HACE Family Financial Planning & Terry Accounting Students Provide Income Tax Assistance to Athens-Clarke County
Writer: Hannah Adair
Students from the HACE Family Financial Planning Program and the Terry College of Business Accounting Program partnered with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and Georgia United Credit Union to provide free tax preparation services for a record 865 individuals this tax season. The IRS trains the students and the Georgia United Credit Union provides the office space and funding. Consumers then receive tax preparation and electronic filing at no charge. This partnership provides real-life experience to students within the Family Financial Planning and Accounting majors. Students enroll in this service-learning course and participate in the VITA program to earn academic credit.
HACE Ph.D Student Kristi Warren-Scott Named Outstanding Campus Leader by UGA’s chapter of the NAACP
Writer: Hannah Adair
The department of Housing and Consumer Economics is proud to announce that our Ph.D student Kristi Warren-Scott was named the Outstanding Campus Leader by the University of Georgia's chapter of the NAACP. This recognition took place at the 4th Annual Image Awards.
Former HACE Ph.D. student Anne Duke wins Robert O. Herrmann Ph.D. Dissertation Award
Anne Duke won the Robert O. Herrmann Ph.D. Dissertation Award for her dissertation entitled "Motivating Personal Contribution to Health Saving Accounts." Dr. Brenda Cude was her major professor and presented her with the award at the American Council on Consumer Interests (ACCI) annual conference in Portland, Oregon. This award was established to identify and recognize outstanding graduate student research which addresses issues relevant to the well-being of consumers and meets the research guidelines of the Journal of Consumer Affairs.
HACE Department Head, Dr. Sheri Worthy, attends Financial Literacy Month Proclamation at the Capitol
Writer: Hannah Adair
HACE Department Head Dr. Sheri Worthy (picture: back row) and the constituents of the Georgia Consortium for Personal Financial Literacy were recently present at the capitol for a proclamation. The Georgia Consortium is the JumpStart affiliate for Georgia in its financial literacy efforts aimed at youth in kindergarten through college. Georgia Governor Nathan Deal proclaimed April as Financial Literacy Month, as a means to accent the wealth of resources available to assist Georgians in improving their knowledge of personal finance concepts.
Two HACE Students Inducted into the Blue Key Honor Society
Writer: Hannah Adair
Sunday, April 7, 2013 was the induction to the Blue Key Honor Society. The Department of Housing and Consumer Economics is proud to annouce that 2 of our students were inducted. Tyler Baker, BSFCS Housing/Residential Property Management, Family Financial Planning major, and Kristi-Warren Scott, and Housing and Consumer Economics PhD student. Dr. Anne Sweaney, Josiah Meigs Distinguished Professor Emerita and former HACE Department Head was the key note speaker
Dr. Debbie Phillips:Top 100 Women Changing the World of Real Estate Management
Writer: Hannah Adair
Dr. Debbie Phillips was recognized as one of the Top 100 Women Changing the World of Real Estate Management by the Institute of Real Estate Management. IREM honors 100 women for their positive impact on the real estate management profession. Recognized for innovation, mentoring, community service, leadership and other laudable initiatives, the women identified range from senior officers of global real estate firms to self-employed entrepreneurs to site managers of single properties who are prized for the great work they do. Phillips is President of The Quadrillion and IREM GA VP of Education. “In big ways and small,” said IREM® 2012 President James A. Evans, CPM®, “women are changing the face of the real estate management industry daily. This was the impetus for IREM to identify women who represent the absolute best of what our industry can accomplish.” http://www.iremga.org/irem/news/details.phx?itemid=421&navid=823
Students led by multicultural specialist Sharon Gibson, of the department of Housing and Consumer Economics, recently made their mark in the textile industry in an unexpected, but certainly not unappreciated way.
The Fashion Merchandising majors collaborated with Georgia sheep farmers to produce high-quality wool socks to donate to American soldiers fighting in Afghanistan. This coalition, coordinated by Ms. Gibson, also worked with UGA textile scientist Patti Annis and Texas State professor Gwen Hustvedt to research market trends about buying fabric and textiles locally. To that end, they bought wool from sheep farmers in Madison County. The multitude of wool left over after the study was turned in to socks, and sent to the soldiers with the help of FACS undergraduates.
“In the end,” Gibson says, “it’s not just about socks. It’s about making connections. It’s about having students who are interested in fashion understanding their dependence on agriculture, and preserving what we say we value.”
For more information on UGA’s Socks for Soldiers project, go to www.facebook.com/ifsockscouldtalk.
Original article found at:
http://news.uga.edu/releases/article/georgia-sheep-to-soldiers-feet-socks-warmly-received/
Dr. Lance Palmer Named 2013 Public Service and Outreach Engaged Scholar
Writer: Hannah Adair
Congratulations to Dr. Lance Palmer, Associate Professor of Housing and Consumer Economics. Dr. Palmer is the recipient of the 2013 Engaged Scholar Award. This award is presented each year by the Office of the Vice President for Public Service and Outreach. Dr. Palmer was recognized for his development of the VITA program (Volunteer Income Tax Assistance). VITA is staffed by students in service learning courses and provides free tax preparation services to low and moderate income households in Athens-Clarke County.
The College of Family and Consumer Sciences and Georgia United Credit Union are pleased to partner in order to provide this service to the community. Appointment times are now available through the Georgia United Credit Union website, click here to schedule an appointment and to learn more about this partnership and service.
If you haven't visited our Research and Grants web page lately, take a look! It's been updated with research from around the college and information on grants.
You can find the Research link in the middle of the top links of any FACS page
New associate deans named at the UGA College of Family and Consumer Sciences
Writer: Denise H. Horton, 706/542-8014, dhorton@uga.edu
Athens, Ga. – The University of Georgia College of Family and Consumer Sciences has two new associate deans: The University of Kentucky's Deborah Murray has been named associate dean for Cooperative Extension and outreach, and UGA's Silvia Giraudo has been named associate dean of academic programs.
"I look forward to both Dr. Murray and Dr. Giraudo joining our college's administrative team," said FACS Dean Linda Kirk Fox. "Their leadership and experience will provide support and guidance to our faculty, staff and students."
Deborah Murray
Murray will begin her tenure with FACS as associate dean for UGA Extension and outreach effective May 7. She currently serves as associate director of the University of Kentucky's Health Education through Extension Leadership program, funded with a $5.7 million special grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. As grant administrator, Murray has spent the past eight years developing and implementing the HEEL program, which focuses on innovative and collaborative statewide programs between the UK School of Human Environmental Sciences and other colleges and departments.
Prior to her current position, Murray spent 15 years with the UK Cooperative Extension Service in positions that included supervising and directing family and consumer sciences and 4-H county agents. She holds a bachelor's degree in vocational home economics from Morehead State University in Morehead, Ky., a master's degree in home economics education from Eastern Kentucky University in Richmond and a doctorate in educational administration and leadership from UK.
"Dr. Murray brings extensive experience, the skills to develop and manage entrepreneurial projects and effectiveness in securing funding to support Extension and outreach programming," Fox said. "She has a keen sense of the purpose and mission of land-grant universities and ways in which our college can capitalize on our expertise in outreach in the broadest sense."
Silvia Giraudo
Giraudo, who is currently a FACS associate professor of foods and nutrition, has accepted the position of associate dean of academic programs effective June 15.
A native of Argentina, Giraudo earned her bachelor's degree in agriculture at the Universidad Nacional de Córdoba-Argentina prior to moving to Georgia, where she earned a master's degree in animal science and a doctorate in animal nutrition from UGA.
Giraudo joined the FACS faculty in 2002. Her research has centered on brain regulation of food intake and energy metabolism as well as the use of educational materials to teach healthy eating habits to young children and prevent early obesity through education.
In addition to her teaching and research duties, Giraudo is director of the school nutrition certification program, which is regulated by the Georgia Department of Education, and has served as the program director of the FACS study abroad program in Xalapa, Mexico, for several years. She serves on the University Council at UGA and is a member of the University Executive Council and the FACS Faculty Advisory Committee. She has previously served as a member of the University Educational Affairs Committee and as an advisory board member of the UGA Learning Communities.
"During her decade as a faculty member, Dr. Giraudo has shown an eagerness to explore new ways of teaching students at both the undergraduate and graduate levels both inside the classroom and through experiential learning," Fox said. "In addition to her successes at the departmental and college levels, she also has extensive experience at the university level which is essential for the associate dean for academic programs.
Georgia United Credit Union has partnered with the College of Family & Consumer Sciences of the University of Georgia to provide FREE electronic income tax preparation and filing. Visit https://georgiaunitedcu.org/interior/membership/tax.asp to make an appointment.
Georgia United Credit Union has partnered with the College of Family & Consumer Sciences of the University of Georgia to provide FREE electronic income tax preparation and filing. More Information at www.fcs.uga.edu/college/docs/VITA.pdf.
Ivy & Brick is an innovative magazine focusing on sustainable living that was created by Grady College journalism students in cooperation with The University of Georgia College of Family and Consumer Sciences Cooperative Extension. The magazine provides information for environmentally conscious readers interested in food, golf, music, tiny houses, etc. Ivy & Brick offers accurate information while promoting a sustainable lifestyle. For more information about the magazine and sustainable living contact Sharon Gibson (smsgibs@uga.edu) or Pamela Turner (prturner@uga.edu).
Athens, Ga. - Before starting a business, entrepreneurs need to have their personal finances in order, says University of Georgia's Michael Rupured. The consumer economics specialist is using his financial expertise to give them a head start.
Rupured, along with UGA Cooperative Extension agents, will hold financial workshops throughout Georgia over the next several months. The first session will be on Sept. 21 in Tifton followed by workshops on Oct. 27 in Cumming and Moultrie, Nov. 9 in DeKalb County and Ellijay and Nov. 29 in Brunswick and Perry.
Additional workshops will be held from January to June 2012.
The sessions are intended for those who realize that starting a new business is a tremendous undertaking, Rupured said, and who understand the importance of having their personal finances in order before taking on the additional risks of business loans.
During the four-hour workshops, participants will learn to set and achieve financial goals, plan their personal spending, work effectively with banks and other financial institutions, manage their credit, prepare for the unexpected and protect their personal assets.
"You may have the greatest idea in the world for a business, but if your personal finances are in disarray or if your credit scores are too low, it's almost impossible to get funding from banks or other lending agencies," said Rupured, who works for the College of Family and Consumer Sciences and UGA Cooperative Extension. "In addition, there's the reality that it can easily take six months to a year before a new business has any income. You have to be certain that you can continue to pay your home mortgage and buy groceries during that time."
UGA to host Financial Therapy Association conference
Writer: Denise Horton (dhorton@uga.edu)
Contact: Joseph Goetz (goetz@uga.edu) , Jerry Gale (jgale@fcs.uga.edu)
Athens, Ga. - Practitioners and academics representing the fields of financial planning and mental health providers, including certified financial planners, family therapists, psychologists, counselors and social workers, will gather for the second annual conference of the Financial Therapy Association, Sept. 11-13 at the Hotel Indigo and Classic Center in Athens.
FTA was formed two years ago after 30 individuals met in California and agreed there was a need for a group focused on the confluence of issues that arise around finances and relationships, according to Jerry Gale, associate professor of child and family development at the University of Georgia College of Family and Consumer Sciences. Gale and Joseph Goetz, FACS assistant professor of housing and consumer economics, are co-chairs of this year's conference.
"The formation of the Financial Therapy Association was a loud acknowledgement that finances are intertwined in the health of relationships and physical health as well," according to Goetz. "This is a holistic perception of financial wellness, in which it's not just about the dollars, but about the other areas of clients' lives."
The conference will include more than 40 sessions and contain a mix of research presentations by faculty and graduate students, as well as treatment-based sessions by psychologists and financial planners who have years of practice working with clients.
"There have been individuals who have worked in this area for years, such as our opening speaker, Olivia Mellan, who has used what she calls ‘money harmony work' with her clients," said Gale. "Our goal is to identify these practitioners and learn from them; to identify both current and future research topics in the area of financial therapy; and to consider what it would mean to establish financial therapy as an academic discipline."
Gale noted that with ongoing economic issues, including layoffs and increased housing foreclosures, there clearly is a need for professionals with the skills to help clients with relationship and financial issues. However, before a discipline such as financial therapy can be established, those interested in the field have to explore a variety of issues.
"We have to look at our priorities," Goetz said. "For example, what is a good outcome for someone who has been a financial therapy client? In financial planning, you would generally think that a better financial portfolio would signal success, but what if that enhanced portfolio was accompanied by a couple divorcing?"
Goetz and Gale agreed that they would like to see a future where students pursuing degrees in financial planning take courses in relationship and family therapy. Likewise, they agree that students interested in counseling careers should have a base understanding of financial planning.
For more information on the Financial Therapy Association seehttp://www.financialtherapyassociation.org/.
The screens that display announcements around Dawson Hall are available to view on the web at visix.fcs.uga.edu/public/playlistview.aspx. This page uses software currently only supported by Microsoft Internet Explorer. Visix, the developers of the screen software, are currently in development of additional browser support.
Writer: Denise H. Horton, 706/542-8014, dhorton@uga.edu
Contact: Benjamin E. Byrd, 770/229-3322, bebyrd@uga.edu
Benjamin E. Byrd, a 2010 graduate of the University of Georgia College of Family and Consumer Sciences, has been named adviser and recruiter for the FACS Department of Housing and Consumer Economics’ Griffin campus.
In his new position, Byrd will be responsible for meeting with Griffin-area residents who are interested in completing undergraduate degrees they may have begun at other institutions or obtaining a second bachelor degree. FACS offers majors and minors in consumer economics and the emphasis in family financial planning.
The consumer economics major prepares graduates to work in fields such as consumer credit, consumer relations and in government agencies. The FFP emphasis provides additional preparation for graduates who are interested in becoming a Certified Financial Planner and sitting for the CFP Exam.
The College of Family and Consumer Sciences began offering courses on the Griffin campus in fall 2006. Since then, 18 students have earned their degrees in consumer economics. Students pursuing degrees at the Griffin campus must have completed 60 hours of undergraduate study.
Individuals interested in meeting with Byrd can contact him by phone at 770/229-3322 or by email at hace@uga.edu.
For more information on the College of Family and Consumer Sciences, see http://www.fcs.uga.edu/.
For more information on the Griffin Campus, see http://www.uga.edu/griffin/.
Please save the date: Friday, April 29 at 3:30, Room 116 of Dawson Hall
Join us as we congratulate the recipients of
Advisor of the Year
Teacher of the Year
Nettie Marie Nickols Outstanding Staff Award
Thomas F. Rodgers Outreach Agent Award
Outreach Paraprofessional Award
Outreach Faculty Award
Endsley-Peifer Student Research Award
Research shows benefits of poverty simulation for university students
Writer: Denise H. Horton, 706/542-8014, dhorton@uga.edu
Contact: Sharon Y. Nickols, 706/542-4849, snickols@fcs.uga.edu; Robb Nielsen, 706/542-8885, rnielsen@uga.edu
Athens, Ga. – An article by two University of Georgia researchers in the latest issue of the Journal of Poverty demonstrates that students participating in a simulation “soften their attitudes” regarding those who live in poverty.
Sharon Y. Nickols, the Janette McGarity Barber Distinguished Professor in the College of Family and Consumer Sciences, and Robb Nielsen, an assistant professor in the college, conducted both a qualitative and quantitative study to determine whether students developed “social empathy” after participating in a two-and-a-half hour simulation titled, “Welcome to the State of Poverty.”
During the simulation, students in Nickols’ course on managing family resources are clustered into various family groups—two parents and two children; an older woman living alone; a single mother with two children; and a cohabiting couple, for example. Faculty members and other volunteers play the roles of community members, such as the town banker, pawn shop owner and a social services employee. During the course of the simulation, the participants must accomplish a variety of tasks, including buying groceries, paying their bills and caring for both toddlers and aging parents while subsisting on low wages and other issues, such as being unable to speak English. During the course of each 15-minute “month,” new situations are randomly interjected. In some cases, these are helpful events, such as an unemployed parent receiving a job. In other cases, the events add to the families’ difficulties, such as a family without health insurance facing illness.
The simulation, which is led by Cooperative Extension Multicultural Specialist Sharon Gibson, has been used for many years with a variety of community leaders to help them realize the complexities of poverty, but the study by Nickols and Nielsen is apparently the first to measure its impact on college students.
In conducting their study, Nickols and Nielson used two ways of measuring students’ attitudes—a pre- and post-test and a reflective paper that was written after the simulation. What they found, according to Nielsen, was that the students were better able to identify with the experiences and reactions of those in adverse or difficult situations.
“It wasn’t a dramatic change, but we didn’t expect a dramatic change,” he said. “These students started relatively empathetic and became more empathetic.”
Among the changes, participants in the simulation shifted their opinions about whether people who are poor attempt to get out of poverty; whether they attempt to save money; and whether they’d rather work than be on welfare. In addition, their views on whether the poor have equal access to health care and whether the government does enough to help those who are poor, also shifted. They gained a better understanding of the fact that there are more children than adults living in poverty.
In looking at the reflective papers the students wrote a week after the simulation, the researchers found that 65 of the 75 students who wrote papers described themselves as having gained greater insights into the lives of the poor as a result of the simulation. Among the remaining students, seven reported no change in their opinions (in some cases, they stated they already were empathetic to the poor) and the responses of three students were ambiguous.
“I began to understand and realize that it’s not always a person’s fault for being in a poverty-stricken lifestyle,” wrote one student. “Just sitting in an environment of failure makes your own drive to succeed that much harder.”
Another student was surprised by the difficulty of assessing social services: “I knew very little about TANF (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families). I cannot imagine that everyone that is in need of help knows all about the programs available to them.”
One finding the authors hadn’t anticipated, based on previous studies that examined empathy, was the stress the participants felt as they inhabited the roles of those living in poverty.
“The stress…was brought on entirely by my family’s financial insecurity,” a student said. “I had little time to do anything other than go to work, run errands and pay the bills; I barely saw my children or husband and never had the chance to relax.”
“Getting groceries, applying for TANF and food stamps and going to the QuickCash all took so long to get accomplished,” wrote another. “I think that many people in poverty would feel like they were on a treadmill, not really getting anywhere.”
“Much of what students learn in the family resources class emphasizes the breadth of resources that are available, including time, space, and family and community support, in addition to the monetary and material goods we frequently think of,” Nickols said. “Part of what this simulation demonstrates is what happens when you’re missing a number of those resources.”
Athens, Ga. – Linda Kirk Fox, associate dean and professor of the College of Agricultural, Human, and Natural Resource Sciences at Washington State University, and associate director of Washington State University Extension, has been named the new dean of the College of Family and Consumer Sciences at the University of Georgia following a national search. 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. "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 today by Jere Morehead, senior vice president for academic affairs and provost, and becomes effective in early July.
"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. She holds three degrees from Oregon State University, including a doctorate in family resource management.
"I’m honored and excited to join the faculty and administration of the University of Georgia,” Fox said. “It is the reputation for excellence across the departments of the College of Family and Consumer Sciences that attracted me to apply and accept this opportunity to lead the college."
The new dean succeeds Laura Jolly, who was named vice president for instruction at UGA last September. Anne Sweaney, a department head and longtime faculty member in the College of Family and Consumer Sciences, has served as interim dean since September 2010.
“Anne Sweaney has provided exemplary service as the interim dean,” Morehead said. “She is one of the most talented and dedicated faculty members I know at UGA.”
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.
The UGA College of Family and Consumer Sciences includes more than 60 faculty members in four academic departments: child and family development, foods and nutrition, housing and consumer economics, and textiles, merchandising and interiors.
More than 1,500 students are enrolled in the college and have access to numerous resources to enhance their educational experience, including leadership development programs and opportunities
A new clinic at UGA, one of the first of its kind in the U.S., will provide residents of Athens-Clarke County and surrounding areas counseling services on a variety of topics, including individual and relationship issues, finances, housing and nutrition.
The clinic, known by the acronym ASPIRE, which stands for Acquiring Strategies for Personal Improvement and Relationship Enhancement, is the creation of faculty in the College of Family and Consumer Sciences. It opened on a limited basis in January providing services on individual and relationship issues and financial issues, according to Lee Johnson, associate professor of child and family development and director of the FACS marriage and family therapy program.
“We want to meet clients where they are,” Johnson said. “What we have already found is that our clients liked having both services available. We think we’ll have even more people who want to access these additional services.”
There are no requirements or limits on whom a client meets with. For example, someone interested in nutrition counseling isn’t required to also meet with a financial planning counselor. However, Johnson and his colleagues agree that it can be helpful to have access to experts in other fields.
“Our financial planning counselors have said they appreciated knowing they had a resource to turn to if a client seemed depressed or if a family’s financial issues seemed tied to relationship issues,” said Joseph Goetz, assistant professor of family financial planning and another founder of ASPIRE. “As we’ve talked to our colleagues in other departments, we’ve realized how interconnected so many aspects of people’s lives are.”
Megan Lee, assistant professor of furnishings and interiors, said the home environment plays a role in a variety of other issues.
“For a family that’s facing financial issues and also dealing with physical infirmities, we can help identify relatively inexpensive solutions that will make a house more accessible and safer,” she said. “For another family facing issues regarding how its children perform in school, we might look at the space the children have for homework and identify ways to make that space more appropriate.”
In addition, Lee said, clients who want to remodel their kitchen can work with furnishings and interiors students who will draw up plans and work with them in picking out materials and getting them installed.
Rebecca Mullis, head of the FACS foods and nutrition department, sees the ASPIRE clinic as a place where foods and nutrition students, under the direction of a registered dietitian, could work with individuals, families or small groups on a variety of nutrition issues.
“Right now, we know that the University Health Center has a high demand for nutrition counseling and classes,” she said. “ASPIRE could provide a place for both students and community members to discuss issues like weight control or vegetarian eating.
Mullis emphasized that the counselors will focus on nutrition education, not clinical issues such as eating disorders. However, she said, there is a range of topics that could be pursued, including issues that also might include counselors in the other areas.
“For example, food costs are one of the most elastic areas in anyone’s budget,” she said. “In these economic times, I could foresee our counselors working with those in financial planning to reduce food costs on things like eating out and, instead, teach families ways to provide nutritious meals on a budget.”
Likewise, Mullis said individuals who wanted to lose weight might find it helpful to include a relationship counselor to ensure family support for the effort.
Congratulations to Dr. Sharon Nickols, Interim Department Head of Housing and Consumer Economics who has been selected as the 2010 recipient of the Board on Human Sciences Lifetime Achievement Award. The Lifetime Achievement Award honors exceptional contributions to advancing the human sciences in higher education.
The ceremony will take place in the Dallas Hyatt Regency Hotel, and is scheduled on Monday, November 15, 2010 during the annual conference of the Association of Public and Land-Grant Universities (APLU).
When a member of our team succeeds we all benefit! Congratulations Dr. Nickols!
Writer: Denise H. Horton, 706-542-8014, dhorton@uga.edu
Interim FACS Dean Anne Sweaney announced today that Sharon Y. Nickols, the Janette McGarity Barber Distinguished Professor in the Department of Housing and Consumer Economics has agreed to serve as the HACE interim department head for the remainder of the time Dr. Sweaney is interim dean.
Dr. Nickols served as dean of the college for 15 years -- from 1990-2005 -- prior to returning to a full-time faculty position. She will continue to teach HACE 3000 and will split her time between the HACE departmental office in Dawson Hall and her office in House B.
“I am very grateful to Dr. Sweaney for agreeing to serve as interim dean as we begin a national search for the next dean of the College of Family and Consumer Sciences,” said Jere Morehead, senior vice president for academic affairs and provost.“I am confident she will do an excellent job in this role and will be aided by her outstanding colleagues in the college.”
Sweaney, who is head of the department of housing and consumer economics, has won many teaching and advising awards at UGA including the Josiah Meigs Award for teaching excellence in 1999, and also won a national award for Excellence in College and University Teaching from the United States Department of Agriculture.She is a member of UGA’s TeachingAcademy and serves on the Board of Directors for the Georgia Athletic Association.
Her research interests include the effect of public policy on housing for families and consumers, housing needs of older adults, and the role of technology in adapting housing for the life span. She has served as president of the Housing Education and Research Association and currently serves on the Board of the System Built Research Alliance.
She has served as the coordinator of the Legislative Aide Program for the College of Family and Consumer Sciences for 10 years and developed the college’s first study abroad program in London, England.
Sweaney, who will not be a candidate to serve as permanent dean, plans to return to her role as department head when the search process is completed.Morehead said that the members of the search committee will be appointed in late September.The search committee will be assisted by UGA’s Executive and Faculty Search Group.
HACE is excited to announce the addition of Dr. Sophia Anong who has accepted the position of Assistant Professor at the Griffin Campus beginning August 1, 2010. Dr. Anong comes to UGA from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. Her research interests and experience include asset ownership, consumer credit, financial literacy and access to services like mobile banking in Africa, health insurance, impact of work-related factors on family economic well-being, self-employment and entrepreneurship, welfare participation, savings behavior, and retirement planning and behavior.
Lance Palmer has received the Richard B. Russell Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching. The full story is available in the March 30, 2009 issue of Columns.
Brenda Cude has received two significant recognitions for teaching at the University of Georgia. She is a 2008-09 University of Georgia Senior Teaching Fellow and, in November 2008, she was inducted into the UGA Teaching Academy.
HACE is excited to announce the addition of Dr. Vibha Bhargava who has accepted the position of Assistant Professor on the HACE faculty beginning in January, 2009. Dr. Bhargava comes to UGA from The Ohio State University, Department of Consumer Sciences where she has had a post doctoral researcher position for the last year. Her areas of expertise are consumer economics and health care.
The Master of Science non-thesis option for Family Financial Planning students has been approved. For additional information, visit our Graduate Program website.
