University Council Minutes

09/22/2015 03:30 PM - Tate Theatre, Tate Student Center
View Related Documents Online Untitled Document

The University Council held its first meeting of the 2015-2016 academic year on September 22, 2015 in the Tate Theatre. A quorum being present, the meeting was called to order at 3:30 p.m. by President Jere Morehead.

As the first item of business on the agenda, the minutes of the April 22, 2015 meeting were approved as distributed.

The President then delivered his report to the Council:

  • The President began his remarks by welcoming to their first University Council meeting two new deans: Dr. Suzanne Barbour of the Graduate School and Dr. Dale Greene of the Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources. The President also thanked former dean of the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences Dr. J. Scott Angle and Dr. Maurice Daniels, who will soon be stepping down as dean of the School of Social Work, for their service to the University.
  • The University of Georgia has enrolled the best class in its history from an academic standpoint with the freshman class that entered UGA in Fall 2015. This freshman class has an average high school GPA of 3.91, an average SAT score of 1301, and an ACT average score of 29.
  • The experiential learning initiative is moving forward at the University. This requirement, which was passed by the Council at its April 22, 2015 meeting, is one the President believes will make a great difference for students in the coming years.
  • The University is also in the process of implementing an initiative to reduce class sizes by hiring additional faculty and creating new course sections. This initiative will be completed during the coming academic year.
  • A new entrepreneurial initiative is also underway which will allow students to acquire the skills they would need to start their own small businesses or to be successful in the area of non-profit enterprises.
  • The University is expanding its research enterprise in two key ways: by recruiting new faculty and building up its research infrastructure. The University has hired in the last year 12 new interdisciplinary faculty members, five internationally-recognized scholars, and three new Georgia research imminent scholars with expertise in human health research. Nine new tenure-track positions in informatics will also be added. The President stated that all of these developments will be positive for the University.
  • Correll Hall, the first phase of the Terry College of Business' Learning Community, was dedicated earlier this semester. Ground has also been broken on the second phase of the project, Amos Hall. The President thanked Dean Benjamin Ayers for his leadership in moving this project forward to where it is today.
  • A record-breaking year for fundraising occurred for 2014-2015 at the University. Nearly 64,000 contributors donated $144.2 million in gifts and pledges. The President made special note that among the contributors were 1,905 current or retired UGA faculty and staff members, a 40% increase over last year. To all donors, the President expressed his gratitude.
  • Since the Summer of 2013, 23 endowed faculty positions have been added, raising the total number to 251. Last year as well, alumni and friends of the University donated $11 million for need and merit-based scholarships. The Athletic Association continues to support the academic initiatives of the University. The Athletics Association is now responsible for 23 of the 251 endowed faculty positions and has also contributed some $28 million since 2007 with some of those funds going to need and merit-based scholarships.
  • The University has moved up one position on the U.S. News and World Report's overall ranking of public and private universities. UGA is tied at number 21 in the ranking of the best public institutions. Washington Monthly has found UGA to be the third "best bang for your buck" school in the Southeast. Forbes has listed the University at number 18 on its best public college list. As well, the New York Times has ranked UGA at number 10 among public institutions doing the most for low income students.
  • The President was pleased to inform the Council that UGA has again received the INSIGHT into Diversity Higher Education Excellence in Diversity Award. The President thanked Dr. Michelle Garfield Cook for her leadership in the University's diversity initiatives.
  • UGA has also been named as one of the top contributors to the Teach for America program. Thirty graduates have committed to the program, putting UGA at number 14 on the list of institutions contributing to the program.
  • 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 thanked Kathy Jones, Steve Gibson, and Karen Sanders for their work as the three Ombudspersons who work directly with faculty, staff, and students.
  • 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 being no old or new business, the Council adjourned at 4:15 p.m.

Respectfully submitted,

Dr. Jan Hathcote, Registrar
Secretary to University Council



University Council Roster

Aderibigbe, Ibigbolade

Holladay, Steven

Rathbun, Stephen

Allen, Wesley

Hollander, Barry

Ratliff, Joanne

Ayers, Benjamin

Iyengar, Sujata

Reidenbaugh, Patrick

Babiarz, Patryk

Jackson, Chandra

Reyes De Corcuera, Jose

Barbour, Suzanne

Jackson, David

Rhicard, Laura

Bayer, Lisa

Jackson, Stan

Rizer, Jasmine

Bharadwaj, Sundar

Johnson, Meredith

Robinson, Eric

Bierema, Laura

Jordan, Brian

Rogers, Martin

Biesecker, Barbara

Jordan, Jeff

Roman, Paul

Bliss, Thomas

Kaplan, Holly

Rose, John

Boynton, John

Katz, Laura

Samp, Jennifer

Broder, Josef

Keen, Brenda

Santesso, Esra

Buda, Nate

Kelley, Laura

Sarmiento, Fausto

Camus, Melinda

Kennedy, Craig

Secrest, Scott

Carson, Jamie

Lamb, Taylor

Sharma, Suraj

Carswell, Andy

Lastinger, Matt

Shelton, Robin

Cauthen, T.W.

Leo, Donald

Shetterley, Karen

Chatterjee, Santanu

Lewis, Audrey

Shipley, David

Chepyator-Thomson, Rose

Lewis, Michael

Shrivastav, Rahul

Crawley, Laura

Lewis, Steven

Shutley, Michael

Creevy, Kate

Lindquist, Stefanie

Sikes, Kris

Dahlen, Joseph

Little, Elizabeth

Simpson, Johnelle

Dellaria, Nancy

Malone, Barrett

Snell, Michael

Dennis, Carla

Mandal, Abhyuday

Snyder, Margaret

Diaz-Perez, Juan Carlos

Mao, Leidong

Speakman, Jeff

Doran-Peterson, Joy

Martin, Jarrett

Spivey, Julie

Dorsey, Alan

Martin-Williams, Jean

Spooner, David

Doughtery, Anjali

Maurer, John

Stanger-Hall, Kathrin

Dunham, Ricahrd

McGurl, Mara

Starai, Vincent

Durham, Stephan

McNulty, Tom

Steffens, Ashley

Dvoracek, Douglas

Medlin, Sayge

Sterling, Kyla

Fallaize, Ashley

Miller, Deborah

Taha, Thiab

Farmer, Mark

Moore, Allen

Thomas, Paul

Fox, Linda

Moore, Mary

Tobin, Beth

Freeman, Melissa

Moore, Myra

Toews, Mike

Frick, Janet

Morehead, Jere

Tolley, Beth

Funk, Shelby

Munneke, Henry

Turner, Kari

Gaines, Houston

Muszynski, Artur

Twomey, Katherine

Gandhi, Kamal

Nadenicek, Daniel

Vencill, William

Gibney, Angela

O'Neill, Peter

Watson, Eddie

Giraudo, Silvia

Okech, David

Weeks Leonard, Elizabeth

Gopali, Anusha

Oliver, Kerry

Wesolowski, Brian

Gragson, Ted

Owsiak, Andy

Whitten, Pamela

Graham, Toby

Pegan, Scott

Wilde, Susan

Grantham, Tarek

Pendergrass, Jan

Wilson, Victor

Greene, Erik

Peterson, Thomas

Workman, James

Grey, Timothy

Phillips, Nicki

Yabsley, Michael

Griffin, Michele

Poland, Mary

Yi, Hyangsoon

Han, Jeong-Yeob

Poulsen, Annette

Zheng, George

Hansen, Nathan

Prasad, Gurazada

Øie, Svein

Hathcote, Jan

Pruitt, Hunter

 


 


Represented by Proxy

Allen, Sheila

Davis, Charles

Dennis, Alyssa

Fisher, Christen

Frun, Jennifer

Greene, Dale

Hernandez, Sonia

Hoyt, Rob

Hughes, Linda

Jarrett, Carla

Kerner, Kelly

Liggett, Sharon

 

Matthews, Paul

 

Miller, Joe

 

Mobley, Stephanie

 

Munagala, Rohit

 

Nesbit, Ryan

 

Pagnattaro, Marisa

 

Rossbacher, Brigitte

 

Schindler, Jacob

 

Williams, Brian

 

Williams, Phillip