Mizelle and El-Jourbagy Named Omicron Delta Kappa Award Recipients

Dr. Nancy B. Mizelle and Prof. Jehan El-Jourbagy have been named the 2023 faculty award recipients by the Georgia College Circle of Omicron Delta Kappa. Mizelle, who is professor of middle grades education and chair of the Department of Professional Learning and Innovation, is the recipient of the Flisch-Harris Award for Leadership in the Cause of a Liberal Education. El-Jourbagy, who is associate professor of business law and ethics, is the recipient of the Paul Jahr Award for Civic Leadership and Commitment to Democratic Values.

Mizelle and El-Jourbagy will receive their awards at the Circle's annual Induction Convocation & Lecture on Thursday, January 19, 2023. 

The Flisch-Harris Award recognizes leadership in the cause of a liberal education. The award is named jointly for Julia Anna Flisch and Dr. Robin O. Harris. Flisch (1861-1941) served on the faculty of Georgia College (then Georgia Normal & Industrial College) from 1891 to 1905 and was a distinguished journalist and advocate for public education, known for her admonition to “Give the girls a chance!” at equitable learning. Robin O. Harris ‘91, ‘93 is associate professor emerita and was inducted into Circle membership in 2003. She taught history and sociology at Georgia College from 1994 until 2011 and served as director of experiential learning for five years. She is Flisch’s biographer and an authority on Progressive Era education reform in the U.S. South.

The Paul Jahr Award honors excellence in civic leadership and commitment to democratic values. The award is named for Dr. Paul K. Jahr, who served twenty-five years at Georgia College, retiring in 2013 as associate vice president for student affairs. With Georgia College’s designation as Georgia’s public liberal arts university in 1996, Jahr led the institution’s transformation into a residential liberal arts college. His efforts were instrumental in the Georgia College Circle receiving its charter from Omicron Delta Kappa in 2001.

The Circle inaugurated both awards in 2021, in celebration of the twentieth anniversary of its charter.

Dr. Nancy B. Mizelle serves as professor of middle grades education and chair of the Department of Professional Learning and Innovation in the John H. Lounsbury College of Education. "Dr. Mizelle is a paragon of personal and professional integrity and a committed advocate for liberal education among her colleagues, within the university, and within her broader profession," wrote her nominator. 

Mizelle is a specialist in middle grades education. Her scholarly work deals with content area literacy, student motivation, and young adolescents' transition from middle school to high school. She serves as a reviewer for Research in Middle Level Education, the Middle Grades Research Journal, and the Middle School Journal. She is currently co-principal investigator (with J. Schmidt-Davis) for a grant sponsored by the U.S. Department of Education totaling $5.3 million on "educating amazing teachers."

Mizelle joined the faculty of Georgia College in 1999. She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Meredith College, Master of Education degree from Clemson University, and Doctor of Education degree from the University of Georgia.

Prof. Jehan El-Jourbagy is associate professor of business law and ethics in the J. Whitney Bunting College of Business and Technology. She serves also as the coordinator of Georgia College's undergraduate certificate in Legal Studies. "Beyond her teaching, Prof. El-Jourbagy is a model university citizen, eager to integrate into university life the theory and practice of democratic citizenship," wrote her nominator. 

El-Jourbagy began teaching at Georgia College in 2013 and joined the faculty full-time in 2017. An attorney by training, she practiced previously at the firm of Haygood Lynch Harris Melton & Watson, LLP. El-Jourbagy graduated Phi Beta Kappa from the University of Georgia and holds undergraduate degrees in political science and in journalism. She earned a JD from the University of Georgia School of Law, where she served as president of the Environmental Law Association, a member of Equal Justice Works, and worked for the Journal of Intellectual Property Law.