Tags: Society

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Georgia Debate Union caps most successful year in its history

After winning the American Debate Association tournament earlier in March, Georgia Debate Union members Nathan Rice and Johnnie Stupek recently finished second at the 2019 National Debate Tournament (NDT), held at the University of Minnesota.   Rice and Stupek are the second team in the history of the Georgia Debate Union to make it to the final round of the National Debate Tournament and the first since 1997. In their run to the…

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Simons receives SEC Faculty Achievement Award

Distinguished Research Professor Ronald L. Simons has been named the University of Georgia’s recipient of the 2019 Southeastern Conference Faculty Achievement Award: The SEC award recognizes professors with outstanding records in teaching and scholarship and is administered by provosts at each of the 14 universities in the conference. Simons, who is a faculty member in the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences’ department of …

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Noted and Quoted, March 2019

Faculty, alumni and 'statistical significance' lead our media mentions for the month of March: Goldman’s “flexible” dress code takes a cue from Silicon Valley – associate professor of history Stephen Mihm at – Yahoo! Finance   UGA experts discuss future of CRISPR gene research after international controversy – R&B quotes Michael Terns, distinguished research professor in the department of biochemistry and…

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'Statistical significance' reaches its limits

Scientists are re-assessing one of their own most fundamental measurements: the use of statistical significance in research findings (as well as funding). An editorial co-authored by UGA statistics professor Nicole Lazar and published this week in a special issue of The American Statistician urges scientists to stop using the term: The issue, Statistical Inference in the 21st Century: A World Beyond P<0.05, calls for an…

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Franklin faculty members receive 2019 Russell Awards

Three faculty members in the Franklin College, all former Lilly Teaching Fellows, have been named recipients of the Richard B. Russell Awards for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching, the university’s highest early career teaching honor: Vera Lee-Schoenfeld, associate professor of linguistics: Lee-Schoenfeld uses an inductive approach to her introductory and advanced syntax courses that guides students to collaboratively explore and analyze…

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New book examines racial politics of the movie industry

Maryann Erigha, assistant professor of sociology, is author of the new book, The Hollywood Jim Crow: The Racial Politics of the Movie Industry, published recently by NYU Press. her research and teaching interests include race and ethnicity, film and media, digital sociology, and African American society. A lifelong fan of cinema whose favorites range from the Bourne franchise to Jordan Peele's Get Out, Erigha talked with us about the new…

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Advancing a new approach to packaging

Rethinking the recycling challenge is the focus of a new grant to UGA researchers from the Walmart Foundation: An $800,000 grant from the Walmart Foundation to the University of Georgia New Materials Institute will help researchers understand how multilayer plastic packaging biodegrades and also help manufacturers in their attempts to design and select more sustainable materials. The research funded by the grant will seek to yield…

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Georgia Debate Union wins national championship

The Georgia Debate Union won the American Debate Association national championship tournament this past weekend in Athens. Nearly 100 teams from around the country attended the American Debate Association's end of the year championship tournament, hosted at the University of Georgia.   Seniors Advait Ramanan and Swapnil Agrawal won the American Debate Association's varsity division national championship and finished the tournament…

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Franklin Residential College: the UGA life

Service learning, academic focus, social engagement - the Franklin Residential College offers UGA students the enrichment of living in a unique community of scholars in the heart of campus. A new video invites incoming freshman to learn more and become a part of this extraordinary, student-governed residence college.

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Lady Bulldogs excel across multiple sports

It's Spring Break for most students but women athletes on campus, with many Franklin majors among them, are leading their NCAA teams and distinguishing the university at the highest levels: Georgia senior shortstop [and mathematics major] Alyssa DiCarlo broke the Georgia women's softball all-time home runs record (58) in Sunday's 6-0 win over Western Illinois. The Georgia GymDogs secured a first-place finish at Elevate…

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Better trees for a growing state

Leading-edge plant science research brings greater insight into how trees react to stress and how that can affect Georgia's economy: In addition to contributing to a wide range of construction trades, this also includes paper and bioenergy industries and supports ecological benefits that range from environment stabilization to wildlife habitats. Because this region extends through Georgia and has a significant impact on the state’s economy…

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Franklin alumna named UGA’s first Knight-Hennessy Scholar

Mallory Harris has been named UGA’s first Knight-Hennessy Scholar. The international graduate-level program provides full funding for students as they pursue studies at Stanford University: Established in 2016, the Knight-Hennessy Scholars program funds graduate studies ranging from medicine to law to doctoral programs as well as joint- and dual-degrees. The 2019 cohort—the second cohort of scholars—includes 68 students. They were chosen from 4,…

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UGA celebrates Women’s History Month

The Institute for Women's Studies leads the university's celebrations of 2019 national Women’s History Month and its theme, “Visionary Women: Champions of Peace and Nonviolence”: This year’s Women’s History Month keynote address will be presented by Layli Maparyan, executive director of the Wellesley Centers for Women and Professor of Africana Studies at Wellesley College. Maparyan is best known for her scholarship in the area of…

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Noted and Quoted, February 2019

An extraordinary diversity of subject matter expertise shared in the media during February by Franklin faculty, on hot topics of the day and perennial issues from human affairs to climatic challenges. Here's a sample of the great work by public-spirited scholars, outside the classroom: Freda Scott Giles,associate professor emerita of theatre and film studies and African-American studies, presents lecture…

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Kudos, February 2019

Fantastic news from grants and awards to scholarships and fellowships highlight faculty and student accomplishments during February. A sample: Georgia Coastal Ecosystems, a research program based at the University of Georgia Marine Institute, was renewed for another six years by the National Science Foundation with $6.7 million in funding. According to Marine Institute director and professor of marine sciences…

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World Anthropology Day

Come explore one of the most fascinating disciplines on campus as we celebrate World Anthropology Day today, from 2 to 4 p.m. at Baldwin Hall: Anthropology Day is a day for anthropologists to celebrate their discipline while sharing it with the world. The Department of Anthropology at UGA has organized activities and displays to showcase how this field helps in understanding humanity's past, present and future. All members of the public and…

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Boward named a 2019 Emerging Leader by Georgia Bio

Benjamin Boward, a Ph.D. student in biochemistry and molecular biology in the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences, was among the UGA people and programs recognized by Georgia Bio, the association for Georgia’s life sciences industry, at its 2019 annual awards dinner Feb. 8 in Atlanta: Boward accepted an Emerging Leader of the Year Award, presented to young individuals who have made a significant impact on the life sciences…

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4th annual UGA hackathon

More than 300 students from around the state descended on the Lamar Dodd School of Art this weekend for UGAHacks4, a computer programming event where teams worked on an array of projects: The student-organized 36-hour hackathon was an opportunity for students ranging from novice coder to experienced programmer to work together on “challenges” and earn prizes. They hacked together projects that tackled everything from tech to…

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Vaught Scholarship supports science policy experiences at UGA

Research scientists Irene Glowinski and Jim Vaught have established the Christopher Henry Vaught Scholarship in Science Policy at the University of Georgia. The scholarship, named in memory of Glowinski and Vaught’s son Christopher who lived for only 13 days in 1988, will encourage UGA undergraduates to spend a semester in Washington, D.C. and learn about the myriad aspects of science policy beyond what they might be exposed to on the Athens…

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2019 State of the University

President Morehead invites the University of Georgia community to attend and/or watch and listen to the 2019 State of the University address today at 3:30 p.m.

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Kudos, January 2019

Franklin faculty and students continue to distinguish the University of Georgia through their scholarship, awards and honors. A sample from the past month: Professor of microbiology Xiaorong Lin been elected to Fellowship in the American Academy of Microbiology.  The Academy, the honorific leadership group within the American Society for Microbiology, recognizes excellence, originality, and leadership in the microbiological…

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Noted and quoted, January 2019

Franklin College faculty appeared in a wide variety of media over the month of January: New method to classify schizophrenia symptoms should improve care - assistant professor of psychology Gregory Strauss quoted by Psych Central   Scientists could engineer a spicy tomato. Is it worth it? Research by professor of plant biology Esther van der Knaap reported in Popular Science, Tahlequah Daily Press…

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Ghartey-Tagoe Kootin selected as 2019 TED Fellow

 Amma Y. Ghartey-Tagoe Kootin, assistant professor in the department of theatre and film studies, has been selected as a TED Fellow, joining a class of 20 change-makers from around the world to deliver a talk on the TED stage this April in Vancouver: Dr. Amma was selected for her original and hyper-collaborative approach to creating artistic works based on archival research for the stage and screen, including her new musical in…

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Agrawal and Ramanan win Dartmouth Round Robin debate

One of the finest accomplishments a UGA debate team has ever achieved, the team of Swapnil Agrawal and Advait Ramanan won the 2019 Herbert L. James Debates at Dartmouth College, known as the Dartmouth Round Robin debate competition, this past weekend in Hanover, NH. The win bodes well for the Georgia Debate Union's chances of winning a national championship later this spring. The competition included the top 7 debate teams in…

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Laboratory of Archeology: Preserving Georgia's unique past

The University of Georgia Laboratory of Archeology, established in the late 1940's, marked another important milestone in its distinguished history on January 18 at the celebration of its new location in Athens. Organized within the department of anthropology, the Laboratory provides opportunities for students of varied backgrounds to engage in archaeology and history, serving the intellectual growth of our undergraduate and graduate…
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