Magazine ranks UGA 6th among publics
In its March 1997 issue, in an analysis of the 51 largest, most-competitive public universities in the United States, Kiplinger's Personal Finance Magazine rated the University of Georgia sixth. Institutions in all 50 states and the District of Columbia were included in the survey. Rankings were based on four factors: affordability, admissions, faculty access and graduation rate. The University of North Carolina was rated first, followed by the University of Virginia, the University of Wisconsin at Madison, the University of California at Los Angeles and Rutgers University. UGA and the University of Michigan tied for sixth.


Colloquium, library honor Sohn: A colloquium on "International Law for a New Millennium" will bring renowned young scholars to the School of Law on Feb. 28 in honor of Louis B. Sohn, one of the world's foremost international law scholars and the Emily and Ernest Woodruff Professor of Law at UGA from 1981 to 1991.

At UGA, Sohn pioneered courses on U.N. law, international human rights, the law of the sea and the protection of the environment. In 1991, he joined the U.S. Institute of Peace as a Jennings Randolph Distinguished Fellow. He currently continues his research program at the George Washington National Law Center.

The colloquium convenes at 1 p.m. on the fourth floor of Dean Rusk Hall and will be followed at 5:30 by the dedication of the Louis B. Sohn International Law Library, which includes more than 3,200 monographs donated from Sohn's personal library collection. The dedication will be followed by a dinner at which Sohn's portrait, to hang in the library, will be presented.

All events are open to the public; dinner tickets are $20 and may be purchased from the Law Alumni Office.


Suspect charged in Five Points rape cases: John Scieszka of Alpharetta has been charged with four counts of rape, one count of attempted rape and 17 other felony charges in a series of sexual assaults in the Five Points neighborhood in Athens in 1995 and 1996. The five victims were all UGA students.

Scieszka was arrested Jan. 30 in Cherokee County and charged with the rape of a University of Florida student in Gainesville, Fla., in 1995. He was subsequently charged in the AthensClarke County cases and then in DeKalb County for sexual assaults on three Emory University students in 1993 and 1994. DNA evidence played a significant role in tying together the cases in differing jurisdictions.

Georgia Gov. Zell Miller has denied a petition from the state of Florida to extradite Scieszka and it is therefore expected that Scieszka will be tried first in AthensClarke County.


Hazing decision upheld: Vice President for Student Affairs Dwight Douglas has accepted the decision of a student judiciary appeals panel in the case of three students and a fraternity, Phi Beta Sigma, charged in a hazing incident last September. The students were charged with paddling a prospective fraternity member so severely that he sought medical treatment. The student judiciary panel which originally heard the case imposed sanctions: the fraternity was suspended from campus for as long as five years; the students were suspended and banned from campus until at least 1999. They had appealed, arguing that the sanctions were too harsh. A final appeal, to UGA President Charles Knapp, remains.


Housing renovation approved by regents: The regents of the University System of Georgia have approved continuing the planned renovation of Reed Hall. The project had been approved at an estimated cost of $8.5 million, but the regents had balked at--and required an explanation for--a requested increase in cost of $1.9 million. The university presented a study of campus housing showing that 10 of UGA's 17 residence halls are in "below average" condition and that major changes are needed if on-campus housing is to remain a viable alternative for students.

The additional cost for the Reed Hall renovation resulted in part from changes in design intended to enhance privacy for residents. However, the dispute has called attention to the complexity of funding request procedures at University System institutions. Inaccurate initial estimates may sometimes result from a reluctance to commit resources to a construction project before it has been funded, and the chancellor's office will be looking for ways to improve cost estimates.

Renovations at Reed Hall will now begin this spring, as scheduled, at a total estimated cost of $10.4 million. The hall will be open again by fall of 1998, at which time the housing department plans to begin renovations to other residence halls.