University of North Georgia

Students from the University of North Georgia (UNG) won five awards at the Southern Regional Model United Nations (SRMUN) Conference at the Hyatt Regency in Atlanta, Georgia, in November. A total of 36 UNG students participated in the event, which drew about 500 students from multiple states. UNG's awards included:

Fifty students had an opportunity to present their psychology research in an event at the University of North Georgia's (UNG) Gainesville Campus on Nov. 21. UNG's chapter of Psi Chi, an international psychology honor society, hosted the poster session that showcased work from students in the research methods courses.

Four University of North Georgia (UNG) students earned the Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship for study abroad in late fall 2025 and will use the funding in spring 2026. Three of the four are students in UNG's College of Education.

Student-faculty collaborative research mini-grants were awarded through the University of North Georgia (UNG) Center for Undergraduate Research and Creative Activities (CURCA) for the 2025-26 academic year. Ten students with seven faculty mentors represented three UNG colleges and the Lewis F. Rogers Institute for Environmental and Spatial Analysis (IESA). "We are once again thankful to Provost Chaudron Gille for supporting our programs with additional funding. It was a tough process to select the winners, but I think it speaks highly to the dedication of our students and faculty that the seven awarded projects come from five different departments," Dr. Diogo Pinheiro, CURCA assistant director and associate professor of sociology, said.

The University of North Georgia's (UNG) Ranger Challenge team is returning to the Sandhurst Military Skills Competition for the first time in four years. This milestone comes after UNG's "Black" team took second place out of 43 groups at the 6th Brigade Titan Ranger Challenge event held Jan. 23-24 at Fort Benning, Georgia. Titan Ranger Challenge included Army ROTC programs from universities and colleges in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Puerto Rico. Ranger Challenge is the varsity sport of Army ROTC and a Corps of Cadets specialty unit at UNG, and in addition to the second-place group advancing to the May 1-2 Sandhurst competition at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, UNG's "Gold" team placed 13th.

Six nontraditional female students at the University of North Georgia (UNG) each earned a $2,000 scholarship from the Women of UNG and other supporters, including alumni and supportive women from the community. UNG honored the recipients Dec. 4 at the Women's Holiday Scholarship Luncheon. The Women of UNG is a shared interest group of the UNG Alumni Association. "Never Forget the Impact You Make" was the theme for the event, and while this was the 16th year scholarships were provided, the luncheon celebrated 22 years of its existence. It initially started to show appreciation to the women of the Gainesville community who had donated or been strong advocates for female students at what was then Gainesville State College.

Students in a digital marketing class in the fall at the University of North Georgia (UNG) created social media plans for a small business and a nonprofit organization. One group assisted Farmhouse Coffee in Gainesville, Georgia, and the other helped the Junior League of Gainesville-Hall County. Dr. Caroline Munoz, professor of digital marketing, has regularly used this project in classes at both the Dahlonega and Gainesville campuses, boosting the social media efforts of more than 50 small businesses and nonprofits over the past decade.

The University of North Georgia (UNG) Esports team finished second nationally and won the Peach Belt Conference (PBC) championship for the Marvel Rivals game in the fall. UNG's performance on the national stage came in the virtual National Esports Collegiate Conference, and the PBC event was held in Florence, South Carolina.

Dykejiah "Keke" Jones was awarded a Fund for Education Abroad (FEA) scholarship and shared that the chance to study in Taiwan is "a dream becoming reality." Jones is pursuing a degree in East Asian studies with a Chinese focus at the University of North Georgia (UNG). She leaves in February to study Chinese at National Taiwan Normal University until May. She hopes to one day teach in Taiwan or China.

University of North Georgia (UNG) student Billy Brown placed in the top 20 out of 360 competitors in the Speed Selling Finals at the Northeast Intercollegiate Sales Competition held Nov. 14-15 at Bryant University in Smithfield, Rhode Island. About 30 schools sent students to the competition. Five other UNG students also competed.

The University of North Georgia (UNG) welcomed more than 40 new cadets during Freshman Recruit Orientation Group (FROG) Week, held Jan. 6-10 at UNG's Dahlonega Campus. FROG Week introduces freshmen to the Corps through physical challenges, as well as information sessions about the academic and military aspects they will experience in the next four years. Cadet leaders planned and executed FROG Week, as they do with all cadet events, under the supervision of the commandant staff.

Students from UNG excelled in a pair of competitions in the fall: Cyber Siege and the National Cyber League. They dominated Cyber Siege, a competition for senior military colleges hosted Oct. 13 at The Citadel, where they doubled the score of the second-place team from The Citadel.

Forty University of North Georgia (UNG) students took part in the Nov. 7-15 Gainesville Theatre Alliance (GTA) production of 'Sister Act' at Hosch Theatre on Brenau University's campus in Gainesville, Georgia. GTA is an inter-collegiate theatre collaboration between UNG and Brenau. Formed in 1979, GTA focuses on producing high-quality, university theatrical productions and provides students access to learning opportunities between both universities.

Four University of North Georgia (UNG) students teamed up to earn first place in the Portfolio Building Competition at the Student Managed Investment Fund Consortium (SMIFC) Conference in the fall. Indiana State University's Scott College of Business hosted the event. The team included Gustav Dickerhofe, chief financial officer of UNG's Student Investment Club; Lucas McDonald, CEO; Campbell Richey, chief operating officer; and Georgia Tucker, chief marketing officer. Dr. Young Ha Ki, an assistant professor in the Mike Cottrell College of Business, serves as the club's faculty adviser.

Two UNG students have intertwining internships creating a catalog of information of each piece within the UNG art collection. Students Sara Courtney and Ruth Phillips are researching the University of North Georgia (UNG) art collection as part of individual internships. The pair didn't know one another prior to the research and, ironically, have only once been in the presence of the other while working. Phillips is the photographer, capturing images of each piece for cataloging purposes. Meanwhile, Courtney is researching the pieces.

For the fall 2025 semester, the University of North Georgia (UNG) awarded more than 1,000 degrees and certificates to graduates. Many of the graduates participated in the fall commencement ceremonies held Dec. 9-10 at the Convocation Center at UNG's Dahlonega Campus.

The University of North Georgia (UNG) hosted an undergraduate research conference for its Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics Scholars (STEMS) Program students and some of their collaborators Nov. 14 at UNG's Gainesville Campus. Funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF), the STEMS Program provides each scholar up to $10,000 in scholarship funds per academic year and mentoring through a $1.5 million grant.

Dr. Evan Lampert, a University of North Georgia (UNG) professor of biology, and four of his students recently published an article on the different responses of two caterpillar species to plant compounds in their diets. Their publication was in the Environmental Entomology journal.

University of North Georgia (UNG) President Michael P. Shannon recognized students who achieved a 4.0 GPA during the fall 2025 semester. Students enrolled in 12 or more credit hours in bachelor's degree programs who achieved a 4.0 grade point average were named to the President's Honor Roll. Students enrolled in associate degree or dual enrollment programs who met the same level of achievement were named to the President's List.

The deans of each of UNG's colleges announced the names of those students who made their respective lists for fall 2025. Dean's List recognition is achieved by having at least a 3.5 grade point average, carrying 12 or more credit hours in one semester and having no grade lower than B.

In a ceremony held Dec. 9 by the University of North Georgia, 36 graduating cadets were awarded commissions as second lieutenants.

Among the 218 entries for Bellwethers Annual Juried Exhibition were four pieces from University of North Georgia (UNG) students, including Alexandra McCloy's "Living Patterns," which was awarded the Lane Last Award for Best in Show, the highest award given at the exhibition. Fellow students Rachel Coggins and Maddie Engel also had pieces entered in the exhibition.

University of North Georgia (UNG) graduate student Brooke Parker earned first place in the recent leadership essay contest of Chi Sigma Iota, an international counseling honor society. Parker, a native of Canton, Georgia, wrote about how the Counseling Compact allows licensure portability between states that have joined the agreement.

UNG senior Kira Feeser is the No. 1 cadet to commission into the Army Nurse Corps from the nation's senior and junior military colleges for 2025-26.

The Tomato Sandwich Supper held Nov. 6 at the University of North Georgia's (UNG) Blue Ridge Campus served as a showcase for the transformational power of UNG's work. In addition to honoring 24 scholarship recipients, the event included a chance for five of them to share their stories and thank donors.

The University of North Georgia (UNG) swept top honors from U.S. Army Cadet Command this fall, boasting both the No. 1 overall ROTC cadet out of 5,538 nationally and the No. 1 National Guard commissioning cadet out of 1,491. Benjamin Smith is the top overall graduating Army ROTC cadet for the 2025-26 academic year, and Kyle Sanders achieved the No. 1 Army National Guard ranking and No. 11 overall.

This summer, 105 University of North Georgia (UNG) cadets graduated from Advanced Camp at Fort Knox, Kentucky. Nine won PT awards, and UNG cadets also earned six leadership awards.

More than 20 University of North Georgia (UNG) students took part in research that was presented at the inaugural Research in Artificial Intelligence Testing & Evaluation (RAITE) Symposium, which was held Sept. 22 at UNG's Dahlonega Campus. While not all were part of the presentations that day, many of them gained conference experience alongside students from fellow senior military colleges (SMC) The Citadel, Norwich University, Virginia Military Institute, and Virginia Tech. Multiple faculty members from UNG and the other SMCs also presented at the RAITE Symposium.

Two recent University of North Georgia (UNG) alumnae and a student joined Dr. Cathy Whiting, professor of biology, in delivering a recent workshop for Northeast Georgia Medical Center's (NGMC) Graduate Medical Education (GME) resident physicians. This is Whiting's fifth time leading a concept mapping workshop for NGMC GME residents, and she brings along students each time. In fact, this was alumna Josie Ayers' third time assisting the effort.

A team of University of North Georgia (UNG) students, faculty and staff won the college division of the Atlanta Hong Kong Dragon Boat Festival, held Sept. 6 at Lake Lanier Olympic Park in Gainesville, Georgia. UNG has won the collegiate division all 12 years it has competed. UNG tallied a time of 1:04.17 to beat out second-place Clemson University and third-place Agnes Scott College.