Faculty members in the College of Family and Consumer Sciences have a reputation for outstanding teaching. Our mission includes offering undergraduate and graduate academic programs and extending knowledge from the University to the general public. Thus, family and consumer sciences teaching takes place in a variety of venues: laboratories and classrooms, the McPhaul Center children’s programs and the Marriage and Family Therapy Clinic, county Extension facilities, study abroad programs, internships, and in front of computers. But in a jail?

This issue of FACS Magazine focuses on teaching. Someone once said, “Successful teachers are surpassed by their pupils,” (Anonymous). That’s the legacy of outstanding teachers. They plant and nurture the seeds of curiosity, facilitate those “ah-ha” moments, and equip their students for life-long learning. By including examples of outstanding teaching programs and teachers in this issue of FACS Magazine, we pay tribute to all those faculty, graduate teaching assistants and alumni who carry on the tradition of outstanding teaching in the College of Family and Consumer Sciences.

Another topic occupies center stage these days: budgets, or more precisely, budget reductions. The University of Georgia’s budget was cut by $40.3 million this year. Every unit at the University absorbed some of these cuts. The College of Family and Consumer Sciences forfeited vacant faculty and staff positions, reduced graduate assistantship funding, eliminated funds for equipment repair, and severely reduced operating budgets. The success of our faculty in securing external grants helps to absorb the shock of some of these cuts, but those dollars do not replace the infrastructure of faculty, staff and basic funding necessary to fulfill the responsibilities of the College.

Earlier reductions in budgets were assigned “across the board” to UGA’s schools and colleges, but the most recent round of cuts were based on productivity criteria, including enrollment, credit hours taught, and external grants. The College of Family and Consumer Sciences is a high performing unit.

Enrollment in the College is now the highest it has ever been. Spring semester, a total of 1,356 students are enrolled, a 26 percent increase since spring semester 2000.

Expenditure from FACS research and public service/ext grants was $6.5 million last year. For every $1 of State funds assigned to faculty research, FACS faculty generate $7.58 in external grants; and for every $1 of State funds assigned to public service, including Extension and the Institute on Human Development and Disability, FACS faculty generate $12 in external grants.

Although the College was not exempt from additional cuts, our strong record on these criteria earned FACS a lower percentage cut in the most recent reductions.

How are we coping with increasing enrollment and decreasing resources? Unfortunately, class sizes are larger. Teaching methods and assignments have been modified and fewer field trips are possible. Nevertheless, the vast majority of FACS courses continue to be taught by faculty, and courses taught by graduate teaching assistants are under the close supervision of faculty. How are we attempting to meet the informational needs of Georgia’s 8.1 million citizens when there are fewer Family and Consumer Sciences County Agents due to cuts in the Extension budget? Responding to the multitude of challenges affecting daily quality of life, such as obesity, diabetes, food safety, quality child care, consumer and financial management skills, access to services, housing and indoor environmental quality, requires focused priorities. IHDD and Extension faculty in the College of Family and Consumer Sciences have partnered with state agencies to deliver educational programs in targeted areas and to targeted audiences, thus expanding somewhat outreach personnel at the local level. Advocacy for replacing FACS County Agents is a continuous effort on the part of College administrators. The administrative team in the College of Family and Consumer Sciences is doing everything in our power to maintain the momentum FACS has achieved in recent years. The faculty and staff have stretched beyond normal expectations, which have always been high, to get through this period. The help of alumni and friends is critical to sustaining our programs. Here are some of our specific needs:

• Scholarships for graduate students so that we can stay competitive with other universities in recruiting the most outstanding students;
• Study abroad funds to offer more students the opportunity to gain an international perspective first-hand;
• Funds for temporary instructors and visiting scholars to support quality instruction;
• Unrestricted funds for the College, each department, and the Institute for Human Development and Disability to maintain their margin of excellence;
• Additional space for classrooms and teaching labs;
• Legislative support for reinstating Family and Consumer Sciences County Agent positions.

The budget challenges we are facing make your contributions to the College of Family and Consumcer Sciences more important than ever. Thank you for your support in the past! With your help, I am sure we will get through these financial difficulties with our passion for teaching intact and our aspirations for the future undiminished.

Sharon Y. Nickols, Dean