DONOR GENEROSITY, ACADEMIC SUPPORT AND NEW LEADERSHIP HIGHLIGHT THE UNIVERSITY OF GEORGIA FOUNDATION’S ANNUAL MEETING
Bill Young, Jr. elected new chairman, foundation announces new trustees, investment team posts exceptional returns and board approves $2 million for new academic initiatives
For Immediate Release
ATHENS, Ga. (July 3, 2007) – The newest chapter in the rich history of the University of Georgia Foundation is now underway. The organization’s recently-concluded annual meeting produced several new developments that will further enhance its mission of supporting and enhancing academics at the University of Georgia.
The Torch is Passed
The board of trustees unanimously approved Bill Young, Jr. as the foundation’s new chairman. He succeeds, C. Read Morton, who completes a two year term as chairman on June 30.
Young is a partner in Atlanta-based General Wholesale Co., and has served on the foundation’s board of trustees since 2003. He is a 1978 graduate of the Terry College of Business where he earned a BBA in management.
“I am honored to be elected chairman of the UGA Foundation,” Young said. “I want to thank Read Morton for his outstanding leadership over the last two years. He has been a guiding light for everyone associated with the foundation and was a key reason that this organization was able to grow at a record pace and achieve an unprecedented level of success.
“I’m especially pleased that he will continue to serve on the executive committee. I’m sure that I will be calling on him for his advice and expertise in the years ahead,” Young concluded.
New Officers Elected
The University of Georgia Foundation’s Executive Committee will take on a new look as well. Bill Young as noted previously will serve as chair. He will be joined by Sam Holmes who was elected the new vice chair. Ken Jackson will serve as treasurer and Rachel Conway as secretary. Other members of the executive committee include; Harriet Warren (chair of the Audit & Governance Committee), David Boyd (chair of the Foundation Fellows Committee), Joe Frierson (chair of the Investment Committee), Gail Hunnicutt (chair of the Development & Public Affairs Committee), Charlie Williams (chair of Real Estate Committee) and Read Morton as a past chairman of the foundation.
New Trustees Elected
The University of Georgia Foundation announced today it has elected four new members to its Board of Trustees; Darren DeVore of Marietta, GA, Bill Griffin of Pittsburgh, PA, Julie Hunt of Tifton, GA and Mary Lou Swift of Columbus, GA. Their terms of service became effective July 1.
- Darren DeVore earned a Bachelor of Arts in finance from the University of Georgia in 1986. He has been a member of the Terry College Alumni Board since 2003 and has chaired the college’s Capital Campaign Steering Committee since May 2006. Darren is managing director of Artisan Partners LP, an Atlanta-based investment management firm. He served previously as vice president of Pacific Financial Asset Management Corp. and as chief marketing officer for Blairlogie Capital Management.
- Bill Griffin is a native of Rutledge, GA and a 1972 graduate of the University of Georgia where he earned a BBA in Finance. As an undergraduate, he served as president of the Interfraternity Council. In 2004 he was elected to the Terry College Board of Overseers and recently was named as one of the college’s 2007 Distinguished Alumni. Of the tens of thousands of Terry graduates since the school was founded 1912, only 153 have been so honored.
Bill now resides in Pittsburgh, PA, where he serves as Managing Director of Fidelity National Information Services, the nation’s leading provider of financial services technology and mortgage related services. In addition to his duties at Fidelity, Bill is president of Oakmont Country Club, which recently hosted the 2007 U.S. Open Golf Championship.
- Julie Hunt is CEO of J.H. Services, Inc. in Tifton, GA, a holding/management company for Captain D’s and Shoney’s restaurants in south Georgia. A longtime friend and supporter of the University of Georgia, she is a 1963 graduate of Valdosta State where she earned a Bachelor of Science degree.
For Julie, this is a second term of service to the UGA Foundation; she also served as a managing trustee in the 1990’s. In addition, she was Governor Perdue’s first appointment to the State Board of Regents in 2003, a board on which her late husband George “John” McAllister D. Hunt III also served with great distinction.
- Mary Lou Swift of Columbus, GA graduated from the University of Georgia in 1973 with a BS in General Home Economics and later earned her Master’s in Counseling Psychology from Georgia State University. Mary Lou is a licensed professional counselor with the State of Georgia having served in that capacity since 1990.
“These are four outstanding additions to our board that bring a diversity of expertise and a great deal of energy,” Young stated. “I’m truly excited that they have chosen to join our board and I look forward to working with them throughout their terms of service to carry out the foundation’s mission of enhancing academics at the University of Georgia.”
Each of the new members was approved by unanimous vote of managing trustees.
New Gifts to the Foundation Continue
The University of Georgia Foundation continues to be a primary avenue through which donors are supporting academic initiatives at the University of Georgia. The foundation announced that it has received more than $26 million in new gifts thus far in fiscal 2007.
Responsible Stewardship of Funds Highlighted
The foundation’s investment committee announced that it had achieved a spectacular rate of return on investments of 21.1% through May 31 of the current fiscal year (which ends June 30) and that total assets are now at an all-time record of more than $605 million.
New Appropriations for Academics Approved
In addition to the over $27 million provided to UGA this year from donor restricted funds managed by the foundation, another $5 million will be provided from unrestricted resources for academic programs and scholarships. The $5 million includes a $2 million allocation, unanimously approved by the trustees at their annual meeting, in support of new initiatives in the following areas:
$1.5 million to endowments created last year in the following areas:
· $250,000 Professional Law School Scholarship Fund.
· $250,000 Georgia Incentive Undergraduate Scholarship Fund.
· $250,000 Grants for Faculty Development for Instruction Fund.
· $250,000 Grants for Faculty Professional Study Fund.
· $500,000 added to the Distinguished Professorship in Biology in the Franklin
College of Arts & Sciences so as to endow it to a chair.
New endowments as follows:
- $ 250,000 for a new professorship in the College of Arts & Sciences for infectious disease.
- $250,000for a new endowment for graduate fellowships.
In addition:
· The foundation earlier this fiscal year approved $350,000 to complete the final
phase of construction on the university’s academic campus in Costa Rica.
Foundation Fellows Continue to Shine
The trustees were updated on the Foundation Fellows program and the information provided to the board underscores how these students are truly among the world’s elite. There are 86 University of Georgia students currently holding Foundation Fellowships, with each receiving annual awards of $22,197 from the foundation.
The incoming freshmen (Foundation Fellows class of 2011), of which there are 22, compare favorably with the best students at any institution of higher learning anywhere in the world. This group boasts an average SAT score of 1538, an average ACT score of 34.6, and an average GPA of 4.2.
About The University of Georgia Foundation:
The University of Georgia Foundation was founded in 1937 with the sole mission of enriching and enhancing academics at the University of Georgia. It accomplishes its mission by accepting and managing a broad range of financial gifts offered by supporters.
At present, the foundation administers approximately $605 million in total assets, approximately $500 million of which are donor restricted funds that pay for scholarships, professorships, endowed chairs and other academic enhancements including the prestigious Foundation Fellowship and Ramsey Honors Scholarship. The foundation also provides funding in other areas with academic enhancement in mind, including endowed chairs, professorships and faculty salary supplements.
The foundation’s Investment Committee has proven to be a responsible steward of donor funds, having earned a rate of return in excess of 10% annually on foundation investments for more than a decade. This enviable track record betters the vast majority of foundations in the U.S. and also tops such benchmarks as the Dow-Jones Industrial Average and the S& P 500.
For Further Information:
Chip Stewart, senior vice president
Cookerly Public Relations
Atlanta, Ga. 30326
(404) 816-2037 |
