Radio station kicks off week-long fundraiser
WUGA-FM 91.7/97.9 will conduct a week-long on-air fundraising campaign beginning Sept. 15. An auction featuring handmade pottery items donated by local artisans will again be a featured part of the campaign. Images of the auction items can be seen online at www.wuga.org. All proceeds from the fund drive will be used to provide operational and programming funds for the station’s operations. All contributions are tax deductible.

Library, Honors Program to co-host forums
UGA’s Richard B. Russell Library for Political Research and Studies and the Honors Program will co-host a series of forums this fall in conjunction with the National Issues Forum Community Forum Series.

“Georgia Deliberations: What Policy Decisions Today Will Get Us A Better Tomorrow?” is part of a national initiative developed by the National Issues Forums to encourage civic engagement with the critical issues facing the U.S.

Three forums, open free to the public, will be held. The first, “Health Care in America: How Can We Make it More Affordable?” will be held Sept. 25 from 7–9 p.m. in the Russell Library Auditorium. The second forum, “Making Ends Meet: Is There a Way to Help Working Americans?” will be held Oct. 16 from 7–9 p.m. at the Oconee County Library, 1080 Experiment Station Road, Watkinsville. The third forum, “The Energy Problem: Choices for an Uncertain Future” will be held Oct. 28 from 7–9 p.m. in the Russell Library.

In addition to the forums, “Debate Watch 2008” will be held Oct. 7 at the Russell Library. The time for this program has not been set. Paul Gurian, associate professor of political science at UGA and an expert on presidential primaries and campaign strategy, will introduce the debate and then lead a discussion following the debate. More information is available online (www.libs.uga.edu/russell/exhibits/athens.shtml).

Study reveals child care’s economic impact
Georgia’s early care and education industry generates some $4.1 billion in economic activity in the state annually and provides more than 60,000 jobs serving an estimated 383,379 children, according to a new research study carried out by faculty at UGA and Georgia State University.

The study, commissioned by the Georgia Department of Early Care and Learning, is the first comprehensive look at the economic impact of the early care and education industry in the state. Carl Vinson Institute of Government child and family policy faculty members Juanita Blount-Clark and Angela Fertig directed the research, which included a unique survey of child care providers coordinated by Kelly Foster, a Vinson Institute survey research specialist. The responses from 4,748 center-based providers and family child care providers constituted the data for the economic analysis and yielded current information about the industry overall. Another member of the research team, Stacey Neuharth-Pritchett, an associate professor of educational psychology in UGA’s College of Education, provided information about the populations surveyed and helped interpret the results within the context of current trends in early care and education environments.

The full report and other related documents are available online (www.cviog.uga.edu/services/research/childcare/).

UGA first in state Peace Corps volunteers
UGA is ranked first in the Peace Corps’ 2008 list of top 25 colleges producing volunteers from Georgia.

Since the Peace Corps was officially established in 1961, more than 430 UGA alumni have joined its ranks. With 34 alumni currently serving as Peace Corps volunteers, UGA ranks third out of more than 100 colleges from six states in the Southeast, including Florida, South Carolina, Tennessee, Mississippi and Alabama.

“In an age of globalization, Peace Corps prepares U.S. citizens to work internationally while giving volunteers close personal relationships and memories in their countries of service that will last a lifetime,” said Paul Duncan, assistant director of UGA’s Latin American and Caribbean Studies Institute and former Peace Corps volunteer. “Regardless of the assignment, volunteers come back to the U.S. with skills that make them uniquely competitive for work in the global marketplace while having lived what is for many the adventure of a lifetime.”

At UGA, Peace Corps is located and supported by the Office of International Education. For more information contact Emily Levitan, UGA Peace Corps representative, at peacecor@uga.edu.