Five University of Georgia faculty received awards Monday for their commitment to public service and outreach.

The awards were presented at the 34th Annual Public Service and Outreach Meeting and Awards Luncheon, held at the UGA Center for Continuing Education & Hotel.

Public Service and Outreach (PSO) continues to expand UGA’s impact across the state. The most recent economic impact study shows UGA contributing $8.4 billion to the state in 2024. Of that, $1.3 billion was generated by PSO and Cooperative Extension. UGA has engaged more than 10,000 students and offered more than 30,000 programs at the local level through outreach efforts. In the last five years, the Small Business Development Center, has supported the launch of nearly 2,200 small businesses.

“Whether assisting in leadership or economic development, facilitating small business growth, supporting communities, or fostering urban and rural agriculture, we are advancing our mission as Georgia’s land-grant and sea-grant university: to foster prosperity across the state,” said Matt Bishop, interim vice president for UGA Public Service and Outreach. “The honored faculty members have led exceptional efforts towards that outcome.”

Phillip Brannen, a professor and Extension specialist in the Plant Pathology Department in the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, was presented the Walter B. Hill Fellow Award for Distinguished Achievement in Public Service and Outreach. The Hill Fellow Award is UGA’s highest award in public service and outreach and is comparable to a distinguished professorship.

Brannen works with Extension agents and fruit producers throughout Georgia to help mitigate the negative impacts of disease and weather on some of the state’s most valuable crops. As the Extension fruit pathologist for Georgia, Brannen has leveraged his research and collaboration with fruit producers to resolve pathological threats to crops including wine-grapes, blueberries and fruit trees. His applied research has secured $2.4 million in grants and gifts to support the college’s Research and Education Centers.

Three UGA faculty members received Walter B. Hill Awards. These awards recognize the distinguished achievements by public service faculty who have contributed to a better quality of life for the people of Georgia. They are:

• Kaitlin Messich, a public service associate for the Carl Vinson Institute of Government. Messich was hired in 2013 to establish the institute’s first community planning and design studio, founded the institute’s first branding program in 2018 to help communities create brand identities, and was named the institute’s first studio art director in 2024. The institute’s visual design and comprehensive branding work have resulted in economic growth and revitalization efforts for nearly 90 Georgia communities. Messich was an integral part of the team that created designs for downtown Gainesville that helped the city draw in $300 million in private funding and $25 million in public funding for new residential and commercial property and public spaces.

• Sam Perren is a public service associate and operations coordinator at the UGA Archway Partnership. He oversees Archway’s evaluation and grant-writing teams, coordinates the UGA Rural Engagement Workshop for Academic Faculty, and manages Archway’s operations for Burke, Colquitt, Laurens and McDuffie counties. His work on an evaluation methodology has helped Archway demonstrate a more than $30 million return on investment to Georgia communities over the last eight years. His report on Archway’s workforce development efforts across Georgia led to $3 million in federal funding to support workforce strategic planning in Archway communities.

• Jacob Price, senior public service associate and Lowndes County Extension coordinator in the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences. Price supports the state’s citrus industry through research and support. In partnership with the UGA Small Business Development Center, he helped new citrus growers develop business plans and implement efficient production processes. In 2013, he introduced cold-hardy citrus as a commercial crop to Georgia, generating $40.7 million in new income for south Georgia communities. Since then, Georgia’s citrus acreage has grown from 7 acres to 4,385 acres thanks to his work. Price also was instrumental in forming the Georgia Citrus Growers Association and the Citrus Commodity Commission.

The UGA Public Service and Outreach Engaged Scholar Award was presented to Jenay Beer, an associate professor in the Institute of Gerontology, with a joint appointment in the College of Public Health and the School of Social Work. She is co-director of the Cognitive Aging Research and Education Center, known as the CARE Center, which she helped create by bringing together a team of faculty, staff and students. The center redefined perceptions of dementia, offering a welcoming space for education on dementia risk reduction, advanced research and support for individuals with dementia and their caregivers. Beer oversees CARE Center teams that offer listening sessions, clinics and support groups in two Archway Partnership communities, McDuffie and Washington counties, and in other rural communities. Her work also includes implementing telehealth services and creating digital health resources.

For more information about the 34th Annual Meeting and Awards Luncheon and the award recipients, click here.