The Southern Educational Alliance
A Partnership between ACS and UGA

A Memo of Understanding - June 7, 2007

The University of the Georgia and the Associated Colleges of the South pledge their best efforts toward collaborative arrangements that would be advantageous to all of the participating institutions.  These efforts will take place in the context of a new arrangement to be called the Southern Educational Alliance – a Partnership between ACS and UGA.

The principal aims of the new partnership are to strengthen the academic programs of the participating institutions and bring about efficiencies and cost containment through collaboration that avoids duplicating efforts.  Other areas may be explored as well.  In pursuing collaborative efforts in specific academic and other areas, the partnership expects to provide a collaborative paradigm or model that will be worthy of replication by other institutions throughout the country.

Cooperative projects will emerge out of full discussion on the various campuses and will be approved at the highest administrative levels at the institutions.  The general management of the partnership will be overseen by the provost at the University of Georgia, working with the key UGA deans involved in the effort, and the ACS council of deans, working with the ACS president.

Areas of collaboration will feature but not be limited to the following:

A clearinghouse of information (on campus calendars, special events, visiting speakers, academic workshops, international opportunities)

Teaching opportunities for UGA post-doctoral students and graduate students (who are working on their dissertations) on the ACS campuses

Partnerships between UGA and ACS faculty through which ACS faculty make use of UGA facilities

A high visibility of UGA on ACS campuses for the purpose of recruiting students to UGA graduate and professional schools (with special recognition and incentives for such students)

Joint international programs

The partnership will examine the potential cooperative possibilities that emerge and put them in priority order, sharpening the focus in the process.  By limiting initiatives to significant projects that are also quite feasible to undertake, the partnership will demonstrate the viability of the overall collaborative effort, building credibility for the partnership in the process.  Although the individual institutions will cover the cost of their participation in the new arrangement, it is anticipated that outside funding will be sought for both planning and implementation purposes.

The partnership will begin on May 1, 2007 and will run for five years.  If the results meet the partnership’s expectations, it is expected that the agreement will be renewed.

ACS and University of Georgia partnership moves ahead

As a part of their partnership, the ACS and the University of Georgia continue to move forward on a number of fronts. The most recent activity was a joint meeting to explore funding possibilities for many joint activities that have been proposed. One particular focal point for the fundraising is support for post-doctoral fellows from UGA on ACS campuses, who will learn what it is like to teach in the liberal arts setting. Funding is also being explored for additional financial aid for ACS graduates who enroll in graduate or professional school at UGA and for exchanges of faculty between ACS and the University.

As a part of our partnership, we are seeking ACS faculty who would like to spend a semester or a year at UGA collaborating with a colleague or working in a laboratory related to his or her area of specialization. This collaboration can be especially helpful in enhancing teaching, continuing or developing new research or other professional development.  Greg Dresden, faculty in the mathematics department at Washington and Lee University (W&L) is spending a semester at UGA during the winter term of 2008-09. He will be teaching a course in UGA’s math department during his sabbatical from W&L. Funding for his time at UGA has been provided jointly by Washington and Lee, UGA and ACS. Faculty interested in pursuing such contacts and arrangements should contact Marcia White at ACS at mwhite@collegs.org.

The partners are also planning for further visits of UGA representatives at graduate and professional school recruitment workshops to be held on ACS campuses. During the Fall 2007 and Winter 2008, UGA officials visited Birmingham-Southern College, Furman University, Millsaps College, Morehouse College, Spelman College and Sewanee: The University of the South. It is expected that five more ACS institutions will be visited during the 2008-2009 academic year. During these gatherings, ACS students are introduced to a wide range of UGA graduate and professional programs, provided specific information on programs of special interest and informed about applying for financial assistance. Financial support is foreseen for the students or "ACS scholars," as they will be called.