Outstanding alumni, staff and friends recognized by UGA Alumni Association

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UGA’s Alumni Association announced the seven recipients of the 2022 Alumni Awards at an event held on Friday, April 22. The annual Alumni Awards Luncheon, which dates back to 1936, recognizes individuals and organizations who demonstrate a commitment to UGA. The 2022 honorees were:

“The devotion of this year’s award recipients to the University of Georgia is making a positive difference in the lives of countless individuals on this campus, throughout the state, and around the world,” said UGA President Jere W. Morehead. “They have made the University of Georgia stronger and have made all of us very proud.”

2022 Alumni Merit Awards

The UGA Alumni Association’s oldest and highest honor, the Alumni Merit Award, is presented to individuals whose outstanding community leadership and service to the university reflect UGA’s highest values.

Bill Griffin is the executive chairman of ServiceMac, the nation’s fastest-growing subservicing company providing mortgage servicing support to lenders and investors across the country. He co-founded the company and recently facilitated its sale to First American Financial, a Fortune 500 financial services firm. Griffin has demonstrated a lifelong commitment to UGA. He served on the UGA Foundation board of trustees from 2007 to 2017 and now chairs a group that focuses on maintaining strong relationships between emeritus trustees and the university. Griffin led the fundraising effort that raised $11.5 million to name the William Porter Payne and Porter Otis Payne Indoor Athletic Facility for legendary alumni Billy Payne and his late father, Porter. He served on the Building Terry Campaign Cabinet, which raised more than $125 million in private funding for new facilities, and recently co-chaired the fundraising campaign to name the Jere W. Morehead Honors College.

Shirley Mathis McBay was UGA’s first Black doctoral graduate and the first woman to earn a doctoral degree in mathematics from the university. McBay graduated five years after the university was desegregated in 1961 and dedicated the rest of her life to improving education for underrepresented students. McBay made her immense impact on education, science and society through her work as a faculty member and administrator at Spelman College, dean for student affairs at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), program manager and director in the Science Education Directorate of the National Science Foundation, and founder and president of the Quality Education for Minorities (QEM) Network. McBay died in November 2021 at the age of 86. Her award was accepted posthumously by her son Ron McBay.

2022 Faculty Service Awards

Dr. Garth Russo received a 2022 Faculty Service Award, which is presented to a faculty or staff member who has shown remarkable leadership in higher education. Russo, who retired as executive director of the University Health Center in July 2021, helped UGA navigate the COVID-19 pandemic — one of its most trying periods to date. He began his career as a staff physician in 1991. In January 2018, he became the senior medical director of UHC. Russo became the interim executive director in February 2018 upon Dr. Jean Chin’s retirement and assumed the role permanently in August of that year. Beyond his service as a physician, Russo also improved processes, systems and the organizational structure of the UHC.

Michelle Cook, the second recipient of the 2022 Faculty Service Award, is UGA’s senior vice provost for diversity and inclusion and strategic university initiatives. Her dedication to UGA’s mission is unmatched. She recently co-chaired the Diversity and Inclusive Excellence Planning Committee, which developed a five-year plan to provide an integrated and strategic approach to UGA’s diversity and inclusion efforts. A veteran administrator in the Provost’s Office and the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences, Cook has a long record of success in leading campus-wide programs and garnering external funding to advance institutional priorities. She plays a vital role in elevating the recruitment, retention and success of underrepresented and underserved students, faculty and staff on campus. 

2022 Friend of UGA Award

Dan T. Cathy received the Friend of UGA Award, which is presented to a non-alumnus or organization that has devoted themselves to the greater good of UGA. Cathy is chairman of Chick-fil-A Inc., a fast-food restaurant chain headquartered in Atlanta, and is a highly engaged and generous member of the UGA community. Last fall, Chick-fil-A made a $10 million pledge to expand and enhance the Institute for Leadership Advancement, which works with students across campus to develop values-based, impact-driven leadership. The ILA program is housed in the S. Truett Cathy Leadership Suite within the Terry College’s Business Learning Community. Cathy also has partnered with UGA to support the Master of Fine Arts in Film, Television and Digital Media program. In the second year of the MFA program, students move to Trilith Studios in Fayetteville, Georgia, and study in residence with working professionals at the Georgia Film Academy. Trilith Studios, owned by Cathy, is famously where Marvel’s Avengers: Endgame, DC’s The Suicide Squad and a host of other blockbusters have been filmed.

2022 Family of the Year Award

 

The John Winston “Jack” Rooker family received the Family of the Year Award. The Rooker family history is deeply embedded in Athens and UGA. In 1907, A. P. Winston, the grandfather of Jack Rooker, came to UGA from the University of Virginia to manage the new agricultural college on campus. Over the next three generations, the Rooker family would boast a total of 10 family members graduating from UGA. Their impact on the university is boundless. Jack Rooker started serving on the UGA Foundation board of trustees in 1996, and he served as the founding chair of the UGA Real Estate Foundation. In 2005, John W. Rooker Hall and the Cindy Rooker Fireside Lounge were dedicated in the university’s East Campus Village in gratitude for Jack and Cindy’s years of alumni leadership and support. In 2014, the Rooker Family Need-Based Scholarship Fund was established. One of their most recent commitments was the opening of the Rooker Family Equine Receiving Barn at the UGA Veterinary Medical Learning Center in 2015. In 2017, Moore-Rooker Hall opened in the Terry College’s Business Learning Community thanks to significant financial support from the Rooker family and their longtime friend Dudley Moore.

2022 Young Alumni Award

Juan Mencias was this year’s recipient of the Young Alumni Award, which is presented to an individual who brings recognition and honor to UGA through outstanding leadership and service to the university, the community and his or her profession. He currently serves as chief financial officer for Georgia Diamond Corporation and its affiliate Ascot Diamonds in Atlanta. Mencias earned his Bachelor of Business Administration in finance in 2015 from the Terry College of Business and graduated cum laude from the Morehead Honors College. While at UGA, he served as president of the Goizueta Ambassador Program and promoted the importance of higher education and diversity. Mencias founded the UGA Latino Alumni Council in 2017 and currently serves as its president. The UGA Latino Alumni Council is the first and only alumni group for Latino graduates of UGA. It works to promote networking, collaboration and further development for all UGA undergraduate and graduate alumni who identify themselves as being of Latino descent (including Hispanic, Latin American/Latino and Spanish ancestry).

“This year’s recipients are campus, community and business leaders whose outstanding loyalty and support serve as an inspiration to us all,” said Meredith Gurley Johnson, executive director of the Alumni Association. “They embody the best of UGA, and it is our honor to recognize them today.”

LEARN MORE ABOUT THESE AWARDS AND PAST HONOREES

Leveling the playing field

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In honor of Autism Acceptance Month, the UGA Mentor Program is focusing on what it means to be neurodivergent and is emphasizing how asking for accommodations is not seeking an unfair advantage—it is simply gaining equal footing.

Meet Scott Frasard (BBA ’03, MED ’06, PHD ’11)

Scott’s higher education journey was atypical, even before he realized he was neurodivergent. He didn’t enroll in college until 12 years after graduating from high school–first working as an EMT and then paramedic. Even then, he went to school part time while continuing to work full time, eventually becoming a member of the first graduating class from UGA’s Gwinnett Campus. His college experience piqued an interest in adult education, so he continued to commute to the Gwinnett campus in pursuit of a Master of Education. He then moved to Athens to take courses on UGA’s main campus, eventually earning a Ph.D. in adult education.

It wasn’t until two years ago that he learned of his autism. The formal identification sent him on a journey of discovery.

“It was definitely a learning curve for me,” said Scott. “I had to become comfortable with my autism first, before sharing with others.” Scott turned to the internet. Reframing Autism, a website for an Australian nonprofit organization, has proven helpful. So has the Autism Self Advocacy Network website.

Even though he comes from a medical background, Scott found he was more comfortable with the identity-first descriptors for his autism versus the traditional medical point of view, preferring a statement like “We are autistic” to “We have autism.”

Scott says, “Autism is my identity. You can’t separate me from my autism. Saying ‘We have autism’ implies illness and disability, and that there is something wrong with us. We are not less; we are simply wired differently.”

Leveling the playing field

Learning he was autistic after nearly 30 years of teaching prompted Scott to reevaluate his teaching practices and make changes to be inclusive of neurodivergent learners. This includes creating a safe space in his classroom—an environment that is welcoming to all. He encourages students to talk about what they need up front before it becomes a problem. He shares things about himself to make students more comfortable to talk about themselves.

“I prepare others to expect ‘stimming’ or self-soothing behaviors they might see me do to help regulate my emotions,” explains Scott. He alerts people to his bluntness and explains that they should not perceive it as rudeness; he is simply getting straight to the point. Scott notes that because he interprets language extremely literally, he has learned to ask lots of clarifying questions. These advanced explanations help stem frustration on both sides of his interactions with others. Scott has learned to have these conversations not only with his students, but with his co-workers as well.

“In the hiring process for my last job, I was up front with HR and the hiring managers,” said Scott. “It helped them understand why I asked for what I needed and why these were reasonable accommodations.”

Scott is extremely sensitive to external stimuli. Sounds and movements easily distract him. They grab attention away from what he wants to focus on and create anxiety. For instance, fluorescent lights that flicker and buzz—something neurotypical people ignore or don’t even notice—are quite disruptive. So, Scott works remotely from his home. Like many autistic people, Scott is an introvert. His co-workers understand his need to block out time in his calendar to prepare for and/or decompress from meetings.

Bringing his experience to the Mentor Program

As a mentor in the UGA Mentor Program, Scott uses his experience to help students navigate their UGA journeys. He wants to empower students to ask for what they need from the start.

“Professors understand that to truly measure what someone has learned, they have to remove the barriers that disrupt the measurement,” Scott said. “If students need more time to process test questions and need a quiet environment in which to concentrate, these are not bonuses. They are not asking for extra; they’re seeking equal opportunity to perform at their best.”

Your uniqueness is valuable.

Your experiences may help a student on their UGA journey. Discover how fulfilling being a mentor can be.

BECOME A MENTOR

Learn more.

Find out what it means to be neurodivergent and how you can be an ally to the autistic community. UGA Mentor Program Ambassador Cassie Turner, Class of 2022, sat down for a discussion with Scott in an episode of RealTalk, the UGA Mentor Program’s podcast.

LISTEN NOW

Know a student struggling at UGA?

Scott is just one amazing professional available to serve as a mentor. In fact, the Mentor Program platform makes it easy for students to search through thousands of experienced faculty, staff and alumni mentors to find someone who matches their interests and background and can relate to their strengths and challenges.

FIND A MENTOR

Celebrate UGA’s national championship with a themed background

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Since we won the national championship, we’ve been looking for any excuse to show off a little. If you’re like us, these customized backgrounds should help do the trick. 

We created six national championship-themed digital backgrounds for you to use during your Zoom/virtual meetings. Celebrate on the field with Kirby Smart and confetti or present beside the championship trophy. Whatever you choose, your meetings will burst with Georgia pride!  

Don’t know how to set a background? Don’t worry! 

If your computer is compatible with Zoom backgrounds (most are), follow the steps below to show your Bulldog pride.

  1. Select your favorite background images and save them to your desktop to make it easier to find during this process.
  2. Open Zoom and click the gray gear icon in the top right corner below your profile. *Make sure you are on your Home tab on the menu at the top of the application.
  3. Settings will open in a new window. On the right menu, click Background & Effects. *The icon is turquoise and looks like a person on a computer monitor.
  4. Click the gray plus icon in the right center of the window, and then click Add Image. Navigate to the background you’ve chose, select it and click open. *Make sure you are on your Virtual Backgrounds tab on the menu under your video display.
  5. The background will appear alongside all the other virtual background images on Zoom. Make sure it is selected before you close your Settings, and you’ll have a new championship background! *If your background looks like it’s backward, be sure to uncheck the box next to Mirror my video under the virtual background images in Zoom.

Rather have something more classic? 

We have other UGA-themed backgrounds to choose from, as well as several seasonal options. 

Want more ways to support athletics? 

Consider donating to the UGA Athletic Association to help UGA student-athletes achieve both on and off the field.  

SUPPORT UGA ATHLETICS

40 Under 40 Spotlight: Mario Cambardella reinvents urban landscaping

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For Mario Cambardella (BLA ’06, MEPD ’11, MLA ’13), connecting his professional purpose to a personal passion to make a difference ultimately set him on a pathway for success. It’s why he pursued a variety of service-oriented efforts to reinvigorate urban landscapes before turning his attention to starting an innovative business that relies on technology to better connect Georgia farmers with new markets in the Atlanta area.

For his personal, professional and philanthropic achievements, Mario ranked among UGA’s 40 Under 40 Class of 2021. The program celebrates young alumni leading the pack in their industries and communities.

Mario and his wife, Lindsey Cambardella (JD ’12).

How did Mario Cambardella find his purpose?

During his time at UGA, Mario connected with Jack Crowley, a professor emeritus in the College of Environment + Design. Mario found that “he understood how to find a solution that achieved true sustainability by balancing economic, social and environmental factors in equal harmony.”

After earning his master’s degree in landscape architecture in 2013, Mario landed an internship with a prestigious firm based in Colorado. However, many of his assigned projects didn’t align with his belief that designed landscapes should have a more holistic function that better supports the people who live near them. That’s what ultimately put him on a journey to become the first Urban Agriculture Director in the country.

“The premise is the landscape can be more than beautiful—it can perform, and it can have a function,” Mario said.

He would go on to lead the AgLanta initiative, focusing on bringing sustainable landscaping practices to underutilized properties in the Atlanta area. Relying on its Grows-A-Lot program, Mario acquired several vacant properties that had fallen into disrepair in USDA-defined food desert areas and converted them into community gardens. These spaces would help generate healthy food for the surrounding areas, and would be aesthetically pleasing and create a sense of place for the community.

Mario also helped cultivate the country’s largest municipal food forest, Urban Food Forest at Browns Mill.

What is ServeScape?

After focusing the first phase of his career on revitalizing urban communities, Mario embraced a new challenge when he founded ServeScape. Its goal is to bolster the green industry’s supply chain and enhance its use of technology to better serve customers and empower Georgia’s growers. It is Atlanta’s largest online-only garden center and wholesale plant nursery, sourcing a variety of Georgia Grown plants from farmers and horticulturists across the state.

ServeScape connects the bounty of growers with wider audiences, expanding their market and boosting revenues, while enabling property owners in urban areas to curate their own sustainable landscapes with native plants.

“We can enable beautiful and resilient landscapes all across the country because we’re relying on technology and a simple methodology,” Mario noted. “It’s bringing forward the idea that the products of every farmer can now get to market. And then when it gets to the market, we can actually make sure that it gets to the right hands.”

Mario (left) with his ServeScape team.

How is ServeScape sustainable?

Mario created ServeScape with sustainability in mind. ServeScape elevates locally grown products and locally stationed experts to foster a closer, greener community in the Metro Atlanta area. The company brings together landscape designers, plant experts and professional installers to create a landscape that challenges the norms of retail sellers.

By being a fully online marketplace, ServeScape does not waste resources on large, expensive plant nurseries and instead ships plants directly from the farm to clients’ doors. ServeScape’s designers also create a customized landscape that can last in each individual environment. Plants are meticulously curated to not only be beautiful, but also functional and resilient, reducing the need for replacements and leading to economic and environmental success.

“Through every job and project, I keep in mind that working in the natural and built environment makes you a student of each project site,” Mario said. “I hope I never lose the sense of adventure and excitement of seeing a site for the first time. Losing touch with the land distances yourself from many of the reasons this profession is so unique, engaging and rewarding.”

ServeScape is provides landscape design services throughout metro Atlanta and the Athens area, while AgLanta continues to advance its mission of advancing and supporting urban agriculture in the city.

Do you know an outstanding young grad leading the pack in their industry or community? Nominate them for the 2022 Class of 40 Under 40! Nominations close on April 8.

NOMINATE A GRAD

Written by Johnathan McGinty (ABJ ’00), Partner, The Trestle Collective

Donors make 9,339 gifts on Georgia Giving Day

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UGA’s first 24-hour fundraising campaign smashes goals, nets $5.3 million to areas across campus

The University of Georgia’s first institution-wide, 24-hour fundraising effort, Georgia Giving Day, finished at midnight PST on April 1 after receiving 9,339 gifts.

UGA’s goal for its inaugural giving day was 1,785 gifts, but overwhelming support pushed the campaign past its first goal, a second goal of 3,318 and even a third goal of 6,000.

“I’m so grateful to everyone who contributed to this astonishing result, and I want them to know that they are part of more than just a successful fundraising effort,” said Kelly Kerner, UGA vice president for development and alumni relations. “They are now part of a student’s journey to Athens, a community solving local issues through UGA research, a team of students and faculty finishing a project that puts them on the national stage. All these things and many more are made possible with the help of our donors.”

Georgia Giving Day generated $5.3 million in new funding, with gifts going to each of UGA’s 18 schools and colleges. Donors came from 50 states and 16 countries.

Some donors did more than donate, however. UGA alumni chapters across the U.S. organized events for Georgia Giving Day that encouraged attendees to make gifts while participating in a variety of activities. Events from St. Louis to Dallas to Savannah to Boston saw Bulldogs giving back while bowling, brunching, wine tasting and more.

UGA enlisted a number of prominent alumni to promote the effort. UGA head football coach Kirby Smart, broadcasters Deborah Roberts and Maria Taylor, author and Super Bowl champion Malcolm Mitchell and J. Reid Parker Director of Athletics Josh Brooks—all Georgia Giving Day donors themselves—helped reach out to UGA supporters.

“When Bulldogs come together, our wins extend beyond the football field into the very heart of what UGA stands for: a better quality of life for everyone,” said Smart in a Georgia Giving Day promotional video. “With all of the Bulldog Nation working together, there’s no limit to who and where we can help.”

Students played a notable role in the day’s success through the annual Senior Signature campaign, which allows graduating students to have their names included on a plaque in Tate Plaza with a $30 gift supporting UGA and the school or college of their choice. The campaign’s final day was March 31, and thanks to Georgia Giving Day efforts, it acquired nearly 22 percent of its student donor goal in a single day.

Those who were unable to donate on Georgia Giving Day can still make a difference at UGA. Visit givingday.uga.edu to make a gift, learn more about Georgia Giving Day and watch a special video from Coach Smart.