Beat Week starts Monday, team! This is a fun initiative for every school, college and unit on campus to leverage as we DARe to Level Up this year. I hope each of you will participate and promote this weeklong giving challenge ... especially since none of wants to lose to Bama!
Speaking of Leveling Up, thank you for a wonderful DAR Town Hall meeting where we shared our division’s new goals for the year and how we’ll work better together focusing on leadership, impact and collaboration. Don’t forget to hand out those Level Up cards to your colleagues (details below). Thank you all for your energy and commitment to engage and connect with our supporter community. If I can be of any help to your team, please 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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What You'll Find in This Month's Pulse |
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📈 Fundraising Update
- Upcoming DAR Meetings 📆
- Events for Alumni + Friends 🤝
- DARing to Level Up ❤️
🏈 Beat Week vs. Bama -
👩🏫 UGA Mentor Program Update
- 🏥 School of Medicine Update
- Preseason Game Day Button Campaign💲
- New Living Alumni Count 🧮
- Scholarship Privacy Changes in GAIL 🔎
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💲PLC Grants Program Updates
- 🍂 Fall PLC Weekend Recap
- Georgia Magazine Email 💻
- ✅ Nominate a Grad for TEDxUGA
- 💯 Bulldog 100 Next Steps
- Student Engagement Page Refreshes 👨💻
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🤝Employee Experience Committee Updates
- UGA Journeys ♥️ 🇭🇷
- 3️⃣ Lead at Three
- 🌅 Coastal Georgia Happenings
- DAR in the News 📰
- DAR Headshot Schedule 📸
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🔔 Ring the Bell: DAR Success Stories
- ✈️ Regional Programs Travel Schedule
- Open DAR Positions 🎉
- 👨💼 Staff Announcements
- Pets of DAR 🐕 🐈🐖 🐍 🦜
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🥳 Just for Fun: 'Twas the Night Before Game Day + Rasmussen on TRS Podcast
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Here is where we stand in fundraising as of Sept. 17. Questions? Email Jeremy Ransom. |
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The DAR Meetings page has been updated to better serve as a reference for DAR meetings. If you have an adjustment or would like something added, please email Elizabeth Elmore.
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Discover DAR: UGA Career Center
September 27, 2024 Delta Innovation Hub |
UGAF Board of Trustees Meeting October 3-4, 2024 Athens, GA |
Holmes-Hunter Academic Building Dedication Ceremony
October 4, 2024 |
UGA Alumni Board Fall Meeting
October 11, 2024 | 9AM-3PM Tate Reception Hall |
DAR 101 October 15, 2024 Stelling Study - A220 Moore-Rooker Hall |
October Discover DAR
October 25, 2024 Butts-Mehre First Floor Meeting Room |
UGA Alumni Directors Meeting October 25, 2024 | 8AM-Noon College of Veterinary Medicine
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Fall Development Meeting November 4, 2024 Tate Grand Hall | Team Stewardship
November 7, 2024 Georgia Center, Dogwood Hall |
Nov/Dec Discover DAR December 6, 2024 Delta Innovation Hub |
Discover DAR
January 24, 2025 Coverdell Room 175 |
Winter Development Meeting February 3, 2025 Tate Grand Hall *This date was previously incorrectly listed as Feb. 4 in case you marked your calendar. |
Spring Development Meeting May 12, 2025 Tate Grand Hall |
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Events for Alumni + Friends |
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SAC Applications Open October 1-31, 2024 |
UGA Homecoming Parade October 4, 2024 Downtown Athens |
Black Alumni Homecoming Tailgate October 5, 2024 Myers Quad |
Bulldogs Connect (Student Event Collaboration with the Career Center) October 14, 2024 | 6PM Victor K. Wilson Memorial Ballroom |
Dawg Day of Gratitude October 16, 2024 Tate Center + D.W. Brooks Mall |
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UGA Alumni Board Past President Dinner October 17, 2024 | 5-8PM Georgia Center |
National Mentoring Day
October 27, 2024 |
Fall Break (No Classes)
November 1, 2024 |
Cookies & Cocoa with Hairy Dawg
November 10, 2024 | 1-5PM City Springs |
Presidents Club Reception November 15, 2024 Tate Grand Hall |
Oyster Roast for a Reason November 23, 2024 Skidaway Island, GA |
Fall Commencement December 13, 2024 Stegeman Coliseum |
Dawg Day of Giving March 27, 2025 *Details to come! |
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Together as a division, we are DARing to Level Up. If you were unable to attend our DAR Town Hall at Tate Center this month, please take a few minutes to read through this new approach to our work. And everyone: please continue to share "Level Up Cards
" with your colleagues when they show great instances of leadership, impact or collaboration. Print it from your computer or pick up a physical copy — there will be copies disseminated to teams as well as placed up by Carrie's desk at One Press Place. Questions? Email Michelle Carter.
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Beat Week is here! From Sept. 23-28, Bulldog and Tide fans will compete to see who can support their school and students the most. The side that donates the most gifts will be crowned Beat Week champion, but the true victors will be the students who will graduate better prepared to lead our world. The digital toolkit
is full of assets you and your volunteers can use to promote this to students, alumni, donors, parents, faculty and staff. And check the UGA Master Calendar for info on campus events around Beat Week! Questions? Contact Sherry Abrams.
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UGA Mentor Program Update |
As of Sept. 17, we are pleased to report: - # of Mentors - 5,706 (341 new registrations since July 1)
- # of Mentees - 4,669 (549 new registrations since July 1)
Circles of Success are off to a great start; there are 10 circles active and engaging with 46 students across campus. Six more will open in the coming weeks!
National Mentoring Day is Sunday, October 27! UGA will be celebrating all week, so be on the lookout for new assets in the UMP Marketing Toolkit and please encourage alumni to become a mentor.
Questions? Email Bethany Bagwell. |
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School of Medicine Updates |
We have raised nearly $18 million for the UGA School of Medicine's new Education and Research Building, so the big push right now is to continue to strive to hit $25 million for the building. Emeritus Trustees Bill Griffin, John Crawford, and Vic Corrigan are leading a committee of other emeritus trustees charged with raising support for the building.
Questions about this initiative? Reach out to Matt Mize, interim senior director of development for the School of Medicine. |
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Preseason Game Day Button Campaign |
The Annual Giving team's football preseason campaign, which offered a set of UGA buttons to donors at $5+, was a great success and the team would like to thank everyone who pitched in to bring it to fruition. There were 2,285 total transactions totaling $49,343 -- including gifts from 500 new donors for the fiscal year. Questions? Contact Evan Christian.
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Recent data provided by Advancement IT has the living alumni count at "more than 364,000." Please update your scripts, webpages, and any print and digital collateral with this new information. Questions? Email Elizabeth Elmore. |
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Scholarship Privacy Changes in GAIL |
To maintain compliance with privacy laws, specifically the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act and the Higher Education Act, all scholarship recipients have had their identifying scholarship name removed from GAIL under the Education tab. In addition, the recipient names have been removed from the scholarship fund record.
Although GAIL has never recorded the current student recipient information, we know that many of you use the removed info to identify past scholarship recipients. We wanted to ensure you still had a way to know this information, so in place of the formal scholarship name under the education tab, former recipients will now have a general “UGA Scholarship Recipient” tag under the Scholarships section. You will then be able to access further details about which scholarship they received using FAME or Scholarship Universe. Every unit has a Scholarship Universe/FAME liaison that can help you find this info.
Questions about these changes? Please email Jordan Dotson and Graff Wilson. |
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PLC Grants Program Updates |
Last year, the PLC Grants Program raised a record $1.2 million that was awarded to 162 student orgs/academic units. Applications for the '25-'26 PLC Grants Program will be open Oct 1-31. As the overall number of grant applications continues to rise, the Parent Giving team has made a few changes to the process to streamline application requests within each SCU on campus: -
There will be two separate applications. One application that a faculty/staff member can submit on behalf of a SCU and one application for students who are applying for funding not associated with a SCU. Both applications will be available under the Parents Leadership Council Grants Program section.
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If an academic unit or organization is applying for multiple grant requests through the same Account Fund Number, they can now submit their requests in one large application instead of submitting multiple.
How Can You Help?
Please spread the word within your units/departments. Please reach out to a member of the Parent Giving Team or email parents@uga.edu with any questions. |
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Inaugural Georgia Magazine Email |
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Nominate a Grad for TEDxUGA |
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The 2025 Bulldog 100 nominees have been asked to submit their application along with their past 3 years of financials by October 16. The 2025 Bulldog 100 will be announced in December and celebrated on Feb. 8, 2025. Questions? Email b100@uga.edu.
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Student Engagement Page Refreshes |
The Student Engagement team recently updated a pair of webpages:
Please share these pages as appropriate with students, especially third- and fourth-years. Questions? Contact Terrance Smith. |
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Employee Experience Committee Updates |
The Employee Experience Committee wrapped up August with an exciting tour of the Georgia Museum of Art, attended by 40 employees. The committee also had a philanthropy-focused August and September, organizing a Professional Clothing Closet Drive and a Produce Drive. Throughout August, DAR employees generously donated professional attire to the UGA Professional Clothing Closet. In September, the committee hosted a produce drive for the UGA Campus Food Pantry, resulting in many donations to support students in need. A big thank you to everyone who donated and encouraged their teams to contribute!
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University Human Resources has started a multi-year program to modernize staff career development: UGA Journeys—Navigating Your Career Path. New staff competencies have been implemented as part of the program, and a new performance system is being introduced. All staff members are encouraged to sign up for UGA Journeys: Understanding Your Connection to the Staff Competency).
We highly encourage all supervisors to take the following courses by Nov. 29. The Get to Know the New Performance Tool course is new and offers further insight for supervisors. |
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The UGA Office of Inclusive Excellence has announced the speakers for the Lead at 3 speaker series this fall. This series focuses on women’s leadership in higher ed and beyond. Every semester, three women are invited to share three key insights on leadership at 3 p.m. -
Sept. 12 - Sonia Garcia, Asst. Dean for Inclusive Excellence, College of Engineering
- Oct. 2, 3-4PM (Georgia Center, Magnolia Ballroom) - Leah Brown, UGA Foundation Trustee
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Nov. 6, 3-4PM (Delta Innovation Hub) - Paige Carmichael, Josiah Meigs Distinguished Teaching Professor, College of Veterinary Medicine
Please RSVP to join in. |
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Coastal Georgia Happenings |
Check out upcoming happenings on the Georgia Coast in case they would be appealing for a prospect or donor: -
Nov. 7-8: Library BOV meeting in Savannah
- Nov. 12: Emeritus Trustees Program in Savannah
- Nov. 20-24: RSM Classic @ Sea Island (Dawg House Hospitality Tent)
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Nov. 21: Alumni Reception, St. Simons/Sea Island
- Nov. 23: Oyster Roast For A Reason, UGA Marine and Education Center & Aquarium
Questions or things to add to this list? Reach out to Christina Varnedoe. |
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Here are a few recent bits of news from around campus: |
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📸 DAR Headshot Schedule 📸 |
Have you scheduled a headshot with Edwin Hammond? Fill out a scheduling form below; headshots are taken in front of 1 Press Place. |
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Successful 40 Under 40 Weekend
Congratulations to the Donor Relations, Alumni Relations, and DARCOMM teams for spearheading another successful 40 Under 40 weekend that included school/college-specific events (thanks to those who hosted one!), a luncheon on Friday and a tailgate on Saturday with former honorees. A special thanks to Amanda Brown
and Lauren Cook for leading the charge on the luncheon and tailgate, respectively. We encourage everyone to continue to connect with honorees throughout the year and identify ways to enhance their support for UGA. Questions? Email 40u40@uga.edu.
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🚗 Regional Programs Travel ✈️
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The Regional team will be traveling to the following cities soon.
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Chris Jefts Thomasville/Bainbridge, GA (Sept. 24-25) Tifton, GA (Oct. 8-9)
Waycross/Valdosta/J'ville (Oct. 31-Nov. 3) Vince Thomas Palm Beach/Ft. Lauderdale, FL (Oct. 2-4) Highlands, NC (Oct. 16-17) Jacksonville, FL (Oct. 30-Nov. 1) Rob Carrico Greenville, SC (Oct. 15-17) Charleston, SC (Oct. 22-25) Ellie Engquist Washington, DC (Sept. 22-24) Courtney Hart Athens, GA (Oct. 2 + Oct. 15 + Oct. 25) Meredith Glenn Atlanta, GA (Sept. 25) *daytrip Augusta, GA (Oct. 8-10) Gwinnett/Atlanta, GA (Oct. 22-24) Greensboro, GA (Oct. 17) Madi Cox Columbus, GA (Sept. 24-26)
Albany, GA (Oct. 8-10) Tifton, GA (Oct. 28-31) |
| Christina Varnedoe
St. Simons Island, GA (Sept. 25-26) SSI/Jekyll/Brunswick GA (Oct. 31-Nov. 1)
Katie Adams Birmingham, AL (Sept. 24-26) Naples/Ft. Myers FL (Oct. 8-10)
Chandler Boyle Washington, DC (Sept. 22-24) Greensboro, GA (Sept. 25)
Charlotte, NC (Oct. 11 + Oct. 21-23) Kyle Bryson Dallas, TX (Sept. 23-25) Houston, TX (Oct. 15-18) Dallas, TX (Oct. 21-23)
Michelle Rotondo Athens, GA (Sept. 27 + Oct. 15 + Oct. 25)
Weldon Kolker Atlanta, GA (Sept. 25-27) Gainesville, GA (Oct. 15-17)
Savannah, GA (Oct. 29-31) Matt Brown Athens, GA (Oct. 4 + Oct. 15) |
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Open Position Postings in DAR
We encourage anyone interested in applying to do so. All UGA HR policies and procedures 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 Amy Sweet, Director of Business Engagement, Office of Business Engagement
Welcome to Courtney Hart, Regional Director of Development, Regional Development Welcome to MinhChau Bui, Data Specialist, Advancement IT Welcome to Erica Malinowski, Administrative Specialist, DAR Office of the VP
Welcome to Hannah McIntosh, Regional Director of Development, Regional Development - Welcome to Roslyn Raley, Development Associate, Pharmacy
- Congrats to Megan Brock, named Assoc. Director of Graduate Student Services and Faculty Engagement, UGA Career Center
Congrats to Kelsey Hogan, named Talent Management Coordinator, DAR Talent Management Congrats to Danielle Free, named Sr. Director of Strategy and Data, DAR Office of the VP Congrats to Cole McDaniel, named UGA Foundation Functional Lead, UGAF
Have a change for the DAR online directory? Email Abbie Jones with your change(s).
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Name: Pip (aka "Bops") Owner: Edwin Hammond (DARCOMM) Fun Fact: Pip is the smallest of Edwin's five cats. His other feline family members include Izzy, Livvy, Hazel and Rosie (aka Roosevelt Purrington III, Duke of the Georgia Piedmont). |
| Name: Milquetoast
Owner: Zeb Brookshire (GEP)
Fun Fact: Milquetoast is a 9-month-old 50/50 Great Dane and Great Pyrenees mix who has been trained to bark whenever Zeb and his girlfriend say "Go Dawgs!" |
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Have you peeped the 'Twas the night before game day video yet? If not, here's your chance to get in the spirit of football season. Go Dawgs!
And enjoy a few other bits of football season content fresh out of DARCOMM: |
Ryan Rasmussen on the TRS Podcast
GEP's own Ryan Rasmussen recently appeared on the Teachers Retirement System of Georgia podcast to discuss what an estate plan includes, who it benefits, when to start the process, and protection against estate planning scams. Check it out!
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Do you have information or a suggestion for an upcoming edition of the Pulse? |
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