Children in Baldwin County Schools are getting an opportunity to dance—something they wouldn’t be exposed to in their early years if it weren’t for dance minors in Georgia College’s dance pedagogy class. Community dance is one of the university’s biggest outreach programs and has been around in some form for at least 20 years. Last year, a new element started: free dance lessons twice a week in Baldwin’s primary schools and academies. “Our aim is to expand opportunities beyond campus...
If by reading a letter one can mingle with another’s soul—as John Donne the English poet suggested—then transcribing the letters of undocumented immigrants is heart-tugging work. Three Georgia College students are learning about the struggles of immigrants detained in the United States at Stewart Detention Center in Lumpkin, Georgia. They engage personally by translating letters written by immigrants in Spanish—but also by listening to stories of their teacher’s experience. Dr. Virginia...
Food connects all human beings. Every region has its tribal traditions, every culture a certain food heritage, every family its own roots and recipes. But, mostly, food is just plain fun to eat. A group of Georgia College history students recently expanded their knowledge of food the fork-to-mouth way on a Foodways study away trip to Savannah during Spring Break. They chronicled the diversity of food rituals in this Southern port city while eating at Lowcountry, Greek, Indian, Italian,...
Five psychology majors are finishing data analysis on several projects relating to coronavirus and worldwide lockdowns that left millions dealing with mental health issues. The results showed students at Georgia College—like people everywhere—weren’t immune to the fallout of isolation and loneliness. “Our conclusions were that loneliness increased and the reported overall state of mental health decreased, which corresponds to a strong negative correlation between loneliness and mental...
For Anne Elise Beals, service work was never a choice. Rather, it was the chance convergence of a lifetime of interests that lead her to being named a finalist for this year’s Truman Scholarship. “Being a psychology major,” she said, “and always analyzing the way that people think and why we interact socially the way that we do—it’s that mixed background, that liberal arts education, that’s helped me to combine my interests.” Beals’ passion for working with LGBTQ+ youth to prevent...
Exposure to a second language doesn’t usually begin until high school. By then, too many are fearful of new territory and have built barriers. Not young children. Like a sponge, they’re eager to absorb new experiences. “They’re not afraid to make mistakes, and that’s something I have to get over myself. It’s so freeing to see them learning and accepting other languages and cultures,” said junior Christopher Jackson of Gray. Jackson is double majoring in communication and world language...
Georgia College has joined a prestigious international consortium of VIPs. By its acronym, you might think its members are ‘very important people.’ And, well, they are. They’re faculty and students who formed research teams across all disciplines. Now, they’ve been united in an organization and website called Vertically Integrated Projects (VIP) Program––a model for experiential learning. Joining the consortium puts Georgia College’s name on the world stage. It adds new emphasis on...
At age five, Dr. Harriett Whipple, professor emerita, developed a fascination with flowers. She and her friends observed roses in her yard and made clover chains in kindergarten. Little did she know that this passion would carry her through to her mid 20s, when she would get her Ph.D. in botany. Whipple came to Georgia College in 1968. For nearly 50 years she taught botany and biology—a once male-dominated field. “When I was hired, there were mostly men in my profession,” Whipple...
If rising tensions in Eastern Europe don’t abate—Dr. William Risch’s students will learn history as it unfolds. The Ukraine has endured more than its share of war, dominance and struggle for identity. Lately, it’s been in the news with a build-up of more than 100,000 Russian troops at its border. A spar of words between superpowers is fueling fears of confrontation and a third world war. “I wish things had taken a different path, because war exhausts people. They become embittered,”...
Georgia College’s Integrated Science Complex (ISC) is not your grandfather’s idea of a traditional lab—where doors are shut, and people isolate in their own workspaces guarding projects from prying eyes. The university’s new science building is about openess. Light. Transparency. Shared lab spaces. Collaboration. And glass. Lots of glass. “This building was designed to be science on display,” said Dr. Indiren Pillay, chair of Biological and Environmental Sciences. “There is a paradigm...
