By Kim Cretors
University of Georgia
The University of Georgia Athletic Association has announced a
new professorship in horticulture that, if approved, will bear
the name of outgoing athletic director Vince Dooley.
UGA President Michael F. Adams, chairman of the Athletic
Association board, announced the professorship during the group’s
annual spring meeting.
With the University System of Georgia Board of Regents’ approval,
the Vincent J. Dooley Professorship in Horticulture will be
established during the 2004-2005 academic year.
Nonathletic renown
“Over the years, Vince Dooley has pursued a personal interest in
a number of areas beyond intercollegiate athletics,” Adams said.
“He has achieved renown in his own right for his knowledge and
practice in the field of horticulture. The creation of this named
professorship is especially appropriate given his passion for
gardening and is a step that will strengthen our academic
programs in this area.”
“I was very surprised, yet very grateful,” Dooley said of the
announcement. “Over the years, I’ve enjoyed auditing courses at
the university in a variety of disciplines, but my latest such
ventures have been in horticulture. Due to the enthusiasm of some
great teachers like (UGA horticulture professors) Michael Dirr
and Allan Armitage, I developed a real passion for gardening. For
that reason, the endowed professorship is very meaningful and
special to me.”
‘Dooley’ blooms
Dooley has a hydrangea variety (Hydrangea macrophylla
‘Dooley’) named after him.
The plant is a “remarkable, cold-hardy, mop-headed selection
discovered in the garden of Coach and Mrs. Vince Dooley,” reports
Dirr’s Web site (www.nobleplants.com). After an early March
freeze in 1996, the site notes, the only hydrangea plant in the
area with significant flowers was “the 6- to 7-foot-high, robust
plant in Coach Dooley’s garden.”
Starting in 1999, Dooley helped secure a designation for the
entire UGA campus as an arboretum. He chaired the committee that
led to a campus tree tour and a set of plaques that identify many
tree and plant species.
The Athletic Association has designated $250,000 from recent
contributions to establish the professorship. The association has
given more than $2 million to a fund that supports nonathletic
academic programs at UGA.
“We’re particularly pleased the Athletic Association designated
resources to establish a professorship honoring Coach Dooley,”
said Gale Buchanan, dean of the UGA College of Agricultural and
Environmental Sciences.
“Such a professorship honors a man of many talents,” Buchanan
said. “While his many accomplishments in athletics are widely
known, this professorship recognizes his commitment and
long-standing support of academic pursuits.”
(Kim Cretors is the news bureau manager with the University of
Georgia Office of Public Affairs.)
