By Jean Cleveland
 An invitational conference to celebrate the 100th anniversary of outreach at the University of Georgia will be held June 11-13.
“Public Service and Outreach: Transitions into the 21st Century” is being sponsored by the National Association of State Universities and Land-Grant Colleges, the Commission on Outreach and Technology Transfer and the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, in addition to UGA. More than 100 participants are expected to attend, including 20 presidents of higher education institutions in Latin America and Eastern Europe.
“In 1899, Chancellor Walter B. Hill brought a new vision to the way the University of Georgia should interact with and serve the people of Georgia. Hill wanted UGA to become ‘a university for the 20th century’ that would ‘connect its activities more closely with the business and life of the people,’ ” says S. Eugene Younts, vice president for public service and outreach and associate provost. “Today, universities stand on the frontier of a new century of service, and this conference will take a look back at a proud tradition and will examine the potential and future responsibilities of the service function.”
Peter Magrath, NASULGC president, will address the participants at the opening dinner. Magrath has written an article on “the engaged university” for a special issue of the Journal of Public Service and Outreach, which is published by UGA.
Carl Swearingen, a senior vice president at BellSouth Corporation and immediate past president of UGA’s National Alumni Association, will speak on “Corporate America Looks at Public Service and Outreach in Higher Education” in the keynote address. The presidents of Pennsylvania State and Washington State universities will be among the panelists discussing Swearingen’s remarks.
An afternoon session will look at “Realities and Roles for the Engaged University.” Concurrent sessions will focus on corporate giving in the next century, political realities and changing roles, and new delivery mechanisms.
Former Gov. Zell Miller will address the audience following dinner.
On Sunday morning, a discussion panel will include Colin Campbell, a columnist with the Atlanta Journal-Constitution; Ed Jenkins, chair of the University System of Georgia Board of Regents; and Carl Patton, president of Georgia State University.
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