News from the Office of Inclusive Excellence at the University of Georgia |
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Volume 24 • No. 1 • Fall 2024
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Part of what defines the University of Georgia community is our time-honored tradition of excellence in teaching and learning, research and innovation, and service and outreach. These achievements are made possible by our ongoing commitment to fostering an environment of care, inclusivity and respect throughout campus. The Office of Inclusive Excellence works collaboratively with university leaders to enhance student success and student experience across campus. We are intentional in advancing UGA’s mission and further establishing this university as a place where students from every corner of our state can lead, discover and serve.
The stories below highlight UGA’s legacy of growth. This semester, we dedicated and reopened the renovated Holmes-Hunter Academic Building. Named in honor of the first African American students to attend UGA, this building reminds us of our history and the importance of positive change. Also featured is the welcome news that UGA received the Higher Education Excellence in Diversity Award for the 11th consecutive year. This recognition speaks to the successful impact of numerous award-wining programs and initiatives designed to promote and enhance inclusivity on campus.
Our university community is made stronger by the richness in experience, identity and culture that each of us brings to the table. May the stories below provide insight into a few of the ways that UGA faculty, staff and students are fulfilling our mission and taking on the future. As the birthplace of public higher education in America, UGA was founded on the principle that education is vital to improving our society. It is an honor to serve alongside each of you as we continue to foster the next generation of leaders, increase opportunities and cultivate growth in our communities.
Alton M. Standifer, Ph.D.
Vice Provost for Inclusive Excellence and Chief of Staff to the Provost |
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University and state leaders with the family of Hamilton Holmes behind the ribbon at the Holmes-Hunter Academic Building renovation dedication ceremony. |
The University of Georgia held a dedication ceremony on Oct. 4 to celebrate the completion of renovations to the Holmes-Hunter Academic Building on UGA’s historic North Campus. The building is named in honor of Hamilton Holmes and Charlayne Hunter-Gault, the first African American students to attend UGA. MORE
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Medical students study in the common area of Russell Hall on the Health Sciences Campus. |
Presented by INSIGHT Into Diversity magazine, the HEED Award reflects the university’s deliberate efforts to create a welcoming and inclusive learning environment. This includes initiatives and programs that assist first-generation, rural, low-income, underrepresented, and underserved students; veterans; and students from Athens-Clarke County. MORE
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Nine Grady College students, four writers and five photographers, covered the Paralympic Games in Paris this summer. This was the third time AP has worked with Grady students, including the 2016 Paralympics in Rio de Janeiro and the 2023 Women’s World Cup in Australia. MORE
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This specialized training program, coordinated by UGA for military veterans and their spouses, offers free monthly trainings and specialized workshops to provide essential skills and knowledge needed to start or return to farming operations. MORE |
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This year, more than 40,000 students applied to UGA, and 6,175 first-year students were enrolled. Despite the high number of applicants, the Office of Undergraduate Admissions recruits high school students year-round to ensure each incoming class comes from all corners of the state. MORE
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Faculty and staff from across campus gathered in the Magnolia Ballroom at the University of Georgia Center for Continuing Education & Hotel on Sept. 30 for the university’s fall 2024 Multicultural Faculty and Staff Reception. MORE
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University of Georgia Arch at sunrise. |
The University of Georgia climbed two spots to No. 18 in U.S. News & World Report’s 2025 ranking of the best public universities in the nation. This marks the ninth consecutive year that UGA has placed in the top 20. UGA shares the No. 18 rank with Purdue University and the University of Washington. MORE
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UGA officials and state dignitaries mark the groundbreaking of the new medical education and research building for the School of Medicine on the Health Sciences Campus in Athens. |
In February, the University System of Georgia Board of Regents authorized the University of Georgia to establish a new independent School of Medicine. In the time since, the university has hit many important milestones toward the establishment of this critical new school. MORE
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| Caroline Malcom
Malcom, a Cora Nunnally Miller Scholar in the Fine Arts, is majoring in piano performance in the Hugh Hodgson School of Music while also on a pre-medical track in the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences. She sees her arts degree as being very valuable in “learning how to express yourself as a human and carry on the human tradition of beauty and creation.” MORE
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| Jakhari Gordon
Gordon visited nearly a dozen college campuses during his senior year of high school. His last visit was to the University of Georgia. As a UGA student in the Georgia African American Male Experience Scholars Program, he has not only received support but also gives back to younger students. He also participates in the UGA Mentor Program. MORE
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| Tracy Anderson
As assistant director of UGA’s Center for Family Research, Anderson and her staff help facilitate pioneering research on the ways in which stress affects family relationships, youth development and adult health, particularly within Black American populations in the South. MORE
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David Odo
As director of the Georgia Museum of Art, Odo’s guiding principle in his work is that engagement with art is an enriching experience that everyone should know and enjoy. “I’m looking forward to a time when every student who graduates from UGA leaves campus having visited us at least once, whether as part of a class or on their own,” he said. MORE
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For Putcha, an associate professor of music and women’s studies in the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences, interdepartmental collaboration is key to her work. Her research brings together two worlds — music and gender studies — to better understand what both are and what they mean in society. MORE
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When Berglund moved from the United States to East Africa, he knew he wanted to become more intentional about service. While living in Kampala, Uganda, he stumbled upon a school for gardening and landscaping and helped develop a curriculum. Now as a lecturer in UGA’s College of Environment and Design, he instills a love for designing and sketching in his students. MORE
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Giving to the Office of Inclusive Excellence
A contribution to the Office of Inclusive Excellence will help support a variety of initiatives that foster a welcoming and inclusive community at UGA. OIE provides and supports programming, such as recruitment and retention efforts, scholarship funding, pre-collegiate learning opportunities, and faculty and student mentoring events. |
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