University Relations Tip Sheet - March 27, 2007

Presidential powers issue heats up
The U.S. House of Representatives has voted for a deadline for troop withdrawals, and Congress is seeking to subpoena top White House officials over Department of Justice firings. A Constitutional showdown is brewing that will pit the powers of the President against the powers of Congress. Georgia State University College of Law professor Neil Kinkopf, who has served as the Special Assistant to the Attorney General, U.S. Department of Justice, is an expert on separation of powers as set forth by the Constitution, and the concentration of presidential powers. To schedule an interview with Kinkopf, contact Michael Wall at 404-651-3572 or mtwall@gsu.edu.

School days
While research has not established the exact amount of time any one child requires to learn in school, there are several indications that successful teaching requires more, not less, time with students, said expert Barbara Meyers, chair of Georgia State's Department of Early Childhood Education. Given the local nature of public school funding in Georgia, faculty at Georgia State say legislation to shorten school days could cause increased educational and economic disparity. For more information, contact Leah Harris at 404-651-3575 or lvh@gsu.edu.

New hope for cancer patients?
Improved chemotherapy treatments that cause little unintended cellular damage could be the outcome of cutting-edge enzyme development that recently won Georgia State University researcher Ping Liu an award as one of the Southeast's brightest young scientists. Liu, a post-doctoral biologist, has been using third-generation X-ray technology to create some of the most detailed images ever created of bacterial enzymes, which are being tested for new cancer drugs. Liu helped identify specific molecular structures that might help scientists use some of the bacteria in enzyme-producing therapies that create cancer-killing toxins. Liu's work was published earlier this year in the Journal of Molecular Biology. For more information, contact Aaron Baca at 404-651-1444 or abaca@gsu.edu.

The suburbanization of African-American churches
Associate professor of political science Allison Calhoun-Brown has spent much of her career researching the political influence of churches in the African-American community. Both the churches and the community are changing, she says, and the changes are still poorly understood. "Many of the models that we have for understanding the place of the African-American church come out of the civil rights movement," Calhoun-Brown said. But the civil rights movement was the beginning of tremendous social and demographic changes for black Americans - including suburbanization, increasing class differences and a bigger gap between church life and secular society. Calhoun-Brown was recently awarded a $40,000 grant from the Louisville Institute to study the effects of suburbanization on black churches, both in Atlanta and elsewhere. To speak with Calhoun-Brown, contact William Inman at 404-651-3578 or winman@gsu.edu.

Happenings at Georgia State:

Gardner brings "happyness" to campus
Christopher Gardner, whose life was portrayed by actor Will Smith in the film "The Pursuit of Happyness," brings his remarkable story to Georgia State at 3 p.m. April 9 in the Student Center Speaker's Auditorium. In early-1980s San Francisco, Gardner was homeless and the sole guardian of his toddler son. The film, based on Gardner's autobiography of the same name, depicts his struggles to maintain financial independence. Without connections or a college degree, Gardner eventually earned a spot in the Dean Witter Reynolds training program and went on to become the sole trainee offered a job at the brokerage company in 1981. Gardner also served as the associate producer for the film "The Pursuit of Happyness." Gardner will have a book signing at 4 p.m. in front of the Speaker's Auditorium. His visit is sponsored by the Campus Events Committee.

Acclaimed child advocate to lecture
The 40th Henry J. Miller Distinguished Lecture Series at the College of Law will feature Professor Elizabeth Bartholet of Harvard University, who will discuss challenging issues awaiting tomorrow's child advocates, from noon-1:15 p.m. Thursday (Mar. 29) in the Georgia State University Student Center First Floor State Ballroom.

Bartholet, the Morris Wasserstein Public Interest Professor of Law and faculty director of the Child Advocacy Program at Harvard Law School, will speak on International Adoption: Thoughts on Children's Rights Issues. In 2004, Bartholet founded the Child Advocacy Program (CAP), which is committed to advancing children's interests through facilitating productive interaction between academia and the world of policy and practice, and through training generations of students to contribute in their future careers to law reform and social change. She teaches civil rights and family law, specializing in child welfare, adoption and reproductive technology. For more information contact Vickie Dye at 404-651-4360 or vdye@gsu.edu, or Michael Wall at 404-651-3572 or mtwall@gsu.edu.

Public service prize to be awarded
The College of Law will recognize an attorney whose overall accomplishments reflect the selfless devotion that the school's founding dean, Ben F. Johnson Jr., exemplified during his career at 6:30 p.m. April 12 at the Commerce Club. This is an invitation only event. The Ben F. Johnson Jr. Public Service Award is presented annually by the college and was established as part of the law schools 10th anniversary celebration in 1992. Previous winners include Stephen B. Bright, the Honorable Griffin B. Bell, and Clifford Oxford. For more information, contact Michael Wall at 404-651-3572 or mtwall@gsu.edu.

 

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