Featured Students
Jay Thorne is an Agribusiness major who spent the summer of 2003 as an agricultural intern for Senator Zell Miller. The senator serves on the Agricultural, Banking and Finance, and Veterans Affairs Committees. Jay worked at the senator's office in the Dirksen Senate Office Building in Washington, D.C. His duties included attending Agricultural Committee Hearings, working in the front office, running errands, giving Capital tours and attending luncheons, briefings, and banquets. He also answered constituent mail. On one occasion, Jay wrote an opening statement which Senator Miller read aloud in an Agricultural Committee Hearing.
Aside from the fantastic experience of working in the senator's office, Jay enjoyed himself while away from the office. He took advantage of the opportunity to see the sights in and near Washington, visiting Gettysburg, Atlantic City, and New York. He also went deep sea fishing and attended Baltimore Orioles games.
In case other students in the department would like to take advantage of the great opportunity to serve as an agricultural intern, Jay wanted to share some of the requirements and benefits of the program. Six internships are available, including positions with both senators and four representatives. Those submitting applications must be CAES students having sixty hours of course work, good G.P.A.s, and good communication skills. After passing the interview process, interns may expect to spend two and one half months in Washington, D.C. with convenient living arrangements. Interns receive sponsor supported and congressman matched scholarships.
Joel McKie
Joel McKie (Agribusiness major) is the 2002 - 2003 National FFA Southern Region Vice President. He was elected to his current position at the 75th National FFA Convention on November 2, 2002 after serving as the 2000 - 2001 Georgia FFA President. His duties as vice president include traveling more than 100,000 miles with the five officers on his team, promoting agricultural education and FFA during his year of service. The officers meet with leaders in government, education, business and agriculture, in addition to thousands of FFA members on local, state and national levels. The team also has the opportunity to travel to Japan and provide a forum for discussion of global agricultural and trade issues.
FFA has played a prominent role in Joel's activities and interests. He received the American FFA Degree, the organization's highest level of accomplishment, for his supervised agricultural experience programs (SAEs) in fiber and oil crop production placement and a beef production entrepreneurship. In addition, he won state and was a national finalist in fiber and oil crop production placement proficiency. Joel placed third in the state extemporaneous speaking career development event (CDE), won the Dekalb Award, and was named Star Greenhand early in his FFA career.
In addition to his duties as the National FFA Southern Region Vice President, Joel is a part-time student in the department. After completing his course work at ABAC, he began attending UGA in Fall semester 2003. He will retire from office November 1, 2003 at the 2003 National FFA Convention in Louisville, KY and then return to UGA as a full time student in Spring 2004. He is a member of the Baptist Student Union, the Student Government Association Academic Affairs Committee and served as a college ambassador.
Joel's parents, Eddie and Kay McKie, have a farm in Abbeville, Georgia, where Joel grew up with his brother, Philip, who is a first year agriculture teacher. His father worked as an FFA advisor and is currently involved in promoting agricultural education on the state level.
Joel plans to pursue a career in corporate agricultural law or public service. In his leisure time, he enjoys hunting, spending time with family and friends, being actively involved in church activities, watching college football (Go Dawgs!), and staying informed about happenings on the political scene.
Featured StaffYanping Chen
Yanping Chen works as a Computer Support Specialist IV in the Department of Agricultural and Applied Economics. Her duties include installation, maintenance, upgrading, troubleshooting, and repair of the network workstation and computer peripherals. She assists with the daily management of AAE lan and troubleshoots lan problems. Yanping sets up and maintains the AAE departmental home page and does most of the design and updating of the pages. She also sets up, designs , maintains and updates the careerwize page for the department. Yanping is invaluable in her assistance to faculty, staff, and graduate students with software and hardware problems – helping clean up viruses and updating Windows XP and anti-virus software. She joined the department in 1997 as a Computer Support Specialist III.
Yanping came with her family to the United States in 1988 from China. They lived in San Diego, California and Yanping worked as an electronic technician for Overland Data, Inc. in San Diego. Immediately before moving to Athens, the family lived in Cape Cod, Massachusetts and she worked for a company in Woods Hole.
Yanping and her husband, Wei-Jun Cai, have two children, Michael, who is a high school junior, and Diana, who is in middle school. In her leisure time, she enjoys gardening, cooking, swimming, jogging, going to the beach, and listening to classical music. She especially enjoys listening to her children play the piano. Yanping really likes living in Athens. She "loves" the UGA campus and facilities and enjoys her job very much.
Featured Faculty
At the American Agricultural Law Association's Annual Conference in San Antonio, Texas, Terence J. Centner was awarded the association's 2003 "Professional Scholarship" award for research on concentrated animal feeding operations. The selection committee noted Professor Centner's trilogy of articles in the Vermont Law Review, World's Poultry Science Journal, and Water Resources Management as providing an insightful analysis and discussion of a significant agricultural issue.
Professor Centner's research concerning animal feeding operations is just one aspect of his research program involving agriculture and the environment. His policy analysis of agricultural legislation has led to the development of new regulations to respond to market imperfections.
A professor in the Department of Agricultural and Applied Economics, Professor Centner has been with the department twenty-one years. His teaching program involves environmental, public health, and agribusiness law courses. In addition to teaching and research, he serves as the college's Pre-law Advisor and the department's Undergraduate Coordinator.
As an Alexander von Humboldt Research Fellow in 1990-91 at the University of Göttingen, Germany, Professor Centner was introduced to European concepts and methods to address nuisances and pollution problems. His research ideas were carried over into his teaching program, as he expanded the legal offerings of the College. In 2002-03, he was selected as a Fulbright Senior Scholar and taught at the University of Mannheim. During his five months in Germany, Professor Centner's wife, Mary Ann Johnson, a professor of Food and Nutrition at UGA, and their two children were with him. The children had the opportunity of a great inter-cultural experience through attending German schools during their stay.
During his leisure time, Professor Centner enjoys gardening, reading, and travel.
