The 14 women from the Narok and Kajiado districts of Kenya’s Rift Valley Province provided attendees with an inside look at gender issues in the Maasai community during a multi-faceted presentation on May 2 that was a mix of commentary, skits, native song and dance, and crafts.

The delegation arrived in Athens on April 26 for a three-week program of site visits and information sessions on the skills and organizational capacity needed for effective engagement in politics and policy-making. Funding is provided by a grant from the U.S. Department of State, according to Njeri Marekia-Cleaveland, International Center for Democratic Governance African programs specialist.

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Schedule and Activities:

Participants will spend two days on the beautiful University of Georgia campus in Athens. The program commences Friday evening at 6:30 p.m. with a welcoming reception and an introduction to some of the bilingual ambassador-hosts who will be available throughout the event.

Activities include:

• Welcoming reception with UGA Latinos
• Friday night lodging in the University of Georgia Continuing Education Conference Center and Hotel.
• Dinner, breakfast, and lunch on the UGA campus
• Informational group activities
• Speakers, including members of UGA’s Latino community
• Conversations with academic and admissions representatives
• Campus tour

Selection of Participants:

Exceptional high school students who
1) will enter their senior year fall 2008,
2) have a strong interest and involvement in Latino issues and the local Latino culture, and
3) have a high probability of meeting all UGA admissions requirements* at graduation and plan to apply to UGA.

Participants will be encouraged to fill out the UGA early admission application during the weekend. There is no cost to participants. Program acceptance is competitive: only twenty-five students will be selected to attend. Participation does not guarantee UGA acceptance.

For more information, contact Sarah Stack at or 706-542-7887.

Click HERE to Download the 2008 Application.
THIS APPLICATION MUST BE RECEIVED BY MAY 15, 2008.

Senior Scholars work closely with the director as highly visible members of the OSL Leadership Team and contribute to long-range planning for service-learning at UGA. For more information, a Columns article on the 2007-08 OSL Senior Scholars’ activities can be found online at http://www.uga.edu/columns/080128/news-scholars.html

Applicants should have demonstrated experience in issues related to service-learning through any of the following activities: developing academic courses with service-learning components; integrating service-learning in study abroad; providing departmental leadership for service-learning; conducting research related to service-learning; or developing outreach programs with service-learning components.

For the 2008-2009 academic year (AY09), the following target areas have been selected based on current areas in need of faculty leadership:

Research: Provide leadership to foster service-learning research and mentor faculty and graduate students interested in service-learning scholarship. As a new target area for 2008-09, the Senior Scholar for Research will develop a strategy for supporting service-learning related research and advise the OSL on long-term faculty and graduate student
support needs. The Senior Scholar for Research will also collaborate with the Service-Learning Curriculum Committee (SLCC) on strategies for incorporating service-learning scholarship into promotion dossiers, and consult with faculty and graduate students on research project development as necessary. Time commitment not to exceed 10% throughout the academic year.

Curricular Initiatives: Provide leadership in collaboration with the Service-Learning Curriculum Committee (SLCC) and continue work toward institutionalizing academic service-learning opportunities at UGA. The Senior Scholar for Curricular Initiatives will lead the effort to educate and promote the “S” Suffix for specifying service-learning courses in CAPA that was recently passed by the University Curriculum Committee. In addition, the Scholar for Curricular Initiatives will also provide consultation for Scholarship of Engagement grant proposal development as well as identify other activities that support curricular development. Time commitment not to exceed 20% throughout the academic year.

Faculty Development: Provide leadership and programming support for the Service-Learning Fellows program, including ongoing development of an evaluation plan for the fellows program. The Senior Scholar for Faculty Development will also help identify areas of faculty development need and collaborate on other faculty development opportunities such as creating resources for the OSL website and facilitating seminar and workshop series. Time commitment not to exceed 20% throughout the academic year.

Global Initiatives: Provide leadership for integration of service-learning in study abroad and international outreach by developing curricular tools and faculty development opportunities, and by representing the OSL as necessary in existing collaborations with the Office of International Education. The Senior Scholar for Global Initiatives will work to develop best practices and protocols in global service-learning programs, and build consensus and resource sharing among study abroad directors interested in service-learning pedagogy. The Scholar will also design a workshop on global service-learning for inclusion in the Global Certificate Program sponsored through Training and Development. This appointment may include some travel as appropriate. Time commitment not to exceed 20% throughout the academic year.

ELIGIBILITY
Applications are open to all permanent, full-time UGA faculty members including academic tenure track, academic professionals, public service faculty, and clinical faculty members. Faculty at all stages of the career track with experience in service-learning are encouraged to apply. Faculty who previously served as Senior Scholars may reapply. Experience with the specific target area is not required.

TERMS OF APPOINTMENT
Appointments are for one academic year with the possibility of renewal dependent on the continuing needs of the OSL. Faculty who previously served as Senior Scholars may reapply. Those selected as Senior Scholars will work with the director to outline a plan of work for the academic year that aligns with the faculty members’ interest and the OSL’s needs. Each OSL Senior Scholar will receive a faculty development grant commensurate with the time commitment and scope of work of the appointment.

HOW TO APPLY
Faculty interested in serving as one of three Senior Fellows during the 2008-2009 academic year should submit a letter addressing the following:

* Previous experience with service-learning
* Target area of interest
* Ideas for scope of work and potential contributions to the initiatives of the OSL

Letters of application should be submitted through campus mail or email to arrive by Tuesday, May 27, 2008. A brief letter of endorsement by the applicant’s unit head will be required prior to appointment and may be transmitted simultaneously with the letter of application, if convenient.

Address correspondence to:
Dr. Shannon O. Wilder, Director
Office of Service-Learning
Instructional Plaza North
University of Georgia
Athens, Georgia 30602

**The CFP can also be downloaded on the Office of Service-Learning’s website http://www.servicelearning.uga.edu **

The Office of Service-Learning was established in July 2005 and is jointly supported by the Offices of the Vice President for Instruction and the Vice President for Public Service and Outreach.

They talked to excited kids and parents about the animals and answered questions about Marine Extension Service programs and summer camps. Several Tybee Island residents, and even career fisherman, were surprised to learn about the differences between whelks and conchs, and that Georgia has native species of crabs besides the blue crab (Callinectes sapidus). The best question of the day came when a little boy asked if spider crabs like back massages.

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Exhibits in the fair included projects and experiments in seventeen categories. All participants earned the opportunity to compete in the state fair by winning honors in one of the twenty-one GSEF affiliated regional fairs.

Top high school honors went to Archit Bhise, Peachtree Ridge High School, Duluth; Stoyan Ivanov, North Springs High School, Alpharetta; and Marissa Pan and Kelsey Schodowski, Alpharetta High School, Alpharetta. These students, along with 39 others from across the state, received an invitation to compete at the International Science and Engineering Fair in Atlanta, May 11-16, 2008.

Top middle school honors went to Marguerite Bradley, The Walker School, Marietta; Deborah Postma, Brookstone School, Columbus; and James Conners, Fielding Keeley and Joseph Vanterpool, William James Middle School, Statesboro. These students received an invitation to participate in the Society for Science and the Public’s Middle School Program along with twenty-five other middle school students from throughout Georgia.

In addition to the grand award prizes, entrants in the GSEF competed for more than $48,000 in prizes and awards honoring best achievements in specific scientific areas. There were more than 100 award donors from universities, government, industry, and professional organizations.

The exhibits were judged Thursday, April 3, on creativity, scientific thought and engineering goals, thoroughness, skill and clarity. Two hundred judges from the University System of Georgia and contributing societies and industries judged these projects.

On Friday students, parents and teachers participated in various tours of the UGA campus.

Thirty-five projects in the Senior Division received all-expense-paid trips to the 59th Intel International Science and Engineering Fair in Atlanta, Georgia, May 11-16, 2008. These Georgia students will compete against more than 1,400 students from 46 countries. Elizabeth Kornegay of Thomasville Scholars Academy was chosen as the Merial Biological Student of Promise and will travel to ISEF as an observer. The Intel ISEF is best described as the World Cup, The World Series and the Olympics of science competitions.

With the support of Verizon Wireless and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the
project organizers hope to create a new production model that allows public service announcement videos to be created by peers and delivered on personal mobile media devices. The goal of the AIDS Personal Public Service Announcement (PPSA) project is to increase awareness of the importance of HIV testing, encourage young people to get tested, and pioneer
new ways to reach young adult audiences with vital educational messages.

“Delivering health messages to young people today can be frustrating,” said Dr. Scott Shamp, Director of the New Media Institute and professor of telecommunications at UGA’s Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication. “A whole generation isn’t using their parent’s media, so we have to find new ways to reach them. Mobile media has powerful potential for reaching young people with information to help them stay healthy and protect others.”

Coordinated by UGA’s New Media Institute, the project will bring teams of university students and faculty from around the Southeast together on April 22-23 in Atlanta. Using wireless phones and data equipment, student teams from Emory University, the University of South Carolina, Clark Atlanta University and Georgia State University will collaborate using wireless communications with producers from around the country to shoot, edit, produce and premiere short video PSAs encouraging HIV testing.

“It’s exciting to not only see young people using our equipment and our network in an innovative way but to see how this can directly impact individual lives and the community at large,” said Jeff Mango, president of the Georgia/Alabama Region for Verizon Wireless. “Wireless technology has certainly become part of our daily lives both professionally and personally. It’s only fitting that we harness the power and reach of technology for the greater good and participate in this program.”

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than a quarter million people are estimated to be living with HIV and are unaware of their infection. Often those infected exhibit no visible symptoms and are more likely to pass the virus to others. Knowing infection status can lengthen life expectancy dramatically as patients are able to start treatment earlier.

“Mobile media is an outlet for truly personalized content. It is an opportunity to reach a targeted audience in a personal way for the public good,” said Kelly Jones, a project participant and UGA student. “Especially for controversial and emotionally charged issues, personal devices are a discrete way to create awareness.”

Student teams will participate in a day of educational forums on HIV and related issues on Tuesday, April 22, including talks by professionals from a variety of organizations including top CDC experts on HIV/AIDS. Teams will begin video production at 9 a.m. on April 23 and end at 4 p.m. with final PPSA videos due by a 7 p.m. deadline. The AIDS PPSAs will be distributed via a variety of channels in association with a series of nationwide educational and promotional events associated with National HIV Testing Day, June 27, 2008. This annual event is organized
by the National Association of People with AIDS (NAPWA).

Founded in 2000, the New Media Institute is an interdisciplinary teaching and research unit of the Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication (www.grady.uga.edu) at the University of Georgia (www.uga.edu/). The NMI is dedicated to innovating with communication
technologies.

Verizon Wireless operates the nation’s most reliable wireless voice and data network, serving 65.7 million customers. Headquartered in Basking Ridge, N.J., with 69,000 employees nationwide, Verizon Wireless is a joint venture of Verizon Communications (NYSE: VZ) and Vodafone (NYSE and LSE: VOD). For more information, go to: www.verizonwireless.com. To
preview and request broadcast-quality video footage and high-resolution stills of Verizon
Wireless operations, log on to the Verizon Wireless Multimedia Library at
www.verizonwireless.com/multimedia.

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Since 2001, SAUGA has enriched the summers of more than 300 campers and has provided fun instructional activities in a wide range of subjects. Programs are divided into one- and two-week sessions. Space is limited and pre-registration is required.

This year’s camp offerings include “Mini Medical School,” in which campers will perform surgery on mock specimens, take medical board exams, review x-rays, visit a dentist office and much more. Other new camps include “Sing Your Heart Out,” an American Idol-style voice workshop; “Rockin’ Rockets,” which will explore aerodynamics and physics; “Young Point of View,” an in-depth photography camp; and “Screenwriting and Production” camp. Also new this year is a “Young Actors” camp, which will be taught by an actress who appeared on Seinfeld, an Emmy-award winning TV series.

Other popular camp offerings include “DAWGWarts”, a Harry Potter-themed camp; “Video Production Camp,” “Comic Book Creation” and “Cartooning Camp.”

For more information or to register, please contact Kathleen McDermott at 706/542-3537, 800-325-2090 or . Additional information is available online at http://www.georgiacenter.uga.edu/ppd/summer_academy/.

The Georgia Center, a unit of the University of Georgia’s Office of the Vice President for Public Service and Outreach, provides innovative lifelong learning opportunities through its continuing education programs. On UGA’s campus, the Georgia Center includes a full-service hotel with 200 rooms and suites, restaurants, ballroom, conference rooms, auditoriums, a fitness center, and computer lab—all under one roof. For more information, see www.georgiacenter.uga.edu.

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Global health research is on-going across the UGA campus and interest continues to grow. This symposium will serve to help build the momentum behind global health initiatives currently being developed at UGA. These include the creation of Global Health Certificate program, as well new internship opportunities for students to learn and gain experience abroad in global health. This symposium aims to bring the UGA community together to discuss how the University can contribute to international efforts for improvement and equity in global health.

Who should attend? Anyone interested in international health, public health, international development, medicine, nonprofits, philanthropy, microfinance, social entrepreneurship, bioethics, economics, anthropology, health policy, advocacy, environmental health, service-learning, medical education, and public service.

Symposium Session Topics:
· Culture, Society and Global Health
· Infectious Diseases
· Problems in Global Nutrition
· Environmental Health Problems

Learn more or register at www.globalhealth.uga.edu

This annual event focused on veterinary medicine as an exciting, rewarding career, and demonstrated the variety of career options available to veterinary medicine graduates.

“This is a wonderful opportunity for young people to see firsthand the role of today’s veterinarian,” said Dr. Lari Cowgill, faculty advisor for Open House. “Veterinary medicine entails so much more than the care of cats, dogs, horses and cows. What we learn from animal health has a significant impact on public health issues.”

Other activities included horseshoeing, hatching quail eggs, face painting, a dog dancing demonstration, and question and answer sessions with current veterinary students. Children also assisted while veterinary students repaired their favorite stuffed playmates in the Teddy Bear Surgery area.

“Parents and teachers look forward to this each year, and the kids always have a great time interacting with the animals and the veterinary students,” said Denise Brinson, vice president of the class of 2010 and co-organizer of the event.

In addition, tours of the small and large animal hospitals were available all day, with scientific exhibits showcasing every kind of animal from dogs to horses to exotics.

The University of Georgia College of Veterinary Medicine, founded in 1946, is dedicated to training future veterinarians, providing services to animal owners and veterinarians, and conducting investigations to improve the health of animals as well as people. The College benefits pets and their owners, food-producing animals, and wildlife by offering the highest quality hospital and diagnostic laboratory services. Equipped with the most technologically advanced facilities located on a university campus, the College is dedicated to safeguarding public health by studying emerging infectious diseases that affect both animal and human health. The College enrolls 96 students each fall out of more than 500 who apply. It has more than 130 faculty members.
For more information, please visit www.vet.uga.edu/ERC/openhouse.

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Researchers, practitioners, and students from diverse fields are encouraged to submit proposals to this interdisciplinary symposium intended to bridge university-based research with effective practice to inform sound public policy. Proposals will be accepted for paper presentations, symposium panels, and poster sessions.

The symposium will be held October 13, 2008 at the Georgia Center for Continuing Education Conference Center and Hotel.

PROPOSAL SUBMISSIONS:
Send a one- to two-page abstract of approximately 500 words in Microsoft Word or Rich Text Format to . Receipt of submission will be acknowledged.

SUBMISSIONS SHOULD INCLUDE:
• names, affiliations, and contact information for all presenters and identification of primary presenter
• title of presentation
• identification of submission as research-based or best-practice proposal
• brief synopsis/description of the presentation content
• identification of format: paper, symposium, poster

Submissions will be judged based on clarity, quality, effectiveness, and impact.

DEADLINES:
Proposal submissions must be received by 5:00 p.m. on May 1, 2008. Any submission arriving after this time will be disregarded. Acceptance decisions will be communicated via e-mail to the primary presenter by 5:00 p.m. on July 1, 2008.

STUDENT PARTICIPATION:
We particularly encourage students to submit proposals and attend the symposium.

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