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Equestrian will become varsity sport
The university will add women’s equestrian as its 21st varsity sport overall, its 12th sport for women, and will begin formal competition in the 2002-03 academic year, according to athletic director Vince Dooley.
Though its first competition is more than year away, UGA will begin developing the program immediately. Among the tasks during the first year of existence will include the hiring of a head coach, formalizing all facilities and organizing the transition from an established club sport on campus to varsity status.
“Adding equestrian is another step in the direction we have been traveling toward meeting the ultimate test of Title IX, which is proportionality--a proportion of female student-athletes comparable to the percentage of female students on campus,” Dooley says.
Knight Commission issues series of recommendations for college sports
The Knight Foundation Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics, of which UGA President Michael F. Adams is a member, issued a series of recommendations late last month to address higher education’s management of its athletics programs.
After a series of hearings in 2000-2001, the panel found that the problems of college sports have worsened since 1991 when it issued a landmark report on student athletics that recommended placing control of athletics in the hands of college presidents.
The key Knight Commission recommendations are: barring teams that do not graduate at least 50 percent of their players from conference championships or post-season play; reallocating TV revenue from the men’s NCAA division I basketball tournament; prohibiting athletes from wearing uniforms with corporate logos; encouraging the National Basketball Association and National Football League to develop minor leagues; banning legal gambling on collegiate athletics; establishing a Coalition of Presidents with the American Council on Education to pursue a reform agenda; and creating an independent watchdog body with the support of foundations and the Association of Governing Boards to monitor big-time college sports programs.
UGA, energy secretary discuss SREL
Provost Karen A. Holbrook and Vice President for Government Affairs Steve Wrigley met with U.S. Secretary of Energy Spencer Abraham in June to discuss UGA’s continued relationship with the Savannah River Ecology Laboratory. They were joined by Georgia Sen. Zell Miller, who arranged the meeting.
This year marks the 50th anniversary of the founding of SREL, located near Aiken, S.C. The laboratory, which is affiliated with UGA’s Institute of Ecology, provides an independent evaluation of the ecological effects of operations at the Savannah River Site, previously the location of a government facility for nuclear research and development. In addition to scientific research, the lab also conducts education and outreach programs.
SREL works under a cooperative agreement with the U.S. energy department that is worth more than $8 million annually and is the university’s single largest federal government contract. DOE recently reauthorized the agreement for another five years at the $50 million level, depending on availability of funds. Wrigley said all members of Georgia’s congressional delegation have written Abraham to support SREL and request the additional funding.
“One thing we wanted to do in the meeting is to make the senior DOE leadership aware of the value of SREL both to the scientific community and to DOE’s missions at the Savannah River Site,” said Wrigley.
Summer enrollment sets record
Summer semester enrollment stands at 14,251, a 4.1 percent increase over last summer and a new record for the summer term, according to preliminary figures from UGA registrar Gary Moore.
Final summer figures, available later this month, will include enrollment for the second summer session, which began July 6. The preliminary report shows 560 more students are enrolled this summer than last, with the largest numerical increases coming in the Terry College of Business (+426), the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences (+133), and the Graduate School (+90). The greatest decreases are in independent study (-85), the Henry W. Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication (-58), and the College of Education (-43).
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