STUDENT AFFAIRS NEWS

HIGHLIGHTS FROM STUDENT AFFAIRS

GENERAL

Parents Leadership Council raises $1.5M for student programs

The University of Georgia Parents Leadership Council raised a record-breaking amount of $1.5 million to support student programs during the 2025-26 academic year. This service-oriented group of highly engaged UGA parents gives an annual gift of $5,000 or more per individual family.

Carrie Truax named senior director of development for Student Affairs

Carrie Truax, previously director of development for university wide initiatives at Clemson University, has been named senior director of development for Student Affairs at the University of Georgia.

UGA Class of 2025 spreads its wings and learns to fly

A total of 8,781 students — 5,971 spring undergraduates and 953 expected summer undergraduates, along with 1,857 graduate students — met requirements to walk in the university’s spring Commencement ceremonies and had their degrees conferred by UGA President Jere W. Morehead.

Miss UGA turns crown into community impact 

Ella Ryann Cottrell had never even thought about competing in a pageant before when she signed up for the Miss UGA contest. “I thought, if I were to win this thing, it could really set me up to be able to serve and connect with people in Athens in a way that I normally wouldn’t be able to,” Cottrell said.

Ramsey Student Center to add third strength and conditioning space

In response to high demand and student feedback, the University of Georgia’s department of Recreational Sports has announced a renovation project to add around 10,000 square feet of strength and conditioning space to the Ramsey Student Center.

Animesh Paul is named 2025 recipient of the Saeeda Peermahomed Award

Animesh Paul, a third-year Ph.D student in Engineering Education and Transformative Practices in the College of Engineering is this year’s Saeeda Peermahomed Award recipient.

2025 Student Employee of the Year awards announced

UGA’s annual Student Employee of the Year Awards luncheon hosted by the UGA Career Center took place on April 16 in the Tate Student Center Grand Hall. The event honored 100 outstanding student employees, nominated by their supervisors.

UGA again named a top 10 Military Friendly institution

For the ninth year in a row, Viqtory Media has named the University of Georgia one of the top Military Friendly tier 1 research institutions in the country, ranking UGA sixth. Even as the rankings become increasingly competitive each year, UGA continues its stronghold in the top 10 and earned the No. 1 ranking in 2017, 2021 and 2023.

International Student Life celebrates Nowruz with the Persian Student Union 

The Persian Student Union hosted a celebration for Nowruz, or Persian New Year on March 28th. This celebration was one of the semester's Culture Nights, a series of events hosted by International Student Life.