The UGA chapter of the Blue Key National Honor Society will pay tribute to two university alumni and one faculty member at its annual awards banquet on Nov. 2.
Attorney Robert G. Edge, a former UGA valedictorian, and Anne L. Sweaney, head of the housing and consumer economics department, will receive Blue Key Service Awards. Tobin Carr, the director of planning for the Georgia Department of Transportation, will receive the Young Alumnus Award.
The banquet, which is open to the public, will be held at the Georgia Center for Continuing Education. A reception begins at 6:30 p.m. with dinner at 7:30 p.m. Individual tickets are $30. Sponsored eight-seat Silver Tables are $300; the eight-seat Gold Table is $500.
To reserve tickets, contact Janet Lance at 706-542-0017 or jholcomb@uga.edu.
Edge, who has served as chairman of the University of Georgia Foundation and as a member of the Arch Foundation, will speak at the banquet.
In addition, recipients of the AT&T Student Leadership Award, the Richard B. Russell Student Leadership Award and the Tucker Dorsey Memorial Scholarship will be announced.
Robert Edge
Currently an attorney in the Atlanta office of Alston and Bird, Edge is being honored for his leadership in the field of estate planning, for civic engagement and for outstanding support of higher education in Georgia.
Edge received his bachelor’s degree in English from UGA’s Franklin College of Arts and Sciences in 1960. He attended Oxford University as a Rhodes Scholar and received a master’s degree from there in 1962. He received his law degree from Yale University in 1965.
Recognized by many as the dean of estate planning attorneys in Georgia, Edge has served as chairman of the State Bar’s Fiduciary Section as well as president of both the Atlanta Estate Planning Council and the Georgia Federal Tax Conference.
Edge also has been instrumental in efforts to support the arts at UGA. During his tenure with the UGA Foundation, he was a leader in creating the Foundation Fellows program, the university’s premier scholarship program.
He also chaired the Campaign Steering Committee for the Performing and Visual Arts Center at UGA, leading volunteer efforts that secured $15 million to match state funds needed to build that facility. The main recital hall in the Hugh Hodgson School of Music is named in his honor.
Anne Sweaney
Sweaney, who joined the faculty in 1982, is being honored for her distinguished career and her many years of support for academic programs at UGA.
In addition to serving as professor and department head in the College of Family and Consumer Sciences, she also is director of the university’s Housing and Demographics Research Center. In 2011, Sweaney served as interim dean of the college.
A member of UGA’s Teaching Academy, Sweaney was named a Meigs Distinguished Teaching Professor—the highest teaching honor bestowed by the university—in 1999.
Her research interests include the effect of public policy on housing for families and consumers, housing needs of older adults and the role of technology in adapting housing for the life span.
Tobin Carr
Carr, who was appointed planning director for GDOT in April, is being honored with the Young Alumnus Award for his professional and civic leadership as well as his continuing support for UGA.
Carr earned two undergraduate degrees from UGA in 2001: a bachelor’s in finance from the Terry College of Business and a bachelor’s in agricultural engineering from the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences.
In his current role, Carr serves as Gov. Nathan Deal’s liaison to the State Transportation Board and the GDOT. His department creates the statewide transportation improvement program and interacts with planning counterparts at the federal and regional levels to ensure consistency and continuity in transportation in the region.
Carr had previously served as Gov. Deal’s transportation policy adviser and as the Deal administration’s liaison to the House of Representatives of the Georgia General Assembly.
The Blue Key Honor Society is a national organization with members committed to “leadership in student life, high scholastic achievement, service to others, citizenship and an adherence to principles of faith,” according to its website. It was established in 1924 at the University of Florida; the second chapter was established at UGA in 1926.