Georgia State to offer master’s and doctorate degrees in neuroscience

The Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia has granted approval to Georgia State University to offer Doctor of Philosophy and Master of Science degrees in neuroscience.

“Through a rigorous academic curriculum and an emphasis on cutting-edge research, those graduating from Georgia State’s new Ph.D. program will add to the greater body of knowledge that will ultimately bring forth new treatments and interventions to neurological diseases and disorders that affect millions across the globe,” said Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost Risa Palm.

“Georgia State has long been a national and international center for neuroscience research,” said Dean Lauren Adamson of the College of Arts and Sciences. “The creation of a Ph.D. program in neuroscience will let us take a leading role in educating the next generation of researchers.”

The program begins during the fall semester of 2010. Applications will be accepted starting in mid-November, and the deadline for applications is Jan. 5, 2010.

“The program will help to increase Georgia State’s visibility nationally and internationally in a field that is very important to both biotechnology development in the state, as well as biomedical research,” said Walter Wilczynski, professor and director of the Neuroscience Institute.

The program will also allow Georgia State to build better neuroscience collaborations with other universities in the state, such as Emory University, the University of Georgia, Georgia Tech and the Medical College of Georgia, Wilczynski said.

The program will be based in Georgia State’s Neuroscience Institute, an interdisciplinary unit within the College of Arts and Sciences, which includes faculty from biology, chemistry, psychology, physics and astronomy, computer science, mathematics and statistics, and philosophy. Additional faculty and students will be drawn to the institute from other areas such as computer information systems, and educational psychology and special education.

Officials are developing a curriculum of core courses to be added alongside GSU’s existing courses in fields such as biology and psychology. Students in the Ph.D. track will earn the M.S. degree as they complete the doctoral program. About 14 students per year are expected to graduate from the program.

Neuroscience graduate students at GSU can become active members of the Center for Behavioral Neuroscience, headquartered at Georgia State. The CBN is a multi-disciplinary community of neuroscientists across seven metro Atlanta colleges and universities, for broader educational training. As CBN members, graduate students participate in collaborative research and groups that take multi-disciplinary approaches to complex research questions.

The CBN also affords opportunities for graduate students to participate in neuroscience education efforts that range from elementary school through the graduate level.

This past spring, Georgia State partnered with Georgia Tech to establish the Center for Advanced Brain Imaging, which provides expert brain imaging facilities to support research in basic and clinical human neuroscience, including a research-dedicated functional magnetic resonance imaging scanner.

For more information about the Neuroscience Institute, visit http://neuroscience.gsu.edu.

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Georgia Southern University to offer its first Ph.D. program

Georgia Southern University has received approval to offer its first ever Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) degree, a Ph.D. in Logistics/Supply Chain Management. Classes are scheduled to begin in Fall 2010.

“The approval of Georgia Southern's first Ph.D. degree can be included among many firsts for the university, such as achieving university status and recognition as a Doctoral-Research institution by the Carnegie Foundation. All are major milestones along the road of our more than 100 years of history,” said Georgia Southern President Bruce Grube.

While the new program is the University’s first Ph.D. program, it is also one of only two degrees in the state of Georgia to focus on the fast-growing field of logistics and supply chain management. University System of Georgia institutions offer more than 180 doctoral programs, but Georgia Southern will be the only university to offer the Ph.D. in logistics/supply chain management through its College of Business Administration.

“This is a major accomplishment for Georgia Southern, particularly as we continue to grow not only in size, but in quality,” said Gary Means, provost and vice president for academic affairs at Georgia Southern. “The Ph.D. builds on Georgia Southern’s already nationally-recognized College of Business Administration’s undergraduate degree program in logistics.”

The new degree program will train students for both advanced practice and academic positions, providing a tactical solution to the need for Georgia residents trained in logistics and materials management.

“With the Port of Savannah emerging as one of the largest ports in the country and Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson Airport’s prominence in air cargo, Georgia is home to many major distribution centers and trucking terminals,” said Ron Shiffler, dean of the College of Business Administration at Georgia Southern University. “Logistics is a critical function in the business economy and is expected to add more than 500,000 jobs during the next decade.”

“Employment opportunities for graduates in this field are abundant and in high-demand. Nationally, only a limited number of universities offer such a degree. In fact, existing doctoral programs are unable to supply enough graduates to meet current demand not to mention future expected growth,” said Jerry Wilson, chair and professor of logistics and marketing. “This program will provide a pathway for today’s professionals to teach future logistics students. In addition, those entering industry will be prepared to act as consultants and analysts helping develop Georgia’s preparedness to enhance the logistics and transportation industry.”

The College of Business Administration, which will offer the new degree, is recognized as one of the Best 296 Business Schools by Princeton Review.

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First Ph.D. in Nursing Students Coming to Mercer’s Atlanta Campus

The first six candidates in the Georgia Baptist College of Nursing’s new Ph.D. in nursing program will come to campus for the first time as a group on Thursday and Friday, Aug. 13-14, for a computer training and orientation. The dynamic new program at Mercer University will feature a distance-learning delivery method for much of the coursework, allowing the students to continue in their positions as nurses and nursing educators. The program is only the fourth Ph.D. in nursing to be offered in Georgia, which is facing a critical shortage of nurse educators.

The students in the program will meet at the campus several times per semester and will also work remotely in virtual classrooms and via specialized Internet-based educational software. The inaugural class for the Doctor of Philosophy in nursing program brings together nurses from out of state, as well as those from more rural areas of the state.

“We had to design the program around the needs of working educators and nurses, because the nursing and nurse educator shortages in this area are so great our program had to be flexible enough to allow the students to remain at their jobs,” said Dr. Linda A. Streit, interim dean and associate dean for graduate programs at Georgia Baptist. “The students will have two days on campus for orientation and training to prepare for the coming semester.”

The program is designed to be done in a hybrid format and completed in 24 months, depending on the length of time taken on dissertation research. The program will create high-performing nursing educators and researchers to address the urgent need for nursing educators and leaders.

The program will prepare its graduates to:
• address the pressing need for advanced expertise in the application of theories and conceptual models to nursing education, practice and research;
• conduct research that advances nursing knowledge;
• evaluate the influences of ethical, social, political, demographic and economic issues on health care and nursing;
• assume leadership roles in education, practice and research to improve health care.

Dr. Streit also worked to secure grant funding to support students in the program through the Nurse Faculty Loan Program, a federal program designed to increase the number of nursing students pursuing careers as full-time faculty in schools of nursing. Funds from the program are administered by the Bureau of Health Professions, Health Resources and Service Administration.

The loan program offers significant loan forgiveness to students in master’s and doctoral nursing programs who train for, and become, full-time as faculty in nursing programs upon graduation. The new Ph.D. in nursing program was tailored to meet the needs of students pursuing this program, Dr. Streit said.

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MCG offers nursing doctorate at Macon State College

Nurses who want to advance their leadership and clinical roles can earn a Medical College of Georgia Doctor of Nursing Practice degree at Macon State College.

The University System of Georgia Board of Regents recently approved the doctoral-level degree option as an external program at Macon State. The program will enroll its inaugural class of four students this summer.

"The program is an excellent opportunity for nurses who want a terminal or doctoral degree in nursing with a clinical practice focus as opposed to the research focus that a Ph.D. in nursing provides," says Dr. Marguerite Murphy, director of MCG's Doctor of Nursing Practice program. "DNP-prepared nurses can be instrumental in improving health care outcomes in our ever-changing, complex health care environment."

"The critical need for registered nurses is well known, but the need for leaders in the nursing field also is vital," says Dr. Barbara Frizzell, Macon State’s vice president for academic affairs. "The doctoral program offered by MCG on our campus not only enriches our own academic environment, but establishes a conduit to produce talented leaders and instructors in nursing for central Georgia and beyond."

The doctorate of nursing practice focuses on clinical and management expertise necessary to improve outcomes in health care practice, leadership and education. The program also will help alleviate the national nursing shortage by producing more qualified nursing professors, allowing nursing schools to enroll more students.

"Extending our program to Macon State is really providing critical gains for our nursing profession in central Georgia to improve patient safety and advance quality outcomes for nurses who are working with patients, families, health systems and communities," says Dr. Janie Heath, School of Nursing associate dean for academic affairs.

The curriculum includes 40 graduate semester hours over four semesters, covering trends in effective care, methods of care delivery and concepts in evidence-based care.

Requirements for the program include a master’s degree in nursing or associated program of study related to a specialty area, such as public health, a graduate school admissions test, current professional nurse licensure and appropriate specialty certification.

For more information about the program, visit www.mcg.edu/son/index.htm or call Karen Sturgill, program coordinator, at 706-721-3676. To see current students, faculty, alumni, clinical and academic partners, including Dr. Rebecca Corvey, dean of Macon State's School of Nursing, talk about the program, visit www.mcg.edu/son/video/feature.html?v=20090324corvey and www.mcg.edu/son/video/index.html.

Amy Connell
Medical College of Georgia
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Georgia Tech Announces New PhD for Returning GIs

With President Obama’s accelerated timetable for withdrawal of combat troops from Iraq scheduled to be complete in August of next year, the nation will soon be faced with the task of reintegrating members of the U.S. armed forces into the workforce. Georgia Tech is leading the way by announcing today the development of an interdisciplinary Ph.D. to help returning GIs capitalize on the skills and military experience they’ve received while overseas. The new Ph.D. will be an interdisciplinary effort between the Ivan Allen College of Liberal Arts and the College of Engineering.

“This new Ph.D. will prepare our military men and women to re-enter the civilian workforce as leaders in rebuilding America’s roads, schools, health, governance, energy and utility systems,” said Sue V. Rosser, dean of the Ivan Allen College of Liberal Arts.

“As the country’s top producer of engineers and the home of active ROTC programs training future members of the U.S. Army, Navy, Marine Corps and Air Force, Georgia Tech is a natural place for members of the armed forces to continue their education,” said Don P. Giddens, dean of the College of Engineering.

In just a few weeks, Tech will begin conducting an extensive survey of the needs and interests of GIs so that the new degree best capitalizes on their expertise. In addition, Georgia Tech plans on making this survey data available to all institutions so that they can use it in planning their own programs for returning GIs.

“There is a strong synergy between the engineering skills and experience of our Post 9/11 GIs and the nation’s need for such skills under President Obama’s initiative to rebuild America’s infrastructure,” said Rosser. “This survey will enable us to develop an interdisciplinary Ph.D. that precisely targets the intersection of the two, and can become a model for graduate engineering programs for returning GIs at institutions around the country.”

While the specifics of this new degree largely depend on what the survey data uncovers, Tech anticipates it will include courses in systems engineering, public policy, economics, project management and organizational behavior. The College of Engineering will work closely with the Ivan Allen College of Liberal Arts and its Sam Nunn School of International Affairs in developing the degree.

Georgia Tech anticipates recruiting students for the new degree program at the end of 2009 and beginning the new Ph.D. in the fall of 2010, in time for veterans to take advantage of the educational benefits afforded by the new GI Bill.

“Georgia Tech demonstrates its leadership by winning National Science Foundation support for ‘Bridge to the Future for GIs.’ The project will both serve our returning veterans and will contribute to revitalizing our engineering and infrastructure,” said Susan Kemnitzer, deputy director for the Engineering Education and Centers Division of the National Science Foundation.

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American and Chinese Universities Announce Groundbreaking Joint PhD Program in Biomedical Engineering

Two highly respected biomedical engineering programs in the United States and China are breaking new ground in international academia as they begin to enroll the inaugural class of a new joint PhD program.

Members of the Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering at Georgia Tech and Emory University traveled to Beijing last fall to finalize the program details with the Department of Biomedical Engineering at Peking University (PKU).

"To my knowledge, this joint PhD program is the first of this type showcasing international cooperation in education between China and the United States. Forming a partnership with Georgia Tech and Emory will enhance our research and education in general and will provide a great opportunity for our BME students," says Jianhua Lin, Peking University Provost.

Representatives from Georgia Tech, Emory and PKU have been laying the groundwork for this program during the past five years. Faculty collaborations have been funded by seed grants from the Coulter Foundation and, as a result, several new research projects are already underway.

“Our partnership with the recently formed College of Engineering at PKU is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for us to create a new paradigm for international biomedical engineering education and research,” says Larry McIntire, chair of the Coulter Department. “The infrastructure being created within our departments will allow our students and faculty to learn how to conduct research and business in a global arena and will prepare them to become international leaders in 21st century biomedical engineering industry and academia.”

James W. Wagner, president of Emory University, says Emory “has been engaged with Peking University for several years in developing educational and research relationships. We are very excited about launching this new global endeavor in biomedical engineering that joins the diverse strengths of three excellent institutions.”

Students can apply to the program through either the Department of Biomedical Engineering at PKU in Beijing or the Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering at Georgia Tech and Emory in Atlanta. Students will have an advisor at their home campus and co-advisor at their secondary campus. Primary classes and research will take place on the home campus. However, students will also spend at least a year taking classes and participating in research in the co-advisor’s lab on the secondary campus. Classes will be taught in English and a single dissertation will satisfy the thesis requirements of all three institutions.

Founded in 1898, Peking University is among the first national universities in Chinese modern history. PKU enjoys an outstanding reputation within and outside of China, based on its abundant teaching resources and outstanding research achievements. Peking University now consists of 31 colleges and 14 departments, offering 101 undergraduate programs, 224 postgraduate programs and 202 doctoral programs. The student body includes more than 4,000 international students from nearly 80 countries.

The Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering at Georgia Tech and Emory University is dedicated to shaping and advancing the discipline of biomedical engineering through innovative translational research, inspiring education and the comprehensive integration of engineering methods into the mainstream of health care. Founded in 1997, the department is currently ranked second among graduate programs in Biomedical Engineering by the 2009 U.S. News and World Report Best Graduate Schools in America.

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Georgia State Receives Board of Regents Approval for Criminal Justice Doctor of Philosophy Degree

The Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia granted approval to the Georgia State University Department of Criminal Justice to offer a Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) degree. No other Ph.D. program focusing on criminal justice is offered in the state of Georgia at any public or private university.

“We are excited to be the first university in Georgia to offer a Ph.D. in Criminal Justice and Criminology and we look forward to graduating the state’s future scholars and educators in this field,” says Susan Kelley, Dean of the College of Health and Human Sciences, which houses the Department of Criminal Justice.

The department will begin accepting applications in the fall of 2009 for the first class of students who enroll in 2010. The Department of Criminal Justice, which has a long history of high-quality teaching and cutting-edge scholarship, was established in 1967 and has produced more than 3,600 criminal justice professionals. In 2006 the department was ranked 8th nationally for scholarly productivity in a study published in the Journal of Criminal Justice and received the second highest ranking of any non-Ph.D. granting criminal justice program in the country.

“The field has grown to such a degree that the demand for scholars has outpaced availability of criminologists and criminal justice professionals who hold a Ph.D,” said Brian Payne, department chair. “The need is particularly evident among faculty at criminal justice programs in other colleges and universities in Georgia. In our program, we focus on the ties between crime and the community. Advancing awareness about crime from this perspective will ultimately help communities, criminal justice officials, and policy makers to better address the problem.”

For more information on the Ph.D. program, contact the Department of Criminal Justice at (404) 413-1020.

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Trustees Approve Two Ph.D. Programs, Elect New Board Members And Officers

Mercer trustees at their annual meeting on December4th approved new Ph.D. programs in nursing and curriculum and instruction, welcomed 10 new board members, elected officers for 2009, and recognized an outgoing board member as a Life Trustee.

The new doctoral programs – Mercer’s third and fourth – fulfill objectives in the University’s recently-adopted 10-year strategic plan to expand Ph.D. offerings.

The Ph.D. in nursing is designed to address a critical shortage of nurse educators in Georgia, which is contributing to a shortage of nurses. According to a recent report issued by the American Association of Colleges of Nursing, faculty shortages at nursing schools across the country are limiting student enrollment at a time when the demand for nurses is at its highest level. The program is expected to enroll its first students in Fall 2009 at the University’s Georgia Baptist College of Nursing in Atlanta.

The curriculum and instruction doctoral program joins an existing Ph.D. program in educational leadership (P-12 school leadership and higher education leadership tracks) — offered through Mercer’s Tift College of Education — that currently enrolls more than 100 students.

Communities across the nation are experiencing dramatic shortages of highly qualified educators who have a commitment to lifelong teaching and learning. The Ph.D. in curriculum and instruction will help address this vital need by promoting the exchange of new ideas and possibilities across university, P-12, political and community settings. The first students in the program, which will be offered on both the Macon and Atlanta campuses, are expected to enroll in Fall 2009.

Mercer’s first Ph.D. program – in pharmaceutical sciences – was launched in 1995.

New trustees elected to serve five-year terms include James A. Bishop, Sea Island; G. Marshall Butler, Forsyth; Dwight J. Davis, Atlanta; Judge Walter Homer Drake Jr., Newnan; William A. Fickling Jr., Macon; David E. Hudson, Augusta; J. Reg Murphy, Sea Island; Rev. Julie Pennington-Russell, Decatur; and Judge W. Louis Sands, Albany. A.V. Elliott of Macon was elected to serve the unexpired term of Milton Ferrell, who died earlier this month and was memorialized at today’s meeting.

Judge Drake was unanimously elected to serve as chairman of the Board of Trustees for 2009. Atlanta attorney Diane Owens was elected chair of the board’s Executive Committee. Other committee chairs for 2009 include: Miriam M. (Mimi) Holland, Educational Policy Committee; Roddy J.H. Clark, University Honors Committee; Cathy Callaway Adams, Audit Committee; L. Richard Plunkett, Finance, Investment and Property Committee; Richard A. (Doc) Schneider, Development Committee; and W. Anthony (Tony) Moye, Athletics Committee.

Atlanta attorney Robert L. Steed, whose term on the board expires this month, was unanimously elected a Life Trustee, a designation only conveyed to seven individuals in the University’s 175-year history. Steed, a former chairman of the Board of Trustees, has served several terms on Mercer’s governing board. He holds undergraduate and law degrees from Mercer and was awarded an honorary doctor of laws degree by the University in 1979.

Other trustees rotating off the board this month include Malcolm S. Burgess Jr., Macon; Mary Jane Cardwell, Waycross; the Rev. James C. Elder Jr., Columbus; James H. Hall III, Virginia Beach, Va.; Robert F. Hatcher, Macon; David E. Linch, Atlanta; Howell L. Watkins II, Miami, Fla.; and H. Al Williams, Macon. Hatcher was recognized at the conclusion of the trustees meeting for his service over the past year as chairman of the board.

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