Julia Atiles (Senior Academic Professional, Child and Family Development) was named the 2001 Educator of the Year by the Georgia Association on Young Children.
Brenda Cude (Department Head, Housing and Consumer Economics) was sworn in January 29 as a member of the Advisory Board to Gov. Roy Barnes' Office of Consumer Affairs.

Wanda Grogan (Professor, Retired Housing and Consumer Economics) was featured in the December issue of Athens Magazine for her community service. The article discusses the many projects Dr. Grogan coordinated as Director of FACS continuing education and public service programs, as well as Alumni Relations. The article is titled "A Bevy of Butterflies." Dr. Grogan provided the inspiration for Leadership FACS, which was initiated in the early 1990s and continues with an annual retreat each fall.

Koralalage "Jay" Sunil Upali Jayaratne has joined the College as an Evaluation Specialist. His primary responsibility is to work with state and county faculty to design, deliver, document and communicate effective outreach and Extension programs.

Julia Marlowe (Associate Professor, Housing and Consumer Economics), Julia Atiles (Senior Academic Professional, Child and Family Development) and Becky Olson (Director, McPhaul Child Development Center) have received IDEAS grants from the Vice President for Public Service and Outreach to address an issue of global significance. Dr. Marlowe's grant is titled, "Enhancing the Cultural Awareness of Students, Public Service/Outreach Faculty, and Others who Work with Georgia's Latino Immigrants." Dr. Atiles and Ms. Olson's grant is titled, "What Can We Learn from Reggio Emilia? Sharing This Teaching Approach with Northeast Georgia Early Childhood Professionals."

Elaine Pittman (Teacher, McPhaul Children's Center) was named the 2001 Child Caregiver of the year by the Georgia Association on Young Children. Ms. Pittman is the Lead Teacher for older toddlers at the McPhaul Center.

Tom Rodgers (Associate Dean, Outreach and Public Service) has been named to the advisory committee of the Georgia Department of Community Affairs' Housing Finance Division. This committee was formed by DCA Commissioner Jim Higdon to provide input and advice to the division on its current programs and future activities.

Michael Rupured (Consumer Economics Specialist, Housing and Consumer Economics) has been named co-chair of Georgia's Consumer Fraud Task Force. In addition, the program, "Making Every Dollar Count" has been selected for inclusion on the Family Development and Resource Management website as a "Program of Excellence." It can be viewed at the FDRM website: http://www.reeusda.gov/f4hn/fdrm/fdrm.htm.

Gay Sheppard is the new Program Development Specialist for the West and Central Extension Districts. She formerly was based in Americus as the FACS county agent for Marion, Schley and Sumter counties. Sheppard has a master's degree in social administration from Georgia Southwestern State University and a bachelor's of science degree in Home Economics from Georgia Southern. Her work will focus on supporting FACS agents and subject-matter specialists in program development to ensure quality and consistency throughout the state.

Mark Toomey (Network Administrator, Computer Services) has been named a Certified Novell Engineer. CNE certification is a benchmark in the instructional technology industry that requires completion of a series of courses and tests.

Charles Yang (Professor, Textiles, Merchandising, and Interiors) has received a U.S. Patent for "Formaldehyde-Free Flame Retardant Treatment for Cellulose-Containing Materials." This is Dr. Yang's third patent.