PDF - Georgia State University Magazine
Transcription
PDF - Georgia State University Magazine
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 is a tree M puppet ree screaming t isto d l a i c o s • s The pixie lic a • t s e u q d e calle b i r t a Prince • n o i t g pum n i h s a m s • s asi Elvis Costello The Eurythmics emen in chains • o c a l p e r e h t The Police The Go Gos The Clash its • ns • tom wa i k addic s e n a j • Echo and the Bunnymen Culture b u l age fan c n e e t • dinosa • e Club U2 R.E.M. Madonna Talkw o l k c i •n head • the smiths o i ing Heads Run-D.M.C. De La Soul d a r • ’ n i n cry Dire Straits Peter Gabriel The Cure jr. • drivin’ ews h t t a m e v a d ork • j b • s Cindi Lauper Duran Duran r e d e e br ws e Outla h T s r e Broth ishop llman Elvin B d n a B r l Tucke d etwoo arshal e l F ic s y Mu ho Rox W e h ie T es vid Bow a D l l e h ni Mitc oung Mac Jo n Neil Y o is r r Mo an Van teely D e Clear c n e d e re pton C d or Tod Eric Cla l y a T s l Jame Reviva n r e t a w ne Elto w o r B son en Jack r ssey g y d n d u R O ce ith 1: A Spa w n a g n e Jo 200 Ithall b 0 0 0 , 0 10 tts wa ted leo • black lips • wilco • w ee xxxxx • deerh unter • the bud os zoroaster • th e black angel s• thy mighty co ntract • eccen tric soul • the selm anaires • soul coughing • cak e • dispa the s hins • paramore • m aband of hors es tra • kasabian • langhorne s lim • imogen heap • the flaming lip s cTrum 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: [email protected] 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: [email protected] 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 basketball gear this season cityscapes campus news & views Snow Panther A huge winter storm virtually paralyzed GSU Bookstore 66 Courtland ST SE | 404-413-9700 | gsubookstore.com Atlanta in January, forcing the university to push back the first day of spring semester from Jan. 10 to Jan. 14. 0570SC011211A gsu.edu/magazine 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 GSU Magazine Spring 2011 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.” GSU Magazine Spring 2011 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 Carolyn Richardson/Staff 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. Carolyn Richardson/Staff 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!” by W i ll i am I n ma n 10 GSU Magazine Spring 2011 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 Magazine Spring 2011 gsu.edu/magazine 13 panthers s p o r t s p r o f i l e Globetrotters of Golf 14 GSU Magazine Spring 2011 by W i ll i am I n ma n 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). Carolyn Richardson/Staff 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.” by W i ll i am I n ma n 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. Price is approximately $2,795 per person, plus airfare and V.A.T, based on double occupancy. Price is approximately $4,095 per person, 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 GSU Magazine Spring 2011 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: [email protected] 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. GSU Magazine Spring 2011 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 by W i ll i am I n ma n 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 Carolyn Richardson/Staff 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 y J e r emy C r a i g 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 GSU Magazine Spring 2011 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 GSU Magazine Spring 2011 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 B y J e r emy C r a i g 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. B y J e r emy C r a i g gsu.edu/magazine 23 T in ers h Elv t d o r n B a an usic er B m M k l y c u Al ox ll T oR ll a h h W che rs e t a i h M T iM Yes Jon p c o an a nV Bish dM a o D o y eel Cla etw t e S l ric e F i E w g v oun d Bo i Y evi v R l i a r e D N te on wa s i r r yt a r r e u l E C Mo e The o enc l l d e e t ho s Cre os Ec is Co m u r T c e Spfor 40 years Story by Millie De Chirico (B.A. ’02) g n i N N Pa S with n ssey a y g d e O b ace p It all S A : 2001 GSU Magazine Spring 2011 thE 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. Elv oG as e l G c C e n i e h r P ice T ymen Th ado l o P The unn R.E.M. M e B e h and t Club U2 n-D.M.C. D re u h Cultu Heads R Gabriel T g r Talkin raits Pete an Duran t r Dire S auper Du ami L e i r d c n i s C s• t e p p •r u i p z a t g a fu Me • s e i st • x e i u p q e ed th l l a pu c e g b n i i r h as at m s • en is m s e a v o a • •p s t i a •j w b m u l o t anc leo f e g teena lips • ted• thy ck ade s bla r a p roa f o l z • h wo s•t hins l s e e ng th c ka c • ec a d l n b • ba re os nai d a u b lm ste y e se s h t d • s oun s rse d o h lc f •W do ter ban n u • rh fire dee e d ca • ar 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 fo e costs of running a bigger radio station. Dave th t a een most RAS has b e W th , o it Hill (B.A. ’96), a former WRAS DJ who is now g g a in ears mak aves 40 y tt output w a ir w a in e 0 r 0 e th the program director at WIYY/98Rock in e ,0 it s 100 a pion Since it h — with it lso been a d s n a a h g it in Baltimore, remembers putting together Sonic — gramm e country music pro tion in th ta s Sunday and WRASFest, two of the station’s n , ru s te anc studen gical adv lo o powerful n h most anticipated annual benefit shows. c . te io tless r rad g on coun nology fo n y, h ri c a b te M ly “I remember the first WRASFest,” Hill w in in e n ates certa he gradu ears will y re 0 fo 4 e t b x e t, says. “We had booked all the bands and were a et. The n off says th the Intern Tyler McG f tation on o M ro t all systems go. Then we found out that there G s lo t it a n g e are min and curr tion strea id. “There a ta s s ff e o was going to be another show, Music Midth G c e ts, e,” M to hav quiremen re for a whil ] he hopes it n n io s o is town, on the same weekend. The promoter g in Comm een work nications u m m “We’ve b o C of Music Midtown approached us about .” l very soon d [Federa details an rsion of it airs more e v it y moving our show to be a part of their show. d rl n a a e , technical dcasts ing an orts broa l be start p U ’l s S e G w rs We were like, ‘Hell no!’ Our show was e k r, e in th Pan Walk but I th g to Jeff y streams tl in n rd e o rr c u c much better!” c a n ear, The statio or. orts per y is p v s d a rs e S A th Famous guests also continued to wanWR Pan ctor and eryone hours of tions dire ia that ev than 300 d ra e e der through the doors of Album 88 in the p m o ly s n s ine eo ffairs bus Georgia l remain th il e w th e e early ’90s, as names like Jerry Springer, w id student a s l, in signa eir cars to a strong th h c to u s s e h Jon Stewart, and Courtney Love made m it ho “W from their y a . w id e a g s th in r the roster. e m e all on,” Walk e program can receiv interrupti blic servic r u o p t s f o o c rs t hou hou below: DJs in the booth in 1998 (Clockwise than 200 Dome wit irs more a o ls from top) Jez DeWolff (B.S. ‘01), Sara a n -band The statio ition to in s n a Wellman, Will Chester (B.A. ‘06), Brian Koser tr e e th tion will b chnology ta te s (B.A. ‘04), Tally Briggs (B.A. ‘99) and Lynnita w e e th n each year. r e al fo at th chnical go er said th Jimenez (B.A. ‘99). lk te a r e W . th io o An ality. HD Rad u r q o d , n io u d o s ra el digital nd better listen for on-chann ception a re e re -f be on the e c to n id re a e s rf off inte plans year, McG will offer ded that th d a 0 4 o s ls it a g e .H lebratin AS alums As for ce s with WR w day party. ie rv te 40th birth n-air in d o n a g n rt ti e s c con nue to intere RASFest t — conti W s e a b r s fo e o y d it rwa are unde l do what WRAS wil , rd a rw Going fo ey can — sic. at only th -edge mu h g w in e tt u id c v ro play t appeals ters will p music tha broadcas w e e g n e ll in o t C s “ e dio n of the b rporate ra distillatio d n a y e says. “Co rv r e a su lk a W ents,” atch for llow stud s are no m e ic to their fe rv e s music .” nd online ew music stations a breathe n d n a t a e , who live students Future s n o i ss i m s n Tra “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 GSU Magazine Spring 2011 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 GSU Magazine Spring 2011 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 Magazine Spring 2011 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 GSU Magazine Spring 2011 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 Carolyn Richardson/Staff 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 GSU Magazine Spring 2011 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 GSU Magazine Spring 2011 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 Magazine Spring 2011 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. [email protected]. “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 GSU Magazine Spring 2011 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. B y J e r emy C r a i g 44 GSU Magazine Spring 2011 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) Stone Mountain, Ga., 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), Stone Mountain, Ga., 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 GSU Magazine Spring 2011 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 Magazine Spring 2011 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. Carolyn Richardson/Staff