Athens, Ga. – Ruth Bettandorff, assistant vice president for academic affairs and director of the University of Georgia’s Gwinnett Campus, received the 2013 Distinguished Service to GAEA Award from the Georgia Adult Education Association at a recent conference held at Callaway Gardens.
GAEA is an organization comprised of Georgia degree-granting universities and colleges, technical colleges and business entities that provide goods and services within the higher education sector. The mission of the organization is to promote and develop adult and continuing education in Georgia among groups and individuals engaged in the field of adult and continuing education through communication, interaction and professional development that serves the people of Georgia.
As a long-standing member of the GAEA, Bettandorff received the award for her dedication and significant service to GAEA. She has served for several years on the GAEA board of directors and has a history of committee involvement and other service to the organization. She also is a frequent presenter at annual conferences on topics related to adult and continuing education and has been a mentor and adviser to many GAEA members.
Bettandorff has been responsible for the day-to-day coordination of graduate and continuing education programs offered at UGA’s Gwinnett Campus since 2009. She also is a senior public service faculty member and holds an adjunct faculty position with UGA’s Department of Lifelong Education, Administration and Policy.
Before that, she served as associate director for learning services at UGA’s Center for Continuing Education Conference Center and Hotel for five years.
Bettandorff has served on numerous committees and task forces for the Association for Continuing Higher Education International and ACHE South Region, and was chair of ACHE South Region in 2009. In 2010, the Georgia Adult Education Association named her Outstanding Adult Educator in Georgia, and in 2011, she was awarded the ACHE Continuing Education Leadership Award. She also is a member of the board of directors for the Jeannette Rankin Scholarship Foundation, which provides support and scholarships to women returning to college.
Bettandorff is scheduled to retire from her position at the UGA-Gwinnett Campus later this year, and the process for a nationwide search for her successor has begun.
About UGA-Gwinnett
The University of Georgia Gwinnett Campus is a center of advanced learning for non-traditional and working professionals in the greater Atlanta and northeast Georgia area, offering 19 graduate degree programs, as well as certificate programs and professional development opportunities. Students at UGA-Gwinnett have the opportunity to earn an advanced degree from the University of Georgia, consistently ranked among the top 25 public universities in the nation by U.S. News & World Report. Classes are offered in Atlanta, at 2530 Sever Rd., off I-85 at the Old Peachtree Road exit. With evening and Saturday classes, students can pursue an advanced degree while continuing to work full-time. For more information, see http://gwinnett.uga.edu.
