Geier among cohort of award-winning UGA program
A new cohort has been selected for the Rural Engagement Workshop for Academic Faculty. The award-winning interdisciplinary program leverages the community engagement experience of UGA’s public service and extension faculty to support collaborative academic research that benefits rural Georgia.
The program was launched in 2021 by the Office of the Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost and the Office of the Vice President for Public Service and Outreach and is facilitated by faculty from the Archway Partnership, the Institute of Government, the J.W. Fanning Institute for Leadership Development and Cooperative Extension. The workshop delivers a comprehensive introduction to rural community engagement for academic faculty and equips them with the background, information, skills and knowledge essential for success. The primary aim is to enhance partnerships with communities throughout Georgia by fostering collaborative, rural-focused research and scholarship.
“As a land-grant and sea-grant institution, the University of Georgia engages with communities statewide to help address their most urgent needs,” said Matt Bishop, interim vice president for public service and outreach. “By connecting academic and outreach faculty, we can accelerate impactful, community-driven research in rural Georgia and further strengthen our dedication to serving the people of the state.”
UGA recently received a national Award of Excellence in the Innovation category from the University Economic Development Association for the workshop.
Through a competitive process, workshop participants are eligible to apply for seed grants funded by the Office of the Provost to support initial research that can be used to apply for external funding.
Since the program began, more than $260,000 in funding has been awarded to support 34 seed grants, and the 63 workshop alumni have secured more than $12.5 million in subsequent funding that stemmed from projects started in the workshop.
The 2025 Rural Engagement Workshop cohort includes 16 faculty from eight UGA schools and colleges. Participants include:
Renato Ferreira Leitao Azevedo, College of Public Health
Eliza Banu, College of Engineering
Sarah Grace Dalton, Mary Frances Early College of Education
Charles Geier, College of Family and Consumer Sciences
Jason Gordon, Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources
Erin Hamel, Mary Frances Early College of Education
Andrew Kiselica, College of Public Health
Hannah Krimm, Mary Frances Early College of Education
Chin-Ling Lee, College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences
George Mois, College of Public Health
Meighan Parker, School of Law
Elizabeth Pienaar, Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources
Kenan Song, College of Engineering
Sarah Schneider, College of Veterinary Medicine
Lou Tolosa-Casadont, Mary Frances Early College of Education
Linbing Wang, College of Engineering
College of Public Health clinical associate professor Christina Proctor was part of the first cohort and was awarded a seed grant to launch research into understanding farmer stress and applying interventions that help farmers deal with stress in healthy ways. Her research, which recognizes the different coping mechanisms farmers rely on and how these may vary by gender and farm roles, is crucial for developing targeted mental health and well-being programs.
UGA School of Social Work professor Kristina Jaskyte, a 2022 participant, received a seed grant to explore the organizational capacity of rural nonprofits in Georgia. She began working with nonprofits in the Archway Partnership community of Colquitt County and helped them address issues using the Design Thinking method, a creative approach to problem-solving.
This year, up to $70,000 in grants is available. Grants will range from $5,000 to $10,000.
This article was written by Roy Parry, a senior writer with UGA Public Service and Outreach.