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By Sharron Hannon
shannon@uga.edu
The Institutional Strategic Planning Advisory Group spent the past three weeks hearing presentations from faculty members involved in special initiatives that are under way or in the planning stage--including the possible creation of what would be the first new school or college at UGA since 1969.
 Loch Johnson, Regents Professor of Political Science, shared the report of a committee he chaired that recommends the creation of a new School of Public and International Affairs. The proposal has been taking shape since initial discussions were held in the spring of 1998. The formal report, submitted to Provost Karen Holbrook in October 1999, carries the unanimous support of the committee that worked on it, plus strong endorsement from the political science department.
The planning group also heard from Ron Pulliam, Regents Professor and chair of the Environmental Programs Enhancement Committee, about a tentatively named “College of the Environment,” to be formed by a merger of the Institute of Ecology and the School of Environmental Design. The two units would retain their separate identities, but would coordinate their curricula and report to the same dean. Details of the final proposal are still being worked on, with completion expected this month.
 Both proposals will require approval from University Council, the President and the Board of Regents, and significant resources--primarily from private support--will be needed to launch the new academic units. Anticipated costs for the School of Public and International Affairs include $6.7 million operating expenses, $26 million in endowed funding and $43 million for a new facility to house the school.
Cost estimates for the College of the Environment include $5.6 million in annual expenses plus some $60 million for construction of a new building.
Both Johnson and Pulliam emphasized that the new units would build on existing academic strengths and offer opportunities for interdisciplinary collaborations.
“The School of Public and International Affairs would consolidate present efforts into a more coherent and synergistic whole,” said Johnson. “The new school would have three departments--political science, public administration and policy, and international affairs--with strong interaction among them. It would also develop cooperative arrangements with a number of existing centers, institutes and programs, including the Center for International Trade and Security, the Center for the Study of Global Issues and the Carl Vinson Institute of Government, among others. This will give UGA students a learning opportunity unparalleled in the South and rivaling all other comprehensive schools in the United States and abroad.”
The new school would train future leaders for service in government and non-profit organizations, as well as in private-sector firms and policy institutes with an interest in public affairs, Johnson said. It would also focus resources on political, economic and security issues at home and abroad.
The College of the Environment would be an “open” college with core faculty and programs administered within the college and a university-wide mandate to work with other units to promote excellence in environmental studies, said Pulliam.
The college would focus on four interrelated themes: ecology, including human ecology; earth and marine sciences; environmental health; and environmental design and restoration.
“Existing academic and research units would be invited to become formally affiliated with the college in one of several ways,” Pulliam said.
The proposal for the environmental college is the result of 10 months of work by a 30-person group that held five open campus-wide forums to solicit input and ideas.
“This has been a wonderful discussion and an opportunity to take stock and ask where we want to go,” Pulliam said. “We think this is a feasible goal. The university has more capability scattered through more units than almost any institution in the country.”
Other presentations to the Strategic Planning Advisory Group covered the following initiatives and programs:
New Media Institute
Scott Shamp, director of the Dowden Center for New Media Studies in the College of Journalism and Mass Communication, shared a plan for a proposed New Media Institute developed by a 15-person steering committee drawn from departments across campus that work with new media in a variety of forms.
Asked to define the term “new media,” Shamp said it is “using technology to create new communication experiences.” An example, he added, would be using TV with computers to create innovative ways to connect with people.
The institute would be student-centered, interdisciplinary, industry-relevant and focused on workforce needs of the state, Shamp said. The envisioned curriculum includes courses leading to a new-media certificate program or a master’s degree in Internet technology. Shamp said he expects most of the funding for the institute to come from industry partners.
Fine Arts Initiative
Administrators and faculty from the School of Art, School of Music and departments of dance and drama--all currently units of the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences--have spent the past several months examining advantages and disadvantages to creating a fine arts college at UGA, said Carmen Colangelo, director of the School of Art.
From those discussions has emerged the idea for a collaborative center or institute for advanced research in arts and technology. Colangelo said this would involve a project-based studio--similar to the “black box” space in the School of Music--where resident artists and fellows, as well as UGA faculty and students from various disciplines, could create and perform works that push traditional boundaries.
Biomedical Initiative
Stuart Feldman, former dean of the College of Pharmacy, is heading the initiative to explore collaborative activities with the Medical College of Georgia. This has already led to a technology-transfer collaboration agreement whereby the UGA Research Foundation will manage technology-commercialization activities on behalf of the Medical College of Georgia Research Institute.
A key goal of the Biomedical Initiative is to enhance interdisciplinary interactions among faculty conducting health-related research, Feldman said. A survey has been conducted and an inventory developed of such activities at UGA. Ten different committees, each with interdisciplinary membership, have since met to discuss various medical themes and perspectives relevant to UGA research and instruction.
Yamacraw Mission
Rod Canfield, head of the department of computer science in the College of Arts and Sciences, reported that UGA received funding from the Yamacraw Mission to hire David Gries, a respected researcher who joined the computer science department this academic year from Cornell University.
Canfield said he expects UGA will receive additional funding for positions from Gov. Barnes’s total $41 million request for technology initiatives, through both the Georgia Research Alliance eminent scholars program and the Yamacraw project. The Yamacraw project, a collaboration among government, industry and education, aims to make Georgia a world leader in high-tech industry.
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