Tags: Society

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UGA alumna Mackenzie Britt returns to UGA for 2025 Industrial Mathematics Day

On February 8, Mackenzie Britt, (BS Mathematics `20, MS Business Analytics `21), spoke to mathematics students at the UGA Department of Mathematics’ Industrial Mathematics Day.  Britt, currently a senior business analyst at Capgemini in Austin, Texas, specializes in business-to-business commerce. Prior to Capgemini, she worked at Ad Victoriam Solutions and was a part of the Elevate Program. At Ad Victoriam Solutions, she was promoted three…

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Four Franklin faculty named NAI Senior Members

Leading a record number of inductees for the institution, four Franklin College faculty are among eight University of Georgia researchers selected by the National Academy of Inventors  as 2025 NAI Senior Members, surpassing the record number of five inductees set last year. UGA now has 24 Senior Members overall: NAI Senior Members are distinguished faculty, scientists and administrators who have demonstrated success in patents, licensing…

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Franklin advisors recognized with UGA excellence awards

Academic advisors help guide students at every point on their academic journey. The sustained depth and professionalism of the Franklin College Office of Student Academic Services has resulted in a near sweep of the 2024-2025 University of Georgia Outstanding Undergraduate Academic Advising Awards.  Alexandria Brock, Tashia Caughran, and Greg Kline of the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences Office of Student Academic Services received…

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The Jill and Marvin Willis Center for Writing: Where Creativity, Community and Culture Meet

In the fall of 2024, the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences Office of Development hosted a naming ceremony for the Jill and Marvin Willis Center for Writing.  The event took place in the Miller Learning Center, one of three locations where the Center is housed. Associate professor and director of the Center, Rebecca Hallman Martini, English department head, Roland Végső, Franklin College Dean, Anna Stenport, University of Georgia…

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Pack for study away, pack for life

With 33 study abroad programs across five continents and 57 countries, the Franklin College is a significant driver of international UGA student experiential opportunities. As the home of many of UGA's longest-standing programs, our faculty and advisors remind students at every turn to dial-up their campus learning experience by integrating one or more of these well-established programs into their university. That's one reason why we are so…

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UGA Theatre presents “John Proctor is the Villain”

Set in a high school English classroom in rural Georgia, “John Proctor is the Villain” depicts a group of students as they grapple with Arthur Miller’s “The Crucible” and discover unsettling parallels to their own lives in the process in UGA Theatre’s next production, “John Proctor is the Villain” by Kimberly Belflower and directed by Sloan Elle Garner. As the story unfolds, deep-seated secrets surface, challenging their notions of heroism,…

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Interdisciplinary seed grants propel UGA AI

As machine learning techniques and the reach of large language models (LLMs) become integrated into leading-edge research projects that span the university, the Institute for Artificial Intelligence is creating early leverage for collaborative faculty projects to access greater external support. Four university-wide research projects have been awarded seed grants under the new initiative: “Artificial intelligence is not just about creating…

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Trailblazing colleague, Criminal Justice Studies program, honored with President's Medal

The late Susette Talarico, scholar and longtime leader of the UGA Criminal Justice Studies Program, and the Honorable Steve C. Jones, Senior U.S. District Judge for the Northern District of Georgia, were honored with the President's Medal at the 2025 Founder's day luncheon: The President’s Medal recognizes individuals, not currently employed at the university, who have made extraordinary contributions to the UGA community by supporting students…

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Time away, time to play, keeps work in perspective

The critical element of life balance and time away from professional duties provides an ever-green yet timely focus of new research from UGA psychology. Employees and employers can enhance both work and life by adhering to a regular cadence of vacation rest and relaxation – and honestly unplugging from work obligations: The meta-analysis of 32 studies from nine countries suggests that not only are vacations more beneficial for boosting employee…

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The pesky business of pesticides

Pesticide-resistant crops create prosperous opportunities but spark concern about health for both humans and the environment.    Agricultural biotechnology has created pesticide-resistant crops that are central to many Argentinian farmers. Franklin College faculty member Pablo Lapegna, associate professor of Sociology and Latin American and Caribbean Studies, explores the way these farmers view the pesticides sprayed on their crops and…

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Noted and Quoted, January 2025

Across the New Year, Franklin faculty remained constantly engaged in research, scholarship and media outreach around the globe.  A few of the many stories that framed the calendar change over the previous month: 2024 likely the warmest year on record — why it matters to you – Georgia Athletic Association Professor of Geography and Atmospheric Sciences  Marshall Shepherd writing at Forbes The Semester at Skidaway study program shines –…

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Record Schwarzman Scholars exemplify Franklin academic diversity

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…

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Raise Your Voice: UGA choir brings music and community in harmony

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…

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Mobility and education are reshaping Black accents in Georgia

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,…

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Dance students learn the STEPS on Broadway

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…

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Happy Holidays!

Happy Holidays from the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences! From our family to yours, all the best of the holiday season and warm wishes for 2025.

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UGA professor authors 'Educator’s Guide to James Baldwin'

Penguin Random House published "An Educator’s Guide to the Works of James Baldwin," written by Ed Pavlić, Distinguished Research Professor of English, African American Studies and Creative Writing in the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences department of English. The "Educator's Guide" is a product of Pavlić's work with the James Baldwin Estate and the Estate's relationship to Random House as Baldwin's major publisher. In honor of his…

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Q&A with Djamila Ribeiro

Brazilian philosopher and Journalist Djamila Ribeiro visited the UGA Latin American and Caribbean Studies Institute (LACSI) in October to deliver a lecture, “Where We Stand: A Look at Black Feminist Thought in Brazil,” and speak with Portuguese Flagship students and faculty. Students enjoyed a unique opportunity to network with Ribeiro. Honors Journalism and Comparative Literature student Bridget Goodman conducted this one-on-one interview with…

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Two UGA staff receive Presidential Volunteer Service Award

Franklin College is proud to recognize two members of our Information Technology staff for receiving the prestigious 2024 Presidential Volunteer Service Award. Launched in 2003, the President’s Volunteer Service Award honors individuals whose volunteer efforts make a significant impact on their communities, inspiring others to get involved. The award has four levels: bronze (100-249 hours), silver (250-500 hours), gold (500+ hours), and lifetime…

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Franklin student focused on humanizing community health

Autumn Hampton, a dual major in biomedical physiology and sociology, plans to become an obstetrician-gynecologist, with a focus on oncology. The fourth-year pre-med student see health care advocacy—particularly for marginalized communities—as equally important as her medical research: “It’s really important to me to be an advocate for my community in the health care field,” Hampton says. “A lot of that stems from my mother being diagnosed when I…

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Art + Math make a GROVI connection

Creative ingenuity at the faculty level and across Franklin units provides the spark for an innovative new partnership – and the NSF support to expand the collaboration: Designer and artist Moon Jung Jang met mathematician David Gay through the UGA Arts Collaborative, a research incubator that encourages collaboration across the arts and sciences, and between the university and the Athens community. Since 2017, the two professors have engaged in…

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InfUSion Magazine creates space for multi-cultural students to express themselves

The hustle and bustle of UGA’s Engagement Fair filled the Tate Center and as I moved through the crowd, one of the many tables caught my eye. Someone handed me a glossy magazine whose cover featured a diverse group of people. I was told that in a week the magazine would host a welcome meeting for new volunteers. On a whim I decided to go. When I walked into that meeting, I was met with such a warm and inviting atmosphere that I couldn’t help but…

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Noted and Quoted, November – December 2024

From comment and opinion to groundbreaking work on reviving heritage crops and fighting disease, Franklin faculty expertise informs and leads by a continual presence in media around the globe. A sampling of the numerous stories over the previous few weeks: We knew lead pipes were bad 140 years ago – Stephen Mihm, professor of history and associate dean, writing in the Pittsburgh Post Gazette UGA researcher links broken corn chromosomes to cancer…

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Kudos, November - December 2024

From rankings to renovations of beloved campus buildings to welcoming award-winning new faculty colleagues, a rich cohort of accolades and good news ushered in late fall on campus. A sampling of the terrific stories about our colleagues and alumni: UGA dedicates first phase of Science and Ag Hill modernization  Nathan Lewis, a professor of pediatrics and bioengineering at the University of California San Diego, joined UGA as the new Georgia…

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UGA plant biologist leads new advances in biotech

The evolutionary lineage leading to Amborella diverged from all other flowering plant lineages approximately 150 million years ago. In 2013, an international research team co-led by UGA Plant Biology faculty member Jim Leebens-Mack and collaborators announced the newly sequenced genome of the Amborella trichopoda plant became the foundation for comparative analyses of genes tracing back to the origin of flowering plants and earlier.…
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