University of North Georgia News

UNG earned the LeeAnn Noble Make-A-Wish Award for the most funds raised in 2025-26 during the Peach Belt Conference's annual Make-A-Wish initiative. Daijah Freeman, UNG assistant athletic director for student services and senior woman administrator, receives the award from PBC Commissioner Diana Kling. The University of North Georgia (UNG) earned the LeeAnn Noble Make-A-Wish Award for the most funds raised in 2025-26 during the Peach Belt Conference's (PBC) annual Make-A-Wish initiative.

Eight University of North Georgia (UNG) students and three alumni attended the Sigma Tau Delta International English Honor Society Convention in New Orleans in late March. They are part of the Alpha Upsilon Phi chapter of Sigma Tau Delta at UNG's Gainesville Campus. This year's convention theme was "Second Lines and New Beginnings," picked for the resilience and inclusivity embodied in the area's Second Line funeral parades.

June 15, 2026 Pictured from left are IAFIE President Kathy Pherson, UNG faculty member and IAFIE Conference Chair Dr. Edward Mienie, keynote speaker Suzanne Spalding, and keynote speaker Andrew Borene. Spalding serves as senior adviser for the Defense and Security Department at the Center for Strategic & International Studies.

Students from the University of North Georgia (UNG) made a strong showing in the annual Japanese Speech Contest in Atlanta, Georgia, this spring. Four of them earned top-three recognition in their categories, with another garnering honorable mention.

The University of North Georgia (UNG) Esports team finished off a decorated 2025-26 academic year with a second-place finish in the National Esports Collegiate Conference (NECC) Marvel Rivals tournament held May 15-17 in San Antonio, Texas. "It feels good to know that a grassroots program like us can compete on the national stage," said Branyan Daniel, a senior from McDonough, Georgia, pursuing a degree in finance.

University of North Georgia (UNG) women's golf head coach Sierra Campbell has been selected to serve as the Division II director on the Women's Golf Coaches Association (WGCA) Board of Directors for the 2026-27 term. "Coach Campbell has led North Georgia's women's golf to sustained success on the national stage," UNG Athletic Director Mary Rob Plunkett said.

Student Counseling at the University of North Georgia (UNG) has been accredited by International Accreditation of Counseling Services (IACS), the premier leader in setting the benchmark for the full range of professional counseling services on college and university campuses worldwide.

Students from the University of North Georgia (UNG) undertook a whole new kind of mural experience this spring. During their class and often at other times, they painted 21 mural cloth panels that were later affixed to an elevated wall as a 44-foot-long mural at the Avita Community Partners Behavioral Health Crisis Center in Gainesville, Georgia. The mural depicts a mother duck leading her ducklings through water between lily pads.

An alumna and a student partnered with their University of North Georgia (UNG) psychology mentor to publish a research article: "How framing influences undergraduate students' attitudes toward graduate school." Their publication was in the Psi Chi Journal of Psychological Research. This research was of great personal interest to Hannah Hyman, a 2025 graduate from Gainesville, Georgia, with a degree in psychology, and Iris Wright, a junior from Gainesville pursuing a degree in psychology.

The University of North Georgia's (UNG) College of Health & Wellness (CHW) will receive $700,000 of federal funding to expand clinical training capacity through new patient simulators and clinical education supplies at UNG's Dahlonega and Blue Ridge campuses. UNG applied for the Congressional spending funds at the invitation of Georgia's two U.S. senators, Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock, and the funding legislation became law Feb. 3.