In observance of the university’s 224th anniversary, Thomas G. Dyer, a retired UGA faculty member and administrator, will present the Founders’ Day Lecture at 3 p.m. Jan. 27 in the Chapel. Dyer will discuss “Finding the Founders and What They Founded: Reflections on the Origins of the University of Georgia.” The lecture is open to the public.
The annual lecture recognizes the date UGA was established in 1785 when the Georgia General Assembly adopted a charter creating the university as the country’s first state-chartered institution of higher education.
Undergraduate Noah Koon will deliver the student response to Dyer’s presentation.
The Founders’ Day Lecture is sponsored by the Alumni Association and the Emeriti Scholars, a group of retired faculty members especially known for their teaching abilities and who continue to be involved in the university’s academic life.
Deborah Dietzler, executive director of the University of Georgia Alumni Association, urges faculty, staff and students to join alumni
“Having Tom Dyer speak at the Founders’ Day Lecture is a wonderful opportunity for the university,” she said. “With his broad knowledge of the university and the history of Georgia, the lecture will be a great way to celebrate UGA’s anniversary.”
Dyer joined UGA in 1975 as a temporary instructor in the history department. During his 31 years at UGA he held a number of administrative positions including vice president for instruction, associate vice president for services, associate vice president for academic affairs (twice), senior associate vice president for academic affairs and interim senior vice present for academic affairs and provost.
During Dyer’s tenure as director of the Institute of Higher Education, the discipline’s doctoral programs rose in national rankings from 20th to seventh in the country and garnered nearly $3 million in externally funded contracts and grants.
