UGA to hold annual Honors Day April 7; Ellington, Ringhand and Turner to be recognized

Writer: Sam Fahmy, 706/542-5361, sfahmy@uga.edu Contact: Tommy Altman, 706/542-0306, taltman@uga.edu Athens, Ga. – The University of Georgia will recognize top students, superior teachers and outstanding faculty advisers and mentors at its annual Honors Day program. The program begins at 2 p.m. on April 7 in Hugh Hodgson Hall in the UGA Performing Arts Center. The event is open to the public, and undergraduate classes scheduled from 1:25-4:25 p.m. will be dismissed so students and faculty can attend. Parking for the ceremony is available free of charge at the Performing Arts Center parking deck (E20) off River Road. The program will be televised live on UGA and Charter Cable channel 15 and will be streamed live on the university’s home page, www.uga.edu. Professor James Porter, Meigs Distinguished Teaching Professor of Ecology, will be the keynote speaker. Porter, who serves as associate dean of the UGA Odum School of Ecology, is a recipient of the Creative Research Award. His-award winning photographs have appeared in Life Magazine and The New York Times, and his work has been featured on all three prime-time major network newscasts. Porter has testified before Congress five times, most recently on the effects of global warming on coral reefs. His talk is titled, “Sustainability and Multi-Cultural Wisdom: Lessons from the Rainforest.” Among the students to be recognized for academic excellence are 15 First Honor Graduates who have maintained a perfect 4.0 grade point average and 1,211 students who rank in the top five percent of their schools and colleges. Honors Day also recognizes faculty members who are receiving awards for teaching excellence; faculty and staff who are being recognized as outstanding advisers and mentors; and graduate students who are receiving awards for teaching. Milton Masciadri, a professor in the Hugh Hodgson School of Music, will be recognized as the 2010 University Professor, an honor bestowed selectively on UGA faculty who have had a significant impact on the university in addition to fulfilling their normal academic responsibilities. Five faculty members will be named Josiah Meigs Distinguished Teaching Professors, the university’s highest recognition of superior instruction at the undergraduate and graduate levels. They are: Carolina Acosta-Alzuru, Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication, advertising and public relations: Allan Munro Armitage, College of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences, horticulture; Tina Maria Harris, Franklin College of Arts and Sciences, speech communication; Juanita Johnson-Bailey, College of Education, lifelong education, administration and policy; Naomi J. Norman, Franklin College, classics. Additional awards and recognitions at the 2010 Honors Day include: Richard B. Russell Undergraduate Teaching Award, which recognizes excellence in undergraduate instruction by faculty members early in their academic careers: Tracie Costantino, Franklin College, Lamar Dodd School of Art; Brock Tessman, SPIA, international affairs; Craig Wiegert, Franklin College, physics. Outstanding Teachers, chosen by their respective schools and colleges Franklin College of Arts and Sciences: Edward A. Azoff, mathematics; Jerold Hale, speech communication; Nicole Lazar, statistics; Richard Morrison, chemistry; Edward Panetta, speech communication; Ray Paolino, theatre and film studies; Dennis Phillips, chemistry; Max Reinhart, Germanic and Slavic studies; Kathrin Stanger-Hall, plant biology; Frances Teague, English College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences: David Berle, horticulture; Mark Compton, poultry science; Adam J. Davis, poultry science; James E. Epperson. agricultural and applied economics; Kari Turner, animal and diary science; Michael Wetzstein, agricultural and applied economics School of Law: C. Ronald Ellington; Lori Ringhand; Christian Turner College of Pharmacy: Brian Buck, clinical and administrative pharmacy Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources: Scott Merkle, Susan Wilde College of Education: Betty Bisplinghoff, elementary and social studies education; April L. Peters, lifelong education, administration, and policy; Mark D. Vagle, elementary and social studies education Terry College of Business: Edward Michael Bamber, J. M. Tull School of Accounting; Thomas Berry-Stoelzle, insurance, legal studies, and real estate; Bob Bostrom, management information systems; Roberto N. Friedmann, marketing and distribution; Mark W. Huber, management information systems; Melenie Lankau, management; Stacie O. K. Laplante, J. M. Tull School of Accounting; Henry J. Munneke, insurance, legal studies, and real estate; David B. Mustard, economics; Christopher Reid Pope, banking and finance; Jason C. Rudbeck, economics; Chris Stivers, banking and finance; Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication: James Biddle, telecommunications; Janice Hume, journalism; Dean Krugman, advertising and public relations; Bryan Reber, advertising and public relations College of Family and Consumer Sciences: Jerry Edward Gale, child and family development; Charles Gilbert, textiles, merchandising, and interiors; Russell James, housing and consumer economics; Mary Ann Johnson, foods and nutrition College of Veterinary Medicine: Cynthia R. Ward, small animal medicine School of Social Work: Thomas P. Holland; Shari E. Miller; Larry Nackerud; Stephanie Swann; Betsy Vonk College of Environment and Design: Ashley Calabria; Ron Sawhill School of Public and International Affairs: Audrey A. Haynes, political science College of Public Health: Marsha Davis, health promotion and behavior; Steven R. Valeika, epidemiology and biostatistics; Anne Marie Zimeri, environmental health science Odum School of Ecology: Paul F. Hendrix; Jacqueline E. Mohan Division of Academic Enhancement: Laura Leigh Evans. Division of Student Affairs Outstanding Adjunct Faculty Member: Gerald J. Kowalski J. Hatten Howard Award, which recognizes faculty who exhibit special promise in teaching Honors courses during their first term as an Honors Program instructor: Laura Mason, Franklin College, history Lothar Tresp Outstanding Honors Professor Award, which is given to Honors faculty based on course evaluations: Jennifer J. Gaver, Terry College, J. M. Tull School of Accounting; John C. Inscoe, Franklin College, history; Theodore Shifrin, Franklin College, mathematics Scholarship of Engagement Award, which honors tenured professors who advance civic engagement through scholarship and service-learning opportunities for students and whose scholarship has made significant contributions toward identifying or addressing issues of public concern: Nancy Williams, School of Social Work Outstanding Academic Advising/Mentoring Award: Brian Fairchild, College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, poultry science; Clayton Foggin, Franklin College Office of Academic Advising Excellence in Undergraduate Research Mentoring Award: John C. Maerz, Warnell School Graduate School Outstanding Mentoring Award: Nathan Nibbelink, Warnell School; Bram Tucker, Franklin College, anthropology Graduate School Excellence in Teaching Award for graduate students: Matthew Forsythe, Franklin College, English; Tony Gonzalez, Franklin College, comparative literature; Ren Hullender, Franklin College, Lamar Dodd School of Art; Carly Jordan, Franklin College, cellular biology; Noreen L. Lyell, Franklin College, microbiology First Honor Graduates, which recognizes graduating seniors who have maintained a perfect 4.0 grade point average. The tradition began in 1978 instead of designating a graduating senior as valedictorian. This year’s honorees and their majors are: Carol A. Cobb, early childhood education; Jessica K. Crabbe, biology, psychology; Kelly N. Galloway, English, Latin; Rebecca L. Gay, early childhood education; Chelsea M. Jones, biochemistry and molecular biology; Samuel H. Kirk, accounting; Sarah A. Lowman, history, Spanish; David J. Malison, economics, biochemistry and molecular biology; Katherine A. Morgan, biology, genetics; Michael M. Naghshineh, finance; Melanie A. Phelps, finance, real estate; Lisa R. Pizarek, early childhood education; Yashesh Shah, economics; Spencer Speagle, psychology; Carrie F. Stryszko, social studies education. #