News from the Chronicles - January 2026

photo of yellow police tape at night scene
New study examines relationship between market integration, reductions in violence

A new study from the University of Georgia sociologists suggests countries with a stronger market orientation may experience lower rates of homicide. Market orientation and market integration refer to how freely a nation’s economy functions within a framework of legal rights and freedoms such as enforcing contracts, protecting property and ensuring equal opportunity: Countries that allow buying, selling, working and investing with fewer…

group photo under oaks and pines with Spanish moss
Mellon Foundation adds $1 million to public humanities partnership

The Willson Center for Humanities and Arts has received a $1 million grant from the Mellon Foundation for a second phase of its public humanities partnership with the historic Penn Center on St. Helena Island, South Carolina. The grant-funded project, Culture and Community at the Penn Center National Historic Landmark District, launched in 2021 with an initial $1 million award from Mellon to build and implement programs…

Cassandra Hall in a field.
Making an impact in astronomy

Cassandra Hall, assistant professor of astrophysics, has focused in on planet formation outside our Solar System and advanced the compelling idea of a “photosynthetic habitable zone” that could help narrow down the search for life on other planets. With a cluster of research papers that have made a big impact in astronomy, Hall has added to a re-thinking of the cosmos: Over her last several trips around the Sun, Cassandra Hall’s eye has been…

photo of man, outdoors, day
Shepherd named Regents’ Professor

University of Georgia faculty member J. Marshall Shepherd has earned the distinction of Regents’ Professor, the University System of Georgia’s highest professorial honor. UGA announced the honors to two faculty members: Elena Karahanna, Distinguished Research Professor in the Terry College of Business, and Shepherd, the Georgia Athletic Association Distinguished Professor of Geography and Atmospheric Sciences in the Franklin College of Arts and…