President Jere W. Morehead joins members of the Class of 2019 for a selfie at Freshman Welcome, held in Sanford Stadium in August 2015. Morehead joined students as they formed a G on the field for a class photo.

University of Georgia President Jere W. Morehead

“There are few organizations more important to the vitality of our communities, to the strength of our democracy, and to the health of our economy than the American research university.”

Letter from the President

I am pleased to report on another outstanding year at the University of Georgia. The pages that follow contain example after example of how this institution in Fiscal Year 2016 made a positive impact on individuals and communities throughout Georgia and across our nation and world. This report also reveals an organization that is strategically evolving to reach new heights of excellence in teaching, research, and service. Indeed, the past year provided us with even more evidence of the growing strength of America’s first state-chartered university.

I believe a deep sense of commitment lies at the center of each of the many achievements highlighted in this report. Commitment to creating the very best teaching and learning environment for students, for instance, inspired the experiential learning initiative and the small class size initiative, both discussed in the first section of the report. Commitment to leading-edge research and discovery was the motivation for the targeted faculty hiring efforts outlined in section two. The new Georgia Certified Economic Developer Program—also mentioned in the second section—arose from the University’s commitment to promote economic development in our home state. The final section of the report reveals an unwavering commitment among our alumni and friends to securing UGA’s long-term success. It was this commitment that led to another record-breaking year in fundraising with more than $183 million in gifts and pledges—a significant increase over last year’s historic total.

Standing together—united by a deep sense of commitment—we are expanding the boundaries of what is possible at the University of Georgia. I remain deeply honored to serve as President of this special University and deeply grateful to our faculty, staff, students, alumni, and friends, who are helping to lead UGA on an upward trajectory.

Jere W. Morehead
President
University of Georgia