Father Of Ecology Research Articles

Reflecting on Graduation

“By the power conferred on me as President of the University of ..., I hereby confer on you the degree of .......” Do you remember those solemn words on that day when you walked across the stage or outdoor lawn as an undergraduate student? As I prepare this editorial, the most exciting day of the academic year is underway: it’s graduation throughout North America. On our campus, students young and old are sporting regalia of red and black, the colors of the University of Georgia. The University was chartered by the Georgia General Assembly on January 27, 1785; and as the nation’s oldest public university, we excel in tradition and celebration, having practiced for over 225 years! We have grown over time, and it is impossible to know even a small percentage of the students on an individual level. In FY11, we conferred over 6,800 undergraduate, 1,800 master’s, and almost 900 professional and doctoral degrees, for a grand total of just over 9,600 Today’s spring commencement will claim the bulk of degrees granted this year. As the state’s land-grant university, we offer a wide range of programs and degrees through 16 colleges and schools. The oldest and largest, the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences, dating from the year 1801, hosts 30 departments and claims the five most popular degrees: biology, psychology, English, art, and history. Franklin offers a total of 76 graduate degrees and certificates. The Terry College of Business, founded in 1912, ranks second in degrees granted, followed by the College of Education, founded in 1908, both at over 1,500. The smallest college in number of degrees is UGA’s newest school, the School of Ecology, which was founded in 2007 and confers about 50 degrees annually. Yes, UGA claims the only independent School of Ecology in the U.S. (maybe the world), the Eugene Odum School of Ecology, named for the longtime, distinguished UGA faculty member and father of ecology. The graduate commencement ceremony is held midmorning inside the basketball arena, Stegeman Coliseum. The much larger undergraduate ceremony with thousands of degree recipients and friends and family in tow is held at the UGA football shrine (oops, field), Sanford Stadium. The banners of the colleges (Veterinary Medicine, Environment and Design, Law, Pharmacy, Agriculture and Environmental Sciences, Family and Consumer Innov High Educ (2012) 37:255–256 DOI 10.1007/s10755-012-9224-1

Environmental factors and nosology of the endocrine system

The realization that the environment exerts a fa-vorable or unfavorable effect on the human organism is not new. In the remote past, not only physicians but philosophers (e.g. Plato, Aristotle) as well wrote about the adverse effects of a maltreated environment, while Theophrastus (a student of Plato and Aristotle) is considered the father of ecology. The increasing awareness of the scientific com-munity to global environmental changes and their direct relation to human health has been reflected in the two pertinent forums of the American Endo-crine Society and the various recent publications on the subject.