GC Journeys Newsletter

Dr. Liz Speelman, Director of the Outdoor Center Director & Senior Lecturer in Outdoor Education, and Dr. Kevin Hunt, Professor of Physical Education and Physical Education Program Coordinator, have been named the inaugural Faculty Fellows for GCSU’s Community-Based Engaged Learning initiative. As CbEL Fellows, they will offer support for faculty, staff, and community partners who seek to design and facilitate meaningful experiences that connect classroom learning with real-world issues and challenges.

Dr. Speelman and Dr. Hunt will provide leadership and support for faculty members interested in incorporating community-engaged learning into their courses. “Both Dr. Speelman and Dr. Hunt have been extremely active in the CbEL initiative at GCSU. They have experience leading CbEL experiences for students, developing CbEL curriculum, or even helping create the CbEL framework for faculty,” said Jordan Cofer, Associate Provost of Transformative Learning Experiences. Both CbEL Fellows will serve for Spring 2023 and Fall 2023.

GCSU sent seven students, representing five different projects, to the Fifth Annual 'Posters at the Capitol' event. Each year, undergraduate students from across the state of Georgia are invited to submit their research presentation for Posters at the Capitol. Modeled after CUR's 'Posters on the Hill,' Posters at the Capitol invites undergraduate research students from across the state to present their research for legislators, lobbyists, University Presidents and Provosts, and other invited guests. These projects represent some of the top undergraduate research projects across the state.

The Fifth Annual Posters at the Capitol was the most competitive in the event's history, and according to Dr. Jordan Cofer, "this was the largest Posters at the Capitol event that we've hosted." Founded and organized by GCSU, and supported by the Georgia Undergraduate Research Collective, this year, over 90 projects were submitted by students representing 17 different institutions across the state.

According to Dr. Stefanie Sevcik, Faculty Director of MURACE, "While the competition was fierce, we are so appreciate of the faculty mentors who encouraged their students to submit." GCSU's five projects were only matched only by Georgia Tech. This year's event featured 38 projects, representing 14 institutions. Several legislators, administrators, parents, and members of the general public attended.

The following GCSU students were selected to present at the Capitol on February 27th:

In partnership with TED, Georgia College’s Leadership Programs are bringing TEDx to Georgia College and Milledgeville. The inaugural TEDxGeorgiaCollege will take place on Friday, March 24th, in the Campus Theatre in downtown Milledgeville. The theme for this event is the Power of the Public Square, and will feature nine different speakers.

TEDx is a grassroots initiative, created in the spirit of TED’s overall mission to research and discover “ideas worth spreading.” TEDx brings the spirit of TED to local communities around the globe through TEDx events. These events are organized by passionate individuals who seek to uncover new ideas and to share the latest research in their local areas that spark conversations in their communities. For more information, visit TedxGeorgiaCollege.

This January, GC Journeys supported the following faculty transformative learning experiences through the GC Journeys Project-Based Mini-Grants. The purpose of these mini-grants is to support faculty leading these transformative experiences and to scale these experiences for students. This month's projects range from a GC2Y community experience to a collaborative undergraduate research project with the University of Miami.

Faculty interested in GC Journeys Project Based Grants can apply here.

On February 20th, The Office of Leadership hosted T. Dallas Smith, founder and CEO of T. Dallas Smith & Company, as the Usery Forum speaker. Smith, who founded the T. Dallas Smith & Company, serves on the Board of Regents for the University System of Georgia. The T. Dallas Smith & Company has grown to be the largest African American–owned pure tenant representation firm in the country, exceeding $15 billion in value.

Smith discussed how he founded the T. Dallas Smith Company, his own values and leadership insights, and suggestions for college students before participating in a Q&A session with students. ​

Research Day will take place on March 29th and is currently accepting proposals. Please encourage students to submit by March 1st. For faculty teaching during this time, please consider diverting your classes to encourage student to attend. Presentation and poster proposals due March 1st at 11:59pm.

GC Journeys and MURACE are partnering with the Graduate School, the John E. Salstrom Honors College, the Library, Student Life, Career Center, Women & Gender Studies Symposium, Barnes & Noble, and the Office of the Provost. Learn more about Research Day and submit your proposal on the Research Day webpage.

GC Journeys is excited to offer support for GC Journeys Transformative Experiences. These mini-grants will provide funding support for supplies, etc. for individual projects, so faculty leading transformative experiences in Spring 2022 can apply. These will be decided on a rolling basis.

To apply, visit:https://gcsu.co1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_9zCgWJEAxDSYB38

Email: journeys@gcsu.edu
Website: https://www.gcsu.edu/gcjourneys
Location: Carl Vinson House