College of Arts and Sciences Newsletter - Georgia College & State ...

Programs of Distinction
By: Rebecca Farish, Public Relations student
Georgia College has three Programs
of Distinction in the College
of Arts & Sciences, each
brings different opportunities
and challenges to the students that help them
grow into their career fields.
Flannery O’Connor Studies
Georgia College has had numerous alumna
walk through its halls, and one female graduate
is increasing the prestige of education in
the College of Arts & Sciences, Mary Flannery
O’Connor. One of the six Programs of
Distinction at Georgia College, Flannery
O’Connor Studies is not a degree program,
but rather an educational experience available
to whoever craves the knowledge. O’Connor
received her secondary education at Peabody
Laboratory School and then earned a bachelor’s
degree at what is now Georgia College.
Professor of English and Editor of the
“Flannery O’Connor Review” Dr. Bruce Gentry
is the main contact for O’Connor Studies.
Georgia College occasionally hosts a conference
filled with different scholarly sessions
discussing O’Connor’s works. Dr. Gentry
teaches a class on O’Connor each spring, assembles
an essay contest for graduate students
and talks to tour groups when they come to
visit O’Connor’s hometown. The most prestigious
production of O’Connor Studies is
the “Flannery O’Connor Review.” This peerreviewed
scholarly journal is the world’s longest-running
journal dedicated to a woman
writer. Writers from all over the United States
send their articles to Dr. Gentry, and he along
with his staff of faculty and students put together
the finished publication.
“I’m working for Flannery and I’m going
to keep working for Flannery, and that is very
pleasurable and it is beneficial to the school,”
Dr. Gentry said.
With the help of the staff of Special Collections
in the Georgia College Library, Gentry
recently supervised the publication of “The
Cartoons of Flannery O’Connor at Georgia
College” which reprints O’Connor’s high
school and college artwork.
In 2007, Dr. Gentry and a fellow professor,
John Cox, received a grant from the National
Endowment for the Humanities for $150,000.
With this grant, Dr. Gentry and Cox selected
24 college teachers to come to Georgia College,
stay in the dorms, and learn everything
there is to know about Flannery O’Connor.
The participants’ days were filled with lectures,
films, and field trips, including a visit
to O’Connor’s family farm, Andalusia, which
is located a few miles away from the university.
The NEH Institute participants also had
the opportunity to spend a week examining
O’Connor’s papers in the Georgia College Library.
Milledgeville will always hold a special
meaning in studies of the life of Flannery
O’Connor, and O’Connor inspires the residents
of her hometown and students at her
alma mater daily with her creative legacy.
Creative Writing
Flannery O’Connor’s literary influence
helps fortify the writing of the students at Georgia College.
The Creative Writing Program follows in her footsteps and
provides opportunities for their educational growth.
“What makes creative writing at Georgia College a program
of national distinction starts with our outstanding faculty
and students,” said Director of the MFA and B.A. programs
in creative writing Dr. Martin Lammon.
Each spring a journal is published by the undergraduate
students called “The Peacock’s Feet” that is filled with
students writing that showcases their talents. Some of these
students are given an opportunity to read their pieces in the
community among other students at The Red Earth Reading
Series. Another community learning experience that the
undergraduate students can apply to take part in is the Early
College Mentors program. Undergraduates mentor seventh
graders that are enrolled in Georgia College’s Early College
School. With the assistance of the MFA students and the
school’s faculty, the seventh graders publish their own literary
journal called “The Peacock’s Feather.”
After completion of their undergraduate studies, some students
begin applying to different graduate programs, hoping
to find one that matches their talent. This year the MFA
Program at Georgia College has attracted students from 12
different states and also the United Kingdom and “has become
more and more recognized by students and teachers
of Creative Writing coast to coast,” Dr. Lammon said. The
three-year curriculum includes all genres: poetry, creative
nonfiction and memoir, fiction and scriptwriting. All the information
needed for a prospective student is located at mfa.
gcsu.edu.
Assistantships are offered to most graduate students, both
Georgia and non-Georgia Residents. In exchange for their
education and graduate degree, the students work their way
through graduate school. First year students spend their time
working in the Writing Center, with the national journals
“Arts & Letters” and “The Flannery O’Connor Review,”
with the Early College writers-in-the-schools project and
other sponsored programs. Second year students continue
to assist with the journals and other projects but most begin
teaching their second and third years in the program.
“Arts & Letters” receives literary submissions from across
the country which are read and evaluated by MFA students
and faculty. Each year four prize-winning authors, one in
each genre, are brought to the Georgia College campus for
the “Arts & Letters” Festival weekend and each is awarded
publication and a $1000 prize. To learn more about this outstanding
journal visit this website al.gcsu.edu.
This past December the first ePub journal was introduced
to Georgia College, “Arts & Letters” PRIME. It is available
to download on ipads and iphones, but can also be accessible
through other digital and web-based means. The main technology
enhancements include audio files, digital links and
video files. PRIME has become a fall and spring journal and
the print “Arts & Letters” has expanded to just one issue that
is published in the spring.
“I am most excited about what people are going to come
up with, there is a lot of room to be creative with the audio
and video sides of it. If you open it up more beyond print,
people will be more creative,” said “Arts & Letters” Managing
Editor Jad Adkins.
Both undergraduate and graduate students of our Creative
Writing Program are very accomplished. Some have
won national AWP Intro Awards, others have pursued doctoral
work and many of our undergraduates, such as Hali
Sofala, have attended graduate programs in creative writing
following graduation. Sofala earned a full ride to the MFA
Program at the University of Wisconsin and is now working
on her doctorate degree at the University of Nebraska. The
Creative Writing Department has been the first chapter in
many undergraduates’ careers and the final stepping-stone
for graduate students, but it will always be a Program of National
Distinction at Georgia College.
Science to Serve
Science to Serve is another Program of Distinction that
makes science alive and vibrant to the community. This program
links the community to faculty,students and science
resources at Georgia College and beyond.
“Science to Serve is a mechanism for supporting activities
that engage people of all ages and backgrounds in science
and related disciplines,” said Dr. Rosalie Richards, director
of the Science Education Center.
As part of the Science to Serve framework, Georgia College
departments and programs collaborate to provide or
support courses, camps, competitions, community events,
special projects, and more. For example,
Georgia College hosts the Regional Science
& Engineering Fair each year, which
falls on the first Friday and Saturday of
February. Elementary, middle and high
school students from Baldwin, Bibb, Hancock,
Jasper, Jones, Putnam, Monroe,
Washington, Wilkinson, and Twiggs counties
participate in this educational experience.
This Program of Distinction hosts a
number of other programs for grades 3-8
students. At Science Camp, students study
biology, chemistry, physics, space and
the environment at Lake Laurel Biological
Field Station. Two summer research
fellowship programs, Project SEED and
the Young Scientists Academy, offer an
8-week research-intensive in science exclusively
for grades 9-12 students. Likewise,
the PRELIMS Academy is a twoweek
opportunity where high school
students who want to pursue a career in
teaching are exposed to the joys of teaching
math and science.
But, the flagship of Science to Serve is the Natural History
Museum and Planetarium, both located in Herty Hall. These
facilities attract over 5,000 visitors each year as well as students
engaged in courses or teachers engaged in workshops.
Not only does Science to Serve reach out to the community
but it offers resources and support to Georgia College
students and faculty. The STEM Initiative at Georgia
College strives to put students first in order ensure the best
educa¬tion in science, technology, engineering and math
(STEM). For example, the STEM Mini-Grants Program provides
funding for innovative teaching projects with a goal
of increasing and retaining the number of students pursuing
STEM disciplines or for aspiring teachers to receive certification
in any of these fields.
To showcase the diverse and extended reach of the program
of distinction, Science to Serve annually publishes a
newsletter, The Nucleus. The newsletter has a readership
of over 3,000 across the state including alumni, school and
state administrators, colleges, universities, and science education
facilities. Submissions to The Nucleus can be made at
science@gcsu.edu.
Learn more about the many projects and events within this
Program of Distinction by visiting the website www.gcsu.
edu/sciencetoserve. Science to Serve takes the joy of science
and innovation and transforms it into exciting and teachable
experiences for all.
18 College of Arts and Sciences Newsletter 2012 2012 College of Arts and Sciences Newsletter 19