Office of the Provost - Georgia State University

A Dynamic University on the Rise

Risa Palm, Ph.D.

NEWS AND EVENTS

Brennen Dicker Appointed as New Executive Director of Creative Media Industries Institute

Brennen Dicker, a film and video professional with 20 years of experience, has been named executive director of Georgia State University’s Creative Media Industries Institute (CMII). CMII is a cross-college disciplinary institute, affiliated with the College of Arts & Sciences and the College of the Arts.

Dicker’s appointment as executive director of the CMII is part of Georgia State’s efforts to fulfill its strategic plan, aimed at elevating the university’s reputation for excellence and innovation in research, scholarship and creative endeavors. He joins Georgia State as a strategic hire under the Next Generation Program.

The CMII aligns with a strategic goal to highlight the arts and media, and to use the university’s strengths to create opportunities for exploration of the intersections among creativity, technology and entrepreneurship as metro Atlanta’s media industries in film, television, gaming and more form a vital part of the regional economy.

Research Excellence: Social Media Campaigns Spur Growth in a Brand of E-Cigarettes

Reports that use of electronic cigarettes is declining may not have accounted for explosive growth in sales of the JUUL device, a novel product that has benefited from social media marketing campaigns to reach young consumers, according to a study led by researchers at Georgia State University’s School of Public Health.

Existing surveys and other techniques designed to monitor use of traditional cigarettes and e-cigarettes don’t ask specific questions that might capture the use of JUUL and other newer devices, the researchers said in an article in the journal Tobacco Control.

Results of the study are published in an article titled “Vaping versus JUULing: how the extraordinary growth and marketing of JUUL transformed the U.S. retail e-cigarette market.” Dr. Jidong Huang, associate professor of health management and policy at Georgia State, is the lead author.

CENTRAL TO A NATIONAL AGENDA

The strategic plan is a guide for the university as it enters its second century and charts a path to becoming one of the nation’s premier public research institutions. It is broad and deep in its goals and initiatives and will take the university to the next level.

THE STRATEGIC PLAN

CENTRAL TO A NATIONAL AGENDA

STUDENT SUCCESS

A NATIONAL LEADER

Georgia State is a national model for student success. We harness the power of data to help our students earn their degrees. We have had one of the most dramatic increases in graduation rates in the country and we have closed the achievement gap, proving that students from all backgrounds can succeed at the same rate.

STUDENT SUCCESS

A NATIONAL LEADER

FACULTY EXCELLENCE

THE CAMPAIGN FOR GEORGIA STATE

We pursue a dynamic vision built on the hard work, dedication and achievement of people who have propelled Georgia State to where it is today. Our research is broad and deep, addressing critical societal issues and pushing the boundaries of knowledge. We continue to rise to national prominence, bringing in scholars from around the world to open new pathways of discovery and creativity. Our capital campaign is focused on continuing to keep Georgia State’s excellent faculty burning bright.

FACULTY EXCELLENCE

THE CAMPAIGN FOR GEORGIA STATE

RESEARCH

A LEADING RESEARCH UNIVERSITY

Georgia State is one of the nation’s premier urban public research universities, solving global challenges in human health. Researchers at Georgia State use the university’s state-of-the art facilities and work across disciplines to address critical quality of life issues, such as cancer, obesity, inflammation, vaccines, child and adult literacy, and public health issues related to smoking, among others.

RESEARCH

A LEADING RESEARCH UNIVERSITY

DIVERSITY

THE INSTITUTIONAL ADVANTAGE

The university’s Diversity Strategic Plan sets forth a course of action that advances the university into the ranks of great public research universities. The institution must become a leader in leveraging every aspect of campus diversity among our constituent groups of faculty, students and staff.

DIVERSITY

THE INSTITUTIONAL ADVANTAGE

NEWS AND EVENTS

Women Inspire on Feb. 5: Dr. Elizabeth J. West

The Office of the Provost invites students, faculty and staff to the second Women Inspire lecture for 2018-19 on Feb. 5 with Elizabeth J. West, professor of English. The event will be held from noon to 1 p.m., in Room 120 of Centennial Hall, 100 Auburn Ave. N.E.

Her talk, “And They Raised Black Men: Black Women, Family, and Resistance in the U.S. South,” will examine the lives and legacies of Francis and Louisa, two enslaved and later free black women, exploring the still-present misrepresentation of black matriarchy in popular and scholarly discourse. This historical sentiment was articulated in the Rev. Jasper Williams Jr.’s August 2018 eulogy for singer Aretha Franklin, in which Williams said, “A Black woman cannot raise a black boy to be a man.” The story of Francis and Louisa shows Black women have a long history of doing that.

Both women dared to be mothers and to pass on a legacy of family and kinship in a nation that refused to recognize the humanity of Black family and society during and after slavery.

From the Office of the President: Dr. Mary Beth Walker Named Interim President Of Georgia Gwinnett College

From the Office of President Mark Becker: Dr. Mary Beth Walker, associate provost for strategic initiatives and innovation, has been named interim president of Georgia Gwinnett College by the University System of Georgia. She will join Georgia Gwinnett on Jan. 12. She takes over for Dr. Stanley Preczewski, who has resigned to take a position leading Riverside Military Academy. A national search is underway for Dr. Preczewski’s successor.

Dr. Walker has led numerous strategic initiatives for the Provost’s Office, including the Commission for Next Generation of Faculty, and she has assisted with the expansion of Georgia State’s Entrepreneurship and Innovation Institute, part of the university’s efforts to encourage student entrepreneurship across student majors.

Dr. Walker’s duties will continue to be carried out in the Provost’s Office.