fall 2009 connection magazine

CONNECTIONFall 2009, Vol. XIX, No. 1

Copyright 2009. All rights reserved.

Published by University Communications A Division of University Advancement

PresidentDorothy Leland

Vice President for External Relationsand University Advancement

Amy Amason

Alumni DirectorHerbert Agnew, ’04

EditorZach Kincaid

WritersJudy Bailey Anna BrysonZach Kincaid Al Weston

PhotographyTim Vacula, ’86

DesignJon Scott, ’83

Cover In David Perkins’

Basement Studio, Nashville, Tenn.

We have had a marvelous Fall Semester atGeorgia College & State University and thisissue of our Connection magazine high-lights many of those events and achieve-

ments. From our Education partnership in Tibet to ouraddition of a new Physics major right here on campus,we continue to expand the impact of Georgia College.We have brought on board a talented new Provost,Sandra Jordan, to oversee the continuing enhancementof our academic quality. And we celebrated significanthonors, including winning the Commissioner’s Cup inAthletics, awarded to our students for their athleticprowess at they were also bringing home top honors foracademic achievement. As you skim the pages that fol-low, you will learn about these achievements, and more.

As I visit with friends and alumni around the state andthe nation, all of them ask about the troubled economyand its impact on Georgia College. Let me say first that

we have experienced very significant budget reductions– amounting to at least 20 percentwhen temporary help from federal stimulus dollars ends! The good news is that we havefound the ways to preserve the integrity and quality of the academic programs and studentsupport services at Georgia College. I admire and applaud the wonderful university commu-nity that has pulled together to find ways to help each other during this stressful period bytapping into that “can-do” spirit that has long been the secret of success here.

We have engaged in the required belt-tightening. We have eliminated a significant number ofpositions as they become vacant and limited new hiring to filling only those most essentialvacancies. We have restricted travel, equipment purchases and other expenditures. Wehave restructured and merged units. We have set six furlough days for faculty and staffbased on a mandate from the Board of Regents.

Even when the economy recovers, it will take us many years to recoup these reductions.That’s why, at a time like this, we are all the more appreciative of the wonderful support thatwe receive from many of our friends and alumni. Whether that support is in volunteer activi-ties or contributions to the annual fund or a donation for a specific scholarship or program, itis of tremendous value to our ability to continue to enhance the education that we provide toGeorgia’s best and brightest students. Our students and their families are struggling aswell, as this fall’s 36 percent increase in applications for federal financial aid attests. Weare committed both to helping our students find the financial resources needed to continuetheir education at this time and also to providing them with the educational excellence theyexpect and deserve.

As Georgia’s designated public liberal arts university, we are attracting outstanding studentsfrom across the state, an upper echelon that historically may have chosen to leave Georgiato attend a university elsewhere. We are developing their intellectual talents and preparingthem better than ever – through active service learning, through vigorous involvement inresearch and scholarship, through residential learning experiences and volunteer activities --to contribute to the state’s future economic development and well-being. We continue to ful-fill our dynamic mission despite fiscal challenges and, with your support, we will continue topursue our unwavering commitment to educational excellence.

Sincerely,

Dorothy Leland

letterLetter from the President

Please send change of address andclass notes to:

University AdvancementCampus Box 113

Milledgeville, GA [email protected]

www.gcsu.edu

tableTable of ContentsUp Front • Introducing Sandra Jordan• Physics Returns• Peach Belt Winner• Biology in Practice• Tibetan Children’s Village• Governor Charles McDonald• Education Reform Conference• Experiential Education• Joining The Peace Corps• Interning on Capitol Hill• Working With Joe Gibbs Racing

Class Notes

In Memoriam

Matching Gifts

FeatureDavid Perkins

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“Liberal Arts Focus Pays Off”An article about Georgia College led the Atlanta JournalConstitution’s Metro section on Sunday, September 20.The reporter cited University System of GeorgiaChancellor Errol B. Davis sharing that, if he had college-age children, he would send them to Georgia College.Why? “They provide the complete package and they excelat what they do,” Davis says. The story includes quotesfrom several Georgia College students, faculty, PresidentDorothy Leland and others as it captures the nationalacclaim, the beauty of campus and the strengths of learn-ing in an environment that stresses liberal arts. To readthe complete article, “Liberal Arts Focus Pays Off,” visitwww.gcsu.edu/connectionmagazine.

Georgia College Ranks Among Safest Campuses A New York newspaper ranks Georgia College among the top 25 safest uni-versities in the country, placing it eighth in the list compiled by The DailyBeast.

“While I am obviously very pleased and honored to hear that we are rankedwell in overall safety, I am not totally surprised,” says Dave Groseclose,assistant vice president for Public Safety & Administrative Services. “Wetake a very proactive approach to the safety of our students, faculty, staffand property.”

"I hope that the ranking adds to parents' comfort in sending students here,but I hope that they feel good about Georgia College for more reasons thanjust the safety,” says Bruce Harshbarger, vice president for StudentAffairs. “While the smaller size of the campus adds to the safety of thecampus community, it also enhances the overall quality of the educationalexperience. As a college parent myself, I've always encouraged my childrento consider smaller universities."

To determine the rankings, The Daily Beast Reporter Clark Merrefield col-lected the two most recent years of raw data from almost 9,000 schools.He further analyzed more than 4,000, using more than 50 different crite-ria, weighing different crimes against each other and factoring in incidentsboth on-campus and nearby.

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Physics ReturnsGeorgia College will again offer a bachelor’s degree in physics. “As Georgia’s PublicLiberal Arts University, the mission clearly supports a vigorous bachelor of sciencephysics program,” says Dr. Ken McGill, professor and chair of chemistry and physics.“Our entering freshmen have the third highest average SAT scores in the state. Ourstudent population is not deterred by the math and science requirements of a physicsmajor.”

In fact, Georgia College is one of only 10 University System of Georgia schools offeringthe degree. Since the state of Georgia currently ranks among the lowest in the numberof per capita physics degrees conferred, offering the degree will only help boost aneeded supply of professionals.

It’s also projected that Georgia College will become the second largest program in thestate for both public and private universities if the program hits its target of graduatesper year.

upfrontUpFront

Introducing Dr. Sandra Jordan, ProvostDr. Sandra J. Jordan is the first provost and vicepresident for academic affairs at Georgia College.She began in July and will serve as the universi-ty's chief academic officer responsible for the uni-versity's academic life and programs.

“I am confident that she will provide creative,thoughtful and collaborative academic leader-ship,” President Dorothy Leland says. As provost,she is the university second in command.

Prior to assuming her position at Georgia College,Dr. Jordan earned a doctorate in art history at theUniversity of Georgia and served in leadershiproles at several other universities, includingMississippi University for Women, Murray StateUniversity, Eastern New Mexico University,University of Montevallo and Lander University.

She is the recipient of numerous awards and hon-ors for distinguished teaching, is a widely pub-lished writer and researcher, and is activelyinvolved in numerous professional and communityorganizations.

Georgia College Connection • Fall 2009

Professor of Chemistry and Physics Ken McGill works with Matthew Yonz, a junior,on an acoustic array device which measures the flow of fluid through a pipe. Thisworking model is under patent review because of its potential use in industry as amore accurate (and passive) way to measure the flow by simply listening to thesound in the pipe.

5Georgia College Connection • Fall 2009

Winner! The Peach BeltCommissioner's CupFor the first time, Georgia Collegewon the coveted Peach BeltConference Commissioner’s Cup.

"Winning the Commissioner’s Cup isproof that you can have excellence inthe classroom as well as on thefield,” says President DorothyLeland. “Georgia College leads theconference not only in athletics, butin the number of students recognizedfor their academic success.”

The strong leadership of the coachingstaff and the outstanding perfor-mance of the student-athletes con-tributed to a phenomenal year, with10 teams making appearances inNCAA tournaments and six teams fin-ishing with winning records. Othernotable achievements for the yearinclude:

• 30 student-athletes named toPeach Belt Academic all-confer-ence teams

• 110 student-athletes made thePeach Belt Honor Roll (earning a3.0 or better GPA for the schoolyear), the most of any school inthe conference

• Men's Basketball won the firstPeach Belt Team SportsmanshipAward

• Coach of the Year honors in bothmen's basketball and men's ten-nis

Biology in PracticeThe famed Galapagos Islands run along the equator. The chain includes 30 islands, smalland large and it is here that Charles Darwin saw such a plethora of species that his theoriesof evolution began to take shape. That was 1831. Since then the Islands have become anational preserve of Ecuador. However, external influences (including pirating) have producedthe need for eradicating species and plant life not native to the islands. These include goats,ants, blackberries and black rats. It’s the intensive threat of black rats that caused Professorof Biology Dr. Ken Saladin to lend his time, expertise and dollars to help make a change.

“Black rats are such a dire threat to this ecosystem,” says Dr. Saladin, “and I decided to helpfund the work partly because the project was very well defined, with a realistic timetable, well-itemized objectives, costs, and measurable outcomes, and partly because it was something Icould afford to do.” He dedicates the royalties of two college textbooks he co-authored to theproject, and now, three years out and many peanut butter baited traps later, the rat popula-tion on North Seymour, a major island, and nearby Mosquera, is eradicated.

“Field workers will continue monitoring every six months for three years, but so far it appearsthat the black rat is totally exterminated from North Seymour and nearby Mosquera Islands,”Dr. Saladin says. “Furthermore, careful studies have found no evidence that any native, non-pest species has been harmed. These are wonderful results, a very significant success storyin global conservation work.”

Thanks to Saladin’s funding and the success of the rat eradication on North Seymour, theEcuadorian government will provide a multimillion-dollar budget needed for rat exterminationon the larger islands in the chain.

But Saladin has done more than just fund the rat eradication. Since 2002, he has led GeorgiaCollege students in a Maymester study abroad trip to the Galapagos Islands. "It's the culmi-nation of a biology class I teach about the Islands in the spring," he says, "and actually goingto Ecuador allows the students to have a deeper understanding." Biology major MelanieWooten went in 2009. "I was able to go to a place that many biologists just dream of seeing -the Galapagos Islands," she says. "I was able to hike across hardened lava flows, snorkelwith sea lion pups and penguins, walk through the nesting areas of frigatebirds and boobies,and see firsthand the tortoises that give the islands their name. It was amazing to think thatCharles Darwin had set foot on those same islands and experienced the same wildife I had inthose few short weeks abroad. It is truly an amazing place, and I feel so blessed that I wasable to see one of the last pristine ecosystems on Earth."

Watch an interview with Melanie Wooten and see more photos

of her experience at www.gcsu.edu/connectionmagazine


upfrontUpFront

Georgia College partners with Tibetan Children’s Village BY ANNA BRYSON

A team led by Professor of Education andDirector of the Center for ProgramEvaluation and Development CharlesMartin returned to Dharmasala, India, inOctober to continue a partnership thatstarted last March with the TibetanChildren’s Villages.

“We were hooked from the beginning,” saysDr. Martin. “The children are so smart.They absorb everything and want to ask youquestions about everything. The kids reallycare for each other too, and their teachersand school administrators are incrediblydedicated. From the beginning we knew col-laborating with them would result in some-thing that could make a difference.”

The team returning to the children’s villagewill train a selective group of the teachersto become trainers themselves. The teamalso plans to meet with leaders of the new

Dalai Lama Institute for Higher Education todiscuss how Georgia College might collabo-rate with their teacher education programand create exchange programs or interna-tional service learning opportunities forGeorgia College students.

When the project began the team identifiedthree primary objectives: to redesign villageteachers’ evaluation system, to developdemocratic leadership skills and to imple-ment a training program for middle grades’math and science instructors.

“We have grown and learned so much, andwe want to give others at Georgia Collegethe same experience,” says Dr. Martin.“These kids value their education. Theydon’t want to waste it, and they don’t wantto lose it. Working with them has helped usremember what really is valuable - howmuch we have versus how much we need

and realizing how much we can give.”

Last June the team leaders signed a jointresolution committing both the TibetanChildren’s Villages and Georgia College to amulti-year partnership to improve education-al opportunities in the village schools.

“The deal was sealed when we had an audi-ence with His Holiness, the Dalai Lama,and he stressed the importance of TCVSchools in preparing Tibetans to be leadersin math, science, politics and the arts,” Dr.Martin says.

TCV was established following the Chineseoccupation of Tibet in 1950. The DalaiLama commissioned a place to educatechildren. Since opening its doors in 1960,the schools have served more than 70,000refugee children.

TCV teachers and administrators and the trainers from Georgia College and Newman University, (a partnering institution)

Charles Martin

Georgia College Connection • Fall 2009 7

www.gcsu.edu/alumni

Gov. McDonald’s PortraitThe unveiling of former Georgia Gov. Charles McDonald’s por-trait at the Old Governor’s Mansion revealed his family connec-tion to Georgia College and completes the mansion’s collectionof paintings of the eight governors who lived in the mansion.

Lauren Callaway, a native to Atlanta and freshman attendingGeorgia College, is the great-great-great-great granddaughter ofGov. McDonald. She is a biology pre-med major and plans tobecome a dermatologist.

“This portrait is very important to the history of the state ofGeorgia,” said Georgia College President Dorothy Leland. “Weare very proud to have the great-great-great-great granddaugh-ter of Gov. McDonald. It means a lot to us.”

“I am very pleased and full of gratitude to the descendants ofGov. McDonald for donating the portrait,” said MansionDirector Jim Turner. “The addition of this image will greatlyenhance our interpretive abilities. Gov. McDonald was the firstgovernor to occupy the new executive mansion after its comple-tion in 1839, making this acquisition particularly invaluable.”

Great, Great GrandsonHubert McDonald, Jr.

Great, Great, Great GrandsonJames McDonald with PresidentDorothy Leland

The 2009 Education Reform Conference Key education leaders, business leaders and, policy makers fromacross the state gathered at Georgia College on October 2, for the2009 Education Reform Conference.

“The two most important questions facing Georgia's education sys-tem right now are how to improve achievement in high school andwhether to pursue school choice,” said Dr. Scafidi, director of theEconomics of Education Policy Center at Georgia College.

The conference included some of the best experts in and around Georgia:

George Israel, President of Georgia ChamberBen Scafidi, Director of the Economics of Education Policy Center Kati Haycock, founder and president of Education TrustGeorge Leef, Director of Research at the John W. Pope Center for Higher Education PolicyMatthew Ladner, Vice President of Research for the Goldwater InstituteGerald Robinson, President of Black Alliance for Education OptionsKenneth W. Russell, former state president of the Professional Association of Georgia Educators (PAGE) and Social Studies teacherJohn Winn, former Commissioner of Florida Department of Education and 35-year educator

The conference was sponsored by The Economics of Education Policy Centerat Georgia College, The Georgia Chamber of Commerce, The Georgia PublicPolicy Foundation and The Center for an Educated Georgia (CEG) at GeorgiaFamily Council.

At the recent 37th Annual International Conference of the Association forExperiential Education in Quebec, Canada, several Georgia College out-door education alumni and faculty shared a table at the closing dinner.

Front Row L-R: Beth Sayers,'08, a faculty member at Greenfield Community College inMass.; Dr. T. Grant Lewis, '05, assistant professor of recreation at Springfield College inMass.; Scott Robertshaw, '04, associate director of student recreation at Colorado State University in Pueblo. (Robertshaw also received a Servant Leader Award at theconference.)

Back Row: L-R: Daryl Essensa Georgia College faculty 07-08 and currently in a doctoralprogram at School of Education at the University of Massachusetts Amherst; LindsaySturdivant Lewis, '05, currently in a masters program at Springfield College in Mass.;Dr. Jude Hirsch, chair of kinesiology at Georgia College; Liz Speelman,'07, a lecturer inkinesiology at Georgia College, Dr. Lee Gillis, chair of psychological science at GeorgiaCollege; Daniel Diddlemeyer, '08.


upfrontUpFrontMexico, Madagascar, Milledgeville

Gabby Acuna is another example of the strong intern-ship program at Georgia College. As a marketing major,she found the perfect fit, working during the summer atNASCAR’s Joe Gibbs Racing Team. The companyincludes three drivers: Kyle Busch - #18 (M&M’S), JoeyLogano - #20 (The Home Depot), and Denny Hamlin -#11 (FedEx). Suffice it to say, Gabby became saturatedwith the world of marketing and promotion. “I will neverlook at a t-shirt as just a t-shirt again!” she says.“Working with Fortune 500 companies and licenseessuch as The Bradford Exchange, EA Sports, PEZ, andHerff Jones, has been a great experience. I know thisopportunity has opened many doors for me.”

Interning on Capitol HillRachel Stephens, a freshman political sci-ence major at Georgia College, participat-ed in the 2009 Congressional BlackCaucus program, one of the most respect-ed and competitive internships on CapitolHill in in Washington, D.C.

Since the caucus placed Stephens in herown congressman’s office, she had dualresponsibilities. She assisted the congres-sional office by giving Capitol tours, read-ing letters from constituents and attendingbiweekly forums. Interns also kept journalsabout their experiences and participated inmock Congress sessions, dubbed

“Congress In Action.” In fact, Stephens actually served as chair of a com-mittee. Among the hearings she attended were those on the importance ofthe 2010 census and the Sotomayor Supreme Court nomination.

Having taken “Politics and Society,” Stephens explains, “It was really amaz-ing to see a lot of the concepts I learned about Washington come to life.”

“From the beginning, everyone has been

incredibly welcoming here,”Valerie Wayson says. “I think I made the right decision.”

Valerie Wayson, a Master of Fine Arts studentat Georgia College from Austin, Texas, was moti-vated to join the Peace Corps after participatingin a summer mission trip to Matamoros,Mexico, a border town opposite Brownsville,Texas, when she was a teenager. Though Valeriewasn’t particularly religious, she “jumped at thechance to avoid another week of daytime TV.”

The long working working and intense heatmade her weeks in Mexico difficult. Trash waseverywhere, and entire families lived in make-shift shanties. Mission workers had to showerfrom well-water in buckets. “I counted the daysoff until I could return to my TV, AC and indoorplumbing,” Wayson says.

As a Peace Corps volunteer she spent two yearsteaching high school English in a Madagascarclassroom (where she also slept). “Because Iwas an English teacher,” Wayson explains, “I

lived in a village big enough to have a highschool and electricity, although it went out fre-quently, and I got my water each day from apump.”

Madagascar is beautiful but very remote. Theisland country is impoverished and one of theonly places in the world without a McDonald’s,says Wayson. Because the water is dirty, thelocal people suffer from diseases like syphilis,polio and malaria. And, “You have to be theequivalent of a millionaire in their culture toafford a vacation off the island,” she says.

Her love of reading and language attracted herto pursue an MFA at Georgia College, the onlyuniversity that offers a fellowship in CreativeWriting for Peace Corps volunteers. She hopesto use her degree in the publishing industry, butnot before more international adventures,including teaching English in Japan.

Watch interviews with Valerie Wayson and Rachel Stephens at www.gcsu.edu/connectionmagazine


coverCover Story

Grit andGrace of David Perkins“It whooped me upside the head,” says David Perkins about his first days in Milledgeville. From the grit-ty Jersey suburbs of Philadelphia, he came to Georgia on a whimafter hearing from a friend that a “school was trying to field a soccerteam.” It was 1968.

“Milledgeville, to me, was a magical place when I was there,” hesays. “It was so completely different from what I was used to grow-ing up. We didn’t have anything like Milledgeville, Georgia. I still loveit, and I think it still has a grip on me. And, I want to say that theeducation stood me well. I guess it did because here I am atVanderbilt.”

David is currently a post-graduate student at Vanderbilt DivinitySchool where he’s working on a dissertation about worship and the-ology in the Christian church. But that’s skipping ahead.

Growing up as the son of musicians, David often shared the stagewith his parents and sister as they sang and played music at variouschurches. At Georgia College, music began to be more of a vehicleto share social and political concerns - “the mark of the time.” Trueto that mark, David formed a band which he called Uncle Pleasant,after the oracle-like character in Tennessee Williams’ OrpheusDescending, a conjuring man that is “something wild in the country,”as the play describes. The band name gives note to a certain rest-lessness that would define David’s career.

“My music was eventually a wedge into the trajectory of being alawyer and to go into politics,” he says. While he was playing gigsaround central Georgia and dining at Mama Louise’s famed H&HRestaurant in Macon, he took charge of bringing the Vietnam protestto campus. “We had a rally against the war on the front lawn,” hesays, “and that was a momentous afternoon and evening for me. Allthe cadets from Georgia Military College showed up and [he laughs]let me know, in no uncertain terms that I better not be caught offcampus.”

His thoughtfulness to education, music and social causes tookDavid from Milledgeville to Macon (during the Allman Brothers hey-day) and Athens and Atlanta, before moving to Woodstock, NY, andfinally to Nashville, Tenn. By then he was a professional guitaristheading into a career that would be 30 years in the making, criss-

The

BY ZACH KINCAID

’71

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coverCover Storycrossing nearly every musical genre. Heplayed bluegrass with fiddle-great VassarClements, Texas renegade country withJerry Jeff Walker, pop with Carole King,alternative rock with Chagall Guevara,Americana with Guy Clark, soul-countrywith Ray Charles, blues and jazz with vio-linist Papa John Creach and the list goeson.

Along the way, David “married a girl fromNashville,” as he says. Their family grew(they have five children), and as a result,he began to limit his touring schedule.He concentrated, instead, on studio workand producing albums.

In 1996, he took a break from music. Hetold his wife that if he could get intoVanderbilt Divinity School, he’d attend forone semester and read philosophy andtheology, something he always enjoyeddoing.

“I fell in love with it, and it was anotherkind of creative work for me,” he says.

David ended up completing a master’s intheological studies and rolled that into amaster’s of divinity degree. “I realizedthere were some things behind my desireto study; things that were more impor-tant life issues that I hadn’t exploredbefore.” So, he plowed ahead into theintensive world of pursuing a “Ph.D.”while garnering a fellowship atVanderbilt’s Center for the Study ofReligion and Culture.

But his music didn’t die.

In 2009, his O’Connoresque album, titledPistol City Holiness, was released to criti-cal applause. It is a farewell album ofsorts. “It was conceived when I thoughtmaybe I would study for longer than onesemester, as I intended,” David recalls.“I wanted to do one more album, and, Iwanted to go out playing the music thatfirst impacted me - southern blues - anddo it with the people I had played withthe longest.” He and his friends startedlaying tracks down and came up withnearly two-thirds of the material. And


At Vanderbilt Divinity School

Watch an interview with David Perkins and hear his music at www.gcsu.edu/connectionmagazine


then it sat on a shelf for several years. In May 2007, David was diagnosed withmultiple myeloma, a blood cancer. “It was,of course, a shock,” he says, “and reallykind of turned everything upside down.There was the thought that the time mightbe short. My mind, my heart, my body -everything - went back to music. That’s all Icould think about. I love my work in acade-mics and it’s exciting to me, but I had thisvery surprising and overwhelming desire tothink about music making.”

The next five months entailed dailychemotherapy and he nearly always had aguitar in his hands.

“The chemo damages the nerves in yourhands and feet,” he says, “so I was tryingto keep playing to stave off this neuropathy.I kept playing and playing, sometimes fiveor six hours a day, and before too long Iwas playing better than I ever played in mylife.”

It was this “morbid” time that David set outto make sure his affairs were squaredaway. He spent time getting his musicalassets together and uncovered some well-aged songs. “Sometimes I’d crank up olddemos,” he says, “and my wife, every oncein a while, would stick her head through thedoor and say, ‘That’s an incredible song;you need to do something with that.’ And, Ithink, in her wifely wisdom, she knew howto get me to live forward - to live into thefuture - as opposed to being on a shortschedule.”

Pistol City Holiness comes out of that diffi-cult time. The album includes both retrievedarchived sessions as well as a set of newsongs written during his lingering cancer - aset “to round out” this collection of music.From start to finish, “this album has somuch grace attached to it,” David says.

And grace defines David Perkins. His careerincludes playing music with many greatartists of our time, but his humility seemsto spill out and form genuine communitywell beyond the stage. Perhaps it’s an echoback to Milledgeville and the start of bothhis academic and music career. Now, on

the cusp of completing his dissertation andwith conference papers presented at presti-gious schools from Princeton to Emory toHarvard, one can expect that the sameintegrity and spirit will keep intact as hesteps into the lecture hall. �

David discovered later that Milledgevillewas home to Flannery O’Connor, an authorwho has had a profound influence on hisfaith and art.

“What is so special to me about FlanneryO’Connor? As an artist who grapples withthe question of how to make art that dealswith religion, but which is also relevant tothe larger cultural conversation, Flanneryhas been significant to me. She was brave,and took heat from the literary communitynot only for her religious content, but whatwas behind it—personal religion. I know alittle of what she felt. In the popular arts,there was a time—and, it’s still somewhatthe case—when featuring religion in a con-fessional or devotional way was a liability. Itwas not simply unfashionable; there wassomething deeper at play. This was in the1980s, when the culture wars raged, andthere was a backlash to televangelism andevangelical Christianity in mass media.

Religion is sometimes unwelcome in thepopular arts, which is symptomatic of amore general cultural malaise about reli-gion—rooted, I think, in the difficulty ofsquaring particular theological ideas andthe biblical narrative with the unfoldingstory of science. The result is that, often,artists who feature religion in a confession-al or devotional way are bracketed off—or,they bracket themselves off as with theContemporary Christian Music business.They are considered by the other side to bemarginal voices whose worldviews are on a

different trajectory than mainstream cul-ture. So, many artists with strong religioussensibilities ask themselves, ‘Must I denyor limit my spiritual sensibilities when doingmy art? Are art and religion two distinctand separate enterprises? Or, can Iinclude my religious thinking and experi-ence in a way that allows anyone to enterinto conversation with the work?’ In myattempts to answer those questions andfind a good model for featuring religion inart, I find Flannery’s work inspiring. In sto-ries like “Revelation,” religion can be seenas imminent and transcendent, both cleanand dirty. In her novel Wise Blood, there isa purposeful confusion of religion, sex andviolence. What does that do to religion? Itgrounds it. It makes it of the earth. It’s nolonger only abstract and just ideas, but anatural aspect of human behavior, be itugly or beautiful.

The reality is that there are ways of incor-porating religion in the arts, which,deservedly or not, find resistance and don’twork well in the larger cultural conversa-tion. But Flannery’s way of treating religionis appealing. It is finding new favor with anemerging generation of writers, filmmakersand song writers. In her stories, high andsometimes abstract theological conceptscome wrapped up with all the grime, withthe nastiness of human existence. I, forone, find that kind of commentary on reli-gion more tenable and more interesting.”

– David Perkins

Discovering O’Connor


1940sGrayce Kenemer Barck, ’47, completedher tenth year as a commissioner on theFlorida Inland Navigation District.

1970sDr. Steve W. Batson ’74, ’78, was recentlypromoted to senior vice president of CargillAssociates, Inc., a national philanthropyconsulting firm.

Randy Smith, ’76, is a senior managementconsultant in operations for Chick-fil-A, Inc.He serves as a deacon and chairman ofthe Global Missions Team at Johnson FerryBaptist Church. Randy also leads a teamfrom Winshape International (Chick-fil-A)and is a volunteer trainer with ProvidenceLearning Center and DevelopmentCorporation’s “Changed Lives” Job TrainingProgram. In addition, he’s a board memberand chairman emeritus of Global ResourceServices.

Shannon New-Diaz, '79, and Diego Diaz,'78, were married on May 24, 2008, inMiami, Fla.

1980sSheila Cash Clopton, ’82, ’88, retired fromthe Department of Defense Schools atRobins Air Force Base after teaching ele-mentary music there for 26 years. She isnow teaching general music for theHouston County School System at PerryPrimary School. Her husband, TerryClopton, ’88, recently retired from teachingwith the Houston County School System.He teaches private piano lessons and isorganist at Shirley Hills Baptist Church inWarner Robins, Ga.

1990sJ. Noland White, ’90, received the Joe andAnn Marie Horvat Distinguished ServiceAward at the International Society forNeurofeedback and Research (ISNR) inIndianapolis, Ind. on Sept 6, 2009. He isan associate professor of psychology in theDepartment of Psychological Science atGeorgia College.

Casey Rupp, ’91, is entering his last yearof the graduate program for counseling atArgosy University in Tampa, Fla.

Anita Johnson Lord, ’96, is now regionalpayment recovery unit manager at GEICO.She began her career with GEICO in 1993.

Windy Caviness, ’97, ’02, was engaged toChristopher Reeves of Duluth, Ga., on June6, in Hilton Head, SC. The couple is plan-ning to marry in Atlanta, Ga., on June 19,2010.

Jeff Houston ’97, was named NewsDirector at WTVA-TV in Tupelo, Miss. inMarch. He previously worked as anExecutive Producer at WAVY-TV in Norfolk,Va.

Amy Gallagher Ludwig, ’98, and her hus-band, Nathaniel, welcomed the arrival oftheir daughter, Sophia Leonor Gallagher, onMay 1, 2009.

Helen W. Washington Hunt, ’99, recentlyhad a book of poetry published titledEncouraging Words.

Cynthia B. Worthen, ’99, was recentlyappointed vice president of academicaffairs for Argosy University in Washington,D.C.

2000sJan Melnick, ’00, is the principal ofNorthside Middle School for the 2009-10school year. It’s his 14th year with theHouston County School System. Jan ismarried to Laura Anne Melnick. They havetwo children, Marissa and Matthew.

Andrew “Drew” Jahr, ’02, ’03, is the newAssistant Director of Operations withHousing at Texas Tech. Drew also partici-pated in the National Housing TrainingInstitute at the University of Maryland.

Jarrett Reagan, ’03, is Lead ProgramManager at Robins AFB. He is a volunteerfirefighter in Peach County and he and hiswife, Ellen Osborne Reagan, have threechildren: Nate (11), Nick (8) and LydiaGrace (3). They live in Fort Valley, Ga.

Andrea Williams, ’03, recently graduatedwith a Master of Business Administrationfrom Strayer University.

John C. Williams, ’04, graduated with aMaster of Science in Management with aconcentration in human resources fromTroy University in May 2008.

Amanda O'Donnell MacFarlane, ’05, isnow executive producer and lead anchor atthe American News Network. Amanda mar-ried her high school sweetheart, PatrickMacFarlane, on September 12, 2009. Theylive in Atlanta.

Lindsey R. Rowland, ’05, ’07, and ClintonL. Chambers were married on October 24,2008, in Auburn, Ga.

Tara Springfield White, ’05, was marriedMay 1, 2009, in Kitty Hawk, NC.

Lindsey Earle, ’06, and fellow classmateBlake Shiver, ’06, recently were engaged.They plan to be married in October 2010.Both Lindsey and Blake live in Raleigh, NC.

Brandie Tatum, ’07, and Harold Mock,’06, were married May 30, 2009, at St.Brigid Catholic Church in Roswell, Ga. Theylive in Charlottesville, Va.

Amanda Havens, ’07, recently graduatedfrom AmeriCorps National CivilianCommunity Corps (AmeriCorps NCCC)Pacific Region, where she served 10months. During her term of service, sheworked with residents in Texas and theGulf Coast region devastated by HurricanesKatrina, Rita and Ike.

Stephanie Lentchner, ’07, teaches middleschool math and coaches basketball at aprivate school for students with learningdisabilities and anxiety disorders.

Rebecca L. Sheppard, ’07, and GregoryM. Chapman, ’07, ’08, were married onJune 6, 2009, at the First Baptist Churchin Sandersville, Ga. They live in Atlanta,where Gregory is a Certified PublicAccountant for Nichols, Cauley &Associates, LLC.

Nate J. Platto, ’07, serves as anInternational Mission Board missionarywith the Southern Baptist Convention. Heis based in Morogoro, Tanzania. He is mar-ried to Lindsey Platto and is a graduate ofNew Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary.

Erin Marshall McDowell, ’08, and PatrickRyan McDowell, ’09, were married on May2, 2009, in Jacksonville, Fla.

notesClass Notes Plan Now to attend Alumni Weekend, February 19-20, 2010, with reunions for the classes of 1950, 1960, and 1970 scheduled.


www.gcsu.edu/alumni

2009 graduates Cody Hammock, Amanda Watson and Eric Biglandsare examples of how Georgia College effectively place students withemployers. Working through the cooperative program at Robins AirForce Base in Warner Robins, Ga., they worked for a semester at thebase before each receiving an offer for full-time employment.

Cody serves in human resources and is set to manage the very co-op program that landed him his job. He credits the College ofBusiness Career Center for working closely with him to know hisstrengths and place him successfully at the Robins base.

Amanda works on the F-15 Avionics team, managing the service ofUS based planes. “Avionics,” she explains, “is anything not structur-al. So, it includes things like radar and mapping systems.”

Eric is on a similar team as Amanda, but concentrates on F-15 for-eign military sales, especially to Saudi Arabia. “So, when we sellSaudi Arabia planes,” he says, “they still come back here for serviceor repairs.”

In fact, Quintel Brinson, currently an MPA student attending theGeorgia College center in Macon and working in human resources onbase, explains that there are three bases that work on aircraft, and,depending on the needs, they are sent to Robins, Tinker in Oklahomaor Hill in Utah. Though their job functions are diverse, Cody, Amanda,Eric, and Quintel agree that Georgia College prepares students tomeet and exceed expectations as well as providing opportunities tomove from campus life and launch into a career path.

L to R: Amanda Watson, Eric Biglands, Quintel Brinson, and Cody Hammock

Co-ops Take Flight

Alumni Weekend 2010 February 19 – 20, 2010

Make plans now to come back and reconnect with fellow classmates and your alma mater during the 2010 Alumni Weekend.

Events being planned include:Peabody Luncheon Student Government Association Reunion Welcome Reception Campus Open House Old Governor’s Mansion ToursHonor Roll LuncheonMass Comm. Alumni Network Homecoming Reunion

Homecoming Parade Homecoming Basketball Games College EventsClass Reunions • 60th Reunion – Class of 1950• 50th Reunion – Class of 1960Special Events have been planned

• 40th Reunion – Class of 1970Special Events have been planned

Register at www.gcsu.edu/alumni/events


memoriamIn Memoriam www.gcsu.edu/alumni

1920sElizabeth B. Eberhardt, ’26, 8/17Lois C. Fisher, ’27, 7/17

1930sMae G. Duke, ’31, 6/26Sarah G. Clary, ’32, 6/24Lina K. Hammond, ’32, 5/22Lucy H. Wayne, ’32, 9/23McArva A. Hunter, ’35, 5/21Mary G. O'Malley, ’36, 4/9Palacia S. Seaman, ’36, 7/24Hilda W. Henderson, ’37, 4/29Ada C. Clements, ’38, 5/23Anne T. Gelders, ’38, 5/10Robbie W. Mashburn, ’38, 6/24Ruth C. McKibben, ’38, 7/11Marguerite R. Williams, ’38, 8/8Oreta B. Haines, ’39, 5/30Beatrice W. Pfeiffer, ’39, 7/15Anza H. Robinson, ’39, 4/14

1940s Hazel J. Boyles, ’40, 9/27Martha D. Melton, ’40, 5/28Ollirette Pierce, ’40, 4/20

Florida H. Cobb, ’41, 8/13Ruby W. Colhard, ’41, 4/25Evelyn L. Heller, ’41, 8/31Allene C. King, ’41, 4/24Jimmie Sue P. Baughman, ’42, 9/6Eunice O. Rooks, ’42, 5/4Lucy J. Jones, ’44, 6/7Fanny B. McClure, ’44, 8/9Gladys D. Roddenberry, ’45, 4/13Nona Q. Bunce, ’46, 8/20Berma S. Ramfjord, ’46, 9/21Zell Barnes Grant, ‘46, 10/13Peggy G. Sammons, ’46, 5/30Betty L. Brinson, ’47, 9/3Lynnis H. Gaskins, ’48, 8/12Celia S. Looper, ’48, 7/15

1950s Kathryn H. Cusack, ’50, 8/14Roberta M. Hatcher, ’50, 6/8Olga E. Fallen, ’53, 5/8Margaret A. Jones, ’53, 7/3Betty M. Shuman, ’53, 8/25Nonie F. Cox, ’54, 5/18Betty W. Maddox, ’54, 8/26Florence T. Spalding, ’54, 7/13

Carolyn G. Kilby, ’55, 9/4Martha B. VanHuss, ’56, 5Alice S. Wolf, ’57, 6/15Patricia B. Yeager, ’58, 4/3

1960s Sarah B. Gaines, ’63, 4/28Mary K. Davis, ’67, 6/5Edward N. Weaver, ’69, 9/6

1970sRaleigh M. Shell, ’75, 8/9Norman L. Bellury, ’76, 8/19Henry A. Toole, ’77, 4/28Chesley G. Williams, ’78, 5/2David L. Dillard, ’79, 7/16Loette V. Glisson, ’79, 5/6

1980s Teresa K. Reeves, ’86, 8/1

1990s Marcus H. McClary, ’91, 8/28

2000sThomas L. McNiel, ’01, 7/1Gwendolyn M. Scott, ’06, 6/3

Hon. Donald S. Walker, ’92, died September 28. Following a suc-cessful commercial and real estate career, Walker entered WarnerRobins city politics as a "late arrival" in 1992 in an unsuccessfulbid for the office of mayor. He was elected mayor two years later, in1994, and served until his passing. He was a life-long member ofWarner Robins First Baptist Church. Walker lived most of his life inWarner Robins, venturing from home only while he attendedGeorgia College in Milledgeville and while he served on active dutywith the United States Army at Fort Knox, Ky. and Fort Dix, NJ.

He attended Houston County public schools and graduated fromNorthside High School in Warner Robins as a self-proclaimed"Proud Eagle" in 1967. Mr. Walker was an active and supportingmember of dozens of church, civic and fraternal organizations inthe city, state and at the national level. His parents, Homer J.Walker Jr. and Marian Walker, preceded him in death. His memorywill forever be treasured by his loving wife of 39 years, PatriciaSammons Walker, daughter D. Stephanie Walker, and grandchildrenJoshua and Amanda Rainey.

Elizabeth Rhodes, former Home Economics chair at GeorgiaCollege, died July 23 at the age of 62. She was the Director of theFashion School at Kennesaw State University for the last 15 years,retiring just one month ago. She was a graduate of AppalachianState College and attended Berea College. She enjoyed sewing,

embroidery and traveling and was a member of the Toy Stitchers,an antique toy sewing machine group. She is survived by her hus-band, Kenneth Rhodes; son Kerry (Holly) Rhodes; daughter Taylor(Brandon) Steinmetz of Tiffin; grandchildren Hunter Steinmetz;Kennedy Rhodes and Lauren Steinmetz.

Peggy George Sammons ’46, died on May 30 at the KennestoneMedical Center in Marietta, Ga., after a brief illness. She was anative of Emanuel County and was preceded in death by her par-ents, H. I. and Marion Holley George, and her husband, Thomas W.Sammons. A retired educator, she received her Bachelor’s ofAdministration degree from Georgia College and master’s degreefrom Georgia Southern University. She taught English and Speechat Swainsboro High School for 10 years before becoming a coun-selor. When East Georgia College was founded, she became thefirst Registrar and Director of Admissions. Upon her retirement,she was honored by the Board of Regents of the University Systemof Georgia by being named "Registrar and Director of AdmissionsEmerita." She was a charter member and president of theSwainsboro Junior Woman's Club. She was a member of theMcConnell Baptist Church in Hiawassee, a Sunday School Teacher,WMU Circle Leader, and choir member. She also served on theexecutive committee of the Alumni Association of Georgia College.She is survived by her son and daughter-In-law, Wayne and TammySammons, and grandchildren Shea S. Brown and Matt Sammons.

givingGiving www.gcsu.edu/alumni

A & E TV NetworksAdobe SystemsADP Aetna, Inc.Alliance BanksAllstate Insurance American Eagle OutfittersAmerican Electric Power American ExpressAmerican Fidelity Ameriprise Financial Anchor BrewingAnheuser-Busch AssurantAutoZoneAvon ProductsBank of AmericaBASF Corp.Ben and Jerry’sBest Buy CompanyBlack and Decker CorpBlue BellBlue Cross Blue ShieldBoeing CompanyBristol-Myers Squibb Campbell Soup Capital One Service CarMaxCaterpillar, Inc.Chevron CorporationChiquita Brands InternationalCoach, Inc.Coca-ColaConacoPhillipsCooper TiresDannon CompanyDell Corporation

Delta AirlinesDIRECTV GroupDole Food CompanyDow Chemical CompanyDow Jones & CompanyDr. Pepper Snapple GroupeBayExpedia, Inc.Exxon MobilFord FoundationFuji Foto FilmGeneral ElectricGEICO Corporation General MillsGeorgia PowerGMAC Google, Inc.H & R BlockHarley-Davison Motor CompanyHarrah’s EntertainmentHasbroHershey CompanyHess CorporationHome DepotHonda of AmericaHoughton-Mifflin CompanyHumana, Inc.Hunter DouglasIBM Intel CorporationJP Morgan Chase Jackson HewittJohn Hancock Financial Johnson and JohnsonKawasaki Motors CorpKellogg CompanyKraft Foods

LabCorpLand O’LakesLennox InternationalLevi Strauss and Co.Liz ClaiborneLockheed Martin LogitechL’Oreal Macy’s Marathon Oil CompanyMasterCard Mazda North AmericaMcAfee Inc.McDonald’s CorporationMcGraw-Hill Mercedes-Benz U.S. Merck and Co.Merrill LynchMetLifeMotorolaNew York Life InsuranceNikeNintendo Nissan North AmericaNokiaNew York Stock ExchangeOffice DepotOlympus AmericaPacific Life PatagoniaPepsiPfizerPhilips ElectronicsPiggly WigglyProcter and GamblePublixRadioShack

ReebokRolexSanDisk Corp.Shell Oil CompanySherwin-Williams SonySprint NextelStarbucksState FarmSunTrust BankSwarovski North AmericaSYSCO Tiffany and CompanyTime WarnerToyota Motor Sales USAToys R UsTravelersUnion PacificUniversal Music GroupUSAAVolkswagen of AmericaWachoviaWal-MartWalt Disney CompanyWells FargoWinn-DixieXerox CorpYahoo!

Got a Match?Do you work for a company that matches their employee’s or

retiree’s donations? You may be able to double or triple the

impact of your gift. Here is a partial list of matching gift

companies. To check and see if your employer will match

your gift, go to www.matchinggifts.com/gcsu.


To make a donation,

please call

Mandy Peacock at

(478) 445-6930

or online at

gcsu.edu/foundation.

University AdvancementCampus Box 96Milledgeville, Georgia 31061

Georgia College & State University, established in 1889, is Georgia’s Public Liberal Arts University.University System of Georgia.

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