The Office of Instruction has named two new directors. Dr. Karen Bryant was named director of the University of Georgia Gwinnett Campus effective Jan. 1 and Dr. Cara Winston Simmons has been named director of the Division of Academic Enhancement, effective March 13. Both previously served as interim directors.
Dr. Karen Bryant
Bryant
The UGA Gwinnett Campus provides access to top-ranked graduate and non-degree programs for working adults. The campus also promotes economic and community development through business and community partnerships, training programs, and events.
Bryant brings valuable experience from her extensive career in education to her new role in Gwinnett. For 30 years, she worked in K-12 education; serving as a classroom teacher, assistant principal, principal, district director of curriculum, district director of federal programs and district leadership development mentor. Bryant is also a clinical associate professor in the Mary Frances Early College of Education. She has taught numerous school, district, and state leaders in Georgia and the nation through Educational Leadership degree and certification programs. She chairs doctoral committees for candidates who are working toward the EdD in Educational Leadership.
Bryant’s research interests include collaborative partnerships between school districts and educator preparation programs as well as using action research as a tool to prepare effective scholar-practitioner leaders. She has served as a consultant working with school districts in Georgia, Texas and Pennsylvania on leadership development programs, strategic planning and school improvement. She also serves as a liaison with leadership development personnel in K-12 school districts.
Bryant holds an Ed.D. in Educational Leadership, an Ed.S. in Educational Administration, and a bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education—all from the University of Georgia. She also earned a master’s degree in Early Childhood Education from Mercer University.
Dr. Cara Winston Simmons
Simmons
Simmons will oversee a division that supports and sustains students as they transition into higher education and progress through the university’s academic environment. She will oversee services including Academic Coaching; the PLaTO (Peer Learning and Teaching Others) program that includes Peer Learning Assistants, and Peer Tutors; the Presentation Collaboratory; and Student Success Workshops.
The division also includes initiatives to support first-generation, rural and underserved students, as well as the early start summer program, Thrive | Georgia. This division collaborates with several units in overseeing the Georgia Commitment Scholarship and the ALL Georgia program, and it is home to several TRIO programs, including Talent Search, McNair Scholars, Student Support Services / STEM-H and Upward Bound / Math + Science. The division also offers courses to help students become engaged learners inside and outside of the classroom.
In her 19 years with the University of Georgia, Simmons has worked in the Office of the President, the Division of Student Affairs, the College of Veterinary Medicine, and the College of Family and Consumer Sciences (FACS). During the 2021-2022 academic year, she served as Assistant to the Dean for Leadership Development and Diversity in FACS. Simmons is currently the staff director of Bulldog Basics, which provides toiletry items for free to UGA students through an eStore. She has taught several courses in FACS and the Mary Frances Early College of Education, and serves on doctoral committees in the Mary Frances Early College of Education.
Simmons is a three-time graduate of UGA. She received an A.B. in History, an M.Ed. in College Student Affairs Administration, and a Ph.D. in Counseling and Student Personnel Services.
She is an active community member and serves on the Athens Area Diaper Bank Board of Directors. She is the immediate past president of the Georgia Association of Family and Consumer Sciences.