UGA Alumni Association: Executive Director's Blog

Student Alumni Council Wraps Up Successful Fall Semester

Last week marked the end to another successful semester for the UGA Alumni Association Student Alumni Council (SAC), the student leadership group for the Student Alumni Association (SAA).

Since August, our amazing SAC members, led by President Shari McIntosh, have assisted with and planned many important student programs, including:

· In partnership with SGA, welcoming more than 4,000 new freshmen with GBooks at the Class of 2016 Freshman Welcome event in Sanford Stadium

· Hosting two North Campus ghost tours for more than 600 total attendees, and collecting 400 pounds of donated food items for the Northeast Georgia Food Bank.

· Increasing Senior Signature donations by 400 percent compared to this time last year

· Planning the inaugural SAC Alumni Tailgate on Nov. 3

· Visiting 27 campus student organizations to encourage student giving to The University of Georgia

· Distributing more than 600 Beat T-shirts before the Florida and SEC Championship football games

Let me also commend Assistant Director of Student Programs Evan Tighe ’08, ’11 and Student Programs Graduate Assistant Veronica Roman ’14 for their tireless leadership of this impressive group of students. They have helped guide SAC through an action-packed semester and the UGA Alumni Association could not have done it without them. Thanks, Evan and Veronica!

SAC members will return in the spring for another semester supporting the UGA Alumni Association, beginning with a spring retreat on Jan. 5. I wish all of them a relaxing, safe, and happy holiday break, and look forward to seeing their smiling faces around the Wray-Nicholson House in 2013.

The SAC and the UGA Alumni Association strive to enhance the relationships between students and alumni by representing and promoting university traditions, instilling pride, bolstering spirit, fostering community, and educating leaders. To learn more about the Student Alumni Council, CLICK HERE. .

Recent Entries

05.20.2013

UGA alumna wins Teach for America award to enrich students’ technological skills

Elizabeth Davidson (BSED '06), a teacher in Philadelphia, has been awarded a 2013 Teach for America Social Innovation Award and $10,000 for ScriptEd, which brings computer-programming and software-development instruction to schools in low-income communities and teaches students the skills necessary to pursue careers in technology.

The 2013 Teach For America Social Innovation Award honored five individuals for their highly promising ventures to expand educational opportunity. The award is designed to provide critical early-stage support to Teach For America alumni with bold ideas for ventures to expand educational opportunity.

Elizabeth, we are proud of your accomplishment and wish you success in your endeavor to enrich your classroom with technology. Congratulations!

05.17.2013

Betsy Crossley (BS ’77, MS ’80) elected mayor of Nashville suburb

Congratulations to newly elected Brentwood, Tenn., Mayor Betsy Crossley (BS ’77, MS ’80)!

Elected as a Brentwood City Commissioner in 2007, Crossley previously served as mayor from 2009 until 2011. She has been a member of the city's Historic Commission, Planning Commission, Tree Board and Library Board. For the past five years, she has served as a member of the Tennessee Municipal League's Board advocating on behalf of municipalities. On the state level, Crossley was appointed to a three-year term on the Tennessee Water and Wastewater Financing Board by the governor in 2011. In 2012, the Speaker of the House appointed her to a two-year term as a member of the Tennessee Local Development Authority. Crossley was the first woman ever appointed to serve in that position.

The alumna moved to Brentwood in 1999. Prior to her public service there, she was a medical researcher and teacher. Her community involvement includes Christ United Methodist Church, the Williamson County Education Foundation Board, Leadership and Youth Leadership Brentwood, Williamson County Chamber of Commerce, Brentwood Rotary Club, and the American Heart Association.

She has been married for more than 30 years to her husband, George. They have two sons who graduated from the University of Tennessee (we’ll let that slide).

We are so impressed with Crossley’s commitment to her community and are impressed by her continued leadership in the Nashville area. Best of luck in this term, Betsy!

05.16.2013

Spotlight on the Jane and Harry Willson Center for Humanities & Arts

The UGA Willson Center for Humanities & Arts is a showcase for faculty innovation and achievement. It facilitates intellectual exchange with the University and the public by the encouragement of interdisciplinary activity, which extends to the sciences and other orders of knowledge.

The Center is named for Jane Willson, the owner of Sunnyland Farms, Inc., the largest mail-order pecan business in the country, and her late husband Harry Willson, who was the chairman and CEO of Sunnyland Farms before his death in 2004.

The Willson Center for Humanities and Arts was founded as the Humanities Center in 1987 and named thereafter the Center for Humanities and Arts (1997) and the Jane and Harry Willson Center for Humanities and Arts (2005).

The Center coordinates a number of wonderful programs, including today’s special event with Ambassador James A. Joseph titled “Leadership as a Way of Being: Reflections on Nelson Mandela, Servant Leadership and Personal Renewal.” Joseph was the U.S. ambassador to South Africa from 1995 to 1999, the only person in that office to present his credentials to President Nelson Mandela. He served in the administrations of four presidents of the United States.

If you aren’t acquainted with the Willson Center, I encourage you to visit its website at www.willson.uga.edu to learn more about upcoming events. Our University is blessed to have such an incredible resource on campus – another reason it’s great to be a Georgia Bulldog!