Breaking News
New Dean Named
Linda Kirk Fox will become the seventh dean of the College of Family and Consumer Sciences when she arrives on July 6.
"I'm honored to join the faculty and administration of the University of Georgia," Fox said. "The College of Family and Consumer Sciences has long been considered among the top in the country. This reputation for excellence is what attracted me to apply and accept this opportunity.
"I look forward to working with a strong base of alumni and friends to identify new ways to support our faculty, staff and students," she said. "My first weeks in Athens will be incredibly busy, but I intend to call upon as many of our stakeholders as possible. I also plan on meeting individually with each member of the faculty in order to match our strengths within the college with potential partnerships throughout the entire university."
Fox currently serves as associate dean and professor of the College of Agricultural, Human, and Natural Resource Sciences at Washington State University in Pullman and associate director of Washington State University Extension. As dean, she also will serve as associate director of Georgia Cooperative Extension and associate director of the Georgia Agricultural Experiment Stations.
"Dr. Fox will bring to this campus what all new leaders bring—a set of fresh ideas, some new ways of carrying out our mission and an energy that will benefit the entire campus," said UGA President Michael F. Adams in a news release. "I am confident she will lead the College of Family and Consumer Sciences, already one of our fastest-growing academic units, to even greater success. I look forward to working with her."
The appointment was announced in late March by Jere Morehead, senior vice president for academic affairs and provost. "The FACS search committee and the university's Executive Search group provided three outstanding finalists," Morehead said. "I am delighted that Dr. Fox will become the next dean of this great college. She has the background and vision to provide excellent leadership."
Fox has been at Washington State since 2002 and before that was a faculty member and Extension specialist at the University of Idaho, where she also served as director of the School of Family and Consumer Sciences from 1999-2002. Born and raised in Kansas, she holds three degrees from Oregon State University, including a doctorate in family resource management.
The new dean succeeds Laura Jolly, who was named vice president for instruction at UGA in September. Anne Sweaney, who has served as interim dean since September 2010, will return to her position as head of the Department of Housing and Consumer Economics.
Sweaney said she was pleased with the choice of Fox as the college's seventh dean. "She has the skills and energy to lead our college to the next level of success," Sweaney said.
UGA Advisor of the Year
Emily Blalock (Lecturer, Textiles, Merchandising and Interiors) has been chosen the 2011 Outstanding Academic Advisor of the Year for Tenure-Track Faculty for the University of Georgia. Blalock (second from left) is also a FACS alumna, having earned a TMI master's degree in 2006. She is shown with (L-R) FACS Teacher of the Year Melissa Landers-Potts (Lecturer, Human Development and Family Science), and departmental teacher of the year award winners Katalin Medvedev (Assistant Professor, Textiles, Merchandising and Interiors) and Swarn Chatterjee (Assistant Professor, Housing and Consumer Economics). Not pictured are Jung Sun Lee (Assistant Professor, Foods and Nutrition) who was the FDN teacher of the year award winner; Joe Goetz (Assistant Professor, Housing and Consumer Economics), who also was a nominee for the university-wide award; Diane Costyn (Academic Advisor, Housing and Consumer Economics), Joan Fischer (Professor, Foods and Nutrition), and Tracey Hickey (Academic Advisor, Human Development and Family Science), who were their departments' winners of advisor of the year awards.
Folate Researcher Named to Head UGA Foods and Nutrition Department
Lynn B. Bailey, whose research and public health policy work has been instrumental in establishing the requirements for folate and reducing birth defects like spina bifida, has been named head of the Department of Foods and Nutrition in the University of Georgia College of Family and Consumer Sciences. She will begin her tenure in August.
"It is an honor and a privilege for me to accept the position of head of the Department of Foods and Nutrition in the College of Family and Consumer Sciences," Bailey said. "I welcome the opportunity to work with such a talented and dynamic group of faculty, students and administrators in the department and college."
Bailey, a faculty member in the Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition at the University of Florida since 1977, succeeds Rebecca Mullis, who has served as department chair since 1999 and will return to a faculty position. Bailey earned her bachelor's degree in biology from Winthrop University in South Carolina, her master's in nutrition from Clemson University and her doctorate in nutrition from Purdue University.
"Lynn Bailey brings a wealth of experience in the areas of research, teaching and outreach," said Anne Sweaney, FACS interim dean. "We look forward to her joining our team."
Bailey's folate research included human metabolic and population intervention studies to establish human requirements and quantities needed to reduce birth defect risk in national fortification programs. Findings by her team of researchers helped establish the current Institute of Medicine's folate intake recommendations, including those for pregnant women and older individuals. In the early 1990s, Bailey was named to a U.S. Food and Drug Administration committee whose recommendations were adopted as law in 1996, mandating that all enriched foods in the United States be fortified with folic acid.
"Along with Dr. Bailey's national and international recognition, she is well known for her collaborative research and mentoring skills," said Mary Ann Johnson, the Bill and June Flatt Professor of Nutrition. "Many of her former graduate students are now scientists and faculty at federal agencies and universities across the nation. Dr. Bailey's research expertise, grantsmanship and mentoring skills will serve our department well as we seek to increase our research collaborations and funding to improve human health across the lifespan."
Outstanding Honors Student
Leah Gautreaux (Senior, Fashion Merchandising) was chosen for this year's Outstanding Honors Student in Family and Consumer Sciences Award. Criteria for the award include grade point average and leadership abilities.
Stadion Classic Golf Champion
Russell Henley (Senior, Housing) became just the second amateur champion in Nationwide Tour history when he won the Stadion Classic at the UGA Golf Course with a final-round 68 in early May. The only other amateur to win on the Nationwide tour was Daniel Summerhays in 2007. Also playing in the tournament was Henley's UGA teammate and fellow HACE student Harris English (Senior, Consumer Economics), who tied for 18th in the tournament.
