Campus News

Four UGA faculty members named SEC Administrative Fellows

SEC Administrative Fellows 2013-14
The SEC Academic Leadership Development Program Fellows are (l-r): Tracie Costantino

Athens, Ga. – Four University of Georgia faculty members—Julian Cook, Tracie Costantino, Sarah Covert and Tom Reichert—will gain expertise in academic leadership as SEC Administrative Fellows for 2013-2014.

The Administrative Fellows program at UGA is part of a broader Academic Leadership Development Program of the Southeastern Conference. The program seeks to identify, prepare and advance academic leaders for roles within SEC institutions and beyond.

Based on their areas of interest, the UGA Administrative Fellows will work with select senior administrators and complete at least one significant project. The fellowship also includes two, three-day SEC-wide workshops that include lectures, panel discussions and opportunities for the fellows to interact with their counterparts from other SEC institutions. The fall workshop will be held Oct. 14-16 at UGA, and the spring workshop will be held at the University of South Carolina.

Cook joined the School of Law faculty in the fall of 2006 and was named a J. Alton Hosch Professor in 2008. He came to UGA with nearly 10 years of legal teaching experience, having most recently been at Michigan State University. Specializing in criminal law, criminal procedure and evidence, Cook served for several years as an assistant U.S. attorney in Nevada and the District of Columbia. He is the author of “Inside Investigative Criminal Procedure: What Matters and Why” (Aspen, 2012) and the forthcoming “Inside Adjudicative Criminal Procedure: What Matters and Why.” He earned his bachelor’s degree from Duke University, his master of public administration degree from Columbia University and his Juris Doctor from the University of Virginia. During his fellowship, Cook will learn more about the variety of administrative avenues at a Research I institution and engage with individuals from across campus for a broad look at university administration.

Costantino is an associate professor in the Lamar Dodd School of Art and co-chair of its Art Education Program. She joined the UGA faculty in 2004 and has been recognized for her teaching through a Richard B. Russell Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching and participation in the Lilly Teaching Fellows program. She has co-edited two books on aesthetic education: “Essays on Aesthetic Education for the 21st Century” (Sense Publishers, 2010) and “Aesthetics, Empathy, and Education” (Peter Lang Publishing, 2013). She earned her undergraduate degree in art history and Italian studies at Boston College, her master’s degree in art history from Brown University and her doctorate in aesthetic education from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. As a fellow, Costantino will work with the Office of the Vice President for Instruction and the Office of International Education to gain a better understanding of curricular, policy and planning issues in these administrative areas.

Covert is a professor and associate dean for academic affairs in the Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources. She earned her undergraduate degree in biochemistry at Dartmouth College and her doctorate in bacteriology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She joined the faculty of the Warnell School in 1993 after serving as a National Science Foundation Postdoctoral Fellow in plant pathology at the University of Arizona and at UGA. Her research has focused on the genetics of fungal pathogens of plants, and she was elected a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in 2007. Her areas of interest include decision-making processes at the senior administrative level for academic planning and resource allocation across units, and she will be meeting with senior administrators to gain more insight in these areas.

Reichert is the Athletic Association Professor of Advertising and head of the department of advertising and public relations in the Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication. He has been teaching, researching and writing about advertising since 1993, and his research interests include advertising and mass communication content and effects. He has written or edited seven books about major issues and concerns regarding the uses and effects of advertising on professional practice and culture. Reichert earned his bachelor’s degree in journalism from the University of Missouri and his doctorate in communication and marketing from the University of Arizona. He began his academic career at the University of Arizona and was a faculty member at the University of North Texas and the University of Alabama before joining the UGA faculty in 2004. During his fellowship year, he will work with the Office of the Vice President for Development and Alumni Relations to gain a better understanding of fundraising, stewardship and capital campaign planning.

The application deadline for next year’s Administrative Fellows Program is April 11. To learn more, see http://provost.uga.edu/index.php/resources/fellowships/administrative-fellows-program/.