Recipients of the 1997 Walter Barnard Hill Awards for Distinguished Achievement in Public Service and Outreach, from l. to r., with Charles B. Knapp, UGA president (fifth from left) and S. Eugene Younts, UGA vice president for public service and outreach (far left): Younts, William M. Ozburn, David A. Payne, Lamar E. Zipperer, Knapp, Howard A. Schretter, Paul E. Glick, and Donald W. Bower.
Each year, UGA celebrates the life and accomplishments of Walter Barnard Hill, University of Georgia chancellor 1899-1905, through an awards program and a lecture series that acknowledge the many contributions to society made by those in public service and outreach, here at the University and beyond. Hill, as chancellor, championed the public service "calling" of institutions of higher education.
The sixth Annual Walter Barnard Hill Awards for Distinguished Achievement in Public Service and Outreach were presented at UGA's Annual Public Service and Outreach Conference, held January 30, 1997, at the Georgia Center. The conference theme this year was "Service Learning: Applying Knowledge to Real-Life Problems."
The second annual Walter Barnard Hill Distinguished Lecture was held October 11, 1996, also at the Georgia Center, with David Mathews, president and chief executive officer of the Kettering Foundation addressing the topic "Evolution of American Democracy: The Influence of Athens, Georgia." The lecture focused on the Kettering Foundation's National Issues Forum and the impact of citizen involvement in a democracy.
The awards program and lecture series are sponsored by The University of Georgia Office of the Vice President for Public Service and Outreach.
Those recognized through the Sixth Annual Walter Barnard Hill Awards for Distinguished Achievement in Public Service and Outreach were: Walter Barnard Hill Distinguished Public Service and Outreach Fellow -- Howard A. Schretter, Department of Geography and Institute of Community and Area Development; and Walter Barnard Hill Service and Outreach Award recipients -- Donald W. Bower, Cooperative Extension Service and College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences; Paul E. Glick, Carl Vinson Institute of Government and Georgia Center for Continuing Education; William M. Ozburn, College of Pharmacy; David A. Payne, College of Education; and Lamar E. Zipperer, Cooperative Extension Service and College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences.
The conference keynote addresses were delivered by Thomas R. Ehrlich, distinguished university professor at California State University, and Judith Ramaley, president of Portland State University. Other sessions included a luncheon address by Charles B. Knapp, president of The University of Georgia and participant-discussion groups about current and future service learning programs at UGA.
The Hill Awards were established in 1992 to recognize distinguished achievement in public service by faculty members and public service professionals. The major service and outreach units of the University and the colleges and schools nominate individuals through a committee appointed by the vice president for public service and outreach. The awards recognize significant achievement in areas such as program and project development and management, Extension and service instruction, technical assistance or consultation, applied research and studies, and instructional or media materials development, among others. The committee considers achievement both of long-term and special impact. Service and Outreach Award winners receive a permanent salary increase of $2,000; the Hill Distinguished Public Service and Outreach Fellow receives a permanent salary increase of $3,000 and a supplemental fund for use in the advancement of his or her program or work.
David Matthews, president and chief executive officer of the Kettering Foundation
In his October lecture, Mathews discussed a few questions that have been asked about the United States democracy. Are people capable of governing themselves? Do they know enough? Are they willing?
"At the time of the Constitution, we were not entirely certain whether the American people were capable of governing themselves or not. We elected a republic, not a democracy. There have been moments of enthusiasm and moments of great doubt," Mathews said.
Mathews relayed findings of the Kettering Foundation from its National Issues Forums (NIF), a series that brings together citizens to discuss public policy choices. "The question about whether we can govern ourselves centers on the question of whether those of us in this audience, and other audiences wherever we gather, can collectively make sound decisions about what is best for the public," Mathews said.
The Forums have turned up data to challenge several assumptions about deliberation and discussion that Mathews said he often hears, as follows: deliberation has no meaning in everyday life; only certain people will deliberate; deliberation only occurs among people who are alike; we are too different to reach conclusions together; the world is too complex to understand; and deliberation is just talk and is not action. The Forums have shown these assumptions to be largely untrue.
"A trick in life and a trick in politics is to find what is in between agreement and disagreement. Where we can live. Where we can work together," said Mathews.
The complete lecture will be presented in the Spring issue of the Journal of Public Service and Outreach, published by the Office of the Vice President for Public Service and Outreach (see address below).
Mathews became president of the Kettering Foundation in 1981; served as U.S. Secretary of Health, Education and Welfare, from 1975 through 1977; and from 1965 until 1980, he taught history at the University of Alabama, where he served as president from 1969 to 1980. His most recent books are Politics for People: Finding a Responsible Public Voice, published in 1994 by the University of Illinois Pres, and Is There A Public for Public Schools?, published in 1996 by the Kettering Foundation Press.
Hill, the first University graduate (A.B. in 1870; and LL.B in 1871) to ascend to his alma mater's highest office, is credited with beginning progressive changes to move the University toward modernization.
Hill's term is characterized by historians as one of energetic shifts toward a "different" university. According to F.N. Boney (1984, p. 94; cited below), "Hill began the transformation of a small liberal arts college educating just a chosen few into a major state university committed to serving all the people of Georgia."
For more information about Hill, see Boney, F.N. (1984), A Pictorial History of The University of Georgia, Athens, GA, The University of Georgia Press; Brooks, Robert Preston (1956), The University of Georgia Under Sixteen Administrations 1785-1955, Athens, GA, The University of Georgia Press; Dyer, Thomas G. (1985), The University of Georgia: A Bicentennial History, Athens, GA, The University of Georgia Press; Mathis, Gerald Ray (1967), Walter Barnard Hill: Chancellor, The University of Georgia 1899-1905, Unpublished doctoral dissertation, The University of Georgia; or contact the Hargrett Rare Book and Manuscript Library/University of Georgia Libraries at 706-542-7123.
For more information about the Walter Barnard Hill Distinguished Lecture Series, the Walter Barnard Hill Awards for Distinguished Achievement in Public Service and Outreach, or the public service and outreach programs of The University of Georgia: Office for the Vice President for Public Service and Outreach, 300 Old College, The University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia 30602-1692, 706-542-3352.
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