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Transcription

Fighting Hunger:
Bearing Witness:
Branching Out:
Vicki Escarra (B.S. ’76)
A GSU professor
Adrian Sasine
leads the charity
faces his former
(M.B.A. ’03)
Feeding America, p. 30
captors, p. 36
climbing pro, p. 42
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NNing thE Sforpe40
SP0a0
years
1o,5 ts
contents
features
24 Spanning the Spectrum
For 40 years, WRAS Album 88 has been one of the nation’s
15
most inventive and respected college radio stations.
By Millie De Chirico (B.A. ‘02)
30 Soaring High to Stop Hunger
Vicki Escarra (B.S. ’76) is putting her Delta background
to work to fulfill her passion for helping the needy.
By Andrea Jones
Sophomore James Vincent,
departments
2 president’s letter
a post player on the GSU
basketball team and an
aspiring artist, watches
intently as visiting
lecturer Jessica ScottFelder gives instruction.
36 Demons and Democracy
Modern and Classical Languages Chair Fernando Reati
faces his own difficult past to teach valuable lessons
on human rights. By Ann Claycombe
5 cityscapes
13 panthers
17 the arts
21 advances
41 connections
48 the guest list
On the cover:
During its 40 years on the air, Georgia State’s
WRAS studios have hosted a number of
popular music luminaries. See if you can
identify some of the stars on the cover.
See page 27 for the answers.
Cover design by Matt McCullin
photo by meg buscema
president’s letter
welcome friends & alumni
Enriching Communities, GSU magazine
Impacting Lives
spring ’11 | Volume 2, Number 2
Publisher DeAnna Hines
executive editor Andrea Jones
GSU’s reach felt locally and globally
editor William Inman
copy editor Margaret Tate
In my more than two years here, I have
cherished little more than the many
wonderful people I’ve met — alumni,
students, faculty, staff, community supporters and other friends of GSU; they
contributors lisa armistead
ann claycombe
Jeremy Craig
millie de chirico
claire miller
Leah seupersad
are people who are passionate about
creative director Ellen Powell
Georgia State University. At every turn,
project manager renata irving
it seems, I meet yet another person with
an amazing story about what we do
here, how it has affected and changed
lives and, often, made a rich impact on the world for all of us.
You’ll meet a number of these people in this issue, beginning with those behind the microphone at WRAS 88.5, Georgia State’s student-run radio station,
ART DIRECTOR Pamela Lang
graphic designeRs Matthew mccullin
patricia p. simmons
PHOTO EDITOR Meg Buscema
PHOTOGRAPHER Carolyn Richardson
ADVERTISING Jordan G. Cavallin
which turns 40 this year (page 26). You’ll get to know some of the pioneering students who helped found the station in 1971 and follow their journey of transforming WRAS into one of the premier student-run radio stations in the country.
Also, you’ll meet Vicki Escarra (B.S. ’76), who parlayed her love of helping
those less fortunate into a fulfilling and inspirational career overseeing what is now
the nation’s largest domestic hunger charity (page 30).
Finally, you’ll find the story of Fernando Reati, chair of GSU’s Department
of Modern and Classical Languages and co-chair of GSU’s Center for Human
Rights and Democracy, who underwent unimaginable torture in the mid-1970s
in Argentina for being a student activist during the country’s “Dirty War.” Learn
along with his students how Reati broke his silence decades later to illuminate the
transgressions of his captors, a daring move that is leading to greater liberation of
Argentine society (page 34).
I invite you to celebrate the many talented and wonderful people on our campus, in our community, and far beyond, who help shape the beautiful mosaic that
is, and always will be, Georgia State University.
Sincerely,
Mark P. Becker
Georgia State University
Gifts and Records
P.O. Box 3963
Atlanta GA 30302-3963
Fax: (404) 413-3441
E-mail: update@gsu.edu
SEND LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
AND STORY IDEAS TO:
William Inman, Editor
GSU Magazine
P.O. Box 3983
Atlanta GA 30302-3983
Fax: (404) 413-1381
E-mail: winman@gsu.edu
GSU Magazine is published four times
annually by Georgia State University.
The magazine is dedicated to communicating and promoting the high level of
academic achievement, research, faculty
scholarship and teaching, and service
at GSU, as well as the outstanding
accomplishments of its alumni and the
intellectual, cultural, social and athletic
endeavors of GSU’s vibrant and diverse
student body.
© 2011 Georgia State University
2
GSU Magazine Spring 2011
11-0690
President
SEND ADDRESS CHANGES TO:
PANTHERS
Carolyn Richardson/Staff
Get the best selection of GSU
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cityscapes
campus news & views
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Atlanta in January, forcing the university to
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5
STRATE G I C PLA N
2011-2016/21
Meg Buscema/Staff
on campus
cityscapes
josh sanders
Student
Q &A
Josh Sanders is a Presidential Scholar and
winner of the national KPMG Academic
Award for Excellence.
The KPMG Award for Academic
Excellence is given to the
brightest in the field of accounting. How did it feel to win?
You have to have good grades, but
you also have to be recognized by
a professor as being an outstanding
student. It meant a lot to me because it was my first year at Georgia
State, so it says something for the
quality of not only my work, but
also of the professors and what
they put in so that we could both
have such a great experience for
me to win this award my first year.
Besides accounting, you
are also majoring in finance
and Spanish?
Both of my parents are accountants, so I decided to go into accounting for that reason. I also
6
like it because it’s very structured,
like me. I fell in love with Spanish
because I had a great teacher in
high school who really brought
the subject to life. I want to work
in public accounting and do auditing at a big four accounting firm.
Have you studied abroad?
I went to Grenada, Spain, and
studied at the University of
Grenada last summer, and it was a
really great experience. My favorite part of it was the laid-back culture. They are a lot less workfocused than we are here. Studying
abroad gives you a good world
perspective. You never know what’s
out there until you experience it
for yourself. I had read a lot about
Spanish culture in classes, but nothing is the same as actually living it.
Tools to teach
The overarching goal of Georgia State University as it enters its second century
to be remembers
recognized how
as it
Sonny is
Cannon
a dynamic academic community where teaching and research combine to produce
and
went theleaders
first time
hecreate
stood before
st
century.
solutions to conquer the challenges of the201
21 1-2016/21
a construction class at Newnan High
STRATE G I C PLA N
Setting the
course
You were valedictorian in high
school and have maintained
over a 4.0 in college. What
influences you to keep
good grades?
I have always been pretty competitive, partly because I have an
older sister and I always have to
one-up her in everything. I had
always done well in school because my parents pushed me to do
well, but freshman year in high
school I decided I wanted to be
valedictorian. So I worked really
hard and made it happen, and
I haven’t slowed down since.
Are you a member of any
organizations at GSU?
I’m a member of Beta Alpha Psi,
the accounting honors fraternity.
I’m a committee chair. Beta Alpha
Psi really opens up a lot of doors
to accounting recruiters and larger firms, some who only recruit
from Beta Alpha Psi members,
and you get a lot of exposure to
the professional world.
What is your university assistantship, which is part of the
Presidential Scholar program?
I’m the assistant to the director
of the school of accountancy.
I’m also working an internship
for SunTrust with their internal
audit department. Each group
of interns is assigned an Atlanta
nonprofit, and we help them with
their accounting systems because
a lot of times they don’t have
adequate accounting systems or
the people doing the accounting
are not accountants. Right now
I’m working with a theatre called
Actor’s Express.
by L eah S eu p e r sa d
School almost 20 years ago.
“I’ll never forget my first day,” he
GSU ready to enter its second century
said. “I told the students everything
Theaoverarching
goal of Georgia
is to be recognized as
with
new strategic
planState University as it enters its second century
I knew on that first day — I didn’t
STRATE G I C PLA N
a dynamic academic community where teaching and research combine to produce leaders and create
The diversity
of the undergraduate
population,
whether
of lifewhat
experience,
or to talk about
I was race
going
For the past year, Georgia
State University’s
strategic student
planning
committee
has in termsknow
solutions to conquer
the
challenges
of the State
21st century.
ethnicity,
is
a
hallmark
of
Georgia
University.
The
opportunity
to
teach
and
learn
in
such
a
rich
on day two. Had I attended a teacher
been hard at work, plotting the course for Georgia State’s future over the next
environment is one of the University’s greatest strengths. Starting from this position of strength, our goal
training program first, I would have
10 years.
is to raise graduation rates and student achievement to levels where the University will be recognized
The drafting of the strategic plan has been an intensely collaborative process,
prepared.”
nationally for graduating diverse and talented students who are uniquelybeen
well prepared
for leadership in
with input from all aspects
of
the
GSU
community.
Cannon is a graduate of the
society and in the workplace.
The
University
Senate
approved
the plan,
can be as
viewed
in its its
entirety
The
overarching
goal
of Georgia
Statewhich
University
it enters
second century
is of
toEducation’s
be recognized
as and
College
Career
2011-2016/21
at www.gsu.edu/strategicplan.
The diversity
of the undergraduate
student
in terms
of life experience,
raceProgram
or
a dynamic academic
community
where teaching
andpopulation,
researchwhether
combine
to produce
leaders
and
create (CTE),
Technical
Education
ethnicity,
is
a
hallmark
of
Georgia
State
University.
The
opportunity
to
teach
and
learn
in
such
a
rich
st
conquer
thethe
challenges
of the 21 century.
which offers teaching certification for
Here solutions
are the fivetomain
goals of
environment
isstrategic
one of theplan:
University’s greatest strengths. Starting from this position of strength, our goal
from
specific areas of
is to raise graduation rates and student achievement to levels where theprofessionals
University will be
recognized
Become
a
national
model
for
undergraduate
education
by
business
or health.
nationally for graduating diverse and talented students who are uniquelyindustry,
well prepared
for leadership
in Students
demonstrating
that
students
from
all
backgrounds
can
society
and in the
the program
learn to adapt the
Social, cultural
andworkplace.
economic progress depends in part on the work andindedication
of well-educated
achieve academic and career success at high rates.
expertise
in their professions
scholars, scientists and societal leaders. Our goal is to enhance the size and
quality ofgained
our graduate
programs
so
that
they
are
recognized
nationally
and
internationally
for
graduating
talented
and
classroom.racemotivated
The diversity of the undergraduate student population, whether in termstoofthe
life experience,
or
individuals
with
the
knowledge
and
skills
necessary
to
take
on
important
roles.
Significantly
strengthen
and
grow
the
base
of
distinctive
gradethnicity, is a hallmark of Georgia State University. The opportunity to teach CTE
and learn
in suchbegin
a rich their training
students
GOAL 1
GOAL 2
GOAL 3
GOAL 4
GOAL 5
environment
is one of the
University’s
greatest
Startingoffrom this
position
of strength,
our goal
uate
and professional
programs
that
assurestrengths.
development
at the
summer
institute
at Georgia
is
to
raise
graduation
rates
and
student
achievement
to
levels
where
the
University
will
be
recognized
the next generation of researchers and societal leaders.
State’s Alpharetta campus, where
nationally for graduating diverse and talented students who are uniquely well prepared for leadership in
spendoftheir
days acquiring the
Social,
andworkplace.
economic progress depends in part on the work andthey
dedication
well-educated
societycultural
and in the
scholars,
scientists
and societal
leaders.
Our State
goal isUniversity,
to enhance
size and
quality
of our
graduate
skills
they’ll
need
for
The integral
relationship
between
Georgia
thethe
Atlanta
metropolitan
area,
and
thetheir
Statefirst
of year
Become
a leading
public
research
university
addressing
programs
so
that
they
are
recognized
nationally
and
internationally
for
graduating
talented
and
motivated
Georgia
the imperative
the21st
University
to establish itself as anofessential
partner to governments
teaching.
the
mostcreates
challenging
issues offorthe
century.
individuals
with thecommitted
knowledgetoand
skills the
necessary
to take
onour
important
roles. of these challenges are not
and organizations
solving
challenges
facing
region. Many
“Many of our students who come
unique to metro Atlanta, but rather are characteristic of emerging megacities worldwide. Our goal thereinto the
ourtype
program
are licensed in their
Some of the most serious challenges facing our nation and humanity require
of innovative,
fore is to become a leading university engaged in the study of and the development and implementation
creative and interdisciplinary solutions that are produced by world-class areas
university
research.
Our
goal is to never
of megacities
expertise,ofbut
Be
a leader
in understanding
the complex
of timely
solutions
to complex challenges
facedchallenges
by cities as they transition to the
the they’ve
future.
accelerate Georgia State’s advancement as a world-class research university, raising the scale, significance
taken
their
content
knowledge
and
of
cities
and developing
effective
Social,
cultural
and contributions.
economic
progresssolutions.
depends in part on the work and dedication of well-educated
and impact
of our
translated
into
lesson plans,” said
scholars, scientists and societal leaders. Our goal is to enhance the size and
quality ofitour
graduate
Janet Burns,
COE
assistant
programs
so relationship
that they arebetween
recognized
nationally
internationally
for graduating
talented
andclinical
motivated
The integral
Georgia
Stateand
University,
the Atlanta
metropolitan
area,
and
the
State
of
individuals
with the
skillsUniversity
necessarytotoestablish
take on itself
important
roles.
Georgia creates
theknowledge
imperativeand
for the
as anprofessor
essential partner
to
governments
and director of the CTE
Achieve
in globalizing
the
university.
and organizations
to solving
the
challenges
facing
our region.
Many
oftype
theseofchallenges
not
onare
the back
Some
of distinction
the most committed
serious
challenges
facing
our
nation and
humanity
require
the
innovative,
program. “Wecontinued
teach them
how to
unique
to
metro
Atlanta,
but
rather
are
characteristic
of
emerging
megacities
worldwide.
Our
goal
therecreative and interdisciplinary solutions that are produced by world-class university research. Our goal is to
manage a classroom and bring their
fore is to become
leadingadvancement
university engaged
in the study
of anduniversity,
the development
and
implementation
accelerate
Georgia aState’s
as a world-class
research
raising the
scale,
significance
More
thansolutions
ever before,
our graduates
must
be prepared
tothey
thinktransition
and work
globally
inbase
orderinto
to the
become
knowledge
a future.
learning
of
timely
to
complex
challenges
faced
by
cities
as
to
the
megacities
of
and impact of our contributions.
leaders of tomorrow. Likewise, increasing numbers of faculty must be active
internationally
in
scholarship
environment.”
to provide leadership in their respective fields. Our goal is to further curricular innovation and the
For more information on the
development of a thriving network of international partnerships so that our students and faculty have
CTE program,
http://msit.gsu.
the resources and experiences required for success in an increasingly interconnected
andvisit
globally
continued on the back
edu/1472.html.
oriented
world.
Some
of the
most serious challenges facing our nation and humanity require
the type of innovative,
creative and interdisciplinary solutions that are produced by world-class university research. Our by
goalC la
is to
ire
accelerate Georgia State’s advancement as a world-class research university, raising the scale, significance
and
impact
of ourbefore,
contributions.
More
than ever
our graduates must be prepared to think and work globally in order to become
M i lle r
leaders of tomorrow. Likewise, increasing numbers of faculty must be active internationally in scholarship
gsu.edu/magazine
to provide leadership in their respective fields. Our goal is to further curricular innovation and the
7
cityscapes
Serving Those
Most in Need
s p o t l i g h t
a cpr hero
When Jeannie Barrett took a CPR
course through GSU’s Office of
Emergency Management, she had no
idea she would actually use her new
skills just a few months later.
The associate legal adviser at GSU
was at a lecture on how to care for antique furniture at The Shops of Miami
Circle when she heard the rumbling of
people behind her saying, “I think he
needs help.”
Moments later Barrett was performing CPR on an older gentleman who had
dropped his clipboard, stopped breathing and begun to lose color in his face.
Jeannie Barrett
“I was the only person there who
knew CPR, but everybody did something they could do,” Barrett said.
“I grabbed my wallet and got my review card that they gave me when I was
done with my class and handed it to
somebody and said, ‘Read this to me.’
I checked to see if he was breathing and
he wasn’t, and I started CPR.”
Barrett is not sure how long she performed CPR before the paramedics
took over, but she was grateful to learn
the man had survived when his cardiologist called to find out specific details
about what had happened.
Barrett has also served on the GSU
Pandemic Planning Committee and the
Crisis Committee for the Study Abroad
Programs Office.
by L eah S eu p e r sa d
The imperative to train
mental health professionals
at issue
Meg Buscema/Staff
GSU legal adviser
springs into action
and saves a life
By Lisa Armistead
Faculty
Sage Advice
We asked the more than 2,400
Facebook friends of the GSU
Alumni Association to share
some words of wisdom for the
graduating class of 2010.
Here are a few highlights:
“Network, network, network! Its
power is amazing. Relationships
made in your early career can
last a lifetime and come back to
you directly or through a new
connection that knows your old
“Go ahead and get your master’s!
Taking a break is overrated!” Taffanee Stanford (B.S. ’96)
“Stay true to yourself!”
Teresa Cook McCullough (B.S.Ed. ’88)
“You get
out of life
what you
put into it.
Make it
good!”
connections as you progress in
Deirdre Welton
your vocation.”
Russell (B.A. ’98)
Gary Meek (B.A. ’84)
“Wear sunscreen.
Trust me.”
Catherine
Wendy Wilmoth
Erica Myers
Branscome
(B.A. ’92)
(B.A. ’10)
(B.S.Ed.’92)
“Live below your means. Buy a pre-owned car if you
have to buy one. Keep a roommate. Live frugally
and build up your cash savings.” Audrea Rease (M.B.A. ’05)
Become friends with the Alumni Association at facebook.com/gsuaa.
8
“Adapt
quickly.”
“Think
positive ...
and believe
you can
make it!”
OP-ED
Not uncommonly, I receive calls from Georgians seeking psychological services for
themselves or for their children. Given that I have spent most of my life in Atlanta and
the past 15 years in GSU’s Department of Psychology, I am routinely discouraged by
how few referrals I can offer due to a shortage of trained professionals. The explanation for this scarcity is complex, but the problem is not insurmountable.
Mental disorders afflict between 20 and 35 percent of adults and one in five children. The numbers are staggering; still, many are surprised to learn that mental
disorders are the leading cause of disability in this country. Less surprising are the unprecedented gains in knowledge about the brain and human behavior that have occurred over the last decade. These gains have compelled impressive advances in the
science of understanding mental disorders and the development of effective treatments.
GSU’s researchers routinely contribute to the basic science that underlies our understanding of mental disorders, as well as the evidence base that allows their effective
treatment. Our scientists are also among those calling for increased access to care for
people living with a mental disorder and for attention to the socioeconomic and racial
disparities that exist in access to care. Estimates indicate that only 30 percent of those
in need of mental health care receive it. We must ensure that prevention and treatment become more available. Providing high caliber, scientifically driven training for
mental health care providers is a clear step in that direction.
A recent award to faculty in the Clinical Psychology Program is one of those
steps. Lindsey Cohen, Frank Floyd and Aki Masuda received Department of Health
and Human Services funding through the Graduate Psychology Education (GPE)
Program to train students to work with disadvantaged populations at Children’s
Healthcare of Atlanta. As part of their doctoral training program, these students address psychosocial concerns associated with having a chronic medical condition —
concerns that, without more trained professionals, extend well beyond available services. In 2010, the total federal funding made available to the GPE Program’s approximately 30 funded programs was $3 million, and the GPE is the only federal program
dedicated exclusively to psychology education and training. Although trainees access
other funding sources, most leave graduate school obligated to repay student loans in
amounts that challenge their ability to work with the most marginalized and economically disadvantaged.
Financial support for training is critical; however, also important is training that
prepares providers to work with an increasingly diverse population. One size does not
fit all, and professionals must be steeped in the awareness, knowledge and skills necessary to provide culturally competent services to those who suffer.
I eagerly await the day I can answer calls for help with a long list of well-qualified
mental health care providers.
Mental disorders
afflict between
20 and 35
percent of
adults and one
in five children.
The numbers
are staggering;
still, many are
surprised to
learn that mental
disorders are the
leading cause of
disability in this
country.
L i sa A r m i stea d i s p r ofesso r a n d C ha i r of the De pa r tme n t of Psychology
gsu.edu/magazine
9
cityscapes
Sieneih Lewis and Tracia Livingston worked this past
Highlighting
the good
works of GSU
around the
global
world
fall as Spanish translators at Grady Memorial Hospital, where they answered phones
in the language interpretation office, provided financial counseling and assisted the
hospital’s medical interpreter.
The recent graduates, who both earned a B.A. in Spanish, were participating in a practicum class during
their final semester that required 100 hours of volunteer work at the hospital. The work, while sometimes
heartbreaking, has been extremely rewarding, they say.
“It makes you realize that sickness doesn’t discriminate,” Lewis said. “It doesn’t care what language
you speak or where you come from.”
When they weren’t in the office or shadowing the interpreter, Lewis and Livingston would simply walk
the halls looking for those in need of help.
“People would get really excited when we’d walk up to them speaking Spanish,” Lewis said. “They’d
tell us their entire life story.”
Even though the two graduated in December, they both went back to volunteer in January.
“Every day, you walk out of there saying, ‘I helped someone today,’” Livingston said.
Sanchez Dixon and Tamara Coleman, seniors
majoring in music technology and music management respectively, are members
of the contemporary gospel quartet, Turning Pointe.
The group was selected by Jazz at Lincoln Center and the U.S. State Department’s Bureau of Educational
and Cultural Affairs to tour West Africa as part of The Rhythm Road: American Music Abroad program.
“It was a phenomenal experience,” Coleman said. “We encountered all walks of life, so many people
from different religions and different cultures.”
Their tour activities included public concerts, master classes and collaborations with local musicians.
While performing in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the group spent a day with refugees who
had fled their homes because of the long-running conflict there.
“We gave out food and water and then performed an impromptu mini-concert,” Coleman said.
Their favorite stop was in Ghana where, after their performance, the audience was so enamored, the
group was given three encores.
local
by W i ll i am I n ma n
Highlighting
the good
works of GSU
in Georgia
and in the
community
“They were so receptive,” Coleman said. “We were like rock stars!”
10
gsu.edu/magazine
11
1 0 1
Petit Science Center:
a diverse location
GSU Law wins ABA
mock arbitration
championship
pened in March 2010, the Parker H. Petit Science Center is a
high-tech, 350,000-square-foot building that is home to advances in research and learning, attracting educators from a wide array of disciplines, ranging from biology to nursing.
Before construction on the center could begin at the corner of
Decatur Street and Piedmont Avenue, officials researched the archaeological significance of the site as part of required impact studies and found that its history over
the past century reflects Atlanta’s ever-changing nature.
Before the Civil War,
Decatur Avenue was lined
with a few homes. Miraculously, some of the houses
survived the burning of Atlanta in 1864, though houses and businesses east of
there were incinerated.
As Atlanta was rebuilt,
the block changed into a
commercial and industrial
district in the late 19th century, serving as the home
for the Atlanta Foundry
and the Atlanta Wagon and
Timber Company.
Into the early 20th century, the location east of
downtown was described
as “the home of humanity
as it is,” in a 1913 article
in Journal Magazine.
It was a diverse area that
included transplanted
atlanta police headquarters (ca. 1929) once occupied
whites from rural north
the block where the Petit Science Center now stands.
Georgia, Jews and AfricanAmericans — prompting one writer to call the area “the melting pot of Dixie.” The
neighborhood was home to blacksmiths, wagon makers, grocers and horse salesmen.
The Atlanta Police Department headquarters and the local jail would eventually
be located near the site, where the buildings would remain until the 1990s.
Just before the 1960 presidential election, Martin Luther King Jr. was arrested
while trying to desegregate the lunch counter at the downtown Rich’s Department
Store and was booked into the jail on the block where the science center now stands.
American Bar Association’s (ABA)
o
Courtesy of The Atlanta History Center
In GSU’s first-ever appearance in the
by J e r emy C r a i g
Mock Arbitration Competition Jan.
21-22, a team from the College of
Law won the competition’s nation-
Holding Court
al championship. The four-person
Sophomore southpaw Victor
team of law students was Lisa Bobb,
Valente is one GSU’s top men’s
Andrew Hagenbush, Madeleine
tennis players as well as one
Peake and Wes Starrett. Professor
of the top players in his native
Doug Yarn coached.
country of Brazil. Valente, who
During the competition, held at
hails from Sao Paulo, is one of
the ABA headquarters in Chicago,
two Brazilians on the Panthers
the teams argued a fictional case in
men’s tennis team.
which a former employee for a nursing home company claimed that,
under the state whistle-blower’s protection act, he was wrongfully terminated for reporting staffing level
violations in the facility where he
worked. Each side had one hour to
present its case to a panel of three
arbitrators.
Georgia State defeated teams
from Stetson University and
Northern Kentucky en route to the
national title. The team received a
trophy, individual certificates, a set
of ABA publications and $1,000. The
ABA filmed the final and will produce it as a DVD.
“I knew this team could go all the
Bill Kallenberg
HISTO R Y
on the prowl
panthers
cityscapes
way,” Yarn said. “They approached
the task as lawyers, not as students
acting like lawyers. It being my first
coaching experience, I couldn’t be
more proud and excited.”
12
gsu.edu/magazine
13
panthers
s p o r t s
p r o f i l e
Globetrotters of Golf
14
cathy mant
For her athletes, coming to the
States to play college golf is no doubt a
huge leap of faith.
“Some of the kids I don’t meet face
to face until I pick them up at the airport,” Mant said. “It’s tough for the
girls as well as for their parents. They’re
adjusting to a new country, a new environment — a college environment —
a new language, new food. It’s total
culture shock.”
Mant, assistant coach Jackie
Szymoniak and the team’s Americanborn players do their best to help curb
the international players’ homesickness.
For the team’s Christmas dinner,
Mant made sure they got a hefty helping of American hospitality.
“I made them a great big homecooked meal.”
Meg Buscema/Staff
“These kids are used to life in the
big city, they’re well-traveled and welleducated,” she said.
Mant’s model yielded success almost
immediately. In 2003, she was named
the Atlantic Sun Conference Coach
of the Year after leading the Panthers
to their first-ever conference title and
NCAA Tournament bid. That team
was led by Lisbeth Meincke, a native of
Rungsted, Denmark, who won the conference tournament that year and would
go on to win three more individual titles and earn player of the year honors
in 2005 and 2006.
Heading into her 11th season,
Mant is now the winningest coach in
Georgia State golf history. She has
won six Coach of the Year awards, and
her teams have posted 21 tournament
victories, won five conference titles
and made seven NCAA Regional
appearances.
Her 2011 team — led by another
Dane, junior Charlotte Lorenzen, the
2010 CAA Golfer of the Year and the
conference tournament medalist —
is the two-time defending Colonial
Athletic Association champion.
Meincke and Lorenzen, like many of
Mant’s international players, had played
on their country’s national team.
“They’ve competed at a high level
internationally, so these girls know how
to handle the competition and the pressure,” Mant said.
Mant knows a few things about topflight competition. In 1970, the AllAmerican at Arizona State won the
individual title at the Division of Girls
and Women’s Sports Championship
(later known as the Women’s NCAA
Championship).
I
t took a bit of arm twisting to persuade Cathy Mant to become GSU’s
first full-time women’s golf coach.
The 10-year, LPGA Tour veteran
was an instructor at Eagle’s Landing
Golf Club back in 2000 when Trey
Jones, then the men’s coach and director of Golf Operations, first approached
her to take over the program.
“I kept telling him, ‘nope, nope,
nope,’” she said.
Eventually, the challenge became
too intriguing to pass up, she said. After
all, as a professional golf teacher, she
had molded the skill sets of players who
had gone on to play for powerhouse
golf schools such as Stanford, Tennessee
and her alma mater, Arizona State.
“I came in thinking that it’s going to
be about mechanics, teaching, that kind
of stuff,” she said. “Goodness gracious,
I soon realized there’s a lot more to it!”
She quickly learned that the most
important part of coaching at the collegiate level is recruiting. And to make
the program a success nationally, she
knew her first order of business would
be to bring in top tier players — not
an easy feat considering the program’s
newcomer status.
So Mant decided to look far outside
of the traditional recruiting grounds of
the Southeast. In fact, she looked all the
way across the pond.
“I found that there were some great
international players who wanted to
come here because they had the opportunity to get a great education and to
continue to play golf,” she said.
In many countries, Mant explained,
universities don’t offer intercollegiate golf.
Moreover, she used Georgia State’s urban
setting as a selling point to her recruits.
At 6 feet, 10 inches tall and 230 pounds, James Vincent is a force in the paint for
Head Coach Rod Barnes and the Panthers basketball team — but he may be just
as talented painting in the art studio as he is blocking shots and pulling down rebounds on the basketball court.
As the drawing, painting and printmaking major in the Ernest G. Welch School
of Art and Design tells it, he’s been doodling on paper long before he was dribbling
a basketball.
“I became interested in drawing and painting when I was around 2 years old,”
Vincent said.
His interest was piqued by the classic video game, Sonic the Hedgehog.
“I remember playing Sonic, and I was intrigued by how Sonic was created, how
he was drawn, so as the years went on, I got into creating art and illustrating video
games,” he said.
Vincent says he has his sights set on a career in video game design.
Though Vincent is only a sophomore, Barnes has seen enough to think the promising young post player has the potential to be a big time contributor for the Panthers.
“James is a kid that has a great upside,” Barnes said. “He’s got a chance to be an
impact player and definitely one who can be very effective in our league.”
It turns out that Vincent isn’t the only member of the basketball team with an
artistic side.
“[Senior] Dante Curry draws too, and we go at it every day about who can draw
better,” Vincent said.
If you ask Vincent, however, there is no doubt who’s the best artist on the team.
“I draw better,” he says.
GSU Athletics
Cathy Mant’s team of international players
has taken women’s golf to lofty heights
The biggest artist on campus
Frady named European
Coach of the Year
Georgia State Head Baseball
Coach Greg Frady, who also directs
the German National Team, has been
named European Baseball Coach of
the Year by the European Baseball
Coaches Association.
Frady is being recognized for
his work with the German Baseball
Organization as well as for his role in
helping to develop the game of baseball in Europe. Frady led the German
National team to a third place finish at
the 2010 European Championship —
the first time the country has received
a medal in the modern era of baseball.
“Since Coach Frady took over
the German baseball program seven
years ago, he has taken it to another
level,” said Georg Apfelbaum, executive director of the European Baseball
Coaches Association.
“I’m extremely honored to be recognized by my peers in European
baseball,” Frady said. “I love the
game of baseball, and the opportunity to help advance the sport in
Germany is incredibly rewarding.”
gsu.edu/magazine
15
Alumni association Travel
Costa Rica –
Wind Star
Italy’s Magnificent
Lake District
Treasures of China &
Tibet – Century Sky
Rome – An Insider’s
Perspective
March 16-26, 2011
May 31 – June 8, 2011
August 26 – Sept. 10, 2011
November 7 – 15, 2011
Begin your
Costa Rican
journey in
cosmopolitan
San Jose, and
then travel to
the exquisite cloud forest, Arenal
National Park. After spending
two days in this cloud-drenched
paradise you will board the
elegant Wind Star for a sevennight cruise touring Costa Rica’s
many treasures. Start in beautiful
Playa del Coco, then continue
to Quepos and explore the rain
forest, then head to Bahia Drake
and the Curu Game Reserve and
finish on the sun-drenched shores
of Tortuga Island.
Discover
the beauty
and magic
of Italy’s
Lake District.
Cruise the
sapphire waters of Lake Maggiore
to the Borromean Islands. Visit
Milan and admire the dazzling
art and architecture. Explore
Bellagio and Como, two of Italy’s
most enchanting cities before
heading to the idyllic Swiss village
of Ascona. Your home base from
which to explore Italy’s celebrated
Lake District is the town of Stresa
nestled on the shores of Lake
Maggiore.
Discover
China and
experience
its ancient
culture and
enduring
history. Visit Tian’anmen Square in
Beijing, the Forbidden City and the
Great Wall. Marvel at the Terra
Cotta Warriors in Xi’an then
experience the stunning landscape
in Lhasa and impressive landmarks
of Tibet. Travel to Chongqing to
see the giant pandas and then
board Century Sky to cruise
the magnificent Three Gorges
along the Yangtze River. Finish in
Shanghai with visits to the Bund
and Yu Garden.
Travel back
in time
with a walk
through the
Colosseum,
marvel at
the Vatican Museum and Sistine
Chapel. Journey to Orvieto for
a cooking class and delve into
ancient Rome in Studio Cassio.
View the impressive shrines and
temples in the port of Ostia.
Planned excursions and free
time, plus centrally-located
accommodations, give you the
opportunity to discover the
Eternal City’s must-see sites.
Price is approximately $3,495 per person,
plus airfare and taxes, based on double
occupancy.
plus airfare and V.A.T, based on double
occupancy.
plus airfare and V.A.T, based on double
occupancy.
the arts
music, art, film & literature
Price is approximately $2,495
per person plus airfare,
based on double
occupancy.
* All trips are presented by AHI International. For more information visit GSU.EDU/ALUMNI or call 1-800-GSU-ALUM.
A Charitable Gift Annuity
at Georgia State University
When you make a gift of $10,000 or more,
Georgia State can offer you (and/or your loved
ones) a fixed income for life. Charitable Gift
Annuities also generate tax deductions and may
reduce capital gains. Annuity rate will vary based
on your age and current interest rates.
Some sample rates:
Your age:
60
70
80
90
Annuity: 5.2%
5.8%
7.2%
9.5%
Your ages: 74/69 Annuity: 5.4%
84/79
6.4%
Annuity rates
are subject to
change. Once
your gift is made,
the annuity rate
remains fixed.
Hot Stuff
To learn more about life income gifts and other
“tax-wise” giving opportunities, please contact:
16
move molten iron from a furnace
during one of the universities
Meg Buscema/Staff
Christine Eckoff
Senior Director of Gift Planning
Georgia State University
P.O. Box 3984, Atlanta, GA 30302
Phone:
(404) 413-3425
Fax:
(404) 413-3417
E-mail:
ceckoff@gsu.edu
Web:
www.giftplanning.gsu.edu
Clad in protective gear, sculptors
most beloved traditions, the
annual Holiday Iron Pour. Going
into its 40th year, it is now the
second oldest public iron pour
in the United States.
gsu.edu/magazine
17
the arts
The Science of Art History
Tinseltown
Comes to GSU
Melinda Hartwig uses new technologies
to explore ancient Egypt’s antiquities
Because the Tomb of Menna has heavy traffic from tourists, Hartwig’s team has made improvements to protect the art.
Hartwig’s work also has brought her to television audiences
on the Science Channel, where she recently co-hosted a twopart special on the ancient architecture of Egypt and Rome.
“The amount of effort that went into building the structures in Egypt is just mind boggling today, and for the
Romans, their architecture was all about the display of power,” she said. “These are the roots of our architectural tradition and our heritage.”
B y J e r emy C r a i g
Photography courtesy of USAID
the-art archaeometric techniques to analyze the pigments used to decorate the
tomb; Sarah Livermore, a member of Hartwig’s team, removes an acrylic polymer,
used in earlier conservation attempts, from the surface of paintings inside the tomb;
Conservator Christina Beretta surveys different colors of sandstone powder to be
used to fill the voids between the paintings.
public service announcements and
press releases for the nonprofit organization Embracing Differences, while
Sean Stanley did graphic design work
The undead prowl the streets around GSU during the first episode of AMC’s television series “The Walking Dead,” as well as in the opening scene of “Zombieland,”
starring Woody Harrelson and Bill Murray. Woodruff Park — a place that has seen
its share of characters over the years — is the setting for a climactic scene in “The
Change-Up,” a body-switch comedy starring Jason Bateman and Ryan Reynolds.
Atlanta has become a hot location for Hollywood producers, and the attention
the area is receiving has become a windfall for graduates and students of the
Department of Communications’
film and video programs,
said Kay Beck, professor of
communication and director
of the Digital Arts and
Entertainment Lab.
“I would guess that probably
half of the people working in the
film industry in Georgia went
to Georgia State or are studying
here,” she estimates.
Beck said that the undergraduate film and video program as
well as graduate programs in
moving image studies and film,
video, and digital imaging prepare students for all angles of
work in the industry. Many students have interned at local production companies or at the
family of networks at Turner
Rick Grimes (actor Andrew Lincoln) surveys
Broadcasting System, Beck said.
destruction along Forsyth Street during the
“We also keep a very extenfirst episode of AMC’s post-apocalyptic series,
sive listserv for producers to ac“The Walking Dead.”
cess,” Beck said. “And that runs
the gamut from grips to extras, all the way up to directors.”
It was the Georgia Production Partnership and the Georgia Film Commission,
organizations of which Beck is a member, that lobbied in 2005 to pass a tax incentive as part of House Bill 539, making it more attractive for films to shoot here.
GSU students and grads are working to keep Georgia in the limelight. For example, Bill Thompson (B.S. ’79, M.A. ’84) is the newly elected director of the
Georgia Film, Video and Music Office. And on screen, Scott Teems (B.A.’99) is
reaping awards — including the Juried Award for best film at the Atlanta Film
Festival — for his directorial debut, “That Evening Sun,” starring Oscar nominee
Hal Holbrook.
Courtesy AMC TV
melinda hartwig
From Left: Inside the inner hall of the tomb of Menna, Hartwig’s team uses state-of-
18
This past fall, Skylar Deright wrote
Atlanta’s showbiz boom puts film students
and grads in high demand
I
n Egypt, the burial places and the
works of art within them form
masterpieces that have stood the
test of millennia. But even after centuries of work by historians and
archaeologists, many mysteries remain.
Using modern scientific tools
and a knowledge of art history, Melinda
Hartwig is taking part in modern-day efforts to explore and understand how this
ancient civilization created artwork and
architecture that still have relevance today.
Her work as an associate professor of
Egyptian art and archaeology has taken
her far afield, from the great pyramids
to the site of her most recent efforts,
the Tomb of Menna, located in Egypt’s
Theban Necropolis. There, she looked at the vibrant hues
decorating the tomb of a tax collector.
Using spectroscopy and other tools, combined with visual
analysis, she and her team discovered how the artists worked
along the walls, sometimes starting on one end and then
painting over the section with plaster to start over again.
“It became clear that, yes, there was an aspect of mass
production, but by and large, there was a sense that each artist had their own ‘signature,’” said Hartwig. “Even though
Egyptian artists were anonymous, that was revealed through
different pigment mixtures.”
Honing their craft
for the Museum of Design Atlanta.
They were enrolled in graphic
design and public relations classes
whose professors exposed them to
real-world projects for nonprofit
organizations around Atlanta.
“We have a tremendous opportunity
to get real-world feedback on our work,
and we have more of an incentive to
work harder because we know what we
turn in is going to actually be used by
the clients that we have,” said Deright,
a senior majoring in journalism.
Richard Welch, a lecturer in communications, says his public relations classes have worked with a
variety of nonprofits, including the
Anti-Prejudice Consortium, United
Way—Homelessness Commission,
Piedmont Healthcare and the Metro
Atlanta Arts and Culture Coalition.
Stan Anderson, associate professor of graphic design, says his senior
design class has worked on graphic design projects for the Museum
of Design Atlanta that will be used
to promote several of their upcoming exhibitions. Anderson’s classes
have also created logos, brochures
and T-shirts for The Miracle House
Organization, a nonprofit group in
New York that provides temporary
housing, meals and advocacy to caregivers and patients coming there for
critical medical treatment.
B y L eah S eu p e r sa d
gsu.edu/magazine
19
research & innovation
religion in america
Historian’s new book outlines ‘myth’
of religious tolerance over two centuries
If you want to start a heated debate in
the United States, just mention religion
and the state — then stand back while
both liberals and conservatives base
their arguments on different views of
American history and the role of religion
in it.
Liberals might argue that the
founders separated church and state.
Conservatives might assert that the U.S.
was founded as, and has always been, a
Christian nation.
David Sehat, an assistant professor
of history at GSU, argues that both approaches are wrong.
He’s written a new book, “The
Myth of American Religious Freedom”
(Oxford University Press, 2011), where
he hopes to make both the left and the
right re-evaluate these deeply held beliefs. Sehat examines law, society, culture
and politics from 1776 to the early 21st
century to dispel what he calls myths.
“I’ve tried to write a history that engages in the present, but not necessarily a comprehensive history,” Sehat said.
“Instead, I’m trying to engage with both
contemporary conservatives and liberals
who appeal to the past to support their
political positions.”
Firoozeh Forouzan, a
graduating master’s student
in anthropology, holds an
artifact from Iran dating
have,” Sehat said. “But so long as we’re
making these appeals to a false past, the
debate is not going to be helpful.
“If we would change the historical foundation of that debate, maybe we
could have a better, more honest and
more productive debate, because my
standpoint now is that the debate is basically deadlocked,” he said.
from 500 to 400 B.C. It’s
believed that the animal
figurine was used as a token
for exchanging goods.
The tokens represented
domesticated animals like
goats, sheep and cattle.
b o o k s
Nietzsche and the
Ancient Skeptical Tradition
By Jessica Berry
Oxford University Press
248 pages
Jessica Berry is
assistant professor of
philosophy
20
A Small Token
The Language of Outsourced
Call Centers: A corpus-based study
of cross-cultural
interaction
By Eric Friginal
John Benjamins
Publishing Company
319 pages
Eric Friginal is assistant
professor of applied
linguistics and ESL
Smoking Typewriters: The Sixties
Underground Press and the Rise of
Alternative Media
in America
By John McMillian
Oxford University Press
304 pages
John McMillian is
assistant professor
of history
Meg Buscema/Staff
f a c u l t y
The history of religion
and politics in America can’t
be explained in simple, absolute terms, he argues.
Countering the liberal
argument, he said that
from the outset, major
questions about church
and state occurred on the
state level, and the states
connected Protestant
Christianity and state extensively, because leaders
thought it necessary to
perpetuate morality.
And against the conservative argument, Sehat argues that there have always
david sehat
been critics of the role of
religion with the state, from
dissenters to reformers, who object to
the connections because they believed
they undermined individual rights.
Throughout our history, finding a
middle ground through calm conversation has been elusive. Despite the difficulty, Sehat said, we still need to address
the issue.
“The debate about the role of religion in public life is a proper one to
advances
the arts
gsu.edu/magazine
21
advances
Old drugs, new tricks
L i f e
Meg Buscema/Staff
L a b
who graduated from GSU in 2010 with a B.A. in biology. She
works in the laboratory of George Pierce, professor of applied
environmental microbiology, who studies life at the molecular level.
L
22
t h e
Catie Jensen is a post-baccalaureate student
New center explores a traditional medicine
to treat inflammation
A s tol d to J e r emy C r a i g
My project is to help in vaccine development, particularly one that will, we
hope, lead to a vaccine for the Ebola virus. We don’t work directly with Ebola, but
instead, we work with the proteins that would be necessary to create the vaccine.
I’m really excited to do this kind of work. While molecular biology is challenging, it is real-life stuff, very relevant, and something the general public can
understand.
I’ve enjoyed working in the lab at GSU. I’ve had a great opportunity to flourish
here in a welcoming environment. We have fun together, and we work as a team.
Undergraduates, master’s, Ph.D. students and post doctoral researchers are not
separated. We all share with one another.
I’m going to veterinary school at the University of Missouri after I’m finished
here. Being in the lab has allowed me to learn more and learn faster, and it has
helped me to get into veterinary school. At Missouri, I’m going to apply what I’ve
learned here to the veterinary field.
Equalizing health
In many neighborhoods in Atlanta
and beyond, lower incomes equal
poor health. A group of dedicated
Georgia State researchers wants to
change that.
The National Institutes of Health
recently awarded Georgia State a $6.7
million grant to start the new Center
for Excellence in Health Disparities
Research, where faculty hope to learn
more about how to close the gap.
Poor health in poor neighborhoods is thought to stem from a
number of factors such as poverty,
discrimination, unemployment and
lack of access to care, as well as the
manmade environment.
“These factors conspire to put
communities at a disadvantage in
terms of health and well-being,”
The road
said Michael Eriksen, director of the
to new meds
Institute of Public Health at GSU.
The process of developing
The new center looks at three ma-
medications can take
jor areas in health inequality. First,
billions of dollars and
they want to know more about the
decades of research.
differences in health in disadvantaged
In the U.S., there
neighborhoods, especially in the
is a period of in-lab
wake of the demolition of traditional
experimentation, then
public housing.
three clinical phases,
Second, they want to know more
where at any point the
about the role of churches in reducing
drug could fail if scientists
drug use and the transmission of HIV.
are not able to prove it is
Finally, researchers will look at
safe and effective. During
ways to use computer training to re-
the preliminary in-lab
phase, data is provided
to the Food and Drug
Administration, which will
grant, or deny, permission
to start clinical trials.
Meg Buscema/Staff
ike a weapon wielded in
battle, inflammation is
the body’s natural way
of fighting off foreign
invaders like
viruses or bacteria. But
when this weapon goes
unchecked, the results can
be debilitating.
For example, chronic
inflammation is the cause
of rheumatoid arthritis,
chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder and chronic ear infections, which in
children may impact speech
development.
Jian-Dong Li, director
of the new Center for
Jian-Dong Li outside of his lab in GSU’s parker h. petit science center
Inflammation, Immunity
and Infection at Georgia State,
named a Georgia Research Alliance Eminent
is always searching for better ways to
Scholar. “If you do, you will cause serious
reduce the suffering associated with chronic
side effects, like reduced immunity and livinflammation, and now he thinks he’s
er damage.”
found one.
Li’s exploration into Vinpocetine uses a
The new Georgia State researcher
plan of attack called drug repositioning strathas discovered that a medication called
egy. Researchers take an existing drug and,
Vinpocetine — used for decades in Europe
using the same dosage as what’s been apand Japan to treat cerebrovascular disorders
proved for clinical use by regulatory bodies,
and to improve memory — can turn off the
perform experiments to see if it can be used
inflammation that can make life miserable.
for other purposes.
“It will definitely help to improve the
Since much of the work has already been
quality of life, and definitely attenuate the
done, regulatory agencies are able to move
symptoms,” said Li, who brings his work
more quickly to either deny or approve a
on inflammation from the University of
medication’s use for a new indication.
Rochester Medical Center.
Ultimately, Li’s new center will help get at
Better yet, the drug — based on chemicals
the cellular and molecular roots of inflammafound in the periwinkle plant — has fewer
tion, which are not fully understood.
side effects than do steroids, the more com“The best way to say it is that it’s a lot like
mon treatment.
love,” Li said. “Everybody talks about it, but
“Steroids are potent in their anti-inflamnobody fully understands it.”
matory effects, but you can’t use them for
too long,” explained Li, who was recently
i n
duce child abuse.
“What we hope to do with this
new, larger center is to better understand these forces that contribute to
ill health,” Eriksen said.
gsu.edu/magazine
23
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Story by Millie De Chirico (B.A. ’02) g
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The first time I walked into the WRAS studio, it was the middle of the night during the graveyard shift — a section of time, presumably, when no one was listening,
carved out for new DJs to be trained on air. As a freshman, I had applied to be a
DJ at WRAS as soon as I possibly could. Station regulations required that freshmen have at least one quarter under their belt before signing up, or I would have
applied sooner.
It was 1997. I had been 18 years old for all of six months and
couldn’t wait for this night to arrive. Despite the ungodly hour, on
a cold night in the ominous halls of an empty University Center, I
was brimming with excitement.
I had been a devoted listener of the station throughout high
school. Album 88 was, and still is, a refuge for kids into music that
Millie De Chirico
is remotely “different” or “cutting edge.” The music featured on
WRAS was always fresh and diverse; the station was well-known
for playing artists before they ever hit the mainstream, and its annual WRASFest
concerts were legendary. I had been dying for a chance to work there one day; it
was a huge reason why I decided to attend GSU.
The first person I met that night was Jez DeWolff (B.S. ’01), a music industry
management major and assistant program director of the station. She looked just
like I thought a WRAS DJ should — like a cool older sister. She was cheery despite
the time of night and instantly welcoming. She took me on a tour of the station —
a slightly cramped but cozy space covered floor to ceiling with band posters, stickers and station ephemera. The broadcast booth itself was a windowless cove lined
with shelves of vinyl records and with a giant disco ball hanging from the ceiling. A
beat-up loveseat was shoved in the corner.
Little did I know this cove would be my absolute favorite place to hang out during my next five years at GSU.
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gsu.edu/magazine
25
The early years
Though my experience with the station began as a teenaged listener in the early 1990s, the story of WRAS begins
in the mid-’60s, back when GSU was still known as Georgia
State College. The station was then 103.3 FM (now known as
V-103) on the radio dial.
According to Jeff Walker (B.S. ’83, M.S. ’88), WRAS advisor and operations manager and the definitive historian on all
things WRAS, the owner of the station’s frequency, WPLOFM, knew they couldn’t turn a profit with an FM station in
Atlanta at that time, so they let Georgia State use it. “But
when FM stations in other major markets started making
money in the late 1960s playing Woodstock-era rock,”
Walker says, “the owners of WPLO-FM notified Georgia
State that our use of the frequency would be terminated.”
So, on Nov. 12, 1969, Georgia State University
(which had been given university status a few
months earlier) filed with the FCC for its own
station at 88.5 FM. In February of 1970, the
commission granted a permit for WRAS to operate at 19,500 watts. Two small studios were set up
in the current University Center (then called the
Student Center), and the antenna was placed on
high ground near the intersection of Piedmont and Cheshire
Bridge roads, giving the station excellent coverage of the
metro area. Thanks to the work of early station engineers,
WRAS’ signal sounded so good that it was often used to demonstrate hi-fi stereo equipment for audiophiles in retail stores. WRAS 88.5 FM officially signed on the air on Jan. 18,
1971, at 11 a.m. The first song ever played was opening measures from “Also sprach Zarathustra” by Richard Strauss,
popularly known as the theme from the movie “2001: A Space
Odyssey.” It was immediately followed by “My Sweet Lord”
by George Harrison.
Richard Belcher (B.B.A. ’72), currently an investigative reporter and anchor at WSB-TV in Atlanta, was called on to
become Album 88’s first general manager.
“I was originally a journalism major at UGA before transferring to Atlanta and changing to a business major. But I retained my interest in journalism, and the opportunity to help
organize a start-up radio station was an exciting prospect,”
Belcher says.
With a new GM in place, WRAS was on the fast track
despite only broadcasting for a portion of the day.
“We started by signing on at 9 a.m. and off at 2 a.m., and
moved sign-on pretty quickly to 7 a.m.” Belcher recalls.
Even with its limited schedule, WRAS quickly earned a
reputation for being a professionally run student station, one
that was inventive and fresh. The station soon adopted
the name Album 88, a nod to the album-based programming of the station: DJs would play several
songs from an album as opposed to the singledriven format of most radio stations.
A station of influence
While most other college stations had poor training, sparse technical facilities and little knowledge of
radio programming, students at the helm in the early days
of Album 88 produced a progressive sound that proved so
popular it even began to influence format decisions down the
dial at commercial stations.
center: While in the WRAS studio on Jan. 29, 1979, The Boomtown
Rats’ lead singer Bob Geldof read a telex report about a shooting at an elementary school in San Diego. It provided the inspiration for the band’s hit song “I Don’t Like Mondays.” Here, Geldof
(far right) and the band’s keyboard player, Johnnie Fingers, hold
the famed report alongside then-musical director Cledra White
(far left) and DJ Ken Berg (B.A. ‘82).
When Walker came to the station in 1976, the staff at
WRAS had grown to about 100 people.
“It was exciting because we had such a huge [listening]
audience. We still have a large one now — about 50,000
listeners per week,” he says.
As the station’s Atlanta fanbase grew, word
also began to spread on the GSU campus that
WRAS was a cool place to work and hang out.
“There were big differences in musical
taste, but we were all glad to be there,” Walker
says. “During my time there were always
groups of students who hung out together. In
the early ´80s we used to have parties, and this
guy would show up dressed like a woman. He
wasn’t on staff but always liked our parties. It
turned out to be Ru Paul.”
Album 88’s influence was also beginning to take root in
the music community. It became one of the leading college
radio stations in the country and a prime destination for any
band on tour in Atlanta. Elvis Costello, The Eurythmics,
even Meat Loaf all paid visits to WRAS during this time.
One of the most famous visits to the station was from an
influential Irish punk/new wave band, The Boomtown Rats.
During the band’s interview at the station a story came across
the news service about a school shooting — an incident that
later inspired lead singer Bob Geldof to write their hit song,
“I Don’t Like Mondays.”
Another longtime station story is that Paul Westerberg,
lead singer of the rock band The Replacements, penned
their tune “Left of the Dial” while hanging out in the
Album 88 studios.
3
l
4
l
5
l
2
l
6
l
1
l
7
l
r
E
v
thE Co
Onclockwise
from lower left
1
l
2
l
Former musical director
5 Adam Geisler (B.S.Ed. ‘00),
l
Cledra White with
Matt Kehrli (B.A. ‘00),
“The King of Rockabilly”
Tally Briggs (B.A. ‘99),
Carl Perkins, 1979
Willie Nelson and Jez
Elvis Costello with Jane
DeWolff (B.A. ‘01), 1999
Davis (B.A. ‘82, M.S. ‘87),
6
l
Pavement, 1999
ca. 1988
left: Richard Belcher
(B.B.A. ‘72), the station’s
3
l
Kim Saade-Simshauser
Stephen Malkmus of
7
l
Outkast’s Big Boi in the
(B.S. ‘94) with Debbie
DAEL studio, 2007.
and now an investigative
Harry of Blondie,
Legend has it that WRAS
reporter at WSB-TV in
ca. 1989
was the first radio station
Joel Nash (B.A. ‘88),
ever to play an Outkast
Dave Cohen (B.A. ‘94),
song on-air.
first general manager
Atlanta, cues up a
single, 1971.
4
l
Adam Ant, Tom Lewis
(B.B.A. ‘86) and Tod
Elmore (B.A. ‘88),
ca. 1985
Images courtesy of Atlanta JournalConstitution Photographic Archives; Special
Collections and Archives, Georgia State
University Library; Dave Cohen; Millie
De Chirico; Jez DeWolff; Stephen Jones;
Kim Saade-Simshauser; Jeff Walker and WRAS
gsu.edu/magazine
25
27
As WRAS grew, so grew the need for more wattage. In the
spring of 1987, the station made the jump from 19,500 watts to
100,000 watts, making it the most powerful all-student-run station in the country. Walker recalls that the decision to add more
power was “enthusiastically supported by the administration”
and aided by the Student Activity Fee Committee.
In addition to getting help from the university, Album 88 began hosting benefit concerts
with local and national bands to help cover the
f
refront o
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costs of running a bigger radio station. Dave
th
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than 200
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ls
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“It was quite the ride,” Hill says. “The station was red hot.
The ‘alternative’ format was the talk of the music industry.
WRAS was considered to be an industry leader in breaking bands. If you were in a band and wanted to make it you
needed to get on 88.5.”
Matt Kehrli (B.A. ’00), another former general manager
of the station and now a senior on-air writer and producer
at TNT, created one of Album 88’s most popular programs,
a talk show called Lounge 88 that frequently boasted highprofile names.
“One day a publicist called the station, trying to set up an interview with Vincent Bugliosi,
the attorney who prosecuted and ultimately sent
Charles Manson to prison,” Kehrli remembers.
“After that, I kept getting calls from PR firms trying to book guests. Ultimately we ended up having big time comedians, actors, politicians — and
even zoo animals, literally — in studio.”
Who were some of Kehrli’s favorite “big time” guests?
“Lewis Black, [the late comedian] Mitch Hedberg — he
came by three times — comedians Pablo Francisco, David
Allen Grier, Bobcat Goldthwait ... but my all-time favorite
was definitely Willie Nelson. He came in the studio with his
sister and performed several songs. Did I mention it also happened to be his birthday? We actually sang ‘Happy Birthday’
to him in studio. An absolutely surreal experience.”
Rock ‘n’ roll family
Surreal is probably an appropriate word, then, to describe
the feeling I had upon finally working at the radio station
that had shaped my musical tastes during my formative years.
After my late-night training session that evening in ’97, I was
on the air for the next five years, eventually becoming general
manager myself in 2001. While I certainly had a wealth of
great experiences during my time at the station, the closeness
I developed with my fellow DJs was the most meaningful. I
made a lot of great friends at WRAS who I still keep in touch
with to this day.
DeWolff, the cheery and dutiful assistant program director from my first night, is one of them. She is now a marketing manager at Cartoon Network’s “Adult Swim” in Atlanta.
“It was like being in a fraternity,” DeWolff says of her
time at WRAS. “There were lots of great people with really
impressive music knowledge and taste.”
She still listens to the station every day on her
commute to work.
Web exclusive:
24
28
Tyler McGoff (B.A. ’11), current general manager of the
station, says this inclusiveness among the WRAS staff is alive
and well.
“Almost everyone gets along, and even if they’re not
friends, they’re still professional, respectful and polite while
everyone is working together,” he says. “There are 60 of us,
all from different backgrounds and with different life experiences. Because we are such a diverse staff, we all bring something different to the table when it comes to music.”
As WRAS begins its 40th year of operation,
the scope and influence of the station is still farreaching, even in the era of iTunes and Internet
radio. It continues to be a cultural institution in
the city and a tastemaker in the musical community.
Earlier this year, WRAS began broadcasting GSU’s Panther football games with Dave
Cohen (B.A. ’94), the longtime voice of Panther
basketball and a 28-year veteran of the station, at the helm.
Current GM McGoff has already parlayed his Album 88 experience into an internship at Dave-FM 92.9, demonstrating
that the station continues to be a highly valuable experience
for students.
As for me, after graduation it was hard to leave the cramped
yet cozy space I had considered my second home for many
years. I felt a true sadness during my last shift as I pressed the
play button on “Panic” by The Smiths, the final song of my
Album 88 career.
Although my experience has since provided me with so
much — good friends, broadcasting skills, important industry
connections and a wealth of musical knowledge — I’ll always
think fondly of just being there: behind the board, amongst
all the records, the disco ball, even the torn loveseat.
I’m extremely proud to have been a part of the 40-year
history of WRAS. It’s truly an experience I’ll never forget.
Millie De Chirico is assistant programming manager at Turner
Classic Movies. She was a GSU student and WRAS DJ from
1997-2002.
Dave Cohen (B.A. ‘94), the
voice of GSU sports since
Visit gsu.edu/magazine for a
1983, interviews former
WRAS 40th Anniversary video
Lefty Driesell in 2001.
Head Basketball Coach
gsu.edu/magazine
Soaring
HighHunger
to
Stop
Story by Andrea Jones
t first glance, Vicki Escarra’s downtown Chicago office at Feeding
America looks distinctly, well, Chicago. Large windows overlook
the Chicago River, 20 stories below. Across the street, the new
Trump International Hotel and Tower glistens in the sunlight.
A closer look, however, reveals Escarra’s roots.
Vicki Escarra
Delta background to
work to fulfill her dreams
of helping the needy
30
Photography courtesy of Feeding America
(B.S. ’76) is putting her
The Olympic torch she carried through the streets of Atlanta before the 1996 Games
is mounted to a wall, the framed letter of citation close by. A photo of Escarra with a
smiling former President Jimmy Carter peeks out from a bookshelf.
It’s been five years since the former Delta executive packed up her belongings, said
goodbye to the South and moved to the Midwest to take the helm at Feeding America.
The nonprofit organization, where she is president and CEO, is the nation’s largest
domestic hunger charity, feeding millions of needy Americans through a vast network of
food banks.
Her leadership, like her office, melds her past with her present. Educating the country
about hunger has become a passion for Escarra, who believes her time at Delta and in
Atlanta gave her the foundation to succeed.
“Everything in my career led me to this place,” she says.
Since her arrival, she has led the organization through an amazing transformation
and has helped turn it into the country’s go-to charity. Her plans have resulted in a
rebranding — complete with a name change, a new strategic plan and an unprecedented
increase in corporate sponsorships.
gsu.edu/magazine
31
With Escarra’s vision, the organization has gone from serving 25 million
people annually to 37 million. Feeding
America now collects and distributes
2.8 billion pounds of food and grocery
products a year, up from
2 billion five years ago.
Partnerships with shows like Fox’s
“American Idol” and NBC’s “The
Biggest Loser” have brought public
awareness to new heights. Actors Matt
Damon and Ben Affleck have filmed
public service announcements, and
Escarra has made appearances with
everyone from First Lady Michelle
Obama to Sesame Street’s Elmo, all in
an effort to dispel stereotypes about
hunger in America and to advance
the cause.
“We’ve had a great run,” she says.
“It’s been unreal.”
With one in six Americans without
access to healthy food and 14 million
children living in food-insecure
households, Escarra’s entry into the
nonprofit world could not have come at
a better time.
From the airplane to
the boardroom
The year was 1976 and Escarra had
just earned a degree in psychology
from Georgia State. Like many of her
GSU peers, the Tucker, Ga., native
had worked her way through school,
doing everything from selling shoes to
modeling to manning the floor at Rich’s
downtown department store.
“It definitely wasn’t easy,” she says.
“But Georgia State was a really great fit
for a working student and I made the
right choice.”
She always knew she wanted a career
where she could make a difference, and
soon after graduation, she applied and
was accepted to the Peace Corps.
“I loved the idea of trying to help,
trying to give back,” she says.
Her first assignment was in Africa
and she worried the political situation
could be dangerous. So she and her
best friend opted instead to become
Delta flight attendants — just for a year,
Escarra thought.
“I was just thinking it would be a
way to relax and see the world,”
Escarra says.
Soon, however, fate intervened.
Escarra found herself serving as
an attendant on a Delta board of
directors charter flight, where a chance
encounter with Delta’s then Chief
Executive David Garrett set her on
a different path. Garrett, no doubt
impressed with Escarra’s attitude, asked
her what she wanted to do with her
career.
“The Peace Corps and graduate
school,” she replied.
Garrett told Escarra that she should
consider staying on board at Delta and
invited her to meet with him personally
the following week.
“Sure,” Escarra remembers thinking,
“he’ll never take my call.”
True to his word, Garrett met with
her and told her about opportunities
within Delta. She applied and was hired
for a position in the airline’s human
resources department. Within just
two years, she ascended to a manager’s
position in In-Flight services, and
soon after, she became a director. She
oversaw flight attendants for 10 years
before being asked by Bob Coggin,
then Delta’s chief marketing officer, to
bring her expertise to examine Delta’s
call centers for possible outsourcing.
(Coggin, too, had moved up the Delta
corporate ladder, having started his
career as a ramp agent.) Reception
among those working in the call centers,
fearful they would lose their jobs, was
less than warm, Escarra remembers.
“When I arrived, the director
put me in a closet,” she remembers,
laughing. Undeterred, Escarra got to
work, visiting all 26 call centers around
the country and assessing what was
working and what wasn’t. She won over
the employees and ultimately found
efficiencies to make the centers run
more smoothly.
As a result, her colleagues
nominated her to run the 1996
Olympic torch relay, the only officer of
the company who was asked.
“That’s been a real mantra for me,
to not forget my humble beginnings,”
she says. “I always try to be the people’s
leader.”
Escarra then took her skills to 303
airports around the world, running
Delta’s operations and overseeing
27,000 employees. By 2001, she was
part of the company’s senior leadership
team, serving as executive vice
president-chief marketing officer.
She vividly remembers the morning
of Sept. 11, 2001. The airline was the
Georgia ranks third among five states in the U.S. that experience
statistically significant higher household food insecurity.
15.6%
1.Arkansas
17.7%
2.Mississippi
17.1%
3.Georgia
15.6%
4.Texas
17.4%
5.North Carolina 14.8%
Vicki Escarra, first lady Michelle Obama, Jill Biden, wife of Vice President Joe Biden, and Lynn Brantley, Capital Area Food Bank
President and CEO, join congressional spouses and volunteers at the Capitol Area Food Bank for Feeding America on April 29, 2009,
in Washington , D.C.
first to ground all of its aircraft in the
aftermath. In the coming days, Escarra’s
job was to reassure Delta’s employees
and passengers that the airline would
maintain operations.
Delta offered a program that
allowed passengers to convert frequent
flyer miles to dollars to help, and she
and CEO Leo Mullin flew to New York
to present Mayor Rudy Giuliani with
a check for $7 million for firefighters
and police.
Escarra remembers Giuliani’s calm
demeanor and steady hand, even as he
entered their meeting after attending
his 13th funeral.
“He was a true leader,” she says.
She stayed on at Delta for two
more years, helping to guide the airline
through some of the toughest times in
the industry’s history. But inside, the
girl who had planned to join the Peace
Corps after college kept looking for a
way to do more.
Making a difference
After retiring in 2004, Escarra spent a
year giving back to Atlanta, serving as
chair of the Brand Atlanta Marketing
Campaign for Mayor Shirley Franklin —
an outreach of Escarra’s time serving
as chair of the Atlanta Convention and
Visitor’s Bureau.
She worked with a team of 40
professionals, including Ken Bernhardt,
the Taylor E. Little Jr. Professor of
Marketing at Georgia State, to develop
a marketing and branding strategy for
the city.
“Vicki is one of those people who
can get a group of people from diverse
backgrounds very excited about a
mission and get them all contributing
to the overall good of the organization,”
Bernhardt says. “She is a true leader
who inspires people to want to do
their best. She’s also very creative
and extremely well organized with a
collaborative style.”
The Brand Atlanta campaign was
rewarding work, Escarra says. But then
came the question: What to do next?
“I began pursuing ways to give
back,” she says. “I really wanted to be
in the Peace Corps, but it was obvious
to me that there was such a great need
in the United States.”
It wasn’t long before her phone
rang. A corporate search firm asked if
she would be interested in taking over
at America’s Second Harvest, based
in Chicago. She’d heard of the charity
but didn’t know much about it. She
made a choice to leave her hometown,
her comfort zone, her friends and her
family and strike out in a new city.
“I didn’t know a soul.”
The first day, she admits, was a bit
intimidating.
“I walked in the door and I
remember seeing this dark office with a
logo with a checkered tablecloth,” she
says. “I just thought, ‘this is just not
Source: http://feedingamerica.org/faces-of-hunger/hunger-101/hunger-and-poverty-statistics.aspx
32
gsu.edu/magazine
33
Just days after Hurricane Katrina, Escarra headed to New Orleans where she got hands-on during Feeding
America’s efforts to distribute goods to thousands of displaced people.
Hunger and Poverty Facts
symbolic of what I want us to be.’”
As she’d done at Delta, Escarra got
right to work.
With help from fellow seasoned
marketing executives, she spearheaded
a comprehensive rebranding effort
for the 30-year-old nonprofit. She
brought in Wendy MacGregor, an
advertising agency veteran, and they
began comprehensive studies looking
at possible name and logo changes.
Escarra and MacGregor listened to
their audience, which overwhelmingly
chose Feeding America.
Escarra believes that evolving from
America’s Second Harvest to Feeding
America was a watershed moment for
the organization. Finally, the public
could understand exactly what the
charity did from its name.
Deals followed. The organization
counts Walmart, General Mills, Kraft
Foods, Kroger, United Airlines and
PepsiCo among its long list of partners
and contributors.
Feeding America now partners with
“Idol Gives Back,” the foundation arm
of the popular Fox TV show “American
Idol,” and completes a “Pound for
Pound Challenge” with NBC’s “The
Biggest Loser.” Singer Tom Waits
recently gave the organization access
to one of his songs — the first time
he’s ever partnered with a charity.
Singers Beyonce Knowles and Tim
McGraw joined forces with Feeding
America and General Mills to deliver
more than three million meals to
local food banks with the “Show Your
Helping Hand” campaign.
But it’s not just about the star
power. Escarra has also worked to
improve Feeding America’s extensive
food sourcing and distribution
systems, bringing in more food and
grocery products than ever before and
efficiently distributing them to the
network’s 200 member food banks and
the 61,000 agencies they serve. She has
also made it a priority to improve the
nutritional quality of distributed food
through expanded produce and freshfood initiatives.
Escarra also writes editorials
reminding Americans about the very
real issue of hunger. The recession
has brought hunger to the forefront,
with millions more Americans needing
assistance than ever before, she says.
In May 2009, Michelle Obama and
Jill Biden, wife of Vice President Joe
Biden, joined Escarra at a Washington,
D.C., food bank where they packed bags
of food for more than 2,000 hungry
children in the D.C. metropolitan area.
The power of what Escarra is doing
now hit home for her not long ago on
a trip to Las Vegas. While at a local
elementary school meeting with the
principal, Escarra said, she looked up
to see a small boy patiently waiting
outside the principal’s office holding
a large cardboard box. Confused, the
principal walked out to ask the child
what he needed.
The child explained that his mother
had lost her job and they had nothing
to eat. In the box were his toys. Could
he sell them at school to buy food for
his family?
“You cannot imagine the need,”
she says.
Escarra says she now travels
even more than she did at Delta,
crisscrossing the country to raise
awareness and dollars for a cause that
has become her life’s work.
“There is absolutely no question in
my mind I’m doing exactly what I’m
supposed to be doing,” she says.
• Hunger is a reality for 1 in 6 Americans
• In 2010, 34 percent of all client households served by Feeding America had to choose
between paying for food and paying for medicine or medical care
• In 2009, 50.2 million Americans lived in food-insecure households, 33 million adults
and 17.2 million children
• In 2009, the prevalence of household food insecurity in suburban areas was 13.2 percent
(6.4 million households)
• In 2010, an estimated 2.8 million rural households were considered food insecure
• In 2009, 3.4 million seniors 65 and older live in poverty
• 15.5 million children in the United States live in poverty
• In 2009, 65 percent of working families that received assistance from the Supplemental
Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) were single-parent families
Sources:http://feedingamerica.org/faces-of-hunger/hunger-101.aspx
34
LEFT: Vicki Escarra visits with characters on Sesame Street to promote healthy eating. RIGHT: Rob Stringer of Columbia Records,
Beyonce Knowles, Vicki Escarra of Feeding America and Steve Barnett of Columbia Records announce The Feeding America
“Show Your Helping Hand” Campaign at Madison Square Garden on June 22, 2009, in New York City.
gsu.edu/magazine
35
demons
&
democracy
Modern and Classical Languages Chair Fernando Reati faces
his own difficult past to teach valuable lessons on human rights
Story by Ann Claycombe
Each time,
he takes
the group
to visit one
particular
cell.“That’s
where my
mother sat,”
he says,
pointing.
“That’s
where my
father sat.”
36
In 1976, as a college student at the Universidad
Nacional de Córdoba in Córdoba, Argentina,
Fernando Reati was an active and vocal opponent
of de facto President Jorge Rafael Videla’s regime
and the government’s sanctioned violence against
its own people.
On Sept. 2 of that year, during the first throes
of Argentina’s “Dirty War,” he was arrested. He
was beaten and waterboarded for eight days before being sent to prison for four years and four
months. His family — presumed guilty by association — was also arrested: His 17-year-old brother was sent to prison, and his parents were exiled
from the country for two years.
No official reason was ever given for Reati’s arrest, no trial took place and he never went before a
judge or military tribunal.
For more than three decades, he lived with the
memories and with the knowledge that those responsible had never been brought to justice.
In 2010, however, he was finally given an opportunity to return to Argentina to testify in court
about his experiences.
Going back meant facing his captors, including
the man who had beaten him so badly many years
before: Sergeant Miguel Angel Gomez, known as
“El Gato,” who was on trial for torture and murder.
“It was the most shocking and emotional moment,” Reati says. “To be able to look in his eyes
and say, ‘It’s you.’”
Today, Reati is chair of the Department of
Modern and Classical Languages — as well as
co-chair of GSU’s Center for Human Rights and
Democracy. For the past two summers, he has
traveled to his homeland with a group of Georgia
State students on a study abroad program that
he co-directs with psychology professor Gabe
Kuperminc. The program investigates Argentina’s
history of human rights violations and its transition
to democracy.
Among other field trips, Reati takes the students
to the notorious D2 detention center in Córdoba,
one of the sites where political prisoners were held
and tortured between 1976 and 1981. Each time,
he takes the group to visit one particular cell.
“That’s where my mother sat,” he says, pointing. “That’s where my father sat.”
above: Reati
(far left) and
GSU students
on the May 2009
study abroad trip
stand behind a
transparent board
with names of
victims of the D2
detention center
in Córdoba,
Argentina; left:
The cell in the D2
detention center
where Reati, his
parents, brother
and more than 20
others were held.
gsu.edu/magazine
37
gsu’s
center
for
human
rights
and
democracy
Atlanta, among all American cities, has a special place in
the study of human rights. In the 1960s, the city was the
center of the Civil Rights Movement. Today, the city is
home to major think tanks including the King Center and
the Carter Center.
In the summer of 2009, GSU established its Center for
Human Rights and Democracy (CHRD) — a new and vital
hub for research and analysis in the field. The center’s
faculty and students study threats to human rights in
settings that include post-Soviet states, post-colonial
states and established democracies with high immigration.
The CHRD brings together faculty from many
different disciplines — political science, law, history,
communication, philosophy and psychology — as well as
specialists in African-American Studies, the Middle East
and Latin America. Center members have monitored
elections in foreign countries, provided psychological
assistance to those recovering from trauma, and lent their
expertise to a wide range of governmental agencies and
non-governmental organizations.
Reati co-chairs the center with William Downs,
associate professor and chair of political science.
“The seeds of abuse are always there,” Reati says.
“Human rights education is a way to keep those seeds
from flowering.”
below: The entrance to the D2 detention center with photos
of victims who disappeared during the Dirty War.
38
Reati and the Dirty War
In 1975, the Argentine government
gave its armed forces control of state
and local police forces and the country’s
prisons. The government then gave a
mission: to “annihilate subversive elements throughout the country,” according to an official decree.
Between 1976 and 1981, the government brutally repressed dissent, going after not only leftist guerillas but
also student activists, journalists, trade
union members and citizens thought to
hold left-wing views.
People in these groups began to disappear — up to 30,000 of them, according
to the most commonly accepted estimate.
Many more were arrested and tortured.
Reati remembers the day of his arrest. “Two friends of mine — I saw
them in my house, they were arrested,
and they were never seen again.”
Reati, his parents and his younger
brother were taken to the D2 detention
center. For eight days he was interrogated and tortured by “Sergeant El
Gato,” as Reati refers to him.
Ostensibly, those who arrested Reati
were simply trying to suppress the violence of the leftist guerilla groups. But
during those eight days, there were disturbing signs that a more extreme agenda
was in play.
“Once, I was able to see past my
blindfold,” Reati says. “I saw a policeman
wearing an armband with a swastika.”
Other police officers took to threatening Reati’s mother, a Jew and owner
of a well-known local boutique.
“You pretend to be a lady,” Reati
says, repeating the words they had said
to his mother. “But you’re a filthy Jew.
We’re going to turn you into soap.”
Bearing witness
Justice has been a long time coming for
Reati and other Dirty War victims and
their families. Some senior military officials were tried in the 1980s but were
pardoned after a series of armed rebellions by their supporters in the military.
“Democracy still wasn’t strong enough
in Argentina,” Reati explains. “Now, 20
years later, people are less afraid.”
The current series of human rights
trials started in 2003 and have included
not only the most senior commanders
but also junior officers. This past fall,
when Reati was invited back to testify in
the trial of the officers who worked in
and around his hometown of Córdoba,
he was one of 100 witnesses testifying
against 31 defendants, including Videla.
“I walked in from behind the judge,
and the first thing I see is all of them
sitting there,” he says.
The group in the courtroom included his tormentor, Sgt. Gomez.
“Knowing that he was there. … for
the first few minutes it was frightening,” Reati says. “I thought, ‘Am I going
to be able to say anything?’ But then
you lose the fear. It was a powerful, freeing moment.”
While in Argentina to testify, Reati
was under police protection, a doubleedged sword for someone who had been
abused so badly by the police in his
youth. But the young officers assigned
to him were gentle and polite.
“It’s the most amazing experience
for someone who was a victim then to
be protected by the police now,” he
says. “That was probably 50 percent of
the experience, to be able to lower your
guard and build a relationship with a
police officer.”
above: Reati (second from right) and professor of Psychology Gabriel Kuperminc
(center, in black sweater), co-directors of the study abroad program, stand along with
GSU students and founders of The Madres de Plaza de Mayo. For more than three decades,
the Madres, an association of Argentine mothers whose children disappeared during the
Dirty War, have raised awareness of the victims of the War. As a symbol of the blankets of
their children, the Madres wear white headscarves embroidered with the names of
the missing.
Reati thinks, however, that his own
personal liberation is not as important
as what the trials mean for Argentinean
families. His nieces and nephews, who
are too young to remember the Dirty
War, have been asking Reati what happened to him, and to their parents and
grandparents.
“For the first time, they wanted me
to tell them everything,” he says. “In
my family, it opened up these emotions,
these old stories. And this is happening
all over Argentina — it’s liberating for
the whole society.”
On Dec. 22, Videla, Sergeant “El
Gato” Gomez and two others Reati testified against were sentenced to life in
prison by a three-judge tribunal, along
with about a dozen more of the accused.
Life in prison is the harshest sentence
possible under the Argentine legal system since the country does not have the
death penalty.
Breaking the cycle
Reati’s getting used to telling his story,
not only to his family but also to his students. His experiences led him to a lifelong passion for human rights issues,
and to his current position as co-chair
of the university’s Center for Human
Rights and Democracy.
Reati wants his students to understand that human rights abuses can happen anywhere — he, after all, was a
college student just like them when his
own government tortured him.
“I tell them that everyone has the
potential to become a victim — or a torturer,” he says.
This last point is particularly important, Reati says. Most of the torturers during the Dirty War were ordinary
citizens who were taught that they were
doing the right thing and who had been
desensitized to other people’s pain.
“Nobody is born with the capacity to give electrical shocks to someone
else,” he says. “But if you slap someone
three or four times, then the next time
you can kick them. There were even
prisoners forced to torture other prisoners.”
Human rights scholars, including
Reati, believe that education is the best
way to prevent future abuses. That’s
why he goes back to the D2 detention
center every summer and takes students
with him.
“What we have to do is try to prevent those circumstances from arising in
our societies. If we are better educated
in that concept, we are better prepared
to make those moral decisions.”
gsu.edu/magazine
39
The Georgia State University Alumni Association
is currently accepting applications for representatives
to its board of directors.
Send in your nominations now!
• Support the programs and activities of
the Alumni Association and University
• Represent the Alumni Association and
the University at institutional and alumni events whenever appropriate and required
• Attend all regular meetings of the board
of directors
• Serve actively on at least one board committee
• Become a life member of the Association within the first year of serving on the board
Nominees must be Georgia State graduates.
Applications will be accepted through April 30 and
should be mailed to: Board of Director Nominations,
Georgia State University Alumni Association, P.O.
Box 3999, Atlanta, GA 30302-3999 or download
an application at gsu.edu/alumni.
connections
Looking
to Serve
on the
Alumni
Board?
alumni news & notes
The GSUAA is looking for individuals whose
personal attributes, networks, professional skills and
expertise will advance the Association’s mission.
Elected directors are expected to serve a three-year
term beginning July 1 and must fulfill the following
responsibilities:
Learning the Ropes
When he’s not out in
2011 Awards
the urban jungle, Adrian
Sasine (M.B.A. ’03) is a
• Distinguished Alumni Achievement Award
Given annually in recognition of outstanding professional and
personal achievements in any field of endeavor.
• Distinguished Alumni Service Award
Given annually to a graduate in recognition of outstanding and
significant contributions of service to Georgia State.
Do you know an
outstanding Georgia
State alumnus who is …
with Tree Climbers
International. The
• Making a big difference in the community?
organization takes kids
• Providing exceptional leadership in
government or business?
heights for all sorts of
• Distinguished Alumni Community Service Award
• Achieving a legacy
Georgia State can be
proud of?
Please make your nomination by Friday, April 29, 2011.
Let us hear about it!
Given annually in recognition of outstanding and significant contributions
to the community as a volunteer or through professional involvement.
tree climbing facilitator
of all ages up into the
Meg Buscema/Staff
The Georgia State University Alumni Association invites you to submit nominations
for the following awards:
arbor adventures.
Call 800/GSU‑ALUM to request a form, or fill out a form online at gsu.edu/alumni.
Now is your chance to honor exceptional graduates who are making a difference!
40
gsu.edu/magazine
41
connections
Branching Out
Class notes are the perfect way to share your
Suspended by ropes in a 60-foot tree at Blackburn Park
in Atlanta is how Adrian Sasine (M.B.A. ’03) enjoys
spending time.
Sasine is a tree climbing facilitator for Tree Climbers International, and
news with friends and classmates. Read about
your classmates in this issue of GSU Magazine,
then share your own news, achievements,
accomplishments and photos. Mail your class
notes to GSU Magazine, P.O. Box 3983,
he has been climbing trees ever since he saw the company on television
Atlanta, GA 30302-3983 or e-mail them to
around 2006.
winman@gsu.edu.
“I’ve always been an outdoorsy person and I used to do a little camping and rock climbing in high school,” Sasine said. “Tree climbing has a
mixture of all the things that I like: it’s outdoors in nature and you get
a little bit of
adrenaline rush,
but not too much.
It also gets you in
shape, but it’s not
too much wear
and tear on
Meg Buscema/Staff
your body.”
Up to 25 people can go up in
the “Teaching
Tree” with Sasine
as he teaches topics such as tree inspection and how to tie a series of
knots that enable the climber to attach a waist harness to their rope,
which can then be used to ascend and descend.
“Tree climbing is for anybody ages 5 to 95,” Sasine said. “We work a
lot of birthday parties and boy’s and girl’s scout troops, but there are a lot
of people that use it for therapy for disorders. I think everybody should
get outside whenever they can, and this is just one more way to do it. It’s
a great bonding experience.”
In the business world, Sasine spent 10 years in marketing and promotions for Allstate Insurance. He currently serves on the board of the Urban
1 9 6 0 s
Ed H. Bowman Jr.
(B.B.A. ’68) was named
Ernst & Young’s
Entrepreneur of the Year.
He was a 2010 Regional
(Southwest) Award winner and is president and
chief executive officer
of SOURCECORP
Inc. He and his wife,
Betty Jean Bowman
(B.B.A. ’85), live in Dallas.
Joel F. Fletcher
(B.A. ’61) has authored
“The Great Atlanta Bike
Race of 1948,” a story of
youthful adventure that
recaptures a wonderful
time and place in
the 1940s.
The Georgia Municipal
Association awarded Eva
Galambos (Ph.D. ’69),
mayor of Sandy Springs,
Ga., its “People, Place
and Purpose” award during its annual meeting
this summer in Savannah.
Forbes magazine has
administrative roles at
Troy since 1996. He most
recently served as director of Troy’s Southeast
Region, which includes
21 campus sites in
Georgia, South Carolina,
North Carolina, Florida
and Tennessee.
Douglas Daniel
(B.B.A. ’75) has been
named senior vice president of corporate development and finance
for GeoBio.
Sister M. Susan Harms,
(M.E. ’74), Religious
Order of Sisters of
Mercy, is celebrating her
50th year as a Sister of
Mercy and her 36th year
as a first-grade teacher
in Savannah, Ga., first at
the Nativity of Our Lord
Catholic School, and
now at Saint Peter the
Apostle Catholic School
on Wilmington Island.
named Sandy Springs
one of its “Top 25 Towns
to Live Well” under her
leadership.
1 9 7 0 s
Seals Burdell
(B.B.A. ’76), a CPA
with 34 years of finance
experience in the poultry
industry, will helm
financial operations at
the U.S. Poultry & Egg
Association as controller.
1 9 8 0 s
Hamid Bastin
(Ph.D. ’89) is a professor of economics at
Shippensburg University
of Pennsylvania, where
he has taught since 1989.
Susan E. Claxton
(B.S. ’88, M.S. ’92),
associate professor
and coordinator of the
Human Services program
at Georgia Highlands
College, was awarded the Miriam Clubok
award by the National
Organization of Human
Service Education.
William “Marvin”
Toliver (M.P.A. ’77)
is the manager of community relations for the
Metro Atlanta Rapid
Transit Authority.
Bruce Cook (M.P.A. ’78),
chaplain for the Crime
Victims Advocacy
Council in Atlanta, recently wrote a book,
“Redeeming the
Wounded,” that was published by Xulon Press.
Krista Webb (B.A.
’79) has been selected
Cherokee County School
District’s Teacher of the
Year for 2010. Webb
teaches social studies at
Woodstock High.
Lynn Coulter (B.A. ’76)
recently published a
new book titled “Little
Mercies: Celebrating
God’s Everyday Grace
and Goodness” with
B&H Books, a division
of Lifeway.
Eddie Ellis
(M.Mus. ’86), director
of bands at S.C. State
University, has been
awarded the Dr. G.
Johnson Hubert and
Cleophus Johnson
Award for Distinguished
Achievement in Music.
David M. White
(M.Ed. ’75) has been
named campus vice
chancellor for Troy
University’s Phenix City
Campus. White has
worked in teaching and
Judson L. Hawk
(B.A. ’85) was appointed
by Dolce Hotels and
Resorts to general
manager of the Aspen
Meadows Resort –
home of The Aspen
Institute, a nonprofit
policy organization.
Thomas Jackson
(M.B.A. ’81) will serve
as senior vice president
and commercial lender for Verity Bank
in Winder, Ga. Prior
to joining Verity Bank,
Jackson served as city
president of Georgia
Bank & Trust in
Athens, Ga. Jackson,
a 32-year career
banker, has served
22 years in the Athens
community.
Grady W. “Skip”
Philips III
(M.B.A. ’87, M.H.A. ’89)
has been named
CEO of Memorial
Hospital in Martinsville,
Va. He most recently
was president and
CEO of Houston
Healthcare in Warner
Robins, Ga.
1 9 9 0 s
Angela Douglas
(M.P.A. ’98) is lecturer
and master’s of public
administration program
coordinator at the
University of North
Carolina – Wilmington.
Tom Harbin (M.B.A. ’91)
an ophthalmologist,
recently wrote the book
“What Every Doctor
Should Know…But Was
Never Taught in Medical
School,” published by
FEP International.
Christopher R.
Koeneman (M.B.A. ’96)
has joined Bluesocket, a
supplier of virtual wireless
LAN networking, as vice
president of Worldwide
Sales and Marketing. He
has held senior leadership
positions at AT&T, Data
Com Systems and Cisco.
Suzanne Shields
(B.B.A. ’96) has been
named resident vice president of the Nashville,
Tenn. office for
Harleysville Insurance.
In this position, she will
oversee Harleysville’s
property/casualty operations in Alabama,
Arkansas and Tennessee.
Roger (Rong) Zhang
(M.A. ’93, M.P.A. ’96)
has been appointed Chief
Financial Officer of China
TransInfo Technology
Group Co., Ltd.
2 0 0 0 s
Grant Black (Ph.D. ’01)
is an associate professor of economics at the
University of Missouri –
St. Louis, where he directs the Center for
Entrepreneurship and
Economic Education.
Robert David
Black (B.S. ’02),
a student in Cal State
Los Angeles’ doctoral
program in educational
leadership, was recently
honored as one of two
2010 CSU Trustee Ali
C. Razi Scholars. The
award, which includes
a $10,000 scholarship,
is given by CSU trustees to a select group of
CSU William Randolph
Hearst Scholars.
Jae Brown (B.S. ’04),
an emergency response
coordinator for the
U.S. Centers for
Disease Control and
Prevention in Atlanta,
was named the 2010
Atlanta Urban League
Young Professional’sHeineken Rising Star.
The Rising Star award
is given to a talented
young professional
leader from across
the metro area between
the ages of 21-40
who has demonstrated
a commitment to community and leadership
in the area of economic
development.
Forest Council and is director of marketing for The Icebox, a branded apparel and promotional product company.
B y L eah S eu p e r sa d
from left: 1) GSU football players en route to buies creek, n.c., to
play campbell university, september; 2) Byrdine F. Lewis School of
Nursing hosted a fall open house of new laboratories at the Petit
Web exclusive: Visit gsu.edu/magazine for Sasine in action.
Science Center. pictured: Tina Janis, Blanca Hauke Van Beverhoudt,
assistant director for external affairs E. JoAnn Bacon, Nora Ayala,
and Kerlyn DeGuia, october; 3) Nan Kemberling (M.Mu. ‘04) produced
and stars in an instructional cello video that has gone viral on
1
42
2
3
YouTube. Titled “Always Room 4 Cello,” the short video has been
viewed or downloaded more than 35,000 times.
gsu.edu/magazine
43
connections
from left: 1) GSU President Mark Becker with
cheerleaders at GSU vs. university of alabama
football game in tuscaloosa, november;
2) Judge Edward H. Johnson (B.A. ‘71, M.A. ‘89) will
have his portrait hung in a State Court of Appeals
courtroom. Timothy Beacham (B.B.A. ‘71) painted
the portrait of Johnson, who is retiring;
1
2
3) Alumni Night at the Atlanta Hawks, December.
3
Going the Distance
For April Gellatly Burkey (B.A. ’07), becoming a triathlete
was originally a way to heal.
When her father died in 2003, she left Youngstown State University
where she had a swimming scholarship to move closer to family in Atlanta.
Her new university, Georgia State, did not have a swimming program.
“I just needed something, and triathlon, it allows you the ability to
Haoxing Xu (Ph.D. ‘01) wants to know how cells work.
By understanding how cells sense what’s going on around
them, he’s helping to uncover better treatments for
ailments like Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease, and
even skin cancer.
Thanks to this groundbreaking work, the scientist who honed his skills
in GSU labs has been honored with one of the highest awards a young
researcher can receive.
In November, Xu, assistant professor of biology at the University of
Michigan, was named by President Barack Obama as a recipient of a
est honor given by the
U.S. government to scientists and engineers in
the early stages of their
research careers.
He credits his current
achievements in sci-
UM Photo Services/Scott R. Galvin
Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers. It’s the high-
Sandra Francis
(M.S. ’05), an office
manager at Georgia
Perimeter College, is
a contributing writer
for Winsome Way
Children’s Magazine
and has authored the
books “Kenya: At First
Impression” and “South
Africa: Looking Through
the Eyes of Compassion.”
ence to the support he
received and the training
he gained here.
“I was given all the
freedom to think like
a scientist,” Xu explained. “It was at GSU when I developed one of the
most important traits of being a good scientist: learning how to deal with
frustration and failure.”
Key to his research program is understanding how cells use signals
to sense what’s going on in the environment and how they respond. The
insights gained may lead to better drugs with fewer side effects.
44
Maria McDaniel Dikin
(M.Mus. ’07) won the
Grand Prize Oxnard
Gold Medal Award
in the 2010 American
Traditions Competition
for Singers held during
the Savannah (Georgia)
Music Festival. Dikin
sang opera, art song,
jazz and musical theater repertoire to win
the $12,000 first prize.
She also sang the role
of Second Lady in the
Atlanta Opera’s April
2010 production of
“The Magic Flute.”
Daniel T. Hall
(M.A. ’06, Ph.D. ’10)
was recently hired as
assistant professor of
economics in the Earl
N. Phillips School of
Business at High Point
University in High
Point, N.C.
self-heal a little bit,” she recalls. “Long rides and long runs, it was what I
Andrew E. Lovejoy
(M.B.A. ’05) has
been promoted to president of Civil Engineering
Consultants, a civil
and environmental
engineering firm specializing in water and
wastewater infrastructure projects.
Rebecca Serna
Woiderski (M.S. ’07),
executive director of
the Atlanta Bicycle
Coalition, has joined the
board of EarthShare of
Georgia, which raises donations for environmental organizations through
employee giving.
Mary-Kate Murray
(B.S.W. ’07, M.P.A. ’10)
has been named director
of youth leadership
and engagement
for GUIDE Inc. in
Lawrenceville, Ga.
Magdalena Wór
(B.Mus. ’03, B.A. ’05,
M.Mus. ’05) gave her debut performance in the
title role in “Carmen” with
Palm Beach Opera in
April and received a stellar review from the Palm
Beach Arts paper. Wór
also sang the “Vivaldi
Gloria” with the National
Philharmonic and
“Tisbe” for Washington
Concert Opera’s production of “La Cenerentola”
in May.
Lindsay R. Romasanta
(M.P.A. ’09) joined
Arizona State University
Health Services’
Wellness and Health
Promotion staff as a
health educator.
Robert F. Salvino
(M.S. ’04, Ph.D. ’07),
assistant professor
of economics at
Coastal Carolina
University in Conway,
S.C., was recently
named research economist with the BB&T
Center for Economic
and Community
Development in the university’s E. Craig Wall
Sr. College of Business
Administration.
2 0 1 0 s
Sidnei Alferes
(M.Mus. ’10) serves as
an affiliate artist at Agnes
Scott College, teaching
voice and opera workshops for the 2010-2011
academic year.
James Burch
(B.Mus. ’10) recently
won the Atlanta Music
Club’s Scholarship
Competition. He is
attending graduate school
at Southern Methodist
University’s Meadows
School for the Arts.
Will Corbin (M.P.A. ’10)
is a project associate for
Market Street who was
previously an assistant
project manager in the
DeKalb County Office of
Economic Development.
Steven Gooden
(B.Mus. ’10) is attending
Northwestern University
as a graduate award
recipient in the Master
of Music (clarinet)
program.
Heather N.
Hammonds (J.D. ’10)
has been named an associate in the litigation
department with the
Savannah law firm of
Oliver Maner LLP. She
concentrates her practice
in the area of medical
malpractice litigation.
needed at the time to help get over the loss.”
Burkey was a founding member of the GSU Triathlon Club and has since
competed in more than 100 triathlons, including 11 grueling Iron Man
competitions.
When Burkey
was at Georgia
State, she says,
she used skills
learned as a
marketing major
to sell her professors on excusing her from
class for competitions. “I would
Meg Buscema/Staff
Scientific Achievement
2 0 0 0 s
create very formatted and sophisticated permission sheets and give one to each of my
professors,” she remembers. “Some would think it was pretty cool.”
Now, as an elite-level triathlete and a USA Triathlon-certified coach,
Burkey trains others in swimming, biking and running. In the winter of
2010, she got a call from CNN — on the recommendation of a Georgia
State connection, actually — to help train chief medical correspondent
Dr. Sanjay Gupta, along with six producers, as part of the network’s Fit
Nation segment.
Jennifer Zuiff
(B.Mus. ’10) won the
Courtney Knight Gaines
Silver Medal Award
in the 2010 American
Traditions Competition
for Singers held
during the Savannah
Music Festival in
Savannah, Ga.
One of the biggest problems for the producers, she says, was time. “If
you are so absorbed in your work that you don’t allow yourself the time
it takes to work out, that’s a challenge,” she says. “I had a hard time impressing upon them, ‘We’ve got to get moving, guys, we’ve got to get in
the water, we’ve got to get on our bikes!’”
Burkey has been invited to work with CNN Fit Nation producers and
select viewers again in 2011.
B y M a r ga r et Tate
gsu.edu/magazine
45
connections
If not for the encouragement of her GSU Spanish professor,
Lee Hitchcock Lacy (B.A. ’70) might never have traveled
abroad after graduation — and if not for that experience,
she might never have embarked on a 30-year career with
the Peace Corps.
in memoriam
1 9 4 0 s
Thomas Wheeler
(B.C.S. ’49)
St. Simons Island, Ga.,
Jan. 5, 2011
1 9 5 0 s
F. N. Boring
(B.C.S. ’52)
Stone Mountain, Ga.,
Oct. 18, 2010
“I had such excellent professors … they
gave me the confidence
to buy that first ticket to
Fred Hollingsworth
(B.A. ’59) Lilburn, Ga.,
Oct. 8, 2010
Barcelona,” Lacy recalls.
“I traveled through Spain
and Europe and realized
Bernard Merritt
(B.B.A. ’54) Atlanta,
Oct. 18, 2010
that I wanted to know
more about different
countries and cultures.”
Since then, Lacy has worked in more than 30 countries in Africa, Asia,
Europe and the Pacific. Her career began in Samoa, where she lived in a
thatch-roofed house and taught English to middle-schoolers. “That experience changed the way I view the world and informed my personal and
professional choices until now,” Lacy says.
After she completed her two years in Samoa, she moved to
Washington, D.C., to work for the Corps’ evaluation unit. From that point
Jimmye Miller
(B.C.S. ’51)
Jacksonville, Fla.,
Dec. 8, 2010
David S. Thomas
(B.B.A . ’57)
Douglasville, Ga.
Dec. 15, 2010
forward, she mostly operated out of the States, with occasional long-term
1 9 6 0 s
assignments abroad.
Louis Armer III
(B.S. ’62) Chamblee,
Ga., Oct. 8, 2010
One of her favorite sojourns was in Nepal. “It is such a beautiful country, and the people are so warm and open,” Lacy says. And while each
country offered its own unique culture, she saw that people everywhere
“want the same basic things — security, stability and a chance to work
John C. Moore III
(B.B.A. ’69) Suwanee,
Ga., Jan. 19, 2011
for a living.”
As her most recent assignment as director of the Armenia Peace
Corps was winding down, Lacy planned to retire, but then “one
Ted O’Callaghan
(M.B.A. ’68) Decatur,
Ga., Oct. 16, 2010
John C. Parris
(B.B.A. ’63)
Dec. 26, 2010
1 9 7 0 s
Susan W. Carson
(M.Ed. ’78)
Nashville, Tenn.,
Jan. 6, 2011
James Edee
(M.B.A. ’71)
Marietta, Ga.,
Oct. 30, 2010
Robert Fay
(M.Ed. ’75) Marietta,
Ga., Oct. 27, 2010
Holly Thillet
(B.B.A. ’85) Alpharetta,
Ga., Oct. 31, 2010
Robert T. Shepherd
(M.P.A. ’76) Flowery
Branch, Ga., Dec. 3, 2010
Cynthia Uhl-Hartley
(M.S. ’82) Tucker, Ga.,
Jan. 13, 2011
Darlene Hawksley (B.B.A. ’95) has been an active Alumni
Association Board of Directors member for five years, and
she is a lifetime member of the Alumni Association.
Douglas Southern
(B.A. ’77) Greensboro,
Ga., Dec. 15, 2010
Gladys Wallace
(S.Ed. ’80) Atlanta,
Jan. 13, 2011
Hawksley is director of real estate and business engagement for the
McPherson Implementing Local Redevelopment Authority and was
recently given the Alumni Association’s Ambassador Award for her
outstanding service to both GSU and the Alumni Association.
Jimmy L. Wolfe
(M.B.A. ’76)
Fayetteville, Ga.,
Nov. 21, 2010
Louise Uhl (B.B.A. ’72)
Atlanta, Dec. 27, 2010
Larry D. Keith
(B.S. ’77)
Palmetto, Ga.,
Dec. 7, 2010
Nell Wooten
(M.Ed. ’71) Marietta,
Ga., Nov. 17, 2010
Shirley G. Lamb
(M.Ed. ’77)
Spartanburg, S.C.,
Dec. 11, 2010
Joanne Hardy
(M.Ed. ’80) Conyers, Ga.,
Oct. 4, 2010
Judy Malone
(M.Ed. ’73)
Vero Beach, Fla.,
Dec. 18, 2010
Robert Northcutt Jr.
(M.B.A. ’70)
Marble Hill, Ga.,
Oct. 15, 2010
Dannie Ogletree
(B.B.A. ’77)
Woodstock, Ga.,
Jan. 18, 2011
1 9 8 0 s
Jerry M. Johnston Jr.
(M.B.A. ’86) Marietta,
Ga., Oct. 15, 2010
Rhetta Mears
(M.Ed. ’80) Atlanta,
Nov. 27, 2010
Ofelia Neel (B.A. ’81)
Norcross, Ga.,
Nov. 27, 2010
Valerie Panter
(B.S. ’88) Fairburn, Ga.,
Jan. 20, 2011
1 9 9 0 s
Donna M. Arena
(Ph.D. ’99)
Stone Mountain, Ga.
Dec. 22, 2010
Mark Henderson
(M.S. ’98) Ball Ground,
Ga., Oct. 1, 2010
Jean E. (McAdams)
Miles (B.A. ’97)
Sugar Hill, Ga.,
Nov. 13, 2010
Sheryl Lyn York
(B.S. ’90) Hampton, Ga.,
Nov. 13, 2010
2 0 0 0 s
Madison (Roarabaugh)
McLester
(B.B.A. ’07) Atlanta,
Oct. 31, 2010
F a c u l t y
James E. Sligh
(B.C.S. ’51),
Associate Provost for
Academic Programs
Nov. 29, 2010
more great adventure” beckoned. She began working for USAID in
Afghanistan. “I am working as part of President Obama’s civil surge and
helping manage programs to stabilize the country,” she says. “It is a great
left: the student Alumni Association (SAA) is A
opportunity and a huge challenge.”
new GSU Alumni Association program launched
But after this, she says, she’s coming home for good. “I am a new
to create opportunities for mentoring, sharing
B y M a r ga r et Tate
46
to focus on student and alumni collaboration.
The SAA will unite current students with alumni
grandmother and I want to be closer to family.”
minute with a Member
Pembroke Rees
(Ph.D. ’77) Athens, Ga.,
Nov. 24, 2010
positive values and pride, NOVEMBER
What makes you proud to
be a GSU alum?
It would take longer than my minute to share the many reasons. I had
wonderful teachers and mentors
who are still my friends, I have a respected degree, it’s my hometown
school … there’s much more.
What do you like best
about your job?
The leadership of the team and
the daily challenges.
What are your hobbies?
I like to kayak, hike and camp.
Meg Buscema/Staff
Adventures in Service
If someone were to write a biography about you,
what would the title be?
“Yes, my dear, the glass is more than half full.”
What’s your favorite quote?
There are two. “The greatest of these is love” and “This too shall pass.” The
first was my mom’s favorite and my daughter says it often. If things are wonderful, make sure you enjoy the moment and rejoice. If things are not going
well, just remember things will not always be the same and it will get better.
Welcome to our newest
Alumni Association Life Members!
C. Scott Akers
William and Donna Allbritton
Diane Bailey
Jordan Cavallin
Maleah M. Crumpler
David and Gayle Demarest
Florida S. Ellis
Darlene B. Hawksley
Hiram and Babs Johnston
Joyce W. Lancaster
N. Michael Langdale
Greg and Melissa Leontovich
Felicia M. Mayfield
Erika Meinhardt
Kenya L. Morgan
Trelley L. Murray
Phillip and Jeanne Oneacre
Michael L. Overstreet
Elizabeth M. Seigler
Milton J. Solomon
Ionie E. Taylor
Elizabeth Tyler
Julia M. Watkins
Anita C. Whitmore
Geoffrey C. Williams
gsu.edu/magazine
47
Are You Covered?
the guest list
richard laub
Richard Laub, director of the Heritage
Preservation Program in the Department of
History, has been working with his students to
identify and help protect historic sites along the
proposed Atlanta Beltline. He shares 10 of his
top historic sites along the 22-mile Beltline:
1 Sears and Roebuck Company Building
Built in 1926 as a catalog center and retail store on Ponce
de Leon Avenue, at 2 million square feet, the former City
Hall East is still the largest building in Georgia.
Join the Alumni Association
as a Life Member and receive
your special gift. Now
is the time to become a
Panther for Life.
2 Excelsior Mill
One of the oldest buildings on the Beltline, circa 1900, the
former site for the manufacturer of wood chips on North
Avenue has found new life as the Masquerade nightclub.
3 Van Winkle Gin and Machine Works
The sprawling complex of late 19th and early 20th century
cotton gin buildings is slowly becoming a ruin.
Don’t Miss the
Opportunity to be
Covered for Life!
4 Tunnel
An immense brick tunnel faced in stone, it cuts under the
intersection of University Avenue, Hank Aaron Drive and
McDonough Boulevard on Atlanta’s south side.
5 Atlanta and West Point Railroad Freight Depot
This handsome brick building on Memorial Drive features
a terra cotta tile roof with wide overhanging eaves. It is
one of the few depots left from Atlanta’s rich railroad past.
Join Today!
6 Washington Park
The first park in Atlanta to provide recreational space for
the African-American community was completed in 1928.
The Beltline defines its western boundary.
7 Booker T. Washington High School
The elegant façade of the first public high school for
blacks in Atlanta is a worthy setting for the dramatic statue
of Washington “Lifting the Veil of Ignorance.”
8 Tanyard Creek Park
The site of the Civil War Battle of Peachtree Creek in
July 1864.
9 Bellwood Quarry
The quarry was first worked by inmates from the nearby
Fulton County Jail. Now over 400 feet deep, it is
anticipated to hold a 30-day supply of water (2.4 billion
gallons) for Atlanta and be surrounded by a 300-acre park.
Meg Buscema/Staff
10 Piedmont Park and the Park Drive Bridge
The Beltline passes under the elegant 1916 concrete
bridge and creates the eastern boundary of beautiful
Piedmont Park, which served as the site of the Cotton
States and International Exposition in 1895.
gsu.edu/alum
800/GSU-ALUM
48
gsu.edu/magazine
Nonprofit
Organization
u.s. postage
paid
atlanta ga
permit no. 2540
GSU Magazine
Department of University Relations
P.O. Box 3983
Atlanta, GA 30302-3983
Gastrocomical
Gourmand and author Alton Brown, host of the
Food Network’s offbeat show “Good Eats” and
resident food historian and scientist on “Iron Chef
America,” cooked up some food-inspired comedy
during a visit to GSU in February. Watch Brown
profess his love for Southern cuisine and admit his
culinary career began as way to impress the ladies
at gsu.edu/magazine.

PDF - Georgia State University Magazine

Transcription

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