Brenau University

💛🐯Brenau loves Ivester Early College🐯💛 Thank you, Ivester Early College, for inviting us to your bootcamp this morning! Y’all really know how to play some co****le!
Howard E. Ivester Early College - Hall County Schools

Brenau’s Class of 2026 Doctor of Physical Therapy students just experienced their White Coat Ceremony!🩺🥼 This tradition signifies the end of their classroom work and their transition into clinical experiences. We wish them all the best as they enter a new stage in their Brenau journey!

Having an educational moment with some scaly friends!🐍💛 Cary Sell, Brenau assistant education professor and owner of S & H Exotics, shared his knowledge of caring for and raising snakes, as well the benefits of incorporating live animals into science lessons. His presentation was held for Brenau’s cohort of visiting chemistry and biology professors from Panama, who are spending five weeks on campus learning new ideas and skills to bring back to their country.

We are incredibly proud of Dr. Whitney McDowell-Robinson, Brenau’s Vice President of Student Development & Engagement, for being named one of the Top 50 Women Leaders for Atlanta in 2024!

The recognition was published by Women We Admire, a membership organization comprised of accomplished women executives and leaders across the U.S. and Canada.

“I am honored to be recognized by Women We Admire and to be included among this 2024 class of stellar women,” McDowell-Robinson said. “The leaders highlighted are leaving indelible marks, personally and professionally, while serving as models for others to follow.”

To read more about McDowell-Robinson and her accomplishments, visit brenau.edu/news.

A huge congratulations to Dance Department Chair Madia Cooper-Ashirifi for being named to the Georgia Council for the Arts by Gov. Brian Kemp! We are so proud of her and the way she brings energy and compassion into everything she does. We’re looking forward to seeing all that she accomplishes with the Georgia Council for the Arts!

To read more about Cooper-Ashirifi and the incredible work she continues to do, visit brenau.edu/news.

Thanks to an annual grant renewal from the Mexican government, eight Mexican American students will receive funding for their Brenau education. The $8,000 grant is funded by the Institute for Mexicans Abroad scholarship program, also known as IME Becas.

“Over the past few years, we have met some of the young people who, thanks to this support, are able to pursue their dreams,” Consulate General Francisco Javier Díaz de León said. “In many of these cases, when these young students come here to Brenau, they are the first ones ever in their family to be able to go to college. We see the pride in them, we see their pride in their parents, and it is very powerful.”

To read more about the annual grant, visit brenau.edu/news.

🎉Congrats to Emmy Nominee Dulcé Sloan!!!🎉 Dulcé Sloan, Brenau Women’s College alumna, has recently been nominated for an Emmy for hosting The Daily Show.

We are so proud of you, Dulcé!

To read more about Dulcé and her incredible achievement, visit Brenau.edu/news.

A group of Brenau physical therapy students and faculty recently returned from their annual service trip to Moultrie, Georgia! As a part of the Moultrie Farm Workers Family Health Program, students offered support to migrant farm workers and their families, providing needed physical therapy services.

ROARing into the weekend like🐯😎💛

Brenau’s Theatre and Dance departments teamed up with the Quinlan Visual Arts Center to hold their first performing arts camp this week! Spotlight Camp engaged local elementary and middle schoolers in a series of dance, theatre and music lessons, which will soon culminate in a final performance.

The community is invited to attend Spotlight Camp’s free showcase, which takes place at 6 p.m. on Friday, July 12, in the Burd Center.

We hope y’all have a wonderful July 4th!🎆

Just out here having a ROARing good time, y’all🐯💛

Costa Rica Study Abroad 2024! Twelve Brenau nursing and biology undergrad students recently finished their nine-day study abroad trip to several biological preserves around Costa Rica. The students visited sustainable coffee farms, fisheries, volcanoes, the Samara coast and the Tropical Agroforestry Institute, where they engaged in discussions about renewable energy, decarbonization and conservation.

Jessi Shrout, chair of the Math & Science Department, led the trip with the support of Logan Kageorge, physics professor, and Devon Sheffield, advising coordinator.

A huge thank you to the Miller Institute for Global Education and the Dr. Louise Bauck Environmental Education Endowment for helping make this possible!

Now with his bachelor’s in psychology under his belt, Samir Huete is about to embark on his next journey — earning a master’s in occupational therapy at Brenau.

“The reason why I wanted to major in psych is that you never know who’s going to walk through the door and what they’re going through,” Samir said. “Having that psychology background as an OT is going to help me tackle anything when I come out into the field. I’m excited for it.”

For Cassidi Jones, earning her bachelor’s in fashion design “was a long time coming.”

She took a year and a half break from classes, only to return and finish her degree through her own dedication and the support of her professor, Claudia Wilburn.

“When I left, she continued to message me and make sure I was OK,” Cassidi said. “It didn’t matter what step I wanted to take next, she was my support system since day one.”

If Cassidi could give one piece of advice to students taking a break from college, she would tell them to “take as long you want.”

“Only you know when you’re ready, but make sure you do this for you,” she said. “Being on the other side, it’s 100% worth it.”

After three weeks of rigorous and comprehensive dance training, the Brenau Summer Dance Intensive is coming to a close with a final concert at 4 p.m. Friday, June 21, in the Burd Center.

Led by Brenau professors and guest professional dancers, the intensive encompassed a large range of genres and drew in dancers from across the country, including middle, high school and college students. The final performance is a culmination of all the repertory and new works they’ve rehearsed over the three week program.

Tickets are $5 at the door. The event is open to the public. We hope to see you there!

Happy Juneteenth from Brenau! In honor of the federal holiday, students from Brenau’s Summer Dance Intensive performed a West African dance next to our Juneteenth sign, which is erected each year by the Black Faculty and Staff Association.

Madia Cooper-Ashirifi, Brenau Dance chair and president of BFSA, said the sign, located outside of Owens, became a tradition three years ago to shine light on the holiday, which commemorates the ending of slavery in the U.S.

“The fact that Juneteenth is a recognized federal holiday, it has exposed more people beyond ethnicity and racial lines to Black history, which is American history — our history,” she said.

Brenau recently entered an enrollment agreement with Lakeview Academy, which will grant admission to five qualified Lakeview grads each year for the next five years.

“Brenau is pleased to expand our relationship with Lakeview Academy through this agreement. It continues the multiple relationships between our two institutions, both curricular and co-curricular, and we are pleased to welcome Lakeview graduates,” Brenau President David Barnett said. “Lakeview and Brenau already share facilities, such as the Charles D. Walter Theatre on the Square, so Lakeview students will already feel at home on Brenau’s campus.”

To read more about this enrollment agreement, visit Brenau.edu/news

Help us meet the needs of our changing community and world!

We’re passionate about preparing our students to not only dive into meaningful careers, but fulfill the needs in their communities. Thanks to supporters like you, we are able to provide a transformative education for our students across various programs.

As our fiscal year comes to a close, please consider a gift of support to Brenau by visiting brenau.edu/give. We encourage you to contribute to the Annual Fund or any initiative at Brenau that you are passionate about. Donations are fully tax-deductible.

🌍Rwanda summer study abroad trip 2024🌍 A group of Brenau students just finished up their study abroad trip to Rwanda! The trip was led by Brenau Psychology Professor Margie Gill with the support of the Miller Institute for Global Education, and included both psychology and nursing students.

Before traveling to Rwanda, Gill said each student took the time to thoroughly research the culture and lives of the Batwa people, to better understand and respect their way of life.

“This was a culturally immersive learning experience to prepare our students to live and thrive in an ever changing society,” Gill said. “The university should be really proud of our students. They got in there and were hands-on.”

To learn more about Brenau’s study abroad opportunities, visit brenau.edu/study-abroad

Brenau’s Department of Physical Therapy just received a $2,000 donation from BenchMark Physical Therapy’s charitable organization, Pillars with Purpose. The money will be used to help fund the PT students’ annual Moultrie Farm Workers Family Health Program trip, where they provide medical care to underserved migrant farm workers and their families. A huge thank you to BenchMark and Brenau alum Natalie Jacobson for your support!

Happy Pride Month!! To all of the incredible LGBTQ+ people in our Brenau community, please know that you are seen, cherished and valued, and you will always have a home at Brenau❤️🧡💛💚💙💜

Did y’all see “Under the Bao Bao Tree: A Celebration of Dance Culture” earlier this month?! Here are some of our favorite pics from the show, which was performed by members of the Brenau community, Boys and Girls Clubs of Lanier, Gainesville High School students and other talented individuals.

To read more about how this concert brought the community together, visit brenau.edu/news.

This Memorial Day, we encourage you to pause and remember our fallen heroes who paid the ultimate sacrifice for their country. We are eternally grateful.

After telling himself over and over that he didn’t have time to pursue a graduate degree while working a full-time HR job, Antoine Cooper decided to stop putting his dream on hold and earn a master’s in communication at Brenau.

“Even though I did an online program, it was still very personal. I’ve known these guys for two to three years,” Antoine said, while standing beside his professors. “They know my whole life story, and I know theirs. We have plans to continue that friendship after graduation.”

More fall survival kits made their way to incoming freshmen! We’re so thrilled to welcome so many new faces to the Brenau community🐯💛

The Girl Scouts of Historic Georgia recently presented Brenau with the Community Service Award for the university’s impact on the community. We are so honored and touched to receive this wonderful recognition!💛

Brenau has offered several special workshops for local scouts, including a ceramics activity led by professor Huy Chu; a gardening and monarch butterfly lesson guided by the Brenau University Garden Society; and a podcast recording session in Brenau’s WBCX radio station.

To read more, visit breanu.edu/news.

Surrounded by her friends and family, Reyanda Frederick graduated with her MSN on Saturday. She’s now on her way to start a job at Northside Hospital as a labor and delivery nurse.

“Brenau helped me get my job,” she said. “I got an externship with Northside and my final offer was in labor and delivery, which is a pretty difficult specialty to get in as a new grad.”

Congratulations Brenau University class of 2024!!! 🎓