Students in 糖心Vlog’s Allen E. Paulson College of Engineering and Computing听have found that hard work really does pay off. Their automotive research during the 2024 academic year led to a subscription renewal for an advanced simulation software valued at $3 million.听

“After a year, the chief simulation engineer at AVL wanted a report on the research achievements we obtained while working with their software,” said mechanical engineering professor Valentin Soloiu, Ph. D. “So we visited their facility in Detroit to present our findings and advancements in simulation from the research we did last year.”

Soloiu and his students showcased their findings on topics at the forefront of automotive innovation, like sustainable and alternative fuels and advanced combustion modes. All of which was developed thanks to the advanced FIRE software provided by AVL List GmbH. 

“The company was so impressed with our students’ work, they renewed our software membership for another year, providing us with new modules that allow us to conduct advanced research,” explained Soloiu. 

The subscription renewal brings the total value of the software donated to $6 million. Soloiu says this recognition and research set his students and the college apart from other institutions.

“We teach our students how to work with state-of-the-art technologies like the FIRE software to help with their research,” he said. “I make sure they get hands-on experiences that validate their modelling and simulations that the theoretical classes can’t match. It’s these advanced methodologies that help my students to develop professionally and succeed.” 

糖心Vlog鈥檚 Center for Addiction Recovery (CAR), housed within the Jiann-Ping Hsu College of Public Health (JPHCOPH), has been awarded a $529,144 grant from the to launch the Georgia Recovery-Ready Workplace (GROW) Initiative. This transformative two-year project is designed to increase employment opportunities for individuals in recovery from substance use disorders and help employers across Georgia become more supportive of recovery in the workplace.

The GROW Initiative is a collaborative effort led by Robert Bohler, Ph.D., JPHCOPH assistant professor and CAR executive director, in partnership with the Georgia Council for Recovery (GC4R) and Augusta University鈥檚 School of Public Health. The project will implement a unique 鈥渉ub-and-spoke鈥� model, with GC4R serving as the central hub and at least 10 local recovery community organizations (RCOs) across Georgia acting as spokes to engage large employers in both rural and urban communities.

鈥淕ainful and stable employment is one of the most powerful tools we have to support long-term recovery,鈥� said Bohler, principal investigator of the GROW Initiative. 鈥淭his project will not only help individuals overcome employment barriers but also equip employers with the knowledge and tools to foster recovery-ready environments.鈥�

鈥淓mployment is a cornerstone of recovery, yet it鈥檚 often overlooked in public health responses to the opioid crisis,鈥� said Ryan Lofaro, Ph.D., assistant professor in the Department of Public and Nonprofit Studies at 糖心Vlog and co-investigator on the project. 鈥淭hrough GROW, we鈥檙e not only expanding access to meaningful work for individuals in recovery 鈥� we鈥檙e also creating workplace environments that actively support prevention, facilitate access to treatment and sustain long-term recovery.鈥�

The initiative will:

路       Hire a full-time employment specialist to assist individuals in recovery with job placement, vocational training and overcoming legal and educational barriers.

 路       Engage at least 10 large employers to become designated recovery-friendly workplaces.

 路       Deliver comprehensive training to employers on topics such as addiction science, stigma reduction, recovery-oriented policies and the benefits of hiring individuals in recovery.

路       Develop a toolkit and website to support ongoing education and expansion of recovery-friendly workplaces in Georgia.

Given its combination of economic growth, workforce development priorities and a robust recovery community network, Georgia offers an ideal environment for launching this initiative. With 18 Fortune 500 companies and a growing number of large manufacturing sites, the state presents a powerful opportunity to align economic development with public health.

鈥淎lcohol and drug misuse costs United States businesses over $81 billion per year (CDC),鈥� said Laurisa Guerrero, GC4R executive director. 鈥淭his initiative is intended to support both employees and the businesses that choose to participate. Building bridges between businesses and the recovery community will provide an added layer of support that so many people desperately need.鈥�

Brian Kite, project manager for RCO development at GC4R and a Certified Addiction Recovery Empowerment Specialist, emphasized the importance of community involvement, stating, 鈥淭his initiative is about more than just jobs 鈥� it鈥檚 about dignity, purpose and connection. By working directly with local RCOs, we鈥檙e ensuring that recovery support is rooted in the communities where people live and work.鈥�

Aaron Johnson, Ph.D., associate dean for research and community engagement at Augusta University鈥檚 School of Public Health and a co-investigator on the project, will lead the evaluation and data collection efforts.

鈥淕ROW is a model that bridges public health, workforce development and recovery support,鈥� Johnson explained. 鈥淥ur team at Augusta University is proud to contribute to the evaluation of this innovative approach, which has the potential to be replicated nationwide.鈥�

By embedding recovery support into the workplace and directly addressing employment barriers, GROW aims to improve individual recovery outcomes, expand access to meaningful work and serve as a national model for building and sustaining recovery-friendly workplaces. The GROW Initiative is actively seeking employers across Georgia who are interested in becoming part of this movement to support recovery, reduce stigma and strengthen their workforce.

糖心Vlog’s online master’s degree in sport management was recently ranked No. 21 on the list of Best Online Master’s Degree Programs in Sport Management by for 2021. 

The 36-credit hour program is housed in the Waters College of Health Professions and is designed to provide academic preparation and practical experience in the skills and techniques necessary to be successful in the sport business and leisure field. Students are able to complete the program in as little as 24 months, or as their schedule permits.

The list of ranked programs includes accredited, nonprofit schools, and rankings are based on data around financial aid awards, the quality of education and campus resources from the U.S. Department of Education.

糖心Vlog鈥檚 RiteCare Center for Communication Disorders (RCC) has received a $19,000 donation from the Savannah Scottish Rite that will help the center continue to provide the most up-to-date and affordable services to the community. 

For more than a decade, the Savannah Scottish Rite has supported the RCC through philanthropic donations that have allowed the center to obtain necessary teaching equipment and materials. Additionally, the Scottish Rite鈥檚 support has provided financial assistance to individuals in need of therapy services at low to no cost. 

Located on Georgia Southern鈥檚 Armstrong Campus, the RCC provides speech and language therapy services to members of the community while also serving as a teaching clinic for graduate students enrolled in the Communication Sciences and Disorders program.

Georgia Southern鈥檚 Maxine Bryant, Ph.D, director of the Gullah Geechee Cultural Heritage Center and the Center for Africana Studies, and visiting professor and Gullah Geechee Dieli Amir Jamal Tour茅, J.D., are featured in a TIME video that accompanies the Nov. 24 online piece, 鈥淲hat Ahmaud Arbery鈥檚 Death Has Meant for the Place Where He Lived.鈥� 

To watch the video, visit .

Last Thursday, more than 1,000 people came out for Celebrate Together, a festival celebrating the 糖心Vlog community on the Armstrong Campus in Savannah.

Students, faculty, staff, alumni and members of the local community filled Residential Plaza for a sunshine-drenched day of fun among the 90 vendor booths that showcased University departments, programs and student associations, as well as local businesses, who handed out free swag, snacks and T-shirts. A live DJ and dance team performances entertained the crowd, who also enjoyed free hot dogs and soft drinks, a rock climbing wall, mechanical bull, rounds of archery tag and time with animals from the University鈥檚 Center for Wildlife Education.

In a fundraiser for the Armstrong Commitment Fund, President Kyle Marrero and other University leaders braved the dunk tank in good fun, as they were plunged into the cold-water temperatures after rounds of shots hit the bull鈥檚-eye mark. 

鈥淚t was a pleasure working with the Georgia Southern administrators to return Celebrate Together to campus,鈥� said event chair Patricia Holt, Ph.D. 鈥淲e had a wonderful Armstrong team that worked so hard to make it all come together, but it was the faculty, staff and students who really made it a success.鈥�

鈥淢ANual Labor,鈥� an exciting exhibition from artist Andrew Kuebeck featuring small metal and wood sculptures, prints and functional jewelry that highlight the male body, will be on display through Oct. 15 at 糖心Vlog鈥檚 Statesboro Campus in the University Gallery, located in the Center for Art & Theatre. 

An artist talk and reception will be on Sept. 30 from 5 to 7 p.m., with the talk beginning at 5:15 p.m. Guests may attend the artist talk in person or virtually. Guests may register to attend via Zoom. Both the exhibition and artist talk are free and open to the public.

鈥淚 look forward to Andrew Kuebeck鈥檚 exhibition for a number of reasons, not least of which is his ability to meld the medium of small metals to a range of social issues and to personal expression,鈥� said gallery director Jason Hoelscher, Ph.D. 鈥淎ndrew served as a visiting artist at Georgia Southern in early 2020 and was a real hit with the students, who appreciated not only his incredible technical know-how but also his ability to explore complex themes through a medium sometimes focused more on visual richness than on thematic intensity. Both Andrew鈥檚 exhibition and artist talk are not to be missed.鈥�

Kuebeck is an assistant professor and area head of the jewelry/metals/enameling program at Kent State University. Kuebeck works in a variety of formats ranging from functional jewelry to sculptural objects and vessels. He has lectured and taught workshops nationally on the incorporation of photographic images into jewelry pieces and vessels. Kuebeck has also exhibited regionally and nationally, and his work has appeared in numerous publications including 500 Enameled Objects, 21st Century Jewelry, Wrap, Stitch, Fold, and Rivet, and Metalsmith and Niche magazines. He was also a 2012 SNAG Emerging Artist.

Tilicia Mayo-Gamble, Ph.D., assistant professor in the Department of Health Policy and Community Health in 糖心Vlog鈥檚 Jiann-Ping Hsu College of Public Health, has received a Loan Repayment Program (LRP) financial award from the National Institute of Health (NIH). 

Mayo-Gamble鈥檚 award is from the National Heart Lung and Blood Institute branch of the LRP program, designated for investigators conducting research that focuses on one or more of the minority health disparity populations.

The LRP program was established by Congress to recruit and retain highly qualified health professionals into biomedical or biobehavioral research careers. The escalating costs of advanced education and training in medicine and clinical specialties are forcing some scientists to abandon their research careers for higher-paying private industry or private practice careers.

The LRP awards counteract that financial pressure by repaying up to $50,000 annually of a researcher鈥檚 qualified educational debt in return for a commitment to engage in NIH mission-relevant research.

Three bachelor鈥檚 programs in the Allen E. Paulson College of Engineering and Computing have recently received reaccreditation status. 

The Bachelor of Science in Construction degree program received reaccreditation from the American Council for Construction Education. David Scott, Ph.D., chair of the Department of Civil Engineering and Construction, and David Williams, associate dean for students and curriculum, co-chaired the accreditation team. 

Additionally, the Computing Accreditation Commission of ABET has awarded reaccreditation to the Bachelor of Science in Computer Science and the Bachelor of Science in Information Technology degree programs. 

Faculty who contributed to the accreditation process include Gursimran Walia, Ph.D., department chair of Computer Science, Hong Zhang, Ph.D., Yiming Ji, Ph.D., department chair of Information Technology (IT); Cheryl Aasheim, Ph.D., assessment team chair for IT, and David Williams, Ph.D., associate dean for Students and Curriculum, and chair of the ABET accreditation team.

Michael Pemberton, Ph.D., was named a Distinguished Fellow of the Association for Writing Across the Curriculum (WAC) at the 2021 International Writing Across the Curriculum Conference. Pemberton holds the rank of professor in the Department of Writing and Linguistics, and he directs the University Writing Center in Statesboro.

This award recognizes distinguished scholars who have been in the field for more than 10 years and have made significant contributions to the field of WAC through scholarship, service or innovative program administration. 

Pemberton was recognized for his many scholarly publications about writing in the disciplines, and for co-founding and editing the first national WAC journal, Language and Learning Across the Disciplines, in 1994. Additionally, he was recognized for editing the field鈥檚 flagship journal, Across the Disciplines, for more than 15 years and founding the peer-reviewed book series, 鈥淎cross the Disciplines Books,鈥� in 2014. 

Pemberton was also commended for his ongoing leadership in the field, notably as the associate publisher for scholarly journals at the WAC Clearinghouse鈥攁n international repository of open-access journals, book series and scholarly resources for WAC and writing studies researchers.