Columns:: UGA’s Faculty/Staff Newspaper

since 12/15/98

Columns::October 22, 2001

Front Page

Funds generated by the Partners Program made the Lamar Dodd School of Art’s program in Cortona more affordable for students.

Partnering up: Gifts to UGA’s Partners Program supported 30 educational opportunities last year

Drew Conrad was accepted to UGA’s study-abroad program in Cortona, Italy, last spring, but he had a problem--how to pay for it. The senior art major was “scrounging for money left and right” when he learned that his trip would be supported by the School of Art, which had received a grant from the President’s Venture Fund. Conrad and 19 other students were awarded funds that eased the financial burden of the trip, allowing them to spend the month of May studying printmaking and learning about Italian culture.
“It was the experience of a lifetime,” Conrad says. “You don’t get a chance like that every day.”

From left: Play Bach Trio members Jacques Loussier, Benoit Dunoyer de Segonzac and André Arpino.

Improvising with Bach

The classical jazz trio led by Jacques Loussier will perform in Hodgson Hall at 7:30 p.m. on Oct. 28 as part of the Performing Arts Center’s Music Series I.
Jacques Loussier was born in Angers in northwestern France in 1934--his Athens concert will take place two days after his 67th birthday. When Loussier was just 16, he was admitted to the Conservatoire Nationale de Musique in Paris. In 1959 he hit upon the idea that was to make his international reputation: combining his interest in jazz with his love of J.S. Bach. He founded the Play Bach Trio, which used Bach’s compositions as the basis for jazz improvisation.

Centenarian study gets $7.5 million from aging institute

Leonard Poon

UGA’s Gerontology Center has been awarded a $7.5 million grant from the National Institute on Aging for the Georgia Centenarian Study, a continuation of a 10-year project on citizens over the age of 100. The study will apply what has already been learned to new research that will explore how aging affects the physical and mental conditions, as well as the day-to-day lives, of centenarians.
“The Georgia Centenarian Study is one of two systematic studies of centenarians in the United States. We are extending our network of researchers to answer some of the age-old questions on longevity and survival,” says Leonard W. Poon, principal investigator for the grant and director of the Gerontology Center.

Small groups, big results

Joseph Wisenbaker

If all students learned the same subjects, the same way, at the same pace, teaching them would be a snap.
But as any teacher--or parent--can tell you, kids don’t come with uniform, one-size-fits-all abilities. Neither should their classroom instruction, says Joseph Wisenbaker, an associate professor of educational psychology and director of UGA’s Academic Computing Center.
That’s why Wisenbaker praises an innovative program, known as “Flexible Small-Group Instruction,” that dramatically increases the effectiveness of classroom teaching. Wisenbaker minces no words when he discusses its potential.

Home away from home

Richard Reiff

One area of concern on campuses nationwide in the wake of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks has been ensuring the safety and well-being of international students. At UGA, responsibility for foreign students is shared by the Office of International Education (a unit of Academic Affairs) and the Office of International Student Life (part of Student Affairs). Columns spoke with Richard Reiff, executive director of international education, about UGA’s international students.

Regents announce three finalists for chancellor’s position

Board of Regents Chairman Hilton H. Howell Jr. announced Oct. 10 the top three finalists for the University System of Georgia chancellor’s position. Chancellor Stephen R. Portch announced this past spring that he will step down when his successor is named.

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