Call for nominations: 2023 Rural Engagement Workshop for Academic Faculty

Nominations deadline: Friday, Jan. 6

UGA’s Office of the Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost and the Office of the Vice President for Public Service and Outreach (PSO) are pleased to announce the 2023 Rural Engagement Workshop for Academic Faculty, a program designed to build momentum for high-quality, community-engaged research in rural Georgia communities.

The workshop will consist of five sessions held on Fridays during spring semester 2023. These sessions will alternate between in-person and online formats and will provide participants a greater understanding of Georgia’s rural demographics and trends, convey key information on developing sustained relationships with communities, and enhance the ability of faculty to engage in successful research focused on rural areas of the state. In addition, the program will include a visit to a rural community to learn from its leaders about effective ways to partner on academic projects.

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: 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 have expertise in a variety of research areas, including but not limited to natural resources and the environment, workforce development, public health, poverty, educational achievement, and quality of life.
Nomination and application process: To express interest in being nominated for one of the College of Education’s four seats, please send an email with a paragraph explaining your interest to coedean@uga.edu. After the nomination process, faculty will be sent a separate link to complete the program application. As part of the application process, nominees will be required to include 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.
Seed grant: This workshop is designed to help faculty participants develop and hone their collaborative research ideas into a seed grant proposal. Each participant is expected to be part of one or more proposal submissions. Through a competitive review process, the Office of the Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost will provide up to $70,000 to fund a maximum of 10 proposals, ranging from $5,000-$10,000.

For more information about this opportunity, including the nomination link, please visit the Rural Engagement Faculty Workshop webpage.