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UGA will celebrate the successes of its students, faculty, staff and alumni in a series of events during Honors Week, April 11-15.
Honors Week at UGA dates back to the 1930s, when then-Chancellor S.V. Sanford set aside a day to recognize exemplary students. The event was expanded to a full week in 2011 to include events recognizing faculty, staff and alumni.
“Honors Week is a celebration of the innumerable ways that our faculty, staff, students and alumni help make the University of Georgia such a vibrant academic community,” said Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost Pamela Whitten.
In addition to several invitation-only events, Honors Week activities include the Public Service and Outreach Meeting and Awards Luncheon and the 2016 UGA Alumni Awards Luncheon, which are open to the public. Numerous departments across the schools and colleges also will be holding special recognition ceremonies for honored students in their disciplines.
Honors Week will begin April 11 with the 25th annual Public Service and Outreach Meeting and Awards Luncheon. It will be held from 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. in the UGA Center for Continuing Education Hotel and Conference Center.
Faculty and staff will have the opportunity to attend professional development sessions on fundraising, communications, applied research, experiential learning and social styles. A luncheon in the Magnolia Ballroom will honor the 2016 public service and outreach award recipients. The 2015-2016 Service-Learning Fellows’ poster presentations, highlighting the courses and projects they have developed during their year-long fellowship with the Office of Service-Learning, will be on display.
The Faculty Recognition Banquet also will be held April 11 in Mahler Auditorium of the Georgia Center. The reception for the invitation-only event will begin at 5:45 p.m.; dinner will be served at 6:30 p.m.
Sponsored by the senior vice president for academic affairs and provost, the event will recognize the winners of this year’s awards for teaching excellence, including the Josiah Meigs Distinguished Teaching Professorships and the Richard B. Russell Awards for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching, as well as faculty, staff and graduate students who will be honored for outstanding teaching and advising.
The Presidential Honors Week Luncheon will be held April 12 with registration and photos at 11:30 a.m. and the luncheon at noon.
Hosted by the Office of the President, the invitation-only recognition luncheon at the President’s House on Prince Avenue will honor First Honor Graduates and Student Government Association leaders, as well as student recipients of the Presidential Award of Excellence and national scholarship winners.
The Terry College of Business will hold its Honors Day recognition ceremony April 13 from 9:30-11 a.m. in the Chapel. The ceremony will recognize high achievers who demonstrate excellence in their academic endeavors.
At 5:30 p.m. that same day, the Honors Program Banquet will be held at the Classic Center. Dinner for the invitation-only event will begin at 6:30 p.m. During the banquet, Honors Program students who have graduated in the summer or fall of 2015 as well as the graduating class of May 2016 will be recognized. Recognitions presented at the banquet include the Jere W. Morehead Award, which is given to an exceptional friend of the Honors Program.
On April 14, the Research Awards Banquet will be held in Mahler Auditorium of the Georgia Center. The reception for the invitation-only event will begin at 5:30 p.m.; dinner will be served at 6:30 p.m. Hosted by the Office of the Vice President for Research, the event is a recognition dinner for students and faculty with outstanding accomplishments in research.
The Alumni Awards Luncheon will be held April 15 at 11 a.m. in the Tate Student Center. The UGA Alumni Association will present the Young Alumni Award, Faculty Service Award, Friend of UGA Award and Alumni Merit Awards to recognize those individuals who, through their service, contributions and accomplishments, bring distinction and honor to UGA, the state, nation and world. To register for the Alumni Awards Luncheon, see http://t.uga.edu/2dn.
Honors Week will conclude with a two-day celebration of the 50th anniversary of the Master of Public Administration program, which U.S. News & World Report recently ranked fourth in the nation among graduate schools of public affairs. The School of Public and International Affairs will host several events April 15-16, including an MPA showcase, a G-Day game tailgate and a gala dinner.
