Volume XL, Number 22

www.abac.edu

January 14, 2002

Monday, January 14

6:00 p.m. HEP Orientation (Cordell Conf. Room A)

Tuesday, January 15

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

Noon-IAAP Meeting (Magnolia Room)

6:00 p.m.-Taking Control of Your Life (Cordell Conf. Room C)

7:00 p.m.-Basketball: Stallions vs. Mercer (Gressette Gym)

Thursday, January 17

1:00 p.m.-Police Academy Lecture (Cordell Conf. Room A)

7:30 p.m.-Chamber of Commerce Annual Banquet (Dining Hall)

Saturday, January 19

8:30 a.m.-Defensive Driving (Cordell Conf. Room A)

2:00 p.m.-Basketball: Fillies vs. Truett McConnell (Gressette Gym)

4:00 p.m.-Basketball: Stallions vs. Truett McConnell (Gressette Gym)

Monday, January 21

Today-Martin Luther King, Jr. Holiday

9:00 a.m.-Martin Luther King, Jr. Celebration Breakfast (Dining Hall)

Effective Jan. 1, Phyllis Bennett was named Interim Director of Retention Programs. As Retention Director, Bennett will be responsible for Learning Support policies/procedures, the Academic Assistance Center, implementation of the AIM Program, and coordination of Freshman Seminar classes.

Also effective Jan. 1, Kim Ascani was named Interim Coordinator of the Academic Assistance Center. She will be managing the daily operations of the AAC. Ascani previously served as the AAC secretary.

The Graduate Tuesday

The Baldwin Film Group will present The Graduate on Tuesday at 7 p.m. in Room 322 of Conger Hall. The 1967 film is rated PG and runs for 106 minutes. It was directed by Mike Nichols. There is no charge to attend.

Holiday January 21

The campus of ABAC will be closed for the official Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday on Jan. 21. Offices will reopen at 8 a.m. on Jan. 22.

Stallions at Home Tuesday

The Golden Stallions of Robert Moore will take on the Mercer Junior Varsity at 7 p.m. on Tuesday at Gressette Gym. The Stallions and the Fillies will be at home on Saturday against Truett McConnell. The Fillies tip off at 2 p.m., followed by the Stallions. Come out and support ABAC basketball.

ABAC Receives $1 Million Golf Course

The college with one of the top golf club management programs in the South now has a golf course worth $1 million to go along with it. Tifton ophthalmologist Larry Moorman announced Jan 9 that he and his wife, Debra, will give the entire 91-acre Forest Lakes Golf Course to the Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College Foundation.

ABAC President Mike Vollmer said the college will put the course to immediate use in the golf club management major as a unique outdoor learning laboratory. He said the course will also be used in many other programs, such as horticulture, agricultural engineering, forestry, wildlife, physical education, youth connection, agriculture equipment technology, and golf turf management.

"Through the Moormans' generous gift, we will be able to provide our students with the very best in learning and real world experiences," Vollmer said. "It's one thing to talk about how to manage a golf course. It's quite another to actually go to that course and put theory into practice."

Moorman said he and his wife decided to donate the golf course to ABAC because it will work well with the college's golf club and turf programs.

"It's a perfect fit," Moorman said. "A golf course used for educational purposes is great for the students. It will provide valuable hands-on experience, putting students in real life situations. Actually being on a golf course will give students a totally different perspective than what they learn from text books. I am a big supporter of ABAC, and for me, this donation is all about ABAC."

The ABAC Foundation will lease Forest Lakes to ABAC for $1 per year, and the college will be responsible for its management and operation. Dr. Larry Allen, Chair of the Division of Agriculture and Forest Resources, will be in charge of the course. To emphasize the significance of the project, Allen and his faculty members devised an educational model that demonstrated to the ABAC Foundation exactly how the golf course will benefit students.

Ray Jensen, Chair of the ABAC Foundation's Finance and Investment Committee, said the course will put ABAC students way ahead of the game.

"By having this golf course, students will gain practical, hands-on experience," Jensen, whose background includes years of work in the turf industry, said. "Their experience will not just be theoretical, consisting of what they have learned in the classroom, they will also gain experience working on a golf course. There is no substitute for this kind of experience."

ABAC Foundation President Melvin Merrill added, "The purpose of the ABAC Foundation is to support the college in any way it can. This outdoor lab will provide an environment where our students can gain marketable skills. They will have credentials that students at other institutions will not have."

Allen said the course will remain open for public play. Former ABAC golf coach Wayne Cooper now manages the day-to-day operations of the course.

Dining Hall News

Chris Dotson has been named Assistant Director of Campus Dining Services at ABAC. He has most recently been the Assistant Front Line Manager at Georgia Southwestern. Prior to that time he was the Office Manager here at ABAC for ARAMARK.

A native of Tifton, Dotson graduated from Tift County High School and earned associate degrees from ABAC in 1995. He and his wife, Monica, have one daughter, Christian. Welcome back to ABAC, Chris!

Weight Room Hours

The Weight Room in Gressette Gym will be open for the spring semester during the hours listed below. The weight room may be used by students, faculty, and staff when supervised by weight room monitors. Use during non-supervised hours is prohibited.

Monday - Noon - 6:00 p.m.

Tuesday - 3:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.

Wednesday - Noon - 6:00 p.m.

Thursday - 3:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.

Friday - Noon - 6:00 p.m.

Saturday - 9:00 a.m. - 12:00 noon

Sunday - CLOSED

Smithsonian Exhibit at Public Library

A free Smithsonian exhibit has opened at the Tifton-Tift County Public Library. Listening to the Prairie: Farming in Nature's Image has information on sustainable agricultural methods, food production, ecology, biology and botany as well as a history of the Plains. An audio tour is also available. The exhibit will be at the library until Feb. 13. It is open all of the hours that the library is open. For further information, call 386-7148.

Special programs include :

-- Dr. Sharad Phatak, UGA researcher and Max Carter, local farmer

Tuesday, January 15, from 4-5 p.m.

Sustainable Agriculture, in Theory and in Practice

-- Kris Kelley, Native American storyteller

Thursday, January 17, 6-6:45 p.m.

Echos of Time (She is a former ABAC student who was a member of the ABAC BSU.)

-- Dr. John Ruter, who is in charge of the Coastal Plain Research Arboretum

Friday, January 18, 1:30 p.m.

Landscaping with Native Plants

ABAC Profile

-- Linda B. Horton --

Linda B. Horton is the parttime PREP Program Assistant. She received her M.A. and B.S. degrees from the University of Mississippi in home economics education. She was graduated from Ecru High School in Ecru, Miss. Her hobbies include playing the piano, crafts, cake decorating, and playing card games. In her position at ABAC, she assists with administering the PREP program in six counties. Her husband's name is Scott. He is a former ABAC employee.

Focus on Central Asia

Events of 2001 introduced America to little known parts of Central Asia. How many of you could place Uzbekistan or Turkmenistan before last fall? If you would like to know more, you can attend ABAC's Focus on Central Asia on Feb. 22-23. It features seven presentations by experts, who study, write about, and have visited the region. They provide introductions to art, religion, politics, ecological, and economic issues.

This series is open to the public, and K-12 educators can obtain SDU's by attending a follow-up session. Admission costs are $9 for Friday, or $19 for both days. Saturday lunch is included with two day tickets. ABAC staff and students may attend lectures at no cost.

Our series is sponsored by the Office of Academic Affairs. For more information, please contact: Dr. John Dunn, 386-3259, or email: jdunn@abac.edu

Note of Sympathy

The ABAC Family expresses sympathy to Barbara Snyder whose aunt, Lois Paulson, passed away on Jan. 8. Please keep this family in your thoughts and prayers.

Note of Thanks

Thank you so very much for the beautiful spray of flowers the ABAC Family sent for my mother's memorial service. The many, many cards and emails are very appreciated. Thank you, Student and Enrollment Services folks, for another lovely spray of flowers. Both ABAC sprays were the prettiest flowers there. It was very soothing to have my friends "with me" since I was so far away from Tifton.

Thank you, again,

Maggie Martin

Positions Open

ABAC:

Public Safety Officer (open until filled)

Salary $20, 800

Locksmith (deadline 1/18)

Salary $17,471

Albany State:

Secretary for Psychology, Sociology & Social Work

Secretary to the Dean

Contact the Office of Human Resources for details.