Two Franklin faculty among four UGA profs accepted into SEC leadership program

Four UGA faculty members were recently accepted as Administrative Fellows in the Academic Leadership Development Program of the SECU, the academic unit of the Southeastern Conference:

The Administrative Fellows will work with Libby Morris, vice provost for academic affairs who is overseeing the Administrative Fellows program, and meet periodically during the academic year to discuss readings on leadership. Each fellow also will develop a project and share those results. The fellowship includes two, three-day SEC-wide workshops in which participants interact with fellows from other SEC schools. The first workshop was held earlier this month at the University of Tennessee, and the next workshop is scheduled for February at the University of Florida.

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[Jeffrey] Dean is the associate director of the Institute of Bioinformatics as well as a professor of biochemistry and molecular biology in the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences and a professor in the Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources. Dean will study the structure and development of university budgets and the decision-making processes that are used to direct financial resources to university activities, with a particular focus on interdisciplinary programs.

[Susan] Thomas is an associate professor of musicology and women’s studies in Franklin College. She serves as the director of graduate studies for UGA’s Institute for Women’s Studies and as the graduate adviser for musicology. She has been involved in university governance in a variety of capacities, including University Council and the President’s Advisory Committee. In addition, she has served on the curriculum committee of the Latin American and Caribbean Studies Institute since 2007. 

Congratulations to all four and especially Thomas and Dean for representing the Franklin College so well. As Franklin faculty, students and departments make up more than half of the university and a far higher ratio of its extramural funding awards and other honors, it's important that our faculty continue to take leadership roles on campus. This program will assist in strengthening that trajectory.