UWG
News Item
Contact: University Communications & Marketing
Phone (678) 839-6464, FAX (678) 839-6645
ucm@westga.edu
A DAY Faculty/Staff Drive
August 27, 2004
CARROLLTON, GA - Faculty and staff are a vital part of the University of West Georgia, and the annual A DAY for West Georgia fundraising campaign is an important time for them to demonstrate their support for the University to the community.
Each
year, a member of the faculty or staff chairs a special campaign for A
DAY to coordinate their support and this year Dr. Kathryn Grams has been
named chair of the Faculty/Staff Drive and will lead the charge.
Grams has been a committed member of the nursing program at UWG since 1986, and currently serves as a professor and chair of the department. She teaches undergraduate and graduate courses as well as being involved in numerous activities on campus.
She enjoys her job and her department. “It is a great caring environment that exemplifies the University’s mission of excellence,” she noted.
Grams volunteered for the position of Faculty/Staff Drive chair because she enjoys taking an active role at the University. She chose A DAY because she says, “It’s something to be valued.”
Contributions raised during the A DAY campaign help fund scholarships, advanced technology, faculty enrichment, and other academic endeavors. For example, Grams pointed out that the monies given to the Nursing Department are used to fund student programs and groups such as Caring Groups. These student support groups teach nursing students how to sustain themselves, emotionally and physically, as well as others.
Grams believes it is imperative for the faculty and staff to be a part of the A DAY campaign because it allows them to demonstrate their commitment to the University, and this commitment is a vital element of support that the community needs to see. A DAY is also an opportunity to identify support resources.
This year’s A DAY theme is “Aspire, Accomplish, Astonish,” and Grams aspires to break the faculty/staff donation record from last year of $80,000. AirTran Airways is the exclusive sponsor of this year’s Faculty/Staff Drive and has added a bit of excitement to the campaign.
At the Faculty/Staff Cookout, scheduled for Sept. 2 at the Alumni House, a drawing will be held among faculty and staff who donated $100 or more by noon that day. The winner will receive two free roundtrip business class tickets to any of AirTran’s 40 domestic destinations. Donors need not be present to win.
At the luncheon, Dr. Beheruz Sethna, UWG president, told volunteers that he is very proud of the contributions that faculty and staff make to the University. “ It’s very significant that last year, in a year when there were zero percent raises, faculty/staff giving broke records and giving was up,” he said. “ I think that’s an enormous testimony to the quality of people that we have here as colleagues.”
Sethna explained that in addition to helping University students, A DAY contributions help improve quality of life both for the community and for the next generation. “ The work that you’re doing is actually helping touch human lives; not only the ones that you see in your classroom, but also the human lives yet to come,” Sethna said.
Other campaign events included the “ I Gave the First Day” ice cream social on Friday, Aug. 27, from 3-5 p.m. at the Alumni House.
The Faculty/Staff Drive will run from Aug. 26-Sept.10. A Victory Celebration will be held on A DAY, Oct. 21. For more information concerning A DAY, contact the West Georgia Foundation at 770-836-6582.
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