Dear colleagues,
As we progress through an eventful fall semester, I am delighted to highlight a number of programs on our campus that have recently competed successfully for sponsored support.
• The National Institutes of Health awarded $6.7 million to fund GSU’s Center for Excellence in Health Disparities Research over the next five years. Under the leadership of Professor Michael Eriksen, the center will study health outcomes as they relate to disadvantaged neighborhoods; religion’s impact on drug use and the transmission of HIV; and a computer-assisted program to reduce childhood abuse.
• David Washburn, chair of the Department of Psychology, and the Language Research Center received $4.4 million from the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development to study how attention, learning, memory and self-regulation skills emerge in humans and non-human primates.
• The Andrew Young School of Policy Studies successfully partnered with the Atlanta Federal Reserve Bank, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and other area institutions to secure National Science Foundation funding to help establish the Census Bureau’s Atlanta Research Data Center. The center will be one of only 10 in the country, and it will support providing researchers access to "the government’s highest-level business, social and health statistical data warehouse."
• GSU, along with Emory University, Agnes Scott College and Spelman College, was awarded a five-year, $1.7 million grant from the National Institutes of Health to launch a program that will help put 56 students from underrepresented populations into the pipeline toward achieving doctorates in neuroscience. The five-year award, from the NIH’s National Institute of General Medical Sciences, is part of the NIH Blueprint for Enhancing Neuroscience Diversity through Undergraduate Research Education Experiences.
These projects – and many more across our campus – represent the kind of partnerships and creative thinking that are elevating GSU’s status as a research university. Our faculty, students and staff are conducting path-breaking research in a variety of areas of study that most certainly will yield important and far-reaching results.
There also is increased excitement on campus this week as GSU celebrates its first-ever fall Homecoming. Dozens of events throughout the week are engaging the GSU family in community-building activities, all leading up to Saturday’s Homecoming football game this weekend against Morehead State. Click here to view a video invitation to the game.
Indeed, there is much to be excited about this semester. I thank you for all you do to make us all proud members of the GSU community.
Sincerely,
Mark P. Becker
President
Distinguished alumni honored
The Georgia State University Alumni Association will present the 2010 Distinguished Alumni Awards at a ceremony Friday, Oct. 1. This year's honorees are W. Frank Blount, Sandra Bergeron, Natalie Sweat and Jan Jones.
GSU cuts ribbon on Alpharetta center
Nearly 100 faculty, staff, students, lawmakers and other supporters attended Monday’s ribbon cutting at GSU’s newly opened Alpharetta Academic Center. The 45,000-square-foot Alpharetta center, at 3775 Brookside Parkway, began serving students with 16 classrooms, including three large tiered "conference center" type classrooms, an open computer lab for student use, plenty of study areas and plenty of parking. Click here for more information on the Alpheratta Academic Center.
Susan J. Kelley, dean and professor of the College of Health and Human Sciences, received the Alumni Award for Professional Excellence from Boston College. Kelley, a well known expert in field of child maltreatment, earned her Ph.D. in Developmental Psychology from Boston College.
In connection with the 2010 Annual Congress of the International Institute of Public Finance (IIPF) and on behalf of the Federal Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Technische Zusammenarbeit (GTZ) presented Dr. Jorge Martinez-Vazquez of the Andrew Young School of Policy Studies with the "Public Policy Award" that recognizes "research excellence in the area of public policy and the reform of public institutions in developing countries."
Mukesh Dhamala, assistant physics professor, has received a grant from the National Science Foundation to pursue research that may lead to a better understanding of neurological disorders. The $539,737 grant, under the NSF CAREER program, will allow Dhamala to study how the brain puts information together from the senses to help make decisions.
Send "Kudos!" to newsletter@gsu.edu.
If you have any questions or concerns, please contact Chandler Brown.