Calendar of Events

Monday, June 9

Today-Natural Resources Conservation Workshop

Tuesday, June 10

Today-Natural Resources Conservation Workshop

11:30 a.m.-Tiftarea YMCA Board Meeting (Magnolia Room)

6:00 p.m.-Natural Resources (Chapel)

Wednesday, June 11

Today-Natural Resources Conservation Workshop

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

Thursday, June 12

Today-Natural Resources Conservation Workshop

Friday, June 13

Today-Natural Resources Conservation Workshop

Saturday, June 14

8:00 a.m.-National ACT (Student Courtroom)

6:00 p.m.-Brownie Troupe 226 Party (ABAC Pool)

Tuesday, June 17

Noon-IAAP Meeting (Magnolia Room)

Wednesday, June 18

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

Thursday, June 19

Noon-Police Academy Luncheon (Magnolia Room)

5:00 p.m.-Etiquette Course (Magnolia Room)

Friday, June 20

5:30 p.m.-Morrow/Alexander Wedding Rehearsal (Chapel)

7:00 p.m.-Police Academy Graduation (Cordell Conf. Room)

7:30 p.m.-Miss Ga. Forestry Pageant Dinner (Dining Hall)

Saturday, June 21

3:00 p.m.-Morrow/Alexander Wedding (Chapel)

Sunday, June 22

1:00 p.m.-Sigma Alpha Omega Luncheon (Magnolia Room)

Monday, June 23

11:00 a.m.-Residence Halls Groundbreaking Ceremony

5:00 p.m.-Evening Orientation (Cordell Conf. Room A/B & Dining Hall SW Corner)

Big Brothers Cites ABAC

The Big Brothers/Big Sisters of South Georgia recently honored ABAC with its Partnership of the Year Award for committing students, faculty, and staff to volunteer in both the community and school based programs. ABAC Social Science faculty member Paul Foote was honored as Big Brother of the Year. ABAC Women’s Tennis Coach Alton Hudgins was named Big Buddy of the Year.

Webb is UGA Contact

Donna Webb is the new Coordinator of Academic Programs for the University of Georgia Tifton Campus. She will coordinate the new four-year degree in agri-science and environmental systems that UGA will offer at ABAC beginning with the fall term. You can contact Webb at dwebb@tifton.uga.edu or at 386-3528. Her office is in the Technology Development Center at the Coastal Plain Experiment Station.

Summer Hours

The summer hours at ABAC are 8 a.m.-5:30 p.m., Monday-Thursday, and 8 a.m.-3 p.m. on Friday. These hours will extend through Aug. 8.

Groundbreaking on June 23

The groundbreaking for the historic $32 million residence hall construction project will be held at 11 a.m. on June 23 in front of Chandler Hall. Please make your plans to attend.

“This is not only the largest project of its kind at a two-year college in Georgia, but the largest project of its kind at a two-year college in the United States,” ABAC President Mike Vollmer said.

Place Properties is scheduled to oversee the construction of a facility with 200 beds during the next six months. Chandler Hall residents will be moved into that new facility in December prior to the spring term. The remaining facility with 635 beds will be constructed prior to the 2004 fall term.

Record Enrollment for Summer

The summer term enrollment appears headed for an alltime high. The current record was set in the summer of 2002 with 1,349 students. This year’s enrollment should eclipse that figure. At presstime, the enrollment was over 1,551 students.

Ascani Named Coordinator

Director of Learning Support Phyllis Bennett has announced that Kim Ascani has accepted the position of Coordinator of the Academic Assistance Center. She was appointed to that position as Interim Coordinator in January, 2002. Ascani joined the ABAC staff in 1997.

Dorminey to Homeland Security

Tim Dorminey has left his position as Director of the Regional Police Academy at ABAC to work with the Homeland Security Corporation. This group is involved in the training of personnel in the homeland security effort. His last day at ABAC was May 30. Ray Saxon is acting director for the Academy.

New Assistant Dining Hall Director

Aramark and Campus Dining Services Director B.J. Smith has announced that John Cahill is the new assistant director for campus dining services at ABAC. Cahill comes to ABAC from the University of Wisconsin, Park Side, where he was the executive chef. His experience encompasses catering, resident dining, snack bars, convenience stores, and all phases of Aramark’s operations. His wife, Maria, will be also be joining the ABAC Humanities Division faculty for the fall semester.

Smith plans to take family leave during the summer, so Kristen Popham, who is a graduate of ABAC and UGA, will be on hand to assist in the Donaldson Dining Hall during this time. Popham was formerly the ABAC Assistant Director and is currently the food services director at Andrew College.

Next FOCUS June 23

The next edition of this prized publication will appear in your boxes on June 23. Please have all information for the FOCUS to the Public Relations Office by noon on June 18.

Construction Continues

Please watch your step in front of the Donaldson Dining Hall as construction continues there on a portion of the Pedestrian Mall. At presstime, Perimeter Road was also closed in front of the new Ag Sciences Building while the Pedestrian Mall makes it way in that direction.

Library Summer Hours

The Baldwin Library will be open during the summer term the following hours:

Monday-Thursday 7:30 a.m.-9 p.m.

Friday 7:30 a.m.-3 p.m.

Saturday 2-5 p.m.

Sunday 6-9 p.m.

Arts Connection Summer Program

The Abraham Baldwin Arts Connection is hosting its annual five-week long summer fine arts enrichment program in Asbhurn as a part of its partnership in the 21^st Century Learning Grant. The program runs in week-long increments from May 26-July 3. For additional information, contact Polly Huff at 3558.

Congratulations!

Helen Strickland is the proud grandmother of a new granddaughter born June 2. Julieanna Ray Owens weighed seven pounds, five ounces and was 21 inches long. Her parents are Jake and Julie Owens of Augusta. Congratulations to all!

Celebrating Birthdays

June

11 Katrina Williams

13 Larry McGruder

13 Vickie Walker

15 James May

17 Charles Griffin

17 Van McGriff

20 Gaye Elder

21 Tom Call

23 Janet Weaver

23 Ja’nay Windmoller

ABAC Featured in National Comic Book

Abraham Baldwin is really making a name for itself—and not just as an educational institution. ABAC was recently featured in the national comic book Dexter’s Laboratory, thanks to the clever ideas of Dr. Earl Bennett, a professor in ABAC’s Division of Science and Mathematics.

Bennett came up with the idea to use ABAC in the comic book when his daughter, Erin, called him last fall and told him that her boyfriend, Matt Jenkins, needed some type of math symbols to go onto a blackboard in the comic. Jenkins does penciling for DC Comics, and for the last year or so he has been working on issues of Dexter's Laboratory. “Dexter is a boy genius and was supposed to be working on something of great scientific importance,” Bennett said. “So I gave Matt formulas that illustrated the method of using triple integration from calculus to find the volume of a quarter-cylinder—the hard way. Since the equations had integration, square roots, inverse trigonometric functions, and the answer came out to be pi, I thought this would be pretty clever. But what I really wanted to do was work something personal into the formulas as a sort of inside joke. I finally decided to use ‘ABAC’ as a subscript to the volume variable.”

Jenkins made the formula fit into the space allotted and abbreviated a little, but the basic structure remained intact. At the very beginning in the upper left hand corner of the chalkboard is the “ABAC” subscript. The issue of Dexter’s Laboratory depicting this scene came out in April (issue #34).

ABAC’S SGAE Chapter Honored

The Student Georgia Association of Educators (SGAE) chapter at ABAC recently received top honors at the annual Georgia Association of Educators Student Program Conference.

Using the theme “Acceleration to Education,” SGAE members designed a display, prepared a scrapbook, and gave a presentation to those attending the conference. The presentation, in which ABAC competed with four-year schools, such as Augusta State University, Berry College, and Clark Atlanta University, highlighted SGAE activities that members have participated in throughout the school year.

Three TCHS Valedictorians at ABAC

Amanda Richards, Emily McGill, and Erin Hand are proof positive that outstanding students can obtain a quality education while staying close to home. Each of these students was the valedictorian of her graduating class at Tift County High School (TCHS) and chose to attend Abraham Baldwin. By doing so, they have created a recurrent pattern: the past three top academic students from TCHS have all selected ABAC to begin their college careers.

Richards, a music major from Chula, graduated from ABAC this spring. The TCHS valedictorian for the class of 2001, Richards said she decided to come to ABAC to help prepare herself for her study of music before going on to a four-year institution. McGill, a child and family development major from Tifton, was the TCHS valedictorian for the class of 2002. She said she chose ABAC because she was not ready to leave home yet.

Hand, the current TCHS valedictorian, graduated on May 24. Like McGill, Hand also lives in Tifton and has family members who are ABAC alumni.

Note of Sympathy

The ABAC Family expresses sympathy to Cindy Sparrow whose father, J.C. Moore, passed away on May 29. Sympathy is also extended to Sandra Grimsley whose father, Rueben Roberts, passed away on June 2. Please keep both these families in your thoughts and prayers.

Note of Thanks

Thank you to everyone for your thoughts prayers, cards, flowers, and thoughts.

Thanks so much,

Cindy Sparrow

Positions Open

ABAC:

■ Public Safety Officer, Salary $21,500

Deadline 6/16; Contact Human Resources for info.

ABAC Family

Cheryl Biggs, Dr. Sharry Sackor, and Rita Wade conducted a workshop entitled The Synergistic Effects of Remedial Reading Instruction and Student Support Services: A Case Study at the 48^th annual convention of the International Reading Association on May 6 in Orlando. Since ABAC is involved in the Disney College Program, while in Orlando they met with the Director of Recruiting and the Developer of the Disney College curriculum.

Mike Chason called each name of the Tift County High School Class of 2003 at graduation exercises on May 24.

Dr. Charlotte Pfeiffer, Professor Emeritus, spoke at the Fitzgerald High School Baccalaureate Service on May 22. Crimora Stanley, an ABAC graduate who is now a faculty member at Fitzgerald High School, extended the invitation.