Tags: Human Nature

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Thomas to become Dean of Arts and Sciences at UAB

In her 27-year UGA career, Thomas has distinguished herself as an outstanding classroom teacher, graduate student mentor, and researcher. Her work on the psychology of workplace diversity has gained national attention, and she is an elected fellow of the American Psychological Association, the Society for Industrial-Organizational Psychology, and the Society for the Psychological Study of Culture, Ethnicity and Race. Thomas has also held several…

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Shepherd named Regents’ Professor

University of Georgia faculty member J. Marshall Shepherd has earned the distinction of Regents’ Professor, the University System of Georgia’s highest professorial honor. UGA announced the honors to two faculty members: Elena Karahanna, Distinguished Research Professor in the Terry College of Business, and Shepherd, the Georgia Athletic Association Distinguished Professor of Geography and Atmospheric Sciences in the Franklin College of Arts and…

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Mellon Foundation adds $1 million to public humanities partnership

The Willson Center for Humanities and Arts has received a $1 million grant from the Mellon Foundation for a second phase of its public humanities partnership with the historic Penn Center on St. Helena Island, South Carolina. The grant-funded project, Culture and Community at the Penn Center National Historic Landmark District, launched in 2021 with an initial $1 million award from Mellon to build and implement programs…

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New study examines relationship between market integration, reductions in violence

A new study from the University of Georgia sociologists suggests countries with a stronger market orientation may experience lower rates of homicide. Market orientation and market integration refer to how freely a nation’s economy functions within a framework of legal rights and freedoms such as enforcing contracts, protecting property and ensuring equal opportunity: Countries that allow buying, selling, working and investing with fewer…

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French major finds her voice - from campus to Cannes

Emily Adamo, a French major in the department of Romance Languages, wrote about her personal language journey – from her first course to her participation in the UGA en France 5-week summer program directed by Senior lecturer Debbie Bell and then the AIFS Semester in Cannes. Already achieving B2 level proficiency, Emily's story provides a wonderful example that tout est possible! As February approaches, I find myself nearing the one-year mark…

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Charting a path to greater support through relationship science

Justin Lavner studies how evidence-based interventions can strengthen families and couples and improve everyday well-being. Over the course of his work, Lavner has become a leading voice in relationship science: “I’ve always been interested in understanding why people are the way they are,” said Lavner, a professor and the director of clinical training in the University of Georgia’s Franklin College of Arts and Sciences’ Department of Psychology…

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UGA marks seventh consecutive year of R&D growth

The upward trajectory of research and development expenditures at the University of Georgia continues with a record-high figure for FY25.  The $654 million in related expenditures during fiscal year 2025, representing a 4.1% increase over the previous year, set a new set a research and development record for the university. Since 2015, UGA’s R&D activity has grown by 75%: The growth of the university’s research enterprise has been…

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Walker receives microbiology teaching award

Jennifer Walker received the Margaret Green Microbiology Teaching Award from the Southeastern Branch of the American Society for Microbiology.  The Margaret Green Microbiology Teaching Award was established in 1986, presented annually to an individual who has rendered outstanding service in the teaching of microbiology, particularly at the undergraduate level, while at a Southeastern Branch institution. Walker was presented with the…

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Four Franklin faculty members named 2026 Advanced Leader Fellows

The University of Georgia has selected 10 faculty - four from the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences – to join the 2026 class of its Advanced Leader Program, an initiative designed to cultivate the next generation of higher education leaders. The program provides a select group of faculty and administrators an opportunity to build upon their existing strengths as they learn from senior administrators, experts in leadership development and…

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Happy New Year!

Happy 2026 from the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences. Best wishes as we look forward to an outstanding new year in teaching, research, and service. From the classroom to our laboratories and performance halls, let's bring our highest ambitions, be mindful of community, and find new ways to strengthen our connections to friends, family, neighbors, and colleagues.  

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Happy Holidays!

Happy Holidays from the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences!   Image: The Iron Horse sculpture, illuminated red with LED lights. (Chamberlain Smith/UGA)

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More home-grown Georgia students enrolling at UGA

An increasing number of high-achieving in-state students are choosing to apply and enroll at the University of Georgia. The trend echoes with a national current of students increasingly looking to Southern universities including UGA that pair strong academics with a vibrant student experience: Applicants this year represented 49 states and Washington, D.C., as well as 129 Georgia counties, up from 115 last year. Admission offers went to students…

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Book by Franklin's You wins American Folklore Society Honor

Ziying You, Associate Professor in the department of Comparative Literature and Intercultural Studies and the Center for Asian Studies, is the author of "Impacts of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Chinese and Chinese American Women," published by the University of Indiana Press earlier in 2025.   The book examines how Chinese and Chinese American women in the United States experienced and responded to the double threat of the COVID-19 virus and…

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Connected Futures: Community, Risk & Networks

Franklin College Research Mixer  November 20, 2025 | Hendershots Coffee   The Franklin College of Arts and Sciences hosted a successful research mixer on November 20 at Hendershots Coffee, our new community partner for these networking events. Thirty-five faculty members gathered to explore collaborative opportunities under the theme "Connected Futures: Community, Risk & Networks," with six presentations showcasing…

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14th annual Spotlight on the Arts festival brings sights, sounds of UGA creative spirit

Exceptional arts programming, research, and scholarship across Franklin and UGA were on display throughout November during the 14th annual Spotlight on the Arts festival. Congratulations to the many students and faculty in arts units who worked so hard to capture and hold the attention of the campus community. The monthlong festival featured more than 40 events and exhibitions in the literary, performing, and visual arts, including the fifth…

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Local students Experience UGA through theatre program

Ten years after she was a Chase Street Elementary School third grader, Maya Shrivastav found herself on stage as a UGA student performing for an audience of third-graders. "It was a full-circle moment. It’s really great to see how everything I’ve done since third grade has led me here,” said Shrivastav, now a first-year UGA student majoring in international affairs, political science and ceramics. Both Shrivastav and the students at her former…

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New musical frontiers with Emily Koh

Composer Emily Koh, associate professor in the Hugh Hodgson School of Music, typically creates new emotional textures and moods in 24-pitch increments. Her work with two pianos dictated this constraint, an approach she stuck with for a long time. When she decided to explore music beyond 24 pitches, however, she knew she needed a new solution. Working with partners in the College of Engineering, Koh created ModμMIDI, a modular MIDI device with…

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Perspective illuminates ethics across disciplines

Rather than a specialized approach to a set of philosophical questions or political issues, ethics presents a way of evaluating choices in an open society. The tools to navigate choices may involve a variety of expertise and disciplinary specialties, but these are also connected simply by the physical world where they are put into practice. Piers Stephens, professor in the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences department of philosophy, explains…

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Franklin genetics major named UGA's 10th Marshall Scholar

Finn Walsh will build on her studies in infectious disease post graduation as UGA’s newest Marshall Scholar. The senior from Atlanta will graduate in May with a bachelor’s degree in genetics and a minor in Spanish through the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences. She has conducted undergraduate research through the Center for Undergraduate Research Opportunities, with the majority of her work in the Odum School of Ecology. Up to 50 students are…

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Oyster shore strengthens Sapelo Island

Nik Heynen, Distinguished Research Professor of geography in the University of Georgia’s Franklin College of Arts and Sciences, and friends hit upon an ingenious idea to tackle waste in an Athens industry and arrest the effects of sea level rise on a Georgia barrier island. Tyler Leslie and Hunt Revell had worked at the popular downtown Athens seafood restaurant, Seabear. Working at an oyster bar, Leslie and Revell were aware of the high volume…

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From UGA to AI Innovation: Azalea Robotics' Journey

In spring 2025,  Nikita Jha, a fourth-year computer science and economics major at the University of Georgia, was interviewed along with the co-founders of Azalea Robotics and UGA alumni, David Millard (BS Mathematics and Computer Science, `14) and John B. Stroud (BS Mathematics and Economics, `16). Stroud and Millard shared their journey from being students at Franklin to founding a Y Combinator-backed startup in Berkeley, Ca., where Jha…

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Communicating research through art and creativity

As the timer counted down 4 minutes and 33 seconds, presenters took the stage to share their integrative arts investigations. The presentations that unfolded went beyond standard explanations of an abstract and utilized creativity to captivate the audience.  The 2025 4’33” Competition featured a variety of presentations from poetry readings to immersive visuals. First place winner Younghyun Kim, Ph.D. student in Learning, Leadership, and…

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Top rankings affirm UGA as a leader for international education

With more than 50 study abroad programs across five continents and 57 countries, the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences is no stranger to the power of the international student experience. With the University of Georgia ranked No. 1 in the nation for short-term study abroad participation and No. 5 overall, the reach of that power for all UGA students is assured – and growing: A total of 3,322 UGA degree-seeking students studied abroad for…

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Alumni emphasize flourishing theatre program

Five accomplished alumni from the University of Georgia’s Department of Theatre and Film returned to campus this fall to share insights from careers spanning film, television, arts administration, production technology, and fundraising.  Moderated by theatre major Abby McWethy (BA, ‘27), the panel showcased the department’s growing influence across creative industries and affirmed the enduring value of a UGA education. The event was a…

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The collaborative power of poetry and photography in Andrew Zawacki’s Endscape

UGA professor explores a distressed landscape in new interdisciplinary collection This November Andrew Zawacki, Distinguished Research Professor in the department of English, published Endscape, a collection of his poetry and photography. The work appears in the inaugural edition of the P5 Photo Poetry Pamphlet series, directed by Photoworks.    Endscape began around 2019, born out of an interest in the landscape surrounding…
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