What We Do Here Matters


 
What it's all about: What you do each and every day matters because you are doing it alongside other people who care immensely, are dedicated to leading themselves and others, and share a common goal to leave a legacy at UGA.

Will you help us tell this story? We are looking for examples of F&A staff who model what it means to do something that matters. We want to tell the story of those who give their all to UGA every day so we are all inspired to do the same; because when we work together with a common purpose, we will achieve much more than we would on our own.

If you have an example of someone (or a group) who exemplifies the idea of “what we do here matters”, please email tawest@uga.edu for the opportunity for your story to be shared in an upcoming edition of the F&A Advisor.
 
 
 

Highlight: Staff at Training & Development


The Training & Development (T&D) Department in the Office of Human Resources works with individuals and teams across the entire university to help them learn and grow. T&D invests in the university’s most valuable resource, the faculty and staff, to develop them into better leaders, supervisors, and colleagues so they may realize their greatest potential and make their fullest contributions in their careers at the University of Georgia. T&D helps faculty and staff meet the demands of their current work and builds their capacity for future work.

There is always something interesting and valuable for anyone to learn at T&D. In 2018, T&D held 627 classes for over 7,500 class participants – an average of 2.5 classes per workday. Many of the classes provided by T&D are delivered in partnership with departments and offices across the university, including the OneSource training team and the offices of Faculty Affairs, Academic Advising, Institutional Diversity, International Education, the Registrar, Emergency Preparedness, and others.

In addition to hosted classes, a team of nine staff members at T&D creates curriculum and develops programs, workshops, and training on a wide range of professional development topics. Some of the current programs and initiatives created and administered at T&D include:
  • Supervisory Fundamentals
  • UGA Supervisors’ Academy
  • High Impact Leadership: Essentials
  • Well-being
  • Career Development Series & Consultation Services
  • Young Dawgs
  • Women’s Staff Leadership Institute
The T&D team also facilitates team building experiences, customized workshops, retreat sessions, and assessments for departments and groups across UGA’s main and extended campuses. Some of the most popular presentations and workshops topics are team building, stress management, work/life balance, emotional intelligence, customer service, and the Hogan leadership behaviors assessment.

When a team participates in a T&D program, it can catalyze lasting change to make that team work together more effectively. Likewise, when a faculty or staff member participates in a class at T&D, they learn tools and skills that they take back to their offices, put immediately into practice, and share with others. They may also gain new ideas and perspectives from other class participants and the instructor that make them think differently than they did before they enrolled. The learning that happens at T&D lights a spark that can be transformative for both individuals and groups.

It is the vision of Training & Development to develop every organization at UGA as a learning organization. To this end, the mission of T&D is to provide professional education and experiences to help the University of Georgia community succeed and flourish in their work and lives so they can better serve the mission of the university. With this vision and mission in mind, the team actively pursues five core values: growth, excellence, service, collaboration, and cheer.

The Training & Development team consists of nine dedicated individuals who feel privileged to do this work on a daily basis:
  • Dr. Allie Cox – Director
  • Kiz Adams – Sr. Managing Consultant: Well-being
  • Melissa Austin-Neff – Human Resources Specialist
  • Maggie Denna – Training & Development Senior Manager
  • Jim Geiser – Sr. Managing Consultant: Young Dawgs Program
  • April Jewell – Human Resources Specialist
  • Darlene Mealor – Training & Development Operations Lead
  • Emily Saunders – Training & Development Senior Manager
  • Josh Warren – Training & Development Senior Manager
Individually the team members play a crucial role in leading workplace learning, and together they champion a culture of learning and growth for all faculty and staff. Training & Development truly embodies the motto of Finance and Administration, You + Me: We Elevate the G, and proudly serves the mission of UGA.