New Faculty Tour

Each year, the Franklin College welcomes many new faculty members to the University, which itself welcomed over 120 new full time faculty members since September 2012. Now, for the first time since 2008, 40 of these new professors are taking a tour of the state to become better acquainted with the place and the people they serve:

Forty new University of Georgia faculty members will embark on a five-day journey across Georgia Aug. 5-9. They will pass through 35 counties, stopping in nine cities to visit businesses, organizations and historical sites to learn more about the state's people, culture, history and the economics.

The tour also will promote UGA President Jere W. Morehead's economic development initiative, announced earlier this year. At each stop, the faculty members will hear from business leaders, state officials and local government representatives. The tour will give faculty an opportunity to identify ways their research can work to assist economic efforts in the state and will expose local leaders to some of the resources available through UGA as the state's land grant institution.

This is a great idea as well an important endeavor for all involved. We bring in some of the smartest, brightest people in the world to teach and conduct research at UGA. This tour allows them to learn about the state first hand and, as importantly, allows people and leaders around the state to interact with some of our newest, best and brightest. The tour itself was understandably suspended for budget reasons over the last five years. Kudos to President Morehead and the Provost's Office for funding this important initiative, an example that good public relations can and should be a substantive endeavor that benefits all concerned.

Experiences from the tour will be tweeted, with photos, all next week. You can follow those at the faculty blog.