Columns:: Campus Closeup

since 12/15/98

Columns::October 20, 2003

Russell Symposium examines homeland security issues
A legendary event: Homecoming celebration scheduled for Oct. 19-25
Great idea pays off: Accounts payable wins ‘best practices’ award
Benefits enrollment period under way for UGA employees, retirees
Four faculty members receive D.W. Brooks Awards
Coffee perks: Researchers find that caffeine lessens muscle pain during vigorous workout
New dual degree offered for UGA undergraduates
Update: Private Giving
Newsmakers
Making waves: Grady dean discusses media ownership requirements
A record of time

Campus News

Campus Closeup

As a conference facilitator for the College of Education, Vickie Scotland plans 65 conferences a year for the Georgia Systemic Teacher Education Program. (Photo by Peter Frey)

VICKIE SCOTLAND
Program Specialist/Conference Facilitator
College of Education

JOB DESCRIPTION: “As the program specialist and conference facilitator in the College of Education, I plan meetings and conferences for the Georgia Systemic Teacher Education Program, which seeks to improve teacher education programs and help students.
“I am also involved with the League of Professional Schools, which basically helps promote the school as a learning community that is student-centered and focused on improving teaching and learning for all.”

TYPICAL DAY: “There really is no typical day for me. The majority of the day is spent communicating via e-mail and trying to organize and plan for meetings. I plan 65 meetings a year, and some take three months to plan for.
“I also do typical jobs done by an office manager, like invoice billing, ordering supplies, handling administrative duties, arranging travel for faculty, preparing check and purchase requests, updating the League of Professional Schools’s Web site with upcoming events and supervising our graduate students.”

YEARS IN CURRENT POSITION: Four.

OTHER UGA EXPERIENCE: “I started here as a part-time receptionist and moved to being an assistant conference coordinator. Then I was asked if I was interested in full-time work and I was.
I started planning small workshops before I came here and I took some meeting planning and conference coordinating classes at Georgia Perimeter College through the Georgia Center.”

IF I WASN’T DOING THIS JOB, I’D MOST LIKE TO: “Either dabble in real estate or own my own bed and breakfast. That is why I work at Ashford Manor Bed and Breakfast, so I can learn about the business. I help create new concepts and help them plan meetings. We do birthdays, weddings, social activities and more. You really have to be more than a bed and breakfast to survive.
“I also think it would be neat to do real estate because it’s such a flexible field and you get to help couples find their new home. It would be so rewarding to help find a family a home. It’s part of my desire to bring people together.”

OFF-THE JOB INTERESTS: “I love to read and walk. Walking is so relaxing; it clears my mind. I am involved in the youth ministry at Hill Chapel Baptist. I coordinate trips for them. I’m also involved with the Parent Teacher Organization at my children’s schools. I have three children: Brittni and Brandon, who are 13-year-old twins, and Dreme, who is 16. I am on the Booster Club Committee where I help with concessions and fundraisers and other activities.”

FAVORITE MUSIC: “I love jazz. My favorite artist is Kenny G.”

A BOOK THAT I’D RECOMMEND TO OTHERS: “Butterscotch Blues by Margaret Johnson-Hodge. It’s about a young lady in search of love. When she finds it, it is with a man suffering from AIDS. The book deals with how she handled loving a man who would probably not live long. It has to be hard to be in search of love and then to find the person you want to share your life with and discover they won’t be able to share it with you. It’s a touching story.”

THE PEOPLE I MOST ADMIRE: “My mother, Loleta Faulkner. She is a very strong person who has helped me so much in my life in so many different situations. She’s given me her time, energy and patience; she’s put in a lot for my kids and me.
“I also admire Oprah Winfrey because she is a dynamic, giving and loving person. She is supportive of people and has inspired me by one sentence. She once said, when she was young, ‘If I can’t be beautiful, I want to be smart.’ I think it takes the focus off the outer appearance and puts it on the inner spirit. It reminds me we are beautiful people and, it’s oversaid but true, it is what’s on the inside that counts.”

THE ISSUE THAT CONCERNS ME MOST ABOUT TODAY’S WORLD: “What our youth are being exposed to on TV and in music. It’s sending too many wrong messages. We’re causing our children heartache from the pressures of wanting to be what society tells them they should be. I think it takes some of their innocence away.”

--Leslie Wiggins

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