Fitzgerald Resigns as CDC Director
Brenda Fitzgerald (77M, 81MR) resigned Jan. 31 as director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), according to a Jan. 31 U.S. Department of Health and Human Services statement. Fitzgerald resigned after Politico reported Jan. 30 that she purchased stock from a tobacco company one month after she was appointed to head the CDC, which raised ethical concerns about her ability to lead the agency. “Fitzgerald owns certain complex financial interests that have imposed a broad recusal limiting her ability to complete all of her duties as the CDC director,” the statement reads. Former U.S. HHS Secretary Tom Price appointed Fitzgerald to the position July 7, 2017.
DeKalb School District Seeks Laws to Prevent More Tax Revenue Losses
Georgia state legislators plan to introduce a bill to protect DeKalb County School District (DCSD) from potential additional tax revenue losses after Emory University and the CDC were annexed into Atlanta, which caused DCSD to lose $2.5 million in tax revenue, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution (AJC) reported. The annexation expanded the boundaries of Atlanta Public Schools (APS). Nine students enrolled in DCSD live in the annexed area, and more than $2 million in property taxes paid by commercial or residential tenants will be directed from DeKalb County public schools to APS. State Sen. Elena Parent (D-Atlanta) said the bill seeks to protect DCSD from tax revenue losses in future annexations, according to the AJC. The annexation became official Jan. 1, 2018.
Alumni Recognized for Health Care Work
The Emory University Alumni Association announced that the 2018 Emory Medal will be awarded to Henry “Kenneth” Walker (56Ox, 58C, 63M, 65MR, 70MR), Crystal Johnson (00N), Laura Mitchell-Spurlock (95Ox, 97N) and Jason Slabach (13N) March 1, according to a Feb. 1 University press release. Walker, a professor of medicine and neurology in the Emory School of Medicine and a professor of global health in the Rollins School of Public Health, has been a leader in advancing Georgia health care and has trained medical students, digitized medical records at Grady Memorial Hospital and worked on research for cures for AIDS and tuberculosis, according to the press release. Johnson, Mitchell-Spurlock and Slabach were recognized for their work on the Emory University Hospital’s Serious Communicable Diseases Unit that treated four Ebola patients in 2014.
Bell Hooks to Speak at Emory
Author Gloria Jean Watkins, known by her pen name bell hooks, is scheduled to present her lecture “Ending Dominator Culture: Resisting Patriarchy” April 5 in Emory’s Cannon Chapel. The distinguished professor in residence in Appalachian studies at Berea College (Ky.) has authored more than 30 books about race, feminism, gender, sexuality and class.
Emory Reaccredited as ‘Safe Community’
Nonprofit National Safety Council (NSC) and Safe Communities America reaccredited Emory as a “safe community,” according to a Jan. 23 NSC press release. The designation means that Emory and the Emory Safety Alliance have “effective strategies to promote safety” and to prevent injuries the release reads. The University was first accredited as a “safe community” in 2012.
Rose Library Adds Two Irish Collections
The Stuart A. Rose Manuscript, Archives and Rare Book Library has augmented its Irish literary collection with the acquisition of the papers of poet Dennis O’Driscoll and historian Roy Foster, according to a Jan. 31 University press release. O’Driscoll, who interviewed Nobel Laureate and renowned Irish poet Seamus Heaney, has published nine books of poetry and several essays. Foster’s materials in the Rose Library include his biographies of Irish poet William Butler Yeats and British politician Lord Randolph Churchill.
Two Fraternities Return to Campus
Fraternities Phi Delta Theta (Phi Delt) and Kappa Alpha Order (KA) returned to campus last week after each served a University suspension for hazing policy violations. Phi Delt, which has 25 members, received its four-year suspension in 2013, and KA received its three-year suspension in 2015. The Office of Sorority and Fraternity Life (OSFL) approved KA’s request to return one year early despite Emory’s Interfraternity Council (IFC) vote against the fraternity’s request to return early, the Wheel reported March 2017. Sigma Nu, which the University suspended in 2014 for hazing policy violations, is set to return Fall 2018, Director of OSFL Marlon Gibson told the Wheel in March. Chi Phi, which the University suspended in 2015 for hazing policy violations, is set to return Spring 2019.
Michelle Lou (19C) is from Irvine, Calif., majoring in political science and minoring in East Asian studies. She previously served as copy chief, news editor and executive editor. She won first place in the 2017 Georgia College Press Association’s Better Newspaper Contest in the category Best News Article Based on Investigative Reporting for her coverage of the Spring 2017 student government elections. Outside the Wheel, she is an undergraduate research fellow at Emory’s Center for Law and Social Science; a member of Phi Eta Sigma, Omicron Delta Kappa and Pi Sigma Alpha; and an avid snorkler. She has interned at USA TODAY's copy desk and HuffPost's breaking news team.
