The University of Georgia is more popular than it has ever been, and with it academic excellence at UGA and the Terry College of Business continues to soar. Applications to next fall’s freshman class topped 26,500 — the most ever — and the university offered admission to more than 12,600 of those students. The qualifications of the incoming class are even more remarkable — the admitted class had an eye-popping grade point average of 4.08.
And as more students have entered the University of Georgia, the Terry College is an increasingly popular destination. In fact, our growth has trended dramatically. Just since 2014, enrollment at Terry has risen 20 percent. Counting students taking classes at UGA’s extended campuses in Buckhead, Griffin, Gwinnett County and Tifton, the university’s total enrollment was 37,606 last year. Of that, 8,687 undergraduate and graduate students were enrolled at Terry. That means 23 percent of UGA’s total enrollment is now majoring in business or doing graduate work at Terry.
Undoubtedly, the Building Terry campaign came along at a critical time and is helping us meet this surging demand by providing students with bigger and better facilities in the Business Learning Community. Likewise, with the help of donor support and faculty leadership, we are expanding the ways Terry students can tailor their own educational experience. In this issue, we feature two prime examples of that, including our cover story. Sea Island Scholars is the competitively select leadership retreat that is part of the Terry Women’s Initiative and the inspiration of Terry Dean’s Advisory Council Chair Betsy Camp (BBA ’74, JD ’77). And the Student Managed Investment Fund, which is also featured, has now surpassed the 10-year mark as a launching pad for careers in global capital markets and institutional investment.
I am constantly amazed at our students’ and faculty’s commitment to a personalized education that sets the stage for career success. What we see time and again is the hands-on experiences found in capstone courses, team projects, internships and unique opportunities like SMIF turn out to be the transformative experience that uncovers a passion and places students on a path of self-discovery and a world of possibilities that may have seemed unimaginable. It’s our joy and good fortune as faculty to help our students author their own stories.
Sincerely,
Benjamin C. Ayers, Dean
Earl Davis Chair in Taxation
busdean@uga.edu