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 Regents’ Professors, please click here.
2023-2024 Recipients
Diana Downs
Distinguished Research Professor, Department of Microbiology in the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences
Amanda Murdie
Georgia Athletic Association Professor and head of the Department of International Affairs, School of Public and International Affairs
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.
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.
Selection 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.
Process
Each year, the committee will review the nominations submitted by the deans. In addition to these nominations, the provost and president have the discretion to make nominations. The committee shall review each candidate’s nomination, which must contain the following:
- Candidate’s curriculum vitae
- Supporting letter (3 pages maximum) from the candidate’s dean or department head that addresses the criteria found in the description of the award (see above)
- Three to five supporting letters of endorsement from referees outside the university
If the internal supporting letter is prepared by the department head rather than the dean, a brief letter indicating approval of the dean must be included in the nomination packet. Alternatively, the dean may co-sign the letter from the department head to confirm their support of the nomination.
Following review of nominations, the committee’s recommendation shall be sent to the provost. This recommendation shall be forwarded to the Board of Regents following the unanimous approval of the provost and the president.
Nominations shall be retained in the Office of the Provost for up to three years and presented the following year’s committee. Opportunity to provide updates will be granted prior to the next review.
Submission of Nominations
Deans’ offices should submit nomination packets as single PDFs (one PDF per nominee), via the school / college “course” site in eLC by 5 p.m. on Thursday, September 5, 2024. Please refer to this page prior to the due date for any updates.
Questions regarding Regents’ Professorships should be directed to:
Sherri Bennett
Office of the Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost
[email protected]
(706) 542-0383
