Welcome from the Executive Director


Welcome to your new home at the University of Georgia!

The Department of University Housing provides comfortable, affordable, and secure places where residents can receive support for academic success and personal growth. The members of our staff are prepared to help you make a successful transition to residence hall living and college life, and we look forward to meeting each of you. We recognize that each of our student residents is unique and brings a distinct combination of experiences, interests, skills, and values.

The initial adjustment from living with family to residence hall life with other students is a time of challenge and significant growth. Many of you are excited about your more independent lifestyle and experiencing new freedoms and responsibilities. But often there is also apprehension about the unknown: Will I get along with my roommate? How well prepared am I for the academic challenges of college? Will I make the right decisions about studying, keeping up with academics and general time management, as well as friends, alcoholic beverages, sex, getting enough sleep, spending money, eating right and taking care of myself?

You can expect to face frequent decisions and some difficulties around the many issues that all young adults encounter as they mature and take charge of their lives. The university environment and our residence halls offer academic and personal support services that will foster essential student growth and development. Sharing a combination bed/living room with another person will call for strong communication, assertiveness and compromise about roommate responsibilities and rights. The diverse population on campus, with people of varied ethnic identities, national origins, physical abilities, sexual orientations, and religious affiliations, will be a new experience for some of you. Valuable knowledge, enjoyable memories, and lifelong friendships often result from this immersion in a vibrant and dynamic campus culture.

Whether your future career plans are focused on the not-for-profit, government or industry sectors, UGA Housing also provides the opportunities to build the track record of successful service and leadership sought by all employers. Whether you participate in self governance through the Residence Hall Association, volunteer to help build a home in the community, or serve as one of the hundreds of student staffers employed throughout UGA Housing, we have a way for you to get involved and grow within your areas of interest.

Our staff and others at the University of Georgia genuinely care about the well-being and success of each of you. From the Resident Assistant on your hall to my own office, we are here to help - let us help coordinate the flow of information and resources you need to be successful.

Sincerely,

Gerard J. Kowalski, Ph.D.
Executive Director of University Housing