Call for nominations: UGA's Rural Engagement Workshop for Academic Faculty

Application submission

Each dean may nominate up to four applicants from his or her respective school or college. Faculty will be notified once a nomination is submitted by the dean and will be sent a link to complete the program application and a one-page proposal. The deadline for nominations is Monday, Nov. 23. Anyone interested in being nominated should contact Carolyn McNearney by Monday, Nov. 16 to express their interest.

Program overview

The Office of the Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost and the Office of the Vice President for Public Service and Outreach (PSO) is pleased to launch the Rural Engagement Workshop for Academic Faculty, a program designed to help build momentum for high-quality, community-engaged research in rural Georgia communities. The program is coordinated by the Office of the Vice President for Public Service and Outreach, along with the College of Public Health, School of Social Work, and UGA Cooperative Extension in the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences.

Through a series of five virtual sessions offered during spring semester 2021, participants will gain a greater understanding of Georgia’s rural demographics and trends, obtain key information on developing sustained relationships with communities, and enhance their ability to engage in successful rural research in the state.

The purpose of this program is to strategically apply knowledge and research generated at UGA to empower communities and organizations across Georgia and improve quality of life. Through interactive sessions led by experienced scholars, academic faculty will recognize the benefits of collaborating with PSO and Cooperative Extension to conduct successful community-engaged scholarship in rural Georgia.

Eligibility and proposal process

The workshop series is limited to 20 full-time academic faculty members from any UGA college or school. Participants in the workshop must be nominated by their respective deans. Nominees may focus on a variety of research topics, including but not limited to natural resources and the environment, workforce development, public health, poverty, educational achievement, and quality of life.

As part of the application process, nominees will be invited to submit a one-page proposal for a potential project relevant to rural Georgia. The proposal should include general ideas for collaboration with one or more public service faculty members, a PSO unit, or Cooperative Extension. The workshop series is designed to help faculty participants develop and hone their collaborative project ideas into a pilot project.

At the end of the workshop series, 10 proposals will be selected to receive a $5,000 seed grant to pilot the Georgia-based rural research initiative.

For more information about this unique opportunity, including the link for nominations, please visit the PSO website.