September 2, 2025
Contact: Anisa Zvonkovic  | 706-542-4879  | More about Anisa
Message from Dean Zvonkovic 
Welcome to our September newsletter! This past weekend was our first home football game and Labor Day weekend. It’s a good time for me to express to faculty and staff how much I value the work that you do, each and every day, for the college. In a rapidly changing landscape, I am grateful to you for keeping up with new policies and new initiatives. This newsletter includes information on new letterhead, rules for compensated activities, and new rules for reporting for international collaborations, among other important items.  
Development update 
Over the summer and the start of this semester, we have had remarkable success in development. In addition to a generous donation from the Schwab Foundation that we wrote about in last month’s update, we also received a major donation from an alumna to renovate the kitchen labs used for the dietetics program as well as for Extension. It’s exciting to see these donations move our programs forward and position our students for success! 
FACS in the news 
We’ve also had good coverage for our programs in university platforms. Take a look at the story on the Child Life program in the latest issue of Georgia Magazine that came out just last week. Our Child Life program is celebrating its 30th anniversary this fall.  
Additional stories you may have missed: 
We Are FACS student recruitment campaign 
Next month, we’ll launch a new student recruitment campaign, We Are FACS, to show prospective students that a FACS degree can take them anywhere. Highlights of the campaign include a video featuring nine of our alumni working across the country in a variety of disciplines, a new webpage, social media marketing and dozens of alumni and student profiles. We'll need your help in promoting this campaign when it goes live next month. One thing you can do now is start including the #WeAreFACS hashtag in your social media posts. More to come! 
Join upcoming meetings 
Lastly, the event below is part of our series of meetings I’m holding with faculty and staff each month about topics of interest to you. We started this series in the spring. I’m eager to hear from you about topics you suggest. This semester, we will have the September meeting about the Ralston Institute, an October meeting with our inaugural Associate Dean of Research, Chuck Geier, and in November, our College Assembly will be on the theme of Health, organized by Connie Rogers, our Senior Director of Health Programs.  
Newly awarded grants in July and August. Sponsors and current funding noted.* 
We want to recognize the many successes of faculty in FACS. We will start to share these accomplishments every few months.  
Kristy Archuleta, “Expanding Virtual Financial Planning Pro Bono Services for First Responders and Teachers,” Foundation for Financial Planning, $25,000 
Alison Berg, “A strategic approach to expanding access to chronic conditions support programs for people with or at risk for diabetes,” Georgia Department of Public Health, $120,000 
Gajanan Bhat, “Material Evaluations,” Good Fibes Inc., $20,000 
Doug Crandell, “Employment Technical Assistance Center,” Georgia Council on Developmental Disabilities,” $159,000 
Sharon Kane, “Housing Supply Gap Workshop and Feedback,” Georgia Department of Community Affairs, $3,000 
Carol Britton Laws, “26ED10: Destination Dawgs,” Governors Council on Developmental Disabilities,” $42,758 
Emily Noble, “Transfer: Leptin in the VMH and Energy Balance,” National Institutes of Health, $377, 500 
Tracy Rackensperger, “Holographic Augmentative and Alternative Communication (HAAC) Library,” University of Central Florida Research Foundation Inc., $24,793 
Connie Rogers, “School Nutrition Director Certification Program FY26,” Georgia Department of Education, $39,370 
Suraj Sharma, “Nanocellulose Stretch Technology: A Natural Alternative to Spandex,” California Cloth Foundry, $86, 288 
*Please note this list is awarded grants active in the SPA ePortal system and does not include awards that are in process but not yet in the system.  
New letterhead for units 
The university has updated its letterhead templates. Visit our marketing materials page for the newest templates. 
SSAC data requests 
The SSAC has a new data request form that can be utilized by departments to solicit pertinent student data: Data Request | Policies and Procedures | Faculty and Staff Resources | UGA FACS 
Compensated Outside Activities 
  1. Obtain prior approval for all compensated outside activities per the Conflicts of Interest, Conflicts of Commitment, and Outside Activities Policy. 
  
  1. Disclose all personal compensation, outside activities, paid/unpaid engagements with foreign entities, foreign funding sources, in-kind support, and reimbursed travel per the Policy on Conflicts of Interest in Sponsored Programs and as required by the CHIPS Act, NSPM-33, additional White House guidance, and external research sponsors.  
  
  1. Thoroughly and accurately complete required Pre and Post Award Disclosures when submitting, performing, and reporting on sponsored research 
  
International Activities 
  1. Complete the Visiting Researchers/Scholars Hosting Procedures and coordinate with Immigration Services when hosting visiting researchers and scholars from foreign countries and sponsoring visas. 
  1. Register International Travel, per the Travel Policy, in the Office of Global Engagement (OGE) Travel Registry. Travel to areas under a Department of State Level 3 or 4 travel warning, or a CDC Level 3 warning, is governed by the OGE Policy on International Travel to Countries/Areas of Heightened Risk. Faculty and Staff may also want to purchase optional additional travel insurance. 
  1. Review International Travel Guidelines when taking research tools, electronic devices, or accessing UGA information abroad, including resources for protecting your computer and data. 
  1. Complete the Vendor Paid Expenses form before accepting any travel-related support (registration, travel, lodging, meals, etc.) from third parties, including vendors or lobbyists. UGA’s Internal Auditing Division must approve this form before travel authorization. 
  1. Comply with Export Control Regulations in sponsored research and all international activities, including any international sales, service, or shipments. Review guidance and submit requests for reviews of international shipments on the Office of Research Security and Export Control website. Contact the Office of Research Security and Export Controls for guidance on providing Sales and Services to international clients. 
  1. Comply with the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, which prohibits providing, offering, authorizing, or promising anything of value to a foreign government official with the intent to influence or gain an unfair advantage corruptly, and Report Gifts and Grants per UGA Foundation Policy 4.2. 
  1. Combat Intellectual Property Theft by avoiding the disclosure of new technologies without first contacting UGA’s Innovation Gateway per the Intellectual Property Policy. 
  1. Utilize International Initiatives within the Office of Global Engagement to initiate and memorialize international partnerships and collaborations such as Cooperative Agreements, Student and Faculty Exchanges, Collaborative Degrees, and Research Collaborations. 
  1. Submit Education Abroad Activity to the Office of Global Engagement for review per the Requirement for Faculty & Staff to Submit Global Education Activity. 
  1. Comply with the University’s Foreign Talent Recruitment Program Policy, which requires disclosure of participation in all foreign talent recruitment programs and prohibits researchers from participating in malign foreign talent recruitment programs. 
Upcoming events 
September 12 – Promotion and Tenure Committee Meeting (College) 
September 23 – Topical Monthly Meeting with Dean - Ralston Institute (see above)  
October 25 – Child Life 30th Anniversary 
November 13 – Fall College Assembly, focused on Health 
December 11 – Fall 2025 Convocation 
Sincerely,    
Anisa M. Zvonkovic 
Dean and Georgia Athletic Association Professor in Family and Consumer Sciences 
Tags: dean's update