Pulitzer Prize winner Eugene Patterson to speak at North Georgia

NGCSU alumnus will recall civil rights
movement for Black History Month

DAHLONEGA - Eugene C. Patterson, who enrolled at North Georgia College 64 years ago at age 16, will return to his alma mater, now North Georgia College & State University, to speak on Feb. 12.  He will address "The Changing South of Gene Patterson." The event, at 12:30 p.m. in the Hoag Auditorium, is part of Black History Month activities and is free and open to the public.

His speech title is also the name of Patterson's book published in 2002 containing a collection of his columns written for The Atlanta Constitution in the 1960s, when he was editor of that newspaper. Patterson won the Pulitzer Prize in 1967 for his editorials advocating racial justice and civil rights.

Patterson covered Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" speech in Washington, D.C., on Aug. 28, 1963. After attending King's funeral on April 19, 1968, Patterson wrote his newspaper column as a moving tribute to the civil rights leader.

From 1964 to 1968, Patterson served as vice chairman of the U.S. Civil Rights Commission.

He was managing editor of The Washington Post when it published the Pentagon Papers articles in 1971, following the historic Supreme Court ruling allowing the Post and The New York Times to publish stories about the secret report on how the United States went to war in Vietnam.

For 17 years Patterson served as editor and president, then chairman and CEO of the St. Petersburg Times, Florida's largest daily newspaper, and its Washington publication, Congressional Quarterly, and Governing magazine, which he founded.

From 1974 to 1985, Patterson served on the Pulitzer Prize Board at Columbia University. He served from 1988 to 1994 on the board of trustees of Duke University, where a chair in journalism is endowed in his name.

In 1988, he retired as chairman and CEO of the Times and the Poynter Institute, following his 41 years in the news business. The Poynter Institute in St. Petersburg, Fla., a non-profit organization funded by the controlling stock in the Times Publishing Company, offers seminars and special programs for journalists, media leaders and teachers of journalism.

After growing up on a farm near Adel, Ga., Patterson was educated at North Georgia, class of 1942, and the University of Georgia. He holds honorary degrees from 15 universities, including Harvard, Duke, Emory and NGCSU.

With Gen. George S. Patton's Third Army in Europe during World War II, Patterson earned the Silver Star and the Bronze Star with Oak Leaf Cluster, and then won his wings postwar as an Army airplane pilot.

He began his journalism career in the 1950s in New York and London, working for United Press, now UPI.

NGCSU students and professors make community service a priority

Toy donations crowd the office of Kathy Dolan (second from right). Pictured (l to r) are professor Philip Luck, Abby Hilburn, department head Marvin Pippert, Dolan and Julie Sigl.

DAHLONEGA - The North Georgia College & State University Sociology Club Christmas tree looked a little bare during the holiday season, but that was a good thing for the organization. Each ornament originally placed on the tree represented a child, and students and employees selected ornaments to provide toys for the children. Kathleen Dolan, a NGCSU sociology professor, let her office become a stockpile for all the toys the Sociology Club collected through the program.

The bags of toys were given to Enotah CASA Inc. in Cleveland, a local arm of the national Court Appointed Special Advocacy program. The program solicits volunteers to participate in the lives of foster children and the toys collected at NGCSU went to children in the outreach program. Enotah CASA Inc., http://nationalcasa.org/, serves Lumpkin, Towns, Union and White Counties.

CASA representatives picked up the toys in early December and there were too many for the SUV that was brought. One CASA representative cried when she saw the outpouring of gifts from NGCSU, according to Marvin Pippert, department head of Psychology and Sociology.

This is just one example of the efforts the faculty members and students in the Department of Psychology and Sociology participated in to reach out and provide their time and donations during the holiday season.

"The department has become the single largest provider of food around the Thanksgiving holiday for the Dahlonega Food Pantry," said Pippert. More than 1,222 lbs. of food have been collected through the department's projects since classes started in August.

Community service isn't just reserved for the holidays. Dolan and fellow faculty member Philip Luck made it a requirement in their classes for students to do a minimum number of service hours.

Pippert said his department's faculty and students combined participated in more than 2,500 hours of community service fall semester alone.

"In addition to community service, students also have an opportunity to do internships to gain a better understanding of themselves, their community and problems within the community," he said.

For the fifth year, psychology and sociology organizations participated in the White Christmas program, which collects food donations. They provided food for the HOPE house, a new recovery center in Lumpkin County for women suffering from substance abuse. Sociology instructor James Awbrey has been active with all the projects.

Another faculty member, Kelly Leach Cate, performed in a solo concert on campus in November, playing the piano and singing to raise money for breast cancer research. She raised more than $1,000 that evening and more than $2,000 total last semester.

North Georgia sets the pace for graduation rate

DAHLONEGA - North Georgia College & State University continued to be at the forefront of graduating the highest percentage of students among Georgia's 13 public state universities with 46.3 percent of students graduating within six years.

The Governor's Office of Student Achievement recently released its annual report card on Georgia's educational institutions and their students' performances.

University System of Georgia schools were "graded" on graduation and retention rates.

While North Georgia's graduation percentage fell slightly from last year's, which was 49 percent, it is still more than 10 percentage points above the closest state university. North Georgia's six-year graduation rate is the only state university rate above the university system's 41.3 percent average.

"The best part of North Georgia is its students and these reports simply validate their academic achievements," said NGCSU President Nathaniel Hansford.

Students who start at NGCSU and transfer to other schools within the university system have a 57.8 percent graduation rate, down from 62 percent last year, but the highest among Georgia's 13 state universities and the only one above the 48.8 percent system average.

The only institutions to outpace NGCSU in any of these areas are two of the three system research universities - the University of Georgia and the Georgia Institute of Technology.

North Georgia's associate of science degree in nursing boasted better graduation percentages in a three-year timeframe, 29.6 percent,  than any of the system schools' combined associate's degree programs.
The Governor's Office of Student Achievement is the new name for the former Office of Education Accountability that was established July 1, 2000, by the state law known as the A Plus Education Act. While the name has changed, the OSA mandate still focuses on improving student achievement and improving school completion.

For the complete report card, go online to http://reportcard.gaosa.org/

Minority and international students' scholarly efforts recognized

DAHLONEGA - The North Georgia College & State University Office of Multicultural Services hosted a banquet in November honoring minority and international students who excelled academically in the 2002-2003 academic year. University employees Ann Tallant and Rodney Pennamon called out the names of the 51 recipients and Phil Buckhiester, vice president for Academic Affairs, presented the awards.

The banquet speaker, Tavares Stephens, is an English teacher at Morrow High School in Morrow, Ga. Stephens reminded the students that their time in college is part of a journey of greater significance, yet how they craft this time will have an impact in their future.

NGCSU President Nathaniel Hansford gave the closing remarks, motivating the students to "pay it forward," by sharing their success and talents with others in an effort to make a difference.

"This event allows us to carve out a special evening once a year to recognize the academic achievement of minority students and to encourage them to continue to work hard all the way through graduation from NGCSU," said Carmen Mas, director of Academic Support Programs. "A strong grade point average helps students to be more competitive for scholarships, jobs, and graduate school."

Largest donation in NGCSU history helps students

Cathryn Mitchell and President Nathaniel Hansford unveil the portrait of Roy Bottoms.

DAHLONEGA - An oil portrait of the late Roy E. Bottoms was unveiled at North Georgia College & State University to commemorate the generosity of Bottoms' bequest of nearly $2.5 million, the largest individual gift ever made to NGCSU.

The 1935 North Georgia graduate died in 1994, and his estate was distributed over several years to the NGCSU Foundation.

The gift created the Roy E. Bottoms Scholarship Fund, which through investments is now valued at $3.2 million. Bottoms' will called for the endowment to be used for scholarship and loan support for North Georgia students. Currently 24 students are supported by the fund, many of whom were present for the unveiling.

NGCSU President Nathaniel Hansford expressed his appreciation to the family and urged students to focus their lives in service to others as Roy Bottoms did. Catherine and Joe Mitchell of Avondale Estates, sister and brother-in-law of Bottoms, represented the family at the unveiling.

In 1933 Bottoms came to North Georgia College, where his brother William Ralph Bottoms also attended. He later lived in Rome, Ga., where he worked for more than 30 years for Equifax Inc. He was involved with the North Georgia alumni chapter in Rome and very active with reunions of his college classmates. The portrait was produced by Carol Dorn and will hang in the lobby of Barnes Hall on campus.

This page last modified on: Friday, 05 November 2004 16:40:48 -0500 by University Relations    

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