Univ. Council votes to have greater say in hiring provost

In January, UGA's president announced that the provost would be retiring this year. At the time of the announcement, he said there were no specific candidates in mind to replace the current provost.

It's been about two months since the announcement and after Thursday's University Council meeting, it appears that faculty and students may have a larger say in the decision than they have in previous provost hirings.

President Adams outlined his plan for the new provost hiring process at the beginning of the Council meeting Thursday afternoon, saying he hoped it would be managed in the same manner as the previous two hirings for the position. He has appointed a chair of a provost search committee and Adams said that committee would find three to five qualified candidates to bring to campus for an in-depth interview process.

Part of that interview process included meeting with University Council leadership, but not necessarily the entire body.

When the floor was opened for new business, one Council member proposed adding an item to the agenda which would essentially give the Council more say in the hiring decision. The Council voted to add the item to the agenda and then in a 2-to-1 vote, approved the item.

Immediately following the approval of the item, Adams told the Council he felt it was an "ill-informed decision" and that he would give the item some thought, because he was thinking about vetoing it.

This is a story that I will be following pretty closely for the rest of the semester.

Click here to read the article about the University Council meeting Thursday afternoon.

UGA hit by endowment losses, stem cell debate

Thursday was a meeting-filled day for me, but I was able to get some really important information that I think is important for faculty and students to know.

From 10 a.m. until about 11:30 a.m. I was in the Cabinet meeting and the media briefing that follows it. UGA administrators meet monthly to discuss what is happening at the university, then President Michael Adams answers any questions from the media. Last month the Cabinet meeting was cancelled, so this was my first experience with that meeting.

Adams told the Cabinet about the woes of the university budget – due to budget cuts instated by the state legislature. He also mentioned construction, what the university has had to cut and the current debate in the legislature about stem cell research.

Click here to read my article about the Cabinet meeting and media briefing Thursday morning.