NGCSU's Student Theatre Guild goes to the dogs in October

DAHLONEGA – North Georgia College and State University's Student Theatre Guild will go to the dogs with a production of A. R. Gurney's 1995 comedy smash “Sylvia.” The play will be staged in Hoag Student Center Auditorium at 7:30 p.m. on Oct. 23-26 and at 2 p.m. on Oct. 27. Free tickets are required for the performances and may be requested in advance.

“Sylvia” tells the story of Sylvia, a scrappy, street-wise dog who shakes up the complacent, otherwise seemingly normal 22-year marriage of Greg and Kate.

Directed by NGCSU senior and Athens native Jay Varnedoe, the production stars Kevin Mace, professor of speech and drama, and Elizabeth Combier, professor of language and literature, as Greg and Kate. Dalton native and sophomore Mimi Stanfield portrays Sylvia with what Mace describes as a combination of high-octane energy and scruffy charm. Rounding out the cast of “Sylvia” are NGCSU students Andrew Eade, Michael Stoll and Katie Graham.

For tickets, contact NGCSU’s Fine Arts Department at (706) 864-1423. For more information on the play, contact Kevin Mace at (706) 867-2760 or kmace@ngcsu.edu.

Appalachian Regional Commission extends grant to GADC

DAHLONEGA—The Georgia Appalachian Development Center at North Georgia College & State University has been awarded funds to extend the center’s work for a third year. The Appalachian Regional Commission grant of $51,000, brings the total ARC funding to more than $450,000 over three years for the center serving 17 counties in northeast Georgia.

Between 2000 and 2002, the GADC served 689 students in 72 different classes. Many of the students in those classes used their technology training to design and develop web sites for their businesses or community agencies. Five businesses received help from NGCSU students in developing web sites.

 “In addition to continuing to offer classes as it has in the past, the GADC will work with Georgia Tech on a Technology Leadership Training Program for Dahlonega and Lumpkin County,” said Vice President for Academic Affairs Philip Buckhiester. “The center will work with the Georgia Mountains Cultural Alliance to develop a web site devoted to preserving the heritage, arts and culture of our region.”

Kimberly Foster, director of Continuing Education and the GADC, said small rural businesses, tourism-related industry and technology-based companies have a need for educated workers trained to use emerging technology.

 “We will continue to make available the many classes offered through GADC, both locally and off-site,” Foster said. “We are very happy that the Appalachian Regional Commission has extended our grant period and provided additional funding through June 2003.”

Among classes offered this year are courses in marketing web sites, classes related to accounting for small businesses, beginning and advanced classes in e-commerce as well as basic and advanced web design.

The counties in the geographic area served by GADC include Union, Lumpkin, Dawson, Forsyth, Towns, White, Hall, Rabun, Habersham, Banks, Stephens, Franklin, Hart, Fannin, Gilmer, Pickens and Elbert.

For more information, call (706) 867-2814. 

Georgia Guitar Quartet to perform on Oct. 10

The Georgia Guitar Quartet will perform on Oct. 10 at 12:30 and 7:30 p.m. in the Hoag Student Center Auditorium. This is the first event of the season sponsored by the Nix Living Heritage Fine Arts Series at North Georgia. The Quartet was formed in 1996 and hails from Athens, Ga. The group performs original pieces by a variety of musicians. The event is free and open to the public.

In honor and memory of his father, John L. Nix Jr. and his wife Sarah Highsmith Nix created a significant trust fund for the benefit of North Georgia through the university’s Foundation. The endowment funds special fine arts events and exhibits that contribute to a better understanding and preservation of mountain cultural traditions. The Nix Living Heritage Fine Arts Series fosters an appreciation of the role the arts play in today's society.

NGCSU art at Atlanta airport through Nov. 6

DAHLONEGA – North Georgia College & State University’s Fine Arts Department has artwork on display at the Hartsfield Airport Atrium Gallery now through Nov 6.

Nineteen NGCSU photography students and four faculty members have more than 30 pieces on display. The exhibition is called "Passages/Connections/Fusion" and features a variety of styles and interests.

“This is a very big deal for our program as the Atrium Gallery space is coveted by artists in the metro area and the event is officially part of the Atlanta Celebrates Photography month of October, a photographic barrage of exhibits, speakers and other events throughout Atlanta that has gathered national attention,” said Hank Margeson, assistant professor of fine arts at NGCSU.

The student photographers of NGCSU are active participants in the Atlanta photographic community, having been selected for competitions featuring emerging talent as well as regional exhibitions. The Atrium Gallery at the airport is accessible from both North & South terminals and does not require security clearance. 

North Georgia represented at ‘One Nite Stand’ exhibit

DAHLONEGA – Michael Marling de Cuellar, Noelle Petersen and Hank Margeson – all NGCSU art faculty members – will exhibit their work in the third annual “One Nite Stand” in Atlanta on Oct. 26.  

Students in the photography program at North Georgia have also been extended an invitation to exhibit. This is the second year that North Georgia students have been included in this event, which features work by professional photographers in the Atlanta area. NGCSU is the only educational institution represented in this exhibit.

“One Nite Stand” is the official closing event for "Atlanta Celebrates Photography," a month-long focus on photography in metro Atlanta. One of the primary organizers of the event is Resia McFarland, a 1997 graduate of NGCSU with a bachelor’s degree in studio art.

Legendary apple tree on North Georgia campus

DAHLONEGA – A Granny Smith apple tree, growing on the North Georgia campus near the Alumni Center, is the only surviving tree out of an original two dozen saplings brought to this area in 1980 from Australia or New Zealand.

Dr. John Owen, longtime president of NGCSU, now retired, recalls that Professor Chester Himel, a University of Georgia entomologist-biochemist, brought the saplings 22 years ago to the north Georgia area. A dozen of the trees were planted in a nursery owned by Dr. Walter Sanders of the USDA Hydrological Laboratory in Athens, Ga. Deer that jumped the fence of the supposedly protected area, however, destroyed those saplings.

Dr. Gayther Plummer, at that time a professor of botany at North Georgia, received six of the original small trees. He gave three saplings to Owen, then president of North Georgia College.

“We planted those three saplings at the side of the President’s Home (now the Alumni Center) on the campus by the circular driveway,” Owen recalls. “Over the years, I and many other people, mostly visiting alumni, have enjoyed these apples.”

Owen says, “The years have taken their toll and there is only one Granny Smith Apple tree left out of the original two dozen, and that’s the tree on the North Georgia campus.”

NGCSU highway safety grant renewed

DAHLONEGA – North Georgia College & State University received a $24,000 grant in September through the Governor’s Office of Highway Safety to continue the “Reducing Drug and Alcohol Risk Through Peer Education” program started this past spring at the university.

“The money will be used to support a broad program of drug and alcohol education and prevention efforts on the campus,” said Betty Greene, project director for the grant. “One focus of educational efforts will be to prevent alcohol related accidents and deaths on our state highways.” 

NGCSU, receiving an initial grant of $20,000 for the 2001-02 academic year, trained students to provide education and prevention programs on the university campus.

Greene selected 16 North Georgia students to go through the Bacchus and Gamma Peer Educator Program this summer, and they developed the P.LU.S. team or Peer Leaders Understanding Students.

“We hope to offer educational programs to sororities and fraternities, and first year students in the residence halls, including the Corps of Cadets.” said Greene.

Salute to Benny Goodman music at North Georgia on Oct. 17

DAHLONEGA – The American Swing Orchestra is coming to North Georgia College & State University on Oct. 17 to present “A Musical Salute to Benny Goodman.” The 7 p.m. event in the Memorial Hall Gym is free and open to the public, and the audience will be able to dance the night away to the classic musical tunes.

From 1936 to 1946, the legendary Benny Goodman’s swing band’s popularity set the pattern for such bands as those led by Tommy Dorsey and Artie Shaw. Harry James, Ziggy Elman and Jess Stacy were among the Goodman band’s soloists, and musical selections included “Don’t Be That Way,” “Jersey Bounce” and “Stompin’ at the Savoy.” Jazz was emerging as a major element of swing bands’ music.

Clem De Rosa, a member of the Jazz Hall of Fame, who also has led the Glenn Miller and Dorsey Brothers Orchestras, leads the re-creation of the Benny Goodman sound. For the American Swing Orchestra, De Rosa has assembled all of the big Goodman arrangements and added selections by Duke Ellington, Count Basie, Glenn Miller, Tommy Dorsey and others.

The Oct. 17 free event for the audience’s listening – and dancing – pleasure is sponsored by the NGCSU Cultural Events Committee.

This page last modified on: Friday, 05 November 2004 16:55:56 -0500 by University Relations    

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