- Date: Wednesday, Sept. 2
- Time: 5-7 p.m.
- Location: Bernstein Funeral Home (3195 Atlanta Hwy, Athens, GA 30606)
It is with great sadness that the College announces the passing of Jen Williams, senior director of marketing and communications, on Monday, Aug. 17. Her family invites local community members to an open visitation gathering to celebrate her life.
During her 15 years of service to the College, Jen made a lasting impact on our community through her leadership, dedication, and commitment to promoting the College and its namesake. Her helping hand and collaborative spirit will be greatly missed by all who were lucky enough to learn and benefit from her guidance. Most of all, we will miss her mentorship, warmth, and the kindness she extended to everyone around her.
Please join us in keeping Jen’s family, friends, and colleagues in your thoughts during this difficult time. For more information, please read her full obituary.
Assessment reporting
As you know, per Academic Policy 01.06.003 Assessment of Student Learning Outcomes, each academic program must submit an annual report on learning outcomes assessment (LOA). The deadline for reporting 2025–26 program assessment via Xitracs is Thursday, Oct. 1.
For the Mary Frances Early College of Education, the annual Xitracs Student Learning Outcomes report is required for degree programs and certificates; minors and endorsements are not included in this annual reporting requirement. Each program is required to report on two or more learning outcomes. Programs are especially encouraged to document changes or improvements made (or upcoming) based on assessment results.
If your program needs data or information from the College’s Office of Academic Programs to complete its assessment report, please submit data requests as soon as possible and no later than Tuesday, Sept. 15. This will allow sufficient time to review and incorporate the information before the October 1 reporting deadline.
Please also note that GaPSC-approved educator preparation programs have an additional Program Key Assessment (PKA) reporting process. PKA reporting is separate from the annual UGA Xitracs Student Learning Outcomes report and is required for programs approved by the Georgia Professional Standards Commission.
New programs for fall 2026 are not expected to have assessment data but should upload student learning outcomes into Xitracs.
Resources and guidance from UGA’s Office of Instruction
The UGA Academic Program Assessment website contains helpful resources, templates, and tutorials, including Xitracs step-by-step instructions. Review the “Reporting” and “Resources” tabs for pertinent information. For additional comprehensive resources and guidance, visit the Assessment Resources eLC course.
New this fall: Central UGA Assessment drop-in hours
Sometimes in-person conversation is more helpful than email exchanges. The UGA Office of Instruction is offering assessment drop-in hours for faculty and staff who would like to discuss their program assessment practice. No appointment is needed.
Drop-in hours will be held in Sanford Hall Room 220 during the following times:
- Wednesday, Sept. 2, 2-4 p.m.
- Thursday, Sept. 3, 10 a.m.-noon
- Wednesday, Sept. 9, 2-4 p.m.
- Thursday, Sept. 10, 10 a.m.-noon
- Tuesday, Sept. 15, 2-4 p.m.
- Friday, Sept. 18, 10 a.m.-noon
Excellence in Academic Program Assessment Award
As part of the annual reporting process, we invite self-nominations for the Excellence in Academic Program Assessment Award offered by the Office of Instruction. More information, including eligibility and award criteria, can be found on the award webpage. The best part? Your Xitracs report can serve as submission material—no additional nomination letter needed!
College of Education assessment support
In addition to the central UGA resources above, the Mary Frances Early College of Education Office of Academic Programs is available to provide individualized assessment assistance by appointment. Please reach out to our office if you would like to discuss your program’s learning outcomes, assessment measures, data, Xitracs report, or plans for using assessment results to support program improvement.
College faculty and staff who have questions or need assistance may schedule an appointment with the College’s director of assessment, Kellie Templeman, for individualized assistance.
The UGA Office for Student Success and Achievement (OSSA) is launching the Peer Academic Coaching pilot program. Students who are seeking out academic coaching will have the option to meet one-on-one with a trained peer academic coach and/or join a peer accountability group.
Students can sign up for peer academic coaching through the Penji app. Dedicated academic coaching graduate assistants and staff will continue meeting with students required to complete academic coaching (those on academic warning and academic probation). The Peer Tutoring program serves over 350 courses each semester.
Please encourage your students to download the Penji app to schedule a free tutoring appointment. For more information on peer tutoring, visit the Peer Tutoring webpage. Students can also stop by OSSA’s physical offices in Milledge Hall.
The UGA Office of Academic and Community Engagement invites you to join us for Lead @ 3, a leadership speaker series designed to bring faculty and staff together to learn from meaningful leadership stories and experiences.
Each program features a guest speaker who shares three pieces of advice drawn from their professional and personal leadership journey. Through candid reflections and practical insights, speakers will explore what it means to lead at work, in the community, and at home.
Fall 2026 speakers
Paula Lemons, associate provost for faculty affairs and professor of biochemistry and molecular biology
- Date: Wednesday, Sept. 16
- Location: Memorial Hall, VKW Ballroom
Carolyn Clevenger, founding dean, University of Georgia Victoria Kay Ivester School of Nursing
- Date: Wednesday, Oct. 21
- Location: Special Collections Library
DeRetta Rhodes, executive vice president and chief people and culture officer, Atlanta Braves
- Date: Wednesday, Nov. 11
- Location: Memorial Hall, VKW Ballroom
Whether you are an experienced leader, stepping into a new role, or simply interested in growing your leadership capacity, Lead @ 3 offers an opportunity to connect with colleagues, reflect on your own path, and leave with fresh ideas you can put into practice.
We hope you will join us this fall to learn, connect, and lead.
Much of the current construction in Aderhold Hall is taking place above the ceiling, but the improvements from the renovation will be felt throughout the entire building.
Funded by the University of Georgia, the project will replace over 450 variable air volume (VAV) boxes throughout Aderhold Hall and upgrade the building’s HVAC controls. The new system will feature digital controls and thermostats to maintain a comfortable indoor environment for occupants with different needs.
“The new system will provide better visibility, control, and responsiveness to the real-time conditions in each space,” said project manager Andrew Collins, who is leading the renovation. “This allows different spaces throughout the building to stay comfortable, even though they may have very different occupancy levels, schedules, and temperature preferences.”
The main HVAC system distributes air throughout the building, while the VAV box regulates how much air is delivered to a particular space based on its heating and cooling needs.
For example, when a classroom becomes warmer as more people enter, the VAV box delivers cooler air into the space. In contrast, if an office becomes too cold, the box changes the airflow and provides warmer air.
Overall, the project provides several long-term benefits for the Mary Frances Early College of Education community, including:
- Improved comfort: Faculty, staff, and students can expect more consistent temperatures and a better indoor environment.
- Improved reliability: Replacing aging equipment and controls helps reduce maintenance issues and unexpected system failures.
- Better building management: Facility staff will have greater visibility into how the HVAC system is operating, allowing them to identify and address issues more quickly.
- Energy efficiency: The upgraded controls allow the building to deliver heating and cooling more precisely, which can reduce unnecessary energy use while still maintaining comfort.
To make these changes possible, contractors will reconnect new equipment to the building’s existing air distribution ducts and hot water piping, install new digital thermostats, and add control wiring and communication cables that connect the equipment to the building’s central automation system.
If HVAC issues occur in the future, said Collins, UGA’s Facilities and Management Division will be better equipped to identify, diagnose, and resolve problems.
“The most noticeable improvement will likely be that occupants spend less time thinking about the HVAC system at all, because they are consistently comfortable,” he said. “The upgraded system will provide more precise temperature control, helping classrooms and offices maintain more consistent conditions throughout the day.”
The Savannah Bananas, an exhibition baseball team akin to basketball’s Harlem Globetrotters, are a worldwide phenomenon. They boast 35 million digital followers and millions more in-person fans who go, well, bananas for the players who effortlessly combine the worlds of performance and sport.
Each member of the Bananas family, whether stationed at home or on the road with one of the newer teams in the league, loves what they do. That family includes four UGA alumni, all based in Savannah.
Savannah native Elsa Paulick (B.S.Ed. ’24), a graduate of the Mary Frances Early College of Education’s sport management program, embraced Banana Ball while she was still in high school.
“I walked into that stadium, and I could just feel the music and the vibration and adrenaline in my heart, and I was like, ‘This is exactly where I want to be,’” she says.
Read the full story in Georgia Magazine.
Garrett and Geller awarded Spencer Foundation Grant
Jim Garrett and Rebecca Geller, faculty in the Department of Mathematics, Science, and Social Studies Education, have been awarded a Spencer Foundation Grant for their project, “Places of Learning/Places of Violence: Teaching in the Wake of a School Shooting.” Their project, in collaboration with Teachers Unify to End Gun Violence, is focused on understanding how teachers who experience mass shootings at their schools make sense of these violent events and their aftermath.
Over the next two years, they will make multi-day site visits in three communities where mass school shootings have occurred. The site visits will include spaces for trust and relationship building, individual life story interviews, and full group workshops. The study will provide critically important findings for teaching and teachers, school leaders, policy makers, and the general public.
Luft appointed to search committee for UGA provost
UGA President Jere W. Morehead has appointed a search committee to conduct a national search for candidates to serve as the institution’s next senior vice president for academic affairs and provost.
The committee is composed of faculty, staff, administrators, students, and alumni, and will be co-chaired by Matt Auer, dean of the School of Public and International Affairs, and Lisa Nolan, dean of the College of Veterinary Medicine.
“As the University of Georgia’s chief academic officer, the senior vice president for academic affairs and provost plays an indispensable role in elevating the institution and advancing our community’s ambitious goals,” Morehead said. “I want to thank Dean Auer and Dean Nolan for their service in leading this important national search process and for the commitment of each of the committee members.”
The search committee members include Julie Luft, Georgia Athletic Association Professor of Mathematics and Science Education and Distinguished Research Professor in the Mary Frances Early College of Education’s Department of Mathematics, Science, and Social Studies Education.
Read the full story in UGA Today.