News

Emory Women¿s Tennis Places 22 on the UAA 25-Year Team

From Emory Athletics

Emory University Women's Tennis was well-represented on the University Athletic Association's (UAA) 25-Year Team, with 22 Eagles among the 32 total players named to the conference's silver-anniversary squad.

Players were selected based on the UAA honors earned during their collegiate careers.  Awarding two points for an all-UAA First Team selection and one point for a Second Team honor (only as a singles player), any athlete who totaled five or more points during their career was named to the team.  In addition, a player who was named the UAA Most Valuable Player during her career received an automatic selection to the team, as did any of the top-flight singles winners when a UAA MVP was not named from 1989-93.

Highlighting the list for Emory is former Eagle Mary Ellen Gordon, who was named the UAA Most Valuable Player all four years of her career, a feat still unmatched in conference history by any female athlete in any sport.  Jessica Levy is Emory's only other multiple-time UAA MVP, having won the award in both 1994 and 1995.  Current junior Gabrielle Clark, the 2011 UAA MVP, was the only active player in the conference selected to the 25-Year Team.  Emory head coach, Amy (Smith) Bryant, was named to the team as well, winning the MVP award as player in 1996.

Other former Eagles who were named UAA MVPs during their careers included Karen Kirschbom (1987), Alexa Wilensky (1998), Julie Sterner (2000), Carina Alberelli (2005), and Tshema Nash (2008).  Nicole Sullivan, who won the top-flight singles championship in 1989, also earned a spot on the team.

Click here to see the list of players who made the team.

Other Emory selections to the UAA 25-Year Team include Megan Bern, Jamie Chan, Zahra Dawson, Mandy Jackson, Stefanie Leshaw, Shannon McGlame, Margaret Moscato, Lindsay Reidenbach, Tracy Shub, Erin Terrell, Jill Tobin and Emily Warburg

Emory has won 23 UAA Women's Tennis Championships during the program, including each of the first 22 awarded in the conference's history.  The Eagles have gone on to win National Championships on five occasions (1996, 2003, 2004, 2005, and 2006), and have finished among the top-three teams at the NCAA Championships 12 times, including each of the last four years.

Volunteer Emory and Center for Community Partnerships Celebrate the Power of Partnership

Reported by the Emory News Center

Volunteer Emory, and the Center for Community Partnerships (CFCP) are hosting an End of Year Celebration on Friday, April 26 from 6-7:30 p.m. in Winship Ballroom.  

The University-wide event will celebrate the contributions of community partners and Emory staff, faculty, alumni and students from across campus.  

Volunteer Emory, part of the Office of Student Leadership & Service, organizes weekly service trips for students, alternative fall and spring breaks, special events and social justice dialogues.  

The Center for Community Partnerships is Emory's centralized resource for coordinating, aligning and enhancing the University’s engagement and outreach to serve the greater Atlanta community. Working closely with partners at Emory and in the community, CFCP collaborates with other Emory organizations to coordinate their related programs and develops a range of its own initiatives.  

"There's a real breadth and depth of community engagement work at Emory,  everything from going to make sandwiches in the DUC, to tutoring, to courses that are heavily involved in solving real-world problems in the Atlanta community," says Maureen Sweatman, director of operations for CFCP.  

The celebration on April 26 is an opportunity to illustrate how Volunteer Emory and CFCP work together with Emory's community partners, says Volunteer Emory Fellow Alexis Irby.  

The power of partnership is the theme of the evening.  

The celebration is "a way to appreciate all the players involved – the coordinating offices, the staff, the students, the alumni, the community partners – everyone who has a hand in community partnership and community engagement," says Sweatman, who will give remarks during the celebration.    

McKenzie Wren, executive director of Clarkston Community Center and Emory alumna, is the keynote speaker. Other speakers include:  

  • Ozzie Harris, senior vice provost for community and diversity

  • Bridget Riordan, dean of students

  • Mark Torrez, assistant director for community engagement.

Refreshments will be served. RSVP requested.  

"Our hope is that this event will grow and eventually become a University-wide community engagement celebration," says Irby.

Six Emory Athletes Win Prestigious NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship

from Emory Athletics

Six Emory University seniors have been selected as recipients of the prestigious NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship, based on their academic, athletic, and community achievements during their careers at the University.  The winners include men's basketball player Alex Greven, men's swimmers Justin Beegle, Miller Douglas, and Peter O'Brien, and women's swimmers Mia Michalak and Ann Wolber.

Each of the six winners will receive a one-time $7,500 scholarship, to be used for postgraduate study within three years.  Emory has now been awarded 82 postgraduate scholarships over the school's history, and its 65 since 2000 are more than any other NCAA institution except Stanford University. 

In addition, the six winter winners are the most in a single-season (fall, winter or spring) in the history of the Emory Athletics department.

Alex Greven (Winston-Salem, NC/ RJ Reynolds) will graduate as part of the winningest class in Emory Men's Basketball history, leading the team to 74-28 during his four seasons, including a University Athletic Association (UAA) Championship and NCAA Tournament berth this season.  The guard's 1,268 points rank as the sixth most in school history, and he has been named to the all-UAA First Team once and the Second Team twice during his career.  Greven, who was named to the Capital One/ CoSIDA Academic All-America Third Team earlier this season, has a 3.783 GPA as a Neuroscience and Behavioral Biology major at Emory.

Greven is the fourth member of the Emory Men's Basketball team to win an NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship, and the first since Neil Bhutta in 2000.  Other previous winners from the program include Lewis Satterwhite (1999) and Kevin Felner (1993).

Justin Beegle (Gettysburg, PA / Gettysburg Area) recorded an all-America honorable mention finish in the 200-yard breaststroke for the second-straight season at the 2013 NCAA Swimming and Diving Championships, finishing 12th in the event with a time of 2:02.12.  He also finished 18th in the 100-yard breaststroke with a career-best time of 56.70 seconds, and 21st in the 400-yard individual medley with a time of 4:06.50.  Justin finished his Emory career with the two all-America honorable mention certificates.  He has a 3.64 cumulative grade point average as an Anthropology major with a minor in Global Heath at Emory, and has been named to the CSCAA Scholar All-America team twice.

Miller Douglas (Atlanta, GA / Westminster) won the 2013 National Championship in the 200-yard butterfly with a time of 1:46.64.  It was his first career National Championship, and the 13th overall in the program's history.  Miller added all-America honors in his other two individual events at the NCAA Championships, finishing sixth in the 200-yard individual medley (1:49.78) and seventh in the 400-yard individual medley (3:56.32).  He was also a part of three all-America relays, swimming the butterfly leg on the Eagles' school-record setting 200-yard medley (1:28.72) and 400-yard medley (3:17.28) relays, finishing third in the former and sixth in the latter, and finishing the meet with a seventh-place finish as the second leg of Emory's 400-yard freestyle relay.  Miller, who transferred to Emory from Cal-Berkeley prior to his junior year, ended his collegiate career with 10 all-America honors during his two years with the team.  In addition, he recorded a 3.606 GPA as a Neuroscience and Behavioral Biology major, and was named to the CSCAA Scholar All-America Team and the UAA Honor Roll in each of his eligible seasons as an Eagle.

Peter O'Brien (Houston, TX / Cypress Creek) recorded all-America finishes in three events during his final NCAA Championship meet, setting school records in each, and added three all-America honorable mention finishes.  Peter set the program record in the 200-yard individual medley with a time of 1:49.38, finishing fifth overall in the event.  He also swam the breaststroke leg on the Eagles' third-place 200-yard medley relay, which finished in a school-record time of 1:28.72, and sixth-place 400-yard medley relay, which recorded a program-best mark of 3:17.28.  Peter added individual all-America honorable mentions with a ninth-place finish in the 200-yard breaststroke (2:00.55) and a 10th-place finish in the 400-yard individual medley (3:56.06), in addition to a 12th-place finish as the anchor leg of the Eagles' 800-yard freestyle relay (6:41.74).  He finished his career with a total of 12 all-America certificates and seven all-America honorable mentions.  Peter is a a 3.542 grade point average as an Applied Mathematics major at Emory, and his academic honors include recognition as a CoSIDA Academic All-America Second Team and All-District First Team selection during his junior year, and CSCAA Scholar All-America honors each of his eligible seasons.

Mia Michalak (Collierville, TN / St. George's Independent) finished sixth in the 200-yard individual medley at the 2013 NCAA Championships, earning an all-America certificate in the event for the second-straight season.  She also added all-America honorable mentions with a ninth-place finish in the 400-yard individual medley and a 12th-place finish in the 200-yard breaststroke.  Mia ended her four years at Emory with three individual all-America certificates and three honorable mentions, all coming over the last two seasons (the maximum total individual honors one can earn during a two-year stretch).  She has a 3.53 GPA as a Neuroscience and Behavioral Biology major, and has been named a CSCAA Scholar All-American on two occasions.

Ann Wolber (Sterling, IL / Sterling) won a pair of National Championships in 2013, swimming the third leg on both the 200-yard freestyle relay and 400-yard freestyle relay.  Ann helped the Eagles record a new Division III record in the 400-yard freestyle relay, finishing with a time of 3:21.28, while the 200-yard freestyle relay recorded a mark of 1:32.93.  Ann finished her Emory career with six National Championships, the second-most in the program's history, and seven all-America certificates.  She has a 3.693 GPA as a Biology major at Emory, and has been named a CSCAA Scholar All-America three times, and to the Dean's List in 2010.

Emory's Swimming and Diving team has now seen 38 of its members win the scholarship, including 21 winners over the last seven years.  Since 2000, the Men's and Women's Swimming and Diving programs have garnered 34 NCAA Postgraduate Scholarships.

This season's NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship recipients (29 men and 29 women) represent winter-sports participants from all NCAA divisions, who will receive one-time, nonrenewable grants of $7,500.

The scholarships are awarded to student-athletes who excel academically and athletically and who are in their final year of intercollegiate athletics competition. The Association awards up to 174 postgraduate scholarships annually, 87 for men and 87 for women.

The NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship was created in 1964 to promote and encourage postgraduate education by rewarding the Association's most accomplished student-athletes through their participation in NCAA championship and/or emerging sports. For more information about the NCAA Postgraduate Scholarships, go to the Diversity and Inclusion link under the 'About the NCAA' tab at www.ncaa.org.

RespectCon 2013 targets sexual assault prevention

By Kimber Williams, Emory Report

View original article here.

RespectCon 2013, an inaugural conference focusing on social justice and the prevention of sexual assault and violence in school settings, will be hosted by Emory's Respect Program on April 12 at the Dobbs University Center (DUC).  

Scheduled to take place during Sexual Assault Awareness Month, the conference marks the first of its kind for the Respect Program, which strives to engage the Emory community to prevent and respond to sexual assault and relationship violence.  

The impetus for hosting a conference stems back to last year, when the recently renamed program embraced a new identity and a renewed focus, explained Lauren Bernstein, assistant director for the Respect Program in the Office of Health Promotion.  

"We felt that this was a great year to have a conference dedicated to the intersections of sexual assault prevention on campus and social justice," Bernstein says.  

"There is a lot of focus right now nationally on policy, which is critical as well. But we wanted to create a space to showcase prevention initiatives, collaborative work, social justice, creativity, and student engagement," she explains.  

National statistics indicate that one in four women and one in 33 men will experience sexual assault sometime during their college years, according to Bernstein.  

As a best practice program, Respect receives "inquiries from around the country to provide technical assistance and training, and we wanted to provide a venue for idea-sharing and showcasing Emory's work and that of our colleagues," Bernstein says.  

"We wanted to engage Emory's campus and beyond in creating culture change," she adds.  

The inaugural conference is expected to draw between 75 and 100 attendees from around the country with topics that include:  

  • How can we prevent sexual violence on college campuses?

  • Engaging men in sexual violence prevention

  • Creating partnerships to end sexual violence 

  • Innovations in bystander intervention 

  • Student leadership in creating a survivor supportive campus

  • Sexual violence in the media 

  • Integrating alcohol abuse and sexual violence prevention 

  • Engaging Greek lettered organizations in sexual assault prevention. 

In keeping with the Respect Program's commitment to fostering student engagement, "Emory undergraduate and graduate students are at the center of our work and of this conference," Bernstein notes.  

Emory students have been involved at every stage of planning and implementation of the conference, she adds, including roles as presenters, facilitators, volunteers, and conference developers. "They also played a key role in selecting sessions that would be relevant to student activism."  

"We are hoping to continue to establish best practice in student, staff, and faculty collaboration to use our respective roles to end sexual violence, support survivors, and create a healthy and socially just community," she says.  

On April 12, RespectCon will run 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. in the DUC. Registration fees, which cover admission and lunch, are $20 for Emory students, $40 for non-Emory students, and $50 for other attendees. Scholarships are available for undergraduate and graduate students for whom the fee would be a financial hardship. Advance registration is strongly encouraged.

Emory's Zimmerman And Davis recognized By The NABC

The postseason honors for the Emory men's basketball team keep rolling in with head coach Jason Zimmerman and junior Jake Davis being recognized by the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC).

Zimmerman, who led the squad to a share of the University Athletic Association title and the program's first berth to the NCAA Division Tournament since 1990, was chosen by the NABC as the South District Division III Coach of the Year.   It is the first time that an Emory coach has been tabbed for the honor.  Zimmerman saw his team finish with an overall slate of 20-7, just the third 20-win campaign in school history and tying the program's second-highest victory total.  Zimmerman, who just completed his sixth year patrolling the Eagles' sideline, has compiled four consecutive winning seasons, the first time in school history that has happened.  Earlier, Zimmerman was named the UAA's Coach of the Year for the second time and was the recipient of the Atlanta Tipoff Club's Whack Hyder Award, symbolic of Georgia's Coach of the Year.

The 6-foot-5 Davis landed a spot on the All-South District Second Team, the third straight year that Emory had seen a player earn a spot on the district team. Davis led the team and ranked second among UAA players in scoring with an 18.2 points per game average.  A double-figure scorer in 23 of the 25 games he saw action in, Davis registered 20 or more points on 12 occasions.   He led or shared for team scoring honors in 14 games including the Eagles' two NCAA Tournament contests where he posted 25 points against Randolph and 22 against Whitworth University.  A First Team All-UAA selection, his 454 total points during the 2012-13 campaign, established him as the school's most-prolific junior scorer.

From Emory Athletics.

Serving communities near and far on Alternative Spring Break

Chances are most Emory students spent their spring break on the beach or relaxing at home in preparation for the rest of the semester.

Not the 115 students who participated in Alternative Spring Break trips this year.

Coordinated by Volunteer Emory, the Alternative Spring Break trips are intended to "create new opportunities for Emory students to explore social justice in various frameworks of understanding," according to the Volunteer Emory website.

The six groups went to Kissimmee, Fla.; New Orleans; Charleston, S.C.; Nashville, Tenn.; Bolton, N.C.; and also took to the streets of the city of Atlanta — the latter, quite literally.

An Atlanta service 'staycation'

Now in its second year, the Atlanta trip immersed students in the issue of homelessness, as well as hunger and poverty. The students volunteered at various shelters during the day. They were given a total of $7 for food for the entire week, had to walk from shelter to shelter, many of which were often miles apart, and sleep outside for three nights.

Additionally, the 13 participants were not allowed to shower, change clothes or brush their teeth, as they endured rainy nights in order to experience what living on the street is actually like.

Atlanta trip leader Shyama Appareddy, an Emory junior, said the experience "definitely humbled participants." She acknowledged that while the students had the security of knowing they were safe and could go home after the immersion, they experienced some of the physical discomforts that people have to deal with while sleeping outside.

"We can never really understand the emotional or psychological trauma endured by someone who is actually homeless," adds Appareddy. "A lot of our participants realized their own privilege."

By volunteering and visiting agencies like the Open Door Community and the City of Refuge, participants were able to converse with homeless people and hear their stories of what led to their situation, as well as their aspirations for overcoming them.

"Our goal was — and is — to reduce the distance between 'us' and 'them' by connecting with our homeless neighbors and hearing their stories," Appareddy says.

Natural disaster relief in New Orleans

Over seven years have passed since Hurricane Katrina slammed the Gulf Coast; New Orleans is still reeling from the devastating consequences of the storm.

New Orleans Alternative Spring Break participants helped various agencies like the Louisiana Boys and Girls Club, Renew Schools, St. Paul’s Homecoming and Green Light New Orleans with tasks that range from installing energy-saving light bulbs in homes to cleaning up a lumber yard.

Emory sophomores Kayla Pak and Jaime Cheung led the New Orleans trip that focused on natural disaster relief.

"The most rewarding experience in New Orleans was getting to know the people in the city," says Pak. "Although some days we made less impact with our service, the residents never failed to express their thanks."

Pak, in an email to Emory Report, attached a letter that one of the agencies sent to the participants that read:

"You have made a big difference to our city and to the citizens that call it home. I only hope that the lives you touched with your acts of kindness pay it forward. Some of the tasks probably seemed mundane and some people may have seemed unappreciative. But know that the people who really care about this unique city called the Big Easy are very grateful to your group. We recognize that you could have gone anywhere for Spring Break but chose to give a big part of yourself to us. Thank u for that. Never feel that what u are doing regarding service work is ever useless Because if it comes from your heart it is the greatest gift u can give."

Cultural connection in North Carolina

Nneamaka Ifeadike spent her break with the Waccamaw Siouan Tribe in southeast North Carolina.

"I had a really fulfilling journey," says Ifeadike of the six days she spent with the tribal community, focusing on community building and cooperation.

The goal of the North Carolina trip was to "connect the Emory community with Native American communities, and to respect and appreciate culture that is different from ours," according to the Volunteer Emory website.

Students on other Alternative Spring Break trips spent time learning about food production and consumption in South Carolina; community-building in Florida; and focusing on various aspects of poverty and social justice in Tennessee.

To see photos and read the Oxford Spotlight, visit the Emory News Center.

Nominations open for the 2013 Marion Luther Brittain Award

The Marion Luther Brittain Award is presented each year to a graduating student from any academic division of the university who is considered to have performed the most “significant, meritorious, and devoted service to Emory University with no expectation of recognition or reward.”

The award is made under provisions of a gift by the late Dr. M.L. Brittain, former President of Georgia Institute of Technology and alumnus of Emory.

The Brittain Award is generally acknowledged to be the highest honor given to a student by Emory University.

You are invited to submit a nomination for this award to the Division of Campus Life, DUC 401E, Drawer PP.  Nominees must be fall 2012 or spring 2013 graduates.  Nominations must be returned by Friday, March 22, 2013.

The nomination form should be used, although you are invited to provide supplemental materials if you desire.  A thorough nomination enhances the review of a candidate’s merits.  Each student nominated will be considered by a selection committee that will determine the Brittain Award recipient.

Past recipients of the Marion Luther Brittain Service Award include:

Feras


Akbik

06C

Silas

W.

Allard

11L 11T

Hugo

J.

Aparicio

04C

John

S.

Austin

60C

Hoda


Blau

64C

Arthur


Brandenburg

52C 55T

Laura

C.

Broder

96C

Michele

F.

Broemmelsiek

91C

Lonnie

T.

Brown

86C

Jason

McCue

Brownlee

97C

Melinda

W.

Certain

63C 65G

Frederick

M.

Chen

90C

Thomas

B.

Clegg

61C

Walter

M.

Deriso

68C 72L

Hetal

J.

Doshi

01C

S.

Wayne

Duncan

78C

Evan


Dunn

10OX 12C

Laura

H.

Durudogan

85C

Paul

Lynd

Escamilla

81C 84T 87T

Judith

T.

Foster

68N

Steven

N.

Galyon

78C 82T 94T

Laura


Hankin-Lewin

89C

Charles

C.

Haynes

71C 85G

Jack

Marvin

Horowitz

55B

Barbara

Ann

Jaffe

73C

Emily

Tripp

Jameson

95OX 97C 97G

Keith


Jeffords

88D

Ben

F.

Johnson

65C

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Kembrel

Jones

00B

Alexander

S.

Kappus

10C

J.

Michael

Kelly

66C

Martha

Berg

LaVance

77C 80L

David

C.

Lowance

62C 68MR

Nicolai

B.

Lundy

09C

Meghan

Howett

Magruder

80C 83L

Bernadette

Emmy

May-Beaver

94C 98T

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John

McDargh

70C

Kenneth

F.

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55C 58L

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Minh

Nguyen

95C 01M

James

B.

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77OX 79C

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Parthasarathy

05L

Charles

A.

Peck

74C

Anthony

J.

Prenni

92C

Catherine

E.

Rudder

69C

Stephen

Randall

Scarborough

87C

Jeanette

Carpenter

Schreiber

76C

Nancy

King

Scoggins

59C

John

R.

Strother

56C 58L

Adam

R.

Taylor

98C

Frank


Vasiloff

50C 52G

Charles

T.

Vedder

93C

Emory

A.

Wilkerson

81C 82G

Cameron

Nicole

Wilson

99L

Pride Awards honor LGBT champions

The 21st annual Pride Awards on Feb. 28 will honor those who work towards full access, inclusion and equity for the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community at Emory.  

A signature event of Emory's Office of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Life, the annual Pride Awards are "a reminder of our past, a celebration of our present, and an opportunity to look to our future," says Director Michael Shutt.  

The 2013 honorees include:  

Alum of the Year Award
Robert Lewis 87Ox 89C     
Counsel for Employee Welfare and Pension Benefit Plans
U.S. Department of Labor 

Chesnut LGBT Person of the Year Award
J. Michael Aycock '66Ox '69C '82G
Emeritus Associate Dean of the School of Medicine

 
Emory Pride Member of the Year
Will Ezor '14C  


Fierce Leadership Award
She Wen Ong '13C


Keeping the Faith Award                        
Rev. Joshua Noblitt '04T    
Minister of Social Justice
Saint Mark United Methodist Church

 
Outstanding Transgender Advocate Award
Hal Jones    
Director of Care Transformation
Emory Healthcare

 
Outstanding Ally of the Year
*To be announced at the ceremony on Feb. 28

 
GALA Leadership Award
Carl Kroeger '15C 

The GALA Leadership Award is a scholarship, created by Emory Gay and Lesbian Alumni (GALA) to reward and foster leaders who work on behalf of the LGBTQ community at Emory.  

Also at the awards ceremony, graduating seniors and alumni will be recognized with rainbow cords or lavender diplomas in the annual Lavender Graduation.  

"It is an honor and a privilege to be a part of an event that brings together current students and alumni," says Shutt. "The Pride Awards event is truly a community building occasion for Emory." Sponsored by the Office of LGBT Life, Emory GALA and the Emory Alumni Association, the Pride Awards ceremony begins with reception at 6:30 p.m. at the Miller-Ward Alumni House. All are welcome to attend but should RSVP at lgbt.emory.edu.

From the Emory News Center.  

Nominations double, new category added for Crystal Apple awards

At the 14th annual Crystal Apple awards ceremony on Feb. 25, nine Emory teachers were commended for excellence in teaching. And this year, a new category to award excellence in teaching by a graduate student was introduced based on popular demand.  

Crystal Apples honor faculty members who go above and beyond in their search for knowledge and involvement within the Emory community.  

Students nominated the recipients of the awards, honored at the entirely student-run event.  

And the number of nominations this year doubled from 300 to 600, according to Jessica Simon, vice president of programming for the Residence Hall Association.  

The 2013 Crystal Apple honorees are:  

  • Excellence in Graduate School Education—Samiran Banerjee, senior lecturer in economics, Emory College

  • The Laura Jones Hardman Award for Excellence in Service to the Emory Community—Nancy Bliwise, professor of pedagogy, psychology, Emory College

  • Excellence in Teaching by a Graduate Student—Sara Freeman, graduate student in neuroscience, Emory College

  • Excellence In Professional School Education—Otto Froehlich, associate professor of physiology, School of Medicine (posthumous)

  • Excellence in Undergraduate Large Class Education—Christopher Gilson, biology instructor, Emory College

  • Excellence in Undergraduate Seminar Education—Judith Miller, associate professor of history, Emory College

  • Excellence in Undergraduate Business Education—Christopher Rider, assistant professor of organization and management, Goizueta Business School

  • The William H. Fox Award for Emerging Excellence—Thomas More Smith, assistant professor in the practice of finance, Goizueta Business School

  • Excellence in Undergraduate Nursing Education—Deanna Womack, instructor, School of Nursing

Family members for Froehlich, who died unexpectedly last semester, accepted his award.

To read the rest of the article, visit the Emory News Center.

Women's Basketball wins first-ever UAA title; men earn co-championship

The Emory women's basketball team captured its first-ever University Athletic Association Championship (UAA) on Feb. 23 when it came away with a victory over the University of Rochester. With the victory, the Eagles earn the UAA's automatic bid to the NCAA Division III Tournament that starts next week. Emory, ranked 16th nationally, raised its overall record to 22-3 and closed out the league portion of the schedule with a 12-2 ledger following a 65-57 decision over the YellowJackets who slipped to 19-6 overall, 11-3 in the league. Emory's 22 wins establish a school record for most victories in a season. The Eagles' appearance in the NCAA Tournament will be the program's first postseason berth since 1997.  

Junior Savannah Morgan came up with one of her biggest offensive performances of the season for Emory, leading all scorers with 20 points, her second-highest offensive total of the year. Morgan knocked down nine-of-14 from the floor including two of three from beyond the arc in notching her 15th double-figure scoring performance of the season. Junior Danielle Landry chipped in 18 points, her second most productive effort of the year, while grabbing a team-high seven rebounds.  

The Eagles connected on 45.7 percent of their field goal tries during the opening 20 minutes compared to Rochester's effort of 42.9 percent (9-of-21).  Emory's ball hawking defense forced 13 YellowJacket turnovers during the opening stanza that it parlayed into 15 points. Rochester drew to within six points with 1:47 on the clock, but a couple of buckets by Morgan, including one at the buzzer, gave Emory its double-figure lead at the break. 

Read the rest of the story at the Emory News Center.

Committee to release recommendations

In December of 2012, growing student concerns sparked the formation of an ad-hoc committee designed to explore issues of race, gender, privilege, sexual violence, and oppression on campus.  This committee, composed of student leaders, faculty, and administrators from the Division of Campus Life, created an online form to gather student feedback, which resulted in two Emory-wide open discussion forums.  Student participation in these conversations was strong and continues to grow.

From the general feedback and open forums, the ad-hoc committee will generate a report of their findings to present to Campus Life in early March.  The committee will then make the report available to the entire university community through the Campus Life website.  After gathering community feedback on this published report, the committee will then submit a final list of practicable recommendations to Campus Life.

Some of the committee recommendations will include:

  • Establishing a Bias Incident Protocol so students can identify advocates when they experience issues of bias.
  • Creating a peer-driven advocacy organization focused on race, oppression, and privilege to be advised by trained professionals.
  • Reviewing the practices and procedures related to the adjudication of allegations of misconduct involving Greek-letter organizations.
  • Reexamining space needs at Emory, in order to best meet the requirements of our diverse student population.
  • Engaging one or more nationally recognized scholars on issues of race, diversity, and community in higher education to assist with the development and implementation of committee recommendations.

 Working intensively with student leaders, the Division of Campus Life has already begun the process of planning and implementing these and other committee recommendations. 

The forthcoming “Rally Against Racism” and SGA President Ashish Ghandi’s recent letter to students are signs of a community excited about the opportunities that open, positive dialogue offer.  After the full ad-hoc committee report is made available, the Division of Campus Life will host a Question and Answer session to clarify the report’s findings and action items.  This session, open to all Emory students, will be held on Tuesday, March 26, 2013, from 5:30 to 7:00 pm in Eagle’s Landing of the Dobbs University Center.  Please participate in the discussion in whatever way you have to offer.  Our collective efforts will foster a community that is healthy, respectful, inclusive, and vibrant.

Ajay Nair, Ph.D.

Senior Vice President and Dean of Campus Life

Emory University

Emory Swimming & Diving Teams Win 15th-Straight UAA Championships

The Emory University swimming and diving teams wrapped up another dominating conference performance on Saturday night, as the men and women each claimed the University Athletic Association (UAA) Championship for the 15th-consecutive season.

The Emory men ended the meet with 1,818.5 points to claim first-place out of the eight teams, finishing well ahead of second-place Carnegie Mellon University (1,300 points) and third-place Chicago (1,230.5 points).  The Emory women finished the meet with 1,955 points, besting second-place Chicago (1,435) and third-place Washington University (1,219.5).

Emory's 15-year conference winning streak dates back to the 1998-99 season, Head Coach Jon Howell's first campaign with the team. The conference team titles marked the 21st overall for the Emory women and 15th for the Emory men, during the 26-year history of UAA competition.

Read more about team and individual accomplishments at the Emory Athletics website.

Student Health promotion a community effort for 20 years

from the Emory Report

The Office of Health Promotion in the Division of Campus Life recently celebrated its 20th anniversary with the release of an anniversary film, historical Prezi presentation and the naming of 20 Health Promotion Champions at Emory.

Founded in June 1991, the Office of Health Promotion began as the Department of Health Education in Student Health Services with a single staff person and a mission focused on patient education. Over the past two decades it has grown into a comprehensive organization promoting student health through diverse and engaging multi-level strategies.

The office currently has eight staff members, five student employees and over a dozen student volunteers. Students are partners in health promotion, not just patients.

As part of their work, the student partners:

• create campaigns to prevent and respond to sexual violence through the work of the Alliance for Sexual Assault Prevention and the Sexual Assault Peer Advocates

• build a healthy campus community through the Healthy Campus Coalition

• merge creativity, social justice and the arts through visual design and performance to educate their peers

• use social media and film to inspire compassion and healthy behaviors in others (such as the Project Unspoken video series)

• gain skills to be health promoting change-agents in their communities now and in the future.

Staff in the office provide confidential consultations on topics ranging from sleep to alcohol, tobacco and other drugs to sexual violence recovery and crisis management. Staff and student researchers track student health trends via the National College Health Assessment implemented at Emory every three years.

"Student well-being is at the heart of what we do," says Director Heather Zesiger. "Our population-level and public health approach allows us to engage with students throughout campus to merge their interests with efforts to protect and enhance the well-being of our community at Emory."

The office selected the 20 Health Promotion Champions for their contributions to student leadership and advocacy, faculty collaborations and curricular integration, their status as key opinion leaders and supporters in the administration, and collaborative efforts with multiple partners that have grown into sustainable movements.  

"We wanted to emphasize that effective health promotion is a community endeavor," Zesiger explains. "While our office has grown in size and mission and is thrilled to celebrate our anniversary, our success has been dependent on our relationships with students, staff, faculty, alumni, parents and others. Designating champions outside our staff was a way to acknowledge these vital collaborations to create a healthy campus culture at Emory."

Thank you to everyone who has advanced health promotion at Emory for the past twenty years. To make a gift to support the Office of Health Promotion, click here.

Emory University's 2012 Annual Report

Emory University has released its 2012 Annual Report. You can read the report and view related videos here.

Eagles Make an Impact Off the Field

Last spring, a mother of one of the women’s basketball players was suffering from a form of leukemia and needed a donor match to help fight the disease. In response, the women’s basketball team organized a bone marrow drive in conjunction with Delete Blood Cancer DKMS, the world’s largest bone marrow donor center.

“One of the defining characteristics of our student-athletes, and in fact of Emory students, is that they don’t just sit on the sidelines. When they see a need, they address it, and this is how positive change happens and this should be what playing sports teaches us,” Emory Athletics Director Tim Downes said of the DKMS drive.

At the drive, several athletes and other members of the Emory community came together to get their cheeks swabbed, and their samples were placed on the registry. If their cheek swabs proved to be a possible match, then the DKMS would contact them.

“I figured if I could get swabbed and get on the registry, maybe I could possibly be a match,” junior pitcher Lena Brottman said. “It was just a cool thing for everyone to do together.”

Since it is fairly uncommon that a person is a match for a patient in need, most of the individuals who get swabbed find that is the end of the process for them. However, for Brottman and men’s basketball Assistant Coach Chris Murphy, it was just the beginning.

Read the rest of the story at The Emory Wheel.

Thank you to our past Volunteer Emory Co-Directors

Volunteer Emory was founded in 1980 by Emory undergraduates Debbie Genzer and Wendy Rosenberg to serve as a centralized vehicle for undergraduate service. Today, Volunteer Emory is a program of the Office of Student Leadership & Service that facilitates service opportunities and social justice work for Emory students, faculty, staff, and alumni.

Past co-directors:

1980-82: Wendy Rosenberg Nadel, Debbie Genzer

1982-83: Linda Brindly Thompson, Peter Cole

1983-84: Laura Hoagland Durudogan, Barbara Rothberg Honor

1984-85: Linda Gonsky Field, Brannon Thomas

1986-87: Audrey Klein, Stini Mukundan

1987-88: Lynn Wareh Fein, Erika Wunderlich Crenshaw

1988-89: Susan Bollendorf, Jane Marsh

1989-90: Lara Kriegel, Ana Soler

1990-91: Rick Vax, Suzanne Fotshey

1991-92: Heather Karp

1992-93: Nicole Chillemi, Todd Vedder

1993-94: Traci Coleman, Arefa Moosajee

1994-95: Ally Wainer, Ajay Pancholy

1996-97: Cristina Calotta, Anne Sup

1997-98: Hildie Cohen, Michelle Kreiner

1998-99: Steffanie Edwards, Becky Makar

1999-2000: Kelly Hotvath, Jennifer Ford

2000-01: Anna Chien, Janaki Meyappan

2001-02: Whitney Allsopp

2002-03: Piper Beatty, Melissa Pabalan

2003-04: Emily Cantrell, Praneetha Kumar

2004-05: Zainab Bhatti, Rasheedah Pickett

2005-06: Maiben Beard, Paige Ryan

2006-07: Lindsey Baker, Della Krantz

2009-10: Benjamin Hein, Nina Yu

2010-11: Patrick Cook, Jean Chung

2011-12: Julia Saltalamacchia, Nihar Thadani, Carol Ross

2012-13: Catherine Bioc, Tesserae Komarek, Rachel Cawkwell

For more information on Volunteer Emory, click here.

Register now for "Dinner with 12 Strangers"

Take a break from the cafeteria and fast food. "Dinner with 12 Strangers" is your opportunity to eat a free, delicious meal, meet new friends, and make valuable connections. Local alumni, staff, and faculty open their homes to host students for small dinner parties. This brings everyone together in a warm, friendly environment for good food, conversation, and camaraderie. Aside from the free food and fun, by attending a "Dinner with 12 Strangers," you can network with Emory Alumni, chat with professors, and meet and socialize with other students. By the end of the evening, 12 Strangers have become 12 friends. Click here to learn more and to register.

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Congratulations to the 100 Senior Honorary for 2013!

The 100 Senior Honorary is an award and designation presented by the Emory Alumni Association and the Student Alumni Association (SAA). The honor is given to the 100 most outstanding seniors in the undergraduate schools. Graduates of Oxford, Emory College, Goizueta Business School, and the School of Nursing are represented in the 100 Senior Honorary. Click here to see the list of the 2013 inductees!

Campus Life Donors Strengthen Community

Athletics and recreation at Emory are stronger today because of the Michael Kaminsky Intramural Park, part of a $1 million memorial gift to the Division of Campus Life. Kaminsky 89C (pictured above at the gift celebration with his daughters) can see this gift at work in the improved fields and facilities at the intramural park, and his endowment funding ensures the continued growth and quality of intramural athletics.

Chaired by Emory Board of Trustees member Laura Hardman 67C, the campaign for Campus Life raised more than $8 million—far exceeding its $5 million goal and creating countless leadership and service opportunities for Emory students. Philanthropic priorities going forward include athletics and recreation, the Barkley Forum debate team, leadership and service programs, and unrestricted gifts to the Campus Life Fund for Excellence.

“Funding goes beyond providing for our activities, athletic teams, services, and facilities,” says Ajay Nair, senior vice president and dean of Campus Life, who joined Emory in summer 2012. “Philanthropic support enables Emory to enhance the student experience in meaningful ways.”

Campus Life donors are connected to Emory as alumni, parents, friends, faculty, and staff. They often target their gifts to athletic teams, student groups, the Career Center, and Greek organizations. A shining example is Kaminsky, who gives because intramural sports were so important to his own college experience and those of many other Emory students. He played intramural baseball, football, and basketball and served as sports chairman of his fraternity, Alpha Epsilon Pi.

“It’s meaningful to me that I’m helping improve Campus Life at Emory,” says Kaminsky, managing director at investment firm Neuberger Berman in New York. “Intramurals at Emory offer a unique experience. Helping continue that experience and improving the fields will be important to the university.”

Each varsity athletic team has benefitted from philanthropic support. Gifts to varsity sports include significant funding for the softball stadium and covered batting cages through Craig Matthews’ leadership gift of $100,000 in memory of his late wife, Diane Keyes Matthews, and support from alumni and parents has enabled the construction of a tennis stadium. To honor former men’s tennis coach Don Schroer, more than 25 former players donated and named a court in his honor at the facility. Donors also include Emory’s 2003 and 2004 NCAA championship women’s tennis teams.

A new endowment for the swimming and diving team comes from Charles M. Barron 45C 46D, and an anonymous parent has established an endowment for the women’s soccer team. Several alumni, including Deborah J. Jackson 85C, have created an endowment to name the Department of Athletics and Recreation director’s position in honor of their friend and mentor, Clyde Partin Sr.

The endowment for Emory’s nationally recognized debate program, the Barkley Forum, has been established with support from alumni including Randy New 76C 82L, Sharon Semmens 80C 80G, Hoyt Young 64C 67M, Susan Cahoon 68C, Bill Brewster 84C 84G, and Richard Willard 69C. The Barkley Forum recently celebrated its 60th anniversary, and the debate team’s success has inspired gifts from alumni, parents, faculty, and staff.

Volunteer Emory founders Wendy Rosenberg-Nadel 82C and Debbie Genzer 82C have helped secure gifts to support Emory’s largest student organization. A record number of students participated in service trips in 2011–2012, and donor gifts to Volunteer Emory create such opportunities.

Philanthropy is transforming Emory’s Office of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Life. The Gay and Lesbian Alumni (GALA) Leadership Award provides a stipend based on financial need and a student’s leadership efforts to advocate for LGBT rights within the Emory community. The Daniel D. Adame Leadership Fund—created by Malcolm Bruni 92C—offers leadership opportunities for LGBT students with a passion for healthy living.

Campus Life donor gifts support the Counseling Center and Emory’s Office of Health Promotion. Several fraternities completed fund-raising projects during Campaign Emory, including Alpha Tau Omega, which supported the ATO-Dobbs Leadership Development Fund.

Campaign Emory’s legacy for students, says Nair, is a deeper spirit of community and a collection of memories that carry long past graduation. “Together we are creating a culture that is more aware of the power of philanthropy and its ability to reinforce what is both great and good at Emory and within ourselves,” he says.

To support Campus Life, visit www.emory.edu/give. For more information, contact Andrew P. Christopherson by email at apchris@emory.edu or phone, 404.712.4682.


THANKS TO OUR CAMPAIGN LEADERSHIP

Campus Life Volunteer Campaign Chair: Laura Hardman 67C

Andy Wilson named Senior Associate Dean & Director of Campus Life External Relations

Dr. Andrew “Andy” Wilson has been named Senior Associate Dean and Director of External Relations for the Division of Campus Life at Emory University. He will lead parent and family initiatives, serve as Campus Life’s Director of External Communications, and leverage student, faculty, and alumni talent to support community building.  Wilson will assume this role effective May 15, 2013.

Since 2006, Wilson has served as Assistant Dean for Campus Life and Director of Residence Life at Emory.  He has provided leadership for Campus Life’s emergency response program, has overseen the Student Activities and Academic Center on the Clairmont Campus, and has advised the Emory Residence Hall Association.  He also teaches courses on social justice education for the Emory College of Arts and Sciences.

Prior to his appointment in Residence Life, Wilson served as Assistant Dean and Director of Student Conduct and Chair of the Campus Life Crisis Management Team at Emory.  He received his PhD in counseling and human development at the University of Georgia, preceded by a master of arts in education from Virginia Tech and a bachelor’s degree from Winthrop University (SC).

Wilson says, “I am excited for this opportunity to lead Campus Life’s efforts to support parents and families, to communicate broadly about the Division, and to bring together students, faculty, and alumni to enhance the Emory community experience.  I look forward to applying to this new role the skills and experiences I have developed while working with Emory’s exemplary residential staff and student leaders.”

Dr. Ajay Nair, Senior Vice President and Dean of Campus Life at Emory, adds, “Andy Wilson’s extraordinary leadership—both as a scholar and advocate for students—provides Campus Life an  avenue to enhance outreach to families and alumni and build stronger community ties across the entire campus.  Andy brings a wealth of experience and a kind and engaging temperament to this new position.  I am excited to have him join our Executive Leadership Team.”