This week, about 40 new University of Georgia faculty members kicked off a five-day tour of the state that will showcase agriculture and agritourism, industry, innovation, the Georgia coast and its rural communities.
From Aug. 6-10, the tour will visit 15 cities and pass through 48 counties, introducing faculty who have been at UGA for two or fewer years to the geography, culture, history and economic engines of the state. Along the way, faculty will begin to understand how UGA, Georgia’s land- and sea-grant institution, has an impact throughout the state.
The tour began with a welcome from UGA President Jere W. Morehead at the University of Georgia Center for Continuing Education & Hotel. From there, the bus headed to Jaemor Farms near Gainesville, a working family farm that now draws hundreds of visitors a year for events and activities and offers fresh produce and other food including tomatoes, peaches and strawberries, boiled peanuts and fried pies.
“Many of our faculty come from other parts of the country and the world and this trip really opens their eyes to the diversity we enjoy here in the state of Georgia,” said Jennifer Frum, vice president for public service and outreach. “In addition they get to meet one another and discover common interests, which often leads to great interdisciplinary partnerships when they get back to campus.”
Diverse destinations
During the trip, participants will visit:
- Amicalola Falls State Park, the southern gateway to the Appalachian Trail;
- the Center for Civil and Human Rights in Atlanta;
- the Georgia state Capitol, where faculty will hear from Georgia House Speaker David Ralston and University System of Georgia Chancellor Steve Wrigley;
- the UGA Food Product Innovation and Commercialization Center at UGA-Griffin;
- the City of Senoia, home to Riverwood Studios and “The Walking Dead”;
- Kia Motors Manufacturing in West Point;
- the Carnegie Library in Americus;
- the UGA-Tifton campus;
- the Okefenokee Swamp Park in Waycross;
- UGA Marine Extension and Georgia Sea Grant on Skidaway Island in Savannah;
- the Wormsloe Institute for Environmental History in Savannah; and
- the Georgia Ports Authority in Garden City.
The last stop will be in Washington County, a UGA Archway Partnership community, where faculty will enjoy ice cream from the The Dairy Lane restaurant and learn about the kaolin industry, Archway and the J.W. Fanning Institute for Leadership Development.
The New Faculty Tour is coordinated by the Office of the Vice President for Public Service and Outreach and is made possible by major support from the Office of the President, the Office of the Provost, and the Office of the Vice President for Public Service and Outreach. Additional sponsors include the UGA Alumni Association, UGA Foundation, and a multitude of other units and supporters of the University of Georgia.