Tags: Society


Thinking like a scientist

From an interview in The Humanist with New Jersey congressman Rush Holt: The Humanist: How do you define critical thinking? Rush Holt:  Let me define instead what I like to call “thinking like a scientist.” It’s asking questions that can be answered based on evidence; it’s expressing questions in a way that allows someone to check your work. If you don’t have both of those elements, it’s too easy to fool yourself or to get lazy in…


Benjamin Franklin 'memoir'

  There are so many reasons that Benjamin Franklin was chosen as the namesake for the Franklin College - and every one of them accrues to our benefit as well as feeds our ambitions for what the College should be. None of the noble epithets with which we connect Franklin demonstrates that more than the unfinished autobiography he worked on but purposefully left unfinished so as  'to immerse his reader in the formal and textual…

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Moreton named to Organization of American Historians

The accolades for Franklin College's Bethany Moreton continue to roll in: Bethany Moreton, a University of Georgia associate professor of history and women's studies, was one of 25 professors nationwide selected this year to join the speaker's bureau of the Organization of American Historians, the largest professional society dedicated to the teaching and study of American history. As an OAH Distinguished Lecturer, Moreton will bring her…


Coley Lecture

The dean of an arts and sciences college of the size and dimensions of the Franklin College really has his or her hands full. Outside of the extraordinary administrative duties of the position and alongside the constant fundraising responsibilities and appearances, the dean is our ambassador and spokesperson; introducing speakers and addressing graduates with an eloquent and memorable message could itself be a full-time occupation. Interim dean…


Science and wonder

During interviews and conversations with faculty members over the years, I've heard scientists, historians and artists all mention this same subject: the importance of wonder and curiosity to their disciplines. While some lament the decreasing capacity of wonder in many students today, I can't help but wonder whether it may have, down through the ages, always have seemed like this. Whatever the case may be, most agree that one of their…


Berry named Gregory Chair

Congratulations to associate professor of history, Stephen Berry: Noted historian Stephen Berry has been named the inaugural holder of the Amanda and Greg Gregory Chair in the Civil War Era in the University of Georgia Franklin College of Arts and Sciences. Berry, the author of four books on the Civil War era, joined the university's department of history in 2007 and was selected as the Gregory chair after a national search. "I can think of no…

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Amazing student(s)

Spring 2012 graduates, their friends and familes have all been blessed with beautiful weather the past few days as anticipation grows for tonight's graduation ceremony at the stadium. The campus is teeming with visitors being given imprompu tours of favored haunts by excited grads-to-be - the orderly line at the arch for photos is a testament to patience and a gentle nature that many will hopefully be able to remember in later, more, trying…


The Value of a College Education

Maybe this is too easy. For NPR. But another week and more reportage on National Public Radio about the value of a college education and whether it's worth it. Maybe it's just that I drive once a week and only catch these then; maybe they run similar pieces like this morning's interview everyday. But this is a very important to topic to everyone, and one that is on everyone's mind especially at this time of year. I attended a wonderful…


NSF Graduate Fellowships

Ten UGA students and alums received graduate fellowships from the National Science Foundation to conduct research during their master's and doctoral studies, including four from Franklin College: Christopher Abin, of Miami, Fla., is pursuing a doctorate in microbiology at the University of Georgia. As a Florida International University undergraduate student, Abin made the dean’s list every semester and received a National Institutes of Health…


The Morrill Act: the building of a country

First proposed in 1857 and passed in 1859, President Lincoln signed the first Morrill Act on July 2, 1862, whereby the federal government granted each state 30,000 acres of public land for each member of congress that state had. In exchange, the states would sell the land and create an endowment meant to support the establishment and perpetuation of institutes of higher learning. UGA historian Nash Boney: As soon as the war ended the Confederate…


Dean's Staff Appreciation Lunch

With over 600 faculty teaching in 84 undergraduate majors (and over 80 graduate degree programs), the Franklin College requires a lot of people to function properly. Especially in lean budgetary environments like the current epoch, faculty and support staff, development officers and instructors are pressed to do more and more with less and less. Interim Dean Hugh Ruppersburg will express his appreciation for all the effort and committment that…


Liberal Arts Under Scrutiny

That fount of conventional wisdom, National Public Radio, aired a segment this morning on pressures faced by liberal arts colleges during the current economy, though it could have run anytime in the last 25 years such did it trot out the tried-and-true elements of a good news story:   Liberal arts schools have long had a rap of being a kind of luxury, where learning is for learning's sake, and not because understanding Aristotle will come…


UGA Engineering

Congratulations to our engineering colleagues around campus, which means faculty in many Franklin College departments including chemistry, physics and astronomy, mathematics, computer science, biology and microbiology, marine sciences, genetics, geography, art and anthropology, as well as numerous interdisciplinary research centers created thereof. This list alone explains why it was important for UGA to put together a formal engineering…

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Commencement 2012


Healing from Spiritual Violence

Sponsors: GLOBES, Office of Institutional Diversity, Black Faculty & Staff Organization and I.M.P.A.C.T. (Sustained Dialogue) The Franklin College and the University are glad to provide a forum to bring these groups together. Our campus must be a catalyst for discussion and the free exchange of ideas that provide comfort and understanding on issues of crucial importance to the entire community. Learn more about these groups and the role…


Amazing student Mathew Lustig

Biology major Matthew Lustig combines his interest in ROTC with a love for Johnny Cash to create his unique UGA experience: I studied abroad in Australia, which allowed me to study biology, immerse myself in a new culture and make some of the best friends I have at UGA. Upon returning, I tried out and made the UGA co-ed cheerleading team and performed for UGA football, men’s/women’s basketball, gymnastics and volleyball. Meanwhile, I played…

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Beckmann Kazez recognized with Regents' award

Josiah Meigs Distinguished Teaching Professor of Mathematics Sybilla Beckmann Kazez received a Teaching Excellence Award from the University System of Georgia Board of Regents:   The Franklin College of Arts and Sciences professor was chosen for the award that goes to one faculty member annually from research institutions in the university system. Awards also are given to one faculty member from the system's regional and state…

african american youth
Diversity Forum: The Trayvon Martin Tragedy

Mr. Stewart Thompkins Zellars Statistics & Economics   


CURO Symposium

The Museum of Fine Arts in Boston used to have an ad campaign that hinted, "There's more to life than just Monet." In a similar vein, this article in Red & Black on the CURO symposium reminded me that, while they are heavily engaged in everything from genetics to particle physics, UGA students conduct research in much more than just the hard sciences. Brendan Boyle, a junior mass media arts and film studies major, presented his paper…


Faculty workloads

Former New School chancellor David Levy took to the pages of the Washington Post this weekend to make an interesting argument: public support for higher education has led to rising tuition costs and faculty are generally overpaid for 'inefficient' teaching schedules. Not changed, however, are the accommodations designed to compensate for low pay in earlier times. Though faculty salaries now mirror those of most upper-middle-class Americans…


Art's Expanding Mission

A colleague pointed me to this Times article elucidating the role university art museums are playing on college campuses everywhere:   In the 21st century, university art museums have become more aggressive in extending their missions and collections to reach deeper into classrooms and curriculums not ordinarily associated with art. At Duke’s seven-year-old Nasher Museum, two members of its 30-person staff are devoted exclusively to…


New Dean

The Franklin College has a new dean, Alan T. Dorsey, currently associate dean for natural sciences and mathematics at the University of Florida: The appointment was announced by Jere Morehead, senior vice president for academic affairs and provost, to whom Dorsey will report.   “The history of UGA and the history of the Franklin College are inextricable, and the role of the dean there is a critically important one,” said UGA President…


UGA inventors making a difference

Three University of Georgia inventors were recognized by the Association of University Technology Managers in their most recent Better World Report: For the 2011 report, AUTM was charged with selecting technologies that help the world in the face of adversity, and just 23 from the thousands of innovations from around the globe were selected. Five were from UGA. "Our researchers deserve acknowledgement for their relentless efforts in helping…


The fire of creativity


2012 Meigs Professors

  Two of the four University of Georgia faculty named Josiah Meigs Distinguished Teaching Professors for 2012 are in the Franklin College. The Meigs Awards are the university's highest recognition for superior instruction at the undergraduate and graduate levels. The 2012 Meigs Professors are: • Jeffrey Berejikian, associate professor and director of graduate studies in the department of international affairs in the School of Public…
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