It's hard to believe another academic year has come to a close. May has been a whirlwind of activity and I want to first congratulate the Office of Special Events for once again planning successful, full-capacity Commencement ceremonies. This year's Commencement was especially meaningful as I watched my daughter Grace graduate. And thank you to everyone who volunteered during the ceremonies or helped assemble gift bags for graduating students at One Press Place. Your #commitment is appreciated!
Other kudos are in order: a meaningful Alumni Awards Luncheon during Honors Week, another record year of student giving through Senior Signature, a spring of strategic chapter events such as an Athens Bulldog Basics drive before the G-Day game
, a spirited and celebratory Grad Pics with Hairy Dawg, a return to an in-person (and Tony's last!) Thank a Donor Day, a Young Alumni Rooftop Takeover in ATL that brought in 100+ new donors [VIDEO]
, an update to the Development Toolkit, and probably many other valuable developments that I'm sure I have neglected to include!
As we approach the end of the fiscal year, let’s work together and finish strong. And as always, I want to be part of your efforts and success. If there is anything I can do to help at an event, close a gift or join a visit, please let me know. Thank you all for the many ways you make us better each and every day. |
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Vice President for Development and Alumni Relations and Executive Director of the UGA Foundation |
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UGAF Board of Trustees Meeting June 8-10 Washington, D.C. Annual Giving & Alumni Directors' Zoom Meeting
June 14 | 3:30-4:30 PM |
| End-of-Year Celebration July 21 | Time TBD Location TBD |
Division Meeting October 17 Tate Grand Hall |
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Events for Alumni + Friends |
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2022 Employee Engagement Survey |
You matter. Your experience matters and your DAR leaders are COMMITTED to listening to you. DAR is partnering with CustomInsight, an independent survey company, to conduct an Employee Engagement Survey in June. The survey will help our leaders gain a clearer picture of employee engagement across our division. Survey answers are anonymous and nobody at UGA will be able to view individual responses. More information will be shared as we near the launch of the survey. Questions? Contact Michelle Carter.
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Checking in on the DAR Strategic Plan |
Each month, we’ll showcase one goal from DAR’s Strategic Plan and share one thing to illustrate some of the work being done to achieve that goal. If you have an idea or suggestion, please email Katie DeGenova. |
Goal No. 7: Build a more engaged alumni community through diverse events, programs, volunteering and student mentoring opportunities.
One thing in progress: One of the first steps is to establish metrics to track progress toward this goal. Good news: The Engagement Dashboard is officially functioning! The collaborative “Engagement Metrics” team is finalizing training presentations to educate users on how the data is pulled into the reports, and how to utilize the dashboard to measure progress toward engagement goals.
Please notify the team using this form if you'd like to be trained on how to track and use the dashboard data for strategic engagement. The dashboard will be available to help you set and measure engagement goals for the upcoming fiscal year. Questions? Email Meredith Gurley Johnson.
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Welcoming the Class of 2022 |
Graduation is a significant moment of transition for UGA students (just check out #UGAgrad and #AlwaysADawg). It is also a moment we'll never get back; there are no re-dos or mulligans. Therefore, it is important for DAR to leverage this moment to foster ongoing engagement between these 7,600+ Bulldogs and the university. Starting in the months leading up to graduation and continuing, well, forever, UGA will seek to ensure these young alumni establish a strong relationship with their alma mater. To capitalize on this moment, central DAR units are executing a few tactics targeting these recent graduates: -
UGA Ring Distribution - The Alumni Relations office invited all UGA Ring purchasers to a drop-in celebration at the Wray-Nicholson House in late April.
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Commencement Ceremonies - The Office of Special Events planned ceremonies to recognize the occasion, Alumni President Yvette K. Daniels delivered welcome remarks, DARCOMM developed pre-ceremony trivia slides and a spirited end-of-ceremony hype video, and free Never Bark Alone clear stadium bags holding alumni brochures and stickers were placed on seats as parting gifts for students.
- Commencement Gift Mailing - For any May 2022 graduate who updates their email + mailing address with UGA before May 27, DAR will mail them a grad gift (a pair of Glory, Glory socks and an alumni brochure).
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New Grad Email - In June, once graduation data is entered into GAIL, DARCOMM will send a "welcome" email to recent graduates full of important information about becoming a UGA alumnus.
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Young Alumni Night at SweetWater - The Young Alumni Council will host an annual social event for young alumni at SweetWater in Atlanta. The event will include a baked-in donation to UGA and will seek to maintain a connection to the young graduates. We know many schools/colleges may also be hosting events; please be sure to add them to the UGA Master Calendar, too!
Later this summer, Alumni chapters around the world will host Welcome to the City events to connect with these young alumni and build a relationship with them in their new cities. Throughout all of these events, there are four primary calls to action--you can find those in the "How You Can Help" section above or at alumni.uga.edu/newgrads. |
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The Regional team will be traveling to the following cities soon. |
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Katie Adams Auburn/Tuscaloosa (June 27-29) |
Alysse Capitanelli NY/Manhattan (Week of May 16, May 24, Week of June 6, Week of June 13) |
Rob Carrico Dallas (May 24-27) |
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LaRisa Chambers Athens (May 15-19) Los Angeles (May 24-25) Athens (June 1-3) San Fran (June 14-16) Los Angeles (June 21-24) |
Chris Jefts Tifton/Valdosta (May 18-19) Albany, GA (May 24-25) Rome, GA (June 14-15) Thomasville/Bainbridge (June 28-30) |
| Matt Mize Savannah (May 19) St. Simons (May 24-25) Augusta (June 1) St. Simons (June 14-16) Fernandina Beach, FL (June 20-21) |
Adam Prescott Columbus, GA (May 18-20) |
Beth Zimmerman Asheville (May 18-20) Cincinnati (May 24-26) |
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Open Positions
This is to make you aware of current position postings in the Development & Alumni Relations division. We encourage anyone interested in applying to do so. All UGA HR policies and procedures will apply. If you know of any potential candidates who may be a good fit for an opportunity, please contact Michelle Carter.
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Welcoming the Class of 2022 on TikTok |
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Do you have important information for an upcoming edition of the Pulse?
Send it to Elizabeth Elmore. |
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