The Red and Black

Issue date: 3/30/07 Section: News

Media Credit: JOSH D. WEISS Jane Russell poses outside the Ramsey Center, where she soon will retire as director of recreational sports. In her 32 years at the University, she supervised the creation of the Rec Sports department and the Ramsey Center.

Jane Russell, the director of recreational sports, has served the University in many capacities for 32 years.

Today she retires as not only the director, but also the mother of the Recreational Sports Department.

She compares her career to a good book and said she has loved her job, but she knows there are other books to be read.

"I love what I do. I love the people with whom I work; the interaction with students is fabulous. I feel good about it," Russell said.

Russell supervised the creation of the Recreational Sports Department, including the planning and construction of the Ramsey Center from 1987 to 1995.

Easily recalling the Ramsey Center's layout from memory, Russell recounted how she and her department have "nurtured" the building. She remembered how rooms have shifted around for better access, how the outdoor climbing wall was built, and how the Georgia Outdoor Recreation Program has come to be a presence on campus.

She also helped guide the transformation of the intramural fields from a few tennis courts to a 45 acre sprawl of trails and lighted fields.

"It has been my great good fortune to be a part of it from the beginning," Russell said.

She said she hopes to leave a legacy of developing beneficial programs and facilities for the University.

"She's just a great person, you know. We're really going to miss her," said Callie Johnson, the administrative secretary for Recreational Sports.

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