North Georgia welcomes early arrivals for the Corps of Cadets

DAHLONEGA (June 30, 2006) – The Summer Transition Program at North Georgia College & State University provides students an advance start on higher education, physical training and an introduction to the university’s award-winning Corps of Cadets.

LISTEN UP: Sgt. Doug Hyde, military tactical officer at North Georgia, gives instructions to Summer Transition Program students before a hike.

"Our summer military program is designed to assist incoming military freshmen to transition from a civilian lifestyle and prepare them for the academic and physical requirements of the university and the Corps of Cadets," said retired Maj. Richard Neikirk, assistant commandant of the corps at North Georgia.

The 56 students in the program take six hours of classes. All of them are enrolled in wellness (physical education), and half take English and the other half study history. At the same time, they improve their physical fitness levels, as they learn about the corps, the university and the military.

By the time the other cadets arrive on campus for FROG Week, beginning Aug. 15, these recent high school graduates will be better prepared for their Freshmen Recruit Orientation Group (FROG) experience. Along with other new cadets, they will be called “FROGS” throughout the mini-military basic training prior to the start of fall semester classes.

Neikirk said the Summer Transition Program includes students from throughout Georgia and from eight other states, thanks to the national marketing campaign conducted by the Cadet Recruitment Center on campus, with Keith Antonia serving as director. Three experienced cadet leaders, Colin Sattler, Kristen Landis and Bryan Galas, are serving as counselors to train and mentor the new first-year students.

NGCSU is the Military College of Georgia.

University System chief visits North Georgia

DAHLONEGA – Chancellor Erroll Davis Jr., the University System of Georgia’s new top executive overseeing the state’s 35 public institutions of higher education, visited the North Georgia College & State University in Dahlonega on June 8. North Georgia was the 28th stop on his statewide tour of the system’s institutions of higher learning, which he started shortly after he took office in February.

NGCSU President David Potter and Erroll Davis Jr.

 Davis spent most of his hour with faculty, staff and the few students in the audience answering questions and sharing his perspective on issues related to sustaining and improving the quality of the Georgia higher education system.

“We are amazingly relevant,” he told the audience.

“We impact everyone’s life in the state, whether it’s through the education of your children, whether it’s through providing technology for businesses, whether it’s providing public policy guidance to government, we impact everyone’s life and we should understand how to put that in front of people in a manner that suggests ‘this is a wonderful thing you’re doing and I’m willing to pay more for that.’”

The chancellor explained: “My job is essentially to make you better, to enable you, to empower you, to get you the resources that you need, but as I suggested, you play a role in that. As a state public institution we have to always demonstrate our value to the taxpayers of the state and I think again that we will do that.”

Information on Chancellor Davis is available at www.usg.edu/chancellor.

USG chancellor to visit NGCSU

	Erroll B. Davis Jr.

DAHLONEGA – Erroll B. Davis Jr., chancellor of the University System of Georgia, will make his first official visit to North Georgia College & State University in Dahlonega on Thursday, June 8.

After meeting with NGCSU President David Potter, Davis will be introduced to faculty, staff and students in the Hoag Auditorium, located in the Student Center, at 11 a.m. for a 45-minute session.

After lunch with representatives of the Dahlonega/Lumpkin County community, the chancellor will meet with North Georgia cabinet members and deans.

At 1:45, Davis will have a 15-minute meeting with representatives of area news media in the Pennington Military Leadership Center on campus.

Davis assumed his duties leading the University System of Georgia’s 35 colleges and universities on Feb. 6, 2006. He began his tour of the University System’s campuses on Feb. 10. In all, he visited five campuses during his first month of service. Davis visited six campuses in March, 12 campuses in April, four campuses in May, and will visit eight campuses as well as the Skidaway Institute of Oceanography in June to conclude his tour of the system’s institutions. North Georgia marks the chancellor’s 28th campus visit.

Also see the USG Media Advisory news release [PDF]

North Georgia grads head for professional schools

DAHLONEGA – Although North Georgia College & State University has long enjoyed an excellent reputation for its graduates being accepted to medical colleges, the 2005-2006 academic year has seen an extraordinary number of North Georgia students heading for graduate programs in medical fields.

Biology faculty members: (l to r) Dr. Stephanie Songer, Dr. Terry Schwaner and Dr. Ralph Hitt

“It’s been a banner year,” said Dr. Ralph Hitt, a member of the biology faculty. “We have excellent students, with three out of four of our applicants accepted to UGA’s School of Veterinary Medicine, exemplifying the quality of our graduates.”

Throughout the Health & Natural Sciences Building, signs of congratulations herald the achievements of 21 students who are entering graduate programs in medicine, physical therapy, podiatry, veterinary medicine, dentistry, pharmacy and other related professional fields.

“We have a very good record of getting our students not only into medical schools, but into dental, pharmacy and other professional graduate programs,” said Dr. Terry Schwaner, department head and the interim Harry B. Forester Endowed Scholar Chair in Biology.

Schwaner explained that the number of North Georgia graduates entering post-baccalaureate programs actually might be even higher, because many alumni wait a year or two to apply or re-apply to medical schools.

Nick Giovinco
Lauralyn Marshall

Graduating senior Nick Giovinco of Peachtree City, Ga., who’s entering the New York College of Podiatric Medicine, credits North Georgia’s competitive classes with his high score on the Medical College Admissions Test required by almost all U.S. medical schools.

“I didn’t have to fill in any gaps in my chemistry and biology, and I attribute that completely to the program here,” Giovinco explained.

Lauralyn Marshall of Pelham, Ga., agreed that she felt prepared for the Graduate Record Examinations, thanks to her North Georgia classes. She is entering the UGA School of Veterinary Medicine in the fall.

Elizabeth Broman of Gainesville, Ga., who’s going to the Medical College of Georgia School of Medicine, is among the students who arrived on campus not yet knowing they wanted a pre-med major. It was her freshman biology class that made the difference.

“When we did a session on physiology, I was surprised I loved it so much,” Broman explained.

	Elizabeth Broman
	Katie Williamson

At MCG in Augusta, Ga., Broman will room with Laura K. “Katie” Williamson, another 2006 NGCSU graduate.

Williamson, of Suwanee, Ga., plans to study pediatric oncology at the medical college. Among other academic awards and scholarships during her undergraduate education, Williamson was a top-ranked member of the Lady Saints basketball team for four years.

“The professors at North Georgia get to know us and encourage us on a personal level to do our best,” Williamson said. “If we want to go to medical school, they do everything they can to help us get there – or to make a ‘Plan B’ if that doesn’t work out.”

Dr. Dan Thompson, head of the Department of Chemistry, said that graduates in his program, about two dozen this spring, often head for graduate programs leading to the Ph.D. degree in chemistry.

Thompson said: "Currently, about 40 percent of our students choose to pursue advanced degrees. We have been extremely successful in placing them in nationally ranked graduate programs. Another 30 percent typically move into entry-level positions in the chemical or related industries. Alumni in both groups indicate that they have been provided with the background that allows them to successfully compete with students from anywhere."

Even if biology and chemistry students don’t aim for graduate professional programs, faculty members work with them to help them understand the value of graduate degrees.

“When students leave here with a bachelor’s degree in biology or chemistry, they can get a job, but they less often find a career,” said Schwaner. “In a career, you continue to grow, your salary increases, you don’t stay at an entry level for long.”

“Chemistry is the key to biology,” emphasized Schwaner, who acknowledges the two departments work closely together in educating their students.

He explained that a lot of students at North Georgia are the first generation of their families to go to college.

“Many enter thinking they want to be a doctor, a dentist or a veterinarian. They often don’t have a clue about the value of other graduate programs. We work to lead students in other directions if they don’t reach their goals for acceptance to health-related professional schools.”  

Dr. Stephanie Songer, who graduated from North Georgia in 1991, then received her doctorate in neuroscience from Emory before joining the NGCSU faculty, said: “Most students coming in know they want to go to medical school. Then they find out the amount of biology and chemistry they have to study, and the cream of the crop of students rises to the top, and they stay with the program.”

The challenge then, is to find alternatives for students who begin a pre-med program but can’t complete it. Often, work in research is an option, since North Georgia provides undergraduates with opportunities to participate in faculty research. Other options include internships with pharmaceutical companies, the Center for Disease Control, the National Science Foundation and other organizations that send representatives to campus to recruit students.

North Georgia faculty members have developed longstanding relationships with faculty in various medical, veterinary and other graduate programs around the state and beyond. Those relationships and the close ties between NGCSU students and faculty help open doors for those aiming for graduate school.

North Georgia College & State University graduates who were accepted in graduate medical and related professional programs for the 2005-2006 academic year are:

Name                                          Hometown                   Graduate School                                

Bhana,  Kimesh                        Dahlonega, Ga.          University of Georgia School of Pharmacy                    

Broman, Elizabeth                    Gainesville, Ga.          Medical College of Georgia School of Medicine          

Bush, Jamie                               Hinesville, Ga.            Baylor Physical Therapy                                                                    

Eskew, Allison                           Dahlonega, Ga.          North Georgia College & State University  Physical Therapy     

Giovinco, Nicholas                    Peachtree City, Ga.   New York College of Podiatric Medicine                                        

Gurley, Ryan                               Jefferson, Ga.             University of Georgia School of Pharmacy                    

Hansen, Ashley                         Dahlonega, Ga.          North Georgia College & State University Physical Therapy

Johnson, Julie                           Buford, Ga.                   Harrison School of Pharmacy at Auburn University     

Marshall, Lauralyn                     Pelham, Ga.                University of Georgia College of Veterinary Medicine

McGill, Stephanie Susie           Cleveland, Ga.            Medical College of Georgia School of Medicine          

Owen, Brandi                              Baldwin, Ga.                Dedical College of Georgia School of Dentistry           

Patel, Nirav                                  Dawsonville, Ga.         The University of East Anglia, England                          

Phillips, Carrie                            Blue Ridge, Ga.           Medical College of Georgia Physician Assistant School

Pinson, Brandon                        Gainesville, Ga.           University of Georgia College of Veterinary Medicine

Ryan, Brandon                            Dawsonville, Ga.         Univ.of Ala.at Birmingham Surgical Physician Assist. Prog.

Stowe, Jennifer                           Pendergrass, Ga.       Medical College of Georgia Medical Illustration           

Thomas, Amanda                       Cleveland, Ga.            North Georgia College & State University Physical Therapy

White, Adam                                 Dahlonega, Ga.          MCG/Mercer University School of Medicine   

Williams, Jayme                          Blairsville, Ga.             North Georgia College & State University Physical Therapy

Williamson, Katie                        Suwanee, Ga.              Medical College of Georgia School of Medicine          

Wyatt, Rik                                       Peachtree City, Ga.    University of Georgia College of Veterinary Medicine      

NGCSU confers 594 degrees during spring graduation

DAHLONEGA – North Georgia College & State University conferred just under 600 bachelor’s and master’s degrees, and several associate’s degrees in nursing, during the May 2006 commencement.

North Georgia College & State University is a public, co-educational, comprehensive university, as well as the Military College of Georgia – one of only six senior military colleges in the nation. North Georgia offers the only minor in leadership among public universities in the state. The university, founded in 1873 in Dahlonega, enrolls almost 5,000 students and offers undergraduate and graduate degrees in more than 50 academic and professional fields.

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

Students named to President's List at NGCSU 

DAHLONEGA – For their academic performances during spring semester 2006, the following students were named to the North Georgia College & State University President’s List.

Students achieving a 4.0 grade point average and carrying 12 or more credit hours in one semester are placed on the President’s List.

For a list of the students, see the President's List.

Students named to Dean's List at NGCSU 

DAHLONEGA – For their academic performances during spring semester 2006, the following students were named to the Dean’s List at North Georgia College & State University. 

Students who achieve a 3.5 grade point average or better carrying 12 or more credit hours in one semester are placed on the Dean’s List.

For a list of the students, see the Dean's List.

National honor society awards help North Georgia students continue education

DAHLONEGA – Two North Georgia College & State University students have won scholarship awards presented by Phi Kappa Phi, the world’s largest university honor society that recognizes academic accomplishment in all fields of study.

	Katie Williamson

Laura K. “Katie” Williamson, a May 13 biology graduate, received one of the honor society’s 60 Fellowship Awards for 2006. This award provides her with a $5000 scholarship for her first year of graduate or professional study. Williamson has been admitted to the Medical College of Georgia for study leading to an M.D. degree and will start in August. For several summers, she has worked as a camp counselor at Camp Happy Days in Summerville, S. C., a camp for children with cancer. The personal trials with cancer that she has experienced in her family also influenced her to pursue oncology.

June Irene Koehler, a North Georgia junior in art marketing and piano performance, won one of the honor society’s 38 Study Abroad Grants for 2006. This award provides a student with a $1000 scholarship to defray travel expenses. Koehler will pursue a study-abroad experience in Spain this summer. After a two-day visit to Madrid, she will spend two weeks in Nerja for Spanish-language immersion in the Escuela de Idiomas training program. Koehler will then spend four weeks in Santander, during which time she will study at the Universidad Internacional Menendez Pelayo, where she will take upper-level courses in Spanish grammar and Spanish history and culture. She is getting an academic minor in Spanish.

Mark Spraker, outgoing president of NGCSU’s chapter of Phi Kappa Phi and associate professor of physics, said that North Georgia’s Phi Kappa Phi chapter is proud that NGCSU students won two of the honor society’s coveted scholarship awards this year. 

“These scholarship awards demonstrate that NGCSU educates quality students who can compete very successfully against their counterparts at other universities nationwide.  The awards reflect Katie’s and June’s great accomplishments, and they also speak well for the dedicated faculty that has helped Katie, June, and our other students to reach the highest heights of achievement.”

North Georgia center awards $60,000 to Appalachian area schools

DAHLONEGA – High schools from around the northeast Georgia region will be able to build new programs and expand activities designed to guide students through high school and pursue college, thanks to an allocation of $60,000 from the Georgia Appalachian Center for Higher Education at North Georgia College & State University.

The GACHE Advisory Board awarded grant money to seven high schools in April. Receiving funding are Calhoun High School, Dade County High School, Franklin County High School, Gordon Central High School, LaFayette High School, Lumpkin County High School and Murray County High School. Some schools’ grant programs started this month and all will be fully implemented in August at the start of the new school year.

“The goal of these activities is to decrease the high school drop-out rate and increase the college-going rate of high school students in Georgia’s Appalachian region,” said Shirley Davis, director of the Georgia Appalachian Center for Higher Education. “Increasing the college-going rate will ultimately improve the quality of lives and the economic levels of our Appalachian citizens.”

The Georgia Appalachian Center for Higher Education opened in January and is the newest organization in the nine-state Appalachian Higher Education Network, developed in 2000 by the Appalachian Regional Commission and designed to raise the levels of educational attainment in the region.

GACHE and the School of Education at North Georgia will showcase the participating high schools and their activities on Oct. 19 at the university in Dahlonega. The daylong event will include sharing best practices and lessons learned from research regarding what has worked in each high school to mitigate high dropout rates and encourage students to apply to college.

Davis, citing Time magazine’s April 17 cover story “Dropout Nation,” said that one in three students leave school before graduating from high school.

Davis said: “The crisis is real and it is now. These schools have developed programs to address the crisis. Through the years, projects funded through the Appalachian Regional Commission have correlated with a 28-to-64 percent increase in the college-attendance rate in the eight other states in the Appalachian Higher Education Network. We at the Georgia Appalachian Center for Higher Education believe we can do as well and that we must.”

IMMEDIATE IMPACT

Many of the high schools awarded grants will provide formal advising and mentoring training for teachers who commit to guide students throughout their educational careers. Other schools will have seniors present a final project regarding post-secondary education and career information to 8th graders before graduating and return to present to the new 9th graders in the fall.

Other activities include painting high school restrooms with college and university logos and having every teacher in a school display his or her alma mater’s logo and colors in the classrooms. Monthly parent meetings will assist families with the college application process and financial aid, as well as give them a clearer understanding of the college-life experience.

Other funding from the $177,000 GACHE initiative also will allow the Community Out Reach for Education Team – the center’s panel of education experts from the university and Lumpkin County community – in furthering student exposure to college by producing events such as local college campus visits for both parents and students; college student speakers in high schools; career learning labs where students will be assisted in writing resumes and test preparation; and “power lunches” with business professionals and college personnel. The projects will end with a “reality fair” for students, which will illustrate the value of a college education including, among other benefits, the future financial pay-off.

Schools that did not receive grant money will receive travel funds for a team to attend the October showcase. Other area high schools that have been successful in increasing their college-going rate for graduates will be invited to share their successes as well.

The activities will be conducted during the 2006-2007 school year. Many grant projects are planned for continuation into the 2007-2008 school year. 

“We hope to target middle school students and literacy intervention projects and look at the high school curriculum and scheduling among other activities,” said Davis.

The GACHE’s numerous partners include the Appalachian Regional Commission, more than 20 higher education institutions serving North Georgia, Regional Education Service Agencies, Georgia Department of Community Affairs, Georgia Department of Adult & Technical Education and a number of community-based organizations.

For more information, contact the Georgia Appalachian Center for Higher Education (GACHE) at North Georgia College & State University at 706-864-1995 or gache@ngcsu.edu. Visit online at www.ngcsu.edu/resource/ASC/gache.htm.

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.

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.

(Left to right) Matt Henderson, Noelle Petersen, Jim Fambrough, Paul Dunlap, Jo-Marie Karst and Tommye Scanlin

University art teachers display work at NGCSU

DAHLONEGA – The Art Appreciation Show at North Georgia College & State University, May 11 thru Aug 25, is an exhibition of artwork by six of the university’s art faculty members.

On display are prints, pastels, photographs, paintings, pottery, and weavings by Paul Dunlap, Jim Fambrough, Matt Henderson, Jo-Marie Karst, Noelle Petersen, and Tommye Scanlin.            

The free show is at the Hoag Student Center Fine Arts Gallery, open 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays and during limited weekend hours. An opening public reception is on May 11, 5 to 7 p.m. More information at 706-864-1512.

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
April 18, 2006 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.

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.

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: Friday, 30 June 2006 18:24:32 -0400 by University Relations    

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