Dear Friends… It was wonderful to see so many of you in Washington for our winter board meeting and events surrounding the dedication of Delta Hall, the university’s permanent residential learning facility in the heart of Capitol Hill. Thank you for braving the travel and winter weather to be there for the historic occasion! While we will take a look back at our activities in Washington in this newsletter, we’ll also look forward to what will be a wonderful Return to the Arch weekend in early May that I encourage you to attend if possible. It was great to hear from President Morehead in Washington that University of Georgia fundraising continues to produce strong results and that we are ahead of last year’s pace, which resulted in a record $126.4 million in gifts. In addition to those news items, I am pleased to share information on accomplishments of our students and faculty which I am sure you will find interesting. This newsletter is bittersweet for me because it is my last as chairman. It has been an honor and privilege to serve these last two years and I want to thank each of you for your hard work and dedication in supporting the University of Georgia’s academic mission. You have made my tenure one of the most enjoyable and rewarding experiences of my life. I look forward to working with you in the final months of the fiscal year to advance our efforts and to set the stage for continued success of the foundation in the years ahead. I hope to see all of you in St. Simons June 11 and 12 for the spring meeting where we will be saying goodbye to some of our good friends who will be rotating off of the board and electing new trustees. Thank you again for everything you do for the University of Georgia and the UGA Foundation! Sincerely,
John P. Spalding (AB ’82, JD ’85) Chairman
Return to the Arch Alumni Seminar next month! I hope you have all received your invitations for the second annual Return to the Arch Alumni Seminar and that you will be able to join us for a very special weekend in Athens. Return to the Arch is a three‐day educational gathering for UGA alumni and friends, from Friday May 1 through Sunday May 3. This year's theme is Food for Thought and will feature lectures, tours and interactive seminars that showcase the best UGA has to offer. Come prepared with open minds and empty stomachs as you experience a fun, food‐filled weekend on campus! Seminar highlights include:
A reception and dinner with Food Network star and alumnus Alton Brown (AB '04) (top right) Exclusive behind‐the‐scenes tours of campus Presentations from leading UGA faculty members Address by Peter Dale (ABJ '99) (bottom right), owner/chef of The National in Athens, honored as Food & Wine magazine's 2012 "People's Best New Chef in the Southeast" A Farm‐to‐Table Dinner under the stars on Herty Field A Local Lunch Market featuring local fare
Registration fees include all meals, beverages, transportation, seminars and special activities. Hotel accommodations are not included, but the Georgia Center's UGA Hotel & Conference Center is offering discounted rates on a first‐come, first‐served basis for reservations made before April 17. Mention that you are participating in the Return to the Arch Alumni Seminar to receive the special pricing. In addition, a supplemental dining package for non‐attendee spouses/guests may be purchased and includes the Friday reception and dinner with Alton Brown, the Saturday reception and Farm‐to‐Table Dinner on Herty Field, and the Local Lunch Market on Sunday. For more information on Return to the Arch, click here.
Ribbon Cutting officially opens Delta Hall – UGA’s New Washington headquarters It was so exciting to be together in Washington for our winter board meeting and to enjoy the events surrounding the dedication of Delta Hall, the university’s new “front door” to our nation’s capital. What an honor it was to join UGA President Jere Morehead, Georgia’s two U.S. Senators, Johnny Isakson and David Purdue, Tad Hutcheson of Delta Air Lines and many others in a day of activities that included the Delta Hall ribbon cutting and a superb dinner and program in the U.S. Senate Office Building, graciously hosted by Senator Isakson. The Delta Airlines Foundation committed $5 million to the fundraising effort that is still ongoing for the residential facility and which greatly enhances the University of Georgia’s presence in Washington. “We are grateful to the Delta Air Lines Foundation for supporting UGA in Washington,” said Morehead. “Delta Air Lines has been a strong corporate partner of the University of Georgia for many years, and this latest gift demonstrates the leadership role Delta is taking in our ongoing comprehensive campaign to advance the University of Georgia.” Delta Hall has 20,000 square feet of space within its confines and provides living accommodations for up to 32 students each semester, classrooms, study space and attractive common areas. At present 29 students, in 17 major areas of study across five UGA schools and colleges call Delta Hall home. That represents the largest class of scholars in the UGA in Washington program since its inception more than a decade ago. My deepest thanks to the members of our board who helped make this dream a reality though their gifts and service to the university and the foundation, and special thanks to Immediate Past Chair Bill Young, without whose vision and guidance this project would not have been successfully completed. We still have fundraising to do for the Delta Hall project and to enhance support for scholarships that will give more UGA students opportunities to study in Washington. I look forward to working with you in the months ahead on these initiatives.
Ribbon cuttings highlight campus changes in Athens
UGA dedicates new Veterinary Medical Center Shortly before the Delta Hall dedication in Washington, the scissors were put to work in Athens cutting the ribbon to officially open the spectacular new College of Veterinary Medicine’s new Veterinary Medical Center.
Willson Center has a new home on campus
The University of Georgia’s Jane and Harry Willson Center for Humanities and Arts has relocated to a historically renovated two‐story house at 1260 South Lumpkin St. in Athens.
Willson Center Director Nicholas Allen hosted a dedication ceremony with President Jere W. Morehead and Poet H. Bruce McEver in March. The ceremonies also honored the Willson Center’s 2014‐2015 Faculty Research Fellows.
Located on College Station Road, the center houses a new education building with classrooms, a 160‐ seat auditorium and a teaching hospital in approximately 300,000 square feet of space. It was made possible by a combination of state and private support, a paradigm lauded by Georgia Governor Nathan Deal. “To the alumni of this institution, the practicing veterinarians and those who are associated with the ramifications of this school, I want to thank you, because, quite honestly, as we look at proposed projects, one of the things that gets our attention is when there is a private‐sector component. That makes (a proposal) go further – using the public money with private revenue that has been raised … and this project is a great example,” said Deal.
The renovation project was made possible through the generosity of UGA Foundation Emeritus Trustee Jane Willson, the Willson Center’s Board of Friends and individual donors, and with support from the Office of the President and the Office of the Vice President for Research.
The building will serve as a hub and showcase for humanities and arts research and will house international guests, receptions, events and the Willson Center staff.
“In addition to supporting faculty and students through our grant and fellowship programs, the Willson Center broadcasts excellence in humanities and arts research at UGA to the world,” Allen said.
Move in at the new facility was completed and the doors officially opened for all hospital services on March 25.
The Willson Center is a unit of the Office of the Vice President for Research at UGA. In the service of its mission to promote research and creativity in the humanities and arts, the Willson Center sponsors and participates in numerous public events on and off the UGA campus throughout the academic year. It supports faculty through research grants, lectures, symposia, publications, visiting scholars, visiting artists, collaborative instruction, public conferences, exhibitions, and performances. For more information click here.
New law scholarship established
Josiah Meigs Distinguished Professorships awarded
The University of Georgia School of Law recently established the Rebecca H. White Scholarship, to honor White’s service as dean, a position she served for more than 11 years and from which she stepped down in 2014.
Congratulations to Erica Hashimoto (right), one of four UGA faculty members honored with 2015 Josiah Meigs Distinguished Professorships, the university’s highest recognition for outstanding achievement in instruction. In addition to the new award, Hashimoto holds the Allen Post Professorship in the UGA School of Law which is funded by an endowment managed by the University of Georgia Foundation.
The scholarship was initiated by Dan and Kathelen Amos who pledged to match up to $100,000 in new gifts donated to the school for creation of the scholarship fund. To date, more than $210,000 in gifts and pledges have been secured from alumni and friends for the effort. “Dean White inspired many to re‐ engage with the law school. It is a testament to her record of leadership that members of the Georgia Law community responded so quickly and generously to this fundraising challenge,” said Georgia Law School Dean Bo Rutledge. “This effort was dedicated to one of her top priorities – growing private funding for student scholarships,” he said.
Sponsored by the Office of the Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost, the Meigs Professorship demonstrates the university’s commitment to excellence in teaching, the student learning experience, and the centrality of instruction to the university’s mission.
Hashimoto’s teaching ranges from introducing first‐year students to the rigors of the Socratic method to supervising one of the law school’s premier experiential learning opportunities for third‐year students. The latter is a program she helped create that allows students to brief and argue cases before federal appellate courts.
In addition, Meigs Professorships were awarded to:
Malcolm Adams, a professor of mathematics and department head in the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences.
Mark Harrison, a professor of food science and technology and graduate coordinator in the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences. Cynthia Ward, a professor of small animal internal medicine in the College of Veterinary Medicine.
Congratulations to these outstanding faculty members for their achievements and for helping to make the University of Georgia one of the nation’s great institutions of higher education!
Naomi Norman, a Josiah Meigs Distinguished Teaching Professor and veteran administrator in the department of classics at the University of Georgia, has been named associate vice president for instruction effective April 1. Norman has served as department head in classics for the last several years and has been a faculty member in the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences since 1980, teaching courses in archaeology and Greek. She is a member of the UGA Teaching Academy and served as a Senior Teaching Fellow in 2008‐09. Congratulations to UGA Foundation Emeritus Trustee Earl Leonard (ABJ ’58, LLB ‘61), who is one of 11 Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication graduates named to the Grady Fellowship class of 2015. Leonard is a past president of the University of Georgia Alumni Society and a retired senior vice president of The Coca‐Cola Company, for which he worked nearly 35 years. A generous benefactor of the university, he established the Leonard Leadership Scholars Program in the Terry College of Business. He is being recognized by Grady for his accomplishments, friendship and service to the university. All members of the new class will be recognized during the Grady Centennial Gala, April 18 at the Classic Center in Athens. “This year’s class of Grady Fellows—the centennial class—embodies the ideals that Grady College graduates further daily in workplaces all over the world,” said Charles N. Davis, dean of the Grady College. “From corporate boardrooms to some of the best‐known news organizations in the business, these individuals add to the luster of the Grady brand and serve as a point of pride for all Grady graduates.” Tickets to the Grady College Centennial Gala are available for purchase and can be ordered online at Grady100.uga.edu. The Fellowship Tribute, which has taken place in the fall each year since 2008, is being celebrated in the spring this year to coincide with the centennial celebration. Charles S. Bullock III, the Richard B. Russell Professor of Political Science in the School of Public and International Affairs, has been named University Professor, an honor bestowed on faculty who have had a significant impact on the University of Georgia beyond normal academic responsibilities. Bullock, who is also a Josiah Meigs Distinguished Professor, joined the UGA faculty in 1968. During his more than four decades at the university, he has established himself as the state’s pre‐eminent scholar on Southern politics.
New Student Government Association leadership elected University of Georgia students have elected the Momentum UGA party to the executive branch of the Student Government Association for the 2015‐2016 academic year. The party consists of Treasurer‐ Elect Darby Miller (left), President‐Elect Johnelle Simpson (center) and Vice President‐Elect Houston Gaines (right). They will take office on April 14. At that time, Simpson succeeds Drew Jacoby as student government president and ex officio trustee of the UGA Foundation.
Simpson is a third‐year student from Donalsonville majoring in risk management/insurance and political science. Gaines, from Athens, is an Honors Program student in his second‐year studying political science and economics, and Miller is a second‐year business management major from Rogers, Arkansas The Momentum UGA party’s platform is to be a liaison and voice for students while bridging the gap between the UGA community, the citizens of Athens and the administration. Platform points for the coming year include the creation of a campus night‐shuttle service for students, research and support for the development of an inclusive post‐secondary education program and strengthening of SGA’s role as the voice of the student body to local, state and federal governments. Congratulation to these outstanding students. We look forward to having Johnelle on the board for the coming year and offer thanks to Drew for an outstanding year serving as an ex officio trustee!
DATES TO REMEMBER April 9, 2015
April 17, 2015 May 1‐3, 2015 May 8, 2015
May 14, 2015
May 25, 2015 May 31, 2015
June 11‐12, 2015
June 17, 2015
July 3, 2015
August 17, 2015 September 1, 2015 September 10, 2015 September 18, 2015 October 1‐2, 2015
Thank a Donor Day 10:00 AM – 2:00 PM UGA – Tate Plaza UGA Alumni Association Awards Luncheon 12:00 Noon UGA – Tate Center, Grand Hall Return to the Arch Alumni Seminar UGA Hotel and Conference Center Athens, GA Spring Commencement 10:00 AM Graduate Ceremony ‐ Stegeman Coliseum 7:00 PM Undergraduate Ceremony ‐ Sanford Stadium UGA Board of Visitors Meeting Buckhead Club 3344 Peachtree Road, Suite 2600 Atlanta, GA 30326 Memorial Day Holiday University of Georgia closed
74th Annual Peabody Awards 6:30 PM Dinner – Awards Show begins at 7:00 PM Cipriani Wall Street 55 Wall Street New York, NY 10005 UGA Foundation Spring Board Meeting St. Simons Island, GA UGA in Washington Reception Union Station 6:00 – 7:30 PM Washington, D.C. Independence Day Holiday (Friday Observance) University of Georgia closed First Day of Fall Semester Classes
Faculty/Staff/Retiree Donor Appreciation Reception UGA – Tate Grand Hall 3:30 – 5:00 PM
UGA Alumni Association 40 Under 40 Awards Luncheon InterContinental Hotel 11:30 AM (Lunch at 12:00 Noon) Atlanta, GA
President’s Club Reception UGA – Tate Grand Hall 6:00 – 7:30 PM
UGA Foundation Fall Board Meeting Athens, GA
University of Georgia Foundation 394 South Milledge Ave., Suite 100 Athens, Georgia 30602-5582 Telephone (706) 542-6677 www.ugafoundation.org