University Council Minutes

11/20/2013 03:30 PM - Tate Theater, Tate Student Center
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The University Council met on November 20, 2013 in the Tate Student Center's Tate Theater. President Jere Morehead called the meeting to order at 3:30 p.m.

The minutes of the September 25, 2013 meeting were approved as distributed.

President Morehead's report to the Council included the following remarks:

  • The President began the last meeting of the Council for 2013 by expressing his appreciation to the University community for its involvement in the President's Investiture ceremony held on November 19. The President stated that he was moved by the ceremony and thanked everyone for their involvement.
  • The President addressed the University's response to the hateful postings appearing on the Facebook and Twitter accounts of several faculty, staff, and student groups on campus. The President stated that the individuals behind these postings are intent on driving a wedge in the campus community and disrupting the progress made at the University towards securing an open and unified campus. The President acknowledged that he has met with the leaders of the affected organizations, including the head of the Black Faculty and Staff Organization and the SGA leadership. As well, the President, the Vice President for Student Affairs, and other Student Affairs leaders have spoken with the leaders of several minority student groups on campus, producing beneficial conversations. The Office of the Vice President for Student Affairs joins the President in restating the University's commitment to having a welcoming climate on campus. The President also stated that he has contacted the GBI, who will be assisting with the investigation into these matters. The GBI has reached out to Facebook, Twitter, and UGA Police Chief Jimmy Williamson in the investigation. The President concluded this portion of his report by again remarking that the University should not let the perpetrators of this crime divert the University's attention from a pursuit of an open and unified campus community.
  • An announcement regarding the new Provost will be coming soon. The President commended University Librarian William Potter for his leadership in chairing the search committee for the new Provost. This was the fourth time that he has guided a search for a new Provost at the University. Dr. Potter will be retiring at the end of next summer. The President also thanked Dr. Libby Morris for her outstanding service as Interim Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost and asked the Council to join him in thanking her for her service.
  • Two other VP searches are underway on campus. Applications are now open for the Vice President for Finance and Administration position. Ryan Nesbit has been filling that role in an interim capacity since Tim Burgess' retirement. Vice President for Information Technology Tim Chester is leading that search committee. Recently, the search committee to find a new Vice President for Development and Alumni Relations was formed to seek a replacement for the retiring Tom Landrum. Vice President for Government Relations Griff Doyle is chairing that search committee.
  • The President reflected on the life of the late Dr. Tom Dyer, who served the University in many roles over the years. The President acknowledged the profound effect Dr. Dyer had on not only his career at UGA, but on the entire campus community.
  • The University of Georgia has been designated as one of sixteen institutions of higher education in the country to be an Innovation and Prosperity University. This distinction was given to the University by the Association of Public and Land Grant Universities (APLU). This new designation recognizes universities working with public and private sectors in their states and regions to support economic development through a variety of activities, including entrepreneurship, technology transfer, talent and workforce development, and community development. The President has also been appointed to serve on the APLU Committee on Research Intensive Universities. Twelve presidents have been appointed to advise and help shape APLU's efforts on research funding, indirect cost recovery, public access, research publication, and other items.
  • Sixteen new faculty positions have been created through an interdisciplinary hiring initiative designated to enhance teaching, research, and service in fields that are emerging throughout the nation and around the globe. With these sixteen positions, the University has added more than 100 new tenure or tenure-track faculty positions over the past few years.
  • The University, through the College of Education, and the Clarke County School District has created a new partnership called Experience UGA. The goal is to bring every Clarke County student to the University for an annual field trip to experience learning on the campus. The President congratulated the College of Education for establishing this partnership.
  • The President informed the Council that the annual Ombudsperson Report has been provided to him by Janyce Dawkins, Director of the Equal Opportunity Office. The President stated that the report will be available in the minutes of the meeting. The President plans to meet with Ms. Dawkins as well as the three faculty and staff members who serve as Ombudspersons: Kathy Jones, Steve Gibson, and Linda Edge. The President thanked them for their service and stated that he looks forward to working with them as the Ombudsperson program moves ahead.
  • The 2013 Louise McBee Lecture will be provided this year by University of Virginia President Teresa Sullivan on December 6.
  • The Economic Forecasting Outlook Luncheon, sponsored by the Terry College of Business, will be held in Atlanta on December 11.
  • Undergraduate and Graduate commencement ceremonies will be held on December 13, closing out the Fall semester.
  • Congressman David Scott will serve as the keynote speaker at the annual Martin Luther King Freedom Breakfast on January 17.
  • This concluded the President's Report to the Council.

The floor was then opened for the following standing committee reports:

The following Action Items were presented to the Council for approval:

Old Business:

Council member and Educational Affairs Committee chair Rodney Mauricio made a motion to take off the table the Proposal to change the drop and add registration dates for summer sessions. The proposal had been tabled by the Council at the September 25, 2013 meeting. The motion to take the proposal off the table was seconded and approved, placing the proposal back on the floor for consideration by the Council. A discussion then occurred from the floor regarding the section of the proposal changing the drop/add period for Maymester, first, and second session classes. Concern was raised by some members as to if instituting a one day drop/add period for these three sessions would be a disadvantage to students. Following a continued discussion regarding this point, a motion was made from the floor to amend the proposal by striking the sentence featuring the proposed policy for Maymester, first, and second session drop/add from the proposal. The motion was seconded. After a brief discussion, the motion failed. Another motion was then made from the floor to amend the proposal by changing the wording of the sentence regarding the drop/add policy for Maymester, first, and second session from "extend through midnight of the 1st class day" to "extend through midnight of the 2nd class day." The motion was seconded. A vote was then called, and the motion to amend the proposal passed.  Another vote was then called on the amended proposal, and it was approved by the Council.

There being no new business, the Council adjourned at 4:22 p.m.

Respectfully submitted,

Dr. Jan Hathcote, Registrar
Secretary to University Council






University Council Roster

Allen, Sheila

Griffith, Jennifer

Meller, Abbey

Anderson, Mark

Grossman, Barbara

Moore, Mary

Arabnia, Hamid

Gutierrez Sanchez, Gerardo

Morehead, Jere

Ashley, Louise

Hall, Jori

Morse, Jack

Atkinson, Eric

Hammersley, Jackie

Nadenicek, Daniel

Bailey, Deryl

Harshmann, Melissa

Naeher, Luke

Bayer, Lisa

Hathcote, Jan

Nairn, Joe

Bierema, Laura

Hazinski, David

Nesbit, Ryan

Bliss, Thomas

Henry, Gerald

Oie, Svein

Boyhan, George

Hughes, Linda

Owsiak, Andy

Buck, James

Infante, Carlos

Pagnattaro, Marisa

Cahoon, Lynn

Jolly, Laura

Pendergrass, Jan

Caille, Alex

Jones, Betty

Peterson, Thomas

Carney, Michelle

Jutras, Peter

Poudyal, Neelam

Carswell, Andy

Kalivoda, Karen

Quesada, Margaret

Chepyator-Thomson, Rose

Kaplan, Betina

Riley, David

Chowdhury, Uzma

Keadle, Tim

Roberts, Andrew

Chumbler, Neale

Keen, Brenda

Roman, Paul

Coker, Vickie

Kennedy, Craig

Sarasvati, Bala

Colquitt, Jason

Kiepper, Brian

Sarmiento, Fausto

Cramond, Bonnie

Kirin, Asen

Schulte, Christopher

Daniel, Jerry

Kisaalita, William

Sellers, Holly

Dluhy, Richard

Lamb, Taylor

Shelley, Clay

Dorfman, Jeff

Laufersweiler, Austin

Shipley, David

Dorsey, Alan

Lee, David

Snyder, Margaret

Dotts, Brian

Lee, Jung Sun

Spooner, David

Dove, Robert

Lee, Kyunghwa

Stabb, Eric

Dreibelbis, Hadley

Leo, Donald

Starai, Vincent

Ellis, Angela

Leonard, Elizabeth Weeks

Stephens, Amanda

Filipov, Nikolay

Lewis, Michael

Taha, Thiab

Freeman-Lynde, Ray

Lindquist, Stefanie

Tessman, Brock

Froetschel, Mark

Lindstrom, Jennifer

Tollner, Bill

Frum, Jennifer

Makanani, Kyley

Trap, Diane

Gallagher, Megan

Mativo, John

Tschepikow, Kyle

Gandhi, Kamal

Matthews, Paul

Walker, Virginia

Giraudo, Silvia

Mauricio, Rodney

Wallinga, Charlotte

Gittleman, John

McDonald, William

Wesolowski, Brian

Graff, Jennifer

McDuff, Nancy

White, Catherine

Grasso, Maureen

Medine, Carolyn

Wilder, Shannon

Griffin, Michele

Melcher, Katherine

Wilson, Jim


Wilson, Victor






Represented by Proxy

Becker, Lee

Berghaus, Roy

Biesecker, Barbara

Bivins, Danny

Bringolf, Robert

Buntin, David

Chapman, Sue

Darbisi, Carolina

Davis, Charles

Dove, David

Glass, Anne

Goodfriend, Jon

Goodhue, Dale

Hendrickson, Scott

Holladay, Steven

Knapp, Charles

Lai, Ming-Jun

Luken, Emily

Maynard, John

McEwen, Dee Dee

McNulty, Tom

Morris, Libby

Orpinas, Pamela

Potter, William

Schuster, Barbara

Weber, Brett

Williams, Phillip

Zeigler, Shelby