Ann Allen (Undergraduate Advisor, Textiles, Merchandising and Interiors) has been selected as the College Advisor of the Year.

Diane Bales (Assistant Professor, Human Development and Family Science) has been promoted to the rank of associate professor and awarded tenure. She also received the Distinguished Extension Award from Gamma Sigma Delta.

Judy Bland (FACS Extension County Agent) has been awarded the Athena Award by the Tift County Chamber of Commerce. The award recognizes outstanding women for their professional careers, leadership and community service. She received her BSHE degree in Clothing and Textiles in 1974.

Peggy Bledsoe (Extension Coordinator, Houston County; FACS Extension Agent, Houston, Taylor, Macon and Peach counties) has received the Thomas F. Rodgers Outreach Agent Award. She has been a FACS agent for 27 years and has received national and state recognition for her work. Most recently, Bledsoe was recognized by the National Association of City and County Health Officials for organizing and implementing a model program for food safety education.

Don Bower (Professor and Interim Department Head, Human Development and Family Science) in collaboration with Janet Bitner of the Carl Vinson Institute of Government, delivered the first “Family Impact Seminar for Georgia Policymakers” during this year’s Georgia General Assembly. The seminar provided research-based information to state policy-makers on the impact of obesity on children. Speakers included Rebecca Mullis (Professor and Department Head, Foods and Nutrition) and Rick Lewis (Professor, Foods and Nutrition). Funding for the seminars was provided through the Office of the Vice President for Public Service and Outreach.

Susan Brooks (Office Manager, Housing and Consumer Economics) is this year’s recipient of the Nettie Marie Nickols Staff Award. Brooks has been a FACS staff member for 24 years and employed by UGA for a total of 32 years. In her nomination form, Brooks was described as “demonstrating superior customer service at all levels. Her winning attitude and attention to detail make her invaluable to our team. Someone worth cloning!! She is extraordinary.”

Mick Coleman (Associate Professor, Child and Family Development) has been named the Educator of the Year by the Georgia Association on Young Children. The award recognizes professionals who have made a unique contribution to the field of early childhood education and for professional dedication on behalf of children and families in Georgia.

Sharon Gibson (State Coordinator, Child, Youth and Families At Risk Program) has been awarded the FACS Outreach Faculty Award. In addition to her work with CYFAR, a five-year initiative designed to strengthen communities by reaching diverse audiences and using a grassroots approach to collaboration, Gibson is actively involved in the university’s “Poverty and Economics Initiative” and conducts the poverty simulation throughout the state. She has worked with FACS since 1998.

Jan Hathcote (Associate Dean for Academic Affairs and Research and Associate Professor, Textiles, Merchandising and Interiors) has been named a member of the UGA Teaching Academy, a community of scholars committed to promoting and celebrating teaching and learning.

Ian Hardin (Professor, Textiles, Merchandising and Interiors) was among the UGA faculty who traveled to Uganda to meet with textile and apparel businesses to create opportunities for U.S. and Ugandan firms to do business that translates into economic growth and jobs. The project is coordinated through the Office of International Public Service and Outreach in partnership with the African Studies Institute, the Uganda Investment Authority and the East Africa-America Business Council in Atlanta.

James Hargrove (Associate Professor, Foods and Nutrition) has published Mathematical Modeling in Nutrition and Toxicology , a book that reports the proceedings of the International Conference on Mathematical Modeling in Nutrition and Environmental Toxicology held at the University of Georgia in September 2003. Experts describe the use of modeling and simulation to study problems in obesity, diabetes, cancer, nutrient metabolism, risk assessment, and toxicology. Hypothesis testing, database construction and educational uses of computers are also discussed.

Ruth Harris (Associate Professor, Foods and Nutrition) has been promoted to the rank of professor.

Judy Harrison (Associate Professor, Foods and Nutrition) has been promoted to the rank of professor.

Hui-Chin Hsu (Associate Professor, Child and Family Development) has been selected as a Fulbright Scholar for 2005-06. She will be going to Taiwan to conduct research on mother-infant communication and contribute to academic programs.

Patricia Hunt-Hurst (Associate Professor and Department Head, Textiles, Merchandising and Interiors) has received the Distinguished Teaching Award from Gamma Sigma Delta. She also received an IDEAS award from the Office of the Vice President for Public Service and Outreach to fund students’ experiential learning with a fabric artisan and entrepreneur in the Maymester study abroad program in Ghana. In addition to travel throughout Ghana to study the history, culture, economic and political systems of the country, students will work with a local fabric artisan in Cape Coast to learn about textile design, home-based small businesses and marketing plans to support economic development.

Lee Johnson (Assistant Professor, Human Development and Family Science) has been awarded the “Excellence in Undergraduate Research Mentoring Faculty Recognition” by the Center for Undergraduate Research. The award was established this year to recognize mentoring excellence by new faculty.

Soyoung Kim (Assistant Professor, Textiles, Merchandising and Interiors) has been promoted to the rank of associate professor and awarded tenure.

Molly Kimler (Program Assistant, Walton County) has been awarded the FACS Outreach Paraprofessional Award for her work with the Expanded Foods and Nutrition Education Program. During the past 11 years she has reached more than 250 participants in the Teen-Age Moms Program in three high schools and two middle schools. She conducts classes and home visits to encourage these young mothers to complete high school and to teach them to care for their children. She also conducts nutrition lessons for Head Start and Pre-K students.

Marilu Montalvo (Hispanic Outreach and Training Coordinator and Child Passenger Safety Instructor, Traffic Injury Prevention Institute) has been appointed to a two-year term on the National Child Passenger Safety Board as diversity representative. She will provide guidance and recommendations on the best practices to convey child passenger safety education to diverse communities and assist in the implementation of certification programs in those communities. Montalvo is a certified child passenger safety technician instructor and a professional Spanish interpreter and translator.

Sharon Y. Nickols (Dean) was the keynote speaker at the 50 th anniversary celebration of the College of Home Economics at Lahore University in Pakistan in March. The late Maude Pye Hood, a faculty member in Foods and Nutrition, spent four years working with the colleges in Kirachi and Lahore and helping to establish the Pakistan Home Economics Association. Also attending the celebration was retired FACS faculty member Esther Maddux (BSHE ’73, Housing and Management).

Debbie Purvis (Senior Public Service Associate, Colquitt County) was among five UGA faculty members to receive a D.W. Brooks Award for Excellence. The annual award recognizes educators and researchers who excel in teaching, research, extension and public service extension programs. Purvis’ accomplishments include procuring a grant for “Voz de la Familia,” a family-centered community outreach program, through which she has taught nutrition, food safety and chronic disease prevention to nearly 1,000 Latino farm workers since 2002. She also is involved in projects such as “Smart Kids Fight BAC,” a multistate food safety curriculum, and the Faculty Research Grant Pilot Study, a profile and needs assessment of the Latino migrant population. She has trained a bilingual staff and now offers food service employees a state-required food handler certification training in both Spanish and English.

Connie Rash (Assistant Director, Student Services) and Denise Horton (Director of Communications) have received a Minority Advising Program mini-grant to design and print a Spanish-language brochure for Rash to distribute at the Georgia Mutual Assistance Association workshop. The brochure will complement the FACS Spanish-language website, which was launched in January. The website was designed by Rhett Crowe (Web Developer, Computer Services). Silvia Giraudo (Associate Professor, Foods and Nutrition) translated most of the information on the site into Spanish.

Charlotte Wallinga (Associate Professor, Human Development and Family Science) has been selected as the FACS Teacher of the Year. Departmental Teachers of the Year are Ruth Harris (Associate Professor, Foods and Nutrition), Doug Bachtel (Professor, Housing and Consumer Economics) and Karen Leonas (Professor, Textiles, Merchandising and Interiors)