NGCSU Points of Pride
2006-2007
In America’s Best
Colleges 2007, U.S.News & World Report ranks North Georgia College &
State University as No. 21 in the South among public universities offering
undergraduate and master’s programs. North Georgia is listed at No. 56 among
both private and public universities in the South.
NGCSU is the top state
university for graduation rates at 44.8 percent. The statistics are
for six-year rates for the fall 1999 cohort of first- and full-time, degree
seeking freshmen. North Georgia ranks at the top, for the fifth consecutive
year, in the Annual Report Card from the Georgia Office of Student
Achievement.
Of the 15 University
System institutions with teacher education programs, North Georgia ranked
third with 94 percent pass rates on the PRAXIS II content specific
tests. NGCSU was also among the top three schools for the Praxis I academic
skills assessment test.
North Georgia marks its
10th anniversary as a university. The institution’s name, formerly
North Georgia College, changed with the attainment of university status in
1996. North Georgia officially became a university with other University
System of Georgia institutions that offered master’s degrees during a
system-wide renaming effort by the Board of Regents.
North Georgia launched
its “Customer Service Improvement Initiative,” along with the other
University System of Georgia institutions of higher education, in August
2006 to provide faster, friendlier and more efficient service in offices and
departments on campus.
A $10 million gift,
the largest donation to NGCSU in the institution’s 134-year history, was
contributed by Dahlonega resident Mike Cottrell to benefit the School of
Business & Government, which has been renamed the Mike Cottrell School
of Business. Cottrell and his wife Lynn were recognized by the
University System of Georgia Chancellor Erroll B. Davis, Georgia Rep. Amos
Amerson and other community leaders for their charitable gift.
NGCSU was the first
recipient of the Internationalizing the Campus grant from the Board
of Regents Office of International Education. The $40,000 award is helping
to implement initiatives of North Georgia’s Center for Global Engagement.
The initiative will enhance academic programs, study abroad opportunities
and cultural diversity at North Georgia.
Divisions and Departments
As part of the statewide
Nursing Program Initiative, NGCSU was funded $195,647 from the Intellectual
Capital Partnership Program of the University System of Georgia to expand
the Associate of Science in Nursing program at North Georgia. The
expanded program was offered at a new site in fall 2006 at Lanier Technical
College in Forsyth County. The nursing program partners with Northeast
Georgia Health Systems, Chestatee Regional Hospital and Habersham County
Medical Center.
The NGCSU ICAPP
Health Professions Initiative project has been funded for a second year
for $202,310 for FY08. Last year’s grant allowed North Georgia to enroll 40
more students in the nursing program, who will help to meet Georgia’s
healthcare needs.
NGCSU began offering a
new Master of Science degree in nursing education in fall 2006. A
post master’s nursing education certificate for students who already have a
master’s in nursing is also offered through the program.
The Georgia Baptist
Health Care Ministry Foundation awarded a one year grant to NGCSU for
$10,000 to be used for medications, equipment and supplies for the new
NGCSU Appalachian Nurse Practitioner Clinic on campus. The grant will
help with clinic expenses not covered by the current Health and Human
Services Administration grant that was awarded to help fund the clinic for a
five-year period. A second year funding in the amount of $235,000 from the
Health Resources and Services Administration for the clinic has been
received. The clinic is now open 24 hours a week and currently serves over
200 patients, many who are uninsured and low-income citizens in surrounding
communities.
The Doctor of
Physical Therapy Consortium degree program was recently accredited by
the Commission on Accreditation in Physical Therapy Education. North
Georgia’s DPT program is one of three members in the consortium. This is the
first-time accreditation for the consortium, which also includes the Medical
College of Georgia and Armstrong Atlantic State University
North Georgia’s
seven-year-old graduate program in community counseling received
first-time accreditation in August 2006 from the Council for Accreditation
of Counseling and Related Educational Programs. CACREP is the independent
accrediting arm for the American Counseling Association, a membership
organization for more than 50,000 practicing counselors.
North Georgia signed an
exchange agreement with Tsinghua University in Beijing, China, to
create an undergraduate student exchange program between the two
universities. A second exchange agreement provides for an exchange program
for NGCSU Department of English faculty to travel to China to teach for a
semester, and Tshinghua faculty to come to the Dahlonega campus to teach
courses ranging from literature to Chinese culture.
Chinese courses
and a Chinese minor were added to North Georgia’s language program in
the Department of Modern Languages. This is the first new language education
program to be offered on campus in several years.
North Georgia now offers
an international affairs bachelor’s degree that allows students to
choose a regional emphasis in Asia, Europe, or Latin America. Through the
degree program, students interested in politics, policy, the military and
careers related to international affairs will develop an ability to better
compete globally.
A new concentration in
criminal forensics, the only one of its kind in Georgia, was approved
for the Criminal Justice Program at North Georgia. Unlike other forensic
programs, North Georgia’s focus is geared toward future investigative
practitioners who will be assessing criminal behaviors and processing crime
scenes.
The Master of Public
Administration degree, North Georgia’s third oldest graduate degree
program, marked its 10th anniversary in 2006.
North Georgia’s
Business Administration program earned initial accreditation from the
Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business. AACSB now accredits
business programs or schools at 549 member institutions, which are part of
an elite group that makes up less than 10 percent of the world’s business
schools that have achieved AACSB business and accounting accreditation.
North Georgia offers bachelor of business administration degrees in
accounting, finance, marketing and management.
The
University System of Georgia Board of Regents approved two new master’s
degree programs for North Georgia. The Master of Business Administration
and Master of Arts in teaching degree programs will enroll their
first students in mid-2008. With the new programs, the total number of
master’s degrees offered through NGCSU will increase to seven.
For the past 10 years, the NGCSU School of
Education has worked with faculty and staff from the University of
Virginia’s Curry School of Education and CaseNEX, a teacher preparation and
professional development organization, to develop and implement online
graduate course work and professional development activities for area K-12
educators. These activities are based upon case studies and the case
study methodology, and they have been adapted by the teacher certification
endorsement programs and some of North Georgia’s graduate programs.
The School of Education
has established the Nora and Joe Richardson Society for School-based
Leadership, the professional development and research arm for education
faculty and education practitioners teaching in kindergarten through the
12th grade. The Society is named in honor of Joe Richardson and his wife
Nora, both life-long educators with 70 years of combined experience in the
education field. Joe helped pioneer the concept of principals' centers and
started the Georgia State University Principals' Center in 1984.
North Georgia revised
its two-year post-baccalaureate master’s education degree program in math
and science to be an inquiry-based program of study that offers many
interactive projects focused on effective teaching practices. This revision
is part of the University System of Georgia’s larger initiative to produce
more math and science teachers for the state.
The NGCSU Appalachian
Studies Center was awarded two grants for the 2006-2007 academic year.
The Appalachian Regional Commission and NGCSU are providing $150,000
matching funds for the center to continue its work on 23 projects and to
focus on creating regional partnerships across north Georgia.
The Appalachian
Studies Center is Georgia’s official center and exists to improve the
quality of life for all Appalachian Georgians. The
Georgia Appalachian Studies Center at NGCSU,
a division of the ASC and partner with the School of Education, received
$327,000 from the Appalachian Regional Commission and NGCSU. This program
assists Appalachian high schools to encourage “at-risk” students to graduate
and then pursue postsecondary education. Total funding for both projects is
$472,000.
The new University
Press of North Georgia published its first book, “Billy Roper: Visual
Storyteller,” a study of Appalachian art and the artist’s work. Roper, the
first artist-in-residence at North Georgia, was also featured in the
February issue of “Southern Living” magazine. Supported by the NGCSU
President’s Innovation Fund, the University Press of North Georgia is a
scholarly, peer-reviewed press.
In fall 2006,
Learning Communities were established to help first-year students meet
others and adjust to academic life, giving participants opportunities to
study with other students and provide support to one another.
The NGCSU Health and Physical Education
Majors Club won the “Outstanding Majors Club” award from the Georgia
Association for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance for 2006.
North Georgia has an 80 percent pass rate for
students taking the National Athletic Trainers' Association Certification
Exam. The national pass rates are under 40 percent.
The Graduates Of the
Last Decade, or GOLD Alumni group, was established to encourage young
North Georgia alumni to take stay connected with the university and to build
professional and social networks.
The NGCSU Stewart
Library received a $1,000 Special Projects Grant from the Georgia
Humanities Council, the National Endowment for the Humanities and through
appropriations from the Georgia General Assembly to help preserve the
library’s collection of aging historic photographic glass-plate images taken
by G. D. “Lon” Bruce, a local photographer, from the late 1890s to 1910.
A $228 million bond
package by Gov. Sonny Perdue for Georgia’s University System of Georgia
included $2 million for equipment for the NGCSU Library Technology Center.
Corps of Cadets
Retired U.S. Marine
Corps Maj. Gen. James E. Livingston
was named to the list of general officers in the North Georgia Military Hall
of Fame. Livingston is the only general among the university’s military
alumni to have earned the Congressional Medal of Honor, the highest
decoration in the U.S. Armed
Services. He was awarded the medal for his service in the Vietnam War.
North Georgia has been
designated as the lead institution in the University System of Georgia’s
Military Education Initiative, a focused effort to serve the educational
needs of U.S. military personnel. A coordinated and synchronized systemwide
approach will be used to expand the degree programs, courses and support
services available to every branch of the military.
Students at North
Georgia who were deployed for active duty with the Georgia Army National
Guard’s 48th Brigade and spent a year in Iraq were honored at a Welcome
Home Ceremony on campus in August 2006. More than 60 students served in Iraq
and returned home in May. A majority re-enrolled in classes at NGCSU.
The Golden Eagle Band performed in the
Atlanta Veterans Day parade and did three performances with Disney guest
trumpet player Chad Shoopman at Walt Disney World.
The Color Guard presented our National
Colors during the Home Opener for the Atlanta Falcons as well as the Georgia
Chancellors Inauguration.
Two members of the Mountain Order of
Colombo rappelled from the rafters of the Gwinnett Coliseum to present a
hockey puck at mid-ice to the captain of the Gwinnett Gladiators. This is
the second time a North Georgia military team has been invited to a
Gladiators sports event.
Sgt. 1st Class Eric
Leid, military science, won the
Fort Benning Service Pistol Championship for the second consecutive year
along with the Excellence in Competition Match. NGCSU Cadet Neil Sookdeo
was the novice winner in the Excellence in Competition Match, and the ROTC
Team from NGCSU won the Command Sergeant Major Pistol Team Match; shooters
were Leid, Sookdeo and Cadets Michael Smolucha and James Pickett.
The championship was hosted by the U.S. Army Marksmanship Unit.
Cadets Ashlie
Strewsbury and Cassandra Armstrong attended the Foreign Language
Training Center, Europe (FLTCE) in Garmish, Germany, for intensive language
training to advance their knowledge of a foreign language after the Defense
Language Institute. Strewsbury studied Arabic and Armstrong studied Russian.
Cadet Tyler Arms completed a two month
internship at the Army Combatives School at Ft. Benning, Ga. During his
internship, Cadet Arms became a "level II" certified instructor and taught
several classes to Active, Guard and active duty soldiers. He was the first
Cadet to receive this type of training and represented the Boar's Head
Brigade with honor and distinction.
Cadet Earl Porter III, a member of the
Mountain Order of Colombo, completed the U.S. Army’s Mountain Warfare School
in Jericho, Vt., which included Active Duty Army Special Forces and Ranger
soldiers.
North Georgia's ROTC Ranger Challenge Team
competed with 19 other teams from Florida, Puerto Rico, and Georgia, in the
Brigade Competition at Fort Stewart, Ga. The team won the Grenade Assault
Course and Army Physical Fitness Test events, and took second place overall
in the competition. Sgt. 1st Class Eric Leid and Sgt. Maj. Byron
Barron were the team coaches.
Cadet Matthew White was platoon honor
graduate at the Leadership Development Advanced Course at Fort Lewis, Wash.
Cadet Sara McCleary had the highest
Army Physical Fitness Test Score in the 9th Regiment at the Leadership
Development Advanced Course at Fort Lewis, Wash.
Sports
North Georgia’s
intercollegiate sports programs gained full membership status in the
Division II of the National Collegiate Athletic Association after only
two years as a provisional member. The NCAA membership allows all 10 of the
university’s intercollegiate teams to be eligible for postseason play.
Lady Saints Basketball
Head Coach Buffie Burson marked her 300th career win on Dec. 30 with
her team beating Claflin University 79-50 in the last non-conference game of
the season. Burson is in her 13th year coaching at North Georgia and has
posted more wins than losses every season except her freshman year coaching
at the university. She led her team to the Peach Belt Conference regular
season championship the first year of NCAA competition last year.
Megan Huffman
scored her 1,000th-career point this season with the Lady Saints basketball
team. Huffman and Syretha Marble were named to the Peach Belt All-Conference
in women's basketball. Porsha White was named the Peach Belt
Conference Freshman of the Year in basketball.
Head baseball coach
Tom Cantrell was awarded the Peach Belt Conference Coach of the Year
after leading his team with a 34-22 overall record, and a fourth place
finish in the Peach Belt Conference. Cantrell also earned his 300th victory
at North Georgia and his 500th overall career victory this season.
Justin Rickett
became the university's all-time leader in homeruns and runs batted in
baseball for the Saints by breaking the records previously held by Richie
Daigle (24) in homeruns and Ryan Gurley (181) in runs batted.
In the Peach Belt
Conference in baseball, Craig Brisson was named Freshman of the Year
and Chris Curtis was named All Conference. Curtis also was selected
as Second-Team All-Region by the American Baseball Coaches Association.
Jay Anderson
was named Peach Belt All-Conference in men's basketball.
In cross country,
Alan Schmitz was named All-Conference in the Peach Belt.
Jeremy Bouasy
was named Peach Belt All-Conference and Sheldon Best was named Peach Belt
Conference All-Tournament in men's soccer.
Brittany Bruner,
Lauren Cappy and Kelly Orear were named to the Peach Belt
All-Conference in women's soccer. Kelly Curran was named Peach Belt
Conference All-Tournament.
Softball coach Mike
Davenport earned his 250th career victory at North Georgia this season.
Andrea Moss,
Leslee Smith, Whitney Propes and Page Raynor were named
to the Peach Belt All-Conference in softball. Propes also was named
Second-Team All-Region by Daktronics and the National Fastpitch Coaches
Association.
Faculty and Staff
Dr. Ross Alexander,
political science and criminal justice, received the 2006 NGCSU Teaching
Excellence Award for Campus Leadership Development and Incorporating
Writing.
Dr. Brad Bailey,
math and computer science, has been selected as a Project NExT Fellow.
Project NExT (New Experiences in Teaching) is a nationwide faculty
development program sponsored by the Math Mathematical Association of
America for new and recent PhDs in the mathematical sciences. Only 60 new
Fellows are named each year.
Dr. Toni Barnett, nursing, helped secure a $189,320 annual grant from the University
System of Georgia Nursing Education Task Force to increase the number of
prelicensure nursing graduates over the next three years through the
undergraduate nursing program. Sixteen USG schools received funding with the
overall goal of increasing the number of license-eligible graduates
throughout the USG by 694, or 39.3 percent, over three years.
Dr. Jack Broman,
fine arts, received the “2006 Excellence in Teaching Award” from the NGCSU
Center of Teaching & Learning Excellence.
Dr. Kelly Cate,
psychology and sociology, was the recipient of the 2007 NGCSU Distinguished
Professor Award.
Dr. Jim Chesnut,
modern languages, was named the “2007 Post-Secondary Professor of the Year”
by the Foreign Language Association of Georgia. Chesnut was also selected as
the President of the Southern Conference on Language Teaching for 2006-2007.
He will serve as a liaison from SCOLT to the American Council on the
Teaching of Foreign Languages for 2007-2010.
Loretta Delargy,
nursing, received the Jane Van DeVerde Outstanding Nurse Educator Award for
2007 from the Georgia Association for Nursing Education.
Dr. Robert Fuller, physics and director of the NGCSU Environmental Leadership Center, was
selected by the Council on Undergraduate Research to participate in the
Institute on Initiating and Sustaining Undergraduate Research Programs.
Dr. George Martin
Izzo, business administration,
had his research proposal accepted by the Fulbright Commission for a
research and teaching scholarship to Romania. He will go to Al. I. Cuza
University in Iasi, Romania in fall 2007.
Dr. Lynda Holmes, teacher education, was the 2006 winner of a $500 Mini-Grant from the
Georgia Reading Association.
Michael Marling de
Cuellar, fine arts, had his
artwork, “The Southern Company,” selected to be included in the American
Print Alliance’s “Soap Box Prints: For A Cleaner Environment” traveling
exhibit and was featured on the organization’s Web site.
Dr. Mark Davis,
biology, was elected chair of the Biological Sciences Section of the Georgia
Academy of Science for his third consecutive term in that position.
Estelle Gilstrap, fine arts, was the recipient of the 2006 Outstanding Staff Member
Award presented annually by the NGCSU Staff Council.
Dr. You Ju Lee,
fine arts, was selected as the International Jury’s Favorite Performance for
her piano recital of Beethoven’s Variations in F-Major and was chosen for a
Special Presentation Master Class at the IBLA International Competition in
Sicily, Italy.
Dr. Georgia Mann and Dr. Troy Catterson, history and philosophy, and Dr. Joyce
Stavick, English, were awarded the University System of Georgia
Chancellor's Faculty Development Grant. The grant, along with an
“Internationalizing the Campus” grant awarded by the Board of Regents to
North Georgia, allowed them to participate in a USG faculty development
seminar in Korea and China.
Debbie Martin,
university relations, was awarded a certificate of appreciation by the
Lumpkin County Historical Society for preserving history through
genealogical research in her art exhibit, “A Journey to Yesterday: My Family
History,” that depicted five generations of her family through photography
and mixed media art collages.
Dr. Carmen Mas,
School of Education, was selected to serve as team leader for the American
Association of State Colleges & Universities’ study of Hispanic student
success.
Dr. Timothy May,
history, was awarded the Honored Medal for the 800th Anniversary of the
Great Mongolian State by the Mongolian Academy of Sciences at the Ninth
International Congress of Mongolists in Mongolia for his contributions to
the history of the Mongol Empire. May also published his first book, “The
Mongol Art of War,” which has been released in the United States and Europe.
The book covers the development of the military of the Mongol Empire.
Retired 1st Sgt. Craig A. McCamish,
military science, was awarded the Centurion level of the Order of Saint
Maurice award during the First Infantry Division’s Long Range Surveillance
reunion in Kansas. McCamish received the award for serving the infantry
community with distinction for over 22 years.
Dr. Leo Mundy,
psychology and sociology, was named chair-elect of the University System of
Georgia Board of Regents’ Advisory Committee on Sociology, Anthropology and
Social Work.
Martha Merritt,
business administration, was named the Distinguished Professor of Teaching
and Learning for 2006.
Dr. Grace Newsome, nursing, was selected as the Chair of the Board of Commissioners for
the National League for Nursing Accrediting Commission. Newsome is serving
her second term as a commissioner.
Dr. C. Michael Powell,
business administration, was appointed Senior Editor of the Cabell’s listed
Journal of the Wine Marketing Institute.
Drs. Anita Prince, Kelly Cate, Ross Alexander and Ms. Holly Payne
received teaching recognition and appreciation awards from the NGCSU
athletic department and student athletes.
Dr. Bud Reiselt,
health and physical education, was inducted into the University of
Tennessee at Martin Athletic Hall of Fame. He initiated the UTM wrestling
program and was head coach 1968-1972. During his tenure, he coached several
student wrestlers who qualified for the NCAA Division II national
tournament. Reiselt also is the coordinator for the Georgia High School
Association’s wrestling weight management program at NGCSU, the first
institution of higher education in Georgia to be a designated site.
Dr. Robb Sinn,
math and computer science, won a 2006 Award for Innovative Excellence in
Teaching, Learning and Technology at the International Conference on College
Teaching and Learning.
Dr. Robb Sinn
and Dr. Dianna Spence, math and computer science, received a $175,756
grant to expand statistics research from the National Science Foundation's
Division of Undergraduate Education.
Dr. Shane Webb,
biology, was elected secretary of the Biological Sciences Section of the
Georgia Academy of Science for 2006-2007.
Students & Student Organizations
Wade Chandler,
a senior majoring in business administration, completed a week-long
photography course at the Rocky Mountain School of Photography in Glacier
National Park. The course was funded by the NGCSU Environmental Leadership
Center in recognition of Chandler’s outstanding work with ground-truthing
photography and measurements in support of a water quality study of the
Etowah River.
Seth Conner,
a senior biology major, received the Best Undergraduate Paper Award in the
Biological Sciences Section for his research presentation, “Molecular
phylogeography of Poeciliopsis infans (Poeciliidae) from the Mexican high
plateau” at the 2007 Annual Meeting of the Georgia Academy of Sciences.
Patricia Faulkner,
a chemistry major with a pre-med concentration and a minor in biology,
received an Award of Excellence from Phi Kappa Phi, the nation’s oldest,
largest, and most selective all-discipline honor society.
Student team members
Brianna Brown, Misty Green and Malina Malonado won third
place for their Heirloom Seeds project at the Annual Appalachian IDEAS
Network Social Venture Showcase held at the University of Kentucky. The
students collected, studied and documented heirloom seeds from community
members, who they interviewed to gather information about the seed
histories. Seed packets with accompanying oral histories will be marketed
through the NGCSU Appalachian Studies Center.
NGCSU physical
therapy graduate students raised
more than $6,800 at a local fundraising event to benefit the graduate
program as well as a Lumpkin County High School freshman.
Student team leaders
Vicki Herrin and Billy Breedlove created a Food Bank Project
to be run by North Georgia’s chapter of Psi Chi, the national honor society
in psychology. The project uses eBay to fund a nonprofit food bank service.
The local Dahlonega food bank, run by the Community Helping Place, receives
the majority of its operating budget from its thrift store sales.
NGCSU students for the
first time participated in the Tsinghua Summer Language Camp in
Beijing, China. The two students Susan Wells and Jordan Chambers,
who were the only ones from Georgia, acted as teaching assistants for
Tsinghua University students who were in the process of learning English.
This intensive English summer camp is a model for increased English Language
training in China and students from some of the strongest universities in
the United States are chosen as teaching assistants.
Jenica Johnson
and Erin Alexander, both exercise science students, completed their
internships at the Emory HeartWise Risk Reduction Program.
Tiffany Bryson,
an exercise science student, completed her internship experience in cardiac
rehabilitation at Baptist Hospital in Nashville, Tenn.
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