Archive for category: UGA News

This article is adapted from a piece originally written by Krista Richmond for UGA Today.

UGA President Jere W. Morehead, joined by fellow university leaders, dedicated the newly renovated Clark Howell Hall, which offers greater accessibility for the more than 27,500 people who benefit from the Career Center, the Disability Resource Center and University Testing Services each year.

The facility’s updated spaces will provide various opportunities for alumni to recruit and hire students. The center will feature a career commons, a career development room, several campus interview rooms and an employer board room, each specifically tailored to provide the perfect environment for alumni seeking to recruit and hire UGA students.

“The renovation of this facility will greatly enhance the world-class learning environment that we are establishing at the University of Georgia. I encourage our students to continue to utilize the outstanding services that will be located at Clark Howell Hall,” Morehead said during the Oct. 23 dedication ceremony.

The 33,000-square-foot building, originally a residence hall, was constructed in 1937 and is named for Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and Georgia political leader Clark Howell.

Supported by the Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia and funded by Gov. Nathan Deal and the Georgia General Assembly, the renovations totaled $6 million-$5 million in state funds appropriated for the project as well as $1 million in institutional funds. The work includes improved accessibility; upgraded mechanical, plumbing, electrical and fire alarm systems; and updated data and audio/video systems, according to Chuck Cartwright, project architect with the Office of University Architects.

“I’ve always been a believer in the power of place and engagement,” said Victor K. Wilson, vice president for student affairs. “These renovations enable students to have a truly welcoming home in which they can engage and be supported.”

For the Career Center, which connects UGA students, alumni and employers in the pursuit of meaningful professional development, the additional space allows more opportunities for students seeking successful careers.

“The renovation of Clark Howell Hall is greatly enhancing how our staff is able to serve students,” said Scott Williams, executive director of the Career Center. “With more interview rooms, meeting spaces and updated amenities, we are now able to provide high-quality, professional spaces for the hundreds of employers and thousands of students who visit the Career Center each year.”

Areas within the Disability Resource Center, which provides an academic, physical and social environment for students with disabilities at UGA, also received an update as part of the renovations.

“We’re thrilled that with the clean reception areas and the comfortable feel provided by the new heating and air, along with updated conferencing facilities, we can provide our students the welcoming atmosphere we want to give them,” said Tim Carr, assistant director of the Disability Resource Center. “Our goal is to provide the best services and support we can, and these updated facilities will help us do just that.”

Students who use the center agree.

“The DRC renovations have made the environment in which students can study, interact and relax with other students more inclusive and accommodating. By creating clearly identified directions and room labels, for example, students like me who have partial visual impairments can easily navigate through the building while also feeling comfortable and cared for,” said Risa Matsumura, a fourth-year student majoring in cultural anthropology and sociology.

The space of University Testing Services, which provides centralized testing and evaluation services for all students, faculty and the surrounding community, also increased as part of the renovations.

“We’ve greatly increased the size of our reception area, creating a new, dedicated waiting room with new furniture and space for folks to check in and wait comfortably. We have always strived to provide a warm and welcoming environment for our exam takers, and now we have plenty of space to provide comfort as they arrive,” Associate Director Yvette Leverett said. “The feedback from our students has been great-they love the new space.”

Interested in recruiting on campus? Contact the Career Center today.

The University of Georgia will enhance its alcohol education and prevention programs thanks to a $1.5 million gift from UGA alumnus Jack Fontaine and his wife, Nancy, of Houston, Texas. The donation is their latest in nearly $6 million of support to the Fontaine Center for alcohol awareness and education since the center’s establishment 11 years ago.

This gift will allow the Fontaine Center to increase the capacity of its Collegiate Recovery Community, as well as expand its proactive educational programming both on campus and throughout the state.

Jack Fontaine notes that the center has come a long way in its first decade, in both quantity and quality of service.

“When we first started, we had a few counselors and two to three weeks’ wait time,” he said. “We were reactionary, and now we’ve grown to be proactive.”

Following an expansion of the University Health Center building in 2009 the Fontaine Center gained prominent and additional space and has grown to better meet the needs of UGA’s students.

Liz Prince, who has served as director of the Fontaine Center since 2012, described the center’s growth from assisting with individual cases of alcohol abuse to its current comprehensive programming that covers other drugs like marijuana and prescription drugs, as well as issues of interpersonal violence and sexual assault response.

“We’re able to address things that really impact students where there’s an intersection between alcohol and drugs and violence,” she said.

Now the center offers a “spectrum of services,” including prevention, early intervention and recovery support. They are also able to put students and families in touch with trusted treatment professionals around the country. Students know and trust the Fontaine Center and are getting in touch with counselors much earlier. Student organizations such as Greek Life groups and academic interest groups are reaching out to the center to request presentations and information sessions.

Prince said that the center has earned the respect of colleagues in the community and around the state.

“It’s a more fine-tuned, visible program,” she said. “We’re better at partnering with folks on campus and in the community instead of everything being situated within the Health Center.”

Later this spring, the Fontaine Center will host the inaugural summit of state schools, technical colleges and independent college and universities to discuss the recommendations of the University System of Georgia’s Alcohol and Substance Abuse Task Force, co-chaired by University of Georgia President Jere W. Morehead. The summit is yet another program made possible by the Fontaines’ support.

Prince is excited at the prospect of national experts and state colleagues coming together to form best practices for helping students. She feels a lot more can be accomplished through collaboration and sharing ideas.

“Schools can take each other’s ideas and tweak them,” she said. “Campuses are different, but we can all benefit from learning about each other’s approaches.”

What’s the ultimate goal of all of these efforts?

“A culture shift,” Prince said.

Today, a larger number of students are coming to campus who abstain from drinking or who drink very little or moderately. This progress presents new challenges, however. The number of at-risk students may have decreased at the university in recent years, but the students who are abusing alcohol and other drugs are doing so in ways and with drugs that are potentially much more harmful than in the past.

Prince admits progress is incremental, but she appreciates the successes of the Fontaine Center’s first 11 years.

“Ultimately, we’re trying to change behavior, and you can’t just do that overnight,” she said. “But with the support of the Fontaines and the university administration, we’re educating more students than ever, including in high schools, and we’re having a positive impact on our state and students’ lives.”

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