On the Road Again

Just finished my first day on the University of Georgia New Faculty Tour. This annual event takes approximately 40 new faculty on a tour of Georgia to view first hand the impacts of UGA’s teaching, research, and service missions on the economy of the State of Georgia.

As the land grant, flagship institution for the State of Georgia, the University plays several important roles across the state. Our faculty members are key for each of these roles.

• Teaching – everywhere we stop we meet graduates of the University of Georgia. UGA is beloved all across the state and our graduates are in leadership positions across all sectors of the economy. They all tell us of the impact their faculty had on them as they earned their degrees at UGA.
• Research – across multiple sectors of the Georgia economy, from agriculture to advanced manufacturing to services, research by faculty and students at the University of Georgia drives innovation all across the state.
• Service – is key for land grant institutions like UGA. At every stop on the tour, we meet the local county extension agents and others who work closely with community leaders, business owners, and families to provide support and access to the vast UGA resources that are available to every citizen of the state.

This is my second year to go on the tour and I’m grateful to vice president Jennifer Frum and associate vice president Steve Dempsey for allowing me to tag along again this year. For me, it’s the chance to spend more time building relationships with our new faculty who five, ten, or fifteen years from now will be the senior academic leaders of the institution. After spending a day with them so far, I would say the future is very bright.