Deadline: Friday, October 27, 2023
About the Award
Since 1992, the Walter Barnard Hill Award for Distinguished Achievement in Public Service and Outreach (Hill Award) recognizes 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 beyond the raise provided through the normal allocation process; and a medallion and framed certificate to be presented at the Annual Public Service and Outreach Meeting and Awards Luncheon.
The Hill 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 modern 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.
Direct questions and submit nomination dossiers to:
Dr. L. Steven Dempsey
Associate Vice President
Office of the Vice President for Public Service and Outreach
University of Georgia
Treanor House
1234 S. Lumpkin Street
Athens, GA 30602-3692
706-542-6045
dempsey@uga.edu
Nomination Guidelines
Purpose
The Walter Barnard Hill Award for Distinguished Achievement in Public Service and Outreach recognizes distinguished achievement in the public service and outreach programs of the University of Georgia. The Hill Award is named in honor of Chancellor Walter Barnard Hill, who led the university from 1899 until 1905, and first articulated the university’s modern public service and outreach mission.
Award
A maximum of five Hill Awards may be presented each year. Each awardee receives (1) a permanent salary increase beyond the raise provided through the normal allocation process at the unit level; and (2) a medallion and framed certificate to be presented at the Annual Public Service and Outreach Meeting and Awards Luncheon.
Funds for this award will come from the Office of the Vice President for Public Service and Outreach.
Eligibility
The following are eligible for nomination:
- Public Service and Outreach (PSO) faculty members assigned for the last five years to a major public service and outreach unit of the University that reports directly to the Vice President for Public Service and Outreach including: Archway Partnership, Carl Vinson Institute of Government, Georgia Center for Continuing Education and Hotel, J. W. Fanning Institute for Leadership Development, Marine Extension Service and Georgia Sea Grant, Office of Service-Learning, Small Business Development Center, and the State Botanical Garden of Georgia.
- Those faculty members in colleges, schools, Cooperative Extension or other institutional units whose assignments and workloads (budgeted EFT is 51% or more) have focused significantly on public service and outreach for the last five years.
Process
Each of the major Public Service and Outreach units may submit one nomination with the exception that Cooperative Extension may submit up to five; the Carl Vinson Institute of Government, up to three; and the J. W. Fanning Institute for Leadership Development and Small Business Development Center, up to two. The colleges, schools, and other institutional units may submit two nominations each. Any college or school wishing to submit more than two nominations should contact the Office of the Vice President for Public Service and Outreach to determine if an exception may be granted.
The dean or director of the respective unit, in consultation with unit faculty, will determine the mechanism by which unit faculty members are selected for nomination. The process for selection should be widely shared throughout the college, school, or unit.
The Office of the Vice President for Public Service and Outreach will form a selection committee and appoint a chair for the committee to review the nominations and select the awardees. The committee will recommend up to five winners to the Vice President for Public Service and Outreach.
Criteria
The Hill Award recognizes sustained, distinguished, and superb achievement in university public service and outreach and for contributions made to the improvement of 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 Award nominee’s achievements are of a magnitude that greatly exceeds the normal accomplishments of a productive faculty member.
Public service and outreach refers to the function of applying academic expertise to the direct benefit of external audiences in support of unit missions and the university mission. PSO scholarship can include applied research, service-based instruction and training, program and project management, consultation, and technical assistance. A program is regarded as public service and outreach if there is utilization of the faculty member’s academic and professional expertise; there is a direct application of knowledge to, and a substantive link with, significant human needs and societal problems, issues, or concerns; the ultimate purpose is for the public or common good; new knowledge is generated for the discipline and/or the audience or clientele; and, there is a clear link/relationship between the program/activities and an appropriate unit’s mission.
Dossier
The unit head (dean, unit director, or department head) prepares a nomination dossier that does not exceed 25 pages (that is, including all materials, exclusive of the cover page and transmittal letter) and includes the following:
Section 1:
A cover page with the candidate’s Name, Current Title, and Unit
Section 2:
A written statement signed by the dean, unit director, or department head. This written statement should include:
- A job description that outlines the nature and scope of the nominee’s roles and responsibilities.
- Reflective commentary on the nominee’s public service and outreach program (a program is a set of activities that share a common focus and depend upon a particular expertise). The commentary should describe and explain the scholarship involved in one or more public service and outreach programs that are considered to be the crowning achievements of the candidate’s efforts. Each program should include the following:
- Description: Provide a brief overview of the needs assessment, objectives, methods, and target audience. Describe selected activities and/or products that best illustrate the candidate’s contribution to this program. For collaborative efforts, the role of the candidate should be clearly stated.
- Mission: How was the program compatible with unit and university missions? How did the activities complement the teaching and research missions of the unit and/or university?
- Scholarship: Describe the role of the candidate’s professional expertise in the design and execution of the program. Did the activities demonstrate or test the applicability of the candidate’s discipline to societal/human problems, require integration with other disciplines, and/or generate new knowledge for the discipline and/or audience? Explain. How was this knowledge communicated to broader audiences? Has the program led to increased recognition of the candidate’s professional expertise by external audiences? Indicators would include requests for information, invitations to make presentations, service on review panels, receipt of contracts, grants, and professional awards, etc.
- Impact: Describe observed impacts and/or explain any unobserved impacts that are to be expected according to the discipline(s) applied. Identify the direct and indirect beneficiaries. What actions did the intended audience take as a result of his work? Evidence of impact can include both quantitative results (e.g., changes in test scores, increased production, or widespread adoption of a product or technique) and qualitative results (e.g., testimonials from clients, reviews by knowledgeable scholars/critics).
Section 3:
A condensed curriculum vitae summarizing biographical data and professional data in reverse chronological order. This document could include a select list of: publications (i.e., journal articles, books and book chapters, monographs, bulletins, invited papers, etc.); honors and awards; conference presentations, invited lectures and papers; exhibits and displays; prizes, grants, and contracts; consultantships; instructional activities; technical assistance; outreach products; copyrights, patents, and inventions; contracts, grants, and gifts; and any other information that reflects professional achievement.
Section 4:
Letters of external support (three to five letters). Letters should be on letterhead and include either original or electronic signatures.
The nomination dossier should be prepared in the following manner:
- The completed nomination dossier should not exceed 25 pages (including all materials, exclusive of the cover page and transmittal letter). Dossiers exceeding this length will not be considered.
- One-inch margins.
- A type size no smaller than 11-point font.
- Type face: Times New Roman (or similar)
- Nomination portfolios should not be placed in folders or binders. Each copy of the dossier should be stapled in the upper left-hand corner.
- One (1) original hard copy and an electronic copy of the dossier on a USB flash drive in a searchable PDF format should be submitted, under a transmittal letter, to Dr. L. Steven Dempsey, Associate Vice President for Public Service and Outreach.
Units submitting nominations should be prepared to provide additional documentation upon request of the selection committee.
Past Recipients
2023: Charles T. Bargeron IV, John Hulsey, Carole H. Knight, Greg Wilson
2022: Joan Koonce, Pamela N. Knox, J. Scott Pippin, Lenny Wells
2021: Carolina Darbisi, Leigh Askew Elkins, Keri Gandy Hobbs, Mark Lupo, David Tanner
2020: Jennifer Ceska, Kris Irwin, Shana Jones, Eleanor Lanier, Mara Shaw
2019: Jeffrey Humphreys, Amanda B. Marable, David Meyers, Bill Tyson, Theresa A. Wright
2018: Julia Gaskin, Beverly E. Johnson, Tori Stivers
2017: Tracy Arner, Melanie Biersmith, Danny Bivins, Dennis Hancock, Janet Rechtman
2016: Ellen Bauske, Phillip Brannen, David Moorhead
2015: Alfredo Martinez, Raye Rawls, Paula Sanford, Clint Waltz
2014: Sue W. Chapman, George Weston Clarke, Jr., Stanley Culpepper, Robert C. Kemerait, Jr.
2013: Matthew L. Bishop, Janet Bittner, Lori Purcell Bledsoe, Doris Miller, John Worley
2012: Glenn H. Beard, W. Dennis Epps, Maritza Soto Keen, Margaret “Beth” Melnik, Eric P. Prostko
2011: Judy Hibbs, Louise Hill, Richard C. Lacy, Claude “Walt” McBride, Jr., Karen Payne
2010: W. Don Shurley, Paul D. Wigley
2009: Ronnie Barentine, Robert Brewer, L. Mark Risse, Phillip Roberts, Michael Rupured
2008: Gail Hanula, John O’Looney, Paul Sumner, Paul Vendrell, Jeanna Wilson
2007: Joanne S. Cavis, Kim D. Coder, Keith S. Delaplane, Laurie Fowler, Paul T. Hardy
2006: Eric S. Bonaparte, Steve L. Brown, Pratt W. Cassity, Jr., Harry W. Hayes, T. Brian Tankersley
2005: Jorge Atiles, L. Steven Dempsey, Mark Foster, Gordon Maner, John C. McKissick
2004: L. Ray “Rusty” Brooks, Judy A. Harrison, Anant V. Jain, Kenneth L. Lewis, F. Richard Rohs
2003: Scott N. Brown, John R. Glisson, William C. Merka, Richard L. Milford, Jeffrey R. Sanford
2002: Connie Crawley, Frances Hensley, Dan L. Horton, Deborah W. Purvis, Mary E. Stakes
2001: Elizabeth L. Andress, Judy Bland, Job P. Dieleman, P. Elizabeth Pate, William P. Russell
2000: James M. Affolter, Dan Durning, Henry E. Hibbs, David P. Mills, Jr., Reid L. Torrance
1999: Douglas C. Bachtel, Robert T. Dixon, Melinda D. Hawley, Sally Hudson Ross, Darby M. Granberry
1998: Stephen E. Condrey, John J. Jeffreys, Michael J. Padilla, Richard D. Reaves, Beverly L. Sparks
1997: Donald W. Bower, Paul E. Glick, William M. Ozburn, David A. Payne, Lamar E. Zipperer
1996: Carvin L. Brown, James L. Cooley, Margaret S. Herman, Michael P. Lacy, Kathleen E. Wages
1995: James A. Feldt, Edwin L. Jackson, Joy P. Johnson, Helen H. Mills, Gary L. Wade
1994: Walter A. Denero, David L. Harrington, Howard A. Schretter, Charles R. “Mike” Swanson,John M. Woodruff
1993: Carolyn M. Ainslie, Ronald C. Atkinson, John R. Cole, Jr., William R. Lambert, Sam M. Mitchell
1992: Edward A. Brown II, Wanda J. Grogan, Mary A. Hepburn, Harold F. Holtz, Jr., James E. Kundell