The University of Georgia Foundation approved changes in board positions during its June 11-12 annual meeting, which was held virtually. The changes took effect July 1. The UGA Foundation welcomed 12 new trustees and accorded six trustees emeritus status, among them are: Vernon "Trey" Googe III (J.D.'94) as trustee, and Elizabeth W. "Betsy" Camp (J.D.'74) and law school Sibley Professor in Corporate and Business Law Larry D. Thompson as emeritus trustees.
Three members of the law school community have been selected to help steer recently announced UGA diversity and inclusion initiatives. University Professor & Kilpatrick Chair of Corporate Finance and Securities Law Usha Rodrigues will serve on the Presidential Task Force on Race, Ethnicity and Community, while UGA Associate Provost Elizabeth Weeks - who also holds the law school's Kirbo Chair - and rising second-year student Roya Naghepour will serve on the Planning Committee on Diversity and Inclusive Excellence.
The School of Law's Mediation Clinic students have handled over 1,700 cases in Athens-Clarke County with a positive settlement rate of approximately 75% since the program began tracking data in 2008. More than 200 students have participated in the clinic and slightly more than two-thirds of the cases mediated involved landlord/tenant issues.
The University of Georgia's Commit to Georgia Campaign ended June 30 after raising $1.45 billion, becoming the university's most successful fundraising effort in its history. The campaign publicly launched in November 2016 with a $1.2 billion goal--a mark it surpassed 16 months ahead of schedule--and garnered donations from 175,488 donors, who hailed from all 50 states and 62 countries. The law school raised over $61 million and grew financial aid resources to benefit nearly 70% of our student body, expanded the number of clinical and experiential offerings to 18 and helped solve grand challenges by providing a first-rate legal education to tomorrow's leaders.
The School of Law's Veterans Legal Clinic held a virtual event on Saturday, July 11, that connect veterans in 15 counties surrounding Athens with volunteer attorneys for information and quick advice on legal issues arising from the coronavirus pandemic. This Virtual Clinic was held on Zoom.