Zoom Update

The most recent, as of this writing, is 5.12.9

If you have any problems getting the update, please contact Dianne at dianne.becht@emory.edu for more information.



Lunch Colloquium -- Monday, December 12, 2022

“Re-considering Resilience: Response to Crisis or

Responsible for Crisis?”

Alix Olson

Assistant Professor, Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies, Oxford College,

and Co-Director, Emory Studies in Sexuality Program

Calls to bolster the resilience of vulnerable individuals and communities have become ubiquitous across social, political, and economic life. In this talk, Alix Olson calls attention to the stakes of uncritically deploying resilience, particularly for those interested in a more just and emancipatory future. Moving through a variety of case studies, from self-help books to plans to "Occupy Mars," she shows how discourses of resilience are at work in shaping a specific understanding of

ourselves and the world around us. Ultimately, this talk will pose the question whether resilience-building is a “common-sense” response to a world of escalating crisis or is it a central strategy for sustaining and extending deeply threatening ways of life?

About Alix Olson:

Dr. Olson graduated with a BA from Wesleyan University in 1998 and holds a PhD in Political Science and a Graduate Certificate in Advanced Feminist Studies from the University of MA- Amherst. Olson's research interests include contemporary social and political thought; feminist, queer, and anti-racist politics; and the history of social movements. Dr. Olson is currently at work on a book project called In the Age of Resistance. Olson's second book manuscript The Promise(s) of Resilience: Governance and Resistance in Complex Times offers a critical examination of the rise and circulation of the concept of resilience within 21st century political life.

Prior to Olson's academic life, she toured internationally for over a decade as a spoken word artist, regularly appearing in media outlets like HBO's Def Poetry Jam, Air America (with Rachel Maddow), and NPR. She was the recipient of OutMusic's Outstanding Artist-Activist of the Year, the DC Rape Crisis Center's "Visionary Award," and the New York Foundation for the Arts Fellowship. Dr. Olson has published widely within popular media. Her poems have been featured in over a dozen anthologies and scholarly journals, and on Showtime's "The L Word." Olson has produced three spoken word albums and poetry books, and the award-winning documentary film Left Lane: On The Road.



Volunteer Opportunity

The Emory College of Arts and Sciences Pre-Health Advising Program (PHA), which we partner with conducting mock interviews for medical school students, is looking for Emeritus Faculty members to potentially serve on a developing Advisory Board in the Spring semester. Please view the proposal below for details.

If anyone is interested and/or has questions, please reach out to Dr. Kim Molee, Director of PHA, at kim.molee@emory.edu. 

Deadline for response is December 15, 2022.

Proposal for Healthcare Professional Advisory Board

History

For the past several years, each Emory undergraduates who was seeking a composite letter (~200+ per cycle) met with one faculty member in the Emory School of Medicine to complete the requirements for Composite Letter eligibility. The one-time meeting took place during the Spring semester (Feb-May). During the meeting, the student discussed their interest in a career in the health professions and feedback was provided on their experiences. The Composite Letter Committee incorporated feedback from that meeting as part of the review process and compilation of the Composite Letter. This year, we are seeking a variety of providers and Emeritus Faculty members to assist in this process, as opposed to one faculty member.

Proposal

We are currently seeking five healthcare providers (MD or DO) and/or Emeritus Faculty members to be members of the Composite Letter Committee and to serve the committee in an advisory capacity. The advisory board members must be willing to meet with Composite Letter Candidates (via zoom or in-person) for a one-time 30-minute meeting. The primary goal is to provide advice and feedback for those Emory students applying to medical schools in the current cycle. We are hopeful the meeting may be impactful for the student, and serve as a networking opportunity for students to connect with current healthcare professionals in the community.

Goals of the Composite Letter Candidate Meeting:

• Connect current healthcare professionals and Emeritus Faculty with pre-health juniors and seniors at Emory about to embark upon the application process to medical schools
• Provide candid feedback on candidates’ experiences from a healthcare professional
• Allow the candidate the opportunity to practice a professional interview/meeting

Compensation

Each advisory board member would receive a stipend of $2,000 for 20 total hours of work. One individual 30-minute meeting with approximately 40 students would be required. Composite Letter Candidate meetings would take place from February-May 2023. A provided feedback form for each Composite Letter Candidate by the interviewer would be collected to use as part of the Composite Letter Review Process.

Faculty Governance News

The November meeting of the University Faculty Council was called to order by President Alicia DeNicola, who introduced the first speaker, Jody Bailey, head of the Scholarly Communications Office. Jody explained the importance of the University-wide campaign for all faculty researchers to obtain ORCID IDs. ORCID (Open Researcher and Contributor ID) is a nonprofit organization that provides DPIs (Digital Personal Indicators) required by U.S. government agencies and most publications. Emeriti can request an ORCID ID by logging in with their NETid and password and following the procedure at https://orcid.emory.edu

Derek Spransy, Senior Information Security Specialist, and Brad Sanford, Chief Information Security Officer, announced a new cybersecurity course that will soon be made available to all faculty.

Carlos Moreno reported on the University Research Committee. A list of current awardees can be found at https://www.urc.emory.edu . The URC is making progress in including historically underrepresented groups (HUGs) such as the humanities and social sciences. The deadline for funding requests for 2023-2024 is January 17, 2023.

The November University Senate meeting began with an outline of Emory’s methods of compliance with the Title IX federal statute. Associate Vice Provost for Institutional Equity and Compliance Maurice Middleton and Title IX Coordinator Nicole Babcock explained the statute and the reporting responsibilities of faculty and staff. Title IX is a 37-word federal statute that prohibits discrimination in any form on the basis of gender in an educational institution receiving federal funds. Those 37 words gave rise to over 2000 pages of specific regulations under the previous U.S. presidential administration. Charged with interpreting these, Emory’s Title IX office has as its role: receiving complaints, offering support to the impacted party, investigating, running a hearing based on the findings, and providing an appeals process for the respondent. Title IX differs from Title VII in that Title IX applies specifically to gender discrimination in educational institutions, while Title VII includes a broader spectrum of discrimination in a variety of settings.

A Student Recruitment Panel reported on admission goals and statistics for Emory’s undergraduate schools. Representatives were Kelly Lips of Oxford College, John Latting of ECAS, Lisa Muirhead of the School of Nursing, and Libby Egnor of Goizueta Business School.

Amy Chen, Chair of the Fringe Benefits Committee, reported that her committee is at work focusing on benefits that are likely to impact retention, particularly of younger faculty. Childcare and a more flexible Courtesy Scholarship policy are among the benefits they are studying.

For those wishing more detailed information on either meeting, minutes will be posted and can be accessed with Emory login credentials at:

 https://facultycouncil.emory.edu/meetings/2022-2023/index.html

https://www.senate.emory.edu/meetings/2022-2023/index.html

--Holly York, EUEC Representative to the Faculty Council and University Senate (2021-2024)



REMINDER: Seeking Nominations - EUEC Faculty and Service Awards

Each year, the Emory University Emeritus College (EUEC) offers two categories of awards: the EUEC Faculty Awards of Distinction and the Distinguished Service Award. Please know we are now beginning to accept nominations for 2023. 

For the 2023 awards, completed nominations must be submitted by no later than 5:00 p.m., Wednesday, March 1, 2023. Please submit nominations by email to Dianne Becht, EUEC Program Coordinator, whose email address is Dianne.becht@emory.edu. 

Please consider nominating one or more of your colleagues. And please know that self-nominations are also permitted and encouraged. Too often, retired faculty are not fully aware of the achievements of their colleagues, and we must rely on self-disclosure. 

The eligibility requirements are as follows: 

 EUEC Faculty Award of Distinction (formerly Distinguished Emeritus/Emerita Award):  

• All retired Emory faculty who have been members of EUEC for at least two years. 
• Significant professional contributions since retirement to Emory University or its affiliated institutions, as well as contributions to local, state, regional, national, or international communities or professional organizations that reflect the “spirit of Emory.”   
• A maximum of four awards are given annually. 
• This award may be conferred only once. 

Distinguished Service Award:  

• All members of the EUEC, including those who have received the Distinguished Faculty Award of Distinction. 
• Membership in the EUEC for at least two years.
• Significant service to Emory University or its affiliated institutions, as well as to local, state, regional, national, or international communities or other organizations that reflect the “spirit of Emory.”  These contributions must have been made since retirement and are beyond those used to support a previous Distinguished Faculty Award. 
• No requirement that an award will be given each year. 

When you make your nomination, please include the following: 

• Name of nominee 
• Department or unit with which the nominee is associated. 
• Contact information (email, phone number, and mailing address of nominee). 
• Name of nominator 
• Department or unit with which the nominator is associated. 
• Contact information (email, phone number and mailing address of nominator). 
• Description of why the nominee should receive this honor, in no more than two pages. Please do not exceed this limit, but be certain to include enough information for the selection committee to make an informed decision. Please include a curriculum vitae if possible. 

Please let us know if you have questions about this process. Thank you in advance for your participation. 

Sincerely,  

Glenn Kellum 

Chair, EUEC Honors and Awards Committee  

Senior Associate Vice President, Retired, Foundation and Corporate Relations

Member Activities

Oded Borowski

Professor Emeritus

of Biblical Archaeology and Hebrew

Oded recently published two articles:

• “Agriculture and Agricultural Tools,” pp. 1-18 in Encyclopedia of the material culture of the biblical world (EBW): A New Biblisches Reallexikon, ed. Angelika  Berlejung (Tuebingen: Mohr Siebeck). 

• “The Daily Bread at Tell Halif: An Overview of Food Production and Consumption,” pp. 195–203 in No Place Like Home (Archaeopress). (With Cynthia Shafer-Elliott and Tim Frank). 

He also edited a collection of special studies analyzing data from the excavation at Tell Halif (Israel): Lahav Research Project, Phase IV: Special Studies -- Field V, 284pp. 

Nanette Wenger

Professor Emerita of Medicine

Nanette is the recipient of two prestigious awards:

• At the annual Scientific Sessions of the American Heart Association in November, Dr. Nanette K. Wenger, Professor of Medicine (Cardiology) Emory University School of Medicine, received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the World Heart Federation. The award was presented by WHF President Dr. Fausto Pinto.

• At the 2022 Annual Scientific Meeting of the Georgia Chapter of the American College of Cardiology, the Original Science Award in Medicine was named the Dr. Nanette Kass Wenger Award for Excellence in Research and Scholarship.

The beautiful stone building we looked at during our last walk is the Houston Mill House. It is located near the Miller-Ward Alumni House and just a stone's throw away from the Luce Center on Houston Mill Road.

The Emory Conference Center Hotel now controls the House, which hosts many weddings, special luncheons and dinners, as well as meetings and small conferences.

A little bit of Houston Mill House history:



Harry J. Carr, an Atlanta contractor who built Druid Hills High School, the old Dekalb County Courthouse, and the Candler Building downtown, bought the land from Major Houston in the early 1920s and constructed his home, now known as Houston Mill House. Mr. Carr used fieldstone, poured concrete, and wrought iron for his three-story, fourteen-room home. He also built a magnificent stone fireplace in the House's great room.

In the 1960s Emory University purchased the House and the surrounding property from Mr. Carr's estate. In the mid-'70s the Emory Women's Club orchestrated the renovation of the House. By the fall of 1979 the renovations were completed and the house was open for business. The House is still known throughout Atlanta to be one of the most elegant event facilities in the city.

The DeKalb History Center provides some extensive information and old photos of the house. To view please click here.

With elections and other chaotic things going on in the world, let's visit a quiet, meditative spot for a bit of calm and peacefulness before winter truly sets in. This place is on the edge of campus but is definitely part of Emory University.

Where will you find this on the Emory campus?