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Columns::April 8, 2002
UGA honors: Research, scholarly endeavors recognized
Former UGA First Lady, Ruth Stanford, dies in Americus
UGA celebrates its ‘many faces’ of academic excellence
Online journal features undergrad research in humanities and arts
Four UGA students receive Goldwater Scholarships
Lineup for 2002-03 Performing Arts Center season announced
Headline news
Campus Closeup
Update: Private Giving
Kudos
Life’s a reef
Words of welcome
Campus News
Carl Vinson Institute of Government marks 75 years of ‘instituting change for a better Georgia’
By Ann Allen
allen@cviog.uga.edu
First, there was the Institute of Public Affairs, then the Institute for the Study of Georgia Problems, followed by the Institute of
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| Training then (below) and now. Cameron Anderson of Centerville (left) and Matt Stone of Warner Robins attended the recent training workshop for newly elected municipal officials. |
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Law and Government, the Institute of Government and, finally, the Carl Vinson Institute of Government.
The name may have changed, but after 75 years the outreach mission remains essentially the same. In 1927, the Institute of Public Affairs was established at the university to “provide a forum to study international, national, state, and local affairs and to make recommendations for improved governance.” That year, Herbert Hoover was president, there were only 1,500 students at UGA, and the state population was 2,800,000. Today, as the university’s enrollment tops 29,000 and the state population hovers around 8,000,000, the institute continues to help improve the quality of life in Georgia by bringing the resources and expertise of the university to bear on the issues and challenges facing the state.
This year, the Vinson Institute is celebrating its diamond anniversary with special events (including a distinguished practitioner lecture April 11 by William Winter, former governor of Mississippi), a local community service project, a commemorative resolution from the Georgia House of Representatives, and the 23rd Biennial Institute for Georgia Legislators in December. “I think it is important to recognize and understand our history, because that is what gives an organization the presence that affects its future,” says Mary Stakes, chair of the institute’s 75th anniversary events committee.
Once the unique organization combining research, technical assistance, training, and publications was created, its work didn’t stop. From 1938 until 1952, Georgia’s population grew and so did the needs of its citizens. The public service activities of the Institute for the Study of Georgia Problems ranged from forums on constitutional reform to studies on county road administration, forms of government, and voter registration.
In 1943, a separate Bureau of Public Administration was created, coinciding with the extensive reform of state government by Gov. Ellis Arnall and employing the service of political science faculty to teach short courses to local government officials. The two units became the Institute of Law and Government in 1953. In 1965, the organization was renamed the Institute of Government when it began reporting to the new Office of the Vice President for Services. The final name change occurred in 1983, when the institute was renamed in honor of Georgian Carl Vinson, who served in the U.S. House of Representatives for more than 50 years.
The first Biennial Institute for Georgia Legislators was conducted in 1958, and it remains one of the longest running educational and orientation programs for newly elected legislators in the country. The three-day crash course in law and government was launched because terms of office for both houses of the General Assembly are two years, according to Ed Jackson, veteran biennial institute instructor.
“The general election is held in November in even-numbered years,” he says. “Just two months later, the legislature convenes. That leaves newly elected officials with little time to learn about state government and the legislative process before they are sworn in. The university also had the new Georgia Center for Continuing Education, which provided an ideal venue.”
Because incumbent lawmakers teach many of the sessions on the legislative process, the decision was later made to add policy issue sessions for them. The first Handbook for Georgia Legislators was also published in 1958 and today is in its 12th edition.
Many other institutes and handbooks have subsequently appeared, including those for mayors and council members, county commissioners, probate judges, and peace officers.
On any given day, a Vinson Institute faculty or staff member is somewhere in Georgia providing outreach--teaching a local government clerk about new budget procedures, staffing a special legislative committee on water issues, facilitating a leadership retreat, conducting an economic impact or personnel study, working with a consolidation committee, developing civic education lesson plans. This long-term and personal commitment to service has given the institute a reputation for being responsive and objective.
“Our city has been involved in accomplishing a 10-year long-range planning project,” says Phil McLemore, Duluth city administrator. “This would not have been possible without the continued focus for our elected officials provided through leadership from the Vinson Institute.”
“ ‘Dependable’ is one of the words I use to describe the institute,” says Eddie Bennett, executive director of the Georgia Council for the Social Studies. “The faculty remain faithful to Georgia teachers by providing up-to-date materials, workshops and expertise year after year.”
Recent years have seen an expanded mission to assist communities and regions in Georgia and the Southeast, as well as the establishment of the International Center for Democratic Governance, which extends outreach to the world’s emerging democracies. Faculty from throughout the institute are currently working on such special outreach initiatives as the Southern Study on Persistent Poverty and the Balanced Growth Initiative. An expanded survey research function has brought about the Peach State Poll, a quarterly public opinion survey.
“The 75-year history of the Vinson Institute is grounded in an extremely talented faculty and staff and has produced an incredible array of instructional support, research and analysis, and technical assistance for governments in Georgia,” says Jim Ledbetter, the institute’s director. “The result of this effort has been a partnership with local, regional and state governments which has propelled the organization to national prominence.”
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