DAHLONEGA – The John H. Owen Residence Hall, North Georgia College & State University’s newest resident student dwelling, will be dedicated to the former North Georgia president of 22 years on April 5 at 2 p.m. during the university’s Parents-Alumni Weekend. During the dedication ceremony, a plaque with the likenesses of Dr. John H. Owen and his wife Margaret Owen will be unveiled in the residence hall’s community room.

Owen Hall is located on Alumni Drive off of Morrison-Moore Parkway, Highways 9 and 52. The building project, undertaken by the NGCSU Foundation, was completed and opened to students fall semester 2002. Ground was broken on the building November 2001, less than a year earlier. The campus community watched last spring and summer as the building steadily changed the North Georgia skyline forever. The four-story structure houses 314 students and is the largest building on campus, encompassing 118,453 square feet.

Several other special events are planned for Parents-Alumni Weekend. Retired Army Gen. William J. Livsey, NG ’52, will speak at the 20th anniversary of the NGCSU Memorial dedication. Livsey spoke at the 1983 dedication and the 10th anniversary ceremony. Also scheduled is the 25th Annual Parents-Alumni golf tournament, a wine-tasting event, the Distinguished Professor and Outstanding Student presentations, an Alumni Awards Banquet and Corps of Cadets Military Awards Review.

For more information about Parents-Alumni Weekend, see www.ngcsu.edu/discover/alumni/PAW03.pdf or contact Alumni Affairs at (706) 864-1547.

Georgia Power gives property to benefit North Georgia

Georgia Power representatives Tommy Hollingsworth, Northeast Region distribution manager (left), and Bryan Fletcher, North Region vice president (center), officially give the property deed to NGCSU President Nathaniel Hansford.

DAHLONEGA – Georgia Power Company officially gave the Board of Regents a gift of a strip of land, approximately .2555 acre, adjacent to the main entrance to the North Georgia College & State University campus on Chestatee Street.

The property was a former site of a Georgia Power substation for Dahlonega. The legal negotiations and preparations for the transfer of the property took place over the past two years. 

Several university administrators and representatives of Georgia Power gathered on March 6 in the Community Conference room of Price Memorial Hall where the deed was officially transferred to President Nathaniel Hansford, who accepted it on behalf of the Board of Regents for use by North Georgia.

“This generous gift from Georgia Power has an appraised value of almost $150,000,” Hansford told the group. “This property is a key to our future plans to re-work the front entrance to campus.”

Hansford said that Plant Operations will be moved to a new facility behind the Health & Natural Sciences Building, and the current building next to the entrance will be renovated to house Military Science.

“We want to eventually triple the size of Stewart Library,” Hansford explained, “and this gift of property will give us the opportunity to re-work the front entrance with the library facing in that direction.”

Smith speaks on lessons from America’s wars

DAHLONEGA – American military leaders draw lessons from past wars, and retired U.S. Air Force Maj. Gen. Perry Smith is no exception. A former military analyst for CNN, an F-15 wing commander in Europe and commandant of the National War College in Washington, D.C., Smith will share his insights at North Georgia College & State University on March 25.

Smith’s talk, “America’s Recent Wars: What Have We Learned?” is the featured 2003 Merritt E. Hoag Lecture, taking place at 7 p.m. in the Hoag Student Center Auditorium.

A 1956 graduate of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, Smith received a Ph. D. in International Relations from Columbia University in 1967. During the Vietnam War, he flew 180 combat missions in F-4 fighter aircraft with the 555th Tactical Fighter Squadron operating out of Thailand. Before taking the helm at the National War College in 1983, Smith held a range of Air Force command and training responsibilities both at the Pentagon and in Europe. During the 1990s, Smith served as CNN military analyst, as well as appearing as a commentator on the McNeil-Lehrer News Hour and NBC News.

Smith is currently a military analyst for CBS News, and heads his own management consulting firm, Visionary Leadership, Ltd. His clients have included Microsoft, Harvard’s Kennedy School, Century 21, UPS and the Kellogg Foundation.

The event is free and open to the public. For more information, contact Michael Marling de Cuellar, chair of the Hoag Lecture Committee, at (706) 864-1425.

NGCSU education program receives University System award

DAHLONEGA – North Georgia’s Education Specialist Program in Teacher Leadership is one of two academic programs in the University System of Georgia to receive the 2003 Regents Awards for Excellence in Teaching. Six University System faculty members received individual awards of excellence. 

The Education Specialist degree program is the first one at the university that is a step beyond a master’s degree. The program is designed to develop leadership skills for classroom teachers and features close collaboration between the university and the public school community.

The curriculum is grounded in best practice and theoretical research and is anchored on three sets of standards: those of the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards, the Interstate School Leaders Licensure Consortium, and the Georgia Professional Standards Commission. Faculty members continue to mentor students after they have completed the program.

India Podsen, Toni Bellon, and Larry Berneking are the primary faculty in the Education Specialist degree program and will accept the award of excellence at the Board of Regents’ May meeting. The other academic program receiving the award is the Dental Hygiene Program at Floyd College.

“Academic excellence is highly valued in the University System,” said Dr. Daniel S. Papp, senior vice chancellor for academics and fiscal affairs with the Board of Regents. “Such recognition strengthens the commitment to student learning and achievement, and we are pleased to salute the USG faculty members and programs that serve as superb role models.”

'Cultural Extravaganza' hosted by international students

DAHLONEGA –  A "Cultural Extravaganza" at North Georgia College & State University will feature international students from more than 20 nations modeling costumes, performing dances, skits and other acts representing their countries.

Members of the International Student Association model native costumes for the Wednesday night "Cultural Extravaganza" at North Georgia College & State University.

The March 12 event, sponsored by the International Student Association, takes place at 7 p.m. in the Hoag Student Center Auditorium and is free and open to the public.

"We found that most people are not aware that so many countries are represented at North Georgia," said Dora Lampert, a native of Hungary. "The program is a great opportunity for the school and the local community to enjoy the beauty of the different cultures."

Included in Wednesday night's show is a parade of flags, an Arabian Belly Dance, folk dances from Cameroon, Brazil and Hungary, a French skit, Scottish poetry and other acts. Representing the United States is a "hip-hop" dance performed by the  "Grace" dancers, who are members of the Baptist Student Union.

An international fashion show will feature costumes from a dozen different nations.

"This year, we would like to fill the auditorium with students and people from the community, so we can show how international our campus is," Lampert said.

NGCSU ‘Ghost Out Week’ highlights substance abuse

DAHLONEGA – North Georgia College & State University students will get a dose of reality about the consequences of alcohol-related accidents when the “ghosts” of their peers walk the campus March 3-6. 

Students with white-painted faces and wearing t-shirts emblazoned with “Ghost Out” will attend classes for four days without talking or interacting with any of their peers. The “ghosts” will represent students killed in accidents related to substance abuse.

On March 6 at 1 p.m., an enactment of an alcohol-related car crash will take place at the entrance to the North Georgia Drill Field. An Emergency Medical Services unit, local fire fighters and police officers will participate in the mock car crash. University employees will be on hand to counsel “victims” of the accident. 

“This event is right before spring break, so students will maybe think twice about such consequences when they are on vacation,” said Betty Greene, coordinator of the project, which is funded with a grant from the Governor’s Office of Highway Safety. “This activity is to help promote responsible drinking and safety.”

Greene planned the “Ghost Out Week” with a student organization formed to enhance alcohol awareness at the university. Peer Leaders Understanding Students, or PLUS, also was developed with funds from the highway-safety grant.

“This organization represents our student leadership in action,” Greene said. “They really spearheaded this event and I give them all the credit for this happening.”

North Georgia shows support for troops

DAHLONEGA – Thirty-seven military reservists enrolled at North Georgia College & State University have left school this semester to join their reserve units around Georgia.

The university hosted a service of support for the soldiers on Feb. 20, where more than 1,000 North Georgia students and employees and local citizens recognized those being deployed. Student government representatives tied yellow ribbons bearing the names of the departing cadets on a red oak tree to be planted on campus.

Maj. Michael McNally, the executive officer at the 5th Ranger Training Battalion north of Dahlonega, spoke to the audience in the university’s gymnasium.

“Soldiers away from home think about how their families are doing,” McNally said. “They know they have a responsibility to their families and hearing from loved ones helps relieve part of the burden the soldiers carry.”

Those being called up are primarily Georgia Army National Guard, Marine Corps Reserve, and U.S. Army Reserve soldiers that made commitments to serve as citizen-soldiers.

Many of the students who have left school are preparing for different missions such as homeland security and possibly deployment in or outside the United States.

North Georgia’s Forsyth program flourishing

DAHLONEGA – The North Georgia College & State University Forsyth County program, less than two years old, has added a second classroom location and has gained a new coordinator, Mike Weaver, to help NGCSU’s expansion into the area.

The university started offering classes at North Forsyth High School this semester to better accommodate the number of enrolled students. Computer classes will continue in the county’s Board of Education Center, where the Forsyth collaboration originated in fall semester 2001.

“Forsyth’s citizens have expressed a real commitment to higher education in their county,” said Donna Gessell, director of NGCSU Graduate Studies and External Programs. “They have been gracious hosts, sharing their educational facilities.”

The program also has gained an on-site coordinator, Mike Weaver, a former principal of all three Forsyth County high schools, who will work with Gessell to explore new opportunities for the university’s satellite program.

Weaver, who worked in the Forsyth school system for 16 years, will be available part-time in the Board of Education building and at North Forsyth.

“He plans to visit with high school guidance counselors to provide information to recruit students for the program and to meet and greet students entering summer classes to make them feel welcomed into the program,” Gessell said.

This spring more than 20 classes across several disciplines, and all the schools at the university, are being offered to North Georgia undergraduate and graduate students in Forsyth County. Gainesville College also is offering classes at the high school, continuing its partnership with North Georgia to offer core curriculum courses.

More than 200 North Georgia students are enrolled in Forsyth classes for the spring, a steady increase from the 135 students enrolled in the fall. Classes meet at 5 p.m. or later to accommodate those who work full-time and students who travel to take the classes.

From the perspective of one North Georgia professor who lives in Cumming and teaches on the Dahlonega campus and in Forsyth County, the growth only benefits the university’s educational goals.

“The Forsyth program represents a substantial investment on the part of NGCSU in higher education in North Georgia,” said Eric Link, who teaches one American literature class in Forsyth. “The cooperation right now between NGCSU and North Forsyth High School reinforces a bond that already existed between North Georgia and Forsyth County, and in time the Forsyth program could grow into a full-fledged branch campus that houses complete programs. The potential is there, for sure.”

More than 30,000 surveys were sent by External Programs and Continuing Education in January to Forsyth County residents to assess their needs.

“We have had more than 800 returned so far,” Gessell said. “We hope to use that information to set specific directions as to which degree programs to offer.”

Weaver also will help promote Continuing Education programs.

Those involved with North Georgia’s venture into Forsyth County are optimistic about the potential for the future. With the recent growth, they plan to continue to make it even more accessible to current and prospective students.

Women & Leadership Conference scheduled for March 4 at NGCSU

DAHLONEGA – Three nationally known speakers – Frances Hesselbein, Jane Stephenson and Susan Anderson – will be featured in the Women & Leadership Conference at North Georgia College & State University on March 4. 

“Our eighth annual Women & Leadership Conference commemorates the 130th anniversary of the founding of North Georgia, which was the first co-educational university in Georgia and the first public university in the state to enroll women as students,” said NGCSU President Nathaniel Hansford. “It’s also the 125th anniversary of the graduation of the first woman to receive a degree from a public institution of higher education in Georgia.”

Hansford explained that Miss Willie Lewis of Lumpkin County had the distinction of being the state’s first woman to graduate from a public college when she received her degree from North Georgia Agricultural College, NGCSU’s original name, in 1878.

Hesselbein, who served as the chief executive officer of Girl Scouts of the U.S.A. from 1976 to 1990 and is now the chairman of the Board of Governors of the Peter F. Drucker Foundation for Nonprofit Management, will be the conference’s keynote speaker at 12:30 p.m. In 1998, Hesselbein was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the United States’ highest civilian honor. She is the author of “Hesselbein on Leadership,” and is editor-in-chief of the quarterly journal “Leader to Leader.”

Stephenson, the 10 a.m. speaker, is the founder of the New Opportunity School for Women in Berea, Ky. The school helps women find ways to face opportunity and conflict, hone their job skills and increase their sense of self-worth. The author of “Courageous Paths: Stories of Nine Appalachian Women,” Stephenson has been the Appalachian director of the Steel-Reese Foundation since 1998. The New York-based foundation contributes to education, natural resource conservation and protection, health care, human services, rural development and other services.

Anderson, the 11 a.m. speaker, is executive director of the ArtReach Foundation of Atlanta. The non-profit corporation brings a training program to teachers in international communities that have suffered as a result of war. Now in its third year of its first initiative, the ArtReach program has provided educational workshops to 260 teachers in Bosnia-Herzegovina. Anderson will be presented with the Artemis Award at the Annual Global Forum of the Euro-American Women’s Council in Athens, Greece in May 2003.

The conference, which is free and open to the public, begins at 9:30 a.m. with welcome remarks by two women students, Joanna Register and Meagan Goodman, who both serve in the university’s nationally top-ranked Corps of Cadets.

All events take place in the auditorium of the Health & Natural Sciences Building at the top of the Sunset Drive hill, off of Main Street, about two blocks west of the Dahlonega Historic Public Square.

For more information, contact the co-chairs of the committee planning the conference, Tanya Bennett, 706/864-1978, or Elizabeth Combier, 706/864-1962.

North Georgia College & State University currently is engaged in a special project, “Forging a Legacy of Leadership,” celebrating the university’s leadership programs, which have been part of the institution’s mission since its founding in 1873.

This page last modified on: Friday, 05 November 2004 15:42:20 -0500 by University Relations    

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