COLLEGE OF ARTS AND SCIENCES NEWS LETTER

NEWSLETTERCOLLEGE OF ARTS AND SCIENCES

Theatre Undergraduate ResearchGrows Exponentially

SPRING 2014

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ARTS AND SCIENCES NEWSLETTER 2 GEORGIA COLLEGE

ARTS AND SCIENCES NEWSLETTER SPRING 2014

DEANKENNETH J. PROCTER

NEWSLETTER EDITOROLUFUNKE A. FONTENOT

Associate Dean, College of Arts and Sciences

PHOTO CREDITSChRIS Eby

SANdRA GOdWINTIM VACUlA

CRAIG PASCOERyAN bROWN

Dean’s Message

Faculty and students are as busy as ever. Therange of activities and accomplishments featuredin the spring Arts and Sciences newsletter is just a

taste of what is happening in the college.

Our primary focus is always on the classroom, but asyou can see, what happens in the classroom ischanging, and delivering the very best education toGeorgia College students extends instruction wellbeyond the classroom. Work with the community andstudy in the wider world reflect our belief that directengagement offers the deepest form of learning.Travel and service to others transform lives.

Great education starts with the faculty. Remarkably,two of our biology faculty have ties to recent NobelPrize winners. This is just one indication of thequalifications Arts and Sciences faculty bring toGeorgia College. Even with our primary focus onteaching, Arts and Sciences faculty are amazinglyproductive in their scholarly and creative work andservice to the community. Spring semester is hiringseason for much academia. As we interviewcandidates for open faculty positions, our outstandingfaculty attract the very best new colleagues. In turn,excellent faculty attract great students. Quality attractsquality. Georgia College gets better and better.

DEAN KENNETH PROCTER

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MusicSeveral vocal students participated inthe Georgia National Association ofSchools of Singing Auditions, heldNovember 16-17. The competitionincluded 302 singers from universitiesand private studios across the state. Weare very proud of the students whoattended, and how well theyrepresented our school in thiscompetition.

The following students won theircategories:

Cannon McClainFirst Place Winner of Sophomore Men

Calia HowseFirst Place Winner of the Semi-Finals forSophomore Women



CONTENTS|8

From a Dinosaur Garden

to cruising down theFossil Freeway

12Theatre Undergraduate

Research Grows Exponentially

15Senior Art Group Show|

INSIDE

Government and SociologyMass Comm StudentsGa. Political Science AssociationPsiChiSouthern FoodTies with Nobel Prize WinnersRural PovertyHoliday ConcertChemistryChoral ConcertSoutheastern Model Africa UnionFaculty News


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e Department of Government and Sociology iscurrently offering an upper level sociology course thatprovides students with an opportunity to interact with thelocal community and learn beyond the classroom. SandraGodwin, PhD, Associate Professor of Sociology developedthe course titled “Community-University Partnerships andthe Co-Construction of Knowledge,” which also drawsfrom the role of experiential learning as a powerful teachingand learning tool. According to Dr. Godwin, “this is aunique experience for our students since they are able tomeet weekly, as a class, with a community organization inmembers’ own neighborhood. Students have theopportunity to build meaningful relationships withcommunity members as we all work together for mutualempowerment. Community engagement encouragesresponsible citizenship, social justice work, self-reflection,and contributes to a culture of engaged learning.” JonGerman, a senior Sociology major noted that, “this hasbeen a transformative experience as I’ve learned that simplyputting myself out there, introducing myself to people, andmaking an effort just to be there, can make a world ofdifference in creating relationships between a communityand a student like myself.”

In addition to discussions and readings on publicengagement, community change, participatory research andexploration of models of community-universitypartnerships, students attend weekly meetings of theMilledgeville Community Garden Association atHarrisburg, a historical, established neighborhood on thesouth side of Milledgeville. At these meetings, studentshave the opportunity to interact with leaders and membersof the community and local community organizations.

Students have been able to observe first-hand how thecommunity garden effort served as the framework forresidents’ creation of a walking trail and focused homerepair activities. Danny Montenegro, a senior Sociologymajor, commented that “I think it’s been a learningopportunity to work with a community that has been soeager to restore its neighborhood. It has been interesting tosee it all come out of a community garden and move outfrom growing plants to growing a community.” Foranother student, Abby Martin, a junior Sociologymajor, “It's been cool to see how a left-over part of theformer Harrisburg School has become so meaningful. eCP Lee Center has breathed new life. It has become ameeting spot, a place for after-school programs, acommunity garden, and also a place for all of us involved tochange from who we are to who we want to be.” As a resultof this course experience and the community engagementsembedded in the schedule, some of the students are nowtutoring children. According to Cheyenne Davis, a juniorSociology minor, “After attending the Harrisburg meetings,I’m not as uncomfortable meeting new people. I can go tothese meetings, build relationships and support variousinitiatives.”

During the semester the students are also evaluating modelsand approaches to community-university partnerships.ese evaluations could assist future efforts betweenGeorgia College and the Milledgeville community. Plansfor final projects include a student handbook for

Innovative Course Offers Students anOpportunity to Create Community Partnerships

GOVERNMENT ANd SOCIOlOGy


community engagement, a large poster map of theneighborhood, and a PowerPoint “scrapbook” of the historyand current activities of the communityassociation. Zykerious Crawford, a junior Sociologymajor, is excited about this possibility since this classallowed him to “recognize the bubble that exists here at GC,

given that everyone shares a similar background. is classhas been a reminder of the importance to bridge this gapbetween the university and the community of Milledgeville.We are discovering ways to do just that. It is an experiencethat will stay with me forever.”�

The Department of Government and Sociology Co-Sponsors International Conference on

Flannery O’Connor

e Department of Government and Sociology and theCenter for Transatlantic Studies, represented by Henry T.Edmondson III PhD., Professor of Political Science andPublic Administration, will co-sponsor an internationalconference entitled, “Flannery O’Connor & the Mysteryof Place.” e conference will be held at All HallowsCollege in Dublin, Ireland, July 24-26, 2014 and marksthe 50th anniversary of Ms. O’Connor’s death.

e other sponsors of the conference include e Joanand Bill Hank Center for the Catholic IntellectualHeritage, Loyola University Chicago; the Faculty of Artsand Science at Nipissing University, Canada; e MaryFlannery O’Connor Charitable Trust; UniversidadComplutense, Madrid (e University of Madrid), Spain;Georgia College; and, Belmont Abbey College in NorthCarolina.

Professor Edmondson, who has initiated and spearheadedthis event, and serves as a member of the ConferenceCommittee, explains,

“is conference has been four years in the making andwe are delighted it has finally come together. Initiatingand directing a conference from the U.S. with a smallconsortium of international universities with a venue inEurope has been tricky to say the least, but we seem tohave pulled it off. We have received generous supportfrom various sources and I’m lucky to have the assistanceof Georgia College’s web services and the Department ofContinuing Education with the web site and registration.We expect participation from the U.S., Europe, SouthAmerica and perhaps Asia as well.”

Edmondson further explained that this conference buildsupon the success of another international conference thathe co-directed in Rome, Italy at Santa Croce University,April 20-22, 2009, entitled “Reason, Faith & Fiction: AnInternational Flannery O’Connor Conference,” whichenjoyed participation from four continents.

Edmondson’s interest in O’Connor grows out of hisgeneral teaching and research interest in politics andliterature. Among other scholarship, he is currentlyediting A Political Companion to Flannery O’Connor,which will be one of the volumes in the University Pressof Kentucky’s series “Political Companions to GreatAmerican Authors.” e series already offers books onEmerson, Steinbeck, Bellow, and Percy, with more tocome, including the O’Connor volume. e Director ofthe UPK, Steve Wrinn, calls this his “signature series” thatwill “live on long after we are gone.”

Costas Spirou, PhD, Professor and Chair of theDepartment of Government and Sociology noted that“is is a timely and very relevant event. FlanneryO’Connor is Georgia College’s most famous graduate. Shecompleted her BA degree in Social Science in 1945 andher global prestige continues to grow—her works havenow been translated into over 40 languages.”

Located in Flannery O’Connor’s ancestral homeland andscheduled to commemorate the 50th anniversary of heruntimely death, this international conference welcomes anarray of interdisciplinary paper proposals designed toilluminate and deepen the understanding andappreciation of O’Connor’s fiction, prose andcorrespondence. e event will feature speakers GinaOchsner, American author and winner of the 2001Flannery O’Connor Award and John F. Deane, criticallyacclaimed Irish poet and writer. ere will be aroundtable discussion with Ralph Wood, Professor ofeology and Literature, Baylor University, and a specialconference panel titled “O’Connor as Seen from Ireland”will feature Emer Nolan, National University of Ireland,Maynooth; Stephen Matterson, Trinity College, Dublin;and Jarlath Killeen, Trinity College, Dublin.

For more information on the Conference, please checkthe conference site at gcsu.edu/mysteryofplace/.

Please contact Professor Hank [email protected] for additional information.


Mass Comm Students|


Students from WGUR, Georgia College’s student-runradio station, traveled to San Antonio, Texas toparticipate in the College broadcasters conference, anational organization that supports students involved inradio, television and other media. Students wereaccompanied by WGUR faculty adviser, Angela Criscoe.

WGUR's General Manager, Michelle hanley, andbusiness Manager, Nick hanchey, teamed up to present,“New year, New Staff! Pass the Torch”, an informationalsession on how WGUR trains new leaders every year.

both students also attended several sessions tolearn about broadcast. “Nothing is better than being in aroom with 50 other students your own age who lovesomething as much as you do and being able to learnfrom other stations strengths and weaknesses andcompare them to your own. before I attended the CbIconference, I expected that all other stations worked“perfectly” and had no issues whatsoever. but aftersitting around round table discussions and speaking toother college radio station staffs, I learned that we allshare some of the same issues. It was a truly greatexperience”, stated hanley.

hanley and hanchey recently presented topics theylearned from the conference to the upcoming membersof WGUR.

Gaining professional connections and insight, fourbobcat PRSSA (Public Relations Student Society ofAmerica) students traveled to Philadelphia, Pa. in lateOctober to attend the 2013 PRSSA National Conference.

The PRSSA National Conference is a professionaldevelopment conference held every year for publicrelations students around the world. The theme this yearwas “Foundation for Innovation.”

Through application process, Maria Esposito,Kathryn Stanley, Alex Griffith and Zoe blutstein werechosen to attend the conference. Each memberaccepted a scholarship promising to return with valuableinformation for the chapter.

Each morning all the students would gather to heara keynote address and then be dismissed to individualworkshops. Students were able to choose from amultitude of sessions like, “CEO of you: Creating yourPersonal brand” and “Step Up to the Plate: Sports PR.”

“by getting the chance to talk to the head of PR forthe 76ers, I gained knowledge in the area of PR that Ihope to go into,” said Zoe blutstein, junior masscommunication major. “It was a great opportunity!”

Sessions were also held for individual chapterdevelopment. These sessions provided good time forstudents to meet chapter officers from universities acrossthe country to exchange ideas. Kathryn Stanley, VicePresident of bobcat PRSSA, was able to collaborate withstudents to generate ideas for recruitment in the spring.

bobcat PRSSA was also recognized for itsaccomplishments at the conference by receiving the StarChapter award. The Star Chapter Award is a significant

distinction PRSSA chapters can earn by meeting eightout of ten professional development goals and standardsestablished by the PRSSA National Committee. Some ofthese standards include community service projects,ethics, fundraising efforts and recruitmentaccomplishments.

dr. Kristin English, faculty adviser to bobcat PRSSA,is delighted with the chapter’s tireless efforts to bringbobcat PRSSA to the national stage and compete withuniversities of larger size and resources.

“The Star Chapter award provides validation for thehard work the chapter has done in the past year,”English said. “Winning it two years in a row exhibits ourcontinued commitment to perform at the highest level ofexcellence.”

The Star Chapter Award was not the onlyrecognition bobcat PRSSA received. bobcat PRSSAPresident, Maria Esposito, was also awarded the NationalPresident’s Citation and the lawrence G. Foster Awardfor Excellence in Public Relations. The two awardsrecognize her achievements in the public relations field,commitment to PRSSA and promise to practice publicrelations ethically and honestly.

At the coming chapter meetings, the four plan toshare their experiences and knowledge from theconference to help build bobcat PRSSA for the future.

"It was a privilege to attend the 2013 PRSSANational Conference," said Alex Griffith, senior masscommunication major. "being able to network withprofessionals from all around the country is anopportunity not many college students get.”

The Colonnade accompanied by Macon McGinleysent six student representatives to the National CollegeMedia Convention in New Orleans Oct. 23-26 wherethey joined 2,500 student media practitioners fromaround the country to train in sessions led by some ofthe most prestigious professionals in all fields ofjournalism.

Students included editor-in-chief ConstantinaKokenes, advertising manager Sarah Grace, assistantnews editor Sarah Wilson, assistant photo editor TaylorPitts, assistant sports editor bethan Adams, and assistantA&E editor lauren Corcino. Corcino even had a chanceto meet keynote speaker and Today Show co-host hodaKotb.

The NCMC is hosted by Associated Collegiate Pressand College Media Association. Convention Founded in1921, ACP is the oldest and largest national membershiporganization for college student journalists. CMA hasbeen working since 1954 to help student mediaprofessionals improve their media operations. These twoorganizations are the largest and oldest in the UnitedStates dedicated to helping college media thrive andstudent journalists succeed in the academic environmentand beyond. �

WGUR, PRSSA, and The Colonnade, all advised by mass communicationfaculty spent part of fall semester traveling across the country earningawards, representing the university and improving their organizations


e Georgia College Natural History Museumhas been very busy with new projects andupcoming events. During a three month periodthis fall, over 2500 people have visited the NHM.e museum held special openings in Septemberfor Smithsonian Museum Day and in October forDeep Roots festival. In addition to GC studentsand scheduled school groups, visitors hailed fromeight states and Canada. "e museum is free andopen to the public from 8:00 AM to 4:00 PMMonday through Friday and on special occasions."

said Dr. Bob Chandler, Associate Professor ofBiology and Museum Coordinator. "e attractiveand informative exhibits are very popular with allage groups, and we strive to keep them updated".In addition to the public exhibit, the NaturalHistory Museum houses a research collection thatis recognized by the National Parks Service as anofficial repository of Badlands fossils. iscollection is only the second such collection east ofthe Mississippi River with this designation. eSmithsonian Institution is the other.

From aDinosaur Garden

to cruising down theFossil Freeway

GC students are regular visitors to the museum


The Natural History Museum is evolving! e exhibits in the museum recently have been redesigned andupdated. Following the recommendations of a museum consultant,this yearlong project has refreshed the exhibits ensuring that regularvisitors will be seeing new and updated displays. e cases have beenrearranged around the room in a way that makes it easy for visitorsto travel through time. In addition, new specimens are nowdisplayed that previously have not been viewed by the public. eentire renovation should be completed by the end of 2014 but don’twait until then to visit!

A titanothere skull weathers out of the rock in Dr. Bill Wall’s Badlands exhibit.

Growing a Dinosaur Garden e Mesozoic Era was a time of change. e landmass Pangaeabegan to break up and seaways began to spread. eenvironment was warm and equable. is was the Age ofReptiles. For almost 200 million years there was rapid speciationof both plants and animals. At first, ferns, cycads, ginkgoes andconifers dominated the landscape. Near the end, flowering plantsevolved.

e part-time staff members of the Natural History Museum(museum interpreter Rick Joslyn, fossil technician Heidi Meadand exhibit designer Linda Chandler), with the assistance ofSusan Daniels and Johnny Dillard of the GC GroundsDepartment, are creating a new outdoor exhibit complete withliving plants whose ancestors evolved during the Mesozoic. Dr.Taylor Quedensley, Assistant Professor of Biology, generouslydonated some of the plants from the Biological &Environmental Sciences Department Greenhouse. e gardenexhibit can be observed through the large glass viewing station atthe front door of the museum. Come visit the museum and get aglimpse of what the world looked like at this time…and maybeeven see a dinosaur egg or two…�

Cruisin’ the Fossil FreewayFossils are found in every state. To prove that point, KirkJohnson (Director of the National Museum of Natural History)and acclaimed artist Ray Troll embarked on the ultimatepaleontological road trip throughout the American west. eirescapades were documented, and lavishly illustrated in thebook, “Cruisin’ the Fossil Freeway”. A book alone was notenough to do justice to their 5,000-mile long prehistoricodyssey. So Johnson and Troll, with support from the BurkeMuseum, created an exhibit dovetailing Troll’s whimsical imageswith genuine fossils.

Now, through the efforts of Dr. Melanie DeVore, Professor andGeorgia Power Endowed Chair of Environmental Sciences, andthe GC Natural History Museum, the “Cruisin’ the FossilFreeway” exhibit will be parking at Georgia College for threemonths starting September 2014. Along with twenty framedprints of Troll’s artwork, and with illustrations, maps andaccounts of Johnson and Troll’s travels will be a sampling of thefossil treasure trove housed in the Georgia College NaturalHistory Museum collections. Visitors will come face to facewith killer pigs, spawning ammonites, and capture a glimpse ofancient climate by looking at a 50 million year old set of fossilleaves. And since this journey is coming to Georgia, expect aheaping helping of the “Peach State’s” prehistoric best.An organizing committee of faculty and museum staff is alsoplanning a series of related talks and events prior to the exhibitopening to provide the campus and the communityopportunities to celebrate Georgia's deeper history before thereal party starts in September. Georgia College is indeedlocated in "Georgia's Antebellum Capital". However, theextensive fossil collections housed in the GC Natural HistoryMuseum and the paleontological expertise of associated facultyand museum staff, also earn Milledgeville the title of "Georgia'sPrehistoric Capital".

e “Cruisin’ the Fossil Freeway” exhibit is sponsored by theGeorgia Power Endowment, the Department of Biological andEnvironmental Sciences, the Georgia College Natural HistoryMuseum and the College of Arts & Sciences.

Photo credits: Linda Chandler

Johnny Dillard (left), Matthew McGee (center) and Eddie Barnes(right) from the GC Grounds Department planting in theDinosaur Garden

e annual Georgia Political Science Association conferencewas held in Savannah, Georgia in November and fourstudents from Georgia College’s Department of Governmentand Sociology presented their research. Two of the studentsare seniors in the Political Science program and two arepursuing Master of Public Administration (MPA) degrees.

Jay Fickle, a Political Science senior co-presented with MinKim, Ph.D., Assistant Professor as part of a panel entitled“Governance and Economy.” e title of their presentationwas “Corruption, Income Inequality, and Economic Growthin the U.S.". ey analyzed the effects of corruption onincome inequality and growth. e study used a corruptionrisk model comprised of the existence of public integritymechanisms, the effectiveness of those mechanisms, and theaccess that citizens have to those mechanisms. “Governance and Development in the ird World” was thetitle of the paper presented by MPA student, Ashley

McCready. In her paper, Ms. McCready examined thecomplex relationship between governance and growth indeveloping nations. Intricate arguments demonstrating thecausal connections between governance, democracy andadvancement in the ird World through an empiricalanalysis were included.

Salma Henaidi, student in the MPA program presented,“Evaluation and Analysis for Georgia’s HOPE ScholarshipProgram". Ms. Henaidi assessed whether the HOPE programhas succeeded in meeting its objectives. Her study confirmsthat Georgia counties with more African-American residentshave a higher percentage of students that enroll in collegethan other counties. She concluded that there is a positiveand statistically significant correlation between the percentageof students entering colleges and universities in each countyand the percentage of students eligible for HOPE.

Finally, Political Science undergraduate student, Bryan Barksworked closely with Jason Rich, Ph.D., Assistant Professor,and presented in a panel titled, “New Issues in theInternational Arena.” Ms. Barks’ paper, “e United States’Role in the Construction of International Small ArmsControl,” used a constructivist framework to address thelargely unsuccessful efforts of the international community tolimit small arms proliferation and to make an argument forthe United States’ role in the obstruction of this norm-building process. She argued that international norms drivenby the United States’ existing domestic gun control policies,culture, control over gun manufacturing, and position as theglobal hegemon have prevented the emergence of aninternational regime regulating small arms. e paper wasextremely well received by the panel discussant and audiencemembers. It has been nominated for the GPSA’s Roger N.Pajari Undergraduate Paper Award for the best undergraduatepaper of the year.

“Student involvement in research activities is very importantand the Department of Government and Sociology faculty areworking closely with our students to ensure that futuregraduates have an opportunity to collaborate and present theirwork in various academic settings. I would like tocongratulate our students for sharing their research at theGPSA conference and our faculty for their guidance andsupport. e Department is excited by what its students areproducing in scholarly research” said Costas Spirou, Ph.D.Department Chair. �


PALS:Philosophy and Liberal StudiesPhilosophy major. The term often brings tomind a vision of students engaging in eruditediscussions, incisive commentary and logicalargumentation. Often, the vision stops there.Few people are aware of the practicaladvantages that these skills confer onphilosophy majors. Purdue University, citingthe US department of Education, highlights

the following facts about the Philosophy major: Philosophymajors rank first among all majors in law school acceptancerate: 82.4%; Philosophy majors rank first among all majors inlSAT scores and in the verbal and analytic sections of theGRE.

An exemplar of these statistics is Chris Eby a recentPhilosophy/history double-major who is attending theprestigious University of Chicago law School. In Novemberthe Philosophy program invited Chris Eby to campus toacquaint current and prospective Philosophy majors with theprocess of law school application. Chris visited several lowerand upper level Philosophy classes, as well as met with thePhilosophy club, where he was peppered with questions fromexcited students, eager to “get the scoop on a law school”from one of their own.

In its desire to provide an exemplary intellectual educationthat simultaneously remains cognizant of students’ careeraspirations the Philosophy program has recently proposed aPre-law concentration within the Philosophy major in order tofurther hone relevant skills for those Philosophy majorsinterested in pursuing law. �

Students Present at Georgia Political Science Association Conference


Boasting over 600,000 members and 1,100 chaptersglobally, e International Honor Society ofPsychology(PsiChi) is the largest student centeredpsychological organization. PsiChi’s mission “to produce awell-educated, ethical, and socially responsible membercommitted to contributing to the science and profession ofpsychology and to society in general,” is firmly upheld byGeorgia College’s PsiChi chapter. As a reflection of ourdedication to this mission we were recently awarded acertificate for 20 years of membership in PsiChi.Countless students and faculty mentors have contributedto the success of the organization.

Major accomplishments from the last 20 years includeseveral philanthropic endeavors such as thanksgivingcanned food drives, hosting local families in need, andmost recently contributing to Baldwin County’s RelayFor Life by donating time and raising money as ‘TeamGeorgia College PsiChi.’ e chapter plans to continueits work with Relay for Life in future years. PsiChi’sphilanthropic activities also extend to e Department ofPsychological Science; for the last 20 years PsiChi hashonored the accomplishments of its students by hosting acommencement ceremony for graduating psychology

majors and their families. Additionally, since the spring of2011 PsiChi has illustrated its commitment to promotingthe science of psychology by sponsoring the departmentalresearch poster session at the Annual Psychology MajorDay Ceremony held each spring. Our chapter is proud ofits accomplishments and looks forward to the next 20years of PsiChi membership!" �

PsiChi |



The Theatre department with dance waspleased to be awarded a 2012-13Undergraduate Research and CreativeEndeavors (URACE) Implementation Grantfor our research entitled “Implementing aCulture of Undergraduate Research:highlighting Embedded Research in theTheatre department. “ The departmentcreated a comprehensive undergraduateresearch agenda implemented through

conferences, community outreach, and service learning.Assessment was based on the Association of AmericanColleges and Universities (AAC&U) Value Rubrics andthe initial GC Quality Enhancement Plan (QEP) Rubrics.

Students in Theatre attended 6 regional and/or nationalconferences plus 2 on-campus conferences. Students indance attended 1 regional conference. Students in theGC2y Theatre as Social Change course attended 1 on-campus conference. 66 individual students in Theatreparticipated in 154 projects that were assessed in thisreport. Additionally, 28 individual GC2y students wereassessed on a group of projects with Early College. Inaddition, 33 individual dance Minor students wereassessed on their community engagement work.

88 objectives in the AAC&U VAlUE Rubric and the 8objectives on the GC QEP Initial Rubrics were assessed,resulting in a better understanding of the strengths andweaknesses in the Theatre curriculum. CreativeThinking, Problem-Solving, Teamwork, and InterculturalKnowledge resulted in highest scores. Theatrepresented this work at the recent GC UndergraduateResearch Symposium. Results of the assessment showthat for Theatre students in this study, 51.2% reachedthe Capstone (highest) level on the AAC&U rubrics and47% of Theatre students in this study reached theCapstone level of the QEP.

One of our very busy undergraduate students lexiWilliams did research on a slavery project that resulted

in a performance of “Free like br’er Rabbit” at theWren’s Nest in Atlanta and also did research onimmigration, performing a collaborative dance/theatrepiece with guest artist Jose Torres Tama demonstratingher own written work that she performed in “Reflectionson the American dream” in Russell Auditorium.likewise, she was evaluated once again with and forEarly College students along with Pediatric Nursing inher GC2y Theatre as Social Change class on herperformance and written reflections on topics such asanti-bullying.

Our dance students have disseminated their communityoutreach research at the Veteran’s home, Central Statehospital, and area nursing homes. They have created adance for the Clothesline Project, increasing awarenessof domestic violence against women. dance studentsdisseminated their research at the regional AmericanCollege dance Festival in 2013 at the University ofSouth Florida in Tampa. The dance pedagogy studentsare implementing their scholarship of teaching andlearning through teaching community dance to localschool children with resulting public presentations aspart of “The Nutcracker” and the Spring Communitydance Concert.

Ten Theatre students were nominated by externalrespondents to disseminate their research at theKennedy Center American College Theatre FestivalRegion 4 Conference at darton College in Albany,Georgia in February 2013. Students Matt Riley, thecostume designer and Jessica McClure, the makeupand hair designer for “The birds” were awardedhonorable mentions for their presentations at theRegion 4 conference.

Another 15 of our students were nominated this year fortheir design and acting research and presented at theKennedy Center 2014 conference at hollis University inRoanoke, Virginia in February 2014. �

Theatre Undergraduate Research Grows Exponentially

By DR. KAREN BERMAN, eatre Chair

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Afew years ago I wrote a proposalfor a museum exhibit on the historyof barbecue in American history forthe Atlanta history Center. Theywere very excited about theprospect of creating a travelingmuseum exhibit and accepted the

proposal. I was asked to serve as a Guest Curator forthe project. We secured an NEh planning grant in2008 to further our plans and spent a year workingwith food writers, academics, pitmasters, restaurantowners and others to prepare a rough draft of theexhibit. After a few years working on the project weare still seeking funding for what has become a onemillion dollar plus exhibit. After conducting extensiveresearch on the topic and learning about thetechniques of foodways experts to learn about theculture and history of people through food I decidedto offer a course in Southern Foodways and Traditions.

The new Southern Foodways and Traditions course isbeing taught in the Fall 2013 semester as a graduatecourse and we are meeting at the Macon GraduateCenter. There is one undergraduate who is taking thecourse for undergraduate credit. The course is ahybrid approach to teaching. There is intensivereading of books on food culture, traditions, genderissues, race, ethnicity, history, and environmentalissues. The class then discusses, in detail, the merits ofthose works and how they contribute to theirunderstanding of the topic. however, we also spend asignificant amount of time on field trips. We went on a‘food crawl’ on buford highway in Atlanta visiting thebuford highway Farmers’ Market where numerousfoods from around the world represent the diverseculture of the area—Caribbean, Africa, Asian, SouthernEurope and other regions. We then went to threedifferent ethnic restaurants—Columbian, NorthernChinese, and Malaysian/Indonesian—to enjoy somesamples from each of those cuisines. We visited aSouthern ‘soul food’ restaurant in Macon call h&hwhich has been in business for decades serving thetraditional southern fare. As part of our discussion andreadings about Southern bbQ we held class atFincher’s bbQ in Macon in the original location wherethe pit has been fired up since the 1950s. Studentshad the opportunity to attend the annual GreekFestival in Macon where they enjoyed the cuisine andculture offerings. One of the big field trips is theannual big Pig Jig bbQ Competition held in Vienna,Georgia. Students are volunteering to assist with theevent which attracts around 125 bbQ competition


teams and over 20,000 visitors. They will get a first-hand experience with an event that is an almost 30year tradition in middle Georgia.

In addition to creating the Southern Foodways andTraditions course I also created my own study abroadprogram. In the summer of 2012 I led my firstsummer abroad program to Florence, Italy and theTuscan countryside. The purpose of my program wasto learn about the history and culture of Italy trougha unique lens---food. As much as any culturalexpression, food conveys diversity, ethnicity, andnational and regional identity. Worldwide, peopletend to associate themselves with where they arefrom—their birth place, where they grew up, or, ifthey lived numerous places, the good or badmemories of that experience. being raised in a‘place’—within a social and cultural environment—provides an individual with certain preferences, likefood, that they carry with them wherever they go.how a community cooks, what they eat, and how it isdistributed, is a tool to understand their socialinteractions. Even if people are not aware of it, foodcarries the history and memory of their experiencesinto future generations. Over the past two years myprogram has been comprised of field trips andhands-on experience. We visited restaurants,markets, agritourismos, farms, cooking schools,specialty food shops, factories and companiesinvolved in food production, and other food-relatedsites. It was a wonderful way to expose students tothe food traditions of a people---eating, learninghow things were made and why they used particularingredients, and even having them prepare full

course Italian meals from scratch with the guidanceof an Italian chef.

After the first year I realized that an important part ofItalian history—its food history—was the poverty andI wanted to make sure that students understood thataspect of the history and culture of Italy. Over thepast centuries many Italians struggled to feed theirfamilies and still do today. It was this aspect ofhistory—of people dealing with the lack of food—that has contributed to the cuisine of Italy. Peoplelearned to adapt and to utilize everything possible.As a way to have my students understand thateveryone in Italy is not fortunate to have access tothe bounty of the nation’s farms and grocery shelves Ideveloped a service learning component that bringsstudents face-to-face with the reality of poverty inItaly. The Florence University of the Arts (FUA), whomy program is associated with, has helped meidentify specific service learning projects. Studentshave worked in an Italian “soup kitchen” sponsoredand managed by Caritas, the Catholic charities inItaly, prepping for the meal and feeding as many as500 people for one meal. Another project involvedserving people at a smaller “soup kitchen” in theheart of Florence just steps away from the touristsites and numerous restaurants surrounding them.Students also worked with the American Church inFlorence handing out food supplies and clothing tothe poor. We are in the process of increasing theservice learning component for the program toinclude other projects like neighborhoodrevitalization and environmental projects likeneighborhood beautification. �


|Two Georgia College faculty members were trainedalongside the recent winners of the Nobel Prize inMedicine.

James Rothman, Randy Schekman and Thomas Sudhofjointly won the 2013 Nobel Prize For Physiology orMedicine earlier this month.

The trio earned the prize for their discoveries of machineryregulating vesicle traffic, which unraveled "the mystery ofhow the cell organizes its transport of membrane proteins."

Dr. Mike Gleason, a professor inbiological sciences worked in thelaboratory of dr. James Rothman,who was one of the winners.

“I was employed as a researchassociate in his lab at Stanford,”said Gleason. “While working inhis laboratory, I finished writingmy thesis and earned my Ph.d. inbiochemistry from OklahomaState University in 1988.”

Gleason assisted Rothman on twopublications and also had the

opportunity to work with several young scientists inRothman’s lab at Stanford University.

“I actually heard about him winning the award from astudent in one of my classes, and what made it remarkablewas that I was, at the time, lecturing on the molecularmechanisms of vesicular transport, which is at the verycenter of the scholarship that was awarded this NobelPrize.”

From a medical standpoint, this area of study is central tounderstanding the pathology of many disease processes,including those caused by viruses and cancer.

“Rothman was great at seeing all of the different controlsand experiments that would be needed to make the casefor a hypothesis or to disprove another,” said Gleason.“This invaluable training is something I’ve tried to passonto my own students.”

Dr. Ellen France, an associate professor in biologicalscience, obtained her Ph.d. with dr. Peter Novick at yale.Novick worked with dr. Randy Schekman, another of the

recipients, on several studies.Novick’s publication in 1979,based on his dissertationresearch, was specificallycited for its contributionwhen the Nobel Prize wasawarded. Novick was alsorecently selected as amember of NationalAcademy of Science.

“My Ph.d. advisor at yaleUniversity was Novick. hewas one of the first graduatestudents of Schekman at UC

berkeley,” said France. “My thesis was based on their initialresearch. For the reason of this connection, I have metSchekman several times. The first time was as a graduatestudent in Novick’s lab. I’ve also had the honor ofintroducing my research students to him since I’ve been atGeorgia College.”

The three Nobel laureates discovered a fundamentalprocess in cell physiology, and their discoveries have had amajor impact on the understanding of how cargo isdelivered with timing and precision in and outside the cell.

“My colleague dr. Mike Gleason and I have beenanticipating this for the past few years, thinking that itwould be a matter of time before they received the award,”said France. “So, it was not a huge surprise for me to hearthe announcement on National Public Radio that morning.”

For both professors, the experience learning from and withthese renowned scientists has impacted their careers.

“I try to share all my experiences as a graduate student,both good and bad, to train my students in a realisticmindset. So far, many of the research students I havetrained have gone on to pursue a Ph.d. at terrificinstitutions,” said France.

Gleason and France plan to continue their own lines ofresearch in vesicle trafficking with the assistance of biologyundergraduate and graduate students.

Several Georgia College students also had the chance tomeet one of the Nobel winners earlier this earlier this year.They met dr. Randy Schekman at the Southeast Regionalyeast Meeting (SERyM) in birmingham. �

FACULTy MEMBERS HAVE TIES TO

Nobel Prize winners


|WORKING TO COMBAT

rural povertyRural America, especially in the south, has been tainted bypoverty, high unemployment and lack of resources for decades.

A nationally recognized group of researchers recently cametogether to discuss ways to combat the problem of rural poverty,and a Georgia College representative was involved in theconversation.

Dr. Veronica Womack, directorof Institutional Equity andDiversity and associate professorof political science and publicadministration, presented herwork at the invitation-onlyconference hosted by theFederal Reserve Bank of Atlanta.

“My research focuses on theBlack Belt region, whichconsists of 623 counties in theold confederate states of the

south,” said Womack. “is area was traditionally agriculturallybased then transitioned into manufacturing. However, sincemanufacturing has been on a steady decline, these areas havenot been able to successfully develop beyond that.”

Womack pointed out that in rural areas there is a clear need forchange agents, and institutions of higher education could takethe lead on creating community development strategies andleaders to facilitate that change.

“We typically don’t have the resources available in rural areas tofocus directly on the needs of poverty or low unemployment,and our elected leaders, in many cases, are in need of assistancein combating those issues as well,” said Womack. “Institutions,like Georgia College, can play a major role in providing thoseresources for leadership development and community building.After all, we have a campus filled with experts on various topics,from education to health issues.”

Womack has spent her career assessing the affects of poverty onrural America, mostly focused on the rural South. She haspartnered with several different public and private agencies onthe topic and recently published a book entitled “Abandonmentin Dixie: Underdevelopment in the Black Belt.”

“e book uses census data, political dynamics and communitybarriers to assess how the lack of development in the region hasaffected communities,” she said. “My findings in this bookserved as one reason I was invited to this conference.”

Womack was one of about 20 people to attend the FederalReserve’s Rural Poverty Research Symposium. She was the onlyuniversity representative that was not from a level-one researchinstitution. at Carnegie Classification is given to universitieswhich give a high priority to research and award 50 or moredoctoral degrees each year.

Based on the discussion at the conference, the group willcontinue their focus on rural poverty through the publication ofa white paper on the issue. e goal of that will be to educateelected officials and the public. rough the connections madeat the conference, they will also work to highlight and developstrategies for poverty and underdevelopment in ruralcommunities.

“e issue of rural poverty has an impact on many stateeconomies and the entire country,” said Womack. “We have lostground when it comes to the population in rural America andthe jobs available there. If we look at ways for institutions ofhigher education to use their resources to build communities,include ways to improve K-12 education, leadershipdevelopment and training and a focus on entrepreneurialopportunities, then we can begin to make strides to face theproblem of poverty in the rural areas of our country.” �


Since he was a child, music hasrun through the veins of Georgiacollege student Terrance Brown.

“My dad used to play music for me,and when I was a kid mygrandmother was a minister, so shealways had us singing,” said brown.

“I went on to join the band inmiddle and high school. Then, Ifound Georgia College was theperfect place to continue mymusical pursuits.” Although he isnow working toward his master’sdegree in business administration,the saxophone player struggledfinancially when he first came tocollege. “My family had alwayshelped me out the best they could,but I never had much money,” hesaid.

“As a freshman I received ascholarship from the musicdepartment. It really helped me getmy undergraduate degree. Iwouldn’t have been able to achievethat without the financial help.”brown is one of the many studentsin the music department that hasbenefitted from scholarships. Fundsraised from events like the holidayconcert help provide theopportunity for students to achievetheir educational and musical goals.

“The holiday concert is a great waythe community can help supportour program and our exceptionalstudents. All music department

concerts serve as culturalopportunities to bring thecommunity and Georgia Collegetogether,” said dr. Sergio Ruiz, chairof the music department. “Whenyou attend one of our top-notchconcerts, your donation is notmerely a donation—it is aninvestment in the lives of thestudents in the music department atGeorgia College.”

The music department’s annualholiday concert took place Friday,dec. 6 at 7:30 p.m. in RussellAuditorium. Performances includedmany holiday favorites and featuredthe University chorus, WindSymphony, orchestra, Max NoahSingers, Jazz band, Women’sEnsemble and electronic music. Allproceeds helped fund scholarshipsfor students like brown. “It helpsyoung students pursue their goals,and then they can give backthrough their talents,” said brown.

This concert also included twospecial performances. AlumniJeremy Skidmore, who teachesmusic at Morgan county PrimarySchool, served as a guestperformer. The concert alsofeatured the American debut of apiece performed by the choralensembles and two soloists. Thiswas only the second time “Angelsand Shepherds and Wise Men All,”written in 2012, has ever beenperformed. �

Holiday ConcertSUPPORTS STUdENT SChOlARShIPS

Terrance brown

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|She works to stay caught up on her classwork and isinvolved in student activities, all while juggling theduties of a student athlete as a member of the GeorgiaCollege tennis team.

“Prioritizing is key,” said Polk. “Between classes andtennis practice, I study whenever I can to get as muchdone before it’s due.”

Studying is important since Polkhas her eyes set on medical schoolafter she completes herundergraduate degree.

“My mom is a radiology tech, so Ibecame interested in medicinethrough her,” said Polk. “I’mlooking at possibly going intoradiology, anesthesiology orradiology oncology.”

Beginning fall 2014, GeorgiaCollege will offer a new track forchemistry majors that will better prepare students likePolk for the Medical College Admissions Test (MCAT)and medical school.

“Next year we will offer chemistry majors theopportunity to graduate with a track in biochemistry,”said Dr. Chavonda Mills, chemistry professor. “Wereceived a $2,000 grant from the National ScienceFoundation to purchase equipment for a newbiochemistry lab, and I will be working to developseveral new courses for students interested in thatfield.”

Biochemistry is the study of chemical processes relatingto living organisms. In the next few years the MCAT

will increase its emphasis on biochemistry, and it is anecessary requirement for many pre-professional degreeprograms.

“is new track at Georgia College was designed withan emphasis on guided inquiry and active learning,which will help students learn to think independently

while pursuing an undergraduatedegree,” said Mills. “e laboratorycourses provide an engaged learningatmosphere where students are notworking out of a typical lab bookthat lays out the processes and stepsneeded. In these classes, thestudents will design andtroubleshoot their experiments,allowing them to take ownership oftheir projects.”

An exciting opportunity for manystudents since this will betterprepare them for the next step intheir education.

“e biochemistry track will provide a more completeeducation for students like me who plan to move on tomedical school,” said Polk. “’I’m glad Georgia Collegewill offer a new choice for students because it helps usbuild a firm foundation for our future.”

With the new track, Mills hopes it will provideexposure to relevant content that will better meet theneeds of students in the program.

“More than half of our chemistry majors are in pre-professional programs, so this will be a great newoption for them,” said Mills. �

Chemistry department expands with new opportunities for students


Senior Andrea Sowell shows faculty member Crystal Wagnerher work as she installs it for “MERGE: 2013 Group Senior Show.”

group showSeniorART DEPARTMENT PRESENTS NEW


Piece by piece students add their artwork to thespace inside the art galleries on campus.

Nine senior artists will graduate in december, their workrepresenting the culmination of their time at GeorgiaCollege.

“I have six pieces I’ve built over the last three months,”said Andrea Sowell. “It’s brought together everythingI’ve learned and loved since my first class.”

Sowell is one of the seniors who will participate in thefirst group senior show at Georgia College.

“In the past, we held senior shows for each graduatingsenior individually. This now allows us to showcase thediversity of processes and ideas in our department,”said Crystal Wagner, assistant professor of art.

With the new format, the senior group show will beavailable for viewing for several weeks bringing thestudents together to work as a group.

“It helps us establish a community within the artdepartment that fosters creative activities and research,”said Wagner.

The title the students chose for the show expresses that.

“The show is titled ‘MERGE.’ We decided as a groupthat since we are the first to come through the mergedtrack, it was fitting,” said dovie Chamma.

The department also recently combined the fine arts andgeneral arts tracks for students majoring in art to give anequal and more substantive experience for all students.

“Our group has come closer in the last few weeks as weworked to develop the show,” said Sowell. “We got tosee how eachdovie Chamma looks to see the best way to display herdrawings.person’s pieces developed and as a group, decide thebest way to present our art.”

Featured artists are ben battles, Marie bormolini, Rachelbryan, dovie Chamma, Corissa duffey, Katherine Knox,Ericka Moss, Kelly Self and Andrea Sowell.

The work of each artist featured in the exhibition spans abroad range of technical and conceptual processesincluding installation, drawing, digital, photography andsculpture.

“MERGE: 2013 Group Senior Show” will be on displayfrom Nov. 4 through 26. An artist talk will take placeWednesday, Nov. 6 at 5 p.m. and an opening receptionwill be held Thursday, Nov. 7 at 5 p.m.

The exhibition is in blackbridge hall and The Wooten-Garner house, both located on S. Clarke Street.

The events are free and open to the public. Theexhibition can be viewed Monday through Friday from 9a.m. to 5 p.m. �



Choral concert showcases student talent

For Georgia College graduate student Juli Deraney Malcom, this pastchoral concert was the first time she had faced the audience for aperformance in some time.

e last 15 years her back has been to the audience as she directed middleand high school choruses in the Baldwin and Putnam County Schoolsystems.

“I’ve always enjoyed working with children and teaching music is mypassion,” said Malcom. “I decided to come back to school to pursue amaster’s in music education, because I’m concerned about the state of oureducation system. I feel like if I further my education, I can help better servethe children and our community.”

Her progression from a student at Georgia College for her undergraduatedegree to a full-time teacher and now back to a student has given her aunique perspective.

“I can use my skills developed from teaching as I, in turn, learn as a studentagain,” said Malcom. “It has been a great experience working to prepare forthis performance.”

Malcom joined more than 100 other student singers to present the FallChoral Showcase on Saturday, Nov. 2. e concert was held at 7:30 p.m. atFirst Baptist Church in Milledgeville.

e showcase included performances by student soloists, University Chorus,Women’s Ensemble and the Max Noah Singers.

All donations for this concert were directed to benefit music scholarships.

We are excited to bring this performance to the central Georgiacommunity,” said Dr. Jennifer Flory, director of choral activities andassociate professor of music. “e performance will feature pieces fromevery musical time period by such noteworthy composers as Bach, Handel,Mozart and Beethoven. We will close the concert with a work for threechoirs, two pianists and percussion, “Dance-Song to the Creator,” whichwill hopefully put a skip in the step of our audience members.” �

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e Southeast Model AfricanUnion (SEMAU) is held once ayear at one of the UniversitySystem of Georgia campuses.Sponsored by the Board ofRegents, the System Council forInternational Education, and theUniversity System Africa Council,SEMAU is a simulation of theannual meeting of Heads of Stateof the African Union. It also servesas a conference on African affairswhich gives students anunprecedented opportunity tolearn about all facets of African life.Georgia College was privileged tohost SEMAU 2004. is year’sevent was hosted by ColumbusState University from November14 to 16.

Each university or college choosesone or more countries to representat the conference. Selectedstudents carry out research andattend lectures beforehand, whichprepare them not only aboutAfrican affairs, but also the nature,policies and attitudes of thecountry or countries they willrepresent at SEMAU. e work ofthe conference takes place in fivecommittees: the Social Committee,the Economic Committee, theCommittee on Democracy andHuman Rights, the Peace andSecurity Committee, and theExecutive Council of CouncilMinisters.

e exercise provides a splendidopportunity for students, not onlyto learn about Africa, but to honetheir diplomatic and conflictresolution skills. is opportunitycomplements the university’sefforts in experiential learning andinternationalization. Antonio

Guimaraes, a Criminal Justicestudent agrees, “Students wouldnever be able to get this kind ofexperience within the classroom….I would personally recommendstudents to at least attend thisconference once within theircollege career…” Gregory May, aSociology student, shared that,“is was my first time going, butI do not think it will be the last. Iam a non-traditional student…andto see such drive and push fromthe younger students makes mewant to drive harder to keep uptoo.”

Dr. Charles Ubah, Professor ofCriminal Justice has served as oneof the student advisors in theprogram for eleven years. Dr.Ubah notes that “e SoutheastModel of the African Union(SEMAU) is a great initiative thatworth all the time, energy andfunds involve in it! at is thereason why Drs. Eustace Palmer,Funke Fontenot and I make everyeffort to recruit, prepare andparticipate with students in theprogram. It is a great opportunityfor students who are interested inAfrican affairs in particular or ininternational or multi-culturalaffairs in general. Students meetothers interested in Africa, hear adistinguished African (usually anAmbassador) giving a keynoteaddress on Africa, acquire in-depthknowledge of the African continentand gain insights into the art ofdiplomacy. is is of greatimportance at a time when GeorgiaCollege, in particular, and theUniversity System in general, areemphasizing internationalizationand learning beyond the classroomexperience.”�

Sixteen Georgia College students,including ten students from theDepartment of Government andSociology represented Botswana,Nigeria and South Africa. eyincluded:

BOTSWANAChelsea Mayo – Criminal JusticeCarolyn Davis – Political Science

NIGERIAJustin Hanson – Criminal JusticeAndrew Daniel – Criminal JusticeSavannah Brooks – Criminal JusticeJessica Reid – Criminal Justice

SOUTH AFRICAGregory May – SociologyAnthony Butler – Criminal JusticeZykerious Crawford – SociologyAntonio Guimaraes – Criminal Justice

e students are advised by FunkeFontenot, Interim Dean of Educationand Professor of Criminal Justice;Charles Ubah, Professor of CriminalJustice; and Eustace Palmer, Professorof English.

Next year’s event will be held atClayton State in Atlanta, Georgia.Students interested in participating innext year’s event may contact any ofthe above listed advisers.


Gov/SocJerry Herbel, Ph.D.,Associate Professorof Political Scienceand PublicAdministration wasrecognized as therecipient of the 2013Georgia PoliticalScience Association

(GPSA) Mcbrayer Award for his papertitled “Public Virtue-Public Vice.” dr.herbel’s article seeks to reconcile themismatch between public virtue andpublic vice created through conceptsput forth principally byNiccolò Machiavelli and david hume.

The Mcbrayer Award is awarded inyears when a paper of outstandingscholarship within the discipline ispresented in its entirety at the GPSAannual meeting program andsubsequently recognized as such at thediscretion of the Editorial board andEditor in Chief of the Proceedings ofthe GSPA by their decision to bestowthe Mcbrayer Award. dr. herbel’spaper was presented at the 2012Annual Conference of the Association.

Founded in 1968, the GPSA is theprofessional association for politicalscience practitioners and educators inGeorgia. Membership is drawn fromthe public, private and academicsectors.

Brandy Kennedy,Ph.D. AssistantProfessor of PoliticalScience and PublicAdministrationpublished “SortingThrough: The Role ofRepresentation inbureaucracy” in The

Journal of Public AdministrationResearch and Theory, the officialjournal of the Public ManagementResearch Association. The 2010 ISIJournal Citation Reports® ranked thisscholarly outlet 1 out of 31 in thecategory of Public Administration. Shealso published, “UnravelingRepresentative bureaucracy: ASystematic Analysis of the literature” in

Administration & Society which in 2011was ranked 19 out of 45 in the samecategory.

Carrie Cook, Ph.D.,Assistant Professor ofCriminal Justice wasthe recipient of a threeyear grant ($299,686)awarded by the Officeon Violence AgainstWomen (departmentof Justice) to reduce

domestic violence, dating violence,sexual assault, and stalking on campus.dr. Cook will serve as the co-investigator and will be responsible forthe local training of law enforcementand judicial boards as well asevaluating all training and programservices.

MathDr. Ryan Brown co-authored a book. Thisbook, entitledAlgebraic Geometry: AProblem SolvingApproach, waspublished by theAmerican MathematicalSociety (AMS) in

cooperation with the Institute forAdvanced Study. The book is intendedfor undergraduate and graduatestudents and presents a wide range ofalgebraic geometry topics throughsequences of scaffolded exercises. Thebook begins with conics, a topicsuitable for first-year college students,and concludes with an introduction tosheaves and cohomology, providing ahint of work in current algebraicgeometry. According to the AMSeditor, "[The authors] have made avaluable contribution to the studentliterature in algebraic geometry...byengaging the reader through carefullychosen and thoughtfully writtenproblems." The book was releasedFebruary 2013.

The Governor’s Teaching FellowsProgram selected Dr. MarcelaChiorescu as a Fellow for the two-weekSummer 2013 Symposium which washeld at the University of Georgia inMay, 2013. Among the issues with

which the Symposium dealt areinstructional technology, distanceeducation, and student engagement.These are areas which are alreadyimportant to Georgia College andwhich will assume increasingimportance in the years to come.

Dr. Ryan Brown applied for, and wasgranted, a professional leave for Spring2014. dr brown is investigating themathematical structure of Inca quipusand tocapus to discern patterns thatilluminate how information wasencoded and transmitted via textiles inthe New World. In addition tocontributing to the currentunderstanding of the economic,political, and social structures of Pre-Columbian cultures, dr. brown’s workwill also lead to further development ofthe GC2y 2000 study abroad course,New World Mathematics, which heoffers in Peru.

Dr. Angel Abney and Ms. DorisSantarone serve as instructors for theScience and Mathematics Alliance forRegional Teachers Partnership (SMARTPartnership). The purpose of thisPartnership is to improve students’science and mathematics achievementthrough discipline-based professionallearning communities. The role ofthese two faculty is to design andimplement inquiry-based learningactivities for math teachers through atwo-week summer workshop andfollow-up workshops.

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