Close to 100 new tenured and tenure-track faculty have arrived at the university this year, with more on the way in spring semester. Two faculty hiring initiatives are responsible in part for the gain in positions.
“These numbers represent a definite step in replenishing the ranks of tenured and tenure-track faculty at UGA that were eroded over several years of budget cuts,” said Provost Jere Morehead. “Even with continued constraints on the budget, we have made strides because we have focused limited resources on this very important priority.”
While many of the new faculty are filling vacancies caused by retirements or resignations, the hiring initiatives account for more than a third of this year’s overall total.
The first funding initiative was announced by UGA President Michael F. Adams in his 2010 State of the University address; the second was approved by the president last fall. Both included funding for salaries and additional one-time startup costs, such as equipping laboratories for researchers in the sciences.
Deans were invited to submit proposals to the provost’s office for critical hiring needs, and once positions were approved, searches began—with some still under way.
More than 20 full professors are among the new tenured and tenure-track faculty, including Obie Clayton, who holds the Donald L. Hollowell Professorship in the School of Social Work; Cynthia Dillard, who holds the Mary Frances Early Professorship in the College of Education; and Scott Jackson, who is the Georgia Research Alliance Eminent Scholar in Crop Genomics in the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences. The Terry College of Business added four senior faculty who hold privately endowed chairs or professorships.
Other full professors include Toni Miles, a professor in epidemiology and biostatistics in the College of Public Health and new director of the Institute of Gerontology; and William Keller, a professor of international affairs in the School of Public and International Affairs and director of the Center for International Trade and Security (see ‘Best kept secret in Georgia’).
“Both President Adams and I have said that faculty hiring is our top priority,” said Morehead. “There is going to be a continued and concerted effort to add back full-time faculty and to create new positions as we are able to do so.”
In addition to the full professors, the new faculty members include 16 associate professors and more than 60 assistant professors. Nearly half of the new hires are women (for a complete list, see UGA welcomes new faculty).
