UGA mentors want you to join their ranks!

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The UGA Mentor Program celebrates its first birthday on August 21. Mentors with at least one 16-week mentorship under their belts are excited about the program’s success, and are eagerly helping to recruit fellow alumni to join in the fun by becoming mentors by August 20—the first day of fall semester. Students are entering or returning to a challenging campus environment due to the pandemic. By connecting with a mentor, students benefit from having an ally as they navigate the new school year and prepare for the future.

Getting started with the UGA Mentor Program is easy: Simply create a profile at mentor.uga.edu and students can connect with you based on your unique interests and experiences. Your contact information will not be shared with students unless you agree to enter a mentoring relationship with them.

Would you commit to a 16-week mentorship by investing just a few hours each month? Experienced mentors will tell you, it’s a rewarding and fulfilling way to give back to UGA and serve exceptional young Dawgs!

BECOME A MENTOR

 

Special thanks to super mentors Douglas Bailey (BSA ’80), Ansley Booker (MS ’13), Ericka Davis (AB ’93), Mary Elizabeth Sadd (BBA ’87) and Abram Serotta (BBA ’68, MACC  ’70) for submitting videos. Go Dawgs!

Georgia Law’s first Black graduate, Chester C. Davenport, passes away

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Chester C. Davenport and UGA Law students

Davenport, center, with law students during a visit to the UGA School of Law in 2016.

The following message was shared by Georgia Law Dean Rutledge. We join Dean Rutledge in expressing our condolences to the friends and family of Chester Davenport, and are proud of the legacy he leaves on campus–and beyond.

It is with profound sadness that I share that Mr. Chester C. Davenport (LLB ’66), the University of Georgia School of Law’s first African-American graduate, passed away this past Friday, August 7.

Mr. Davenport was an incredibly important figure in our school’s history. He was a leader. He graduated in the top five percent of the Class of 1966 and served as a founding member and Executive Editor of the Georgia Law Review. He was a successful attorney, public servant and businessman. Mr. Davenport was also a regular supporter of the School of Law and the university throughout his life. The UGA chapter of the Black Law Students Association bears his name, and he received the law school alumni association’s highest honor — the Distinguished Service Scroll Award — in 2016. These are only a few highlights of his life.

We are in communication with Mr. Davenport’s family and will share information about memorial services as it becomes available. In the meantime, please keep his family in your prayers and thoughts during this time of mourning.

Peter B. “Bo” Rutledge
Dean & Herman E. Talmadge Chair of Law

UGA Foundation elects 12 new trustees

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The University of Georgia Foundation approved changes in board positions during its June 11-12 annual meeting, which was held virtually. The changes took effect July 1.

The UGA Foundation welcomed 12 new trustees and accorded six trustees emeritus status. The new members will join current trustees to comprise a 50-member board.

The board voted unanimously to elect the following individuals to the board:

James G. “Guyton” Cochran, of Carrollton, is the CFO and executive vice president at Southwire Company. He earned his bachelor’s degree in accounting from UGA in 1988 and a master’s degree in business administration from Georgia State University in 1995.

James L. “Jim” Dinkins, of Atlanta, is the president of Coca-Cola North America. Prior to his appointment, he was president of the Minute Maid Business Unit. He earned a bachelor’s degree in management from UGA in 1984 and an MBA from Emory University in 1992.

Keith Kelly, of Newborn, is the president and CEO of Kelly Products. He earned his bachelor’s degree in agricultural economics from UGA in 1980.

Elizabeth Correll Richards, of Atlanta, is chairman and CEO of Quality Staffing of America Inc. She earned her bachelor’s degree in early childhood education and child psychology from The Ohio State University in 1992.

Jodi Selvey, of Atlanta, is the senior vice president for Colliers International. She earned her bachelor’s degree in agricultural economics from UGA in 1984.

John F. Schraudenbach, of Duluth, was a partner at Ernst & Young in Atlanta prior to retiring in June 2019. He previously served as chair of the Terry College of Business alumni board. He earned his bachelor’s degree in business from UGA in 1981 and a master’s degree in accounting from UGA in 1982.

Dorothy Barfield Sifford, of Nashville, Tennessee, is active in various local, national and international nonprofits, ministries, and educational initiatives and endeavors. She earned her bachelor’s degree in family and consumer sciences from UGA in 1994.

Kimberly L. “Kim” Stamper, of Alpharetta, is a retired marketing professional who earned her bachelor’s degree in marketing from UGA in 1989. She remains actively engaged in mentoring young women, philanthropy and volunteering in her community.

Earl Howard Young, of Atlanta, is the president of General Wholesale Beer Co., a multi-generational family business. He earned his bachelor’s degree in marketing from UGA in 1982.

Three advisory trustees were also elected to assist committees in defining and achieving the board’s strategic goals:

Natalie Schweers Coghill, of Augusta, is founder of The Gracestone Group and senior vice president for Synovus Securities Inc. She earned a bachelor’s degree in journalism from UGA in 1995 and a law degree from UGA in 1998.

Vernon “Trey” Googe III, of Atlanta, is the president and CEO of Yancey Bros. Co. He earned his bachelor’s degree in finance from UGA in 1991 and a law degree from UGA in 1994.

Rebecca B. “Becky” Winkler, of Charlotte, North Carolina, is founder and owner of Department 732c. She graduated summa cum laude from UGA in 1998, earning degrees in psychology and Chinese. She also earned a master’s degree and Ph.D. in industrial-organizational psychology from DePaul University in 2004.

The following individuals also will join the UGA Foundation Board of Trustees in ex-officio positions:

Asim Ahmed, the UGA Student Government Association president, succeeding Rachel Byers.

Savannah C. Hembree, the president of the UGA Staff Council, succeeding Marie Mize.

The UGA Foundation Board of Trustees accorded emeritus status to six trustees whose terms concluded on June 30: Kathryn L. Ash, Elizabeth W. “Betsy” Camp, Frank D. Foley III, Larry D. Thompson, Russell C. “Rusty” Lindner and Robert H. Stolz.

The complete UGA Foundation Board of Trustees is available at https://give.uga.edu/uga-foundation/trustees-and-committees/.

Ask Me Anything Series: New Sessions

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Because of Tatiyana Sinkfield’s scholarship, ‘this is only the beginning’

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Tatiyana Sinkfield (BSA ’20) has a lot to celebrate these days. She is one of the University of Georgia’s newest alumni, having graduated in May with a Bachelor of Science and Arts in Biological Science from the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences. She also graduated as a first-generation college student and a proud alumna of the Georgia Commitment Scholarship Program.

Through this program, Sinkfield was one of five students to receive a scholarship from The Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation. The foundation established the scholarships to support, in perpetuity, students from Atlanta’s historic Westside neighborhoods.

Sinkfield was both surprised and grateful when she learned that she was the recipient of a Georgia Commitment Scholarship supported by the Angela and Arthur M. Blank Scholarship Fund, and her family and friends were equally as thrilled.

“This scholarship program provided me with on-campus resources, educational support and motivation. The staff members were so encouraging and kind,” said Sinkfield.

In addition to the financial resources and on-campus support offered through this scholarship, Sinkfield also enjoyed the unique opportunity of meeting Arthur Blank in 2018 over a small dinner on campus with the other Blank Foundation scholarship recipients. She recalls the group’s inspiring discussion on success after college, community engagement and setting and achieving important life goals.

One of her biggest life goals is to become a pediatrician, and Sinkfield plans to take a gap year to study and gain additional hands-on experience in the medical setting before attending medical school next fall. She believes that the rigor of her coursework at UGA has prepared her for medical school and equipped her with important skills like time management and accountability. Additionally, Sinkfield says that interacting with people from different places and different backgrounds at UGA has really strengthened her interpersonal skills, which she asserts are essential to becoming a good doctor.

The impact of her Georgia Commitment Scholarship extended beyond the classroom, as she emerged as a natural leader on campus during the last four years. Sinkfield served as a resource to several fellow Georgia Commitment Scholars pursuing the pre-medical route and volunteered with numerous organizations including Piedmont Athens Regional Hospital, the State Botanical Garden of Georgia, and Georgia DAZE, an overnight campus visitation program for talented high school seniors from historically underrepresented areas that have been admitted to UGA.

Like so many students, Sinkfield points to a nighttime football game under the Sanford Stadium lights as one of her favorite UGA memories. She vividly remembers the energy and school spirit that filled the stadium and said the feeling of camaraderie among the Bulldog Nation was utterly surreal.

Sinkfield plans to carry that same feeling of camaraderie into the next chapter of her life, remaining forever proud of her time at UGA and grateful for her Georgia Commitment Scholarship.

“The Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation scholarship has helped me achieve not only my goals at UGA, but laid a foundation for my future successes. This is only the beginning.”

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