Thursday, July 3, 2014

Wildcat Dreams, Vol. 1, No. 16

Thursday, July 3, 2014 • Vol. 1, No.16

Wildcat Dreams is Fort Valley State University President Ivelaw Lloyd Griffith’s tri-weekly e-newsletter. As an additional resource to stay connected to FVSU, Wildcat Dreams highlights various campus activities and updates about new initiatives and programs. Readers are encouraged to share with friends and family. We welcome your feedback. Please send comments to fvsu_pr@fvsu.edu. Thank you and happy reading!

Read more news on the FVSU Review. 


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FVSU to host three special enrollment sessions

It's not too late to enroll at Fort Valley State University. Attend one of our three Enroll Now sessions on July 12, 19 and 26. Bring your high school transcripts and SAT or ACT scores for on-the-spot admission. For more information, call (478) 825-6520 or visit  http://www.fvsu.edu/calendar/2014/06/30/enroll-fvsu.






FVSU alum Glorie Chiza

FVSU Alumni Spotlight: Glorie Chiza

This month, we're spotlighting Fort Valley State University alum Glorie Chiza who was recently named to HBCU Buzz's Top 30 Under 30 list for movers and shakers that graduated from Historically Black Colleges and Universities. He is currently the program coordinator for the Opportunity Fund Corporation, a division of the Thurgood Marshall College Fund. The OFC has made a significant difference in the opportunity gap by developing successful U.S.-minority based businesses like BET and Radio One.

Read our previous "Just Do You" interview with Glorie Chiza here.





FVSU to launch new FM radio station

Fort Valley State University recently purchased the rights to a new FM channel.
The university is currently in the process of constructing the new station, and once completed, the 6,000-watt signal will allow Fort Valley State to broadcast to a larger audience than currently exists on its low-power campus radio station, WFVS-LP 104.3.

The station is expected to go on air by December 2014, and its call letters will change to WFVS-FM. The station will provide service to thousands of people in Middle Georgia.

“This is a blessing,” said Shirley Ellis,  director of radio and television in the Department of Fine Arts, Humanities and Mass Communications, who initiated the search to secure a powerful FM station for the University with the former department head, Dr. John Omachonu. Others who contributed to the project are current department chair Bobby Dickey and current FVSU president, Dr. Ivelaw Lloyd Griffith.

 “The upcoming dial change is a result of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) awarding the university a permit to construct a full-power FM station. Like WFVS-LP 104.3, the station will be committed to community and public service and playing a variety of different music genres. We want to continue to maintain the sound that listeners became accustomed to hearing on Power Jamz 104.3,” she said.


Read the entire article here.





Dr. Jessica Bailey, FVSU's new provost.

FVSU president names new provost

Fort Valley State University’s new provost is a former professor, researcher and university business school dean from Baltimore, Md. whose lengthy career includes developing and implementing community outreach programs and spearheading new online programs within higher education.

FVSU President Dr. Ivelaw Lloyd Griffith recently named Dr. Jessica M. Bailey to the post where she will also serve as Vice President for Academic Affairs effective July 1, 2014.

Bailey will assume the leadership from interim provost Dr. Govind Kannan.

Griffith said adding Bailey to the team at Fort Valley State will allow the institution to undertake some “leadership renewal” and build on previously established platforms.

Watch the video Question and Answer interview with Provost Bailey here:


Read the entire article here.




Dr. Uppinder Mehan

FVSU names new College of Arts and Sciences Dean

Fort Valley State University’s new Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences is an editor, long-time university professor and research scholar from Texas who co-edited an anthology of short stories by Caribbean science-fiction writers.

Dr. Ivelaw Lloyd Griffith recently appointed Dr. Uppinder Mehan as the new dean of the College of Arts and Sciences.

Griffith said adding Mehan to the team at Fort Valley State will allow the institution to undertake some “leadership renewal” and build on previously established platforms.

“Our university has many great opportunities to extend the perimeters of our educational enterprise and our economic enterprise, and to dream big and do big for the benefit of current and future Wildcats and the communities that we are committed to service,” he said. “I have every confidence that our new colleagues will make their valued contributions to this endeavor."

Mehan possesses an extensive background in teaching, literary scholarship and administrative experience. He earned two bachelor’s degrees: one in English and Psychology from the University of Windsor and another in faculty of education (English and Dramatic Arts). Mehan received a master’s degree in English from York University. He later matriculated at the University of Toronto where he earned his doctorate in English.

Read the entire article here.



Dr. Rayton Sianjina

 New dean named for FVSU’s College of Graduate Studies and 

Extended Education

Fort Valley State University’s new dean for the College of Graduate Studies and Extended Education has more than 20 years experience in higher education and administration, including leading initiatives in distance learning and learning technologies.

Dr. Ivelaw Lloyd Griffith, FVSU president, recently named Dr. Rayton Sianjina as the new dean of Graduate Studies and Extended Education.

Sianjina will assume the leadership from longtime dean, Dr. Anna Holloway, who retired recently.

Read the entire article here.



Dr. Dawn Herd-Clerk

FVSU names new interim chair for Department of History, Geography, Political Science and Criminal Justice

Fort Valley State University's Department of History, Geography, Political Science and Criminal Justice is having a changing of the guard this month. The university named associate professor Dr. Dawn Herd-Clark as the interim chair for the department. She is taking over the leadership position from Dr. Fred van Hartesveldt who retired in June 2014.

Herd-Clark began working at FVSU in Fall 2006 and has taught numerous core curriculum courses, established new classes, and helped develop an African-American and diaspora track for history majors at the university. She also assisted in the creation of the Master’s of Arts in History at the school. Additionally, the associate professor co-authored a proposal that helped secure a $10,000 matching grant from the University System of Georgia for the “Four Pillars: Fort Valley State University African American Male Initiative (AAMI).”

In addition to her work on campus, Clark has authored numerous peer-reviewed articles and has participated in the New York Times Knowledge Network and the Georgia Governor’s Teaching Fellows Program.

For more information, call (478) 825-6338.








FVSU professor and author, Dr. Carolyn Hall, will teach a series of life empowerment classes as part of the Oprah Winfrey "The Life You Want" Weekend.
 

FVSU professor to teach Oprah life Classes 

A Fort Valley State University English professor is leading a series of mini empowerment “life classes” in Macon, Georgia as part of a promotional push for Oprah Winfrey’s The Life You Want Weekend tour scheduled for the fall.

Dr. Carolyn Hall, assistant professor of English and a published author, was selected by Clear Channel Media, BMW of Macon,WIBB, and V101.7 FM to teach the classes to give individuals the opportunity to learn how to live their best life.

Hall said her goals for her classes are to positively impact others in hopes they will then impact someone else in return. The classes will be the pregame for Oprah’s September tour in Atlanta.

 Hall got the opportunity to lead the classes following an impromptu meeting with Clear Channel Regional Market Manager Thomas Bacote at the April 2014 inauguration of FVSU President Dr. Ivelaw Lloyd Griffith.

Bacote’s team had positioned the radio station’s remote truck on the campus to capture highlights of the inauguration festivities and Hall decided to step into the truck to introduce herself to the radio executives and share details of her books, I Can Do Anything with the Right Pair of Shoes and New Beginnings.

Read the article in its entirety here.






 FVSU receives NSF grant to start minor in applied statistics

The National Science Foundation recently awarded Fort Valley State University’s mathematics and computer science department a $393,684 grant to launch a new minor program in Applied Statistics.

 The award, which was sought by co-principal investigators Dr. Dawit Aberra, chair of the university’s math and computer science department, and assistant professors of mathematics, Dr. Haixan Wang and Dr. Shadreck Chitsonga, is effective July 1, 2014.

 “I am delighted with this latest grant, which is further evidence of our Dreaming and Doing in research," said Dr. Ivelaw Lloyd Griffith, FVSU president. "This new pursuit will not only extend our engagement in the critical STEM cluster, but it will provide additional opportunity for faculty and students to pursue one of my top priorities: undergraduate research.”

Aberra sought funding for a project entitled, “Targeted Infusion Project: Developing a Minor Program in Applied Statistics within the Department of Mathematics and Computers Science at FVSU.” 

Read the article in its entirety here.




Freshmen students stopped by Fort Valley State for summer orientation sessions in June. Two more sessions will be held on July 11 and 25.

More summer orientation sessions for FVSU students

Entering a college campus can be a daunting process for young people leaving home for the first time.  Fort Valley State University is streamlining the enrollment of its incoming Wildcat class through summer orientation sessions for incoming students. The next sessions are July 11 and July 25.  Two previous sessions were held on June 13 and June 27. All new university students, including transfers, are required to attend one session.

Brian Byrd, FVSU director of Campus Life, said the sessions aid in a smooth transition into college life for students. Students are required to pre-register for the sessions.

“They are able to come to campus, get a student I.D., handle any enrollment-related issues and be ready on move-in day,” Byrd said. “Once they arrive in the fall on August 14, they are already able to successfully navigate the college environment."

Read the entire article here.

To view pictures from June's summer orientation, visit our Flickr page.
 




Fort Valley State University's pool when it was first constructed.

FVSU to repair and reopen pool thanks to USG funding

Fort Valley State University’s damaged swimming pool will soon undergo repairs thanks to $400,000 in funding that President Ivelaw Lloyd Griffith secured from University System of Georgia's Board of Regents Chancellor Hank M. Huckaby.

Construction on FVSU’s pool - closed since 2009 due to a crack- will begin within the next two months.

“[Repairing] the pool has been the most talked about subject on campus,” said Dr. Dwayne Crew, FVSU's associate vice president for business and finance. “Everybody is ready for it to reopen.”
 
“The issues with the original construction of the pool caused it to crack,” Crew said.  Due to the faulty construction, the facility has been closed since 2009. “We thought it was best to tear out the pool and start again.”

The university consulted with Lyman Davidson Dooly, an architectural firm, recommended fixing the 12-foot pool by tearing out and replacing its bottom. After the concrete is upended, new concrete will be poured into the structure. The new depth of the pool will be 7 to 8 feet, instead of 12 feet. There will be no diving boards.

Read the entire article here.





FVSU President Dr. Ivelaw Lloyd Griffith leads a session at the Annual Georgia Municipal Association's Conference in Savannah, Georgia.

FVSU and City of Fort Valley's "Town Gown" alliance gets spotlight at statewide conference

Fort Valley State University's president recently presented a session on "Town Gown" partnerships  at the Annual Georgia Municipal Association's Conference in Savannah, Georgia.

Dr. Ivelaw Lloyd Griffith presented along with Barbara Williams, the mayor of the City of Fort Valley, Georgia, during a break-out session at the conference.

Town and Gown relationships are two unique communities located within a university town. The "town" portion is the community surrounding an institution of higher learning, and the "gown" component is the university community itself.

Fort Valley State's collaborative relationship with the City of Fort Valley was one of four case studies presented during the course.

Read the entire article here.



 Dr. Isaac Crumbly, associate vice president of Career and Collaborative Programs, will be honored with the 2014 Bromery Award by The Geological Society of America this fall.

 Professional Earth Sciences organization to honor Crumbly

A prominent, national scientific group is recognizing an FVSU administrator and pioneer for his outstanding efforts to help prepare minorities and women for professional careers in the geosciences.

The Geological Society of America, a professional organization that provides resources to earth scientists in all sectors, recently named Dr. Isaac Crumbly, associate vice president of Career and Collaborative Programs, as the recipient of its 2014 Bromery Award.  The honor is given in support of minorities that have made significant contributions to research in the geological sciences, or those who have been instrumental in opening up the geosciences field to other minorities.

He will receive his award during the organization’s GSA Annual Meeting from Oct. 19-22, in Vancouver, British Columbia in Canada.

“Dr. Crumbly has labored steadfastly and successfully in the educational vineyards in general and in the STEM vineyards in particular for several decades," FVSU president Ivelaw Lloyd Griffith said. "This new accolade is therefore a fitting recognition of his efforts and achievements. He is one of our institutional treasures, which is partly why I promoted him to my cabinet earlier this year. Moreover, an endowed professorship in his name is one of my goals. He has mentored and nurtured hundreds of students who have gone on to be successful professional in and out of the energy industry. A chair in his name would be one powerful way for these professionals to thank him and pay forward to future Wildcats.”

Read the entire article here.




Students participating in the 2014 Ag Discovery Program pose for a photo with Dr. George McCommon, (back row, second left,) interim department head for veterinary science and public health at Fort Valley State University along with FVSU student assistants, faculty and staff at the Wildcat Commons Club House June 13.

 Agriculture Discovery summer program ends

A group of specially selected high school students from across the United States recently spent two weeks at Fort Valley State University engaged in a summer program designed to attract them to the field of agriculture. The 13 students were participants in the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Ag Discovery Program. Young people came from as far away as Puerto Rico to attend the camp.

Ag Discovery is one of 21 camps on FVSU's campus this summer. The program is funded by the USDA Animal and Plant Inspection Service (APHIS).

Dr. George McCommon, FVSU’s interim department head for veterinary science and public health, supervised this year’s program. McCommon said students were motivated, hardworking and impressed with FVSU.

During their two-week stay, the students gained experience by assisting with horse surgeries and setting up fish tanks. They also visited the Georgia Aquarium, the U.S. Customs Service at Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport in Atlanta and Wild Adventures Theme Park in Valdosta.

Read the entire article here.



(From left-right) Yarelia Zavala Ortiz and Arleen Jimenez Ortiz, biotechnology graduate students from the Inter American University of Puerto Rico, discuss their work in the Stallworth Research Building June 6 with Dr. Nirmal Joshee, associate professor and coordinator of Fort Valley State University’s graduate biotechnology program. 

 Exchange program may offer students opportunities in Puerto Rico

Ocean breezes, sunny skies and palm trees may soon be a backdrop for Fort Valley State University students studying biotechnology. Dr. Nirmal Joshee, associate professor and coordinator of FVSU’s graduate biotechnology program, is collaborating with the Inter American University of Puerto Rico (IAUPR) for the development of an exchange program involving students and faculty from IAUPR and FVSU.

FVSU’s graduate degree program in biotechnology, the only one in Georgia, is serving as a template for IAUPR which began a similar program two years ago.  Joshee traveled to Puerto Rico to work with faculty and students to assist in developing the program.

During a visit to FVSU June 5-6, two graduate students from IAUPR -- Yarelia Zavala Ortiz, 24, and Arleen Jimenez Ortiz, 30-- spent time conducting experiments and learning improved state-of-the-art techniques to be used in their labs back in Puerto Rico. The students said they learned about FVSU’s biotech program from their adviser. Yarelia and Arleen said they will share their work with classmates in Puerto Rico and tell them to take advantage of any opportunities to visit FVSU.

For more information about FVSU’s biotechnology program, contact Joshee at (478) 822-1404 or e-mail at josheen@fvsu.edu.


Read the entire article here.




Fort Valley State University administrator, students attend research conference

Two Fort Valley State University students and an administrator recently flew to our nation’s Capitol for a national conference that provided information about the latest trends and techniques in undergraduate research.

The Council of Undergraduate Research recently granted Dr. Andrew Lee, associate director of the Undergraduate Research Program, a $400 grant to travel to its biennial CUR Conference 2014: Creating the Citizens of Tomorrow: Undergraduate Research for All.  She took two FVSU students – Antjuan Smith and Samuel Wright – to the conference in Washington, D.C. that was held from June 28 – July 1.

Read the entire article here.




 FVSU National Alumni Association, Inc. to hold meeting


Fort Valley State University President Ivelaw Lloyd Griffith will meet with FVSU alums to chart the institution’s future course during the FVSU National Alumni Association, Inc. 23rd Biennial Conference.  The theme for this conference, hosted by the District VI FVSU Alumni Association from July 17–20, in the Desoto Hilton, 15 East Liberty Street in Savannah, Ga., is “Waves of Change…FVSU – Land of Opportunity.”

“It’s an exciting time for FVSU, as we map the future of our university,” said Ed Boston, senior director of Career and Alumni Services. “We have a long history of excellence, and the future is bright with the continuation of the same. We have a new leader for the university and, at the end of the conference, we will have a new leader for the association. And with new leadership, there comes change and opportunity and I expect we will take advantage of the timing.”

Read the entire article here.




Fort Valley State President Ivelaw Lloyd Griffith (left) met with Evelyn Peters-Washington(center), granddaughter of Rev. James Holman Peyton. Peters-Washington brought her granddaughter, Taylor, to campus.

 FVSU president meets with visionary's granddaughter

A descendent of one of the visionaries behind the founding of Fort Valley State University recently visited the campus to offer a glimpse into the institution’s past by sharing historic family documents that chronicle FVSU’s earliest days.
Evelyn Peters-Washington is the granddaughter of the Rev. James Holman Peyton. The minister was the father-in-law of Thomas McAfee, one of the 18-member coalition of men (15 African American and three white) who petitioned the Houston County Superior Court in 1895 for a charter to establish a public school for black children. In addition to sharing the family’s historic documents that detailed Peyton’s role in FVSU’s history, Peters-Washington also shared some of the family’s personal sacrifices that came as a result of the coalition’s efforts to create the new schools.
“I came to bring a name and face to the 15 African-American and three white men who helped to found FVSU,” said Peters-Washington, founder of  “Families Across America,” a nonprofit that helps families in need. Peters-Washington, who also is a former record executive with Polydor Records, said many relatives tell her that her grandfather’s spirit of helping others lives on through her.
Read the entire article here.


FVSU graduate student Terri Brearley accepts an award at a recent biotechnology conference. She won the best Graduate Poster Presentation.

FVSU graduate student nets award at
biotechnology conference

A Fort Valley State University student won top honors at a recent biotechnology conference. Terri A. Brearley, a student earning her master’s in biotechnology,  won best Graduate Poster Presentation at the American Council for Medicinally Active Plants meeting in Fargo, North Dakota, June 15-18. The Kathleen, Ga. native was accompanied by Dr. Nirmal Joshee, coordinator for the university’s biotechnology graduate program. For her first place win, she received $100 and a certificate.

The ACMAP’s purpose is to foster research, development, production and conservation of medicinal, aromatic, and other bioactive plants useful to human health.

Brearley’s poster presentation is entitled “Micropropogation and in vitro scaling up protocols for medicinal plant: Scutellaria barbata.”  She conducted the research with the help of her advisor, Dr. Nirmal Joshee, and her lab mates, Aisha L. Hill and Brajesh N. Vaidya.

 Read the article in its entirety here.




Jocelyn Neal, director of FVSU's new Academic Advisement Center, provides advice to a student.

FVSU Academic Advisement Center launches changes

Fort Valley State University recently launched a center that will help first and second-year students remain on track toward earning their bachelor’s degrees.

FVSU freshmen and sophomores will be required, beginning this fall, to consult with advisers within its new Academic Advisement Center and will be required to speak with counselors about making class schedules and their academic progress.

The purpose of the university’s Academic Advisement Center is to advise all freshmen, sophomores and students that have 59 hours or below. The center will serve as a hub for academic advising, scheduling advising and providing a strong foundation for students.
Read the story in its entirety here.




 Fort Valley State University veterinary tech student working in the field.

Who Knew....?

Fort Valley State University has the only fully accredited, four-year Bachelor of Science veterinary science program within the University System of Georgia, and the only four-year veterinary technology program in the state of Georgia.
  

 On Fort Valley State University's campus, students are learning how to care for small ruminant animals like goats.

FVSU’s program is accredited by the American Veterinary Medical Association and it produces the Bachelor of Science degree in veterinary technology and the Bachelor of Science degree in veterinary sciences. Both programs are housed in FVSU’s Department of Veterinary Science and Public Health.


 FVSU vet tech students also learn how to raise amphibians such as tortoises.

FVSU must undergo a yearly renewal process annually to maintain AVMA accreditation status.
For more information about FVSU’s veterinary programs, call (478) 825-6424 or visit http://ag.fvsu.edu.



FVSU Faculty Tenure and Promotions

 President Ivelaw Lloyd Griffith is delighted to announce and applaud the following outstanding faculty who have been tenured and promoted.
  1. Dr. Maisha Akbar, assistant professor in Fine Arts, has been approved for tenure.
  2. Samuel Cartwright, assistant professor in the department of Math and Computer Science, has been approved for tenure (after he receives his terminal degree).
  3. Dr. Ya-Hui Cheng, assistant professor of music, promoted to associate professor, has been approved for tenure.
  4. Dr. Tia Williams Gafford, an associate professor in the English and Foreign Languages Department, has been approved for tenure.
  5. Dr. Franklin Gross, an assistant professor in the department of Fine Arts, was promoted to associate professor and approved for tenure.
  6. Dr. Tiffani Holmes, an assistant professor in the department of chemistry, was promoted to associate professor and approved for tenure.
  7. Dr. Teah Moore, an assistant professor in the School Counseling Education program, has been promoted to associate professor and approved for tenure.
  8. Dr. Babatunde Ojo, an assistant professor in chemistry, was promoted to associate professor and approved for tenure.
  9. Dr. Jasmine Paul, an assistant professor in biology, has been approved for tenure (pending terminal degree).
  10. Dr. Teresa Shakespeare, an assistant professor of biology, has been promoted to associate professor and approved for tenure.
  11. Dr. Washella Simmons, an assistant professor in English and Foreign Languages department, was promoted to associate professor and approved for tenure.
  12. Dr. Cristine Soliz, an assistant professor in the English & Foreign Languages department, was promoted to associate professor, and approved for tenure.
  13. Dr. Erika Styles, an assistant professor in the Agricultural Economics department, was promoted to Associate Professor and approved for tenure.
  14. Dr. Thomas Terrill, an assistant professor in the Animal Science department, was promoted to associate professor and approved for tenure.
  15. Dr. Patcharin Tragoonsirisak, in the Math and Computer Sciences department, was promoted to associate professor and has been approved for tenure.
  16. Dr. Ashwin Vyas, an associate professor in the social sciences department was promoted to full professor, and approved for tenure.
  17. Dr. Archie Williams, an assistant professor in the Agriculture Engineering department, was promoted to associate professor and approved for tenure.



 
Coach David Bowden works with youngsters during the Performance Speed Enhancement Camp at Old Kona Park in Hawaii. (Photo: West Hawaii Today) 

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