University Council Minutes

11/19/2025 03:30 PM - Tate Theater, Tate Student Center

View Related Documents Online The University Council met on November 19, 2025, in the Tate Theater. A quorum being present, President Jere Morehead called the meeting to order at 3:30 p.m.
 
Parliamentarian Randy Beck provided remarks on the procedures for voting and debate.
 
As the first order of business, a motion to approve the minutes of the September 24, 2025, meeting was made by Bob Capuozzo and seconded by Kelly Smith. A vote was called, and the minutes were approved.
 
President Morehead then delivered his report to the Council:

• The President began his report by congratulating Dr. Carolyn Clevenger on her appointment as Founding Dean of the UGA School of Nursing. Dr. Clevenger serves as a professor at Emory University’s Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing and director of Emory’s Integrated Memory Care Community Clinic. Dr. Clevenger has a distinguished track record of teaching, research, and service at the Woodruff School of Nursing, widely regarded as one of the top nursing schools in the nation.The School’s B.S.N. program is currently ranked No. 2 nationally, while its master’s degree is ranked No. 1 by US News & World Report.The President stated he looks forward to welcoming her to campus in January.
• The President thanked the search committee for the Founding Dean of the School of Nursing, as well as Dr. Shelly Nuss, Founding Dean of the UGA School of Medicine, who chaired the committee.
• In September, Blake Raulerson was appointed as the University’s new Vice President for Government Relations. The President congratulated him on his new role and thanked former Vice President for Government Relations Kevin Abernethy for his outstanding service to the University of Georgia.
• This fall, the University received more than 34,000 early action applications, an increase of 13 percent over last year’s record increase. The University is on track for another record year in total applications for admission as the regular decision process approaches. In-state early action admissions decisions will be announced on November 21, and out-of-state admissions decisions will be released on December 12.
• The University of Georgia was named the 2025 recipient of the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities’ Innovation and Economic Prosperity Award. UGA was honored in the “Place Category” of this prestigious national award in recognition of several initiatives, led by the Office of Public Service and Outreach, that continue to transform communities across Georgia. The President congratulated Vice President Stacy Jones and Public Service and Outreach on this extraordinary accomplishment.
• Last month, the Trustees of the UGA Foundation made available $25 million to support matching funds for scholarships, graduate fellowships, named professorships, and capital projects during the coming year. Since 2014, the number of professorships and chairs has increased by nearly 75% to almost 400, and last year the University exceeded 1,000 need-based scholarships at the institution. The President expressed his deepest thanks to the UGA Foundation Trustees for their support of this exciting new fundraising initiative in the year ahead.
• The 14th annual Spotlight on the Arts festival kicked off on November 4 and will include more than 40 events and exhibitions throughout the month.
• Doug Ivester and Ron Walcott will serve as UGA’s Fall Commencement speakers. Doug Ivester is the former Chairman and CEO of the Coca-Cola Company and will deliver the fall undergraduate Commencement address in Stegeman Coliseum on December 12. In recognition of his outstanding contributions to the University, Mr. Ivester will be presented with an honorary doctorate during the undergraduate ceremony. Ron Walcott is the University’s Vice Provost for Graduate Education and Dean of the Graduate School, and he will deliver the keynote address at the graduate ceremony, also on December 12. Dean Walcott was also recently recognized by the UGA Foundation Board of Trustees with the 2025 Distinguished Service Award for his significant contributions to UGA and graduate education on our campus.
• As the President closed his report, he thanked all Council members who, along with their colleagues, have worked so hard to getting students to this point and stated he looks forward to celebrating their accomplishments at commencement.
• This concluded the President’s report.

 The floor was then opened to the following reports:

• Executive Committee, presented by Chair Derrick Lemons
• Committee on Intercollegiate Athletics, presented by Chair Derrick Lemons
• USG Faculty Council, presented by USG Faculty Council Representative Derrick Lemons
• University Curriculum Committee, presented by Ryan Powers, substituting for Chair Susan Sanchez
• Committee on Statutes, Bylaws, and Committees, presented by Chair Barbara Biesecker
• Staff Council, presented by President Rebecca Mayo
• Student Government Association, presented by President John Neely
• Graduate Student Association, presented by Vice President Aishat Aina, substituting for President Emerson Moon

 The following action items were presented to the Council for consideration.

• Ryan Powers presented the following proposals from the University Curriculum Committee:
  • Proposal for a new Minor in Behavioral Health. A vote was called, and the proposal was approved.
  • Proposal for a new Undergraduate Certificate in Cultural Landscape Conservation. A vote was called, and the proposal was approved.
  • Proposal for a new Undergraduate Certificate in Land Design and Development. A vote was called, and the proposal was approved.
  • Proposal to change the name of the existing online Master of Business and Technology (M.B.T.) to Business and Artificial Intelligence (M.S.). A vote was called, and the proposal was approved.
  • Proposal to offer the existing Master of Natural Resources (M.N.R.) online. A vote was called, and the proposal was approved.
  • Proposal to terminate the major in Dance (B.F.A.). A vote was called, and the proposal was approved.
  • Proposal to terminate the Professional Master of Business Administration (M.B.A.) on the Gwinnett campus only. A vote was called, and the proposal was approved.
  • Proposal for a new major in Museum Studies (M.A.). A vote was called, and the proposal was approved.
• Elizabeth St. Pierre, chair of the Faculty Affairs Committee, presented the following proposal:
  • Proposed revision of the UGA Guidelines for Appointment, Promotion, and Tenure of Academic Rank Faculty. An extensive discussion occurred on the proposal. During discussion, a motion was made by Ed Sperr to refer the proposal back to the Faculty Affairs Committee for further consideration. The motion was seconded by Mumbi Anderson. Discussion then occurred on the motion to refer. During discussion on the motion, Barbara Biesecker made a motion to call the question which was approved. A vote was then called, and the motion to refer the proposal back to the Faculty Affairs Committee was defeated. A motion was next made by Sherry Clouser to amend the proposal by removing from page 6 the final two sentences of the middle paragraph beginning, “Therefore, the department head…”and inserting the language, “If the department head is tenured, that person shall serve as the PTU head. If not, an eligible faculty member shall be appointed as PTU head.” and by removing the paragraph beginning “Department heads…” from page 3. The motion was seconded by Sara Kajder. Discussion on the motion to amend occurred. During discussion, a motion was made by James Stanton and seconded by Sherry Clouser to amend the proposed amendment to read, “If the department head is tenured, that person shall serve as the PTU head. If not, an eligible faculty member shall be appointed as PTU head from the tenured faculty by the Dean after consultation with the tenure track faculty.” A vote was called, and the motion to amend the amendment was approved. Discussion continued concerning the motion to amend the original proposal in which Usha Rodrigues made a motion to close debate which was approved. A vote was then called, and the motion to amend the proposal was approved. With discussion concluding, a vote was called, and the amended proposal was approved.
• Barbara Biesecker, chair of the Committee on Statutes, Bylaws, and Committees, presented the following proposals:
  • First Reading: Proposed changes to the Bylaws of the Information Technology Committee. A vote was called, and the proposal was approved.
  • First Reading: Proposed change to the University Council Bylaws: Part II: Basic Charge to Standing Committees. A vote was called, and the proposal was approved.
  • First Reading: Proposed changes to the University Council Bylaws: Membership and Chairs of University Council Standing Committees. During the report from the Committee on Statutes, Bylaws, and Committees, Chair Biesecker withdrew on behalf of the committee motions 3, 6, and 8 in the proposal for further revisions. A motion was made by Jennifer Leyting to remove from motion 1 the verbiage “full-time.” The motion was seconded by Chip Woods. A vote was called, and the motion was defeated. A vote was then called on motion 1, and the motion was approved. Votes were then called on motions 2, 4, 5, 7, 9, and 10 and all were approved.

There being no further business, the meeting adjourned at 5:15 p.m.
 
Respectfully submitted,
 
Fiona Liken, Registrar
Secretary to University Council
 

University Council Member	Substitute
Abernathy, Rylie
Abrams, Alexander
Aina, Aishat
Ainsworth, Scott
Alabady, Magdy (absent)
Allenspach, Karin (absent)
Amstutz, Meg (Ex-Officio)
Anderson, Mumbi
Anthony, Kailyn
Auer, Matthew (Ex-Officio)
Ayers, Benjamin (Ex-Officio)
Bacon Talati, Virginia (absent)
Bankert, Alexa
Bar-Peled, Maor
Barnes, Jhaycee (Ex-Officio) (absent)
Bendle, Neil
Beyette, Fred (absent)
Biesecker, Barbara
Bishop, Matthew
Boakye, Eben
Bolding, Chad
Bolshoy, Daniel
Bourlai, Thirimachos
Brocato, John
Brown, Courtney
Cagliani, Rachel
Callands, Tamora
Campbell, Julie
Campbell, Marcia
Campellone, Gianni	Santos, Anna
Capuozzo, Bob
Carlson Welch, Annie
Carter, Christopher
Chambers, Katie
Chapman, Jennifer	Towery, Erin M.
Chapman, Nathan (absent)
Chatterjee, Santanu (Ex-Officio)	Munneke, Henry
Clouser, Sherry
Cohen, Susan	Blagoeva, Radina R.
Colker, Ella
Colson, Gregory
Cook, Michelle (Ex-Officio)
Coolong, Timothy
Cotterell, Michael
Coverdill, Jim
Cramer, Marianne
Crandall, Shari	Priest, Tyler
Crawford, Lori
Cullen, Thomas (absent)
Damiano, Nelda
Daniel, Jeremy
Davis, Charles (Ex-Officio) (absent)
Davis, Marsha (Ex-Officio) (absent)
Day, Gregory
Diamond, David
Dixon, Cindy
Dortch, Corey (Ex-Officio) (absent)
Dumas, Denis
Dunn, Laurel
Dunnigan, Allison
Eimers, Jennifer	Glenn, Julie
Elam, Amiyah (absent)
Elkins, Jennifer
Estep, Jason
Eustace, Joe	Ferry, Michael
Fahmy, Melissa
Farley, Alison
Farmer Ford, Kelly	Fling, Holly
Farnan, Miranda
Fitt, William (absent)
Fulbright, Patrick
Fusillo, Lisa
Galiautdinov, Andry (absent)
Gallagher, Holly
Gingerella, Lauren
Gogal, Robert
Gordon, Jason
Gowda, Grace
Graff, Jennifer
Graham, Toby (Ex-Officio)
Green, Jessica	Lee, Megan
Grey, Timothy (absent)
Gupton, Timothy
Hall, Cassandra
Hamilton-Jones, Bethany
Han, Rongbin
Harman, Ruth
Healey, Lauren
Heiss, Christian
Hill, Janette
Hirt, Sonia (Ex-Officio)
Hong, Philip (Ex-Officio)
Housley, Lauren
Howe, Chad
Huang, Ching-Yu	Li, Feng
Hunt, Brendan	Vogel, Kevin
Hunter, Mark (Ex-Officio)	Connelly, Scott
Jackson, Angel
Jackson, Chandra
Johnson, Daniel
Jones, Stacy (Ex-Officio)
Kaixiong, Calvin (absent)
Kajder, Sara
Katiyar, Samiksha
Kazanci, Caner (absent)
Keshtgari, Manijeh
King, Christopher (Ex-Officio)
Kinsler, Joshua
Klein, Jared
Krause, George
Krunkosky, Thomas
Kumar, Piyush	Chen, Hua
Kurup, Samarchith
Lam, Son
Lambert, Jimmy
Landers-Potts, Melissa
Landrum, Kim
Leclerc, Monique (absent)
Lee, Jae-Kyung (absent)
Lee, Sungkyung
Lel, Ugur
Lemons, Derrick
Levi, Eva (absent)
Leyting, Jennifer
Liken, Fiona (Ex-Officio) (absent)
Lough, Kyser (absent)
Malladi, Anish
Mandal, Abhyuday	Sriram, Tharavai N.
Marshall, Michael
Martin-Williams, Jean
Masciadri, Milton	Lane, Peter
Mastrovita, Mandy
Mayo, Rebecca (Ex-Officio)
McDaniel, Kenneth
Medlock, Amy
Meyer, Nicholas
Mishra, Abhinav
Moon, Emerson (Ex-Officio) (absent)
Morehead, Jere (Ex-Officio)
Mori, Masaki
Morris, Kacy
Mowbray, Orion
Mundy, Mathew
Myers, Michael
Naeher, Luke
Nattanmai Parasuraman, Ramviyas
Nayla, Nishat
Neely, John (Ex-Officio)
Neighbour, Amanda
Nesbit, Ryan (Ex-Officio)
Nolan, Lisa (Ex-Officio)
Nuss, Michelle (Ex-Officio)	Boegehold, Matt
Olali, David (absent)
Olukosi, Oluyinka
Orlando, Ron
Orso, Alessandro (Ex-Officio)	Garcia, Sonia
Pagnattaro, Marisa (Ex-Officio)	Borst, Andy
Palmer, Chadwick
Peake, Jason	Holt, Jessica
Peroni, John (absent)
Perry, Hayes	Parris, Ava Joli
Petrongelli, Amy
Petty, Jeffrey Todd (Ex-Officio)
Place, Nick (Ex-Officio)	Kopsell, Dean
Quarles, Brandon
Read, Glenna	Clementson, David
Redmon, Melissa
Reeves, Nancee	King, Joshua
Resutek, Robert
Rice, Jennifer
Roberts-Galbraith, Rachel
Rodrigues, Usha (Ex-Officio)
Rosenhaft, Pierce
Royer, Angie
Rubenstein, Eric (absent)
Saldanha, Terence
Sanchez, Susan	Powers, Ryan
Santesso, Esra
Sargan, James
Sawyer, Laura
Saylor, Elizabeth
Schey, Ryan
Schirmer, Trenton
Seagraves, Brian	Do, Duc
Sen, Rik
Seock, Yoo-Kyoung
Sharma, Suraj	Covington, Sha'Mira
Shelton, Braden	Kreindler, Lily
Shelton, Kisha (absent)
Shenoy, Somanath
Sial, Ashfaq
Sims, Cynthia
Smith, Demetrius	Dexter, Marques R.
Smith, Kelly (Ex-Officio)
Spangler, Denise (Ex-Officio)
Sperling, Lisa
Sperr, Ed
Standifer, Alton
Standifer, Brittany	Grogger, Heidi
Stanton, James
Stelzleni, Alexander
Stenport, Anna (Ex-Officio)
Stewart, Lawton (absent)
Stillion Southard, Belinda	Stahl, Roger
Stooksbury, David
Tanner, Susan (absent)
Tate, Allan
Taxel, Elizabeth
Templeman, Kellie
Thakur, Neha (Ex-Officio)
Timian, Viki	Evans, Rachel
Tolley, Beth
Turner, Pamela	Chatterjee, Swarn
Turney, Justin (absent)
Urbauer, Jeff
Vallury, Sechindra (absent)
Van Rees, Charles
Villari, Caterina
Walcott, Ron (Ex-Officio)
Walker, Jennifer
Walton, Jill (Ex-Officio) (absent)
Weliweriya, Nandana (absent)
Winter, Amy
Wolf, Montgomery
Woods, Chip
Xiong, May
Yager, Patricia
Yahyaoui Azami, Hind
Young, Catie
Zhang, Hui	Chen, Yuanxin
Zhen, Chen	Xie, Lusi
Zvonkovic, Anisa (Ex-Officio)	Rogers, Connie

Voting Record of November 19, 2025, Meeting