Category: Franklin College

Finding our what's going on with English department faculty like Ron Miller and Esra Santesso, along with news from students and staff, in the new issue of the Park Hall Monitor.

The UGA-Griffin campus hosts its annual Preview Day on Feb. 12 from 5-7 p.m., where prospective students can learn more about the degree programs available there:

UGA-Griffin offers undergraduate degree completion programs in general business, consumer economics, microbiology, special education and agriculture to students who have completed at least two years of undergraduate coursework. In addition, the campus offers graduate degree programs in math education, agricultural leadership and workforce education. Two new undergraduate degree programs-interdisciplinary studies with psychology concentration and interdisciplinary studies with sociology concentration-have been added for fall semester through the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences, as well as a new student affairs leadership graduate degree program through the College of Education.

Located about 40 miles south of Atlanta, the Griffin campus is closely ties with the history, and future, of UGA as a land-grant institution. Learn more about its history here.

The internationalization of the UGA campus and student body continues apace:

The University of Georgia is 25th among research universities for the production of Fulbright Student Scholars in the 2012-2013 academic year, according to the latest ranking from the government's flagship international exchange program.

Sixteen University of Georgia students were offered international travel-study grants from the Fulbright U.S. Student Program for the 2012-2013 academic year. Thirteen of these accepted the scholarships. The student Fulbright competition is administered at UGA through Maria de Rocher, coordinator of Honors programming.

Twelve of these thirteen who accepted scholarships are in the Franklin College. And granted, the student Fulbright scholars are not only internationally-focused but very ambitious, hard-working and like our recent Rhodes Scholar Elizabeth Allan, making the opportunities on campus work for them to build a unique set of credentials. It's the extraordinary path to the career they want and these students distinguish the university and the Franklin College even as they are making it work for them. Congratulations and thank you.

And speaking of study abroad, our many programs on campus have been noticed by the Institute of International Education, which moved UGA up three notches to 12th in its 2012 Open Doors list:

During the 2010-2011 academic year, 2,079 students learned in environments beyond the U.S. border. This number represents 25 percent of the graduating class.

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UGA also ranked fifth in the nation in the number of students who participate in summer and other short-term programs (1,621), while at the same time, 521 UGA students chose to spend a full semester or academic year abroad in 2011. An additional 150-200 students from other universities enroll through UGA study-abroad programs each year.

And notably, 

Each of UGA’s 17 colleges and schools sends students abroad. The majority of them travel while pursuing degrees from the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences, but the Terry College of Business, the School of Public and International Affairs and the Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication also send more than 200 students abroad annually. Professional students from the College of  Veterinary Medicine and the School of Law have increased participation lately, and professional and graduate students account for more than 10 percent of all UGA study-abroad participants.

Emphasis mine.

And with that, the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences wishes you a very happy Thanksgiving. see you next week.

Public domain image by Frances Brundage used as a postcard in 1913.

Junior Eva Berlin is currently the featured Amazing Student on the UGA homepage. A double major in art history and romance languages, read why Berlin is another amazing Franklin College student.

And the current Focus on the Faculty profile features our own Jean Martin-Williams. Director of the horn studio in the Hugh Hodgson School of Music and director of the Lilly Teaching Fellows program, you can read how and why Dr. Martin-Williams is such an integral part of the Franklin College and UGA.

There's a really good rule of thumb in the Franklin College - one of many, to be sure - that says our graduates are who we are. At the Inaugural Alumni Awards dinner at the Classic Center last night (Oct. 18), the Franklin College honored six of our alumni, whose success speaks to the breadth of our mission as a college of arts and sciences:

“These outstanding graduates have distinguished themselves in their careers and highlight the many contributions that Franklin College alumni make to improving health, enriching quality of life and even answering fundamental questions, such as whether we’re alone in the universe,” said Franklin College Dean Alan T. Dorsey.

The winners of the 2012 Franklin College Outstanding Alumni Award are:

Jennifer Holloway of Athens, a mezzo-soprano vocalist, earned her bachelor’s degree in music from UGA in 2000 and a specialist degree in vocal performance from the Manhattan School of Music. She has performed significant leading roles in major opera houses in North America, South America and Europe, including the Metropolitan Opera in New York and the Maggio Musicale in Florence, Italy.  Her voice has been described by The Classical Review as “liquid, lambent and lit from within.”

Roger Hunter of San Jose, Calif., is a project manager for NASA’s Kepler Project. Hunter, who earned his bachelor’s degree in mathematics in 1978, is leading NASA’s mission to determine the frequency of planets that have the potential to harbor life. The mission began in 2009 and already has led to the identification of hundreds of Earth-size planet candidates.

James N. Ihle of Memphis, Tenn., is the Edward F. Barry Endowed Chair in Biochemistry at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. Ihle, who earned his doctorate from the department of biochemistry and molecular biology in 1971, is a highly cited researcher who has published more than 350 scientific articles, including a landmark paper in Nature that revealed a key step in the process the body uses to rid itself of faulty or unneeded cells.

Melissa Kirkpatrick of Hidden Hills, Calif., is a noted fabric designer. Kirkpatrick, who received her bachelor’s degree in printmaking in 1989, launched her MK Collection line of fabrics, rugs and wall coverings in 2011. Her work has been featured in publications such as Elle Decoration, Interior Design and House Beautiful. The magazine Garden and Gun noted that she “subjects each design to an uncommon level of thought and scrutiny.”

Judith Mank of London, England, is a professor who holds the chair of evolutionary and comparative biology at University College London. Mank, who earned her doctorate in genetics in 2006, is working to understand how evolutionary pressures differ between females and males and how this ultimately results in the differing observable characteristics that so many animals exhibit based on sex.

Christopher Todd Wells of Playa Del Rey, Calif., is a filmographer known for his visual effects work. Wells, who earned his bachelor’s degree in theatre and film studies in 2010, has created visual effects for more than 50 major movies, in many cases serving as visual effects supervisor. Among his credits are “The Amazing Spider-Man,” “Toy Story 3,” “Avatar,” “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button,” “300” and “X-Men: The Last Stand.”

The department of communication studies, the Franklin College and the University of Georgia Office of Institutional Diversity host a visit and lecture by Mark P. Orbe professor of communication & diversity at  Western Michigan University. The talk, "'Post-Racial' Politics: Public Perception of Barack Obama," will be held Tuesday, Oct. 9 at 12:30 pm in room 142 of the Tate Student Center.

Author of the book Communication Realities in a 'Post-Racial' Society, Orbe is a leading scholar in interpersonal, co-cultural, and African-American communication, intergroup relations, the negotiation/intersection of multiple cultural identities and media representation of underrepresented populations. His talk will explore the intersectionalty of race, politics and communication.

The Fall 2012 Franklin Visiting Scholar talk is free and open to the public.

Former dean of the Franklin College Wiliam Jackson "Jack" Payne founded the Franklin College Chamber Music Series in 1978 as a way to acknowledge music lovers and patrons of the cultural life of both the university and and the community. The concert annual concert honoring former dean Payne continues this year with the Kopelman Quartet on Oct. 7:

Leading-edge research and delivery format brings together faculty from across campus:

Using a combination of 3-D models and animations, a group of researchers, educators and digital artists at the University of Georgia have published the iBook "Cell Signaling: An Introduction" to help students understand the dynamic molecular world of cells.

The cell signaling iBook is the first in a suite of complementary materials designed to help students learn about how the nervous system works. Released in August through Apple's iTunes textbook store and designed for the iPad, the interactive book includes picture galleries, a dozen 3-D rotatable models of molecules and proteins, more than 50 animations and 80 self-assessment items.

The production of the iBook was funded by the National Institute of Mental Health through a Small Business Innovative Research grant awarded to UGA startup company IS3D LLC, titled "Stimulating Young Neuroscientists And Physiologists in Science Education (SYNAPSE)."

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IS3D is a partnership of seven UGA faculty and staff members: Moore; Tom Robertson, associate professor of physiology and pharmacology; Dr. Scott Brown, professor of small animal medicine, and Dr. Cynthia Ward, professor of small animal medicine, in the College of Veterinary Medicine; instructional designer Flint Buchanan in the Office of Online Learning; Mike Hussey, associate professor of theatre and film studies, in the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences; and Casey O'Donnell, a telecommunications professor formerly in the Grady College of Journalism who recently moved to Michigan State University.

Bravo to our faculty for continuing to find innovative ways to work together, and to federal agencies for their creative funding arrangements in tough budgetary environments. Perhaps never (in peace time) have extramural resources been as scarce and continually shrinking as they are now. A society clamors for solutions to complex problems, research allocations, and especially those focused on building new teaching tools, are crucial investments in the future.