News Archive - 2025

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Four Franklin College faculty members named AAAS Fellows

In honor of their extraordinary achievements leading to scientific advancement, Five University of Georgia faculty – four from the Franklin College – have been named Fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, bringing the university’s total membership in the exclusive group to 50. Franklin's new Fellows are Thomas Mote, Robert Schmitz, Michael Terns and Zheng-Hua Ye. Melissa Mitchum of the College of Agricultural and…

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Manual dexterity skills flow through art to the medical fields

A new certificate program in the Lamar Dodd School of Art confirms a long-held connection: just as a jeweler peers through a magnifying glass to set a gem, a dentist wears a pair of loupes and wields a mouth mirror to check for tartar. Over the spring semester, pre-dental students at the University of Georgia have become quick learners of the art of working with their hands thanks to a novel partnership between the UGA Pre-Professional Advising…


Featured Mentors for April 2025

April 2025 If you are interested in growing a professional network while you're still a student, consider connecting with one of these humanities grads. The University of Georgia Mentor Program pairs current students with over 5,000 professional mentors.  I am highlighting three mentors below who are currently accepting mentees. To get paired up, create a student account here. RELIGION Nic Carroll | BA in Religion and Political Science |…

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Research improves AI for smartphones

As Machine Learning tools become increasingly commonplace, their ubiquity is accompanied by a growing need to use the tools on mobile devices. From the application side, the endless possibilities go well beyond common speech or image recognition. And the growing computational capacity of smartphones creates necessary room for improved hand-held AI. Researchers at the University of Georgia have recently developed an innovative software framework…

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Ron Simons, 1946-2025

Ron Simons, Ph.D., Regents' Professor in the department of sociology in the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences at UGA passed away on Monday, March 31, 2025. Simons had a long and fruitful collaboration with the Center for Family Research (CFR) over the years, and is leaving behind a profound legacy through his contributions to the field and support of other scholars’ work. CFR’s director, Steven Beach, Ph.D., says, Simons “was a…

Facilitating Learning and Optimal Wellness Laboratory
Franklin College Multidisciplinary Seed Projects Program funds six research projects

For the second consecutive year, the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences Multidisciplinary Seed Grant Program has funded two new tracks of collaborative research projects: Rapid Interdisciplinary Proposals (RIP) and Innovation in Interdisciplinary Instruction (I-Cubed). The seed grant program responds to the need for new paradigms that shape future research, life-long learning, public discourse, service, and dynamic entrepreneurship. $50,…

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Psi Chi convention showcases student research in psychology

This spring, the University of Georgia Franklin College of Arts and Sciences hosted the annual Psi Chi (International Honor Society for Psychology) Convention, an event showcasing undergraduate psychology students’ research. Organized by the Franklin College Department of Psychology, the convention reflected the department's commitment to academic rigor, collaboration, and exploration in psychology. The event featured a range of student…

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UGA's Roberts Thompson receives Society for American Archeology Award

University of Georgia faculty member Amanda Roberts Thompson has been selected to receive the 2025 Award for Excellence in Curation and Collections Management from the Society of American Archeology. The 2025 SAA awards will be presented April 25 at the SAA 90th Annual Meeting in Denver, Colorado. This Award for Excellence in Curation and Collections Management is given annually to recognize excellence in curation and collections…

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Crawfords honored with UGA's Family of the Year Award

The University of Georgia celebrated the 2025 Alumni Awards honorees during a luncheon on April 4 in Athens. The awards are a long-standing tradition intended to celebrate individuals and organizations that demonstrate an outstanding commitment to UGA. Among the six honorees, Cathie and John Crawford III were recognized with the 2025 Family of the Year Award: John Crawford III began his family’s legacy at UGA when he graduated in 1962 …

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Franklin students present their research at CURO Symposium

As visitors descended the escalator of the Classic Center and walked through the doors of the Grand Hall, they encountered hundreds of hardworking students eager to present their research. An atmosphere of education and engagement filled the air.  On April 7 and 8, undergraduate students from UGA came together to present at the annual Center for Undergraduate Research (CURO) Symposium with a record-breaking number of 723 presentations…