Success Stories - Kennesaw State University
Success Stories - Kennesaw State University
Success Stories - Kennesaw State University
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<strong>Kennesaw</strong> <strong>State</strong> <strong>University</strong><br />
Capital Campaign Reaches<br />
its $75 Million Goal Early!<br />
M A G A Z I N E<br />
SUMMER 2011<br />
<strong>Success</strong><br />
<strong>Stories</strong><br />
<strong>Success</strong> <strong>Stories</strong><br />
<strong>University</strong> successfully reaches $75<br />
million capital campaign goal p.21<br />
French Revolution<br />
KSU students write books for African<br />
schoolchildren p.14<br />
For the Love of Sports<br />
Clubs gives students the opportunity<br />
to play collegiate sports p.17
EARLY SUCCESS!<br />
KEnnESAw StAtE CAPItAL CAMPAIGn REACHES $75 MILLIOn<br />
Launched in October 2007, <strong>Kennesaw</strong> <strong>State</strong>’s five-year<br />
comprehensive capital campaign — labeled The New<br />
Faces of <strong>Kennesaw</strong> <strong>State</strong> — has reached its goal one<br />
year early! Read the story on page 20.<br />
Visit the campaign website at:<br />
www.kennesaw.edu/newfaces
<strong>Kennesaw</strong> <strong>State</strong> <strong>University</strong><br />
contents<br />
M A G A Z I N E<br />
SUMMER 2011<br />
Managing Editor<br />
Neil B. McGahee<br />
Writers<br />
Robert S. Godlewski<br />
Jennifer Hafer<br />
Sabbaye McGriff<br />
Aixa M. Pascual<br />
Graphic Designer<br />
Sekayi A. Brunson<br />
Photographers<br />
David Caselli<br />
Anthony Stalcup<br />
Assistant Director for Creative Services<br />
Ray Burgos<br />
Assistant Director for Strategic Communications<br />
Tammy DeMel<br />
Assistant Director for Strategic Projects<br />
Tawania Thigpen<br />
Director of <strong>University</strong> Relations<br />
Frances Weyand Harrison<br />
Vice President for External Affairs<br />
Arlethia Perry-Johnson<br />
President<br />
Daniel S. Papp<br />
Advisory Board<br />
Lisa Duke<br />
Director, Alumni Affairs<br />
Carolyn Elliott-Farino<br />
Director, Contracts and Grants Administration<br />
George Olney<br />
Director of Development, Athletics<br />
Karen Paonessa<br />
Assistant Vice President<br />
Advancement and Foundation Programs<br />
Dan Paracka<br />
Director, Office of International<br />
Services and Programs<br />
Jorge Perez<br />
Faculty Executive Assistant to the President<br />
Wesley Wicker<br />
Vice President, <strong>University</strong> Advancement<br />
Brian Wooten<br />
Director, Center for Student Leadership<br />
ON THE COVER<br />
These <strong>Kennesaw</strong> <strong>State</strong> <strong>University</strong> students — Angela Elliott,<br />
left, Travis Allen, Seth Carver, Kelvin McConnell, Andrea Rioux<br />
and Jason Carver — are self-starters who were not content<br />
to simply attend classes. Instead, they dreamed big, seized<br />
numerous opportunities offered by the university and created<br />
career paths along the way.<br />
<strong>Kennesaw</strong> <strong>State</strong> <strong>University</strong> Magazine is published by KSU’s<br />
Office of <strong>University</strong> Relations, a department of the Division of<br />
External Affairs.<br />
1000 Chastain Road, MD 9103<br />
<strong>Kennesaw</strong>, GA 30144<br />
770-423-6203<br />
4 LETTER FROM THE PRESIDENT<br />
FEATURES<br />
9 Comparative Economics<br />
Coles College professor honored for revamping global economics course<br />
10 The Language Connection<br />
<strong>Kennesaw</strong> <strong>State</strong> professor studies chimps to see if human language<br />
evolved from a common ancestor<br />
14 French Revolution<br />
KSU language students write books for schoolchildren in Benin<br />
17 For the Love of Sports<br />
Club sports athletes organize practices, raise money and schedule travel<br />
20 Capital Campaign Defies Odds<br />
<strong>University</strong> reaches its capital campaign goal of $75 million<br />
22 <strong>Success</strong> <strong>Stories</strong><br />
Some <strong>Kennesaw</strong> <strong>State</strong> students create career paths before they ever<br />
leave campus<br />
28 Linking the Past<br />
<strong>Kennesaw</strong> <strong>State</strong> professor’s Arctic research offers hope in the study of<br />
birth defects<br />
30 Peace, Love and Pizza<br />
Alumni entrepreneurs are rolling in the dough…literally<br />
32 Recovering Hope<br />
<strong>Kennesaw</strong> <strong>State</strong>’s Center for Young Adult Addiction and Recovery<br />
helps students struggling with addictions<br />
36 Reaching for the Stars<br />
The Owl’s new athletic director brings years of experience in Division I<br />
42 The Zen of Marketing<br />
Coles College professor’s insights into consumer behavior challenge<br />
marketing canons<br />
DEPARTMENTS<br />
5 Campus Briefs 36 Faculty Spotlight<br />
34 Alumni Profile 38 Class Notes<br />
35 Owl Country
president’smessage<br />
Dear Friends of <strong>Kennesaw</strong> <strong>State</strong> <strong>University</strong>:<br />
Four years ago, when we launched <strong>Kennesaw</strong> <strong>State</strong> <strong>University</strong>’s first-ever<br />
comprehensive capital campaign, we knew there would be challenges however, we<br />
never expected the country to spiral into the worst economic recession since the Great<br />
Depression. That turn of events made our goal of raising $75 million in five years seem<br />
almost insurmountable. But we did it! Not only did we reach our goal, but we did so one<br />
year early. Surprising? Perhaps. But not for those who are connected even in some<br />
small way to the university because <strong>Kennesaw</strong> <strong>State</strong> is a dynamic, growing institution<br />
with a developing entrepreneurial spirit that is evident in our faculty, students, staff and<br />
alumni. The excitement for what is going on here is contagious and the individuals and<br />
institutions that contribute to and support <strong>Kennesaw</strong> <strong>State</strong> recognize and appreciate<br />
how far we have come and the great accomplishments we are making.<br />
The <strong>Kennesaw</strong> <strong>State</strong> <strong>University</strong> Magazine is a vehicle that allows us to showcase<br />
those accomplishments and to share the exciting news and information that confirms<br />
our existence as a university of great achievement and promise.<br />
In this issue’s cover story, we are delighted to introduce you to a group of student<br />
self-starters who are blazing trails and creating career paths for themselves along<br />
the way. You’ll find interesting similarities in the entrepreneurial spirit among these<br />
students and three successful alumni also profiled in this issue.<br />
Among the distinguished faculty highlighted in this issue is a biology professor<br />
who is collaborating with scientists at Emory <strong>University</strong>’s Yerkes Primate Center<br />
to test a theory on how human language evolved. Another professor is involved<br />
in fossil research that could lead to cures in limb regeneration. We’re also pleased<br />
to introduce you to two outstanding members of the Coles College of Business faculty, one whose recent book presents an<br />
innovative approach to understanding consumer behavior and another who was recently named Georgia’s economics and<br />
finance professor of the year. You’ll also meet a professor who created a unique opportunity for her students to demonstrate<br />
proficiency in writing French while helping improve literacy among French-speaking children in Africa.<br />
With the addition of Vaughn Williams as our new athletic director, <strong>Kennesaw</strong> <strong>State</strong> is bracing for a new era in NCAA Division I<br />
athletics. We’re glad to have him share his vision of developing student-athletes by focusing on character and scholarship.<br />
We’re also very proud of the students who participate in <strong>Kennesaw</strong> <strong>State</strong> club sports. They have competed extremely well<br />
to earn distinctions for the university in regional and national competitions. In so doing, they honor the investment we made<br />
several years ago, with the help of the <strong>Kennesaw</strong> <strong>State</strong> Foundation, to greatly expand our club sports facilities. As we celebrate<br />
the success of our first-ever comprehensive capital campaign and look towards the future, we hope these stories inspire you to<br />
become more involved with KSU. As always, we invite you to visit our campus and experience the excitement for yourself.<br />
Daniel S. Papp<br />
President, <strong>Kennesaw</strong> <strong>State</strong> <strong>University</strong><br />
4 <strong>Kennesaw</strong> <strong>State</strong> <strong>University</strong> Magazine | SUMMER 2011
campusbriefs<br />
Construction of Bagwell College of<br />
Education building set to begin<br />
<strong>Kennesaw</strong> <strong>State</strong> will begin construction next year on a $20<br />
million addition to the Bagwell College of Education, thanks to<br />
an $18 million allocation in the state’s budget.<br />
“We are deeply appreciative of the strong support from<br />
the <strong>University</strong> System of Georgia’s Board of Regents for this<br />
much-needed addition to the Bagwell College of Education<br />
and to Gov. Nathan Deal and the General Assembly for<br />
recognizing the important role <strong>Kennesaw</strong> <strong>State</strong> plays in<br />
the education of the state’s teachers,” said KSU President<br />
Daniel S. Papp. “The outstanding support and advocacy<br />
on behalf of KSU by the members of our Cobb County<br />
delegation also played a key role in the funding of this<br />
critical need for the university.”<br />
The 82,900-square-foot addition will adjoin the existing<br />
classrooms in <strong>Kennesaw</strong> Hall. When construction is completed<br />
in 2013, it will feature 17 fully equipped classrooms including<br />
eight state-of-the-art model classrooms for high-need areas<br />
such as science and math, and the new Birth-through-5 degree<br />
program.<br />
Eaton said the project, which was included in the Board<br />
of Regents’ capital priority request, is being rolled out over two<br />
years, with $18 million earmarked for design and construction<br />
funds in FY 2012. Another $2.3 million for equipment is<br />
budgeted in FY 2013.<br />
The projected enrollment growth in new educator<br />
preparation degree programs requires more dedicated space.<br />
Also, new initiatives in the Bagwell College — such as the<br />
Center for Literacy and Learning — require room to grow.<br />
Currently, the USG satisfies only 30 percent of the state’s<br />
teacher requirements, with another 20 percent of teachers<br />
coming from private universities. However, a “20,000 by 2020”<br />
USG initiative seeks to meet 80 percent of the state’s need for<br />
teachers by the year 2020 while strengthening teacher quality,<br />
recruitment and retention.<br />
<strong>Kennesaw</strong> <strong>State</strong> students earn top<br />
state honors for experiential learning<br />
<strong>Kennesaw</strong> <strong>State</strong> gradautes more teachers annually than any other<br />
<strong>University</strong> System of Georgia institution.<br />
<strong>Kennesaw</strong> <strong>State</strong> graduates more teachers each year than<br />
any other USG institution. Over the past five years, enrollment<br />
in the Bagwell College of Education has more than doubled.<br />
“The university and the Bagwell College of Education are<br />
top choices for students who aspire to careers in teaching<br />
and educational leadership,” said Arlinda Eaton, dean of<br />
the Bagwell College of Education. “As the number of future<br />
teachers enrolling at <strong>Kennesaw</strong> <strong>State</strong> continued to grow, so did<br />
momentum for the new education building addition. We simply<br />
needed more space to meet the need for more teachers in<br />
Georgia.”<br />
Two <strong>Kennesaw</strong> <strong>State</strong> students were recognized by the<br />
Georgia Association of Colleges and Employers for performing<br />
outstanding job internships during the 2010 -2011 academic<br />
year. Terrence Young and Randy Fussell each received $250<br />
for the Jack Mangham Experiential Learning Award in business<br />
and engineering/technology, respectively.<br />
The Georgia Association of Colleges and Employers<br />
presents the awards annually to students in business,<br />
education, arts and sciences, and engineering/technology.<br />
Young interned at the KSU Career Services Center, where he<br />
worked with students in the Coles College of Business through<br />
Iota Chi Epsilon, a student organization focused on internships<br />
and co-op experiences.<br />
Fussell interned in Home Depot’s information technology<br />
department. After completing the internship, he was offered a<br />
full-time position following his May graduation.<br />
“Through this internship, I learned exactly what I would<br />
like to be doing when I graduate (mobile Web development),”<br />
Fussell wrote in a required essay. “I also made myself a career<br />
roadmap spanning the next five to 10 years. This experience<br />
has not only driven my academic advancement, but opened<br />
opportunities for me due to my professional — and meaningful<br />
— experience as an intern.”<br />
<strong>Kennesaw</strong> <strong>State</strong> <strong>University</strong> Magazine | SUMMER 2011<br />
5
campusbriefs<br />
Academy for Inclusive Adult Education graduates first students<br />
It was a typical graduation scene at the May 2011<br />
commencement; friends and family were gathered; diplomas<br />
were conferred; congratulations were offered; and lots of<br />
photographs of the new graduates were taken. There were<br />
even a few tears.<br />
Chris Hunnicutt, left, and Kelsey Bizzell, the first graduates of KSU’s<br />
Academy for Inclusive Adult Education, marched in the university’s<br />
spring commencement ceremonies.<br />
But this wasn’t your typical college commencement.<br />
Kelsey Bizzell and Chris Hunnicutt became the first graduates<br />
of <strong>Kennesaw</strong> <strong>State</strong>’s Academy for Inclusive Adult Education.<br />
The academy, part of the WellStar College of Health and<br />
Human Services, offers a unique, two-year certificate program<br />
designed to provide a college experience for students with<br />
developmental disabilities.<br />
“We’re the only university in Georgia to give young adults<br />
with developmental disabilities the opportunity to have a<br />
college experience,” said WellStar dean Richard Sowell. “Here<br />
at <strong>Kennesaw</strong> <strong>State</strong> we are focused on inclusion as part of the<br />
university’s mission, so the academy is a natural extension of<br />
what KSU is all about.”<br />
Program coordinator Jill Sloan said Bizzell and Hunnicutt<br />
each brought different talents to the university. Bizzell was an<br />
“exemplary scholar,” she said, while Hunnicutt’s gregarious<br />
personality helped raise the program’s visibility.<br />
Bizzell and Hunnicutt were part of the academy’s original<br />
three-student cohort, arriving on campus in fall 2009. The<br />
program has been so successful that three additional students<br />
will be enrolled in the academy this fall. A future collaboration with<br />
Georgia <strong>State</strong> <strong>University</strong> and the <strong>University</strong> of Georgia will create<br />
a consortium dedicated to replicating the program throughout the<br />
<strong>University</strong> System of Georgia’s 35 colleges and universities.<br />
Student athletes aid in tornado relief<br />
<strong>Kennesaw</strong> <strong>State</strong> student athletes, coaches, administrators and<br />
staff joined relief efforts in Ringgold in northwest Georgia after<br />
a mile-wide tornado packing winds of 175 mph carved a 13-<br />
mile path of destruction near the city’s downtown in April. The<br />
tornado killed eight and destroyed about 100 homes.<br />
“All of us who traveled to Ringgold were awed by the mass<br />
wreckage and destruction,” said senior associate athletic director<br />
Scott Whitlock. “You see things like that on TV or read about<br />
them in the newspaper but you never expect to see it yourself.”<br />
Nearly 75 boxes of supplies — blankets, clothing, water,<br />
canned goods, toiletries, cleaning supplies and other nonperishable<br />
items — were collected at drop-off locations<br />
throughout campus and transported by truck to distribution<br />
centers in Ringgold.<br />
“The outpouring from the <strong>Kennesaw</strong> <strong>State</strong> community has<br />
been overwhelming,” said men’s tennis coach T.J. Greggs, who<br />
headed the relief effort. “We’re glad we could lend a hand and<br />
help the people in Ringgold. To see first hand the damage that<br />
Senior associate athletic director Scott Whitlock, left, and KSU<br />
sophomore student-athlete Markeith Cummings offload donations at a<br />
Ringgold distribution center.<br />
was caused has really inspired us to continue helping in any<br />
way possible to rebuild this community.”<br />
<strong>Kennesaw</strong> <strong>State</strong> staff members Jennifer Brisson, Drew<br />
Hashimura, Dimitrios Kasarhis, Christie Smeal and Mark Toma<br />
aided in the effort as did head men’s basketball coach Lewis<br />
Preston, Whitlock and athletic director Vaughn Williams.<br />
6 <strong>Kennesaw</strong> <strong>State</strong> <strong>University</strong> Magazine | SUMMER 2011
campusbriefs<br />
<strong>Kennesaw</strong> <strong>State</strong> named to national<br />
honor roll for community service<br />
<strong>Kennesaw</strong> <strong>State</strong> was named to the 2010 President’s Higher<br />
Education Community Service Honor Roll by the Corporation<br />
for National and Community Service for the second<br />
consecutive year. The university was one of 641 colleges and<br />
universities honored for its support of volunteering, service<br />
learning and civic engagement.<br />
“We are honored to receive this recognition. Community<br />
service and civic engagement are at the core of a <strong>Kennesaw</strong><br />
<strong>State</strong> education,” said Jerome Ratchford, vice president for<br />
student success. “Through our curriculum-based projects,<br />
student organizations and the efforts of Volunteer KSU, our<br />
students are learning how to be successful leaders committed<br />
to building and strengthening the communities they serve.”<br />
During the 2009-2010 academic year, more than 900<br />
KSU students volunteered more than 15,200 hours with 230<br />
different on-and off-campus agencies and programs.<br />
Volunteer KSU, a campus-based volunteer service<br />
center matching volunteers’ interests with community<br />
needs, coordinates with more than 300 organizations in the<br />
community. Partnering with various university colleges and<br />
departments, it encourages students to learn and serve<br />
through individual placements and group service projects.<br />
Papp also has a role in two other ACE initiatives — the<br />
Commission on International Initiatives, which he chairs, and<br />
the Leadership Network for International Education.<br />
<strong>Kennesaw</strong> <strong>State</strong> to offer new master’s<br />
and bachelor’s degrees<br />
<strong>Kennesaw</strong> <strong>State</strong> continues to expand its degree offerings,<br />
with the Board of Regents approving in spring 2011 two new<br />
master’s degrees and a new bachelor’s degree.<br />
Papp appointed to global<br />
engagement panel<br />
<strong>Kennesaw</strong> <strong>State</strong> President Daniel S. Papp is among 19<br />
prominent education and international affairs leaders appointed<br />
to the American Council on Education’s blue-ribbon panel on<br />
global engagement. The group, led by New York <strong>University</strong><br />
President and council board chair John Sexton, is working to<br />
set a new global agenda for U.S. higher education.<br />
“Globalization is an extremely complex and evolving<br />
phenomenon, and we must gain a deeper understanding of its<br />
implications for American higher education. ACE’s blue-ribbon<br />
panel will convene some of the field’s most internationally<br />
engaged leaders to examine this 21st century issue,” said<br />
ACE president Molly Corbett Broad in announcing the group’s<br />
formation. “We will develop a new agenda to expand the<br />
capacity of American higher education to both navigate and<br />
influence the new global environment.”<br />
Before issuing its final report this fall, the panel will seek<br />
feedback from a broad group of stakeholders, including other<br />
council members and higher education leaders from other<br />
countries.<br />
KSU will soon offer two more master’s degrees and a new bachelor’s.<br />
The new Master of Science in criminal justice, Master of<br />
Arts in integrated global communication and Bachelor of Arts in<br />
art history degree programs will be launched in fall 2011.<br />
“As <strong>Kennesaw</strong> <strong>State</strong> <strong>University</strong> grows as an institution, our<br />
capacity to serve our community’s expanding needs likewise is<br />
growing,” said interim provost and vice president for academic<br />
affairs W. Ken Harmon. “The faculty and administrators of<br />
these programs identified significant community demand for<br />
these new degrees, and we are pleased that the Board of<br />
Regents supported our request to add these exciting new<br />
offerings here at KSU.”<br />
In keeping with the university’s emphasis on global<br />
education, KSU’s new master’s programs will include a focus<br />
on internationalization.<br />
<strong>Kennesaw</strong> <strong>State</strong> <strong>University</strong> Magazine | SUMMER 2011<br />
7
campusbriefs<br />
<strong>Kennesaw</strong> <strong>State</strong> reduces carbon footprint, cuts greenhouse gas emissions<br />
Despite adding new buildings and nearly 1,800 students on<br />
campus, KSU has reduced its per-student greenhouse gas<br />
emissions since 2008 according to the university’s second<br />
environmental inventory.<br />
The environmental inventory is collected biennially as part<br />
of KSU’s membership in the American College and <strong>University</strong><br />
President’s Climate Commitment. The inventory includes<br />
greenhouse gas emissions from the university’s use of energy,<br />
natural gas, transportation, solid waste disposal, nitrogencontaining<br />
fertilizers and refrigerants.<br />
“A large portion of KSU’s overall emissions total comes<br />
from transportation, since about 87 percent of our students<br />
commute to school,” said Robert. C. Paul, director of<br />
sustainability and professor of biology. “Idling in traffic when<br />
arriving or departing campus contributes heavily to greenhouse<br />
emissions.”<br />
While KSU’s gross total greenhouse gas emissions rose<br />
by about 1 percent per year since 2008, emissions per student<br />
declined 9 percent. Greenhouse gas emissions per 1,000<br />
square feet of building space decreased by nearly two-thirds,<br />
despite a 183 percent increase in building space. According to<br />
Paul, this dramatic decrease can be attributed to the addition<br />
of two new LEED-certified buildings on campus, Prillaman Hall<br />
and The Commons Student Culinary Center, as well as energy<br />
conservation efforts.<br />
Since the last inventory, KSU has instituted conservation<br />
measures such as season-appropriate thermostat settings,<br />
turning off parking deck lights during breaks and weekends,<br />
and instituting a no-idle policy for vendors and other visiting<br />
vehicles.<br />
Paul said other energy-saving and waste-reduction<br />
measures, including installing reusable bottle fillers on water<br />
fountains and increasing shuttle service for commuters, are<br />
being considered and implemented now.<br />
“Our biggest goals are to educate and to create a cultural<br />
shift of awareness of the environment at KSU,” Paul said.<br />
Concert featuring five Steinway pianos salutes Dr. Bobbie Bailey<br />
<strong>Kennesaw</strong> <strong>State</strong> honored the generosity of Dr. Bobbie Bailey<br />
with “440 Keys: A Reunion,” a concert by the KSU Orchestra<br />
and the KSU Jazz Ensemble<br />
featuring faculty members<br />
playing five Steinway pianos<br />
— Bailey’s gift to the School<br />
of Music.<br />
In 2007, the university<br />
celebrated the opening of<br />
the Dr. Bobbie Bailey &<br />
Family Performance Center<br />
and her donation of a single<br />
Steinway D concert grand<br />
piano. At the opening concert,<br />
Bailey announced plans to<br />
Audrey,” honoring her sister Audrey Morgan, was donated to<br />
the Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre, home of the Atlanta<br />
Opera and the Atlanta Ballet.<br />
Each piano has 88 keys;<br />
together, the five pianos have<br />
440 keys, thus the concert’s<br />
name.<br />
“The 440 Keys concert<br />
was the first time ‘Miss Audrey’<br />
joined the other pianos in the<br />
family,” said Michael Taormina,<br />
managing director of the<br />
Cobb Energy Performing Arts<br />
Centre. “That’s what inspired<br />
us to call it a reunion. We are<br />
donate 26 more Steinways,<br />
excited to have all the pianos<br />
Five KSU faculty members played Steinway pianos at the “440 Keys” concert.<br />
earning <strong>Kennesaw</strong> <strong>State</strong><br />
together to honor Bobbie<br />
the designation as an All-<br />
Bailey and her family.”<br />
Steinway School.<br />
The concert included the KSU Orchestra under the direction<br />
Four of the pianos used in the Bailey Center were named of Michael Alexander, the KSU Jazz Ensemble under the<br />
in honor of Bailey’s family and a friend: “Miss Mary” for her<br />
direction of Sam Skelton, and faculty pianists Joseph Meeks,<br />
mother, “Mr. Elbert” for her father, “Miss Ann” for a family friend Robert Henry, Judith Cole, Tyrone Jackson, David Watkins and<br />
and “Mr. Henry” for her grandfather. A fifth Steinway, “Miss<br />
Soohyun Yun, as well as guest pianist Dmitri Levkovich.<br />
8 <strong>Kennesaw</strong> <strong>State</strong> <strong>University</strong> Magazine | SUMMER 2011
facultyspotlight<br />
Comparative Economics<br />
Coles College professor honored for revamping global economics course<br />
Michael Patrono was named Professor<br />
of the Year by the Georgia Association<br />
of Economics & Finance.<br />
BY AIxA M. PASCUAL<br />
Long before Michael Patrono went to college and majored in<br />
economics, he was well versed on the virtues of capitalism.<br />
When he was 13, Patrono read “Atlas Shrugged,” Ayn<br />
Rand’s voluminous paean to capitalism. Discussions with his<br />
father, who owned a small construction company, afforded<br />
Patrono appreciation for the good and the bad of being both a<br />
capitalist and a blue-collar worker.<br />
“I grew up seeing both the owner’s and the worker’s<br />
sides,” says Patrono, an economics lecturer at the Coles<br />
College of Business. “Economic debates that tend to be purely<br />
abstract and academic became more concrete in my eyes.”<br />
Patrono’s early immersion into laissez-faire economics<br />
led him to a successful career teaching college economics. A<br />
professor at KSU since 2001, Patrono was named Professor of<br />
the Year by the Georgia Association of Economics & Finance<br />
in spring 2011. He was recognized for revamping Economics<br />
1100, a global economics course that most non-business<br />
majors take. (In fall 2010, more than 1,000 undergrads took the<br />
course).<br />
Originally, Patrono says, the course blended principles<br />
of macro and microeconomics, but there was resistance from<br />
students because it was too technical for non-business majors.<br />
Five years ago, Patrono revised the course and refashioned it<br />
into a philosophical, comparative study of different economic<br />
systems.<br />
Today, the class delves into the economies of prewar<br />
Germany, modern China and the former USSR, among others.<br />
In the course, Patrono goes back to 1917, when Russia turned<br />
communist and the cosmic “capitalism versus communism”<br />
debate originated. Communism, he says, was an attempt to<br />
solve the problems of capitalism, but it failed miserably.<br />
“I want students to have a broad view of what’s possible<br />
in economics and to be able to make a reasoned judgment<br />
as to which kind of system they would prefer,” says Patrono,<br />
who has been teaching economics since 1989. “There are no<br />
perfect systems. Even capitalism has inherent flaws. As long<br />
as students can give a reasonable explanation of the pros and<br />
cons of the two systems, I feel I have done my job.”<br />
<strong>Kennesaw</strong> <strong>State</strong> <strong>University</strong> Magazine | SUMMER 2011 9
10 <strong>Kennesaw</strong> <strong>State</strong> <strong>University</strong> Magazine | SUMMER 2011
The Language<br />
Connection<br />
<strong>Kennesaw</strong> <strong>State</strong> professor<br />
studies chimpanzees for clues to<br />
origins of human language<br />
BY JENNIFER HAFER<br />
Under a blistering June sun, assistant biology professor Jared Taglialatela climbs atop<br />
his 30-foot perch overlooking a corral containing 11 chimpanzees at Emory <strong>University</strong>’s<br />
Yerkes National Primate Research Center. This is the place where the professor<br />
becomes the student.<br />
Taglialatela studies the evolutionary origins of human language and the biological<br />
processes that support its development. His research focuses on which part of a chimpanzee’s<br />
brain is activated when it communicates through gestures or vocalizations.<br />
“I’m doing this research for two reasons,” he said. “Science for the sake of science and<br />
because there’s a lot of reasons to believe it can help us to develop treatments for certain<br />
disorders.”<br />
Taglialatela’s research is supported by a $389,000 grant from the National Institutes of<br />
Health, one of the largest research-specific grants ever awarded to a <strong>Kennesaw</strong> <strong>State</strong> <strong>University</strong><br />
professor. His findings may one day help autistic children speak.<br />
<strong>Kennesaw</strong> <strong>State</strong> <strong>University</strong> Magazine | SUMMER 2011<br />
11
“A chimpanzee’s brain is a third of the size of a human’s,”<br />
Taglialatela said. “They don’t have language, but there are<br />
fundamental components of language that humans share with<br />
chimpanzees.”<br />
The question is: Did human language evolve from a strictly<br />
manual system of gesturing, or did a common ancestor use<br />
manual gesturing in conjunction with vocalization before the split<br />
between humans and chimpanzees some 5 million years ago?<br />
Just as a human baby learns to gesture and use other<br />
In a study published in April, Taglialatela’s research<br />
confirmed that the same part of a human’s brain that is<br />
activated during speech is activated in chimps when they make<br />
communicative gestures and vocal signals. Broca’s area is a<br />
region of the cerebral cortex located in the left inferior frontal<br />
gyrus, or left lobe, of the human brain, and is critical for the<br />
planning and execution of language. Chimpanzees also have<br />
a region of the left inferior frontal gyrus that is anatomically<br />
similar to the human Broca’s area. Taglialatela’s research led<br />
Steward repeatedly raised his hand to request an apple.<br />
nonverbal cues, like looking at an object to indicate desire,<br />
chimpanzees do the same thing. On that hot June morning,<br />
as a Yerkes keeper tossed apples into the chimps’ corral, the<br />
alpha male, Steward, and at least one other chimp, repeatedly<br />
raised their hands in an obvious bid for more treats.<br />
“In the first 10-to-12 months of a human baby’s life, they’re<br />
learning how to interact with other individuals through shared<br />
attention, gesturing and vocalizing, but we don’t have a good<br />
handle on what’s going on in their brains,” Taglialatela said.<br />
“We’re trying to figure out the connection between the brain<br />
and these communicative behaviors.”<br />
While conducting his post-doctoral research at Yerkes,<br />
Taglialatela earned a fellowship from the National Institutes<br />
of Health to investigate functional imaging of communicative<br />
behavior in chimpanzees via brain scans.<br />
him to conclude at least some vocal signals produced by the<br />
chimps were deliberate and purposeful.<br />
“This finding contradicts an exclusive ‘gestural origins’<br />
theory for human language, and points to a multimodal origin<br />
of human language where manual communicative gestures<br />
and vocal signals were commonly controlled and co-evolved in<br />
a common hominid ancestor,” Taglialatela explained.<br />
In his sparsely appointed office in the College of Science<br />
and Mathematics, Taglialatela, wearing a T-shirt that proclaims,<br />
“I do my own experiments,” struggles to pinpoint how exactly<br />
he became an animal researcher. His family had always had<br />
pets while he was growing up, and at one point in his youth he<br />
thought he might be a veterinarian.<br />
A primate behavior course during his undergrad studies at<br />
the <strong>University</strong> of Virginia, however, set him upon his chosen path.<br />
12 <strong>Kennesaw</strong> <strong>State</strong> <strong>University</strong> Magazine | SUMMER 2011
Research technician Jamie Russell, left, and Jared Taglialatela study chimps at the Yerkes National Primate Research Center field station near<br />
Lawrenceville, Ga.<br />
“I thought it was really interesting, and interestingly<br />
enough, I got an internship at the DuMond Conservancy,”<br />
Taglialatela recalled.<br />
The DuMond Conservancy for Primates and Tropical<br />
Forests is a nonprofit located on the grounds of Monkey<br />
Jungle, a 1950s-era tourist attraction in southeast Florida<br />
that provides access for behavioral studies of its primate<br />
collection.<br />
While at the conservancy, Taglialatela worked with a<br />
National Institutes of Health researcher who needed help with<br />
vocalization recordings. The rest, as they say, is history.<br />
“Language is such a hallmark of human communication,”<br />
he said, “and a logical place to look for its origins is in our<br />
evolutionary cousins.”<br />
Armed with his NIH grant and the knowledge that<br />
manual gestures in conjunction with vocalization activate the<br />
same region of the chimpanzees’ brains that is activated by<br />
speech, Taglialatela is turning his attention to researching<br />
whether a chimp that gestures, but does not vocalize to get<br />
a human experimenter’s attention, is capable of being taught<br />
vocalization. If so, how quickly can it be done and what are the<br />
neurobiological effects.<br />
“It doesn’t appear that chimpanzees that make attentiongetting<br />
sounds are smarter than the ones that don’t,” he<br />
said. “Preliminary results suggest they’re just not as good<br />
communicators.”<br />
Taglialatela’s NIH grant was awarded specifically by the<br />
National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication<br />
Disorders. If the nonvocalizing chimps can be taught to make<br />
attention-getting sounds, and the corresponding brain functions<br />
can be identified, it may one day be possible to address a<br />
variety of neurodevelopmental and psychological disorders<br />
linked to brain activity, such as autism.<br />
“We’ve learned a lot about what parts of the brain are<br />
responsible for the production of language in humans,” he said. “If<br />
we can understand the fundamental aspects of communication<br />
that chimpanzees share with humans, as well as the<br />
neurobiological components that support these competencies,<br />
then we may be able to gain new insights into the nature of<br />
language deficiencies and how they can be treated.”<br />
<strong>Kennesaw</strong> <strong>State</strong> <strong>University</strong> Magazine | SUMMER 2011<br />
13
goingglobal<br />
Benin schoolchildren thanked KSU French students for sending books.<br />
French<br />
Revolution<br />
Professor’s win-win approach promotes childhood literacy<br />
in Africa, boosts KSU students’ confidence to write in French<br />
14<br />
<strong>Kennesaw</strong> <strong>State</strong> <strong>University</strong> Magazine | SUMMER 2011
goingglobal<br />
BY SABBAYE McGRIFF<br />
As if the gleeful faces of hundreds of African children<br />
just given a load of exciting new books to read were<br />
not enough, less visible rewards of those gifts also<br />
are being felt by students studying French at <strong>Kennesaw</strong> <strong>State</strong>.<br />
component in which students read their books to children in<br />
local elementary schools, exposing them to French-speaking<br />
African countries and discussing their experiences as authors.<br />
“I never would have thought that I could do this,” said<br />
Brewer, whose colorful and uniquely illustrated book, titled<br />
“La Mer Salée: Une Histoire d’Héros Perdus” (“The Salty Sea:<br />
A Story of Lost Heroes”), tells how the sea became salty.<br />
KSU professor Lucie Viakinnou-Brinson reads to Benin schoolchildren.<br />
For one of them, senior Mallory E. Brewer, the chance to<br />
conceive, create and produce a French-language children’s<br />
book as a class project and to actually have it delivered to<br />
children in Benin, West Africa, has inspired her and piqued<br />
her interest in the cause the project serves — illiteracy among<br />
underprivileged children.<br />
Brewer, an interdisciplinary studies major, was among<br />
students in classes taught by Lucie Viakinnou-Brinson,<br />
assistant professor of French, assigned to write a children’s<br />
book reflecting the cultures of French-speaking African<br />
countries. Since the professor started assigning the project in<br />
2009, 160 students in elementary, intermediate and advanced<br />
French classes have written and illustrated books. A $1,000<br />
grant from KSU’s Center for Excellence in Teaching and<br />
Learning helped provide materials and binding for the books.<br />
Like Brewer, nearly 40 students have completed all<br />
elements of the multi-dimensional project, which includes<br />
producing reflective posters that are displayed and shared at<br />
KSU’s annual symposium of student scholars. The display<br />
must reflect the extensive research students conducted to<br />
write the book. Completion also requires a “learn and serve”<br />
Benin schoolchildren eagerly read the books sent by KSU French<br />
language students.<br />
“Although it was a class project, I relished the opportunity to<br />
use my creative talents in writing and drawing to help solve a<br />
legitimate problem.”<br />
Maria Quiroz, a senior biochemistry major, authored “Les<br />
Petites Fourmis” (“The Little Ants”), a story that incorporates<br />
elements of Senegalese culture such as the fabled, giant<br />
baobab tree and the theme of collaborative work to solve the<br />
problem of famine in a fictitious African village. She said the<br />
project has been “one of the most fulfilling things I have ever<br />
done.”<br />
In assigning the project, Viakinnou-Brinson said she<br />
asked students in her advanced French classes to use their<br />
creativity, knowledge of French and the culture of Francophone<br />
or French-speaking Africa to write stories from an African<br />
child’s perspective and/or stories with which the children could<br />
identify. She also asked the students to conduct research<br />
on a specific country, to capture some cultural beliefs of that<br />
country and transmit their understanding of those beliefs in<br />
their stories and illustrations. Elementary-level French students<br />
wrote thematic picture books on animals, numbers, colors and<br />
objects in the classroom and sports.<br />
<strong>Kennesaw</strong> <strong>State</strong> <strong>University</strong> Magazine | SUMMER 2011 15
goingglobal<br />
Professor Lucie Viakinnou-Brinson distributes books to children in Benin.<br />
For Wesley Griner, a junior biology major, learning the<br />
culture of Benin, particularly its beliefs about reincarnation,<br />
in order to write his “Le Cylce de la Vie” (“The Cycle of Life”)<br />
made the project worthwhile.<br />
“I managed to learn new and exciting things about<br />
Francophone culture,” Griner said in reflection. “When done<br />
writing the story, it was as though I had somehow experienced<br />
the very universe that my characters were placed in. Souls<br />
living in otherwise inanimate objects didn’t seem like too much<br />
of a bizarre idea.”<br />
During summer 2010, Viakinnou-Brinson delivered the<br />
books along with other textbooks, workbooks and school<br />
supplies to more than 1,000 schoolchildren in four schools<br />
in Benin. Working though Seeds of Knowledge, a nonprofit<br />
organization she founded in 2003 while still in graduate school,<br />
she hopes to expand the delivery of needed educational<br />
materials and academic programs to other underprivileged<br />
rural and urban areas of Africa.<br />
In Benin’s Hinhoudé, Gbagla Koké and Lotin Gbegodo<br />
elementary schools, the KSU students’ books are used to<br />
organize weekly reading hours. Viakinnou-Brinson brims<br />
with pride in her students’ accomplishments and the project’s<br />
success in meeting needs of real children.<br />
“Mentoring and advising students on the project is<br />
very fulfilling,” Viakinnou-Brinson said. “I do it because I<br />
enjoy seeing the students eyes light up when they see the<br />
final product of their hard work. Students admit that high<br />
expectations and the knowledge that their books will be read<br />
by French-speaking children make them want to produce their<br />
best and that is what has motivated me to repeat the project<br />
every semester.”<br />
As important, she said, is increasing self-confidence and<br />
the self-efficacy of American English-speaking students writing<br />
books in French while increasing their sense of civic and global<br />
engagement. “They are demonstrating that they too can solve<br />
problems and make a difference.”<br />
16<br />
<strong>Kennesaw</strong> <strong>State</strong> <strong>University</strong> Magazine | SUMMER 2011
For the<br />
Love<br />
The KSU men’s<br />
cycling team posed<br />
for a team photo.<br />
Club sports gives students the<br />
opportunity to play competitively<br />
of Sports<br />
BY JENNIFER HAFER<br />
Sports for the love of sports. That’s how participants and administrators describe<br />
intercollegiate club sports, where there are no athletic scholarships, minimal<br />
university funding and little fanfare.<br />
Billed as “for the students, by the students,” club sports are organized more<br />
like mini-corporations than traditional varsity teams. There are presidents, vicepresidents,<br />
secretaries and treasurers just to name a few of the roles athletes play<br />
off the field.<br />
<strong>Kennesaw</strong> <strong>State</strong> <strong>University</strong> Magazine | SUMMER 2011 17
<strong>Kennesaw</strong> <strong>State</strong> lacrosse player Brian Broe helped secure a<br />
playoff berth; Equestrians, Sara Lyn Colley,left, and Stephanie<br />
Webb brought home top prizes in the post-season.<br />
Club sports athletes organize their own practice and<br />
game schedules, raise money for uniforms and game<br />
officials, decide who plays and who doesn’t, schedule<br />
hotel and travel arrangements and manage the paperwork,<br />
including team budgets. During the 2009 – 2010 season, KSU<br />
club teams traveled more than 45,000 miles during seven<br />
months of competition and collected more than $194,000<br />
from dues, gate revenue, sponsorships, fundraising and<br />
special events.<br />
“This isn’t just about the sporting experience as much as<br />
it is about the opportunity to learn skills that are transferable to<br />
the workplace and to build friendships,” collegiate club sports<br />
director Laura St. Onge said. “That they succeed is icing on<br />
the cake.”<br />
And succeed they do.<br />
In 2011, six club sports teams — competitive cheer,<br />
paintball, women’s rugby, fishing, softball and wrestling<br />
— attended national championship tournaments. The<br />
competitive cheer team is the two-time defending national<br />
champion, and in the last 16 months, the fishing team<br />
has raked in $40,000 in tournament winnings. Half of the<br />
fishing team’s prize money goes to the university to fund a<br />
scholarship for club sports athletes.<br />
In addition, another six of the 25 club sports teams<br />
qualified for post-season regional play, including the baseball,<br />
swim, ultimate Frisbee, equestrian, men’s lacrosse and men’s<br />
roller hockey teams.<br />
“These are talented athletes with great organizational<br />
abilities, who make sound financial decisions and play for the<br />
pure love of the game,” St. Onge said.<br />
Samer Kaddah is president of the men’s soccer team.<br />
A former varsity soccer player at Georgia <strong>State</strong> <strong>University</strong>,<br />
Kaddah came to <strong>Kennesaw</strong> <strong>State</strong> following a knee injury.<br />
“I was only going to come here for a semester while<br />
my knee healed, but I found club sports, fell in love with it<br />
and didn’t want to leave,” he said. “Club sports are a great<br />
opportunity to grow as a leader. You learn a lot of skills that<br />
can be used after college.”<br />
With its focus on student development, club sports fall<br />
under the domain of the Division of Student <strong>Success</strong>.<br />
“Club sports provide a learning and leadership experience<br />
in that students self-administer and self-regulate these sports,<br />
as well as create their own sporting experience under the<br />
guidance of club sports administrators,” Division of Student<br />
<strong>Success</strong> vice president Jerome Ratchford said. “The club<br />
sports program also serves individual interests, which<br />
18 <strong>Kennesaw</strong> <strong>State</strong> <strong>University</strong> Magazine | SUMMER 2011
The competitive cheer squad won its fourth<br />
national championship since 2004.<br />
<strong>Kennesaw</strong> <strong>State</strong> swimmer Ellie Handley dives into<br />
her relay leg; KSU women’s lacrosse team took on<br />
Georgia Tech in a driving rainstorm.<br />
contribute to a student’s comfort level at KSU and increase<br />
the prospect of successfully matriculating and graduating.<br />
The program also expand students’ overall educational<br />
experiences in that it teaches leadership skills, team work and<br />
the importance of physical fitness among other attributes.”<br />
In 2007, there was only one non-regulation intramural<br />
field on campus, a 1.45-acre tract that was shared by HPS ,<br />
intramurals, club sports and other students. Since 2009, the<br />
88-acre Sports & Recreation Park has opened, including two<br />
regulation synthetic turf fields, a training/warm-up area and<br />
the Owls Nest, a 16,000-square-foot indoor training facility, all<br />
dedicated to club sports and intramurals.<br />
Although sometimes confused with intramural sports,<br />
where participants play against other KSU teams, club sports<br />
compete against other universities and adhere to national<br />
governing body requirements. An important difference, said<br />
men’s soccer team president Kaddah, for those who played<br />
competitive sports growing up.<br />
“We want everybody to know, club sports is very<br />
competitive,” the junior sports management major said.<br />
“Sometimes people don’t understand the difference between<br />
club sports and intramurals. Club sports is an opportunity to<br />
still play competitively for those that want to.”<br />
Competitive cheer squad wins<br />
fourth national championship<br />
<strong>Kennesaw</strong> <strong>State</strong>’s competitive cheer squad brought home<br />
another national championship — the fourth since 2004.<br />
The Owls defeated nine teams to win the All-Girl Division<br />
I championship at the National Cheerleaders Association<br />
and National Dance Association (NCA/NDA) Collegiate<br />
Cheer and Dance Competition in Daytona Beach in April.<br />
Jocilyn Yarnell, club president and a KSU senior<br />
majoring in exercise and health science, said the squad<br />
won with a routine choreographed by volunteer coach<br />
A.J. Lawrence.<br />
One of 25 KSU club sports, the team provides<br />
much of its own budget and three-hour practice<br />
sessions three times a week are mandatory.<br />
“Most of us work jobs as well as go to school full time,”<br />
Yarnell said. “We have to really manage our time well.”<br />
“KSU is proud that our student-athletes can take<br />
part in a sport they enjoy, balance their academic and<br />
personal commitments and be truly competitive in a<br />
national competition like this,” said Laura St. Onge,<br />
collegiate club sports director. “This program has been<br />
around for 13 years, and it has been in the hands of<br />
many great alumnae. Our team strives to hold up the<br />
program, and we’re driven by the knowledge that we’re<br />
capable of winning national titles.”<br />
<strong>Kennesaw</strong> <strong>State</strong> <strong>University</strong> Magazine | SUMMER 2011<br />
19
Capital Campaign<br />
Defies ODDs<br />
<strong>University</strong> reaches its capital<br />
campaign goal of $75 million<br />
BY RALPH ELLIS<br />
The timing could not have been worse.<br />
In October 2007, the <strong>Kennesaw</strong> <strong>State</strong> <strong>University</strong><br />
Foundation launched the university’s first-ever<br />
comprehensive capital campaign. The goal: Raise $75 million<br />
in five years to fund new scholarships, build new facilities and<br />
expand research. But the university faced a huge challenge.<br />
Just months after the campaign kickoff, the national economy<br />
went into a freefall and donating money was not high on most<br />
people’s lists.<br />
Yet, <strong>Kennesaw</strong> <strong>State</strong> defied the odds. The school not only<br />
raised $75 million, it met the goal a full year ahead of schedule.<br />
In August 2011, the campaign, “The New Faces of <strong>Kennesaw</strong><br />
<strong>State</strong>,” met its goal.<br />
“I’m not surprised that we are ahead of schedule,” said<br />
Bob Prillaman, a longtime KSU supporter, trustee and co-chair<br />
of the capital campaign. “People and organizations simply<br />
care about <strong>Kennesaw</strong> <strong>State</strong>. “They see what <strong>Kennesaw</strong> <strong>State</strong><br />
has been accomplishing, they know the school produces highquality<br />
graduates and they understand what this university<br />
means to the community. There’s a connection to the school.”<br />
Just 47 years old, <strong>Kennesaw</strong> <strong>State</strong>, now Georgia’s thirdlargest<br />
university, has one of the youngest alumni bases<br />
among colleges and universities in the state. Yet when<br />
stacked against Georgia’s more established institutions, KSU<br />
consistently ranks fourth and fifth in contributions behind<br />
Emory <strong>University</strong>, the <strong>University</strong> of Georgia, Georgia Tech and<br />
Georgia <strong>State</strong>.<br />
Beans, tomatoes, cucumbers, spinach and other fresh produce are<br />
cultivated on part of a 56-acre farm donated to <strong>Kennesaw</strong> <strong>State</strong> by<br />
Cartersville native Jodie Hill.<br />
“<strong>Kennesaw</strong> <strong>State</strong> <strong>University</strong> is a young, dynamic,<br />
growing institution with a developing entrepreneurial spirit<br />
that is evident in our faculty, students, staff and alumni,”<br />
said KSU President Daniel S. Papp. “The individuals and<br />
institutions that contribute to and support <strong>Kennesaw</strong> <strong>State</strong><br />
recognize and appreciate how far we have come and the great<br />
accomplishments we are making, and we, in turn, make it clear<br />
how much we highly value our donors’ support.”<br />
The contributions comprise everything from scholarships<br />
and private foundations funds to major gifts and research<br />
grants.(See chart)<br />
20 <strong>Kennesaw</strong> <strong>State</strong> <strong>University</strong> Magazine | SUMMER 2011
Annual Gifts: $5.5 million<br />
Scholarships: $6.3 million<br />
Foundation Gifts: $8.2 million<br />
Tangible Property: $9.7 million<br />
Major Gifts: $10.4 million<br />
Research Grants: $30.1 million<br />
Other Gifts: $4.9 million<br />
Some of the more notable gifts include a $2.4 million<br />
gift from longtime KSU benefactor Bobbie M. Bailey for the<br />
performing arts center that now carries her name — the Dr.<br />
Bobbie Bailey & Family Performance Center. Her contribution<br />
included a gift of 27 Steinway pianos, earning KSU the<br />
designation as an “All-Steinway School.”<br />
In June 2008, the Clendenin family donated $1 million<br />
— the largest single gift for scholarships in <strong>Kennesaw</strong> <strong>State</strong><br />
history — to endow fellowships for graduate students and<br />
doctoral candidates. The Clendenin Graduate Fellows Program<br />
supports graduate and doctoral students pursuing master’s and<br />
doctoral degrees.<br />
Chet Austin, longtime KSU supporter, trustee and<br />
campaign co-chair, said the success of the fundraising effort<br />
was driven by more than just sentimentality.<br />
“The university has become an important part of Georgia’s<br />
economic engine,” Austin said. “<strong>Kennesaw</strong> <strong>State</strong> is on the<br />
cutting edge because of its research and entrepreneurship. It’s<br />
simply good business to help <strong>Kennesaw</strong> <strong>State</strong> succeed.”<br />
Over the past few years, KSU has become a magnet<br />
for prestigious research grants. The U.S. Department of<br />
Education awarded KSU an $8.9 million grant –– the largest<br />
ever awarded to the university –– for teacher recruitment and<br />
professional development and the Department of Defense<br />
gave KSU $2.38 million for a study of brain injuries. The<br />
Harnisch Foundation awarded KSU a five-year, $1.5 million<br />
gift to establish the Center for Sustainable Journalism in the<br />
College of Humanities and Social Sciences. Overall, sponsored<br />
research at KSU increased from $6.2 million in 2007 to $16.2<br />
million as of June 2011, a gain of 159 percent.<br />
Money came in for scholarships, too. The university<br />
has raised more funds for need-based scholarships during<br />
the capital campaign than at any other time in its history,<br />
establishing 41 endowed scholarships and 42 annual<br />
scholarships that have helped defray tuition costs for<br />
hundreds of students. Also, the Osher Foundation gave $3.3<br />
million that provided re-entry scholarships for students who<br />
interrupted their college careers for five years or more and<br />
also helped adults over 50 participate in lifelong learning<br />
through KSU’s College of Continuing and Professional<br />
Education.<br />
A U.S. Department of Education grant was awarded to the Bagwell<br />
College of Education for teacher recruitment and professional<br />
development.<br />
“The success that we achieved with this capital campaign<br />
is a tremendous accomplishment,” said Norman Radow,<br />
chairman of the board of trustees of the KSU Foundation. “The<br />
Foundation’s executive committee and board members are<br />
pleased to play a key role in helping KSU meet the goal of the<br />
university’s first-ever capital campaign. We are thrilled that the<br />
goal was achieved ahead of schedule.”<br />
<strong>Kennesaw</strong> <strong>State</strong> <strong>University</strong> Magazine | SUMMER 2011<br />
21
22 <strong>Kennesaw</strong> <strong>State</strong> <strong>University</strong> Magazine | SUMMER 2011<br />
<strong>Success</strong>
<strong>Stories</strong><br />
These six <strong>Kennesaw</strong> <strong>State</strong> students<br />
exemplify “The New Faces of <strong>Kennesaw</strong><br />
<strong>State</strong>,” the theme of the KSU Foundation’s<br />
successful $75 million capital campaign.<br />
Self-starters not content to simply attend<br />
classes, they seized numerous opportunites<br />
offered by the university and created career<br />
paths for the future.<br />
BY NEIL B. McGAHEE AND JENNIFER HAFER<br />
<strong>Kennesaw</strong> <strong>State</strong> <strong>University</strong> Magazine | SUMMER 2011<br />
23
A Digital Learning Revolution<br />
NAME: Travis Allen<br />
HOMETOWN: Fayetteville, Ga.<br />
MAJOR: B.A., Business Administration<br />
YEAR: 2013<br />
Using the latest smart-phone technology, Allen hopes to use<br />
applications or “apps” — computer software applications<br />
designed to perform a specific task — to revolutionize the<br />
way students learn.<br />
When <strong>Kennesaw</strong> <strong>State</strong> students from the iSchool Initiative<br />
took the stage in front of hundreds of screaming Utah<br />
high school students, they said they were launching a digital<br />
learning revolution. Looking like Steve Jobs-style product<br />
launchers, they showed the students of Kearns High School<br />
how to best use the 1,700 iPod Touches they had just received.<br />
The iSchool Initiative, the brainchild of KSU sophomore<br />
Travis Allen, started when the Whitewater High School student<br />
wanted to use his iPhone in the classroom as a learning tool. It<br />
has evolved into a nonprofit organization with a team of more<br />
than a dozen KSU students working to promote their vision of<br />
the 21st century classroom throughout the United <strong>State</strong>s.<br />
In 2009, Allen speculated that the iPhone, iPad and<br />
similar technologies had the potential to transform the current<br />
educational system. He posted a YouTube video titled “The<br />
iSchool Initiative (Mobile Learning)” to explain his concept. The<br />
video has received more than 33,000 views to date, and it was<br />
one of the factors that inspired Kearns to provide iPod Touches<br />
to its student body.<br />
After entering KSU as a freshman in 2009, Allen joined the<br />
university’s chapter of the international organization Students<br />
in Free Enterprise (SIFE), which has supported the growth of<br />
the iSchool Initiative.<br />
Allen is a mobile learner at KSU. He takes an iPad<br />
to classes and says he uses it exclusively to take notes,<br />
create study aids, read textbooks, stay organized and digest<br />
information. He eschews the use of the traditional pen and<br />
paper and doesn’t own a printer.<br />
“Wherever I am, even if I’m waiting in line somewhere, I<br />
can study. I can access my assignments and schedule,” Allen<br />
said. “I’ve got everything I need right here.”<br />
Allen’s team has big plans for the future, from launching<br />
an e-magazine about going digital to securing support from<br />
corporate sponsors to fund weekly seminars all over the U.S.,<br />
like the one at Kearns High School.<br />
“Our mission is to inspire and educate students on how to<br />
become lifelong digital learners in the information age,” Allen said.<br />
Junior business major Travis Allen is president and CEO of iSchool<br />
Initiative.<br />
“We want to completely revolutionize the educational system,<br />
whether it takes two or 10 years. We plan to lead the revolution.”<br />
A Nonprofit for Nonprofits<br />
NAMES: Molly Branch and Angela Elliott<br />
HOMETOWN: <strong>Kennesaw</strong>, Ga. and Atlanta, Ga.<br />
MAJOR: B.A., Communication and B.A., Graphic Design<br />
YEAR: 2011<br />
While students at KSU, Branch and Elliott helped found<br />
Social 360, a nonprofit that promotes social events<br />
that pairs volunteers with a nonprofit or community<br />
organization in need of a particular skill.<br />
Molly Branch and Angela Elliott are co-executive directors<br />
of Social 360, a nonprofit organization promoting social<br />
awareness of community issues like poverty, domestic abuse,<br />
animal rights and environmental protection by holding special<br />
events and pairing volunteers with nonprofit or community<br />
organizations in need of their skills.<br />
24 <strong>Kennesaw</strong> <strong>State</strong> <strong>University</strong> Magazine | SUMMER 2011
“Social 360 is a ‘nonprofit for nonprofits,’” Branch, a<br />
communication major, said. “We provide a vehicle for young<br />
professionals to learn about local nonprofits and their needs.<br />
Let’s say an organization is in need of some help with public<br />
relations; we will host a social event and try to pair the<br />
organization with people that have those skills. We find it is<br />
especially helpful with people new to the business because<br />
we are able to help the organization and our volunteer has<br />
something to add to their portfolio. Some of our clients<br />
include Project Open Hand, Trees Atlanta, Ink for Pink and<br />
Good Mews.”<br />
that I could really do this. That’s when I knew I was part of<br />
something special.”<br />
Branch and Elliott hope to extend S360’s outreach and are<br />
working toward establishing tax-exempt status, an important<br />
step in ensuring its growth.<br />
“Right now, we’re depending on grants to fund our work,”<br />
Branch said. “Once we get our 501c(3) tax exemptions, we will<br />
be able to take it to the next level.”<br />
A Passion for Fitness<br />
NAMES: Seth and Jason Carver<br />
HOMETOWN: Johns Creek, Ga.<br />
MAJOR: B.A., Exercise and Health Science<br />
YEAR: 2012<br />
The brothers juggle the demands of school with those of<br />
operating their own personal training company, Dream<br />
Body Inc.<br />
Molly Branch, seated, and Angela Elliott, are co-directors of Social 360,<br />
a “non-profit for non-profits.”<br />
Elliott, a graphic design major, joined the group after<br />
Branch asked her to design a flier for a Social 360 event. She<br />
was able to develop marketing and advertising materials in<br />
conjunction with her school assignments.<br />
“It was a learning process on many levels,” she said. “I<br />
have been an avid volunteer all my life, but when you work<br />
for a nonprofit, it is usually focused on one cause. But at<br />
S360, we do a little bit of everything. I learned to multitask<br />
and work under pressure, and I gained the confidence<br />
When Jason Carver was 13 or 14, he bought his first set<br />
of dumbbells at a garage sale. From that point on, there<br />
was no looking back for the fitness buff. But things were a little<br />
different for his younger brother Seth.<br />
“When I was a kid my parents took me to a doctor<br />
because they thought I had a thyroid problem,” Seth recalled.<br />
“I remember going back-to-school shopping with my mom and<br />
having to buy ‘husky’-sized clothes.”<br />
Sensing Seth’s embarrassment, his mom said his size<br />
could be their secret. And it was until Seth got home and Jason<br />
cajoled him into admitting the truth.<br />
“I remember going to Whitewater or the pool and keeping<br />
my shirt on,” Seth said. “Girls wouldn’t talk to me, except to ask<br />
what my brother’s name was.”<br />
That was then.<br />
Today, the two senior exercise and health science majors<br />
are certified personal trainers juggling the demands of school<br />
with those of operating their own company, Dream Body Inc.<br />
The pair offers personal training at Anytime Fitness locations<br />
in <strong>Kennesaw</strong> and Acworth, as well as boot camps at Chastain,<br />
Piedmont and Legacy parks and in-home instruction.<br />
“We’re passionate about fitness and living a healthy<br />
lifestyle,” Jason said. “This is a gift we love to share.”<br />
The satisfaction the brothers get from helping transform<br />
lives one waistline at a time has inspired them to create a<br />
nonprofit — the Active Atlanta Campaign.<br />
“Georgia is No. 2 in childhood obesity,” Seth said, “and is<br />
the 17th fattest state. People are dying every day because of<br />
obesity-related diseases and it doesn’t need to happen.”<br />
<strong>Kennesaw</strong> <strong>State</strong> <strong>University</strong> Magazine | SUMMER 2011<br />
25
“Turn My Swag On,” recorded by rap artist Soulja Boy, which<br />
won a 2010 BMI Music Award as one of the “Most Performed<br />
Urban Songs of the Year.”<br />
That he would move seamlessly from the world of college<br />
sports to the music pantheon should come as no surprise.<br />
“I grew up in a musical home,” McConnell said. “My dad<br />
was a musician and my brother played several instruments and<br />
I played drums. We would sit around the house for hours just<br />
playing music. Most of the time we were just making it up as<br />
we went.”<br />
Brothers Jason and Seth Carver are fitness trainers when not attending<br />
<strong>Kennesaw</strong> <strong>State</strong>.<br />
Though in its infancy, the Active Atlanta Campaign seeks<br />
to create a series of 5K races to promote an active lifestyle.<br />
The series is expected to kick off next spring, and in addition<br />
to the races, Seth and Jason hope to bring their message of<br />
healthy living into local schools with a curriculum focused on<br />
the importance of nutrition and exercise.<br />
“Just get moving,” Jason said of the campaign’s goals.<br />
“Anyone and everyone can do something to improve their health.”<br />
Leaving His Mark<br />
NAME: Kelvin McConnell<br />
HOMETOWN: Marietta, Ga<br />
MAJOR: B.A., Communication<br />
YEAR: 2012<br />
McConnell ended his collegiate basketball career as the<br />
Owls 12th all-time scorer. Off the court, he penned the hit<br />
single “Turn My Swag On,” recorded by rap artist Soulja<br />
Boy, which won a 2010 BMI Music Award as one of the<br />
“Most Performed Urban Songs of the Year.”<br />
Kelvin McConnell left his mark on the KSU basketball court<br />
and over the nation’s airwaves.<br />
McConnell, a senior communication major slated to<br />
graduate next spring, ended his collegiate basketball career<br />
as the all-time Owls leader in consecutive games played, the<br />
second-most prolific three-point scorer in school history and<br />
the 12th all-time scorer. Off the court, he penned the hit single<br />
Senior communication major Kelvin McConnell, the second most<br />
prolific three-point shooter in KSU basketball history, made news off<br />
the court when he penned a hit single for Soulja Boy.<br />
Naturally he began composing his own music.<br />
“I must have written at least 30 songs before ‘Turn My<br />
Swag On’ hit,” McConnell said. “A friend of mine who knew<br />
Soulja Boy emailed a demo to him and he liked it. That was my<br />
first placement with a well-known artist.”<br />
His good fortune led to a full-page story about him and his<br />
musical talents in the 2011 NCAA Final Four program.<br />
McConnell plans to pursue a career in the music industry<br />
after he graduates. He is currently a self-described free-agent<br />
pursuing offers from SONY, Maybach Music Group and other<br />
music production companies.<br />
26 <strong>Kennesaw</strong> <strong>State</strong> <strong>University</strong> Magazine | SUMMER 2011
“Like most kids, I had the pipe dream of playing in the<br />
NBA,” he said, “but I always knew I had the gift of music to fall<br />
back on. I can’t wait to get started.”<br />
Move That Bus…with Biodiesel<br />
NAME: Andrea Rioux<br />
HOMETOWN: Johns Creek, Ga.<br />
MAJOR: M.A., Education<br />
YEAR: 2013<br />
Rioux, a physical science teacher, designed a<br />
technology-supported unit of instruction titled “Move that<br />
Bus…with Biodiesel.” The unit called for students to<br />
make an alternative biodiesel fuel from cooking oil — a<br />
product found in abundance in the school cafeteria.<br />
What began as an exercise in professor Jo Williamson’s<br />
graduate-level instructional technology class became an<br />
educational gold mine for Andrea Rioux’s eighth graders.<br />
“It was called an engaged learning project, ” said Rioux,<br />
a master’s student in the Bagwell College of Education and a<br />
physical science teacher at River Trail Middle School in Johns<br />
Creek, Ga. “We had to write a curriculum unit using researchbased<br />
strategies to motivate students.”<br />
Rioux designed a technology-supported unit of instruction<br />
titled “Move that Bus…with Biodiesel.” The unit called for<br />
students to make an alternative biodiesel fuel to power a<br />
school bus 15 miles from River Trail’s parking lot to the garage<br />
in Alpharetta, Ga. Students would have to use the Internet to<br />
research biodiesel, video conferences to communicate with<br />
biofuel experts and write blogs to document their scientific<br />
process and conclusions. They decided to use cooking oil — a<br />
product found in abundance in the school cafeteria — to make<br />
the fuel.<br />
“On April 25, 2011,” the class blog read, “Ms. Rioux<br />
assigned us a project that would stretch our brains to the limit.<br />
Mr. Ham from the Fulton County School Bus Commission<br />
came to us and said, ‘I am depending on you students to<br />
power a bus using biodiesel fuel made by you.’ This is going<br />
to be a challenging yet awesome project. The catch is, our<br />
teacher cannot guide us through the experiment! We are going<br />
to have to research everything on our own, come up with a way<br />
to make biodiesel and make sure it works.”<br />
In another class, Rioux learned that $1,000 research<br />
grants were available from the Atlanta Chapter of the Armed<br />
Forces Communications and Electronics Association (AFCEA)<br />
to develop future science and technology leaders. Putting<br />
aside her doubts, Rioux submitted an application to AFCEA to<br />
fund “Move that Bus.”<br />
Andrea Rioux helped her eighth grade physical science students<br />
produce biodiesel from used cooking oil.<br />
“I never thought I would get the grant,” she said. “I justified<br />
it by saying even if I don’t get it, I’ll still gain the experience of<br />
applying for one.”<br />
Rioux won the grant and after a month of research and<br />
lab work, a school bus — its engine fueled with 20 ounces of<br />
biodiesel and reeking of stale french fries — roared to life and<br />
made the trek to the bus barn.<br />
Rioux has no grand plans to become a used cooking oil<br />
baron; she defines success in a more personal way.<br />
“I hope my students learned how to take a big problem<br />
and come up with a solution,” she said. “In the real world you<br />
either pass or fail. This is a great way to get that across to kids.<br />
I hope to be able to expand this idea so many more kids are<br />
able to share the experience.”<br />
A Wealth of Resources<br />
Every student agreed that <strong>Kennesaw</strong> <strong>State</strong> provides a fertile<br />
field for nurturing and enacting bold ideas.<br />
“At <strong>Kennesaw</strong> <strong>State</strong>, the academic environment is great,<br />
but it’s the chance to network that puts you in a position<br />
to succeed,” said Allen, founder of the iSchool Initiative. “I<br />
would encourage students to take advantage of the free<br />
rich resources you have access to — events, campus<br />
organizations, research opportunities, brilliant professors, you<br />
name it. I have taken advantage of every little bit and I think<br />
that’s why I’ve been successful. Most students here don’t take<br />
advantage of the tremendous resources this university has to<br />
offer and they should.”<br />
<strong>Kennesaw</strong> <strong>State</strong> <strong>University</strong> Magazine | SUMMER 2011<br />
27
Biology professor Marcus Davis spends summers in the Canadian<br />
Arctic searching for fossils like this saber-toothed cat skull.<br />
Linking<br />
BY ROBERT S. GODLEWSKI<br />
Evolutionary biologist Marcus C. Davis delves into the past<br />
with an eye on the future, knowing that his research will shed<br />
new light on birth defects and limb regeneration in humans.<br />
An assistant professor of biology in KSU’s College of<br />
Science and Mathematics, Davis spends summers digging<br />
for fossils in the Canadian Arctic where temperatures hover<br />
around freezing and the sun never sets.<br />
Davis was among a group of researchers led by the<br />
<strong>University</strong> of Chicago’s Neil Shubin, that made a key discovery<br />
while exploring 375 million-year-old fossilized streambeds 600<br />
miles from the North Pole — the skeletons of well-preserved<br />
fossil fish.<br />
They were searching for what Davis describes as<br />
a transitional organism between fish and land-living<br />
vertebrates, which possessed attributes of both fish and<br />
amphibians.<br />
“What we found was a mosaic animal with long and<br />
muscular limbs like an amphibian, with a fish-like fin at the end<br />
for swimming,” he said. “Unlike fish, it had a distinctive neck<br />
— a key attribute that allows land animals to move their head<br />
independently from their body.”<br />
The team named the “missing link” fossil Tiktaalik<br />
(pronounced tic-TAH’-lic) roseae, and nicknamed it the<br />
“fishapod,” or fish with feet.<br />
The New York Times quoted H. Richard Lane, director of<br />
paleobiology at the National Science Foundation, as saying,<br />
“These exciting discoveries are providing fossil Rosetta Stones<br />
28 <strong>Kennesaw</strong> <strong>State</strong> <strong>University</strong> Magazine | SUMMER 2011
Davis was among a group of researchers<br />
that found Tiktaalic roseae or “fishapod.”<br />
the Past<br />
<strong>Kennesaw</strong> <strong>State</strong> professor’s<br />
Arctic research offers hope<br />
in the study of birth defects<br />
for a deeper understanding of this evolutionary milestone —<br />
the link from fish to land-roaming tetrapods.”<br />
Davis said his current research explores the<br />
mechanisms of evolutionary change that underlie the origins<br />
of new animal body plans. “I integrate information from<br />
the fossil record with the investigation of developmental<br />
mechanisms in living vertebrates. I’m trying to determine<br />
whether fish have fingers, or something that became fingers<br />
in all of us ‘land fish.’”<br />
The patterns of limb evolution across hundreds of millions<br />
of years have allowed researchers like Davis to develop<br />
hypotheses about how limbs form and which genes are involved.<br />
So, besides the evolutionary insights, these discoveries<br />
may lead to medical breakthroughs since many fish and<br />
amphibians can replace damaged or lost limbs.<br />
Since these vertebrates and mammals, including humans,<br />
use mostly the same genes to build their limbs, researchers<br />
are confident it will one day be possible to regenerate lost<br />
digits and limbs in humans.<br />
“Insights from our study also have allowed us to<br />
clarify the very confusing observations that have been<br />
made regarding birth defects in humans. Which is why,<br />
in polydactylism, one of the most common forms of birth<br />
defects, there are extra digits – six, seven or eight but never<br />
more than eight digits,” Davis said.<br />
Davis made a return trip to the Arctic this summer. “It is<br />
now time to open the next chapter in exploration and I have<br />
been invited back to play a role,” he said. “We are excited to<br />
explore some new exposures, on new islands, that we did not<br />
explore over the last decade.”<br />
<strong>Kennesaw</strong> <strong>State</strong> <strong>University</strong> Magazine | SUMMER 2011<br />
29
30<br />
<strong>Kennesaw</strong> <strong>State</strong> <strong>University</strong> Magazine | SUMMER 2011<br />
<strong>Kennesaw</strong> <strong>State</strong> alums Dave<br />
and Rich DeSantis own Peace<br />
Love and Pizza in Woodstock.
outstandingowl<br />
Peace Love and Pizza<br />
Alumni entrepreneurs are rolling in the dough...literally<br />
BY ROBERT S. GODLEWSKI<br />
K<br />
ennesaw <strong>State</strong> alums Dave and Rich DeSantis have spent<br />
most of their adult lives working in the restaurant business.<br />
Back in 1976, when their father opened Dunkin’<br />
Donuts and Blimpie restaurants in Atlanta, the boys served<br />
food and ran the register. The brothers, now in their early<br />
forties, say the family business work ethic helped when they<br />
launched All-Star Pizza restaurants in Atlanta 15 years ago.<br />
After a decade in business, they decided to sell their<br />
four All-Star Pizza locations and take corporate<br />
jobs. Then, laid off as the economy sputtered,<br />
they enrolled in the Coles College of<br />
Business for some professional<br />
retooling and graduated with<br />
EMBA degrees in 2008.<br />
That’s when<br />
they cooked up<br />
a new pizza<br />
concept, dubbing<br />
it Peace Love<br />
and Pizza. While<br />
the big chains churn out<br />
mass advertising and tons of<br />
promotions at a frenetic pace,<br />
the DeSantis’ philosophy is more<br />
laid back as reflected by pies named<br />
“Groovylicious,” “Bye Bye…American<br />
Pie” and “Viva Las Vegan.”<br />
The brothers’ hard work and attention to<br />
serving the needs of customers has really paid off.<br />
“The end of May was like Super Bowl week for us<br />
around here,” says Dave, the older brother. “We got an order<br />
for 100 pizzas before noon and that was on a Monday.”<br />
Adds Rich, “We’re super busy all the time now, but we’re<br />
not complaining.”<br />
The 1,200 square-foot-shop, staffed primarily by KSU<br />
students, is located about two miles from campus. It has<br />
only a couple of tables since most orders are for carry-out or<br />
delivery.<br />
To stand out in the crowded pizza restaurant business,<br />
they needed to show some environmental attitude — which<br />
they clearly do on their Web page:<br />
“Peace Love and Pizza is deliciously different from all<br />
mainstream pizza, dudes. My name’s Dave and my bro is<br />
Rich, and Peace Love and Pizza is the result of our<br />
over 25 years of pizza making experience,<br />
a lifetime of good times and a love of<br />
everything cool.<br />
Times are tight! We work<br />
hard to keep our overhead<br />
costs low and in turn pass<br />
on our savings to you,<br />
our customers.<br />
We also strive<br />
everyday to<br />
reduce our<br />
environmental footprint<br />
by recycling all our<br />
cardboard, aluminum and<br />
steel. Since this effort requires<br />
time and costs a bit more, lots of<br />
peeps have asked us why? Because<br />
it matters!”<br />
Brian Cohen, a friend and fellow<br />
entrepreneur in their EMBA cohort and<br />
secretary of the KSU Alumni Association, says<br />
the brothers learned more than just solid business practices<br />
in class. “I think they may have learned how to work better<br />
with each other, too. I always thought they would be<br />
successful at whatever they did. Rich loves details and the<br />
financial aspects of running a business, and Dave brings the<br />
emotion and passion. Together, they’re very inspiring, very<br />
good at what they do.”<br />
<strong>Kennesaw</strong> <strong>State</strong> <strong>University</strong> Magazine | SUMMER 2011 31
RecoveRing<br />
Hope<br />
<strong>Kennesaw</strong> <strong>State</strong> center responds to growing<br />
number of students battling addictions<br />
Teresa Johnston, director of the Center for<br />
Young Adult Addiction and Recovery on the<br />
KSU campus, and client Katherine Davidson.<br />
BY SABBAYE McGRIFF<br />
From the vantage point of Katherine Davidson’s early teen<br />
years, graduating in 2011 from KSU with a bachelor’s<br />
degree in psychology was even more far-fetched than<br />
living to her 18th birthday.<br />
After several relapses during treatment for anorexia, the<br />
eating disorder she describes as an addiction that began when<br />
she was 12, Davidson said going to college “just didn’t seem<br />
like something I could do.” Persevering in her commitment<br />
to recovery, however, she finished <strong>Kennesaw</strong> Mountain High<br />
School and applied to only one college.<br />
Choosing KSU turned out to be a milestone on Davidson’s<br />
path to recovery, which in 2007 intersected with the university’s<br />
newly established Collegiate Recovery Center, since renamed<br />
the Center for Young Adult Addiction and Recovery (CYAAR).<br />
Based on a model program at Texas Tech <strong>University</strong>,<br />
KSU’s center helps students struggling with and recovering from<br />
addiction. It provides education and prevention services for the<br />
campus community and collaborates with faculty, academic<br />
departments and community organizations to conduct research<br />
into young adult addiction, treatment and recovery. The center<br />
includes the Collegiate Recovery Community (CRC), which<br />
provides students in recovery from alcohol, drug, food and other<br />
addictions with individual attention, group meetings, academic<br />
advisement and support. The center’s Alcohol and Other Drugs<br />
initiative provides evidence-based prevention education for<br />
those who are addicted and those at risk.<br />
A week before moving into her residence hall, Davidson<br />
reached her goal weight, a condition of her therapy. Early in<br />
her freshman year, she attended a forum on eating disorders<br />
presented by CYAAR and the KSU Wellness Center, where<br />
she was surprised to see her therapist on the panel. She also<br />
met Teresa Johnston, the CYAAR’s director and a licensed<br />
professional counselor.<br />
Davidson worked with Johnston to start a campus chapter<br />
of ANAD, the national association of Anorexia Nervosa and<br />
Associated Disorders. By spring semester, she was leading a<br />
weekly peer group session for KSU students struggling with<br />
eating disorders, and eventually became certified as a peer<br />
health educator. During her sophomore year, she continued<br />
recovery in weekly CRC group sessions and prevention<br />
32 <strong>Kennesaw</strong> <strong>State</strong> <strong>University</strong> Magazine | SUMMER 2011
Katherine Davidson, left, talks with Teresa Johnston, director of the<br />
Center for Young Adult Addiction and Recovery on the KSU campus.<br />
activities and earned one of three scholarships funded by<br />
William S. and Betsey B. Duffey for KSU students in recovery.<br />
KSU was prime to become the first higher education<br />
institution in the Southeast to establish a center devoted to<br />
young adult addiction and recovery because of the growing need<br />
on campus and surrounding community, according to Johnston,<br />
who also teaches a learning community for first-year students<br />
who either have a need or an interest in addiction and recovery.<br />
Using calculations based on a national model, Johnston<br />
estimates that some 300 KSU students need recovery<br />
services. The CRC began with three students in 2008. During<br />
spring 2011, it served 46 students, one-half of whom said<br />
they attended KSU because it provides an addiction recovery<br />
support program.<br />
“We’re becoming a destination campus for local students<br />
in recovery, largely due to word-of-mouth and a very active<br />
therapeutic community in the Cobb County area,” Johnston said.<br />
“The center is an acknowledgement that culturally addiction<br />
is a big problem. We can address it by masking the problem<br />
and pretending that it doesn’t exist, but that doesn’t advance<br />
knowledge and help make it safe for students with addictions.”<br />
For Katherine Davidson, now 23 and hoping to earn a<br />
master’s degree in social work from the <strong>University</strong> of Texas in<br />
Austin, the safety and support provided by the CRC allowed<br />
her to heal and thrive.<br />
“When you have school work, studying, tests, working<br />
parttime, it’s very difficult to stay in recovery if you don’t have a<br />
regular support group,” she said. “It made all the difference in<br />
my recovery. I feel amazing.”<br />
SUPPORTING RECOVERY<br />
If the movement to firmly establish addiction recovery<br />
communities on college campuses were a relay race, Teresa<br />
Johnston, director of KSU’s Center for Young Adult Addiction<br />
and Recovery (CYAAR), would be among the front runners.<br />
Taking up the mantle from colleagues at the pioneering<br />
Texas Tech <strong>University</strong>’s Center for the Study of Addiction and<br />
Recovery, Johnston has forged ahead in the race to promote<br />
addiction recovery and support for college students.<br />
With the exponential growth of KSU’s collegiate recovery<br />
community and the addition of alcohol and drug education<br />
and intervention services, the CYAAR is poised to become a<br />
national model and a resource for research into young adult<br />
addiction and recovery.<br />
Johnston also is a major contributor to an effort to<br />
institutionalize addiction and recovery services throughout<br />
higher education. In July, she co-facilitated the first meeting<br />
of the executive board of the Association for Recovery in<br />
Higher Education (ARHE), which supports addiction recovery<br />
communities at 20 campuses nationwide, with several more<br />
poised to open next year.<br />
In addition, KSU will host more than 250 scholars,<br />
practitioners, administrators, staff and students at the 3rd<br />
annual National Collegiate Recovery and Relapse Prevention<br />
Conference in March 2012.<br />
“There is a great momentum, even from the federal<br />
government, to make certain that young people with addictions<br />
get the services and support they need in an academic<br />
setting,” Johnston said. “KSU students in recovery are given<br />
the opportunity to build community, sustain their recovery and<br />
progress in their academics one semester at a time, one day at<br />
a time and one person at a time. It’s a race worth winning.”<br />
<strong>Kennesaw</strong> <strong>State</strong> <strong>University</strong> Magazine | SUMMER 2011<br />
33
John Drummond owns two<br />
dot.com companies selling<br />
banjos and unicycles.<br />
John Drummond juggles<br />
two online businesses<br />
from his unicycle seat<br />
BY JENNIFER HAFER<br />
John Drummond, Communication<br />
’98, has never had “one of those<br />
days.” He loves his job and is still<br />
passionate about the hobbies that have<br />
made him a successful entrepreneur.<br />
Drummond is founder and president<br />
of unicycle.com and banjo.com, mailorder<br />
businesses based out of a<br />
3,200-square-foot warehouse in Marietta,<br />
Ga. His wife, Amy, is CEO.<br />
“We started unicycle.com in 1999 at<br />
the height of the dot.com bust,” Drummond<br />
recalled. “It was 10 days before our first<br />
order came in, and it was for a small, clipon<br />
rearview mirror. The sale was only a<br />
few dollars, but we were so excited. At that<br />
point we knew it would work.”<br />
In its first year, unicycle.com<br />
generated $150,000 in sales. Today,<br />
sales are more than $1 million annually<br />
and there are 12 unicycle.com franchises<br />
around the world.<br />
“I started riding unicycles when I was<br />
12,” Drummond said. “Then when I was<br />
16, the unicycle got put away after I started<br />
driving. It disappeared into the basement<br />
or attic, coming out whenever we moved.”<br />
And, that’s where it stayed until<br />
Drummond turned 40 and was looking for<br />
a way to lose a few pounds.<br />
“By age 40, I’d gained a pound a<br />
year for every year since high school,”<br />
Drummond said. “I was tired of failing at<br />
diets, so I chose the fitness route. I ride<br />
my unicycle six miles every day.”<br />
With the success of unicycle.com,<br />
Drummond was able to launch his second<br />
Internet-based business, banjo.com, in<br />
2003. Banjo.com is the largest music<br />
store dedicated to the sale of banjos,<br />
stocking more than 500. By 2007, sales<br />
at banjo.com were nearly $1 million. This<br />
year, sales are tracking 40 percent above<br />
last year.<br />
In addition to overseeing his<br />
companies, Drummond also plays drums<br />
in a local band, 120 East, another hobby<br />
that will soon manifest itself into a third<br />
e-commerce venture; drums.us.com.<br />
34 <strong>Kennesaw</strong> <strong>State</strong> <strong>University</strong> Magazine | SUMMER 2011
owlcountry<br />
Owls baseball ends season on a high note<br />
In spite of being picked to finish eighth in the Atlantic Sun<br />
Conference’s preseason coach’s poll, the KSU baseball team<br />
ended the season with a 35-25 record and a third-place finish<br />
in the conference standings. The pot was further sweetened<br />
as three Owls earned All-Conference honors.<br />
Outfielder Aaron Dobbs was selected to the A-Sun<br />
first team, although he didn’t start the season in that<br />
position. Injuries to other outfielders forced Dobbs to move<br />
from the infield.<br />
“A quarter of the way through the season, Aaron<br />
moved to the outfield,” said KSU head coach Mike<br />
Sansing. “I feel like he’s made a good adjustment and<br />
has turned into a really good outfielder. Obviously, he hit<br />
well throughout the year, but to make that transition and to<br />
keep the offensive numbers there is really impressive.”<br />
Dobbs finished the season hitting .393 in conference<br />
games and led all Owls with 44 hits and 28 runs.<br />
First baseman Andy Chriscaden and catcher Ronnie<br />
Freeman earned A-Sun second team honors.<br />
Chriscaden’s 15 home runs and 73 RBIs — 42 in<br />
A-Sun play alone — set KSU Division I records.<br />
Freeman set some records of his own including a 42-<br />
game hitting streak that spanned the end of last season<br />
through the first 13 games of this season. The sophomore<br />
finished the regular season with a .380 batting average.<br />
Freeman was also named to the Capital One Academic<br />
All-District first team.<br />
“These are well-deserved awards,” Sansing said. “All<br />
three players have worked hard all year, and we are very<br />
proud of their accomplishments.”<br />
Owls record best season in KSU golf history<br />
The Owls recorded the best season in KSU golf history,<br />
winning five team titles including its first Atlantic Sun<br />
Conference championship, a spot at the NCAA national<br />
championship tournament and Atlantic Sun first team<br />
honors for juniors Jeff Karlsson and Matt Nagy.<br />
Adding icing to the proverbial cake, Jay Mosely, in his<br />
second season as the Owl’s head coach, and Karlsson<br />
were unanimously voted A-Sun Coach of the Year and<br />
A-Sun Men’s Golfer of the Year respectively by the other<br />
A-Sun coaches. Karlsson becomes the first KSU men’s<br />
golfer to claim the award.<br />
“We’re extremely proud of Jeff for receiving this<br />
honor,” Mosely said. “Any kind of award of this magnitude<br />
is great for this program. It says a lot, not just about Jeff,<br />
but about the program and the quality of players that we<br />
have in it.”<br />
The Owls finished 26th at the national competition,<br />
where Karlsson carded a four-over, 220, to finish in a tie<br />
for 21st, a team-high. Karlsson capped the season as<br />
the eighth-ranked golfer in the GolfStat Cup standings<br />
with 975 wins compared to only 22 losses – the 11th best<br />
record in the nation.<br />
“I am very proud of what this team has accomplished<br />
all year long,” Mosely said, “and I look forward to an even<br />
better season in 2011-12.”<br />
McNair earns All-American honorable mention<br />
Senior KSU track and field athlete Josh McNair closed<br />
out his collegiate career at the NCAA Division I Track and<br />
Field Championships, heaving a shot 55 feet 1.50 inches,<br />
good enough for a 20th-place finish and selection as an<br />
All-American honorable mention.<br />
“I am very pleased with the job that Josh has done<br />
this year,” head track and field coach Andy Eggerth said.<br />
“It’s great for him to cap off his year with a top 20 finish in<br />
the nation. This is the highest finish that any KSU athlete<br />
has had in outdoor track. Coach Morris did a great job with<br />
Josh this year as he guided him to breaking the school<br />
record three times and his previous best by over two feet<br />
at the East Preliminary Round.”<br />
McNair competed in three different field events earning<br />
All-Conference honors in shot put, hammer and discus.<br />
KSU junior Jeff<br />
Karlsson was<br />
named the Atlantic<br />
Sun Conference<br />
Golfer of the Year.<br />
<strong>Kennesaw</strong> <strong>State</strong> <strong>University</strong> Magazine | SUMMER 2011<br />
35
Reaching<br />
for the<br />
Stars<br />
<strong>Kennesaw</strong> <strong>State</strong> Athletic<br />
Director Vaughn Williams<br />
charts an ambitious course<br />
BY ROBERT S. GODLEWSKI<br />
When former <strong>University</strong> of Connecticut associate<br />
athletic director Vaughn Williams was introduced<br />
as <strong>Kennesaw</strong> <strong>State</strong> <strong>University</strong>’s new athletic<br />
director, he was still basking in UConn’s third NCAA men’s<br />
basketball championship.<br />
Williams, who brings more than 17 years of senior<br />
athletic administrative experience, joined KSU as the<br />
university was in the midst of a search for a new head<br />
basketball coach and is adding football.<br />
In making the announcement, KSU President Daniel<br />
S. Papp said, “We are also embarking on a multi-milliondollar<br />
fundraising initiative that will be critical to making<br />
football part of the KSU athletics program, and the<br />
person who will lead these important athletic initiatives is<br />
<strong>Kennesaw</strong> <strong>State</strong>’s new athletic director Vaughn Williams.”<br />
Williams, who was responsible for UConn’s strategic<br />
planning, facility master plans and policy/procedure<br />
improvement sat down with KSU Magazine to talk about<br />
KSU athletics and where the program is headed.<br />
Vaughn Williams, <strong>Kennesaw</strong> <strong>State</strong>’s new athletic director.<br />
36 <strong>Kennesaw</strong> <strong>State</strong> <strong>University</strong> Magazine | SUMMER 2011
What exactly does it mean for us to be, as you said during<br />
your press conference, “champions with integrity in<br />
academics, in the community and in athletics?”<br />
We want to do things with class and dignity. It’s not<br />
on winning alone; it’s how one carries himself. We want<br />
to be leaders and role models for the KSU community<br />
in everything we do in the classroom, community and in<br />
competition. We want to highlight all the greatness that<br />
happens on this campus. The bigger picture is not just<br />
attracting the student-athletes but all students who want<br />
to come here. We want to do our part to make sure we are<br />
the first choice, and athletics can be the one to exemplify<br />
everything good about KSU.<br />
What are some of the biggest challenges you face as a<br />
new athletic director, and how will your experiences at<br />
UConn help you meet them?<br />
I believe that many opportunities exist for <strong>Kennesaw</strong> <strong>State</strong><br />
<strong>University</strong>, not challenges. The sooner I get to know all my<br />
new KSU family, the sooner we can all get to work on the task<br />
at hand to be champions in the classroom, champions in the<br />
community, champions of character and champions on the field.<br />
You were the project manager for all aspects of UConn’s<br />
athletic capital projects — including a new practice<br />
football facility and a track/field hockey/lacrosse facility —<br />
overseeing a total of $53 million in capital projects for the<br />
Huskies. How will that experience help you here?<br />
I know facilities and I know brick and mortar. We’re going<br />
to have a master plan for KSU athletics to let us know what<br />
the future holds. We’re going to have football and yet we still<br />
have infrastructure challenges, regardless of football. If there<br />
is a need for additional sports, we will need to add facilities for<br />
them as well. The challenge is doing things the right way and<br />
to be the best in the Atlantic Sun. I know project management<br />
and I can help our people know how to fast track things and<br />
save money. We are going to pinpoint someone to do capital<br />
projects. Scott Whitlock is serving in that capacity because<br />
he has done it with the Bailey Athletic Complex. He has the<br />
knowledge and network on this campus. He is very thorough,<br />
very detail-oriented.<br />
Why did you want to come to KSU?<br />
<strong>Kennesaw</strong> <strong>State</strong> offers the opportunity to utilize everything<br />
I have learned throughout my career. It was a great fit because<br />
of the goals and aspirations of the university. Everyone I met<br />
from President Papp to the staff and faculty, to the studentathletes,<br />
were very supportive. Dr. Papp has a grand vision of<br />
where the university is going and how athletics can be utilized<br />
to attain these goals. There is energy and excitement. We’re<br />
reaching for the stars.<br />
You acted quickly to select KSU’s men’s basketball coach.<br />
What qualifications were most important?<br />
First, we wanted someone who understood the mission of<br />
the university and the desire for our student-athletes who play<br />
basketball to be more than basketball players. Coach (Lewis)<br />
Preston comes to us with tremendous character and integrity<br />
and he is a great teacher. We have a lot of coaches that are<br />
teachers like him. He wants the best for our students as<br />
people; then we can play some basketball. And we are going to<br />
do it the right way.<br />
How will the new <strong>Kennesaw</strong> <strong>State</strong> Athletic Association<br />
help with our plans for football?<br />
It gives us a way to operate more efficiently. It will help our<br />
coaches who must travel and recruit and mentor the studentathletes.<br />
That is going to give us flexibility to raise funds like<br />
we never have. It will help with our plans for football because<br />
we are gearing up for a lot more student-athletes, coaches<br />
and staff, which helps us better serve our department. Vince<br />
Dooley has definitely been a great help to us. The football<br />
study he chaired was a tremendous effort and yielded a lot of<br />
good information. I’m looking forward to coach Dooley being<br />
a great adviser along with others in the KSU community, our<br />
alumni and board of trustees.<br />
What are you looking for in a football coach?<br />
We are going to build a solid foundation, so we need a<br />
team builder, a team player, a coach with integrity, a highcharacter<br />
individual that understands our KSU mission of<br />
developing outstanding students to their full potential. We<br />
need someone just like all the great coaches we have already<br />
at KSU — an outstanding person, who is an outstanding<br />
communicator, who has an outstanding work ethic.<br />
How will you grow Owl athletics’ presence at the Division<br />
I level?<br />
Our first goal is to achieve academic excellence. We<br />
want to be No. 1 in the Atlantic Sun Conference. We want<br />
to dominate in every athletic component. When people say<br />
Atlantic Sun, we want them to say <strong>Kennesaw</strong> <strong>State</strong>. We<br />
want to be of service to the community like we did to help the<br />
tornado victims in Ringgold. We want people to say, “They do<br />
it first class; they do it in the classroom; they lead everywhere<br />
and in the community.”<br />
<strong>Kennesaw</strong> <strong>State</strong> <strong>University</strong> Magazine | SUMMER 2011<br />
37
classnotes<br />
1970s<br />
James C. Childers (Business Administration ’72), founder and owner of To Your<br />
<strong>Success</strong> Inc., was featured in the Marietta Daily Journal for the success of his familyowned<br />
business. He lives in <strong>Kennesaw</strong> with his wife, Olive.<br />
Michael Paris (Business Administration ’72) is the president and chief executive of<br />
the Council for Quality Growth and was recently interviewed by the Gwinnett Business<br />
Journal. He lives in Marietta.<br />
1980s<br />
Jodi Hewatt (Nursing ’89) was nominated for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s 6th<br />
Annual Nursing Excellence Awards for “going above and beyond the call of duty” to<br />
make a significant impact on her patients.<br />
Scott C. Smith (Management ’83) was recently hired by Grubb and Ellis as the senior<br />
vice president of facilities management. He is also senior adviser to the board of<br />
CoreNet Global’s Atlanta chapter. He lives in Cumming.<br />
Nancy Sexton (Nursing ’85) was nominated for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s<br />
6th Annual Nursing Excellence Awards for “going above and beyond the call of duty” to<br />
make a significant impact on her patients.<br />
1990s<br />
Emanuel “Man” Martin’s (M.A.P.W. ’98) second novel, “Paradise Dogs,” was published<br />
in early June. The book received great reviews from Booklist and Publishers Weekly.<br />
Man also won the Georgia Author of the Year award in 2008 for his first novel, “Days of<br />
the Endless Corvette.” He lives in Atlanta with his wife, Nancy.<br />
Shane McDonald (Art ’92) created the website and collateral materials design for the<br />
Marietta/Cobb Museum of Art’s Art & Design Showhouse 2011.<br />
G. W. “Walt” Murray (Communication ’92) is a licensed private investigator, and the vice<br />
president of the MIS Group, an Atlanta-based investigations company offering a wide<br />
range of investigative services throughout the U.S., and in various locations around the<br />
world. He lives with his wife, Amy, in Woodstock.<br />
Virginia Rogers (Visual Communication ’99) accepted a position as the creative manager<br />
for the Office of Alumni Affairs at <strong>Kennesaw</strong> <strong>State</strong>. She has worked for KSU for the past<br />
11 years as senior designer for the Office of <strong>University</strong> Relations. She lives in Acworth.<br />
Patricia Walden (Nursing ’95) was nominated for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s<br />
6th Annual Nursing Excellence Awards for “going above and beyond the call of duty” to<br />
make a significant impact on her patients.<br />
38<br />
<strong>Kennesaw</strong> <strong>State</strong> <strong>University</strong> Magazine | SUMMER 2011
classnotes<br />
Christopher Ward (Political Science ’95, M.A.P.W. ’11) recently published his new<br />
volume of poetry, “Man Poems: From Beers to Gears to Grills and Gears,” available<br />
exclusively through Amazon.com and his website, www.manpoems.net. He lives in<br />
Marietta with his wife, Michelle.<br />
Karen Winkle (Nursing ’99) was nominated for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s<br />
6th Annual Nursing Excellence Awards for “going above and beyond the call of duty” to<br />
make a significant impact on her patients.<br />
Seward Clayton Worley (Spanish ’94) accepted an offer to become director of global IT<br />
at Dell, Inc. He lives in Round Rock, Texas.<br />
2000s<br />
2001<br />
Kate Cargill (MBA ’01) is one of eight candidates running for West Deptford’s board of<br />
education. She lives in Thorofare, N.J., with her husband and three daughters.<br />
Eric Nejedly (Health and Sport Science ’01) was nominated for the Atlanta Journal-<br />
Constitution’s 6th Annual Nursing Excellence Awards for “going above and beyond the<br />
call of duty” to make a significant impact on his patients.<br />
2002<br />
Ojinika Godwin-Offor (Nursing ’02) was nominated for the Atlanta Journal-<br />
Constitution’s 6th Annual Nursing Excellence Awards for “going above and beyond the<br />
call of duty” to make a significant impact on his patients.<br />
2003<br />
Stacie Barrow (Human Services ’03) accepted a position as senior director of<br />
development for Young Harris College. She lives in Marietta.<br />
Tammy Green (Nursing ’03) was nominated for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s<br />
6th Annual Nursing Excellence Awards for “going above and beyond the call of duty” to<br />
make a significant impact on her patients.<br />
Brittani Hawk (Nursing ’03) was nominated for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s<br />
6th Annual Nursing Excellence Awards for “going above and beyond the call of duty” to<br />
make a significant impact on her patients.<br />
Marko Horn (Management ’01, MBA ’03) completed his doctorate in strategic<br />
management at Florida <strong>State</strong> <strong>University</strong> and accepted a position as assistant professor<br />
at Millsaps College in Jackson, Miss. He lives in Madison, Miss.<br />
<strong>Kennesaw</strong> <strong>State</strong> <strong>University</strong> Magazine | SUMMER 2011 39
classnotes<br />
2004<br />
Jeremy Benbrooks (Political Science ’04) completed a<br />
doctorate in theology from Piedmont Baptist College in Winston<br />
Salem, N.C. He is a missionary pilot with Baptist International<br />
Missions preparing to work in Togo, West Africa.<br />
Jennifer Goad Cuthbertson (M.A.P.W. ’04) published a book,<br />
“Images of America: Historic Grant Park,” with her husband,<br />
Philip. The book was published by Arcadia Publishing. The<br />
Cuthbertsons live in Atlanta.<br />
2005<br />
Christopher Chappell (Political Science ’05) received the<br />
Judge Sebe Dale Memorial Scholarship Award for academic<br />
excellence from Mississippi College School of Law during its<br />
annual Law Day ceremony. He lives in <strong>Kennesaw</strong> with his wife,<br />
Kristin.<br />
Sarah Fisher (Nursing ’05) was nominated for the Atlanta<br />
Journal-Constitution’s 6th Annual Nursing Excellence Awards<br />
for “going above and beyond the call of duty” to make a<br />
significant impact on her patients.<br />
Miriam Rohlfs (Nursing ’05) was nominated for the Atlanta<br />
Journal-Constitution’s 6th Annual Nursing Excellence Awards<br />
for “going above and beyond the call of duty” to make a<br />
significant impact on her patients.<br />
2006<br />
John Berry (Marketing ’06) was selected as a member of the<br />
Leadership Atlanta class of 2012. He is the CEO and executive<br />
director of St. Vincent de Paul and lives in Marietta.<br />
Aaron Blowers (Theatre and Performance Studies ’06) began<br />
a new job as a systems engineer with Amazon. He is also the<br />
CEO of the Creative IT Consultancy, AIO Consulting Group<br />
and performs around Atlanta with the band Audiopeep. He lives<br />
in <strong>Kennesaw</strong>, Ga.<br />
William Cash (Art ’06) is featured in the book “100 Artists<br />
of the Male Form: A Contemporary Anthology of Painting,<br />
Drawing, and Sculpture” by E. Gibbons, which was published<br />
in January 2011.<br />
Sara Keeley (Nursing ’06) was nominated for the Atlanta<br />
Journal-Constitution’s 6th Annual Nursing Excellence Awards<br />
for “going above and beyond the call of duty” to make a<br />
significant impact on her patients.<br />
Sara Sanders (Nursing ‘06) was nominated for the Atlanta<br />
Journal-Constitution’s 6th Annual Nursing Excellence Awards<br />
for “going above and beyond the call of duty” to make a<br />
significant impact on her patients.<br />
2007<br />
Marilyn Camp (Nursing ’07) was nominated for the Atlanta<br />
Journal-Constitution’s 6th Annual Nursing Excellence Awards<br />
for “going above and beyond the call of duty” to make a<br />
significant impact on her patients.<br />
Daniel Matthew Fox (M.Ed. Educational Leadership ’07) was<br />
named Teacher of the Year for Sonoraville Middle School in<br />
Gordon County. He lives in Calhoun.<br />
Nicole Lassiter (Nursing ’07) accepted a position with The<br />
Children’s Hospital in Aurora, Colo. and works in the neonatal<br />
intensive care unit. She lives in Aurora.<br />
Ben Rice (Music Education ’07) accepted a position at Mill<br />
Creek Middle School in Woodstock as the orchestra and chorus<br />
director and the assistant band director. He lives in Woodstock.<br />
2008<br />
Matt Lewis (Theatre and Performance Studies ’08) and wife,<br />
Madlon, welcomed a new son, Thomas Kirk. They live in<br />
Tuscaloosa Ala. where Matt is working on his MFA in acting at<br />
the <strong>University</strong> of Alabama.<br />
2009<br />
Nick Ayers (Political Science ’09), was hired as presidential<br />
campaign exploratory committee manager for former<br />
Minnesota governor, Tim Pawlenty. Prior to working for<br />
Pawlenty, he was the executive director of the Republican<br />
Governors Association. He recently moved to Minneapolis.<br />
Erica Parks (Human Services ’09) graduated from the<br />
<strong>University</strong> of Georgia with a master’s in public health.<br />
Kathryn Powers (Nursing ’09) was nominated for the Atlanta<br />
Journal-Constitution’s 6th Annual Nursing Excellence Awards<br />
for “going above and beyond the call of duty” to make a<br />
significant impact on her patients.<br />
40<br />
<strong>Kennesaw</strong> <strong>State</strong> <strong>University</strong> Magazine | SUMMER 2011
campusbriefs<br />
classnotes<br />
2010<br />
Dustin Baker (Art ’10) is serving as an<br />
interpretive ranger and resident sculptor<br />
at Mount Rushmore National Park this<br />
summer. He previously worked as an<br />
intern naturalist at Red Top Mountain<br />
<strong>State</strong> Park in Georgia, where he was able<br />
to use his iron casting skills.<br />
Amy Johnson (M.A.T. ’10) is teaching art<br />
at Cooper Middle School in Cobb County.<br />
Angela J. Lands (Geography ’10) is<br />
a graduate research assistant in the<br />
<strong>University</strong> of Alabama’s department of<br />
geography. She lives in Douglasville, Ga.<br />
Angelica Walton (Psychology ’10)<br />
graduated from the U.S. Navy’s Officer<br />
Candidate School. She is stationed<br />
aboard the USS Chosen in Pearl Harbor,<br />
Hawaii.<br />
Brad Wilson (Communication ’10)<br />
accepted a position with 13WMAZ<br />
Television, a Gannett-owned company<br />
and CBS affiliate, in Macon, Ga. He is a<br />
multimedia producer and produces the<br />
midday newscast Wednesday through<br />
Friday and weekend morning shows. He<br />
lives in Macon.<br />
2011<br />
Melinda McPherson (Art ’11) married<br />
Chris Golden on May 14.<br />
Daniel Rice (Marketing ’11) is moving to<br />
Japan in December to be a missionary.<br />
He will live in Tokyo for two years<br />
ministering to university students.<br />
<strong>Kennesaw</strong> <strong>State</strong> <strong>University</strong> Magazine | SUMMER 2011 41
Neale Martin is considered<br />
a leading scholar in the field<br />
of consumer behavior.<br />
BY AIxA M. PASCUAL<br />
Neale Martin has a Ph.D. in marketing and has consulted<br />
with top technology and consumer products companies.<br />
But his keen insights into how consumers behave have<br />
their origins elsewhere: his years working as a rehab counselor.<br />
Early in his career, while working at an alcohol and<br />
drug treatment center, Martin became acquainted with the<br />
neurological underpinnings of addictions. He was mystified<br />
by why addicts used drugs and alcohol again and again<br />
even as they were conscious that these addictions led to bad<br />
outcomes, such as losing their jobs or their families. The role of<br />
the unconscious mind and habits in human behavior stuck with<br />
Martin even as he changed careers.<br />
“It was much easier for me to understand how behavior<br />
can occur outside of conscious awareness, even sabotaging<br />
people’s intentions,” says Martin, a resident scholar in the<br />
Department of Management & Entrepreneurship at the Coles<br />
College of Business. “I had always been fascinated by brain<br />
physiology and neuroscience, and learning about addiction gave<br />
me insights into how consumers unconsciously form habits.”<br />
By bringing together insights from the fields of<br />
neuroscience, psychology, behavioral economics and<br />
neuromarketing, Martin has emerged as a leading scholar in<br />
the field of consumer behavior. Recent research into how the<br />
brain works, he argues, suggests that most human behavior is<br />
under the sway of unconscious habits and not the conscious,<br />
cognitive brain.<br />
Martin’s provocative views are rapidly going mainstream.<br />
His 2008 book “Habit: The 95% of Behavior Marketers Ignore,”<br />
is now in its second paperback printing in the U.S. and has<br />
been published in the United Kingdom and India and translated<br />
into Chinese, Korean and Portuguese. Martin’s unorthodox<br />
ideas have caught the attention of marketing execs at blue chip<br />
companies such as Verizon, P&G, Campbell Soup Company<br />
and Eli Lilly. The Coles College of Business has developed<br />
42 <strong>Kennesaw</strong> <strong>State</strong> <strong>University</strong> Magazine | SUMMER 2011
TheZen<br />
of Marketing<br />
Coles College professor’s insights<br />
into consumer behavior challenge<br />
marketing canons<br />
a six-day, executive education certification program in habitbased<br />
marketing based on Martin’s ideas aimed at marketing<br />
and product development specialists.<br />
“Professor Martin’s pioneering work has actually<br />
challenged some of the most fundamental tenets of marketing<br />
and product development,” says Mike Salvador, director<br />
of Executive Education Programs at the Coles College of<br />
Business. “He has redefined the principles of what drives<br />
consumer behavior.”<br />
Martin’s eclectic background –– besides psychiatric<br />
health care, he has had jobs in hospital administration,<br />
journalism, technology and strategic consulting –– has<br />
contributed to shaping his views on consumer behavior. His<br />
graduate studies analyzing consumer behavior crystallized<br />
some of his casual observations on habitual behavior. As a<br />
Ph.D. student at Georgia Tech, he designed an experiment<br />
to analyze the relationship between a product and its retail<br />
environment to see how attitudes toward the brand and the<br />
store affected each other.<br />
His aha! moment came as he watched his teenage<br />
daughter, sitting on a couch next to the phone at home, pick<br />
up her cell phone to make a call. Martin observed that she<br />
used her cell phone out of habit, not thinking that the landline<br />
provided better quality for free. That led to a presentation in<br />
front of telcom execs reiterating how they need to become their<br />
customers’ habit instead of their choice. Further reading on<br />
new research on the influence of habitual behavior provided<br />
more ammunition for his ideas. “Marketing can now be updated<br />
with this new understanding of the consumer mind,” Martin<br />
explains. “The long-held concept that habits automate behavior<br />
out of conscious awareness explained much of what had<br />
puzzled marketers for years, such as customer satisfaction not<br />
predicting future behavior. There is a huge disconnect between<br />
what people say the will do and what they actually do.”<br />
<strong>Kennesaw</strong> <strong>State</strong> <strong>University</strong> Magazine | SUMMER 2011<br />
43
KSU Symphony Orchestra performs<br />
in Beijing, Xi’an p.18<br />
Mobile Education<br />
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expansion p.20<br />
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