Summer 2014 chairman's letter

CHAIRMAN’S LETTER / SUMMER 2014

Dear Friends…

It was great to see so many of you at the annual meeting in St. Simons last month. We had very productive committee meetings and an excellent full board session to conclude our work.

The annual meeting is always bittersweet as we say goodbye to old friends and welcome new trustees to the board. Such changes always give us fresh perspectives and that has been a big part of what has driven the continued growth of the foundation.

With summer session nearing its conclusion, the campus is already starting to come alive with incoming freshmen participating in orientation sessions and Greek organizations preparing for rush. Before you know it, we’ll be back at full capacity in Athens and enjoying the excitement that only a new academic year can bring.

Just a reminder that our next board meeting is scheduled in Athens September 25 and 26 and I hope you’re making plans to be with us. We have a great program in the works and the usual complement of foundation business to which we must attend. Details will be forthcoming in the weeks ahead.

I also want to take a moment to thank everyone on the board, administrators and staff for making my first year as chairman so rewarding. I’m looking forward to the second half of my term and to working with each of you to support the campaign and further enhance the academic mission of the University of Georgia!

Sincerely,

John Spalding (AB ’82, JD ’85) Chairman

Welcome to our new ex officio trustees and a sincere THANK YOU to our newest emeritus trustees!

Ex officio trustees serve a vital role on the UGA Foundation, bringing special insight from the perspectives of administration, faculty, staff and the student body. Over the years, we have been blessed with tremendously talented people in these roles and I am excited to welcome our newest members, all of whom I believe will contribute significantly to our work in support of UGA’s academic mission.

Kelly Kerner is an ex officio voting trustee and the university’s new vice president for Development and Alumni Relations replacing Tom Landrum. (See story on page 4)

David Shipley, JD is also an ex officio voting member of the board. He is a professor in the UGA School of Law and the foundation’s faculty representative succeeding Silvia Giraudo.

Pam Whitten, Provost succeeds interim provost Libby Morris. Pam is an ex officio non‐voting trustee.

Michael Lewis replaces Jerry Daniel as chair of the UGA Staff Council and as an ex officio non‐ voting trustee.

Drew Jacoby, succeeds Austin Laufersweiler as president of the UGA Student Government Association and also serves the board in a non‐voting capacity.

Best wishes to four trustees who served the foundation so ably and who have been accorded emeritus status to honor their years of selfless dedication to the university. I had the great pleasure during the recognition dinner at our annual meeting of presenting Joe Frierson (top photo below), John McMullan (middle), Nelson Bowers (bottom), and Swann Seiler, who was unable to attend, with paintings of the arch. These four individuals have left indelible impressions on the University of Georgia and we will forever be grateful for their hard work.

Changing of the guard

After 38 years at the University of Georgia, Tom Landrum retired from his post as vice president for Development and Alumni Relations.

Emeritus Trustee to deliver Summer Commencement address

There will be a familiar face on the dais when Summer Commencement ceremonies take place

The UGA Foundation Annual Meeting in St. Simons was at 9:30 on the morning of August 1 in Stegeman his last, and in his final report to the Development and Coliseum.

Public Affairs Committee, he had nothing but good Abit Massey, pictured below with wife Kayanne, news to share. is an emeritus trustee of the UGA Foundation Tom reported that the and past president of the UGA Alumni university received more Association. He will deliver the keynote address than $120 million in gifts and commitments in fiscal to students who complete their degree studies year 2014. in the summer semester. The ceremony honors

both undergraduate and graduate students.

In fact, that figure reached

$126.4 million, making it A 1949 graduate of the University of Georgia, the highest one year total in the institution’s history! Abit is president emeritus of the Georgia Poultry Federation, a nonprofit trade association

The Annual Fund received more than $16.9 million in representing the state’s poultry industry. the same time period, also a new record, and Tom said unrestricted giving was robust throughout the year.

Welcoming back an alumnus like Abit Massey,

who is a living legend in the world of Georgia He also noted that UGA is on track to reach a campaign agribusiness, is an honor for the university," said goal of not less than $1 billion and that there is President Jere Morehead. "He is one of the most optimism the target may be adjusted upward. respected and influential leaders in the

At the conclusion of Tom’s remarks, Development and agricultural industry, and he has given to his Public Affairs Committee Chair Trey Paris thanked him alma mater with tremendous devotion and for his dedication and hard work which, he stated, was generosity."

central in making the campaign’s initial success possible.

Tom leaves the vice president’s office in the capable hands of Kelly Kerner who comes to UGA with a very impressive track record of fundraising success, most recently at Bowdoin College in Maine and before that at Bates College, also in Maine, and Middlebury College in Vermont. Kelly is a graduate of the University of Colorado.

On behalf of the board, I offer sincere thanks to Tom for his support of the foundation’s efforts, and our best wishes for success in his new endeavors.

To Kelly, we welcome you with open arms and look forward with great anticipation to working with you to make the University of Georgia the best it can be!

UGA Law Alumni Association honors two

Professorships awarded

Congratulations to President Jere Morehead and UGA Foundation Emeritus Trustee Wyck Knox (pictured). The University of Georgia School of Law's alumni association recently presented each with Distinguished Service Scroll Awards, the Law School Association's highest honor. The award recognizes individuals for their exceptional service and dedication to the legal profession and to the law school. _______________________

Congrats to Foundation Fellows Alumna

Two new professorships, endowed by the UGA Athletic Association in the University of Georgia Foundation, were recently awarded. _______________________

Dr. Cory Buxton, a professor in the department of educational theory and practice in the College of Education, has been named the UGA Athletic Association Professor in Education.

Smitha Ganeshan, a May graduate, was one of only six students nationwide to be awarded a Marcus L. Urann Fellowship from the Phi Kappa Phi honor society. She will use the scholarship to continue her education at Harvard Medical School this fall.

Buxton has spent the last five years of his academic career working on an internationally recognized National Science Foundation‐funded project to improve science learning for English Language Learners.

Kandauda A.S. Wickrama, a professor of human development and family science, is a University of Georgia Athletic Association Professor in Family and Consumer Sciences.

Wickrama, whose research focuses on the social determinants of health and health inequality across the course of life, has secured millions of dollars in grants to research and support investigation in marriage and health, adolescent mental health and rural families at risk. Much of his work is funded by the National Institutes of Health.

Smitha was a Foundation Fellow and 2013 recipient of a prestigious Truman Scholarship. She earned a bachelor's degree in biology with a minor in anthropology from the Franklin College. _______________________

Chair in Veterinary Medicine awarded

Congratulations to Dr. Biao He, a renowned veterinary virologist and vaccine developer. He was recently awarded the Fred C. Davison Distinguished University Chair in Veterinary Medicine in the UGA College of Veterinary Medicine. Dr. He is known for his research on host‐ viral pathogen interactions and anti‐viral vaccine development.

The chair is endowed in the University of Georgia Foundation.

_______________________

Dates to remember: August 1, 2014:

Summer Semester Commencement (Combined graduate and undergraduate) Stegeman Coliseum Keynote Speaker: Abit Massey 9:30 AM

August 18, 2014

Fall Semester classes begin

August 26, 2014

Science Learning Center Groundbreaking Governor Nathan Deal and Chancellor Hank Huckaby scheduled to participate 11:30 AM Athens, GA

September 1, 2014

Labor Day Holiday University of Georgia Closed

September 4, 2014

Dedication of new Bolton Dining Commons Bolton Dining Commons 10:00 AM Athens, GA

September 18, 2014

UGA Alumni Association “40 Under 40” Luncheon Georgia Aquarium 11:30 AM Atlanta, GA

September 25‐26, 2014

UGA Foundation fall board meeting Various campus sites Athens, GA

September 26, 2014

President’s Club Reception Tate Student Center, Grand Hall 6:00 – 8:00 PM Athens, GA

December 19, 2014

Fall Semester Commencement Stegeman Coliseum 9:30 AM – Undergraduate Ceremony 2:30 PM – Graduate Ceremony

University of Georgia Foundation 394 South Milledge Ave., Suite 100 Athens, Georgia 30602-5582 Telephone (706) 542-6677 www.ugafoundation.org