Tags: Society

The upward trajectory of research and development expenditures at the University of Georgia continues with a record-high figure for FY25.  The $654 million in related expenditures during fiscal year 2025, representing a 4.1% increase over the previous year, set a new set a research and development record for the university. Since 2015, UGA’s R&D activity has grown by 75%: The growth of the university’s research enterprise has been…

David B. Berkowitz, an accomplished research administrator and nationally recognized science policy leader, has been selected to serve as next vice president for research at University of Georgia. Currently serving as assistant director of the U.S. National Science Foundation’s Directorate for Mathematical and Physical Sciences, Berkowitz oversees a portfolio of approximately $1.7 billion in funding of research and infrastructure in astronomy,…

The University of Georgia has selected 10 faculty - four from the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences – to join the 2026 class of its Advanced Leader Program, an initiative designed to cultivate the next generation of higher education leaders. The program provides a select group of faculty and administrators an opportunity to build upon their existing strengths as they learn from senior administrators, experts in leadership development and…

Happy 2026 from the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences. Best wishes as we look forward to an outstanding new year in teaching, research, and service. From the classroom to our laboratories and performance halls, let's bring our highest ambitions, be mindful of community, and find new ways to strengthen our connections to friends, family, neighbors, and colleagues.  

Happy Holidays from the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences!   Image: The Iron Horse sculpture, illuminated red with LED lights. (Chamberlain Smith/UGA)

University engagement with cities and towns across Georgia takes shape in shared vision, expertise, and innovative economic growth strategies. Community service is about much more than fulfilling credit hours for Franklin students – for many, it's a way to give back to hometown or region. For others, service opportunities provide invaluable training experience and inroads to exciting career opportunities. The recipe for success led UGA to be…

An increasing number of high-achieving in-state students are choosing to apply and enroll at the University of Georgia. The trend echoes with a national current of students increasingly looking to Southern universities including UGA that pair strong academics with a vibrant student experience: Applicants this year represented 49 states and Washington, D.C., as well as 129 Georgia counties, up from 115 last year. Admission offers went to students…

Ziying You, Associate Professor in the department of Comparative Literature and Intercultural Studies and the Center for Asian Studies, is the author of "Impacts of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Chinese and Chinese American Women," published by the University of Indiana Press earlier in 2025.   The book examines how Chinese and Chinese American women in the United States experienced and responded to the double threat of the COVID-19 virus and…

Franklin College Research Mixer  November 20, 2025 | Hendershots Coffee   The Franklin College of Arts and Sciences hosted a successful research mixer on November 20 at Hendershots Coffee, our new community partner for these networking events. Thirty-five faculty members gathered to explore collaborative opportunities under the theme "Connected Futures: Community, Risk & Networks," with six presentations showcasing…

Exceptional arts programming, research, and scholarship across Franklin and UGA were on display throughout November during the 14th annual Spotlight on the Arts festival. Congratulations to the many students and faculty in arts units who worked so hard to capture and hold the attention of the campus community. The monthlong festival featured more than 40 events and exhibitions in the literary, performing, and visual arts, including the fifth…

The creativity of University of Georgia students provides vitality to the Carl Vinson Institute of Government’s partnership with military installations – as well as a fresh take on existing infrastructure that will help guide future use. In spring 2025, 15 interior design students in the UGA Lamar Dodd School of Art were tasked with reimagining a historic gas station at Fort Benning into a workspace for architects and an archaeology lab.…

Ten years after she was a Chase Street Elementary School third grader, Maya Shrivastav found herself on stage as a UGA student performing for an audience of third-graders. "It was a full-circle moment. It’s really great to see how everything I’ve done since third grade has led me here,” said Shrivastav, now a first-year UGA student majoring in international affairs, political science and ceramics. Both Shrivastav and the students at her former…

Rather than a specialized approach to a set of philosophical questions or political issues, ethics presents a way of evaluating choices in an open society. The tools to navigate choices may involve a variety of expertise and disciplinary specialties, but these are also connected simply by the physical world where they are put into practice. Piers Stephens, professor in the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences department of philosophy, explains…

Nik Heynen, Distinguished Research Professor of geography in the University of Georgia’s Franklin College of Arts and Sciences, and friends hit upon an ingenious idea to tackle waste in an Athens industry and arrest the effects of sea level rise on a Georgia barrier island. Tyler Leslie and Hunt Revell had worked at the popular downtown Athens seafood restaurant, Seabear. Working at an oyster bar, Leslie and Revell were aware of the high volume…

University of Georgia faculty member Paul Schroeder will lead one of 11 new partnerships launched to accelerate innovation in engineering biology for sustainable critical mineral supply chains.  Funded by the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) and delivered in partnership with the UK Science and Technology Network, this initiative provides targeted grants to strengthen transatlantic collaboration in sustainable…

In spring 2025,  Nikita Jha, a fourth-year computer science and economics major at the University of Georgia, was interviewed along with the co-founders of Azalea Robotics and UGA alumni, David Millard (BS Mathematics and Computer Science, `14) and John B. Stroud (BS Mathematics and Economics, `16). Stroud and Millard shared their journey from being students at Franklin to founding a Y Combinator-backed startup in Berkeley, Ca., where Jha…

As the timer counted down 4 minutes and 33 seconds, presenters took the stage to share their integrative arts investigations. The presentations that unfolded went beyond standard explanations of an abstract and utilized creativity to captivate the audience.  The 2025 4’33” Competition featured a variety of presentations from poetry readings to immersive visuals. First place winner Younghyun Kim, Ph.D. student in Learning, Leadership, and…

With more than 50 study abroad programs across five continents and 57 countries, the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences is no stranger to the power of the international student experience. With the University of Georgia ranked No. 1 in the nation for short-term study abroad participation and No. 5 overall, the reach of that power for all UGA students is assured – and growing: A total of 3,322 UGA degree-seeking students studied abroad for…

A long-term ecological research project run by the University of Georgia Marine Institute on Sapelo Island, the Georgia Coastal Ecosystems research program has been renewed by a $7.5 million grant from the National Science Foundation. The grant supports research on how ecological disturbances affect marsh health and resilience, comprehensive efforts dedicated to understanding a diversity of habitats and how they respond to changing conditions:…

After discovering his singular passion for the French language as an undergraduate at UGA, William Carter AB ’63, MA ’67, made teaching and interpreting Proust’s novel a lifelong passion. Georgia magazine shares the story of an inspiring alumnus: "I loved it immediately,” he says. “I wasn’t even sure what I wanted to major in when I came to UGA, but once I took that first class, I never looked back.”…

Georgia Statistics Day is an annual event, designed to promote interdisciplinary research among the three premier academic institutions in the state of Georgia – UGA, Emory, and Georgia Tech – initiated by statistics units at the three institutions in 2015 to emphasize mentoring of junior researchers and interaction between industry and academia. The 2025 iteration delivered that and more. The one-day conference enabled junior researchers to…

The Generative AI student competition returns for its third year and asks students to use Artificial Intelligence to create something meaningful to enrich the UGA community/experience. Submissions are due March 6, 2026. Monetary prizes and swag will be awarded to the top three submissions, judged according to the innovative use of AI, creativity, impact on our local community or the lived experience of UGA community members, and…

Swetha Pendela's four years exploring just about every corner of the University of Georgia has included different clubs, majors, and international trips, but these unexpected turns have helped her find her direction. Now, as the double major in biochemistry & molecular biology and international affairs finishes her applications to medical school, her journey appears inspiringly path-dependent: “I didn’t come into college knowing exactly what…

The University of Georgia Institute for Artificial Intelligence hosted Align & Engage: Spotlight on new IAI Fellows on Friday, Oct. 10 in the Tate Student Center. The afternoon included keynote remarks on AI in Practice from a panel of corporate guests from NVIDIA, Insight, and SADA. After a greeting from Franklin College of Arts and Sciences Dean Anna Stenport, Marshall Shepherd, associate dean for research scholarship and partnerships,…

Foundation Fellow, Franklin College SGA Senator, and Blue Key Honor Society President Rayna Carter is building a lofty set of credentials to match her work ethic and soaring ambitions. A triple-major in psychology, sociology, and women and gender studies, her work has spanned four labs—from neuroimaging to bioinformatics—and she has presented it at national conferences and published peer-reviewed work as an undergraduate student.  From…