UGA Athletic Director Damon Evans ‘92, ‘94 believes in the good work of the Boys and Girls Clubs of America.  And for his support throughout the years, he’s being inducted into the organization’s prestigious Alumni Hall of Fame at an Oct. 8 gala in Atlanta.  For more information please visit the Boys and Girls Clubs of America Web site. Congratulations, Damon.

Don’t forget, nominations end today for our inaugural Bulldog 100.  Click here for complete information about this new Alumni Asssociation signature event.

“Small moments last forever,” is Dr. Robert Harrison’s (MED’74, EDS ’83, EDD ’89) call to action as Executive Director of Friends for Life Mentoring in Athens, and he’s looking for volunteers among UGA Alums.  Robert says Friends for Life Mentoring needs one person for one child for one hour per week for a year.  He says that one hour can make a difference in a child’s life.  It’s Robert’s contention that all children can succeed with the support and guidance of an adult.  If you’re interested, please visit the FFL web site.

Four former Bulldog All-Americans have been inducted into UGA’s Circle of Honor, the highest recognition for a Georgia athlete.  Among the criteria for inclusion is earning a degree at UGA and making “significant contributions to the tradition and legend of the Georgia Bulldogs.”  The 2009 honorees are: Kim Arnold Arenas ‘99, ‘06; Bernadette Lock Mattox ‘82; Brent Noon ‘97, ‘99; and Matt Stinchcomb ‘98.

Kim was a 12-time All-America gymnast here and was the 1998 Southeastern Conference Gymnast of the Year.  She won the balance beam title in 1998 and led the Gym Dogs to a national championship that year. 

Bernadette followed Lady Dogs basketball coach Andy Landers to UGA, having been on his team at Roane State in Tennessee.  She later was head coach of the University of Kentucky women’s basketball team and now is an assistant coach of the WNBA’s Conncecticut Sun.

Brent was a three-time NCAA shot put champion (92-94) and was a six-time All-American.  His indoor and outdoor record throws still stand today.

Matt was a first team All-America offensive lineman at UGA (97-98) and received the Woody Hayes National Scholar Athlete of the Year Award.  He also played eight years in the NFL with Oakland and Tampa Bay.

Congratulations to these Bulldog greats.

Mike Clutter ‘83, ‘93, Dean of UGA’s Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources, was recently inducted into the Georgia Foresters Hall of Fame.  Mike celebrated his second year as Dean of the Warnell School last July and still teaches classes in forest finances.  Warnell Professor Dale Greene said the Dean is most deserving of the honor.  “Mike Clutter has made significant contributions to forestry in every position he has held during his forestry career,” said Greene who also is a hall of fame committee member.  Mike’s dad, the late Dr. Jerome Clutter, also a member of the Foresters Hall of Fame, was a long time Warnell professor.  Congratulations, Mike.

She earned two degrees at UGA…in the same year!  Beth Shapiro, a UGA Foundation Fellow, earned a BS and an MS in 1999, and within four years she received a Ph.D. in Zoology from Oxford University.  And by the way, Beth was UGA’s first female Rhodes Scholar.   Now just 10 years later, as an assistant professor of biology at Penn State, Beth has been selected as one of 24 MacArthur Fellows.  The “Genius Award,” as it is often called, goes to extremely talented people in a variety of fields.  For her hard work and effort, she receives an unrestricted gift of $500,000.  Beth’s specialty is the study of ancient DNA.  Congratulations, Beth.  We look forward to hearing more about you and your work for many years to come.

Click here for information.

I must tell you about a wonderful evening I spent with some of the most capable young women on UGA’s campus.  Last weekend I gave the keynote address to a banquet honoring the professional agriculture sorority, Sigma Alpha.  It was the ninth anniversary celebration of Sigma Alpha at UGA (Alpha Omicron chapter was officially chartered Sept. 30, 2000 with 20 women.).  And let me tell you, these young women are top notch.

The UGA group is a leader among other chapters across the country.  Here’s just a quick list of some of their achievements: they were 1st in Outstanding Professional Development, Outstanding Public Service, Outstanding Sisterhood and were named the winner of the Community Cooperation in Ag award at last year’s National Convention.  Advisor, Dr. Maria Navarro, was 2nd for Outstanding Advisor and Sarah Kane came in 2nd for Outstanding New Member.  They also had six members named emerald scholars which requires at least a 3.75 GPA.

I applauded them for getting involved while a student, but getting involved in a group that will help them develop skills outside the classroom.  I also encouraged them to remain in contact in UGA and the best way to do that was to stay connected through the Alumni Association.

The College of Pharmacy recently dedicated a new addition to its South Campus location.  Pharmacy South is a $44 million, 93,000-square-foot facility that is next door to the existing Robert C. Wilson Pharmacy Building.  It is also a ”green” facility, having earned the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification.  Here are some of the features: state-of-the-art classrooms and teaching labs, video recording and distance learning capabilities, sensor-driven lighting, wireless computer stations and a complete Community Pharmacy Care Center and Skills Lab.  President Adams said the completion of Pharmacy South would improve the lives of all Georgians “by increasing the number of pharmacists we can graduate.”  “This building and the people who will teach, research and learn in it are directly involved in our land-grant mission to serve the people of this state,” Dr. Adams said.  Joining President Adams were Pharmacy Dean Svein Oie, Senior VP for Operations at Rite Aid Robert Thompson ‘76, and first-year pharmacy student Mike Dorchak, a 2008 chemistry grad.

Dr. Jere Morehead (JD ‘80) has been named Sr. VP for Academic Affairs and Provost, succeeding Dr. Arnett Mace who will retire Jan. 1, 2010.  President Adams chose Jere from a short list of four candidates.  “After reviewing all of their résumés and considering carefully these matters for 10 days or so, I became convinced that the person most capable of leading the academic mission of the University of Georgia for the next several years was already here in our vice president for instruction, Jere Morehead,” Dr. Adams said at Friday’s announcement.  The UGA Alumni Association congratulates Jere and wishes him well as he leads the academic vision of the University.