News from the University System of Georgia: region 5

NEWS

FROM

The University System of Georgia

Two USG Universities Rank Among Nation's Top 20 Public Institutions
Georgia is one of only four states with two institutions ranked among the Top 20 public national universities in the United States in U.S. News & World Report's "America's Best Colleges 2002."
Georgia Tech is No. 10 on the coveted list, while the University of Georgia is No. 18.
Keeping Georgia company are Texas and Virginia, which each have two universities on the Top 20 list, and California, which has six institutions posted.
The 2002 "Best Colleges" report and the magazine's 2003 edition "Best Graduate Schools," released in April 2002, also contain a variety of other rankings.
The reports rank Georgia Tech: First among the nation's graduate and undergraduate schools of
industrial and systems engineering; Second among undergraduate programs in aerospace engineering; Third among undergraduate programs in civil engineering; and Fourth among all universities with graduate engineering pro-
grams.
The reports rank UGA: Among the top three public law schools in the South and the top
six public and private law schools in the South; Third among graduate programs in public management/adminis-
tration and public finance; and Fourth among graduate programs in vocational/ technical educa-
tion.
The reports rank Georgia State University: First among the nation's public universities with part-time MBA
programs and fifth among both public and private universities; and Second among graduate business programs in insurance/risk management.
The reports rank the Medical College of Georgia: Sixth among the nation's graduate programs in nursing anesthe-
sia (a ranking held since 1998).

Did You Know?
N The Board of Regents is celebrating its 70th anniversary this year. The original 11 regents developed a plan on Jan. 1-2, 1932, that for the first time centralized governance of the state's higher education institutions.
N To meet the needs of the poultry industry in Northeast Georgia, Gainesville College has collaborated with the Poultry Science Department at the University of Georgia in developing a Poultry Science Certificate Program on the Gainesville campus. Interested students may choose between tracks in Live Production or Processing. After obtaining the certificate, students either may transfer to UGA with full credit for the 48-53 semester hours they spent in the GC program or start their careers in the poultry industry.
N The University of Georgia's master's degree in adult education recently was cited by U.S. News & World Report as a commendable online graduate program. The magazine surveyed more than 2,000 colleges and universities around the country to compile a list of the "Best Online Graduate Degree Programs" for its guide to ELearning, now available online at www.usnews.com. U.S. News did not rank the 130 programs it listed but limited the list to programs approved by regional accrediting boards.
N University of Georgia President Michael F. Adams is among "100 Most Influential Georgians" identified in Georgia Trend's 2002 directory of the state's top power brokers. Regent Joe Frank Harris and Assistant Vice Chancellor for Economic Development Annie Hunt Burris also made the list. Adams was joined by three other University System presidents.

UGA Contributes More Than $1 Billion to Athens-Area Economy Through Jobs, Spending
The University of Georgia is by far the largest of the 10 major employers in Athens, a list that includes both Athens Regional Medical Center and St. Mary's Hospital, the Clarke County school system and government, two poultry processors, and some local industries. According to an economic impact study released this spring by the University System of Georgia, UGA-related spending accounts for more than 22,000 full- and part-time jobs. The total includes some 10,000 residents of the Athens metropolitan area who were paid employees of either UGA or the Athletic Association, plus more than 12,000 residents whose jobs depend on university-related spending. In the Athens area, nearly one job in three owes its existence to UGA-related spending.
But the economic benefits of serving as the host community to a major research university are even greater when long-term impacts are considered. As Athens seeks to diversify its economic base, the ability of the University to create spin-off firms related to faculty research is a major asset.
"UGA not only has valuable resources for economic development, we do economic development," says Margaret Wagner Dahl, who heads the Athens New Media Synergy Center, an incubator for digital media startup companies located downtown, and another incubator housing several biotech startups on the UGA campus. The biotech companies already have attracted $30 million in venture capital and corporate financing, says Wagner Dahl.

NEWS

FROM

The University System of Georgia

UGA Calf Cloning: Breakthrough for Cattle Industry?
Scientists at the University of Georgia and ProLinia, Inc., an Athens-based agricultural biotechnology company, produced the first calf ever cloned from the cells of a slaughtered cow on April 22. This event has the potential to revolutionize cattle production.
"This research has tremendous implications for the livestock industry," said Mike Wanner, president of ProLinia, Inc. "Genetics represents the boundary of what an animal ultimately can become. Producers will be able to go into a processing plant after the meat is graded, select the best beef on the line, and use those genetics to develop and improve their herd. In a sense, they will be able to see what quality beef they can produce before they make their investment."
The process also will allow researchers to study the roles of genetics and environment in beef production.
"Genetics plays a critical role in the ultimate quality of the meat we eat. Equally important are the animal husbandry practices used, like the quality of feed provided," said Steve Stice, professor and Georgia Research Alliance Eminent Scholar in UGA's College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences and chief scientific officer at ProLinia, Inc. "Some traits are more inheritable than others. We believe that production and meat quality traits like marbling and tenderness are readily passed on to an animal's offspring and in this case, the animal's clone. Ultimately, ranchers and meat producers will be given a tool to produce more consistent, higher quality meat."
Grady College Graduate Program in Public Relations Ranks Nationally
The University of Georgia's Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication ranks fourth among 16 "Premier Programs" for graduate studies in public relations in a directory compiled recently by Marquette University in Milwaukee.
The same program also ranked fourth when U.S. News & World Report examined public relations programs in its 1996 "Best Graduate Schools" guide.
"While these individual rating systems are impressionistic at best, the consistency is exceptional and reflects well on the Grady College, its public relations faculty and students," said Dean Krugman, head of the university's Department of Advertising and Public Relations.

USG Resume Database Helping Employers to Recruit
American Express Financial Services in Athens is one of many Georgia businesses benefitting from the University System of Georgia's online statewide database of college students and alumni seeking consideration as job candidates. Owners Bob and Elisha Watkins -- University of Georgia alumni -- have used GeorgiaHire.com regularly in recent years to offer internships and other work experience to UGA students. This year, they needed to fill a summer internship quickly and were delighted when three working days was all it took.
The online database provides cost-effective onestop shopping for businesses in need of qualified job candidates. Students and alumni can post their resumes on the web site free of charge. It costs nothing for potential employers to search the database for job candidates and only a nominal fee to post job openings and company profiles.
Dr. Diane Fennig, director of GeorgiaHire.com, said that more than 150,000 students and alumni have posted their resumes for review since February 2000, and more than 11,900 employers have searched the database during that period.
UGA Grad Student Receives $1M Federal Grant
First-year University of Georgia doctoral student David L. Whiters recently received a $1 million grant from the Center for Substance Abuse Treatment (CSAT) for his work in mobilizing recovering addicts as lobbyists and leaders in the field of substance-abuse treatment and education.
Whiters, who heads the nonprofit organization Recovery Consultants of Atlanta, Inc., will receive about $200,000 a year for five years for his Recovery Community Support Program. He plans to shape his dissertation around the work he performs as the project's director and will provide research opportunities for other UGA social-work graduate students, as well.
"Our goal is to reduce the stigma associated with alcohol and drug addiction and develop advocates among the recovery community," he said.
CSAT, a branch of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, awarded grants to only 20 other community-based organizations. Whiters was the only grant recipient from Georgia.
"We are immensely proud of David's accomplishment in obtaining this grant while a first-year Ph.D. student," said Bruce Thyer, director of the Ph.D. program at UGA's School of Social Work. "I know of no precedent for such an award within academic social work."