Georgia Southern University This Week

Vol. 16 No. 16

April 28, 2008

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Georgia Southern University Commencement is May 10
Georgia Southern University will honor 2,393 graduates and their families at the Spring 2008 Commencement on Saturday, May 10. The traditional ceremony will begin at 9 a.m. in Paulson Stadium and will include 29 doctoral degree candidates, 361 master’s degree candidates, and 2,003 bachelor’s degree candidates.
Spring Commencement always brings large crowds to campus, and this year will be no exception. Guests arriving in Statesboro are advised to tune to the Georgia Southern University radio station, WVGS 91.9 “The Buzz” for traffic and events updates beginning at 7 a.m. on May 10. In the event of rain, four separate ceremonies will be held in Hanner Fieldhouse.

Georgia Southern University’s candidates for graduation represent the accomplishments of seven colleges and one academic program:
• College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences, 674
• College of Business Administration, 529
• College of Health and Human Sciences, 446
• College of Education, 400
• College of Science and Technology, 236
• College of Information Technology, 47
• Jiann-Ping Hsu College of Public Health, 14
• Interdisciplinary degrees, 13
More than 32 countries and 26 states are represented among the Spring 2008 graduates; however, 91.5 percent of those graduating are native Georgians. The youngest undergraduate is 18 years old, and the oldest graduate this year is 69. The average age for the graduating class is 25.
Thirty-five students will receive doctoral degrees from the College of Education, and all but two of them are Georgia natives. The youngest doctoral candidate is 27. Women comprise 55.8 percent of Georgia Southern’s Spring 2008 graduates.

Georgia Southern University scientist helps with development of conservation map
Georgia Southern University scientist Michelle Zjhra is part of an international team of researchers that has developed a remarkable new road map for finding and protecting the best remaining holdouts for thousands of rare species that live only in Madagascar.
Led by conservation biologists at the University of California at Berkeley, the research team developed a conservation plan that includes lemurs and species of ants, butterflies, frogs, geckos and plants.
An island nation in the Indian Ocean, Madagascar is considered one of the most significant biodiversity hot spots in the world. More than 2,300 species that are found only in Madagascar were included in the research team’s analysis, which was published in the April 11 issue of Science.
A diverse group of 22 researchers from museums, zoos, herbaria, universities, non-governmental organizations and industry contributed to the study. They were assisted by an additional 62 non-authored collaborators who were part of much larger research teams that collected the data used in the study.
As an associate professor of biology, Zjhra’s research interest focuses on patterns and processes of plant diversity and spans molecular genetics, floral development, floral odor chemistry, plant-animal interactions, and pollination syndrome evolution. Her work has taken her from the old growth swamps and rivers of Georgia and South Carolina, to the tropical rain forests of Madagascar, to the mountainous rain forests of Vietnam.
The research team included scientists from the American Museum of Natural History in New York, the California Academy of Sciences, the Center for Applied Conservation International in Virginia, the Center for Conservation and Research at the Henry Doorly Zoo in Nebraska, the International Rice Research Institute in the Philippines, the Missouri Botanical Garden, the Museum of Zoology at the University of Michigan, the Natural History Museum in England, the REBIOMA Wildlife Conservation Society in Madagascar, the Royal Botanical Gardens in England, the State University of New York, the University of York in England, and the Zoological Institute of the University of Braunschweig in Germany.

Coastal Georgia Center announces Graduate Student of the Year
The Coastal Georgia Center recently announced that Georgia Southern University doctoral students Olivia H. Penrod and Consuela Pender are the winner and runner-up for the Center’s Graduate Student of the Year. The Graduate Student of the Year Award is presented to a graduate student who is making an impact in training, education, community service or economic development in his or her field of study.
Penrod, who is an education counselor at Fort Stewart in Hinesville, is pursuing a doctorate in education with an emphasis in higher education administration. Pender, who directs the Multi-Cultural Center at Georgia Southern University, is pursuing her doctorate in education with an emphasis in curriculum studies. Both Penrod and Pender have taken several graduate courses at the Coastal Georgia Center.
The Coastal Georgia Center is a University System of Georgia facility and is operated by Georgia Southern University in partnership with Armstrong Atlantic State University and Savannah State University. Georgia Southern University offers graduate programs in accounting, business and education at the Center. Savannah State University hosts graduate programs in social work, urban studies and public administration at the Center.
In addition to graduate classes, all three partner universities, as well as many community, state and national organizations, host non-credit programs and conferences at the Center.
For more information, contact David Murkison, associate director, at (912) 651-2768 or visit the Coastal Georgia Center Web site at http://cgc.georgiasouthern.edu/ or e-mail cgcenter@georgiasouthern.edu.

Auditions for Erk Russell play set for May 3-4
The producers of the play that celebrates the enduring impact of legendary Georgia Southern University football coach Erk Russell are ready to cast the play with local men and women.
Auditions for “A Life Done Right: The Living Legacy of Erk Russell” will be held in two sessions in the Multi-Purpose Room of the Averitt Center for the Arts in downtown Statesboro.
The first session is scheduled for Saturday, May 3, from 2 p.m. until 6 p.m., and the second session is scheduled for Sunday, May 4, from 2 p.m. until 5 p.m.
According to director Rebecca Kennerly, as many as 25 actors are needed for the play, which will be unveiled with eight public performances in late August and early September.
Based largely on oral histories that are being collected from people who were acquaintances of the late coach, “A Life Done Right: The Living Legacy of Erk Russell” is a collaboration between the Averitt Center and the Department of Communication Arts.
Averitt Center executive director Tim Chapman developed the concept for the play and recruited Kennerly to facilitate the oral histories portion of the project, for which she received a Faculty Service Grant from Georgia Southern. Scott Garner, the former sports editor of the Statesboro Herald, is writing the script.
Much of script is based on interviews with Russell’s family members, friends, fans and former players. Many of those people will be portrayed in the play, a multi-media production that will include videotaped interviews and archived footage as well as actors on stage.
Rehearsals for “A Life Done Right: The Living Legacy of Erk Russell” will begin in early July. The play will be performed in the Averitt Center’s Emma Kelly Theatre Aug. 22-24 and Aug. 27-28. The production will move to the Black Box Theater in the new Center for Art and Theatre on the Georgia Southern campus for performances Sept. 5-7.
For more information, contact Kennerly at rkennerly@georgiasouthern.edu or 478-7325, or Chapman at exec@averittcenterforthearts.org or 212-2787.

PeopleAdmin will begin May 12
The go-live date for PeopleAdmin, the new recruitment software Human Resources will use to recruit staff applicants, is being moved to May 12.
The date change will allow the Department of Human Resources to complete necessary internal procedural changes and training prior to the go-live date. The date change will provide additional time to ensure a seamless transition from the paper recruitment process to the electronic recruitment process. Please note that hiring managers will be allowed to continue the advertisement of vacant positions without any delay during this period. For more information on PeopleAdmin, please visit http://jobs.georgiasouthern.edu/PeopleAdmin.htm.
Questions or concerns related to this email or the implementation of PeopleAdmin should be directed to Demetrius C. Bynes, Employment Manager at 8-5713.

OTHER EVENTS
April
11-25	"Tripping the Beauty Queen," a ceramic sculpture exhibition by MFA candidate Gayle Shaw Clark, Center for Art & Theatre.
25	Greater Savannah Eagle Club, Johnny Harris Restaurant Banquet Facility, 6:30 p.m. For more information or tickets, contact Alumni Relations at ext. 5691
	Night of Wild Sax, Averitt Center for the Arts, 7:30 p.m.
27	Spring Fling Flute Choir Recital, Trinity Episcopal Church, 7:30 p.m.
29	Greater Macon-Middle Georgia Eagle Club, Tattnall Square Academy Field House, 6:30 p.m. For more information or tickets, contact Alumni Relations at ext. 5691.
	Magellan String Quartet, Nessmith-Lane Building Room 1915, 6:30 p.m. Brass Chamber Recital, Southeast Bulloch High School Auditorium, 7:30 p.m.
30	Baseball - Jacksonville at Georgia Southern, 6 p.m.
May
1	Liberty County Eagle Club, Home of Derek & Kim Sills, 6:30 p.m. For more information or tickets, contact Derek Sills at 912-408-6521.
	Sigma Alpha Iota Musicale, Trinity Episcopal Church, 7:30 p.m.
2	Greater Jacksonville Eagle Club, 6:30 p.m. For more information or tickets, contact John or Desiree Thibault at 904-599-9163
	Baseball - The Citadel at Georgia Southern, 7 p.m.
3	Softball - Chattanooga at Georgia Southern, 3 p.m. & 5 p.m.
	Baseball - The Citadel at Georgia Southern, 6 p.m.
4	Softball - Chattanooga at Georgia Southern, 1 p.m.
	Baseball - The Citadel at Georgia Southern, 1:30 p.m.
5-9	“Blueprints,” a senior BFA group exhibition, Center for Art and Theatre.
5	School Matinee Series - “Anne of Green Gables,” Performing Arts Center, 9:30 a.m. & 11 a.m.
	Baseball - Mercer at Georgia Southern, 2 p.m.
6	Greater Albany Eagle Club, 6:30 p.m. For more information or tickets, contact Alumni Relations at ext. 5691.
9	Baseball - UNC Greensboro at Georgia Southern, 7 p.m.
10	Commencement - Paulson Stadium, 9 a.m.
	Baseball - UNC Greensboro at Georgia Southern, 1:30 p.m.
11	Baseball - UNC Greensboro at Georgia Southern, 1:30 p.m.
13	Greater Columbus Eagle Club, 6:30 p.m. For more information or tickets, contact Alumni Relations at ext. 5691.
15	“What is Folk Art?” exhibition, Smith Callaway Banks Southern Folk Art Collection, Arts Building.
	East Metro Eagle Club, 6:30 p.m. For more information or tickets, contact Alumni Relations at ext. 5691.
17	Nature Close to Home, Botanical Garden, 10 a.m. to noon
	Greater Atlanta Eagle Club, Georgia Power Outdoor Pavilion, 6:30 p.m. For more information or tickets, contact Alumni Relations at ext. 5691.
21-23	Wang Yu’s Chinese Painting Exhibition, Center for Art and Theatre.

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