Around the Circle
Jiann-Ping Hsu College of Public Health
Alumna Named Prestigious Health Fellow
Master of Public Health graduate Jessica Sexton (’15) is engaged in an intensive, yearlong assignment at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) within the Center for Global Health. Her assignment to the CDC’s office in Lilongwe, Malawi, is the result of being named one of 32 new Association of Schools and Programs of Public Health/CDC Allan Rosenfield Global Health Fellows for 2015-16. The epidemiologist is working in the Division of Global HIV/AIDS to address the epidemic in Malawi.
College of Science and Mathematics
Chemistry Professor Receives Rising Star Award
Chemistry Professor Karelle Aiken, Ph.D., has received a 2016 Rising Star Award from the American Chemical Society’s Women Chemists Committee. This prestigious, national award recognizes up to 10 exceptional early-to-mid-career women scientists who have demonstrated outstanding contributions to their respective fields. Aiken was honored for her outstanding work and mentorship with undergraduates, graduate students and new faculty. She has been a Georgia Southern faculty member since 2007 and will present her research at the national meeting of the American Chemical Society in San Diego in March.
College of Business Administration
First BIG Pitch Winner
Georgia Southern University’s Business Innovation Group (BIG), in conjunction with Ocean Exchange, named Stanford University the winner of the inaugural BIG Pitch competition held Oct. 12, 2015, in Savannah. Opus 12, the team from Stanford University, pitched its idea, ”Renewable Fuel Production from Carbon Dioxide,” wowing the four panel members and 100 delegates who voted for the winner to take home the $10,000 cash award. The collegiate competition is designed for teams to pitch sustainable innovations that improve economies, health and the environment.
College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences
New Director of Women and Gender Studies
Department of Writing and Linguistics Professor Lisa Costello, Ph.D., has been named the new director of Women and Gender Studies. She has been a faculty member since 2007. Costello’s research focuses on rhetoric and composition, gender studies and Holocaust studies.
Allen E. Paulson College of Engineering and Information Technology
New Applied Research Center Opens
The Center for Innovative Technology, Engineering and Manufacturing Solutions (CITEMS), an applied research center that helps a wide variety of industries and government agencies solve their real-world problems, is now open for business. A multidisciplinary unit within the College, CITEMS supports regional industries by providing opportunities to collaborate with engineering, computer science and information technology faculty and students. The center offers 55,000 square feet of dedicated research space as well as short courses on applied topics providing practical workshop materials and lecture notes. Clients include: Gulfstream, Delta, Southern Company, Georgia Power,
Georgia Department of Transportation, National Science Foundation, Environmental Protection Agency, Solvay Polymers and Koyo Bearings.
College of Health and Human Sciences
Student Sustainability Fee Funds Alterations Shop
The FMAD Stitch Alterations Shop opened for business last fall in the School of Human Ecology. Department of Fashion Merchandising and Apparel Design Professors Rachel Eike, Ph.D., and Beth Myers, Ph.D., and undergraduate student Amber Shelton were awarded a $2,500 grant through the University’s Center for Sustainability to launch the clothing repair and alterations shop. With a mission to work toward a more sustainable campus, the shop hopes that by offering basic mending, hemming and fittings services free of charge to Georgia Southern students, faculty and staff, individuals will reduce the amount of clothes they purchase and throw away. The program is run by student volunteers who are able to gain valuable hands-on experience while working with real life customers. Three years ago, Georgia Southern students overwhelmingly approved the $10 Student Sustainability fee to fund sustainability projects on campus.
College of Education
State School Counselor of the Year is a Double Eagle
College of Education graduate, Torri Jackson (‘99, ‘02) is the 2015 Georgia School Counselor of the Year as selected by the Georgia School Counselor Association. She is currently the Student Services Support Specialist for the Liberty County Board of Education and previously held positions as a high school guidance counselor and math teacher. Jackson holds two degrees from the College of Education: a B.S. in Education with emphasis in technology and mathematics education and a Master of Education in counselor education.