As Georgia, the nation and the world face challenges including economic distress,
demographic change and rapid growth, the University of Georgia helps address
these and other issues through collaborative efforts with communities.
The Office of the Vice President for Public Service and Outreach provides leadership for the University’s units that have specialized outreach missions; facilitates collaborative outreach and engagement efforts with Cooperative Extension and with the University’s schools, colleges, centers and institutes; and communicates research, teaching, and outreach and engagement program and activity information to the public.
Use of water resources from rivers like the Flint (above) came under discussion in FY07 as UGA helped lead development of the first statewide water plan. Photo / Jim Kundell
Outreach and engagement programs and activities include service-learning projects by UGA students, community-based participatory research, applied research, policy analysis, technical assistance, technology transfer, training, program development and delivery, and publications.
Through grants and special funding, the Office of the Vice President for Public Service and Outreach supports projects that:
- provide opportunities for UGA students to connect their academic learning to community needs, thereby enhancing their academic, personal, and civic development;
- enhance the economic, social, and cultural well-being of people living and working in Georgia;
- address issues associated with a rapidly changing demographic profile in Georgia;
- enrich the educational development of Georgia’s youth;
- connect UGA and Georgia with Africa; Southeast Asia and China; Mexico, Central and South America; and Eastern Europe;
- encourage the scholarship of engagement by UGA’s public service, tenure-track, and clinical faculty members;
- create intersections among the University’s outreach units and other units on campus; and
- have measurable outcomes that guide project improvement and that can be communicated to the public.
In the pages that follow, we present highlights of UGA public service and outreach programs and activities for 2006-2007. More detailed information may be found at outreach.uga.edu.
