June 2001: Vol. 80, No. 3June 2001: Vol. 80, No. 3Vinson staffers worked on new state flag
When Gov. Roy Barnes (AB '69, JD '72) signed H.B. 16 into law on Jan. 31, Georgia had a new state flag. But the work had just begun for Secretary of State Cathy Cox (ABJ '80), whose office had to create the new flag.
For help, Cox turned to UGA's Carl Vinson Institute of Government, where Ed Jackson (at left in photo) and Reid McCallister (MFA '76/at right) acted as consultants on every phase of the new flag's development from overall dimensions to shades of color.
"The legislature provided that the field be blue and that the seal and 'In God We Trust' be gold," says Jackson, who is an expert on state history and government, "but it did not specify which shades of colors were to be used."
After much consultation and experimentation, the new flag was approved on Feb. 7.
Soloski is new Grady College dean; Hummer will edit The Georgia Review
Key positions filled
John Soloski, director of the University of Iowa's School of Journalism and Mass Communication, has been named dean of UGA's Henry W. Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication. Terry Hummer, a professor and senior poet at Virginia Commonwealth University, has been named editor of UGA's award-winning literary journal, The Georgia Review.
An authority on libel and media law and a leader in journalism education, Soloski (left photo) joins the Grady College after more than 20 years at the University of Iowa. His selection follows a national search to fill the position vacated by the retirement of former dean J. Thomas Russell last year.
Soloski is co-author/editor of two books on libel law and has published numerous articles and papers on media law, media ownership, communications policy, and news reporting. He is co-recipient of more than $420,000 in grants from private foundations to conduct research, mainly on aspects of libel law and libel litigation, including use of non-litigation methods to resolve libel cases. One of his books, Libel Law and the Press: Myth and Reality, won the 1987 distinguished service award from the Society of Professional Journalists.
A 1974 graduate of Boston College, Soloski earned M.A. and Ph.D. degrees at Iowa and joined the faculty in 1978. He served as head of graduate studies, and was named director in journalism-mass communications in 1996. Since 1997, he has also served as a professor of law, and in November he was named the Daniel and Amy Starch Professor of Journalism.
Soloski will be only the fifth dean in the 86-year history of the Grady College, named for the UGA graduate who was managing editor/part owner of the Atlanta Constitution and known as the "voice of the new South" for his progressive views during post-Civil War Reconstruction.
Hummer (right photo), a widely published poet, fiction writer and literary critic who has been editor of two major literary magazines, will also hold a faculty appointment as professor of English.
He succeeds Stanley W. Lindberg, who was editor of The Georgia Review for 25 years before his death in January 2000. Hummer has been editor of The New England Review and The Kenyon Review, and was poetry editor of The Cimarron Review. He has published more than 130 poems and is author of six books of poetry. His seventh, Useless Virtues, will be published this fall by Louisiana State University Press.
Hummer has also written short stories and dozens of essays, reviews, and book chapters. His work has appeared in such publications as The New Yorker and Harper's and in leading literary journals, including The Georgia Review. The recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship and a National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship, Hummer has twice won the prestigious Pushcart Prize for his poetry.
Started in 1947, The Georgia Review grew into one of the nation's most respected literary journals under Lindberg's leadership. With an eclectic mix of fiction, poetry, essays, reviews, photographs, and graphics, the Review features the work of leading contemporary authors and has published stories and articles by some of the best-known names in modern American literature, including Flannery O'Connor, William Faulkner, Eudora Welty, and Robert Penn Warren. Its numerous honors include the 1986 National Magazine Award, for which it has also been a finalist in subsequent years.
Hummer received bachelor's and master's degrees in English and creative writing from Southern Mississippi University and a doctorate in American literature and creative writing from the University of Utah.
Rx for foot-and-mouth disease: diagnose quick or risk epidemic
Global crisis?
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 Corrie Brown, an internationally recognized expert on animal-borne diseases, says foot-and-mouth disease can be eradicated. |
Corrie Brown is a pathologist at the College of Veterinary Medicine and an expert on animal-borne diseases. Beth Roberts, who edits UGA's faculty-staff newspaper Columns, interviewed her about the recent outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease in Europe.
Q: Define foot-and-mouth disease.
Brown: The animal inhales the virus, it replicates in the lung, then goes to the feet and the mouth, where it causes blisters. The animals don't want to walk. Their mouths are incredibly sore. They don't eat; they don't drink. They lose lots of weight. That's about three weeks of lost production. Then they recover.
In this country, three weeks of lost production is all it takes to wipe out profits. We push our pigs to get to market weight at six months. If we have foot-and-mouth disease, they're not going to get to market weight until they're seven months. With that much extra feed, nobody makes money. Either that, or supermarket prices go way up.
But the biggest problem is that no other country will buy our products. The export market dries up, and exports drive the domestic market. If we got foot-and-mouth disease, it would probably cost us about $2 billion to clean it up—but it would mean $20 billion in lost trade.
Q: But humans don't get it?
Brown: People can carry it in the back of their throat. It doesn't get into the cells, so it doesn't infect humans. But you can go a day later to a circus or a feed lot and sneeze and start an outbreak. But it's passive. If the naked viral particles are exposed to heat or sunlight or drying, they die in a matter of hours. But if they're within something cool and moist, with some organic material, they can survive for quite a while. The virus can survive in a little piece of manure on the bottom of your shoe for probably a month.
Q: Is this a pitfall of globalization?
Brown: Today, there's an incredible amount of traffic of people, and animals, and animal products, so we're at greater risk of foot-and-mouth disease coming in. We're also at a greater risk of it moving around once it's within the country because of the way we raise our animals. Many cattle are born in one state, pastured in another, fattened in another, and slaughtered in a fourth. And in each of those places, they can be exposed to a lot of other animals.
Q: Why isn't the vaccine used?
Brown: There are seven serotypes of foot-and-mouth disease. Let's say serotype 1 gets in and we vaccinate with serotype 1. But serotype 2 could come in and infect all those vaccinated animals. Another reason is that vaccinated animals can still get infected; they might not look sick, but they would pass the disease on. The third reason—the biggest reason—is that no country is going to buy our products. There's no way to tell whether animals with antibodies against foot-and-mouth disease got them from the virus or from the vaccine. There is a fourth reason: the vaccine is made from killed virus, which usually doesn't generate immunity that lasts very long, so you have to do it every six months. It's expensive.
Q: What hope do we have?
Brown: We can still aim for global eradication. That can be done with animal diseases. We were fairly close to eradicating foot-and-mouth from this hemisphere until we had recurring problems this year in Argentina, Brazil, and Uruguay. And Europe was very close to eradicating it.
Q: Do you foresee restructuring of the way we practice agriculture?
Brown: No, but I do see restructuring of our veterinary infrastructure. Over the past 10 years, there's been a steady erosion in the veterinary regulatory workforce—people looking for these diseases—because we've been free of them for so long. Funding has steadily decreased. I think we'll see more federal veterinarians, more awareness campaigns.
We're making a lot of effort to globalize the veterinary profession here at UGA. We're the first school to create a certificate in international veterinary medicine. We really have to train our veterinarians to fill that niche. The secretary of agriculture calls agriculture the crown jewel in the American investment portfolio. It is 17 percent of all jobs, 14 percent of GNP—860,000 jobs, $140 billion in exports.
These diseases are going to come in. The amount of damage they cause is directly proportional to the length of time before they're diagnosed. In the United Kingdom, the virus spread for about a week before it was diagnosed. It was all over the place. In the Netherlands, they diagnosed the first case, they did the vaccinations, and it looks like they've gotten rid of it.
If foot-and-mouth disease comes in here—and it's probably "when" rather than "if"—we'd better diagnose the first case. If we do, then we have a good chance of getting rid of it. If we don't diagnose the first case then it could be economic ruin, like what we're seeing in the United Kingdom.
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UGA in the news |
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More than 100 faculty from some two dozen disciplines attended a day-long symposium in April with the goal of exploring ways to advance comprehensive engineering at UGA. The gathering was initiated by Brahm Verma and Dale Threadgill of the biological and agricultural engineering department in the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences. The day began with remarks from Karen Holbrook, senior vice president for academic affairs and provost, who sported a baseball cap with "UGA Engineering" across the front.
Verma says UGA can create something new and exciting because the University is not encumbered by an existing engineering college.
Holbrook said that while there is no need to replicate what already exists at Georgia Tech, "building engineering at UGA is going to make a major difference in many disciplines. Strong science programs invariably involve engineers and engineering expertise."
That sentiment was echoed by faculty presenters representing such diverse fields as textile and food sciences, pharmacy, and ecology.
"We need to be very non-traditional," said Heinz Bernd Shuttler from physics, who cited the study of cell signaling at the nanoscale as a research area that would involve faculty from the physical and biological sciences and engineering. Pharmacy dean Svein Oie noted that a marriage of engineering with pharmaceutical sciences, biology, and chemistry is needed to convert discoveries in biology and medicine into new and effective drug products and drug-delivery systems.
The history of engineering at UGA dates back to the 1880s, when degrees were offered in a variety of engineering disciplines. During the 1930s, engineering education in the state was consolidated at Georgia Tech; the sole exception was agricultural engineering, a degree program at UGA since 1928. A biological engineering degree was added in 1993. Two nationally accredited undergraduate degrees and three graduate engineering degrees are now offered at UGA—and more than 80 engineering courses.
Toxins may be to blame for the deaths of 13 bald eagles
Brain disease is killing eagles
Wildlife disease researchers at the College of Veterinary Medicine are spearheading efforts to find out what causes a mysterious brain disease that killed 13 bald eagles and several other birds last fall and winter in Georgia. Since eagles are a threatened species, 13 eagles comprise a fairly significant portion of the eagle population.
"It's unusual to find one dead bald eagle," says John Fischer, director of UGA's Southeastern Cooperative Wildlife Disease Study. "Two would be a concern and 13 of them is a lot. It indicates there could be even more dead birds out there that have not been found."
The primary suspect is Avian Vacuolar Myelinopathy or AVM, a disease that destroys a bird's coordination and ability to walk, swim, or fly. AVM has been confirmed in eight bald eagles, two Canada Geese, a great-horned owl, several coots, and a killdeer recovered at Clarks Hill Reservoir last November and December.
"Under the microscope, an affected eagle's brain looks like lace," says Fischer, who is also a professor of veterinary medicine. "It looks delicate but it's devastating."
While the diagnosis of AVM has been made in four states, the cause of the disease has not yet been determined, despite intensive diagnostic and research investigations at SCWDS, the National Wildlife Health Center, and other wildlife health institutions.
"Right now, we think parasites or infectious agents such as bacteria and viruses are not involved," says Fischer. "That would suggest that a most likely cause of AVM is a natural or man-made toxin. But we can't rule anything out until we've determined the definitive cause of the problem." Anyone who finds a dead or diseased eagle should call SCWDS at 706/542-1741.
The pope made a real impression on drama professor Don Massey
Divine hand
People from all over the world—even Pope John Paul II—have given UGA drama professor Don Massey a hand. Sometimes left; sometimes right. And all of these unique hand molds are displayed in bronze in the new $60 million Pope John Paul II Cultural Center in Washington, D.C.
 Murray journeyed to 27 countries to make molds of hands, including the pope's—and found his own faith in the process. |
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Massey, who specializes in theater-related design and computer imaging, had never made molds before, but says the process "falls in line with what I do here. I'm a technician. I teach the crafts."
Massey focused primarily on cities that had been visited by the pope. He'd stop at a church, explain his project, and try to persuade people to participate. His task got easier after he acquired a special calling card—a photo of himself with the pope.
Massey was in Fairbanks, Alaska, when he got an e-mail telling him the pope had agreed to have his hand cast. Jet-lagged, sleep-deprived—and, admittedly, a bit star-struck—Massey rushed to the Vatican bearing a gift. A native Alaskan woman who heard of his impending visit had sent a jar of canned salmon for the Holy Father and a letter telling the pope how proud she was to be part of the project.
Massey delivered the salmon to one of the pontiff's secretaries and was directed toward the pope's apartment. Alone inside, he took off his jacket and tie and started to work his silicone into the right texture to make the mold. Suddenly, a door opened and in walked a group of black-suited and red-suited men. In the middle of the cluster was one white robe. The pope.
The designers had asked for impressions of left hands. The pope carries a cane in his left hand. One of his secretaries said to Massey, "It will be the right."
Massey visited holy sites of other faiths. In India, he wandered into a Sikh temple where a little girl and her mother were taking part in a religious ceremony.
"If every man and woman could find their faith, there would be peace in the world," an Australian woman told Massey. "When I visited that Sikh temple," he says, "I believed her."
As for Massey, he has found his faith.
On Easter, he was baptized into the Roman Catholic Church. "After meeting these wonderful people and hearing their stories," he says, "I don't think I had a choice."
Vet med staff treats Zoo Atlanta lion with minimally invasive technique
Surgery lite
A new minimally invasive surgical technique was used recently at the College of Veterinary Medicine to spay Kariba, a three-and-a-half-year-old lion from Zoo Atlanta. The procedure resulted in less trauma to the animal, hastened recovery, reduced post-operative complications, and lessened the need for pain medication.
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 Only two drops of blood resulted from surgery to spay the lion, says vet med prof Clarence Rawling (R), because of a harmonic scalpel that vibrates at the speed of sound, closing blood vessels after they're cut. |
The surgery was done by UGA veterinary professor Clarence Rawlings and Ronald Kolata, research fellow at Ethicon Endo-Surgery. "They deserve primary credit," says Rita McManamon, senior veterinarian at Zoo Atlanta, "for applying an advanced technique to an endangered animal."
Kariba is a hand-reared 300-pound lion who was rejected by her mother when she was two days old. She was transported to the college's operating suite in a zoo van after receiving only a mild sedative.
"She's used to being transported and is much more comfortable and familiar with people than most zoo lions," says Maria Crane (DVM '94), an associate veterinarian at Zoo Atlanta who is responsible for Kariba's care. "She usually just goes to sleep."
The laparoscopic procedure resulted in only three small incisions no more than an inch long, compared to 6-or 8-inch incisions typical of traditional methods. "That's why you can anticipate less discomfort for the animal," says Crane. Only two drops of blood resulted from the surgery, according to Rawlings, because a harmonic scalpel was used for cutting and controlling bleeding. The scalpel vibrates at the speed of sound, which causes the blood vessels to weld together and close after they are cut.
The scalpel and other specialized equipment were provided by Kolata, a former faculty member and one of the pioneers in this surgical technique. "Kariba was back to normal the next day," says Crane. "We couldn't tell that she felt bad or had any problems."
It is particularly important to have few problems during recovery with an exotic animal like a lion, says Crane, who points out: "With a domestic cat, you can do a lot of comforting. You can look at the incisions and treat them. But with a lion you obviously can't do that."
Plus, exotic cats often hide pain, she says, because they don't want predators or any other animal to know they're sick. Any sign of weakness or disability might let another lion take advantage of their condition and move past them on the social ladder.
Do produce washes really wash?
Those new "produce washes" we're seeing on the market promise to rid our fruits and vegetables of every last drop of pesticide used by the farmers who grew them.
What's wrong with that age-old method of rinsing with a little H20, you ask?
Experts at the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences wondered the same thing, so microbiologist Larry Beuchat put many of these products to the test.
Some are no better than water, he found. Others are better than chlorine, which is used extensively to wash produce. For consumers concerned about high levels of bacteria on their produce, Fit, a Proctor & Gamble product that claims to use ingredients from natural sources such as baking soda and citric acid, is a good choice.
"It performs as well as high levels of chlorine when used to remove populations of bacteria—and sometimes better," says Beuchat. His colleague, Elizabeth Andress, says you might want to use washes to remove bacteria, but when it comes to pesticides, there's no reason for concern. "In the U.S.," she explains, "there's very little produce with pesticide residues anywhere near the allowed tolerance levels."
