Four faculty members receive 2018-2019 SEC Faculty Travel grants

Four faculty members in the University of Georgia College of Education received 2018-2019 Southeastern Conference (SEC) Faculty Travel grants, which were established by the SEC Provosts in 2012 to bolster intra-SEC collaboration.

During the 2018-2019 academic year, the program will support more than 100 SEC faculty members as they travel to other SEC universities to exchange ideas, develop grant proposals, conduct research and deliver lectures.

This year, the SEC awarded grants to 10 faculty members from the University of Georgia, four of whom are in the College of Education:

• Tisha Ellison: An assistant professor in the department of language and literacy education, Ellison's research takes a critical perspective on how agency, identity and power among African-American families and adolescents are constructed as they use digital tools to make sense of their lives. She will visit multiple SEC universities.
• Ellen Evans: Evans, associate dean for research and graduate education and professor in the department of kinesiology, explores the efficacy and impact of higher protein diets and exercise on the body composition and physical energy of overweight, middle-aged and older women. She will visit the University of Missouri.
• Peter Smagorinsky: Smagorinsky, Distinguished Research Professor of English Education in the department of language and literacy education, researches mental health as an issue of educational inclusion and diversity; learning processes involved in service-learning; and the discourse of character education. He will visit the University of Kentucky.
• Dorothy White: An associate professor in the department of mathematics and science education, White researches effective ways of educating and increasing the mathematical performance of elementary school students. She is particularly interested in examining ways to support mathematics teachers of culturally diverse student populations. She will visit Vanderbilt University.

The SEC Faculty Travel Program is one of several academic endeavors designed to support the teaching, research, service and economic development of the SEC's 14-member universities.

Past program participants have been invited to present their research at conferences, have been awarded competitive grants and have secured publications in leading journals.