A hundred California white sturgeon used in a University of Georgia swimming study could have been tossed in a landfill once the research project ended. But instead they’ll be feeding the poor and awing visitors to the Tennessee Aquarium.

Victor K. Wilson, executive vice president for student affairs at the College of Charleston, has been named vice president for student affairs at the University of Georgia, effective Aug. 1.

“The vice president for student affairs plays an integral role in creating a campus environment that enables our students to succeed academically, and I am delighted that Victor Wilson will assume this key leadership position,” said UGA President Jere W. Morehead. “The broad scope of his experiences at a number of institutions, including the University of Georgia, makes him uniquely qualified to lead the Division of Student Affairs.”

The University of Georgia welcomed its 22nd president to campus today. President Jere W. Morehead started off his morning discussing campus life with UGA student leaders at the Tate Student Center. After breakfast with the students, he arrived at the Administration Building, was greeted by the building's staff with a round of applause and met briefly with the President's Office staff.

After a few weeks of working with University of Georgia doctoral student Aimee Kowalski, Monisha Narayanan can now pipette like a pro. Besides mastering the art of getting drops of liquid into tiny plastic containers, the rising high school senior from Johns Creek has watched zebrafish grow from microscopic to swimming.

Narayanan is one of 44 high school students on the UGA campus this summer conducting research through the Young Dawgs program. Run by UGA Human Resources, Young Dawgs is doing more than capturing the imaginations of high school students and preparing them for future careers. It's also partnering with local school districts and earning awards on the national level. The program recently received the 2013 Community Service and Outreach Award from the College and University Professional Association for Human Resources, a recognition that came with a $10,000 award.

Rick Tarleton, University of Georgia Distinguished Research Professor of Tropical and Emerging Global Diseases, has been invited to chair the Immunity and Host Defense Study Section of the National Institutes of Health Center for Scientific Review. Study section members are scientists in that field who review scientific grant proposals submitted to the NIH for funding. The two-year appointment is effective July 1.

Hugh Ruppersburg, a long-serving administrator at the University of Georgia, has been named interim vice provost for academic affairs.

Ruppersburg served as interim dean of the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences from 2011 to 2012 and has served as its senior associate dean since 2005. Earlier this year, he was named University Professor, an honor bestowed selectively on UGA faculty who have had a significant impact on the university in addition to fulfilling their normal academic responsibilities.

University of Georgia cancer research was one of several human health projects that took the spotlight recently when Dr. Francis Collins, director of the National Institutes of Health, and Rep. Jack Kingston (R-Ga.) heard reports by scientists and faculty from UGA, Georgia Institute of Technology, Georgia State University and Emory University.

"Georgia is a hotbed of great science," said Collins, who is responsible for managing and coordinating all the programs and activities of the 27 institutes and centers that fall within NIH, the nation's medical research agency. NIH invests more than $31 billion each year in medical research; more than 80 percent of NIH funding is awarded through competitive grants.

Stefanie A. Lindquist, an associate dean at the University of Texas at Austin and a scholar who works at the interface of law and politics, has been named dean of the University of Georgia School of Public and International Affairs.

The University of Georgia Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication has announced the creation of the Carolyn Caudell Tieger Chair in Public Affairs Communications.

Donald Leo, a Virginia Tech vice president and former associate dean, has been named dean of the University of Georgia College of Engineering.