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Campus Review
December 12, 2013
Page 6
Legos at Clayton State, January 11, 2014
College of Arts & Sciences Establishes Dean’s Advisory Board
by John Shiffert
The First Lego League (FLL) Super
Regionals are once again returning to
Clayton State University.
This year’s version of the popular compe-
tition for regional young STEM (Science,
Technology,
Engineering
and
Mathematics) whizzes ages nine to 14
will be an all-day event held in Clayton
State’s James M. Baker University Center
on Jan. 11, 2014, once again under the
sponsorship of the College of Information
and Mathematical Science (CIMS).
Directing the program will be Assistant
Professor of Mathematics Dr. Scott
Bailey. The public is welcome to attend,
free of charge.
The
competition
will
be
the
Championship Qualifying Round for 32
teams of regionally-local students.
According to CIMS Dean Dr. Lila
Roberts, this year’s competition will have
a timely focus -- on bringing awareness
toward helping people affected by natural
disasters. “Nature’s Fury” will explore the
awe-inspiring storms, quakes, waves and
more. Teams will discover what can be
done when intense natural events meet the
places people live, work, and play. The
FLL Challenge has three parts - the Robot
Game, the Project, and the Core Values.
As always, the FLL competition will also
highlight student understanding of: the
STEM disciplines with a focus on com-
puter science and robotics, as well as a
common civility through teamwork, core
values, basic research methods, scholarly
competition and fun.
CIMS Assistant Dean Jarrett Terry has
been recruiting volunteers for the compe-
tition from the Clayton State community
for some time, and expects a good turnout
of volunteers.
Further information on the 2014 competi-
tion, including the topic, “Nature’s Fury,”
is available on the FLL website at:
http://www.firstlegoleague.org/chal-
lenge/2013naturesfury. The website for all
FLL Georgia events is: https://fll-
ceismc.gatech.edu/
The 2013 Lego League competition at
Clayton State’s theme was seniors and
enhancing living conditions. Participants
were given tasks that they had to complete
by programming their Lego robots to do
them. The tasks would correlate to the
senior theme and would consist of picking
up a tipped over chair and other tasks a
senior citizen may encounter.
The College of Arts and Sciences at
Clayton State University has established
its first Dean’s Advisory Board.
According to Dean Dr. Nasser Momayezi,
the board is comprised of prominent
members of the community as well as
Clayton State faculty emeritus from the
College of Arts & Sciences.
“This is a leadership board that serves as
champions of the college’s direction and
assists in securing financial resources need-
ed to achieve its long-range academic
goals,” he says. “The board has met several
times and has developed a clear mission to
assist the dean and the leadership of the
school to enact vision and values in the
lives of the undergraduate and graduate stu-
dents at Clayton State University.”
Chairing the Dean’s Advisory Board is
former State Senator and State
Representative Gail Buckner, one of the
College of Arts & Sciences most distin-
guished alumni, and one who already has
a long history of service to Clayton State
and the State of Georgia.
Buckner, a resident of Jonesboro, origi-
nally graduated from Clayton State in
1977 with an A.A. in Education. She later
earned a B.S. in Integrative Studies from
Clayton State. Buckner previously served
for 16 years (1990 to 2006) as a State
Representative (District 76) and was the
Democratic nominee for Georgia
Secretary of State in 2006. She served as
a member of the Georgia State Senate,
representing its 44th District, from 2008
to 2012. Buckner was also named Clayton
State’s first Alumnus of the Year in 2002
and served as the University’s
Commencement speaker in December
2003… the first time an alumnus of
Clayton State had served as the
Commencement speaker.
Advisory Board, cont’d., p. 18