Education & Colleges

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Jan 23, 2012 - Georgia Southern University has received a $913,752 grant to establish and support a comprehensive Hispanic/Latino student recruitment and retention initiative.  The University’s relationship with The Goizueta Foundation dates back more than a decade with the Foundation donating more than $2.7 million to the University to date.

The new grant includes $500,000 to provide need-based tuition assistance during a period of seven years for Hispanic/Latino students whose families currently reside in the United States.  In addition, the grant provides $317,752 to cover salary and benefits for a new assistant director for Hispanic and Latino Services for four years.  Lastly, the grant provides $96,000 during a period of four years to support bilingual marketing materials, travel and events for Hispanic/Latino student recruitment and retention.

“On behalf of the executive committee and the staff of The Goizueta Foundation, I extend our appreciation for Georgia Southern University’s vision, direction and programs,” said Olga C. de Goizueta, chairman of the executive committee of The Goizueta Foundation.  “Through this partnership, we look forward to continued dialogue on the successes that Georgia Southern University encounters as it begins this new initiative.”

Georgia Southern University President Brooks Keel, Ph.D. said that the grant comes at an ideal time as the institution continues to attract a more diverse student body from 49 U.S. States and from more than 100 countries around the world.  “Georgia Southern University is fortunate to have a very diverse student body.  We believe that this adds to the education and experience that our students receive during their four years at Georgia Southern.”

Georgia’s Latino population has increased significantly in recent years by nearly doubling, according to the 2010 U.S. Census.  Keel says that one of the biggest challenges has been in providing the necessary financial resources to ensure these students have access to higher education.  “This grant enables Georgia Southern to provide outstanding Hispanic/Latino students with much-needed access to higher education.   Ultimately, the education that these students receive will have a long-term benefit on our state and their communities.”

The purpose of The Goizueta Foundation is to assist organizations that empower individuals and families through educational opportunities to improve the quality of their lives.  The Atlanta, Ga.-based foundation was established by the late Roberto C. Goizueta, CEO and chairman of the board of directors of The Coca-Cola Company in 1992.  Today, it provides financial assistance to educational and charitable institutions supporting educational programs that promote sustainable change with long-term impact in the community.

“We sincerely appreciate The Goizueta Foundation’s confidence in Georgia Southern,” said Keel.  “Georgia Southern is uniquely positioned to become a leader in providing opportunities for Latino students to pursue their college degree and we are excited to be awarded this grant.”

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Jan 9, 2012 - Savannah State University’s (SSU) Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs (GEAR UP) initiative has been approved for $2.8 million in grant funding from the U.S. Department of Education for a seven-year period from 2011-2018.

The GEAR UP program is a unit of ACCESS Programs (Assuring Commitment, Continuity and Excellence for Students’ Success) at SSU and aims to increase the number of low-income students prepared to enter and succeed in post-secondary education.  The grant money will support the GEAR UP initiative already in place at DeRenne Middle School in Savannah, where services such as academic instruction and advisement, educational field trips, mentoring, job shadowing and financial literacy sessions are provided to approximately 500 students in the sixth and seventh grades.  GEAR UP will transition with these students as they successfully progress from DeRenne Middle School to Beach High School.

A separate, $3.16 million grant from the U.S. Department of Education is currently funding the GEAR UP program at Groves High School and the School of Liberal Studies at Savannah High School, which serves more than 900 students in the 11th and 12th grades.  In addition to SSU, the program is supported through primary partners that include Savannah-Chatham County Public School System; Parent University; Queensborough National Bank & Trust; the Savannah chapter of the American Association of Blacks in Energy (AABE); St. Joseph’s/Candler Hospital and others.

Established in 1890, Savannah State University is the oldest public historically black college or university in Georgia and the oldest institution of higher learning in the city of Savannah.  The university’s 4,500 students select majors from 25 undergraduate and five graduate programs in the School of Teacher Education and three colleges: Liberal Arts and Social Sciences, Business Administration and Sciences and Technology.

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Jan 9, 2012 – The Savannah School of Massage at 6413 Waters Avenue has filed for a zoning variance in order to expand their current building that fronts onto Halsey Street, at the corner of Hampton Street.  The back end of the school’s property abuts Water’s Avenue which is used as its legal address. 

The school added a mobile classroom just before Christmas, and has building materials sitting on its property under a tarp.  Cars of students can be seen parked on the property, not in the parking lot, according to neighbors in the area.

The zoning hearing will be held on Tuesday, January 24 at 2:30 p.m. at the MPC’s office at 110 E. State Street, Savannah.   For technical schools, the current zoning regulations require one off-street parking space for each three full time or regular students based on maximum enrollment on the premises at any one time, plus one space for each two employees.

Christopher Joseph Masters is the CEO, CFO and Secretary of the corporation according to records with the Georgia Secretary of State’s office.

The Savannah School of Massage Therapy Training (SSOMTT), founded in 1999, offers a 600-hour course designed to provide students with the tools necessary to become a professional massage therapist.  They run both day and evening programs.

The school is a non-profit organization, approved for operation by the Nonpublic Postsecondary Education Commission (NPEC) of Georgia and the Georgia Board for Massage Therapy. They are also accredited by the Accrediting Council for Continuing Education and Training (ACCET).

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Jan 9, 2012 – A team of students from the Savannah College of Art & Design, made up of Jason Clarke, Marissa Garner, Ben Gray & Geoff Shaw, with their project “Mirrors on the Moon: Hench’s Discovery,” has made it to the finals of the Disney ImagiNations.

The annual program is designed and sponsored by Walt Disney Imagineering, the creative arm of all Disney Parks and Resorts worldwide, which allows participants to showcase their talents and gain practical knowledge in design from leaders in immersive storytelling and themed entertainment.

The finalist teams are awarded five-day trips to Imagineering in Glendale, CA where they will present their projects and vie not only for prestige and prize money, but also for a much-coveted paid internship position.

During their work-week at Imagineering, they will have a chance to meet and network with the technical and creative Imagineers responsible for Disney’s global theme parks and attractions located in California, Florida, Paris, Tokyo and Hong Kong. Past winners of this competition are currently Imagineering employees, and some of these finalists may possibly be future designers of Walt Disney Park & Resort attractions.

In all, six college teams will travel to Imagineering to compete January 30-February 3, 2012 representing California State Polytechnic University – Pomona; Carnegie Mellon University; North Carolina State University;  Savannah College of Art & Design;  University of California, Berkeley; and Utah State University.

They will present their projects to Imagineering executives, meet and network with technical and creative Imagineers, go behind the scenes of where Disney magic is created, and interview for paid internships, culminating in an Awards Lunch and ceremony on February 3.

For this year’s ImagiNations design competition, students from American universities and colleges were given a unique challenge: “Imagine it’s the year 3011. Disney has entertainment experiences all over the world, many which don’t even exist today. The human race is finally living on the moon and Walt Disney Imagineering wants to be the first one to provide entertainment and/or recreation to the new citizens there. What would you imagine that this new Disney experience could be?”

The judges apply the same criteria to the entries as they would to their own work – beginning with the team’s ability to collaborate across different disciplines and backgrounds; the mastery of their individual skills; whether it provides an engaging guest experience; the ability of the experience to demonstrate respect and inclusion for the diverse array of families who visit Walt Disney parks & resorts, and that it is unique in that it is not limited to what guests already experience in Disney parks and resorts. 

The projects and concepts presented are not necessarily intended to be built by Disney – they are a way for the entrants to demonstrate their skill and creative abilities.  In consideration for the opportunities provided by Imagineering, submissions become the sole property of Walt Disney Imagineering and Imagineering retains all rights to use and/or display the submissions and the materials contained in them.

Walt Disney Imagineering uses ImagiNations as a way to reach out to the widest possible talent pool for its future, according to the company. The top three placed teams will be awarded cash prizes with the first place team receiving $3,000.  An additional $1,000 grant will be awarded to the first place team, to be equally divided among its sponsoring universities and/or organizations.  

The concepts presented by the finalists cover a wide range of concepts and topics including:

·       A hands-on approach to astronomy and space travel across the planets (California State Polytechnic University - Pomona’s “New Frontiers”)

·       A nighttime spectacular and experience, a park finale set in an underground lunar city constructed in pre-existing lava tubes (Carnegie Mellon University’s “Create The Night”)

·       An interactive adventure ride encompassing two separate moon parks to communicate the sweeping story of Molly Mouse, Mickey Mouse’s descendant (North Carolina State University‘s “The Mind of Molly Mouse”)

·      A futuristic visit to a destroyed alien city below the moon’s surface (Savannah College of Art & Design’s “Mirrors on the Moon: Hench’s Discovery”)

·      The first Disney Interactive Resort and Entertainment Center located in space (University of California, Berkeley’s “A-SEED: Artem Sustainable Eatery and Entertainment Disk”)

·      A galactic cruiseline which tours the solar system (Utah State University’s “Disney Galactic Cruiseline: The Oneiro”)

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Jan 4, 2012 -The SCAD Museum of Art received the top honor from the Savannah chapter of the American Institute of Architects (AIA Savannah) for 2011.

AIA Savannah awarded the SCAD Museum of Art the First Place Honor Award from among 18 projects submitted. The jury noted the "sophisticated synthesis of old and new" and remarked that the SCAD Museum of Art expansion project "far exceeds the sum of its parts."

The award was granted for the treatment of the historic elements of the Central of Georgia Railroad 1856 depot and the addition of the building's modern architectural features within Savannah’s National Landmark Historic District. The lighting, landscaping, streetscaping and 86-foot-tall lantern were cited as key components of the museum’s award-winning design.

Sottile & Sottile and Lord, Aeck & Sargent Architects in association with Dawson Architects received the award for their work on the SCAD Museum of Art.

Christian Sottile, design architect for the SCAD Museum of Art and Sottile & Sottile principal, is also dean of SCAD School of Building Arts and a SCAD alumnus (M.Arch, 1997).

In addition to the top AIA Savannah Honor Award received by the SCAD Museum of Art, SCAD's Pepe Hall was recognized with a citation award for the building's restoration and adaptation. Dawson Architects of Savannah earned the citation award for their work on Pepe Hall, which houses the SCAD fibers department.

The college has rehabilitated more than 100 buildings in Savannah, Atlanta, Lacoste and Hong Kong. SCAD has been recognized by the UNESCO, the National Trust for Historic Preservation, the American Institute of Architects and the International Downtown Association, among others, for its excellence in historic conservation.

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Dec 19, 2011 - Armstrong Atlantic State University recently honored 27 alumni at the university’s second annual Notable Alumni Reception on the Armstrong campus.  "The Notable Alumni program gives us the opportunity to celebrate alumni who have accomplished great things and continue to lead and inspire others,” said Armstrong president Linda Bleicken. “We are proud that they are part of this institution's history."

Students, faculty and staff from across the campus, as well as members of the Armstrong Alumni Association were asked to nominate alums who have made a difference at Armstrong, in their professions and throughout their communities.  The tradition of recognizing notable alums began in 2010 with the celebration of Armstrong’s 75th anniversary.

Honored Alumni included:

- Mr. Linden J. Accurso, Class of 1978. Accurso lives in Savannah, Ga. and is a U.S. Army retired colonel and owner of Professional Training Associates of Savannah.

- Mrs. Prem L. Bhatia, Class of 1970. Bhatia lives in Duluth, Ga. and is a philanthropist and real estate developer.

- Dr. Antonette M. Bosch, Ph.D., Class of 1987. Bosch is a pediatrician for Metabolic Disorders at the Academic Medical Center in Amsterdam.

- Mrs. Christina M. Bourgeois, Class of 1994. Bourgeois is the director of Georgia Tech’s School of Electrical and Computer Engineering undergraduate professional communication program. She lives in Marietta, Ga.

- Capt. Stephen R. Bradshaw, Class of 1986. Bradshaw lives in Clarkston, Ga. and is the president of Night Flight Press, LLC. He is also an adjunct Professor at Georgia State University and an author.

- Mr. James Brasfield, Class of 1979. Brasfield lives in State College, Pa. He is a poet and professor of English at Pennsylvania State University.

- Dr. Clinton A. Brooks, Class of 1996. Brooks is a patent examiner for the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, and he lives in Smyrna, Ga.

- Mr. John M. Browne, Sr., Class of 1969. Browne lives in Savannah, Ga., and is Head Golf Professional at the Savannah Golf Club.

- Mrs. Amanda M. Cannon, Class of 1996. Cannon is co-owner of Two Smart Cookies.  She lives in Savannah, Ga.

- Dr. Renee Connolly, Class of 1993. Connolly lives in Blythewood, S. C. and is the assistant dean for assessment at the University of South Carolina.

- The Honorable Ronald E. Ginsberg, Class of 1965. Ginsberg is a retired Chatham County State Court Judge.  He lives in Savannah, Ga.

- Mr. Patrick S. Graham, Class of 1978. Graham lives in Savannah, Ga. He is the executive director of the Savannah Airport Commission.

- Dr. John C. Griffin, Jr. Class of 1968. Griffin lives in Lancaster, S. C.  He is a distinguished Professor Emeritus at the University of South Carolina - Lancaster.

- Mr. Harry J. Hunter, Class of 1975. Hunter lives in Detroit, Mich. and is the Director of the State of Michigan Employee Service Program.

- Ms. Faye R. Kirschner, Class of 1965. Kirschner is a longtime resident of Savannah, Ga., and she is a health and physical education instructor at Armstrong.

- Dr. Michael Kleinpeter, Class of 1999. Kleinpeter is the CEO of Optim Healthcare. He lives in Savannah, Ga.

- Mrs. Dawn H. MacMillan, Class of 2000. MacMillan lives in Pooler, Ga.  She is an audiologist and owner of Coastal Audiology & Hearing Aid Center.

- Dr. Earnest W. Murphy, Jr., Class of 1951. Murphy lives in Daytona Beach, Fla. He is an American Tenor, Grammy Award winner and Professor Emeritus of Stetson University.

- Ms. Deborah M. Nelson, Class of 1990. Nelson lives in Seattle, Wash. where she is an attorney at Nelson Boyd Attorneys.

- Dr. William S. Ray, Jr., Class of 1959. Ray lives in Savannah, Ga. He is a dentist at Dr. William S. Ray Jr. Dentistry.

- Ms. Melody C. Rodriguez, Class of 2003. Rodriguez is director of Armstrong’s Hispanic Outreach and Leadership at Armstrong (HOLA) Program.  She lives in Savannah, Ga.

- Mrs. Katherine L. Thomson, Class of 1972. Thomson lives in Savannah, Ga. and is executive director of the Coastal Center for Development Services.

- Mrs. Paula R. Tillman, Class of 2009. Tillman is an instructor at American Red Cross Disaster Health Services.  She lives in Savannah, Ga.

- Mrs. Amber S. Tuten, Class of 1991. Tuten lives in Thomasville, Ga. and is the Medical Laboratory Science Program Director for Thomas University.

- Mrs. Jane R. Tyler, Class of 1975. Tyler lives in Savannah, Ga. She is the principal at Jacob G. Smith Elementary School.

- Dr. Jerry K. Williams, Jr. Class of 1987. Williams is a neurologist, business owner and technology company founder who lives in Savannah, Ga.

- Mr. Andrew B. Zeigler, Class of 1977. Zeigler lives in Savannah, Ga. and is president of Advanced Business Software Corporation.

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Dec 12, 2011 - Armstrong Atlantic State University has announced that Dr. Regina Rahimi, assistant professor in the Department of Adolescent and Adult Learning, has published a new book ‘Pervasive Vulnerabilities: Sexual Harassment in School,’ a groundbreaking new book about sexual harassment in middle schools and high schools.

Pervasive Vulnerabilities explores the beliefs, attitudes and behaviors of adolescent girls, boys and teachers, and exposes the continuing persistence of sexual harassment in the United States. The book addresses the sexual double standard that continues to hold girls and women accountable for male sexual aggression, and demonstrates that this double standard still dismisses males who harass young women with a cavalier “boys will be boys attitude,” while castigating young women for sexual expression.

“This book is the culmination of years of research we’ve done for the past 10 years,” said Dr. Rahimi, who co-authored the book with Georgia Southern University professor Dr. Delores D. Liston. “There is a great deal more to be done in terms of sexual harassment and gendered harassment in schools. This is a major problem that exists on middle school and high school campuses throughout the country.”

Released by Pete Lang Publishing, Pervasive Vulnerabilities discusses issues of sexual harassment in four major areas: the impact on women’s lives, sometimes long after high school; the perceptions of teachers who interact with adolescents; the experiences of girls in middle and high school; and the behaviors and attitudes of young men in middle and high school.

“Heterosexism and homophobia serve to create hostile environments for young women and young men who challenge notions of hegemonic masculinity,” she said. “There is still a lot of work to be done to create safer climates for young women and GLBTQ youth.” 

Dr. Rahimi earned an Ed.D. in Curriculum Studies, an M. Ed. in Middle Grades Education and an Ed. S. in Middle Grades Education from Georgia Southern University in Statesboro, Ga. She has a B.S. Ed. in Middle Grades Education from Armstrong Atlantic State University.

A former middle school teacher, her research interests include issues of gender, race, sexuality and class in education, as well as adolescent literacy.

Pervasive Vulnerabilities will be released on December 15, and will be available locally at Barnes & Noble at Oglethorpe Mall in Savannah. The book can also be pre-ordered online at Amazon.com or BarnesandNoble.com.

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SBJ Special Report: Story by UGA TODAY.

Dec 5, 2011 - Researchers at the University of Georgia have developed a new material that emits a long-lasting near-infrared glow after a single minute of exposure to sunlight, according to the University of Georgia’s News Service. By mixing it with paint, they were able to draw an image of the university's logo whose luminescence only can be seen with a night vision device. The discovery has been reported on recently in a number of national scientific journals and magazines.

“Materials that emit visible light after being exposed to sunlight are commonplace and can be found in everything from emergency signage to glow-in-the-dark stickers. But until now, scientists have had little success creating materials that emit light in the near-infrared range, a portion of the spectrum that only can be seen with the aid of night vision devices,” according to UGA.

“In a paper just published in the early online edition of the journal Nature Materials, however, University of Georgia scientists describe a new material that emits a long-lasting, near-infrared glow after a single minute of exposure to sunlight. Lead author Zhengwei Pan, associate professor of physics and engineering in the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences and the Faculty of Engineering, said the material has the potential to revolutionize medical diagnostics, give the military and law enforcement agencies a "secret" source of illumination and provide the foundation for highly efficient solar cells,” UGA states.

"When you bring the material anywhere outside of a building, one minute of exposure to light can create a 360-hour release of near-infrared light," Pan said. "It can be activated by indoor fluorescent lighting as well, and it has many possible applications."

The material can be fabricated into nanoparticles that bind to cancer cells, for example, and doctors could visualize the location of small metastases that otherwise might go undetected. For military and law enforcement use, the material can be fashioned into ceramic discs that serve as a source of illumination that only those wearing night vision goggles can see. Similarly, the material can be turned into a powder and mixed into a paint whose luminescence is only visible to a select few.

The starting point for Pan's material is the trivalent chromium ion, a well-known emitter of near-infrared light. When exposed to light, its electrons at ground state quickly move to a higher energy state. As the electrons return to the ground state, energy is released as near-infrared light. The period of light emission is generally short, typically on the order of a few milliseconds. The innovation in Pan's material, which uses matrix of zinc and gallogermanate to host the trivalent chromium ions, is that its chemical structure creates a labyrinth of "traps" that capture excitation energy and store it for an extended period. As the stored energy is thermally released back to the chromium ions at room temperature, the compound persistently emits near-infrared light over period of up to two weeks.

In a process that Pan likens to perfecting a recipe, he and postdoctoral researcher Feng Liu and doctoral student Yi-Ying Lu spent three years developing the material. Initial versions emitted light for minutes, but through modifications to the chemical ingredients and the preparation-just the right amounts of sintering temperature and time-they were able to increase the afterglow from minutes to days and, ultimately, weeks.

"Even now, we don't think we've found the best compound," Pan said. "We will continuously tune the parameters so that we may find a much better one."

The researchers spent an additional year testing the material-indoors and out, as well as on sunny days, cloudy days and rainy days-to prove its versatility. They placed it in freshwater, saltwater and even a corrosive bleach solution for three months and found no decrease in performance.

In addition to exploring biomedical applications, Pan's team aims to use it to collect, store and convert solar energy. "This material has an extraordinary ability to capture and store energy," Pan said, "so this means that it is a good candidate for making solar cells significantly more efficient."

The U.S. Office of Naval Research, the National Science Foundation, the American Chemical Society Petroleum Research Fund and the UGA Research Foundation supported the research