A Legacy of Recognition
Huckaby addresses the crowd at the first annual Staff Recognition Ceremony held in May 2006.
On April 14, 2021, former University System of Georgia Chancellor Hank Huckaby passed away. Mr. Huckaby was a life-long public servant and served as the Senior Vice President for Finance and Administration from 2000 to 2006. Under Mr. Huckaby’s leadership, the F&A recognition program was developed.
This program recognizes meritorious service and years-of-service milestones within F&A and University Human Resources and is a cornerstone of our collective mission to elevate the stature of the University. We are grateful for his leadership, his direction, and his legacy, which will continue for years to come through the F&A and UHR recognition events.
Words are truly inadequate to try to capture the far-reaching and indelible impact that Hank Huckaby had on UGA, our F&A and UHR teams, the greater University community, and the State of Georgia. Our current Vice President for Finance and Administration, Ryan Nesbit, shares these words: “In my last conversation with Hank back in late January 2021, he told me that the accomplishment he was most proud of during his tenure at UGA was the creation of the F&A staff recognition program. To me, that spoke volumes about Hank’s devotion and deep love for the University, and in particular, the people who serve and support UGA’s students, faculty, and staff. Hank truly embodied servant leadership, and his example challenges and inspires me—and all of us in Finance and Administration—to carry on his legacy of outstanding stewardship and service and to use our lives to be a blessing to those around us.”
The Finance and Administration and University Human Resources staff recognition program is supported, in part, by proceeds from the Henry M. “Hank” Huckaby Finance and Administration Staff Recognition Support Fund. This endowment was established upon the retirement of Mr. Huckaby as Senior Vice President of Finance and Administration in 2006.
A History of Staff Recognition
The creation and maintenance of a recognition program had long been a goal of former Senior Vice President Hank Huckaby. In 2004, he established a Recognition Committee composed of representatives from each of the seven divisions in Finance and Administration to research recognition programs and to provide a recommendation for a new program for F&A staff. The group’s recommendations formed the genesis of the first Recognition Ceremony held in May 2006. Nearly 1,300 staff members attended the inaugural event, held at the Tate Student Center, and more than 1,100 staff members received awards for years of service at 5, 10, 15, 20, 25 and 30 year levels. The Recognition Committee, with new staff members named yearly, continues to plan and execute this worthwhile event.
As his wife Amy looks on, Henry M. “Hank” Huckaby speaks to well-wishers at a retirement reception held in his honor.
Huckaby retired as UGA’s senior vice president for finance and administration shortly after the inaugural ceremony. However, in 2011, he was selected by Governor Nathan Deal to serve as chancellor of the University System of Georgia. Huckaby’s long career spans more than 40 years of service to the state of Georgia, including six as senior vice president for finance and administration at the University of Georgia. He also previously served as the director of the Carl Vinson Institute of Government at the University of Georgia. Before joining UGA, Huckaby was director of the state Office of Planning and Budget, the highest financial position in state government. He also served as executive director of the Georgia Housing and Finance Authority, was commissioner of the Georgia Department of Community Affairs, and director of the Georgia Fiscal Research Program at Georgia State University. In November 2002, Georgia Governor-Elect Sonny Perdue appointed him as a member of his transition team and subsequently as interim chief financial officer for the Office of Planning and Budget. Huckaby served in this dual role for eight months before returning full-time to his duties at the University of Georgia. The University of Georgia Alumni Association honored Huckaby with a Faculty Service Award, which is given to faculty or staff members for distinguished service to the university in 2007.
85-year-old Wylie Powers, a building services worker at Caldwell Hall, was honored for 25 years of service to the University at the 2006 Recognition Ceremony.
The Henry M. “Hank” Huckaby Staff Recognition Fund, established in honor of Huckaby upon his retirement from the University of Georgia, now provides a source of perpetual support for the program. President Michael F. Adams designated $25,000 from the President’s Venture Fund as a lead gift in support of this worthy initiative, and many others have contributed. These donations help to purchase staff awards, ranging from certificates at the five-year level to rocking chairs for staff members with 30 years of service to the University. Such recognition gifts must be provided through private resources, as state funds cannot be used for this purpose.
For information on how to contribute to the Henry M. “Hank” Huckaby Finance and Administration Staff Recognition Support Fund, please contact the Office of the Vice President for Finance and Administration, at 706-542-1361 or at [email protected].
