UGA Carl Vinson Institute of Government

09/10/2026

Applications are open for the 2027 Georgia Legislative Internship Program (GLIP)!

The program is open to junior and senior undergrads from Georgia's public and private universities and colleges.

The application deadline is Sept. 30!

Learn more and apply below:

09/08/2026

UGA Carl Vinson Institute of Government's Rex Facer, right, recently attended NIGP: Institute for Public Procurement's2026 Forum in Columbus, Ohio, where he led a session on the role of research for enhancing procurement.

Rex currently serves as the academic editor for NIGP's Center for the Advancement of Research and Excellence advisory board after recently completing a two-year term as advisory board chair.

09/04/2026

Time is running out to apply for our next Public Finance Leadership Academy cohort!

PFLA is offered in partnership with GGFOA to equip new and emerging public sector financial management leaders with the knowledge they need to successfully manage the fiscal affairs and activities of a local government.

🚨Applications are due Sept. 19!

Learn more and download the application below.

09/04/2026

Julia Haas and Sam Trager recently represented UGA Carl Vinson Institute of Government at the annual Georgia Council for Human Resources (GCHR) conference in Savannah.

Julia and Sam spoke with many attendees about our programs and services, including the Senior Leadership Academy, talent assessments, trainings, compensation and classification studies and Gov 360.

Sam also presented a session on How to Recruit, Screen and Analyze Candidates.

09/03/2026

"There was only one group in our minds that we wanted to partner with, and that was the UGA Carl Vinson Institute of Government," said City of Tifton Mayor Julie Smith.

She's talking about repurposing the Short & Paulk Building Supply Company space, located near downtown Tifton. The city wanted ideas to maximize the 10-acre property's potential for development, so they engaged with our Renaissance Strategic Vision and Planning team for help.

We connected the city with UGA College of Environment and Design landscape architecture students, who designed four possible master plans for the city to consider as they begin planning out the project.

Learn more about the collaboration below!

09/02/2026

We are proud to be part of UGA's annual New Faculty Tour.

Aja Kennedy, an applied economist at UGA Carl Vinson Institute of Government, was one of the 30 faculty members who participated this year.

Check out this immersive digital feature from UGA Public Service and Outreach to see what UGA's newest faculty members encountered as they traveled across across the state.

Before the start of the fall semester, over the span of five days and hundreds of miles of traveling, new faculty traveled through 53 counties and 87 cities to better understand the state, build connections and explore how their teaching, research and service can benefit Georgia.

Now in its 40th year, the New Faculty Tour, coordinated by UGA Public Service and Outreach, is designed to introduce faculty to Georgia’s geography, demographics, economy, history and culture while familiarizing them with UGA’s land-grant and sea-grant missions and longstanding commitment to serving the state.

Learn more about where our new faculty toured at the link below! 🔗

09/01/2026

Three days. Dozens of mayors. One shared commitment to strong leadership.

The Georgia Mayors Leadership Academy wrapped up today in Athens, bringing mayors from across Georgia together for three days of learning, collaboration and leadership development.

From navigating challenges and strengthening community engagement to learning from fellow mayors and leadership experts, participants explored the many roles mayors play in building stronger communities.

We’re proud to partner with the UGA Carl Vinson Institute of Government to invest in the leaders serving Georgia’s cities.

Thank you to all the mayors who joined us and brought their experiences, ideas and perspectives to the Academy!

Cc: Athens-Clarke County, GA Unified Government

09/01/2026

We love working with University of Georgia's Destination Dawgs!

Recent Destination Dawg Fellow Burke Lyle turned his love of complex baseball statistics into data analytical skills that helped him succeed in an internship at the UGA Carl Vinson Institute of Government.

Mentored by the institute's Ethan Christmas, Burke learned Microsoft Power BI and used it to build an interactive dashboard with Georgia public school enrollment data.

Destination Dawgs is part of the Center on Human Development & Disability / UGA at UGA College of Family and Consumer Sciences.

Read Burke's story below!

08/31/2026

Last week's Georgia Association of Zoning Administrators - GAZA summer conference in Savannah was a big success! Nearly 200 attendees came to learn about timely topics such as zoning law, due process in public hearings, rural and small-town growth management, and more.

08/28/2026

The Forsyth County Schools Board of Education and superintendent leadership team gathered in Athens this week for governance training focused on strategic planning, organizational change and continuous improvement.

UGA Carl Vinson Institute of Government faculty Russ Cook and April Howard co-facilitated the two-day session as district leaders prepare for Forsyth County Schools’ next five-year strategic plan.