Dean’s Message: Serving our military veterans

Dean Benjamin C. Ayers

Fall semester at the Terry College brought back familiar scenes to the Business Learning Community — sidewalks and hallways with students making their way to classrooms where faculty await. Project team rooms turn over from one group to the next, while Foley Courtyard and Coca-Cola Plaza are the popular spots before and between classes to take advantage of the bright fall weather. The busy sounds of students are some of the best things about the start of a new academic year.

Because of the popularity of business majors and graduate education, Terry’s enrollment is growing year over year — topping 9,000 this fall, our highest ever. With the increase in enrollment, we’ve been very pleased to see an increase in military veterans. Because of their training in leadership and problem-solving, student veterans provide a distinct perspective in the classroom that benefits all students. As this military-themed issue shows, the Terry College has a decades-long history of educating our military, alumni who went on to stellar achievements and distinguished careers. Whether they earned their degree in the Full-Time MBA program, like Adam C. Johnson and Andrea Smith, or from the Executive MBA program like Larry Richardson, they can all appreciate the words of Harold Storey, a World War II veteran and 1942 graduate of the business school at UGA, who told us, “I would rather live as a graduate of Terry College and the University of Georgia than do anything else, anywhere else.”

Terry is committed to helping military veterans develop the career skills and professional network needed to succeed after they leave active duty. To support this commitment, we are working to establish scholarships and secure other private support that will help our veterans stay on course to graduate and enter the field they choose to pursue.

And as recent rankings reveal, the Terry College excels in every academic program it offers. For the first time, all Terry undergraduate majors included in the U.S. News & World Report survey were ranked among the top 20 public programs in the same year. Overall, 12 Terry programs at the graduate and undergraduate level are ranked in the top 20 publics nationally, with seven ranked in the top 10. Across the board, it’s a testament to the outstanding reputation the Terry College and the University of Georgia have built nationally.

I am grateful for the continued hard work and dedication of Terry’s students, faculty, staff, alumni and friends. The strength of your commitment is what allows us to strive for the ambitious goals we’ve set for the college.

Sincerely,

Benjamin C. Ayers, Dean

Earl Davis Chair in Taxation

busdean@uga.edu