New Faculty Tour

As much as UGA can be overwhelming for incoming students, the same is also often true for faculty recently arrived to Georgia. I always enjoy talking with faculty and researchers who are new to the state and have been on the new faculty tour, as they feel more connected to Georgia by becoming acquainted with some of its people and places:

The tour will leave from the Georgia Center for Continuing Education Aug. 1 following welcome remarks from UGA President Jere W. Morehead. The first stop will be at Jaemor Farms near Gainesville, where faculty members will see an example of the growing agritourism industry and hear from Georgia Commissioner of Agriculture Gary Black about the significance of agriculture to the state's economy.

From there the tour will visit Amicalola Falls in the north Georgia mountains; the state Capitol in Atlanta; the National Center for Civil and Human Rights in Atlanta; Raleigh Studios and the town of Senoia; Kia Motors Manufacturing in West Point; the Little White House in Warm Springs; the Carnegie Library in Americus; the UGA campus in Tifton; the CSX Rice (rail) Yard in Waycross; UGA Marine Extension and Georgia Sea Grant on Skidaway Island in Savannah; historic Savannah; the Georgia Ports Authority in Garden City; and Sandersville, one of UGA's Archway Partnership communities.

It's been running on and off (mostly on) since 1977 and we really should keep it a priority. Not only does the state tour benefit the faculty members, but the exchanges run both directions: the citizens of Georgia who interact with UGA professors can become lifelong ambassadors for scholarship and research, discovering how faculty work touches their lives in ways they may not have imagined. Plus Georgia is a very big and diverse state and familiarity with it that seeps into our classrooms is always a positive good. Viva the new faculty tour!

Image: Photo of River Street in Savannah.