News from the Chronicles - January 2025

The Franklin College department of dance showcases the talents of some of UGA's most exceptionally curious and wildly creative students. The inaugural Domestic Field Study Fellows program, an opportunity for selected faculty to develop and launch a new course-based study away program within the United States, sent a troupe of 11 University of Georgia dance students to immerse themselves in the mecca of professional dance, New York City this past…

University of Georgia faculty member Chigozie Obioma was recently honored by New Africa Magazine in its list of the most influential Africans of 2024. Obioma, Helen S. Lanier Distinguished Professor of English and Creative Writing in the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences department of English, is a native of Akure, Nigeria. His two novels, The Fishermen (2015) and An Orchestra of Minorities (2019) were finalists for The…

I will host drop-in hours during spring 2025 every Friday from 11 a.m. - 1 p.m. in Park Hall 214. No appointment necessary--just pop in to discuss your job search, application materials, and everything else career-related. If this day/time doesn't work with your schedule, no worries!  You are always welcome to make an appointment to see me during a time that works better for your schedule: cmlwhite@uga.edu NOTE: There will be no drop-in…

The vanishing Southern accent in Georgia has been well-documented, most recently by linguists from the University of Georgia and Georgia Tech in 2023. In a new study, the same research team shifted their investigation from the White population to the accents of Black Georgians, with results that highlight the effects of migration and education on the accents of Black Generation Z speakers. The study, published by the American Dialect Society,…

North Atlantic right whales, hunted to extinction by the end of the 19th century, return to the Georgia Bight for calving. Marine scientists search the large ocean sector stretching from Cape Hatteras, North Carolina to Cape Canaveral, Florida to document the number of new calves, which remains below average. Franklin faculty at the Skidaway Institute of Oceanography are using a new technology to help track conservation and rebuilding of the…

Gregory Broughton, associate professor of voice for the Hugh Hodgson School of Music and conductor of the African American Choral Ensemble (AACE), never misses a moment to celebrate and lift up the people around him. Upon seeing the original founder of AACE (formerly Pamoja Singers) in the crowd of their November concert, he invited Pastor Nawanna Lewis Miller to join him on stage. Broughton was surprised to find that Miller was already equipped…

Look to the sky – and ask Bulldog nation for support – and one of Earth's quasi-moons gets a cool new name, thanks to UGA student Clay Chilcutt.  In May 2024, the science podcast Radiolab and the International Astronomical Union joined forces to launch a contest that invited listeners to help name one of Earth’s quasi-moons. Close to 3,000 people from more than 90 countries submitted entries.  UGA faculty member Hina Shaikh…

The diversity of opportunity in the Franklin College is exemplified in the record number of UGA Schwarzman Scholars for 2026. Three Honors students, four Franklin degree programs charts the route to international study with one of the most prestigious major scholarships: UGA set a record with three Schwarzman Scholars in a single year, and the Schwarzman Scholars program announced its 10th class of recipients. The UGA recipients are seniors…

This January, the Hugh Hodgson School of Music welcomes back one of its own. Caroline Leigh Halleck graduated Magna Cum Laude in 2017 with a Bachelor of Music in saxophone performance. Her time at UGA, including the Italy Music Study Abroad program, changed her direction toward where she is today. Halleck described her study abroad experience as “So much fun; a bit messy. But also, that’s Italy! I had the opportunity to balance the saxophone…

University of Georgia faculty member Paul Schroeder is among the 2025 Fellows of the Mineralogy Society of America. Schroeder, professor of geology in the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences, is an expert in Clay Mineralogy and a Registered Professional Geologist. Research by his group focuses on understanding clay minerals and the detailed crystal-chemical characterization of their structure, particularly as they are found associated in the…