N A N C Y E V E LY N
m e s s a g e f ro m
Dean Maureen Grasso By now, I hope you have noted the envelope inside each issue of the Graduate School Magazine, and, more important, that you are returning it with a check. Every dollar that comes to us through the magazine goes into our graduate fellowship endowment. This fund enables us to offer competitive financial-aid packages to outstanding graduate students from around the nation and the world. As state funds are reduced in this period of economic difficulty, we are increasingly dependent upon private support for the well-being of graduate programs at the University of Georgia. Friends often ask me how I can solicit support for the Graduate School every waking minute. The answer is easy: I ask because I believe it is the most important action we can take to ensure the future leadership of our state, nation and world. When the cause is this worthy, it’s not hard asking others to share the burden. This University’s influence reaches far and wide, yet we have not realized our full potential as an educational leader. Both the quantity and quality of our graduate students need to grow. My hope is that you will join with me in the ongoing effort to attract first-rate graduate students to UGA and ensure our legacy of leadership. Please take a moment—pull the envelope from the magazine and make your contribution. Your gift, no matter the size, makes an enormous difference in the lives of our graduate students. It’s also fully tax deductible. Take pride in supporting UGA and in knowing that you are helping it remain one of the leading public research universities in the nation. From the bottom of my heart, I thank you. G
MAUREEN GRASSO Dean
Graduate School Magazine
SUMMER 2009
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