Three events at North Georgia to honor Sept. 11 victims

DAHLONEGA – Upcoming special events – a concert, a moment of silence and a candlelight vigil – at North Georgia College & State University will take place in memory of the Sept. 11 attacks last year.

On Sept. 10, the Fine Arts Department of North Georgia College & State University will present a Memorial Concert. The event, at 7:30 p.m. in the Hoag Student Center Auditorium, is free and open to the public. A representative of the American Red Cross will be present to accept donations for the Disaster Relief Fund.

The concert, featuring NGCSU music ensembles, students and faculty, will feature reflective works in memory of those who died in the attacks and patriotic selections in honor of those who served in the rescue efforts and in the war on terrorism.  For more information, contact the Fine Arts Department at (706) 864-1423.

At 9 a.m. on Sept. 11 on the Drill Field, a moment of silence, bagpipe music and a 21-gun salute will mark the anniversary hour of the terrorist attacks on U.S. soil in 2001.

On Sept. 11, a Candlelight Vigil, sponsored by the Dahlonega/Lumpkin County Ministerial Association, will take place at 7 p.m. on the Drill Field.  The public is invited to participate.

Ten recognized for Excellence in Teaching at NGCSU

DAHLONEGA - Excellence in Teaching Awards at North Georgia College & State University recognize faculty members for their contributions to the scholarship of teaching and learning. Faculty, alumni and students submit nominations, which are reviewed by a committee of the university’s past Distinguished Professors.

At the Aug. 13 faculty meeting, Vice President for Academic Affairs Phil Buckhiester announced this year’s winners, and the awards were presented by Dr. Judy O’Neal, professor of mathematics and computer science, who led the development of the awards when she served as Regents Distinguished Professor of Teaching and Learning.

The first two awards were in new categories, established in conjunction with North Georgia’s Leadership Initiative. Amy Fickle, assistant professor of psychology, won the Classroom Leadership Development Award, and Dr. Donna Gessell, associate professor of English, won the Campus Leadership Development Award.

Dr. Steve Smith, associate professor of psychology, was recognized for Bringing Scholarship into the Classroom. Dr. Kirk Heriot, a former associate professor of Business Administration, won for excellence in Developing Critical Thinking.

The Incorporating Writing Award went to Dr. Mark Davis, professor of biology. Dr. Elizabeth Combier, assistant professor of Spanish, received the Award in Innovation. The recipient of the Promoting Active Learning Award was Dr. Dan Thompson, associate professor of chemistry.

Dr. Georgia Mann, assistant professor of history, was recognized for Relating to Students. The Technology Utilization Award went to Mariana Pomphile, adjunct instructor of Spanish and Language Lab director.

Dr. Alice Reynolds, retired professor of modern languages, won the Retired “Master Teacher” Award.

DAHLONEGA - Out of hundreds of applications for the associate's degree in nursing program at North Georgia College & State University, a total of 130 new students have been accepted into the first-year classes. With 104 students returning for the second year of the two-year program, plus 54 in the bachelor of nursing degree program and 40 in the master's degree nursing program, totaling 328, the university welcomes the largest number of nursing students in its history.

"This is good news for our region," said Jill Hayes, head of the Department of Nursing. "The U.S. Labor Department estimates that the country will need an additional 1 million nurses by 2010."

Hayes said the nation also is facing a shortage of nursing faculty members, with 18 percent of those in the southeast expected to retire in the next four years.

"In Georgia, almost one-fourth of the faculty in the state's nursing programs will have retired or resigned by 2006," she said. "We hope that the students now in the master's program will step into many of those faculty positions in the future."

NGCSU President Nathaniel Hansford and other administrators will personally welcome new students in the ASN program at 8 a.m. at an all-day orientation program on Aug. 21 in the auditorium of the university's new Health & Natural Sciences Building on Sunset Drive. Orientation continues on Aug. 23 in the same location.

Following their orientation, the new ASN students will continue their educational program at North Georgia's four campuses for nurses: Gainesville College, Cobb Hospital, Kennestone Hospital and the NGCSU campus.

Five area hospitals are helping greet the nursing students by providing special shirts, as well as lunch on both days and a reception at 4 p.m. on Aug. 23 for families of the students.

"We appreciate the support of Northeast Georgia Medical Center, Habersham County Medical Center, Northside Hospital, Chestatee Hospital and Wellstar Health System," Hayes said. "We enjoy an excellent working relationship with our area health-care facilities, and in turn, North Georgia is providing excellent education and training for future employees of those agencies and hospitals."

Auditions for the first production of the Student Theatre Guild's season, A.R. Gurney's comedy "Sylvia," take place Aug. 23 and 24 from 1 to 4 p.m. in Hoag Auditorium at North Georgia College & State University.

Kevin M. Mace, coordinator of the Theatre Program and faculty advisor for NGCSU's Student Theatre Guild, said that auditions are open to the public.

"A delightful comedy, the play takes a hilarious look at a couple's mid-life crisis as seen through the eyes of their pet dog, named Sylvia," said Mace. "In 1995, Sarah Jessica Parker won a Tony Award for her performance as Sylvia."

He explained that auditions consist of readings from the script, which will be available on Friday and Saturday for participants.

The production of "Sylvia" is scheduled for Oct. 23-26 at 7:30 p.m. and Oct. 27 at 2 p.m. Admission is free.

Try-outs for "Children of a Lesser God" will take place Dec. 7 and 8, from 1 to 4 p.m., in Gloria Shott Auditorium (room 308 in Nix Hall). Again, scripts will be provided.

"A strong knowledge of American Sign Language will be required for 'Children of a Lesser God,' Mace said.

"Mark Medoff's 'Children of a Lesser God' is an award-winning love story between a normal hearing man and a profoundly deaf woman, both of whom often find it difficult to communicate in a world of signs and silence," Mace explained.

The production is scheduled for March 5-8 at 7:30 p.m. and March 9 at 2 p.m. with free admission.

Both plays will be staged in Hoag Student Center Auditorium on the North Georgia campus.

For more information, contact Dr. Mace at 706-867-2760 or kmace@ngcsu.edu.

North Georgia Color Guard performs at national junior golf tournament

DAHLONEGA - The North Georgia College & State University Corps of Cadets Color Guard, first place national military drill team title winners for the third year in a row and the seventh time in the past decade, served as color guard for the National Junior Golf Association Amateur Tournament on July 23.

At the Atlanta Athletic Club in Norcross, Ga., members of the color guard are pictured, left to right, with Atlanta Falcons Coach Dan Reeves: Erica Sunderland of Baldwin, Maine; Jessica Barton of Derby, Ks.; Reeves; Colin Arms of Heidelburg, Germany; and Daniella Neff of Tallahassee, Fla. In national competition in February, North Georgia’s Color Guard won the title over military service academies and senior military colleges including West Point, the Air Force Academy, the Citadel and others.

North Georgia graduates more than 200 for summer semester

DAHLONEGA – North Georgia College & State University will hold graduation and commissioning ceremonies on Aug. 9.

The summer commencement ceremony will take place at 7 p.m. in the Memorial Hall Gym. More than 140 students will receive undergraduate degrees, and more than 50 students will receive graduate degrees.

Dr. Toni Barnett, associate professor of nursing, will deliver the commencement address.

At 4 p.m. that day, 18 cadets will be commissioned as second lieutenants in the U.S. Army at a ceremony in the Memorial Hall Gym. The speaker will be NGCSU President Nathaniel Hansford.

North Georgia welcomes leadership alliance and new administrator

North Georgia is now the home of the Georgia Servant Leadership Alliance. Robert N. “Bob” Thomas, the alliance’s director, also is serving as director of the university’s Leadership Initiative.

The Georgia Servant Leadership Alliance is a consortium of seven Georgia institutions of higher education promoting the principles of servant leadership and providing support to colleges and universities seeking to develop and expand leadership programs that reflect the tenets of servant leadership.

President Nathaniel Hansford said that Thomas would play a key role in the development of the university’s Leadership Initiative.

"NGCSU is very pleased to have the Georgia Servant Leadership Alliance on campus and we look forward to working with the other Alliance members,” Hansford said. “Bob Thomas, Director of the GSLA, has extensive experience in developing leadership programs that connect with students and he brings new and creative ideas as we strengthen and renew the NGCSU leadership mission." 

Servant leadership is a style of leadership that defines the role of the leader as one who contributes to the growth and development of those entrusted to the leader’s care. It emphasizes influence over power, attention to the needs of others, and measures success in terms of the development of wisdom, health, freedom and independence in those who are led. 

Thomas, who attended North Georgia, received his bachelor’s degree from LaGrange College in 1971, his executive MBA degree from Georgia State University in 1983 and completed coursework toward his doctorate at the University of Georgia.

Thomas served as the director of the Servant Leadership Initiative at LaGrange College for the past four years. Since 1998, he also has been the project manager for the EastWest Institute, a project helping non-profit organizations in East and Central Europe. In 1996 and 1997, he was director of the U.S.-Carpathian Higher Education Cooperative Project for the Associated Colleges of the South.

With the Friendship Force, an international exchange program, in 1995-96, Thomas was an academic advisor. In the early 1990s, he was a program coordinator with the Office of International Development at UGA and was acting executive director of the Regents’ Global Center of the Board of Regents for two years.

After serving in the U.S. Coast Guard Reserve, Thomas returned to his hometown of Griffin and worked with his family business, Thomas Packing Company.  After earning an MBA he moved to Atlanta and held executive positions in three investment-banking firms. 

Besides North Georgia, the other institutions in the GSLA are:  Emory University, LaGrange College, Andrew College, Columbus State University, University of Georgia, and Georgia Tech.

East European cemetery photos on exhibit at the NGCSU Nix Center

DAHLONEGA – The Nix Center at North Georgia College & State University is presenting a photography exhibit, “Life in Latvia’s Cemeteries,” by Laura Beldavs from July 15 to Aug. 28.

Beldavs is a graduate student at NGCSU, enrolled in the post baccalaureate program in Art Education.

Beldavs’ exhibit is a showcase of black and white photographs of the social life in Latvia’s cemeteries in Eastern Europe.

Her work was funded by the U.S. State Department under a USIA Fulbright Grant and is exhibited in the Nix Center on campus.

The photographer is married to Dr. Jeffrey Sommers, assistant professor of history at NGCSU.

This page last modified on: Friday, 05 November 2004 15:44:00 -0500 by University Relations    

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