Elizabeth Andress (Professor, Foods and Nutrition) has been named this year’s Walter Barnard Hill Distinguished Public Service Fellow, while Jorge Atiles (Associate Dean, Outreach and Extension) has been named a Hill Award winner.

The awards are named in honor of Chancellor Walter B. Hill, who led UGA from 1899 until his death in 1905. Hill prized the idea that the university should reach out to the state and devise ways to apply university-generated knowledge to its problems and challenges.

Andress, who received a Hill Award in 2001, is director of the USDA-funded National Center for Home Food Processing and Preservation. In naming her the Hill Fellow, Andress was recognized for a broad range of work in the area of food safety, including creating a website based on applied research that has “extended the reach of her expertise far beyond the scope of her well-respected printed educational materials, in-service teaching and workshops.”

In addition to her work with the center, Andress has additional programs that emphasize reducing the risk of food-borne illness by increasing the adoption of safe food handling practices both by consumers and food service employees in institutions, agencies and restaurants.

Atiles, who is an associate professor and Extension housing specialist in the Housing and Consumer Economics Department, also has the responsibility for Latino program development in Extension.

In being named a Hill Award winner, Atiles was recognized for his commitment to the land-grant university mission through his innovative contributions to educating the public about housing and indoor air quality and through his leadership in developing programs that reach the Latino and Hispanic population of Georgia.

More than 150 local and state leaders attended the State of Georgia Families conferences held in Savannah, Columbus and Atlanta as part of an effort to educate local and state leaders about important family trends.

Led by Dean Sharon Nickols, the conferences provided information on a variety of family issues, including the rates of marriage and divorce, health issues, the rate of bankruptcies occurring in Georgia and information on the types of housing available in various areas of the state.

“Our goal with these conferences is to emphasize the interdependence between economic development and family development,” according to Nickols. “Strong families contribute to strong communities, and vice versa .”

Those attending included representatives of local and state government, law enforcement and, in the case of the Columbus conference, a commanding officer of Fort Benning Army Base.

At each location, a lengthy question-and-answer session followed Nickols’ presentation with additional information being provided by a panel of FACS faculty, as well as local FACS Extension agents. In addition, those attending received a printed report detailing the information provided during the presentation.

A new Spanish-language website allows potential students and their parents to learn about the College of Family and Consumer Sciences.

The site, which was launched on Feb. 16, is the first UGA website to offer complete information in Spanish about a college and its majors.

“This website confirms our college’s push to recruit students from diverse backgrounds,” said FACS Dean Sharon Y. Nickols. “While the vast majority of students of Latino descent who are interested in attending the University of Georgia speak English fluently, we found during recruiting visits that their parents wanted the opportunity to read about our college in their native language.”

The website can be found at http://www.fcs.uga.edu/spanish and is directly linked to the FACS homepage. The site includes information on the college’s four departments and 11 majors.

“Our first effort at reaching the Spanish-speaking parents of potential students took place last fall,” according to Connie Rash, assistant director for students services in FACS. “The Georgia Mutual Assistance Association, a non-profit organization working with refugees and immigrants, sponsored a series of workshops in the North Fulton County-Atlanta community for college-bound Latino students.”

Rash provided printed information on the college’s departments and majors that had been translated into Spanish by FACS faculty members to those attending.

“It was amazing how pleased the parents were to be able to read this information for themselves, rather than relying on their children or someone else to translate it,” Rash said.

Silvia Giraudo, an assistant professor in the Department of Foods and Nutrition, who helped with much of the translation, said she understands the parents’ concerns.

“I’ve lived in the United States for many years now and feel very comfortable reading, writing and speaking English,” said Giraudo, a native of Argentina. “But, particularly when you’re exploring college options for your children, you want to be certain that you understand absolutely every word.”

Recruitment materials are only the latest of a series of efforts by the College of Family and Consumer Sciences to reach Georgia’s burgeoning Spanish-speaking population. FACS also has translated brochures related to foods and nutrition and housing issues into Spanish. In addition, the FACS Extension programs have translated all of their materials into Spanish since 2003.

“The University of Georgia has a historic commitment to reaching the needs of our state’s citizens,” Nickols said. “Whether it’s translating our Extension brochures dealing with household toxins, helping child-care providers and parents understand early brain development, or reaching out to potential students, the College of Family and Consumer Sciences shares that commitment to reaching our state’s diverse audiences.”

Join the next meeting of “Designing Dawgs” at Fusion Design Group, LLC in Atlanta, on Tuesday, July 26, from 6-7:30 p.m. “Designing Dawgs Open the Door!” is an invitation-only event highlighting the work of award-winning designers Pam Sanchez, Shirley McFarlane, and Emmye Otto. The Westye Group Chef will treat you to a feast as you learn the latest cabinet trends, space-planning tips and how working with a certified kitchen and bath planner makes all the difference.

Space is limited to 50 participants, so please RSVP to www.fcs.uga.edu/alumni/gifts.htmlddawgs.

For more information on Designing Dawgs, call Kelly McGill Dean (BSHE ’89, MS ’91) at 404-497-9094 or Catherine Hube Stockman (BSFCS ’91) at 770-225-6397.