Senior sets bar high for first Flagg Social Justice

     GCSU senior Paul Grigsby won the first ever University award, one of two awards included in the first annual Flagg Social Justice Awards.
     Students, faculty, and citizens alike can be nominated by the community for either the university or Middle Georgia Community award. The nominations are then reviewed by a committee who selects a winner.
     According to Patrice Terrell, associate director of Institutional Equity and Diversity, the GCSU nominee should be a member of the GCSU community and have founded or held a leadership position in any GCSU-related initiative pertaining to furthering diversity on campus.
     The Middle Georgia Community nominee should be a person who has demonstrated compassion, perseverance, courage and leadership by engaging in the difficult work of fostering equity and our common humanity through their projects, programs, efforts, principles or practices, Terrell said.
Grigsby, an English major with a concentration in creative writing and minor in African Studies, was selected due to his art, which promotes social awareness.
     “I feel that people learn a lot more through representation than they tend to through reading or any other media,” Grigsby said. “I’ve learned to create images that educate as well as entertain.”
     Grigsby is also the founder of “Art as an Agent Change” at GCSU, a nonprofit organization that is currently trying to establish a network for college poets. 
     “From New Play Development to Nonprofit Leadership, (Grigsby’s) course work aligns with the crucial role he has played as the founder and president of Art as an Agent of Change,” Terrell said. “Art as an Agent of Change at GCSU is part of our institutional commitment to social justice.  AAC uses GCSU’s strong fine arts program to accomplish community goals by creating and displaying art that makes a difference in all our lives through its advocacy of equity and diversity.”
After graduating Grigsby will use his English degree to continue creating art that makes a difference.
     “I plan to continue to write poetry and to use my background just in the field of writing and my knowledge of text to better the arts,” Grigsby said.
     Other winners include George Hogan, Milledgeville citizen, who received the Community Award, and John Sallstrom, former GCSU vice president, who won both the Community and University awards.
     Hogan is recognized for his many accomplishments in the community, mainly for his involvement in organizations such as the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, the National  Association for the Advancement of Colored people, and for serving on the Board of Trustees for Georgia Military College. He was also the first black Georgia state Trooper for   Milledgeville Post 33, according to a press release on GCSU’s website.
     Sallstrom also has many accomplishments, primarily within the university. He has served many different positions including assistant vice president for Academic Administration, associate vice president for Academic Administration, and associate vice president for Academic Success.
     The award ceremony took place on Saturday, March 1 during GCSU’s first Legacy Banquet and Ball, a part of Social Justice & Awareness month and will continue to occur annually.
     “This award sends a message that Georgia College & State   University’s faculty, staff, students and the Middle Georgia  Community are involved in a variety of diversity efforts, laying stones and building pathways of understanding between individuals and contributing to a community where everyone is valued and supported,” Terrell said.

Posted by Colonnade Archives on Apr 4 2008. Filed under News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry