DAHLONEGA (Sept. 29, 2006) – At an upcoming event at North Georgia College & State University, a guest speaker will help tie the impact of the fall of the enormous Mongol Empire and Middle Eastern history to current events in that area of the world.  

David Morgan

“Saddam Hussein and Osama bin Laden have both compared the 2003 American invasion of Iraq with the Mongols,” said Dr. Timothy May, assistant professor of history at NGCSU. “The sack of Baghdad by the Mongols in 1258 ended its role as the center of the Islamic World.”

To commemorate the 800th anniversary of the founding of the Mongolian State in 1206 A.D., David O. Morgan will address “The Decline and Fall of the Mongol Empire.” The free event, sponsored by the NGCSU Department of History, will take place on Oct. 11 at 7 p.m. in the Hoag Auditorium on campus.

“David Morgan is known for his wit and the clarity of his writing,” said May. “He is very good at explaining rather esoteric knowledge in lucid terms.” 

Morgan, professor of Islamic history and religion at the University of Wisconsin and an authority on the Mongol Empire, is the author of ’The Mongols” and “Medieval Persia 1040-1797.”

“At its height, the Mongol Empire stretched from the Pacific Ocean to the Carpathian Mountains and the Mediterranean Sea, encompassing 14 million square miles, or the size of Africa,” May explained.

“Its existence led to not only conquest, but also the transmission of ideas, goods, and technology. Inventions like gunpowder, the compass, and the wheelbarrow reached other regions because the security of the Mongol Empire allowed travelers to crisscross what are now the continents of Europe and Asia.”  

Mongol sponsorship of religious leaders led to a growth of Islam throughout Central Asia. While some Mongol leaders supported Islam, others converted to Buddhism and led to the creation of the Dalai Lama. 

The world became a different place, however, when the empire collapsed due to civil wars. From the ashes of the Mongol Empire came several new empires in what is now known as the Middle East.

“Christopher Columbus set sail because of the problem with trade routes and a desire to trade with the empire of Chinggis Khan and Kublai Khan,” May said. “Instead of reaching the East, Columbus landed in the New World and the rest, so to speak, is history.”

For more information on this free public event, call 706-864-1913.

DAHLONEGA (Sept. 15, 2006) – North Georgia College & State University’s seven-year-old graduate program in community counseling received first-time accreditation in late August from the Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs. This milestone for the program, one of North Georgia’s seven graduate-level programs, provides a two-year accredited status until October 2008.

CACREP is the independent accrediting arm for the American Counseling Association, a membership organization for more than 50,000 practicing counselors.

“The accreditation gives us a stamp of legitimacy from the mental-health counseling profession and it assures employers that our students have met a certain level of requirements,” said Harrison Davis, the Master of Science in Community Counseling program coordinator and one of its three full-time faculty members.

Housed on the main Dahlonega campus in the Community Counseling Center, 34 students are enrolled in the 49-credit-hour graduate program.

Davis knows from his four years of experience teaching in the program the direct impact accreditation will have on students. He said that students enrolled in Georgia State University’s graduate counseling program compete with North Georgia’s students for internship opportunities in the region. Previously, GSU students were preferred by employers because of the accredited status of that program.

“Our accreditation is good for North Georgia, but it means a tremendous amount to our counseling students who will seek counseling careers after graduation,” Davis said.

Davis expects enrollment to increase because of CACREP’s blessing. NGCSU administrators are already addressing the areas identified by the accrediting body as needing improvement in order for accreditation to continue beyond the initial two years.

One of those areas was adding a third full-time professor. Jim Martin joined Davis and Teresa Fletcher, the CACREP liaison, this semester. All three have doctoral degrees. They will have a teaching load of graduate-level courses only, which was another accreditation requirement. The faculty will also survey graduates of the program for assessment purposes.

Leading up to accreditation, Davis said he worked on revising the curriculum, creating a structure for the practicum internship experience, and secured grants to enhance the counseling lab and resources for student learning.

The community counseling program will retain accreditation status through October 2014 if all requirements are met during a CACREP review in 2008.

	NGCSU cadets on the Blue Ridge Rifles drill team fire a 21-gun salute during 9-11’s fifth anniversary at a campus event that took place to commemorate those who lost their lives in the attacks.
	Cadet Bryan Galas of Phoenix, Ariz., and Crystal Aguiar of Grayson, Ga., students at North Georgia College & State University in Dahlonega, Ga., take a moment of silence during the 9-11 anniversary ceremony on campus. They were two of more than 400 students and university employees at the event.

DAHLONEGA (Sept. 11, 2006) – More than 400 North Georgia College & State University students, faculty and staff gathered at the center of campus today on the drill field to honor those who lost their lives in the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, the citizens who responded that day and those who continue to fight in the war on terrorism.

Leading up to the noon ceremony, four ceremonial cannon shots were fired, echoing across the campus at 8:45, 9:05, 9:40 and 10:10 a.m., to commemorate the times each hijacked airplane crashed.

“I do not think any words, any actions or any memorial will ever be able to give full justice to the horror and grief of that day but it is pleasing to see that September 11 has become a day that is about the will of humans to overcome such a tragedy,” said Student Government Association President Bernie Richardson, a senior education major living in Dahlonega.

“It is a day that remembers each individual our nation lost. It is a day that gives tribute to our real-life heroes,” said Richardson. “Let us not forget this is our time to mourn, this is our time to reflect and this is our time to cherish life.”

The event included student speakers, prayer and a moment of silence, a 21-gun salute fired by the Blue Ridge Rifles drill team and cadet bugler Patrick Parris playing Taps, a military tribute for fallen comrades.

“This ceremony gave me a time to reflect during my busy schedule and to remember those who died and thank others serving in America and overseas,” said Snellville senior Brittany Travis, majoring in exercise science.

At North Georgia, close to 700 students of the 4,800-member student body are cadets.

Young combat veterans enrolled at North Georgia were easily identifiable among the crowd – sewn onto their uniforms are emblems of the units they served with in foreign combat zones.

“September 11 is the reason everything got started. It’s the reason I spent a year in Iraq,” said Nate Smith of Alpharetta, a National Guard soldier who re-enrolled at NGCSU after a year overseas with the 48th Brigade. “I’m here to remember those that are making sacrifices for this country.”

The university’s Student Government Association organized the commemoration ceremony.

“It was excellent to see the students put this together and to see such a great turnout,” said physical therapy Professor Robert Laird. “It really keeps with the values that this school tries to teach all its students.”

Following the ceremony, students walked across the grassy field back to their classes.

“I remember thinking back when I was in high school when 9-11 took place,” said junior Bryan Galas of Phoenix, Ariz.

“I thought about how I’ve grown as a person and now five years later I’m a soldier in the U.S. Army Reserve and will be an officer soon. This ceremony showed me I have a part in defending this country.”