Wednesday, June 30, 2010
UWG Closed on Monday for Holiday
The University of West Georgia will be closed on Monday, July 5 in observance of the Independence Day holiday. Classes and normal business activities will resume on Tuesday, July 6.
UWG would like to wish everyone a safe and happy holiday weekend.
Workers in the UWG Post Office gave a patriotic look to their holiday tree to celebrate the long weekend.
Wear Your Jeans and Help Fight Cystic Fibrosis
Hey, UWG -- Here's a new fundraiser that lets you wear jeans to work!
This September the University of West Georgia is hosting the Great Strides Walk for Cystic Fibrosis.
GREAT STRIDES is the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation's largest, most successful and most important national fundraising event.
So many young lives depend on the vital, ongoing advances in CF research - to keep that momentum going, we need your help now!
Walking and donating to GREAT STRIDES is such an effective way to add tomorrows every day to the lives of those with cystic fibrosis.
With that said you have an opportunity by supporting these efforts by simply paying a fee of $2 for each day to wear jeans.
The three days that have been designated for this are July 14th, August 11th, and September 8th.
You can participate all 3 days or just one; if you participate all 3 days your total donation will be $6.
You will also receive a sticker for each day you participate so that you can show everyone what you are supporting and spread the word.
Last year’s walk was the first one in Carroll County and we received record amounts in donations; this year we hope to surpass that!
With your help we can do that!
Also, we would love for you to join our team and walk along side us, or you can register your own team!!
It is very easy to sign up, simply follow the link below.
You can also find out more ways you can help or if you just want to know more about the disease.
So, please support us by wearing your “Genes for Jeans” and come out September 11, 2010 at 9:00 a.m. and enjoy a leisure walk, good food, and entertainment - hope to see you there!!
Please send an email to sskinner@westga.edu if you plan on participating in the “Genes for Jeans” days, and you can interoffice your check or money order to the Alumni House. Please make your checks payable to CFF (cystic fibrosis foundation). Thank you in advance for your support!
Georgia WebMBA Honored by Publication
CEO Magazine has announced that the Georgia WebMBA, of which UWG is a participating institution, will be listed among the magazine's tier-one online MBA providers. The listing is expected to be in its summer edition.
In addition, the print and online magazine will feature a Q&A with Ron Shiffler, lead dean of the program, in its fall edition.
Key performance indicators for selection in the tier one ranking include:
Faculty
Tuition fees
International reach
Innovation
Delivery methods
Career progression (where possible)
For more information about the Georgia WebMBA, visit http://www.webmbaonline.org/
Hoff Named Interim Provost
Dr. Peter Hoff has been named interim provost of the University of West Georgia, effective July 9.
Hoff, who will not be a candidate for the permanent position, will serve until the job is filled.
“I am delighted to have been asked to help the university during this important transition year and to help tackle some serious challenges,” said Hoff. “Paramount among these is achieving the vision of making UWG more than ever a first-class destination choice for thousands of students.”
Dr. Don Wagner has been named special associate to the provost, assisting Hoff.
Hoff, a professor of English, served as president of the University of Maine from 1997-2004.
Born in Georgia, he graduated the University of Wisconsin with an English degree and earned master's and doctorate degrees in English and humanities from Stanford University.
For 17 years he was a professor at the University of Wisconsin-Parkside while holding leadership positions such as department chair, honors program director, faculty senate chair, and director of the Center for Teaching Excellence.
In 1987, he became vice chancellor for academic affairs at Indiana University Southeast. In 1990, the University System of Georgia named Hoff vice chancellor for academic affairs.
He moved to California in 1993 to be senior vice chancellor of the California State University System.
Hoff has been honored with a number of awards, including: Outstanding Teaching Award, Converge Magazine’s designation as one of the “Shapers of Our Future,” and membership in Phi Beta Kappa, Phi Kappa Phi, and Phi Eta Sigma.
In 2005, the Theodore Hesburgh Award recognized the statewide faculty development program he had founded in Wisconsin for its excellence.
Hoff is married to Dr. Dianne L. Hoff, associate dean of education at UWG.
Small Business Development Center- Promotional Video
Do you have a marketable concept but need help getting started? Or do you already have a business but need to generate more sales? Just stop by the Small Business Development Center (located in Adamson Hall on Front Campus Drive) for professional assistance in any aspect of business!
WOLF Radio Promotional Video
Be sure to tune in to the WOLF internet radio station on the UWG campus! Or, just stop by the studio to be a guest on their show! THE WOLF! For students, by students!
Tuesday, June 29, 2010
Coming Events in the Carrollton Area
Be sure to mark your calendars for these coming events in the Carrollton area.
JULY
7/3/10 Evening Sertoma Club Peoples Parade
7/4/10 Carrollton CVB Symphony and Fireworks
7/17/10 Southwire Back to School
AUGUST
8/7/10 City of Bowdon Founders’ Day
8/12/10 Chamber of Commerce Networking after Hours
8/14/10 West Georgia Tech College Black Tie and Boots Gala
8/19/10 Chamber of Commerce Membership Breakfast
SEPTEMBER
TBA Chamber of Commerce Industry Tour
9/9/10 Chamber of Commerce Small Business Expo
9/11/10 FERST Foundation Bands, Burgers and Books
9/11/10 Cystic Fibrosis Fd. Great Strides Walk
9/11/10 Villa Rica Gold Rush
9/16/10: Mainstreet Taste of Carrollton
Sept or Oct. CASA Grand Night for CASA
OCTOBER
10/1/10 Mainstreet/UWG Homecoming Rally, Square
Chamber of Commerce Hands on Carroll County
10/9 & 10 Cultural Arts Center Mecca Fest
10/12/10 C’ton Civic Woman’s Club Salad Luncheon
10/14/10 Chamber of Commerce Networking after Hours
10/16/10 Bremen Jr. Woman’s Club Bremen Towne Festival
10/21/10 Meth Summit
10/26/10 Chamber of Commerce/UWG Economic Forecast B’fast
10/30/10 Mainstreet Tiny Tots Halloween
Extravaganza
NOVEMBER
TBA Chamber of Commerce Farm City Dinner & Tour
11/11/10 Chamber of Commerce Networking after Hours
11/18/10 Chamber of Commerce Forward Carroll Breakfast
11/18/10 Mainstreet Downtown Open House &
Lighting of Square
11/18/10 Boys & Girls Club Blue Jean Day
DECEMBER
TBA Chamber of Commerce Membership Breakfast
12/2/10 Mainstreet Christmas Parade
12/4/10 Bremen Jr. Woman’s Club Christmas Tour of Homes
JANUARY 2011
FEBRUARY 2011
2/4/11 Carrollton Area CVB Susan Haywood Festival
MARCH 2011
APRIL 2011
MAY 2011
5/7/11 (tentative) Tanner Foundation Magnolia Ball
5/7/11 Mainstreet Mayfest
Monday, June 28, 2010
Bernard to Speak at UWG Summer Commencement
Kenneth R. Bernard will be the keynote speaker at summer commencement ceremonies at the University of West Georgia on July 31.
Bernard represents the 13th Congressional District on the Board of Regents, the governing body for the University System of Georgia. He was appointed to the board by Gov. Sonny Perdue in 2007 for a seven-year term as a regent. Bernard is chairman of the regents’ Organization and Law Committee, which oversees the legal affairs of the 35 public universities and colleges in Georgia. He was recently elected chairman of the University System of Georgia Foundation, Inc., which, among other activities, raises private funds for student scholarships and faculty recognition awards.
Bernard is a partner with Sherrod & Bernard and serves as the county attorney for Douglas County. His litigation experience includes handling matters from trial through appeal before the Supreme Court of Georgia. Bernard has represented individuals in a variety of wrongful death, serious injuries, employment, and product liability cases, including, automobile, truck and motorcycle accidents. He formerly served as a Special Assistant Attorney General, Vice-Chairman of the Georgia Regional Transportation Authority (GRTA), and served on the Governor's Development Council (GDC).
Bernard, a former Captain in the United States Marine Corps, graduated from the University of Georgia and the University of Georgia School of Law. After completing Officer Candidate School (OCS), The Basic School (TBS), and Naval Justice School, he distinguished himself as a Marine Corps Judge Advocate General (JAG). Bernard’s military and life experience served him well as he transitioned to his current trial and general counsel practice.
Bernard is a member of the Georgia Trial Lawyers Association, the American Bar Association, Georgia Bar Association, Douglas County Bar Association and National Association of College and University Attorneys. He has served in a variety of state and local civic, charitable, and social organizations, where he has received recognition for his efforts on behalf of the community, region and state. Bernard enjoys an active life as a father, husband and youth baseball coach with two Georgia Pony Baseball State titles (Mustang 2008 and Bronco 2009) and a USSSA Georgia Travel Baseball 12U (AA) State Championship (2010).
UWG Professor's Innovative Oil Technology
As oil continues to gush into the Gulf of Mexico, two local men are hoping to provide some assistance in cleaning up the oil-soaked ocean and beaches.
Dr. Ben DeMayo, professor emeritus of physics at the University of West Georgia, has developed and patented a system that heats and spins oil and sand, then allows about 80 percent of the oil to be drained from the sand. He has also recently used a high-velocity spinning technique to separate oil from water.
Read more:Times-Georgian - Residents want to put ideas to use in Gulf
Supreme Court Issues Ruling on Student Groups
The Supreme Court has ruled against a Christian campus group that sued after a California law school denied it official recognition because the student organization limits its core membership to those who share its beliefs on faith and marriage.
At issue was the conflict between a public university's anti-discrimination policies and a private group's freedom of religion and association.
The 5-4 ruling was written by Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who was on the bench a day after her husband passed away.
The law school, wrote Ginsburg, "caught in the crossfire between a group's desire to exclude and students' demand for equal access, may reasonably draw a line in the sand permitting all organizations to express what they wish but no group to discriminate in membership."
READ MORE:
http://www.cnn.com/2010/CRIME/06/28/us.scotus.religious.group/index.html
Friday, June 18, 2010
Browse the Web Like You're At the 2010 World Cup
Love the World Cup so much that you wish you could extend it to other parts of your life? You're in luck. Now you can browse the Web like you're sitting in the stadium! Click here to experience the UWG Media blog in a new way. To have fun with other sites, visit Vuvuzela Time!
Thursday, June 17, 2010
Bring Your Vuvuzelas to Ingram (But Please Use Them Quietly)
For those who want to watch the World Cup on a 60-inch tv, come to Ingram Library! We'll be streaming the games (at least Monday-Friday) from espn3.com on the flat screen in our reference area. You can even bring your breakfast, lunch or laptop and enjoy o jogo bonito. Goooooooooooool!
Friday, June 11, 2010
Nursing Shortage Projected
While some are predicting that Coweta County may develop into a "mecca" for health care in the coming years with the construction of two new hospitals and medical offices, the nurses to staff those hospitals may be in short supply.
Dr. Kathryn Grams, dean of the University of West Georgia School of Nursing, told the Newnan Rotary Club Friday that health professionals expect to see a 20 percent shortage in nurses by 2015.
"Here is where the trouble starts," said Grams. "There will be a shortage of 260,000 nurses by 2025."
That's due to several factors, including an aging population, a lack of nursing faculty at colleges and technical schools, and a high turnover rate in the profession.
"It's a stressful job," she said, "and that drives some of them from the nursing work force."
Despite the high pay (a $66,973 average for all nurses) and increasing demand and prestige, not nearly enough young people are entering the nursing profession, she said.
Those who are trying to enter the field are often turned away because there's simply not enough teachers to instruct them, she said.
"We have a very competitive admissions program at the University of West Georgia," Grams explained.
"Out of 350 applicants, we can seat about 120," she said. "So we're running at about 3-to-1 right now."
Nursing is becoming a very different profession than it was just a generation ago. The old nursing diploma programs at local hospitals have been phased out, she said, and more nursing candidates are opting for four-year degree programs. While about 13.9 percent of nurses currently hold traditional nursing diplomas, about 36.1 percent have earned an associate's degree, usually at a technical school, and 36.8 percent graduate with a bachelor's degree from a college or university. About 13.2 percent earn a master's or doctorate in nursing, she said.
"Increasingly, we are moving toward nursing practitioners getting their doctorate degrees," she said, as more of those practitioners become primary health care providers.
"Many of you may have a nurse as a primary provider, rather than a doctor," she said. That makes sense when there are 108,258 registered nurses in Georgia, and only 30,187 physicians.
"Nurses are the largest group of health care providers," said Grams. "There are 3.1 million RNs in the U.S. It is the top profession in projected job growth."
Sixty-two percent of nurses are employed in hospitals, she said. "That's still the largest employer for nurses," she said. Only 3.8 percent are in colleges or other academic settings.
Georgia has one of the lowest numbers of RNs per capita in the U.S., she said.
"We are 46th out of 50 states," she said. "We have only 705 per 100,000 population. We are at the bottom."
There are 21 associate degree nursing programs in Georgia, and 22 bachelor degree programs, along with 16 master's degree programs and eight doctoral programs.
West Georgia currently has 419 nursing students at its four campuses, including the Newnan Center. It also has 722 pre-nursing candidates. Nursing students now make up about 10 percent of the University of West Georgia student population.
There were 150 nursing students at the Newnan Center campus last year and 88 nursing program graduates in Newnan between 2005 and 2009.
"Five of our graduates last year went to work for Piedmont Newnan Hospital," she said.
Grams stressed that it's vitally important that nurses become well educated.
"The fact is that studies have shown that the higher percentage of nurses with bachelor's degrees a hospital hires, the lower the death rate," said Grams. "It's important to have educated nurses at the bedside. The physician is often not there. Who calls the physician? It's the nurse."
--JEFF BISHOP
THE TIMES-HERALD
More Aggressive Cleanup Effort Needed in Gulf, UWG Scientist Says
More birds and marine wildlife will be threatened if heightened estimates of the amount of oil flowing from a well in the Gulf of Mexico prove to be true, a University of West Georgia scientist says.
As news reports said that the number of gallons of oil flowing into the gulf could be between 40 million and 100 million, the amount of damage already done to the ecosystem is immeasurable, said Dr. David Bush, a coastal geologist at UWG.
“There’s the oil you can see on the surface of the gulf, but there is oil beneath the surface that can’t fully be seen,” Bush said. “That oil is reaching all kinds of critters that live there, and we don’t know how much damage that is doing.”
Recent estimates on the amount of oil spilled have far outstripped previous assessments.
There has been additional concerned raised by environmentalists as the oil spreads to inlets and reaches shores, but Bush says that while that will create more problems, it also could contribute to a far-reaching solution.
“There’s a saying that goes, ‘The solution for pollution is dilution,’ and as that oil becomes less concentrated, it might help lessen the harmful impact that it’s having on areas where it’s heavily concentrated,” Bush said. “Nature will take care of this in the long run, but it’s going to put so many people out of work and kill so many wetlands.”
Bush was strongly critical of recent plans to build sand burms to protect wetlands and beaches in Louisiana from seeping oil.
“It’s a waste of time, a waste of money and won’t do anything but mess things up further,” he said. “You’re moving so much sand to build these things, but you have to remember that when you’re moving sand, there are things that live in that sand and you’re disrupting them. Putting loose sand in those areas doesn’t offer any protection at all.”
Bush said that despite the damage oil would do to coastal wetlands, the effects might not be as severe as what is seen farther offshore.
“A lot of the more inland ecosystems might be better able to tolerate the oil than the areas off the gulf coast,” he said. Those inland areas constantly have waters flowing back and forth from the gulf, which could help dilute the oil, Bush said.
Bush said that there are no perfect approaches to fixing the damage done by the massive spill, but perhaps the best approach would be to implement a hyperaggressive strategy of trying to collect as much oil as possible.
“There should be every public and private boat out there picking up oil with whatever is effective in doing that, even if they have to get out there with sponges,” he said. “Instead of 1,000 boats being out there, there should be 100,000.
Wednesday, June 9, 2010
The Wolf Cam Explores the School of Nursing
The School of Nursing on the UWG Campus uses interactive teaching methods in order to prepare their students for the real world of nursing. Check out The Wolf Cam below to find out more about our medical wolves!
-Brittany Reid
Tuesday, June 8, 2010
Perdue Signs Changes to Gun-Carrying Law
Gov. Sonny Perdue has signed into law changes in regulations on where guns may be legally carried by licensed permit holders in Georgia, with some of the changes affecting the University of West Georgia and its fellow University System of Georgia institutions.
Effective immediately, the new law:
*Retains the school safety zone for public and private colleges and universities but removes the 1000-ft. buffer zone
*Retains an expanded definition of weapons (more than handguns and knives) but changes the penalty for violation of the statute as follows: misdemeanor for license holders but remains a felony conviction for all others
*Allows any license holder (including students 21 or over) to have a weapon in a parked vehicle located within a school safety zone. The statute does not require the vehicle be locked or the weapon otherwise secured
*Allows a license holder to have a weapon in his or her possession in a vehicle (not locked or otherwise secured) when picking up or dropping off a student
*Allows any person to have a weapon in a locked compartment or a locked container when picking or dropping off a student.
“It’s the law now, and the university will comply with the law,” said UWG Police Chief Tom Mackel. “We’ve notified the officers of the changes, and we will monitor the situation to see if any problems arise.”
Monday, June 7, 2010
Author, Artist to Discuss Book at UWG
The University of West Georgia will be hosting the presentation of Steve Penley’s newly released book, Vince Dooley’s Garden: The Historical Journey Of A Football Coach, June 16 at 10 a.m.
The book provides a closer look at the University of Georgia’s former football coach, Vince Dooley, and his garden collection including images painted by Penley.
Author and artist Penley has presented works of art in more than 25 exhibitions, has produced 12 publications and received five awards such as the Georgia Author of the Year in 2002 and the award for Official Painting and Commemorative Print in 2005.
The event will take place in the Education Center Room 2 on the UWG campus from 10:00 a.m.-11:30 a.m. and is sponsored by the Cherokee Rose Writing Project.
For more information call 678-839-6570.
Thursday, June 3, 2010
A Feat of Generosity
UWG's Office of Institutional Diversity recently held a sock drive that collected more than 300 pairs of socks for area retirement homes. The event was in observance of national Older Americans Month.
UWG's Isaac Igbonagwam, Carrollton Manor retirement home's Cheryl Prothro and UWG's Deirdre Rouse participate in the sock drive.
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