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Inside this issue...
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Tift College of Education Receives Grants for Early Care Program
Mercer continues to lead the way in birth-through-five teacher education. Two state agencies have given the Tift College of Education $240,000 in grants in support of its innovative Early Care and Education program, bringing the total grants from the agencies to $680,000 over the past three years.
For the third consecutive year, the College has received funding from the Georgia Department of Early Care and Learning, this time in the amount of $90,624. The Department awarded the College $200,000 in 2005 and $190,000 in 2006 to develop articulation agreements among colleges, technical colleges and universities. The Georgia Professional Standards Commission (PSC) has also given the College, in collaboration with Kennesaw State University, a grant of $150,000 in addition to an earlier $50,000 grant, to support curriculum development.
Mercer has led Georgia’s efforts to develop curricula to meet certification standards for birth-through-five programs in response to the increasing demand for educated childcare professionals. The PSC, familiar with Tift’s reputation for innovation, asked the College to take the lead in the development of an early care education baccalaureate program. Mercer’s Early Care and Education program educates students not only about child development, but also about childcare program administration.
Read the story here.
President to Appear on Georgia Weekly
Mercer President William D. Underwood will be one of three presidents of Georgia colleges and universities featured on the Oct. 21 show of GPTV’s Georgia Weekly. Host Susan Hoffman will interview Underwood, Dr. Elizabeth Kiss of Agnes Scott College and Dr. John E. Maupin Jr. of Morehouse School of Medicine about their first years as president of their respective institutions. Coordinated by the Atlanta Regional Council for Higher Education (ARCHE), the 30-minute show is scheduled to air at 1 p.m. on Sunday, Oct. 21, and then to repeat at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 23, on Georgia Public Broadcasting channels across the state.
GPTV stations are:
- Atlanta: WGTV, channel 8
- Albany: WABW, channel 14
- Augusta: WCES, channel 20
- Chatsworth: WCLP, channel 18
- Columbus: WJSP, channel 28
- Dawson: WACS, channel 25
- Macon: WMUM, channel 29
- Savannah: WVAN, channel 9
- Waycross: WXGA, channel 8
Mercer Dedicates Building to Longtime Benefactors
Fred and Aileen Borrish
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Fred and Aileen Borrish |
Mercer University dedicated the Fred W. and Aileen K. Borrish Building, which houses the Douglas County Regional Academic Center, on Wednesday, Sept. 19. Following the ceremony, University officials also unveiled the state-of-the-art Fred W. and Aileen K. Borrish Science Laboratory.
“Mercer is proud to honor Fred and Aileen Borrish, who are committed to improving the lives of others through their generous and continuing support of higher education,” President William D. Underwood told those gathered for the dedication.
Douglas County residents Fred and Aileen Borrish are longtime supporters of the University and, in recent years, have given their support to the Douglas County Regional Academic Center, including the complete renovation of the building’s science lab. The couple is committed to making quality education accessible to the men and women living in and around Douglas County.
Mr. Borrish, who spent 35 years in the technical operations for the airline industry, was known for his ability to integrate equipment for planes as technology improved, saving his employer significant amounts of outsourcing costs. In 2005, Mercer presented Mr. Borrish with an honorary Doctor of Laws degree.
Mrs. Borrish earned a bachelor of arts degree in mathematics and physics in 1941 from Agnes Scott College, where she was a member of the scientific fraternity Chi Beta Phi – an unusual accomplishment for a woman at that time. During World War II, she was a member of the American National Red Cross in Washington, D.C., and, for 41 years, she worked for Southern Bell as an internal auditor – one of only two women in that position. Before she retired in 1982, she introduced computer operation procedures for Southern Bell in Georgia. In 2005, Mercer presented Mrs. Borrish with an honorary Doctor of Humanities degree.
Since 1982, they have been members of The President’s Club of Mercer and, in 1999, became Life Members. Mr. Borrish – always a supporter of higher education – has said that the Douglas County Regional Academic Center is a chance for working individuals to get a quality education to expand their professional careers while still keeping their part- or full-time jobs. The support provided by the Douglas County couple has enhanced opportunities for residents of Douglasville and the surrounding areas.
The Borrishes are longtime members of Second-Ponce de Leon Baptist Church, of which Mrs. Borrish is a charter member. It is also where they were married by Dr. Monroe F. Swilley Jr. 60 years ago.
McAfee Installs Faculty in Three Endowed Chairs
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Dean Alan Culpepper, left, and President William D. Underwood, right, stand with the faculty appointed to three endowed chairs: left to right, Dr. Graham Walker, The John and Judy Zellars Chair; Dr. Larry McSwain, The Watkins Christian Foundation Chair of Christian Ministry, and Dr. Peter Rhea Jones, The J. Truett Gannon Chair. Each recipient received a wooden chair symbolic of the endowed chair being held. |
Three faculty members of the McAfee School of Theology were installed in endowed chairs as part of the School’s Founders Day Celebration Aug. 21 on the Atlanta campus. These chairs honor the scholarly work and accomplishments of the appointed holders and serve as a reminder of the generosity of the donors who established these chairs and of their partnership in the ministry of preparing future ministers. The endowed chairs will remain at McAfee in perpetuity and will be handed on from one professor to another for generations to come.
Dr. Peter Rhea Jones, professor of Preaching and New Testament, has been named the inaugural holder of The J. Truett Gannon Chair, established by Mercer alumnus and Trustee Dudley Horton in gratitude for the pastoral ministry of Dr. Truett Gannon.
The Watkins Christian Foundation Chair of Christian Ministry was established by the Foundation through the initiative of Bill Freeman. Dr. Truett Gannon was the first professor to hold the chair. Dr. Larry McSwain, professor of Ethics and Leadership, has been appointed to the chair.
Dr. Graham B. Walker, professor of Theology and associate dean, has been appointed the first holder of The John and Judy Zellars Chair. Longtime Mercer supporters, the Zellars established the endowed chair, which today serves as a fitting memorial for them and their commitment to the church and its ministry, their generosity and their foresight.
“As we celebrate the founding of this school and look to its future, we are proud to be able to recognize the wonderful generosity of Dudley Horton, John and Judy Zellars, and the Watkins Christian Foundation in establishing endowed chairs at the McAfee School of Theology,” said Dean Alan Culpepper during the announcement.
“There is no higher calling than the calling to the ministry, and no higher office or authority than the office of a teacher. And there are none better qualified than they to teach their respective specialties and nurture students preparing for the ministry,” he told the gathering of some 300 faculty, staff, students, alumni and friends.
Executive Forum Returns with Distinguished Fall Lineup
The Executive Forum presented by BB&T brings three great speakers to Macon and Atlanta this fall. The Forum kicked off Monday, Oct. 1, with John G. Rice, vice chairman of General Electric Co. and president and chief executive officer of GE Infrastructure. Rice spoke in the University Center in Macon and at The InterContinental Buckhead in Atlanta. The second presentation of the fall will feature married political consultants and commentators James Carville and Mary Matalin on Wednesday, Nov. 7, for a noon presentation in Atlanta at The InterContinental Buckhead and a 6:30 p.m. dinner presentation at the University Center.
Rice was recently selected as the most respected business leader in Georgia by Georgia Trend magazine. A rising star in the executive ranks of one of the world’s largest and most respected companies, Rice runs the business segment that includes Energy, Aviation, Rail, Oil and Gas, Water, Energy Financial Services, and Aviation Financial Services. Prior to his current position, Rice served as vice chairman of GE and president and CEO of GE Industrial. He began his career with GE in 1978 and has steadily risen through the managerial and executive ranks both in the United States and abroad, emerging as a leader of one of GE’s most strategically important business segments.
The November presentation marks the return of James Carville, America’s best-known Democratic political consultant, to The Executive Forum. This time he returns with his wife and political opposite, Mary Matalin, formerly assistant to President George W. Bush and counselor to Vice President Dick Cheney. One of the most popular Forum presenters in recent memory, Carville will match wits with Matalin in an enlightening and entertaining look at today’s most important political issues as well as provide a behind-the-scenes look at Washington politics to Forum members and guests. Co-authors of the national best seller All’s Fair: Love, War, and Running for President, both Matalin and Carville are key players on the national political stage, having between them worked for every president over the last 25 years. They combine their unique experience as perennial political insiders to provide audiences with a stimulating, candid and provocative analysis of the day’s headlines and today’s hot-button political issues from both sides of the political aisle for a lively and engaging exchange of views.
Visit www.mercer.edu/execforum for more information.
School of Medicine Kicks Off 25th Year Anniversary Celebration With Flag Raising
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| Members of the Mercer ROTC Color Guard assisted Sept. 5 with the raising of the School of Medicine flag along with its two research hospitals, The Medical Center of Central Georgia in Macon and Memorial Health University Medical Center in Savannah. |
The School of Medicine kicked off the celebration of its 25th anniversary Sept. 5 with a flag-raising ceremony for the School of Medicine and its two teaching hospitals, the Medical Center of Central Georgia in Macon and Memorial Health University Medical Center in Savannah.
Mercer President William D. Underwood; Donald Faulk, chief executive officer of The Medical Center of Central Georgia; Dr. Ramon Meguiar, senior vice president and chief medical officer of Memorial Health University Medical Center; Dr. Martin M. Dalton, dean of the School of Medicine, and Charles Kemp, president of the Medical School Student Government Association, spoke during the ceremony, which was held on the School of Medicine campus in Macon. The flags of the school and the two medical centers, which were raised by the Mercer ROTC Color Guard, represent the steadfast commitment of the three institutions to meeting the health care needs of Georgia through the educating and training of physicians.
“Twenty-five years ago at this place, something very rare occurred, a new medical school was born,” said President Underwood. “One of only two medical schools started within the United States in the last 25 years. This new medical school wasn’t to be like other medical schools; it was to be a very special kind of school with a very special mission and a new and innovative approach to educating doctors; it was to be a school committed to educating doctors to meet the health care needs of those in greatest need of improved access to health care, people in rural Georgia and people in medically underserved areas of our state.”
Since its inception with an inaugural class of 24 students in the fall of 1982, Underwood noted, the school has grown, with the help of its partners Memorial Health and The Medical Center, to graduate more than 900 doctors, nearly two-thirds of that number remain in Georgia and 85 percent of those practice in rural and underserved areas.
Read the story here.
Mercer to Co-Host Preview of Art21: Art in the Twenty-First Century
Dive into the world of contemporary art with a special preview of the award-winning PBS television series Art21 and discussion series sponsored by Mercer, along with three other Macon-area educational institutions and Macon Arts. Over the first four Mondays in October, each institution will host a preview screening of Art21: Art in the Twenty-First Century followed by a discussion led by a faculty member. Each program will be at 7 p.m. at the Cox Capitol Theatre, 382 Second St., Macon.
Each one-hour episode has been organized around a broad theme – Protest, Paradox, Romance and Ecology – to help audiences analyze, compare, contrast and juxtapose the artists profiled.
Art21 is the first broadcast series for national public television to focus exclusively on contemporary visual art and artists in the United States. PBS has shown four seasons of the Emmy-nominated Art21series, which has featured 72 established and emerging artists to date. PBS will broadcast the four new episodes nationally at 10 p.m. each Sunday, Oct. 28-Nov. 18.
Craig Coleman, assistant professor of Art at Mercer, will lead the discussion following the screening for Romance on Oct. 15. Faculty members from Macon State College will lead the discussion on Oct. 1 on Protest, Georgia College and State University on Oct. 8 on Paradox, and Wesleyan College on Oct. 22 on Ecology.
For more information visit www.maconarts.org and www.pbs.org/art21/.
Hilton Garden Inn Opens on Macon Campus
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| The Hilton Garden Inn held its official grand opening on Aug. 10. Local and state elected officials joined Mercer administrators at the ceremony in welcoming owners of the new 101-unit hotel, located in the newly-designed gateway entrance to the Mercer campus from Mercer University Drive. Participating in the official ribbon cutting were: left to right, William D. Underwood, president of Mercer University; Karl Talcott, assistant general manager, Hilton Garden Inn; Jonathan Andres, general manager, Hilton Garden Inn; Nicole Hayslip, director of sales, Hilton Garden Inn; and C. Jack Ellis, mayor of Macon. |
CLA Professor Awarded NEH Grant to Study Flannery O’Connor
Dr. Charlotte Thomas, associate professor and chair of the Department of Philosophy in the College of Liberal Arts, spent a month last summer studying the works of Flannery O’Connor, through a grant by the National Endowment for Humanities.
She was one of 25 scholars from around the nation to participate in the NEH Summer Institute, “Reconsidering Flannery O’Connor,” held on the campus of Georgia College and State University in Milledgeville, O’Connor’s hometown. The grant Thomas received is a part of the NEH “We the People” initiative, which funds projects that are committed to strengthening the teaching, study and understanding of American history and culture.
“Spending a month immersed in O’Connor studies was an exercise in deepening my experience of the every day,” said Thomas, who participated in seminars led by leading scholars in O’Connor studies, attended scholarly lectures and readings by Georgia writers, and conducted research in GCSU’s O’Connor Collection. “Her stories are set in middle Georgia and channel some of the most powerful voices of the western tradition: Sophocles, Dante, and Dostoevsky, as well as Isaiah and St. Paul. If I can keep myself even marginally attuned to the Georgia she saw, then I can’t help but be a better teacher, scholar, and human being.”
First Class Held in New Science and Engineering Building
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| The first classes were held in the new Science and Engineering Building this fall semester. The formal dedication of the $14 million facility will be held Nov. 26, 11 a.m., at LaTorre Family Plaza. |
News@Mercer is a publication of the Office of University Advancement.
Comments or questions should be directed to:
Mercer University Office of University Relations and Marketing
1400 Coleman Avenue Macon, GA 31207
(478) 301-4037 | news@mercer.edu| www.mercer.edu | |
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Faculty & Staff Notables
College of Liberal Arts
Dr. Jose L. Balduz, Jr.
Jay Black
Dr. Craig Byron
Dr. Jamie Cockfield
Dr. Greg Domin
Dr. John Marson Dunaway
Denise Volkoff
Dr. Tia Gafford
Dr. Bob Hargrove
Dr. Curtis Herink
Roger Jamison
Dr. Janell Johnson
Dr. Leona Kanter
Dr. Ajaz Karim
Dr. Eric Klingelhofer
Dr. Achim Kopp
Dr. Paul Lewis
Dr. Frank J. Macke
Dr. Randall D. Peters
Dr. Andrew J. Pounds
Dr. Caryn S. Seney
Dr. Charlotte Thomas
JoAnna Watson
Dr. Laurie White
Bryan Whitfield
Dr. Fletcher Winston
Dr. John C. Wright
Walter F. George School of Law
Linda Edwards
Jim Fleissner
College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences
Dr. Ajay K. Banga
Dr. Vanthida Huang
Dr. Julie C. Kissack
Dr. Lisa M. Lundquist
Dr. Nadar H. Moniri
Dr. Diane Nykamp
Dr. H. W. "Ted" Matthews
Dr. Ravi Palaniappan
Dr. Gina J. Ryan
Dr. Chad M. VanDenBerg
School of Medicine
Dr. Linda Adkison
Dr. Vladimir Mayorov
Dr. William Bina
Dr. Alice House
Dr. Harold Katner
Dr. Richard Elliott
Dr. Alice House
Dr. Mike U. Smith
Dr. Drayton Sanders
Dr. Edward Lauterbach
Janet F. Piskurich
Dr. Melton Strozier
Dr. Lee Bowen
Dr. Steve Livingston
Eugene W. Stetson School of Business and Economics
Dr. Nancy Jay
Dr. Vijaya Subrahmanyam
School of Engineering
Dr. Marjorie T. Davis
Dr. Donald Ekong
Dr. Richard Kunz
Dr. Richard Mines
Dr. Laura Lackey
James and Carolyn McAfee School of Theology
Dr. Alan Culpepper
Dr. Lloyd Allen
Tift College of Education
Dr. J. Thomas Kellow
Dr. William O. Lacefield
Dr. Randall Spaid
Georgia Baptist College of Nursing
Dr. Dare Domico
Ann C. Keeley
College of Continuing and Professional Studies
Dr. Lynn Clemons
Dr. Priscilla R. Danheiser
Dr. Thomas E. Kail
Dr. Billy J. Slaton
Dr. Hani Q. Khoury
Dr. Clinton W. Terry
Dr. Kevin Wickes
Townsend School of Music
Dr. John E. Simons
Department of Library Services
Liya Deng
Staff and Administration
Betsy Johnson
Marc A. Jolley
Sarah May
Cindy Glance
Dr. Craig McMahan
Dr. Douglas R. Pearson
Bobby Pope
Eric Spears
Famed Diaz Trio Gives Free Concert at Mercer
The Robert McDuffie Center for Strings of Mercer University presents the nationally acclaimed Diaz Trio in concert at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 2, in Fickling Hall of the McCorkle Music Building.
“One of the few professional string trios in existence today, the Díaz Trio has become one of the best chamber music ensembles in the United States,” according to the Naxos.com.
The ensemble includes Andrés Cardenes, concertmaster of the Pittsburgh Symphony;
Andrés Díaz, renowned concert cellist and distinguished artist of the McDuffie Center at Mercer University, and Roberto Díaz, violist and president of the Curtis Institute of Music.
Admission is free; seating is limited. Doors open 30 minutes before the performance. For more information, call (478) 301-2748 or visit music.mercer.edu.
2007-2008 Season at The Grand Begins Soon
The 2007-2008 season at The Grand Opera House, a performing arts center of Mercer, will begin with the first show in its annual Broadway Series, the Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice classic Evita, Oct. 14-15.
The remaining five shows in the Broadway Series include the family-friendly journey through a magical forest Cirque Dreams Jungle Fantasy, the biggest Tony Award winner in Broadway history The Producers, a musical tribute to the legendary Johnny Cash called Ring of Fire, the razzle-dazzle Broadway musical Chicago, and a musical revue that recreates the finest moments from the greatest musicals of the century titled 100 Years of Broadway. Broadway Series subscriptions are on sale now and will be available until Oct. 15 through Mercer Ticket Sales.
The Grand will also present three Season Specials that are not included in the Broadway Series. The Australian musical phenomenon, The Ten Tenors return to Central Georgia for one night only in November after selling out two shows in The Grand’s 2005-2006 season. In December, John Berry returns for his annual Christmas concert, and The Grand will present the spellbinding Dickens’ classic A Christmas Carol.
The GrandKids Series, an arts education program of Mercer, will offer a variety of school day performances for students throughout the season. Performances include a musical tribute to Benjamin Franklin, a dramatic play about the United States’ longest-surviving Buffalo Soldier, and Billy Jonas, a renowned percussionist who engages the audience in his performances.
For more information about the 2007-2008 season or to purchase tickets, call Mercer Ticket Sales at (478) 301-5470 or visit thegrand.mercer.edu.
Download a subscription order form here.
Mercer Weather Station Info Available on Web
If you need to know the weather in Macon, the Department of Earth and Environmental Science in the College of Liberal Arts has put it at your fingertips. The department has linked the information gathered by its weather station, located on the roof of its building on the Macon campus, to a Web site. The site, called Mercer Weather Station, provides visitors with "real-time" weather data recorded from the station.
The weather station automatically logs meteorological data (e.g., temperature, dew point, humidity, wind direction and speed, and rainfall) every minute and uploads the information every five minutes to the site: http://biooak.mercer.edu/
weather_ station. The data can be viewed on a digital display on the first floor of Willet Science Center and on the Web site. The weather data are presented in a variety of formats that include tables, graphs, and gauges.
The Web site contains a wealth of information in addition to the data uploaded from the weather station. A variety of animated maps, radar, satellite, and forecast information are downloaded from other weather/climate organizations and available at a mouse click.
Faculty & Staff Promotions and Transfers
Macon Campus
Kimberly M. Adams, previously coordinator of alumni services in University Advancement, now administrative assistant to vice president in Religious Activities; Kelly D. Carter, previously programmer in Web Management, now director of Learning Technologies Center; Katherine E. Holbach, previously business manager in Auxiliary Services, now associate internal auditor in Internal Audit; Lucy Joshee, previously research assistant I for Basic Sciences Department at School of Medicine, now research assistant II; Vance L. Mack, previously research assistant I for Basic Sciences Department at School of Medicine, now research assistant II; DeLaine Samples, previously systems accountant in Accounting, now grants accountant; Linda Gail Sheffield, previously senior secretary in psychiatry and behavioral science department at School of Medicine, now preceptorship coordinator in community medicine department at School of Medicine; Janet R. Van Bibber, previously library assistant II at Jack Tarver Library, now library assistant III; Jennifer Zimmerman, previously assistant director of Academic Resource Center, now director.
Atlanta Campus
Kaitlin R. David, previously academic program support specialist in Dean’s Office at Stetson School of Business & Economics, now administrative coordinator; Charlene Elias, previously registrar specialist in Registrar’s Office, now assistant registrar; Laura Ellison, previously admissions counselor in Admissions, now admissions counselor in Admissions for Georgia Baptist College of Nursing.
Regional Academic Centers and Other Mercer Locations
Virgil K. Hollingsworth, previously rehabilitation technologist at MERC, now senior technician.
New Faculty & Staff
Macon Campus
Kimberly Beach, enrollment associate, Admissions; Paul B. Bohr, strength and conditioning coach, Athletics; Carolann L. Curry, library assistant, School of Medicine; Joni Frei, assistant women’s softball coach, Athletics; Rachel Garza, executive director of communications, Admissions; Steven E. Livingston, associate professor and assistant director, Marriage & Family Therapy; Kathy Mack, assistant professor, Stetson School of Business & Economics; Christine Moore, administrative secretary of psychology department; College of Liberal Arts; Sean Mulholland, assistant professor, Stetson School of Business and Economics; Laurie Rea, administrative secretary for community science, School of Medicine; Antoine Trammell, instructor of internal medicine, School of Medicine; Jennifer D. Wattley, admissions counselor, Admissions.
Atlanta Campus
Ashish Advani, drug information resident, College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences; Misti Clark, drug information resident, College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences; Lindsey E. Earnhardt, admissions coordinator, College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences; Karytha D. Jackson, pharmacy resident, College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences; Leo Jenis, audio/visual support specialist, Technology Support; Michelle Johnson, pharmacy resident, College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences; Phillip S. Owen, assistant professor, College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences; Norman Richards IV, instructor, English Language Institute; Allen J. Rubenfield, lecturer, Stetson School of Business and Economics; Chalet Tan, assistant professor, College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences; Nadja Vawryk Button, assistant professor and clinical coordinator of physician’s assistant program, College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences; John Wambua, animal caretaker, College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences.
Regional Academic Centers and Other Mercer Locations
Tiffany M. Robertson, licensed practical nurse, Mercer Health Systems; Shatina D. Robinson, certified medical assistant, Mercer Health Systems; Heather Scott, coordinator, Douglas County Regional Academic Center.
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