UGA Columns Aug 17, 2015

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Vol. 43, No. 4

August 17, 2015

www.columns.uga.edu

UGA GUIDE

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New faculty, leading scholars join UGA as result of initiatives By Sam Fahmy

sfahmy@uga.edu

Dorothy Kozlowski

Suzanne Barbour, dean of the Graduate School, said that graduate education has historically trained students to be “clones of their mentors” but that less than 20 percent of today’s graduate students will become academicians. She said she’s most excited about broadening training opportunities for students so they can explore careers outside of academia.

A broader legacy New Graduate School dean ready to take UGA’s programs to an even higher level

By Sam Fahmy

sfahmy@uga.edu

Suzanne Barbour views the students she has mentored as part of her legacy; a contribution to changing the lives of individuals and advancing the frontiers of research and scholarship. As the new dean of UGA’s Graduate School, her legacy now extends to the university’s more than 8,000 graduate and professional students and to the thousands more

who will enroll in the coming years. Barbour said she first became interested in administration when she was tapped to direct the graduate program in the biochemistry and molecular biology department at the Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine. “I came to realize that as much as I enjoy working with students one-on-one in the laboratory, I also really enjoy developing programs and thinking more globally about

graduate education,” Barbour said. Barbour directed the graduate program in biochemistry and molecular biology for a decade and for four years was the principal investigator or co-principal investigator on four training grants from the National Institutes of Health to maximize student diversity. Her six years of service on the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology’s education and professional See DEAN on page 8

Some of the world’s leading scholars are joining the faculty of UGA this fall, and nearly 65 more faculty members in newly created positions are on the way as the result of a series of hiring initiatives. “Investing in the academic core continues to be the highest priority at the University of Georgia,” said President Jere W. Morehead. “The faculty members hired through these initiatives will positively impact student learning and student success. They also will enhance

the institution’s ability to serve the state and to conduct worldchanging research in a number of critical fields.” Last fall, Morehead and Provost Pamela Whitten launched an extraordinary research faculty hiring initiative to recruit internationally recognized scholars to UGA. The ongoing initiative has created four new faculty positions to date. Esther van der Knapp, a pioneer in understanding the molecular genetics of commercially important crops, joins the horticulture department and UGA’s Plant Center

See FACULTY on page 8

UNDERGRADUATE ADMISSIONS

Incoming class of students sets record for academic quality By Tracy Coley tcoley@uga.edu

Incoming UGA students have set a record for academic quality, with the highest GPA and SAT scores in the university’s 230-year history. The approximately 5,300 firstyear students will begin fall semester with an average GPA of 3.91 and an average SAT score of 1301. Just five years ago, those figures were 3.83 and 1264, respectively. “We are pleased that the University of Georgia once again has enrolled a record-setting class of first-year students,” said UGA President Jere W. Morehead. “These students are attracted to UGA’s

world-class learning environment with bold new initiatives to expand experiential learning and to reduce class sizes. This year’s incoming class is another sign that UGA is reaching new heights of academic excellence.” UGA received more than 22,000 applications (a 4 percent increase over last year) for fall 2015 admission, with an admittance rate of 52 percent of all applicants. Since 2010, the number of freshman applications has increased by 25 percent. Around 1,550 transfer students also will begin classes today. A breakdown of the numbers indicates that the mid-50 percentile GPA range for the class of 2019 is

See STUDENTS on page 2

BOARD OF REGENTS

ACADEMIC AFFAIRS

UGA-Griffin campus director finalists to visit Regents approve health care By Sam Fahmy

sfahmy@uga.edu

Three of the four finalists for the position of assistant provost and campus director at UGA’s Griffin campus will visit UGAGriffin in the coming weeks to meet with members of the university community. A committee chaired by Russell Mumper, vice provost for academic affairs, conducted a national search to identify the finalists. The committee was assisted by the UGA Search Group in Human Resources. The finalists will give a presentation on their vision for the campus

from 9:30-10:30 a.m. in Room 104 of the UGA-Griffin Student Learning Center. The finalists and the dates of their presentations are: • William “Bill” Randle, a professor of natural resources and environmental design and former dean of the North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University School of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences, Aug. 20. • Jeffrey L. Jordan, a professor of agricultural and applied economics and director of the Southern Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Program at UGAGriffin, Aug. 24. • Luanne Lohr, national program

lead for economics at the USDA Forest Service, Sept. 3. • Lew Hunnicutt, vice president of extended services at Frank Phillips College, visited Aug. 11. The CVs of the finalists, along with their full campus visit itineraries and candidate feedback forms, are available at http://t. uga.edu/1wC. The assistant provost and campus director of UGA-Griffin will oversee all research, extension and instructional programs at UGA-Griffin. This new position will be the senior administrator at UGA-Griffin. The assistant provost and campus director will

See GRIFFIN on page 8

plans, premiums for 2016

At its Aug. 12 meeting, the Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia approved the 2016 health care plan changes and premiums for active employees and retirees younger than 65. The board also approved USG funding for the new supplemental coverage for Medicare-eligible retirees and dependents age 65 and older. The 2016 plan year will begin Jan. 1. There will be very few coverage changes for active employees. Premium increases will depend upon the specific health care plan in which employees are enrolled. Health care plan information will

be sent to active employees in early October; open enrollment will be held Nov. 2-13. Retirees and dependents who are younger than 65 will remain on the same plans as active employees. Separate pre-65 retiree premium rate charts will go into effect for the 2016 plan year. Medicare-eligible retirees and Medicare-eligible dependents age 65 and older will enroll for supplemental health care coverage and receive the USG health care benefit in a new way in 2016. Medicare Parts A and B will p ­ rovide primary

See REGENTS on page 8


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