Cabinet adopts wireless devices policy
The Cabinet has adopted a new policy regarding wireless communication devices. It requires that all requests for wireless communications devices such as cell phones, PDAs and pagers be routed through a Web-based approval system.

While the system has been in use since July 1, the policy’s adoption this past fall has created changes in how departments pay for employee’s wireless gadgets.

“One of the biggest changes…was that employees can no longer go to any vendor they want. It must be done on a purchase request so it’s all done through procurement,” says Judy Howell, manager of telephone services.

Bringing all departments under the same set of guidelines should speed up the approval process and ensure fairness for all employees, she adds.

The policy also includes a reimbursement plan for business calls made on personal phones. The university will pay for school-related calls if they make up 26 to 75 percent of an employee’s monthly bill.

More information is available online (eits.uga.edu/telephone).

Vinson Institute awarded grant to study how retirees manage their assets
The National Endowment for Financial Education has awarded UGA’s Carl Vinson Institute of Government the largest grant it has ever given: $183,320 for the first comprehensive study of how retirees plan and manage assets drawn down in early retirement.

Researchers from the institute’s Research and Policy Analysis Division will develop and apply two separate financial education curricula and follow four groups of retiring workers over a three-year period. Jason Seligman, principal investigator, will develop the educational offerings and survey modules. The institute’s Survey Research and Data Services Unit will track and survey study participants.

The institute team will implement a classic experimental design to better understand how workers make financial decisions in early retirement, and how to formulate better financial management instructional tools related to successful savings draw-down decisions.

The research design, which develops and tests two separate modular educational curricula across four worker populations, is advantageous both for the development of an effective financial literacy program and for researching a very important life process, according to Seligman.

“This study represents an opportunity for the institute to make an important contribution to informing personal savings behaviors in the public and private sectors,” he says. “Our protocol also allows us to enhance research and teaching activities as we assist the public through our study.”

Former swimmer wins NCAA award
Earlier this month, former UGA swimmer Samantha Arsenault received the NCAA Today’s Top VIII Award. The award is given to eight student athletes based on their athletic success, academic achievement and community service.

Arsenault, a native of Peabody, Mass., capped her collegiate career in 2005 by swimming on the 200- and 400-yard medley relay teams that won NCAA titles. She also co-captained the women’s squad that won the program’s fourth national championship.

Arsenault was a seven-time All-American and held five Honorable Mention certificates. In addition to the 2005 relays, Arsenault was a member of the 200 freestyle relay team that won the 2002 national crown. She won a gold medal as a member of the 800 free relay at the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney, and a gold medal in the 200 free at the 2000 World Cup in Paris.

Arsenault earned a 3.82 grade point average majoring in science education.