fellow, who wasversed in the language and art ofhistory: Swanson, who is doing his owntype of excavation and discovery workback in the De Renne Collection in theUGA library.

Meanwhile, Cook Hale was busyaccumulating data from the site. She hasthe educated eye, the equipment and theacademic drive to unlock secrets beneathWormsloe’s surface while disturbingas little as possible. She began a limitedexcavation of a survey area. Butbeforehand, Cook Hale carefully surveyedeverything before any excavation tookplace. Puzzles appeared immediately.

“I believe there were originally 10

16


“The multi-disciplinary nature of environmental history at

Wormsloe supports a rich experience for the Fellows that we

hope will be beneficial as they build their careers,” says Sarah

Ross. Shown here is Jessica Cook Hale, top, at Wormsloe and

Drew Swanson in the De Renne Collection.


to 11 slave quarters. Where were themissing ruins?” she asked herself. Shetried to envision how the site might haveappeared a century ago.

“Looking at trees and other clueson the maps, we uploaded digital imagesto see what the place looked like in1908.” They had more than 20 stillimages to evaluate for clues.

Meanwhile, back in the UGAlibrary, Swanson considered 400 boxesof materials that comprised the DeRenne Collection. He unearthed apicture of the plantation’s original ricemill. The Fellows then used the image toplot where it had actually existed.

“How to tell the story of Wormsloeas if the landscape itself was telling thestory?” asked Jordan. “This is the onlyplantation in Georgia that has remainedin the same family.”

Meanwhile, Ross worked closelywith the Fellows. “We have a stellarscience advisory council, made up ofUGA profs and professors emerita.

They are looking at the highest and bestuse, historically, scientifically andecologically. We want to have a clear,very thought-through path for how wemove forward.”

Ross notes, “The multi-disciplinarynature of environmental history atWormsloe supports a rich experience forthe Fellows that we hope will bebeneficial as they build their careers.

Ross, who has a background inscience, conservancy and education, saysshe’s gratified by the quality of graduatestudents she has worked with at theInstitute.

“They are doing the highest qualitywork anyone could do—100 percentprofessional-level work. Jessica [CookHale] is comparing three different typesof instruments, looking at the toolsthemselves, to see which is the mostreliable and provides the most robustdata. Through her work at Wormsloe,Jessica is producing data for the study ofarchaeology in general that will havevalue for many years to come.”

Cook Hale explains the benefits oftheir approach: “The truly interestingaspect of working in the Rice Mill fieldwas the way we were able to combinethe geophysics with the GIS, the HABSarchives of photographs, Drew’s work,and very limited excavation, in such away that we’ve been able to prettysecurely identify the building as the RiceMill itself. It usually requires extensiveartifact recovery to even begin tospeculate about a building’s purpose,and that only comes with massive

excavation. That’s not only highlyintrusive (not a great thing for a site likeWormsloe); it’s also massively expensive.”

Ross also wants the Institute to offera vibrant, of-the-moment experience forstudents and researchers. “We havedesigned the Wormsloe Institute as aninterdisciplinary laboratory, which is anasset for departments across theUniversity. Working with Christian Lopez(UGA Libraries), we’re constructing aseries of podcasts, where the graduatestudent and advisor interact to providean instructive dialog appropriate fornumerous audiences. And Ross envisionsthe experience will continue unfolding.

Together, UGA and Wormsloefurther the aims of scholarship, anendeavor surely worthy of Noble Jones.G

“When I entered the gates of Wormsloe I joined one of the mostexciting research opportunities of my career! It was love at first stepon the oak-lined Wormsloe Avenue.”

A historic photograph from theDe Renne Collection.

Cook Hale working at a Wormsloe shell midden.

18

scholars worth watching


BY CYNTHIA ADAMS


eet Tyson Turner, 25, a manon a speeding train headedstraight to success. Turner’s

about to become a double Dawg thisyear, and will soon after complete anMD at Duke University School ofMedicine. Turner’s epidemiologicalresearch concerns the incidence oftuberculosis in the State of Georgia.

Turner’s currently on track to earnan MPH in epidemiology in 2009 atUGA and an MD from Duke in May2010. All the while, Turner ismaintaining a 4.0 grade point average atUGA. He was a HOPE Scholar atUGA, and graduated summa cum laudein 2006 with a BS in cellular biology andbiochemistry.

He says that his UGA educationwas a great foundation for medicalschool. “The beginning of medicalschool was based on biology; most ofwhich I’d already covered in myundergrad work.”

Turner says his UGA basis wassuch a godsend. “It allows you to have alittle more time to catch your breath and

not feel overwhelmed. It’s such a sea-change in the overall atmosphere, fromundergraduate to professional school.And, there are many people from allover the country who come here (toDuke) to med school. I felt just asprepared andmy educational backgroundwas a great preparation.”

Graduate School Magazine: First of all:How can you balance earning twoadvanced degrees at once? At differentinstitutions?

Turner:Duke’s medical school curriculumallows its students to use their third yearof medical school in a wide variety ofscholarly pursuits; students take this yearto obtain other degrees (e.g. MPH, MPP,MBA, JD, etc), do research, etc.

The vast majority of medicalschools devote the first two years tolearning the basics in the classroom. Thethird and fourth years of medical schoolare spent in rotations. Duke wantseveryone in the third year to do somekind of scholarship work and research.

One of the most difficult parts ofthis year has been managing the logisticsof trying to obtain the MPH in only onecalendar year. Dr. Robert Galen, asenior associate dean at the College ofPublic Health, has been an invaluableresource. He has structured my scheduleso that I will be able to complete all ofthe required coursework in the limitedtimeframe.

Graduate School Magazine: Secondly,why would you attempt this? Do youplan to become an academician?

Turner: One of the main reasons I’mdoing this, is, that so much of medicineis about treatment and is one-on-one—exactly what you need for a patient whogets sick. But a lot of health issues needto be looked at from a differentperspective, one that is population-based. I’m hoping having this year of[graduate] study will give me that framein the back of my mind.

I’m really interested in doingoutcome research, which looks at

Physician in TrainingSimultaneously Mastering

Public Health Degree

“I GREW UP IN THE SOUTH, AND I’M FROM GEORGIA. Anytime I see someone coughing

on a bus or something, my ears prick up. It’s a rare enough disease that the coughing

aspect is not a real concern. While my studies on tuberculosis (TB) have caused me to

be hyper-aware of people coughing around me, they’ve also illustrated to me

(statistically) TB should not be my primary healthcare concern.”

M

population outcomes for differenttreatments and interventions.Epidemiology fits with that very well.But I definitely want to practice clinicalmedicine.

Graduate School Magazine: How doyou find returning to UGA for GradSchool after experiencing Duke?

Turner: The academic load is definitelydifficult, particularly at times such asfinals when multiple courses haveassignments due, but the faculty at theCollege of Public Health has been sucha help by working with me whenevernecessary to accommodate my (at times)cramped schedule. Also, being inmedical school has done wonders for myefficiency in regards to studying, writingpapers, etc., and many of the time-management skills that are used therehave been a major help to me here.

I find a lot of similarities with Duke.The differences are also there—it’s hardto compare. UGA Graduate School wasvery academic in nature; the goal ofprofessional school/med school is totrain a physician. They both require aninvestment in the part of the student.

Graduate School Magazine: Yourgraduate work at UGA concerned theincidence of tuberculosis in the State ofGeorgia. Isn’t tuberculosis nearlyeradicated?

Turner: Georgia has the ninth highest

case rate of tuberculosis in the UnitedStates.

Graduate School Magazine: ShouldGeorgians be concerned about this?

Turner: Every case of tuberculosisdiagnosed by a physician has to bereported to the Division of PublicHealth at the State level, like anythingwith public health implications. The wayTB is treated now is, the patient musthave a long course of therapy; and theyare visualized taking the medication.(Literally, someone must observe thepatient taking the medicine in a clinicalsetting. This ‘watching’ is called ‘DirectlyObserved Therapy,’ or DOT.)Tuberculosis, unlike bronchitis, takesmonths and months of therapy…andthey found that people often didn’t finishthe therapy.

In general, TB is still a disease thatkills but not like the major killers (e.g.,cardiovascular disease, stroke, etc.) TBhas resurgence once people get olderand have a compromised immunesystem due to HIV, diabetes, mellitus,cancer, etc.

Graduate School Magazine: What isyour research concern?

Turner: Professor Christopher Whalen[who specializes in tuberculosis researchand is Turner’s major professor] and Ihave partnered with the GeorgiaDivision of Public Health’s tuberculosis

branch to analyze the state’s tuberculosisdatabase. (Each time a case oftuberculosis is diagnosed in Georgia itmust be reported and recorded in thisState-managed database) Using thisdata, we’re looking into some of the epi-demiological factors associated withtuberculosis diagnosis, including adescription of the cases based on age,sex, race/ethnicity, etc. We’re also tryingto find out how cases may cluster incertain areas of the State if possible.

Our main focus, though, is to try tofind out why we are seeing an increase intuberculosis cases in the foreign-bornpopulation in Georgia. We’re thinking itcould be due to either increasedimmigration levels (i.e. more cases justbecause we’re having more immigrantsinto the State) or due to “ongoingtransmission” in foreign-borncommunities once they immigrate intothe State. We’re also trying to look at themolecular “typing” of the TB strains(i.e., how we identify which strain of TBeach individual contracts) to see howoften TB strains are unique versus howoften they are shared between manydifferent cases across the State.)

Graduate School Magazine: Where isthis work leading?

Turner: The main research question is,what is the reason we see more TB casesamong the foreign-born in 2009 versusthe 1990s? (As the overall TB case rateis actually decreasing.)

20

scholars worth watching

ABOUT TUBERCULOSIS: Georgia has the ninth highest case rate of tuberculosis in the United States. A third of

the world population is infected with TB. About 90 percent of those infected will never develop active TB. TB is

treatable with antibiotics. A century ago, people with TB were confined to sanitariums. To find out more about

tuberculosis, visit www.tuberculosis.com.

Is that due to more immigrantscoming to the U.S.? Or, is it instead dueto the fact that the people who comehere don’t get plugged into our healthcare, and also to the clustering transmissionof TB in immigrants?

The hope is, we will find out. If it’strue that there is a clustering phenomenon,this can lead to future studies that canthen say, ‘What is the reason we’rehaving this clustering effect?’

Graduate School Magazine: When didyou realize you wanted to become aphysician?

Turner: I grew up in Lincolnton, Ga.,which is a small town on theGeorgia/South Carolina borderapproximately 40 miles north ofAugusta. I’m not sure when I firstdecided to apply to medical school; itwas always something that was in theback of my mind, and I supposeeventually it just made its way to the

forefront. (Not enthralling, I know.)Looking back on it, I suppose theprofession just made sense for me: I’vealways enjoyed science and have beenintrigued by human health and illness,and medicine seems to be the best wayforme tomake a positive impact on others.No one in my family is a physician, but Idid have a fair amount of exposure tothe health care field through my fatherand sister, both of whom arepharmacists, and so I suppose I wasattracted to the field in that way, too.

Graduate School Magazine: Youmaintain an outstanding grade pointaverage. Where do you hope thisdiligence and effort will ultimatelylead?

Turner: Students at Duke tell you, you gointo medicine because you want to seepatients; it’s almost the sooner the better.

Regarding where my future mighttake me, I’m honestly not sure. In the


short term, I hope to finish my MPHthis summer and return to Duke in latesummer/early fall. From there, I (hopefully)will graduate medical school in May2010 and go on to residency in July. I’mstill researching different residencyprograms at this point, but I’m hoping toselect my future specialty sometime thissummer once I’ve hadmore time to reflect.

Ideally, whatever the specialty, Ihope to use both my medical and publichealth knowledge to be a physician thatappreciates health care on both theindividual and population level.Hopefully, this year will provide me witha perspective on health that I otherwisewould not have been able to obtain,allowing me to be a better physician formy patients and colleagues.G

“Dr. Christopher Whalen and I have

partnered with the Georgia Division

of Public Health's tuberculosis

branch to analyze the state's

tuberculosis database," says Turner.

They hope to discover reasons for an

increase in TB among Georgia's

foreign-born residents.

22

where are they now?

THE YEAR WAS 1956...Dwight Eisenhower was re-elected; the film The King and I and thesongHeartbreak Hotel debuted; Prince Ranier III of Monaco married American actress Grace

Kelly and Bernice Cooper became UGA’s first female doctorate!

B er n ice Cooper

made his tory when she became the

FI R S T WOMAN to ear n a DOC TORATE at UGA

BY CYNTHIA ADAMS


The following is excerpted from theforthcoming Graduate School centennialcommemorative book:

n 1956, women were more likely toread about newsmakers than be one.That year, Bernice Cooper was busy

finishing a Doctor of Education, poisedto make headlines of her own. Therewas something very special aboutCooper: She was the first woman toearn a doctorate at UGA.

“I didn’t know it was unusual, orthat I would be the first woman untilspring of 1956,” Cooper says matter-of-factly. Moreover, she narrowly won thathonor, as another was close behind her.

“I said to my major professor Iwasn’t sure I could finish in June. Andshe said, ‘You have to, so you can be thefirst woman.’ And I didn’t know thisuntil not long before the event! I didn’tquestion it in any way. I didn’t think ofits being different or unusual.”Meanwhile, she was working full-time.

Cooper, who grew up in ThomasCounty, Ga., had 13 siblings. Some ofher sisters entered nursing and banking.Two became educators, like her, but forshort periods of time. Others becamehomemakers, beauticians, or followedother paths. Yet Cooper followed aninner call to pursue education. “I alwayswanted to do a little more, and go a littlefurther.” After high school she entered atwo-year college in Americus andearned a teaching certificate. “It wasonly natural I would start taking somecourses; it was a normal thing to keepgoing forward.

“I always wanted my degree fromthe University of Georgia. I felt it wasthe leading university in the state. Istarted teaching after those two years [ofstudy], and continued taking courses

during summer school at UGA for six to12 weeks, for different amounts oftime.”

World War II erupted, suspendingboth teaching and studies. In 1942,Cooper and a fellow teacher moved nearthe Warner Robins Air Force baseoutside Macon, Ga. She spent 1942 to1945 working in a military supplywarehouse in support of the war effort.“The pilots came there to pick upwhatever they needed for their planes.We filled their orders. I worked in anoffice station, or occasionally in the aislesputting things on the shelves (propellersor whatever). It was a very interestingtime.”

The differences between thewartime post and Cooper’s teachingwere obvious—plus, she had nopaperwork to do at night. That, sherecalls, made the work seem easy.Although her purpose was serious, therewere times of youthful fun. Cooperparticipated in social efforts, includingthe United Service Organization (USO).With the war over in 1945, Cooperresumed her teaching and began collegework part-time.

“I did some correspondence work,some weekend courses, lots of summerschool, and got my BS. I finished atUGA in elementary education in 1947.”

Her family didn’t think it wasremarkable, or attend her graduation.“You know, money,” she says without atrace of self pity. “I didn’t get yearbooksor college rings. For me, they would have

been expensive. I made $60 a monthwhen I started teaching and I had tosave some in order to go to summerschool. My parents helped me throughthe first two years of my studies, and Iworked part-time. But then, after that, Iwas on my own.”

Afterward, Cooper continuedteaching during the academic year inpublic schools but began graduatestudies in summer school, completingher master’s in 1953. She wanted, shesays, to be better prepared and to makemore money.

Cooper was invited to teach oneyear at the university after completingher master’s. At the end of that year, shewas awarded a Kellogg Fellowship,analyzing the effectiveness of schooladministrators throughout the state. Theprogram was directed by a professor inadministration, and Cooper was theonly woman among the six fellowsworking with him on the project.

Cooper’s major professorrecommended her for a teaching post,and she says she thereby “slipped into afaculty position.” Beginning in 1955, shetaught as an instructor through 1957. “Idon’t know what I expected, or whetherI thought I might go on. But UGAopened up opportunities.”

In 1956, she and three other Kelloggfellows received doctorates. Her familywas still not impressed, but they gaveher a friendship ring as a graduationpresent, which she still has and enjoyswearing it.


I

“I don’t know what I expected, or whether I thought I mightgo on. But UGA opened up opportunities.”

—Bernice Cooper

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Cooper insists her gender posed noproblems and she faced no difficulties asa woman.

“I was not a crusader for women’srights. I just did it. Seems recentlypeople think I was, but I was not.Nobody questioned it, from thebeginning [her studies and earning adoctorate]. I didn’t think much aboutit.” Cooper has little patience for thesuggestion that she felt a socialimperative to be the first woman tobreak educational barriers.

“You take care of yourself and dowhat you want to do, and it will all workout. I don’t feel compelled to march,hold up banners, or complain.”However, Cooper was infinitely practicalabout earnings as she continuedteaching at UGA.

“When I found out a man wasmaking more money for doing the samething I did, I didn’t go and complain tothe dean. I just went about looking foranother job,” Cooper explains.

Someone else told the dean aboutCooper’s quiet job search and Cooper’ssalary increased. “I didn’t challengethem, [but] I almost left. I was close tomaking a move.”

As time passed, she moved throughthe faculty ranks, becoming assistantprofessor in 1957, associate professor in1962, and Graduate Faculty in 1967,overseeing doctoral students. In 1970Cooper made full professor. By 1977,she became acting chairman of UGA’sdivision of elementary education. Sheremained chair until her retirement in1980 after 40 years of teaching,including 11 years of teaching in Floridaand Georgia public schools, two years atthe laboratory school of another college,and 27 at UGA.

Cooper’s 40 years as an educatorwere never idle. “I did a lot of thingswhen I was teaching, like givingspeeches and writing articles, and helpedwith the Georgia Children’s BookAwards beginning in 1968, which are

still ongoing.” Her colleague, SheltonRoot, originated the idea for thechildren’s reading project.

“Children’s literature is a ground-work, a beginning for long-term reading.It’s a fun activity as well as a learningexperience,” Cooper once said.

There are two annual awards, forthe Georgia Children’s PictureStorybook Award, selected by childrenin kindergarten through third grade, andthe Georgia Children’s Book Award,selected by children in the fourththrough sixth grade. Children read froma list of selected books and vote upon awinner. The winner’s author, along withothers, is invited to UGA for an annualliterary conference. Georgia children’sbook writer Robert Burch won the firstaward, ultimately receiving it three yearsin total Cooper recalls. Burch’s ownstory, as a child of the Depressiongrowing up in a small Georgia town,accomplished writer, and UGA alumni,made him a standout in her memoryamong many favorites.

“We were the only university thathad such a thing…and when I retired[in 1980] they gave me an honoraryaward, which was a plaque shaped likethe state of Georgia. I’m the only personI know about who got one who was notan author.”

Recently, Cooper happened uponthe conference at the Georgia Centerwhile on campus for another event. Itevoked happy memories of times past.“I think it is remarkable that after thismany years they’re still doing it.”

24

where are they now?

G

Cooper recalls life in rural Georgia

as one of 14 children. She was the

first to earn a four-year degree in her

family, and the only sibling to

complete a doctorate. She has

remained in Athens since arriving in

the 1950s.

“I always wanted my degree from the University of Georgia.I felt it was the leading university in the state.”

—Bernice Cooper

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Graduate School Magazine S U M M E R 25

“I said to my major professor I wasn’t sure I couldfinish in June. And she said, ‘You have to, so youcan be the first woman.’ “ —Bernice Cooper

book Walden, “it was completelysurrounded by thick and lofty pine andoak woods, and in some of its covesgrape-vines had run over the trees nextthe water and formed bowers underwhich a boat could pass. The hills whichform its shores are so steep, and thewoods on them were then so high, that,as you looked down from the west end, ithad the appearance of an amphitheatrefor some land of sylvan spectacle.”Thoreau’s Walden, National PublicRadio once observed, became a Biblefor those whowanted to live harmoniouslywithin nature.

In 2007, a National Public Radioprogram said this about the HarvardForest:

“This forest in north centralMassachusetts is under a microscope.Throughout the forest, you see signs ofresearch under way. Hundreds of treesare labeled and wear shiny metal belts tomeasure their growth. Buckets collectfalling leaves; holes in the ground yielddata on the soil.

Slowly, the forest is giving up itssecrets.”

Foster spoke to the generalaudience about the preservation ofwildlands, the conservation of cultivatedlandscapes and the management ofnatural resources. “Look, history has

able to make the move to put hisresearch to work. That is, he is activelypromoting realistic and soundconservation techniques to localgovernments that everybody can livewith. I find this extremely encouragingfor myself personally, and for the futureof natural resources and conservation.”

In the general audience, Fosterspoke to the issues of managing a NewEngland natural resource, the 3,500-acre Harvard Forest in Petersham, Mass.Under his stewardship, the region is saidto have returned to a more natural statethan at any time since America’sRevolutionary War.

In addition to authoring academicarticles, Foster has written and/or co-written four books which have had ageneral readership. One, Thoreau’sCountry: Journey through aTransformed Landscape, published in1999, was drawn from Foster’s personalexperiences in 1977. Emulating HenryDavid Thoreau, Foster built a cabin andobserved the New England landscape.Referencing Thoreau’s journals, Fosternoticed that the landscape differed vastlyfrom what Thoreau described over acentury earlier:

“When I first paddled a boat onWalden,” Thoreau wrote in 1845,describing the area where he lived in the

26

BY CYNTHIA ADAMS

PHOTO BY NANCY EVELYN

avid Foster, a forestry ecologistand writer, has become one ofthe country’s most prominent

environmental historians since joiningthe Harvard University faculty in 1983.He directs both the Harvard Forest andHarvard’s department of organismicand evolutionary biology. On theafternoon of April 23, Foster first metfor an hour of questions and answerswith a group of UGA graduate studentsin LeConte Hall before addressing anaudience at the Chapel at 5:30 p.m.

Foster’s discussion of hisprofessional life, experiences andprojects encouraged emerging scholarsat UGA.

“I grew up in the southernAppalachians and was fortunate to beraised to appreciate and respect theland. I was taught that there wereshort- and long-term consequences towhat we did to the pasture or forest.Although this attitude feels innate to me,I now know I can pursue this passion inthe form of graduate studies and aneventual career,” says Carey Burda, whowas invited to attend the preliminarystudent session.

“For me personally, attending thestudent session helped me put a nameto, and solidify what I want to pursue inGraduate School,” says Burda, whoenters graduate studies at UGA this fall.“Generally speaking, that would beenvironmental history. I think whatreally impressed me about Dr. Fosterwas that after years in academia, he was

D

Emulating Henry David Thoreau, Foster built a cabin andobserved the New England landscape.

David Foster Meets with Graduate Studentsand Shares Conservation Experiences atHarvard Forest

HENRY DAVID THOREAU began his famous experiment and residence at Walden Pond onJuly 4, 1845. He wrote, "I was so low in the woods that the opposite shore, half a mile off,like the rest, covered with wood, was my most distant horizon..."

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given us a second chance to determinewhat we want to do with our forests,”Foster said. “Hopefully, history will bringus many different messages, and we canuse that as an inspiration and turn thatinto energy to protect these landscapes.”

Foster, arguably one of the greatestwoodsmen of the world, tends theHarvard Forest for the university. TheMassachusetts lands were set aside in1907 for study and experimentation.With 3,500 acres to care for, that’s a lotof tending.

Or not. According to Foster, who’sofficially the director of the HarvardForest, says sometimes the best course ofaction, environmentally, is taking nonewhatsoever. In 2005, he helped author a24-page piece titled Wildlands andWoodlands, which describes the benefitsof leaving wildlands wild.

“Forests provide critical infrastruc-tures for us and natural processes,”Forest said during his UGA lecture.

Foster has helped reframe the wayenvironmentalists and opponentsapproach the subject of conservation.Human interaction is a key componentof Foster’s message. He advocatesmanaging woodlands in such a way thatrenews humans’ connection withnature—not by shutting them out.Foster also encourages the idea ofconservation easements and tax creditsfor undeveloped wildlands andwoodlands that are demonstrablyhelping lower carbon emissions. He alsoadvocates rewarding taxpayers for notcutting down trees, comparing theconcept to paying farmers not to growcertain crops. He shared his ideas abouttax relief, tax reduction, and directpayment incentives for landowners whosupport conservation.

The ecological benefits of beingthoughtful caretakers of the naturalworld are spelled out in Foster’s seminalwork, Wildlands and Woodlands. Yetthere are other benefits to preserving the

natural world. The human spirit itselfmay well require time within nature.

Yale psychology professor PaulBloom believes there is a “nature deficit”that aff licts modern man. Ourevolutionary selves may have a hard-wired need to be within the naturalworld. “Our hunger for the natural iseverywhere” says Bloom.

Foster says people often protest, “Ifyou protect all the land, where are you

going to live?” He answers, ‘If we don’tprotect the landwhere arewe going to live?”

The lecture was sponsored by theWormsloe Institute of EnvironmentalHealth, UGA’s office of the senior vicepresident for external affairs, the Centerfor Remote Sensing and MappingScience, the departments of anthropologyand history, and the UGA River BasinCenter.G

David Foster, below far right,

fielding questions from UGA

graduate students in April.

"History has given us a second chance to determine whatwe want to do with our forests." —David Foster

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thousands,” the Graduate Schoolreported in a published memorial.

Since coming to UGA, Johnsonprovided leadership and vision to hiswork in enrollment management,outreach and diversity. He wasinstrumental in coordinating all dataUGA submitted to the NationalResearch Council for a national study ondoctoral programs. That study will bereleased later this year. He also helpeddevelop the first-ever database ondoctoral students for the GraduateSchool.

A memorial honoring Johnson washeld at the University on April 1 at theChapel. Among those sharingremembrances were Cheryl Dozier,associate provost, Tom Valentine,Johnson’s major professor in adulteducation, Dean Maureen Grasso, and

a wide range of colleagues and friendsfrom the University and the town.Renee Dubose, the pastor of Our HopeMetropolitan Community Church,presided.

Johnson was an avid BMWmotorcycle enthusiast. At the service, thedirector of BMWMotorcycle Owners ofAmerica spoke of their mutual fondnessfor cycling. Original music performed bymusicians Kristin Humbard, TommyJordan, Richard Daniels, and JamonHolt included a song written specificallyabout Johnson’s BMW fascination.“Mike was known for his playfulness andhis pranks,” said Grasso. “We wanted tomake his service reflect his fun,easygoing nature. He had a talent for hiswork, but also an equal talent formaking work a pleasure.”

A reception followed the memorial,sponsored by members of the UGAArch Society and the ABK HonorSociety.

“Most important, Michael was funto work with—always willing to take onany project, always so positive andupbeat. He was the type of individualyou wanted to have on your team. Hewill be missed by all of us,” says Grasso.

Contributions may be made to theUniversity of Georgia Arch Foundationfor the Michael A. Johnson GraduateFellowship, Milledge Centre, Suite 100,394 South Milledge Avenue, Athens,Ga. 30602.

Michael A. Johnson, assistantdean of the Graduate School, died

suddenly on February 26, 2009.

“Michael was an incredible individual,

with a fantastic sense of humor,” says

Dean Maureen Grasso, who recruited

Johnson from the University of North

Carolina-Greensboro (UNCG) in 2004.

“He was not only effective and

respected, but he was deeply liked by

those who had the pleasure of knowing

him. Mike’s humor was a gift to our

staff, making our work lighter.”Johnson, 44, joined the Graduate

School faculty at UGA as assistant dean.He had previously worked with Grassoat UNCG. At UNCG, he initiallydirected graduate recruitment andinformation services, and later becamethe assistant dean at UNCG’s GraduateSchool. He was attributed with havinghelped create some of the bestrecruitment strategies ever employed,according to colleagues.

Johnson’s efforts in strategicplanning helped net the highestenrollment of graduate students inUGA’s history—7,160. He also workedwith individual faculty in creatingenrollment plans for their programs.Johnson had completed a Master’s inPublic Health Administration at EastTennessee State University, and was adoctoral student in adult education atUGA. “His innovative ideas and passionfor higher education have reached

28

Johnson’s efforts in strategic planning helped net the highestenrollment of graduate students in UGA’s history—7,160.

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In Memoriam:Michael A. Johnson,

Assistant Dean

�

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Connect more. Spend less.

At no extra cost, you get:• Unlimited calling to your top 10 numbers, on any

network, even landlines, anywhere in the U.S.

• Unlimited calling with our 80 million customers onAmerica’s Largest Mobile to Mobile Calling Family.

• Plus, unlimited Night & Weekend Calling.

It’s the best value in wireless!

Now a Family SharePlan® comes with

With any Nationwide Family SharePlan 1400 Anytime Minutes or more. (Activation fees, taxes & other charges apply.)*

Call 1.888.640.8776 Click verizonwireless.com Visit any store

Switch to America’s Largest and Most Reliable Wireless Network.

IMPORTANT CONSUMER INFORMATION: Subject to Cust. Agmt, Calling Plan, rebate form & credit approval. Up to $175 early termination fee/line, up to 45¢/min. after allowance & add’l charges apply for data sent or received. Friends & Family®: Only domestic landline or wireless numbers (other than directory assistance, 900 numbers or customer’s own wireless or voice mail access numbers) included; all eligible lines on an account share the same Friends & Family numbers, up to account’s eligibility limits; set up & manage online. Offers & coverage, varying by svc., not available everywhere. Network details & coverage maps at vzw.com. While supplies last. Nights: 9:01 pm–5:59 am M–F. © 2009 Verizon Wireless.

Verizon Wireless offers faculty, staff and students special discounts on calling and data plans.

Enrollments Soaringas Graduate Alums Excel

In 1910, when the University of Georgia

Graduate School was formally established, less

than 10 percent of the population of the United

States graduated from high school. By 1940,

only 3.3 percent of the population of Georgia

held a bachelor’s degree or higher. Since that

time, 24.3 percent of Georgians hold a

bachelor’s degree or higher, compared with

24.4, the national average.

“More than 58,000 individuals who hold

graduate degrees from the University of

Georgia touch our lives every day,” says Dean

Maureen Grasso. “Whether it’s teaching

our children, creating new drugs, addressing

critical health issues, managing hallmark

programs, or contributing to our local and

global communities in other ways.

“Our graduates make positive changes in a

variety of settings—from leading large

corporations to inventing new technologies, to

serving in nonprofits or working in the

government. Their contributions enhance our

quality of life and help ensure the democratic

ideals of a nation. They make a difference!”

Last fall, the Graduate School saw its largest

enrollment ever, with a total of 7,125 students.

The Graduate School also saw enrollment of

African American students increase 5.6 percent

over 2007. Latino graduate students increased

by 9.6 percent. Further information on graduate

programs and initiatives can be found at

www.grad.uga.edu.

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Harr iet Mayor Fu lbr ight , the president of the J. William & Harriet Fulbright Center, delivered the

Graduate School Commencement address on December 18, 2008.

Fulbright has devoted most of her adult life to education and the arts. She has been a tireless advocate of

educational reforms and advancements. Her late husband, Senator J. William Fulbright, famously supported

educational endeavors and peace initiatives around the world. Their daughter, Shelby H. Funk, is an assistant

professor of computer science at UGA.

The following comments are fromFulbright’s address.

“It is a real pleasure to be here with youon this important day of your life. Thisyear, however, I had to think hard aboutwhat to say, thanks to this difficulteconomy. As I searched for relevantthoughts, I realized that these timesremind me of what I heard as a smallchild. I was encouraged to tell you thestory of my father, who graduated as anengineer in 1929, the year of the crashthat began the Great Depression. Ifthere was one thing the country’semployers did not want at that time, itwas a young and inexperiencedengineer, something he could not haveanticipated as an undergraduate in theso-called Roaring Twenties. And rightafter he left university, he took on theresponsibility of a wife, and a couple ofyears later had another mouth to feed—that was mine—so when he set out tomake his way in the world, he had toaccept whatever position he could find.

After many weeks of looking, hehad to settle on the only job open tohim, and that was with a little magazineon the eighth floor of the Grand CentralBuilding in New York. The duties hadnothing to do with engineering. Theyhired him to go out and get businesses tobuy ads. Now if there was one thing hehated, it was selling, but he had nochoice. So he thought deeply about howto make that job not only tolerable butsuccessful enough to pay for rent and food.

First he would drive into a town orcity and look for factories with chimneysemitting smoke or a big office withpeople going in and out of the frontgate. Then he would note down thename of the business and head to theChamber of Commerce to read aboutits work. At times, he also visited thelocal library to learn about the type ofproduct or service it offered, and then hereturned to the business and said he hadto have an appointment with the president.

Once he was ushered into his office,he spoke with considerable knowledge.He would praise the president for beingable to keep his business going in such adifficult economy, and he added a fewsuggestions as to how he might improvethe manufacturing process, or the systemof distribution, or suggest a similarproduct that might be in demand ormore profitable—something that wouldindicate his ability to be helpful. Afterthat, he mentioned that the companyreally needed greater visibility andsuggested an ad in his magazine. It wasnot long before he became one of themagazine’s best salesmen, and as theyears went by, he worked his way up andout of selling.

By the time of World War II, hehad become very successful, as had hismagazine, which was called Time. Buthe still missed the world of engineering,so he joined Boeing Aircraft Companyand was moved to Paris, where hehelped to open up the European marketfor them. He was, of course, hired as abusiness executive, but he was happilytalking with engineers and working witha company involved in a field thatfascinated him.

After his retirement, he wouldshake his head about that path he hadtaken in life but spoke about it withwonder, not sadness or frustration. Hardtimes require the will and willingness tomake lemonade out of the lemon thrustin your hand, and the creativity to figureout how to sweeten it.

You have received a superbeducation here at the University ofGeorgia, but you may not have to strayso far away from your chosen field. Infact, you might already have anemployer waiting for you as you departthis campus, but remember that youryears here have prepared you for morethan the ability to earn a paycheck.”

“Hard Times Call for Imagination, Resiliency”A CHALLENGE from Harriet Fulbright

“HARD TIMES require the will and willingness to make lemonadeout of the lemon thrust in your hand, and the creativity to figureout how to sweeten it.” —Harriet Mayor Fulbright

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Terry Coffey received his bachelor's

degree in agriculture in 1975, MS in

animal science in 1977, and PhD in

animal science/nutrition in 1981 from

UGA. His wife, Elizabeth, attended

UGA and received her ABJ in 1979.

Their daughter, Cameron, is a 2006

magna cum laude graduate of UGA

(ABJ, ’06). Their son, Graham, is in his

second year at UGA.

After graduation, Coffey joined

the faculty of the University of Florida’s

department of animal science where he

conducted research in nutrition and

taught courses in basic nutrition and

production management.

In 1984, Coffey moved to North

Carolina State University’s department

of animal science where he developed

a research program focused on

nutrition. Maintaining an active program

in graduate student education and

research, he taught undergraduate

courses in livestock management and

graduate courses in quantitative

nutrition. In 1990, he was appointed

associate department head of the

animal science department at North

Carolina State University. He authored

or co-authored more than 70 peer-

reviewed publications and numerous

articles and research reports.

Coffey joined Murphy Family

Farms as director of research and

development in 1991. In 1997, he was

appointed senior vice-president of

production operations.

In 2001, Murphy Family Farms was

purchased by Smithfield Foods, the

world’s largest pork producer and

processor. Coffey became president of

Murphy Farms LLC and in 2002

became president of production

operations east for Murphy-Brown LLC.

In addition, Coffey assumed responsi-

bility for veterinary, nutrition, and

research and development capabilities,

as well as Smithfield Premium Genetics.

Coffey is a member of the

American Institute of Nutrition, the

American Society of Animal Science,

and the British Society of Animal

Science. He serves on the University of

Georgia Graduate School

Advancement Board, Board of Trustees

at the University of North Carolina at

Wilmington (currently serving as

chairman), Board of Directors for the

Boy Scouts of America Cape Fear

Council, NC, 4-H Livestock Endowment

Why I Give: Terry Coffey

“I choose to give to the graduate school because my gift goes directly to help outstanding students

attend The University of Georgia. The enhancement of graduate education is the key to advancing the

academic status of our university, and in order to attract the best and brightest students, we need resources

to fund graduate scholarships and fellowships,” says Terry Coffey, a triple Dawg and enthusiastic UGA

supporter. He knows whereof he speaks. UGA is a family affair for the Coffeys.

“Whether you helped create a named fel lowship, contributed to an existing award or included the Graduate

School in your will, your gift is significant to enhancing all aspects of graduate education, from the quality of faculty to the

scholarship of students. We appreciate your help in building a foundation of educational excellence and hope you will

encourage others to participate in this worthwhile endeavor.”—Tom Wilfong, director of development for the Graduate School

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Advisory Board, Advisory Committee

for Biotechnology in Southeastern

North Carolina, Steering Committee

for the North Carolina Biotechnology

Center, chairman of the Animal Health

Committee for the North Carolina

Department of Agriculture and is an

elder at the First Presbyterian Church in

Wilmington, NC.

He has a distinguished record of

professional and public service on

numerous community, state, regional,

and national organizations, including

the Board of Directors of the American

Society of Animal Science; Board of

Directors of ProLinia, Inc.; North

Carolina State University Animal Science

Department Advisory Board; and the

United States Department of Agriculture

Pork Industry Futures Project. G

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Hilary Harding, one of the Verizon/Hopeline Fellows for 2008-2009, hasreceived another award for research in interpersonal violence. Harding wasawarded a fellowship by the Society of Public Health Education/Centers forDisease Control Student for 2009 in late February.

She was selected based upon the merits of the project proposal shesubmitted as well as her record of past research accomplishments, according toJoan L. Jackson, the associate head of the department of psychology. The

fellowship, awarded earlier this year, supports Harding’s work in injury prevention.“The Verizon/Hopeline Fellowship has made it possible for Hilary to devote the majority of her time this year to her research,

and she is taking full advantage of this opportunity. It is a delight and privilege for me, as her major professor, to work with a studentof Hilary’s caliber toward the goal of understanding, explaining, and ultimately preventing interpersonal violence,” Jackson wroteto Graduate School Dean Maureen Grasso. “We both are very appreciative of your efforts, along with those of your staff and Drs.Calhoun and Clay-Warner, in bringing the Verizon/Hopeline Program to the University of Georgia.”

In addition to Hopeline, Verizon Wireless offers the consumer service #HOPE via their nationwide network. By dialing thenumber #4673, callers are connected to the National Domestic Violence Hotline. The number accesses a toll and airtime-freehotline, which offers confidential help, crisis intervention, information and resources.

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VER I ZON/HOPEL INE FELLOW,H I LARY HARD ING ,

R e c e i v e s New Fe l l ow s h i p

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Maureen Grasso, the dean of theGraduate School, received theConference of SouthernGraduateSchoolsAchievement Award for OutstandingContributions to Graduate Education inthe Southern Region at their annualmeeting in Norfolk, Va. The conferenceawarded Grasso with their highesthonor for contributions most benefitinggraduate education in the southernregion.

“It is an honor and a privilege toreceive this award,” she said uponreceiving the peer-nominated honorwhich carries a $1,000 award. “Graduateeducation is my passion, and I’m veryexcited about the opportunity tocontinue bringing recognition tograduate programs not only at the

GRADUATE DEAN Re c og n i z e d b yCONFERENCE o f

SOUTHERN GRADUATE SCHOOLS

University of Georgia, but also at othersouthern institutions.”

Grasso served as president ofCSGS in 2004-2005. The conferencerecognized her contributions to graduateeducation over the past 10 years at boththe University of Georgia and theUniversity of NorthCarolina-Greensboro.

She came to UGA in 2002, andcreated the Emerging Leaders Programand other professional developmentprograms for graduate students. Sheimplemented the Graduate SchoolTeaching Portfolio Program, theCertificate in University Teaching, andother interdisciplinary certificateprograms. Grasso established theGraduate Education AdvancementBoard, seeking to increase funding

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opportunities for graduate students inUGA programs.

Grasso also leads the GraduateSchool’s three-year Initiative forOptimal Doctoral Completion fundedby a grant from the Council ofGraduate Schools.G


The 2009 Master of Fine Arts Exhibition opened April 1,featuring the work of 13 rising MFA candidates at the Lamar DoddSchool of Art. The exhibition was the first mounted in the new artbuilding on East Campus. They were also the first MFA candidatesto work in the new facilities. The MFA candidates included: WesAirgood, Jon Barwick, Maury Gortemiller, Joshua Dudley Greer,Jennifer Hartley, Nick Helton, Stacy Isenbarger, Soon Bae Kim,Erin McIntosh, Sam Mosby, Laura Noel, Jon Roy and TiffanyWhitfield. Their work featured media including acrylic, ceramics,printmaking, sculpture, oils, photography, metal work, jewelrymaking and drawing.

Hartley’s work on her New Town neighborhood was featuredin the magazine last summer (see summer 2008, “New TownErupts from the Magic Brush of Jennifer Hartley.”)

“This year’s fresh crop of imminent MFA degree holders isalready a community of artists more than students,” observedGeorgia Strange, director of the art school. “They banded togethersome time ago as Trans Lamar to assert their bond across eightbuildings that housed the art school when they began theirgraduate studies in 2006. They have made tremendous progressduring a time of global financial upheaval, environmental anxiety,and political change.”

Mas t e r o f F i n e A r t sEXH I B I T ION

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Jennifer Hartley at top with her paintings. "My paintings are

an attempt to grant permission to be curious again," says

Hartley. Also shown are various works in the exhibition.

“Each artist has put forth their best effort to reveal to

us their insights, their questions, their understandings,

and their apprehensions.”

—Larry Millard, graduate coordinator,

Lamar Dodd School of Art.

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The University of Georgia’s ninthannual Mary Frances Early Lecture washeld April 15 at 4 p.m. in the Chapel.Maurice Daniels, the dean of the Schoolof Social Work at UGA, spoke on“Unfinished Business: 21st-CenturyCivil Rights Movement.”

The lecture covered highlights ofthe 20th-century struggle for freedom,civil rights and social justice in the U.S.It focused on the individual andcollective efforts that are vital inachieving social change in the 21stcentury, according to Daniels, who hasextensively researched civil rights inGeorgia.

“Mary Frances Early played apivotal role in the desegregation of theUniversity of Georgia,” said Daniels.“She is a trailblazer, bridge builder andan important person in the history ofdismantling segregation at UGA.”

Sponsored by UGA’s Graduate andProfessional Scholars, the lecture serieshonors Mary Frances Early, who was

UGA’s first African-American graduate.In 1962, Early earned a master of musiceducation degree. She attended the lecture.

“The Mary Frances Early Lecture,initiated by the GAPS program, will beinstitutionalized and housed in theGraduate School for perpetuity,” saysGraduate School Dean Grasso. “TheGraduate School will continue workingclosely with graduate and professionalscholars to honor Ms. Early’s legacy.”

Daniels wrote a book about anAfrican-American’s struggle to desegregateUGA titled Horace T. Ward:Desegregation of the University ofGeorgia, Civil Rights Advocacy andJurisprudence. He also was the seniorresearcher and executive producer oftwo other award winning publictelevision documentary films about thecivil rights struggle in Georgia.

Daniels joined the UGA faculty in1979. He became the dean of theSchool of Social Work in 2005.

34

DEAN DAN IELS G i v e sMa r y F r a n c e s E a r l y Le c t u re

in br ief

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Dean Maurice Daniels (above), gave this

year's Mary Frances Early Lecture.

Daniels writes about the civil rights

struggle in the 20th century and the

desegregation of UGA, as well as

producing documentary films.

Olin Parker, emeritus professor of music,

shown lower left.

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At right is Mary Frances Early, who holds

the first graduate degree earned by a

minority at the University of Georgia. She

is a tireless advocate of UGA's Graduate

School and serves on the Graduate

Education Advancement Board.


Sangram Sisodia, was among threeuniversity scholars and three scientists atArgonne National Laboratory andFermi National Accelerator Laboratoryrecently made Fellows of the AmericanAssociation for the Advancement ofScience.

A total of 486 received the honorfrom AAAS this year “for scientificallyor socially distinguished efforts toadvance science or its application,”according to a release issued by theUniversity of Chicago. Sisodia directsthe Center for Molecular Neurobiologyand is the Thomas Reynolds Sr. FamilyProfessor of Neurosciences at theUniversity of Chicago.

Sisodia received his PhD inbiochemistry from UGA in 1985. He isalso a member of the Johns Hopkins

ALUMNUS SANGRAM S I SOD IABe c ome s F e l l ow o f t h e AMER I CAN ASSOC IAT ION

f o r t h e ADVANCEMENT o f SC I ENCE

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Society of Scholars. He was named aFellow in the scientific society andlauded by AAAS “for extraordinarycontributions to understanding thefunction and dysfunction of APP andPresenilin 1 in cellular and animalmodels of Abeta amyloidosis inAlzheimer’s disease.”

Sisodia has received previousrecognition by Johns Hopkins UniversitySchool of Medicine, where he formerlyworked, for his research combininggenetic, molecular, cellular and neurobi-ological approaches to clarify thebiology of proteins implicated inAlzheimer’s disease.

The AAAS was founded in 1848. Itis the world’s largest general scientificsociety and publisher of the journalScience.

Sisodia, shown top left, conducts

research integrating genetic,

molecular, cellular and neurobio-

logical approaches to Alzheimer's

disease.

JAY

VANRENSSELAER/JO

HNS

HOPKIN

SUNIV

ERSIT

Y

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Cara Gormally, a graduate student inplant biology, is the winner of the 2009K. Patricia Cross Future Leaders Award.Gormally is the fourth UGA graduatestudent to win this award since 2002,according to the director of the Centerfor Teaching and Learning, Paul S.Quick. She is also a teaching assistantfor center programs.

Gormally is one of 10 recipientsreceiving the award at the annual meetingof the Association of American Colleges

GORMAL LY Sweep sFUTURE LEADERS AWARD

and Universities (AAC&U) in January.Suzanne Hyers, senior director of

AACU said the association receivedmore than 200 nominations fromuniversities nationwide. The president ofthe AAC&U, Carol Geary Schneider,said: “They represent the finest in thenew generation of faculty who will teachand lead higher education in the nextdecades.”

AddsQuick, “She is flat-out impressiveand this simply acknowledges this.”

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36

Graduate SchoolAdministration

Maureen Grasso

Dean

David Knauft

Associate Dean

Judy Milton

Assistant Dean

Tonia Gantt

Business

Krista Haynes

Admissions

Enrolled Student Services

Tom Wilfong

Development

The Graduate School at theUniversity of Georgia hasbeen enhancing learningenvironments and inspiringscholarly endeavors since itsformal establishment in 1910.Through our professionaldevelopment programs andfunding opportunities, wepromote excellence ingraduate education in alldisciplines.

in br ief

TheUniversity Photographers Associationof America, UPAA, sponsors a monthlyimaging contest. UPAA contest entriesare peer-reviewed and selected. Ourmagazine’s photo editor, Nancy Evelyn,won for her entries in the following threecompetitions:

October 2008: 3rd Place in the“Science and Features” category, forEvelyn’s photograph titled In the Labfeaturing graduate student ArenaRichardson;

April 2009: “Best of Show” forentries in all categories, for Evelyn’sphoto Dance Silhouette, which featuredthis month’s cover subject, graduatestudent Bryan Davis.

Maga z i n e PHOTO ED I TORW INS PHOTOGRAPHY AWARDS

April 2009: 3rd Place in “Portrait”category, for The Accountant, a photoillustration and this month’s cover.

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According to the Associated Press in areport dated June 14, 2009, nearly two-thirds of college graduates now leavecollege with student loans averaging$22,000. Lauren Asher, president of theInstitute for College Access & Success inCalifornia, also oversees the Project onStudent Debt. Asher outlined ways inwhich students become savvy andinformed about loan repayment indifficult economic times.

“A lot of people are coming out ofcollege with more debt than ever before,and they’re graduating at a time whenit’s going to be harder to get a job,” saysAsher.

Although student loan rates aremore favorable than conventional loans,

STUDENT DEBT REL I EF Av a i l a b l e

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with the exception of federally subsidizedloans the interest begins accruingbefore repayment deadlines begin. (Inthe case of federal loans, interest onlybegins when the note becomes due.) Thegroup advises borrowers to reviewterms and federal loan information atwww.nslds.ed.gov/nslds_SA, or to contacttheir lender for more information onprivate loans.

In July, a new option for repaymentof federal loans called the Income-BasedRepayment program went into effect.This alternative provides monthlypayment caps based upon incomepercentages. A calculator with theprogram’s qualifying information is atwww.ibrinfo.org.G

IMPORTANT CONSUMER INFORMATION: Subject to Cust. Agmt, Calling Plan, rebate form & credit approval. Up to $175 early termination fee/line, up to 45¢/min. after allowance & add’l charges apply for data sent or received. Friends & Family®: Only domestic landline or wireless numbers (other than directory assistance, 900 numbers or customer’s own wireless or voice mail access numbers) included; all eligible lines on an account share the same Friends & Family numbers, up to account’s eligibility limits; set up & manage online. Offers & coverage, varying by svc., not available everywhere. Network details & coverage maps at vzw.com. While supplies last. Nights: 9:01 pm–5:59 am M–F. © 2009 Verizon Wireless.

Connect more. Spend less.

Call 1.888.640.8776 Click verizonwireless.com Visit any storeSwitch to America’s Largest and Most Reliable Wireless Network.

Verizon Wireless offers faculty, staff and students special discounts on calling and data plans.

At no extra cost, you get:• Unlimited calling to your top 10 numbers, on any

network, even landlines, anywhere in the U.S.

• Unlimited calling with our 80 million customers onAmerica’s Largest Mobile to Mobile Calling Family.

• Plus, unlimited Night & Weekend Calling.

It’s the best value in wireless!

Now a Family SharePlan® comes with

With any Nationwide Family SharePlan 1400 Anytime Minutes or more. (Activation fees, taxes & other charges apply.)*

e/line, up to 45¢/min. after allowance & add’l charges areless or voice mail access numbers) included; all eligibleavailable everywhere. Network details & coverage map

om Visit anyNetwork.

ANDREW ROSEN

the last word

see page 2 FOR NEWS ABOUT THE

UGA graduate programs!TRIPLE DAWG Terry CoffeyON GIVING page 31

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“I found Rome a city of bricks and left it a city ofmarble,” said Caesar Augustus, who lived from 63 BC to14 BC. Today, his Dawg counterpart is installed near acoffee shop in downtown Athens.

More than 58,000 men and women working todaypossess graduate degrees from the University ofGeorgia. Their scholarship is the alchemy thattransforms the Classic City and the world beyond withpossibilities. Seize the day!

Caesar Dawgustus, 100 College Avenue

Gretchen Fennell, artist

NONPROFIT ORG.U.S. POSTAGE

PAIDATHENS, GA.

PERMIT NO. 165

www.grad.uga.edu

Editor/Writer

Cynthia Adams

Design

Julie Sanders

Photo Editor

Nancy Evelyn

© 2009 by the University of Georgia.

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written permission of the editor.

This publication was printed by generous gifts from Verizon

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summer 09 - ugags magazine

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