Nominations open for UGA’s Footsteps Award

The Footsteps Award honors trailblazers Charlayne Hunter-Gault, Hamilton Holmes and Mary Frances Early. 

The University of Georgia is accepting nominations for its Footsteps Award. This annual award recognizes a UGA graduate who embodies the same pioneering spirit of three UGA trailblazers that helped to integrate the university – Charlayne Hunter-Gault (ABJ ’63), Hamilton Holmes (BS ’63) and Mary Frances Early (MMED ’62, EDS ’67). 

Members of the UGA community are invited to submit nominations for the Footsteps Award by completing a brief form available online at alumni.uga.edu/footsteps-award. The nomination period ends February 9, and the recipient will be announced in late spring.  

The honoree must be a UGA graduate who has made a meaningful impact across multiple areas of their community. Selected by a committee of UGA faculty, staff, alumni and students, the recipient will be presented with the award during the 1961 Club Celebration this summer.  

This is the fourth year that the award will be presented. Last year, the Footsteps Award was awarded to former Georgia Supreme Court Chief Justice Robert Benham, following Richard Dunn and Xernona Thomas in 2023 and Eugenia Harvey in 2022. 

“It fills us with pride to see our alumni not only thriving in their personal and professional lives, but also making a positive impact in their communities,” said Adam Roell, UGA’s executive director of alumni relations. “These individuals truly embody the spirit of the University of Georgia beyond the campus, and the Footsteps Award is just one way to recognize their achievements.” 

Questions about the award can be emailed to alumni@uga.edu.