Sylvia M. Hutchinson, a professor emerita, has been named director of academic partnerships and initiatives at UGA. She will join the Division of Student Affairs staff to coordinate a new strategic priority to formalize and strengthen partnerships with campus academic units, according to Victor K. Wilson, vice president for student affairs.
Her position will be responsible for building a network of student affairs partnerships with academic degree programs and instructional enterprises as well as fostering learning opportunities for students.
T.W. Cauthen, assistant vice president for academic, campus and community partnerships, said Hutchinson’s hiring is a crucial first step in enhancing the division’s academic initiatives.
“Vice President Wilson has voiced a strong commitment to student success both in and out of the classroom,” he said. “Dr. Hutchinson’s far-reaching contributions to the university and the productive relationships she maintains across campus make her the ideal individual to advance these efforts.”
Hutchinson is professor emerita of higher education and reading education at UGA. She received her bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degrees from UGA and joined the faculty in 1978.
She served as charter coordinator for a number of faculty support and development programs, including initiatives in the Terry College of Business, the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences and the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences.
Hutchinson retired in 2002 after serving in multiple administrative roles in addition to her faculty responsibilities, including coordinator of the Post-doctoral Teaching Fellows program and associate dean of the College of Education.
She most recently served as coordinator of the peer counseling team in the Center for Teaching and Learning, and she continues to mentor and teach Honors, graduate and First-Year Odyssey seminars. Hutchinson also mentors new students in the UGA Freshman College program and the Coca-Cola First Generation Scholarship program.
Hutchinson’s community service and campus activities include serving as board member and/or chair for the Athens Kiwanis Club, Jeanette Rankin Society, Lanier Gardens, the Ten-O Club for UGA women’s gymnastics, UGA Women’s Studies Board of Advisors, UGA College of Education and Graduate School development boards and the Young Harris College Alumni Foundation.
“This new focus on the integration of curricular and co-curricular experiences will ultimately strengthen the division’s mission of enabling all students to realize their fullest potential,” Cauthen said.
Wilson announced a reorganization in August and indicated that the creation of new academic partnerships and the advancement of existing initiatives would become an area of emphasis for the division.
