Archive for category: Signature Events

The University of Georgia’s 2025 Alumni Awards honorees were recognized during a celebratory luncheon on April 4 in Athens. These awards are a long-standing tradition intended to celebrate individuals and organizations that demonstrate an outstanding commitment to UGA. The 2025 honorees are:  

• Allison Ausband | Alumni Merit Award  

• Terry Brown | Alumni Merit Award 

• Jennifer Frum | Faculty Service Award 

• Cathie and John Crawford III | Family of the Year Award 

• John Huland Carmical Foundation | Friend of UGA Award 

• Lucy Pinto | Young Alumni Award 

“We are honored to celebrate these outstanding recipients and their tireless support of the University of Georgia,” said UGA President Jere W. Morehead. “Their generosity and devotion to our university continue to empower our students to lead, discover and serve.” 

Pictured from left to right: Blain Allen, Jimmy Alston, John O. Knox, Lucy Pinto, Allison Ausband, Terry Brown, Jennifer Frum, Cathie Crawford, John Crawford III, and UGA President Jere W. Morehead. Photo Credit: Justin Evans Photography.

2025 Alumni Merit Awards  

Allison Ausband is a 1983 graduate of the Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication. Currently serving as chair of the UGA Foundation Board of Trustees since 2023, Ausband began her tenure on the board in 2016. Before being elected chair, she previously served as vice chair, chair of the foundation’s nominating and trusteeship committee, and strategic vice chair. Ausband was also a member of the UGA Board of Visitors and has played a role in some of UGA’s most forward-thinking initiatives, including as one of the founding donors of Georgia Women Give, a dedicated mentor with the UGA Mentor Program and an enthusiastic supporter of the UGA in Washington program. Ausband serves as executive vice president and chief people officer for Delta Air Lines. She has been instrumental in spearheading the invaluable partnership between Delta and UGA, which has led to the creation of Delta Hall in Washington, D.C. and the Delta Innovation Hub on UGA’s Athens campus. In addition to her service at UGA, Allison serves on the Board of Directors for the Delta Air Lines Foundation. She was honored with UGA’s Blue Key Service Award in 2023, which is presented to individuals who have made a major contribution to the university, state, and nation. For her role as Delta’s executive sponsor for the company’s efforts to fight human trafficking, Ausband was awarded Reuters’ Stop Slavery Award in 2020 and Humanitarian of the Year by the United Nations Association in 2019. Ausband has also been named one of Atlanta’s most powerful business leaders by Atlanta Magazine for two consecutive years.   

Terry Brown graduated summa cum laude from the Terry College of Business in 1984, but his commitment to the University of Georgia goes back to his childhood days of cheering on the Dawgs between the hedges. As a member of the Terry College of Business Pinnacle Society and an avid supporter of the Morehead Honors College, study abroad scholarships, and UGA’s School of Medicine, Brown has played an integral role in the expansion and continued growth of UGA’s campus and student resources. Brown also supports the university’s athletics program as a member of the Silver Circle in the Magill Society, in addition to his significant impact within UGA’s 1785 Society. With more than 30 years of real estate experience in retail strategy, investments, capital markets, operations, and business and organizational development, Brown has been a frequent and highly respected guest speaker and mentor within Terry College. Brown has also given his time and expertise through many high-impact volunteer roles across the University of Georgia’s campus, including serving as a member of the UGA Foundation Board of Trustees for nine years, with two terms on the executive committee as treasurer. He was also a member of the foundation’s inaugural Emeritus Trustees Leadership Committee. During his time as a trustee, Brown visited UGA study away campuses in Oxford, England; Cortona, Italy; and Washington, D.C. He was named a 2011 Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Regional Award winner and national finalist and was honored with a Terry College of Business Distinguished Alumni Award in 2013. Brown has passed down his commitment to service and philanthropy to his three children, two of whom are UGA graduates and now involved across the campus. 

2025 Family of the Year Award  

John Crawford III began his family’s legacy at UGA when he graduated in 1962 from the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences. John III and his wife, Cathie, established the Crawford Family Scholarship Fund in 2014 to support UGA students in need. Their scholarship program now supports 20 students — five per class — each year at UGA. John and Cathie routinely meet and hold gatherings for the beneficiaries of their generosity in order to build meaningful relationships with each scholarship recipient, known as “Crawford Scholars.” John III, a Mississippi native, attended UGA on a track and field scholarship and was the 1962 SEC pole vault champion his senior year of college. A well-rounded and involved student, John made the most of his time in Athens with membership in Blue Key Society, the Sphinx society and Kappa Alpha fraternity. His commitment to faith and theology is long-documented, as he was the co-founder and president of the UGA chapter of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes. Members of UGA’s 1785 Society, John III and Cathie impressed upon their children — John IV, David and Andrew — the importance of philanthropy. John IV (BBA ’88), also a 1785 Society member, has been widely engaged at the university, notably as an emeritus trustee and former chairman of the UGA Foundation. His giving supports experiential learning for students as well as President Morehead’s highest priorities. He followed his father’s footsteps as a member of Kappa Alpha fraternity, as did his own son, Jack (BBA ’22). He is managing director of equity investments at Crawford Investment Counsel, Inc. David has served as president of Crawford Investment Counsel since 1992. He serves on the boards of St. Joseph’s Mercy Foundation and the Conservation Foundation of the Gulf Coast. Andrew is an accomplished artist whose sculpture of a split screw near the Georgia Museum of Art has become a directional landmark. He has several other iron structures around the Performing and Visual Arts Complex and the State Botanical Garden of Georgia, where he is also a member of the Board of Advisors. 

2025 Faculty Service Award  

Jennifer Frum earned her doctorate degree from UGA in 2009 and became the university’s fourth vice president for public service and outreach in 2012, the first woman to serve in the role. She retired in December 2024 with the title of vice president emeritus. She provided institutional leadership for the outreach, engagement and economic development efforts across Georgia led by UGA. The eight diverse units of PSO thrived during her tenure: the Carl Vinson Institute of Government, J.W. Fanning Institute for Leadership Development, UGA Center for Continuing Education & Hotel, Archway Partnership, State Botanical Garden of Georgia, Marine Extension and Georgia Sea Grant, Small Business Development Center and the Office of Service-Learning (co-managed with the Vice President for Instruction). She solidified UGA’s reputation as a national leader in public service, including recognition as a Carnegie Community Engaged Institution and the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities’ Innovation and Economic Prosperity University designation. She also expanded opportunities for UGA students to gain valuable workforce experience and develop their own civic engagement through service-learning and public service and outreach. She was named one of Georgia Trend’s “Power Women” in 2012 and one of its 100 most influential Georgians in 2016. The publication also named her to its list of 500 most influential leaders in 2022 and 2023. She participated in the 2014 American Council on Education National Women’s Leadership Forum and the Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation Higher Education Policy Fellows program in 2017-2018. She also received the UGA Blue Key Service Award in 2022 and the Jeannette Rankin Foundation “Smart Women” Award in 2018, and she was the fall commencement speaker for the UGA Graduate School in 2022. In 2016, she cofounded the National Forum, a group of university-based senior engagement officers from around the country focused on networking and sharing best practices in the field. 

2025 Friend of UGA Award  

The John Huland Carmical Foundation was endowed by the estate of John Huland Carmical, a 1917 graduate of UGA and Pandora yearbook editor-in-chief. After his graduation, John became a financial analyst for J.P. Morgan & Company, today known as JPMorgan Chase. In 1922, he was recruited by the New York Times and would become a financial reporter and later an associate editor in the financial area. He retired from the Times in 1968 after 46 years and returned to Georgia. He had grown up in a farming environment before attending UGA and became involved in farming again after his retirement. Over the past 23 years, the John Huland Carmical Foundation has supported organizations that strengthen the community he called home in addition to pursuing its primary mission: perpetuating the Carmical name at UGA through philanthropy. The foundation’s giving to UGA includes a spot in UGA’s 1785 Society and the 2014 establishment of the John Huland Carmical Chair in Sports Journalism and Society at the Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication. The lobby in Moore College, which houses the UGA Morehead Honors College, is also named after John Huland Carmical. The foundation’s focus on sports media derives from a belief that sports have a unique ability to bring people together, inspire storytelling and create meaningful connections across diverse audiences. The foundation reinforced its commitment with a significant pledge in December 2020 that elevated the program to become the Carmical Sports Media Institute. The institute offers a sports media certificate and provides students with hands-on experience that builds skills in broadcasting and creating social and digital sports content. 

2025 Young Alumni Award  

Lucy Pinto graduated from the Terry College of Business just over a decade ago in 2012. Born in Lima, Peru, Pinto grew up in Athens. While a UGA student, she served as treasurer of the Lambda Theta Alpha sorority and was a member of the Sigma Alpha Pi National Society of Leadership and Success. After an internship with Google during her time as a student and following her graduation, Pinto began her career journey with the company and has impacted Google operations around the world. In 2015, Pinto became Google’s business inclusion manager, a role in which she grew partnerships with a range of community partners to encourage web and Google adoption. In this capacity, Pinto was able to empower small businesses that were underrepresented online to grow their digital presence through Google tools. Throughout it all, UGA has remained a focal point for Pinto. In 2021, she established the Latino Alumni Scholarship Endowment, which provides annual need-based scholarships to first-generation college students at UGA. She has also offered multi-faceted support to the Terry College of Business’ Terry Women’s Initiative. Pinto has served as a mentor for the initiative’s Sea Island Scholars program, and last December, she made a significant commitment to enhance the program. But her UGA involvement isn’t limited to giving. Pinto has served as a panelist at a Women of UGA meeting, participated in a Terry Talk, hosted two masterclasses aimed at empowering women leaders and mentored Terry College students. 

“This year’s recipients have dedicated so much to this university and it is an honor to be able to recognize them,” said Jill S. Walton, vice president for development and alumni relations. “We are so appreciative of their continued service to UGA and we hope to continue our partnerships for many years to come.” 

More about these distinguished members of the UGA community, including video spotlights, is available at alumni.uga.edu/alumniawards.