Tags: Human Nature

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Feeding wildlife can disrupt the social lives of animal communities

New research from UGA Anthropology has found that the practice of feeding wildlife could be more detrimental to animals than previously thought. In a paper published recently in Nature Scientific Reports, researchers found that feeding wildlife can disrupt the social lives of animal communities, which they discovered by observing and documenting the behavior of moor macaque monkeys along a wooded roadway on the island of Sulawesi in eastern…

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Westpheling named Phi Beta Kappa Visiting Scholar

Janet Westpheling, professor of genetics in the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences department of genetics, has been selected for the Phi Beta Kappa Visiting Scholar Program. Since 1956, the program has been offering undergraduates the opportunity to spend time with some of America’s most distinguished scholars. Westpheling teaches undergraduate and graduate classes in genetics and trains undergraduates, graduate students and…

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State of the Art Symposium on Collective Behavior March 20

From the coordinated blinking of fireflies to the synchronized movement of flocks of birds or schools of fish and even the exploration pattern of roots in the soil, collective behavior characters all domains of biology – animals, plants, fungi, bacteria and viruses. The University of Georgia Institute of Bioinformatics presents the State of the Art Symposium on Collective Behavior Friday, March 20, 2020 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. in Masters Hall…

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New psychology research: changing self-concept can lower well-being

American culture values the freedom to change and reinvent one’s self. A new study, however, reveals that Americans who do change tend to report a lower sense of well-being. University of Georgia psychologists compared individual self-concepts between Americans and Japanese counterparts and uncovered this essential contradiction about the heroic myth of American individualism: “In Western and particularly American culture there is a notion…

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Women’s History Month honors voting rights

The Institute for Women’s Studies leads UGA recognition of the 2020 national Women’s History Month under the theme “Valiant Women of the Vote,” hosting numerous programs in March that honor the centennial of the 19th Amendment: This year’s Women’s History Month keynote address will be presented by Lisa Tetrault, associate professor of history in the Dietrich College of Humanities and Social Sciences at Carnegie Mellon…

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UGA among Peace Corps’ 2020 top-producing schools

The Peace Corps ranks University of Georgia at No. 5 among large schools on the agency’s list of top volunteer-producing colleges and universities in 2020. There are 64 Bulldogs currently volunteering in countries around the world: UGA made a big leap to No. 5 from last year’s spot at No. 13. “UGA’s commitment to the Peace Corps is ongoing,” said Yana Cornish, director of global education. “The recent growth of participation in the UGA…

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Kudos, February 2020

National awards from AAAS, the National Council on Public History, Bulldog 100 and electric buses headline our kudos round-up for February. Congratulations all:  Henry 'Fritz' Schaefer III, Graham Perdue Professor of Chemistry and Director of Center for Computational Quantum Chemistry was named the 2019 recipient of the Southern Chemist Award.The award is intended to honor outstanding researchers who have brought recognition to…

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Noted and quoted, February 2020

Critical views, insights, commentary, and explanation from Franklin College faculty over the month of February. A sample: Column: If you drink milk, thank Big Government, Stephen Mihm, associate professor of history writing in his regular column at Bloomberg February: The cruelest month, Georgia Athletic Association Distinguished Professor Marshall Shepherd in the Eau Claire (WI) Leader-Telegram Clay — incredibly…

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Class redesign increases student success in math

A significant redesign of two foundational UGA mathematics courses has led to remarkable gains in student success, including an increase from 65% to 85% of students who pass precalculus: While the DFW (grade of D, grade of F or Withdrawal) rate for students taking precalculus averages 27% nationally, according to the Mathematical Association of America, the DFW rate at UGA has dropped from 35% six years ago to approximately 15% last fall.…

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New book delves into the science, history and meaning of menopause

‘The Slow Moon Climbs' by Susan Mattern, Distinguished Research Professor of History, ponders the evolutionary benefit that renders women’s lives so valuable post-reproduction: She opens her book with an extraordinary example: that of Hoelun, the mother of the notorious Genghis Khan. Hoelun accomplished far more than simply giving birth to the notorious emperor of the Mongol Empire. Khan has more than 35 million direct male-line…

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Alumni Association reveals 2020 Bulldog 100 list

The University of Georgia Alumni Association recognized the fastest-growing companies owned or operated by UGA alumni during the 11th annual Bulldog 100 Celebration on Feb. 8: The 2020 fastest-growing business, LeaseQuery LLC, is led by CEO George Azih and Chief Revenue Officer Chris Ramsey. Azih earned his bachelor’s degree in business administration in 2003 and Ramsey earned a bachelor’s degree in psychology in 2005.…

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Wartenberg: teaching philosophy to children

Some great opportunities this week to think and learn about introducing the big questions to a younger audience: The UGA department of philosophy and the Office of Service-Learning present a lecture by Tom Wartenberg, “Doing Philosophy with Frog and Toad,” on Thursday Feb. 13 at 3:30 p.m. in room 115 of Peabody Hall on UGA’s North campus. A professor emeritus of philosophy at Mount Holyoke College, Wartenberg is one of the leading scholars in…

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Amazing student: Samantha Summers

Biology/Psychology double-major Samantha Summers explains her passion about “integrating sustainability in health care on both individual and systems levels,” and her plans as a doctor to improve the health literacy disparity in Georgia and beyond: Sustainability focuses on living in a way conscious of the generations of tomorrow. Unfortunately, many hear “sustainable” and tune out believing it to be only about climate change.…

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Kudos, January 2020

The extraordinary roster of new honors for Franklin faculty and staff so early in the year includes: J. Marshall Shepherd, Georgia Athletic Association Distinguished Professor and director of the atmospheric sciences program whose diverse communication efforts engage a wide audience on weather, climate, and the relationship between science and society, will receive the 2020 Mani L. Bhaumik Award for Public Engagement with Science…

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Gabara awarded NEH fellowship

The National Endowment for the Humanities has awarded a research fellowship to Rachel Gabara, associate professor in the University of Georgia Franklin College of Arts and Sciences’ department of Romance languages, funded as a part of more than $30 million in new NEH grants for 188 humanities projects nationwide. The fellowship will fund the completion of Gabara’s second book manuscript. The project, “Reclaiming Realism: From Documentary…

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Franklin faculty lead UGA project to transform STEM education

Funded by a $3 million grant from the National Science Foundation, the Department and Leadership Teams for Action program, or DeLTA, will engage more than 100 University of Georgia faculty across multiple departments to transform STEM education at institutions of higher education nationwide. Principal investigator Paula Lemons, an associate professor in the department of biochemistry and molecular biology, explained that she and her colleagues…

graphic on black for MLK
MLK Day 2020

Excellence. Service. Commitment. Greatness. The linkage connecting our ideals to their fulfillment is encapsulated in the work and life of a great American. As we observe Martin Luther King, Jr. Day 2020, opportunities abound to make it a day of service to our community. The 4th annual MLK Day parade and festival begins at 3 p.m. Monday January 2o. University of Georgia offices will closed in observance. We celebrate the…

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How to reduce digital distractions: advice from medieval monks

Jamie Kriener, associate professor and head of the department of history, offers an excellent case in point about the power of the humanities without ever mentioning the word: Medieval monks had a terrible time concentrating. And concentration was their lifelong work. Their tech was obviously different from ours. But their anxiety about distraction was not. They complained about being overloaded with information, and about how, even once…

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Georgia Debate Union Begins 2020 at Georgetown Tournament

The Georgia Debate Union began the second half of its season with strong showings at the Georgetown College Debate Tournament held over the first weekend of 2020 in Washington, DC.   The JV team of Lauren Debranski (senior, Woodstock) and Eshaan Kalra (sophomore, Johns Creek) finished prelims as the only undefeated team with a 6-0 record. They finished the tournament in 3rd place. Their road to 3rd place included wins against George Mason…

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Inaugural Chhabra-Landau Lecture features materials science engineer Sharon Glotzer

The Center for Simulational Physics presents the inaugural Chhabra-Landau lecture on Thursday Jan. 9, 2020 at 3:30 p.m. in room 202 of the Physics building. The speaker is Sharon Glotzer, the Anthony C. Lembke Department Chair of Chemical Engineering, the John Werner Cahn Distinguished University Professor of Engineering and the Stuart W. Churchill Collegiate Professor of Chemical Engineering at the University of Michigan, where she is also…

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Happy 2020!

The New Year welcomes new students and faculty in the semester beginning next week, a fresh new Sugar Bowl trophy making its way to campus, plus a host of new research stories, concert performances and lectures. Welcome, to the many new faces, and good luck to all students beginning fresh again in the new semester. Get ready! 2020!

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Happy Holidays!

The Franklin College of Arts and Sciences wishes you all the best for the holidays and in the new year 2020! University of Georgia offices will be closed beginning December 25 and re-open January 2, 2020.

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2019 in Review

The many great Franklin College stories of 2019 create a vibrant image of ongoing excellence at every level. Our faculty, students and staff are leading the University of Georgia in its most dynamic era yet. From TED Fellows to Guggenheim Fellowships, imaginative research and teaching draw out the best in our students. Our colleagues provided elegant expression to the fire at Notre Dame de Paris and the death of Toni Morrison,…

photo of indoor commencement ceremony celebration, with streamers
Fall Commencement 2019

The University of Georgia will welcome its newest alumni Dec. 13 as 1,799 undergraduates and 1,263 graduate students—a total of 3,062—have met requirements to walk in the university’s fall Commencement ceremonies. The undergraduate Commencement ceremony is scheduled for 9:30 a.m. in Stegeman Coliseum, and tickets are required. The graduate ceremony does not require tickets and will follow at 2:30 p.m. Regent Kessel D. Stelling Jr…

photo of student walking across red carpet at commencement
The [earning] power of humanities degrees

Fortune Magazine pushes back on the persistent misperception that links humanities degrees with low salaries: Robert B. Townsend, director of the American Academy of Arts & Sciences Washington, D.C. office, says that humanities majors secure jobs at pretty much the same rate as other people with degrees. “It’s certainly not in line with that picture that gives you the impression that they’re all baristas drowning in debt, and…
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