uga columns dec. 7, 2015

December 7, 2015Vol. 43, No. 19 www.columns.uga.edu

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Performing Arts Center to host holiday-inspired events in December

The University of Georgia®

By Sam [email protected]

MacKenzie Tobin, a senior at Schley County High School in El-laville, received an early surprise as the first of more than 7,500 students to be offered admission to the Class of 2020 at UGA.

Her application was among a record 14,516 received by the univer-sity for early action admission—an increase of nearly 10 percent over the previous year— and in mid-November UGA officials notified her in person that she was being offered admission. Students like Tobin have applied to UGA in record numbers, and they’ve also set records for academic accomplishments.

The average GPA of students who were admitted through early

action admission was 4.11, which exceeds last year’s average GPA of 4.01 and reflects rigorous course-work and an average of eight honors, International Baccalaureate and Advanced Placement classes. The average best SAT score this year was 1395—compared to 1374 last year—and the average ACT score increased by one point over last year to reach 31.

“MacKenzie was the first of more than 14,500 students from across Georgia and around the world to apply to UGA, and her outstanding academic accomplishments earned her a spot in our Class of 2020,” said Patrick Winter, associate vice president for undergraduate admis-sions and enrollment management.

Prospective first-year students

By Sam [email protected]

Two finalists for the position of campus dean of the Georgia Regents University/University of Georgia Medical Partnership will visit or have visited Athens and Augusta this month

A 15-member committee chaired by Houston Davis, University System of Georgia executive vice chancellor and chief academic of-ficer, conducted a national search to identify the finalists.

Angela Sharkey, associate dean for faculty affairs and professional de-

velopment, and professor of pediat-rics at St. Louis University School of Medicine, visited Athens and Augusta Dec. 1 to make a public presentation and meet with faculty, staff, students and community members.

Kenneth Simons, senior associate dean for graduate medical education and accreditation, and professor of ophthalmology and pathology at the Medical College of Wisconsin, will visit Dec. 15. He will make a public presentation at 5:30 p.m. in Room 228 of Russell Hall on the UGA Health Sciences Campus.

The CVs of the finalists are at http://t.uga.edu/1Ec .

By Aaron [email protected]

Han S. Park, a pre-eminent scholar on global peace and a thought leader on the tense relationship between the U.S. and North Korea, retires at the end of the year after 45 years at UGA.

While many people on the cusp of retirement plan to travel and relax, Park already is thinking about how to continue his decades-long effort to promote peace.

“Retirement won’t stop me from pursuing my research and being an activist for peace,” he said.

Park is the founding director of UGA’s Center for the Study of Global Issues, which fosters educational and research activities focused on economic, political and sociocultural change and development occurring at the global level. His work as a peace

scholar and activist has made Park a respected international arbitrator and humanitarian.

His efforts have helped raise the profile of UGA’s School of Public and International Affairs and the university itself, said Markus Crepaz, a professor and head of SPIA’s inter-national affairs department.

“Dr. Han Park, over his long ca-reer, has not only remained a deeply inquisitive scholar but has become a public intellectual, concerned about the moral and humanitarian dimen-sions of his teachings,” Crepaz said.

Born in China, Park is the son of Korean immigrant parents. His early years were shaped by two civil wars, first in China when the Com-munists rose to power. After Park’s family moved back to Korea, he saw the devastation caused by the Korean War.

“From early childhood, I have

been puzzled by the question of why people kill each other,” Park said. “That’s why I became obsessed with peace. I thought someone like me must do something about it.”

Park joined the UGA faculty in 1970. It was during the height of Vietnam War protests and the continued struggle for civil rights in the South. At that time, it was a bold decision for the Korean national to come to Dixie. Park said it was about making the biggest impact.

“I wanted to play a part in global-izing the South,” he said.

When he came to Athens, he found early on that people didn’t treat him like a threat, instead he was regarded as a guest and treated with Southern hospitality.

As a peace scholar, Park was frustrated with the existing paradigm that considers peace an absence

By Sara [email protected]

Stacey Y. Abrams, House minor-ity leader for the Georgia General Assembly and state representative for the 89th House District, will give the keynote address for the 13th annual Martin Luther King Jr. Freedom Breakfast Jan. 22 at 7:30 a.m. in the Grand Hall of the Tate Student Center.

Sponsored by UGA, the Athens-Clarke County Unified Government and the Clarke County School Dis-trict, the MLK Freedom Breakfast

c o m m e m o -rates the life of the late civil rights leader. This year ’s theme is “The Power of the Dream: One Step at a Time.”

Abrams is the first woman

to lead either party in the Georgia General Assembly and is the first African-American to lead in the House of Representatives. She serves on the Appropriations, Ethics,

Judiciary Non-Civil, Rules and Ways and Means committees.

One of six children, she grew up in Mississippi with working-class parents who taught them the value of public service and civic engagement at a young age. The family moved to Georgia in 1989, when her parents attended Emory University, where they both graduated with Master of Divinity degrees and became United Methodist ministers.

Abrams attended Spelman Col-lege, graduating magna cum laude with a bachelor’s in interdisciplinary

By Camie [email protected]

UGA Honors student Meredith Paker has been named a recipient of the Marshall Scholarship to pursue graduate studies in the United King-dom. Up to 40 Marshall Scholars are selected each year, and Paker is UGA’s third student in the last decade to earn the award and the seventh in the university’s history.

Paker, a native of Madison, Wisconsin, and a recipient of UGA’s Foundation Fellowship and the Stamps Leadership Scholarship, plans to pursue a master’s degree in economic and social history from the University of Oxford. She will graduate in May with a bachelor’s degree in economics from the Terry College of Business and a minor

in mathemat-ics from the Franklin Col-lege of Arts and Sciences.

While at UGA, Paker has conducted e c o n o m i c s research with faculty mem-

bers Jonathan Williams, David Bradford and William Lastrapes. Contributing to a growing litera-ture on the prevalence and impact of off-label prescriptions in the U.S. pharmaceuticals market, she recently presented her work at the International Health Economics As-sociation conference in Italy and at the UGA Center for Undergraduate

Man of peaceAccomplished professor, thought leader

to retire after 45 years at UGA

Han S. Park, a pre-eminent scholar on global peace and a thought leader on the tense relationship between the U.S. and North Korea, retires at the end of the year after 45 years at UGA. “Dr. Han Park, over his long career, has not only remained a deeply inquisitive scholar but has become a public intellectual, concerned about the moral and humanitarian dimensions of his teachings,” said Markus Crepaz, a professor and head of SPIA’s international affairs department.

Class of 2020: Early admission offered to more than 7,500

HONORS PROGRAM

ACADEMIC AFFAIRS

OFFICE OF INSTITUTIONAL DIVERSITY

UGA senior economics major receives Marshall Scholarship

House leader to speak at Freedom Breakfast Medical Partnership campus dean finalists visit UGA

See MARSHALL on page 8

See ADMISSION on page 8

See BREAKFAST on page 8

Dorothy Kozlowski

See PARK on page 8

Meredith Paker

Stacey Abrams

2015 COMMENCEMENT SPECIAL

15 members of the Class of 2015 discuss faculty, staff who have impacted them

4&5

12 18 15

By Christopher James [email protected]

Gwen Moss works for UGA’s Office for Public Service and Outreach, but that doesn’t mean she’s on the ground serving every day.

“My position keeps me in the office and behind the desk,” said Moss, assistant vice president for fiscal affairs.

When PSO launched its first Day of Service Nov. 20, Moss jumped at the chance to contribute to the mission she supports every day. She helped by work-ing on the grounds at Stroud Elementary School in Athens.

“This is an opportunity to get out and do service work like the other public service and outreach staff do all across the state,” she said. “This is a perfect op-portunity for me to get my hands dirty.”

That was one of the driving ideas behind the Day of Service. Staff, fac-ulty and students from the eight PSO units fanned out to nine sites while also participating in a coat drive for the Salvation Army and supply drives for Mercy Health Center and the Athens Area Homeless Shelter.

According to Josh Podvin, who helped coordinate Day of Service projects, 189 people from PSO as well as several from UGA Cooperative Extension and unit-based outreach offices participated in at least one project with a total of 235 hours of service. In addition, 113 people donated supplies for local nonprofits and 189 coats were collected.

Jennifer Frum, vice president for pub-lic service and outreach, participated in several projects and stopped by others to thank employees for their contributions.

“We try to get together once a year

to celebrate our work and celebrate the impact of the work that the University of Georgia does across the state,” Frum said. “Our faculty and staff really wanted something more meaningful than an ice cream social or a barbecue lunch. So they asked, ‘How can we do something where we come together as a group but we’re also making a difference?’ We couldn’t think of a better way to do that than working with our great external partners in the Athens community.”

Employees were enthusiastic about the work. EJ Hovell, director of sales at the Georgia Center for Continuing Education, was among a large group of PSO employees helping the Project Safe Thrift Store organize its shelves.

“For those of us who are actually involved in community service yearlong, it’s an opportunity to learn about new projects especially perhaps in a county in which we don’t live,” said Hovell, who lives in Oconee County.

“It just seemed like a no-brainer,” said William Tonks, director of visitor services at the State Botanical Garden. Tonks worked on projects at the Clarke Middle School garden on Baxter Street.

“UGA has so many people that have either willingness or skills,” he said. “It’s also win-win because it gets you out in the community. You get to see more of the community and get to meet more of the UGA personnel. It also gets you out of the office.”

2 Dec. 7, 2015 columns.uga.edu

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Study finds national six-year college completion rates are in decline

The rate of students completing college within six years of first enrolling has been declining in recent years, according to a re-port by the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center.

The report found a national completion rate of 52.9 percent for student who en-rolled fall 2009. That was down 2.1 percent-age points compared to the 2008 cohort of students.

The report attributes the decline in part to the Great Recession, which drove more students to college. Despite the lower rate, the total number of 2009 cohort graduates produced six years later still increased by about 71,000 students over 2008, according to the report.

Meanwhile, UGA’s six-year graduation has been on the rise, up now to 85.3 percent.

Federal research funding decreasesFederal funding of higher education

research and development dropped for a third straight year, according to a survey from the National Science Foundation.

Funding from the federal government for fiscal year 2014 was $37.9 billion, down from $40.8 billion in fiscal year 2011. It is the lon-gest multiyear decline in federal funding since the data has been collected in 1972.

Institutions have been making up for the drop in federal research investment from other funding sources including state and local governments, institutional funds, businesses and nonprofit organizations.

New

s to

Use

University’s inclement weather policy and notification process

During periods of inclement winter weather, UGA follows a set procedure for announcing operational changes.

The university makes one of three announce-ments: UGA is open and operating on a regular schedule; UGA is closed; or UGA will delay opening until a specific time.

Notices are posted on Twitter and Face-book, an all-campus email is sent via Arch-News and the announcement also is pub-lished on the UGA home page (www.uga.edu).

Information also is provided to Athens radio stations and Atlanta TV and radio stations.

In Athens, inclement winter weather often develops overnight. In such cases and depending on conditions, attempts are made to post announcements and notify media by 6:30 a.m. for the start of the class day. If the inclement weather develops during morning rush hour or during daytime on a school/workday, the same notification procedures listed above are followed.

When weather conditions are such that closings occur two or more days in succes-sion, the procedure is followed each day, with an announcement being made each day by 6:30 a.m. In that conditions can change un-expectedly overnight, an evening announce-ment usually will not be made for the next day except in the most extreme weather circumstances.

On days when UGA generally is sched-uled to be closed (Saturdays, Sundays and holidays), the university does not usu-ally make blanket closing announcements. Departments and units that have normal operations on weekends and holidays, or units planning to host or present special programs on those days, should make their own prior arrangements with employees and partici-pants, notifying them how to proceed in case of inclement weather.

When UGA officially is closed, it is closed for everyone: faculty, staff and students. Departments will designate in advance those expected to report to work during a weather emergency.

Announcements for weather closings at UGA campuses in Buckhead, Gwinnett, Grif-fin and Tifton are handled by those campus administrators separately from the main campus announcements.

Source: Public Affairs Division

STUDENT AFFAIRS DIVISION

PUBLIC SERVICE AND OUTREACH

Day of Service allows public service employees to give back to community

Left: Gwen Moss, assistant vice president for fiscal affairs in UGA’s Office for Public Service and Outreach, worked at Stroud Elementary School during Day of Service Nov. 20. Right: Chris McDowell from the College of Environment and Design leads students and PSO workers in a project during the Day of Service.

By Erica [email protected]

The Disability Resource Center awarded scholarships to 26 students at its annual Student and Faculty Recog-nition Reception Nov. 12 in the Tate Student Center Grand Hall.

The scholarships provide financial aid to students with disabilities and are funded by private donors who support the Disability Resource Center.

The Disability Resource Center provides services to students and helps them navigate disadvantages they face, both in academics and accessibility.

Kimberleigh Beard, a student with cerebral palsy, said the accommodations provided by the Disability Resource Center helped her achieve better grades and increased her confidence in navigat-ing the UGA campus as a newcomer. Beard said the Radcliff Scholarship she received helps cover academic costs and lower student loan debt.

Many students with disabilities face increased costs while attending college, due to medical bills and additional ac-commodations necessary to manage their disability.

Akash Shah, a student and president of UGA’s NAACP chapter, has Crohn’s disease. He said although his disorder is a disadvantage, “it won’t stop me from succeeding and drives me to excel in every situation.” Because of the John and Frances Mangan Family Scholar-ship, he is able to work fewer hours at his part-time job and instead, “focus on the excellence I seek,” he said.

Many students recognized at the

ceremony hold leadership positions across campus and described feeling compelled to raise awareness about their disability and campus diversity fostered by the Disability Resource Center.

Students like Adanech Spratlin, who lost her right arm and leg in a train acci-dent, represent the disabled community by raising awareness about the obstacles associated with their disability, without letting it define their future, she said.

Taylor Bradish, who experiences seizures due to epilepsy, thanked the donors who made the scholarship she received possible and said her struggles helped her realize the importance of helping others. She volunteers with the Disability Resource Center to lead an epilepsy support group.

“It hurts to remember,” said Bradish, who was visibly shaken, as she referenced barely surviving a car accident caused by a seizure. She per-severed through her speech and in her pursuit toward becoming a pediatric neurologist.

Bradish and Spratlin both explained the extra stress and pressure of attending college while coping with a disability, and said the Gregory Charles Johnson Scholarship allows them to focus on academics and their health.

In presenting the Outstanding Faculty Award to Elizabeth Wright, an associate professor of Romance languages in the Franklin College, Provost Pamela Whitten said Wright “represents the true spirit of inclusion.”

Wright thanked the Disability Resource Center staff and students who

inspired her commitment to disability resources.

Whitten thanked donors for their support and making the scholarships possible. She spoke directly to the stu-dents and said, “though we are inspired by the challenges that you have, and continue to overcome we want to make sure that you know that when we look at you … what we see are University of Georgia students.”

In addition to Beard, Shah, Spratlin and Bradish, the following students received scholarships: Christopher Kotter and Brandon Mastromartino, the Michael E. Merriman Memo-rial Scholarship; Emily Schoone, the Elizabeth and J.C. Faulkner Scholar-ship; Alexandra Grainger-Garrett, the Gregory Charles Johnson Scholarship; Alexa Lee, the Orkin Family Scholar-ship; Aekta Patel, the Matthew Ped-dicord Memorial Scholarship; Ellen Barrow, the Dale Gibson Memorial Scholarship; Louis Conde, Angela Hall and Hannah Ruby, the Lupuloff Family Scholarship; Douglas Alt, the Margaret Ann Towson Scholarship; Katherine Hobson, the Joe Colie Scholarship; Paola Lopez-Aguirre, Wayde Smith and Erin Stacer, the Weldon Johnson Access Abroad Scholarship; Sydney Freeman, the Carey Louis Davis Scholarship; Danielle Brooks and Lavette Laflore, the Hamilton Family Scholarship; Michael Alfano and Alexandria Papp, the Choate Family Scholarship; Ali-son Anderson, the Margaret C. Totty Memorial Scholarship; and Matthew Lemer, the Lauren Melissa Kelly Me-morial Scholarship.

Disability Resource Center recognizes students, faculty, donors at annual reception

Shannah MontgomeryShannah Montgomery

Signing to be held for new book that translates children’s classic into Latin

Rick LaFleur, Franklin Professor of Classics Emeritus, has published the first-ever translation of Maurice Sendak’s classic children’s book Where the Wild Things Are into classical Latin. LaFleur’s translation, Ubi Fera Sunt, was published by Bolchazy-Carducci Publishers Inc. LaFleur will hold a book signing Dec. 16 from 6:30-7:30 p.m. at Avid Bookshop, 493 Prince Ave.

The translation faithfully recasts Sendak’s writ-ing into classical Latin. It includes the remastered images employed in the 50th anniversary edition.

First published in 1963, Where the Wild Things Are has sold more than 20 million copies to date and inspired the creation of children’s toys, dolls, puppets, board and video games, a 1980s children’s opera co-scripted by Sendak as well as other musi-cal compositions and the much-praised 2009 fea-ture film adaptation, directed by Spike Jonze. The book has earned countless recognitions, including the 1964 Randolph Caldecott Medal for “the most distinguished American picture book for children.”

It has been translated into numerous other lan-guages, but never until now into classical Latin.

UGA Alumni Association announces seventh annual Bulldog 100 list

The UGA Alumni Association has released the 2016 Bulldog 100. This annual program recognizes the fastest-growing businesses owned or operated by UGA alumni. Nearly 400 nominations were submitted for the 2016 list.

The 2016 Bulldog 100 includes businesses of all sizes and from industries such as veterinary medi-cine, IT consulting and pest control. Several areas of the country are represented, including compa-nies from New York and California. Of the 100 businesses, 80 are located within Georgia, and only two businesses have made the list all seven years: Mom Corps and Vino Venue/Atlanta Wine School.

The Bulldog 100 honorees will be celebrated Jan. 30 at the Atlanta Marriott Marquis. The evening will begin with a reception, followed by dinner and the awards ceremony. Registration, which is open to the public, will be available by mid-December at alumni.uga.edu/b100 .

The ceremony will feature a keynote address by Jeff Dunn, CEO and president of C-Fresh, a division of Campbell Soup Co. that includes Bolt-house Farms, Campbell’s retail fresh soup unit and Garden Fresh Gourmet. Dunn earned a bachelor’s degree in 1980 from the Terry College of Business.

The alphabetical list of honorees is at www.alumni.uga.edu/b100 .

Law school’s new Jurist in Residence program honors late federal judge

The School of Law has created the B. Avant Edenfield Jurist in Residence, which will give law students an opportunity to learn from federal judges in a series of mini-courses.

Made possible by a contribution from 2003 Georgia Law alumnus Allen W. Yee, a former clerk of the late Edenfield, the Jurist in Residence program will enable one or more Article III judges to spend a period in residence at Georgia Law each year. Edenfield was a longtime federal judge on the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Georgia who earned both his bachelor’s and Juris Doctor degrees from UGA.

The inaugural Edenfield Jurist in Residence will be 1990 Georgia Law alumna Lisa Godbey Wood, who currently serves as chief judge of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Georgia. Her course will focus on sentencing.

David Sentelle, former chief judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, will be the second Edenfield Jurist in Residence.

Digest

PERIODICALS POSTAGE STATEMENTColumns (USPS 020-024) is published weekly during the academic year and biweekly during the summer for the faculty and staff of the University of Georgia by the UGA News Service. Periodicals postage is paid in Athens, Georgia. Postmaster: Send off-campus address changes to Columns, UGA News Service, 286 Oconee Street, Suite 200 North, Athens, GA 30602-1999.

RESEARCH NEWS

Crude breakdownBy Alan [email protected]

The use of chemical dispersants meant to stimulate microbial crude oil degradation can, in some cases, inhibit the microorganisms that naturally de-grade hydrocarbons, according to a new study led by UGA marine scientists.

Their findings are based on laboratory-simulated conditions that mimic Gulf of Mexico deep waters immediately following the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.

The study, published in the Proceed-ings of the National Academy of Sciences, examined microbial oil degradation in the Deepwater plume, simulating oil concentrations and dispersant concen-trations observed during the incident. The team found that the presence of dispersants significantly altered the mi-crobial composition of Gulf deep water by promoting the growth of Colwellia, a group of microorganisms capable of dispersant degradation.

However, when oil alone was added to parallel samples in the absence of chemical dispersants, the growth of natural hydrocarbon-degrading Marinobacter was stimulated.

“These compelling results show the naturally occurring communities

of oil-degrading microorganisms, especially Marinobacter, are quite proficient at degrading oil and that oil biodegradation was more efficient in the absence of chemical dispersants,” said the study’s lead author Samantha Joye, UGA’s Athletic Association Professor of Arts and Sciences.

“During the spill, Marinobacter were not abundant in deep-water plume samples, possibly as a consequence of dispersant applications,” said study co-author Sara Kleindienst, junior group leader at the University of Tubingen in Germany. “Whether natural hydrocar-bon degraders were outcompeted by dispersant degraders or whether they were directly affected by dispersant-derived compounds needs to be resolved in future studies.”

Widely used in emergency responses to oil spills in marine environments as a means of stimulating microbial degra-dation of oil, chemical dispersants were applied in an unprecedented volume to the sea surface and deep waters of the Gulf of Mexico after the 2010 spill. As a “first line of defense,” 7 million liters (about 1.8 million gallons) of chemical dispersants were applied to increase the use and breakdown of oil compounds by microorganisms. The uncontrolled oil well blowout released more than

750 million liters of oil into the gulf.“Our results showed preferential

degradation and enrichment of distinct organic compounds when dispersant is used to chemically break up oil,” said study co-author Patricia Medeiros, an assistant professor of marine sciences at UGA. “In the future, it will be important to further study these compounds and possibly include them when tracking the fate of oil-dispersant mixtures in the environment.”

The study addresses fundamental questions about the use of chemical dispersants and how they affect both the oil discharge from accidents and the indigenous microbial community. This comprehensive data set, including direct measurements of oil biodeg-radation rates, raises concerns about whether chemical dispersants stimulate microbial oil degradation in the ocean.

“The fact that dispersants drove distinct microbial community shifts that impacted oil-degradation efficiency came as a big surprise,” said Joye, a faculty member in the marine sciences department of the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences. “It is critical to quantify the factors that influence the efficiency of oil biodegradation in the environment, and that includes dispersants.”

Chemical dispersants can suppress natural oil-degrading microorganisms, new study shows

GRADY COLLEGE OF JOURNALISM AND MASS COMMUNICATIONStudy: Most first-time moms plan to follow vaccine schedule

3 columns.uga.edu Dec. 7, 2015

Samantha Joye, UGA’s Athletic Association Professor of Arts and Sciences, led a study that found chemical dispersants can, in some cases, inhibit the microorganisms that naturally degrade hydrocarbons like crude oil.

Rick O’Quinn

By Sarah [email protected]

First-time expectant mothers who do not plan to follow the recommended childhood immunization schedule dif-fer in a number of ways from mothers who do, according to a recent study led by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and UGA.

Most significantly, “mothers who weren’t planning on following the schedule were relying primarily on Internet sources and family or friends for information, so finding ways to reach them with information from pediatricians or family physicians could be very helpful,” said study co-author Glen Nowak, director of the Center for Health and Risk Communication in UGA’s Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication.

The researchers found that 75 percent of the 200 first-time expect-ant mothers they surveyed planned to follow the recommended immunization schedule. However, 10.5 percent were planning to spread out recommended vaccinations, and 4 percent were planning to have their child receive some but not all of the recommended vaccinations. The remaining mothers, 10.5 percent, were undecided on the schedule as of their second trimester of pregnancy.

The study did not include expectant mothers who were planning to forgo all recommended vaccines, a group that is estimated to be around 1 percent of all parents. The survey, which assessed expectant mothers’ vaccination plans, information seeking behaviors and beliefs, was conducted between June and September 2014. The study’s results

were published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine and Vaccine.

“Most of the moms-to-be indicated they were interested in information on childhood vaccines, but many were not actively looking for such information, and very few had received any from a health care provider,” said Nowak, a professor of advertising and public relations.

The study found that nearly all expectant mothers believed immuni-zations were important (25 percent) or very important (59.5 percent) for keeping children healthy. Those who were unsure about their vaccination plans or who were planning to delay or decline some vaccinations had less confidence in the safety, effectiveness and value of routinely recommended vaccines. Notably, undecided mothers had the lowest levels of confidence.

4Dec. 7, 2015 columns.uga.edu 5 columns.uga.edu Dec. 7, 2015

At UGA, students work with world-class faculty and staff every day. These graduating students talk about the university faculty or staff

member who most impacted their academic experiences and their lives.

Read their stories about their hands-on learning experiences at commencement.uga.edu/2015

15 from 2015Shelby HolsombackB.S. in Agricultural Engineering with an emphasis in Electrical Engineering

Juan Da Silva B.A. in Landscape Architecture

Corinne Klemenc B.Mus. in Music Education and B.Mus. in Music Composition

Carmen KrausB.S. in Ecology and B.F.A. in Scientific Illustration

Jenna MalekPh.D. in Ecology

Amber FlaniganMaster of Social Work and Master of Public Health

Funmi Jemilugba B.S.F.C.S. in Human Development and Family Science and B.A. in Psychology

Christopher SnyderB.B.A. in Marketing

Elizabeth BenyshekB.S. in Geology

Denise Pleasant A.B.J. in Public Relations

David Guzman UrickB.S.F.R. in Management of Natural Resources, Recreation and Tourism

Faustine SononB.S.A. in Food Science

Chen GongMaster of Public Administration

Thaurice MilloyB.S.Ed. in Early Childhood Education

Robert HoodMaster of Public Health with a concentration in Epidemiology

Has there been a particular faculty or staff member who’s had a big impact on your time at UGA? If so, who and why?

Hillary Tanner. She was the first engineering professor that I ever had. She is also the faculty adviser for the Soci-ety of Women Engineers, which was the first engineering club meeting that I ever attended. I didn’t know then that she would quickly become my friend, my role model and one of my biggest supporters. She saw my passion for en-gineering, she encouraged my hard work and dedication, she shared my excitement in my successes and she always had encouraging words after my failures.


One person who has had a large impact is professor Shelley Cannady. She has been an amazing teacher in design as well as life in general. She has shown me the importance of professionalism, and her diverse background has provided me with many different perspectives to view my work and my life.


D. Ray McClellan was my clarinet professor for six years. He was the main driver of my musicianship. If it wasn’t for him, I would not be able to understand, create and perform at the level I can now.

My other highly influential professor is Adrian Childs. My composition professor for my junior and senior years, he was directly involved with the creation of my Super Senior Recital. He helped me write the music that I had performed, and he guided my thoughts in ways that made my music better.


Wendy Zomlefer, an associate professor in the plant biology department, cemented my interest in botany and always brought food to class from the plant family we were studying. Additionally, Zomlefer is a scientific illustrator; she helped me with my botany illustrations, and I am happy to have an example of a professor who has successfully integrated science and art.


I have had the privilege of working as a teaching assis-tant with Jim Richardson in the Odum School throughout my time at UGA. He has an amazing wealth of teaching experience and a love for educating students. Working with Richardson has made me realize that there are more ways to be influential in science than through just research. I am looking forward to continuing teaching in the future and sharing with students my own excitement for science.


Jennifer Gonyea was an integral part of me pursuing the MSW program at UGA.

Trina Salm Ward has been an amazing, supportive and available adviser who has helped me navigate the MSW/MPH dual degree program and has ensured that I stayed on track to reach my goals.

Zoe Johnson, director of multicultural services and programs at UGA, has been an inspirational mentor and has provided support and guidance as I begin to make postgraduation career plans.


The professor who has had a big impact on me would be Melissa Kozak. Her class was the first class I ever took at UGA and it was an 8 a.m. class that I looked forward to going to every Monday, Wednesday and Friday.

During the first semester of my freshman year, I was still unsure if I wanted to continue my education at UGA or transfer to a different school, and Kozak was just always willing to listen to me. I remember always going to her office hours even when I didn’t need help and just having conver-sations with her; her door was always—and is still—open.


Laura Richardson, Jen Osbon and Kevin Ellis. Richardson was my amazing adviser all four years and

kept me on track to graduate. Osbon helped me really get involved in my major by networking with business profes-sionals through the American Marketing Association. Ellis helped me channel my inner salesperson He encouraged me to compete in numerous sales competitions and work to improve my selling skills.


The one faculty member who always has supported me in my educational endeavors is Sally Walker. She was one of my first professors in the geology department and the first to introduce me to real fieldwork. Walker and I share an overflowing enthusiasm for science, and this has aided me in surviving many perils over my time at UGA. The experience I have gained under the guidance of Walker had the most impact on me during my time at UGA.


On my first day on campus, I went to Diane Miller’s office to sort out my schedule. Although she may no longer be my adviser, I still consider her my mentor.

Miller has given me invaluable advice over the more than two years I have been at UGA. I’ve arrived at her office with pre-career fair jitters, excitement over an internship acceptance email and confusion and worries about my future after my time at UGA ends. No matter the situation, I am met with overwhelming encouragement and support.


Since the beginning, the professor who made me feel at home was Bynum Boley. He was very understanding about my difficulties of being a foreign student learning in a non-native language. He encouraged me to not be embarrassed about asking questions in my broken English. He let me know that it is a faculty member’s responsibility to ensure every student understands the concepts about any subject no matter what.


I have worked for the food science and technology department as a lab assistant under assistant professor Anand Mohan. His guidance through projects has been great and will benefit me in the future.

Outside of the technical aspects of working in the laboratory, Mohan has taught me many valuable lessons that apply to both the workplace and everyday life. One particular lesson has been ingrained in me since I’ve started working for him—to be true to my word.


I have to say everyone in the MPA program impacted me, particularly Deborah Carroll, Andrew Whitford, Robert Greer, Melody Herrington and Aaron Redman.

I have stories about everyone and how they impacted my study here at UGA, so it is impossible to name just one. I appreciated all the help and support from everyone I met here.


Stephanie Jones in the educational theory and practice program has been an amazing mentor and friend through-out my college career. She has been extremely supportive in all my endeavors. She has been a constant source of encouragement and always lends a helpful listening ear. I cannot imagine my college career without her.


Dr. Mark Ebell is my adviser and has provided a lot of guidance on becoming a good epidemiologist. He has really helped me to grow.

Sara Robb has been my instructor and my capstone adviser. She has provided a lot of support and encourage-ment as I began researching more and more. She has also opened my eyes to the field of environmental epidemiology.

Nina Cleveland helped me to find a wonderful field placement. She has also helped me to continue to persevere when things got tough during my program.

Read the full stories of this semester’s

15 from 2015 at commencement.uga.edu/2015

12 18 15

Kimberly Andrews, a graduate faculty member at the Odum School of Ecology, and her graduate stu-dent, David Zailo, received $59,000 from the Geor-gia Department of Natural Resources and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to study the nesting behaviors of turtles living in the marshes of Georgia’s Jekyll Island in collaboration with the Jekyll Island Authority.

The researchers will attach small GPS units to the turtles’ shells and track their movements as females leave the relative safety of the saltwater estuaries to create nests on the mainland. During this process, many turtles, such as the diamondback terrapin, are struck and killed on roadways. The researchers hope their data will serve as the foundation for sustainable development and roadside management along coastal regions. Zailo also has created a funding page at www.jekyllisland.com/terrapin to support their research project.

Ewan Cobran, an assistant professor of clini-cal and administrative pharmacy in the College of Pharmacy, received $40,000 from the American Cancer Society to study some of the health effects of Androgen Deprivation Therapy and whether these conditions vary by race and ethnicity for males with advanced prostate cancer.

Cobran’s research directly addresses the burdens of racial disparities in prostate cancer outcomes by evaluating whether minority males are at higher risk of treatment-related co-morbidities—including the development of diabetes, myocardial infarction and cardiovascular diseases—and how these complications affect survival rates.

Robert Kemerait, a professor of plant pathol-ogy in the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, received $60,000 from the National Corn Growers Association in collaboration with Baozhu Guo of the USDA Agricultural Research Service in Tifton to breed new varieties of drought-tolerant corn.

Kemerait’s research, conducted by doctoral student Jake Fountain, also will explore the ways in which environment contributes to the growth of Aspergillus flavus, a fungal pathogen that contaminates corn ker-nels with carcinogenic mycotoxins known as aflatoxins. These toxins are associated with many diseases and disorders in humans and livestock, and they also lead to crop losses.

In searching for more drought-tolerant varieties of corn, Kemerait and his colleagues also will explore how environmental factors like drought influence the development of these dangerous fungal pathogens.

Seth Wenger, Craig Osenberg and Greg Jacobs received $43,000 from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to evaluate the rehabilitation of lake sturgeon in the Niagara River.

The team will use lake sturgeon population- assessment data collected over the past five years to de-velop population dynamics models that can be used to estimate variation in lake sturgeon occurrence across time and space based on population growth scenarios, in collaboration with biologists at the FWS Northeast Fishery Center.

Osenberg is a professor at the Odum School of Ecology, Wenger is an assistant professor at the ecol-ogy school, and Jacobs is a doctoral student there.

Pejman Rohani, a professor in the Odum School of Ecology, received $151,000 from the National Institutes of Health to study the epidemiology and im-munology of dengue fever and polio.

His project is part of a large, multi-institutional initiative that uses computational, statistical and mathematical modeling of infectious diseases to create better public health policies.

Rohani’s team will apply cutting-edge statistical methods to databases of dengue and polio incidence to generate disease transmission models that will serve as the foundation for optimal, cost-effective immuniza-tion policies in countries throughout the world. This is the first installment of a five-year grant.

ReveNews is a roundup of recently funded research projects at UGA. To have information about your research project included, email James Hataway at [email protected].

6 Dec. 7, 2015 columns.uga.edu CAMPUS CLOSEUP

RETIREES

By Matt [email protected]

For Meg Evans, it’s personal. When she started her collegiate career, there was no place for her, someone who identifies as queer and gender non-conforming, on campus.

“I didn’t have that support that I needed,” she said. “I didn’t have anybody that I could talk to.”

Now as director of the on-campus LGBT Resource Center, she wants to ensure that no UGA student ever feels the same way.

“This is not a 9-to-5 job for me; this is a 24/7 thing for me that I care deeply about,” she said. “If in any way I can help somebody explore their identity, that’s what I want to do.”

Evans began in higher education at Warren Wilson College, in Swannanoa, North Carolina, where she was earning a degree in outdoor leadership. It was there she took a position as a student resident director, supervising four resi-dent assistants and a residence hall. After she received her degree, she became interim housing coordinator. During both positions, she worked advising LGBT student groups.

“I was really excited to work with college students,” she said. “Being able to listen to stories and share my experi-ence with them, I loved it.”

In her role as director of UGA’s LGBT Resource Center, Evans does a lot of listening and sharing stories. Since she started in early August, she has been “engaging in conversations about how we can make UGA more affirming and welcoming for LGBT and trans-identified folks on campus.”

Her role, Evans said, is to do big-picture visioning, figuring out how the LGBT Resource Center fits in to

the fabric of the university and how it can help move UGA forward in terms of supporting its students with their identities.

“My hope is that we can have a voice—and we do—and figure out how we can collaborate better to meet the intersectionality (the understanding of the complex and multi-dimensional nature of people) of our students,” Evans said. “With us being a two-person office, collaboration is key.”

Evans’ position also allows her to “make sure the queer voice is repre-sented” in committees or places around campus. She also advises the LGBT graduate student group, handles ad-ministrative details for the center, gives presentations and training workshops, and helps students, faculty and staff as needed.

Coming from Carnegie Mellon University, where she was LGBTQ resources coordinator and housefel-low, Evans said that UGA had a lot of appeal for her.

“I was excited knowing that there’s a lot of really incredible people here who want the work to be done,” she said, “and throughout my interview process, I really saw a spirit of intersectionality.

“I saw a spirit of inclusion here that is unlike what I’ve seen at a lot of other institutions. It’s a spirit of inclusion I don’t think people necessarily think of when they talk about a state school in the Southeast,” Evans also said. “I wanted to be a part of that act of changing how people here think about LGBT folks and also about how people might see us, the university.”

Outside of work, Evans and her fiancee, Kadesha, enjoy sports and the outdoors. The pair has a passion for geocaching, an activity in which one uses GPS to hide and find containers

in outdoor spaces.“It’s a nerdy pastime that’s like adult

treasure hunting,” Evans said. “It’s great because we get to be outside, we get to hang out with our dogs, we all get exer-cise, it’s free and it allows us to explore places that we’ve never seen.”

Similar to her work at the LGBT Resource Center, Evans said the activ-ity allows her to “see the world through other people’s eyes.”

Evans takes that responsibility of empathizing with others and hearing their stories very seriously. She’s always willing to have a conversation with any campus community member about anything related to LGBT issues or identities.

“It’s taxing hearing people’s stories and constantly holding those personal stories for folks, but I also absolutely see it as a privilege,” Evans said. “The fact that someone can come in here and feel comfortable enough, safe enough and let me share in that experience with them, that to me is a total privilege that I am deeply honored by.

“Some days are hard, and some days are amazing, and some days are some days,” she also said. “But, by and large, the fact that I get to show up to work every day and do the work of my heart, I can’t really beat that.”

‘Work of my heart’: LGBT Resource Center director supports students

FACTSMeg EvansDirectorLGBT Resource CenterM.S., Community Leadership, Duquesne University, 2014B.A., Outdoor Leadership, Warren Wilson College, 2008At UGA: 4 months

Meg Evans, director of the LGBT Resource Center, said she never wants a UGA student to feel like they don’t have a place on campus. “This is not a 9-to-5 job for me; this is a 24/7 thing for me that I care deeply about,” she said. “If in any way I can help somebody explore their identity, that’s what I want to do.”

REVEnewsREVEnews

DecemberEight UGA employees retired Dec. 1.

Retirees, their job classification, department and length of employment are:

Robert P. Andoh, senior pub-lic service associate-limited term, Small Business Development Center, 24 years; Kathy B. Baldwin, senior pub-lic service associate, UGA Cooperative

Extension-Southeast District, 31 years, 5 months; David Wayne Crawford, senior agricultural specialist, Field Research Services-Griffin campus, 38 years, 5 months; Linda Drum-mond, program specialist I, School of Social Work, 15 years; Ronald D. Hamlin, manager, Campus Transit System, 25 years, 2 months; Sidney W. Harrison, electrician, Facilities

Management Division-Off-Campus Zone Shop, 28 years, 3 months; Noel Holston, senior public relations coordinator, College of Journalism and Mass Communication, 9 years, 10 months; and M. Elaine Ingram, county secretary, UGA Cooperative Extension-Northeast District, 35 years, 9 months. Source: Human Resources

Dorothy Kozlowski

MONDAY, DECEMBER 7HANUKKAHJewish religious observance.

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 8FRIDAY CLASS SCHEDULE IN EFFECT

FALL SEMESTER CLASSES END

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL vs. Furman. $5. 11 a.m. Stegeman Coliseum. 706-542-1231.

CAES DEAN FINALIST PRESENTATIONSamuel Pardue, alumni distinguished undergraduate professor of poultry sci-ence and associate dean and director of academic programs in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at North Carolina State University, will present. 1:30 p.m. Masters Hall, UGA Hotel and Conference Center.

HOLIDAY CONCERTThe Classic City Band will perform. 6:30 p.m. Visitor Center and Conserva-tory, State Botanical Garden. 706-542-6014, [email protected]

MEN’S BASKETBALL vs. Winthrop. $15. 7 p.m. Stegeman Coliseum. 706-542-1231.

UGA HOCKEY vs. Hockey Saves. 10; $2 for students; $5 for members of the military. 7 p.m. Classic Center, 300 N. Thomas St. 706-207-8819, [email protected]

PERFORMANCEJim Brickman. $25-$50. 8 p.m. Hugh Hodgson Concert Hall, Performing Arts Center. 706-542-4400. (See story, above right).

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 9READING DAY

UNIVERSITY HEALTH CENTER JINGLE BELL FUN RUN10 a.m. Reception Hall, Tate Student Center. 706-542-8690, [email protected]

CLIMATE SEMINAR“The 2015/2016 El Nino Event and Climate Change,” Kim Cobb, Georgia Institute of Technology. 3:30 p.m. 268 Miller Learning Center.706-542-2151, [email protected]

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 10FALL SEMESTER FINAL EXAMSThrough Dec. 16.

CAES DEAN FINALIST PRESENTATIONDavid Gerrard, a professor and head of the animal and poultry sciences depart-ment at Virginia Tech, will present. 9:30 a.m. Masters Hall, UGA Hotel and Conference Center.

WORKSHOPParticipants will make a live wreath. $30. 5:30 p.m. Visitor Center’s Great Room, State Botanical Garden. 706-542-6156, [email protected]

SUNDAY, DECEMBER 13HOLIDAY CONCERTThe New Horizons Band will perform.

7 columns.uga.edu Dec. 7, 2015

NEXT COLUMNS DEADLINES Dec. 9 (for Jan. 11 issue)Jan. 6 (for Jan. 19 issue)Jan. 13 (for Jan. 25 issue)

Calendar items are taken from Columns files and from the university’s Master Calendar, maintained by Public Affairs. Notices are published here as space permits, with priority given to items of multidisciplinary interest. The Master Calendar is available on the Web at calendar.uga.edu/.

TO SUBMIT A LISTING FOR THE MASTER CALENDAR AND COLUMNSPost event information first to the Master Calendar website (calendar.uga.edu/). Listings for Columns are taken from the Master Calendar 12 days before the publication date. Events not posted by then may not be printed in Columns.

Any additional information about the event may be sent directly to Columns. Email is preferred ([email protected]), but materials can be mailed to Columns, News Service, 286 Oconee Street, Suite 200 North, Campus Mail 1999.

UGAGUIDEThe following events are open to the public, unless otherwise specified. Dates, times and locations may change without advance notice.

For a complete listing of events, check the Master Calendar on the Web (calendar.uga.edu/ ).

The Performing Arts Center at UGA has a variety of perfor-mances this month as its 20th season continues.

Jim Brickman, who revolutionized the sound of solo piano with his pop-style instrumentals and star-studded vocal collaborations, will perform “Comfort and Joy” in Hugh Hodgson Concert Hall Dec. 8 at 8 p.m. Tickets are $25-$50.

Brickman will showcase new music, along with holiday favorites, and the hits that have earned him two Grammy nominations and four Gold Albums.

The Georgia Children’s Chorus will present a holiday concert Dec. 15 at 7 p.m. in Hugh Hodgson Concert Hall. Tickets are $10.

The Performing Arts Center will continue its part-nership with the Classic Center when they present The Nutcracker with the Russian State Ballet. Tickets for the performances, Dec. 19-20 at 3 p.m., are $25-$35.

The Nutcracker is the perennial favorite of generations of chil-

dren and “children at heart.” Set to Tchaikovsky’s beloved music, including “Waltz of the Flowers,” “Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy” and “Waltz of the Snowflakes,” the annual visit by the Russian State Ballet has become a tradition of the Athens holiday season.

On Dec. 31, the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra will present a New Year’s Eve Concert at 7 p.m. in Hugh Hodgson Concert Hall. Tickets are $45-$55.

The musical celebration will be in the spirit of the famous and ultra-popular Vienna Philharmonic’s New Year’s Eve Gala Concert that is broadcast worldwide to more that 90 countries. The ASO’s 90-minute program will feature light concert and pop favorites.

Tickets for all Performing Arts Center performances can be purchased at the Performing Arts Center box of-fice, on pac.uga.edu or by calling 706-542-4400.

January

Performing Arts Center to host holiday-inspired events

2 p.m. Visitor Center and Conservatory, State Botanical Garden. 706-542-6014, [email protected]

CLASSDan Harris, a beekeeper for Booger Hill Farm, will teach about beekeeping. $35. 2 p.m. Visitor Center’s Classroom 2, State Botanical Garden. 706-542-6156, [email protected]

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 15CAES DEAN FINALIST PRESENTATIONMichael Vayda, a professor of plant pa-thology and dean of the Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences at the University of Arkansas, will present. 9:30 a.m. Masters Hall, UGA Hotel and Conference Center.

GRU/UGA MEDICAL PARTNERSHIP FINALIST PRESENTATIONKenneth Simons, senior associate dean for graduate medical education and accreditation, and professor of ophthal-mology and pathology at the Medical College of Wisconsin, will present. 5:30 p.m. 228 Russell Hall. (See story, page 1).

HOLIDAY CONCERTGeorgia Children’s Chorus. 7 p.m. Hugh Hodgson Concert Hall, Performing Arts Center. $10.706-542-4400. (See story, above).

SWING DANCE NIGHT IN THE GARDEN8 p.m. Visitor Center, State Botanical Garden. 706-542-6014, [email protected]

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 16ARTFUL CONVERSATIONCarissa DiCindio, curator of education,

will lead an in-depth discussion on selected photographs from the exhibi-tion In Time We Shall Know Ourselves. 2 p.m. Georgia Museum of Art. 706-542-4662, [email protected]

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 17UNIVERSITY HEALTH CENTER HOLIDAY OPEN HOUSE1:30 p.m. University Health Center. 706-542-8690, [email protected] (See Bulletin Board, page 8).

COLLEGE OF EDUCATION FALL 2015 GRADUATION CONVOCATION2 p.m. Performing Arts Center. 706-542-1497, [email protected]

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 18FALL 2015 UNDERGRADUATE COMMENCEMENT9:30 a.m. Stegeman Coliseum.

FACS FALL CONVOCATIONNoon. Mahler Hall, Georgia Center. [email protected]

FALL 2015 GRADUATE COMMENCEMENT2:30 p.m. Stegeman Coliseum.

GYMNASTICS SNEAK PEEK7 p.m. Suzanne Yoculan Gymnastics Center, Stegeman Coliseum. 706-542-1621.

SATURDAY, DECEMBER 19MEN’S BASKETBALLvs. Georgia Tech. $15. Noon. Stegeman Coliseum. 706-542-1231.

PERFORMANCEThe Nutcracker will be performed. $25-$35. 3 p.m. Also to be performed

Dec. 20. Classic Center, 300 N. Thomas St. 706-542-4400. (See story, above).

MONDAY, DECEMBER 21FALL SEMESTER GRADES DUEDue by 5 p.m.

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 22MEN’S BASKETBALL vs. Clemson. $15. 6 p.m. Stegeman Coliseum. 706-542-1231.

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 23WOMEN’S BASKETBALL vs. Cincinnati. $5. 1 p.m. Stegeman Coliseum.

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 25CHRISTMASChristian religious observance.

CHRISTMAS HOLIDAYSNo classes; offices closed through Dec. 31.

SATURDAY, DECEMBER 26KWANZAA

MONDAY, DECEMBER 28WOMEN’S BASKETBALL vs. Tennessee Tech. $5. 7 p.m. Stege-man Coliseum.

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 29MEN’S BASKETBALL vs. Robert Morris. $15. 6 p.m. Stege-man Coliseum. 706-542-1231.

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 31NEW YEAR’S EVE CONCERTThe Atlanta Symphony Orchestra will perform. $45-$55. 7 p.m. Hugh Hodgson Concert Hall, Performing Arts Center. 706-542-4400. (See story, above).

FRIDAY, JANUARY 1NEW YEAR’S DAYNo classes. Offices closed.

SUNDAY, JANUARY 3SWIMMING AND DIVINGGeorgia Diving Invitational. Through Jan. 5. Ramsey Student Center.

MONDAY, JANUARY 4SPRING SEMESTER ORIENTATION AND ADVISEMENTThrough Jan. 6.

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 6MEN’S BASKETBALL vs. Missouri. $15. 6:30 p.m. Stegeman Coliseum. 706-542-1231.

THURSDAY, JANUARY 7WOMEN’S BASKETBALL vs. Missouri. $5. 7 p.m. Stegeman Coliseum.

SUNDAY, JANUARY 10EXHIBITION OPENINGState Botanical Garden Art Com-petition Winners. Through Feb. 14. Visitor Center, State Botanical Garden. 706-542-6014, [email protected]

CLASSDan Harris, beekeeper for Booger Hill Farm, will help students learn tech-niques for spring and winter feeding and treatments for parasites, diseases and disorders. $35. 2 p.m. Visitor Center’s Classroom 2, State Botanical Garden. 706-542-6156, [email protected]

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL vs. Kentucky. $5. 2 p.m. Stegeman Coliseum.

MONDAY, JANUARY 11SPRING SEMESTER CLASSES BEGIN

DROP/ADD FOR SPRING SEMESTERFor undergraduate- and graduate-level courses. Through Jan. 15.

PERFORMANCE“Tchaikovsky Spectacular” with the State Ballet Theatre of Russia. $55-$65. 8 p.m. Fine Arts Theatre, Fine Arts build-ing. 706-542-4400.

COMING UPMARTIN LUTHER KING JR. HOLIDAYJan. 18. No classes; offices closed.

Dec. 7, 2015 columns.uga.edu8 ADMISSION from page 1

MARSHALL from page 1

BREAKFAST from page 1

PARK from page 1

Library course reservesThe UGA Libraries is accepting

spring semester course reserve lists until Dec. 11. Information on using course reserves including the full course reserve letter, guidelines, submission forms, processing priorities, deadlines and other important dates is at http://t.uga.edu/16h . For more information, contact Ben Law-rence at 706-542-2081 or [email protected] or Brenda Robbins at [email protected] or 706-542-4535.

Holiday open houseThe University Health Center will

host its inaugural open house Dec. 17 from 1:30-3:30 p.m. Open to UGA fac-ulty and staff members and their fami-lies, the event will include a free photo booth with Santa, treats, holiday arts and crafts as well as deals from UHC.

For more information, contact Kristine Groft at [email protected] .

eLearning Commons upgradeThe eLearning Commons will be

unavailable beginning Dec. 21 at 5 p.m. through Dec. 31 at 5 p.m. for an upgrade to improve existing tools of eLC and will not include major design changes.

The complete list of changes is at http://www.ctl.uga.edu/elc/2015-upgrade . The deadline to turn in grades is Dec. 21 at 5 p.m.

For more information about eLC or this upgrade, contact Sherry Clouser at [email protected] or 706-542-0525. For technical questions, contact the EITS Help Desk at 706-542-3106 or [email protected].

Tobacco cessation classesRegistration is open until Jan. 14

for the College of Pharmacy’s “Beat the Pack” tobacco cessation program.

Meetings will be held on Tuesdays Jan. 19 through Feb. 23 from 5:45- 6:45 p.m. at the UGA Training and Development Center building, 315 S. Thomas St. Parking at the center is free after 5 p.m. The program is free, but space is limited to 10 participants. The registration form and fliers can be downloaded as PDFs at http://t.uga.edu/1Du Register by faxing a completed registra-tion form to 706-542-6022; emailing the completed registration form to [email protected]; or calling 706-542-3893.

Kellogg Award nominations

Applications are currently being accepted for the 2016 Outreach Scholarship-W.K. Kellogg Foundation Engagement Award. Sponsored by the Association of Public and Land-Grant Universities and the Engaged Scholar-ship Consortium, with support from the

W.K. Kellogg Foundation, the award program seeks to identify colleges and universities that have redesigned their learning, discovery and engagement functions to become even more involved with their communities.

A committee administered by the Office of the Vice President for Public Service and Outreach will recommend one applicant to be UGA’s nominee for the Southern region.

To apply, send an electronic, 500-word abstract to Paul J. Brooks, associate vice president, by Jan. 15 that summarizes the outreach and engage-ment partnership; the issue and its significance for the relationship between the university and community, includ-ing the reciprocity of the relationship; the partnership’s impact on the com-munity partner(s), and on the university partners; the lessons learned and the best practices from the partnership; and future plans for the partnership.

The applicant selected to be the UGA’s nominee will be asked to com-plete the full nomination packet by early March to meet APLU’s early April entry deadline. Submit all nominations and questions to Brooks at 706-542-6167 or [email protected] by Jan. 29.

Bulletin Board is limited to information that may pertain to a majority of faculty and staff members.

Bulletin Board

have two application options at UGA: Early action applicants are considered for admission based solely on their grades, the rigor of their high school curriculum and the results of their SAT or ACT scores.

The early action application deadline was Oct. 15, and on Nov. 20 students learned whether they have been admitted, denied or deferred to the regular decision pool.

Regular decision applicants are reviewed at a later date, which gives students more time to work on their application and enables them to submit test scores after the early action deadline and to include grades from the first semester of their senior year. The regular decision deadline is Jan. 15, and decisions typically are released in mid-March.

“Students who have been deferred still have a shot at being part of the Class of 2020, and I encourage them to complete the second part of their UGA application to be reconsidered along with the regular decision applicants,” Winter said.

Tobin and the rest of the Class of 2020 will have unrivaled learning opportunities thanks to a new experiential learning requirement that will ensure that students complement their

classroom knowledge with internships, study abroad, service-learning, research or other forms of hands-on learning. Such experiences have been shown to enhance learning and to position students for success after graduation, and UGA is the largest public university in the nation to ensure that each of its incoming students engage in experiential learning.

“The Class of 2020 will be the university’s first to benefit from our bold and ambitious experiential learning initiative, and I look forward to welcoming them to campus,” said UGA President Jere W. Morehead.

of conflict. In that philosophy, the strategy for peace is one of reactive conflict resolution. Park has challenged this notion.

“Peace is harmony,” Park said. Rather than resolving conflict, peacemak-

ers foster harmony through diversity, not by building superior military strength.

“America’s true strength is its ability to accommodate different perspectives,” Park said. “Because of those perspectives, America is uniquely positioned as a peacemaker.”

Of course, those are strengths of Park’s as well. His origins in China and Korea coupled with his Western education have allowed him to become a trusted mediator between the U.S. and North Korea. Park played a role in de-escalating several conflicts between North Korea and the U.S. and its ally South Korea.

In 2009 when two U.S. journalists, Laura Ling and Eunna Lee, were detained in North Korea and sentenced to 12 years of hard labor, Park worked behind the scenes. His efforts resulted in former-President Bill Clinton’s visit to Pyongyang and the ensuing release of the journalists.

Park also has been pushing both the U.S. and North Korea to better understand each other.

After his retirement, Park plans to continue work with Uniting Families, an organization he founded with the late Dean Rusk to reunite family members separated by geopolitical forces. He also is working to establish the Consortium for Peace and Sustainability

with other universities such as Georgia State and Emory.

When asked what he will miss most when he retires, Park doesn’t hesitate.

“Students,” he said. “It’s unreal to think about not standing in front of a class of students.”

Park said he has enjoyed the privilege of influencing students “directly or indirectly about diverse views of peace.”

In his final semester, he has taught an upper-level, undergraduate course on peace studies. He plans to continue to teach this course in some capacity either at UGA or in classrooms around the world.

As the semester draws to a close, Park has looked back on his time at UGA to assess his impact. Certainly, there is no shortage of praise from colleagues and administrators.

“Dr. Park’s long and distinguished career at the University of Georgia has reflected his deep commitment to peace and the promo-tion of a global community,” said SPIA Dean Stephanie Lindquist. “At SPIA, we are grateful for his service and dedication to our students and our scholarly enterprise.”

However, Park is more modest about his impact. Looking at his efforts to help students better understand the world around them and help globalize Georgia and the South, Park said, “I like to think I helped a little.”

Perhaps it’s that downplaying of his ac-complishments that is driving Park to work for peace even in retirement.

studies (political science, economics and so-ciology) and was named a Harry S. Truman Scholar. She received a master’s from the Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs at the University of Texas at Austin and a Juris Doctor from Yale Law School.

She returned to Atlanta as a tax attorney at the Sutherland law firm, with a focus on tax-exempt organizations, health care and public finance. At age 29, she was appointed deputy city attorney for Atlanta, where she led the legal and policy analysis for several major economic development, transportation and transit projects and managed a multimil-lion dollar budget and a team of more than 20 attorneys and paralegals.

She has founded a number of businesses, including an infrastructure consulting firm, a

technology company and a beverage company for infants and toddlers. Most recently, she co-founded and serves as senior vice president at NOW Corp., a financial services firm that specializes in providing access to capital for small businesses.

First elected to the Georgia House of Rep-resentatives in 2006, Abrams became House minority leader in 2010.

In 2012, Abrams received the John F. Ken-nedy New Frontier Award, which honors an elected official younger than 40 whose work demonstrates the impact of elective public service as a way to address public challenges.

Tickets for the breakfast are $20 and $160 for tables of eight. Order tickets online at https://ugeorgia.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/ SV_cxaQA1F97Mi5FLD.

MacKenzie Tobin

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Research Opportunities Symposium. After completing her master’s at Oxford, her goal is to pursue a doctorate in economics and begin a career as an academic economist.

“The University of Georgia is very proud of Meredith for this accomplishment,” said President Jere W. Morehead. “Her selection as a Marshall Scholar is a testament to the quality of UGA students and the benefits of undergraduate research. I am confident that Meredith will excel in her studies at Oxford University and that she will make a significant impact on the field of economics throughout her career.”

The Marshall Scholarship, established by an Act of Parliament in 1953, is one of the highest academic honors bestowed on American post-baccalaureate students. More than 900 students from across the U.S. apply annually. The program, which was created in gratitude for U.S. assistance to the United Kingdom during World War II under the Marshall Plan, provides funding for up to three years of graduate study at any United Kingdom university in any field.

“I am so pleased for Meredith, and I am appreciative of the excellent faculty mentor-ing she has received,” said David S. Williams,

associate provost and director of UGA’s Honors Program. “I think it is important to note that Meredith is not only a gifted thinker and re-searcher, but it is clear that she is also deeply passionate about using her intellect for the betterment of society.”

In addition to being a recipient of the Foundation Fellowship, UGA’s premier under-graduate scholarship, Paker is an inductee to the Phi Beta Kappa and Phi Kappa Phi honor societies. She has studied abroad at Oxford and in Tanzania, where she summited Mount Kilimanjaro in 2014.

“I am so excited to explore a new area of my field for the next two years,” Paker said. “With the Marshall Scholarship, I will become the best economist I can be. I can’t thank the Honors Program and my research mentors enough for their support.”

Paker has served as an Honors teaching assistant for first-year Honors students and is vice president of the UGA Economics Society. She leads a Girl Scout troop through Campus Scouts and hosts a weekly radio show on UGA’s student-run radio station, WUOG 90.5FM.

“Earning this prestigious honor is the byproduct of Meredith’s hard work in two dif-ferent, but critical, arenas,” said Jessica Hunt, major scholarships coordinator in the UGA Honors Program. “Meredith has been com-mitted to academic excellence, undergraduate research and civic engagement throughout her four years at UGA, and she has also spent several months successfully navigating the arduous application and interview process. The Marshall award is a testament to her talent, her dedication to the field of economics and her desire to positively impact local, national and international communities.”

uga columns dec. 7, 2015

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