June 1999: Vol. 78, No. 3

Student Learning Center will touch every undergrad

UGA's new Student Learning Center will rise four stories in the center of campus, and, as Danny Sniff, director of University Architects, says, "touch the life of every University undergraduate."

Located where the bookstore parking lot is now, the $43 million building is the largest capital project in University System of Georgia history—more than the $35 million Ramsey Center and with the potential to have as much impact on students' academic lives as Ramsey does on their physical health and conditioning.

ROLLING STONE COVERS For one week in February, Georgia Hall was transformed into a pop culture museum. At the Rolling Stone covers exhibit, students gazed at Annie Leibowitz's photographs, listened to Jann Wenner's interviews, stumbled through Hunter S. Thompson's haywire dispatches, and read stories about pop culture heroes—both theirs and their parents'—all fragments from a magazine that, since 1967, has recorded pop culture and created a good bit of it, too. Rolling Stone covers chronicle music's march through time: in the premier issue in 1967, John Lennon; in 1977, Fleetwood Mac; in 1987, Talking Heads; in 1997, rock star Marilyn Manson. Ah, progress.

They said it CATHY COX Cathy Cox (ABJ '80), the first female secretary of state of Georgia, gave the opening speech at the PRISM "Women in Business" conference on Feb. 25 at the Georgia Center. Cox spent two terms in the Georgia legislature and three years as assistant secretary of state before being elected to her current position this year. What her job entails: "The secretary of state has 350 employees and a $30 million budget. We have a huge variety of different responsibilities. . . . I'm now the state boxing commissioner, did you know that? When Evander Holyfield wants to fight in Georgia, he has to go through me." What people think her job entails: "In Chattanooga, this elderly gentleman came up to me saying, 'Who would have thought a year ago that Lewis Massey's secretary would be running for his job?' Some people think I take dictation for Roy Barnes." On women in government: The reason we outlawed "drive-by delivery" . . . is because Republican and Democratic women got together. . . . You would never ever see the Republican and Democratic men of the General Assembly sit down and have lunch together unless they were forced to, much less find common things to work on. Great writing comes out of a sense of loss, social change comes from crisis. I have tremendous faith in the power of people." SPIKE LEE Spike Lee, whose films include "Do the Right Thing," "Mo' Better Blues," and "Malcolm X," shared his insights as a black filmmaker on March 31 in the Ramsey Center volleyball arena. Lee, whose passion for basketball showed up in his most recent film, "He Got Game," missed the tip-off of the NCAA Finals to answer questions from a long line of UGA students. On the exploitation of college athletes: "CBS spent $1.725 billion to host the NCAA tournament through 2002, and all these guys get is tuition and board. . . . The schools, the networks, the sneaker companies pimp these student athletes while they receive all the money. Student athletes should receive a stipend." On Hollywood and African Americans: "I watched the Academy Awards last week, and for me, it was a joke. I think the tone was set when Whoopie came out in white face, that was appropro for the night. . . . There are no African Americans in Hollywood who can green light a picture." PETER APPELBOME Peter Appelbome, former correspondent for the New York Times and author of Dixie Rising: How the South is Shaping American Values, Politics and Culture, spoke at UGA on March 18. On Southern symbols: "Three of the best known names in the world are Coke, Elvis and Jesus—two of whom are from the South, and the other one might as well have been." On southern distinctiveness: "The cliche is that the South is slowly losing its identity with the end of slavery, . . . that it is falling into the same homogenous whole. I think that's complete nonsense." On southern education: "The South has made a lot of strides in education and certainly UGA is a perfect example. But if education is as critical to economic and cultural growth as everyone says it is, it is hard not to see the South behind the rest of the country."

"Basically, it's a classroom building which addresses a long-standing need on this campus," says Sniff. "But it also has a state-of-the-art electronic library component."

Architectural elements will echo North Campus, says project manager Paul Cassilly. "It will be a gathering place for faculty and students," says Cassilly, who notes that the building will have 100 group-study and project areas.

Peabody board picks "Ally" and "The Practice"

"Ally McBeal" was one of two David E. Kelley Productions to win Peabody Awards this year. Other winners included Charlayne Hunter-Gault (ABJ '63).

Two prime-time series from David E. Kelley Productions—Fox's "Ally McBeal" and ABC's "The Practice"—were among 33 Peabody Award winners chosen from nearly 1,300 entries submitted to UGA's Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communications. UGA has administered the broadcast and cable industry's most prestigious prize since its inception in 1940.

Two veteran correspondents—Christiane Amanpour and alumna Charlayne Hunter-Gault (ABJ '63—see story on this page) also were honored by the 15-member Peabody National Advisory Board, which holds its annual deliberations at UGA.

Perennial Peabody winner WGBH-TV in Boston collected six awards at this year's ceremony, held May 17 at the Waldorf-Astoria in New York. Personal Peabodies went to Linda Ellerbee for her work on Nickelodeon's "Nick News," to Jac Venza, the driving force behind the "Great Performances" series from Thirteen/WNET-TV in New York, and to Robert Halmi Sr., chairman of Hallmark Entertainment.

Episodes of two long-running series also received awards: the 'Raging Bulls' episode of ABC's "NYPD Blue," which highlighted racial tensions between two of the show's main characters, and the final episode of HBO's "The Larry Sanders Show," a sendup of all TV finales.

For a complete list of this year's winners, visit the Peabody Web site at http://www.peabody.uga.edu/.

—Sharron Hannon

Delta Prize to Carters for "waging peace"

Carter took time to talk to a group of UGA's Foundation Fellows, some of whom helped screen nominees for the inaugural Delta Prize.

Former President Jimmy Carter and his wife Rosalynn were honored in Atlanta on April 27 for their efforts to "wage peace," even as the House of Representatives was preparing to vote on America's military role in the Balkan conflict.

The Carters were presented with the inaugural Delta Prize for Global Understanding, a new award created by the University with a grant from the Delta Air Lines Foundation. The Atlanta-based Carter Center also was included in the inaugural award presentation.

"It is very difficult to wage peace," said Carter in accepting the award. "It is slow, tedious, frustrating, often unsuccessful, and rarely publicized. War is very successful and very popular—disturbingly so. That is particularly true if the only casualties are among other people."

Nominations for the Delta Prize, which will be presented annually, are solicited worldwide. The award, which includes a $10,000 cash prize and an original work of art, was conceived by two faculty members: Gary Bertsch, director of the Center for International Trade and Security, and Betty Jean Craige, director of the Center for Humanities and Arts.

"At a time of international turmoil, we take pride in recognizing the work of the Carters," said UGA President Michael F. Adams, who made the presentation along with Maurice Worth, chief operating officer of Delta. "If ever there were a time to focus on world peace, it's now."

Worth praised the Carters for their "powerful and ennobling vision—guided and focused by their deep faith." Worth noted that an international selection committee chose the Carters.

"In retrospect," he said, "it almost seems like the award was created with them in mind."

In his acceptance remarks, Carter attributed many of the world's problems to people's inability to communicate.

"My hope," he said, "is that these words—peace and global understanding—can be more widely and prevalently absorbed as part of our consciousness."

Prior to the ceremony, Kent (Oz) Nelson, a member of the board of trustees of the Carter Center, summarized the work being done by the Carters and the Carter Center to champion human rights, promote democracy, and alleviate human suffering in neglected areas of the world. Nelson was joined by a panel that included CNN anchor and senior correspondent Judy Woodruff; John Hardman and Ambassador Gordon Streeb, both with the Carter Center; and UGA student Bronson Lee, who was involved with other students in the Delta Prize selection process. The event opened with Lee and three fellow students singing an African welcome song in Swahili, which they learned in travels to Tanzania.

For information on submitting nominations for next year's Delta Prize, visit the Web site at http://www.uga.edu/news/deltaprize/.

—Sharron Hannon

Faida Matifu (PhD '94) was pleased to be back at UGA. But she voiced fears about war in the Congo and a lack of concern among other nations of the world.

Congo ambassador speaks at alma mater

Faida Matifu (PhD '94), ambassador to the U.S. from the Democratic Republic of Congo, visited her alma mater in February to discuss the Rwandan and Ugandan invasion of Congo and the war that followed.

"So far, we have been generally disappointed by the international community's attitude toward this war," said Matifu. "This was a violation of the Congolese territory, and we had expected the international community would react—and even sanction these people. We would like to see the United States support a resolution of the United Nations condemning this invasion."

Congo is three times the size of Texas, with 15 million people and a wealth of natural resources.

"Congo is not only a big country geographically, but it also has a strategic position in Africa," said Matifu. "If Congo disintegrates, it's going to reach other countries in central Africa, and maybe southern Africa."

—Laura Wexler

African-American studies now a major

GA has joined Georgia State and Savannah State as the only schools in the University System of Georgia to offer a major in African-American studies.

"This is a positive advance for the support of multiculturalism," says Ron Miller, who heads the University's Institute of African-American Studies, "and it's an important academic and community statement."

African-American course offerings will not change as a result of the elevation to major status, says Miller. The number of courses had already been increased to 36 when UGA switched to semesters last fall. But the emphasis will definitely change, says psychology professor Layli Phillips, who has a dual appointment in African-American studies.

"For an institution that's large and serves a general population, it's important for the University to reflect the population," says Phillips. "The major helps see to it that cultural diversity is maintained in society."

Distance learning will allow UGA students who major in African-American studies to take on-line classes at Georgia State and Savannah State.

"Not everyone who takes African-American Studies classes is black," says Phillips. "And people who aren't majors still take our courses to increase their cultural literacy."

—Stacie Sutton

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