News Stories - Page 23

Ron Walcott, University of Georgia vice provost for graduate education and dean of the Graduate School, was first a doctoral student at the UGA Tifton campus. As a UGA administrator and professor in the Department of Plant Pathology, Walcott helps students and colleagues find their sense of place at the university and has a legacy of increasing diversity in the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences.

The gold dome of the Georgia Capitol was complemented with shades of green on Feb. 14 as 4-H youth and adult leaders joined elected officials for the largest Georgia 4-H Day at the Capitol on record. With nearly 700 in attendance, outstanding 4-H’ers from counties across the state gathered to engage with legislators, observe leadership in action and learn about the civic process.

The University of Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences has relaunched an important administrative office to better reflect the broad student support programs available throughout the college and to align diversity efforts within the college more closely with overall UGA efforts. “The name change better represents the student support services and inclusiveness provided by the office in support of our college’s mission of academic excellence,” said Lakecia Pettway, the office's director.

When Phyllicia Thomas walked across the stage to accept her degree in environmental law in December 2023, it was the culmination of two journeys — one toward a dream set upon as a high school student and the other an unforeseen detour she navigated with determination and the steadfast support of her family. Thomas embarked on the second journey just over a year after graduating from the University of Georgia’s College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences with a bachelor’s degree in environmental economics and management in May 2019.

As the population of Gwinnett County approaches the 1 million mark, with a highly diverse demographic profile, the county's University of Georgia Cooperative Extension office is preparing to serve its changing constituency effectively. Recently, the Gwinnett County Extension Program received a $250,000 budget increase from the Gwinnett County Board of Commissioners to increase staffing and expand community educational outreach and engagement to underrepresented groups around the county.

For the second consecutive year, the University of Georgia exceeded half a billion dollars in research and development expenditures. Its $570.9 million total in fiscal year 2023 represented another record high in R&D activity and marks the fifth consecutive year of growth for the university. Expenditures have increased, in fact, in all but one year since 2013. During that 10-year period, the university has seen an overall 63% increase in total R&D expenditures.

Three Georgia counties are healthier and happier thanks to five years of collaboration with University of Georgia Cooperative Extension to expand access to health and wellness programming through the Well Connected Communities initiative. The program awarded grants in 2018 to Washington, Colquitt, and Calhoun counties to establish programming for residents through collaboration with local schools, organizations, government entities, youth and adults over the five-year grant period.

University of Georgia researchers in the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences are part of a $3.5 million grant designed to assist organic producers in meeting both National Organic Program standards and food safety requirements. UGA food scientists will survey farms in the Southeast to determine the risk of contamination in organic crops by different environmental pathogens.

For many veterans, returning to civilian life is a stark shift from their fast-paced and service-based military life. When you combine this with the more than 4.7 million veterans who have service-based disabilities, the challenges of re-entry compound. The University of Georgia is working to assist Georgia’s veterans with this transition through its dynamic farming program, Farm Again.