Georgia Southern University This Week

Vol. 16 No. 13

April 7, 2008

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Prospective Students to visit Georgia Southern University Open House This Saturday
More than 870 students have RSVPd to visit Georgia Southern University this Saturday for a one-day open house.
Accompanied by parents and guests and in some cases friends, prospective students will be on campus to explore the University’s numerous degree programs, housing options and meet with professors, current students and find out more about student activities.
The open house, which includes a walking tour of campus, is designed as an overview of the University. Admissions personnel will provide an overview of the admissions process and numerous other areas including financial aid, the Honors program and the Eagle Incentive Program (a program offered during the summer for students provisionally accepted for fall admission).

Georgia Southern University faculty honored for publications
With titles that vary from “The Physiology of Fishes” to “School Library Management,” 23 Georgia Southern University faculty members were honored recently for their 2006-2007 publications.
“We are fortunate to have a productive faculty who excel not only in the classroom, but in the area of scholarly research as well,” says Provost Linda Bleicken. “It is appropriate that we gather to honor their accomplishments and learn from their experience.”
The following faculty were recognized for their achievements at the Spring 2008 General Faculty meeting in the Nessmith-Lane Building: Heidi M. Altman, assistant professor of sociology and anthropology; F. Erik Brooks, assistant professor of political science; Kathleen M. Comerford, associate professor of history; Angela Crow, associate professor of writing and linguistics; Daniel R. Czech, associate professor of health and kinesiology; Hemchand Gossai, assistant professor of literature and philosophy; Mark D. Hanna, professor of finance and qualitative analysis; Ming Fang He, associate professor of curriculum, foundations, and reading; Patricia Humphrey, associate professor of mathematical sciences; Gerald Ledlow, associate professor of health services policy and management; Lance B. McBrayer, assistant professor of biology; Elaine S. Marshall, professor of nursing; Marla Morris, associate professor of curriculum, foundations, and reading; Robert C. Newman, lecturer in information systems; Johnathan O’Neill, assistant professor of history; John W. Parrish, Jr., professor of biology; Judith Repman, professor of leadership, technology, and human development; and Janice R. Walker, associate professor of writing and linguistics.
Also during the faculty meeting the following Researcher of the Year Awards were announced:

Allen E. Paulson College of Science and Technology
Award of Excellence for Research
Bruce Schulte, Biology

College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences
Award for Excellence
Leah Daigle, Political Science

College of Information Technology
Outstanding Researcher Award
Lixin Li, Computer Science

College of Health and Human Sciences
Award for Excellence in Scholarship
Daniel Czech, Health and Kinesiology

College of Business Administration
T. J. Morris, Jr. Faculty Award for Outstanding Research
Michael Reksulak, School of Economic Development

Thirty years strong: Business education earns international re-accreditation
In 1977 the American Assembly of Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB), which sets the highest standard for excellence in business education around the world, gave its stamp of approval to the College of Business Administration (COBA) at Georgia Southern University. It recently re-affirmed COBA’s accreditation, a signal to the University’s students, alumni and friends that after 30 years, COBA still meets the AACSB global standard of excellence. Hear more about COBA re-accreditation from Dean Ron Shiffler by viewing the video at http://www.georgiasouthern.edu/strategic/index.php?s=81.

‘My Brother’s War: Chapter 1' at Legends Gallery
When her brother, Gary, was drafted into the Vietnam War in 1967, Jessica Hines’ world changed drastically. At the age of eight, with parents who were unable to care for her, Hines was sent to live with relatives. She didn’t see her beloved brother for two years.
As an adult and artist, Hines tells Gary’s story, and hers, through “My Brother’s War: Chapter 1,” an exhibit that will open Friday, April 4, in the Legends Gallery at the Averitt Center in downtown Statesboro. An opening reception will take place from 6:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. that evening.
“With the intention of going beyond the deeply personal, my images are meant to be received by a broad audience,” writes Hines. “They speak of memory, personal tragedy and loss, and visually express my inquisitiveness into the nature of reality. They are made with a balance of both heart and mind.”
Those who view the exhibit will notice toys and references to childhood games and imagination in Hines’ photographs. When Hines’ father was a child during World War I, he made the drawings of fighting soldiers that appear in images from “My Brother’s War: Chapter 1.”
“My Brother’s War” is an ongoing work that has evolved by chapters. Hines is now working on chapter 3, and will return to Vietnam in May to continue her work.
Hines studied fine art photography at Washington University in St. Louis, Mo., where she earned a BFA and then an MFA from the University of Illinois. She combines her background in painting with traditional and alternative processes in photography. Respected for her creative approach in constructed imagery, she lectures on her work and teaches workshops internationally.
Hines’ work is found in both public and private collections and has been exhibited in nearly 100 solo and group exhibitions both nationally and abroad. Her work has been widely published, most recently in Camera Arts, Shots and The New Yorker. In September 2007, Hines traveled to Pingyao, China, where her work from “My Brother’s War” series was exhibited. A book is scheduled to be published by Mets & Schilt in Amsterdam in the fall of 2009. For more information, her Web site is http://www.jessicahines.com.

Phase 2C cutover completed as new telephone system moves forward
Georgia Southern University completed Phase 2C of its change to the Avaya VoIP telephone system last week. The following campus buildings now use the 478 (GSU) prefix:

Herty Building
Biology Building
IAP Building
Carruth Building
College of Science and Technology Building
Center for Art and Theater

Telephone numbers for these buildings will use the 478 (GSU) prefix; however, their four-digit extension number will remain the same.

Phase 2D of the change to the Avaya VoIP telephone system will take place April 4-8. The following campus buildings will be part of the 2D “cutover”:

College of Education (Friday, April 4)
Veazey Hall (Monday, April 7)
Cone Hall (Tuesday, April 8)

By the end of Tuesday, April 8, telephone numbers for these buildings will use the 478 (GSU) prefix; however, their four-digit extension number will remain the same. Phase 3, which includes buildings on Sweetheart Circle, will not begin until April 18.
Internal (intra-campus) calls require special attention: If you have an old number and are calling someone with a 478 prefix, you will need to dial 9 and the complete number, just as if you were making an outside call. If you have a 478 prefix and are dialing someone with an old number, you will have to dial 9 and the complete number, just as if you were making an outside call. If you have a 478 prefix and are dialing someone with a 478 prefix, you will only need to dial “8” and their four-digit extension.
As the entire campus moves to the new system, previous telephone numbers will have an automated message that provides callers with the new campus number (e.g. “This number has been changed. The new number is 478-XXXX”). Even after the new system is completed, messages will be available for a year.
Telephone numbers in the University’s Web directory http://directory.georgiasouthern.edu will be updated as the cutovers occur. Individual Human Resources information will be updated with new numbers, at the same time updating information for the Eagle Alert system.
As each building moves to the new telephone system, training sessions will be offered. Please check with your administrative secretary for the time and place of training. Telecommunications will also provide tutorials on how to reconfigure voice mail in the new system.
Once your department has been moved to the new telephone system, please review all your department’s Web pages and update the telephone numbers that have changed.
For questions, call the Telecommunications Office at ext. 5000.

Braz sends greetings from China

Following teaching visits to England and Nepal, Michael Braz is now sharing music with students in China. He sent this recent note:

Greetings from Wuhan, China and Central China Normal University. I am at the halfway point in my teaching and very much look forward to the remaining four weeks. The university staff and students have been consistently and wonderfully hospitable and we are all eager to learn from one another. Also, despite my very limited Chinese skills, I’ve found that “ni hao” (hello) and “xie, xie” (thanks) go a long way here.

During the first two weeks, I lectured in the College of Education and observed various kindergartens, along with special-needs schools for the visually- and hearing-impaired. The remainder of my time is being spent in the School of Music, with a schedule of twice-weekly lectures in music education, composition, and improvisation. I maintain daily office hours and speak with a large number of students who drop in to ask practical questions, comment on a past lecture, or simply practice their English.

With this academic year rapidly drawing to a close, I’m beginning to look back on the “shape” of these three experiences, in order to place them in some sort of perspective. Each port-of-call—Derby, Kathmandu, and Wuhan—has offered differing cultural and educational landscapes. Each has had noteworthy current events and crises, as well as a distinctly individual way of dealing with them. Throughout the year, music has been the common denominator, transcending national, political, and religious differences. This was driven home recently, when – at the conclusion of a lecture on early childhood music education – I was invited to guest-teach some music classes to kindergarten students at the CCNU campus laboratory school. During this most pleasant (and energy-draining) experience, I had two audiences: the spirited five- and six-year-olds, and a group of teachers and graduate students with a keen interest in Western music education methods.

It’s been both an exhausting and enlightening year, and it goes without saying that I miss my friends on campus and around town. When I return from traveling, it normally takes me about six months’ reflection to process what I’ve learned from the experience. This time, it may take a little longer.

All the best,
Mike B.

New software will streamline hiring at Georgia Southern
New software will streamline hiring at Georgia Southern
Georgia Southern will automate its hiring processes with PeopleAdmin, a software tool that will move the University from a paper hiring process to computerized hiring methods. Both internal and external candidates will be required to apply for positions using PeopleAdmin.
The new system is set to begin operation April 28, and hiring managers have been invited to participate in training sessions that will prepare them for the change. To allow the University to finalize the change to PeopleAdmin software, advertising of new vacancies will stop April 14-25, the two weeks prior to implementation.
“With this software, hiring managers will assume more ownership of the employment process,” said Demetrius Bynes, employment manager in the Department of Human Resources, who has been using a test site to learn the new system. “This system will allow hiring managers to decrease the amount of time spent in the employment process.”
In addition to hiring new employees, PeopleAdmin will be available to create new positions and modify existing position descriptions. From initial position requests to new job postings, and from application screening to final hiring, this new tool is expected to improve the flow of information.
“We’ll be able to collect and review employment application materials online, and at the same time provide automated feedback to applicants regarding the status of their search,” said Bynes.
According to information posted on its Web site, www.peopleadmin.com/index.html,
PeopleAdmin is now being used by more than 335 college and universities and public sector agencies all across the nation.

OTHER EVENTS
April
5	ArtsFest, Sweetheart Circle, Noon to 5 p.m.
	Softball - Elon at Georgia Southern, 1 p.m. & 3 p.m.
	Alumni Awards Banquet, Nessmith-Lane Ballroom, 5 p.m. Tickets $15 per person. Alumni Relations, ext 5691.
	Dallas Brass, Performing Arts Center, 7:30 p.m.
6	Men’s Tennis - Chattanooga at Georgia Southern, noon.
	Softball - Elon at Georgia Southern, 1 p.m.
7	Cinema Arts presents “Divorce Italian Style,” Russell Union Theater, $2, 7:15 p.m.
8	Baseball - Jacksonville at Georgia Southern, 6 p.m.
	Endowed Honors Recital, First Presbyterian Church, 7:30 p.m.
	Laurens County Eagle Club, Dublin Country Club, 6:30 p.m. For more information or tickets, contact Alumni Relations at ext. 5691.
9	Softball - Florida A&M at Georgia Southern, 2 p.m. & 4 p.m.
	Women’s Tennis - College of Charleston at Georgia Southern, 2 p.m.
10	Glynn County Eagle Club, Home of Joan Harris, 6:30 p.m. For more information or tickets, contact Alumni Relations at ext. 5691.
	Theatre & Performance presents “On Dragonfly Wings,” Black Box Theatre in the Center for Art & Theater, 7:30 p.m.
11	International Conversation Hour, Russell Union Ballroom, 11:30 a.m.
	Men’s Tennis - South Carolina State at Georgia Southern, 2 p.m.
	Baseball - Appalachian State at Georgia Southern, 7 p.m.
	Theatre & Performance presents “On Dragonfly Wings,” Black Box Theatre in the Center for Art & Theater, 7:30 p.m.
12	Spring Blue-White Football Game, Paulson Stadium, 1 p.m.
	Baseball - Appalachian State at Georgia Southern, 1:30 p.m.
	Women’s Tennis - Chattanooga at Georgia Southern, 2 p.m.
	Theatre & Performance presents “On Dragonfly Wings,” Black Box Theatre in the Center for Art & Theater, 7:30 p.m.
13	Baseball - Appalachian State at Georgia Southern, 1:30 p.m.
	Theatre & Performance presents “On Dragonfly Wings,” Black Box Theatre in the Center for Art & Theater, 2 p.m.
15	Baseball - Georgia Tech at Georgia Southern, 6 p.m.
	Theatre & Performance presents “On Dragonfly Wings,” Black Box Theatre in the Center for Art & Theater, 7:30 p.m.
	University Singers & Women’s Chorus, Trinity Episcopal Church, 7:30 p.m.
16	Softball - Georgia Tech at Georgia Southern, 2 p.m. & 4 p.m.
	Baseball - Georgia Tech at Georgia Southern, 4 p.m.
	Theatre & Performance presents “On Dragonfly Wings,” Black Box Theatre in the Center for Art & Theater, 7:30 p.m.
	Sigma Alpha Iota - Edna Braz Scholarship Competition, Trinity Episcopal Church, 7:30 p.m.
17	Toombs County Eagle Club, Home of Dennis & Therisa Ingley, 6:30 p.m. For more information or tickets, contact Alumni Relations at ext. 5691.
	Theatre & Performance presents “On Dragonfly Wings,” Black Box Theatre in the Center for Art & Theater, 7:30 p.m.
	Symphony Wind Ensemble & Wind Symphony, Performing Arts Center, 7:30 p.m.
18	International Conversation Hour, Russell Union Ballroom, 11:30 a.m.
	Theatre & Performance presents “On Dragonfly Wings,” Black Box Theatre in the Center for Art & Theater, 7:30 p.m.
19	Softball - Western Carolina at Georgia Southern, 1 p.m. & 3 p.m.
	Theatre & Performance presents “On Dragonfly Wings,” Black Box Theatre in the Center for Art & Theater, 7:30 p.m.
20	Softball - Western Carolina at Georgia Southern, 1 p.m.
	OASIS Concert, Southeast Bulloch High School Auditorium, 3 p.m.
	Georgia Southern Symphony, Sweetheart Circle, 7 p.m.

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