Adcox wins award for summer program
Dr. Gary Adcox, director of campus success and strategic retention initiatives at the University of North Georgia's (UNG) Oconee Campus, has won the 2023 Dr. George Giacumakis Innovation Award for his leadership of an on-campus summer program for middle school students. The National Association of Branch Campus Administrators honored Adcox with the recognition.
The Nighthawks Student Opportunities for Accelerated Readiness (SOAR) program targets economically disadvantaged and English as a second language youth who are likely prospective first-generation college students. SOAR was designed to bridge the education gap and "summer educational slide" for rising sixth-, seventh- and eighth-grade students during a three-week camp-like summer program intended for students who would benefit from participating in a summer enrichment and engagement program.
"This past year, 62 middle school students from Athens-Clarke and Oglethorpe counties enrolled in the second year of the program," Adcox said. "We are proud to say that all grade levels saw significant improvements in their pre-and post-test scores."
Student participation in the program has grown each year since the program’s 2019 inception. Currently, there are 77 middle schoolers signed up to participate in this summer's Nighthawks SOAR program.
Cyber faculty member named Fulbright scholar
UNG faculty member Dr. Murthy Rallapalli will serve as a Fulbright faculty scholar for the spring semester at Cyber University of Uzbekistan.
UNG formalizes its role with career expo
UNG has signed a memorandum of understanding with the Center for Civic Engagement to support its Youth in Government Expo in March 2026.
Students receive record 4 DoD cyber scholarships
A team led by Dr. Bryson Payne, director of UNG's Institute for Cyber Operations, has been awarded $199,674 in Department of Defense Cyber Service Academy funding for four undergraduate cyber scholarships.
UNG honors scholarship recipients in Blue Ridge
The Tomato Sandwich Supper held Nov. 6 at UNG's Blue Ridge Campus celebrated 24 scholarship recipients and showcased the transformational power of UNG's work.