UGA Alumni affinity groups add new slate of leaders

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University of Georgia Alumni added 29 new members to its affinity group leadership councils.

These alumni affinity groups — UGA Black Alumni, Latino Alumni, Women of UGA, and Young Alumni — work to build welcoming communities and help some of the university’s most dynamic alumni populations connect deeply to their alma mater. Affinity leadership council members are key to these efforts.

“We are excited about welcoming these committed alumni and seeing how each of their talents will contribute to engaging other Bulldogs across the nation,” said Adam Roell (BSED ’10), executive director of alumni relations. “We look forward to supporting our new members as they aim to strengthen the connectivity and reach of our leadership councils and groups.”

Black Alumni Leadership Council

  • Meila Barnes (BS ’16)
  • Cassaundra Govan (BBA ’01, PHD ’12)
  • Roderick Langston (EDD ’12)
  • Geoffrey Loften (BA ’15)
  • Alia Martinez (BBA ’10, MBA ’17)
  • Kydae Scott (BS ’23)
  • Janella Thomas-Burse (BS ’86)
  • Clarisa Thompson (MED ’10)

Returning council member Rodd Cargill (BBA ’10) began a one-year term as council president on July 1.

Latino Alumni Council

  • Isaac Aguilar (BS ’23)
  • Sergio Álvarez-Mena (JD ’81)
  • Oscar Campos (BSME ’20)
  • Benedito Pinto (MBA ’22)
  • Carlos M. Vazquez III (BSED ’09)

Returning council member Debbie Velazquez (BBA ’13) began a one-year term as council president on July 1.

Women of UGA Leadership Council

  • Stacey A. Chavis (MSL ’19)
  • Lindsay Demboski (BSFCS ’06)
  • Jooliana Krummel (BA ’14)
  • Kelley A. O’Keeffe (BA ’07, MBA ’14)
  • Heena Patel (BS ’96)
  • Donjanea Fletcher Williams (ABJ ’00)

Returning council member Crystal Ivey (MBA ’14) began a one-year term as council president on July 1.

Young Alumni Leadership Council

  • Temitayo Akinsanya (BBA ’22)
  • Erin Caplan (ABJ ’19)
  • Austin Gibbons (AB ’20, AB ’20, MBA ’25)
  • Mitchell Hutton (BBA ’19)
  • Noor-E-Alam Marshall (BBA ’18, BBA ’18)
  • Anne-Marie Nneka Nwokoro (AB ’20)
  • Danny Wayne Reagan III (BBA ’22)
  • Chandler Sherry (BFA ’22)
  • Alexis Vickers (BSFCS ’20)
  • Farbod Zahiri (BSEE ’17)

Returning council member Collier Collier (BSED ’10, AB ’10) began a one-year term as council president on July 1.

Donors set new UGA fundraising record

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Alumnus leaves $1.5M estate gift to UGA

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Meet the Student Alumni Council

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The Student Alumni Council is a board of approximately 40 undergraduate student volunteers with an executive committee. Through the generous support of donors, SAC is able to provide programming and education to students to help connect their peers with university traditions, philanthropic opportunities and alumni.  

SAC hosts programs and events to connect with students throughout the academic year, providing them with the opportunity to find their passion on campus and connect with alumni throughout their journey. In our organization, members learn crucial skills like project management, effective communication and event coordination. SAC members also learn and share the impacts that donors have on our university experience. They make the commitment, too — SAC has a 100% giving rate each year! Each SAC member is ready to share what it means to be a Bulldog, from the university’s rich traditions to its incredible alumni network. As volunteers, these students are ready to help their peers connect with opportunities across campus.  

Here are four examples of ways we engage with students throughout the year: 

FRESHMAN WELCOME 

UGA’s Freshman Welcome has been a tradition on campus since 2011. Every year, we welcome first-year students in Sanford Stadium the night before classes begin. This event signals the start of the incoming class’s journey as a Bulldog and it’s the only time they will all be together as one group until they return to the stadium for commencement.  

ALUMNI NETWORKING  

“Alumni” is in our name, but it’s also a part of our history. Today, SAC offers a variety of opportunities to connect students with alumni. All students are welcome to attend Dialogue with a Dawg, one of our alumni networking programs. Each dialogue is hosted by at least one alumni and facilitated by a SAC member. It’s a great way to gain career insights, ask questions about life on campus and meet fellow students. 

BEAT WEEK 

Every fall, SAC works with UGA’s Office of Annual Giving to celebrate Beat Week. Together, students and alumni go head-to-head with an SEC opponent for a week-long giving challenge ahead of a football game. The results? A week packed with giveaways and impact followed by a weekend of high-stakes sports. Go Dawgs!

FOUNDERS DAY 

Each January, the University of Georgia celebrates its history as the birthplace of public higher education in America. Founders Day is a celebration of UGA’s academic excellence, which brings together our school and college partners from across campus through student events. You can find us at Tate Student Center celebrating with Hairy Dawg, games and giveaways. Happy Birthday, UGA!   

Interested in learning more about SAC? Contact us!  

Service builds a vision for driving change

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This story, written by Alan Flurry, was originally published on the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences website on June 25, 2024. 

UGA Trustee Becky Winkler (AB ’98) believes everyone has a narrative. You just need to keep it pointed in the right direction.

“My dad was a Jamaican immigrant and he taught me the secret to the meaning of life is it’s all made up,” Winkler said. “Raised by an immigrant, I was taught to question things that other people consider normal.”

That cogent advice has led Winkler to chart her own circuitous path that, in retrospect, appears rather direct, if not deliberate. After graduating from UGA with a bachelor’s degree in psychology, she earned her M.A. and Ph.D. in Industrial-Organizational Psychology from DePaul University. While still attending graduate school, she coached mid-level managers at Advocate Healthcare, now the third-largest non-profit healthcare system in the U.S. After completing her Ph.D. in 2004, Winkler began coaching C-suite leaders.

“Not that I really knew what I was doing back then, I was 26 years old,” she said. “But it’s been 20 years that I’ve been coaching C-suite individuals. And I love it because I get to extend my dad’s wisdom to help other people – what is the narrative in your head that’s serving you? What is the narrative in your head that’s not serving you? Do you even realize you have a narrative? And that you can change it?”

Winkler’s narrative was influenced early by her parents and later by her exposure to a wide array of UGA experiences as an undergraduate. She earned a minor in Mandarin Chinese, a certificate in women’s studies, and spent time in the geology-anthropology summer field study program. Winkler says she would have added Classics to her psychology degree and fit right in with many double-majors in Franklin today.

Becky Winkler at the 2024 Tony Awards (PHOTO: Franklin College of Arts and Sciences)

“My first quarter, there was so much freedom and I could take whatever. Dr. Haas was my advisor, so I was just taking what I loved,” she said. “I signed up for astronomy, music, and then Chinese. And I was like, ‘what am I supposed to do with this?’ And he said, ‘sing Chinese to the stars, of course!’ and I was like ‘Oh, I’m going to like this place!'”

“I went as far as I could with these degrees, at the time,” Winkler added. “There was no major in Chinese, and the women’s studies program was only accredited as a certificate. It shows how UGA continues to evolve in the programs it offers.”

Winkler returned to UGA in 2024 to deliver the psychology department’s convocation address and serve as a judge for the Three-Minute Thesis competition.

Her company, Department 732c, named in homage to Winkler’s grandmother, Florence, a secretary for more than 20 years in an iconic retail corporation, reflects her own aspirations and resilience. Her experience, direct approach and humanistic outlook combine to guide clients, from the executives of corporate America to start-ups and nonprofits. The sense that Winkler’s skills, intuition and training created the conditions for her own dream job quickly becomes unmistakable.

“You can’t coach somebody unless they want to do it. One of the only things that coaching and therapy have in common is that importance of chemistry. I’m quite upfront about it – if you don’t think that you’ll have a good time working with me, I’m more than happy to refer them to someone else,” she said. “And by the way, if you’re too busy, then you’re not going to do the work and it’s going to be a waste of your time and your organization’s money.”

It’s a level of honesty and clarity that executives across the corporate world respond to, listen to, and learn from.

And when the chemistry is there and the client is willing, how does she know the process is working?

“It’s quantitative and qualitative and you pick your north star of where you want to be. I’m a big believer in measuring outcomes so generally, it’s a six-month engagement, sometimes people extend for different reasons,” she said.

Winkler has worked with one client for two years.

“On the day that we were finishing, I said ‘look at this great progress,’ because we measured that day against what we focused on at the start. I give people an online tool to say, here are the three factors that relate to their goals. How would you rate them now, and what’s your advice to this person, where have you seen him grow and change the most, what should they still focus on going forward? And from that you see the change scores, and that’s how you know it’s working.”

Winkler’s enthusiasm for the stages of improvement, increased competence and performance, stem from a simple but strident outlook. “I actually took a quote attributed to C.S. Lewis that comes back again and again in our work: ‘Isn’t it funny how day by day nothing changes, but when you look back, everything is different.’ I love it because the work can be so incremental and you can get frustrated by the whole ‘levels of competence’ paradigm. But I love seeing people succeed, getting to know them and sharing these intimate experiences of personal growth.”

That love of shared success has become a driving force in Winkler’s activism and philanthropy. A veteran of the non-profit sector, she served on the Atlanta Beltline committee and on the board of EMBRACE (founded in 2018 to repurpose used medical equipment to people around the world).

“I’ve always been very active, but my time as KIPP board chair in Charlotte (Knowledge is Power Program), which focuses on kids in underserved communities who need better public schools, basically, really galvanized my vision to help see kids to and through college, career, and higher expectations,” she said.

“The Outsiders” producers and company (PHOTO: Getty Images)

Winkler’s philanthropic involvement with UGA began through Dorothé Otemann, director of development for the honors program, which is now known as the Morehead Honors College.

“I call her my umbilical cord to the university because she taught me how I can use my resources to drive change,” said Winkler, who created a scholarship at UGA in honor of her father, another at DePaul to honor her mother, and sponsored a room in the honors college named for Otemann. She’s currently on track to complete an endowed chair in the Institute of Women’s Studies in 2027.

In addition to her philanthropic efforts in higher education, Winkler’s support for the arts extends to investing in the Broadway play “The Outsiders,” winner of the 2024 Tony Award for Best New Musical.

“It’s exciting, trying to figure how to use your time, treasure, and power to drive the change you know is needed in the world,” she said.

Support the University of Georgia

Blake Witmer is following in her father’s footsteps

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This story, written by Heather Skyler, was originally published on UGA Today on June 14, 2024. 

Two UGA Orientation leaders from the same family, 29 years apart.

Every year, approximately 8,000 students and 12,000 family members come to the University of Georgia for Orientation. The job of introducing these groups to campus is a coveted position, and over 100 students apply to be orientation leaders every year. Only 20 are selected.

This summer, rising junior Blake Witmer ’26 earned one of those spots, stepping into the same role her father, Craig Witmer (BSED ’96), had in 1995.

Craig Witmer (second from right) with three of his fellow 1995 orientation leaders. (PHOTO: Chamberlain Smith/UGA)

The new orientation leaders are each assigned a number, and each number has an adjective attached, from “Wild 1” to “Timeless 20.”

“When my dad was here, there were only 10 leaders and there were no adjectives,” Blake explained. “They just sat them down and told them their number. Now it’s a big deal. They even have number reveal day.”

Blake Witmer and her father, Craig Witmer, make a six with their hands beside Herty Fountain. Each of them were number “Saucy Six” as orientation leaders. (PHOTO: Chamberlain Smith/UGA)

Blake was thrilled to discover that she would be “Saucy 6,” the same number her father had. When she found out, she called her dad, who was excited about the connection. Last summer’s number six, Cole Broomberg, was there with her when she made the call.

“Your number from last year becomes your mentor,” she explained. “Cole texts me every day to check in. He’s my number dad. I call him Papa.”

Blake grew up in Grayson. Both of her parents and her older sister attended UGA, and all three of them are teachers. When it came time for Blake to apply to college, she was determined to go somewhere else and “break the cycle.”

Orientation leader Blake Witmer greets freshman students and parents at orientation check in at Tate Grand Hall. (PHOTO: Chamberlain Smith/UGA)

She was considering a small, prestigious college in upstate New York, but after attending the UGA game against Coastal Carolina with her sister, Hayden, who lived on campus at the time, Blake had a change of heart.

“I liked how big campus was. I thought I wanted to go to a smaller school because my high school was big, but once I was here visiting, I liked that aspect. On a tour of UGA, my guide said, ‘You can make a big school small, but you can’t make a small school big.’ I really liked that.”

Craig Witmer (Bottom row, second from left) with the 1995 orientation leaders. (PHOTO: Chamberlain Smith/UGA)

After receiving early admission and the Zell Miller Scholarship, Blake committed to UGA, and she’s been deeply involved in campus life ever since she arrived. During her first year, she joined a student government First-Year Program.

“It really tuned in my love for mentorship. Specifically for the first-year experience, which I think is such a unique time in a college career,” she said, adding that the program helped her learn how to get students excited and involved during their first year of college, which was perfect training for being an OL.

Despite changing her mind about coming to UGA and despite her love of mentoring, she plans to break the family cycle of becoming a teacher. As a public relations major in UGA’s Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication, she likes the idea of possibly going into publishing. Currently, she works for a local fashion and culture magazine called Strike, writing articles and acting as blog director.

Portrait of Craig Witmer, former orientation leader, and daughter Blake Witmer, current orientation leader, in front of the Arch. (PHOTO: Chamberlain Smith/UGA)

But right now, most of her time involves introducing students to UGA. New student orientation began May 30 and there are 17 first-year sessions before school begins in August. Each group attends two days of orientation, which starts with a silly song and dance number performed by all 20 orientation leaders. Then small groups tour campus, learn about UGA’s social media accounts from the Division of Marketing and Communications, play games, and eat dinner in the dining hall before watching the OLs perform skits. Finally, they spend the evening at Ramsey signing up for student organizations and choosing from activities like a silent disco or board games.

Craig Witmer said a lot has changed about the job since his time at UGA, but he thinks there are more commonalities than differences. “The biggest similarity is the ability to share a love of UGA with so many people,” he said.

Blake said her favorite part of the job is getting to meet the students. “It’s such a fulfilling experience. I can see why people stay in higher ed. There’s nothing like it. Getting to be a part of that for the whole summer is going to be great.”

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Former Chief Justice follows in the ‘Footsteps’ of UGA trailblazers

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Retired Georgia Supreme Court Chief Justice Robert Benham will receive the 2024 Footsteps Award and be recognized at the annual 1961 Club celebration. 

Each year, alumni who demonstrate a significant positive impact in their community are honored with the award, named to recognize three UGA trailblazers that helped to integrate the university: Charlayne Hunter-Gault, Hamilton Holmes and Mary Frances Early. Winners are chosen by a committee of University of Georgia faculty, staff and students.

“Justice Benham’s career is inspirational for students, fellow alumni and communities all over Georgia,” said Lee Zell, president of the UGA Alumni Association. “He has given so much to his community, his state and his university. It’s an honor to be able to recognize his service in this way.”

Justice Benham, a 1970 graduate of UGA’s School of Law, is no stranger to breaking barriers. He was the first African American member of the Supreme Court of Georgia, and he was the longest-serving justice when he retired in 2020 after more than 30 years. Among his many other achievements, Justice Benham was also the first African American to establish a law practice in Cartersville; the first Black president of the Bartow County Bar Association; and the first African American to win a statewide election since Reconstruction.

In addition to his illustrious public service career, Benham also continues to give back to the UGA community. He was the keynote speaker at the 2020 Holmes-Hunter Signature Lecture, which is sponsored by the UGA Office of the President and is designated as a Signature Lecture. It has been held annually since 1985.

The Justice Robert Benham Scholars Program Fund was created to support UGA School of Law students in the Benham Scholars Program who have overcome significant adversity and demonstrated an intent to return to and serve rural or legally underserved communities. The program provides support for law students in four key areas: recruitment, preparation for law school, academic support and career planning.

Justice Benham has received numerous accolades over the years, including some from other esteemed Georgia institutions. The Chief Justice’s Commission on Professionalism, the organization responsible for ensuring that Georgia lawyers are enlisted in the service of the client and the public good, established the Justice Robert Benham Awards for Community Service, which now enter their 24th year of honoring outstanding community and public service by judges throughout the state of Georgia.

“Justice Benham embodies the values that the University of Georgia hopes to instill in our alumni: courage, compassion and a dedication to public service,” Jill Walton, vice president for development and alumni relations at UGA said. “We are excited to be able to celebrate his involvement with UGA and his community with this award.”

This year marks the third year of the UGA Footsteps Award. Previous honorees include Richard Dunn and Xernona Thomas in 2023, and Eugenia Harvey as the inaugural honoree in 2022.

Justice Benham will be honored during the annual 1961 Club Celebration on June 14 in Atlanta. The 1961 Club is a giving society named for the year of desegregation at UGA. Members support the Black Alumni Scholarship Fund, which seeks to remove barriers to education for students.

A good mentor is simple to find

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The UGA Mentor Program offers connection and inspiration to participants in a variety of professional fields, including those who serve or plan to serve in the U.S. Armed Forces. 

The ease of finding a mentor with his exact dream job was the first among many pleasant surprises for Cadet Chase Martel ’25 when he first began to use the Mentor Program’s online platform. An ambitious undergraduate in the Terry College of Business, Chase’s expectations were exceeded soon after he first engaged with the program. His professional goal is to become a Judge Advocate General in the United States Air Force, and he thought the likelihood of finding a UGA alum in that career who was also a mentor was low. Enter: a “major” surprise. 

“It’s been really impactful to have someone who is working my dream job to offer his perspective and experience by looking back to when he was in my shoes,” Chase describes. “It’s sort of like looking at myself years down the road.” 

Major Kevin Mitchell (AB ’05) joined the Mentor Program thinking that if today’s students were anything like he was, a little extra guidance would be helpful as they navigate college and the job market. When Major Mitchell was a first-generation rural student, there were many times that he had a network of people to help him navigate his career path. In the spirit of a true Bulldog, Major Mitchell decided then to pay it forward to the next generation by serving as a UGA mentor.  

The mentor-mentee pair mainly meets through Zoom calls and emails given Major Mitchell’s station in Hawaii, but they were able to meet face-to-face when Major Mitchell returned to Athens as one of the UGA Alumni Association’s 40 Under 40 honorees in 2023. The duo met up for coffee and a walk around campus. From Candler Hall, where Major Mitchell studied as a student, to Sanford Stadium, where Chase remembered his experience watching the 2022 College Football Playoff National Championship his freshman year, the pair discussed their respective memories at UGA. Despite being decades apart in age and experience, the two had similar college experiences.  

Cadet Martel and Major Mitchell used virtual meetings to overcome time and distance.

A benefit for both 

Chase is not the only one who benefited from participation in the mentor program; Major Mitchell did, too.  

“Not only does it allow you to provide advice to someone who is passionate about what you do, but it also allows you the space to reflect on the aspects of your job that really fulfill you,” Major Mitchell says.  

That reflection is invaluable to professionals who may not initially think they have anything to offer the next generation. “It’s inspiring for me to see someone Chase’s age be so excited and thoughtful about the future,” Major Mitchell describes. “It’s a comforting thought to have Chase as an example of how the next generation will navigate the world.” 

“It’s almost like recharging your batteries,” he continues. “It’s energizing to know that what you do matters to people and that the future is in good hands because of it.” 

It should come as no surprise then that the two encourage both potential mentors and mentees to try the program for themselves. Even if a potential mentee has a less-than-clear idea of their dream job, the Mentor Program can help mentees receive a practical perspective that may be difficult to access in a classroom. As for potential mentors, it can provide an inspiring and energizing opportunity for reflection.  

“I couldn’t ask for a better college or post-grad experience than the one I’ve had with UGA,” Major Mitchell says. “Not just with a successful football team and all the joy that entails, but participating in this program and meeting Chase has been a really meaningful way to stay engaged with the university.” 

Whether it’s being a part of Bulldog Nation, or being a part of a greater collective in the armed forces, Major Mitchell and Chase’s experience in UGA’s Mentor Program highlights the importance of connecting with fellow Bulldogs who share your passions and values.

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2024 University of Georgia graduates embody a culture of giving

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Senior Signature campaign raises more than $100,000 for students, campus funds.

Every spring, the University of Georgia graduating class contributes a gift to the university to mark their legacy on campus for generations of students to come. The Class of 2024 has continued this tradition with a strong showing of support for their soon-to-be alma mater. For the fourth year in a row, over 3,000 student-donors contributed to the Senior Signature campaign.

This year, 3,201 members of the 2024 class contributed over $100,000 through Senior Signature, the university’s class gift program that has been in place since 1991. Undergraduate, graduate and professional students participate in the campaign.

“My fellow members of the Class of 2024 have demonstrated the importance of devoting time and energy to their passions,” said Caroline Reedy, outgoing president of the UGA Student Alumni Council. “We all know how important it is to leave things better than we found them, and the Class of 2024 has truly shown their commitment to campus, even as they are getting ready to leave it.”

The minimum Senior Signature donation is $30 and serves as an opportunity for students to learn how financial support can be designated to a variety of funds across campus. Each student donor is invited to direct $20 of their gift to an area of campus that made a positive impact on their time here. This year, students contributed to 621 funds at UGA. Among those funds were the Undergraduate Student Emergency Fund and the Sunshine Fund, both geared toward supporting holistic student well-being on campus.

The remaining $10 of a student’s donation is combined with other class members’ gifts to provide grant funding to a student organization of the group’s choice. This year, student donors selected XChanged Life to receive the grant during the upcoming academic year. The organization plans to host an event tailored to exchange, international, and UGA students, with the aim of exposing more international students to American culture, facilitating cultural exchange, and promoting greater interconnectedness among the student population at UGA.

In addition to supporting future generations of Bulldogs, student donors’ names will be engraved on the Class of 2024 plaque in Tate Plaza, just steps away from Sanford Stadium, Tate Student Center and Memorial Hall. The plaque will be installed ahead of Spring Commencement.

The tradition of student giving 

Reedy and fellow members of the UGA Student Alumni Council engage their peers throughout the year to connect with alumni and to participate in campus traditions that enhance the student experience. They also strive to impress upon other students the importance of giving back philanthropically to UGA.

Their efforts, which include hosting fundraising events, peer-to-peer education via social media and email, and tabling on campus during the 2023-2024 academic year, help to engage their peers throughout their time at UGA.

“Students have a lot of opportunities to give back beyond the Senior Signature program,” said Reedy. “Initiatives like Beat Week, Dawg Day of Giving, and other special fundraising campaigns give students the opportunity to leave their mark on this university in a way that best suits them and their experiences here.”

To learn more about Senior Signature, go to alumni.uga.edu/seniorsignature.

Former dean establishes UGA college’s first chair

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