Stone Taking on New Challenge

Sandra Stone, interim provost and vice president for Academic Affairs at the University of West Georgia, will be leaving the university to fill the position of vice president for academic affairs at Dalton State College.

Stone, who earned her undergraduate and master’s degrees from UWG and her Ph.D. in sociology from Emory University, has worked within the University System of Georgia for decades. She credits her UWG experience with preparing her for her new role at Dalton State.

“I really have a lot of attachment to West Georgia and Carrollton,” she told the Times-Georgian newspaper. “I keep coming back. ”

In addition to her doctoral degree, Stone earned a post-doctoral certificate in organizational behavior from the Freeman School of Business at Tulane University and has participated in numerous specialized training and certification programs, including the Summer Institute for Management and Leadership in Higher Education at Harvard University.

Her high-level leadership roles for the Board of Regents for the USG include serving as vice chancellor for academic planning and programs in 2007 and as vice chancellor for strategic initiatives in 2008.

As a former social worker, her past professional experience includes working with the Georgia Department of Juvenile Justice as Director of Planning and Research and for the City of Atlanta’s Office of the Mayor as a drug policy advisor. In the mid-1980s, Stone was a senior research associate for the Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta.

“I’m delighted to have played a small part in her career,” said Dr. Beheruz N. Sethna, president of UWG.

UWG's New Homepage

This video gives a bit of information about the new layout of UWG's upgraded homepage! The new design is set to launch at the end of this summer, just in time for Fall Semester!

Snow, Associate Vice President, Leaving UWG

Brent M. Snow will be leaving the University of West Georgia to become the provost and vice president for academic affairs at Texas A&M University—San Antonio.

Snow has served as the associate vice president for academic affairs for the past several years.

Prior to that, he was chair of the Department of Counseling and Educational Psychology and professor of counseling and educational psychology for 16 years.

He led the department to regional and national prominence, including national accreditation.

Snow was the principal investigator and director of the largest grant from a private source in the history of the university.

Before coming to UWG, he taught at Oklahoma State University, which he arrived at after teaching at the University of Idaho, where he received his Ph.D.

Snow also has a master’s degree from Oklahoma State, a bachelor’s degree from Brigham Young University, and an associate degree from Boise Junior College (now Boise State University).

He has published numerous articles and has delivered many presentations at the international, national, and state levels.

In 2002, he was honored by the Education Trust as a pioneer and national leader in counseling.

He and his wife, Cathy, have six children, five of whom attended UWG with three earning undergraduate and graduate degrees.

Snow said that coming to UWG was one of the best professional decisions he has ever made and leaving UWG is one of the hardest.

For more information, contact Brent Snow at 678 839 6445 or bsnow@westga.edu

UWG: The Place for Fun

-UWG had the fourth highest average attendance in the nation for NCAA Division II basketball this past year, up from ninth the year before. (Division II has 282 member institutions)

- UWG had the 22nd highest average attendance in the nation in Division II football this past year.

- An average of about 3,000 students attended each home football game in the new stadium last year.

- UWG had an all-time high of 150 student organizations this past year, with 4,989 members, and they sponsored 795 programs (or an average of 25 programs a week) - not counting programs sponsored by others on campus such as Art, Music, Theatre, Athletics, and the residence halls.

- Between 1,000 and 1,300 students eat in the Z-6 dining hall most weekends.

- 1,600 students participated in intramurals this past year.

- There are more than 200,000 visits to the Fitness Area of the Campus Center and more than 45,000 visits to the Game Room each year.

Author Alvarez Coming to UWG

Julia Alvarez, author of this year’s NEA Big Read text In the Time of the Butterflies is coming to campus on Wednesday, Sept. 22. She’ll be reading in the Coliseum at 8 p.m.

The event is free and open to the public.

Her books will be on sale and there will be a brief book signing after the event.

Alvarez writes books both in Spanish and English and for audiences from elementary-age to adults. She is a poet, an essayist, and a novelist. She is currently working on a collection of essays about the situation in Haiti (she herself is a Dominican-American), as well as at least one new children’s book in her Tia Lola series.

If you’re interested in reading more about Ms. Alvarez, her website is http://www.juliaalvarez.com/.

GHC/UWG Venture Set to Launch

There will be a ribbon-cutting to celebrate the opening of the new instructional site of Georgia Highlands College and the University of West Georgia at Douglasville. The newly renovated facility is housed in a former retail facility. GHC will offer core curriculum courses toward an associate degree. The University of West Georgia will offer upper-level classes at the site in several popular majors.

The ceremony will take place Thursday, Aug. 5 at 11 a.m. at 5901 Stewart Parkway in Douglasville.

Speakers will include Dr. Randy Pierce, president of GHC; Dr. Beheruz Sethna, president of the University of West Georgia; Willis Potts, chair of the Board of Regents; Kenneth R. Bernard, Jr., who represents congressional district 13 on the Board of Regents; Sen. Bill Hamrick, Georgia General Assembly; Rep. Bill Hembree, Georgia General Assembly; Mickey Thompson, mayor of Douglasville; Tom Worthan, chair, Douglas County Board of Commissioners

UWG Inherits Field for River Study

Hugh Brock is concerned about the rate at which fish are dying in a section of the Tallapoosa River.

He’s so concerned, in fact, that he wants a portion of the river running through land he has owned for many years to be studied to determine its ecological health.

Brock has donated 14 acres to the University of West Georgia to be used by the Geosciences Department as an outdoor classroom and laboratory.

Located off of Hays Mill Road in an area where Buffalo Creek flows into the Tallapoosa, the area will contribute research and hands-on experience to geoscience and biology students alike.

Dr. Curtis Hollabaugh, head of the Geosciences Department, believes that keeping an eye on the river and its ecological condition will be beneficial.

“The long term goal in geosciences is [to have] a place to put in some permanent waterfall monitoring on [the] Tallapoosa River,” he said. “Downstream of Carrollton and downstream the old landfill would be a good place to sample from. There is a deep slope down to the river, but there is some upland that would have other usages for the university too,” he said. “The land could [also] serve as a buffer to protect the river from development.”

Brock, an alumnus of the former West Georgia College and whose wife, Doris, taught at the institution, lives not far from the plot that he donated and used to farm the land.

Cody Phelps, a 2009 UWG graduate who studied biology, recalls monitoring the wildlife in the area as a student.

“We would take the fish we caught and catalog them [to] estimate their population and what proportion they represent in the fish population of the stream,” he said.

Donations of land like the Brock area become valuable learning tools for students wanting to break away from the confines of a traditional desk and board classroom. Studying the land can also provide important and valuable environmental information.

UWG Day at Six Flags Over Georgia

UWG Career Service- An Inside Look

Do you need assistance preparing for your career? Are you looking for internships or jobs offers on/off campus? Do you need help compiling a resume? Then look no further than the Career Services Department of UWG! The following videos offer an inside look at their services and operations, broken down into 4 segments:

• Student Employment
• Resume Doctor
• Senior Job Searches
• Student Internships

ENJOY!

STUDENT EMPLOYMENT

RESUME DOCTOR

SENIOR JOB SEARCHES

STUDENT INTERNSHIPS

-Brittany Reid

University Communications and Marketing

University of West Georgia

Volunteers Needed to Help New Students

On Aug. 12 and 13, the first two days of class, there will be some students who have difficulty finding classes and offices because they are not familiar with the campus and are nervous about being new. To help with this, the university has "welcome stations" on campus where lost students can stop and ask for help.

There will be two stations - one in the TLC Lobby, and one in front of the UCC. The Thursday stations will be open 7:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. and the Friday ones will be open 7:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. The tables will have maps and other campus information, and there will be two volunteers per station.

If you are a UWG faculty or staff member or a knowledgeable student who is available to volunteer during those times, your assistance is welcome. It's a fun way to meet students. .

Please contact Debbie North (dnorth@westga.edu) by Aug. 6 to sign up for one (or more!) 2-hour blocks on either Aug. 12 (7:30-9:30, 9:30-11:30, 11:30-1:30, 1:30-3:30, 3:30-5:30) and/or Aug. 13 (7:30-9:30, 9:30-11:30).

After you sign up, you'll receive more details.

Students at UWG

Students express why they chose to attend the University of West Georgia!

College of Education Restructuring Explained

Instructional Innovation and Foundations Approximately 20 faculty members

ü Instructional Technology and Design

ü School Library Media

ü Research

ü Foundations

(Including Law, Ed Psychology & Social

Context)

Contemporary Teaching and Early Learning Approximately 15 faculty members

ü Birth - Five

ü Early Childhood Education

Transformative Support and Intervention Approximately 24 faculty members

ü Counseling

ü Speech-Language Pathology

ü English Language Learners

ü Reading

ü Special Education

Leadership and Specialized Instruction Approximately 22 faculty members

ü Educational Leadership

ü Higher Education Student Affairs

ü Sport Management

ü Middle Grades

ü Secondary Education

ü Health & Physical Education

ü Personal Wellness

Explanation for the Four-Department Model

Rationale – This model clusters programs according to the focus of their work. It is based on our belief that technology, foundations, and research should inform and lead all that we do in the College of Education. It is designed to provide a structure that will enable us to think about 21^st Century learners and redesign our programs to align with emerging research. It puts research (our own and from the field) at the center of programmatic decision-making, modeling the data-driven environment that education is striving for. We envision that this model will help educators be prepared for (and able to lead) schools for the radically different approaches to instruction that are likely in the future.

Innovation, Flexibility, and Responsiveness – This model embraces the belief that students in today’s classrooms think, learn, and communicate differently than past generations. Positioning technology in the center will allow us to keep up with the latest trends and be nimble as things change. This model also locates programs in a way that will encourage collaboration across departmental boundaries. Even the proposed departmental names encourage programs to assess their relevance and the degree to which they are leading innovation in the field.

Alignment with Trends and Policy Initiatives – One key feature of this model is that candidates will develop their knowledge, skill, and dispositions to go beyond their own setting and become advocates in the larger political context. It also retains and enhances our strength in professional clinics. Finally, we hope it motivates all of us to embrace powerful, contemporary models for field experiences and data-driven school improvement.

UWG Day at Six Flags Over Georgia

The University of West Georgia National Alumni Association is hosting UWG Day at Six Flags Over Georgia on August 21, 2010. All alumni, family, and friends are encouraged to attend. Tickets are $30 per person which includes an all-day pass for the park, parking, and a buffet meal at the Magnolia Pavilion from 3:30 – 4:30 p.m. (Season pass holders may pay $13 for the buffet meal.)

All tickets must be purchased in advance through the Alumni Office by Friday, August 13, 2010. For more information or to purchase tickets, all 678-839-4104 or email alumni @westga.edu.

UWG Athletics begins formation of Letterman’s Club

Carrollton, GA – The lifeblood of any athletic department is its players and coaches. With that fact in mind, West Georgia Athletics has announced the intention to begin the West Georgia Letterman’s Club, an initiative that will tie the success of the past to the future success of UWG Athletics.

“Everyone who has been a part of the history and tradition of West Georgia athletics is wanted and needed to be a part of the future,” said Athletic Director Daryl Dickey. “It is vastly important to make sure that each player who has put on the Red and Blue of West Georgia knows that he or she is important to this department beyond that final whistle.”

As a part of the formation of the West Georgia Letterman’s Club, updated contact information on all former players and coaches is needed. To assist in collection of this information, a short and convenient form is located at www.uwgsports.com on the left-hand side of the homepage.

“We are excited about the formation of the West Georgia Letterman’s Club,” Dickey said. “It is very important to ensure that the history and traditions that have been forged in Carrollton over the past 60 years will continue for many years to come.”

For more information on the West Georgia Letterman’s Club, feel free to contact the athletic department at (678) 839-6533.

Restaurant Research Gains National Recognition

Recognition by one national organization is good; two is great; three is fabulous. Throw in a state honor and you’ve got phenomenal success. That’s what was achieved by four students at the University of West Georgia for a marketing research project they conducted.

Ameen Kazerouni, Chelsea Briant, Adam Szaruga, and Armando Ramos performed graduate level marketing research under the guidance of UWG President Beheruz N. Sethna, who is a marketing professor.

The research project was an extension of his Business Challenges class, and consisted of comparing the businesses of Mexican restaurants in the local Carrollton area. The students pinpointed variables that could influence the success or difficulties the businesses might face.

The students worked for about five months gathering information on the two restaurants, The Border and The Grillage.

They discovered that the variables that had the strongest influence on the restaurants’ business were cost, quickness, and variety. They presented their information to the restaurants and felt that the restaurants appreciated the hard work that they put into the project.

Once the project was finished, the National Social Science Association (NSSA), the National Conference on Undergraduate Research (NCUR) and the Georgia Collegiate Honors Council (GCHC) recognized the students’ results. Members of the team attended conferences for all three organizations, and they were invited to attend the National Collegiate Honors Council (NCHC) conference, which will be held in October.

The team also won first place at the NSSA conference.

“Our goal was always to go to a conference,” Briant said. “Our focus wasn’t so much on the fact that the project was a part of our class, but we definitely wanted to make sure the quality was strong enough to be accepted by a national conference.”

“Getting together with colleagues to conduct this experiment was a brilliant rush,” Kazerouni said. “We put a lot of sweat, blood, and tears into this project, and we were blessed to be recognized by four conferences.”

The students also agree that the project could not have been completed without Sethna.

“He was not just our professor, he was an essential part of the team,” Kazerouni said.

“He was also the most enthusiastic member of our group; Dr. Sethna is a genius,” Briant said.

Keep Up with Arts and Sciences Task Force

The task force charged with splitting the College of Arts

and Sciences has established several online communication

venues:

- A blog, at http://aandstaskforce.blogspot.com/, for

ongoing discussion and comment.

- There is a welcome post and a post that

discusses a possible structure and membership of

the new colleges.

- A web site, http://sites.google.com/site/andstaskforce/,

for more static documents. Currently, there is posted a letter from Dr. Sethna creating the task force

and a spreadsheet with faculty numbers by department.

- An email address, aandstaskforce@gmail.com.

CSB to Sponsor Annual Run for UWG

Community and Southern Bank has signed on to sponsor the 25th Annual Run for UWG – an event that includes a Tot Trot, one-mile Fun Run, and a 5K race through the streets around the Carrollton campus.

Proceeds from the run benefit the UWG Annual Fund and student scholarships at the University of West Georgia.

The run will be held on the UWG campus on Thursday, Oct. 7.

Other Annual Fund events include fundraisers in Bowdon on Sept. 9, hosted by Tom and Patsy Upchurch, and in Carrollton on Sept. 21, hosted by Dr. Walter and Ginger Reid. For more information about any UWG Annual Fund events, contact the UWG Alumni House at 678-839-6582.

Pictured are, from left, H.B. “Rocky” Lipham, CSB president of the West Georgia Region; Charity Aaron, vice president and director of marketing at CSB, and Frank Pritchett, associate executive director for alumni relations and annual giving at UWG.

UWG's Economic Impact on Region Measured at $364 Million

As businesses, government leaders and citizens of Georgia seek solutions to the state’s lingering economic troubles, public colleges and universities continue to provide a bright spot.

According to a newly released report, the University of West Georgia contributed $364 million to the regional economy over the past fiscal year. The study also said that statewide, a $12.7 billion economic boost came from institutions of the University System of Georgia, which commissioned the study.

UWG, one of 35 institutions in the statewide system, also accounted for more than 3,340 jobs, which created a labor income impact of $152 million in the region.

As lack of job growth has been one of the most frustrating factors dogging the economy, the report found that Georgia’s public higher education system generated 112,336 full- and part-time jobs in the past fiscal year – nearly 3 percent of all jobs in the state.

The report said that most of those jobs (62 percent) are non-campus based positions in the public or private sector that exist because of a USG institution’s presence in its community. The remainder are on-campus jobs.

Spending by USG institutions on salaries and benefits, supplies and other expenses, as well as spending by students, generated most of the $12.7 billion in economic impact.

Locally, UWG’s economic influence has been tangible and valuable. As the region continues to endure a fiscal sluggishness, the $364 million impact made by UWG was a 5 percent gain over the prior year.

Construction projects and retail support by the university and its students and employees put money directly into the local economy.

By creating an educated work force, UWG makes the area attractive to businesses and helps bolster the regional tax base. Businesses that rely on specialized skills value close proximity to universities. Many of those businesses are knowledge-based organizations that are expected to lead future economic growth.

UWG’s impact extends well beyond its Carrollton main campus. Its center in Newnan also creates vital economic activity.

“There is no question that the university’s Newnan Center is having an impact on the local economy. Students from more than 50 counties currently attend the Newnan Center,” said Cathy Wright, the center’s director. “When class is over or during breaks, they head over to Ashley Park and other nearby shopping areas for great shopping and excellent restaurants. This summer’s enrollment of 622 is the highest summer enrollment in the center’s history and is a 9 percent increase over spring 2010’s enrollment.”

UWG's economic impact ranked it seventh among USG institutions, but when considering the fact that some of the institutions ranked ahead of UWG are in much more populous and economically developed areas, UWG's impact grows in stature.

It’s worth noting that the research does not take into account the long-term benefits that a university provides to its community, nor does it measure benefits such as cultural, intellectual and community-service impact. Also not measured is spending by university retirees who live near campus, visitors to the institution and the effect of additional income generated by university employees, such as from consulting work and other personal business.

But it’s clear that a university’s economic impact is vital and sustainable to its region’s health.

UWG Student Wins Peachtree Road Race T-shirt Contest

Allison Bennett, a medical illustration major from Augusta, won this year's Peachtree Road Race logo-design contest.

Bennett's entry featured an outline of the Atlanta skyline framed by a giant peach rising like the sun in the background. It was among five finalists in the contest, four of which were submitted by UWG students from an art class taught by professor Clint Samples. And this wasn't the only year that Samples' students have had success; last year, two entries from his class made the list of five finalists.

Bennett's entry is now featured on more than 55,000 T-shirts, and she won a $1,000 grand prize.

"As a young person, having my work seen on a large scale is good exposure," Bennett told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

The Waring Archaeological Lab at UWG

Explore and discover the hidden treasures of the Waring Archeological Laboratory, which is part of the Anthropology Department at UWG!

McCandless Named Transitional Dean of COAS

The University of West Georgia has chosen Dr. N. Jane McCandless to serve as transitional dean for the College of Arts and Sciences, temporarily running the college while a recommendation is given to UWG President Beheruz N. Sethna for the school’s reorganization.

For funding and expansion purposes, the College of Arts and Sciences will divide into three separate colleges, organized according to the existing departmental breakdown of the school’s arts and sciences, expected to take effect the spring semester that begins in January 2011.

McCandless’ past administrative experience includes interim director for the Philosophy Program and interim chair for the Department of Mass Communications and Theatre Arts. She has also chaired numerous college and university committees and served as chair of the board of directors for the Carroll Rape Crisis Center.

Since 2003, she has served as chair of the Department of Sociology and Criminology, and has maintained several leadership positions at the campus, state and national levels of the American Association of University Professors, including her present position as president of the statewide organization in Georgia.