University Council Minutes

09/24/2014 03:30 PM - Tate Theater, Tate Student Center
View Related Documents Online Untitled Document

The University Council met on September 24, 2014 in the Tate Theater. President Jere Morehead called the meeting to order at 3:30 p.m.

The minutes of the April 23, 2014 meeting were approved as distributed.

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

  • President Morehead began his remarks by welcoming Council members to the start of the new academic year at UGA.
  • The President informed the Council that School of Law Professor Usha Rodrigues will serve as the Council's parliamentarian, following Dr. Charles Gruner who stepped down as parliamentarian in April following four decades of service. Since Professor Rodrigues was unavailable to attend the first meeting of Council for the year, Executive Director of Legal Affairs Michael Raeber served as a substitute.
  • At a cabinet meeting earlier in the day, the President announced that a plan is ready to replace the campus' coal-fired boiler with a new electrode boiler. This replacement is expected to save the University more than $19 million over the next 30 years. These savings are expected to be applied toward academic endeavors on campus. If the plan is approved by the Board of Regents, the new boiler will be installed through a partnership with Georgia Power. The President expressed his appreciation to Ryan Nesbit, Vice President for Finance and Administration, and Ralph Johnson, Associate Vice President for Facilities Management, for their leadership and their divisions' hard work on this very important initiative.
  • The President also expressed appreciation toward UGA Police Chief Jimmy Williamson and the UGA Police Department for their effective response to a threat that was posted on social media last Friday. The UGA Police moved quickly to issue a timely warning and evacuate the Miller Learning Center. Within a short period of time, a suspect was apprehended who is now facing two felony counts of terroristic threats and is on interim suspension from the University.
  • The President stated that he is pleased to be back in the academic rhythm of the new semester. He is co-teaching a First Year Odyssey Seminar with Dr. Eric Atkinson on contemporary issues in law. He said that the University should be proud that the three year old First Year Odyssey program was recently named by the Board of Regents to receive the Regents' Excellence in Teaching Department/Program Award.
  • Two UGA faculty members have also been recognized this year by the Board of Regents. Dr. William Finlay of the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences will receive the Regents' Award for Excellence in Teaching. Dr. Paula Lemons, also of the Franklin College, will receive the Regents' Award for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning. These awards, along with the award issued to the FYOS program, comprise three of the seven awards presented by the Board of Regents this year.
  • The academic credentials of the University's first year class are the highest they have ever been. Students coming out of high school have an average 3.90 GPA, 1289 SAT score, and 29 ACT score. The President indicated that this shows that the University continues to move forward in recruiting the best and brightest students.
  • A fundraising record was set at the University this past year, posting $126.4 million in fundraising from nearly 57,000 donors when the fiscal year closed on June 30. The President believes these contributions from alumni and friends are critical as the University moves the silent phase of its major capital campaign forward in the coming years.
  • In the past year, the University added 25 more faculty chairs and professorships, moving from 219 to 244.
  • Vice President for Alumni Relations and Development Kelly Kerner and Dean Benjamin Ayers of the Terry College of Business recently joined the President in accepting a check for $2.5 million to create an endowment to fund the Roy Adams Dorsey Distinguished Chair in Real Estate in the Terry College of Business. The President believes this Chair will further strengthen the faculty of this great program.
  • On August 26, the University broke ground on the new Science Learning Center. Governor Nathan Deal and Chancellor Hank Huckaby were on hand for the ground-breaking ceremony. Their support, along with the support of the Board of Regents and the Georgia General Assembly, was crucial in securing this project.
  • The President stated he was also grateful because the Chancellor and members of the Board of Regents have recently endorsed the University's capital priorities for the upcoming year. This month, the Board of Regents put forward two major capital projects, the second phase of the Terry College of Business' new Business Learning Community and the Center for Molecular Medicine, as part of its FY 2016 budget request to Governor Deal. Both of these projects have significant non-state funding components. For example, in the case of the Business Learning Community private funds constitute a dollar for dollar match with state contributions. The Governor's office will consider these requests when preparing the annual budget recommendations that will be presented to the General Assembly this coming January.
  • The new Bolton Dining Hall was recently dedicated on campus. On the first day it was opened, the dining hall served nearly 10,000 meals, a record for any dining facility on campus. The hours of service have been expanded at Bolton for students; it is opened seven days a week with a Sunday evening meal being offered to students. Also, the price of the University meal plan is being held to the same rate as last year. The President believes that measures such as these contribute to the strong perception of value with a UGA education. The Univesity recently ranked 15th in Washington Monthly's new list of Best-Bang-for-the-Buck schools, and U.S. World and Report ranked the University at number 20 on its list of top public research universities.
  • Searches to find a new dean for both the School of Law and for the Graduate School continue. Both of these positions are vital to the growth and enhancement of the graduate and professional programs on campus. The President encouraged Council members to attend candidates' presentations if they can.
  • Last week, UGA was honored to have been named a 2014 recipient of the INSIGHT Into Diversity Higher Education Excellence in Diversity Award. This national honor was presented because of the University's success in the areas of diversity and inclusion. The President commended faculty, staff, and students for the success of the University's on-going efforts to create a more welcoming campus that promotes growth and understanding. In particular, the President commended Associate Provost for Institutional Diversity Michelle Garfield Cook for her leadership in this regard.
  • The President and Provost Whitten recently announced the creation of the new Women's Resources Initiative. This initiative will promote awareness of resources available to women through a new web portal, a single location where information that will highlight women's services, organizations, programs, and events across campus can be found. It will also provide a hub for safety information, community support, and advocacy. The University as well is launching several new programs this Fall and creating an advisory committee to monitor those programs and look for ways to have continued improvement in this regard.
  • The campaign "Let's Clear the Air" has begun on campus. This campaign seeks to educate and inform the University of the Board of Regents' policy that will go into effect at UGA on October 1 that states the campus will be tobacco free. The President stated that he will appreciate the campus' support for this campaign.
  • On October 8, the University will host a debate with the University of Oxford. The President looks forward to welcoming the students from Oxford who will be participating in the debate. He encouraged Council members to attend.
  • Lastly, the President informed the Council that the annual Ombudsperson Report had 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 said that he met with Ms. Dawkins as well as the three Ombudspersons who work directly with faculty, staff, and students: Kathy Jones, Linda Edge, and Steve Gibson. The President thanked them for their service to the University as Ombudspersons.
  • 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 consideration:

There was no old business to come before the Council.

New Business: Associate Provost for Academic Programs Meg Amstutz, in her capacity as chair of the Commencement Steering Committee, provided the Council with a brief information item regarding the recent announcement that the combined undergraduate/graduate Summer Commencement ceremony has been discontinued. Dr. Amstutz explained that numerous factors, such as cost, attendance, and the practices of UGA's peer and aspirational institutions, led to this decision. Undergraduate students graduating in the Summer will have the opportunity to participate in the Spring undergraduate ceremony with their names listed as "Summer degree candidates." Graduate students graduating in the Summer will be given the opportunity to participate in the Fall graduate ceremony. A brief discussion about how the cancelling of Summer commencement would affect graduate students occurred. Dr. Amstutz stated that while this decision would affect graduate students, especially doctoral students, who finish their degree requirements in the Summer, the University does have a policy and solution in place that is in line with its peer and aspirational institutions. Dr. Amstutz also stated that Summer Commencement is a relative recent event on campus, beginning in the year 2000 with attendance declining over the years.

There being no further new business, the Council adjourned at 4:20 p.m.

Respectfully submitted,

Dr. Jan Hathcote, Registrar
Secretary to University Council




University Council Roster

Aderibigbe, Ibigbolade

Hathcote, Jan

O'Neill, Peter

Alworth, Leanne

Heaton, Will

Oie, Svein

Anderson, Mark

Heiss, Christian

Owsiak, Andy

Arabnia, Hamid

Henry, Arlana

Pagnattaro, Marisa

Atkinson, Eric

Henry, Gerald

Pendergrass, Jan

Ayers, Benjamin

Hernandez, Sonia

Peterson, Thomas

Bailey, Deryl

Holladay, Steven

Poland, Mary

Bakker, Ryan

Holmes, Shannon

Reidenbaugh, Patrick

Bayer, Lisa

Hughes, Linda

Reyes De Corcuera, Jose

Beckstead, Robert

Iyengar, Sujata

Rhicard, Laura

Bell, Peyton

Jackson, Deven

Roberts, Susan

Bierema, Laura

Jacoby, Drew

Roman, Paul

Bivins, Danny

Jolly, Laura

Rose, John

Bliss, Thomas

Jones, Betty

Rosemond, Amy

Brown, Tifara

Jordan, Jeff

Rossbacher, Brigitte

Brush, Ryan

Kaplan, Holly

Saliki, Jerry

Buda, Nate

Keadle, Tim

Santesso, Esra

Cahoon, Lynn

Keen, Brenda

Sarmiento, Fausto

Cameron, Kristen

Kennedy, Craig

Sellers, Holly

Carswell, Andy

Kerner, Kelly

Sharma, Suraj

Casey, Ashley

Lai, Ming-Jun

Shelton, Robin

Cauthen, T.W.

Lee, David

Shipley, David

Coffield, Julie

Lee, Kyunghwa

Smith, Amanda

Coker, Vickie

Lewis, Michael

Snyder, Margaret

Darbisi, Carolina

Lindstrom, Jennifer

Spivey, Julie

Dotts, Brian

Madden, Marguerite

Spooner, David

Dove, Robert

Malone, Barrett

Stooksbury, David

Dunham, Richard

Mason, Charlotte

Sullivan, Greg

Ellis, Angela

Matic, Gordana

Tessman, Brock

Filipov, Nikolay

Mativo, John

Thomas, Paul

Freeman, Melissa

Matthews, Paul

Thompson, Jim

Frick, Janet

Maurer, John

Tollner, William

Gandhi, Kamal

Maynard, John

Tricksey, Lauren

Garfinkel, David

McDuff, Nancy

Turner, Madison

Gibney, Angela

McEwen, Dee Dee

Vencill, William

Giraudo, Silvia

McNulty, Tom

Weeks Leonard, Elizabeth

Glass, Anne

Medine, Carolyn

Weigle, Chloe

Gordon, Leslie

Meller, Abbey

Whitten, Pamela

Graff, Jennifer

Miller, Joe

Wilde, Susan

Graham, Toby

Milot, Lisa

Wilder, Lance

Griffin, Michele

Moore, Allen

Wilder, Shannon

Griffith, Jennifer

Moore, Mary

Williams, Brian

Grossman, Barbara

Morehead, Jere

Williams, Phillip

Hall, Jori

Morse, Jack

Williams-Woodward, Jean

Hammersley, Jackie

Naeher, Luke

Wilson, Victor

Hammock, Tess

Nesbit, Ryan

Yager, Patricia

Hannings, Ashley

O'Kelley, Kip

Zhao, Yiping


Zomlefer, Wendy


 

 

Represented by Proxy

Allen, Sheila

Buck, James

Carter, Elizabeth

Chumbler, Neale

Colquitt, Jason

Davis, Charles

Dennis, Carla

Dorfman, Jeff

Dorsey, Alan

Frum, Jennifer

Hazinski, David

Lee, Jung Sun

Melnik, Beth

Miller, Carey

Mullis, Stephen

Ojo, Akinloye

Schuster, Barbara

Toews, Mike

Vandenberg, Robert

 

If you require these minutes in an alternate format, please email Neal Lawson at neal@uga.edu.