Regents' Professorships

Regents' Professorships are bestowed by the Board of Regents on truly distinguished faculty of the University of Georgia whose scholarship or creative activity is recognized both nationally and internationally as innovative and pace-setting.

For a comprehensive list of previous Regents' Professors, please click here.

2023-2024 Recipients

Diana Downs

Diana Downs
Distinguished Research Professor, Department of Microbiology in the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences

Amanda Murdie

Amanda Murdie
Georgia Athletic Association Professor and head of the Department of International Affairs, School of Public and International Affairs




 

Eligibility

The candidate must hold the rank of Professor. At the time of appointment to Regents’ Professor the nominee must not hold, or must relinquish, the University Professorship, Distinguished Research Professorship or GRA Eminent Scholar title.


The Award

The Regents' Professorship shall be granted for an initial period of three years. A maximum of two awards will be granted each year. Consideration for renewal for a second three-year period shall be given by the Board upon the recommendation of the President, the Chancellor, and the Committee on Academic Affairs of the Board of Regents. At the end of their second three-year term and every five years thereafter, Regents’ Professors will be reviewed and renewed at the discretion of the President. The five-year review process will be initiated within each school or college as designed by the Dean; at a minimum, the Dean will submit a written recommendation and a copy of the Regents’ Professor’s curriculum vitae to the Office of Faculty Affairs. Awardees shall receive a permanent increase in salary of $10,000 added to the merit raise in the year of initial appointment. In addition, the awardee shall receive a yearly academic support account of $5,000 as long as she or he holds the Regents' Professorship.


Committee

The Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost shall appoint a Special Professorship Selection Committee consisting of six faculty serving staggered three-year terms.


Review Process

Each year, the Committee shall be responsible for creating a list of faculty members worthy of the Regents' Professorship. The Committee shall solicit nominations through Deans. In addition to these nominations, the Committee may add names to its list. Following the creation of this list, the Committee shall establish guidelines for evaluation. The Committee shall seek approval of the Dean of the recommended faculty member. At a minimum, the Committee shall review each candidate's curriculum vitae and require a supporting letter (4 pages maximum) from each candidates' Dean or unit head along with 3-7 supporting letters of endorsement from referees outside the University. If the supporting letter is prepared by the unit head rather than the Dean, a brief letter indicating approval of the Dean should also be included in the nomination packet. Following review of nominations, the Committee's recommendation shall be sent to the Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost. This recommendation shall be forwarded to the Board of Regents following the unanimous approval of the Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost and the President.

The names on the Committee's list of worthy faculty members shall be retained in the Office of the Provost for up to 3 years and presented to the next year's Committee.


Submission of Nominations

Deans' Offices should submit nomination packets as single PDFs (one PDF per nominee), through the school/college “course” site in eLC by 5 p.m. on Wednesday, September 6, 2023. Please refer to this page prior to the due date for any updates.

For questions or assistance with the submission process, please contact the Office of Academic Affairs at 706-542-0415.

Questions regarding Regents' Professorships should be directed to:

Sherri Bennett
Office of Academic Affairs
sherri@uga.edu 
(706) 542-0383

Source:
Board of Regents Policy Manual, Section 8.3.2