Past Chairman's Letter

FALL 2007
by Bill Young, Jr.

Dear Friends:

I am truly honored to be offering my first newsletter as chairman of the University of Georgia Foundation. I am excited by the opportunity that has been presented and hope that I can fulfill the job duties with the same enthusiasm, sound judgment and spirit that my predecessor, Read Morton, brought to the position. He was an inspiration and I want to use this space to express my thanks for his deft leadership. It is good to know that Read remains an active trustee of the foundation and also sits on the executive committee where we can continue to call upon and benefit from his expertise.

Foundation concludes very productive fall board meeting
The University of Georgia Foundation Board of Trustees had a very productive fall session in September. We had spirited committee meetings, a wonderful dinner program and a very upbeat full board session.

We all came away from the fall session with great enthusiasm for the accomplishments of the foundation and energized for the work that lies ahead. Below are a few highlights from the meeting:

• The University of Georgia Foundation continues to prove itself to be an avenue of choice for donors who wish to see their funds managed responsibly and effectively. The foundation announced that it received approximately $28 million in new gifts and pledges in fiscal year 2007.
• The foundation’s investment committee announced it achieved a spectacular rate of return on investments – 20.4% – for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2007. This helped the foundation continue to grow its total assets, which now sit at an all-time record of approximately $676 million.
• The full-board approved a measure that established The Legacy Endowment of the University of Georgia Foundation Trustees as an annual giving program. Trustees contributed more than $100,000 to the fund last year. The Fund was established to allow support of various programs across the University as the board directs each year. To that end, the board unanimously approved the first funding from the endowment in the form of a $5,000 award to the “Dean’s Promise Fund” in the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences.
• The University of Georgia’s study abroad program got a major boost when the foundation purchased a new facility for the Oxford program last summer. The foundation announced at the fall board meeting that extensive renovations to the new facility had been completed on schedule and in time for students to move in for the fall semester – allowing the foundation to complete the sale of the smaller facility that had originally housed the Oxford study abroad program.
• Investment committee Chair Joe Frierson announced to the board of trustees that the foundation received a gift which allocated $100,000 for a new initiative called “SMIF” – the Student Managed Investment Fund. Unlike hypothetical investment scenarios often used in classrooms, SMIF will allow a group of 15 University of Georgia students to invest and manage funds in a real-life setting. The program requires the team to provide the foundation with an annual report of results and offers a superb learning experience that helps prepare participants to work as investment professionals and to manage personal funds.

Trustee Tommy Lawhorne shares his insight on healthcare with Foundation Fellows
University of Georgia Foundation Trustee Tommy Lawhorne, MD, made a presentation titled “The Future of Healthcare in America” to a group of Foundation Fellows in Athens.

A former University of Georgia valedictorian, Johns Hopkins medical school graduate and a cardiovascular surgeon for more than 35 years, Dr. Lawhorne offered thoughts on the healthcare industry that featured fascinating and valuable insights for the fellows in attendance.

Dr. Lawhorne joined the University of Georgia Foundation Board of Trustees in 2005 and continues to make outstanding contributions to the university through the foundation and many other areas of service.

Honors students travel to Costa Rica for CURO International Undergraduate Research Symposium
The investments made by the University of Georgia Foundation in developing and improving the Costa Rica campus have proven to be exceptional uses of donor funds that are providing valuable and unique learning experiences for our students. Recently, a group of 12 honors program students traveled to Costa Rica for an international symposium hosted by the Center for Undergraduate Research Opportunities. The students, all of whom recently completed research projects at the University of Georgia, presented their findings on a variety of topics – ranging from arts and the environment to psychology and the humanities – to the full symposium. The event was organized and conducted with the help of Sofia Arce Flores, academic programs and volunteer coordinator for the Costa Rica Campus, and Maria Ruth Martinez, a UGA doctoral student in environmental and ecological anthropology.

UGA Foundation Annual Report on its way to Donors
Keep an eye on your mailbox... The 2007 University of Georgia Foundation Annual Report has been completed and is on its way to donors. Among many topics, the report includes updates from each of the foundation’s committees, donor and faculty profiles, an analysis of how donor funds were used and a look at how the foundation’s investments performed in fiscal year 2007. It’s a “must-have” informational piece for everyone who supports the University of Georgia Foundation.

UGA Foundation gives South Georgia land to university for new study program
The Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia recently approved the transfer of a gift of almost 1,200 acres of wetlands property in Camden County from the UGA Foundation to the university. The university plans to use the huge tract for a teaching facility in the Eugene Odum School of Ecology. The Odum School’s mission is to foster the study of interrelations of organisms and their environment and to train future generations of ecologists. The land was donated to the foundation in two separate gifts, in 2001 and 2006, and we were pleased to manage the property in the interim and facilitate the transfer to the University of Georgia.

Congratulations to Trey Paris, new president of the University of Georgia Alumni Association
Sincere congratulations to our friend and board member Trey Paris who is the new president of the UGA Alumni Association. Trey was first elected to our board in 2005 and is now an ex-officio trustee based on his position with the Alumni Association. He holds BBA and MBA degrees from the Terry College. Trey’s family roots run quite deep at the University of Georgia, eight decades to be precise. His grandfather played on the 1929 football team that dedicated Sanford Stadium, his father was a member of the 1959 SEC Champions and his mother is a former Miss Pandora. Thanks for all you have done for the foundation and the university, Trey. We are honored to have you with us for another term.

I want to thank my fellow board members for an outstanding fall meeting in Athens and for their continued dedication to making the University of Georgia Foundation the very best it can be. Their efforts and support from you, our donors, have helped position the foundation to support the academic mission of the university into perpetuity.

Bill Young Jr.