News Archive - 2026

Students standing at a table with plants
Franklin students are helping Augusta grow back

UGA students use technology skills to support reforesting project Imagine you’re a homeowner in Augusta. Your yard was once filled with beautiful trees, but after Hurricane Helene swept through in September 2024, it was reduced to a disaster zone. The now-bare landscape transports you back to that frightening time every time you look out the window. That was the scenario a team of undergraduate University of Georgia students in the New Media…

Aaron Murray throwing football
Aaron Murray powers new leadership research at UGA

Athens, Ga. –  When Aaron Murray became University of Georgia’s starting quarterback, a leadership expectation came with the jersey. What it did not include was a manual. “You’re the quarterback, so you’re expected to lead,” Murray said. “But no one really teaches you how.” That realization now sits at the center of RedZone Advantage, a leadership consultancy Murray is building alongside Brian Hoffman, professor of the Industrial…

PR Daily Marketing Awards 2026 in front of red background
UGA’s Franklin College of Arts and Sciences earns national PR Daily Marketing Award for sub-brand initiative

The University of Georgia's Franklin College of Arts and Sciences has been named a winner of PR Daily's 2026 Marketing Awards from Ragan Communications, earning top honors in the "Rebrand or Refresh" category for its Franklin sub-brand.  The award recognizes the college's collaborative effort to create a unified identity across the college’s degrees and departments. The initiative reinforces Franklin's role as UGA's cornerstone college.…

Woman snorkeling
UGA Marine Sciences launches new Connect Abroad program in Mexico

Incoming first-year students will dive into marine sciences, conservation, and more through a new Connect Abroad program in Mexico.   Slated for Spring Break 2027, the program’s first cohort will explore vibrant coastal tropical ecosystems and marine conservation efforts firsthand while earning academic credit. The Marine Sciences in Mexico program will focus on the Yucatan Peninsula, with students visiting Cancun, Tulum, and…

students dancing and waving flags
Franklin students drive UGA's record-setting Boren Awards success

The University of Georgia earned national recognition this year as the nation's top-performing institution for Boren Awards, with a record 18 undergraduates named 2026 Boren Scholars. Each scholar has an academic connection to the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences through a major, minor, or other program of study, underscoring the college's leadership in preparing students for careers in international affairs, language study, and public…

Dana Bultman and Patricia Richards
Franklin faculty help Hart County tell its own story

Faculty in the University of Georgia's Franklin College of Arts and Sciences are partnering with Hart County residents to explore how storytelling, history, and the humanities can strengthen community identity.  For Patricia Richards, professor of sociology and women's and gender studies, the project reflects the humanities at their best.  "We're interested in how communities develop and retain a sense of identity as they grow and…

Aruni Kashyap in library
How Aruni Kashyap helped shape UGA's global creative writing program

Released today, Aruni Kashyap's new novel, “How to Date a Fanatic,” follows characters navigating political polarization, state power, and social division in contemporary India. The novel's central questions—about democracy, institutions, and marginalized voices—also inform Kashyap's leadership of the Creative Writing Program at the University of Georgia's Franklin College of Arts and Sciences.  Since taking the program’s helm in…

Alex Asay in military uniform standing on road in desert
New book links philosophy of play to AI questions

When AI changes the rules  This story is part of Humanities in Practice, a Franklin College of Arts and Sciences series exploring the value of the humanities in work and everyday life.  Long before ChatGPT, philosopher Bernard Suits posed a question that has become increasingly relevant in the age of artificial intelligence: What makes a life meaningful when work and effort are no longer necessities?  For Alex Asay, the rise of…

Leg short of police walking in sync in dark uniforms
Franklin research questions whether anti-crime crackdowns reduce violence

When violence surges, governments often reach for the same playbook: send more police, deploy the military, increase arrests, and impose harsher penalties. But new research from the University of Georgia’s Franklin College of Arts and Sciences suggests those strategies may sometimes result in more violence, not less. In two studies conducted with collaborators led by Guillermo Escaño of Villanova University, Franklin sociologist William…

man in blue shirt with lighted robot on desk in front of him.
Why ChatGPT still can't hold a conversation

ChatGPT can write essays, explain calculus, and generate computer code in a fraction of the time it takes a human. What it can't replicate is the kind of casual conversation shared between friends on a front porch.  For Ryan Ka Yau Lai, assistant professor in the University of Georgia's Franklin College of Arts and Sciences Department of Linguistics, the reason is straightforward.  "At their core, AI models are trained to produce…