College Update 6/1/2026

As we mourn the loss of faculty member Dr. Jenn Gonyea, we are comforted by the knowledge of her lasting impact on FACS as a dedicated instructor and passionate advocate for students seeking careers as marriage and family therapists. 

A FACS alumna and clinical professor in our Department of Human Development and Family Science, Jenn loved our college and was the driving force behind our new master’s in Couple and Family Therapy program, launched in fall 2025. Jenn spent years advocating for this program and was so excited when it was approved, knowing it would leave a lasting mark on the future of mental healthcare across Georgia. We’re confident her legacy will live on in the work of her dedicated colleagues and students.

As we reflect on her tremendous impact, we remember how her innovative mind and passion for serving our students was on full display during the early days of the pandemic. Jenn was instrumental in helping us quickly transition to a telehealth model to ensure students continued to receive valuable clinical experience and that local residents had access to mental health services during those difficult days. In this and in many other ways, she was a leader and visionary.

Students praised her as a mentor who guided them through their training at The Love and Money Center, ensuring they carried forward her compassionate approach to family therapy that was rooted in ethical decision-making and community engagement.

Beyond the classroom, Jenn held several leadership roles, serving as the President of the Georgia Division of the American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy (AAMFT) and Co-Chair of the Teaching Family Science Conference. She also maintained a private practice in the Athens-Clarke County community, helping local families and supervising pre-licensed clinicians who would carry her mission forward, and served as a staff therapist at Samaritan Counseling Center.

Her legacy survives not only in her published work but also in the thousands of students she encouraged, the clinicians she trained and the families she served.  She will be remembered as a brilliant educator, a loyal friend and colleague and a passionate advocate for students.

A celebration of life is planned for July 19 – Jenn’s birthday. More details will be announced at a later date. A GoFundMe has been set up to help Jenn’s family with expenses. If you would like to contribute, please visit: https://www.gofundme.com/f/support-the-gonyea-family-in-jennifers-memory

We are pleased to introduce Dr. Chaunlan Liu as the new department head for the department of Textiles, Merchandising, and Interiors starting on August 1. Dr. Liu comes from Louisiana State University with her Ph.D. in Integrated Textile and Apparel Sciences, with an area of interest in consumer innovation adoption and online shopping behavior. Please stop by to say hello to Dr. Liu in the TMI suite on the third floor of Dawson Hall.

With UGA’s implementation of Connect Abroad: Immerse, designed for first-year students looking for a short, high-impact experience during Spring Break, the study away scholarships deadline is moved from the Spring to the Fall. Scholarship applications will open on August 1st and close Monday, October 5th. Please encourage your students to apply early!

As a community, the University of Georgia has worked diligently to meet federal guidelines for digital content accessibility. Following the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) decision to extend the compliance deadline for ADA Title II digital accessibility (“Final Rule”) to April 24, 2027, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has likewise extended its compliance deadline from May 11, 2026, to May 11, 2027.

While the deadline has been extended, the University’s commitment to digital accessibility remains unchanged. Colleges, departments, and administrative units should continue to ensure that all digital content complies with applicable federal, state, and Board of Regents requirements by the April 24, 2027, deadline set by the DOJ.

Please note that these federal requirements apply to all University digital content, regardless of how it is distributed, whether centrally hosted (e.g., eLC) or maintained on other platforms. The additional year is intended to support units in strengthening their understanding of accessibility best practices and in completing the review and remediation of existing content. Resources can be found on the Digital Accessibility Services website.

We encourage you to build on the momentum established over the past year through the Accessibility Steering Committee, the Accessibility Working Group, and the Digital Accessibility Services team within EITS. While this compliance effort is substantial, it represents a meaningful and lasting investment in accessibility across the University.

Thank you for the work you and your teams have already contributed, and we encourage you to continue that process in the months ahead. Please direct questions to your Digital Accessibility Liaisons, the EITS Digital Accessibility Services team, or to the Equal Opportunity Office.

The University of Georgia is preparing to launch a campus-wide initiative, “AI Literacy for All” offered by the Digital Education Council (DEC), an online course designed to provide students, faculty, and staff with a foundational understanding of artificial intelligence. This course emphasizes the responsible use and implications of generative AI in both academic and professional contexts. It is intended to serve as a shared baseline resource to support a consistent and informed understanding of generative AI across the university community.

Access to the course will be implemented in phases. Faculty and staff will be granted access beginning Monday, June 1, 2026, followed by student access on Monday, August 10, 2026. The training is delivered through a third-party platform provided by the Digital Education Council, a global network of institutions dedicated to advancing innovation in education. The course is structured as a four-hour introductory experience and incorporates interactive learning activities.

The course may be accessed using a UGA email address (myid@uga.edu) and corresponding password, following the same authentication process used for UGAMail and Microsoft 365. Participants may complete the course at their own pace across multiple sessions, with an estimated total completion time of approximately four hours. While this training is not mandatory, it is strongly encouraged.

Upon completion, participants will have the option to download and print a certificate of completion and may add it to their portfolio of micro-credentials on LinkedIn.

Course Access – Coming Soon! The course will be available via the AI Hub under “Resources and Tools” and hosted on the Digital Education Council platform, where participants will access all training materials and related resources.

Support Resources – For assistance, please contact the EITS AI Tools Team. Additional training materials, guidance, and support resources are available under “Resources & Tools.”

Further information will be distributed as the official launch date approaches.

June 19 – Juneteenth

July 3 – Independence Day (Observed)

August 7 – New Faculty Orientation at FACS

August 11 – FACS Welcome Back Bash 

August 12 – New Faculty Orientation at University

August 17 – First day of classes

Sincerely, 

Anisa M. Zvonkovic

Dean and Georgia Athletic Association Professor in Family and Consumer Sciences