University Council Minutes

02/24/2021 03:30 PM - Online, Zoom Webinar. Please email univcouncil@uga.edu for information.
View Related Documents Online The University Council met on February 24, 2021, at 3:30 p.m. via Zoom Webinar. A quorum being present, President Jere Morehead called the meeting to order at 3:32 p.m.
 
President Morehead asked Council Parliamentarian Usha Rodrigues to provide a reminder to members 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 November 18, 2020, meeting. A motion to approve was made by Jean Martin-Williams and seconded by Stuart Ivy. A vote was called, and the minutes were approved with 165 in favor and 1 abstention.
 
President Morehead delivered his report to the Council:
  • The president began his report by recognizing several senior administrators who have recently assumed new roles at the University and congratulated them on their appointments:
    • Qiana Wilson is the new director of the Equal Opportunity Office and UGA’s Title IX and Americans with Disabilities Act Coordinator.
    • Josh Brooks has been named the J. Reid Parker Director of Athletics. Darrice Griffin will serve as our new Senior Deputy Athletic Director.
    • On January 1, Nick Place began serving as the Dean of the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences.
    • Barkley Barton II will join UGA as the new Director of Undergraduate Admissions on May 1.
  • Dean Linda Kirk Fox of the College of Family and Consumer Sciences is retiring later this year. The president stated his appreciation to Dean Fox for her leadership of the College of Family and Consumer Sciences over the last decade. Provost Hu announced a 14-member committee, that will be led by Dean Kelly Smith, appointed to conduct a national search for the next dean of the college.
  • The president offered his deepest gratitude to the UGA community for its efforts to ensure a successful fall 2020 semester. The president was grateful to everyone for responding to the challenges of the fall semester with remarkable flexibility, determination, and creativity.
  • On December 18, UGA conducted its first ever virtual commencement, and over 4,400 graduates were welcomed as new alumni.
  • Since the spring semester began, UGA has continued to make progress in stemming the spread of COVID-19. Case numbers and positivity rates from surveillance testing have declined significantly. In addition, the surveillance program is transitioning to a saliva-based test that is less obtrusive – yet just as accurate – as previous methods, and UGA is now offering 1,500 tests at Legion Field and pop-up sites throughout campus. The president urged everyone to take advantage of this resource.
  • Applications for first-year admission continue to soar. More than 39,000 applications were submitted prior to the January 2021 deadline. This represents a rise of almost 38 percent over last year and an 80 percent increase since 2014. 
  • Two committees continue to work steadily to secure UGA’s reaccreditation in 2022. The Reaccreditation Compliance Committee is generating narratives that demonstrate our compliance with SACSCOC Principles of Accreditation, while the QEP Development and Implementation Committee is crafting UGA’s next Quality Enhancement Plan, which will focus on active learning.
  • UGA will welcome its newest Georgia Research Alliance Eminent Scholar, Dr. Robin Buell, in the fall. Dr. Buell will hold an appointment as professor of crop and soil sciences in the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, where she will serve as UGA’s 20th eminent scholar and 8th since 2015.
  • In the fall, Dr. Buell will be joined by yet another Georgia Research Alliance Eminent Scholar, who will hold the Johnny Isakson Chair for Parkinson’s Research, an endowed chair honoring the former U.S. Senator and UGA alumnus. The search for the Isakson Chair has been completed as the first stage of a Presidential Cluster Hiring initiative, which aims to recruit five faculty members in the areas of brain and behavioral health. A public announcement regarding the search is expected soon.
  • Construction on the first phase of the I-STEM research complex continues toward completion this fall, and construction of the adjacent second phase is now underway.Phase 3 renovations to the Driftmier Engineering Center are scheduled for completion this year, as well. Last month, the Innovation Hub opened on North Campus as the newest development in the Innovation District initiative.
  • The General Assembly is back in session, and the House and Senate are in the midst of budget deliberations. The Governor's recommended budget includes several items that are top priorities for UGA, including funding for credit hour growth; funding for equipment to support Phase II of the I-STEM research complex; funding to renovate and modernize research and innovation space on and around Science Hill; funding for construction of a multidisciplinary greenhouse project; and funding for a new Poultry Science Complex, which has been in the design and planning phase for the past year. The Governor has recommended $70 million for major repairs and renovations at USG institutions.
  • The president closed his report with an update on efforts to foster a more diverse and inclusive campus community. The Presidential Task Force on Race, Ethnicity, and Community has completed its work. The Task Force has produced several additional recommendations that have been approved, including the installation of campus markers to recognize the nine historically Black fraternities and sororities that are members of the National Pan-Hellenic Council; the establishment of a diversity, equity, and inclusion student advisory board; and the endowment of the Dawn D. Bennett-Alexander Inclusive Community Award to recognize faculty members who exemplify excellence in promoting diversity, equity, and inclusiveness at UGA. In addition, the 60th Anniversary of Desegregation kicked off on January 9—the date in 1961 when Hamilton Holmes and Charlayne Hunter enrolled at the University of Georgia—with a special bell-ringing commemoration at the Chapel.
  • This concluded the president’s report to the Council.
The floor was then opened for the following reports: The following action and information items were then presented to the Council for consideration   There being no old or new business, the meeting adjourned at 4:38 p.m.
 
Respectfully submitted,
 
Fiona Liken, Registrar
Secretary to University Council
 
 

University Council Roster
 
Koushik Adhikari
Asim Ahmed
Alex Anderson
Rebecca Atkins
Matthew Auer
Ben Ayers
Shuyang Bai
Joe Bartges
Randy Beck
Erin Benson
John Bergstrom
Laura Bierema
Barbara Biesecker
Trisha Branan
Benjamin Britton
Tamora Callands
Alvin Camus
Mary Caplan
Jim Carson
Jennifer Ceska
Shira Chess
Ewan Cobran
Lindsay Coco
Greg Colson
Kelly Cona
Julian Cook
Michael Cotterell
Melanie Crawford
Markus Crepaz
William Curvin (substitute for Bryston Henriott)
Marcus da Cunha
Joe Dahlen
Carolina Darbisi
Charles Davis
Marsha Davis
Nancy Dellaria
Don DeMaria
Paul Demere (substitute for Tina Carpenter)
Erin Dolan
Alan Dorsey
Devin Dumont
Puneet Dwivedi
Juliet Eden
Lillian Fant
Mark Farmer
Patrick Femia
Isabel Flanagan
Alisa Fountain
Linda Fox
Jennifer Frum
Nick Fuhrman
Lisa Fusillo
Ted Futris
Jim Garrett
John Gittleman
Gary Glasser
Morganne Goddard
Leslie Gordon
Toby Graham
Connor Green
Dale Greene
Timothy Grey
Mary Guay
Mussie Habteselassie
Carla Hadden
Lindsey Harding
Richard Harris
Bridget Helms
Savannah Hembree
Kyle Hensel
Keith Herndon
Nik Heynen
Janette Hill
Itai Himelboim
Sonia Hirt
Steven Holladay
Bradley Howard
Jack Hu
Mark Huber
Stuart Ivy
Angel Jackson
David Jackson
Rene Jagnow
Kevin James
Beverly Johnson
Laura Kelley
David Key
George Krause
Paula Krimer
Cheryl Kwapong
Shayla Lee
David Lee
Casie LeGette
Derrick Lemons
Zachary Lewis
Fiona Liken
Elizabeth Little
Anthony Madonna
Sharina Maillo-Pozo
Anish Malladi
Anthony Mallon
Chad Mandala 
Sudhagar Mani
Michael Marshall
Jean Martin-Williams
Ann Massey
Mandy Mastrovita
D. Ray McClellan
Matthew McDaniel
Daniel Mead
Alexander Medina
Kristina Meichner
Sheba MohanKumar
Myra Moore
Jere Morehead
Emily Mouilso
Tiffany Mukundi
Amy Murphy
David Mustard
Luke Naeher
Ryan Nesbit
Stacey Neuharth-Pritchett
Lisa Nolan
Michelle Nuss
David Okech
Kerry Oliver
Joseph Olmsted
Andrew Park
David Peterson
Mary Poland
Annette Poulsen
Catherine Pringle
Ramaraja Ramasamy (substitute for Donald Leo)
Tarun Ramesh
Fred Reifsteck MD
Margaret Renwick
Lisa Renzi-Hammond
Chris  Robinson
Eric Rubenstein (substitute for Abigail Borron)
Amanda Rugenski
Bo Rutledge
Robert Sabatini
Eman Saleh
Ann Hollis Sanders
Esra Santesso
Nina Santus
Anna Scheyett
Robert Scott
Yoo-Kyoung Seock
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
Sarah Sumners
Thiab Taha
Li Tan
Lili Tang
Ciera Thomas
Olga Thomason
Lori Tiller
Cynthia Tope
Bram Tucker
Kari Turner
Pamela Turner
Ron Walcott
Gerena Walker
Avery Warner
Joseph Watson
Richard Watson
Janet Westpheling
Victor Wilson
Montgomery Wolf
Beth Woods
C. Brock Woodson
Sheri Worthy
Xiaoyu Xu (substitute for Tracey Tuberville)
Angela Yao
Umit Yilmaz (substitute for Rosanna Rivero)
Jason Zastre
   
Voting Results of February 24, 2021 Meeting