While the rest of campus and Athens may have quieted down as students depart for summer, our division is busy with activity as we approach June 30. Thank you all for 11 months of great work — and we're not finished yet! We have much to be proud of this year, so let's finish our last month strong and make this our best year ever! Please continue to consider how you can leverage the July 1 increase in the endowment minimum as you make asks to donors. And as always, let me know if I can be of any assistance to your team. |
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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 |
- Fundraising Update 📈
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Upcoming DAR Meetings 📆
- Events for Target Audiences 🎉
- UGAF@Work Update 💼
- UGA Mentor Program Update 🤝
- Summer Parent Engagement 🏡
- Bulldog 100 Nominations 💯
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Year-End Closing Schedule 📋
- UGA Athletics in Your Town 🏈
- Career Center Updates 👩💼 👨💼
- Name a Squirrel Campaign 🌰
- Teams Phones 📲
- Envelope Addressing 📨
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EOY Celebration Photos 🤳
- GAIL Tips & Tricks 💫
- News You Can Use 📰
- DAR Headshot Schedule 📸
- Ring the Bell: DAR Success Stories 🔔
- DAR Staff Travel ✈️
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Open DAR Positions 🎉
- Staff Announcements 👨💼
- Pets of DAR 🐕 🐈🐖 🐍 🦜
- Just for Fun 🥳
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Here is where we stand in fundraising as of June 6. Questions? Email Danielle Free. |
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Young Alumni Leadership Council Executive Committee Meeting June 6 | 12-1:30PM Zoom |
Alumni Board Executive Mini Retreat
June 10 | 2:30-4PM Zoom |
Discover DAR July 11 Delta Innovation Hub |
Alumni Board New Member Orientation
July 11 | 10AM-3PM Punaro Room, Baldwin Hall |
DAR Years of Service Awards July 21 | 2:30-3:30PM One Press Place, First Floor Lobby |
| DAR End-of-Year Celebration July 24 | 3-5:30PM West End Zone |
Alumni Directors Meeting July 24 | 8:30-11:30AM Location TBD |
Fall Development Meeting
September 8 | 8AM Tate Grand Hall |
Winter Development Meeting February 9 | 2PM Tate Grand Hall |
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Events for Target Audiences |
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1961 Club Donor Celebration June 13 | 6:30-9PM Georgia Museum of Art
*invite-only |
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Freshman Welcome August 12 Sanford Stadium |
PAWS Celebration August 19 | 11AM-2PM Sanford Stadium Locker Room |
40 Under 40 Awards Luncheon September 5 Tate Grand Hall |
Fall PLC Weekend
September 5-6 Athens, GA |
Presidents Club Reception October 17 Tate Grand Hall |
Georgia Women Give Fall Lunch & Learn October 17 Athens, GA |
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In 2025, the UGA Foundation (UGAF) launched the UGAF@Work initiative to transition from the FAME system to Workday, a modern, cloud-based enterprise platform. This is designed to streamline operations and enhance efficiency across the Foundation and other campus groups. The project team is collaborating with consulting partners to configure Workday to meet UGAF’s needs, with a target go-live date of January 1, 2026.
While UGAF employees will experience the most significant changes, this transition will also affect: -
Anyone who uses FAME for reporting, such as accessing fund balances, budget activity, or endowed spending allocations
- Individuals who request expense reimbursements from UGAF
- Anyone who submits contracts or invoices to UGAF
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Anyone who accesses Fund Agreements
The project team is committed to keeping users informed throughout the process. If you have questions, please email UGAF.atwork@uga.edu. To stay informed and track progress, visit the UGAF@Work project page.
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UGA Mentor Program Update |
As of May 19, we are pleased to report: - # of Mentors - 5,989 (659 new registrations since July 1)
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# of Mentees - 6,237 (2,175 new registrations since July 1)
- Current Matches - 599 (includes 16 week/quick chats/circles)
Questions? Email Bethany Bagwell. |
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Summer Parent Engagement Opportunities |
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Bulldog 100 Nominations Are Open
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Year-End Closing Schedule FY25 |
Please take a moment to review DAR's fiscal year-end processing deadlines and share it with appropriate staff. The message was previously sent on behalf of the UGA Foundation to multiple listservs to notify as many interested parties as possible audience. |
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UGA Athletics in Your Town - Road Show
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“UGA Athletics in Your Town,” a traveling exhibit of materials from the UGA Athletic Association archives, is heading to cities and counties around the state of this summer.
This is a partnership with UGA Athletics, who supports this initiative through the Roy Gatchell Athletics Preservation Endowment. Please assist in sharing these events in your email and social channels this summer; all UGA alumni, donors and fans are encouraged to stop by. Questions? Contact Lee Snelling.
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Arch Ready End of Semester Stats -
752 Arch Ready Professionalism Certificates were awarded to UGA students this spring, an all-time high! In its 10th year, more than 5K students have earned the Arch Ready Professionalism Certificate by attending 5+ career development programs in a semester. Questions? Contact Umesh Patel.
Grad Pics with Hairy Dawg -
204 graduating seniors attended the event on April 28-29 in Clark Howell Hall. Graduates were able to take professional photos with Hairy Dawg in celebration of their next destination after UGA, whether they've been hired by an employer or accepted into grad school. Student Transitions partnered with the Career Center to hand out T-shirts, cookies, and information for these new alumni.
2024-2025 Intern for a Day -
106 students matched with an employer this year from majors such as finance, MIS, RMI, psychology, biology, and economics. 34 employers participated, including Amica, Mauldin & Jenkins, Shepherd Center, Marsh, UGA Athletics, and Kautex. Questions? Contact Lexie Walker.
Top 25 Employer Celebration |
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Name A Squirrel Campaign Surpasses 1,000
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UGA's first Name a Squirrel Campaign, led by the Annual Giving team with support from many DAR partners, was a resounding success. There were more than 1,000 squirrels named and the campaign brought in nearly $57,000. The plush squirrel incentive was a hit and they are arriving in mailboxes this month. Questions? Contact Sherry Abrams.
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The conversion to Microsoft Teams Phones took place last month for Annual Giving, Communications, UGA Foundation, RPM, AIT, and the Admin Building/DAR VP. Conversion for those on the second floor at One Press Place will occur in mid-June. A few reminders from an email that was disseminated by Jeff Garmon:
For staff who call a Teams Phone number: -
If using the current UGA phone system, you must dial 9 followed by the full phone number (including area code) to reach Teams phones; five-digit dialing will no longer be available to reach those individuals.
- All UGA units will make this transition soon, so we recommend everyone get into the habit of no longer using the five-digit dialing.
Questions? Please contact the DAR Tech Support team. |
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Please note the correct address to use for remittance and mailing envelopes: Remittance Envelopes (when gifts should come straight to Gift Accounting): *Include a UGA Logo (required on envelopes per UGA guidelines) UGA Foundation 1 Press Place, Suite 101 Athens, GA 30601 Direct mail outer mailing envelopes:
The return address in the upper left should be: [UGA Logo] Development & Alumni Relations
Athens, GA 30602 Why the different addresses?
The 30601 ZIP comes via USPS straight to 1PP. The 30602 goes through campus mail. Both will eventually get to One Press Place, but Gift Accounting has found the 30601 address gets mail here quicker, passes it through fewer hands and we get mail deliveries when UGA is closed (which is especially important during holiday breaks). Questions? Email Sherry Abrams. |
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Submit Photos for EOY Celebration |
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Some updates from across campus and the division: |
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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 One Press Place. |
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Vet Med DAR Team + Advancement IT Celebrate Successful Collaboration
In mid-May, the Advancement IT and Vet Med teams gathered to celebrate the successful merger of CVM client data into GAIL. This effort required everyone involved to LEVEL UP to make a great impact on our operations. Thanks to CVM for hosting an ice cream social to mark the completion of this important achievement! |
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Gordon Thomas (far left) earned the College of Pharmacy's Special Achievement Award. This award is given out by Dean Kelly Smith to a CoP staff member in recognition of an achievement that goes beyond the expectations of normal job performance. Congrats, Gordon! |
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Chris Jefts Calhoun/Carrollton, GA (June 12-13)
Valdosta/T'ville/Orlando (June 2-26) |
Vince Thomas Augusta, GA (June 5-6) Columbus, GA (June 11-13)
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Christina Varnedoe Savannah, GA (Month of June) |
Katie Adams Alabama Area (Dates TBD) Chattanooga, TN (June 11-12) |
Ali Elyaman Chicago, IL (June 17-19) San Diego, CA (July 13-17) |
Chandler Boyle Raleigh, NC (June 15-17) Charlotte, NC (June 17-18) |
Michelle Versfeld Atlanta, GA (June 17) |
| Kyle Bryson Dallas, TX (June 10-13) Houston, TX (June 25-26)
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Courtney Hart Athens, GA (June 26) |
Alysse Capitanelli NY Area (Week of June 16) |
Michelle Rotondo Athens, GA (June 13) |
Weldon Kolker Atlanta, GA (June 24-26) |
Madi Cox
Washington, DC (June 10-12) |
Matt Brown Athens, GA (June 13) |
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Parent Giving Team Travel
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Courtney Ayers Dallas, TX (June 9-12) Weekly ATL Meetings |
Meredith Glenn Thomasville, GA (June 26-27) Various ATL Trips, specifically June 12-13 |
| Eric Schmidt Savannah, GA (June 25-27) Weekly ATL Meetings
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Andrea Parris Charleston, SC (June 16-19) New Jersey (June 25-27)
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Kaylin Jones Birmingham, AL (June 10-11) Greenville, SC (June 18) |
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Mason Black Dallas, TX (June 10-11) Nashville, TN (June 12-13) Houston, TX (July TBD) |
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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 Christy Dasher.
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Name: Ringo
Owner: Laura Bayne (CAES)
Origin Story: As Laura arrived at the airport on January 10, 2022, to fly to Indianapolis for the UGA vs. Bama championship game, she received a text that a friend's dog was giving birth to goldendoodle puppies. "Wouldn't it be fun to have a puppy born on the same day as the Natty?" it read. The Baynes were not planning to get a dog until Christmas, but when the Dawgs won the game, she knew they couldn't turn down the offer. Named in honor of Kelee Ringo's game-winning interception, Ringo soon joined the Bayne family.
Fun Facts: Ringo loves playing in the creek, tug-of-war, and demonstrating his athleticism by counter-surfing and stealing leftovers. |
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Name: (also) Ringo Owner: Elizabeth Guest (Vet Med)
Fun Facts: Ringo is a labradoodle who loves playing fetch and chewing up balls. His special skill is that he's a great jumper; he soars! When driving, Ringo is a *very observant* passenger; it can make Elizabeth a bit nervous. 😅 |
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Andrea Parris and Elizabeth Prince volunteered at Commencement this spring and snapped a photo with Troy Brown, an events staff member who went above and beyond cheering for and greeting graduates throughout the evening. Thanks to these three (and many others across the division!) for their spirited assistance in welcoming the newest group of Bulldogs to the alumni family!
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Do you have information or a suggestion for an upcoming edition of the Pulse? |
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