The Pulse – September 2026

Jill Walton
by Jill S. Walton

Hi team,

Happy September! This is always such a fun and exciting time of year, as students return to campus, football season gets underway, more events are happening each week for donors and students, and all of our teams are working harder than ever to ensure every Bulldog is committed to Georgia. Several of our annual events occur over the next few weeks, including 40 Under 40, Parents Leadership Council Weekend, Beat Week and all of the fun events associated with Homecoming Week.  Each of these initiatives has a meaningful impact for students, donors, parents and friends of UGA, and I’m grateful to all of our teams for working so hard on planning and execution.

I’m also pleased to share with you our division-wide FY27 goals:

  • Raising $300 million (we have set a new standard of excellence with the $300 million mark, and I’m excited to work towards this goal again this year)
  • Reaching a donor count of 72,500
  • Establishing 435 endowed positions
  • Raising $75 million as part of Phase 1 of the For Georgia. For Generations. scholarship campaign

You’ll see regular updates on progress towards these goals in each edition of The Pulse, and we’ll share more at Development Meetings and Town Hall meetings, as well. The first quarter of FY27 is nearly in the books, and I’m really proud of the strong start we are having together.  Keep it up!  In addition to our DAR FY27 goals, we’ll also be talking more over the coming months about UGA’s Strategic Plan and our division’s follow up actions from the Internal Communications Committee work last spring. A big thank you to everyone who is involved in these important initiatives.

Fall is right around the corner (and hopefully cooler temperatures too!). I’m looking forward to entering this new season with all of you and continuing the great momentum that we have in our division right now. It’s truly great to be a Georgia Bulldog, and it’s great to work alongside you and your teams every day. Thank you for your leadership, your collaborative spirit, and the impact you make on the UGA community.

Go Dawgs!

Upcoming Alumni Chapter Events

  • UGA in Charlotte
    • Tuesday, September 15
    • Truist | Charlotte, NC | 5:30 – 7 p.m.
  • Gainesville Chapter Event (Hosting Dean Nuss – School of Medicine & Dean Clevenger – Victoria Kay Ivester School of Nursing) 
    • Thursday, October 22
    • Northeast Georgia Health System | Gainesville, GA | 6 – 7:30 p.m.

What Makes a Good Story

Welcome to the DARCOMM edition of Journalism 1001! What makes a GOOD story…let’s start by defining newsworthiness. 

Donor Story Nominations

Use the DAR Donor Story submission form to recommend potential donor spotlights or donor stories! DAR aims to make it easier for development colleagues and campus partners to thoughtfully identify donors who should be celebrated throughout the year. Your submissions will help streamline communication with central DAR teams and ensure all units have the opportunity to participate in storytelling efforts.

Philanthropy at Work Society (PAWS) Reception

On Wednesday, faculty and staff gathered for the annual PAWS Reception to celebrate a record number of contributions – a 22% participation rate – for FY26! Thank you and congrats to all who were able to give!

Tasty Tailgate Recipe Submissions

With another season of Georgia Football coming up we want to know what you all eat or drink at your tailgates. Submit a recipe today (and include pictures/videos if you’d like) for a chance to have it featured on UGA Alumni socials during the season!

DUO is Changing

UGA is changing how Duo confirms it’s really you when you log in. Starting September 17, Duo will stop sending text messages and phone calls. If that’s how you approve your logins today, you will not be able to get into your accounts unless you set up a different method before then. 

Here’s what to do: 

  1. Go to archpass.uga.edu and log in.
  2. Look at the verification methods listed on your account.
  3. If you only see “Text message” or “Phone call,” add another option.

For most people, the easiest option is the Duo Mobile app on your phone. If you already use the Duo Mobile app, you’re all set and don’t need to do anything. Not sure or want someone to walk you through it? Email ude.agu@tiksa. We’re glad to help. 

GAIL is Moving

GAIL is moving to Blackbaud’s cloud over the next year. In practical terms, that means GAIL will run in Blackbaud’s secure hosted environment rather than on servers we maintain here. Day to day, GAIL will look and work the same for you; what changes is behind the scenes, where we strengthen our ability to keep GAIL available and recover quickly if something goes wrong, and gain access to the improvements Blackbaud is building for its cloud customers. In the coming months we’ll run two to three practice migrations, and you’ll get plenty of notice before anything affects your work.

Workday Wednesdays Updates

Workday Wednesdays is a monthly, bite-sized look at Workday for the wider USG community. It’s part of a broader Unified ERP Program to modernize HR and finance processes such as payroll, benefits, hiring, purchasing and expense reporting for students, faculty and staff. Here’s the link for the calendar of events and registration.  

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