6 minute read
Josh Brooks & Jere W. Morehead bios
JOSH BROOKS
J. REID PARKER DIRECTOR OF ATHLETICS LSU ’02
Josh Brooks was named J. Reid Parker Director of Athletics in January 2021, after serving 11 years in supporting roles at the University of Georgia, most recently as Interim Director of Athletics and Senior Deputy Director of Athletics. At the time of his hiring, Brooks was the youngest AD among the Power Five conferences.
Since Brooks became Athletic Director, UGA has won the 2022 College Football Playoff national championship, the 2021 national title in Equestrian and the 2021 SEC crown in women's tennis. The Bulldogs finished 10th in the 2021 Learfield Directors’ Cup and 19th in 2022.
Brooks has hired a number of head coaches, including two national champions – Caryl Smith Gilbert in track & field and Keidane McAlpine in soccer. In addition, Tony Baldwin took over the softball program in 2021, while Stefanie Williams Moreno and Neil Versfeld, two of Georgia’s most successful swimmers, were named the head women’s and men’s swimming and diving coaches, respectively, in 2022.
Academics and community service have been in the forefront of Brooks’ administration.A league-best 97 student-athletes were named to the Winter 2022 SEC Academic Honor Roll. Georgia teams have won significant SEC Community Service honors, culminating with Jessica Drop being named the 2021 Brad Davis SEC Community Service Female Leader of the Year. The “Dawgs for Pups” campaign, initiated by the football team, has undertaken several community service projects, including the donation of ticket revenue from the G-Day spring football game, totaling $100,000, to Athens-based Downtown Academy.
On January 20, 2021, just two weeks after becoming Athletic Director, Brooks pledged $100,000 to create a need-based scholarship to support UGA students from Athens-Clarke County. His gift created a Georgia Commitment Scholarship (GCS), adding to the more than 550 endowed, need-based scholarships created under the GCS program since its launch in January 2017.
Despite the loss of ticket sales during the pandemic, Georgia finished the 2020-21 academic year with a balanced budget and impressive fundraising totals. In June, 2022, the Athletic Association launched a $300 million comprehensive fundraising campaign to support key department priorities over the next five years.
With close attention to the game-day experience, Brooks has spearheaded such fan-centric improvements as family-friendly pricing on concessions at all venues, a partnership with Zaxby’s to provide the restaurant chain's popular ice and the use of pedestal scanners for quicker entry to Sanford Stadium.
Brooks has also placed great emphasis on the student-athlete experience, with a comprehensive Name, Image and Likeness program, LeGAcy, which provides wide-ranging education, multi-media management tools and brand-building training.
Brooks returned to UGA in 2016 as Executive Associate Director of Athletics after serving as Deputy Athletics Director at the University of Louisiana-Monroe from 2015-16 and Director of Athletics at Millsaps College from 2014-15.
Prior to his tenures at Millsaps and ULM, he had served in capacities at UGA as Director of Football Operations (2008-11) and Assistant and Associate Athletic Director for Internal Operations (2012-14). Brooks was director of football operations at the University of Louisiana-Monroe beginning in 2004. He gained experience as a student at Louisiana State University, working as an equipment manager and a student assistant coach. During his four years at LSU, the Tigers participated in the 2000 Peach Bowl, 2002 Sugar Bowl and won the 2001 SEC Championship.
A native of Hammond, La., Brooks graduated from LSU in 2002 with a degree in Kinesiology and completed his master’s degree in Sport Management from UGA in 2014. He and his wife, Lillie, have twin sons, Jackson and James, born in July of 2009, and a third son, Davis, born in March of 2012.
President Jere W. Morehead began his tenure as the 22nd University of Georgia President on July 1, 2013. Under his leadership, the University has risen in the rankings of the best public colleges and universities and has completed a series of initiatives to enhance student learning and success, including a requirement for experiential learning for all undergraduates.
Additionally, the University completed the most successful capital campaign in its history, raising $1.45 billion, and launched an Innovation District initiative to create UGA’s campus of the future, where students and faculty will partner with industry to generate ideas and solutions to continue the University’s role as a powerful driver of economic development in Georgia. During President Morehead’s tenure, UGA has increased its research expenditures by 41% and has been ranked among the top five universities in the U.S. for research-based products reaching the marketplace for the past seven years. UGA was ranked No. 1 in the nation for FY2019 and FY2017.
In keeping with his focus on student success, President Morehead launched the ALL Georgia Program to support students from rural areas and created the Double Dawgs program, which enables students to save time and money by earning an undergraduate and graduate degree in five years or less. A UGA education is in greater demand than ever, with a record 39,500 applications submitted for a spot in the incoming Class of 2025 and an admission rate under 39%.
President Morehead has served the University of Georgia since 1986 in both faculty and administrative roles. Before becoming President, he was Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost from 2010 to 2013. Prior to 2010, he held several key administrative assignments, including Vice President for Instruction, Vice Provost for Academic Affairs, Associate Provost and Director of the Honors Program, and acting Executive Director of Legal Affairs.
He is the Meigs Professor of Legal Studies in the Terry College of Business, where he has held a faculty appointment since 1986. He is a co-author of several books and book chapters, including The Legal and Regulatory Environment of Business, and he has published scholarly articles on legal topics ranging from export controls to jury selection. He has served as Editor-in-Chief of the American Business Law Journal.
President Morehead serves as Co-Chair of the University Leadership Forum, a national initiative led by the Council on Competitiveness. He also serves as Chair of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I Board of Directors, a member of the NCAA Division I Administrative Committee, and a member of the NCAA Board of Governors. He previously served on the NCAA Presidential Forum; the Working Group on Name, Image, and Likeness; and the Federal and State Legislation Working Group. He is President of the Southeastern Conference (SEC) and Chair of the SEC Executive Committee. Additional service includes membership on the boards of the Georgia Chamber of Commerce, Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce, Georgia Research Alliance, Atlanta Regional Council for Higher Education, and Emory University Candler School of Theology.
In 2021, he received the Chief Executive Leadership Award from the Council for the Advancement and Support of Education District III for outstanding leadership and service in support of education. He has received several University-wide teaching awards, including the Josiah Meigs Award—UGA’s highest honor for teaching excellence, the Richard B. Russell Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching, the Teacher of the Year Award in the Terry College of Business, and the Lothar Tresp Outstanding Honors Professor Award. He also earned the UGA School of Law’s premier honor for alumni, the Distinguished Service Scroll Award.
President Morehead holds a bachelor’s degree from Georgia State University and a law degree from the University of Georgia.
