January 11, 2016Vol. 43, No. 20 www.columns.uga.edu

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By David Billdbill@uga.edu

UGA continues to rank as one of the nation’s top values in higher education, according to Kiplinger, which placed UGA 12th on its Personal Finance list of 100 best values among public colleges and universities for 2016.

Kiplinger assesses value by measurable standards of academic quality and affordability. Quality measures include the first-year retention rate, the student-faculty ratio and four-year graduation rate. Cost criteria include sticker price, financial aid and average debt at graduation.

UGA was only one of two uni-versities from the SEC (the other being the University of Florida) that made the top 20 and the only

school from the state of Georgia.“The University of Georgia

takes pride in its commitment to offering a world-class education at an affordable cost,” said UGA President Jere W. Morehead. “We are pleased that our commitment is once again being recognized on a national level.”

Washington Monthly ranked UGA as the third “Best Bang for the Buck” school in the Southeast in 2015, and The New York Times ranked UGA at No. 10 among public universities doing the most for low-income students in its 2015 College Access Index.

The Kiplinger rankings are avail-able online at kiplinger.com/fronts/special-report/college-rankings/. The rankings also will appear in the February 2016 issue of Kiplinger’s Personal Finance, now on newsstands.

By Sam Fahmysfahmy@uga.edu

Georgia’s flagship university has a $4.4 billion annual economic impact on the state, according to a new study that analyzed how the three-part teaching, research and service mission of UGA contributes to the economy.

The study, conducted by UGA economist Jeffrey Dorfman, quan-tified variables such as the increase in earnings that graduates of the university’s schools and colleges receive, revenues from the licens-ing of university inventions and the creation of business and jobs resulting from the university’s public service and outreach units.

“Nowhere is the bond between the state of Georgia and the Univer-sity of Georgia more evident than in our far-reaching economic impact,” said President Jere W. Morehead. “The contributions of UGA faculty, staff, students and alumni are help-ing to ensure a strong economic future for our state.”

Educating studentsEach year, more than

9,000 UGA students earn under-graduate, graduate and professional degrees in fields ranging from busi-ness to engineering, the sciences, arts and humanities. To measure the economic impact of these degrees,

Dorfman and his colleagues took data on earnings by major and multiplied the estimated value of each degree and major offered by UGA by the number of graduates in the 2013-2014 academic year. To ensure they were capturing the economic impact in Georgia alone, they multiplied the economic im-pact of the degrees awarded by the percentage of each college’s alumni who remain in the state after gradu-ation. Overall, 62 percent of UGA graduates remain in the state after earning their degrees.

To put the value of UGA’s aca-demic programs into perspective, the researchers took the economic impact created by the degrees that UGA awarded in the 2013-14 aca-demic year and divided it by state funding. They found that UGA generates nearly $39 for each dollar of state instructional funding.

“The University of Georgia has more than 181,000 alumni in each of Georgia’s 159 counties,” said Senior Vice President for Academic

By Stephanie Schupskaschupska@uga.edu

UGA officials broke ground Dec. 1 on the Center for Molecular Medicine, a 43,000-square-foot facility that will continue to advance UGA’s efforts in human health research.

When finished, the building on Riverbend Road will house up to 10 research groups whose primary goal will be to conduct translational research that positively impacts human health. The facility will include laboratories, faculty offices, shared cell culture facilities and

other shared spaces that support research.

“The Center for Molecular Medicine is an expansion of the university’s capacity to translate research into products and other innovations that support economic development and enhance the qual-ity of life in our state, our nation and the world,” said UGA President Jere W. Morehead. “Here, the very best researchers will investigate the molecular and cellular basis of human disease and develop new ways to diagnose, treat and pre-vent diseases that affect millions of people worldwide.”

State and local officials joined university administrators on the work site adjacent to the Complex Carbohydrate Research Center to celebrate the official start of con-struction. Funding for the facility came from two primary sources: Gov. Nathan Deal and the General Assembly approved $17 million in state funds for the new building, and these funds were matched by $8 million in nonstate funds.

“I’m excited about what this project will do for the state of Georgia,” said University System of Georgia Chancellor

By Terry Marie Hastingsthasting@uga.edu

The National Academy of Inventors has named two UGA faculty members to the 2015 class of NAI Fellows.

Chung K. “David” Chu, a Distinguished Research Profes-sor Emeritus in the College of Pharmacy, and Wayne Hanna, a professor of crop and soil sciences in the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, join an elite group of 582 in-novators representing more than 190 prestigious research universi-ties and governmental and non-profit research institutions.

Election to NAI Fellow status is a professional distinction accorded to academic inventors who have

demonstrated a prolific spirit of in-novation in creating or facilitating outstanding inventions that have made a tangible impact on quality of life, economic development and the welfare of society. Five UGA faculty members have been named NAI Fellows since the honor was established in 2013.

“The election of David Chu and Wayne Hanna as NAI Fellows highlights the innovative research

Far-reaching impactStudy: UGA has an annual $4.4 billion

economic impact on Georgia

A new economic impact study conducted by UGA economist Jeffrey Dorfman has found that UGA generates nearly $39 for each dollar of state instructional funding. The study quantified variables such as the increase in earnings that graduates of the university’s schools and colleges receive, revenues from the licensing of university inventions and the creation of business and jobs resulting from the university’s public service and outreach units.

UGA remains on Kiplinger best value in public colleges list

OFFICE OF THE VICE PRESIDENT FOR RESEARCH

CENTER FOR MOLECULAR MEDICINE

Two faculty named National Academy of Inventors Fellows

Construction begins on new CMM facility

See FELLOWS on page 8

See FACILITY on page 8

See IMPACT on page 4

University officials broke ground Dec. 1 on a facility that will house up to 10 research groups whose primary goal will be to conduct translational research that positively impacts human health. The 43,000-square-foot Center for Molecular Medicine will include laboratories, faculty offices, shared cell culture facilities and other shared spaces that support research.

Andrew Davis Tucker

David Chu Wayne Hanna

Georgia Power leaders joined UGA officials, Georgia Public Service Com-missioner Tim Echols and community and business leaders Dec. 15 to dedicate a new one megawatt solar tracking demonstration project.

Located on a 10-acre site on South Milledge Avenue owned by UGA, the new project is the result of a utility/univer-sity collaboration to further demonstrate and advance solar energy in Georgia.

“Working in coordination with the Georgia Public Service Commission, and through strong relationships with organizations such as UGA, we have positioned Georgia as a national solar leader,” said Paul Bowers, chairman, president and CEO of Georgia Power. “Now more than ever, it’s essential that we continue to invest in the research and development of new technologies to make solar, and all generation sources, as reliable, efficient and cost-effective for our customers as possible.”

Research will be conducted under a two-year collaboration with UGA researchers, spearheaded by the College of Engineering, to study solar forecasting and the effects of solar panel soiling ver-sus performance. Data analysis and per-formance reporting will occur through a Georgia Power partnership with the Electric Power Research Institute.

The solar project will demonstrate

optimal orientation and tracking tech-nology suited for Georgia’s climate and energy demand with project partners studying the performance and reliability of various fixed and tracking configura-tions of five separate sub-arrays.

Georgia Power owns and will operate the facility under a 20-year lease agree-ment with UGA. Energy produced by the facility will flow to the state’s elec-tric grid to serve customers. UGA will receive the renewable energy credits.

“The complex problems facing our world today, such as the need to expand our sources of energy, require not only interdisciplinary efforts but also multi-institutional efforts that involve higher education, private industry and government,” said UGA President Jere W. Morehead. “The solar tracking dem-onstration project is a perfect example of this type of broad collaboration, and the University of Georgia is pleased to be part of this exciting endeavor.”

2 Jan. 11, 2016 columns.uga.edu

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Davidson College won’t retire jersey of NBA star until he earns degree

Former Davidson College basketball player Stephen Curry has won an NBA championship and most valuable player honors, but the college said it won’t retire his jersey until he earns his degree, according to ESPN.

Curry, who plays for the Golden State War-riors, left college a year early in 2009 to play in the NBA without completing requirements for his degree. Davidson said it won’t make an ex-ception to its rule about only retiring jerseys of graduates, not even for its most famous player.

Curry told ESPN he eventually plans to complete requirements for graduation.

Survey: College-educated women are more likely to have longer marriages

A study by the Pew Research Center found that college-educated women are more likely than their peers who didn’t earn a degree to have longer-lasting marriages.

According to government estimates, about half of first marriages in the U.S. last at least 20 years. However, women with a bachelor’s degree are 78 percent likely to have marriages survive those two decades.

Although it is unclear why these marriages last longer, Pew analysts offer that households with college-educated women are more fi-nancially secure than those with less educated households.

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Resolve to become heart healthyTo promote heart health, the American Heart

Association encourages Americans to increase physical activity with the aim of achieving 150 minutes of aerobic activity per week com-bined with strength training a couple of days per week. (Note: It may be advisable to check with your health care provider before beginning a new physical activity routine.)

Small changes can make a difference. Try add-ing 10 minutes of physical activity at a time. Not a fan of the gym? Instead, find activities you enjoy.

As part of American Heart Month, the University Health Center will offer choles-terol screenings (blood lipid panels) at a free or reduced rate and free blood pressure screenings Feb. 8-11 and 15-18 from 8 a.m. to noon and 1-3 p.m.

Screenings are free for health-fees paid UGA students and $10 for non-fees paid UGA stu-dents, UGA faculty and staff, spouses, domestic partners, and UGA retirees. No appointment is necessary, but participants must have no food or drink except water after midnight the night before they are screened.

Current guidelines recommend that begin-ning at age 20, cholesterol levels be checked regularly, every five years. People with borderline high cholesterol levels, or those who have certain risk factors for coronary heart disease including diabetes, a family history of early onset heart dis-ease, tobacco use, high blood pressure, or who are outside of their healthy weight range, may need testing done more frequently. Source: University Health Center

By Stephanie Morenos.moreno@uga.edu

The top health story of 2014, the West Africa Ebola outbreak, dominated news coverage and sent shockwaves through global travel and trade. Liberian journalist Wade C. L. Williams was on the front lines in Monrovia as an investiga-tive journalist and head of the news desk at FrontPage Africa, one of West Africa’s largest digital news organizations.

Her first-person account of what happened before, during and after Ebola captured the headlines opens the 2016 Global Diseases: Voices from the Vanguard lecture series on Jan. 12. This is the first of four events sponsored by UGA’s Grady College Health and Medical Jour-nalism graduate program and the Center for Tropical and Emerging Global Diseases.

Williams’ talk, “Mobilizing West African Communities to Defeat Ebola,” takes place at 5:30 p.m. in the Chapel. The lecture is open free to the public.

During the 2014 Ebola outbreak in Liberia, Williams was one of the most influential Liberian journalists who rigorously covered the epidemic. Wade’s first investigative work on the disease in 2014 and a subsequent op-ed in The New York Times led the government to change its approach to response to the disease.

“When Ebola hit, Wade Williams was already internationally known for her coverage of top health issues in Liberia and other West African countries,” said Patricia Thomas, co-organizer of the series and Knight Chair in Health and Medical Jour-nalism at Grady College. “Since the crisis began, she’s also reported for the Associated Press, Bloomberg News and The Daily Beast and has won accolades for her work. We’re so pleased she’s coming to UGA.”

Liberian journalist to open Voices from the Vanguard series

By Camie Williamscamiew@uga.edu

Bert Thompson is a senior, and he is beginning to think about all of the experiences he has had at UGA over the past four years. But Thompson isn’t just reminiscing; as a member of the Student Advisory Board of the Office of the Vice President for Instruction, he is dissecting programs such as orientation, advising and experiential learning to provide input for the benefit of future students.

“The opportunity to make a great place even better is just amazing,” said Thompson, who is majoring in inter-national affairs and history. “And it’s a great feeling when you say something and see a reaction and a response. … It’s great to be involved in improving something on campus.”

Vice President for Instruction Rahul Shrivastav said that student feedback can play an important role in helping achieve priorities such as improving four-year graduation rates, boosting summer enrollment and giving students more flexibility through online learning.

“We create a lot of policies and changes that impact students, so the student perspective is important,” Shrivastav said of his office, which considers ensuring a quality student experience from the day he or she is admitted until graduation its main objective. “Once we began talking, the students became very engaged, and they often stop when they see me on campus to share a new idea.”

The Office of the Vice President for Instruction oversees more than a dozen units—including Admissions, the Washington Semester Program, the First-Year Odyssey Seminar Pro-gram, the Office of Online Learning, Academic Advising and Learning Com-munities—and Shrivastav felt all of them would benefit from student input.

“Dr. Shrivastav has given students a forum for sharing their ideas on enhanc-ing the learning experience, and the ad-visory board is already having a positive impact,” said Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost Pamela Whitten. “This isn’t a surprise consider-ing that our students are among the best and brightest in our state and nation.”

Just weeks after the first session, the office adopted a new tagline, “Summer in Athens,” for the new summer school awareness campaign based on the student suggestions. The enrollment period opened earlier in the fall so that students will be able to make plans sooner based on the classes offered.

Shrivastav’s office already had begun work on some of the issues, such as im-plementing changes to DegreeWorks that would help students track their path toward graduation more closely, and other ideas are being studied to determine their impacts and costs.

“We want the students to know that their concerns are being heard, and we want them to see that we are listening,” Shrivastav said. “This board is having an impact on students and their college experience.”

New board gives input on instruction

OFFICE OF THE VICE PRESIDENT FOR INSTRUCTION

COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING

Georgia Power, UGA advancing solar energy through new project

From left, UGA President Jere W. Morehead, Public Service Commissioner Tim Echols and Paul Bowers, chairman, president and CEO of Georgia Power, cut the ribbon for a new one megawatt solar tracking demonstration project.

Janet BeckleySource: Institute of International Education

Robert Newcomb

Fourteen students make up the new Student Advisory Board of the Office of the Vice President for Instruction.

Dorothy Kozlowski

Studying abroadUGA moved up six places to rank 11th among all U.S. institutions in the 2015 Open Doors Report on the number of U.S. students studying abroad in 2013-2014. Selected universities that also made the top 25 list:

1. New York U. 4,504 2. Texas-Austin 3,021 3. Texas A&M 2,911 4. Southern Calif. 2,891 5. Michigan 2,719 8. Michigan State 2,478 11. UGA 2,240 13. UCLA 2,196 17. Florida 2,104 22. UNC-Chapel Hill 1,859

Rank University Students

By Beth Gavrillesbethgav@uga.edu

Evidence has been mounting that female monarch butterflies are better at flying and more successful at migration than males, and UGA researchers now have come up with an explanation—but not one they expected.

In the study comparing physical traits of female and male monarchs, researchers found that although female monarchs have smaller wings and smaller flight muscles than males, their wings are thicker and also bear less weight per square inch, making them both sturdier and more efficient in flight.

“Both of these elements would play important roles in determining the out-come of the migration,” said the study’s lead author Andy Davis, a research scien-tist in UGA’s Odum School of Ecology.

“Until now, we had no idea why females were better fliers than males, but this study definitely helps to answer that question.”

For the study, published recently in the Journal of Insects, Davis and co-author Michael Holden, an undergraduate ecol-ogy student, measured the wings and body parts of 47 male and 45 female monarchs, specifically targeting those characteristics that are important for flight, such as the ratio of wing size to body size, the size of flight muscles and wing thickness.

“We expected we’d find that females have bigger flight muscles, but it was the opposite,” said Holden, who will graduate this semester with a bachelor’s degree in ecology and will document moth species next year through an internship in Costa Rica. “Males had the largest muscles.”

Their analysis revealed, however, that female bodies tend to be lighter in relation to their wing size, meaning their wings

have to carry less weight overall. This would make their flight more efficient.

“The way I think about it is that per flap of their wings, females use less energy to move their bodies relative to males,” Holden said.

The wings of females were thicker than those of males, making them less likely to break or tear during migration.

“Having damaged wings is a death sentence during the migration,” Davis said.

By the end of the study, the researchers had accumulated a substantial data set of flight-related measurements, the first of its kind for monarchs.

“We believe this work will be im-portant for improving scientific under-standing of the migratory cycle,” Davis said, “and it will also serve as a reference point for future studies aimed at flight characteristics of monarch butterflies.”

Ag Forecast seminars to begin Jan. 21The College of Agricultural and Environmental

Sciences’ 2016 Georgia Ag Forecast seminar series will be held Jan. 21-29. Registration is open at www.georgiaagforecast.com .

Economists from the Center for Agribusiness and Economic Development and from the college’s agricultural and applied economics department will deliver the annual economic outlook, which will focus on Georgia’s major commodities and the way that global markets, weather patterns and historical trends will affect those commodities in 2016.

In addition to the outlook, Kent Wolfe, the center’s director, and fellow UGA agricultural economist Sharon P. Kane will give a briefing on the Georgia Agricultural Tax Exemption, often referred to as GATE, and how it is reflected in county sales tax revenue.

The dates and locations for the 2016 sessions are Jan. 21 at the Carroll County Ag Center in Carrolton; Jan. 22 at Unicoi State Park in Cleve-land; Jan. 25 at the Cloud Livestock Facility in Bainbridge; Jan. 26 at the UGA Tifton Cam-pus Conference Center in Tifton; Jan. 27 at the Blueberry Warehouse in Alma; and Jan. 29 at the Georgia Farm Bureau Building in Macon.

College of Veterinary Medicine to hold annual shelter medicine symposium

The eighth annual Shelter Medicine Sympo-sium will be held Feb. 6 at the College of Veteri-nary Medicine. The all-day event is focused on best management and medicine practices for local and regional animal shelters.

Veterinary professionals and others who work in animal control facilities and humane societies or with animal rescue groups in Georgia, North Carolina, Tennessee and South Carolina are en-couraged to attend.

The event is hosted by the student chapter of the Association of Shelter Veterinarians at UGA. There is no registration fee, but all attendees must register by Jan. 25.

Scheduled conference speakers include Gerryll Hall, lead veterinarian for Merck Animal Health; Michaela Austell, a dermatologist at North Georgia Veterinary Specialists; Andy Moorhead, an assistant research scientist in the college and direc-tor of the NIH-funded Filariasis Research Reagent Resource Center; and Sharon Crowell-Davis, a board-certified veterinary behaviorist and professor in the college.

To register, visit http://tinyurl.com/shelter2016 . For an up-to-date list of speakers and other confer-ence information, visit http://tinyurl.com/sheltermed .

University’s 2015 Spotlight on the Arts festival breaks attendance record

Nearly 22,000 people attended the UGA Arts Council’s 2015 Spotlight on the Arts festival, bet-tering last year’s attendance record.

The festival was held Nov. 5-14 and reached 21,828 people through more than 100 events and exhibitions, including an opening celebration, concerts, plays, dance performances, book talks, art openings and more.

For the first time in the festival’s four-year history, the UGA Arts Council held a Spotlight on the Arts Opening Celebration, and the event drew more than 600 UGA students, faculty and staff members, donors and patrons to the Performing Arts Center Nov. 4.

Other highlights of the 2015 festival included performances from the University Theatre, UGA Opera Theatre and department of dance, a Shake-speare symposium, a popular open house at the Lamar Dodd School of Art and events surround-ing the Samurai: The Way of the Warrior exhibition. Special guests included the Atlanta Symphony Or-chestra and The King’s Singers and several visiting writers, including those inducted into the Georgia Writers Hall of Fame.

Digest

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OUTREACH NEWS

Upscale half-shellBy Erin Geoffroyeringeoffroy@uga.edu

UGA’s Marine Extension has opened the state’s first oyster hatchery. Launched last month at the beginning of the state’s oyster season, the hatchery is expected to revive the once-thriving oyster industry in Georgia.

The hatchery will help establish an oyster aquaculture industry in Georgia, allowing harvesters to farm single oysters that can be sold on the half-shell, a lucrative market fueled by rising restaurant and consumer demand. Located on Skidaway Island, the hatchery is expected to produce between 5 million and 6 million spat, or baby oysters, per year by 2018. Ex-perts at the UGA Shellfish Research Laboratory have calculated that these oysters will be worth an estimated $1.6 million when harvested.

Funded through 2016 by the Geor-gia Department of Natural Resources Coastal Management Program, the hatchery emerged from a collaborative effort between UGA Marine Extension specialists, resource managers with the DNR, the Georgia Department of Agriculture and the Georgia Shellfish Growers Association.

“I’m incredibly proud of our first-ever oyster hatchery in the state,” said

Mark Risse, director of UGA Marine Extension, a unit of the university’s Office of Public Service and Outreach. “We hope to grow the oyster industry and allow farmers to produce oysters in a faster, more cost-effective way.”

Wild Georgia oysters grow in muddy clumps, due to high natural recruitment rates, a lack of habitat on which to settle and competition for space. The shells are brittle with sharp edges, yet none of this takes away from the flavor of the meat, often described by locals as sweet and salty with a hint of lemongrass. One of the goals of the oyster hatchery is to produce an attrac-tive, easy-to-open single oyster that can be marketed to upscale restaurants.

The UGA Shellfish Research Labo-ratory, part of Marine Extension, has conducted research on single-oyster cultivation for more than 30 years. While scientists such as Thomas Bliss, director of the shellfish lab, have devel-oped specialized growing techniques to harvest spat in the wild, these methods are too labor-intensive to sustain a ro-bust oyster industry. Cultivating single oysters in a hatchery may provide a more viable option.

UGA Marine Extension will share spat and guidance with participating growers, who will be trained in han-dling and transplanting spat and learn

new methods for cultivating oysters. In return, growers will share their experiences and data with scientists. Additionally, extension specialists will connect growers with seafood distribu-tion companies to increase awareness of the Georgia single oyster.

This first season is estimated to produce between 300,000 and 600,000 spat, which has a potential harvest value of up to $135,000. Each farmer will receive 30,000 to 60,000 free spat later this fall, which they will grow to legal harvest size.

“Our goal is to work with shellfish growers to establish single oyster aqua-culture in Georgia by providing them access to oyster spat,” Bliss said. “There is an opportunity for growers to create a thriving market in Georgia, and the hatchery is key in driving the creation of the market.”

Oyster growers are an important part of Georgia’s history. In the early 1900s, the state led the nation in oyster production, annually harvesting 8 mil-lion pounds of oyster meat, primarily for the canning industry. By the 1940s, the industry was in decline due to over harvesting and decreasing demand for canned oysters. The last shucking houses in coastal Georgia closed in the 1960s. Harvested oysters now are pri-marily sold in clumps for private roasts.

UGA Marine Extension launches state’s first oyster hatchery

ODUM SCHOOL OF ECOLOGYWing structure helps female monarch butterflies outperform males

3 columns.uga.edu Jan. 11, 2016

UGA’s Marine Extension opened a hatchery that will help establish an oyster aquaculture industry in Georgia, allowing harvesters to farm single oysters that can be sold on the half-shell, a lucrative market fueled by rising restaurant and consumer demand.

Dylan Wilson

4 Jan. 11, 2016 columns.uga.edu COMMENCEMENT 2015

Affairs and Provost Pamela Whitten. “They include business leaders, teachers, physicians, scientists and elected officials, and all of them play a critical role in the economic vitality of our state.”

Fueling discoveriesDiscoveries by UGA scientists have re-

sulted in more than 575 products that have reached the marketplace, including drugs, vac-cines and software, as well as crop, ornamental plant and turfgrass varieties. Most recently, the FDA approved sale of a new drug, called Kanuma, that is based on a technology devel-oped by a UGA startup company. Kanuma is a treatment for patients with a life-threatening, ultra-rare disease.

Licensing and royalty revenue from these inventions contribute to UGA’s economic impact, as do companies that are launched based on UGA inventions. More than 60 Georgia companies are based on UGA in-ventions, including biotech companies Abeome Corp. and ArunA Biomedical, agricultural technology company Electrostatic Spraying Systems and educational software company Cogent Education.

The research enterprise at UGA is on an upward trajectory, with a 7 percent increase in external funding from federal agencies such as the National Institutes of Health as well as private organizations such as the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation over the past fiscal year. In addition to contributing to advances in health, safety and security, such research funding generates economic impact by bringing money into Georgia that is spent on

equipment and personnel. Using a commonly used model known as IMPLAN, Dorfman and his colleagues found that UGA generates nearly $2 in economic impact for each $1 of federal and foundation research funding it receives.

“UGA researchers continually strive to make new discoveries that underlie the in-novative products and companies that help drive Georgia’s economy,” said David Lee, vice president for research. “Through our technol-ogy transfer and startup company support, the UGA research enterprise ensures that UGA discoveries reach their full potential for public benefit, in Georgia and beyond.”

Serving Georgia Service to the state of Georgia is an integral

part of UGA’s land-grant mission, and the

university’s public service and outreach units contribute to economic prosperity and qual-ity of life through programs for individuals, businesses and communities. Public service and outreach at UGA has a $345 million annual impact on the Georgia economy, the study found.

UGA’s Small Business Development Center, for example, last year provided 4,705 small business owners and prospective en-trepreneurs with advice and expertise through its 17 offices across the state. SBDC assistance led to the creation of more than 3,000 new jobs over that period and helped launch more than 330 new businesses.

The researchers also quantified cost savings associated with the more efficient operation of state and local governments as a result of training programs offered by UGA’s Carl Vinson Institute of Government and the value of services offered by units such as Marine Extension.

“UGA’s public service experts are out in the state every day making a difference in people’s lives, whether by training elected officials and community leaders, helping companies grow their businesses or diversifying opportunities for coastal fishermen,” said Jennifer Frum, vice president for public service and outreach. “It is our mission to help Georgia prosper by developing leaders, creating jobs and ad-dressing issues critical to local communities. The economic impact study confirms what we already know, that we provide taxpayers a good return on their investment.”

Dorfman said that he designed the study to only capture economic impacts that would

not exist were it not for the presence of UGA. He also emphasized that many UGA programs create economic impacts that are difficult if not impossible to measure. The university’s 4-H youth development and mentoring programs, for example, have been shown to encourage healthy choices, civic participation and interest in science, technology, engineering and math. In the 2013-2014 school year, 4-H served more than 115,000 students in schools across Georgia.

“Our findings are a conservative estimate of the university’s economic impact on the state of Georgia,” Dorfman said, “so the $4.4 billion figure that we arrived at should be treated as the minimum impact UGA has on the state.”

Robert Ivarie’s research produced a portfolio of inventions to genetically engineer chickens as bioreactors for the efficient production of proteins for human therapeutic use. His inventions are now the basis for a platform technology covered by 19 issued U.S. patents and foreign counterparts, along with additional pending patent applications.

With help from the Georgia Small Business Development Center in Brunswick, Jason Reott got a permit to sell peach wine, found the right technology to run his business and obtained a state trademark for his store.

IMPACT from page 1

By Aaron Haleaahale@uga.edu

There is no shortage of prognostications about how the millennial generation will make its mark on the world. Donna W. Hyland, president and CEO of Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, told fall UGA graduates that it is up to them to decide how they would be remembered.

Hyland, the Commencement speaker at the undergraduate ceremony Dec. 18 at Stegeman Coliseum, said she often meets with CEOs and talks about this generation.

“We don’t know what to think of you. You are described as civic-minded, confident and tolerant. Some say that you are entitled and even narcissistic,” she said. “You can believe those things or you can believe that you have an extraordinary opportunity ahead. Only you can truly define you.”

For the two fall Commencement ceremonies, 1,742 undergraduates and 1,065 graduate students—a total of 2,807—met

requirements to walk in the ceremonies held at Stegeman Coliseum.

While Hyland, in her address, challenged graduates to determine their own path, she also offered some advice for making their careers and lives more fulfilling.

“When I graduated from college, I really thought that what I had learned in school and hard work would be the keys to success,” she said. “That was important, but the further I got in my career, I learned some lessons that I wish I would have known much earlier.”

Her first piece of advice was to put people first. She offered some examples of what Children’s Healthcare employees have done for patients—like a nurse who shaved her head as a show of solidarity to a child on chemotherapy or a group of workers who threw a prom—complete with a disco ball, a dance band and limos—in the hospital for a dying high schooler so that she could experience prom.

“When you put people first—your fam-ily, your friends, those you work with and

people that you barely know—it will make a difference,” she said.

She also encouraged students to take care of themselves.

“Trust me,” she said. “As a health care pro-fessional I can tell you: You need to be healthy both physically and mentally to be at your best.”

One common theme between the CEO and undergraduate student speaker Madeleine Hill was the need to learn from failure.

Hill, a sociology major from Decatur, told her classmates they didn’t have to be afraid of failure. She recalled the first C she got in an Honor’s class her freshman year at UGA. She remembered breaking into tears when she saw the grade on her computer in the Miller Learning Center.

“For me, this C meant that I failed,” Hill said.

But a fellow student—a stranger—told her, “You’re going to be OK. Trust me.” Hill said she learned from that C, and from surviving it, that it was OK to challenge herself and take risks.

“Failure makes us vulnerable. It makes us

want to curl up and watch Netflix for the rest of our lives,” she said, but it also offers oppor-tunities for growth and self-realization. “Be the person you want to be in this world, not the person others think you should be. You’re going to be OK. Trust me.”

In the graduate ceremony, Cheryl Daven-port Dozier, the 13th president of Savannah State University, called on students to exercise social justice as they pursue their careers.

Dozier, who spent 17 years at UGA includ-ing as associate provost and chief diversity officer, challenged degree recipients at the graduate ceremony to be “agents of change” who take a stand for diversity and equality in their workplaces and beyond.

“As you climb, use your hands to reach down and help someone, both young and not so young, to rise up and reach the next landing no matter their race, their class, their gender, their ethnicity, their religion or their sexual orientation,” she said. “Know that your hands hold the solutions to possibilities of a more global, united world.”

Defining successCommencement speakers encourage graduates to determine their own paths

Nathan Mukasa, age 10, wears his brother Alan’s mortarboard exiting Stegeman Coliseum.

Madeline Hill, undergraduate student speaker, told her classmates they didn’t have to be afraid of failure.

Graduate Garrett Ward hugs family members after the fall undergraduate ceremony.

Peter Frey

Chad Osburn

Andrew Davis Tucker

Donna W. Hyland, president and CEO of Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, told fall graduates to put people first. “When you put people first—your family, your friends, those you work with and people that you barely know—it will make a difference,” she said.

Chad Osburn

5 columns.uga.edu Jan. 11, 2016

NEXT COLUMNS DEADLINES Jan. 13 (for Jan. 25 issue)Jan. 20 (for Feb. 1 issue)Jan. 27 (for Feb. 8 issue)

Calendar items are taken from Columns files and from the university’s Master Calendar, maintained by Marketing & Communications. Notices are published as space permits, with priority given to items of multidisciplinary interest. The Master Calendar is available on the Web at calendar.uga.edu/.

TO SUBMIT A LISTING FOR THE MASTER CALENDAR AND COLUMNSPost event information first to the Master Calendar website (calendar.uga.edu/). Listings for Columns are taken from the Master Calendar 12 days before the publication date. Events not posted by then may not be printed in Columns.

Any additional information about the event may be sent directly to Columns. Email is preferred (columns@uga.edu), but materials can be mailed to Columns, News Service, 286 Oconee Street, Suite 200 North, Campus Mail 1999.

UGAGUIDEThe following events are open to the public, unless otherwise specified. Dates, times and locations may change without advance notice.

For a complete listing of events, check the Master Calendar on the Web (calendar.uga.edu/ ).

EXHIBITIONSState Botanical Garden Art Competi-tion Winners. Through Feb. 14. Visitor Center, State Botanical Garden. 706-542-6014, connicot@uga.edu

Georgia’s Girlhood Embroidery: “Crowned with Glory and Immortality.” Through Feb. 28. Georgia Museum of Art. hazbrown@uga.edu

Seeing Georgia: Changing Visions of Tourism in the Modern South. Through July 30. Special collections libraries. 706-542-5788, jhebbard@uga.edu

MONDAY, JANUARY 11SPRING SEMESTER CLASSES BEGIN

DROP/ADD FOR SPRING SEMESTERFor undergraduate- and graduate-level courses. Through Jan. 15.

SPRING POSTER SALEHeld 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. through Jan. 15. Third floor concourse, Tate Student Center. 706-542-7774, ckolesar@uga.edu

PERFORMANCETchaikovsky Spectacular with The State Ballet Theatre of Russia. Repeat performance on Jan. 12. $55-$65. 8 p.m. Fine Arts Theatre, Fine Arts building. 706-542-4400. (See story, above).

TUESDAY, JANUARY 12VOICES FROM THE VANGUARDSpeaker: Liberian journalist Wade C.L. Williams 5:30 p.m. Chapel. 706-542-1210, pthomas@uga.edu (See story, page 2).

UGA HOCKEY vs. Life University. The final home game of the season also is Star Wars Night and Club Sports Appreciation Night. Tickets can be purchased at the Tate Student Center ticket office, online or at the Classic Center box office. $10; $2 for students. 7 p.m. Classic Center, 300 N. Thomas St. 706-207-8819, jeb@ugahockey.com

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 13TOUR AT TWOLed by Brittany Ranew, education program specialist. 2 p.m. Georgia Museum of Art. 706-542-4662, hazbrown@uga.edu

MEN’S BASKETBALL vs. Tennessee. $15. 7 p.m. Stegeman Coliseum. 706-542-1231.

THURSDAY, JANUARY 14SYMPOSIUM“Interwoven Georgia: Three Centuries of Textile Traditions.” In conjunction with the exhibition Georgia’s Girlhood Embroideries: “Crowned with Glory and Immortality.” Participants will celebrate more than 250 years of Georgia’s rich textile heritage, from 18th-century silk production to bed furnishings, the contributions of African-Americans to textile production and chenille fashions of the 20th century. $325-$345. 8 a.m. Georgia Museum of Art. 706-542-4662, hazbrown@uga.edu

HUGH HODGSON FACULTY SERIESViolin professor and international soloist Michael Heald will showcase his close attention to musical detail and expres-sion during an evening at the Perform-ing Arts Center. $10; $5 with a student

UGACard. 8 p.m. Ramsey Concert Hall, Performing Arts Center. 706-542-4752, musicpr@uga.edu (See story, right).

SATURDAY, JANUARY 16MEN’S BASKETBALL vs. Texas A&M. $15. 2 p.m. Stegeman Coliseum. 706-542-1231.

NIGHT IN SAIGON 12: A NEW BALANCENight in Saigon is an annual Vietnam-ese culture show. Hundreds of people from all over the state have been invited for a night of acting, singing, dancing and more. $7-$10. 7 p.m. Grand Hall, Tate Student Center. 770-682-4958, ckim95@uga.edu

MONDAY, JANUARY 18MARTIN LUTHER KING JR. HOLIDAYNo classes; offices closed.

GYMNASTICSvs. Stanford. $10. 2 p.m. Stegeman Coliseum. 706-542-1621.

COMING UP2016 STATE OF THE UNIVERSITY ADDRESSJan. 20. President Jere W. Morehead will deliver the annual report to the fac-ulty and community. 3:30 p.m. Chapel.

2016 MARTIN LUTHER KING JR. FREEDOM BREAKFASTJan. 22. Stacey Y. Abrams, House minority leader for the Georgia General Assembly and state representative for the 89th House District, will give the keynote address. 7:30 a.m. Grand Hall, Tate Student Center.

January

By Bobby Tylerbtyler@uga.edu

The UGA Performing Arts Center will present the State Ballet Theatre of Russia in its Tchaikovsky Spectacular Jan. 11-12 at 8 p.m. in the Fine Arts Theatre. The unique program, featuring lavish sets and costumes, will include highlights from Tchaikovsky’s three most popular ballets, Swan Lake, The Nutcracker and The Sleeping Beauty.

Tickets for the State Ballet Theatre of Russia

performance are $55-$65 and are discounted for UGA students. Tickets can be purchased at the UGA Performing Arts Center box office, online at pac.uga.edu or by calling 706-542-4400.

The State Ballet Theatre of Russia was founded in 2004 under the auspices of the late Maya Plis-setskaya, the internationally renowned dancer and former prima ballerina of the Bolshoi Theatre Ballet. Based in Moscow, where it is known as The New Russian Ballet, the company has performed around the world on tours throughout Europe, Japan, Israel, Morocco, India, Canada and the U.S.

Performing Arts Center to present Tchaikovsky Spectacular

By Clarke Schwabeccschwabe@uga.edu

The Hugh Hodgson Faculty Series opens 2016 with a slate of “extraordinary” music Jan. 14, at 8 p.m. in Ramsey Concert Hall at the UGA Performing Arts Center.

Michael Heald, below, an associate professor of violin at the Hugh Hodgson School of Music, will join with pianist and fel-low School of Music faculty member Liza Stepanova to perform works from Bach, Brahms, Mendelssohn and Schubert.

Tickets are $10 each or $5 with a UGA student ID and are available at the PAC box office, by calling 706-542-4400 or by visiting pac.uga.edu .

“The music being performed on this recital is simply extraordinary, with each composer’s style being clearly defined in these works,” Heald said.

The pieces, according to Heald, run the gamut from brooding to joyous, e m p l o y - ing a variety of methods: from “dark spontaneity” to classical structures. But a common thread does connect them all.

“Somehow, they all understand the role of the instruments involved, never allowing themselves to write music that is beyond the possibility of being played beautifully and with immaculate control,” Heald said.

Stepanova is an associate professor of piano at the School of Music. A graduate of The Juilliard School, Stepanova has performed extensively in Europe and the U.S., from Berlin’s Museum of Musi-cal Instruments to Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall in New York.

Hodgson Faculty Series opens 2016 with Bach, Brahms, Mendelssohn

6 Jan. 11, 2016 columns.uga.edu

Kudos recognizes special contributions of staff, faculty and administrators in teaching, research and service. News items are limited to election into office of state, regional, national and international societies; major awards and prizes; and similarly notable accomplishments.

Brenda Cude, a professor in the College of Family and Consumer Sciences’ financial planning, housing and consumer economics department, was recognized by the National As-sociation of Insurance Commis-sioners for her longtime service to consumers.

Cude has represented con-sumer interests for more than

20 years and has served as a funded consumer rep-resentative since 1994.

She began serving on the NAIC Consumer Participation board of trustees in 1997 and is frequently called upon by state legislatures, state insurance departments as well as numerous NAIC members to offer consumer perspectives at public hearings, conference calls, interim and national meetings.

Cude was recognized at the NAIC fall meeting in Washington, D.C., in late November.

Maurice Daniels, dean and professor of the School of Social Work, received the Georgia Histori-cal Records Advisory Council’s Award for Excellence in Research Using the Holdings of an Archives. The GHRAC awards recognize outstanding efforts in archives and records work in Georgia.

Daniels is the author of Saving the Soul of Georgia: Donald L. Hollowell and the Struggle for Civil Rights, the first biography of Donald L. Hollowell, Geor-gia’s chief civil rights attorney during the 1950s and 1960s. The book was published in 2013 by the University of Georgia Press.

The award was presented by University System of Georgia Chancellor Hank Huckaby and GHRAC Chair Toby Graham Oct. 28 during the 13th annual GHRAC Archives Awards Program at the Georgia Archives in Morrow.

In addition to using national archival repositories to research his book, Daniels made extensive use of Georgia repositories: the Richard B. Russell Library for Political Research and Studies, Auburn Avenue Research Library, Albany Civil Rights Institute, Atlanta History Center, National Archives at Atlanta, Georgia Archives, Atlanta University Center’s Wood-ruff Library, and special collections at Columbus State, Georgia State and Emory universities.

Kavita Pandit, associate provost for interna-tional education and a professor of geography, was recognized by regional and national geography as-sociations. She received the 2015 Lifetime Achieve-ment Award from the Southeastern Division of the Association of American Geographers, at its annual meeting in November.

The award, SEDAAG’s highest honor, recog-nizes geographers who possess an extensive record of research and publication in scholarly journals and books as well as a record of excellence in teaching and advising, a record of service contributions to the individual’s educational institution and a record of support to the geography profession.

Pandit also was selected to receive one of the highest honors from the Association of American Geographers: the Ronald F. Abler Distinguished Service Honors.

Presented annually, this national award recog-nizes outstanding accomplishments by members in service to the discipline. It will be presented to Pandit at the AAG national meeting in San Fran-cisco in March.

The AAG is the leading North American scientific and educational society committed to the advancement of geography as a discipline. Founded in 1904, it now has more than 10,000 members. SEDAAG is one of the nine regional divisions of the AAG.

FACULTY PROFILE

OFFICE OF GOVERNMENT RELATIONS

Brenda Cude

By Laurie Andersonlaurie@uga.edu

Mary Caplan knows what it’s like to be poor. As a child the Seattle-born researcher shuttled between two house-holds—one wealthy and one that, in her words, “barely scraped by.”

“I lived economic inequality,” Ca-plan said.

The experience set the course for her life. After earning a degree in soci-ology, she worked for nearly a decade in low-income communities in the San Francisco Bay area, trying to help clients on a case-by-case basis. Then she met “a fantastic social worker” who motivated her to look at the underlying issues behind the problems she saw. She eventually earned a doctorate in social welfare to research poverty.

“The narrative is ‘If you just work hard enough, you should be able to do it,’ ” Caplan said. “I question that, because I see that there are people who are working very, very hard and they’re still not making it.”

These days Caplan teaches and conducts research in an area that many researchers have overlooked—how people use credit to make ends meet. She examines the way low-income individuals utilize informal, fringe and predatory financial services as well as how communities create safer, more inclusive alternatives. Among her ob-servations, she’s noticed how the social aspects of lending impact the borrowing choices people make.

“One of the reasons people may prefer predatory lenders is that they tend to be nice,” she said. “People who

walk into a title loan company report feeling respected and not judged.”

In contrast, she said, banks ask questions about resources and personal histories that people can find embar-rassing or difficult to answer.

Her research is attracting interest in academia and beyond. She’s given invited presentations at international conferences, and a textbook that she contributed to has been translated into four languages and adopted in universi-ties across China. She was also recently featured on the financial literacy website WalletHub.com and the Georgia Public Broadcasting radio program “On Sec-ond Thought.”

When not teaching or conduct-ing research, Caplan volunteers with GLOBES, the campus organization for the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer community. She currently is helping to assess the health service needs of transgender individuals in Athens and surrounding areas to create a guide of “safe space” health service providers. Her efforts reflect her view that poverty isn’t just a lack of income, but can be a lack of inclusion.

“Some people in this community go all the way to Atlanta for health services, because they feel they can’t trust local providers to give unbiased help,” Caplan said.

While Caplan seeks better alterna-tives for marginalized people, she also encourages her students to do the same through hands-on projects and research about the challenges those populations face.

Undergraduate Theresa Young is helping to design and implement one

such project: a study of the relation-ship between poverty and shame. She first volunteered to help and later was awarded a research assistantship from the Center for Undergraduate Research Opportunities.

“Three things immediately drew me,” Young said. “First, I did not know anything about the research process and wanted to learn. Second, I have known for a long time that I wanted my career to involve the ostracized of society, and third, an opportunity to learn from her was something I did not want to pass up.”

Such comments from her students are not unusual. Caplan’s classes are popular, despite their reputation for requiring a lot of reading and writing. Doctoral students in particular face a daunting workload from her, yet last spring they voted her the School of So-cial Work’s Ph.D. Professor of the Year.

What Caplan takes special pleasure in, though, is seeing her students develop an interest in research. Currently she is working with six undergraduate and graduate students on various research projects about the lived reality of poverty.

“I’m very proud of that,” said Caplan.

Assistant professor sheds light on poverty, credit and social exclusion

FACTSMary CaplanAssistant ProfessorSchool of Social WorkPh.D., Social Welfare, University of Califor-nia, Berkeley, 2013M.S.W., Social Welfare, University of California, Berkeley, 2004B.A., Sociology, University of Oregon, 1993At UGA: Two years

By Leanna Brownlkbrown@uga.edu

Alison Bracewell McCullick joined UGA’s Office of Government Rela-tions Jan. 11 as its community relations coordinator.

“Alison is an outstanding addition to the university’s efforts to develop benefi-cial partnerships across Athens-Clarke County and surrounding counties,” Griff Doyle, vice president for government relations. “As a university with more than 200 years in this community, our positive local relationships have been integral to the character and success of the University of Georgia. I look forward to growing that relationship

and seeing where Alison’s leadership takes us.”

In her new role, McCullick will head the Office of Community Rela-tions, succeeding the recently retired Pat Allen. The of-fice serves as the

primary liaison between UGA and the Athens-Clarke County government, businesses, neighborhoods, nonprofit organizations, community leaders and individuals.

“I am grateful for the opportunity to serve the University of Georgia and

my hometown in this very meaningful way,” McCullick said. “Community en-gagement for me is both a passion and a professional privilege. I look forward to continuing the important work of enhancing town-and-gown partnerships that will benefit both our students and citizens.”

McCullick brings more than 20 years of experience in government and com-munity relations to her new position. A native of Athens and a graduate of UGA, she was most recently the director of outreach and communications for the GRU/UGA Medical Partnership.

Before joining the Medical Partner-ship, she spent seven years working in the office of Secretary of State Cathy Cox.

Dorothy Kozlowski

Mary Caplan, an assistant professor in the School of Social Work, teaches and conducts research in an area that many researchers have overlooked—how people use credit to make ends meet.

McCullick named community relations coordinator

Alison McCullick

By Terry Marie Hastingsthasting@uga.edu

The Office for Sponsored Programs and Contracts and Grants merged at the beginning of the fall semester into a single unit called Sponsored Projects Administration to streamline and improve the efficiency and effectiveness of research administration at UGA.

The combined unit, recom-mended by faculty and adminis-trative groups, came to fruition through a combined effort of the Office of the Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost, the Office of the Vice President for Research and the Division of Finance and Administration.

“The creation of Spon-sored Projects Administration underscores this university’s commitment to its faculty members, who should experi-ence the highest level of service as they compete for and manage funding that enables them to advance health, security and our land-grant mission of service,” said Pamela Whitten, senior vice president for academic affairs and provost.

Over 30 Sponsored Projects Administration staff, now co-located in Tucker Hall, work in teams under the Sponsored Projects umbrella to meet the needs of UGA faculty as well as the staff who support research-ers in their departments. Spon-sored Projects Administration is directed by two UGA staff members with extensive experi-ence in research administration: Cathy Cuppett, director of pre-award activities and direc-tor of the Office for Proposal Enhancement in OVPR, and Allison Davis, director of post-award accounting and associate controller in University Business and Accounting Services.

Cuppett and Davis report to Carl Bergmann, associate vice president for research. Post-award accounting has fiscal com-pliance reporting responsibilities to the Controller’s Office.

The two directors talked about how Sponsored Projects Administration has changed UGA researchers’ experience with proposal submission and grants administration, and what’s next.

Columns: What’s different now for UGA researchers? Cuppett: Faculty members now have a centrally located team of research administrators who assist them instead of disparate individuals around campus. They can make one call or send one email to any team member and get their questions answered

correctly, quickly and in full compliance with all the applicable rules and regulations.

We want faculty and their departments to feel more supported across the full spectrum of re-search administration activities—from proposal preparation, submission, resubmission, award ne-gotiation, award accep-tance to award setup, invoicing and reporting.

We want them to think of the team of individu-als who assist them as “their” team and think of Sponsored Projects as “the place that can help me.”

Davis: Since both pre- and post-award staff are in the same building, we can more easily collaborate on answering complex questions, and research-ers and departments are seeing clearer responses to inquiries about their sponsored projects.

There’s more com-munication, so all involved have a better understand-ing of everyone’s respon-sibilities. This is a great benefit to the researchers, since they typically go to their department business managers and accoun-tants first when they have questions.

Columns: What changes can researchers look for in the near future?Davis: Researchers can look for improved cus-tomer service, improved communication of busi-ness process improvement and the enhancement of

research administration support. Cuppett: Sponsored Project Administration teams are visiting their departments to meet researchers face-to-face and talk about their research. Putting names with faces has made our work more rewarding and given us a personal connection to the documents we see. Instead of just making an award, we know we are helping specific faculty further their research. In the next few months we will be visiting additional departments. We are looking forward to meeting researchers across campus.

We will also be working to further automate some research administration functionality in the e-Research Portal, includ-ing prompts for no-cost extension requests, and a more user-friendly budget module. Finally, we are improving our training opportunities for research administrators around campus.

QUESTIONS&ANSWERS 7 columns.uga.edu Jan. 11, 2016

Start to finish

UGA takes team approach to proposal and award

administration

CYBERSIGHTSWEEKLY READER

The Student Veterans Resource Center has launched a new website that provides a more complete one-stop shop for prospective and current students.

The website is the conduit between the university’s student veterans and the resources and opportunities available to them. Additionally, prospective students

will find the site useful as they move through the admissions and matricu-lation process.

“UGA is quickly becoming one of the nation’s top institutions for student veterans, and we hope our website will entice prospective students to apply and will help them navigate once they are on campus,” said Ted Barco, director of the SVRC.

Veterans Resource Center updates sitesvrc.uga.edu

ABOUT COLUMNS

I 7 8 5

The University of Georgia is a unit of the University System of Georgia.

Columns is available to the campus community by subscription for an annual fee of $20 (second-class delivery) or $40 (first-class delivery). Fac-ulty and staff members with a disability may call

706-542-8017 for assistance in obtaining this publication in an alternate format.

Columns staff can be reached at 706-542-8017 or columns@uga.edu

EditorJuliett Dinkins

Art DirectorJanet Beckley

Photo EditorDorothy Kozlowski

Senior ReporterAaron Hale

ReporterMatt Chambers

The University of Georgia is committed to principles of equal opportunity and

affirmative action.

Life can be complicated for a liar and fake artist. As a university art student in 1992, Andy has stealing bits and pieces from other works down to a science. His deception is so deeply rooted within himself, he is even beginning to believe some of his own lies.

When Andy meets Henry, an actual artist, his life tumbles further down the rabbit hole. Henry lives in the shadows of Athens, unable to face humanity for his own dark reasons. When the two join forces, Henry gives Andy the keys to the art kingdom, a move which will alter both of their lives.

Andy must decide between the life he’s painted using someone else’s brush or finding his true self within the gray.

The Painter, a coming of age novel, is written by J.W. Deas, a UGA gradu-ate and art educator.

Alumnus writes novel set in Athens

The PainterJ.W. Deas3-Day Ranch PressPaperback and e-book: $9.99

By Sharon Dowdysharono@uga.edu

As a young man working on his family’s farm in Perry, Jerry Johnson loved the sight of wheat growing in the fields. Decades later, Johnson, now a respected plant breeder and crop and soil sciences professor, received the 2015 Inventor’s Award from the UGA Research Foundation for his work breeding wheat varieties for farmers in Georgia and across the Southeast.

“I grew a lot of wheat and soybeans with my father and my uncle. I always thought the wheat was pretty growing in the fields during the wintertime, when everything else is brown and there are no leaves on the trees,” he said.

Johnson attended Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College and UGA, completing his undergraduate degree in agronomy. While at UGA, he worked with Morris Bitzer in his wheat breeding program before accepting an assistantship at Purdue University. There, he earned master’s and doctoral degrees in plant breeding and genetics. He was an assistant professor at the University of Maryland before returning home to UGA in 1977 to teach and conduct research at the Griffin campus.

Thirty-eight years later, Johnson has produced close to 50 wheat varieties. Throughout his career, he made at least 1,000 wheat crosses annually, which led to an average of two new wheat varieties each year.

To breed a new variety, Johnson takes two plants and crosses them together to get what’s called an “initial cross.” He watches those crosses grow generations for about six years before selecting the best crosses. Three more years of field testing gives Johnson time to view, evaluate and record the new variety’s performance.

All of the wheat varieties released through John-son’s research program in UGA’s College of Agri-cultural and Environmental Sciences were bred to increase farmers’ yields while decreasing the impact of insects and disease.

“The primary goal is that we breed for yield—be-cause that’s how farmers get paid—and excellent test weight,” he said. “To maintain the yield, we have to build in Hessian fly (a major wheat pest) and soil-borne disease resistance. Other diseases, like leaf rust, can be controlled with fungicides if necessary, but there’s a cost involved there.”

Johnson, who recently retired but plans to help transition the UGA wheat breeding program into the hands of Mohamed Mergoum, newly named program breeder, is most proud of AGS2000. UGARF licensed AGS2000 to Georgia-based AgSouth Genetics and the variety “helped them become successful,” Johnson said.

The total gross license revenue received by UGARF from the commercialization of Johnson’s varieties totals nearly $3 million.

CAES

Wheat breeder receives research foundation’s 2015 Inventor’s Award

Dorothy Kozlowski

Sponsored Projects Administration is directed by two UGA staff members with extensive experience in research administration: Cathy Cuppett, director of pre-award activities and director of the Office for Proposal Enhancement in OVPR, and Allison Davis, director of post-award accounting and associate controller in University Business and Accounting Services, who say recent changes have led to benefits for researchers.

Jerry Johnson

Jan. 11, 2016 columns.uga.edu8

FELLOWS from page 1 FACILITY from page 1

University Woman’s Club The University Woman’s Club will

meet Jan. 12 at 11 a.m. in the Fel-lowship Hall of Central Presbyterian Church, 380 Alps Road.

Guest speaker Elizabeth Gardner, project coordinator for Watershed UGA in the Odum School of Ecology, will discuss “The Trickle-Down Effect of Water in Our Community.”

A nominating committee also will be appointed at the meeting.

Tobacco cessation classesRegistration is open until Jan. 14

for the College of Pharmacy’s “Beat the Pack” tobacco cessation program.

Meetings will be held on Tuesdays Jan. 19 through Feb. 23 from 5:45-6:45 p.m. at the UGA Training and Development Center building, 315 S. Thomas St. Parking at the center is free after 5 p.m.

The program is free, but space is limited to 10 participants.

The registration form and fli-ers can be downloaded as PDFs at http://t.uga.edu/1Du . Register by fax-ing a completed registration form to 706-542-6022; emailing the completed registration form to monicaw@uga.edu ; or calling 706-542-3893.

OLLI activity fairThe Osher Lifelong Learning In-

stitute will host its next OLLI Bash, an

activity fair for current and prospective members and guests, Jan. 15.

Open to the public, the activity fair will be held from 1-3 p.m. at Central Presbyterian Church, 380 Alps Road.

OLLI Bash will feature displays and information about the spring semester’s 176 courses in 24 categories, 21 lun-cheon programs and travel/study trips as well as OLLI@UGA’s social events and 30 special interest groups.

For more information, go to www.olli.uga.edu .

Grant proposal deadlineThe UGA Parents and Families

Association’s Parents Leadership Council is accepting grant proposals for the 2016-2017 academic year to fund program and events that enhance the student experience at UGA.

Grant applications are due by the close of business Feb. 12. Grants will be accepted only from UGA schools, colleges, units, departments, divisions or student organizations registered with the Center for Student Organizations.

Proposals must demonstrate a direct and positive affect on student life at UGA.

Grants will be awarded in the spring by a committee established by the Par-ents Leadership Council.

Since 2002, the council has funded $1.3 million in grants to several pro-grams and organizations on campus,

including the Counseling and Psychi-atric Services Center at the University Health Center, the Office of Inter-national Education and the Office of Student Financial Aid.

The complete list of guidelines and requirements is at parents.uga.edu .

For more information, email Diane Johnson, director of the Parents Lead-ership Council, at dfjohn@uga.edu .

Research participants soughtResearchers in the College of Arts

and Sciences’ psychology department are conducting a study to learn more about how families communicate about emotions in their marital and parenting relationships.

Those eligible to participate in the study must be married and have a child between the ages of 7-11. Participation in the study will involve completing questionnaires at home and a one-time campus visit of one to two hours in the psychology building. Both parents and the child are required to attend the ses-sion together.

Participating families will receive $75.

For more information, call 706-542-1299 or email ugamarriagelab@gmail.com .

Bulletin Board is limited to information that may pertain to a majority of faculty and staff members.

Bulletin Board

conducted at UGA,” said David Lee, vice presi-dent for research. “We join NAI in celebrating their contributions to science and society.”

Chu is a former faculty member in the pharmaceutical and biomedical sciences de-partment. His research focuses on nucleoside and carbohydrate chemistry, antiviral chemo-therapy, cancer chemotherapy, structure-based drug design and molecular modeling, and antiviral drug discovery for bioterrorism. His antiviral drug clevudine, marketed under the trade names Levovir and Revovir, is used in the treatment of chronic hepatitis B infections in South Korea and the Philippines.

“Dr. Chu is one of the most prolific and productive inventors at the University of Geor-gia,” Lee said. “His work has led to dozens of inventions and patents, and his development of clevudine has improved the lives of countless individuals suffering from hepatitis B.”

Chu is the recipient of numerous pres-tigious awards, including the NIH Merit Award, the UGA Inventor of the Year Award and the John A. Montgomery Award, which is given biannually to an outstanding scientist in recognition of a contribution that results in significant advances in chemotherapy.

Chu holds 63 U.S. patents and more than 130 international patents that have been li-censed to 10 companies. He is a co-founder of both Pharmasset, which was acquired by Gilead for $11 billion in 2011, and, more recently, he co-founded Atea Pharmaceuticals to explore novel antiviral therapeutics.

Although officially retired, Chu maintains an active research program on drug synthesis and is currently developing treatments for hepatitis B and C infections.

Hanna is world-renowned, especially for his development of superior, sterile, warm-season

bermudagrass cultivars bearing the prefix name “Tif,” an homage to the location of his decades of research and trials: UGA’s Tifton campus in south Georgia. The term “Tif” is recognized in the turfgrass industry worldwide as a symbol of quality.

“Wayne Hanna’s career could be consid-ered a success based on numbers alone,” said Derek Eberhart, director of UGA’s Innovation Gateway, citing Hanna’s 16 issued and three pending patent applications; 17 trademarks registered for plant cultivar names worldwide; three issued foreign patents; six Plant Variety Protection certificates; and more than 230 intellectual property agreements related to his cultivars.

Hanna’s patented plants have generated more than $7 million in gross license revenue plus another $3 million from plants protected by PVP certificates.

Hank Huckaby, who led the construction of the Complex Carbohydrate Research Center while serving as UGA’s senior vice president for finance and administration, a role he held until 2006. “It will be an important factor in the land-grant university here doing what it should do and needs to do to serve the people of this state, to bring more economic development and also improve the health of our population.”

The center has operated in various loca-tions on UGA’s campus since its founding in 2012. The new facility will give the research-ers better opportunities to collaborate with each other and with faculty housed in the Complex Carbohydrate Research Center.

“With the interactions of the Complex Carbohydrate Research Center and the CMM, we’ll be able to really address fun-damental problems in health science, and I’m really looking forward to seeing that happen,” said Alan Darvill, director of the Complex Carbohydrate Research Center.

“The Center for Molecular Medicine will enhance UGA’s mission and reputa-tion in the biomedical research area,” said Stephen Dalton, director of the CMM. “I’m delighted to be associated with the center and to be collaborating with Dr. Darvill in this venture and with the Complex Carbo-hydrate Research Center. I look forward to the building’s construction and to the many great scientific discoveries that will come out of the center in the future.”

CMM research groups will focus on stem cells and regenerative medicine, vac-cine development and therapeutics, and human disease models such as diabetes and other metabolic diseases, neurological and cardiovascular disorders, and obesity and biomedical glycobiology.

The center will train undergraduate and graduate students to become the next gen-eration of leading biomedical scientists, such as M.D./Ph.D. student Miranda Hayworth of Oak Ridge, North Carolina, who con-ducted research under Dalton’s direction.

“Research, without a doubt, enhances the quality of modern medicine, and I hope that the many undergraduates here at UGA interested in the field of medicine will take advantage of the tremendous biomedical research opportunities that the new Cen-ter for Molecular Medicine will generate,” said Hayworth, who successfully defended her dissertation and now is completing her medical education at the Georgia Regents University/UGA Medical Partnership in Athens.

Faculty members, from left, Ben Ehlers, history, Amma Y. Ghartey-Tagoe Kootin, theatre and film studies and the Institute for African American Studies, and Kathleen deMarrais, lifelong education, administration and policy department, look over archival materials in a December workshop for the inaugural Special Collections Libraries Faculty Fellows. Representing a range of disciplines, the 11 Fellows will participate in workshops and seminars this spring to develop archives-centered courses that they will teach beginning in the fall at the special collections libraries. The program is a joint effort of the UGA Libraries and the Center for Teaching and Learning to broaden the scope of fields using special collections materials in classes. In addition to Ehlers, Kootin and deMarrais, the other Fellows are Garrison Bickerstaff (Division of Academic Enhancement), Cynthia Camp (English), Brian Drake (history), Hilda Kurtz (geography), Akela Reason (history), Spencer Simril (English and the Division of Academic Enhancement), Kristen Smith (public relations) and M. Montgomery Wolf (history). More information about the program is at http://t.uga.edu/1Z3 .

Eight faculty were selected for the 2015-16 cohort of Senior Teaching Fellows. The senior faculty will focus on professional growth in undergraduate instruction, sharing of ideas, and strengthening courses and teaching methods in a synergistic community of learners. From left: Rahul Shrivastav (VP, OVPI), Roy Legette, Hamid Arabnia, Terry Centner, Betsy Vonk, Linda Renzulli, Joel Lee, Shelley Zuraw, Eddie Watson (director, CTL), and Dana Bultman. More information on the Fellows is at http://ctl.uga.edu/faculty/ctl_senior_teaching_fellows .

ON THE WEBcmm.uga.edu

Special Collections Libraries Faculty Fellows

2015-16 cohort of Senior Teaching Fellows