Henry Munneke, associate dean for undergraduate programs in the Terry College of Business, has been awarded the inaugural Lee Anne Seawell Faculty Recognition Award, which recognizes faculty members who provide career development support for students.
“As a university, we provide students with the foundation and knowledge to critically think about the business world,” said Munneke, who also holds the C. Herman and Mary Virginia Terry Distinguished Chair of Business and is director of the college’s real estate program. “The next step in the career development path is what they do when they leave here. I look at career development as an extension of what we do as educators. It’s helping students use their education to become gainfully employed.”
Scott Williams, executive director of the UGA Career Center, presented Munneke with the award April 6.
“We have exceptionally bright students,” Williams said. “We are fortunate to also have a lot of faculty and staff members who care about those students and what happens to them after graduation. Henry Munneke is undoubtedly one of those faculty members.”
The Lee Anne Seawell Faculty Recognition Award recipient is selected based on student feedback gathered in the university’s annual Career Outcomes Survey. The survey provides insight into the employment and continuing education status of UGA graduates with an average of six months of their graduation date. Those alumni are also given the opportunity to identify faculty members who have positively influenced their career paths.
“It was pretty humbling to know that students not only filled out the Career Outcomes Survey, but they took the time to nominate me for this award,” Munneke said.
Of the 2016 graduating class, 85 percent of students completed the Career Outcomes Survey, 22 percent higher than the national average.
The award was endowed by the late Lee Anne Seawell, who joined UGA in 1947 as one of the university’s first female administrators. She worked in career services and student financial aid until her retirement in 1987.
“We are incredibly grateful for generous donors like Lee Anne Seawell, who made this annual award possible,” Williams said. “It’s amazing to have support for the great career development work the Career Center and professors like Henry Munneke are doing.”
