Alumni of Distinction Award

Khalifeh AlJadda, of Warren, New Jersey, is the Director of Data Science at Google. He is a distinguished computer scientist and accomplished leader in the field of data science and has extensive experience implementing complex machine learning algorithms to solve real-world challenges across diverse domains.

Previously, Dr. AlJadda held the position of Senior Director of Online Data Science at Home Depot, where he spearheaded key data science initiatives.

A recognized thought leader, Dr. AlJadda is the founder of the Southern Data Science Conference and co-founder of the non-profit ATLytiCS, which provides education and resources to “assist non-profits in using data-inspired decisions to aid their outreach to vulnerable populations in the Atlanta Community.”

A sought-after speaker, he frequently shares his insights and expertise on topics such as data science, machine learning, and big data analytics. His ability to bridge the gap between complex technical concepts and real-world applications makes him a valuable resource for both academics and industry professionals.

Dr. AlJadda is an active member of the UGA School of Computing advisory board, where he offers industry insights to help shape the school’s curriculum. He is also an active member of UGA’s Board of Visitors, where members are committed to “strengthening ties between the state of Georgia’s flagship university and its elected officials, business leaders, and community organizations.”

Dr. AlJadda earned his Ph.D. in computer science from the University of Georgia in 2014.

Ashvin Chhabra, of New York, New York, is President and Chief Investment Officer of Euclidean Capital, a New York based family office for James H. Simons and Marilyn H. Simons. The Simons Foundation is dedicated to advancing research in mathematics and the basic sciences. It is currently one of America’s largest private funders of these areas.

Dr. Chhabra made significant scientific contributions in the area of Monte Carlo simulations and non-linear dynamics before transforming into an internationally recognized leader in computational finance and a founder of goals-based wealth management.

His seminal paper, “Beyond Markowitz,” outlines a novel wealth allocation framework connecting Modern Portfolio Theory with Behavioral Finance. Dr. Chhabra is also the author of The Aspirational Investor, published by Harper Collins in 2015.

Prior to his current position, he was Chief Investment Officer for Merrill Lynch Wealth Management from 2013-2015 and Chief Investment Officer at the Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton from 2007-2013.

Dr. Chhabra is a member of the investment committees of the Stony Brook Foundation, Institute for Advanced Study, The National Academy of Sciences, and Rockefeller University, and he is a member of the Director’s Advisory Board for the International Centre for Theoretical Physics in Trieste, Italy. He has lectured at Yale University, Carnegie Mellon University, Baruch College CUNY, and the University of Chicago.

The endowed Chhabra-Landau Lecture series brings internationally eminent computational scientists as speakers to the Department of Physics and Astronomy Center for Simulational Physics at the University of Georgia.

Dr. Chhabra received his B.S. in physics from St. Stephens College, New Delhi, his M.S. in physics from the University of Georgia in 1984, and a Ph.D. in applied physics from Yale University in 1989 in the field of nonlinear dynamics (Chaos theory). His doctoral work on the computation of fractal measures in Chaotic systems remains as one of the most highly cited papers in the field of non-linear dynamics.

Peter M. Groffman is a Professor at the City University of New York Advanced Science Research Center, the Earth and Environmental Sciences Program at the Graduate Center, and the Brooklyn College Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences. He is also a Senior Research Fellow at the Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies.

Dr. Groffman has contributed significantly to the field through his research and leadership roles. His research focuses on climate effects on ecosystem biogeochemical processes related to carbon and nitrogen cycles. His work has provided invaluable insights into the intricate relationships between climate and ecosystem dynamics and has been cited in numerous publications.

His leadership roles include Chair of the Soil, Ecology, and Biogeosciences sections of the Ecological Society of America (ESA), as well as significant contributions to the North America regional chapter of the International Nitrogen Initiative (INI), the U.S. Long-Term Ecological Research (LTER) Network Science Council, and the National Ecological Observatory Network (NEON), among others.

Dr. Groffman was a Convening Lead Author for the 2013 U.S. National Climate Assessment Chapter on Ecosystems, Biodiversity, and Ecosystem Services and a lead author for both the Second (Wetlands) and Third (North America) Assessment Reports of the Intergovernmental Program on Climate Change (IPCC), which received the Nobel Prize in 2007.

Dr. Groffman currently serves as President-Elect of the Ecological Society of America, the world’s largest organization of professional ecologists.

Dr. Groffman earned his B.S. in environmental science in 1980 from the University of Virginia. He received his Ph.D in environmental science from the Institute of Ecology, now the Odum School of Ecology, at the University of Georgia in 1984.

Theda Perdue, of Chapel Hill, North Carolina, is the Atlanta Distinguished Professor Emerita at the University of North Carolina.

While enrolled in her Ph.D. program at the University of Georgia, an elective anthropology course on indigenous southerners introduced Dr. Perdue to another discipline,
and she merged the two in her dissertation on Cherokee acquisition of African American slaves. Her doctoral dissertation, a study of Cherokees and slaveholding, became a now-classic study: Slavery and the Evolution of Cherokee Society, 1540-1866. This was the first of several pioneering works in Native American history that examined the southeastern tribes. Many of these works remain classics in the field, still avidly read by students and scholars.

While working on her dissertation, Dr. Perdue accepted a position at Western Carolina University, where she taught Cherokee history on campus and on the nearby Cherokee reservation.

Later offers took Dr. Perdue to Clemson University, the University of Kentucky, and the University of North Carolina. She is the author of nine books and the editor of six others. After joining the University of North Carolina Department of History, she published Cherokee Women: Gender and Culture Change, 1700-1835, which won major awards in two different disciplines: The Julia Cherry Spruill Award and the James Mooney Prize.

Dr. Perdue has earned many honors, including fellowships from the Newberry Library, the Rockefeller Foundation, the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, and the John Simon Guggenheim Foundation.

She graduated from Mercer University before enrolling in graduate school at the University of Georgia, where she earned her M.A. in 1974 and Ph.D. in history in 1976.

Dr. Perdue was born and grew up in McRae, Georgia.

The Honorable Ms. Inez Tenenbaum, of Caesar’s Head, South Carolina, practices law at Wyche firm in the area of consumer product safety and advises clients on matters involving the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC). Ms. Tenenbaum also provides consulting services on education policy for national and state organizations
whose missions are to provide a quality education for all children.

Ms. Tenenbaum was elected as South Carolina’s State Superintendent of Education in 1999 and again in 2002. During her tenure as State Superintendent, student achievement in South Carolina improved at the fastest rate in the nation, with scores increasing on every state, national, and international test administered. At the end of Ms. Tenenbaum’s tenure, the prestigious journal Education Week ranked South Carolina number one in the country for the quality of its academic standards, assessment, and accountability system. She was presented with the Order of the Palmetto, South Carolina’s highest civilian award, following her tenure as State Superintendent of Education.

In May 2009, Ms. Tenenbaum was nominated Chairman of the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission by President Barack Obama and was confirmed unanimously by the U.S. Senate on July 19, 2009. During her tenure, she fulfilled a key promise to the Congress and consumers by working to ensure compliance with all the major safety rules required by the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008 (CPSIA), a law that reformed and empowered the CPSC.

Ms. Tenenbaum received nine honorary degrees from colleges and universities in South Carolina. Additionally, she has received numerous awards from national, state, and community organizations for her advocacy for children and youth, protecting children from dangerous products, public education leadership, women’s rights, and lifetime achievement.

Ms. Tenenbaum received her B.S. and M.Ed. degrees in 1972 and 1974, respectively, from the University of Georgia and her law degree in 1986 from the University of South Carolina.

Ms. Tenenbaum is a native of Pineview, Georgia.

Leo Twiggs, of Orangeburg, South Carolina, retired from teaching in 1998 but retains the position of Distinguished Artist in Residence at Claflin University. His work has been the subject of over 75 one-man shows and has received international recognition, with exhibits at the Studio Museum in New York and U.S. Embassies in Rome, Italy,
Dakar, Senegal, and Bern, Switzerland among other venues.

For over sixty years, his life experiences as an African American man born in the segregated South, as the first black graduate of the University of Georgia’s art education doctoral program, and as a father, teacher, and artist have infused his paintings.

In 2017, he completed a series of nine paintings titled “Requiem for Mother Emanuel,” commemorating the nine victims who were killed at Charleston’s historic Mother Emanuel AME Church. The paintings were exhibited widely, featured on ESPN and CBS Evening News, and reviewed in Art in America.

Dr. Twiggs became the first artist from South Carolina to receive the Gibbes Museum prestigious 1858 Society Prize for Contemporary Southern Art in 2018. He received two Verner Art Awards for outstanding contribution to the arts in his state and the Order of the Palmetto, South Carolina’s highest civilian honor.

In 2019 he won the Larry D. and Brenda A. Thompson Award from the Georgia Museum of Art, and a year later, he was inducted into the South Carolina Hall of Fame. He received the Lifetime Achievement Alumni Practitioner Award from the University of Georgia Mary Frances Early College of Education in 2021, and in 2023 he was awarded “The Dean’s Cross” from the Virginia Theological Seminary, its highest honor.

Dr. Twiggs has been widely published in textbooks and featured in several TV documentaries. “Myths and Metaphors,” a retrospective of his work, was organized by the Georgia Museum of Art in 2004. His award-winning book, Messages from Home: The Art of Leo Twiggs, was published in 2011. On September 22, 2024, a documentary of Twiggs’ life and work, Arriving: Leo Twiggs and His Art, premiered on South Carolina Educational Television (SCETV).

Dr. Twiggs received his B.A. degree from Claflin University, studied at the Art Institute of Chicago, and received his M.A. degree from New York University where he studied with the famed painter and muralist Hale Woodruff. In 1970, Dr. Twiggs became the first African American to earn a doctorate in art education from the University of Georgia.

Dr. Sylvia Hutchinson, Member, Graduate Education Advancement Board; Dr. Jeanette Taylor, Vice Provost for Academic Affairs; Alumni of Distinction Award Recipients: Dr. Timothy Puetz, Mr. Paul Shoukry, Dr. Consuelo De Moraes, and Dr. Ping Wang (not pictured: Dr. Carla Williams); Dr. Ron Walcott, Vice Provost for Graduate Education and Dean of the Graduate School

Consuelo De Moraes

Ph.D. in Entomology, 1998
College of Agricultural & Environmental Sciences

Consuelo De Moraes is an entomologist and ecologist who studies the complex role of chemistry in the interactions among plants, insects, and other organisms. Currently, she directs the Laboratory of Biocommunication and Entomology at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) in Zurich, Switzerland, where she is a full professor. The De Moraes group studies the role of information transfer via sensory cues and signals in shaping interspecific ecological interactions. The primary focus of her group is the role of olfactory information in interactions among plants and other organisms and the role of scents in mediating interactions between plants, insects, and the natural counterparts of insects. Dr. De Moraes has published her work in leading peer-reviewed journals including Nature, Science, and the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science, and often receives coverage from popular press outlets including the New York Times, the Washington Post, Scientific American, and BBC News. Her work has been the subject of several documentary films including “What Plants Talk About” aired on Nature PBS-TV, “The Seductive Pathogen,” and “Scents and Sensibilities: The Invisible Language of Smell.”

Dr. De Moraes is a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and the Entomological Society of America. Additionally, she has earned numerous accolades including the Beckman Foundation Young Investigator Award, an NSF Career Award and the David and Lucille Packard Fellowship.

Prior to joining ETH, Dr. De Moraes was a member of the Department of Entomology at Pennsylvania State University. Dr. De Moraes received her Bachelor of Science degree from the Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais in Brazil in 1992 and her Ph.D. in Entomology from the University of Georgia in 1998.

Timothy Puetz

Ph.D. in Exercise Science, 2006
Mary Frances Early College of Education

Timothy Puetz is Chief Financial Officer and Deputy Chief Information Officer for IT Budget & Finance at the Office of Information and Technology for the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. Prior to joining the VA, Dr. Puetz was operations officer at the National Institutes of Health’s Clinical Center in Bethesda, Maryland where he received the NIH Clinical Center Director’s Award. Additionally, he served in the U.S. Army as an officer and received a Presidential Management Fellowship.

Dr. Puetz has also been active in scientific research which has been focused on the intersection of physiology and psychology, especially as it relates to the effects of physical activity on anxiety, depression, fatigue, and pain in patients with chronic disease.

Dr. Puetz was named one of UGA’s 40 Under 40 in 2017, and he has worked in several non-profit and volunteer roles to serve his community, including with Adventure Science and the ArtReach Foundation. Impressively, he has completed several ultra-marathons and was part of a scientific expedition to the third largest cave network in Madagascar, where the team uncovered previously unknown dinosaur tracks.

Dr. Puetz earned his bachelor’s degree in physical education in 2001 and a master’s degree in human performance and wellness in 2003, both from Pittsburg State University. He received his Ph.D. in exercise science from the University of Georgia in 2006 and master’s degree of public health in behavioral science from Emory University in 2012.

Paul Shoukry

Master of Accountancy, 2005
Terry College of Business

Paul Shoukry is the Chief Financial Officer of Raymond James Financial, Inc. He is responsible for the overall financial management of the company, including balance sheet management, financial reporting, investor relations, corporate development, corporate tax, cash management, regulatory reporting, and financial planning and analysis. He is a member of the firm’s Executive Committee and serves on the boards of subsidiaries Raymond James & Associates and TriState Capital Bank. Shoukry also serves on the board as an independent director for ReliaQuest, a leading cybersecurity firm based in Tampa. Shoukry started his career as a commercial banker with BB&T and worked for a strategy consulting firm that focused on serving clients in the financial services industry.

Mr. Shoukry was named to Fortune’s “40 under 40 in Finance.” He is passionate about childhood education and serves on the board of trustees for Academy Prep Center of Tampa. He also serves on the advisory board for the Florida Institute of CFOs, is the chair for the 2024 American Heart Association’s Tampa Bay Heart Ball and is the executive sponsor for his firm’s multicultural network.

Mr. Shoukry earned his Master of Accountancy from UGA in 2005, after having completed a Bachelor of Accountancy at UGA. He later earned an MBA—with honors— from Columbia University.

Ping Wang

Ph.D. in Pharmacy, 1998
College of Pharmacy

Ping Wang serves as a Scientific Director at Johnson & Johnson Innovative Medicine. In this position, he plays a pivotal leadership and technical role in the development and tech transfer of biologic drugs manufacturing, encompassing transformative therapies such as monoclonal antibodies, CAR-T therapies, vaccines, and antigen drug conjugates. His expertise extends to critical areas such as qualification, investigation, assessment, and control strategies of raw materials, as well as container closure systems and devices.

Dr. Wang contributes to the advancement of the pharmaceutical industry through leadership and active participation in various consortia as well as engagement with regulatory bodies. Notably, his recent collaboration with colleagues from Bio-Process Systems Alliance and Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority has facilitated productive dialogues with regulatory authorities such as the FDA, EMEA (European health authority), and PMDA (Japanese health authority), resulting in their endorsement of X-ray sterilization as a viable solution to address shortages and national security concerns related to radioactive materials.

Dr. Wang earned his Ph.D. from the College of Pharmacy at UGA in 1998, as well as an MBA from Drexel University, and MS and BS degrees from Peking University. He maintains a deep passion for his alma mater and is an ardent fan of the Georgia Bulldogs.

Carla Williams

Master of Public Administration, 1991
School of International & Public Affairs

Carla Williams is Director of Athletics at the University of Virginia, earning the distinction of being the first female African American athletics director at a Power Five conference institution. At the time of hire, she was only the fifth active female athletics director at this level. Dr. Williams was chosen to work on the NCAA’s NIL Legislation Solutions Group to examine student-athlete name, image, and likeness rights and is a member of the NCAA Federal and State Legislation Working Group. She is also on the executive committee of the Black Athletic Director Alliance, which seeks to promote the development and elevation of Black athletics administrators at the Division I level.

Before moving to the University of Virginia in 2017, Dr. Williams was a member of the University of Georgia athletics administration team for 13 years. While at UGA, the teams earned 16 NCAA team championships and 37 Southeastern Conference titles. In her first five years at the institution, UVA teams have achieved 17 Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) Championships, and a record number of athletes have been placed on the ACC Honor Roll.

In addition to being a student-athlete, Dr. Williams earned both her bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of Georgia in 1989 and 1991, respectively. She then received her Ph.D. in Sports and Fitness Administration/Management from Florida State University in 2000.

Provost Jack Hu, Barry Fields, Thomas Rainer, Ed Hayes, Page Walley, Andrew Farkas, Denise Spangler, Dean Ron Walcott, GEAB Chair Todd Arnold

Marion Bradford

[M.S. Biochemistry ’74, Ph.D. Biochemistry ‘75]

Dr. Marion Bradford developed and patented the Bradford protein assay, a method to quickly quantify the amount of protein in a sample. His paper describing the method is among the most cited scholarly articles of all time. His career of more than 30 years has been spent in biochemical research, with much of his work in corn processing technology. He conducted research for Tate and Lyle Ingredients Americas LLC for more than 20 years in multiple areas including food regulatory issues; protein, carbohydrate, flavor, and fermentation chemistry; and manufacturing plant trouble-shooting.

He served for approximately 10 years as biotechnology awareness gatekeeper for Tate and Lyle North America establishing a network of contacts in all phases of chemicals and biochemicals that could be derived from carbohydrate feedstocks. He served on the U.S. Department of Energy Plant Vision 2020 and Chemical Vision 2020 Platform Document Committees in addition to the Tate and Lyle designated representative to technical committee of the Corn Refiner’s Association. He established working relationships at various organizations including a wide variety of biotechnology start-up companies and major chemical companies in the U.S. One liaison established the links that led to the DuPont/Tate and Lyle joint venture for the development and manufacture of Bio-3G used in production of DuPont’s new Sarona fiber.

Dr. Bradford retired in 2001 and has continued to consult on product and process development with the Iowa Corn Promotion Board and served as an adviser on renewable energy to USDOE. He participates in the Blue Ridge Orchestra in addition to tutoring students in math and science in order to get GED equivalency with the Blue Ridge Literacy Council.

Andrew Farkas

[M.A. Economics ’73 | Ph.D. Geography ‘78]

Dr. Z. Andrew Farkas is the Director of the National Transportation Center and Professor of Transportation at Morgan State University in Baltimore. Prior to his arrival at Morgan State, he was an engineering economist at the U.S. Department of Agriculture and a research associate for the Georgia Department of Transportation. Currently, he manages a federally funded university transportation center including its research, education, and technology transfer programs at Morgan State. The governor of Maryland appointed him to the Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Council in 2011 in order to advance the state plan and prepare for electric vehicles. He has also served as president of the Council of University Transportation Centers.

Dr. Farkas’ research and teaching focuses on transportation economics and policy, logistics, public transportation, and land use. More recently, his focus is on commuting with electric vehicles and willingness-to-pay for connected vehicles. He has presented many papers in the U.S. and abroad in addition to publishing numerous research articles on transportation-related topics.

The American Road and Transportation Builder Association presented Dr. Farkas with the S.S. Steinberg Outstanding Educator Award in 2011.

Barry Fields

[M.S. Medical Microbiology ’83 | Ph.D. Medical Microbiology ‘86]

Dr. Barry Fields is a microbiologist and Legionnaires’ disease expert at the Center for Disease Control in Atlanta. He currently is the lead of the Diagnostic Coordination and Evaluation Laboratory, Division of Global Health Protection, Center for Global Health at the Centers for Disease Control (CDC).  At the CDC, he worked in the newly formed Legionella Laboratory, was the lab director in bacterial respiratory diseases, then was Associate Director for Laboratory Science for the Division of Bacterial Diseases. In 2010, he moved to Nairobi, Kenya to focus on international disease control as Laboratory Director at the CDC Kenya Global Disease Detection Program. He returned to the U.S. in 2015 and became the International Laboratory Team Lead for the CDC Emergency Operations Center’s Ebola Response until the end of the response.

Dr. Fields investigates outbreaks of infectious diseases domestically and abroad. He travels to outbreaks such as SARS, the anthrax exposure, and Legionnaire’s disease. Internationally, he coordinated responses to outbreaks in Africa and established the first CDC Ebola laboratory in Liberia at the height of the Ebola outbreak in 2014. They set up a molecular lab in a tent on hospital grounds within three days with 700 pounds of imported equipment from Kenya.

While at the CDC, Dr. Fields has mentored many students and fellows who are now accomplished scientists. He has received recognition for the anthrax and SARS investigations in addition to the William C. Watson Metal of Excellence, the CDC’s Lifetime Achievement Award. He plans to retire at the end of 2019 after 39 years of service at the CDC.

Ed R. Hays

[M.S. Food Science ‘81 | Ph.D. Food Science ‘85]

Dr. Ed Hays retired from The Coca-Cola Company in March 2019 after 34 years. He served most recently as the Senior Vice President and Chief Technical Officer. His supervision included Coca-Cola Freestyle, Commercial Products Supply, Flavor Manufacturing and Supply, Global Sustainable Procurement, Quality, Safety and Environment, Research and Development, Scientific and Regulatory Affairs and Technical Governance.

Dr. Hays joined The Coca-Cola Company in 1985 as a scientist in Corporate Research and Development. During his career, he advanced to Product Development Director in Corporate R&D, Director of R&D in Tokyo, Japan for the Middle and Far East Group and Director, Corporate R&D. In 2000, he was elected Vice President of The Coca-Cola Company. In 2001, he assumed responsibility for the Science Function and in 2015 was named Chief Technical Officer.

Dr. Hays has served as President for the Flavor and Extract Manufacturers Association (FEMA) and on the Boards of FEMA and the International Federation of Essential Oils and Aromas Trades. Additionally, he has served on the Advisory Board of the Savannah College of Art and Design, the Board of Directors of The Atlanta College of Art, the Science and Technology Museum of Atlanta and committees of the Atlanta Area Council of the Boy Scouts of America.

James Hindman

[Ph.D. Theatre ‘71]

Dr. James Hindman has spent most of his career in cinema and performing arts, creating and leading professional and public education programs at major institutions. He served as Head of Graduate Studies in the Performing Arts Department at American University, Washington, D.C., and taught at the University of North Carolina. He spent 24 years at the American Film Institute (AFI) and served as Co-Director and Chief Operating Officer in addition to Provost of AFI Conservatory, producer of the feature documentary Visions of Light and the television series Starring the Actors. He developed the AFI Silver Theatre and Cultural Center in Silver Spring, Maryland, as well as numerous television projects and international film and television festivals.

After leaving AFI, Dr. Hindman developed and led film schools in the U.S. and internationally. These schools include the Red Sea School of Cinematic Arts in Aqaba, Jordan, and New Mexico State University’s Creative Media Institute in Las Cruces.  He currently sits on the Board of the New Mexico School for the Arts in Santa Fe, and is charged with creating a new cinematic and media arts program and facilities for the school.

Dr. Hindman co-authored Becoming AFI: 50 years Inside the American Film Institute for the Santa Monica Press, TV Acting for Hastings House, The Practice of Filmmaking: The AFI Conservatory remembers Toni Vellani for the AFI Press. He has served on the Boards of The AIDS Service Center and LAMP in Los Angeles.

Chancellor Robert J. Jones

[M.S. Agronomy ‘75]

Dr. Robert J. Jones is Chancellor of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He is the first African-American appointed since the office’s creation in 1967 and serves as a tenured faculty member in the Department of Crop Sciences. Since arriving in Illinois in 2016, he has implemented programs to increase diversity, to build partnerships in a way that promotes the land-grant mission of the university, and to drive economic vitality statewide.

Prior to becoming Chancellor, Dr. Jones was the President of the University at Albany, State University of New York where he launched the university’s largest and most strategic academic expansion in 50 years. He established the nation’s first integrated College of Emergency Preparedness, Homeland Security and Cybersecurity, and the university’s first College of Engineering and Applied Sciences.

Chancellor Jones spent 34 years at the University of Minnesota as a faculty member, becoming an internationally respected authority on plant physiology. He was named the Vice President for Academic Administration and played a leadership role in establishing a new four-year campus and establishing the university’s first urban research and outreach/engagement center designed to help address challenges in an economically depressed urban community. The center was recently named after Dr. Jones.

Pat Mitchell

[M.A. English ‘97]

Ms. Pat Mitchell has broken new ground for women, leveraging the power of media as a journalist and Emmy-winning and Oscar-nominated producer to tell women’s stories and increase their representation on- and off-screen. She assumed an executive role as president of CNN Productions, and the first woman president and CEO of PBS and the Paley Center for Media. Her new book, Becoming a Dangerous Woman: Embracing Risk to Change the World will be published later in October 2019.

Ms. Mitchell is chair of the Sundance Institute and the Women’s Media Center boards and a founding member and trustee of the VDAY movement to end violence against women. She sits on the boards of the Skoll Foundation and the Acumen Fund. She had a congressional appointment to The American Museum of Women’s History Advisory Council, is an advisor to Participant Media, and a member of the Council on Foreign Relations.

The Women’s Media Center honored Ms. Mitchell with its first-annual Lifetime Achievement Award, now named in her honor to commend other women whose media careers advance the representation of women. Recognized by Hollywood Reporter as one of the most powerful women in media, Fast Company’s “League of Extraordinary Women” and Huffington Post’s list of “Powerful Women Over 50,” she also received the Sandra Day O’Connor Award for Leadership.

Thomas Rainer

[Master of Landscape Architecture ‘02]

Mr. Thomas Rainer is a registered landscape architect, teacher, and author. He is a leading voice in ecological landscape design and has designed landscapes for the U.S. Capitol grounds, the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial, and The New York Botanical Garden. He is a celebrated public speaker who has garnered acclaim for his passionate presentations across the U.S., Europe, and Asia. He serves as a Principal for the landscape architectural and consulting firm Phyto Studio in Washington, D.C.

Mr. Rainer was previously a Principal at Rhodeside & Harwell. He has a broad range of experience in project types ranging from intimate residential gardens to expansive estates, large-scale green infrastructure design and implementation, and national memorials. His work has been featured in The New York Times, Landscape Architecture Magazine, The Washington Post, The Chicago Tribune, and Architectural Digest.

Mr. Rainer specializes in applying innovative planting concepts to create ecologically-functional designed landscapes. He is a widely sought out consultant who applies the technologies of plant systems to bring essential natural functions back into our cities and towns.

Mr. Rainer’s book co-authored with Claudia West, Planting in a Post-Wild World, was selected by the American Horticultural Society as one of the 2016 books of the year.

Denise A. Spangler

[Ph.D. Mathematics Education ‘95]

Dr. Denise A. Spangler is the Bebe Aderhold Professor in Early Childhood Education, Professor of Mathematics Education, and Dean of the College of Education at the University of Georgia.

Dr. Spangler is a member of the UGA Teaching Academy and a recipient of the Richard B. Russell Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching. The majority of her teaching has involved helping elementary education majors learn to teach mathematics to children in ways that build on the numerical and spatial thinking that children develop from interacting with the world. She also teaches graduate courses on mathematics teaching and teacher education and has graduated over 30 doctoral students during her time at UGA.

Supported by $4.5 million in external funding, Dr. Spangler seeks to understand how novice teachers put into practice what they have learned from their teacher education programs, their experiences in schools, and their own experiences as students. She has authored approximately 100 journal articles, book chapters, or books.

Dr. Spangler has served on and chaired a number of committees and task forces at UGA. She was an elected member of the Clarke County School District board of education for 12 years, serving 2 terms as vice president of the board. Her national service includes chairing editorial panels for prestigious journals in mathematics education and serving on the board of directors for the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics.

Page Walley

[M.S. Clinical Psychology ‘82 | Ph.D. Clinical Psychology ‘84]

Dr. Page B. Walley is President and Chief Public Policy Officer for Saint Francis Ministries (SFM), a national and international social services provider and consultation organization. SFM strives to provide healing and hope to children and families. He serves as an Adjunct Professor in the Psychology Department at the University of Alabama-Birmingham.

Prior to coming to SFM, Dr. Walley served as Managing Director of Strategic Consulting for Casey Family Programs based in Seattle where he worked with states to reduce the number of children in out-of-home care. He served as the Commissioner of the Alabama Department of Human Resources and as Commissioner of the Alabama Department of Children’s Affairs. As commissioner, Dr. Walley helped advance the department to national recognition as a leader in providing for the safety, permanency placement, and well-being of children and families in the state. While presiding over the department’s successful exit from long-standing federal oversight of its child welfare program, he also helped lead the Food Stamp Program to national recognition in its response to the Hurricane Ivan disaster.

Dr. Walley was Commissioner of the Tennessee Department of Children’s Services and elected to serve in the Tennessee House of Representatives from 1990 to 2000. He is currently the Vice-Mayor of Bolivar, Tennessee. He is also a licensed minister. Dr. Walley and his wife Terry have three children, and three grandsons.

Sylvia Hutchinson, J. Frank McGill, Alan Campbell, Monica Kaufman Pearson, Jeffrey Shellebarger, Susan C. Waltman, Frank Ros, Dean Suzanne Barbour, and Interim Provost Libby Morris

Alan Campbell

[BFA Art, MFA Art]

Alan Campbell is an artist from Athens, Georgia who has created a unique career working with large scientific research programs in some of the most remote locations on the planet. Merging art and science, Mr. Campbell has traveled the globe, creating paintings that depict varied locations like the ice of Antarctica to the biodiversity of Peru’s tropical rainforest. His art also portrays the beauty of states across the U.S. His ongoing work involves the barrier islands of coastal Georgia.

Mr. Campbell’s work has been sponsored and supported by companies like Mobil Oil, the United States Embassy, Patagonia, and the Turner Foundation in addition to partnerships with nonprofit organizations including The Nature Conservancy and the Ossabaw Island Foundation. His work has been featured in and covered by publications across the U.S., New Zealand, and Europe. He has lectured in the U.S., Chile, and New Zealand and was elected a fellow to the Explorers Club in New York. Mr. Campbell’s paintings are found in many corporate and private collections in Georgia, the southeast, throughout the U.S. and abroad.

Mr. Campbell received a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree with honors in 1973 and a MFA in 1975 at the University of Georgia. He completed additional study at the University of California at Berkeley, Valdosta State University, and the UGA Foreign Studies Program in Cortona, Italy.

Frank McGill

[BSA Agronomy, MS Agronomy]

Frank McGill, known as “Mr. Peanut” by many, is a retired Georgia Extension Service agronomist and peanut specialist, stationed at the UGA Coastal Plain Experiment Station in Tifton, Georgia. While there, he helped develop a multi-discipline “package approach” for peanut production in Georgia increasing the state’s peanut yield by more than 2,000 pounds per acre in less than 20 years. He served as president of the American Peanut Research and Education Society, chairman of the UGA Agronomists, the U.S. Task Force on Peanut Policy, and the U.S. Peanut Improvement Working Group. He was technical advisor to the Georgia Peanut Commission, U.S. Senate Agriculture Committee, National Peanut Council, and National Peanut Growers Group. He traveled to 21 countries as a peanut consultant. After retirement, he worked as a peanut consultant with M&M Mars.

Mr. McGill was a D.W. Brooks Distinguished Professor of Agronomy and named Man of the Year by Progressive Farmer Magazine. He received the Distinguished UGA Faculty Award and the Distinguished Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College Award. He was inducted to the Georgia Peanut Hall of Fame and received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the American Peanut Council. Some of his many accolades include induction into the UGA Agricultural Hall of Fame and receiving the Valor Award from Southern Peanut Farmers.

Mr. McGill received both his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from UGA in Agronomy.

Allison Moran

[MED Education]

Allison Moran joined her family’s 80-plus-year-old business, RaceTrac Petroleum, Inc., in the Operations Department. She was promoted to Vice President of Human Resources in 1999, and Senior Vice President in 2005, leading the RaceTrac division. She succeeded her father as Chief Executive Officer in 2013 but stepped aside in 2017 remaining a member of the Board of Directors. Under her leadership, RaceTrac was named the inaugural Innovative Retail Leader of the Year and Retail Chain of the Year. Ms. Moran was recognized as a Top Woman in Convenience in 2014 and Shelby Report’s Woman Executive of the Year in 2016. She was selected as Retail Executive of the Year by Convenience Store News and inducted into the Convenience Hall of Fame in 2017.

Ms. Moran serves on the Herschend Enterprises Board of Directors and is a Trustee at Rhodes College. She is a member of Young Presidents’ Organization and Honorary Chairman of the Advisory Council for the Top Women of Convenience Awards Program. She has served on the Board of Trustees for Trinity School, The Westminster Schools, the Foundation Board of Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, and National Association of Convenience Stores.

Ms. Moran received a bachelor’s degree in Psychology from Denison University in 1990 and a master’s degree in Education from UGA in 1991. She is a Kellogg Scholar at the Kellogg School of Business Management at Northwestern University.

Monica Kaufman Pearson

[MA Journalism and Mass Communications]

Monica Kaufman Pearson is the first woman and first minority to anchor the daily evening news in Atlanta where she worked for 37 years at the leading station, WSB-TV. She has won over 33 Southern Regional and local Emmy Awards. When she retired, she was honored on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives for her years of service, both on and off the air.

Ms. Pearson currently hosts a weekly radio music and talk show, conducts Closeups Interviews for WSBTV.com, and is one of three hosts of the Georgia Public Broadcasting show A Seat at the Table. She taught at Atlanta Metropolitan State College and is a much sought after emcee and motivational speaker.

Ms. Pearson has been inducted into the National Association of Black Journalists Hall of Fame, the Georgia Association of Broadcasters Hall of Fame, and the Atlanta Press Club Hall of Fame. She was the first African-American and second woman to serve as Chairperson of the United Way of Metropolitan Atlanta. She is on the Executive Leadership Council of the American Heart Association and board member emeritus of Meals on Wheels Atlanta. She serves on the Board of Jurors for the Peabody Awards at UGA and is a UGA Grady Fellow. Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. gave her the Presidential Vanguard Award, and the Atlanta Dream of the WNBA presented her with the Pat Summitt Inspiring Woman Award.

Ms. Pearson graduated with a master’s degree from UGA’s Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication in 2014.

Frank Ros

[BSED Business Education, MED Business Education]

Frank Ros was Vice President, Hispanic Strategies at The Coca-Cola Company where he managed the Latin Affairs department. This role included developing and implementing strategy to have the company recognized as a leading corporate citizen within the Latino community. Mr. Ros transformed Coca-Cola Presents Art of Harmony, an urban community relations program, into a nationally recognized and award-winning program for which he received the company’s Chairman’s Exemplary Award. He served on The Coca-Cola Company Multicultural Leadership Council and was chosen as one of Hispanic Business’s 2011 “100 Influentials in the U.S.”

Mr. Ros has served on multiple boards, including terms as Chairman of the first Georgia Commission on Hispanic Affairs and the Board of Regents Hispanic Task Force. He was appointed to the State’s Governor’s Education Reform Study Commission tasked with establishing a better system of public education in Georgia. He presently serves on the Board of Directors of the WellStar Health System, the Advisory Board of the UGA J.W. Fanning Institute for Leadership Development, and the Kennesaw State University President’s Community Advisory Board.

Mr. Ros earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees at UGA where he was selected Academic All-SEC and team captain of the University’s 1980 National Football Championship team.

Jeff Shellebarger

[BS Geology, MS Geology]

Jeffrey Shellebarger joined Chevron in 1980 as an exploration geologist in New Orleans, Louisiana. He assumed the role of President, Chevron North America Exploration and Production Co. in August 2013. He is responsible for Chevron’s oil and gas exploration and production operations in the U.S. and Canada. He previously served as the Managing Director of Chevron’s IndoAsia business unit; Executive Director of Chevron Pacific Indonesia; General Manager of Asset Development for Chevron’s Southern Africa strategic business unit; and General Manager of Asset Development for Chevron North America’s San Joaquin Valley strategic business unit.

During Mr. Shellebarger’s 37-year career with Chevron, he has held leadership and technical positions that span the upstream value chain: business development, exploration, technology, asset development, and production operations, both in onshore and offshore basins across North America, Sub-Saharan Africa, and in Southeast Asia.

Mr. Shellebarger is Chairman of the American Petroleum Institute’s Upstream Committee. He is Past-Chairman of the Greater Houston Partnership and serves on the boards of the United Way of Greater Houston and the Houston Museum of Natural Science, and on the Kinder Institute Advisory Board.

Mr. Shellebarger He earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Geology from UGA.

Garnett S. Stokes

[MS Psychology, PhD Industrial and Organizational Psychology]

Garnett S. Stokes became the 23rd president of the University of New Mexico in 2018. She previously served as interim chancellor, provost and executive vice chancellor for academic affairs at the University of Missouri; provost and executive vice president for academic affairs and interim president at Florida State University; and as faculty, department chair, and dean of UGA’s Franklin College of Arts and Sciences. At the University of Missouri, she built a leadership team dedicated to student success and directed the establishment of the Office of Civil Rights and Title IX. As interim president at FSU, she created a task force to address sexual and domestic violence and led the Diversity and Inclusion Council committee on Recruitment and Retention.

President Stokes’ research has focused specifically on the use of biographical information in job selection and promotion decisions. She has helped businesses, government agencies, and Fortune 500 companies to develop hiring procedures. She is a fellow of the Association for Psychological Science, the American Psychological Association, and the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology.

A first-generation college graduate, President Stokes earned a bachelor’s degree in Psychology from Carson-Newman College, and master’s and doctoral degrees from UGA in Industrial and Organizational Psychology.

Susan C. Waltman

[AB Sociology, MSW Social Work]

Susan C. Waltman is the executive vice president for legal, regulatory and professional affairs for the Greater New York Hospital Association (GNYHA), which represents the interests of 150 hospitals and health care systems across the New York region. Ms. Waltman oversees the legal, regulatory and professional affairs matters involving GNYHA and its affiliated companies, as well as GNYHA’s emergency preparedness and response activities. Prior to joining GNYHA in 1987, she was general counsel for the Medical College of Pennsylvania as well as an associate in the Philadelphia office of Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP.

Ms. Waltman serves on the boards of the UGA Foundation and the UGA Research Foundation and acts as a volunteer ambassador for UGA in the New York area, sharing her insights about UGA’s commitment to excellence with fellow alumni. She has served on the advisory boards of the University’s Honors Program and College of Public Health, where she has helped support internships, scholarships and public health outreach. Additionally, Ms. Waltman hosts interns from UGA at GNYHA each summer, allowing them to gain real-life experience in public health.

Ms. Waltman graduated from UGA with a bachelor of arts degree in 1973 and a master’s degree in social work in 1975. She earned a law degree from Columbia University Law School in 1977.

Dean Suzanne Barbour, Mrs. Carole DuVall (wife of Tal DuVall), Elizabeth Gatewood, Flora Tydings, Maureen Clayton, Mary Frances Early, Ken Giles, Gaye Smith, GEAB Chair Sylvia Hutchinson

Maureen A. Clayton

[M.A. Mass Communication]

Maureen A. Clayton is president of Insight Strategic Communications, a full service internal communications agency. She has more than 25 years of experience developing and implementing business communications for publicly and privately-held companies.

Mrs. Clayton founded Nest Egg Communications in 2014. The company is an Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP) agency that assists other ESOP companies. Nest Egg Communications created a new category in communications: value-priced, ready-to-use toolkits that drive performance, strengthen ownership mindset, and connect team members to business strategy.

Mrs. Clayton has won awards from PRSA, IABC, and other organizations. She was a member of the Executive Committee of the UGA Alumni Association Board of Directors and student mentor. She is now a member of the UGA Libraries Board of Visitors.

She is a member of the Ownership Culture Committee of the ESOP Association, former president of the G&T Communicators and the Electric Women’s Roundtable, and former member of the Electric Power Research Institute Corporate Communications Advisory Board. She also supports the Drake House, North Fulton Homestretch, YMCA Camp High Harbour, and Andalusia Farm, Flannery O’Connor’s home in Milledgeville, Ga.

Talmadge C. DuVall “Tal”

[M.S. Extension Education & D.M.A. Public Administration]

Talmadge “Tal” C. DuVall began his career with the UGA Cooperative Extension Service as a County Agent after serving in the Army for two years. He retired in 1988 as the Director of the Cooperative Extension Service and Associate Dean for the College of Agriculture at UGA. After retirement, he was president of the Georgia Agribusiness Council and then County Commissioner for the Athens-Clarke County government.

Dr. DuVall led efforts to establish the Jekyll Island 4-H Center and to renovate the Rock Eagle 4-H Center. He was responsible for the publication of the Georgia County Guide. The book is an invaluable resource for elected officials, policymakers, researchers, and extension agents as it is filled with detailed information and helpful statistics. He supervised the Integrated Pest Management Program of Georgia, which became the national model for reducing agricultural pesticide costs while providing a database for agricultural research.

Dr. DuVall served on boards for organizations like the Athens Boys Club and the Salvation Army. He was Chairman of the Northeast Georgia United Way and the Athens-Clarke County Economic Development Authority and a member of many other civic organizations. He joined the U.S. Agricultural Education Delegation to China in 1980 andwon Georgia Adult Educator of the Year.

Mary Frances Early

[M.M. Ed. Music Education & Ed.S Education]

Mary Frances Early transferred to UGA to participate in the Civil Rights Movement and aid integration after learning of Charlayne Hunter and Hamilton Holmes’s integration experience at UGA. She became the first African-American to graduate from the university in 1962. UGA’s Graduate and Professional Scholars renamed their spring lecture the Mary Frances Early Lecture Series after her address.

Ms. Early worked in public schools for 37 years. She also travelled across the state to develop all-state standards for music education as the first black president of Georgia Music Educators. She was on the editorial board of the Music Educator’s National Journal and consulted with the textbook company Macmillan to increase diversity in music textbooks. She helped with diversity, grant recognition, and funding for the National Endowment for the Arts. Ms. Early continued teaching after retirement in 1994 at Morehouse College, then Spelman College, and Clark Atlanta University where she was head of the music department until 2005.

She was awarded the STAR Teacher Award, Benjamin E. Mays Black Music Heritage Award, the UGA Outstanding Alumna Award, and UGA’s Foot Soldier for Equal Justice Award.

Elizabeth Gatewood

[M.B.A Finance & Ph.D. Public Administration]

Elizabeth Gatewood is a professor at Wake Forest University. She formerly held positions in the Center for Enterprise Research and Education, the Kauffman Campus Initiative, and the Wake Forest University National Science Foundation Partners for Innovation Program.

Dr. Gatewood was the Jack M. Gill Chair of Entrepreneurship and Director of the Johnson Center for Entrepreneurship & Innovation at Indiana University. She directed the Gulf Coast Small Business Development Center Network, providing consulting and training to entrepreneurs and Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises in addition to leading trade missions to South America and Asia. Dr. Gatewood also founded and directed the Center for Business and Economic Studies at UGA.

Dr. Gatewood has been Principal Investigator on grants from federal agencies such as the NSF and Department of Defense. She co-founded the Diana Project, which examines women’s entrepreneurship and won the International Award for Entrepreneurship and Small Business Research, the foremost global award for entrepreneurship research.

Among multiple awards and honors throughout her career, Dr. Gatewood received the 2013 Max S. Wortman, Jr. Lifetime Achievement Award in Entrepreneurship by the United States Association for Small Business and Entrepreneurship.

Kenimer Giles

[M.S. Agricultural Engineering]

D. Ken Giles is currently Professor and Vice Chair of the University of California, Davis Department of Biological and Agricultural Engineering. He earned a doctorate in Agricultural Engineering, with a minor in Mechanical Engineering from Clemson University.

Dr. Giles’s research focuses on spray applications including pesticide spraying, industrial spray coatings, the reduction of “spray drift,” and environmental contamination. He invented spray nozzles that revolutionized the chemical application process, making it possible to deliver the proper amount of spray on a site-specific basis, while maximizing efficacy and minimizing off-site impacts. Giles and his team were the first research entity to receive Federal Aviation Administration clearance to operate an unmanned, remote-controlled aircraft using a motorcycle-sized, remote-controlled helicopter for spraying in the Napa, Sacramento, and Central Valleys of California.

Dr. Giles authored and co-authored numerous publications. His research has led to more than 20 patents. In addition to other American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers honors and contributions, he was awarded 2015 Cyrus Hall McCormick-Jerome Increase Case Gold Medal, recognizing his “exceptional and meritorious achievement in agriculture, which has resulted in new concepts, products, processes or methods that advanced the development of agriculture.”

Senator Philip Gramm

[Ph.D. Economics]

Senator Philip Gramm is Vice Chairman at Lone Star Global Acquisitions. He was formerly Vice Chairman of UBS Investment Bank, where he provided senior leadership in landmark Initial Public Offerings including Visa, the Bank of China, the China Merchants Bank, and LGPhillips in Korea. He was instrumental in the supplemental equity offering for the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, the privatization of Telstra in Australia, and the sale of 20% of Akbank in Turkey to Citibank.

Senator Gramm spent six years in the U.S. House of Representatives and 18 years in the U.S. Senate. His record includes the Gramm-Latta Budget, which reduced federal spending, rebuilt national defense, and mandated the Reagan tax cut. The Gramm-Rudman Act placed the first binding constraints on federal spending. The Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act allowed banks, securities firms, and insurance companies to affiliate as part of a Financial Services Holding Company. While Chairman of the Banking Committee, his legislation modernized banking, insurance, and securities law.

Senator Gramm is a Visiting Scholar at the American Enterprise Institute and taught economics at Texas A&M University for 12 years. He has published articles and books on subjects ranging from monetary theory and policy to private property and the economics of mineral extraction.

Patricia A. Resick

[M.S. Psychology & Ph.D. Clinical Psychology]

Patricia A. Resick is a professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Duke University. She has served on multiple faculties including the University of Missouri – St. Louis where she held an endowed professorship.

Dr. Resick directed the Women’s Health Sciences Division of the National Center for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder at VA Boston Healthcare System. She has received grants to provide services and conduct research on the effects of traumatic events, particularly on women, and to develop and test therapeutic interventions for PTSD. She developed and tested Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT), a short term treatment for PTSD and corollary symptoms. She leads a national initiative to disseminate CPT throughout the VA system. She has published numerous books, journal articles, and book chapters; served on the editorial boards of scientific journals; and was an associate editor for the Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology.

Dr. Resick served on the boards of the International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies and the Association for the Advancement of Behavior Therapy. Her awards include the Robert S. Laufer Memorial Award for Outstanding Scientific Achievement in the Field of PTSD and the Lifetime Achievement Award from Division 56 of the American Psychological Association.

Gaye Smith

[Master of Public Administration]

Gaye Smith was appointed Executive Director of Georgia Family Connection Partnership (GaFCP) after more than 10 years as President/CEO of Parent and Child Development Services Inc. in Chatham and Effingham counties. Under Ms. Smith’s leadership, GaFCP fosters relationships between thousands of community leaders in all 159 counties to dissolve barriers and service gaps obscuring progress and positive outcomes. GaFCP’s approach to collaboration has been recognized by organizations like the Brookings Institute’s Innovation in Community Indicators Award.

Ms. Smith’s career started in social services with the United Way of the Coastal Empire, where she was Vice President of Planning and Allocations. She has been a consultant for the Annie E. Casey Foundation’s Making Connections Initiative and served as interim Executive Director for the Chatham-Savannah Youth Futures Authority, which later joined the GaFCP statewide network.

Ms. Smith has held leadership roles in civic organizations including the board of the Rape Crisis Center of Savannah, Governor’s Supermarket Access Task Force, and Board of Georgians for Children. Her awards include the American Society for Public Administration’s Administrator of the Year and Georgia General Assembly’s Legislative Services Award.

Flora W. Tydings

[Ed.D. Education]

Flora W. Tydings was appointed Chancellor by the Tennessee Board of Regents effective February 1, 2017. She arrived as the Board and its institutions continue to transition into a more unified community and technical college system under the state’s Focus on College and University Success (FOCUS) Act of 2016.

Dr. Tydings worked for eight years as a professional educator in the Houston County, Ga., school system followed by 10 years in the private sector. She returned to education as Apprenticeship Director for four Georgia public school systems and as an adjunct instructor at Middle Georgia College. She became Director of Curriculum and Staff Development at Macon Technical Institute. Two years later, she served as Vice President for Academic Affairs at Central Georgia Technical College until appointed as President of Athens Technical College in 2003. In 2015, she moved to Tennessee as President of Chattanooga State Community College.

Dr. Tydings has served on many boards including the Chattanooga Area Chamber of Commerce, Tennessee Colleges Association Executive Board, and the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga Chancellor’s Roundtable. She has received multiple awards and honors including the Boy Scouts of Northeast Georgia Distinguished Citizen Award, the Jeanette Rankin Foundation Founders’ Award, and the Atlanta Business Chronicle’s Recognized Leaders in Education.

UGA graduate School Dean Suzanne Barbour (left) and Provost Pam Whitten (far right) congratulate alumni award winners Steve McCallum Alvetta P. Thomas, Mary Salmon Walker, and James K. Farr

James W. Andrews, Jr.

[M.S. Nutrition (’65) | Ph.D. Nutritional Biochemistry (‘68)]

James W. Andrews, Jr. began his career as one of the first four scientists at the Skidaway Institute of Oceanography. He founded Savannah Laboratories and Environmental Services in 1980 which became the largest environmental testing laboratory in the world. He was the Director of Research for the Cardiovascular Council and the Curtis Hames Evans Count Heart Study and discovered that people who live in the high-heart disease belt of the Southeast had low blood levels of selenium and elevated levels of cadmium. Dr. Andrews currently volunteers with the Coastal Georgia Botanical Gardens. His family has four generations of UGA graduates beginning with his mother in 1925.

Martin Chitwood

[M.A. Political Science (‘76) | Juris Doctor (’73)

Martin Chitwood is a senior partner of Chitwood Harley Harnes LLP in Atlanta and is recognized as a leader in the fields of securities litigation and corporate governance reform. He was assigned to the Green Berets in 1966, where he served as a commanding officer of a Special Forces A-Team and became one of the most decorated junior officers in the Vietnam War. He received multiple awards from South Vietnam and the Department of the Army. He wrote and co-produced the story for “Unconquered,” a CBS movie of the week.

Ariel Y. Deutch

[M.S. Psychology (‘79) | Ph.D. Psychology (‘83)]

Ariel Deutch is the James G. Blakemore Professor of Psychiatry and Professor of Pharmacology and Program in Neuroscience at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine. His research focuses on central dopamine systems and their involvement in the pathophysiology of schizophrenia and Parkinson’s disease, and the mechanisms of action of antipsychotic drugs. He previously held associate and assistant professor appointments at Yale University School of Medicine where he completed his postdoctoral studies in neuropharmacology. Dr. Deutch currently holds positions as Chief Scientific Advisor and Chair of the National Parkinson Foundation’s Clinical and Scientific Advisory Board.

James K. Farr

[Ph.D. Chemistry (’78)]

James K. Farr served as Principal Scientist in the Office of Response and Restoration, Environmental Response Division, National Ocean Service during his time at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. He provided scientific expertise in responding to hundreds of chemical and oil accidents, including the Deepwater Horizon oil spill and the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Dr. Farr aided the FBI in development of a database which identifies precursors to track and prevent the use of chemical substances in the illegal production of explosives, drugs, and other dangerous materials. Farr is retired but continues his work on scientific aspects of chemical reactivity and industrial safety as a consultant to the Center for Chemical Process Safety/AlChE in New York.

Steve McCallum

[Ph.D. Educational Psychology (‘79)]

Steve McCallum is Professor of School Psychology in the Department of Educational Psychology and Counseling at the University of Tennessee where he previously served as Department Head for 22 years. He co-founded and is consulting editor of the Journal of Psychoeducational Assessment published by SAGE. Dr. McCallum has received numerous awards from the University of Tennessee including the Chancellor’s Research and Creative Achievement Award.

Allen Seals

[M.S. Biochemistry (’75) | M.D. Medical College of Georgia (‘79)]

Allen Seals is a clinical and interventional cardiologist with Baker and Gilmour Cardiovascular Institute in Jacksonville, Fla. where he is also Managing Partner and Director of Clinical Research. In 2016, Dr. Seals was elected chair of the American College of Cardiology Board of Governors and Secretary of the Board of Trustees, the main governing body of the American College of Cardiology. He is a member of the steering committee for SMARTCare, a Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation grant program, which strives to provide tools for doctors to communicate with patients about their healthcare options.

Alvetta P. Thomas

[Ed.D. Adult Education (’04)]

Alvetta P. Thomas is President of Atlanta Technical College. She was named one of Atlanta’s 25 Most Influential Women, a “Female Powerhouse” in Who’s Who in Black Atlanta and one of Atlanta’s Top 100 Women of Influence by the Atlanta Business League. She received the Woman of Influence and Impact Award from Woman University. She is a member of Civitan International, the West End Rotary Club and the Boys and Girls Clubs of America National Higher Education Access and Scholarship Task Force.

Mary Salmon Walker

[Master of Public Administration (‘97)]

Mary Salmon Walker is an environmental consultant after serving a number of years in state government. She previously served as Assistant Director and COO for the Georgia Environmental Protection Division, Georgia Department of Natural Resources where she oversaw policy development, compliance programs and general agency operations. Mrs. Walker is a graduate of the Institute for Georgia Environmental Leaders. She has also run a grief support program for children in Atlanta and works with newly arrived refugees in Dekalb County.

Suzanne Barbour, Dean of the Graduate School; Carlton Weston Myers, PhD; Benjamin G. Brackett , DVM, PhD; Dr. Randy William Kamphaus, PhD; Dr. Lindsay Boring, PhD, Chair of Graduate Education Advancement Board; Dr. Leroy Evans Bynum, D.M.A.; Hala Gaines Moddelmog. M.A.; Gordhan L. Patel, Emeritus faculty and former Dean of the Graduate School; Not pictured: Dr. Robert McTeer, PhD; Dr. Laura Jean Meadows, PhD; Marcia E. Mulkey, M.A., J.D.; Antonio Enrique Puente, PhD; Michael Tomasello, PhD

Benjamin G. Brackett, D.V.M., Ph.D.

Dr. Brackett is a pioneer in in vitro fertilization (IVF) and was the first to achieve a repeatable procedure for mammalian IVF, in addition to other advancements in fertilization and reproduction. His research led to the nation’s first human in vitro fertilization and the first IVF calf and goat kids. In 1983, Dr. Brackett with two physicians opened Reproductive Biology Associates, an outpatient infertility clinic, through which he initiated the first successful use of IVF to overcome human fertility in Georgia. The clinic celebrated the 30,000 babies conceived on its 30th anniversary in 2013.

From 1983-2002, Dr. Brackett was a professor of physiology and pharmacology at the University of Georgia and served as chair of the department from 1983-1995. He has authored more than 275 research publications and received multiple national and international awards, including Lazzaro Spallanzani International Award in Animal Reproduction, the International Embryo Transfer Society Pioneer Award, and the UGA College of Veterinary Medicine Distinguished Alumnus of the Year Award in 1998.

Leroy Evans Bynum, D.M.A.

Dr. Bynum is dean of the School of Arts and Humanities at the College of Saint Rose in Albany, New York. As the chief academic, fiscal, and administrative officer he leads seven academic departments in the humanities, fine and commercial arts, and education that offer 22 undergraduate and seven graduate degrees. Prior to this position, Dr. Bynum was at Albany State University in Albany, Georgia, for 22 years as a professor of music and dean of the College of Arts and Humanities from 2006-2014. Dr. Bynum remains active as a teacher, researcher, director, and performer in the field of music and vocal performance. Over the past seven years, Dr. Bynum has performed in nearly 20 major vocal performances and directed eight opera productions.

Dr. Bynum’s research interests include German song literature, receiving both a Fulbright research grant and a National Endowment for the Humanities Fellowship to study in Germany. He received the Albany State President’s Award for Exceptional Performance and was the University of Georgia Outstanding Graduate Student of the Year in 1992.

Ronald Lane Goode, Ph.D.

Dr. Goode is the president and chief executive officer of The Goode Group, a consulting company to assist pharmaceutical companies in establishing links that will help them to create alliances and joint ventures. He has spent his career in leadership roles in a number of global pharmaceutical companies, including Opko Health, Inc., eXegenics Inc., Pharma-Links, Unimed Pharmaceuticals, Searle Corporate, and Pfizer Pharmaceuticals. At these companies, he supervised clinical development programs that ultimately led to the approval and production of pharmaceuticals such as Zyrtec, Day-Pro, Arthotec, Zoloft, and Ambien.

Dr. Goode is the only non-Japanese director for a publically held Japanese company, Hikma Pharmaceuticals plc. He also serves as the only American director for a publically held Middle Eastern company. He is a volunteer for and a director of Mercy Ships International, a global charity, which has operated a fleet of hospital ships in developing nations since 1978.

James Nels Ihle, Ph.D.

Dr. Ihle is the chair of biochemistry and the Edward F. Barry Endowed Chair in Biochemistry at St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital, Inc., in Memphis, Tennessee. He also teaches biochemistry at the University of Tennessee in Memphis. Dr. Ihle is responsible for the discovery and first-time purification of the cytokine Interleukin 3 (IL-3). Interleukins are proteins in the immune system. IL-3 acts as a mechanism to enhance the natural response of the body to disease. He also discovered the essential role of Jak kinases in the action of all cytokine receptors.

Dr. Ihle holds four patents in the field of biochemistry. He has authored and reviewed more than 450 research articles and was named a Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigator. He was honored with the William Dameshek Prize from the American Hematology Society in 1995.

Randy William Kamphaus, Ph.D.

Dr. Kamphaus is the dean of the College of Education and a professor at the University of Oregon. Previously, he served as dean of the College of Education at Georgia State University in Atlanta, Georgia, and was a distinguished research professor and department head of educational psychology at the University of Georgia. He is best known for his research in classification methods, differential diagnosis, test development, and the assessment of learning disabilities and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). He developed the Behavior Assessment System for Children (BASC) to classify behavior into seven distinct types of children’s behavioral adjustment in school, which caused educators and psychologists to rethink how children’s academic, behavioral, and emotional development is diagnosed.

Dr. Kamphaus served as president of the American Psychological Association (APA)’s Division of School Psychology and received the Senior Scientist Award from the APA Division of School Psychology. He received the Russell H. Yeany, Jr. Research and Alumni Lifetime Achievement Awards from the College of Education at the University of Georgia.

Robert McTeer, Ph.D.

Dr. McTeer is a director of Westwood Holdings Group and Beal Bank and an economic advisor to Commerce Street Capital investment banking firm in Dallas, Texas. In 2007, he was named a Distinguished Fellow at the Dallas-based National Center for Policy Analysis, writing and speaking on economic issues, including monetary and fiscal policy. From 2004-2006, he served as the chancellor of the Texas A&M University System.

Dr. McTeer was the 11th President of the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas from 1991-2004, serving under the chairmanships of Alan Greenspan, Ben Bernanke, and Janet Yellen. He was a member of the Federal Open Market Committee as President of the Dallas Federal Reserve. Before becoming President of the Dallas Federal Reserve, he served 12 years with the Richmond Federal Reserve and 11 years as Head of its Baltimore branch. Dr. McTeer formerly served as the national President of the Association of Private Enterprise Economics and sat as a board member of the National Association of Economic Education.

Laura Jean Meadows, Ph.D.

Dr. Meadows is the director of the Carl Vinson Institute of Government at the University of Georgia. She coordinates the efforts of more than 140 employees to provide technical assistance, applied research, technology solutions, and training and development services to governments in the state of Georgia and internationally. Dr. Meadows works with state and local governments on a variety of issues such as planning, housing, infrastructure development, and facilitating community development and economic growth efforts. She joined the Institute of Government in 2009 and was appointed director in February 2012.

Prior to coming to the University of Georgia, Dr. Meadows served in several executive positions at the state and federal levels, including commissioner of the Georgia Department of Community Affairs, the first executive director of the OneGeorgia Authority, assistant secretary of state, and state director of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Rural Development program.

Hala Gaines Moddelmog, M.A.

Ms. Moddelmog became president and CEO of the Metro Atlanta Chamber (MAC) in 2014, becoming the first woman to hold this position.  Previously, she was president of Atlanta-based Arby’s Restaurant Group, an international quick-service chain with approximately 3,500 units and $3 billion in sales. In 2006, she was named president and CEO of the world’s largest grassroots organization, Susan G. Komen for the Cure. At Komen, she established the Scientific Advisory Board with an annual grant of $100 million for scientific research. Ms. Moddelmog was the first woman to lead an international restaurant company when she was named President of Church’s Chicken in 1995. Church’s Chicken is the world’s third largest chicken brand with 1,500 plus restaurants in 15 countries and nearly $1 billion in system sales.

Ms. Moddelmog has served on multiple public, private, and non-profit boards, including the Woodruff Arts Center, Alliance Theatre, and the International Women’s Forum. She previously served as a director of Amerigroup Corporation and AMN Healthcare.

Marcia E. Mulkey, M.A., J.D.

Ms. Mulkey is a visiting scholar at the Temple University Beasley School of Law for the 2015-2016 academic year. In this position, she works with the environmental and international rule of law programs and pursues activities in her areas of interest including domestic and international environmental law enforcement. Ms. Mulkey had an extensive career with the Federal government, working in several senior level legal and executive positions at the Environmental Protection Agency, including Regional Counsel for the mid-Atlantic region, Director of the Office of Pesticides Programs, Director of the Office of Site Remediation Enforcement (Superfund), and Acting Associate Administrator of the Office for Policy, Economics, and Innovations.

Ms. Mulkey first practiced law with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and had assignments with the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization and the government of the Netherlands. She was awarded the EPA’s top career service award and has twice received Presidential Rank Awards, the top recognition system for career government executives.

Carl Weston Myers, Ph.D.

Dr. Myers worked at the Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico, retiring in 2005, where he led the Earth and Environmental Sciences Division for 12 years. His projects involved basic research, applied research and technology development for areas such as the evaluation of the Yucca Mountain site for geologic disposal of nuclear waste and advanced oil recovery and geothermal energy technologies. He currently advocates for expanded use of underground space, especially through global deployment of underground nuclear parks to enhance the safety, security and economics for sitting nuclear power reactors. He also served for two years as Senior Technical Advisor with the International Programs Office, Office of Civilian Radioactive Waste Management, and U.S. Department of Energy, with an emphasis on Russia.

Beginning his career with Chevron Oil Company, Dr. Myers worked as a petroleum geologist in the US Gulf Coast and was an assistant professor at Appalachian State University, Boone, North Carolina. He is a Fellow of the Geological Society of America and a member of the American Geophysical Union.

Antonio Enrique Puente, Ph.D.

Dr. Puente is a professor of psychology at the University of North Carolina Wilmington and a visiting professor at the Universidad de Granada in Spain. His neuropsychology lab focuses on cross cultural, forensic, and military neuropsychology research. He is the founder and editor of the Neuropsychology Review, the Journal of Interprofessional Healthcare, and the Journal of Interprofessional Education & Practice, and a book series in clinical neuropsychology. He is the author/editor of eight books, 87 book chapters, and 112 journal articles that focus on the interface between culture and neuropsychology.

Dr. Puente is past-president of the North Carolina Psychological Association; North Carolina Psychological Foundation; National Academy of Neuropsychology; Society for Clinical Neuropsychology; and the Hispanic Neuropsychological Society. He held positions as chair of the Psychology Academy of the National Academies of Practice and several American Psychological Association Boards and Committees. In 2002, he established and is now co-director of the Cape Fear Clinic, a bilingual mental health clinic for the uninsured residents of the region.

Michael Tomasello, Ph.D.

Dr. Tomasello is the director for the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany, and teaches psychology at Duke University. His empirical research interests focus on the processes of social cognition, social learning, cooperation, and communication that distinguishes humans from the great apes. His theoretical focus is on processes of shared intentionality. In addition to numerous scholarly articles, Dr. Tomasello has written seven books related to his research interests: Primate Cognition, The Cultural Origins of Human Cognition, Constructing a Language: A Usage-Based Theory of Language Acquisition, Origins of Human Communication, Why We Cooperate, A Natural History of Human Thinking, and A Natural History of Human Morality.

Dr. Tomasello has received various national and international awards in recognition of his works, including the Distinguished Scientific Contribution Award from the American Psychological Association, the British Academy Wiley Prize in Psychology, the Fyssen Foundation Prize for Cognitive Science, the Cognitive Development Society Book Award, and a Guggenheim Fellowship.

First Row: Dr. Julie Coffield, Interim Dean; Terry Hunt, Chair of Graduate Education Advancement Board; Dr. Kurt C. Lawrence; Dr. Phillip J. Brantley; Dr. Pamela Flattau; Roland McElroy; Dr. Pamela Whitten, Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost. Back Row: Dr. Michael Feuerstein; Dr. Perry W. Buffington; Dr. Richard F. Arrendale; Dr. Christopher Francis D’Elia Not Pictured: Dr. Kathleen Slevin; Dr. Deborah Williams

Richard F. Arrendale, M.S., Ph.D.

Dr. Arrendale has over thirty-five years of research experience and for the past twenty-four years has held positions of increasing responsibility in drug discovery and development in research-based pharmaceutical, biotech, and academic organizations. He joined Emory University in 2008 to lead the bioanalytical chemistry, drug metabolism, and pharmacokinetics efforts of the Emory Institute for Drug Development. Dr. Arrendale has experience managing direct reports, consultants, and contract research organizations in all aspects of preclinical and early clinical drug development, including bioanalytical chemistry, drug metabolism, pharmacokinetics, clinical pharmacology, toxicology, regulatory affairs, quality assurance, and pharmaceutics. He has contributed to the preparation of INDs, NDAs, and other documents for submission to regulatory authorities and has experience in the preparation for and conduct of face-to-face meetings with FDA officials and submission of responses to questions that were raised during these meetings with the agency. Dr. Arrendale has worked with Glaxo, Inc., Solvay Pharmaceuticals, Inc., AtheroGenics, Inc., and Metastatix, Inc. He has authored or co-authored over two hundred research papers, book chapters, and abstracts. He served as the general chairman of the 1996 Southeast Regional Meeting of the AAPS and co-chaired the 2012 UGA Symposium on Pharmaceutical Development.

Phillip J. Brantley, M.S., Ph.D.

Dr. Phillip J. Brantley received both his master of science in psychology and doctorate in psychology from the University of Georgia. He has taught and conducted research at Louisiana State University for over thirty-four years. Currently, Dr. Brantley serves as the associate executive director for scientific education at Pennington Biomedical Research Center. He has served as the primary mentor for fifty-nine Ph.D. graduates in clinical psychology at LSU and has helped train over five hundred medical residents at LSU Health Science Center and Tulane University residency programs in Baton Rouge. Dr. Brantley has over thirty years of continuous research grant funding, most of which came from the National Institutes of Health. He has contributed over two hundred fifty publications to the medical and psychological literature, most of which focused on management of chronic medical conditions. Dr. Brantley has been very active in professional and civic organizations, holding many leadership roles. He currently serves on the Executive Council of the Obesity Society. He formerly served on the Executive Board for the Louisiana Psychological Society, the Board of the Directors for the United Way of Baton Rouge, and the Executive Board for the Society of Behavioral Medicine.

Perry W. Buffington, M.A., Ph.D.

Dr. Perry Buffington is an author, keynote speaker, media personality, and licensed applied psychologist. He is the author of numerous refereed journal articles and thirteen books, including two bestsellers. Dr. Buffington has also penned thousands of articles in periodicals, mainly as a contributing editor for Delta Air Lines’ in-flight magazine, Sky, and as a syndicated columnist with Universal Press. He formerly served as a visiting instructor at The Disney Institute and is also an adjunct professor at UGA. He is now teaching psychology courses in the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences’ program on the UGA Griffin Campus. In 2014, he was awarded the Teaching Excellence Award by the psychology department at UGA. Dr. Buffington divides his time between teaching and showcasing his practical knowledge and well-honed wit in a series of different seminars. His most popular seminars The Millionaire Code: How to Unlock your Financial Personality and Make More Money; Type C: Creative Problem Solvers; Transitioning from Management to Leadership; Techno-Human: Putting the “Human” back in “Human Technology” and Mind Over Manners, “e”tiquette. Clients of his seminars have included NASA, AT&T, USA Today, the Federal Reserve Banks, the State of Georgia, and many more.

Christopher Francis D’Elia, Ph.D.

Dr. D’Elia currently serves as professor and dean of the School of the Coast and Environment at Louisiana State University. Prior to this position, he was associate vice chancellor for academic affairs for research and graduate studies, interim vice chancellor for academic affairs and professor of environmental science and policy and marine science at the University of South Florida in St. Petersburg. There, he also directed the International Ocean Institute-USA and the Center for Science and Policy Applications for the Coastal Environment. He has also held the appointment of director of the Biological Oceanography Program at the National Science Foundation in Washington, D.C. Dr. D’Elia has received numerous research grants and has authored or coauthored over sixty scientific publications on the nutrient dynamics of estuaries and coral reefs, and science policy. He has served twice as president, and as co-chair of the External Relations Committee, of the Sea Grant Association. He is serving a second three-year term as a member of the U.S. National Committee for the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission of UNESCO, representing the Coastal and Estuarine Research Federation. He is also a board member of Ocean Leadership in Washington, D.C.

Michael Feuerstein, M.S., Ph.D.

Dr. Michael Feuerstein is currently a professor of medical and clinical psychology and preventive medicine/biometrics at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences in Bethesda, Maryland. He has held faculty positions in psychology, psychiatry, anesthesiology, medical and clinical psychology, and preventive medicine/biometrics. In 1994 Dr. Feuerstein travelled to Washington, D.C. to develop and direct a Ph.D. program in clinical psychology for the Department of Defense to train many clinical providers and military leaders in behavioral health and behavioral medicine. After being diagnosed with brain cancer in 2002, he dedicated his career to improving the health, health care, function, and well-being of those who live following diagnosis and treatment for cancer. That effort has resulted in the publication of four books and the launch of the Journal of Cancer Survivorship: Research and Practice (JCSU). He has also served on national committees (NCI, ACS, Livestrong) to develop health care guidelines for Cancer Survivors. Dr. Feuerstein is currently working on the development of the Cancer Survivor Profile (CSPro), a measure cancer survivors and their health care providers can use to improve the quality of long-term health care, health, function, and well-being. In the fall, Dr. Feuerstein is launching a part-time practice addressing the challenges of cancer survivors.

Pamela Flattau, M.S., Ph.D.

Dr. Pamela Flattau has served as a consultant in STEM education in Washington, D.C. for forty years. She has contributed to the advancement of federal programs through policy research and analysis in areas related to strengthening the STEM education infrastructure; refining National Institutes of Health research training programs in behavioral science, nursing research, and health services research; shaping NSF programs in a variety of areas through portfolio evaluations; and focusing national attention on the resources needed to assure the quality and integrity of object-based scientific collections maintained by the federal government. She has also led studies contributing to the expansion of the National Science Board “Science and Engineering Indicators” report series to include a new “Digest of S&E Indicators” and interactive online tool of STEM Education Indicators. This year, Dr. Flattau launched a new nonprofit business venture, The PsySiP Project. This will be a five-year project designed to advance international understanding and use of behavioral measures to study scientific communication with a focus at this time on psychological science.

Kurt C. Lawrence, M.S., Ph.D.

Dr. Kurt C. Lawrence is the research leader of the Quality and Safety Assessment Research Unit for the Agricultural Research Service (ARS) of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) at the Russell Agricultural Research Center in Athens, Georgia. Dr. Lawrence is a “triple dawg” receiving his B.S., M.S., and Ph.D. all from the University of Georgia. Dr. Lawrence’s career spans twenty-eight years with ARS. His current research involves imaging systems for poultry food safety and quality. He has developed calibration methods and protocols for hyperspectral imaging systems to detect contaminants and has led the invention of an imaging method to accurately detect hairline cracks in shell eggs. His early work on on-line moisture sensors has been in commercial use on thousands of grain combines. Dr. Lawrence is a member of Gama Sigma Delta and Sigma Xi honor societies, has authored over one hundred journal articles, received a NASA Technology Transfer Award, the Federal Laboratory Consortium Technology Transfer Award, and the American Egg Board Research Award. He is very active in American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers, serving on numerous technical, award, and division committees, and has co-taught several continuing professional development courses.

Roland McElroy, M.A.

Mr. Roland McElroy was U.S. Senator Sam Nunn’s first hire as Nunn prepared for his 1972 Senate race. Mr. McElroy quickly became a key campaign operative and was given a broad portfolio that included nearly every phase of campaign operations. In Washington, he served Senator Nunn for fifteen years, first as press secretary, and later, chief-of-staff. For the most recent twenty years, he has been a freelance writer, preparing op-eds, columns, and speeches for senior corporate executives. In 2001, he authored Georgia Blue, the history of Blue Cross/Blue Shield of Georgia. He also self-published three children’s books and one novel, The Seventh Messenger, in the past decade. Mr. McElroy served as a ruling elder at Lewinsville Presbyterian Church in each of the last three decades. He is currently writing a video script based on his church history book that will guide producers of a film in 2015 depicting the 170-year history of the church. He is also planning to release a political memoir in 2015.

Kathleen Slevin, M.A., Ph.D.

Dr. Kathleen F. Slevin is the former vice provost for academic affairs and chancellor professor of sociology at the College of William and Mary. A department chair for six years, she is also the recipient of numerous teaching awards both in the college and the Commonwealth of Virginia. Her awards include: Outstanding Woman in Government, Virginia State Council for Higher Education Outstanding Faculty, and the Phi Beta Kappa Teaching Award. Dr. Slevin is the author of three books and numerous articles. Her scholarship centers on gender and aging. As vice provost, her responsibilities include university accreditation, assessment, and faculty development. She also works closely with faculty and with the Reves Center for International Studies on international initiatives. Throughout her career, Dr. Slevin has been very active in professional and academic organizations. In 1990 the governor of the Commonwealth of Virginia appointed Dr. Slevin to serve on the Affirmative Action Monitoring and Advisor Committee until 1992. She currently serves as the president of the Southern Sociological Society and is the faculty advisor for the National Society of Collegiate Scholars.

Dr. Deborah Williams, M.S., Ph.D.

Dr. Deborah Williams is the president and chief executive officer of Her Game 2, an apparel and event productions company. She is also the founder of Behind the Bench: The National Basketball Wives Association. Dr. Williams was selected as one of the 25 Most Influential African American Women in Business by The Network Journal, and in 2009 Project Enterprise named Dr. Williams the Inspirational Entrepreneur of the Year. She has been a pioneer in the field of athletic fashions for teams across the country. Dr. Williams has produced many of the largest events in the country, including HARLEM WEEK for the Greater Harlem Chamber of Commerce, Palace Theatre event for Stamford Center for the Arts, and The NBA Wives Celebrity Fashion Show during NBA All-Star Weekend. Event management expertise and attention to detail have made Her Game 2 Productions one of the most sought after production companies in the country. Dr. Williams is an active member in her community and is a former member of the Board of Directors of the Urban League of America, the Child Welfare League of America, and the Greenwich Foundation for Women and Girls.

Front Row: Maureen Grasso, Dean; Libby Morris, Interim Provost; Eugene Bottoms; Peter Griffith; Charles Hamner; Ronald Vaughn; Maxine Burton; William Jones. Back Row: Carl Swearingen; Thomas Lyons; Richard Cebula; Philip Bartley; Donald Ingram. Not Pictured: Norman Kirby Alton, Devron R. Averett, Richard T. Cupitt, Joel D. Haber, Karl E. Wycoff.

Kirby Alton, Ph.D.

Dr. Alton is the founder and director of Ascend Air, LLC and is the current chairman of the board of directors of Abeome Corporation. Prior to his retirement in 1999, he served as the senior vice president of development at Amgen, Inc. He earned his Bachelor of Science in zoology and Doctor of Philosophy in molecular and population genetics from the University of Georgia in 1974 and 1981, respectively. He and his wife, Jan, established the Kirby and Jan Alton Graduate Fellowship in the department of genetics at UGA. He is currently on the board of directors of the UGA Research Foundation.

Devron R. Averett, Ph.D.

Dr. Averett is the current chief scientific officer at EcoActive Surfaces, Inc., and provides consulting services in the discovery and development of human medicines. He co-founded Anadys Pharmaceuticals and served as its chief scientific officer for seven years. He was also a member of the Burroughs Wellcome Biosafety Committee and worked as an adjunct associate professor in the microbiology department at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He was an early leader in the use of automated methods for more efficient drug discovery, which helped lead to the development of HIV and Hepatitis B medication. Most recently, he has shown that treating agricultural crops with an engineered form of the non-toxic mineral titanium dioxide can reduce certain bacterial diseases. His work has resulted in two dozen patents and has appeared in over forty peer reviewed publications. He has been invited to speak at numerous conferences and universities throughout the U.S. and world. He was a reviewer for multiple scientific journals throughout his career and served on the editorial board for Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy.

Philip G. Bartley, Ph.D.

Dr. Bartley is founder of Innovative Measurement Solutions, Inc. He previously held positions at several U.S. naval facilities and at Hewlett Packard. In addition to owning IMS, he has taught at the Southern College of Technology, Old Dominion University, and the University of Georgia, where he recently returned as a lecturer in the College of Engineering. His work focuses on the development and improvement of techniques used for measuring the electromagnetic properties of materials. Many of the methods he developed have become industry standards and have been utilized by the U.S. military, NASA, and by medical researchers. He has published numerous articles and conference proceedings, as well as led workshops and tutorials both nationally and internationally. He was named an Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers Distinguished Lecturer by the Instrumentation and Measurement Society in 2010. In 1997, he was recognized by the UGA Student Chapter of the American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers as Teacher of the Year. Dr. Bartley and his wife are active philanthropists, volunteering at many community events and non-profit causes. He remains an avid Bulldog fan and enjoys spending time on his boat, “Dawg Daze.”

James Eugene Bottoms, Ed.D.

Dr. Bottoms has been a pioneer in the field of education for over fifty years. He is senior vice president of the Southern Regional Education Board, an organization dedicated to reforming and improving education policy. Dr. Bottoms is founder and director of High Schools That Work, an initiative aimed at improving student performance and graduation rates, which has been implemented in over 3,000 high schools nationwide. He also launched Georgia’s first statewide system of staff development and support for teachers. Prior to joining the Southern Regional Education Board, Dr. Bottoms served as executive director of the American Vocational Association, where he led a collaborative effort to craft national legislation designed to increase career-technical programs of study in public schools. He was appointed to the National Education, Research, Policy and Priorities Board in 1995, and the National Commission of the Senior Year in 2000 by then U.S. Secretary of Education Richard Riley. He has taught youth and adult Sunday school classes for more than five decades and serves as the current chair of the Church Council at Wieuca Road Baptist Church.

Maxine Hubbard Burton, M.Ed

Mrs. Burton is the founder and president of burton+BURTONTM, the largest supplier of balloons and related gift items in the United States, employing over 250 employees with customers nationwide and in over ninety countries. Since the company’s foundation in 1982, Mrs. Burton has received numerous entrepreneurial and community leadership awards, including the Spirit of Georgia Award, Athena Award for Outstanding Female Achievement, Crystal Award, and the Alan J. McDonald International Entrepreneur Award. Other accolades include Small Business Person of the Year, Outstanding Georgia Citizen, Ernst & Young’s Entrepreneur of the Year in Retail/Wholesale, Athens Woman of Distinction, and Lieutenant Colonel, Aide de Camp, Governor’s Staff, which was awarded by Former Governor Roy Barnes.Mrs. Burton is very active in both community and professional organizations and received a Key to the City of Athens in 2012. She and her daughter founded the Hubbard-Burton Study Abroad Scholarship at the University of Georgia. Mrs. Burton is also a loyal supporter of various programs and initiatives on campus, and as a result of her efforts, was featured in UGA’s “75 Years of Outstanding Alumni.”

Richard J. Cebula, Ph.D.

Dr. Cebula is the Walker/Wells Fargo Endowed Chair in Finance in the Davis College of Business at Jacksonville University. He previously served as economic advisor to U.S. Congressman Elliott Levitas, Senator Sam Nunn, and the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta. He has published over 500 scholarly journal articles in the fields of economics, finance, statistics, and management, and is the editor or editor-in-chief of several academic journals. His accolades include the Kenneth G. Elzinga Distinguished Teaching Award, NROTC Armstrong Atlantic State University Professor of the Year Award, Lifetime Achievement in Advancing Regional Science from the Mid-Continent Regional Science Association, Excellence Award in Scholarship and Professional Activities, and Goodwill Ambassador Medal for Distinguished Service. He is ranked among the world’s leading economists by Research Papers in Economics and is the president-elect of the Mid-Continent Regional Science Association. He has been interviewed by numerous media outlets, including CNN, NPR, CSPAN, The Washington Post, The Atlanta Journal Constitution, and Fortune. Dr. Cebula is also active in his community, volunteering for the American Cancer Society, Coastal Poodle Rescue, Safe Harbor Animal Rescue, Haitian Heritage Museum, and Hopes, Dreams and Horses.

Richard Cupitt, Ph.D.

Dr. Cupitt is the United States’ United Nations Security Council Resolution 1540 coordinator for the U.S. Department of State. Dr. Cupitt previously served as expert on the 1540 Committee of the United Nations Security Council and has worked as a special advisor to the under secretary of the Bureau of Industry and Security at the U.S. Department of Commerce. Serving as both a public servant and a private contractor, Dr. Cupitt has dedicated much of his career to helping the international community take measures to combat threats posed by the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and terrorist activities. Dr. Cupitt has over sixty publications, served on the editorial boards for two scholarly journals, and has made more than 75 invited lectures or presentations in over 25 countries. He aided in establishing the Center for International Trade and Security at the University of Georgia. He has taught courses at Emory University, University of North Texas, UGA, and American University. Among his accolades are a commendation from the Bureau of Industry and Security in the U.S. Department of Commerce, nomination to the President’s Export Council Subcommittee on Export Administration, and National Merit Scholarship.

Peter C. Griffith, Ph.D.

Dr. Griffith is the founding director of NASA’s Carbon Cycle and Ecosystems Office at the Goddard Space Flight Center. As coordinator of the North American Carbon Program, Dr. Griffith aims to quantify continental-scale sources and sinks of carbon-based greenhouse gases in North America and adjacent oceans. He is a member of the Science Definition Team for the Arctic Boreal Vulnerability Experiment, which is a major field campaign planned for Alaska and Western Canada. Currently, he is the chief support scientist for Sigma Space Corporation and previously was the lead support scientist for Science Systems and Applications. He has numerous publications and has been an invited speaker to audiences of formal and informal educators throughout the country and world. He is science advisor to NASA and the U.S. Park Service’s Partnership for Building Climate Literacy for Informal Educators, member of the board of directors of the Instituto Araguaia de Proteção Ambiental, member of the American Geophysical Union, and a volunteer scuba diver at the National Aquarium in Baltimore. As a result of his efforts with the Large Scale Biosphere Atmosphere Experiment in Amazonia, NASA presented him with a Group Achievement Award.

Joel D. Haber, Ph.D.

Dr. Haber is a clinical psychologist and expert on bullying whose work has received international attention. He founded the Respect U Program, a bullying management and prevention program for children and adults that is used in schools, sports, workplaces, and other organizations nationwide. He is a world-renowned author, speaker, and consultant. His clinical practice specializes in depression, anxiety, and relationship issues. His work experience includes positions at the University of Alabama, Birmingham Medical School, White Plains Hospital Center, and New York Medical College. He has published numerous articles and has been featured in the New York Times, on ABC, CBS, ESPN Radio, and NPR. He is a member of the advisory board for the Bully Project and was credited in the 2012 film, Bully. He has been a speaker for the Federal Partners in Bullying Prevention, is a leading expert for the LG Text Education Council, and is an advisor to Cartoon Network’s STOP BULLING: SPEAK UP campaign. Each year, he speaks to thousands of parents and teachers about strategies for dealing with bullies and how to improve the lives of children.

Charles E. Hamner, D.V.M, Ph.D.

Dr. Hamner is chair of the board of directors of the Hamner Institutes for Health Sciences, a private, nonprofit organization that provides collaborative approaches to translational biomedical research. He is also chairman and CEO of Hamner Advisory Services, and also served as president and CEO of the North Carolina Biotechnology Center for 14 years while also teaching in the obstetrics and gynecology department at the University of North Carolina School of Medicine. Prior to his tenure at the Biotechnology Center, he was associate vice president for health affairs at the University of Virginia Medical Center, and also served as the director of the reproductive biology division at the University of Virginia School of Medicine. His pioneering work in the pharmaceutical and health care industries has been pivotal in transforming North Carolina into one of the top biotechnology states in the country. He is the recipient of the Archie K. Davis Award for Development of the Research Triangle Park, Charles Duncan McIver Medal, Healthcare Lifetime Achievement Award, North Carolina Award for Public Service, WRAL Techwire Lifetime Achievement Award in Biotechnology, and the Nanotechnology Lifetime Achievement Award.

Donald K. Ingram, Ph.D.

Dr. Ingram is a professor at the Pennington Biomedical Research Center at Louisiana State University. Dr. Ingram founded the Laboratory of Experimental Gerontology at the National Institute on Aging (NIA) and was instrumental in establishing the Primate Aging Database and the Interventional Testing Program at the NIA. He is the current editor-in-chief of AGE, the journal of the American Aging Association, and also serves as the organization’s treasurer. Dr. Ingram’s research has led to four Alzheimer’s disease drug patents, the discovery of several mechanisms pertaining to long-term calorie restriction and its benefits to brain aging and function, and the establishment of the calorie restriction mimetics research field. He has several hundred publications and has given over one hundred invited lectures nationally and internationally in the past twenty-five years. Dr. Ingram received the S.T. Huang-Chan Memorial Lecture Award, the Harman Research Award and Lecture, the Merit Award from the National Institute on Aging, and the Zimmer Award for Research Productivity in the psychology department at the University of Georgia. He is very involved in his community, coaching youth soccer, teaching Sunday school, and leading a Boy Scout troop.

William B. Jones, M.Ed, L.L.B.

Mr. Jones is the founder and president of Jones Petroleum Company, Inc., as well as CEO of JP Capital and Insurance, Inc. He is a former school teacher and Butts County School System superintendent. While superintendent, Mr. Jones established the first fully-funded public kindergarten program in a rural Georgia school system. From 1977 to 1984, Mr. Jones served as a Georgia state representative during which time he was instrumental in passing legislation that required prospective teachers to undergo professional testing prior to receiving a teaching certificate. He is the former chairman of the board of directors of the Georgia Oilman’s Association and Butts County Water and Sewer Authority. He is a board member of the Georgia World Congress Center Authority Board of Governors, and member of the Georgia State Bar Association and American Bar Association. In 2012, he received the Butts County Chamber of Commerce Hall of Fame Award. Mr. Jones received his B.B.A. in risk management and insurance, and a master’s degree in educational administration from the University of Georgia. He obtained his L.L.B. from the Atlanta Law School in 1973.

Thomas L. Lyons, M.D.

Dr. Lyons, of the Center for Women’s Care and Reproductive Surgery in Atlanta, is considered a pioneer for his breakthroughs in gynecologic surgery, which have garnered him numerous awards. Throughout his career, he has participated in numerous academic and clinical studies and has authored more than 150 scholarly publications, dedicating his work to the education and training of gynecologists, particularly in the area of minimally invasive surgery. He is an adjunct assistant professor in the College of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Georgia, a clinical associate professor at Emory University Medical School, and an honorary professor at the Kulakov Institute for Perinatology and Gynecology in Moscow. He is also director of the Southeastern Institute for Endoscopic Laser Surgery and the AAGL/SRS Fellowship in Endoscopic Pelvic and Reconstructive Surgery. A former UGA football player and Denver Bronco, Dr. Lyons was inducted into the Georgia Sports Hall of Fame in 1986 and won the NCAA Silver Anniversary Award in 1996. In 1999, the UGA Athletic Association inducted him into the Circle of Honor, the highest tribute paid to Bulldog athletes, and he received the Bill Hartman Award in 2001.

Carl E. Swearingen, M.A., M.S.

Mr. Swearingen began his telecommunications career with Southern Bell in 1972 in Tucker, Georgia. He rose to senior vice president and corporate secretary for the BellSouth Corporation, retiring in 2001. As a University of Georgia Air Force ROTC cadet, Mr. Swearingen was commissioned a second lieutenant in the United States Air Force. He served on active duty as an air intelligence officer in Cam Rahn Bay and Saigon, South Vietnam, and at Homestead Air Force Base in Florida. He received the Bronze Star for his service in Vietnam. He served on the boards of the Georgia Chamber of Commerce, Atlanta Chamber of Commerce, UGA Foundation, and Berry College. He has been chairman of Governor Zell Miller’s Advisory Council on Science and Technology, UGA National Alumni Association, Georgia Partnership for Excellence in Education, and National Board of Advisors of the Museum of Aviation. Following Governor Sonny Perdue’s election in 2002, Mr. Swearingen served as chairman of the governor’s transition team and was appointed special advisor to the governor on military affairs. He also was appointed by Governor Perdue to the Commission for a New Georgia and to the Technical College System of Georgia board.

Ronald L. Vaughn, Ph.D.

Dr. Vaughn has served as president of the University of Tampa since 1995. Prior to becoming president, Dr. Vaughn was the coordinator of the marketing department and was the Max H. Hollingsworth Endowed Chair of American Enterprise. He was director of the M.B.A. program, dean of the College of Business and Graduate Studies, and co-chief academic officer. The University of Tampa has flourished under his tenure. Prior to joining the University of Tampa faculty, Dr. Vaughn owned a marketing research and consulting company. He is very active in his community and has served on the boards of the Performing Arts Center, Gulf Ridge Council of Boy Scouts, Greater Tampa Chamber of Commerce, and Florida Aquarium. He has been the president of the Florida West Coast Chapter of the American Marketing Association, Tampa Bay Chapter of the Planning Forum, and Sunshine State Athletic Conference. He has been the chair of the American Red Cross Tampa Bay Chapter and the Independent Colleges and Universities of Florida.

Karl E. Wycoff, M.A.

Mr. Wycoff is the senior policy advisor to the Corporate Council on Africa. He was previously at the U.S. Department of State for over ten years, serving in a variety of roles that included deputy assistant secretary for African Affairs, director for Central African Affairs, head of the Action Against Terrorism Unit, and deputy coordinator for Counter Terrorism. Mr. Wycoff earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in political science from the University of Georgia in 1975 and 1977, respectively.