Digest - University of North Georgia
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Campus In Action p. 2 Sapelo Island writer p. 3 New certification site p. 4 October 10, 2005 Dahlonega, GA 30597 the faculty and staff newsletter Digest Digest Vol. 14, No. 3 www.ngcsu.edu/digest Employees serve during hurricane relief efforts and war North Georgia ‘04 alum Chris Watkins, a recruiter in the Cadet Recruitment Center and a second lieutenant with the Georgia Army National Guard, spent most of September watching flood waters recede from the streets in St. Bernard Parish, La. Watkins was called to three weeks of active duty beginning Sept. 1 with the 178th Military Police Company for Hurricane Katrina relief efforts. Assigned to Task Force Georgia, Watkins’ com- pany conducted recovery operations. “We helped local law enforcement by setting up road blocks and conducting routine patrols,” said Watkins. “It’s hard to tell people who have lost everything that they cannot go back and try to find something from their destroyed homes, but it is for their own good. “We also helped the U.S. Marshals search for felons and looters,” he said. Another North Georgia employee and alumnus, Chris Powell, NG ‘02, is serving with the National Guard in a different part of the world on a longer, North Georgia reaches out to Katrina refugees Her job was to help people displaced by Hurricane Katrina enroll at North Georgia, going over the details of admission requirements, some of which were waived for the students. Many had lost everything. Paying tuition and housing costs was one worry Michelle Burt could tell them they didn’t have. Burt, admissions’ newest recruiter, dealt with numerous queries from Katrina refugees about coming to NGCSU, and the eight students that were admitted got much more help than just enrolling in classes. The recruiter is one of many em- ployees who provided much needed personal assistance to the Gulf Coast citizens. She spent up to eight hours (Continued on page 2) NGCSU is hosting the North Georgia Photographic Society Annual Exhibition, which includes six of the society members’ work, in the Hoag Student Center art gallery through Nov. 1. A reception ended a day-long NGCSU Photography Biennale & Symposium on Sept. 27. Symposium speakers included (l to r) Al Kennison, local Dahlonega photographer; Pamela Sachant, NGCSU fine arts; Susan Todd-Raque, specialist in contemporary photography; Jack An- thony, NGC alumnus and photographer; Marscha Cavaliere, director for Galerie MC in Atlanta; and Hank Margeson, NGCSU fine arts, who opened the event. WNEG-32 CBS News covered the exhibit opening. For the story, go to www.ngcsu.edu/news. Photo by Loretta Roebuck Chris Watkins (Continued on page 3) Pictured, l to r, are Baghdad race runners from NGCSU: former student Richard Ingram, now recovering in Washington, D.C., after losing an arm; alums Chris Powell and Jason Lewis; and former students Matt Tyree and Josh Simpson. Michelle Burt
Transcript of Digest - University of North Georgia
Campus In Action p. 2 Sapelo Island writer p. 3 New certification site p. 4
October 10, 2005Dahlonega, GA 30597
the faculty and staff newsletter
DigestDigestVol. 14, No. 3 www.ngcsu.edu/digest
Employees serve duringhurricane relief efforts and warNorth Georgia ‘04 alum Chris Watkins, a recruiter in the Cadet
Recruitment Center and a second lieutenant with the Georgia ArmyNational Guard, spent most of September watchingflood waters recede from the streets in St. BernardParish, La.
Watkins was called to three weeks of active dutybeginning Sept. 1 with the 178th Military PoliceCompany for Hurricane Katrina relief efforts.Assigned to Task Force Georgia, Watkins’ com-pany conducted recovery operations.
“We helped local law enforcement by setting uproad blocks and conducting routine patrols,” saidWatkins. “It’s hard to tell people who have lost everything that they
cannot go back and try tofind something from theirdestroyed homes, but it isfor their own good.
“We also helped the U.S.Marshals search for felonsand looters,” he said.
Another North Georgiaemployee and alumnus,Chris Powell, NG ‘02, isserving with the NationalGuard in a different part ofthe world on a longer,
North Georgiareaches out toKatrina refugees
Her job was to help people displacedby Hurricane Katrina enroll at North
Georgia, going over thedetails of admissionrequirements, some ofwhich were waived forthe students. Many hadlost everything. Payingtuition and housingcosts was one worry
Michelle Burt could tell them theydidn’t have.
Burt, admissions’ newest recruiter,dealt with numerous queries fromKatrina refugees about coming toNGCSU, and the eight students thatwere admitted got much more helpthan just enrolling in classes.
The recruiter is one of many em-ployees who provided much neededpersonal assistance to the Gulf Coastcitizens. She spent up to eight hours
(Continued on page 2)
NGCSU is hosting the North Georgia Photographic Society AnnualExhibition, which includes six of the society members’ work, in theHoag Student Center art gallery through Nov. 1. A reception endeda day-long NGCSU Photography Biennale & Symposium on Sept.27. Symposium speakers included (l to r) Al Kennison, localDahlonega photographer; Pamela Sachant, NGCSU fine arts; SusanTodd-Raque, specialist in contemporary photography; Jack An-thony, NGC alumnus and photographer; Marscha Cavaliere,director for Galerie MC in Atlanta; and Hank Margeson, NGCSUfine arts, who opened the event. WNEG-32 CBS News covered theexhibit opening. For the story, go to www.ngcsu.edu/news.
Photo by Loretta Roebuck
Chris Watkins
(Continued on page 3)
Pictured, l to r, are Baghdad race runners fromNGCSU: former student Richard Ingram, nowrecovering in Washington, D.C., after losing anarm; alums Chris Powell and Jason Lewis; andformer students Matt Tyree and Josh Simpson.
Michelle Burt
“Dinosaur, Route 66,” byMargeson, is on display atGalerie MC.
Page 2 the Digestwww.ngcsu.edu/digestthe Digest
Campus in Action
Chris Church,development, is thenew director of AnnualGiving. She filled thesame post at Washing-ton & Jefferson Collegein Washington, Pa.,
before coming to North Georgia.Church will be responsible for allannual giving programs, including theFaculty and Staff Campaign and theannual phonathon. She has a bachelor’sdegree in Professional Studies inBusiness & Public Management fromSUNY Institute of Technology andearned her MBA from SyracuseUniversity.
Dr. Brian Jay Corrigan , language andliterature, was invited to be one of theauthors to participate in this year’sAmelia Island Book Festival, Sept. 29-Oct. 2. During the festival, he wasfeatured at four signings, presented akeynote presentation on “The Autobiog-raphy of a Novel,” and participated inseveral panel discussions. Corrigan’snovel, “The Poet of Loch Ness,” isscheduled for a second printing. He willsign copies of his novel at the NGCSUBookstore on Nov. 10 at 2 p.m.
Dr. Kathleen Dolan, psychology andsociology, had her first book, “LesbianWomen and Sexual Health: The SocialConstruction of Risk and Susceptibil-ity,” published in 2005 by HaworthPress in New York.
Hank Margeson, fine arts, hasphotographs in two juried exhibitionson displaythrough October2005 in Atlanta.His work isfeatured in the“Toy CameraPhotography”exhibit at GalerieMC and in the“Fay GoldSelects” show at the Atlanta Photogra-phy Group Gallery in the TULA ArtCenter. His photo, “Shaded Windowwith Bed,” was selected for the APGPrint Collector’s Portfolio. This work,along with that of five other Georgiaphotographers, will be on display for ayear at the gallery.
Scott Marshall, director of Instruc-tional Technology, served as an expertwitness for the State in a criminal caseand assisted the court withvideoconferencing technology fromAug. 29 to Sept. 2. With thevideoconferencing technology, a localpolice officer, on military duty in CampTaji, Iraq, was able to testify in theCobb County Courthouse in Marietta.
Jill Rayner, associate director ofStudent Financial Aid, did a presenta-tion on “Ways to Survive a VA Audit,”to the Georgia Technical Colleges’ VicePresidents of Student Services duringtheir fall workshop.
The Institutional Identity TaskForce, chaired by Dr. Robert Fuller,has undertaken a universitywideassessment of North Georgia’sidentity and related image-buildingissues during the past few months.Faculty and staff are invited toattend an Oct. 13 meeting at 12:30p.m. in the Hoag Auditorium tolisten to the initial results and takepart in a discussion.
Faculty & Staff Meeting
total dealing with some studentsone-on-one and countless otherhours researching directions tofamiliarize them with the area. Shehelped one student look for a job.
“They just wanted someone totalk to and I was glad to do that,”said Burt. “One told me his storyabout how he was stranded for fivedays without food or water in aNew Orleans hospital.”
Admissions officer Tara Carney’sunofficial job for about a week wasto drive one former Louisianastudent to her aunt’s home inCumming, where she was staying.
When trying to get Katrina’svictims to fill out a list of needs,Carney says some were reluctant,but one of the students finally askedfor bottled water in her residencehall room.
“I almost cried right there,” saysthe recruiter. “It made me reallyunderstand the position thesestudents were in and how dire theirsituation was.”
Furniture, beds, toys, clothes,money and places to stay, alongwith much more came out ofgrassroots efforts by employees andstudents.
“The student organizations werefiguring out how they could helpand the groups were ‘adopting’ theKatrina students,” Carney says.
Many of these students, some ofwhom have children, are completelystarting over. The staff of FinancialAid applied for $250 Visa gift cardsfrom NELNET, a nationwidestudent loan provider. All eightstudents were awarded the cardsthrough SunTrust in Georgia.
Full-length articles on some of thestudents affected by Katrina areonline at www.upincumming.com/feature and www.ngcsu.edu/news.
Atlanta Celebrates Photography, inits seventh year, showcases nativephotography throughout the city andsurrounding region.
Several NGCSU faculty members– including Hank Margeson,Michael Marling, Ron Cioffi, NoellePetersen and Paul Dunlap – havephotography exhibited in differentshows this month. For more infor-mation, call 864-1423.
Art faculty display work in Atlanta
(Continued from page 1)
Katrina refugees
October 10, 2005 Page 3www.ngcsu.edu/digestthe Digest
NGCSU President:Dr. David Potter
Director of University Relations:Annette Hannon Lee
Editor/Writer:Joshua PrestonDesigner/Writer:Debbie Martin
Writer:Jon Kiel
Photographers:J. Preston, A. Lee
The Digest is published monthly
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Digestthe
Sapelo Island writer to visit Oct. 18NGCSU’s Visiting Writers
Committee annually brings tocampus a nonfiction writer whoshines a light on some elementof life and culture, whetherAppalachian, north Georgian orSouthern. This semester thecommittee invites an authorfrom a different culture and partof the state.
Cornelia Walker Bailey is akeeper of oral traditions and aSapelo Island Geechee, whosemembers form a cultural groupliving on the coastal islands off South Carolina and Georgia and maintaina unique African heritage. She will read from her book “God, Dr. Buzzardand the Bolito Man” and tell stories of her life on Sapelo Island, one ofGeorgia’s barrier islands.
Her reading will take place in the Gloria Shott Auditorium on Oct. 18 at12:30 p.m., followed by a question and answer session. For more informa-tion, contact Todd Campbell, committee chair, at ext. 2783.
“My tale begins just before therising of the sun, in that briefinstant of time when the nightclouds are being cleared awayand the first rays of light arestreaking across the sky.Dayclean, we call this, when theday is new and the world ismade fresh again.”
Cornelia Walker Bailey
more dangerous mission. Also a cadetrecruiter, 1st Lt. Powell is currentlywith the 48th Brigade Combat Teamon a year-long tour of duty in Iraq.
Powell wrote that he has been inseveral engagements with insurgents.
In his e-mail message, he says that“everyone’s worst fear,” improvisedexplosive devices, have ravaged twoHummer vehicles he was riding in,but Powell sustained no injuries.
Powell received a respite fromcombat when he participated in thePeachtree Road Race in Baghdad.The 10-K race through the desert forthe 48th BCT included many Georgiasoldiers running the course around aman-made lake near one of SaddamHussein’s palaces.
“Needless to say I didn’t win but Idid a lot better than I thought Iwould,” Powell wrote.
He is expected to return homesometime next year.
(Continued from page 1)
Relief efforts and war
Blue Ridge will perform on Oct. 20 at 12:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. in the HoagStudent Center Auditorium. The nationally known group features bluegrass thatcombines mountain soul with contemporary drive. Free and open to the public.
“The Wedding Banquet” will be shown in the Gloria Shott Auditorium on Oct.24 at 7 p.m. The film is about a Chinese yuppie who decides that a marriage ofconvenience will prevent his parents from discovering he is gay. The R-rated filmis in Mandarin and English. Sponsored by the North Georgia Cultural EventsCommittee. For more information, call 864-1965. Free and open to the public.
Victoria Jordanova, an accomplished harpist, will perform her interpretations ofpoetry by the Cervantes Prize poet Jose Hierro on Oct. 27 at 7:30 p.m. in theGloria Shott Auditorium. Free and open to the public.
The 2006 Open Enrollment period for NGCSU’s benefits plans started Oct. 3and goes through Nov. 4. During this period, employees may make changes totheir benefits coverage. The USG “Health Plan Update” newsletter has additionalinformation at www.usg.edu/employment/benefits/health/hp_update.phtml
The Faculty & Staff Campaign is under way, and full-time employees maymake a contribution to the North Georgia Fund through the NGCSU Foundation.The gifts provide funds to support the various programs at NGCSU. Moreinformation at www.ngcsu.edu/Advancement/development.
North Georgia’s Leadership Web log has been added as a link to the NGCSUhome page. The site may be accessed only by a computer inside the NGCSUfirewall for security concerns. The blog is designed to engage as many people aspossible in the development of the “Legacy of Leadership” initiative.
Upcoming Events & Announcements
North Georgia has become the new Southeast region’s site for theAmerican Board of Medicolegal Death Investigators national testingcertification. Joseph Morgan, a new NGCSU assistant professor of
criminal justice, is the proctor and coordinator ofthe program, which he brought with him fromAtlanta to his faculty position at North Georgia.
“Medicolegal death investigators are involved incases ranging from homicides to accidentalindustrial deaths,” said Morgan. “They work withlaw enforcement and other agencies in processingdeath scenes, post-mortem examinations and verybroad range of other related issues.”
In cooperation with ABMDI and the St. Louis University School ofMedicine, the MDI certification testing will now be provided atNGCSU, one of only two higher education institutions nationwide toadminister the specialized certification, Morgan said. Medical exam-iners’ offices and Texas Tech University also provide the testing.
Police officers, medical examiners, coroners and professionals fromother fields take the certification test. Military personnel seekingcertification include officers from the U.S. Army Criminal Investiga-tion Division and U.S. Naval Criminal Investigative Service.
“About 100 people nationwide have obtained the highest boardcertification,” said Morgan.
Morgan himself is ABMDI certified and holds a master of forensicsciences degree from National University in LaJolla, Calif. Morganwas the senior investigator for the Fulton County Medical Examiner'sOffice for 13 years, where he administered the test.
He plans to administer the first ABMDI certification test at NorthGeorgia this year.
October 10, 2005 www.ngcsu.edu/digestthe Digest Page 4
NGCSU new Southeastern sitefor certifying death investigators
MINORITY BANQUET: NorthGeorgia’s Minority Advising Programhosted a banquet for 70 guests on Sept.21 to honor the achievements ofNGCSU minority students. This yearMAP added a Student LeadershipAward as one of its honors for theminority student who shows excellencein leadership. MAP addresses theacademic needs of minority students byadvising, developing study skills,tutoring, finding financial aid, exploringcareer options, and providing appropri-ate programs that bring effective rolemodels in contact with minority stu-dents. Pictured, l to r, are Linda Rob-erts-Betsch, Diana Darris, NorthGeorgia’s new MAP coordinator, andMarci M. Middleton, director of Aca-demic Program Coordination at theBoard of Regents.
FUNDING FOR APPALACHIAN PROJECTS: TheAppalachian Regional Commission has funded for FY06the Appalachian Studies Center at NGCSU with an ARCgrant and the Georgia Appalachian Center for HigherEducation project for a total of $340,000. Dr. AliceSampson, teacher education, submitted the proposals andhas led the university’s efforts to develop and obtainfunding for the Appalachian Studies Center and its projects.One of those projects took place Sept. 16 when faculty, staffand students gathered to play and listen to traditional“Roots” music found in the southern Appalachians. Theoutdoor concert, in the gazebo at the front of campus, alsodrew Dahlonega residents. The university is considering
forming a campus “Roots” music band and interested community members may help in the formation of such a group aswell as participate. The project is coordinated through the Appalachian Studies Center, a new center for Georgia housedat NGCSU. For more information on ASC activities please e-mail [email protected] or call 864-1540.
Joseph Morgan
