Emory Homecoming 2012

Reuniting with old friends and participating in Emory traditions is what everyone wants to do at Homecoming weekend.  Homecoming at Emory is scheduled for this weekend, and there are tons of activities for everyone to take part in.  Here are ten easy steps to help you prepare for homecoming this year.

Homecoming and Reunion Weekend is almost here!

Make the most of your trip back to campus by following our 10 easy steps to help you prepare:

1. Watch the trailer. The official Homecoming and Reunion Weekend trailer is sure to get you pumped for the weekend ahead. Check out what's in store.
2. Like us. Join the Emory Alumni Association on Facebook for Homecoming updates.
3. Pack your Dooley. Get ready for this year's fun photo contest, and Emory's immortal spirit Lord James Dooley will tag along.
4. Follow @emoryalumni on Twitter. Start using the #iminhc2012 hashtag to get your fellow alumni excited about the weekend. We'll use this throughout the weekend for alumni to follow all the action.
5. Connect with your classmates at your reunion. Before heading to your reunion this fall, reconnect with old friends on your reunion Facebook group. While you're there, check out the cool Facebook cover photo and update your Facebook profile to match.
6. Print a campus map. There are lots of changes on campus; you don't want to get lost. Don't worry the memories are still around.
7. Brush up on music by this year's Homecoming concert artist, Slightly Stoopid, and get ready to sing along.
8. Start texting. Text Homecoming to 9-9699, bookmark the mobile site on your phone, and have the weekend schedule at your fingertips.
9. Submit a Class Note. Where have you been and what have you been up to since graduation? Post your exciting news.
10. Check out the full schedule for the weekend and register for the events you want to attend! Then pack your Emory gear (or get a free t-shirt from the Association!) and head home to campus. See you soon!

For more information see Alumni Emory.

Win The Fight 5K

The Win the Fight 5k will be held at Emory University on October 13th.  The race proceeds to go the Winship Cancer Research Program of the participants choice.  This is the races second year, and the race organizers are hoping to raise more awareness and money this year.

Winship's second annual Win the Fight 5K Walk/Run will take place on Sat. Oct. 13. The course, which runs through the Druid Hills Neighborhood, is USTF-certified and a Peachtree Road Race qualifier. The starting line and finish line are both located at Emory University's McDonough Field complex on Asbury Circle on the west side of the Emory campus.

Registration is $25. Participants can organize teams or raise funds in a variety of ways and direct their fundraising efforts toward the Winship cancer research program of their choice.

This year, former Georgia Bulldogs Coach Vince Dooley and his wife Barbara will serve as Honorary Grand Marshals of the race. The Dooley's say they want to do all they can to help win the fight against cancer.

"We want to support the research going on right here in Georgia, and we want to do what we can to intensify the fight against a disease that claims more than 14,000 Georgians a year," said the legendary Coach Dooley, who was treated successfully for throat cancer five years ago. "Georgia and its people mean a lot to Barbara and me.  If we can help in the fight against cancer in our state, then we will do that. And we believe that the best way to help is to support the excellent research programs under way at Winship Cancer Institute."

Vince and Barbara recently joined Winship's advisory board, saying they want to join in the fight against cancer at Georgia's only cancer center designated by the National Cancer Institute.
Barbara Dooley, a breast cancer survivor, said she wants to do her part to be sure that cancer researchers receive the support needed to improve survival rates of all cancer types.

"The level of research that occurs at Winship is world-class," Barbara Dooley said, "and it is the number one cancer research center in Georgia. I can't think of a better way to win the fight against cancer than to lend my support to the work underway at Winship."
Walter J. Curran, Jr., executive director of Winship, said he is thrilled that the Dooleys are joining the Winship team.

"I attended medical school here in Georgia when Coach Dooley was leading the Georgia Bulldogs to a National Championship, and I always admired him not only for his coaching ability but also for his leadership," said Curran, a former high school track coach. "I never dreamed that one day he'd be on my team. Coach Dooley has long stood out as a leader with a keen mind and a big heart, and he certainly understands the importance of cancer research."

Late-comers can register the morning of the race beginning at 7 a.m. Starting time is 8:30 a.m. Ample parking is available at no charge in the Peavine Parking Deck on campus.

For more information see Emory University.

What is New at Emory?

 In Emory's nine schools, there are many new and upcoming projects and classes occuring this year.  From the arts and sciences to theology there are new developments everywhere around campus.  Keep reading to learn what are some new developments in your area.

Candler School of Theology

Incoming class: Candler welcomes 190 incoming students from six countries and 27 states. They represent 30 Christian denominations, and one-third of the incoming U.S. students report non-white ethnicity.
New programs: Candler's newest joint degrees are in bioethics (MTS/MA) and development practice (MDiv/MDP). Candler and The General Theological Seminary launch a joint continuing education program in peacebuilding and conflict transformation Jan. 9-12, 2013, at the Desmond Tutu Center in New York.
Upcoming: Christian activist and author Shane Claiborne comes to campus on Oct. 23 to present "Jesus for President," a talk designed to spark the Christian political imagination.
New faculty and leadership: Jehu Hanciles, D.W. and Ruth Brooks Associate Professor of World Christianity; Susan E. Hylen, associate research professor of New Testament; and Ted A. Smith, assistant professor of preaching and ethics. The Rt. Rev. Keith Whitmore, assistant bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Atlanta, will serve as interim director of the Episcopal Studies program.

Emory College of Arts & Sciences

Incoming class: The Class of 2016 is diverse racially, ethnically and geographically. They will be joined this fall by 28 new faculty members in 18 disciplines.
New programs: The new Institute for Quantitative Theory and Methods (QuanTM) offers courses, undergraduate fellowships, workshops, a help desk and a speaker series as part of its vision to build stronger quantitative scholars and enhance interdisciplinary studies at Emory. The new Center for the Study of Human Health will have teachers and researchers from across disciplines and departments to expand health knowledge in a variety of courses and programs.
Noteworthy course: A joint Oxford-Emory course on Shakespeare is taught partly by Skype link with English actors 
and scholars in the U.K.

Goizueta Business School

Incoming class: Goizueta's Full-Time MBA Class of 2014, made up of 152 students, has an average of five years' work experience and is comprised of 38 percent international students, 24 percent women and 13 percent minorities. Nine military veterans in the group represent the Army, Marine Corps and Navy. Ten will pursue joint degrees.
New faculty: Vic V. Anand, assistant professor of accounting; David A.Schweidel, associate professor of marketing.

Laney Graduate School



Incoming class: The Laney Graduate School's 383 new students bring the total student population to over 1,900. Ninety-two percent of the students are pursuing a Ph.D.
New program: The Program for Scholarly Integrity (PSI) will comprehensively educate doctoral students in the ethical pursuit of scholarly research. Training will take place in interdisciplinary forums and in the student's graduate program. PSI will be required for doctoral students in the biological/biomedical and natural sciences entering the school this fall and for doctoral students in the humanities and social sciences entering beginning fall 2013.
New leadership: Cora MacBeth, assistant dean for 
student affairs.

Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing

Incoming class: The 209 new students represent 18 states and 11 countries and range in age from 18 to 54. Thirty-seven percent are from underrepresented ethnic groups and 22 students are males. Approximately 38 percent hold bachelor's degrees in other disciplines.
Upcoming: The nursing school will kick off the school year with its second annual fall convocation with a keynote speech from paralympic triathlete, Trish Downing, Aug. 31 at 11 a.m.
New faculty: Angela Amar, acting associate professor; Hope Bussenius, clinical assistant professor; Elizabeth Corwin, professor of nursing; Ying Guo, assistant professor; Bonnie Jennings, professor of nursing; Mary Lambert, clinical associate professor; Terri Marin, research assistant professor; Kathryn Moore, clinical associate professor; Lisa Muirhead, clinical assistant professor; Imelda Reyes, clinical assistant professor; Bryan Williams, research associate professor; Phyllis Wright, clinical assistant professor; and Katherine Yeager, research assistant professor.

Oxford College

Incoming class: Approximately 470, drawn from a record number of applications, make up Oxford's entering class, bringing total enrollment to approximately 900. 
New deans and faculty: New deans: Ken Anderson, dean for academic affairs; Meggan Arp, associate dean for academic affairs; and Adam Meyer, assistant dean for development and alumni relations.
New faculty: David Marshall Miller, philosophy; Annette W. Neuman, chemistry; Kevin A. Quarmby, English; and Helena Talaya-Manso, Spanish, all assistant professors.
New and improved facilities: The quad is now pedestrians-only. The renovation of Language Hall (1874) and Williams Hall (1907) is expected to be complete in January.  A new library is under construction to open in fall 2013.
New direction: Oxford begins a three-year emphasis on sustainability in its curriculum and other aspects of college life, using the slogan "A Life in Balance." The Center for Healthful Living will coordinate all aspects of wellness across academic and campus life.

Rollins School of Public Health

Incoming class: The new class is comprised of 455 Master of Public Health students, 32 PhD students and 11 Humphrey Fellows. The MPH class has 55 students in the distance-learning program and 25 students in dual-degree programs. It also includes 34 returned Peace Corps Volunteers, nearly twice the number as last year.
New faculty: Nineteen faculty members joined the school.
Faculty promotions: Hannah Cooper to associate professor of behavioral sciences and health education (with tenure); Delia Lang to associate professor of behavioral sciences and health education; Qu Long to associate professor of biostatistics and bioinformatics (with tenure); Limin Peng to associate professor of biostatistics and bioinformatics (with tenure); and Aryeh Stein to professor of global health. Gary Miller was named Asa Griggs Candler Chair of Environmental Health, and Kathryn Yount was named Asa Griggs Candler Chair of Global Health.
New course: A Certificate in Maternal and Child Health is now available to MPH/MSPH students in any academic department at Rollins. The program will equip students for positions in public health organizations serving women, infants and children.

School of Law

Incoming class: For its four degree programs, Emory Law is welcoming more than 300 students from 36 states, four countries, and 118 undergraduate institutions. The inaugural class of the new Juris Master degree program for professionals arrives this fall, with applications accepted for spring semester through Oct. 15.
New faculty: Mary Dudziak, a leading scholar of constitutional and legal history, will serve as director of the new Project on War and Security in Law, Culture and Society. Other appointments include Rafael Pardo, an expert in bankruptcy and commercial law whose work has been cited widely by the federal courts; and Sue Payne, co-director of the Center for Transactional Law and Practice.
Upcoming: The 9th Annual Emory Public Interest Committee conference, "And Justice For All? Criminal Justice in the South," will be on Oct. 13. Stephen B. Bright of the Southern Center for Human Rights is the keynote speaker. On Oct. 22, Yale professor John Fabian Witt will speak on "Sherman at Atlanta: The Moral Structure of the Laws of War."

School of Medicine

Incoming class: From 6,605 applications, 139 students are in the first-year class. The diverse first-year class of 72 males and 67 females represents 13 foreign countries and 62 undergraduate institutions, the most popular of which are Emory, University of Georgia, Georgia Tech, Duke University and Washington University. Ten first-year students have been admitted to the MD/PhD Program.
New leadership: A national search continues to find a successor for dean Thomas J. Lawley, who will step down, effective Sept. 15.
New programs: The School of Medicine has launched a new degree program, a Master of Medical Science in Human Genetics and Genetic Counseling.
New facilities: Construction continues on Emory's and Children's Healthcare of Atlanta's new health sciences research building, which will accommodate 65 lead researchers and their teams. The building on Haygood Road will include a two-story bridge to connect it to the Emory-Children's center. Completion is expected in 2013.
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For more information see Emory.

Organize Your Closet with These Tips and Tricks

Organizing your closet can be a hassle.  However, with these tips and tricks you can have a clean and organized closet just in time for the new school year.

Hanging jewelry organizers

 If you rush to find the outfit-completing bracelet or necklace every morning, consider a new jewelry organization system. A hanging organizer will keep you from digging through a cluttered box in the last fleeting morning moments. Choose a product that has a soft vinyl lining to protect your accessories from getting scratched.

Purse rack

An over-the-door hanging rack is a good way to keep track of your handbag inventory and clear some space on sought-after shelves. The simple design is complete with adjustable hooks so you can organize your purses however you like -- by color, brand or season.

Vinyl storage bags

If you have items in your closet that you don't use on a daily basis, store them together in a vinyl bag. Fold towels, sweaters and extra linens neatly into multiple bags and then stack them on top of one another, freeing space for the items you use more often.

Revolving shoe stand

This takes up less space than your typical shoe rack, and the spinning motion makes sorting through your heels, sneakers and flip flops easier when you're rushing to get out the door.

Decorative crates

Get creative with your organization project by picking boxes in bright hues, fun patterns or chic designs. For a stylish and eco-friendly approach, try stackable crates made from bamboo.

Cascading hangers

If you just can't part with seldom-worn clothes but still need extra space, buy a set of cascading hangers. They're perfect for hanging multiple shirts, sweaters, blouses or slacks in a tight spot and are made with a non-slip grip so you won't have to dust your clothes off of the floor.

Island organizer

A storage island is a good option for more spacious closets. It's similar to the kitchen island but a little smaller and with more nooks and crannies for storing your belongings. It also can serve as a fabulous decorative piece!

Stacking shelves

They're relatively cheap and add extra storage space. Stack several pieces for an easy-to-reach shoe rack, or put a single row on an existing shelf to double up available areas.

Drawer organizers

Perfect for keeping lingerie, undergarments and hosiery in order, drawer organizers can be stacked on top of each other on a closet shelf to save space. Each organizer is conveniently broken down into smaller sections so you can organize smaller garments easily.

For more information see She Knows.

Decatur Running Routes

If you are a runner on campus or off, there are some great running routes through Decatur that will give you a nice change of scenery.  These routes have a variety of different elevation levels and can be used for running or walking.  Read below to learn more about running in Decatur, and the routes that you can take for your next safe run.

Why Run?

The medical community , the psychological health community, and the Decatur community knows that running in Decatur is a positive experience on many levels. Improving health, brightening one’s mood, and relieving the stress of the day are all benefits the runners of Decatur have come to appreciate about the sport, not to mention the added perk of having some of the prettiest neighborhoods in the southeast through which to traverse.
 

Research shows the benefits of running and local experience indicates a vibrant and active running community in the City which is fostered by the many routes available to those who are inclined. The City of Decatur’s Active Living Department would like to invite everyone who enjoys running (or walking) to enjoy the Decatur Running Maps which all begin at the Old Courthouse on the Square. So strap on your shoes, get out into our friendly neighborhoods and enjoy your run in Decatur!

When you run, be sure to....

...Carry Identification. Write your name, phone number, and blood type on the inside sole of your running shoe. Include any medical information.

...Run against traffic. This helps with observing approaching automobiles. Watch and stay away from cars! By facing on-coming traffic, you may be able to react quicker than if it is behind you. When cars are exiting parking lots, run behind the car, not in front.

...Help drivers see you! Wear reflective light colored clothing or lights, especially before dawn or after dark.

...Stay alert and aware! Be mindful of what's going on around you. Do not run with headphones turned up loudly. The more aware you are, the less vulnerable you are.  

Decatur Running Maps

The City of Decatur offers a number of running  routes, all beginning at the Old Courthouse Square in downtown Decatur. The routes include maps, turn by turn directions, and elevations. Enjoy your run (or walk) in Decatur!


Clairemont Heights 1 Mile Run
Clairemont Heights 2 Mile Run
Clairemont Heights 3 Mile Run
Clairemont Heights 4 Mile Run
Glenlake 2 Mile Run
Glenlake 3 Mile Run
Glenlake 5 Mile Run
Parkwood 3 Mile Run
PATH/Rocky Ford 4 Mile Run
Adair 2 Mile Run

For more information please see the City of Decatur.

The Olympic Games are Back in Atlanta

The oncology unity at the Winship Cancer Institute have brought the Olympic games back to Atlanta a little earlier than expected.  These games are just a little different.  They involve wheel chair races and hula hoop contests.

Olympic heroes shine in different sports, but probably few have had as much fun in as the "Oncology Olympics" athletes have had this week on the bone marrow transplant unit at Emory University Hospital. 

The idea of Amelia Langston, who treats leukemia as a medical oncologist at Winship Cancer Institute of Emory University, the "Oncology Olympics" began Sunday, July 29. They will continue through Aug. 10.

 

Langston started the games four years ago as a way to bring some fun to the 24 patients undergoing bone marrow transplants at Emory University Hospital. Most of the patients are hospitalized for weeks at a time.

"The staff here is wonderful," say Joseph Alexander, a patient in the 8E wing. "They almost make you forget why you’re here. I knew I made the right choice when I came to Winship for treatment, but I never expected this kind of hospitality. "

Langston, who this year donned a fetching pocketbook, regal blue dress and plastic tiara to portray Queen Elizabeth II in Opening Ceremonies, explains that the "Oncology Olympics" games provide a way also to keep spirits up among the patients and staff.

And there has been plenty of fun. The unit has its own BMT flag, centerpieced by a bone. In addition, a string of flags from different nations decorates the units. American flags are plentiful. Each day since the games opened, 8E, as the unit is called, has organized a different competition at 4 p.m. The first day, there was the saline bag toss. The next day, a wheelchair race (physicians, nurses and staff only for that). Then there was a competition to pass a balloon down a line of people, without the people using their hands or arms.

The competition that has drawn the most medalists and spectators so far, however, was the hula-hoop competition. It attracted patient family members, nurses, pharmacists and doctors, including Thomas Heffner, an associate professor of hematology and oncology.

Heffner said he hadn't hula hooped "since he was 10." He didn’t say how long ago that was, but he does have a few strands of hair that give him a dignified look.

"Cancer can do a lot of bad things, and we see that every day," Langston said. "We want to be able to have fun when we can and celebrate when things are going well.

For more information please go to Emory University.

Olympic Legacy Lives on at Emory

 Emory University was a big part of the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games.  The dorms were used to house journalists, officials, and some athletes.  They also used the school for practice facilities.  It also was a center point for the torch relay from Greece to Atlanta.  Not only did this give Emory University national recognition, but it helped transition the University to what it is today.

Even after all these years, Patrick Kelly can't resist watching visitors pause before a display case in Emory University Hospital that harbors a piece of history.

He never reveals that the Olympic torch on view was the very one he carried, helping guide the flame during its long trek from Greece to Atlanta during the 1996 Centennial Olympics — one of only two Emory employees and some 40 Emory alumni among thousands of torchbearers.
It is enough, he insists, to watch and remember.

"I don't say anything, but it's nice to see — maybe it takes them to another place, says Kelly, a physician's assistant with EUH's pain management center who held the torch aloft as an escort runner pushed his wheelchair the one-kilometer leg of the relay.

"The whole Olympic experience was a high point of my life," Kelly recalls. "I really did feel like a participant, like I was a part of what was going on in Atlanta."

Sixteen years ago, Atlanta had Olympic fever, and Emory University was very much a part of the team that helped bring the historic games to town, housing officials and journalists — along with a few top-secret VIP guests — while also serving as a training facility for world-class athletes and a news center for foreign journalists.

The 1996 Olympic Games have long been credited with helping Atlanta establish its modern metropolitan identity, spurring a movement to revitalize downtown and strengthening the community's ability to attract new industry and tourism.
But looking back, what was the Olympic legacy for Emory?

Eyes of the world upon Emory

Standing along Clifton Road on July 18, 1996, it must have felt as if Emory was ground zero for the Olympic Games — an outpouring of thousands of employees jammed the sidewalks to cheer the Olympic Torch Relay.

It was a memorable turnout for an event that would eventually touch so many corners of the campus, recalls Karen Salisbury, chief of staff to the vice president of Campus Services, who was director of University Conferences at the time.

Atlanta had been an unlikely choice to host the Centennial Games. But when it won the designation in 1990, Emory joined the larger metro community launch into planning mode.

"The University saw it as a way for Emory's name to be broadcast around the world, and also to be seen as a partner with other Atlanta institutions to make this happen," says Gary Hauk, vice president and deputy to the president.

"It was also a way for us, as a university, to transcend the old canard that Emory was this aloof institution off in the suburbs that didn't really care about what happened in the city," he adds. "That never was the case, but it meant that however we could, we should step up."
And the University did.

The pool at the Woodruff Physical Education Center became a practice facility for synchronized swimming, swimming and water polo events. Track and field athletes and baseball teams also found training space on campus. Olympic banners festooned the landscape, and it wasn't unusual to find world-class athletes strolling the Quadrangle.

The University also utilized another rich resource — residence hall rooms. Hundreds of Olympic officials and journalists were housed on campus, along with Emory alumni, who were permitted to stay and attend the Games. The Oxford College campus also welcomed athletes and coaches.

However, Emory's most famous on-campus guests remained a closely-held secret.

At the last minute, the University was asked to host the U.S. women's gymnastics team — a group dubbed "The Magnificent Seven" who would become the first U.S. gymnasts to score a team gold medal.

"They wound up staying at what was then the Chi Phi fraternity house," Salisbury recalls. "For safety, we kept it quiet. On the radio, their code name was ‘The Flower Shop' because they kept getting so many flower deliveries."

But one of Emory's most important lingering Olympic legacies? "We had one more convincing reason to ask the trustees for resources to air condition all of our residence halls," Hauk reveals.

"Up until 1993 and 1994, students would move in and the bookstore would do a booming business of renting window fans."

Art and the Olympics

For a few weeks, the campus took on an international flavor, as the Cox Hall Ballroom was transformed into a news center for the Olympic foreign press.

"Every language in the world was spoken — it was as cosmopolitan as you could get," recalls John Connerat, executive director of IT finance and administration who managed the news center for the Atlanta Committee for the Olympic Games.

Connerat remembers an energized scene: "You had journalists trying to do their jobs in a foreign country while experiencing all the frustrations of 1996 technology, which consisted of lots of photocopiers and banks of fax machines. You'd see people on deadline waiting in line to fax their story to Jakarta."

Despite the number of visitors — there wasn't an empty bed to be found — the campus met with few security challenges, aside from a few false bomb threats and a mysterious package that was delivered to U.S. gymnast Kerri Strug, who had famously injured her ankle during her final event, recalls Emory Police Chief Craig Watson.

"It was a concern, because nobody was supposed to know they were here," Watson says. "As it turned out, it was a very innocent thing — some ace bandages. In fact, we still have a framed, autographed poster of the women's gymnastics team that they gave to us as a ‘thank you' when they moved out."
Beyond athleticism, the games also provided an important artistic venue. Emory played a role in the Cultural Olympiad, a series of cultural events held in conjunction with the 1996 Olympics.

Michael C. Carlos Museum staffers curated two milestone exhibits: an on-campus show by acclaimed Alabama artist Thornton Dial and an ambitious off-campus exhibition, "Souls Grown Deep: African-American Vernacular Art of the South."

"It was one of the first times that this work — African American vernacular art —had been shown on such a large scale in the city, and it honored part of our Southern heritage," recalls Catherine Howett Smith, associate museum director.

"It certainly showed our strength as a regional museum — thousands and thousands of people saw them — and also showcased our resources," she adds.

How to measure an Olympic legacy?

For Atlanta, the Games brought decided economic gains.

But that benefit wasn't felt by everyone, notes Michael Leo Owens, associate professor of political science.

"We did see the Olympic Games serve as one of the factors that led to the creation of metro Atlanta as we now know it — an international city, a region good at attracting people to it," he says.

"But I also think of some neighborhoods that were promised investment that may not have realized those gains. Collectively, the region benefited. Individual communities may have found it hard to see what the actual benefit was," he adds.

At Emory, the Olympic legacy is measured in something beyond profit margins; Salisbury saw the University tested and strengthened by the experience.

"In typical Emory fashion, the collaboration among people was significant," she recalls. "It took everyone — the tech support, parking and transportation, the police department, facilities. It was something that was a positive opportunity, and Emory wanted to make sure that we presented who we really are to the world."

"I think it solidified us," she adds.
Connerat also saw the Olympics as "accelerating Emory's ability to react more quickly, with so many people involved at every level," Connerat says. "We created proof that we could do things faster than we ever did before."

Not only did an Olympic role increase the University's visibility among visitors from around the world, it created a level of community involvement and goodwill that remains hard to quantify.

"I think it was one of those rare experiences that create both a heightened level of stress and, at the same time, a heightened expectation about the possible good that could come out of it," Hauk says.

"By the end, when things had turned out well, it was the occasion for a lot of high fives," he adds.

For more information go to Emory Edu.