Two faculty members from the University of Georgia have attained the prestigious title of University Professor, a designation granted to individuals who have significantly influenced the university while also meeting their usual academic obligations.

The University Professors for the 2024–2025 academic year are K. Paige Carmichael, Meigs Distinguished Professor in the pathology department at the College of Veterinary Medicine, and Jessica Kissinger, a Distinguished Research Professor in the genetics department within the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences.

“The University Professors of this year have made significant and enduring contributions to the University of Georgia,” remarked S. Jack Hu, senior vice president for academic affairs and provost. “I extend my congratulations to Drs. Carmichael and Kissinger for this distinguished honor, and I express my gratitude for their unwavering dedication to our university and their initiatives to enhance our campus community.”

K. Paige Carmichael

Throughout her illustrious tenure at UGA, Carmichael has left an enduring mark across various mission areas of the university, though her greatest pride lies in her efforts to enhance education.

“Above all, I am a teacher,” she stated.

For over 20 years, Carmichael has acted as the course coordinator for the essential pathology class for veterinary students in their second year. Her peers regard her as a trailblazer, having been ahead of many in adopting an interactive classroom style that promoted critical thinking among veterinary students.

Leveraging her experience with professional education, Carmichael developed and taught one of the pilot undergraduate courses in the College of Veterinary Medicine, covering the mechanisms of mammalian diseases, which has gained popularity among pre-health majors.

Recently, she has actively contributed to the development of the university’s undergraduate certificate in One Health, a program that examines the connections between the health of humans, animals, and their common environment. While veterinary students at numerous institutions may encounter One Health, UGA’s initiative stands out due to its focused emphasis on undergraduate education, a pivotal phase in students’ academic journeys as they determine their career paths.

Carmichael has significantly influenced the larger university through her leadership in academia. As a part of the UGA Teaching Academy’s Executive Committee, she co-created the Teaching Academy Early Career Fellows Program, a mentorship initiative for faculty at all levels completing their first three years at the university. She has been co-director of the program since it launched in 2011, and she was recently appointed co-director of the Teaching Academy.

From 2009 to 2011, Carmichael participated in the Quality Enhancement Plan Committee, a group behind the establishment of the First-Year Odyssey program. She has been involved with the Foundation Fellowship Selection Committee for over ten years and has played a leading role on the Board of Directors for the Georgia Museum of Art Friends as both secretary and president.

“She has an extensive record of active participation aimed at enhancing the university, and her influence and contributions on this campus have transformed it into a stronger, more capable, and more receptive institution,” noted Margaret A. Amstutz, dean of the Jere W. Morehead Honors College.

Jessica Kissinger

A key contributor to the university’s strategic planning committees for 2020 and 2025, Kissinger has advocated for initiatives aimed at positioning UGA among the premier research universities globally. The strategies devised by Kissinger and her colleagues have established the foundation for strategic faculty hiring initiatives that have attracted leading researchers and scholars to UGA, as well as new programs that have augmented graduate student enrollment and support.

“In essence, I am a strategist and problem solver with a clear vision, who has diligently worked to enhance UGA for everyone,” she commented.

Kissinger’s influence at the university extends to her role as a member of the Goldwater Selection Committee since 2015, and as a regular participant on the Committee for Fellowships and Awards in the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences. Additionally, she has offered critical insights to senior leadership while serving on the Provost’s Working Group on Centers and Institutes and the Digital Infrastructure Development Committee.

Kissinger is a founding member of UGA’s Institute of Bioinformatics, which focuses on supporting interdisciplinary research in bioinformatics and computational biology along with its applications. Under her direction from 2011 to 2019, the institute expanded to include faculty from four colleges and more than 45 graduate students. The institute facilitates the study of genomics and bioinformatics on campus, providing graduate training in a collaborative environment that integrates both disciplines unlike many bioinformatics programs in the United States.

The success of the Georgia Advanced Computing Resource Center, a high-performance computing and networking facility for UGA researchers, can also be attributed to Kissinger’s guidance. She was involved in the establishment of UGA’s first centralized high-performance computing cluster and tirelessly advocated for the expansion of these resources for researchers across the campus. Moreover, she encouraged GACRC to offer centralized storage and supported the early integration of graphical processing units (GPUs), the core computational power behind artificial intelligence computing.

Kissinger has received numerous accolades for her research and leadership. She has been honored with the Creative Research Medal, the Lamar Dodd Creative Research Award, the Faculty Excellence in Diversity Leadership Award, and the Richard F. Reiff Internationalization Award, all awarded by UGA. Additionally, she is a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and the American Society for Tropical Medicine and Hygiene. Recently, she received a Fulbright U.S. Scholar award to teach and conduct research at Makerere University in Uganda.

University Professors are awarded a permanent salary increase of $10,000 and an annual academic support fund of $5,000. Nominations submitted by the deans of UGA’s schools and colleges are evaluated by a committee, which then provides a recommendation to the provost. To find out more and view a list of previously appointed University Professors, visit https://provost.uga.edu/resources/faculty-resources/faculty-honors-and-awards/career-achievement-awards/university-professorships/.

The article Carmichael, Kissinger named 2025 University Professors first appeared on UGA Today.