Severe beach erosion can be a significant problem for coastal communities affected by hurricanes and tropical storms like Hurricane Sandy. To assist Georgia communities in future recovery efforts, the University of Georgia Skidaway Institute of Oceanography entered into a cooperative agreement with the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management to evaluate existing data on Georgia's offshore sand resources and identify where more data are needed. This consolidated information will increase knowledge of Georgia's offshore sand resources and contribute to long-term coastal resilience planning.
"Georgia's sand resources are arguably the least well-known of those along the East Coast, and this project will provide critical data and insights to enhance coastal resilience," said UGA Skidaway Institute professor Clark Alexander. "The work is being coordinated closely with the Georgia Department of Natural Resources and the state geologist to assure that our findings are disseminated rapidly and broadly."
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.
The third annual festival is scheduled for Nov. 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 includes 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.
The University of Georgia's J. 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.
Shepherd, the UGA Athletic Association Professor in the Social Sciences, will receive the award at the annual Captain Planet Foundation Benefit Gala Dec. 5 in Atlanta. Other 2014 honorees include renowned primatologist Jane Goodall and Carter and Olivia Ries of the non-profit "One More Generation." Larry King will be master of ceremonies.
As the $706 million Savannah Harbor Expansion Project begins, the University of Georgia and Georgia Sea Grant are poised to help coastal residents adapt to changes that are expected to bring additional jobs and prosperity to their communities. As the country's fourth busiest container port and creator of $18.5 billion annually in personal income from port-related jobs, much is riding on the success of Savannah's port expansion. Plans include dredging 32 miles of the harbor's navigation channel to allow the port to accommodate supersized freighters from Asia and the Pacific coast of Latin America that will come to the east coast through the newly expanded Panama Canal, due to be completed in 2015.
Dr. Tschepikow joined the President’s Office in September 2014. As assistant to the president, his work focuses primarily on presidential communications, athletics, strategic initiatives, targeted research, and regional accreditation. In addition, he helps to plan presidential events and serves as an adviser to the president and chief of staff.
Prior to joining the President’s Office, Dr. Tschepikow served for three years as director of assessment and staff development in the UGA Division of Student Affairs. In that role, he coordinated strategic planning, annual reporting, and learning outcomes assessment for the division. He also organized planning retreats and professional development opportunities. Prior to joining UGA in 2008, he served as the director of residence life and chief judicial affairs officer at the University of Charleston in Charleston, West Virginia.
Dr. Tschepikow received his bachelor's degree in English literature from Henderson State University in Arkansas in 2003 and his master's degree in the same field from the University of Wales—where his dissertation was awarded distinction—in 2005. He earned his doctorate from UGA’s Institute of Higher Education in 2012.
His academic accomplishments include peer-reviewed journal articles, a chapter in a monograph, and papers and presentations at various international conferences. He has taught graduate and undergraduate courses on college student outcomes assessment and accreditation, the age of chivalry, medieval literature, and Shakespeare and has led study abroad courses in both Italy and England.
More than 40 minority students from middle Georgia spent a day at the University of Georgia touring the campus, talking with admissions advisers, eating in a dining hall, meeting athletes and playing basketball. The 2014 Hawkinsville/Pulaski County LIFE League championship game day at UGA was hosted by the UGA Archway Partnership and the Office of Institutional Diversity
The University of Georgia Parking Services recently celebrated a staff award at the annual International Parking Institute Conference and Expo. Wendy Glenn, senior parking services monitor in the South Campus parking deck, was honored with the institute's Staff Member of the Year Award. This award is given each year to a deserving member of the parking industry who exemplifies professionalism and outstanding customer service and who goes above and beyond the duties in his or her job description.
Researchers at the University of Georgia have received a five-year, $1.9 million grant from the National Institutes of Health to study the bacterium Mycoplasma pneumoniae, the leading cause of pneumonia in older children and young adults. A fundamental goal of the new research project is to better understand how the bacterium eludes the immune system and common antibiotic treatment, which can often lead to persistent infection or life-altering conditions like asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
The Georgia Museum of Art at the University of Georgia has received two national awards for publications, one from Foreword Reviews and one from the American Alliance of Museums. The museum's exhibition catalog for "Exuberance of Meaning: The Art Patronage of Catherine the Great (1762-1792)" earned an honorable mention in the category of Art (Adult Nonfiction) at Foreword Reviews' 2013 IndieFab Book Awards. "Cercle et Carré and the International Spirit of Abstract Art" earned an honorable mention in the Exhibition Catalogue category of AAM's 2014 Publications Design Competition.
The public administration program within the University of Georgia School of Public and International Affairs placed number one for international scholarly output based on quality and productivity in a recent study from the Journal of Public Affairs Education.
