points of pride

2009-2010 

In America's Best Colleges 2010, U.S.News & World Report ranked North Georgia in the top 25 public universities offering undergraduate and master's programs in the South. 

North Georgia was named as one of the nation's 100 best values in public colleges and universities by Kiplinger's Personal Finance magazine, which annually ranks schools based on their academic excellence and affordability. Only three other Georgia schools were on the list. 

North Georgia made a regional economic impact of more than $300 million and accounted for nearly 3,000 jobs in a six-county area during Fiscal Year 2009. 

The Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia met at the university's campus in October 2009. This was the first time in recent history that the Board of Regents had met at North Georgia. 

North Georgia will open two new residence halls and a parking deck in fall 2010. Patriot Hall, a new residence hall for cadets, will house 350 students, and North Georgia Suites will house 600 students. 

A record 5,652 students enrolled in fall 2009 at North Georgia, marking a 2.8 percent enrollment increase over 2008. 

The university has a leading role in the $42 million North Georgia Network broadband initiative, a public-private partnership that includes area electric membership corporations and economic development agencies who aim to develop a 260-mile regional fiber-optic system to bring high-speed Internet service to areas of northeast Georgia that currently have little or no access to the technology.

Divisions and Departments

COL (R) Billy Wells was named as vice president to lead the new Office of Executive Affairs, responsible for enhancing the university's programs focused on regional and global engagement. 

North Georgia adopted an internationalization plan to integrate language and cultural experiences into the curriculum to support the university's commitment to educate students for life and leadership in a global community. 

Fourteen students – the first cohort of TeamMBA students – graduated in May 2010 and were awarded the Master in Business Administration degree through the Mike Cottrell School of Business. 

The Master of Science Family Nurse Practitioner Program certification pass rates were 100 percent again this year with an overall pass rate of 98 percent over the 10 years of the program. 

A $1.3 million grant from the Health Resources and Services Administration is being used through 2011 to sustain North Georgia's Appalachian Nurse Practitioner Clinic, which provides primary care to approximately 300 patients a month for uninsured and low income residents in a seven county area. 

More than 700 participants attended the 2010 Appalachian Studies Association Conference, hosted by the university and the Georgia Appalachian Studies Center. 

Eight students earned professional certificates in Appalachian Community Studies through the Center for Continuing Education. 

Since 2007, the university's Predator Beetle Lab has raised and released beetles into 25 of more than 100 hemlock conservation areas identified by the U.S. Forest Service. This year, the lab aims to release some 80,000 beetles to combat the wooly adelgid that is killing the region's hemlock trees. 

With recent approval to offer doctoral degrees, North Georgia's first doctoral program will be the Doctor of Physical Therapy. 

North Georgia's Greek organizations reported more than 12,600 hours of volunteer service and donations of nearly $60,000 to local and national philanthropies in 2009-10. 

Pi Kappa Alpha Fraternity and Kappa Delta Sorority were honored as North Georgia's 2009-2010 Fraternity and Sorority of the Year for achieving chapter excellence in scholarship, leadership on campus, service, philanthropy, and intramural participation. 

More than 35 instructors involved students in service-learning projects to benefit community partners while meeting course outcomes. 

The School of Education continues to rank in the top 10 percent of all Georgia institutions preparing new teachers, with an average pass rate of 98 percent for all subject areas on the state teacher licensure examination. 

The Athletic Training Education Program has expanded its partnerships with local high school athletic teams by sponsoring five graduate interns who are certified athletic trainers. Under the supervision of a team physician, these interns serve as trainers at high school sports events as required by the Georgia High School Association.  

Of the state's 35 public institutions, North Georgia is second only to Georgia Tech in the number of physics students it graduates each year.

Corps of Cadets

As a recipient of a 2010 MacArthur Award, North Georgia's Corps of Cadets was named one of the top ROTC units in the nation. Presented since 1989, the awards recognize unit performance based on the ideals of Gen. Douglas MacArthur. North Georgia also received the MacArthur Award in 1991 and 1995.  

In the U.S. Army's 2009 National Order of Merit List, North Georgia ranked as the nation's top-performing senior military college. Of the 4,702 cadets ranked on the list, six North Georgia cadets placed in the top 10 percent. Cadet CAPT Jessica Carlock, at number seven on the list, was the top-ranked cadet from North Georgia. 

Cadet COL Ashlie Shrewsbury became the first female leader of the university’s Corps of Cadets. 

Cadet Vanessa Pizzaro graduated from the U.S. Army's Mountain Warfare School second in her class with 297 out of a possible 300 points. The class included other Army ROTC cadets from around the country and active duty and National Guard soldiers. 

The Blue Ridge Rifles earned first place overall at the Memphis State Drill Competition. The Blue Ridge Rifles and two members of the Color Guard earned a second-place showing in the annual Mardi Gras National Drill Meet in New Orleans. 

A team of North Georgia cadets won the inaugural Bold Leader Challenge, a military skills competition hosted by U.S. Army Cadet Command's 1st Brigade. North Georgia bested 10 other teams from six senior military schools.

Athletics

North Georgia had 17 North Georgia was one of the top NCAA Division II schools in the country in 2009-10, as seven athletes earned All-American honors and 18 athletes were named to Peach Belt All-Conference teams. 

With a 50-0 record – the second-longest winning streak in NCAA history – the Saints softball team captured back-to-back PBC regular season and tournament titles and advanced to its second-straight Division II College World Series. The Saints ended the season at 51-2 and ranked fifth in the country. 

Athletes Kelsey Martin, women's soccer, and Janyce Ealey, women's basketball, picked up Peach Belt Conference Freshman of the Year honors, the first tandem in school history to win the league awards. 

Mike Davenport, softball coach, and Chris Adams, women's soccer coach, were named PBC Coach of the Year for their respective sports. Davenport won his 400th career game, while baseball's Tom Cantrell earned his 600th career victory, and men's basketball's Chris Faulkner snagged his 100th career win. 

Two North Georgia baseball players were selected in Major League Baseball's 2010 First-Year Player Draft. Daniel Petitti was taken in the 37th round by the Oakland Athletics, and Chris Rearick was selected in the 41st round by the Tampa Bay Rays. 

North Georgia was named the Peach Belt Conference's Institution of the Year and received honors for raising the most money for the Make-A-Wish Foundation. Baseball player Anders Oster received the league's highest award, the PBC Male Scholar-Athlete of the Year. 

North Georgia's Intercollegiate Pistol team finished the season as NCAA Division II national champions. Cheryl Roberts won the Women’s Air Pistol intercollegiate national championship. Cadet Sean Paul Adams won first place in both pistol and rifle competitions, leading the university’s Combat Shooting Team to excellent showings overall in the All-Army Shooting Competition. 

The new Bob Stein Baseball Stadium and the Carolyn and Haines Hill Softball Stadium, named for the donors who made them possible, were dedicated in spring 2010. 

The North Georgia men's and women's golf teams competed in their inaugural season in the NCAA Division II and the Peach Belt Conference.

Faculty, Staff and Students

Dr. James K. Chesnut, professor of French and Quebec Program Director, received the "Palmes Académiques" award from the French Ministry of Education in recognition of his support of French culture, language and Franco-American relations. 

Dr. Kathleen Dolan, associate professor of sociology, was named vice president of the Georgia Sociological Association for 2010. 

Michael Marling de Cuellar, associate professor of art, was named the Higher Education, Art Educator of the Year for 2009-2010 by the Georgia Art Education Association. 

Dr. Augustine Meaher, assistant professor of history, received a two-year NATO Teaching and Research Fellowship at the Baltic Defence College. 

Dr. Richard Oates, assistant vice president of academic affairs, received a Silver Beaver Award from the Northeast Georgia Council of the Boy Scouts of America. Presented in honor of outstanding leadership and service, this is the highest award a volunteer can receive on the council level. 

Dr. Stefanie Palma, department head of physical therapy, has been appointed to the Commission on Accreditation in Physical Therapy Education. 

Dr. Bryson Payne, chief information officer, and Jeff Davis, associate vice president for facilities, were part of the inaugural class of the University System of Georgia Executive Leadership Institute, an intensive seven-month leadership training program. 

Jill Rayner, director of financial aid, was named president of the Georgia Association of Student Financial Aid Adminstrators for 2009-10. 

John F. Roop, an instructor of psychology, received an Outstanding Advising Certificate of Merit in the Academic Advising Faculty category by the National Academic Advising Association. 

Dr. Miriam Segura-Totten, associate professor of biology, was elected to the Council on Undergraduate Research (CUR), a national organization whose mission is to promote and support research with undergraduates. 

Graduate student Ross Burger was named an Appalachian Regional Commission Honors Intern, the only one awarded in Georgia for 2010. 

Katie Doore, a senior criminal justice major, received a prestigious Georgia Woman of the Year Committee scholarship from the Georgia Commission on Women. Recipients of the $1,000 scholarship must be female, a Georgia resident, and a first-generation college student with superior campus involvement and academic standing. 

David Yenerall, who is pursuing a master's degree in teaching at North Georgia, is one of only four pre-service educators, those working toward earning teacher certification, to be awarded a yearlong NASA fellowship.