Business & Economy Georgia Impact

Faculty group advising Innovation District initiative

From left, Christine Szymanski, Naola Ferguson-Noel, Kevin McCully and Amitabh Verma during the first Faculty Advisory Council meeting. (Photo by Andrew Davis Tucker/UGA)

The group will focus on programming, resources and support for research commercialization

Twenty-one faculty members across UGA’s schools and colleges met to discuss the development of UGA’s Innovation District on Dec. 3 in the Peabody Board Room of the Administration Building. The Innovation District Faculty Advisory Council will meet throughout the year to provide input on the Innovation District initiative, with particular focus on programming, resources and support for research commercialization and university-industry engagement.

The council will be led by the Innovation District leadership team: Kyle Tschepikow, special assistant to the president and director for strategy and innovation; David Lee, vice president for research; and Rahul Shrivastav, vice president for instruction.

The members of the council are:

  • Jenay Beer, Insitute of Gerontology
  • Karen Burg, College of Veterinary Medicine
  • Justin Conrad, School of Public and International Affairs
  • Andrew Crain, Graduate School
  • Joseph Dahlen, Warnell School of Forestry
  • Naola Ferguson-Noel, Poultry Diagnostic and Research Center
  • Chris Garvin, Lamar Dodd School of Art
  • Chris Gerlach, New Media Institute
  • Kristina Jaskyte, Institute for Nonprofit Organizations
  • Kirk Kealey, Food Product Innovation and Commercialization Center
  • Eileen Kennedy, College of Pharmacy
  • William Kisaalita, College of Engineering
  • Kevin McCully, College of Education
  • Sergiy Minko, College of Family and Consumer Sciences
  • Michael Myers, Small Business Development Center
  • Jonathan Murrow, AU/UGA Medical Partnership
  • Usha Rodrigues, School of Law
  • Pejman Rohani, Odum School of Ecology
  • Christine Szymanski, Complex Carbohydrates Research Center
  • Amitabh Verma, College of Environment and Design
  • Dee Warmath, College of Family and Consumer Sciences