Good Things Come in Small Packages

4th Annual Holiday Show & Sale
Featuring artwork from UWG faculty,
students, alumni and friends!
THURSDAY DECEMBER 2nd, 2010
GALA PARTY 6-8 PM
BOBICK GALLERY, HUMANITIES BUILDING

SUPPORT YOUR LOCAL ARTISTS


www.westga.edu/~artdept/

For more information contact the Department of Art at (678) 839-6521
or Stephanie Smith, Gallery Coordinator slsmith@westga.edu


BOBICK GALLERY HOURS:
Monday-Friday 9:00am-4:00pm

Location: University of West Georgia, West Georgia Drive, Humanities Building, first floor.

Parking: Visitor parking is available in the lot adjacent to the Technology-Enhanced Learning Center building on West Georgia Drive or in the Academic Quad lot after 6pm

For maps and directions visit: www.westga.edu

Long-Range Academic Calendar Posted

Academic calendars for coming years

Semester	Beginning Date	Ending Date	Graduation
Fall 2012	August 20, 2012	December 07, 2012	December 08, 2012
Spring 2013	January 07, 2013	April 26, 2013	April 27, 2013
Summer 2013	May 06, 2013	July 26, 2013	July 27, 2013
Fall 2013	August 26, 2013	December 13, 2013	December 14, 2014
Spring 2014	January 06, 2014	April 25, 2014	April 26, 2014
Summer 2014	May 05, 2014	July 25, 2014	July 26, 2014
Fall 2014	August 25, 2014	December 12, 2014	December 13, 2014
Spring 2015	January 05, 2015	April 24, 2015	April 25, 2015
Summer 2015	May 04, 2015	July 24, 2015	July 25, 2015

Beheruz. N. Sethna: Brain Gain

By Lavina Melwani • Nov 28th, 2010

The US has several Indian-Americans doing important work in academia. Meet Beheruz. N. Sethna, President of West Georgia University which has a budget of $ 100 million and 100 programs of study through the doctoral level.

He’s a Parsi who’s got some important firsts affixed to his name: he is the first person of Indian origin to ever become the president of a university anywhere in the US. He’s also the first person from any ethnic minority to become president of a predominantly white or racially-integrated university or college in Georgia.

While Indian heads of American universities are becoming more commonplace now, back in the 80’s Sethna, who is a professor of Business Administration, was the only one. In fact he has the rare distinction of being the president of three universities – West Georgia College, State University of West Georgia, and The University of West Georgia – all of them in the same office! He jokes, “I was the last President of West Georgia College, the first and only President of the State

University of West Georgia, and the first President of The University of West Georgia.”

He had started as the president of a College with 7,000+ students, and today, the institution after two name and designation changes, is one of four robust- tier doctoral comprehensive universities in the 35-campus University System of Georgia, with 11,500 students.

To see the full story:

http://www.lassiwithlavina.com/24_7_talkischeap/beheruz-n-sethna-brain-gain/html

That's grape advice: Vineyard expert offers tips to local growers

byJohn P. Boan/Times-Georgian

8 hrs ago | 136 views | 0 | | 3 | |

Brian Kent, Dr. Dave Lockwood and Doug Mabry tour Kent’s farm near Farmers High Road Tuesday. Lockwood, a faculty member of the University of Tennessee’s Department of Plant and Soil Sciences, surveyed local plots of land farmers hope to convert into vineyard space next year. (Photo by Thomas O'Connor/Times-Georgian.)

A noted expert in the field of vineyard cultivation has been providing pointers to the dozen or so individuals in Carroll County who are working to start their own grape-growing operation.

Dr. Dave Lockwood, a long-term faculty member of the University of Tennessee’s Department of Plant and Soil Sciences, surveyed the various plots of land that Carroll farmers are hoping to convert into vineyard space next year.

While grape development isn’t rocket science, he said, it does take year-round dedication and a certain amount of patience. After the seeds go in the ground, it’s usually between three and four years before any grapes appear.

“With vineyards, like any long-term crop, you want to make sure you do a good job getting the soil ready before you plant,” Lockwood said. “The soil, the pH, the nutrition. You need to look at the types of grapes that are adapted to this area. That’s what we’re going to focus on. What kinds of grapes grow well here and don’t have weaknesses like susceptibility to certain types of insects and diseases? It’s not hard to grow a crop of grapes, but it is something you have to stay with pretty much year-round. You have insects and diseases in summer. You prune in the winter, and hopefully you’ve got a harvest in the fall to go along with it.”

It’s largely unknown what kind of grapes will grow well in Carroll County, though muscadines have long flourished in the region.

The Vineyard and Winery Association of West Georgia, which was formed about four months ago, has generated local interest, with about a dozen people committed to beginning their own vineyards at the start of 2011, said Doug Mabry, a consultant with the county who is spearheading the effort.

One of those interested, farmer Brian Kent, said that by cultivating a vineyard on his property, he hopes to be paving the way for the future of agriculture in the county.

“We have a cattle farm here, and it’s a matter of trying to plan ahead. It’s a way to get your foot in the door,” he said. “There’s history behind these grapes going back to the late 1800s, and it’s neat to bring it back.”

Carroll County was once one of the biggest wine producers in the country. In the 1890s the area was known as the “Napa Valley of the East.” Bulgarian and other Eastern European immigrants developed a massive local industry that at one time touted 1,500 acres of vineyards. But in 1907, prohibition went into effect, and the local industry never really recovered.

Local development of vineyards could possibly lead to a cooperative winery.

What is known is that the market is there.

For the farmers, a vineyard provides a sustainable crop that also increases the value of the land itself, and a feasibility study conducted by the University of Georgia Center for Agribusiness and Economic Development paints an even broader picture of a local winery’s economic impact. The study, completed in 2009, concluded the county could support such an industry, as it would draw from a 75-mile radius. The county market area would include much of metro-Atlanta, representing more than 5 million people.

Not all of these people are of legal drinking age and some don’t drink wine, but according to numbers from The Wine Market Council, those who do drink wine do it liberally. On average, Americans drink 3.2 gallons of wine a year, and when broken down by the number of wine drinkers in the market area and the average amount of disposable income, estimated retail sales for wine in Carroll County comes to $5.7 million.

But the possible impact to the local economy doesn’t end there. Wineries are big business, Mabry said, and it’s not necessarily because of the wine they sell. Wine-related tourism has always been a cash cow for areas typically known for their wine production, like northern California, and there’s no reason Carroll County couldn’t reap the same benefits, he said.

Preview Day a Success

Fall Preview Day, in which prospective UWG students and their families came to tour the campus and learn about its programs, was a huge success this year. Held on Sunday, Nov. 14, this year's event drew the largest crowd in its 15-year history. Some 627 students and 862 guests attended, bringing the total visitor count to 1,489. The previous attendance record was set in 2002.
This year's event coincided with the recent launch of the Go West branding campaign, which is designed to draw more student interest.
UWG's next Preview Day will be held Jan. 30.

Tallapoosa gets 9/11 artifact

by Kelly Quimby/Tallapoosa Journal

1 day 9 hrs ago | 421 views | 1 | | 2 | |

Tallapoosa is now home to a piece of American history. Unveiled on Veterans Day, a remnant of the 9/11 terrorist attack on the World Trade Center in New York City is now on display at the West Georgia Museum of Tallapoosa.

Mayor Pete Bridges and his wife Barbara drove to John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York City on Oct. 27 to pick up a piece of twisted metal, which had been recovered at ground zero in Manhattan.

Deemed “Artifact #G-0076” by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, the 60-inch piece of metal is on display with a video and photos at the West Georgia Museum, though the plan is to eventually install it in Tallapoosa’s Veterans Memorial Park.

“We may be the only persons in Georgia that have a piece of the World Trade Center,” Bridges said. “We were told when we picked it up that they’re no longer giving out artifacts.”

The city learned that it could obtain a piece of the buildings’ wreckage after reading an article in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, which was a reprinted version of an article in the New York Times. Bridges and City Planning Coordinator Patrick Clarey contacted the Port Authority about receiving an artifact, and applied Sept. 18, 2009. It was not until July 22 of this year that the city was approved to receive the artifact, and still another three months before it was in the hands of the mayor.

“We were patient,” Clarey said. “We sent certified letters to Congressman [Phil] Gingrey and [Sen.] Johnny Isakson and then it went pretty fast for an organization that big.”

The Port Authority informed the city of Tallapoosa that it would receive the artifact after District Court Judge Alvin Hellerstein of New York signed an order granting the city ownership.

The city is working with Haralson County Veterans Association President and County Commissioner Sammy Robinson and architect Tim Pope to find a permanent home for the artifact in the League Lowe Veterans Memorial Park. According to a press release from the city, “the hope is that the monument will be erected and unveiled for the tenth anniversary of the September 11 attacks.”

“We’ll check and see what the regulations are and design a proper place for it in the park,” Robinson said. “Until we can do what we want to do, it’ll be housed in the museum.”

Clarey said that the intent of obtaining the metal was to serve as a reminder of that period in American history.

“We thought it would be pretty awesome, really, to get people to remember what happened,” he said.

While the metal is being housed at the museum, it is being displayed with a nearly 2-hour documentary video on the events that occurred on Sept. 11, 2001.

Tallapoosa’s was one of 900 requests for artifacts being released by the Port Authority, all from the World Trade Center buildings, which the authority owned before their destruction.

Clarey said the city also obtained video documenting the construction of the twin towers, along with a book chronicling the events, which are also on hand at the museum.

Boys & Girls Club Needs Your Help

There are many ways to be involved with Boys & Girls Clubs of Metro Atlanta!

The organization, which sponsors programs that help kids succeed, welcomes new faces to join it in shaping the future of our communities.

If you are looking to volunteer regularly, mentoring a child is a great avenue. If you want to contribute but don't have the time to volunteer, consider donating to the organization, a program or an event.

Young professionals looking to connect in the community can join Club Blue, a social networking group. To get involved on a daily basis with the kids in our community who need us most, visit the career center to view career opportunities.

We can provide promise and hope — in more ways than one!

See what exciting events we have coming up.

Or stop by the local branch in Carrollton at 601 Maple St. at the Old Maple Street Elementary School. The phone number is 770-834-0017.

Brandon White Named GSC Freshman of the Year

For the first time in over a decade, a University of West Georgia football player has earned top rookie honors from the Gulf South Conference.

Offensive tackle Brandon White was named Thursday the GSC Offensive Freshman of the Year. White was selected for the honor in balloting conducted among the league’s head coaches.

The honor is the first for a West Georgia player since 1999, when offensive lineman Conelius Alvin was named the GSC’s top freshman. Also, White is only the fourth UWG freshman to win the prize since UWG joined the conference in 1983.

Head coach Daryl Dickey is among White’s biggest boosters.

“This is an outstanding honor for Brandon,” said the Wolves’ coach. “He had a very good year for us, and

the potential to become a truly outstanding offensive lineman. I’m really looking forward to coaching him for three more years.”

White, a redshirt freshman from Cincinnati, Ohio, was a mainstay along the Wolves’ front line in 2010. He had 54 knockdown blocks, and was on the field for 607 snaps, second highest among the UWG’s offensive linemen. White also was the highest graded lineman in four-of-nine games in which he played in 2010.

Beyond White, four other UWG players received league honors. Three senior defenders, end Jeremy Cook (Baton Rouge, La.), linebacker Travis Payton(Hattiesburg, Miss.), and cornerback Ken Hale

(McDonough) were all named to the All-GSC Second Team. Also, freshmanDenarius Appling was chosen All-GSC Second Team as a return specialist.

Of the three defenders, Dickey said, “I’m really proud of this group of seniors. Our defense made some major strides this season, and they were a big part of it. I want to congratulate each of them for this honor.”

Appling, like White, is set for three more seasons in a West Georgia uniform. Dickey smiles when he speaks of the Griffin native’s accomplishments and potential for the future.

“Denarius had very good numbers, especially for a true freshman,” said Dickey. The coach added, “Our

challenge now is to find ways for him to be more involved in what we’re doing offensively.”

Beyond his punt return duties, Appling saw limited duty at wide receiver during the 2010 season.

UWG’s five players receiving Gulf South Conference honors marks the highest number for the program since the 2006 season.

Flu Shots

Health Services has now treated its first patient to test positive for

influenza this season.  PLEASE remember to take precautions to
reduce the spread of infection.

The CDC recommends that a student not attend classes until they have
been free of fever for 24 hours without the assistance of medication.
With patient permission Health Services can confirm a diagnosis of
influenza for instructors thus validating absences from class.

For further information regarding prevention, symptoms, and care please
see the Center for Disease Control's web site for influenza at:
http://www.cdc.gov/flu/
This site includes prevention posters that can be copied and posted in
your area.

Health Services still has flu vaccine available free for students and
for $15.00 to faculty, staff, and their dependents, ages 8 and above.
Please pay by check or bring the correct amount needed.

Keep the campus as healthy as possible as we head into the
holidays and those exams!

Student band: Tetrarch

The West Georgian

By Lauren Taylor

Staff Writer

Published: Wednesday, November 10, 2010

Updated: Wednesday, November 10, 2010 22:11

Chris Casatelli Photography

West Georgia is a university full of diverse groups of students. Some are athletes, sorority members, cheerleaders, and then there are artists. Many people at the university are unaware that they walk by many promising music artists and band members every day; one is Ryan Lerner, a senior at West Georgia and a member of the band called "Tetrarch."

Lerner is a mass communications major; however, he wants to focus more on his band when he graduates. Lerner explained, however, that it is a necessity to have a degree from a university.

"I think it is important that I have a degree just in case the band thing doesn't work out," Lerner said. "I would like to produce music in a recording studio if that became the case."

The band consists of four members. Three of the members are male and the fourth member is female. Lerner is a newer member of the band and plays the guitar; however, the band has been together since 2004. Tetrarch asked Lerner to come audition and ended up really liking his style. He played for several other bands previously but decided to audition for Tetrarch since the other band he was playing for wasn't working out.

Tetrarch, an Atlanta-based band that plays shows regularly in the region, is a metal band with a mesh of older sounds like Metallica and Iron Maiden mixed with a newer twist. Although not signed with a label yet, Tetrarch is on the right track.

On Wednesday, Nov. 3, the band played with Black Tide, an up-and-coming metal band, at the Masquerade in Atlanta. Lerner explained that playing with Black Tide was a big deal.

"Black Tide is pretty well known, which is good, because it helps create more exposure for us when we play with them," said Lerner.

Although Tetrarch is a metal band, they sound far from death metal.

"We play our music in a tasteful way, there is some screaming but we are trying to focus more on singing," said Lerner. "We want to be mainstream and be played on the radio but not sound like Nickelback. We like the sound of Disturbed -- they are heavy but not overboard."

Lerner explained that many people associate metal with Satanic-like music and that their music is far from that.

"Just because we all wear black doesn't mean we praise Satan," Lerner said. "I think wearing black is slimming anyway. Also, most people who listen to metal are just like everyone else, they just like more intense music."

Tetrarch's music has already been played three times now on the radio. They hope one day that being played on the radio will become a regular thing. The band owes much of its exposure to social media. Tetrarch utilizes Facebook and MySpace to gain contacts and to promote the band.

"Social media has really helped gain contacts for us," said Lerner. "We have more than 2,000 Facebook friends from all over. Without it we wouldn't be where we have gotten today."

Although the band is not signed, they are working toward that goal by regularly playing shows and networking through social media.

http://www.thewestgeorgian.com/go-west-brands-university-new-identity-1.1769883

Grapes to be planted next year ahead of possible winery

byJohn P. Boan/Times-Georgian

1 day 8 hrs ago | 896 views | 3 | | 6 | |

A handful of local residents are planning on planting grapes in the coming months, an effort that will hopefully culminate in a county cooperative winery.

The Vineyard and Winery Association of West Georgia, which was formed about four months ago, has generated much interest in the local community, with upwards of a dozen people committed to beginning their own vineyards at the start of 2011, said Doug Mabry, a consultant with the county who is spearheading the effort.

It’ll be three years before the new vineyards produce any grapes, and the organization has plans to bring in oenophiles and other experts from as far away as Spain and France to ensure that local efforts aren’t for naught, he said.

“We’re going to advise them every step of the way,” Mabry said. “We’re going try to take people step by step as they plant their seeds up until the point when they see their first harvest.”

Should they be successful, the new vineyards could show dividends for both the farmers and the community as a whole, he said.

For the farmers, a vineyard provides a sustainable crop that also ups the value of the land itself, and a feasibility study conducted by the University of Georgia Center for Agribusiness and Economic Development paints an even broader picture of a local winery’s economic impact. The study, completed in 2009, concluded the county could support such an industry, as it would draw from a 75-mile radius. The county market area would include much of metro-Atlanta, representing 5.7 million people.

Not all of these people are of legal drinking age and some don’t drink wine, but according to numbers from The Wine Market Council, those who do drink wine do it liberally. On average, Americans drink 3.2 gallons of wine a year, and when broken down by the number of wine drinkers in the market area and the average amount of disposable income, estimated retail sales for wine in Carroll County comes to $5.7 million.

But the possible impact to the local economy doesn’t end there. Wineries are big business, Mabry said, and it’s not necessarily because of the wine they sell. Wine-related tourism has always been a cash cow for areas typically known for their wine production, like northern California, and there’s no reason Carroll County couldn’t reap the same benefits, he said.

Carroll County was once one of the biggest wine producers in the country. In the 1890s the area was known as the “Napa Valley of the east.” Bulgarian and other Eastern European immigrants developed a massive local industry that at one time touted 1,500 acres of vineyards. But in 1907, prohibition went into effect, and the local industry has never really recovered.

The Vineyard and Winery Association is in the process of applying for a grant to provide upwards of $150,000 in funding, and it’s yet to be seen how much the total cost will be to create a functional winery.

All things considered, if and when the winery gets off the ground, it’s going to be a boon for the government and residents alike, Mabry said.

“The profits from this all trickles down to a lot of other stuff,” Mabry said. “It’s something that’s going to benefit the whole area, not just the individual.”

Read more:Times-Georgian - Grapes to be planted next year ahead of possible winery

California court upholds in-state tuition for illegal immigrants

Court upholds in-state tuition for illegal immigrants

lrosenhall@sacbee.com

PUBLISHED MONDAY, NOV. 15, 2010

California's law allowing illegal immigrants to pay in-state tuition at public colleges and universities was upheld by the California Supreme Court today.

In a 28-page ruling, the state's highest court overturned a lower court ruling that said the law, known as AB 540, unfairly favors illegal immigrants who live in California over American citizens who live outside the state. Out-of-state tuition at University of California is more than $20,000 more per year than it is for state residents.

The seven justices of the Supreme Court agreed that the law treats all people the same, regardless of their citizenship status, as long as they meet certain criteria, such as attending high school in California for at least three years.

Here is the Supreme Court's decision: http://bit.ly/cUZPUP

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