News Archive - 2023

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UGA faculty member Julie Ray "Beautiful" Scenic Designer

Professor and head of the department of theatre and films studies Julie Ray served as Scenic Designer for the recently-opened Beautiful: The Carole King Musical for Aurora Theatre. MFA candidates Jack Stoffel and Cody Russell served alongside her as Assistant Scenic Designers with Russell also designing props. Aurora Theatre holds a special place within UGA and the department, as one of its co-founders is alumnus Anthony Rodriguez…

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Dean's intro video scored by Hodgson School of Music student

Our new video introducing Dean Anna Stenport features a score composed and produced by Jacob Evarts, a media composition major in the Hugh Hodgson School of Music. The music helps create an elevated tone for the video and is another example of innovative experiential learning opportunities in the Franklin College. "Jacob already had a piece performed by the Orlando Symphony in 2022, called "Wonder of the World" as part of a program called "The…

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CRISPR enables plant biologists to engage grand challenges

New research from UGA plant scientists describe how CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing technology has a significant role to play in developing sustainable agriculture. The study and illustrations are featured on the cover of the August issue of the CRISPR Journal, which details how recent studies in the deployment of genome editing in trees are opening new avenues for sustainable forestry: The widespread success of CRISPR medicines in the clinic is…

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Sociology faculty, students, honored at ASA conference

Faculty and students in the department of sociology were recognized for career excellence and innovative research at the 118th Annual Meeting of the American Sociological Association: The Educative Power of Sociology in Philadelphia, PA in mid-August. William Alex Pridemore, professor and head of the department of sociology, received the 2023 Albert J. Reiss Distinguished Scholarship Award. Presented every other year by the…

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Student selected for second cohort of Voyager Scholarship

Julianna Russ of Fort Thomas, Kentucky, a third-year student at the University of Georgia, is one of 100 college students from across the nation to be selected for the second cohort of the Voyager Scholarship, the Obama-Chesky Scholarship for Public Service. Established in 2021 by the Obama Foundation and Airbnb co-founder and CEO Brian Chesky, the Voyager Scholarship is a two-year program for students in their junior and senior years of college…

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UGA doctoral student selected as NASA Future Investigator

Chintan Maniyar, a Ph.D. student in the department of geography, received a NASA early career fellowship, the NASA Earth Science Division announced in August. Known as the Future Investigators in NASA Earth and Space Science and Technology (FINNEST), the $150,000 fellowship, the program accepts proposals for graduate student-designed research projects that contribute to Science Mission Directorate’s science, technology, and exploration goals.…

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Shepherd wins Environmental Achievement Award

University of Georgia professor J. Marshall Shepherd was recently named the recipient of the prestigious 2023 Environmental Achievement Award. This accolade is presented annually by the Environmental Law Institute to individuals or organizations that have made notable contributions to environmental protection, conservation and sustainability. “Dr. Shepherd’s outstanding career and commitment to understanding and communicating about climate…

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Classic Georgia accent fading fast

A collaborative study between the University of Georgia and Georgia Tech has found the classic Southern accent is undergoing rapid change in Georgia. The instigator? Generation X. “We found that, here in Georgia, white English speakers’ accents have been shifting away from the traditional Southern pronunciation for the last few generations,” said Margaret Renwick, associate professor in UGA’s Franklin College of Arts and Sciences department of…

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Dean Stenport meets with Franklin alumni from across the U.S.

Franklin College Dean Anna Stenport has been meeting with alumni and friends of the college at Meet-and-Mingle events designed to provide our alumni the opportunity to get to know Dean Stenport – and for Dean Stenport to learn about how our graduates want to help shape a vision for the Franklin College. The events began even before she officially started her duties as dean of the college when she attended a recital at Steinway Hall in NYC in…

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Semitic language scholar joins UGA as the Ann and Jay Davis Professor of Jewish Studies

Aaron Rubin joined the University of Georgia in August 2023 as the Ann and Jay Davis Professor of Jewish Studies in the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences department of religion. Rubin arrived at UGA after 19 years on the faculty at Penn State University. Jewish Studies is a vast field, which includes the study of religion, history, literature, language, philosophy, art, sociology, political science, and more. Rubin hopes to work with other…