One recent afternoon, Dr. Doris Miller-Liebl, director of the
Athens Diagnostic Laboratory, visited a nursing home accompanied
by six students...and their dogs, cats, guinea pigs, and a rabbit.
“We do it several times a month, at least 50 times a year,”
she reports. “There are at least five different retirement
centers and elementary schools we go to regularly. I’ve
probably gotten more out of it than anybody else has,”
she says.
Inspired in 1984 by Leo Busted, founder of the Delta Society,
Miller estimates she has made pet therapy visits almost a thousand
times in the past 18 years.
“You see a lot of smiles and there’s a lot of reminiscing
about the pets the residents had when they were children. They
are just overjoyed, even the ones who can't communicate verbally
or those who are blind.
“Several residents who normally stay in their rooms become
more sociable. Some of them got up and came out to visit with
us. They became more a part of the retirement center,”
she says.
Miller also served on the state-wide committee for the Eden
Alternative for Nursing Homes. The Eden premise is that residents
in nursing homes benefit from introducing children, animals,
and plants into long-term care situations.
Competing
in a Global Economy
The University of Georgia is at the forefront of the globalization
movement in higher education with a wealth of opportunities
for international experiences. Our students are flocking to
study-abroad programs, thriving on the challenges inherent
in confronting a new cultural environment. More and more,
students on campus are also making choices that reflect an
understanding of the importance of global awareness—from
living in a residence hall-based language community to starting
a radio program in another language to minoring in a foreign
language. These experiences, whether at home or abroad, influence
how our students perceive the world and their place in it.
We’re producing graduates prepared to be world citizens—well
informed, culturally sensitive and technologically sophisticated.
They’re ready to take on the challenges of our global
society, and they’ll be equally at home whether in the
Peach State or the Republic of Georgia.
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