As UGA’s Archway to Excellence campaign comes to a close, faculty, staff and retirees of the university have another opportunity to contribute to its resounding success. Last year, more than 1,400 employees and 600 retirees gave over $2.4 million to UGA, helping the university exceed $100 million in private giving for the second year in a row and pushing the Archway to Excellence Campaign total to $600 million.

“UGA is a public assisted, rather than public supported, institution,” noted Bill Flatt, D.W. Brooks Distinguished Professor Emeritus in the College of Family and Consumer Sciences. “Private support is essential because state and federal funds provided are not sufficient to attract and maintain the quality faculty, staff and students that are needed to achieve excellence.”

UGA is making the most of the campaign’s final year, reminding faculty and staff that every gift, no matter the size, makes a difference.

“I have a responsibility to give back to the School that has already given me so much,” said Emily Saunders, a recent UGA graduate who is Student Services Coordinator for the Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources. “I believe alumni, especially recent graduates, think they don’t have a lot of money to give and will just give later. While passion doesn’t always translate to a high-dollar career, we still need to do our part to assist the next generation."

Faculty, staff, and retirees can support the university’s work through any of its colleges, schools, or units, including their own, and can designate their gifts to whatever interests them most. By seeing first-hand the difference gifts make, it validates opportunities for growth and strengthens UGA’s place among the nation’s best universities.

“I support causes and institutions that actively work to improve society. I’m convinced that education is a fundamental ingredient of the betterment of any community,” said Carolina Acosta-Alzura, Associate Professor in the Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication. “There is no better investment than education.”