Volume XL, Number 28

www.abac.edu

February 25, 2002

Monday, February 25

3:00 p.m.-Open Campus Day Setup (Gressette Gym)

Tuesday, February 26

10:00 a.m.-Open Campus Day

5:00 p.m.-SGA Class Assembly (Cordell Conf. Room)

7:30 p.m.-Christian Student Fellowship (Chapel)

Wednesday, February 27

11:00 a.m.-Student Support Services Workshop (Cordell Conf. Room A)

Thursday, February 28

Today-Deadline for withdrawal without academic penalty

8:00 a.m.-Mandala Workshop (Cordell Conf. Room)

11:30 a.m.-Faculty/Staff Luncheon (Magnolia Room)

2:00 p.m.-Softball: Fillies vs. Tallahassee CC (Fillie Field)

5:00 p.m.-Mandala Workshop Dinner (Magnolia Room)

7:00 p.m.-Black History Program (Chapel)

7:30 p.m.-Sigma Xi Banquet (Dining Hall)

Friday, March 1

8:00 a.m.-Mandala Workshop (Cordell Conf. Room/Magnolia Room)

2:00 p.m.-Softball: Fillies vs. Middle Ga. (Fillie Field)

2:00 p.m.-Operational Plan Meeting (Dining Hall)

Saturday, March 2

Today-Science Olympiad

8:00 a.m.-Mandala Student Workshop (Cordell Conf. Room/Magnolia Room)

1:00 p.m.-Baseball: Stallions vs. Ga. Perimeter (Stallion Field)

7:00 p.m.-McClellan Truck Lines Banquet (Dining Hall)

Sunday, March 3

1:00 p.m.-Baseball: Stallions vs. Ga. Perimeter (Stallion Field)

7:00 p.m.-Gospel Choir (Chapel)

Monday, March 4

8:00 a.m.-Mandala Workshop (Cordell Conf. Room/Magnolia Room)

8:00 a.m.-Dept. of Corrections Program (Cordell Conf. Room C)

Because of the wet weather last week, the Take Pride in ABAC day has been moved to this afternoon from 4-5 p.m. Meet at the headquarters between Conger Hall and the Carlton Center at 4 p.m. to receive your trash bags, gloves, and ice cold Stallion water. Various areas of the campus will be assigned for the clean-up detail. Golden Trash Awards will hidden in several Stallion water bottles around campus. Redeem those with Mike Chason for cash prizes.

Tournament This Week

The Golden Fillies and the Golden Stallions will enter Georgia Junior College Athletic Association basketball tournament play this week at Atlanta Metro. Seedings had not been determined at presstime.

Final Debate on Friday

The final debate and editing of operational plans based on the six initiatives will be held Friday at 2 p.m. in the Donaldson Dining Hall. All interested faculty and staff members are welcome to attend.

Open Campus Day on Tuesday

Approximately 1,000 visitors are expected for Tuesday's Open Campus Day. Displays can be set up in Gressette Gym today from 3-5 p.m. and from 8-9 a.m. on Tuesday. All displays must be set up by 9 a.m. Take down will occur from 1-2 p.m. on Tuesday. All exhibits must be removed by 2 p.m. Tables will be taken down and the mat removed from the gym floor from 2-3 p.m. Thank you for your cooperation. Let's have a great day together welcoming these prospective students and their parents to our campus.

New Members Inducted

The ABAC Foundation honored 24 new members of the President's Club Friday at the annual President's Club Dinner in the Donaldson Dining Hall. President's Club members have pledged or contributed at least $10,000 to the ABAC Foundation.

New President's Club members include Mr. and Mrs. James E. Bedgood of Macon, Dr. and Mrs. W. Worth Bridges, Jr., of Tifton, Mr. and Mrs. Gregory F. Crumley of Tifton, Mr. and Mrs. A.B.C. Dorminy, Jr., of Fitzgerald, Mr. and Mrs. A.B.C. Dorminy, III, of Fitzgerald, Mr. and Mrs. Steven B. English of Vienna, Mr. and Mrs. G. Patton Hall, Jr., of Tifton, Mr. and Mrs. Edsel A. Harrell of Tifton, Mr. and Mrs. Larry Hobbs of Tifton, Dr. and Mrs. William H. Houston of Jacksonville, Fla., Mr. and Mrs. Gary C. McCorvey of Chula, Mr. and Mrs. Gerald W. Miller of Ty Ty, and Mr. and Mrs. R. Morgan Moon of Tifton.

Also inducted were Mr. and Mrs. Armond C. Morris of Ocilla, Mr. and Mrs. Jason C. Morris of Ocilla, Mr. and Mrs. Michael G. Phillips of Tifton, Mr. and Mrs. George Thornwell Smith of Marietta, Mr. and Mrs. Danny E. Sterling of Chula, Mr. and Mrs. Vann Thornton of Tifton, Mr. and Mrs. Stewart J. Veness of Simpsonville, S.C., Mr. and Mrs. Michael F. Vollmer of Tifton, Mr. and Mrs. Charles Hansel Webb of Orange Park, Fla., Mr. and Mrs. Carroll J. Whitfield of Tifton, and Mr. and Mrs. J.W. Willis of Damascus.

Special Event on Thursday

The celebration of Black History Month will culminate with a special event as a part of Celebrating Cultural Diversity. The event will be held from 11 a.m.-1 p.m. on Thursday in the J. Lamar Branch Student Center. Humanities Division faculty members, as well as ABAC staff and students, will discuss African-Americans' contributions to the humanities and perform music by African-American artists. The public is encouraged to attend and may bring poems or speeches by favorite African-American authors to share with the audience.

Celebrating Cultural Diversity is a project supported by the Georgia Humanities Council and the National Endowment for the Humanities and through appropriations from the Georgia General Assembly. For additional information, call 3250.

Spring Sports This Week

The Golden Fillies' softball team will host Tallahassee Community College for a 2 p.m. doubleheader at Fillie Field on Thursday. On Friday, the Fillies will host arch rival Middle Georgia, also at 2 p.m. at Fillie Field for another twin bill. The Golden Stallions will take on Georgia Perimeter in a 1 p.m. doubleheader on Saturday and a 1 p.m. single game on Sunday. Both games will be held at Stallion Field. Come out and support ABAC spring sports.

The Player on Tuesday

The Baldwin Film Group will present the 1992 movie titled The Player on Tuesday at 7 p.m. in Room 322 of Conger Hall. There is no charge to attend. The movie is rated R and runs for 123 minutes. It was directed by Robert Altman.

Wildlife Expo This Weekend

ABAC will be one of the sponsors for the Wildlife Expo at Spence Field near Moultrie on March 1-3. The Expo will be open from noon-5 p.m. on Friday and from 9 a.m.-5 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday. The ABAC Building at the Spence Field site will be used for many of the demonstrations and lectures. Call Kay Powell at 891-7235 for more information.

Congratulations!

Congratulations to Tom and Judy Call who are the proud grandparents of their second grandchild born on Feb. 19. Sarah Katherine weighed eight pounds, ten ounces. Her parents are Tommy and Kelly Call of Valdosta, and her older sister is Chandler.

Congratulations also to Helen Strickland who is the proud grandmother of a new grandson also born on Feb. 19. Trey Lanier Strickland weighed six pounds, eight ounces. His parents are John W. (Jay Jay) and Lisa Strickland of Lakeland, and his older sister is Marihelen.

Student-athlete High Transfer Rate

According to a report presented by ABAC's 2001-02 Athletics Committee, a total of 87.3 percent of athletes transferred to four-year institutions during the past five years (1996 - 2001).

In terms of gender, the percentage of males who transferred was 83.3 percent. The percentage of females who transferred was 92.8 percent. By individual sport, the percentage of students who transferred was as follows: men's tennis--86.9 percent, women's tennis--95 percent, women's volleyball--78.5 percent, softball--96.6 percent, baseball--89.3 percent, men's basketball--69.2 percent, and women's basketball--100 percent.

Alan Kramer, Athletics Director and Men's Tennis Coach, said the transfer rate report is a good start for ABAC in terms of tracking sophomore transfer/graduation rates. "This is something we have never done before," Kramer said. "The positive thing to keep in mind regarding the report is that we feel we are successful on two different levels: whether our student/ athletes graduate and whether our student/athletes transfer. Our strength of scheduling, along with tough conference play, has always helped our recruits get exposure at the next level whether our student/athletes have plans for college or goals at the professional level. I believe our facility improvements and additions will help improve upon the fundamental traditions that we have had so much success with over the years."

MELAB Offered at ABAC

The Student Development Center now offers the MELAB (Michigan English Language Assessment Battery). The MELAB is an equivalent to the TOEFL. The only other testing site in Georgia is Atlanta. The cost of the test is $60.

Care and Concern

Frank Landers is recuperating after a bout with kidney stones last week. Rebecca Harnage suffered a broken leg as the result of a fall last week. Please keep both these members of the ABAC Family in your thoughts and prayers.

Note of Thanks

I would like to thank everyone for their patience, concern, thoughts, and prayers through my accident. I really appreciate the flowers I received from the ABAC faculty and staff and the plant I received from Student Affairs. Our ABAC Family is really great, and I am thankful to be a part of it. Again, I would like to thank all of ABAC for the support.

Rebecca Harnage

Positions Open

Albany State:

Vice President for Institutional Advancement

Vice President for Academic Affairs

Chair, Dept. of Mathematics & Computer Science

Various faculty positions

Contact the Office of Human Resources for details.

Abraham Baldwin Family

Garth Webb attended the winter conference of the Georgia Association of International Educators held at Unicoi State Park on Feb. 20-22. He also attended a college fair hosted by Dunwoody and Chamblee high schools on Feb. 21.

Bruce Applewhite made high school visits and presented Careers in Agriculture programs to Brantley, Pierce, Charlton, and Montgomery county high schools Feb. 19-22.

Lee Petitgout visited South Carolina high schools on Feb. 10-12. She spoke to classes and at an FFA chapter meeting at Lincoln County High School on Feb. 13. She also visited Stephens County, Oglethorpe County, Heritage, and Taliaferro County high schools Feb. 15-21.

Angie Palmer and Mike Chason presented the program at the Tifton Rotary Club on Feb. 20. They showed the new non-traditional student video, updated the group on current events at ABAC, and announced the five different universities and state colleges which have programs planned for junior level, senior level, and graduate classes.