Thanksgiving week is here and I want to begin by saying how thankful I am to be a part of the DAR team. I arrived at UGA more than 8 years ago, and have enjoyed working alongside each of you every day since. The successes we achieved, we achieved together. It's only through embodying our values (servant leadership, innovation, collaboration) that we are able to improve lives through the work we do.
While I know the holidays will be a busy one for many of us thanks to our No. 1 Georgia Bulldogs, I hope you will find ways to relax and prepare for the new year. October was a whirlwind—from Beat Week and board meetings to Homecoming and the UT game hype—and I'm proud of how we rose to those occasions. I know we'll do the same as we look ahead to our last home game, Grad Pics with Hairy Dawg, the SEC Championship, commencement, the postseason, and more.
As always, I'm here if you or your team needs assistance—just let me know. |
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Vice President for Development and Alumni Relations and Executive Director of the UGA Foundation |
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| Annual Giving / Alumni Directors Meeting December 13 | 3 p.m. Zoom |
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Winter Development Meeting February 13 Location TBD |
Spring Development Meeting May 15 Location TBD
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Events for Alumni + Friends |
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SEC Championship Dec. 3 | Mercedes-Benz Stadium |
| Thank a Donor Day April 13 | UGA Campus |
Dawg Day of Giving
March 30 | Blackout dates for solicitation emails: March 9-31 |
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Nominate for Grady College Alumni Awards
Nominations are due by Dec. 31 for four awards: 1) John Holliman Jr. Lifetime Achievement Award; 2) Mid-Career Alumni Award; 3) John E. Drewry Young Alumni Award; 4) and the Distinguished Scholar Award. Questions? Email Diane Murray. Review your DAR unit webpage
Visit your unit's page on dar.uga.edu to ensure it's updated. Anyone need to be added/removed from the directory section? Do you have fresh photos for your slider gallery? Are your resources accurate? Email changes to Emily Munnell.
Share mentor stories
The Career Center is looking for compelling UGA Mentor Program stories to use during Mentoring Month in January. Please share stories using this form. Share postseason football plans
Send events, programs, or fundraising campaigns that you plan to conduct in the postseason to Elizabeth Elmore. |
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DAR Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion |
DAR's Diversity Inclusive Excellence plan has been approved by the Office of the President and it can be viewed on the Resources page of the DAR site. Goals include: -
Support UGA strategic priorities through fundraising efforts (focus on need-based support).
- Educate and engage students in career development and mentorship.
- Recruit and retain underrepresented individuals at all levels in the organization with a focus on senior and mid-level roles.
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Improve DAR employee engagement and experience.
- Support and sustain an inclusive work environment.
Questions? Email Michelle Carter. |
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New Name, Same Goal: Dawg Day of Giving |
UGA’s Dawg Day of Giving (formally known as Georgia Giving Day) is set for March 30. This name change comes as we embark on efforts to collaborate and unify projects across all units within DAR. With this rebranding of Giving Day, we looked for a name that both united and excited the Bulldog Nation into giving back. More details on Dawg Day of Giving are forthcoming. Questions? Email Heather Duiser.
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Recognizing Years of Services + Academic Achievement |
On Nov. 9, DAR held its first annual Employee Recognition Event to recognize DAR employees who have served UGA for 5, 10, 20 or 30 years as of June 30, 2022, as well as those employees who earned an associate, baccalaureate, advanced degree or professional designation or certificate in FY22. Please join us in praising these individuals' commitment to UGA and their personal growth—and feel free to peek at other photos from the event!
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Years of Service - Elizabeth Beckett, 20 years
Vassilka Deltcheva, 20 Years Scarlett Hart, 20 years Marcus Jennings, 20 years - Jan Nixon, 20 years
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Megan Powell, 10 years
- Danielle Free, 10 years
- Sheila Mason, 10 years
- Christopher Glover, 10 years
- Lauren Schlesinger, 10 years
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Danielle Bezila, 5 years
- Melanie Ruffner Vollmer, 5 years
- Allie White, 5 years
- Patrick Knowles, 5 years
- Carol Barach, 5 years
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Amanda Qubty, 5 years
- Kethia Booker Gates, 5 years
- William Lewis, 5 years
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| Academic Achievements - Sydney Wakeford, UGA, BS in Computer Science, AB in Theatre
Brionna Johnson, UGA, Master of Education in Higher Education Administration -
Whitney Denney, UGA, Master of Education in Learning, Leadership, and Organization Development Bethany Blumenshine, UGA, Doctor of Educational Leadership - Stacy Stanford, UGA Master of Education in Learning, Leadership, and Organization Development
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Justin Burnley, GS Consultants-The Myers-Briggs Company, Strong Interest Inventory Certified Practitioner
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Alumni Relations Seeking Board Referrals |
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Bulldog 100 Announcement: December 7 |
The 2023 Bulldog 100 will be announced on Wednesday, December 7. Some DAR personnel will be sent the list of honorees from their school/college in the coming weeks to confirm the information and to begin planning engagement around the announcement (Dec. 7) and the event (Feb. 18). Resource kits, including social graphics, will be provided the week of the announcement. Know of a Bulldog business for NEXT year's list? Nominations are open year-round! |
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Advancement Services Ticket Request Deadline |
Please submit tickets to Advancement Services no later than December 13 for any requests that are needed prior to the winter holiday break. This is a very busy time of year for the Advancement Services staff, so please allow extra time for tickets to be completed. Anything submitted after the deadline is not guaranteed to be complete before January 5. |
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UGA Foundation Recognizes Victor K. Wilson |
The UGA Foundation Board of Trustees named Victor K. Wilson (BSW '82, MED '87), UGA’s vice president for student affairs, as the latest recipient of its Distinguished Service Award during the board’s fall meeting. Read the full story. |
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DAR has formed groups called "Huddles" to advance areas of strategic focus. Huddles are made of four to six team members from across the division. Their purpose is to increase communication, collaboration and innovation—especially as the division heads into FY24 budget planning season. After a series of meetings, each Huddle's plans and recommendations will be presented to leadership on Dec. 5. Below are the huddles and their leaders.
Area of Strategic Focus: Geographic Huddle 1: New York - Alysse Capitanelli Huddle 2: Atlanta - Elizabeth Elmore Huddle 3: Georgia Coast - Matt Mize Area of Strategic Focus: Pipeline
Huddle 4: Transition students to engaged alumni; engage alumni within the first 10 years of graduation. - Heather Duiser Huddle 5: Upgrade donors who show potential for major gift behavior. - Adam Prescott |
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Giving Tuesday is November 29 |
For the second year in a row, Annual Giving will promote the popular state-specific Dawg decals on Giving Tuesday (Nov. 29). Exclusively available at the UGA Bookstore, $5 of each purchase is donated to the Georgia Fund to support scholarships and UGA’s greatest needs. This year's Giving Tuesday outreach plan includes five chapter-specific emails sent to Tampa, Houston, San Diego, Dallas-Fort Worth, and Austin to promote the decals and each chapter’s Road to Athens
scholarship funds. Questions? Email Sherry Abrams.
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Senior Signature Marketing Campaign - Join In! |
The Class of 2023 Senior Signature fundraising campaign began during Beat Week and more than 290 students have since donated $30 to UGA to support the Class Gift initiative and an area of campus that has enhanced their UGA journey. An email to all students will be sent later this month promoting the campaign, a toolkit for schools and colleges to use will be disseminated before winter break, and the bulk of marketing will begin in the new year. Questions? Contact Terrance Smith.
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Boehringer-Ingelheim "Immersive" Story |
The Office of Business Engagement is producing periodic immersive stories (think: long-form storytelling ripe with multimedia) to spotlight UGA partners who are making a major impact on campus. The first immersive story focuses on Boehringer-Ingelheim, a global leader in human and animal health that has improved the lives of students, educators, researchers, farmers, livestock, pets and pet owners. |
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When CASE District III's awards were announced earlier this fall, UGA was recognized a few times. Special congrats to DAR:
Other UGA awards included: |
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Two New Parent Giving Profiles |
Looking to communicate the power of giving to UGA to a current parent? The Parent Giving team has two new donor stories about couples who have aligned their support with different areas of campus. Questions? Contact Kate Lovin. |
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Kenny Marchyshyn Get to know Kenny Marchyshyn, an annual giving officer focused on leadership annual giving. Did you know that Kenny is a certified dive master? |
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Calli Choe Meet Callie Choe in Donor Relations and Stewardship. Callie's into a number of podcasts, so hit her up if you need recommendations! |
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E-Newsletters from DAR Offices |
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The Regional team will be traveling to the following cities soon.
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Katie Adams Athens, GA (Nov. 28-29) LaRisa Chambers Athens, GA (Nov. 28-30) |
| Matt Mize Louisville, KY (Nov. 29-30) Chris Jefts Albany, GA (Dec. 6-8) Rome, GA (Dec. 12-13) |
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Open Positions
This is to make you aware of position postings in the division. We encourage anyone interested in applying to do so. All UGA HR policies and procedures will apply. If you know of a potential candidate who may be a good fit for an opportunity, contact Michelle Carter. |
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- Welcome to Sydney Wakeford, Web Operations Specialist, Advancement Services
- Welcome to Elias Bertram, Investment Analyst, UGA Foundation Investments
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Welcome to Elizabeth Paulsson, Career Consultant, Career Center
- Welcome to Jayme Bolding, Assoc. Director of Alumni Programs, Alumni Relations
- Welcome to Megan Brock, Asst. Dir. of Graduate Student Services and Faculty Engagement, Career Center
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Welcome to Brooke Robbins, Major Gifts Officer, UGA Athletics
- Congrats to Darbie Marchman, named Asst. Director of Special Events, Office of Special Events
- Congrats to Elizabeth Prince, named UGAF Chief Financial Officer, UGA Foundation
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Congrats to Melissa Lee, named Development Coordinator, School of Ecology
- Congrats to Ariel Waldeck, named Director of Development Communications and Donor Relations, CAES
- Best wishes to Michael Price, from UGAF Gift Accounting to UHR Benefits Accounting
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40 Under 40 Highlight Reel The 40 Under 40 Awards Luncheon took place in September, but you can relive the moments of the day through Edwin Hammond's highlight reel. Nominations for the 40 Under 40 Class of 2023 open in February.
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Amy Robach celebrates 100 years of UGA Homecoming on Good Morning America
Amy Robach (ABJ '95) was on campus with Hairy Dawg, the spirit squad and Redcoat Marching Band to celebrate our 100th Homecoming and Amy Robach Day. Check out the segment. |
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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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