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April 1, 2011

President Mark P. Becker Dear colleagues,

I invite the entire Georgia State community to attend my third-annual State of the University address on Wednesday, April 13 at 1 p.m. in the Student Center Ballroom. I will discuss next steps in the implementation of GSU's strategic plan, highlights and kudos of the past year and much more. A reception will follow.

As you may know, Georgia State University is implementing a Voluntary Separation Program for certain eligible employees. To be clear, this program is entirely voluntary.

To be eligible, you must be an active, benefits-eligible faculty or staff member, enrolled in the Teachers Retirement System or Optional Retirement Plan and meet the Board of Regents definition of a retiree. Click here for complete details of the program, a list of frequently asked questions and the Voluntary Separation Program application.

Completed applications must be received by the Office of Human Resources (1 Park Place, Suite 330) by 5 p.m. on April 29, 2011.

The Voluntary Separation Program will help Georgia State absorb continuing reductions in state appropriations. There are signs that the economy in Georgia is improving, but we are still facing a reduced state appropriation for the coming fiscal year that will run from July 1, 2011, to June 30, 2012. As always, I thank you for your continued understanding and dedication as Georgia State, like all of our peer institutions in Georgia, navigates what has been an extremely challenging budget environment.

Again, thank you for your service, and I look forward to seeing you on April 13.

Sincerely,

Mark P. Becker
President

Upcoming Events

April 1
Spring Concert by Ludacris

April 2
Zakir Hussain, Béla Fleck, Edgar Meyer

April 4
Cinefest Film Theatre: Client 9 - The Rise and Fall of Eliot Spitzer (Multi-Day Event)
Cinefest Film Theatre: Inside Job (Multi-Day Event)
Religion in the News Coffee Hour with Dr. Charles Steffen (religion and history)

April 5
Quit Tobacco Tuesdays
SASP "Cooked for a Cause" Bake Sale
Weight Watchers at Work
Dancing with the Greeks
Percussion Ensemble

April 6
Advisor Brown Bag: Annual Renewal Process
Green Initiative for Building Services with Patti Stilson (3rd Green Bag Lunch)
Internship/Summer Job Fair
Research Wednesday Speaker Series featuring Nazeem Edwards
Contemporary French Film Festival
neoPhonia New Music Ensemble

April 7
Organizational Roundtable
Courtyard Series Concert: Trey Griffin
International Studies Program presents Nour Abdul-Razzak
Empowering Others to Act
Job Search Seminar for International Students

In the News

Hunter named men's basketball coach
Ron Hunter, who won 254 games in 17 seasons at IUPUI while earning national acclaim for his humanitarian efforts, was recently named the head men's basketball coach at Georgia State University. "Ron Hunter is a proven coach and recruiter who knows what it takes to build a winning program," said GSU Director of Athletics Cheryl L. Levick. "He brings a tremendous amount of energy and passion, and his teams play an aggressive, up-tempo style that is both entertaining and effective. And his efforts off the court and in the community are truly remarkable. We are delighted to welcome Ron Hunter to the Georgia State family as our men's basketball coach."

Doctor of Philosophy in Public Health approved
The Board of Regents recently granted approval to the Georgia State University Institute of Public Health to offer a Doctor of Philosophy in Public Health degree. The new degree program supports the university's overall ten-year strategic plan and its emphasis on public health education.

 

Kudos

Paul A. Lombardo, a professor in the College of Law, was elected to membership in the prestigious American Law Institute. ALI was founded in 1923 with the mission "to promote the clarification and simplification of the law and its better adaptation to social needs, to secure the better administration of justice, and to encourage and carry on scholarly and scientific legal work."

Teryl Frey, Regents' Professor of Biology, received a Fulbright Scholarship award to lecture and conduct research in Germany during Fall Semester of 2011. Frey will be working at the Institute of Virology, University of Leipzig, developing a cellular model for studying teratogenesis (birth defects) caused by rubella virus and other infectious agents.

A team of Heritage Preservation students from Georgia State University recently won the Paul E. Buchanan Award, given annually by the Vernacular Architecture Forum. The GSU team beat out architectural firms, nonprofits and museums, and local and state government agencies for the honor.

Assistant Professor of History Allen Fromherz's research project, "Constructing Medieval Myths of the Nation in the Modern Middle East," was funded with a grant of approximately 61,000 euros from the Gerda Henkel Foundation in Germany. The project will document and analyze the use of medieval history in the construction of nationalist historical narratives in Middle Eastern countries.