Chambliss keynotes NGCSU commencement

	Chambliss with NGCSU Vice President for Academic Affairs Linda Roberts-Betsch

DAHLONEGA – Just under 600 students walked across the North Georgia College & State University commencement stage on May 13 in two ceremonies. U.S. Sen. Saxby Chambliss addressed several thousand family members and friends who attended Saturday’s graduation in the Memorial Hall Gym in Dahlonega.

“No matter the sector of our nation you choose to serve, do it with excellence,” Chambliss told the graduates. “Take what you have learned and become part of the solution. Take what you have learned and lead others.

“My hope is that you will take the investment [from North Georgia] …and use it to reap great rewards for yourself and your country. The future is so bright and it’s yours for the taking. As you take though, think about how you will give back to this place, this institution and to each other because it is through a life of service and giving that winners truly take all. God speed as you begin that journey.”

For a complete list of the students who received degrees, see the graduation list.

Meet some of the new graduates...
 

MASTER PLAN: Sasha and Josh Travis, a married Dahlonega couple of three years, graduated on May 13 from North Georgia College & State University with a master’s of public administration and a master’s of education in physical education respectively. During the two commencement ceremonies, the couple was separated by academic discipline, with Josh graduating at 12:30 p.m. and Sasha at 4 p.m. The NGCSU Saints basketball assistant coach met his wife, originally from Moscow, Russia, at Reinhardt College in Waleska, Ga., where they were both undergraduates. Sasha wants to pursue civil engineering and Josh plans to stay with the Saints for the team’s new NCAA intercollegiate competition. North Georgia conferred 77 graduate degrees in addition to more than 400 bachelor’s degrees.

COLLEGE ODYSSEY: Gainesville native Debbie Rana Martin has worked her way through college since before 2000 doing graphic design and information technology work at NGCSU. The dual degree recipient, with bachelor's of science degrees in art marketing and computer information systems from North Georgia, accomplished the two-degree feat for a second time. She received two associate’s degrees at Gainesville College before coming to school in Dahlonega. She graduated cum laude on Saturday with a 3.65 grade point average. NGCSU President David Potter congratulates her on stage.

FUTURE EDUCATORS: Mark Maffeo (right) will start teaching this fall at Flowery Branch’s Spouts Spring Elementary School. He graduated with a special education degree and is from Suwanee. Meredith Bailey (left) of Columbus, Ga., will stay in North Georgia and teach in Hall County with her bachelor’s in special education.

Elizabeth Broman and Mary Baxter VALEDICTORIAN TRIFECTA: Mary Baxter and Elizabeth Broman, two of six valedictorians at spring commencement, were roommates for four years at NGCSU and graduated from the same high school, North Hall in Gainesville.   Katie Williamson   Broman will be rooming with another fellow valedictorian, Katie Williamson, at the Medical College of Gerogia where both will start attending in August.

Chambliss speaker at May 13 NGCSU commencement

DAHLONEGA – U.S. Sen. Saxby Chambliss will keynote the North Georgia College & State University spring graduation ceremonies on May 13 at 12:30 and 4 p.m. at the Memorial Hall Gymnasium in Dahlonega. North Georgia’s newest Army lieutenants will be sworn in as commissioned officers at 10 a.m. in the gym. For more information call 706-864-1602.

Farewell reception honors VP for Student Affairs Judi Bryant

DAHLONEGA – North Georgia College & State University Vice President for Student Affairs Judi Bryant, second from right, savors the moment at a farewell reception in her honor on April 19 in the Adams Great Room on campus. During her six-year tenure as vice president, Bryant has overseen the associate dean of students areas of Career Services, Counseling & Student Development, Residence Life and Student Health Services; the Commandant’s Office; and the Student Center & Student Activities, including the Post Office, the Wellness Center, Recreational Sports, Commuter Services, and student organizations, among other programs for students outside the classroom. Bryant played a major role in developing the university’s Leadership Initiative. She served as a strong advocate for upgrading student facilities and helped increase staffing in numerous offices focused on student life. Participation in the Corps of Cadets grew to record numbers under her leadership. Not long after she arrived at North Georgia, Bryant took the lead in working to create a student recreation center on campus. Groundbreaking for the construction of that facility is expected to take place in the coming months.

North Georgia in statewide initiative to curb nursing shortage

DAHLONEGA – North Georgia College & State University will receive $195,647 funding to expand its nursing program.

Vice President for Academic Affairs Linda Roberts-Betsch said the funds are coming from the Intellectual Capital Partnership Program (ICAPP) of the University System of Georgia as part of the statewide Nursing Program Initiative.

Along with 20 other USG institutions, North Georgia is participating in a comprehensive effort to produce new graduates with associate’s, bachelor’s and doctoral degrees in nursing. At NGCSU and nine additional state colleges and universities, the funding will help expand the Associate of Science in Nursing program.

“This is great news as North Georgia’s ASN program has over 500 applicants for the 2006-07 academic year,” said Roberts-Betsch.

Dr. Toni Barnett (center) instructs two nursing students at North Georgia.

She gave credit to Dr. Toni Barnett, nursing department head, and Kelley Roberts, director of sponsored programs at the university, for their work in submitting North Georgia’s proposal for the funds.

“The ICAPP funds enable the ASN program to admit an additional 40 students this year for a total of 140 new students,” Barnett said. “Nursing department faculty members are very excited about participating in this statewide initiative to help decrease the nursing shortage.”

ICAPP requires collaboration between a university system school and area businesses. Area hospitals participating by providing additional clinical placements and faculty positions are Northeast Georgia Health Systems, Chestatee Regional Hospital and Habersham County Medical Center.

The Nursing Program Initiative will build on the University System of Georgia’s successful Healthcare Professionals Initiative. The USG currently graduates over 2,000 nurses per year. Once this initiative is in place, the number is expected to increase by more than 400 during the 2006-2007 academic year.

Regents commit $5 million to address statewide nursing shortage

NOTE: North Georgia College & State University in Dahlonega has education degrees in nursing through the master's level and is a major source of producing nurses for the region. For more information, contact the NGCSU nursing department at 706-864-1935.


CONTACT: Arlethia Perry-Johnson, University System of Georgia
PHONE: (404) 656-2318

ATLANTA – (April 18): University System of Georgia officials today announced a $5 million initiative that
makes expanding the University System of Georgia's production of nurses a key priority.

The allocation will fund a multi-level strategy to address the state's severe shortage of nurses and nurse educators, admissions limitations in existing nursing programs and the lack of adequate clinical sites for nurse training. In all, 21 University System institutions will participate in the comprehensive effort, producing new graduates with associate's, bachelor's and doctoral degrees in nursing.

“We will accelerate the production of nurses at as many locations and in as many different ways as possible,” Chancellor Erroll B. Davis Jr. said. “Our goal is to drive our budget allocations toward Systemwide priorities and compelling needs in key policy areas. The nursing shortage represents a critical need for the state.”

The University System currently is graduating well over 2,000 nurses per year. The newly announced initiative is expected to increase this number by more than 400 during the 2006-2007 academic year. These new funds will be used to:

• Enable the Medical College of Georgia (MCG) to offer its existing Doctor of Nursing Practice program
as an external degree program on the campuses of eight other colleges and universities across the state, including at Albany State University, Clayton State University, Columbus State University, Emory University, Georgia Southern University, Gordon College, MCG's School of Nursing in Athens, and at Valdosta State University;

• Enable Georgia State University to partner with five other USG institutions to establish a statewide doctoral program (Ph.D.) in nursing. The partner institutions are Armstrong Atlantic State University, Georgia College & State University, Georgia Southwestern State University, Georgia State University and Valdosta State University;

• Expand Associate of Science in Nursing programs at nine USG institutions: Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College, Bainbridge College, Darton College, East Georgia College, North Georgia College & State University, Macon State College, Georgia Perimeter College, Georgia Highlands College and South Georgia College;

• Expand accelerated Bachelor of Science in Nursing programs at five USG institutions: Columbus State University, Kennesaw State University, Georgia Southwestern State University, Georgia State University, and Valdosta State University;

• Establish an Endowed Chair of Nursing at Georgia Southern University; and

• Create simulation labs at Valdosta State and Albany State universities that will allow nursing students to gain experience in a realistic clinical setting. Students will use life-size computerized human models that can be programmed to react physiologically to different scenarios, such as the administration of drugs, insertion of intravenous lines and respiratory distress. The labs will allow VSU and ASU to expand enrollment in their nursing programs, which are limited currently by inadequate clinical space.

This multi-pronged approach is necessary, the regents note, because the nursing shortage also is being impacted by a void in nursing faculty. Therefore, the System's response addresses the production of new nurses and new faculty to teach in nursing programs.

The USG “Nursing Program Initiative” will build on the University System's on-going, highly successful “Healthcare Professionals Initiative (HPI).” By December 2006, that effort will have produced more than 1,100 nursing graduates through the USG's Intellectual Capital Partnership Program (ICAPP), in addition
to the nurses graduated by the System's regular nursing programs.

According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Georgia will have a projected 48,000 registered nurses by 2020, but the agency projects there will be a demand for 80,000 registered nurses. The USG's “Nursing Program Initiative” will help to close the resulting gap of 32,000 nurses.

North Georgia event spotlights education planning for high school students

DAHLONEGA – Avery Parker, the oldest of four children, was the first person in her family to graduate from high school. Her parents were only 17 years old when they started their family and both left school – her father became a plumber and her mother stayed at home – to support Avery and her siblings. Parker said that her parents’ lack of education never limited the love in their home but that it did limit her mother’s and father’s income potential and their ability to advise their children on pursuing education and life goals.

	Avery Parker

Parker, an educator at Hidden Lake Academy, gave a heartfelt testimonial about her childhood life of poverty to a group of about 30 Lumpkin County High School students on April 12 at North Georgia College & State University. The 1997 LCHS graduate told them about her drive to pursue her dreams, which led Parker to college at NGCSU, where she received a bachelor’s in social science with a secondary education certification in 2001. She earned her master’s of business administration at Brenau University.

Her speech capped a day of interactive learning on the university campus for the high schools students, who participated in presentations and activities related to careers in health and science professions at the NGCSU Health Careers Conference.

The newly formed Georgia Appalachian Center for Higher Education at NGCSU, partnering with the School of Education, hosted the inaugural event targeting high school sophomores and juniors with information that might guide them in their future education and career decisions. 

“The main purpose of the event, as well as the primary goal of the Appalachian center for higher education, is to encourage and assist high school students to graduate and continue their education,” said event coordinator Elissa Benjamin. “The center targets students who are at risk of dropping out of high school and provides them with support systems to inform them of their educational opportunities beyond graduation.”

The high school group toured NGCSU’s newest educational facility, the Health & Natural Sciences Building, and took part in demonstrations related to physical therapy, biology and nursing. University students majoring in exercise science, athletic training, physical therapy, psychology and nursing ate lunch with the Lumpkin County students and talked with them about college life.

Brooke McGill, health career coordinator for the Area Health Education Center in Gainesville, presented information and steps for the students to consider in pursuing any of more than 250 health-related careers.

Elissa Benjamin, who used to teach in the Lumpkin County education system, encouraged the students to start doing research on the careers that they were interested in and to use adults as information resources if they needed help.

Parker stressed a similar point: “Telling everyone about my dream kept me focused on it. I knew that if at any point I fell off track, the people I had told my story to would hold me accountable. If there are steps to achieving your goals, that’s the first one. Share your goals with everyone around you. Believe me, those people will hold you accountable.”

More information on the Georgia Appalachian Center for Higher Education at North Georgia and the center’s activities is available at www.ngcsu.edu/resource/ASC/gache.htm.

Appalachian Studies Center at NGCSU launches projects for 2006

DAHLONEGA – The Appalachian Studies Center at North Georgia College & State University is partnering with local community members and agencies and the university community to produce a series of projects and activities for 2006 focused on making a positive impact on the Georgia Appalachian region culture.

The Appalachian center director, Alice Sampson, invited community members and organizations from across northeast Georgia counties to submit project proposals for the calendar year. A 45-member ASC Advisory Board evaluated the proposals, considering how they aligned with the ASC’s mission and project criteria, overall impact on the community, required resources, project objectives, and action timeline. The board – which includes educators, business owners, healthcare professionals and many others – then prioritized each project according to how well it fit with the goals of the Appalachian Regional Commission, the Georgia Department of Community Affairs, and the NGCSU Strategic Plan.

Fifteen total were selected for development this year. Projects span a wide range of interests and topics within the fields of culture, economics, education, environment, and health. Five projects are still in the planning stages, while 10 are considered active.

In the following are some of the planned projects for the Appalachian Studies Center:

Culture subfield – The ASC is partnering with The Mountain Music and Medicine Show, a live radio show, produced locally and broadcast by the University of Georgia public radio station, WUGA. The show features music and skits that reflect the history of the gold mining town of Dahlonega, Ga. (www.mmmshow.com).

A second project is the collaboration with the Bear on the Square “Georgia Mountain Marketplace" located on the historic Dahlonega Public Square (http://www.bearonthesquare.org/). The Georgia Mountain Marketplace focuses primarily on traditional mountain crafts, with demonstrations and displays of mountain folkways. The festival is the third weekend in April.

The third project centered on Appalachian culture will involve the center’s new role with the Sautee Nacoochee Community Association in its production of a Story Play, Stories from a Goodly Portion of Northeast Georgia.

Economic subfield – The NGCSU Appalachian Studies Center Arts Business Conference will take place this fall. This conference will offer sessions for the mountain artist seeking best practices for marketing, accounting, and promoting his or her business. The date and agenda are yet to be determined.

Education subfield – The Georgia Appalachian Center for Higher Education, a new permanent component of the ASC, is a program that assists Appalachian Georgia high schools in their efforts to encourage at-risk students to pursue higher education. Other education projects are still in the planning stages. A variety of activities to support the mission of this center are currently being planned. The NGCSU School of Education is taking a lead role in the development of the higher education center.

Environment subfield – The first of three projects is the Save our Appalachian Gardens and Seeds Project (SAGAS). NGCSU biology professors and master gardeners will work together to collect community members’ heirloom seeds and their memories about the seeds—preservation techniques, uses, histories, planting rules, and other information. Banking antique seeds is important for preserving biodiversity while banking memories is important for preserving mountain culture.

Another project is a formal partnership between the center and the Georgia Appalachian Trail Club. The first goal of the partnership is a collaborative effort to inventory non-native, invasive species along the trail. Working with the Forest Service and Lumpkin County Middle School, NGCSU biology professors, students and Appalachian trail club volunteers will be trained to recognize and then inventory non-native, invasive plant species along the 85-mile span of the Georgia Appalachian Trail. Training and surveying will take place in June at the NGCSU Continuing Education Center.

The third active project is the Hemlock Project. Students and the NGCSU psychology and biology departments will measure the economic impact of the decline of the hemlock tree on a local Georgia mountain community.

Health subfield – The Woody Gap High School Health Survey Project will assist high school students to survey community members on their health conditions and assess community resources for responding to these conditions.

The Home Remedies Oral History Project will involve NGCSU nursing students collecting stories about home remedies from elder residents in local communities. This will help students better understand their patients in the context of family traditions and folk remedies.

Future projects through the ASC include an artist-in-residence in the NGCSU fine arts department, education programs about the Georgia Appalachian Trail, the Towns County Homecoming Oral History Project, the Dirty Feet and Cadets Symposium, and an Oral History Technical Assistance Program.

For more information, volunteer opportunities or to become a friend of the NGCSU Appalachian Studies Center contact asc@ngcsu.edu or Alice V. Sampson, avsampson@ngcsu.edu, 706-864-1540.

This page last modified on: Monday, 21 August 2006 16:16:34 -0400 by University Relations    

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