About the Awards

Walter Barnard Hill Distinguished Public Service Fellow

The Hill Fellow Award is UGA’s highest award in public service and outreach, and is comparable to a distinguished professorship. It recognizes sustained, distinguished, and superb achievement in university public service and outreach, and contributions to improving the quality of life in Georgia or elsewhere. The selection committee considers long-term achievements, special projects having extraordinary impact, and collaborative efforts. The creativity, impact, and superb nature of a Hill Fellow’s achievements are of a magnitude that greatly exceeds the normal accomplishments of a productive faculty member. Similar to the Hill award recipients, the appointee receives a salary increase of $1,000 beyond the raise provided through the normal allocation process, and the appointee also receives a supplementary fund for use in the advancement of his or her program of work.
Like the Hill Award, the Hill Fellow Award is named in honor of Chancellor Walter Barnard Hill, who led the University of Georgia from 1899 until his death in 1905. His desire for more university involvement in the state of Georgia and his application of these goals and ideas helped pave the way for a modern public-service-oriented university.

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Walter Barnard Hill Award for Distinguished Achievement in University Public Service and Outreach

Since 1992, the Walter Barnard Hill Awards have recognized distinguished achievement in public service and outreach by University of Georgia faculty members and service professionals. Each recipient is judged to have made contributions to the improvement of the quality of life in Georgia or elsewhere of an order that greatly exceeds the normal accomplishments of a productive faculty member. A maximum of five Hill Awards may be presented each year. Each awardee receives a permanent salary increase of $2,000 beyond the raise provided through the normal allocation process, a medallion and framed certificate. Only Hill Award winners are eligible for appointment as a Walter Barnard Hill Distinguished Public Service and Outreach Fellow.

The award is named in honor of Chancellor Walter Barnard Hill, who led the University of Georgia from 1899 until his death in 1905. Hill first articulated the university’s moder public service and outreach mission. He admired the close relationship that existed between the University of Wisconsin and the state of Wisconsin and led a pilgrimage of nearly 100 Georgians to see the “Wisconsin Idea” in action. As a result of this journey and the power of Hill’s vision, Georgia’s leadership endorsed Hill’s plan for a modern, public-service-oriented university and backed that endorsement with increased support for the institution.

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Scholarship of Engagement Award

The Scholarship of Engagement Award honors tenured associate or full professors who advance civic engagement through scholarship and service-learning opportunities for students and whose scholarship has made significant contributions toward identifying or addressing issues of public concern. The award will provide the honoree with a $5,000 faculty development grant to support outreach projects. Up to one Scholarship of Engagement Award will be presented each year. The first Scholarship of Engagement Award was presented in 2008.

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Public Service and Outreach Staff Award for Excellence

The Public Service and Outreach Staff Award for Excellence is the most prestigious award for staff members and recognizes individuals who have demonstrated a strong work ethic, commitment to service, and exceptional job performance. The award honors outstanding effort, encourages workplace creativity and innovation, and celebrates the achievements of Public Service and Outreach staff. A maximum of three awards are bestowed annually and honorees receive $1,000, a certificate, and an engraved award. Eligible staff members must have been employed for a minimum of two continuous years in any public service and outreach unit. The award’s inaugural year was 2006.

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Updated January 2009