DATES TO KNOW:

Fall Break

October 31st

Thanksgiving Break

November 24th-28th

Last Day of Exams

December 17th

Commencement

December 19th

First-Year Students 1

CCSD Enrichment Program 2

Robotics Partnership 2

Marshall Shepherd named ‘Captain Planet’

2

Spotlight on the Arts Festival 3

Georgia Museum of Art 3

Electric Car Charging Station 4

Replacing the Coal-Fired

Boiler 4

Science Learning Center 4

Health Sciences Campus 5

Greek Philanthropies 6

U G A C omm u n it y R e l a t i o n s N e w s le t t e r F a l l 2 0 1 4

I N S I D E T H I S I S S U E :

®

The University of Georgia will open its doors this fall to a first-year class that has broken the high

ceiling on academic criteria set by previous classes. The 2014 class begins UGA with the highest

average GPA to date-3.9 on a 4.0 scale-in the most challenging courses.

They also have earned the highest test scores for entering freshmen

and continue the upward trajectory in the academic qualifications of

students at the nation's first state-chartered university.

The rigor of students' high school curriculum continues to be a key

factor in admissions decisions, with some 95 percent of the students

having enrolled in College Board Advanced Placement or Internation-

al Baccalaureate classes while in high school. Many students earned

enough credits to be classified as sophomores and several as juniors

during their first term of enrollment. Thirteen percent of students

dually enrolled in college while attending high school.

"Our incoming

first-year students

have broken rec-

ords across multi-

ple areas and rep-

resent the strongest academic class by all

standards," said Nancy McDuff, associate

vice president for admissions and enrollment

management. "We are pleased that these

students chose to come to UGA, as most

have multiple options for college. Not

only do they have the highest grades and

test scores, but they also have faced the

most rigorous high school curriculum of

any prior class.” Read More

First-Year Students Set Academic Record

The 2014 freshman class also is one of the most diverse in UGA history with more than 28 percent of students self-identifying as other than Caucasian.

In spring 2014, 2505

students were

enrolled from ACC

contiguous counties.

Athens-Clarke 1176

Oconee 640

Madison 129

Jackson 259

Barrow 213

Oglethorpe 88

Come Visit UGA!

October 24 at 7 PM: Acclaimed fiction writer Julia Elliott’s public reading at The Globe

October 26 at 1:30 PM:

Community Dance Day and outdoor reception

November 1 at 10 AM: State

Botanical Garden Fall Festival

November 6-14: UGA Spotlight

on the Arts Festival

More Events Here

U GA Co m m un i ty R e l atio n s P age 2 , F al l 20 14

A multidisciplinary team of University of Georgia faculty is partnering with the Clarke County School District this fall to provide

a new after-school enrichment program aimed at improving children's health and stimulate their learning in reading and mathe-

matics. The program currently serves about 60 children in two elementary schools.

"We are bringing together UGA teacher educators, health promotion

and kinesiology professors with Clarke County School administrators,

staff and parents to provide a hands-on, engaging after-school pro-

gram that will address the challenges faced by children," said Phillip

Tomporowski, a professor of kinesiology in the College of Education.

Joining Tomporowski are his education colleagues: Bryan McCullick, a

professor of kinesiology; Marty Carr and Paula Schwanenflugel, pro-

fessors of educational psychology; and Jennifer Gay, an assistant pro-

fessor of health promotion and behavior in the College of Public

Health.

"We are mobilizing our UGA resources to help children in the community by calling on faculty who know how to direct interven-

tions in physical activity, healthy behavior, family engagement, reading and mathematics," said McCullick.

The new after-school program is the culmination of more than a decade of research that shows that children's increased physical

activity can lead to higher academic achievement. Read More

A recent ribbon-cutting ceremony at a new tech-

nology-focused high school in Barrow County

ushered in the next phase of a partnership be-

tween the University of Georgia and the Barrow

County School System.

Outfitted with robotics kits from leading South

Korea manufacturer RoboRobo, a room in the

new Sims Academy of Innovation and Technolo-

gy in Winder will serve as an external UGA la-

boratory. Here, researchers from the College of

Education will work with local teachers to devel-

op robotics-based lesson plans for all grades, all

supported by RoboRobo. This outreach program

builds on a partnership formed earlier this year

between the company and Ikseon Choi, an asso-

ciate professor in the college's learning, design

and technology program. Read More

UGA Team Begins Enrichment Program at Two Clarke County Elementary Schools

UGA Partnership Brings Robotics

Lab to New Barrow County School

UGA Professor Marshall Shepherd is a Captain Planet Protector of the

Earth, according to the Captain Planet Foundation, which recently added

him to a list of outstanding real-life environmental superheroes.

The Atlanta-based Captain Planet Foundation supports high-quality,

hands-on environmental stewardship projects that have enabled more

than 1.1 million youths around the world to make significant environmen-

tal improvements to their schools or communities.

Other 2014 honorees include renowned primatologist Jane Goodall and

Carter and Olivia Ries of the non-profit "One More Generation." Past

recipients of the award include Erin Brockovich and former EPA Admin-

istrator Lisa P. Jackson.

"It is wonderful to be honored for something that I would do without fan-

fare at all," Shepherd said. "I am passionate about ensuring that the state

of Georgia, our nation and the planet are in good shape for my two kids. It

is truly humbling to be mentioned in the same breath with many of the

previous honorees."

Director of UGA's atmos-

pheric sciences program,

Shepherd served as presi-

dent of the American Mete-

orological Society in 2013.

He was a research meteor-

ologist at NASA's Goddard

Space Flight Center for 12

years prior to joining UGA.

Shepherd serves as host on

the new Weather Channel

Sunday talk show, "Weather

Geeks." Read More

Marshall Shepherd Named Captain

Planet Protector of the Earth

U GA Co m m un i ty R e l atio n s P age 3 , F al l 20 14

V i s i t t h e G e o r g i a M u s e u m o f A r t

Open Tues, Wed, Fri & Sat 10-5 PM Thurs 10-9 PM; Sun 1-5 PM; Closed Monday

90 Carlton Street · Athens, Georgia 30602 706.542.4662

3rd Annual Spotlight on the Arts Festival is November 6-14

A Tony Award-winning playwright, a Grammy Award-winning soprano, art-making robots

and a music composition performed on Google Glass are among the more than 40 events

on tap for the University of Georgia's 2014 Spotlight on the Arts festival presented by the

UGA Arts Council.

The third annual festival is scheduled for November 6-14 and will feature performances by

British baroque quartet Red Priest, the Russian State Symphony Orchestra and Grammy

Award-winning soprano Kathleen Battle. The 2014 Spotlight on the Arts festival also in-

cludes events featuring Academy and Tony

award-winning playwright Alfred Uhry, who will

be inducted into the Georgia Writer's Hall of

Fame. A University Theatre production of "The

Great Gatsby" will run throughout the festival.

"Each year, the Spotlight on the Arts festival

shines a light on the breadth and the quality of arts programming at the University of

Georgia," said Pamela Whitten, senior vice president for academic affairs and provost.

"This year's festival truly offers something for everyone, and it's shaping up to be the best

one yet."

Community Welcome! See the full schedule here!

The Google Glass performance of "Adwords/Edward" commissioned by Cynthia John-ston Turner (right), the Hugh Hodgson School of Music's new professor of conducting

and director of bands, is one of three festival highlights the age of technology.

U GA Co m m un i ty R e l atio n s P age 4 , F al l 20 14

In a ceremony that included remarks by state and university

leaders, the University of Georgia broke ground on its newest

state-of-the-art learning facility, the 122,500-square-foot Sci-

ence Learning Center, which will be located at the southwest

corner of the D.W. Brooks Mall, adjacent to Pharmacy South

and across from the Miller Plant Sciences Building.

"We say on this campus that every decision we make should be

for the benefit of our students, that the students should come

first," President Jere Morehead said. "The Science Learning

Center is certainly emblematic of that philosophy."

Morehead said that more than 40 percent of this year's first-

year students have announced an intended major in the scienc-

es.

"This high interest in the STEM disciplines—science, technolo-

gy, engineering and math—is a very positive development and bodes well for the

future of our state and our nation," he said.

The Science Learning Center's 33 instructional labs will be designed specifically

for interactive learning in core undergraduate science courses. Funded by Geor-

gia Gov. Nathan Deal and the Georgia General Assembly, the center will cost

$44.7 million and feature design elements

that promote active learning.

The facility will contain two 280-seat lecture

halls and two 72-seat SCALE-UP classrooms.

SCALE-UP stands for Student-Centered

Active Learning Environment for Under-

graduate Programs, a learning model that

focuses heavily on group-work class partici-

pation and technology—making student-to-

student and student-to-teacher interaction

easier in a larger class setting. Read More

U G A B r e a k s G r o u n d o n S c i e n c e F a c i l i t y t o H e l p M e e t S T E M D e m a n d

(L-R) Sen. Bill Cowsert, University System of Georgia Chancellor Hank Huckaby, Gov. Nathan

Deal, UGA President Jere W. Morehead, UGA stu-dent Lydia "Meg" Babcock Adams, State Sen.

Frank Ginn and State Rep. Chuck Williams.

UGA Installs First Public Level 2 Electric

Vehicle Charger in Athens Area

Automobile owners looking for a

place to plug in instead of gas up

now have a dedicated electric

vehicle charging location on the

University of Georgia campus.

Earlier this summer, the university

unveiled a level 2 electric vehicle

charger on the Jackson Street side

of its North Campus parking deck.

Level 2 chargers are able to fully

power a vehicle in two hours,

compared to level 1 chargers, which

use lower wattage and take at least

four times as long.

Through a partnership between Parking Services and the Office of

Sustainability, UGA was able to meet the need of faculty, staff,

students and visitors who live in or travel to the Athens area. Read

More

UGA to Replace Coal-Fired Boiler

with Electrode Boiler

The Facilities Management Division at UGA has

developed a plan to replace the aging coal-fired boiler on

campus with a more efficient electrode boiler powered by

electricity.

This proposal comes after the Facilities Management

Division initiated a comprehensive examination to

identify options to replace the university's single coal-

fired boiler, which is nearing 50 years in age.

The electrode boiler is projected to save the university

more than $19 million over a 30-year span compared

with continued use of the coal-fired boiler.

Ryan Nesbit, vice president for finance and

administration said, "The proposed electrode boiler [will]

generate savings that can be invested to enhance the

university's teaching, research and service activities. I am

also pleased the proposal would reduce our overall

energy consumption on campus." Read More

U GA Co m m un i ty R e l atio n s P age 5 , F al l 20 14

Health Sciences Campus Update

Acquired by the University of Georgia in 2012, 85% of the Health Sciences Campus (HSC) is fully engaged in the education of under-

graduate, graduate, and medical school students. The College of Public Health and the GRU/UGA Medical Partnership are the two

primary units housed at the HSC. However, the entire UGA community has access to classrooms, event space, the dining hall, resi-

dence halls, and recreational space.

The College of Public Health currently has over 700 undergraduate and graduate students enrolled. The Medical Partnership has an

enrollment of 160 students, and graduated its first class of 40 medical students in May of this year.

There are currently 262 students living on the campus, close to the maximum capacity of 296. Seventeen of the 20 primary struc-

tures on the HSC, seven of which are historic, are fully functioning and are being used by students, faculty, and staff. Five buildings

are either currently under renovation or scheduled to be renovated:

Pound Hall – in partial use; renovation scheduled to be completed in October 2014

Wright Hall – in partial use; renovation scheduled to be completed in December 2014

Carnegie Library – renovation scheduled to be completed Summer 2015

Commissary – renovation TBD 2015

Quarters A – renovation TBD 2015

U GA Co m m un i ty R e l atio n s P age 6 , F al l 20 14

PLEASE VISIT THE UGA COMMUNITY RELATIONS WEBSITE

If you have any questions or comments, please contact us at (706) 542-8096.

G r e e k s G i v i n g B a c k : U G A G r e e k L i f e P h i l a n t h r o p i e s

Panhellenic Council Alpha Chi Omega ● Alpha Chi Omega Foundation for Domestic Violence Awareness, Relay For Life

Alpha Delta Pi ● Ronald McDonald House Charities Alpha Gamma Delta ● Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, ugaMiracle, UGA Relay for Life

Alpha Omicron Pi ● American Juvenile Arthritis Organization Chi Omega ● Make-A-Wish Foundation

Delta Delta Delta ● St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, UGA Heroes, ugaMiracle, UGA Relay for Life Delta Gamma ● Service for Sight

Delta Zeta ● The Painted Turtle Camp; Local: The Turtle Grant Gamma Phi Beta ● Building Strong Girls; Girls on the Run

Kappa Alpha Theta ● Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) for Children Kappa Delta ● Prevent Child Abuse America, Girl Scouts of America

Kappa Kappa Gamma ● Reading is Fundamental, St. Jude's Children’s Research Hospital Phi Mu ● Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals

Pi Beta Phi ● Read>Lead>Achieve Sigma Delta Tau ● Prevent Child Abuse America, National Breast Cancer Foundation

Sigma Kappa ● The Sigma Kappa Foundation: Gerontology & Alzheimer's disease research Zeta Tau Alpha ● Breast Cancer Awareness & Education

Interfraternity Council

Multicultural Greek Council Delta Phi Lambda Sorority ● National Osteoporosis Foundation

Lambda Phi Epsilon Fraternity ● Asian American Donor Program Sigma Beta Rho Fraternity ● SOS Children's Villages

Lambda Theta Alpha Latin Sorority ● St. Jude Research Lambda Sigma Upsilon Latino Fraternity ● A Child Alive

Sigma Sigma Rho Sorority ● National Coalition Against Domestic Violence Lambda Theta Phi Latin Fraternity ● American Heart Association

Gamma Eta Sorority ● National Breast Cancer Foundation Delta Phi Omega Sorority ● Asha for Education

Delta Epsilon Psi Fraternity ● Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation & National Marrow Donor Program Alpha Sigma Rho Sorority ● China Care Foundation

Xi Kappa Fraternity ● National Asian American Pacific Islander Mental Health Association

National Pan-Hellenic Council Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity ● March of Dimes, Big Brothers Big Sisters, Boy Scouts of America

Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority ● Alzheimer’s Association, American Heart Association, National Alliance on Mental Illness Omega Psi Phi Fraternity ● Red Cross, United Negro College Fund

Delta Sigma Theta Sorority ● Keep A Child Alive Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity ● March of Dimes

Zeta Phi Beta Sorority ● March of Dimes, American Cancer Society, St. Jude Research. Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority ● March of Dimes, St. Jude Research, National Urban League, Africare

Alpha Epsilon Pi ● Taglit-Birthright Israel Chi Phi ● Boys and Girls Clubs

Delta Sigma Phi ● American Red Cross Delta Tau Delta ● Junior Diabetes Research Foundation Kappa Alpha Order ● Muscular Dystrophy Association

Lambda Chi Alpha ● North American Food Drive Phi Delta Theta ● ALS Society

Phi Gamma Delta ● United Service Organization Phi Kappa Psi ● Boys and Girls Clubs

Phi Kappa Tau ● Hole in the Wall Camps Phi Kappa Theta ● Children's Miracle Network Hospitals

Pi Kappa Alpha ● Big Brothers Big Sisters Pi Kappa Phi ● Push America

Sigma Alpha Epsilon ● Children's Miracle Network Hospitals Sigma Chi ● Huntsman Cancer Institute

Sigma Nu ● Helping Hand Initiative Sigma Phi Epsilon ● Youth Aids

Sigma Pi ● Amazing Day Foundation Tau Epsilon Phi ● SeriousFun Children's Network

Tau Kappa Epsilon ● St. Jude's Theta Chi ● United Service Organization

Zeta Beta Tau ● Children's Miracle Network Hospitals