Tags: Office of Development and Alumni Relations


Grace Mercer


Abby B. Fuller

Abby Bramblett Fuller joined the Franklin College of Arts & Sciences in June 2024 as an Associate Director of Development. In this role she focuses on securing resources for the Division of Physical and Mathematical Sciences and builds relationships with those that have an interest in making a philanthropic investment in the University of Georgia and Franklin College. Abby brings over a decade of non-profit and fundraising experience, most…


Emily Burns

Emily joined the Franklin College Development team in March 2024 as a Development and Alumni Relations Coordinator. In this role she provides administrative support to the Development team, and coordinates connections with donors, alumni, and friends to promote Franklin and its mission. Prior to working at UGA, Emily worked as a Librarian for Teen Programming in Braselton, GA, and as a Marketing Specialist for a cybersecurity consulting firm in…


Kendra Bryant

Kendra joined Franklin College’s Office of Development & Alumni Relations in 2024. She is responsible for helping to set the marketing and communications strategy for the Office of Development & Alumni Relations. In this role, she creates promotional content across multiple channels to raise funds and foster relationships with alumni. Kendra has experience in marketing as well as retail management, and she is a graduate of the University…


Ali Elyaman

Ali joined the Franklin College Development team in January 2024 as an Associate Director of Development. Ali is charged with meeting with alumni and friends of Franklin College to secure resources and build relationships with those who have an interest in making a philanthropic investment in the University of Georgia and the Franklin College. Originally hailing from Americus Georgia, Ali came to UGA as a student in 2016. After graduating with…


Levi Hopkins Dean

Levi Dean joined Franklin College’s Office of Development in 2023 and is the development associate for Hugh Hodgson School of Music. In this role, he works as a liaison between many stakeholders associated with the Hugh including alumni, faculty, students, and donors.  Passionate about music education and improving the lives of everyone through connecting through music, Levi is also a PhD candidate in music education researching the…


Haley Avery


Aubrey Miller

Aubrey joined the Franklin College Development team in May of 2022 as an Associate Director of Development. Aubrey is charged with meeting with alumni and friends of Franklin College in order to secure resources and build a relationships with those that have an interest in making a philanthropic investment in the University of Georgia and the Franklin College. Prior to this role, she spent 6 years in the central UGA development office as a Major…


Melissa Roberts

Melissa Roberts joined Franklin College's Office of Development in 2022. Her focus is to manage major gift fundraising efforts that support Performing Arts at UGA, including Hugh Hodgson School of Music, Theatre and Film Studies and the Department of Dance. She also supports Native American Studies, Institute of African American Studies, Latin American and Caribbean Studies and African Studies. She serves as an Adjunct Instructor in UGA's…


Alison Godley

Alison Godley joined the Franklin College's Development and Alumni Relations team in May 2019 as the Assistant Director of Annual Giving. She spent the past two years as the marketing coordinator for UGA's Office of Gift and Estate Planning. Prior to that, Alison worked at AGCO Corporation for several years in sales and marketing. Alison is a native of Augusta, GA and is a 2007 graduate of the University of Georgia where she earned her…


Meredith Metcalf

Meredith joined Franklin College's Office of Development in 2019. She has over 15 years of fundraising and non-profit experience. In this role Meredith manages all fundraising needs in support of Franklin College's students, faculty and programs. Meredith is a proud graduate of the University of Georgia with her Master’s degree in Nonprofit Management and Leadership. 

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2018 New Student Orientation

First-year orientation sesssions began earlier this summer and continue today through the second week of August. First-year, transfer and inernational students are finding their way around campus, learning about UGA and becoming acquainted with the small city that is a major university! Welcome all! Remain calm. There is a great deal to learn, keep up with, organize and decide, but you can do it. Our staff and faculty are here to help and…

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DREAMS INTO REALITY

UGA giving features psychology major Savonte Wilson ’21, who is attending his dream school thanks to the Beth and Barry Storey Family Scholarship: “I always wanted to come to UGA—it was my dream school,” said Savonte. “I made the grades for it and everything: I had a 4.0 throughout high school. I was determined to come here.” Savonte, a Moultrie, Georgia, native, was accepted to the University of Georgia on St. Patrick’s Day 2017, but it…

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UGA 40 Under 40 Class of 2018

The University of Georgia Alumni Association has unveiled the 40 Under 40 Class of 2018: This program began in 2011 and celebrates the personal, professional and philanthropic achievements of UGA graduates who are under the age of 40. The honorees will be recognized during the eighth annual 40 Under 40 Awards Luncheon on Sept. 13 at the Georgia Aquarium. Congratulations to this year's class. For 2018, 17 Honorees…

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Six students receive Critical Language Scholarships

Bryana Shook These students join approximately 580 competitively selected American students at U.S. colleges and universities who received the award this year. ... The Critical Language Scholarship program provides scholarships to U.S. undergraduate and graduate students to spend eight to 10 weeks overseas studying one of 14 critical languages: Arabic, Azerbaijani, Bangla, Chinese, Hindi, Indonesian, Japanese, Korean, Persian, Punjabi,…

Moving Evolution Education Forward
Moving Evolution Education Forward

Recent research co-authored by department of genetics Ph.D. candidate Michelle Ziadie focuses on resources available for undergraduate evolution instructors. From the abstract of the paper: Evolution is a unifying theory in biology and is challenging for undergraduates to learn. An instructor’s ability to help students learn is influenced by pedagogical content knowledge (PCK), which is topic-specific knowledge of teaching and learning…

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Writing Intensive Program turns to the community

In the modern workplace, writing skills are more important than ever. From a study of millions of U.S. job advertisements, Burning Glass Technologies found, “Clear communication, particularly writing, is at a premium in nearly every occupation." Research by Hart Research Associates on employer priorities also found written communication to be highly valued; 82% of employers rated writing as an important skill for new graduates (2015). UGA's…

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Scholarship recipients speak at Advance UGA Conference

As we near commencement, with so many Franklin students [more than 1,850] preparing to enter the next stage of their lives and careers, many are reflecting on the impact of their campus experiences and especially those afforded by scholarship opportunities.  A few of those were celebrated on Monday, April 30 at the Georgia Center for Continuing Education at the Advance UGA Conference. Sponsored by the Office of Development and Alumni…

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2018 Josiah Meigs Teaching Professor Michael Marshall

The Franklin College is home to two of the three 2018 Josiah Meigs Teaching Professors, profiled in the Honors & Awards issue of Columns. One of three is photography professor Michael Marshall: Michael Marshall believes that artists should have a role in facilitating change and shaping the world around them. He has put that philosophy into practice and guides others to do the same. “Change can be difficult, and I am consistently…

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UGA junior Laurel Hiatt named 2018 Truman Scholar

Laurel Hiatt, a third-year Honors student from Dahlonega majoring in biochemistry and molecular biology and Spanish, was one of 59 undergraduates from across the nation to be named a 2018 Truman Scholar, a highly competitive graduate scholarship program for aspiring public service leaders in the U.S.: Truman Scholarship recipients receive $30,000 toward graduate school and have the opportunity to participate in professional…

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Thank a Donor

  UGA students are gathering Thursday at Tate Plaza from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. for Thank A Donor Day to show their appreciation for support of alumni and friends. At this celebration, students will have creative opportunities to thank those donors who have enriched their experiences at UGA. There will be prizes, photos with Hairy Dawg, music and more. It's another beautiful spring day on campus. Our students make it all the better by…

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UGA Theatre closes 2017-2018 season with Shakespeare’s Othello

“The robb'd that smiles, steals something from the thief; He robs himself that spends a bootless grief.” Thus speaks the Duke to Desdemona’s father Brabantio in Othello, thus UGA Theatre closes their season with one of the Bard's best: Shakespeare’s “Othello,” widely regarded as one the greatest masterpieces of English literature, is a meditation on the nature of cruelty and envy. Othello, a valiant and renowned general, has earned the…

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Undergraduates present research at CURO Symposium

Presentations on the best of UGA undergraduate research are underway at the annual CURO Symposium, held this year on April 9-10 at the Classic Center in downtown Athens: Hosted by CURO, the Center for Undergraduate Research Opportunities, this year’s symposium is the largest to date, with more than 575 participants. These undergraduates are pursuing 103 different majors from 14 UGA schools and colleges. Collectively, they are…

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MFA exit show 2018

The Georgia Museum of Art will present the annual exit show for master of fine arts students at the Lamar Dodd School of Art with an opening reception at 5:30 p.m. on Saturday, April 7. This decades-long tradition presents a variety of media, themes and styles. This year’s candidates are: Painting and drawing: Katelyn Chapman, Whitney Cleveland, Annemarie Dicamillo and Kelsey Scharf Photo and video: Ally…

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Georgia Debate Union closes out season at National Tournament

The Georgia Debate Union recently capped off its historically successful 2017-2018 season at the 72nd National Debate Tournament in Wichita, Kansas.   The National Debate Tournament (NDT) is the premier national championship tournament for intercollegiate policy debate.  Only 78 teams are allowed to attend, with each team having to qualify weeks prior to the tournament itself.  2017-2018 marks the 29th consecutive year that teams…
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