University Council Minutes

09/30/2020 03:30 PM - Online, Zoom Webinar. Please email univcouncil@uga.edu for information.
View Related Documents Online The University Council met on September 30, 2020, via Zoom Webinar. A quorum being present, President Jere Morehead called the meeting to order at 3:30 p.m.
 
President Morehead asked Council Parliamentarian Usha Rodrigues to provide an overview of how voting and discussion would be conducted during the meeting.
 
As the first order of business, the president asked for a motion to approve the minutes of the February 19, 2020, meeting and a motion to approve the minutes of the August 12, 2020, special meeting. A motion for both approvals was made by David Shipley. The motions were seconded by Joe Dahlen and Matthew Auer. The February minutes were approved with 160 votes in favor and 17 abstentions. The August minutes were approved with 174 in favor and 3 abstentions.
 
The president then delivered his remarks to the Council:
  • President Morehead opened his remarks by thanking new and continuing members for their commitment to serving on the Council.
  • The president thanked Professor David Shipley, chair of the Executive Committee; Fiona Liken, Registrar and Associate Vice President for Instruction, who serves as Council secretary; and Professor Usha Rodrigues, Council parliamentarian, for their service to the Council this academic year.
  • Dr. Nick Place will join UGA on January 1 as the new dean of the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences.
  • Dr. Ron Walcott was recently named dean of the Graduate School and the inaugural Vice Provost for Graduate Education effective October 1. Dr. Walcott previously served as interim dean of the Graduate School.
  • Professor Elizabeth Weeks was named Associate Provost for Faculty Affairs this summer.
  • The president recognized the departure of several campus leaders and thanked them for their service to the university:
    • Janyce Dawkins, director of UGA’s Equal Opportunity Office, has retired. Beth Bailey, Senior Associate General Counsel for UGA, is serving as interim.
    • Vice President for Research David Lee plans to retire at the end of May.
    • Associate Provost for Academic Fiscal Affairs Christina Miller will retire in December.
  • The president next extended his deepest gratitude to the entire UGA community as the campus has faced unprecedented challenges in the last six months. The president stated he is inspired by the resiliency of faculty, staff, and students.
  • The trajectory of COVID-19 cases on campus has been improving. The number of positive tests reported by faculty, staff, and students has sharply declined. Participation in on-campus surveillance testing has reached new highs, and the positivity rate at the surveillance testing site has dropped dramatically.
  • The president thanked Dr. Garth Russo and the three deans of the Medical Oversight Task Force; Dr. Lisa Nolan, John McCollum, and all of the faculty and staff experts on the Preventative Measures Advisory Board; and the teams and individuals who have worked tirelessly to keep the campus safe.
  • The Board of Regents has approved a number of capital projects, such as funding for the construction of a new facility at the Poultry Science Complex, funding to build and renovate space throughout Science Hill, equipment funding for Phase II of the STEM Research Building, and funding for a multidisciplinary greenhouse complex in the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences.
  • Brumby Hall reopened this fall with updated student rooms, academic space, and common areas, as well as improved accessibility for students with disabilities.
  • UGA was ranked this fall as the 15th best public university in the nation by US News and World Report. For the fifth consecutive year, UGA was in the top 20.
  • The class of 2024 entered UGA this fall with an average high school GPA just north of 4.0 and an average ACT score of 31.
  • The Commit to Georgia Campaign ended on June 30 as the most successful fundraising effort in UGA history. A total of $1.45 billion was raised. The original goal of $1.2 billion was surpassed 16 months ahead of schedule. A total of 94 endowed faculty positions were established, and UGA donors funded more than 3,600 new scholarships.
  • R&D expenditures totaled $495 million for fiscal year 2020, a 4% increase over 2019. R&D expenditures have risen six of the past seven years and 41% since 2013.
  • A student-built satellite will be launched on October 1 by the Small Satellite Research Lab. The president stated this is a remarkable achievement and shows how UGA’s talented students and researchers are using research to solve grand challenges.
  • UGA has been recognized for the seventh consecutive year with an INSIGHT Into Diversity Higher Education Excellence in Diversity Award. The president stated that while this recognition reflects UGA’s commitment to diversity and inclusion, more can and should be done.
  • The president stated that hateful and offensive comments directed at members of the UGA community were recently made.The president stated that no students should have to deal with racist and horrible comments.
  • The president stated that UGA still has much to do to battle racism, and the UGA community is coming together to do so.For instance, UGA has organized a series of discussions to occur through the academic year. These discussions will be open to all members of the community and will be led by the J.W. Fanning Institute for Leadership Development.
  • As well, in July, the president assembled a Task Force on Race, Ethnicity, and Community to develop concrete recommendations that can be implemented this year to foster a more welcoming and inclusive campus culture and learning environment. The Task Force recommended the creation of the Judge Horace J. Johnson, Jr. Lecture in the School of Law and the School of Public and International Affairs.
  • The Planning Committee on Diversity and Inclusive Excellence is working to develop a comprehensive plan with specific goals and measures of success that builds on UGA’s most recent diversity plan.
  • This spring, UGA will celebrate the 60th anniversary of desegregation at UGA through a series of events that reflect on the experiences of Charlayne Hunter-Gault and Hamilton Holmes, the first African American students to enroll at UGA.
  • Before closing, the president stated that he had been provided the annual Ombudsperson report by Janyce Dawkins, director of EOO, and asked that it be placed in the minutes.The president thanked Dr. Jenny Gaver, Mr. Steve Gibson, and Ms. Charisse Harper for their service as the campus ombudspersons.
  • This concluded the president’s report to the Council.
The floor was then opened for the following reports: The following action items were presented to the Council for consideration: The following confirmation items were presented to the Council for consideration: There was no old business to come before the committee.

During new business, a motion was made by Janette Hill to place an item from the Faculty Affairs Committee on the agenda for consideration by the Council. The motion was seconded by Stuart Ivy. The parliamentarian explained that in order to place an item on the agenda, the affirmative votes of two-thirds of those Council members present and voting are needed. Following discussion on the motion, a vote was called, and the motion failed with 57 votes in favor, 80 against, and 24 abstentions.
 
There being no further new business, the meeting adjourned at 5:17 p.m.
 
Respectfully submitted,
 
Fiona Liken, Registrar
Secretary to University Council


University Council Members Present
Koushik Adhikari
Asim Ahmed
Alex Anderson
Rebecca Atkins
Matthew Auer
Ben Ayers
Shuyang Bai
Joseph Bartges
Randy Beck
Erin Benson
John Bergstrom
Laura Bierema
Barbara Biesecker
Abigail Borron
Trisha Branan
Benjamin Britton
Wayde Brown
Tamora Callands
Al Camus
Tina Carpenter
Jennifer Ceska
Shira Chess
Ewan Cobran
Lindsay Coco
Greg Colson
Kelly Cona
Julian Cook
Michael Cotterell
Melanie Crawford
Markus Crepaz
Joe Dahlen
Carolina Darbisi
Marsha Davis
Nancy Dellaria
Don DeMaria
Erin Dolan
Alan Dorsey
Devin Dumont
Kristen Dunning
Stephan Durham
Puneet Dwivedi
Juliet Eden
Lillian Fant
Mark Farmer
Patrick Femia
Isabel Flanagan
Alisa Fountain  
Kara Fresk
Jennifer Frum
Nick Fuhrman
Lisa Fusillo
Ted Futris
John Gittleman
Gary Glasser
Morganne Goddard
Cari Goetcheus
Adam Goodie
Leslie Gordon
Toby Graham
Connor Green
Timothy Grey
Mary Guay
Mussie Habteselassie
Chase Hagood
Lindsey Harding
Bridget Helms
Savannah Hembree
Bryson Henriott
Kyle Hensel
Keith Herist
Nik Heynen
Daniel Hill
Janette Hill
Itai Himelboim
Sonia Hirt
Steve Holladay
Bradley Howard
S. Jack Hu
Mark Huber
Patricia Hunt-Hurst
Stuart Ivy
Angel Jackson
David Jackson
Rene Jagnow
Beverly Johnson
Christopher Jue
Laura Kelley
Kathleen Kern
David Key
George Krause
Paula Krimer
Cheryl Kwapong
William Lanzilotta
Monique Leclerc
David Lee
Shayla Lee
Casie LeGette
Derrick Lemons
Donald Leo
Zachary Lewis
Fiona Liken
Elizabeth Little
Anthony Madonna
Sharina Maillo-Pozo
Anish Malladi
Anthony Mallon
Sudhagar Mani
Daniel Markewitz
Michael Marshall
Jean Martin-Williams
Ann Massey
Mandy Mastrovita
Mark Mayfield
D. Ray McClellan
Jamie McClung
Matthew McDaniel
Daniel Mead
Alexander Medina
Kristina Meichner
Sheba MohanKumar
Myra Moore
Jere Morehead
Emily Mouilso
Tiffany Mukundi
Mandi Murph
Amy Murphy
David Mustard
Luke Naeher
Ryan Nesbit
Michelle Nuss
David Okech
Kerry Oliver
Joseph Olmsted
Andrew Park
John Peroni
David Peterson
Mary Poland
Annette Poulsen
Hadden Powell
Catherine Pringle
Tarun Ramesh
Fred Reifsteck MD
Margaret Renwick
Lisa Renzi-Hammond
Amanda Rugenski
Bo Rutledge
Robert Sabatini
Eman Saleh
Ann Hollis Sanders
Esra Santesso
Nina Santus
Christine Scartz
Anna Scheyett
Robert Scott
Yoo-Kyoung Seock
Anne Shaffer
Robin Shelton
David  Shipley
Rahul Shrivastav
Ashfaq Sial
Jacek Siry
Kelly Smith
Tim Smolko
Denise Spangler
Elizabeth St.Pierre
Alexander Stelzleni
Stevie Stigler
Donnie Summerlin
Thiab Taha
Li Tan
Lili Tang
Harshavardhan Thippareddi
Ciera Thomas
Olga Thomason
Lori Tiller
Cynthia Tope
Tracey Tuberville
Bram Tucker
Kari Turner
Pamela Turner
Gerena Walker
Isabelle Wallace
Avery Warner
Janet Westpheling
Jarred Williams
Victor Wilson
Beth Woods
C. Brock Woodson
Qian Xiao
Angela Yao
Jason Zastre


University Council Members Represented by Substitute
 
Aliya Abdulla (Busola Fowowe)
John Campbell (Margaret Christ)
Marcus Cunha (Charlotte Mason)
Dale Greene (Robert Bringolf)
Keith Herndon (Vicki Michaelis)
Sarah Sumners (Daehyun Kim)
Ron Walcott (Meredith Welch-Devine)



Voting Results of September 30, 2020 Meeting