University of West Georgia

Students can learn how to be important members of their community as part of this year’s Honors Day. “Community Leaders on Campus—Honoring the Community” will feature several 15-minute talks from influential community leaders. The event will begin at 9 a.m. on Tuesday, April 9, in the Ingram Library Nook. The talks will begin every half hour.

The Arbor Day Foundation officially named the University of West Georgia a Tree Campus USA supporter for the second year in a row. Created in 2008, Tree Campus USA is a national program that honors colleges and universities for engaging staff and students in conservation goals and effective forest management. Toyota helped to start the program and is continuing to support Tree Campus USA this year.

UWG will honor its top students on Tuesday, April 9, at its annual Honors Convocation ceremony. The university has cancelled classes from noon to 5 p.m. so that students can attend the ceremony, which begins at 1:30 p.m. The Honors Convocation will be held in the Townsend Center.

The Center for Diversity and Inclusion (CDI) will host its second Multicultural Book Discussion on Friday, April 5, at Noon in Row Hall 212. The feature book, “The House on Mango Street” by Sandra Cisneros, will be used in the discussion led by Dr. Gary Van Valen, Associate Professor of History.

In recognition of National Sexual Assault Awareness Month, UWG students participated in The Clothesline Project by painting t-shirts with messages addressing the issue of violence against women. The shirts were displayed throughout the week along center campus on a clothesline visible for students. Shirts are available for painting until Thursday, April 4 between 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. near Starbucks.

Some of the best short films from the 2013 Atlanta Film Festival are coming to the Carrollton Cultural Arts Center this week. The screening, sponsored by the UWG Film Society and Film Studies Program, offers several short films that span a wide variety of interests.

Six remarkable UWG students presented profound research at the 15th Annual Big Night on April 2. From Rachmaninoff to the emergency room, the student presentations covered business, education, fine arts, humanities, sciences and social sciences. Prior to Big Night, each of the six students won first round competitions within their respective colleges. Immediately following the presentations, certificates were presented to first, second and third place students in each college who participated in the research competition.

The Spring 2013 edition of Eclectic, the University of West Georgia’s award-winning art and literary magazine, will be celebrated with a release party on Wednesday, April 3. All students, faculty and staff are invited to the event, which will begin at 5:30 p.m. in Kathy Cashen Recital Hall in the Humanities building. Food and refreshments will be offered in the lobby before the event.

A 2012 trip to Wisconsin ended up being much more than a typical summer break for Joey Hannaford. The award-winning graphic design professor spent the summer in Two Rivers, Wisc. on an artist residency at the Hamilton Wood Type Museum.

The Center for Diversity and Inclusion is pleased to announce the annual Older American Sock Drive. This year’s drive, themed “Unleash the Power of Age,” is in conjunction with Older American Month, celebrated since 1963. The drive will be open until April 26 in Row Hall room 217 and the campus mail room.

UWG recently held a retirement reception for Director of Financial Services John Roessler for 10 years of service in the Office of the Controller.

Dr. Ashley Smallwood, new director of UWG’s Antonio J. Waring, Jr. Archaeological Laboratory, is opening the lab to the public from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday, April 6. Guests are invited for hands-on experiences in the laboratory including an opportunity to participate in an archaeological dig, learn flintknapping and take a tour of the lab. The Carroll County Boys and Girls Club teen program will volunteer with the event.

In a quest to find a positive shared learning space for UWG Online Faculty, Matias Marabotto and Dr. Debra Robinson, are staying at the forefront of innovations for online learning in higher education. The pair recently won the 2013 USG Collaborate Innovators of the Year Award for their creation of UWG’s Online Learning iApollo Program.

The 15th annual Big Night, “A Celebration of Undergraduate Research,” is set for Tuesday, April 2, at 7 p.m. in the Campus Center Ballroom. After presenting to their individual Colleges, six students were chosen to make their final presentations. Immediately following the presentations, there will be an awards ceremony and reception.

The African American Male Initiative at the University of West Georgia hosted motivational speaker Dr. Earl Suttle in March. During the event, which was held at the Campus Center Ballroom, Suttle taught the audience how to achieve and maintain success in his motivational lecture session titled “Enjoying Excellence: Becoming the Greatest You Can Be.”

The University of West Georgia is pleased to announce that “An Evening with the Stars,” the 37th Annual Alumni Association Awards Gala, will take place on Saturday, April 20. The event will begin with a reception at 6:00 p.m. in the Townsend Center for Performing Arts, followed by the awards ceremony at 7:00 p.m.