Vice President Ryan Nesbit Remarks | May 13, 2026
Welcome from Ryan Nesbit, Vice President for Finance and Administration
Good morning and welcome to the 21st Annual Finance & Administration and University Human Resources Staff Recognition Ceremony.
My name is Ryan Nesbit, and I have the great privilege of serving as UGA’s Vice President for Finance and Administration.
On behalf of the F&A and UHR Senior Leadership Teams, we are honored to host this special event here in Hodgson Hall once again.
Every year, we look forward to this opportunity to come together and recognize the countless contributions you all make to the University of Georgia each and every day.
And tomorrow, we’ll keep that momentum going at our annual Ice Cream Social, happening at the Tate Student Center.
I hope you’ll join us there to connect with colleagues, step away from the day-to-day, and enjoy a well-earned break together. We’ll have some cool treats and fun activities mixed in, so you don’t want to miss it.
Recognizing and celebrating our people is a fundamental part of our culture. It’s something we try to carry with us throughout the year, not just during ceremonies or special events, but in how we show up for one another in our day-to-day work.
Because what truly brings meaning to this work is all of you: the individuals and teams who make it all happen.
Everyone here represents a wide range of skills and critical roles, each one unique and each one deeply valued.
These roles and responsibilities span countless specialties, industries, and areas of operations and support. But despite these differences, they all tie back to a shared purpose.
At the end of the day, every F&A and UHR team member is working toward the same mission: supporting and elevating the University of Georgia through exceptional service and stewardship of its human, financial, and physical resources.
By showing up every day, you are investing in yourself and your team, and you’re helping ensure that UGA continues to achieve the success and excellence we all strive for.
So today, and every day, I want to express my sincere gratitude for the time you have given, for the expertise you bring, and for the pride you take in your work.
Thank you for the decades of service represented in this room, and for the many ways you all go above and beyond to ensure the job gets done, and not only done, but done with great care and to very high standards.
Now, before we continue, I would like to introduce the F&A Senior Leadership Team members who join me in honoring you today. So I’m gonna ask them to stand when I call their names, and remain standing, so we can recognize them:
- James Shore, our Senior Associate Vice President and Budget Director;
- Brett Jackson, our Associate Vice President for Auxiliary Services;
- Adam Fouche, our Interim Associate Vice President for Environmental Safety, Risk, and Resiliency.
- Mike Gebeke, our Associate Vice President for Facilities Management;
- Gwynne Darden, our Associate Vice President for Facilities Planning;
- Chad Cleveland, our Associate Vice President for Finance;
- Dr. Dan Silk, our Associate Vice President for Public Safety;
- Dr. Roswell Lawrence, Junior, our Assistant Vice President and Chief of Staff,
- Krista Coleman-Silvers, our Assistant Vice President and Director of Space Planning and Management;
- Jeff Clark, our Chief of Police; and
- Eric Orbock, our Director of Real Estate and Executive Director of the UGA Real Estate Foundation
We also have 2 Special Projects Advisors who serve part-time with our leadership team who you may know and recognize:
They are Holley Schramski and Jimmy Williamson.
So please join me in thanking these teammates for their outstanding leadership and service.
This year has been one of exponential growth: New facilities, new and expanded programs, and long-term projects that impact the entire University community.
Much of that work lives with the teams represented in this room, and each year, we try to capture the scale of those efforts through points of pride.
And while numbers can never tell the whole story, they do help illustrate the impact of what we’ve accomplished, thanks to your dedication, and the efforts of teammates who couldn’t be here this morning.
So quickly, I want to share just a few highlights of the incredible work our F&A teams accomplished from July 2024 through June 2025:
In Auxiliary Services, our Transportation & Parking Services team transported more than 3.1 million passengers, expanding access across campus.
- Our Dining Services team sold over 14,600 meal plans and served more than 3.6 million meals to the University community and visitors.
- The UGA Bookstore generated $14.7 million in revenue, with more than 470,000 transactions.
On the facilities and sustainability front, our FMD team completed more than 41,000 maintenance work orders and managed 130 infrastructure and construction projects.
- Teams completed over 16,000 corrective and 25,000 preventive maintenance work orders, ensuring campus buildings and systems remain stable and reliable.
- More than 200 trees were planted, and 850 acres of grounds were maintained, helping ensure UGA continues to be recognized as one of, if not THE most beautiful college campus in the country.
Our financial teams also had a tremendous year:
- Our Payroll team processed nearly $1.1 billion in gross pay for more than 22,000 faculty, staff and student workers.
- The Bursar’s Office disbursed $294 million in scholarships to over 30,000 students.
- And our Procurement team issued a record of over 100,000 purchase orders, while teams processed $978 million in payments.
When it comes to public safety:
- UGA saw a 19% decrease in crimes against persons, reflecting the dedicated training, preparedness, and outreach efforts of our University Police Department.
- University Police also handled hundreds of cases and maintained a strong, visible and student-centric presence across campus.
Across our Environmental Safety, Risk and Resiliency teams:
- Team members inspected more than 9,200 fire extinguishers and completed over 5,100 hazardous waste compliance inspections to support a safe campus environment.
- More than 22,000 users have downloaded the UGA Safe app, and training and outreach programs were expanded to strengthen campus preparedness.
- And our Insurance and Claims team’s efforts contributed to a 50% reduction in workers’ compensation costs.
And in support of campus growth and infrastructure, the Office of University Architects managed 184 projects totaling $960 million in project budgets—a record high.
- Our Real Estate team completed $100 million in bond financings to support new campus housing and student-centered facilities.
- And our Space Planning and Management team supported the allocation and planning of more than 42,000 square feet of campus space.
These achievements represent just a fraction of what you’ve made possible—and they’re a direct result of your dedication, expertise, and the collaboration that happens across every division and with our partners across the University.
Again, this is just a small sampling, so I encourage you to look at pages 14 through 23 of your programs for some additional points around the impact you’ve had this past fiscal year.
These achievements also wouldn’t be possible without the very strong and continued partnership we share with our teammates in University Human Resources.
With that, I’d like to invite my colleague and co-host for today’s celebration to the stage.
Please join me in welcoming Vice President for University Human Resources and Chief Human Resources Officer, Dr. Juanita Hicks.
Ryan’s Closing Remarks:
Thank you, Tracy and Frederic, and congratulations again to all our Merit Award finalists and recipients, as well as our Outstanding Teams.
It’s always incredible to hear these nominations read out loud. The thought and care that go into them really says a lot about how people show up for one another across F&A and UHR.
On behalf of the F&A and UHR leadership teams, I want to express a special thanks to everyone who took the time to submit a nomination this year.
Your efforts to recognize your teammates are one of the most meaningful ways we can support one another throughout the year.
As we wrap up today’s celebration, I’ll keep this simple:
What you do really, really matters. You can see it and feel it across this University, in the way things come together and in how people are supported.
There’s also a lot of work happening that people never see, and often, that means things are going exactly as they should.
But whether your role is behind the scenes or directly supporting students, faculty, staff, and visitors, you are deeply valued and deeply appreciated, and your efforts truly make a difference.
I also want to take a moment to thank the many teams and individuals who helped make this year’s recognition events possible.
It truly takes a village to bring these events together each year, and I want to sincerely thank the Recognition Committee and our many University partners for all the time, coordination, and care that went into this week.
I encourage you to review the full list of acknowledgements on page 24 of your program and join me in thanking everyone who helped make these events such a success.
That concludes our program. Thank you all again for being here this morning, and for everything you do to support Finance & Administration, University Human Resources, and the University of Georgia.
And as always, Go Dawgs!
