Anne Sweaney, a department head and longtime faculty member in the College of Family and Consumer Sciences, will serve as interim dean of the college while a national search for the next dean is conducted.
Arthur Horne, dean of the College of Education, will chair the search committee to find a successor to Laura Jolly, who was recently appointed vice president for instruction at the university. Jolly came to UGA as FACS dean in 2007 and assumed her new position as vice president on Sept. 1.
“I am very grateful to Dr. Sweaney for agreeing to serve as interim dean as we begin a national search for the next dean of the College of Family and Consumer Sciences,” said Provost Jere Morehead. “I am confident she will do an excellent job in this role and will be aided by her outstanding colleagues in the college.”
Sweaney, who is head of the department of housing and consumer economics, has won many teaching and advising awards at UGA including the Josiah Meigs Award for teaching excellence in 1999. She also won a national award for Excellence in College and University Teaching from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. She is a member of UGA’s Teaching Academy and serves on the board of directors for the Georgia Athletic Association.
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.
She has served as president of the Housing Education and Research Association and currently serves on the board of the System Built Research Alliance.
She has served as the coordinator of the Legislative Aide Program for the College of Family and Consumer Sciences for 10 years and developed the college’s first study abroad program in London, England.
Sweaney, who will not be a candidate to serve as permanent dean, plans to return to her role as department head when the search process is completed.
Members of the search committee will be appointed in late September. The search committee will be assisted by UGA’s Executive and Faculty Search Group.