Outreach: Currently Director of the University of Georgia 's Poverty Initiative, and a Senior Fellow with the Fanning Institute.
Director, Georgia Rural Development Council, State of Georgia.
Director, Institute of Community and Area Development, University of Georgia.
Administrator, Research and Service Division, Carl Vinson Institute of Government, University of Georgia.

Research: Poverty and Public Policy, Planning and Policy Development, Local Government Community and Economic Development.

Teaching:
PADP 6990 Communication Skills for Public Managers
PADP 8560 Special Topics in Urban Administration

(1) People, Community and Policy
(2) Place, Planning, Development and Policy

Education
Ph.D. Public Administration, State University of New York at Albany
M.A.P.A. Public Administration, University of Oklahoma
B.A. History and Sociology, Oklahoma City University

Statement of Interests
Joe Whorton has spent his career devoted to public service administration and university based outreach. Prior to coming to the University of Georgia he served as an assistant city manager and as Director of the Oklahoma City Housing Authority. He has served as editor of the State and Local Government Review and founder and co-editor of The Regionalist , a journal promoting regional problem solving. He has served numerous state commissions including: the Region 5 Advisory Council to the Georgia Departments of Economic Development and Community Affairs. He was chair of the Growth Strategies Reassessment Task Force and principal facilitator of Georgia 's Future Communities Commission and of the American Planning Association's Growing Smart project. He is a former member of the Board of Directors of Saint Mary's Health Systems and is currently chair of the Highland Hills retirement facility. He received the 2003 Georgia Municipal Association's Georgia Key Citizen Award , the Red Atherton Award for service to Georgia 's local governments, the Distinguished Alumni Award from Rockefeller College of SUNY, Albany and the James E. Webb research award from the American Society for Public Administration.

Selected Research
2000 "Using Success as a Framework for Community-Based Needs Assessment,” in Handbook of Organizational Consultation Second Edition, Revised and Expanded, Robert Golembiewski, ed., Marcel Dekker, Inc., New York , pp 1019-1025.

2000 "Developing Effective Community Groups," in Handbook of Organizational Consultation Second Edition, Revised and Expanded,Robert Golembiewski, ed., Marcel Dekker, Inc., New York.