By Jean Cleveland
David P. Mills Jr. has been named director of the Office of Economic Development Assistance, a new initiative of the university’s Public Service and Outreach program.
The Office of Economic Development Assistance will be located in the center of the state in the new Regional State Service Delivery Office in Warner Robins. The consortium joins Business Outreach Services and the Small Business Development Center, the Carl Vinson Institute of Government and the J.W. Fanning Institute for Leadership and Community Development. Its goal is to provide access to all university resources helpful to community economic development.
“The Office of Economic Development Assistance will coordinate service delivery and foster a collaborative approach in support of community economic development,” says S. Eugene Younts, vice president for public service and outreach and associate provost.
Mills says initially he will identify opportunities for developing new programs and improving existing ones.
“The office will improve accessibility to the community economic development services offered by the university by having a central point of contact,” he says.
Mills has more than 22 years of university public service, having served as a county extension director, district agent for community and rural development and district director for the Small Business Development Center. Most recently he was assistant director for research and special projects for Business Outreach Services. A certified economic developer, Mills serves on the board of directors of the Georgia Economic Developers Association.
“Dr. Mills’s broad background and extensive field experience in community economic development will serve him well in his new role,” Younts says.
Mills holds a doctorate in education from UGA, a master’s in public administration from Valdosta State University and a bachelor of science degree from North Georgia College.
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