Parents' Day at the UWG Library

On Sunday, August 8, Ingram Library will host “Parents’ Day at the UWG Library” in conjunction with “Move In Day” for new University of West Georgia students. Students, parents, and others assisting new students on “Move In Day” are invited to come by the Library between 10:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m. to have refreshments and learn about the Library’s academic success-enhancing resources. Brief informational sessions will be held every hour on the half hour at 10:30, 11:30, 12:30, 1:30, 2:30, 3:30, 4:30, 5:30, and 6:30.

For further information, please contact ccarroll@westga.edu.

Supply and Demand of Education

While school tuition continues to rise, students are rising from their seats and running for their wallets.

According to a report in May from the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, students attending four-year state universities like the University of West Georgia can expect to pull an additional $200 out of their pockets in order to pay Georgia’s inflation in college tuition.

However, in an economic crisis in which Georgia tuition will increase for some by more than 16 percent, UWG manages to provide a quality education while maintaining preferable financial status when compared to surrounding colleges in the Atlanta area. For example, in-state students taking 15 credits this fall will pay a 15.01 percent increase at UWG.

UWG surveyed students, from sophomores to seniors, international students to transfer students, and graduates, finding that most college attendees today are strategically placing themselves in an atmosphere for learning that is “close, but not too close” to home.

When asked, “Why West Georgia?” students said location, location and cost.

The survey involved 55 students in which many said those reasons, as well as convenience, the size of the university and the amount of green space within the campus were key factors in choosing an institution.

The school, being located about an hour west of Atlanta, provides students with the best of both worlds; a less crowded tight-knit community, with a short-distance commute into the city.

Also according to the survey, students who looked at schools like University of Georgia and Georgia State are choosing UWG for less costly tuition and mandatory fees.

Some students choose UWG for the availability of resources like the Excel Center, Writing Center and the multiple computer labs that can be found on campus, including the joint Engineering Studies Program between UWG and Georgia Tech. These programs offer the student a more personalized learning environment with down to earth professors before entering the engineering research environment with Tech.

When compared to other competing universities in the region, UWG presents a favorable opportunity in education with regards to affordability, campus layout and of course, location, location, location.

For a more detailed perspective of the estimated price of college in 2010 visit:

http://www.ajc.com/news/for-some-georgia-tuition-524594.html

The Learning Season: Natalie Brooks

Most students spend the summer catching up on course credit, vacation time or sleep. Others spend their break interning or working typical summer jobs. However, University of West Georgia student Natalie Brooks plays a zombie.

Over the past two summers, the senior English student has worked as an extra on TV and movie sets around Atlanta, first working as a regular extra for the “vamptastic” television series Vampire Diaries in 2009. This summer she continued, working for a VH1 movie produced by Queen Latifah called Single Ladies and the AMC newly anticipated original series The Walking Dead.

Working on the set of The Walking Dead, Brooks gives the rundown of a typical day as a flesh- hungry zombie.

“You show up at 6 a.m. and go to wardrobe and makeup to have blood sprayed on you and your hair matted with conditioner. Then they hand you a mask, place you in front of the camera and direct you to chase a car, tear down a gate and growl. By day three I had perfected my zombie walk.

“It’s like babysitting,” she said. “You can turn down the days you can’t or don’t want to work with no penalty. We get paid to have fun on set and it’s a fast way to meet new people.”

Georgia is quickly becoming the new hotspot for filming and television production. Summer box-office hits like Ashton Kutcher’s Killers and award winning movies such as The Blindside, as well as popular television shows like CW’s Vampire Diaries have all been filmed in the state. Each brings new job opportunities and quick cash for college students.

“As an extra you’re basically a freelance worker, which as a full-time student is the perfect job,” says Brooks, “and as someone who loves movies and wants to work in the production industry it’s a great way to expose yourself to the environment.”

The Walking Dead, set to premiere in October on AMC , is a show based on the comic book written by Robert Kirkman, published by Image Comics.

Helping Hand at the Library

On the first day of classes, Thursday, August 12, Ingram Library will welcome back students with an Open House from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Students and other passers-by will be met by library staffers at the door with drinks, snacks, and information about resources that the Library has to offer them. For further information, please contact chendric@westga.edu

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