“Little did I know when I came to the University of Georgia in 1981 to work on a Southern Regional Housing Research Project that 24 years later I would still be in Dawson Hall (still having as much fun as that first year).

My journey through the academic ranks has been personally rewarding. I was hired as a part-time temporary assistant professor then assistant professor, was promoted to associate professor and then professor and just this year became department head. Along the way I became involved in university governance and was named a Josiah Meigs Teacher of Excellence.

“My greatest memories of my years in the College of Family and Consumer Sciences center around the students and faculty I have come to know. I have been so fortunate to have been a part of this wonderful College and am looking forward to our future. The reason I wanted to be an active member of the College’s Campaign Committee is so that I can help provide the funds to make our future even brighter. I feel the College of Family and Consumer Sciences is on the cusp of even greater things and I want to help make things happen for our students.”

— Anne Sweaney
Professor and Department Head,
Housing and Consumer Economics

“I agreed to serve on the campaign committee because I feel that it is imperative that those of us in industry give back to the university and especially to the College of Family and Consumer Sciences. In my industry, apparel and textiles, we have experienced a sea-change brought on by globalization and if we are to survive we must have graduates who have the intellectual skills to provide the innovation and leadership that our industry needs. Serving on the Campaign Committee is one way I can inform my peers and associates that by giving to the campaign they are ensuring a brighter future for the university and for our own industry.”

— Jeff Whalen
President, Georgia Soft-Goods Education Foundation, Inc.

“As I think back on the experiences that inspired my career I recall wanting to be a ‘homemaking’ teacher just like Mrs. Elizabeth McFall, who taught home economics in my high school. I even remember visiting Dawson Hall as a high school student participating in Future Homemakers of America. My parents supported my interest, but UGA was just too big (10,000 students) so I enrolled at North Georgia College for two years before coming to UGA.

“The UGA experience was great. I lived next door in Soule Hall and met wonderful friends, my husband Ray being one of them. I was not the best student, however. In fact, a friend and I worried whether our diplomas would be there as we marched across Sanford Stadium on graduation day – but they were!

“I taught high school at Monroe High for several years before taking a break while my two children were babies. I returned to the job market as an Extension agent in Albany. Went from there to Gwinnett County and finally retired after my last position with Fulton County Extension. All the stops had such wonderful people and experiences. And, in some part, all of those opportunities came about because of my degree from UGA-College of Home Economics.

“Participating on the Campaign Committee was a team decision in my family. My husband Ray supported my decision to be a part of this effort to increase support for our College.”

— Jean Bauerband
(BSHE ’57, Home Economics Education),
Retired FACS Extension Agent

“I’m supportive of UGA and the Family and Consumer Sciences College because it provided me with an excellent education that was the foundation for my success. A good education encourages independent thinking and I believe our College challenges students to explore how they can best contribute to our ever-changing world.

— Carolyn Willis Grant
(BSHE ’71, Home Economics and Journalism) President, Omega Property Group, a commercial real estate brokerage and development company

“As an undergraduate I received 12 scholarships that made it possible for me to go to college. I also received a National Science Foundation Fellowship that paid my expenses to obtain a PhD at Cornell University. I received a cash award for having the highest grade point average when I graduated from UT, and it was enough to pay the hospital bill for the birth of our first daughter, Melynda, in 1952. These are among the reasons I feel fortunate to be able to ‘give back’ to help other students achieve their goals to obtain a higher education.

“I started saving and investing early in my career, and some of the investments have been real winners. Rather than sell them and pay capital gains taxes, I could give the appreciated stocks to UGA to fund scholarships and awards for undergraduates and graduate students. I can then use the contributions as tax deductions. This is a ‘win-win’ situation for me because it accomplishes what I want to do for FACS students and it saves me from paying as much taxes as I would if I sold the stocks.

“Another reason I am so glad to help is that it has been such a pleasure to work with the wonderful faculty, staff, students and especially Dean Nickols and her staff of the College of Family and Consumer Sciences. After 25 years of being an administrator (department head, director of Ag Experiment Stations and dean of the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences) I had the opportunity to teach nutrition and conduct energy metabolism research. It has been truly a pleasure and fun! Katrina Bowers and Becky Price have done most of the organizing and work, so it has been a very rewarding experience to be chair of the steering committee. We have already achieved our original goal, and I am confident that we can double that support to FACS during the remainder of the campaign.”

— William Flatt
(Professor Emeritus, Foods and Nutrition)
Chair, FACS Campaign Committee