University Council Minutes

11/16/2016 03:30 PM - Tate Theatre, Tate Student Center
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The University Council held its second meeting of the 2016-2017 academic year on Wednesday, November 16, 2016 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 order of business on the agenda, the revised minutes of the September 21, 2016 meeting were considered for approval by the Council. During discussion on the minutes, a motion was made to remove the title of an individual referenced in the minutes who made a motion during the September meeting. The motion being seconded, a vote was called and the Council approved the minutes with this revision.

President Morehead then delivered the following report to the Council:

  • The President began his report by stating that he has made it a priority during his presidency to engage students on a regular basis. He stated that he met with a number of students this past week from the Office of Institutional Diversity, student ambassadors from the Terry College of Business and the School of Public and International Affairs, and leaders in the Student Government Association. The meetings reaffirmed for the President his sense of pride and confidence in UGA's students as they engaged in a frank and open conversation with civility and respect. The President stated that it is critical that the campus embrace these important values to ensure we are a connected and nurturing academic community for everyone. As has always been the case, the President urged any student, faculty, or staff member who believes a violation of the University's non-discrimination policy has taken place to report the incident to the Equal Opportunity Office immediately. Policies and processes are in place to address such concerns and all reports will be investigated fully and dealt with appropriately. The President stated that any violations will not be tolerated at the University of Georgia. He closed his remarks on the subject by stating that we live and work in a vibrant campus community filled with outstanding faculty, staff, and students who care about each other and who are striving to make this educational environment the best that it can be. The President encouraged everyone to keep this focus as the campus moves forward together.
  • The official public phase of the University's comprehensive capital campaign has begun. The kickoff for the campaign began on Thursday, November 10 on campus. On Thursday, November 17, a celebration will be held in Atlanta targeted toward the University's major donors during which the goal for the campaign will be announced. The goal is ambitious and bigger than what was originally planned and larger than any attempted before. However, the President stated that the time is right for transformational change through the campaign. Already in the silent phase of the campaign, more private support has been raised than during the prior capital campaign. The new campaign, called "Commit to Georgia", has three major priorities: to amplify the impact of faculty, staff, and students on the state and around the world by eliminating financial barriers and opening doors for our students; enhancing our learning environment; and solving grand challenges for our state and the world. One idea among these is paramount: that UGA's success will be measured not only by the number of dollars raised but by the number of lives changed. The President then stated that we can look with great pride at what UGA has already achieved. More details will follow Thursday night's event.
  • The four year graduation rate at UGA climbed to 66%, a three point increase. This is a new historic high for UGA. For comparison, the most recent data shows that the four year graduation rate is 49% for UGA's peers and 70% for UGA's aspirational institutions. UGA's six year graduation rate remains at a record level of 85% which is eleven percentage points above UGA's peer institutions and closing in on the 87% average rate of UGA's aspiriational institutions. UGA's freshman retention rate matched last year's number of 95% with UGA's peer institutions' rate being 89%.
  • UGA has hired its fifth GRA Eminent Scholar in the last two years. Dr. Dennis Kyle will join UGA on January 1, 2017 as the GRA Eminent Scholar in Antiparasitic Drug Discovery. He is one of the world's foremost authorities on malaria and other parasitic diseases. He will also serve as the new director of UGA's Center for Tropical and Emerging Global Diseases.
  • The NSF has renewed a four million dollar grant in support of the Peach State Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation. This program has helped triple minority enrollment in STEM fields at UGA. This renewal will ensure that UGA will remain engaged in this important initiative for another five years. This effort is being led by Dr. Michelle Garfield Cook, Associate Provost for Institutional Diversity.
  • The President congratulated Dr. Tim Chester, Vice President for Information Technology, who has been named the recipient of the EDUCAUSE Community Leadership Award.
  • The President stated that the University System of Georgia had designated this week as Fraud Awareness Week. At UGA, a focus has been made to educate departments and individuals on a culture of ethical compliance. Matt Whitley, Director of UGA's Internal Auditing Division, reports directly to the President's Office and serves as UGA's chief investigator. It is a routine practice for UGA auditors to make periodic checks of departments' business practices and finances, to identify weaknesses, and to strengthen internal controls. Investigations by auditors are important to UGA. The President urged departments to cooperate with Internal Auditing should they undergo a routine check.
  • Before closing his remarks, President Morehead presented a proclamation to Registrar and Secretary to the University Council Dr. Jan Hathcote in recognition of her decades of service to the University of Georgia as a student, professor, associate dean, interim dean, and registrar as she retires on January 4, 2017. The Council recognized Dr. Hathcote for her dedicated years of service to the University with a standing ovation.

The floor was then opened for the following standing committee reports and minutes. Standing committee minutes submitted prior to the meeting are also included below:

The following Action Items were then presented to the Council for consideration:

The following Information Item was then presented to the Council:

The floor was then opened for the following reports:

There being no old or new business, the meeting adjourned at 4:31 p.m.

Respectfully submitted,

Dr. Jan Hathcote, Registrar
Secretary to University Council


University Council Roster

Aderibigbe, Ibigbolade

Gupton, Timothy

Pardue, Samuel

Allen, Wesley

Han, Jeong-Yeob

Parks, Andrew

Ayers, Benjamin

Hansen, Nathan

Pegan, Scott

Barbour, Suzanne

Harman, Ruth

Phillips, Dennis

Barnard, Malcolm

Hathcote, Jan

Poland, Mary

Biesecker, Barbara

Herber, Eric

Reidenbaugh, Patrick

Black, Joel

Herist, Keith

Reinberger, Mark

Bousquette, Joshua

Hill, Janette

Reyes De Corcuera, Jose

Bray, John

Hollander, Barry

Rhicard, Laura

Briggs, Harold

Hoyt, Rob

Richman, Erin

Brown, Mark

Jackson, Chandra

Roberts, Susan

Bynum, Josh

Jackson, David

Robinson, Eric

Camus, Melinda

James, Kevin

Robinson, Kayin

Carson, Jamie

Jarrett, Carla

Rose, John

Coleman, Davis

Jordan, Brian

Rosemond, Amy

Collier, Marlin

Katz, Laura

Roulston, Kathy

Cona, Kelly

Kelley, Laura

Rutledge, Bo

Cooper, Diane

Kennedy, Craig

Santesso, Esra

Crawley, Laura

Kerner, Kelly

Sawhill, Ronald

Cullen, Christian

Lai, Ming-Jun

Shelton, Robin

Dahlen, Joseph

Lastinger, Matt

Shepherd, Shelley

Dennis, Carla

Lastrapes, William

Shetterley, Karen

Doran-Peterson, Joy

Lear, Kristen

Shipley, David

Dorsey, Alan

Leigh, David

Shrivastav, Rahul

Dougherty, Anjali

Leo, Donald

Sikes, Kris

Dove, Robert

Lewis, Denise

Siry, Jacek

Dunham, Richard

Lewis, Michael

Snell, Michael

Dvoracek, Douglas

Lewis, Steven

Snyder, Margaret

Easley, Morgan

Malone, Barrett

Speakman, Jeff

El, Shantee

Mandal, Abhyuday

Stanger-Hall, Kathrin

Eranezhath, Vinayak

Mao, Leidong

Taha, Thiab

Evans, Jonathan

Mattern, Susan

Thomas, Paul

Fallaize, Ashley

McClung, James

Tobin, Beth

Farmer, Mark

Miller, Joe

Toews, Mike

Freeman, Melissa

Moore, Allen

Tolley, Beth

Frick, Janet

Moore, Mary

Tompkins, Mark

Frum, Jennifer

Moore, Myra

Turner, Kari

Fucetola, Jacob

Morehead, Jere

Vencill, William

Funk, Shelby

Munneke, Henry

von Waldner, Trina

Gaines, Houston

Muszynski, Artur

Weeks Leonard, Elizabeth

Giraudo, Silvia

Naghepour, Roya

Whitten, Pamela

Gomez-Lainer, Lilia

Nesbit, Ryan

Williams, Susan

Gragson, Ted

Nesbit, Scott

Williams-Woodward, Jean

Graham, Toby

Nibbelink, Nate

Wilson, Stacy

Grantham, Tarek

O'Neill, Peter

Wilson, Victor

Greene, Dale

Okech, David

Wolf, Montgomery

Greene, Erik

Oliver, Kerry

Yabsley, Michael

Grey, Timothy

Pagnattaro, Marisa

Yager, Patricia


Yi, Hyangsoon





Represented by Proxy

Allen, Sheila

Barrie, Coleman

Bartlett, Ruth

Cox, Wade

Davis, Charles

Dellaria, Nancy

Diaz-Perez, Juan Carlos

Escalera, Cris

Fox, Linda

Gittleman, John

Jackson, Stan