September 2002: Vol. 81, No. 4September 2002: Vol. 81, No. 4Forest resources dean Arnett Mace named interim provost by Adams
Holbrook to OSU
Provost Karen Holbrook has been selected to be the 13th president of Ohio State University, the second-largest public research university in the country.
"I have had four wonderful years at the University of Georgia," says Holbrook. "But this decision allows me to realize one of my career goals: to be a university president. At each step in my conversations with the search committee and other leaders at Ohio State, I became increasingly certain that this is the right move to make at this time."
Holbrook came to UGA in the fall of 1998 to assume the newly created position of senior vice president for academic affairs and provost, one of three senior administrators reporting to president Michael F. Adams. During her tenure at UGA, Holbrook reshaped the academic budget process towards a performance-based system and backed faculty-driven interdisciplinary initiatives, such as the New Media Institute and the Biomedical and Health Sciences Institute. She also oversaw the creation of two new colleges—the School of Public and International Affairs and the College of Environment and Design—as well as the establishment of a new Office of Institutional Diversity and the reorganization of UGA's international efforts under an associate provost.
A scientist keenly interested in research outcomes, Holbrook promoted expanded opportunities for undergraduates to participate in research and a favorable climate for commercialization of university research discoveries. Her term at UGA included significant increases in extramural funding for research.
"Karen Holbrook has been the quintessential provost," said Adams, who earned his master's and doctorate from Ohio State. "In four short years, she has left an amazing mark on this institution. It will be both a professional and personal loss when she leaves. I can't think of anyone that I would rather have at the helm of one of my alma maters. I wish her well and know that she will be a great president."
Holbrook will assume the OSU presidency on Oct. 1. Arnett Mace, dean of the Warnell School of Forest Resources since 1991, will serve as interim provost while a national search is conducted.
"The great challenge for the interim provost will be maintaining the tremendous momentum, particularly in research, generated by Karen Holbrook," says Adams. "Arnett Mace is up to that challenge. He brings to this appointment a deep research background, strong management skills, solid leadership credentials, and a steady hand in budgeting."
English portrait exhibit at GMOA till Sept. 29
The current exhibit at the Georgia Museum of Art on East Campus, Romantics and Revolutionaries, includes 70 portraits of some of the most famous British men and women of the Regency Period. Included in the exhibit are Thomas Phillips' magnetic portrait of Lord Byron, William Beechey's classic depiction of Admiral Horatio Nelson, and Sir Thomas Lawrence's iconic portrait of George IV. On loan from the National Portrait Gallery in London, Romantics and Revolutionaries runs through Sept. 29—and it can be seen at only two American venues: UGA and Yale.
Carnegie Corp. grant will support CITS's nonproliferation efforts
Helping the watchdogs
The Carnegie Corporation of New York has awarded UGA's Center for International Trade and Security (CITS) a two-year grant to support outreach activities designed to improve Russian legislative oversight of nuclear nonproliferation efforts. The $255,000 grant will also be used to enhance cooperation on export controls between the U.S. Congress and the Russian Federal Assembly.
The program will promote more effective export control mechanisms by emphasizing the "watchdog" role of the Russian Federal Assembly in the enactment and implementation of nonproliferation legislation. CITS will work with the Center for Export Controls, a Moscow-based nongovernmental organization, which has been engaged in export control training and outreach efforts since 1994, and other Russian nongovernmental organizations.
To learn more about CITS, see June '02 issue of GM.
Political science dept. head was interim dean during national search
Lauth is dean of SPIA
Thomas P. Lauth, who has headed the political science department since 1988, has been named dean of UGA's new School of Public and International Affairs. Lauth had served as interim dean of SPIA since September 2001 while a national search was conducted.
"Sometimes in these situations," says president Michael F. Adams, "a national search simply confirms that the most qualified candidate was right in front of us."
With the advent of SPIA, the political science department has been reorganized to create three units in the new school: political science, public policy and administration, and international affairs. The new school also encompasses two noted UGA centers—CITS (see story above) and the Center for the Study of Global Issues—and it operates joint programs with the College of Arts and Sciences and the School of Social Work, as well as maintaining a cooperative relationship with the Carl Vinson Institute of Government.
UGA is already recognized as having one of the nation's top master's programs in public affairs, ranking sixth in U.S. News & World Report's 2002 guide to "Best Graduate Schools."
Researchers bring Virtual Gorilla Program to Zoo Atlanta campers
Gorilla theater
They were knuckle-walking and twirling, swinging from trees and foraging for food. It was a jungle out there for the kids who attended a special Zoo Atlanta program July 22-26.
Twenty-four youngsters at a Zoo Atlanta summer day camp got a rare opportunity to experience first-hand what it is like to "be a gorilla" through a virtual reality program run by UGA education researchers.
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 Developed by education researchers, the virtual reality program allowed students to design biomechanical models of gorillas. |
The Virtual Gorilla Modeling project allowed the students to observe gorillas, develop biomechanical models of gorilla movement, and create an interactive example. This inquiry-based approach helps young learners develop a deeper understanding of animal behavior that goes beyond an observational level into an interactive level.
Students entered into the virtual 3-D habitat and tested their models by communicating with the gorillas. The project combines the use of video-streaming experiences with on-site observations to transform animal behavior education so students can develop 3-D behavior models of gorillas.
"The program focused on gorilla motion, form and function, and on gorilla troop interactions. The students learned how scientists study real gorillas and how scientists create models," says Hay. "By creating models, students focused in a very detailed way on how gorillas move and interact. The models are runnable, so they saw if their ideas really work and if they don't, what their limitations are."
Three UGA education faculty members and five graduate students were involved in running the technology component during the weeklong project, while six Zoo Atlanta specialists handled the non-technology aspects.
"Instead of going into the virtual space to learn from someone else's model," says Hay, "learners will go into the virtual space to test their own models. The construction and testing of their models is where we believe the greatest learning is possible."
While the Virtual Gorilla program is part of Zoo Atlanta's Summer Safari day camp this year, the researchers hope to open it to school groups year-round.
The program is part of research funded by a $1.07 million National Science Foundation grant. Hay, an assistant professor in instructional technology, is directing the project, along with Lynn Bryan and Norm Thomson, both assistant professors in science education.
Sen. Richard Russell's baseball card collection on exhibit at Main Library
Boyhood passion
Like many young men born at the turn of the 20th century, Richard B. Russell developed a lifelong passion for baseball. In addition to playing the game with friends and school chums, the young Russell devoured baseball statistics from newspapers and annual publications with the same intellectual curiosity he would later display as a U.S. senator.
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 Sen. Russell's vintage baseball card collection—one of the largest held by a public institution in the U.S.—contains some extremely rare cards, including one that features Georgia's Ty Cobb. |
The result of Russell's passion for America's pastime is one of the largest private collections of turn-of-the-century tobacco cards held by a public institution in the U.S. And that collection is part of the Richard B. Russell Library and is highlighted in an exhibition that runs until Nov. 22.
Legends of the Deadball Era: Vintage Baseball Cards from the Richard B. Russell Collection focuses on the character of baseball during this time period (1900-19), known as the deadball era. Lecture and film series have been scheduled throughout the summer and fall in conjunction with the exhibit.
The Russell collection contains more than 1,000 baseball cards produced by the American Tobacco Company. The majority come from the T-206 "White Border" series, the largest tobacco card set of the early 20th century and one containing some of the most prized cards in the collecting world—including an extremely scarce misprint of a Joe Doyle card, one of less than six known to exist, and an equally uncommon Ty Cobb portrait featuring the slogan, "Ty Cobb, King of the Smoking Tobacco World."
"The tobacco cards in the Russell collection offer a rare, private glimpse into the youthful passions of a very public figure," says Albert Kilchesty, curator of the exhibit. "We are pleased to offer the public an opportunity to enjoy these delightful objects."
"Baseball during the deadball era was far more of a team game than it was to become during subsequent periods where a single blow by one player could determine the outcome of the game," says Kilchesty. "With its emphasis on teamwork, self-sacrifice, and shrewdness, the deadball game would have constituted an ethical world in miniature for the pre-adolescent Russell, one from which he would learn many lessons applicable to later political life."
Health conference focus: well-being of state's growing Hispanic population
Latino II
Imagine a construction worker suffering a serious injury—one that could leave him blind—and refusing medical attention for fear of being deported. Or picture a woman suffering painful effects of a drug interaction because her prescription medicine mixed dangerously with her herbal remedy. These are some of the health hurdles Latinos in Georgia are facing, and they were the focus of UGA's second annual Latino conference.
The three-day conference, held in July, brought together health-care workers, county extension agencies, and UGA professors to address Latino health problems in Georgia. Lectures covered everything from workforce injury prevention to complimentary medicines and using Spanish media to spread health information among other issues.
The event was a follow-up to last year's conference—"The Power of Latinos for a Stronger Georgia"—which was inspired by Georgia's growing Latino population (see Dec. '01 issue of GM).
This year, organizers wanted to focus on health issues. The goal, says Rebecca Mullis, chair of the foods and nutrition department of UGA's College of Family and Consumer Sciences, was to identify Latino health issues, spread awareness of health care problems, and find ways to address them:
"We hope that those who attended learn more about Latino culture, find new ways of communicating with the Latino community, and are able to identify components of an effective health program for Latinos."
In addition to lectures and panel discussions, nearly 20 breakout sessions covering everything from substance abuse to children's health care gave conference attendees a chance to discuss Latino health concerns and network with each other—another aim of the conference organizers.
After the event, UGA researchers plan to write issue papers based on the breakout sessions to continue studying Latino health needs.
"You can learn a lot from attending a conference, but you need to follow up with it if you really want action," says Leslie Rodriguez, a coordinator of the event. "We hope to facilitate that after the conference."
Stem cell researcher and expert in drug development join UGA faculty
Eminent Scholars
Two prominent scientists—a specialist in stem cell research and an expert in the development of new drugs to fight diseases—are joining the faculty as Georgia Research Alliance Eminent Scholars.
Stephen Dalton, a lecturer and researcher in molecular biosciences at the University of Adelaide in Australia, is joining the animal and dairy science department in the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences. He will be the GRA Eminent Scholar in molecular cell biology.
Vasu Nair, who holds an endowed chair at the University of Iowa, is the new head of the pharmaceutical and biomedical sciences department in the College of Pharmacy. Nair is the William Henry Terry Sr. GRA Eminent Scholar in drug discovery and director of pharmacy's Drug Discovery Division.
The Georgia Research Alliance is a consortium of state government, private industry and six research universities, including UGA. As part of its mission to leverage university research for economic development purposes, GRA provides universities with funds to help recruit scientists, known as Eminent Scholars, whose research can yield economic benefit to the state.
The appointments raise to nine the number of GRA Eminent Scholars at UGA. The regents also approved another Eminent Scholar position at UGA to be filled later. Both scientists will play important roles in UGA's burgeoning biomedical initiative.
"Stephen Dalton's research involves fundamental aspects of cellular biology, which impacts normal and abnormal embryonic cell development—and diseases such as cancer," says Gordhan Patel, UGA's vice president for research. "Vasu Nair works on drug discovery and drug design using information based on x-ray structural analysis. Both work at the fundamental research level, but their work is crucial to improving human and animal health."
Dalton's research deals with the cycle that cells go through as they grow and divide. He specializes in embryonic stem cells, which can grow into different tissues of the body. Scientists believe stem cells hold great promise in treating cancer and other diseases. They are also essential for cloning and transgenic technology, which is important in animal agriculture.
Dalton will be a colleague of Steven Stice, another Eminent Scholar in the animal and dairy science department and an international cloning authority. Dalton is scientific director for a cell therapy program conducted by BresaGen, an Australian firm that relocated its stem cell work to Athens. Stice is a vice president of BresaGen, which owns four of the embryonic stem cell lines approved for federal funding.
Dalton has worked for the Imperial Cancer Research Fund in London and was a member of the Roche Institute of Molecular Biology in New Jersey. He is recipient or co-recipient of more than $1.3 million in research grants, and has reported on his research in such publications as Nature, Cell, and the proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Nair's research is focused on the chemistry and chemical biology of molecules that may help fight diseases caused by viruses. His University of Iowa laboratory received international recognition for the discovery of a chemical in the body that appears to inhibit the HIV virus.
Goizueta Foundation's $3.5 million grant will help educate Hispanics
Giving tops $60M!
UGA has topped the $60-million mark in private giving for the first time, recording $62.7 million in new gifts and pledges in FY 02. The total eclipsed the previous record of $58.9 million, set in 1997, by nearly $4 million—and nearly doubled the 1996 total of $33.6 million.
"In a year of economic difficulty for Georgia and the nation, this report is very heartening," says Steve Wrigley, interim senior vice president for external affairs. "Clearly, our alumni, friends, and supporters have high confidence in this institution, and a firm commitment to our goal of educational excellence."
Contributions to the annual fund program rose 6.6 percent to a record $7.5 million, while donations to UGA-affiliated programs such as 4-H and the State Botanical Garden increased 123 percent to $1.9 million. New pledges accounted for $16.2 million, up about $4 million from last year.
The $62.7 million total includes a $3.5 million grant from the Goizueta Foundation to help educate Hispanic children and a $3.3 million undesignated gift from the trust of Winship Nunnally (AB 1904).