America Reads/America Counts Program 

Contact: Kara Clark
UWG Sponsor: Career Services (Student Affairs and Enrollment Management)
Other Partners: Bremen City School/Bremen Middle School, Carrollton City Schools, Central High School, Ithica Elementary School, Mount Zion High School, Newnan High School, Ruth Hill Elementary School, Sharp Creek Elementary School, and Whitesburg Elementary School

ARAC is a partnership between Student Employment and surrounding school districts. UWG students are trained to assist pre-k through fifth graders who need extra help learning to read and Kindergarten through ninth graders who need extra help with their math skills. The tutors work off-campus in local schools. We are able to hire UWG students through student employment and send them to participating schools to tutor math or reading at no charge to the organization. We pay the students using Federal Work Study Funds that our university receives specifically for this program. Students must be Federal Work Study eligible to participate. This allows the university to be able to offer more Federal Work Study positions to our students through this program.

Arts Activity Table

Contact: Jason Swift
UWG Sponsor: Art Education Program, Art Department, College of Arts and Humanities
Other Partners: Carrollton Center for the Arts

The Art Education program students with its faculty designed an visual art activity and facilitated it at both days of the Arts Festival of Carrollton October 13th and 14th. The activity was brainstormed and designed by art education majors in their methods class with the instructor. Students with the instructor prepared the materials and maned the activity table facilitating art activities for children attending the arts festival with their parents. The benefits of the activity are that it brought visual arts education to the Carrollton communities, gave students valuable experience teaching and working with children, parents and the community. It gave parents and festival attendees the opportunity to see the value of visual arts education for children and adults, the Art Education program and its role in preparing and educating future visual art educators. It promoted connections between community and UWG Art Education, Art Department and the university. It also showed the engagement the Art Education program, department and university have with the community.

Assessment of Young Children 

Contact: Linda C. Godsey
UWG Sponsor: Literacy and Special Education
Other Partners: Sheffield City Schools

Assessments are conducted of children under the age of 8 at Sheffield City Schools. Reports are provided for maintenance of skill and assessment.  

Carroll County Humane Society

Contact: Teresa Leslie
UWG Sponsor: Biology Department, and the Vet Club 
Other Partners: History, Art, Political Science, THS Emergency Shelter, local businesses (Horton Books, Shot Spot, Southwire, Printers Ale, etc.)

Students can volunteer with any of the adoption events, special fundraising events, or programs with CCHS. Several students interested in veterinary science have been given work opportunities at the CCHS West GA spay and neuter clinic, to gain vet experience. CCHS tries to create a social safety net for people with animals in the community through the Empty Pet Bowls program and The Angel Fund. Promote the spay and neutering of animals with assistance programs like Fix Fido. Raise social awareness for animal issues through community outreach to elementary school via Kind News, and events like the fun dog show, fun runs, and the art auction. Try to find homes for animals at the animal shelter. Students full fill volunteer requirements and get job vet tech job experience.

Carroll County Mental Health Advocates

Contact: Benedict Ezeoke and Cassie Manely
UWG Sponsor: UWG Counseling Center Student Affairs & Enrollment Management
Other Partners: All local law enforcement, Coweta District Courts, Magistrate Court, Judge Edie Haney, Pathways Center, Willowbrooke at Tanner.

When an individual is in mental health crisis they often act out, and police are called. Arresting someone for mental heath issues at best is not helpful, and at worst can be quite cruel, causing the individual more trauma, and increasing their symptoms. This mental health response team can assist individuals in crisis by deescalating the situation and getting them the help and treatment they need, and if appropriate divert them to mental health court, where they will be in a treatment program.

Carve on the Quad

Contact: Clint Samples
UWG Sponsor: Art, College of Arts and Humanities
Other Partners: Housing and Residence Life (Safe Treat)

Each October, approximately 150 UWG students, including First Year Art students and First-Year Seminar students, carve pumpkins for Carve on the Quad. The pumpkins are put on display and lit during the Safe Treat trick-or-treating event which is sponsored by Housing and Residence Life. At the end of the night, the members of the community take home their favorite pumpkins to display at Halloween

Chinese Language and Culture-Diversity Enrichment

Contact: Yan Yang
UWG Sponsor: Department of Educational Technology and Foundations
Other Partners: Center for Diversity and Inclusion, and the Carrollton Community

UWG Special Collections

Contact: Blynne Olivieri
UWG Sponsor: Ingram Library
Other Partners: Various faculty in departments across campus, Friends of the McIntosh Reserve, Carroll County Genealogical Society, and many others

Ingram Library's Special Collections strives to be a good community partner in preserving this history, culture, and people of this region. We provide free consultations, frequently speak to community groups, and offer to serve as the holding institution for these valuable primary sources as we have the personnel, facilities, and programs to help preserve these materials and promote their use. Community organizations benefit from our free consultations and presentations by learning 1) what has research value (and what does not, like receipts; we have a Guide which we distribute which lists exactly which items should be retained); 2) that their papers, photographs, etc. DO have value, and that if these materials are put in the trash or recycled, that is lost history, 3) the basic actions and storage solutions to help preserve these materials, and 4) how to organize them. Productive, helpful relationships are central to how Ingram Library's Special Collections operates. Our presence (through events and speaking to community groups), and our actions to help preserve the records of community groups and families contributes to the reputation of the university as an entity that cares about our community and works to help build an informed and engaged citizenry.

Community Bike Program 

Contact: Elizabeth Smith
UWG Sponsor: Campus Services, UWG Parking & Transportation, Sociology, Campus Planning & Facilities
Other Partners: Tanner, Southwire, and the City of Carrollton

 50 cruiser bikes docked in 10 stations create a network that will allow the program members to leave the car behind and grab a bike for a lunch break ride to their favorite sandwich shop, or explore the Carrollton. The program, which is 100% sponsored by Tanner Health System, the University of West Georgia and Southwire Company, will move Carrollton another step closer to, quoting Tanner’s famous initiative – getting healthy and living well. The bike share program advances the efforts to make Carrollton a healthy and pleasant place to live and work. This program provides easy access to bikes across our community. With a faculty, staff or student ID, our UWG Community members can use a bike to travel along the Greenbelt, or anywhere within the greater Carrollton Community. For the vast number of residential students that we have on campus without automobiles, and with no mass transit system in Carrollton, the Community Bike Share Program often provides needed transportation. Community benefits include: shared-use (access); a healthy way for members of our community and beyond to enjoy outdoor activity together.

Community Housing Affiliation

Contact: Cassidy Nelson
UWG Sponsor: Campus Services, UWG Residence Life
Other Partners: UWG Legal, River Pointe, TimberCrest, Student Quarters, Carrollton Crossing, The Reserve, The Brumbelow, and City Station

UWG recognizes that mutually beneficial partnerships in the Carrollton community are critical in creating a positive environment for our students so that we can increase student success. UWG Housing and Residence Life offers this important partnership opportunity to local off- campus housing facilities, so that together we can increase retention, progression, and graduation rates for students. It is our hope that with this agreement our students who choose to reside off-campus will continue to receive comparable support and guidance that they received when starting their undergraduate education in our residence halls. This partnership provides coordinated access for local housing (apartment) complexes to our UWG students. Additionally, through this agreement, they can market on campus, co-brand with UWG, and take advantage of our student housing programming initiatives. Accompanying this is an agreement where we also share police access/coverage at those complexes along side Carrollton Police Department. This affiliation allows UWG HRL to better manage relationships with local housing providers. This, in-turn helps us assure that our students living off-campus have a safer environment, as well as one that is supported by UWG programming.

Community Service Learning in SOCI1160- Intro to Social Problems

Contact: Mitchell McIvor
UWG Sponsor: College of Social Science
Other Partners:Brookdale Senior Living- Carrollton

Students in SOCI1160-Intro to Social Problems have the opportunity to replace their essay assignment with volunteering at Brookdale and writing reflections on their experience..

Comprehensive Community Clinic

Contact: Dr. Laura Smith & Janet Kelley
UWG Sponsor: Communication Sciences and Disorders, Counselor Education, Elementary Education, Special Education
Other Partners: College of Education, UWG Early Learning Center, Sertoma Civic Club, and Carrollton City Schools and Carroll County School District

The UWG Comprehensive Community Clinic was established to connect the University with the West Georgia community and form partnerships for identifying and serving community needs. Specifically, the mission of the Comprehensive Community Clinic is to 1) provide opportunities for practitioners in training to practice their skills under the supervision of faculty using multiple delivery models in a state of the art facility (Strategic Imperative 1: Student Success). The CCC serves as an educational training facility for undergraduate and graduate students of Communication Sciences and Disorders, Counselor Education, Early Childhood Education and Special Education programs. Currently, the UWG students provide clinical services in speech-language and counseling along with individual diagnostic and instructional services in reading and mathematics to the West Georgia community. The CCC is also committed to serving the community through outreach activities. Graduate students in Speech and Counseling programs gain hands on experience under the supervision of their professors. Early Childhood and Special Education undergraduate students have the opportunity to use information from classes while tutoring a community child in math and literacy under the supervision of their professor. The fees paid by clients in speech therapy and academic tutoring help offset the operating costs of the clinic..

Constitution Day

Contact: Chapman Rackaway
UWG Sponsor: American Democracy Project (ADP)
Other Partners: Ingram Library, Department of Political Science, Carrollton League of Women Voters

To celebrate the U.S. Constitution, we invite campus and Carrollton/Carroll County leaders to participate in our live-read of the Constitution and voter registration drive. Both the campus and community benefit by bringing leaders from the community and campus together for common political purposes. 

County Elections in Z-6

Contact: Joey Moncayo
UWG Sponsor: Campus Services & the History Department
Other Partners: UWG Parking & Transportation, Facilities, and Dine West

UWG Lower Level Z6 serves as a voting precinct for that specific area of the Carroll County community. Holding elections here provides a safe and convenient venue for local Carroll County residents to vote. It also allows UWG to open our campus to local members of the community so that they can easily access our facilities, engage with our students, faculty and staff, and enjoy today's campus experience.

 

Dual Career Opportunities Program

Contact: Crystal Montes
UWG Sponsor: Public Service & Outreach, UWG Career Services
Other Partners: Partners of prospective Faculty and Staff Members. 

The Dual Career Opportunities Program (DCOP) at the University of West Georgia offers assistance to eligible spouses, partners, or immediate family of a prospective faculty or staff member who is seeking job search assistance. Note that the DCOP cannot guarantee employment nor does this constitute endorsement of those employers.

Dine West Partnership

Contact: John Lyons
UWG Sponsor: Dine West
Other Partners: Risk Management, Human Resources, Carroll County Schools & College and Career Academy

This partnership includes guest speakers and food demonstrations at the College and Career Academy, field trips for students to Dine West locations, job shadow opportunities, etc. Students taking culinary classes get to see real-life work in action. The chefs will speak and give demonstrations to the students giving them a different perspective than they get from their instructor. The students will be better prepared for a career in their area of study. Through this partnership the university gets more qualified applicants for the culinary positions which are some of the hard to fill positions within Dine West.

 

ECED 3214 Exploratory Activities: Music and Fine Arts

Contact: Cynthia L. Wadlington
UWG Sponsor: Early Childhood through Secondary Education Department
Other Partners: College of Education, Arts for All: The Institute for the Imagination, Carrollton Cultural Arts Center

Students are allowed to choose a service learning project that consists of working and serving children in the community in an arts related capacity. Students are responsible for planning and organizing their own service. The project must be approved by the instructor and the time log must be signed by the director of the organization. After the students have completed the project, a reflection must be written that defines the project, the impact on the student and the children served. "Underprivileged children in this community are allowed positive and safe experiences in the arts through the annual Easter Egg Hunts and Halloween Carnivals in the Westside Carrollton Park directed by Gerald Byrd of Arts for All.

Children participating in theater activities in the Carrollton Cultural Arts Center are provided with support and assistance through partnerships with UWG students." UWG Early Childhood Education majors are provided with very meaningful experiences off campus through using what they are learning in class to provide a service to the less fortunate children of the Carrollton community. Many students reflect that this has been the best part of taking taking this course. Others who choose to work with the Carrollton Cultural Arts Center discover the importance of the arts in the lives of children in the community. Students will become arts integrated teachers.

 

Field Research Service Learning: Food Insecurity

Contact: Jeannette Diaz, PhD
UWG Sponsor: Department of Psychology
Other Partners: Office of the President, Student Services, Dining Services

Student researchers engaged in a series of focus groups that asked participants to discuss their experiences with food services on campus. These focus groups were conducted in response to a university-wide survey that showed that a considerable number of students on campus are food insecure. A total number of 40 students participated in these focus groups. Findings highlighted the extent that the food infrastructure on campus and the stipulations of Meal Plans contribute to food insecurity. Student researchers presented these findings to the UWG food insecurity steering committee and to the Department of Psychology annual research conference. We are preparing the research for publication in the hopes of educating others regarding student concerns and suggestions. This research lead, in part, to the creation of the Melson Food Pantry and also increased Psychology faculty awareness of the need to ensure that students are not sitting in class hungry. There is more work to do!

General Alford Campus Presentation (Fall 2017)

Contact: Danny Gourley
UWG Sponsor: UWG Chi Phi Fraternity, Center for Adult Learners & Veterans
Other Partners: University Recreation, Student Affairs and Enrollment Management, Admissions, New Student Programs, Enrollment Services Center, Carrollton Area Veterans Service Organizations (VFW & American Legion)

Early in the Fall 2017 semester, the UWG Chapter of the Chi Phi Fraternity invited Marine Corp Brigadier General J.D. Alford to speak at the University. General Alford, at that time, was the commanding general of Marine Corp installments in the eastern U.S. The Center for Adult Learners & Veterans was asked to partner with the event, taking the lead in planning, marketing, and facilitating the campus presentation. The presentation itself focused on leadership development. The program provided many community veterans to attend General Alford's presentation. General Alford's presentation was directed at the UWG students in attendance and, as a result, it provided an excellent leadership development opportunity for those who did attend. Additionally, the program served UWG in that it demonstrated the University's continuing commitment and support of both its military-connected student population as well as the greater Carrollton area veterans.

God's Farm

Contact: Mark Reeves
UWG Sponsor: Dine West
Other Partners: Campus Services, God's Farm-Temple, GA

God's Farm is a 58-acre site just outside the Atlanta city limits that gives inner city youth ages 5 to 18 the opportunity to attend summer camp. UWG Dine West buys vegetables, locally grown at God's Farm in Temple, GA. The proceeds go toward the mission of supporting their summer camp program. UWG serves as a close-by entity that purchases God's Farm's locally grown vegetables, which in-turn provides God's Farm with another source of income to support their two-fold mission of putting people to work and providing summer camp opportunities for kids. Access to locally grown, health department approved, vegetables. Additionally, UWG's procurement of these vegetables provides additional funding for the local non-profit.

Greenbelt

Contact: Elizabeth Smith 
UWG Sponsor: Campus Services
Other Partners: UWG Parking & Transportation, Sociology, Campus Planning & Facilities, Carrollton Greenbelt, Community Foundation of West Georgia, Laura Richards, Southwire, Tanner Health Services, City of Carrollton

The Carrollton GreenBelt is an 18-mile shared-use path designed for pedestrians and non-motorized users. The trail connects existing neighborhoods with the city school campus, the University of West Georgia, the city parks, and several commercial shopping areas. The community benefit includes shared-use (access) and a healthy way for members of our community and beyond to enjoy outdoor activity together. The Greenbelt provides easy, bike-friendly access to the Carrollton community at-large. The Greenbelt crosses right through our campus and thus is easy for our campus community to get on/off at leisure when interested in a safe, beautiful, and engaging outdoor walk, run or ride. The Greenbelt spurs, South Street particularly, will also provide easy access from campus directly to downtown Carrollton - "The Square".

Greystone University

Contact: Tiffany Powers
UWG Sponsor: Continuing Education
Other Partners: Career Services, College of Education, Extended Learning, Ombuds Office, Richards College of Business, Theatre, Greystone Power-Douglasville, GA

Greystone University provides a variety of professional and career development courses to Greystone Power employees. GSU courses are led by UWG instructors and are conducted on-site at the Greystone Power facility in Douglasville, GA on a monthly basis. Course selections include: Conflict Resolution, Emotional Intelligence, Basic Computer Skills, Business Writing, Team Building & Team Dynamics, Learning to Listen, and more. Greystone University is a way for Greystone Power employees to have access to convenient and free professional development. They are encouraged to attend at least two trainings per year but are allowed to attend more with supervisor approval. Not only do attendees gain valuable knowledge, but they also get to interact with employees across their organization in a familiar and somewhat less formal setting, which we believe encourages teamwork and collaboration. UWG Continuing Education generates revenue dollars from GSU courses (per Con't Ed's mission). Beyond that, we establish ourselves as a credible educational institution in Greystone's "backyard." Greystone employees who are looking to move up and increase their stock in their organization sometimes go back to school to finish or advance their degrees, and they consider UWG because they've had a good experience with our instructors and already have a connection to the school.

Helen Ruffin Reading Bowl

Contact: Jean Cook
UWG Sponsor: Ingram Library & College of Education
Other Partners: Honors College, Helen Ruffin Reading Bowl State Committee, K-12 Public and Private Schools from around the region

The Reading Bowl encourages literacy and reading among students grade 3-12 by asking trivia questions about Georgia Peach Award books. Each local district (from Rome to Columbus and Atlanta to the state line) can send two teams at the elementary, middle, and high school level to UWG to participate in the regional bowl. Typically around 300-500 students, teachers, and parents come each February. The top two teams of each level are sent to divisional levels elsewhere. This is many students' first interaction with a college campus. Opening and closing ceremonies are in our ballrooms, while the meets are in classroom buildings with college professors and students. We provide a safe, clean, and academic space for this competition. As an outreach function, this is a phenomenal return on investment. The volunteer faculty is intentionally assigned to the older grades so the high schoolers can meet them. Students from a variety of on-campus organizations use this to get service housrs. it serves the community and partnership goals of our strategic plan.

Homecoming Parade and Pep Rally

Contact: Emily Teitelbaum
UWG Sponsor: Center for Student Involvement
Other Partners: Alumni, University Advancement, Athletics, local businesses and off-campus apartments, City Station, JustinTimeDJ, Local Bicycle Shop, Government Officials, etc.

This includes the Homecoming Glow Parade, Homecoming Pep Rally, Bonfire, and fireworks. We invite the community to watch the parade and pep rally but also to participate in the parade and help get their name out there. It's a great time to celebrate UWG and Community Spirit and collaboration. It's a great way for the University to get their name into the Community more/bring the Community on campus in a positive, fun, and school spirited way. The parade also offers businesses to be in the parade to get their name out there. Also, families get to have fun being on campus watching the parade or watching the bonfire

Innovation's Lab

Contact: Lara Willox
UWG Sponsor: Educational Technology & Foundations, College of Education
Other Partners: College of Education, Meriwether , Heard, and Haralson County Schools GYSTC.

Our Mobile Innovations Lab’s mission is to bring STEM activities to low income, rural communities to build capacity for 21st Century skills. The lab will be targeting formal and informal learning sites in Haralson, Heard, Meriwether, and Carroll Counties throughout the 2019-2020 academic year. The Mobile Innovations Lab is a 42-foot trailer creating a unique informal learning environment both within the trailer and in the adjacent space. The trailer is equipped with innovative technology.

Inter-professional Education partnership with Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine (PCOM)

Contact: Sally Richter , Laura Caramanica 
UWG Sponsor: THS SON (Tanner Health System School of Nursing)
Other Partners: Three Rivers AHEC

The PCOM Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine (D.O.) students and Pharmacy students participate in interprofessional educational sessions with the BSN Junior and senior level students and the MSN nurse educator track students. Inter-professional education is a required activity for both nursing students and medical students. Hosting this virtual synchronous case-study learning activity provides an excellent learning opportunity for all the students.

ISAP & Carrollton Civic Women's Club

Contact: Danielle Plummer
UWG Sponsor: International Student Admissions & Programs (ISAP) & SAEM, UWG President, UWG Chief of Police,
Other Partners: Carrollton Mayor, Carrollton Chief of Police

The Carrollton Civic Woman's Club, founded in 1968, hosts a dinner at the start of every fall semester for new UWG international students. The annual event, which is the result of a full year of planning, has become legendary among internationals. New UWG International students enjoy "southern hospitality", a buffet home-cooked meal, and can select items for their dorm rooms or apartments for free from a swap table organized by CCWC.

Milestone Tutoring Program

Contact: Dr. Jill Drake, jdrake@westga.edu
UWG Sponsor: Carrollton-Carroll County Education Collaborative (CCEC) 
Other Partners: .College of Education, Human Resources Department , Carrollton City and Carroll County School Systems

UWG students majoring in Elementary Education, Speech-Language Pathology and Special Education were hired as tutors. Four schools were involved
in the pilot program: Carrollton City Elementary, Carrollton City Middle, Sharp Creek Elementary and Glanton Hindsmans Elementary. The tutors
received a UWG orientation and an on-site orientation at each school. Tutors focused on literacy instruction at the city school and both literacy and
mathematics at the county schools.

Move-In Day 2018

Contact: Courtney Ramey 
UWG Sponsor: Housing and Residence Life
Other Partners: Encompasses each department, organization and division on campus, multiple churches, girl scouts troops, other surrounding high schools, Argus, local businesses, and more.

Move-in day is a community wide effort to welcome our on-campus residents to the University of West Georgia. With the help of on-campus and off-campus partners, Housing and Residence Life welcomes around 3,500 students to their residence hall. Staff and volunteers help with drive-thru check in, unloading vehicles, escort services, food and water, traffic management, emergency management, etc. For the community or non-UWG organizations, this collaborative effort provides volunteer service opportunities. It allows our community members to meet students that will be calling Carrollton home for the next year. It provides an opportunity for them to share what their organization is, how to reach someone if they are interested in the organization, or an opportunity to provide a resource for our students. Above all, this engagement allows our community to welcome its newest members. The university benefits from this activity because it welcomes the future of West Georgia to our campus. It allows each department and division to fully engage with each other, our residents, community, families and friends. It opens up ideas and conversations in both the planning process and at the conclusion of the three day event. It is one of the few activities that truly succeeds with total cooperation.

Other Places, Other Lives

Contact: Muriel Cormican
UWG Sponsor: Foreign Languages and Literatures, College of Arts and Humanities
Other Partners: Provost's Office, Ingram Library, Underground Books

Through funding from FLL, COAH, and the Provost, we provide 10 free copies of books to members of the community each month (January-April and August-November). We then lead a discussion of the book on the third Thursday of the month at Underground books. The books are all from other parts of the world. The idea is to discuss how people elsewhere live, shape their lives, and represent themselves. We seek to get beyond our own possibly flawed interpretation of others and let them speak for themselves. We have several repeat attendees who read and discuss with us every month. The benefits are intellectual and personal. We've developed a community around the exchange of ideas and it enriches all of our lives allowing us in our group, too, to talk to people whose daily lives and ideas differ from our own. Underground books benefits from the business and the advertising. Members of the community benefit by getting to know us and each other. Increased visibility for the department, college, and UWG. It has already resulted in a scholarship for students in COAH, so students benefit too. Students also attend at times and benefit intellectually as well, as do faculty.

Partnership with the YMCA Early Childhood Development Co., LLC Head Start and Early Head Start

Contact:Katy Green
UWG Sponsor: Literacy and Special Education, College of Education
Other Partners:Early Childhood Development Co., LLC

This is a three-fold partnership: Child Assessments, Family Education, and Professional Development between the faculty and students at the College of Education and the YMCA ECDC Head Start and Early Head Start.

Performing Arts Partnership (Townsend Center, Carrollton Cultural Arts Center, Carroll County Schools PAC)

Contact: Robert Jennings
UWG Sponsor: Campus Services
Other Partners: UWG Townsend Center, UWG Theater, Music, Facilities, Campus Planning, UWG Parking & Transportation, Carroll County Schools Board of Education, Carrollton Cultural Arts Center

Shared use of UWG Townsend Center Performing Arts Center, Carroll County Schools Performing Arts Center, and Carrollton Cultural Arts Center. An effort to more effectively align theatrical and music performances with the local venue that best serves the acoustical, seating, location, etc needs of the performance and attending audience. County Schools have a Performing Arts Center that is of great value to their music, theater and other cultural programming. However, there are times when this large venue is just too big for some of their performances; they need a smaller, more intimate, facility like UWG's Townsend Center. Additionally, as part of this collaboration, UWG Music has located some of its percussion equipment at the Carroll County Schools PAC; for County School use , as well as, UWG use. Having access to the Carrollton PAC and the Carroll County Schools PAC has provided our UWG Theater, Music and Band groups to perform in those community-based venues and thus attract more attendance from the community; this helps us achieve our mission of bringing culture to the community. Additionally, numerous County School performances have been featured at our campus Performing Arts Center; thus, bringing potential College students on-campus to experience our facilities and staff, as well as, bringing their parents to campus to enjoy their students' performances.  

Physics Demonstrations for General Audiences

Contact: Professors Javier Hasbun, Ben DeMayo, and L. Ajith De Silva
UWG Sponsor: Physics
Other Partners: NASA

Public attendance is encouraged

The UWG Physics department does demonstrations for the general audience. Town and gown are invited to attend. Ages 8 and up are encouraged to attend yearly. The community benefits from this activity because it exposes their children and parents alike to science activities which they might have not seen before. These demonstrations help people to become more comfortable with science, exposes them to topics they might not be aware of, and takes the fear out of science in general. The faculty who perform the demonstrations work hard to achieve them, thus honing their science understanding skills. Students who help the professors carry out the activity also have a chance to apply what they learn in the classroom. The college community is usually invited to this activity and many have expressed their desire to come back.

Power Up for 30

Contact: Brian Mosier
UWG Sponsor: Sport Management, Wellness, and Physical Education
Other Partners: Early Childhood through Secondary Education, HealthMPowers, Georgia Department of Health, Georgia Department of Education, Tanner Health System

This certificate program is unique to UWG. Early Childhood and Physical Education Majors have the opportunity to design and implement activities in schools in an effort to promote a physically-active lifestyle to students and faculty in the K-12 environment. This model, known as a comprehensive school physical activity program, focuses on the whole of school approach. Specifically the GA Departments of Health and Education promote this model; known as Power Up for 30. When UWG students are trained and certified in Power Up for 30 it generates significant cost-savings for the state. Many of our pre-service teachers (students) are employed in K-12 schools all over Georgia. Rather than the state having to spend professional development dollars on the Power Up for 30 training, our students learn how to design, implement, and evaluate comprehensive school physical activity programs before graduating. UWG faculty have presented multiple times on the effectiveness of this model, as well as publications. Students receive a certificate of completion and this certificate is also noted on their official transcript. Other institution see the importance and cost-savings of this model and creates excellent visibility for UWG.

Prescribed Fire

Contact: Andrew Edelman
UWG Sponsor: Department of Nautral Sciences
Other Partners: None

BIOL 4425 Fire Ecology students participate in 6-10 controlled burns throughout Carroll County each year. The West Georgia Woodlands Association provides access to private lands and expertise for these controlled burn field trips.

Project Search

Contact: John Lyons
UWG Sponsor: Dine West
Other Partners: UWG Human Resources, Post Office, Card Office, Parking & Transportation, Academic Affairs, Carrollton City Schools

Project Search is a partnership between the University of West Georgia and Carrollton High School that provides opportunities for students with developmental disabilities. Project Search gives these students the chance to be in a college atmosphere while gaining valuable work experience through jobs within Dine West. The University is also able to fill jobs in DineWest.

Regional Innovation, Economic & Talent Development Initiative

Contact: Donna Armstrong Lackey
UWG Sponsor: Office of Public Service and Outreach
Other Partners: College of Science & Math, College of Education, Richards College of Business, Adult Learners & Veterans, Career Services, Continuing Education, and USG eCore

OCE facilitates and/or coordinates programming that promotes student success through innovation. These programs include the Tinker's Box Makerspace for prototyping and commercializing products, business start-ups, and supporting area economic and talent development programs. These assist in career preparedness by students and addressing business and industry talent needs. In addition, OCE connects community requests for faculty and staff scholarship opportunities through surveys and research.

ReserveWest

Contact: Elizabeth Smith
UWG Sponsor: Campus Services, ITS, Academic Affairs
Other Partners: Campus Center, Card Office, Coliseum

The University of West Georgia adopted the use of a campus-wide centralized scheduling software effective February 1, 2018. All reservation requests for university employees and student organizations can now be made through the Reserve West web app. Users are able to request space and manage their reservations through their accounts within this system. Non-UWG affiliated groups will request space through an external form and work with a Reserve West administrator during the reservation process. The EMS web platform provides ease of online access for community to view UWG "happenings", events, etc, as well as, to learn about the multitude of available venues for rent and use. EMS allows UWG to better communicate campus events and campus venue availability to the community at-large; this includes event/venue descriptions, rates, etc. Through EMS we are able to better facilitate community engagement, as well as, enhance the university's relevance within the community.

SPARK Mentoring

Contact: Tom Peterson
UWG Sponsor: ETF(Educational Technology and Foundations)
Other Partners: Provost office

Carroll County Juvenile Court, Department of Juvenile Justice Carroll County Sheriff office, Chick-fil-A in Carrollton and Newnan, Little Hawaiian, Leapoldo's Pizza Coweta County Juvenile Court, Department of Juvenile Justice

Safer Sex Risk Reduction - Pregnancy and STI Prevention

Contact: Mary Beth Thompson
UWG Sponsor: Health Services
Other Partners: District 4 Public Health (of the Georgia Department of Public Health)

Ongoing unplanned pregnancy and STI/HIV prevention - through condom dispensers, free condoms and other barrier methods, free brochures, and during the month of April - reduced cost testing for our students.

Safe Treat 

Contact: Jason Bretch
UWG Sponsor: Housing and Residence Life
Other Partners: Department of Art

A safe trick or treat event that allows kids from the community to come onto campus and interact with our different student organizations, staff, faculty, and volunteers. It offers an opportunity for the community to experience campus and see the great things that our organizations are doing. Each year the university hosts over 1000 people on our campus. They always hear of the bad but this gives us the opportunity to show off the good that our students are doing.

CMWL 4102 Service-Learning in Health and Community Wellness 

Contact: Jamie Brandenburg
UWG Sponsor: Department of Sport Management, Wellness, and Physical Education in the College of Education
Other Partners: Veterans and Military Programs Office, University Recreation (UREC), Exercise is Medicine, Community Garden project, Health Services, Tanner's Get Healthy Live Well, Hope for Hunger, Carrollton City Schools, Mentoring Village, Carrollton Club, and numerous public schools in the state.

Supervised pre-professional practice experience in health and wellness promotion and coaching. Students will be placed in service learning sites in a range of venues and will receive on-site supervision by a field supervisor as well as seminar meetings with the course instructor. Students must complete a minimum of 45 service-learning hours. They must determine the campus or community need, develop their project, complete journal entries and reflection, and present their final project. The biggest benefit for the community or non-UWG organization is they have the opportunity to building capacity for positive social change and improved wellness. Students can provide new energy and creativity for an organization. Also, they are able to provide more personal attention for clients and students. Service-learning helps to strengthen or expand services and programs, by connecting to university resources and builds connections to other partner agencies. Student benefits of service-learning include enhanced opportunities for learning, and personal and social skill development. Students gain increased knowledge of academic materials, their communities, and themselves. Service-learning provides students with opportunities to develop civic engagement skills. By working with community members, students can gain important experience working with diverse members of their community. For me, service-learning is experiential learning.

 

Southwire Sustainable Business Honors Program

Contact: Melanie Hildebrandt
UWG Sponsor: Richards College of Business
Other Partners: University Communications and Marketing and Southwire Company

This program gives students in-depth experiences in a corporate setting while also fostering community engagement and educating students on different aspects of sustainability and environmental stewardship. Southwire and its employees have benefited from several of the students' projects, including a new HR policy for 12 for Life, development of a game to encourage safety, and a new employee engagement platform. Another project resulted in an initiative that benefited the entire community--the Greenbelt bikeshare. The community at-large also benefits as students participate in various community service projects (disaster relief drives, habitat for humanity buildings, etc). This program gives our students unique exposure to the inner workings of a large company as early as their FR year and includes an intense internship where they present to the CEO and executive board, an experience that is rare for an undergrad. The work our students complete has often been used in promo and marketing for our college and UWG.

Ingram Library

Contact: Blynne Olivieri Parker
Other Partners:Tallapoosa Masonic Lodge #126, F. & A.M.

Scans of the minute books and ledgers will be available online through Ingram Library, Special Collections' finding aids which are online (https://aspace-uwg.galileo.usg.edu/) and the descriptions of the content are discoverable through any search engine. The content of the minute books and membership lists helps tell the story of fraternal organizations in the West Georgia area and will also be useful to people doing genealogical research.

Speech-Language Pathology Graduate Medical Internships

Contact: Brittany Janowski
UWG Sponsor: Department of Counseling, Higher Education, and Speech-Language Pathology
Other Partners: UWG School of Nursing, several community partners: Wellstar Medical Center (several hospitals in the state), Northside Hospital Healthcare System, Piedmont, Children's Health Care of Atlanta, East Alabama Medical Center, Encompass Rehabilitation, Regional Medical Center, Floyd Medical Center, Tanner Health System.

As part of the communication sciences and disorders graduate program, students are required to complete a fulltime medical/clinical externships prior to graduation. This requires several community partnerships that we have greatly expanded in the past year. Our program cannot successfully prepare our CSD students for work in the medical field of speech-language pathology without these successful partnerships with the medical facilities and local ASHA certified SLPS. The communities surrounding UWG are quickly becoming a medical "hub." Particularly around the UWG Newnan campus area. As the field of speech-language pathology has evolved to serve more and more demanding medical populations, there has been a shortage of qualified professionals that are able to serve such populations. By expanding our "community" of medical partnerships, we are also expanding the availability of these medical services in our area and beyond. By creating and utilizing several medical partnerships to train and educate the next generation of speech-language pathologists, we are not only enhancing their learning. We're also strengthening professional responsibility of local SLPs by providing them an opportunity to give back to their profession and in many cases, their alma mater. We are helping to create a strong reputation for UWG and the level of education that is provided at this institution.

State of Community

Contact: Jane McCandless
UWG Sponsor: College of Social Sciences
Other Partners: Community Foundation of West Georgia, various regional nonprofit and government organizations

 State of Community is a half-day event aimed at exploring critical social issues affecting the Carroll and West Georgia communities. Faculty present community-focused and -engaged research and lead discussions before attendees work in small groups attend workshops.

Nonprofit and government organizations gain greater insight and academic perspective into critical social issues affecting the community; they also have the opportunity to meet and collaborate with others working on these issues; finally, workshops provide professional development opportunities. UWG faculty gain community partners that can help with community-engaged research and connect faculty with the West Georgia Community. Through the partnerships, faculty learn about potential internship placements and employment possibilities for students.

Studies in the Social Sciences

Contact: Dr. Heather Mbaye
UWG Sponsor: Social Sciences
Other Partners: London School of Management Education and the Responsible Research Conference, and any organization that would benefit from open access to research about CE/RRI

Studies in the Social Sciences provides a forum for peer-reviewed research for academia in all social sciences, including political science, sociology, criminology, mass communications, anthropology, psychology, economics, history, geography, and all others. We invite the submission of the highest quality research that incorporates practical advice to stakeholders, decision makers, and leaders and groups that seek the advancement of human society and the elevation of the human condition. The Journal is committed to community engaged (called responsible research and innovation in Europe). The European Commission states: "In practice, RRI is implemented as a package that includes multi-actor and public engagement in research and innovation. It enables easier access to scientific results, the take up of gender and ethics in the research and innovation content and process, and formal and informal science education." We seek to broaden the reach of published CE/RRI research. CE/RRI research published by the SitSS journal raises the international profile of UWG as well as our scholars, for whom this journal provides a publication outlet for the types of research we are actually doing at UWG. Without publication, our community can only be the immediate area - but through this journal, we can broaden the impact of our practices and collaborations to a world-wide arena.

Tanner Harmony for Healing

Contact: Carol Gingerich
UWG Sponsor: Music
Other Partners: Tanner Health System

Piano students perform recital every spring, and at selected other times. People who are ill or visiting ill persons in the hospital, are soothed and comforted by the piano music which is piped throughout the hospital. Piano students have an opportunity to perform in public before their very important end of spring semester piano jury (exam). This is an hands-on educational experience for students.

Tanner School of Nursing

Contact: Amy Farmer (Service Learning), Brandee Brown ( Undergraduate Clinicals), Embry Ice (MSN Clinicals)
UWG Sponsor: Tanner School of Nursing 

Tanner School of Nursing Partners with many community organizations for Service Learning and Clinicals. Listed below are community partners.

Service Learning 

• The Holy Spirit (THS) Emergency Shelter in Carrollton 
• UWG Health Services Flu Clinic
• Rapha Clinic in Temple Ga
• Tanner Occupational Health 
• Healing Bridge Clinic in Peachtree City
• Samaritan Clinic in Newnan 
• Circles of West Georgia
• Carroll County Child Advocacy Center

MSN Clinicals

• Wellstar Kennestone
• Wellstar West Georgia Hospital
• Wellstar Douglas
• Emory University Hospital
• Emory Decatur Hospital
• Hampton VA Medical Center
• Tanner Medical Center
• Gwinnett Medical Center
• Hamilton Medical Center
• Grady Hospital
• Ethica Health
• Children's Healthcare of Atlanta
• Northside Hospital
• MidMichigan Health
• Southern Regional Medical Center (located in WI)
• Adventist Health Gordon
• Athens Technical College
• LaGrange College
• Jefferson State Community College
• Grandview Medical Center
• Piedmont College
• Piedmont Athens Regional 
• Gordon State College

Undergraduate Clinicals

• Ansley Park Health & Rehabilitation
• Avalon Health & Rehabilitation
• Cancer Treatment Centers of America
• Children's Healthcare of Atlanta
• Encompass Health  
• Floyd Medical Center
• Newnan Health & Rehabilitation
• Piedmont Atlanta
• Piedmont Fayette
• Piedmont Newnan
• Shepherd Center
• Tanner Health System Bremen
• Tanner Health System Carrollton
• Tanner Hospice
• Tanner Health System Villa Rica
• Tanner Health System Willowbrooke
• WellStar Cobb
• WellStar Douglas
• WellStar Kennestone
• WellStar Paulding
• WellStar West Georgia Medical Center

The BIG Event

Contact: Caitlin Oliver
UWG Sponsor: Center for Student Involvement

Other Partners: Newnan Campus, Alumni Association, Facilities & Grounds, Fraternity & Sorority Life, Housing & Residence Life, Dine West, UCM, Counseling & Accessibility Services, Parking & Transportation, UREC, Off-campus Community Partners (varies year-to-year).

The BIG Event is one of the largest, one-day, student-run service projects in the nation where college students come together to say, “thank you”, to the residents of their community through the completion of community service projects. Non-profits benefit through the use of volunteers on this day assisting in their operations or ways they can connect with the non-profit work. Some of the projects directly effect community members in their quality of life as recipients of this day of service. The University remains connected to the community through the use of service and stewardship. Students meet potential career prospects, are engaged through volunteerism in the community with a focus on a critical societal issue, thus retaining our students for longer.

The Constitution and the Importance of Civic Engagement

Contact: Leanne DeFoor
UWG Sponsor: Done in her role as a faculty member in Richards College of Business and the American Democracy Project
Other Partners: Department of Political Sciences, Haralson County Republican Women's Club

In advance of Constitution Day, I presented a presentation on The Constitution and the Importance of Civic Engagement. I walked through the history of the Constitution and interesting facts, some statistics on the current state of civic engagement in our country, especially amongst young adults, how to get people engaged, and ways that citizens can participate in the democratic process. Community members in the West Georgia area learned the importance of civic engagement and how to become more civically engaged, as well as how to energize others toward civic engagement. Community members also learned about the U.S. Constitution and received pocket editions of the Constitution. This event was open to the public. Although it was hosted by the Haralson County Republican Women's Club, it was a non-partisan presentation, and both men and women attended the event. This collaboration expanded UWG's reach in the local area and demonstrated our involvement in civic engagement initiatives in the West Georgia area.

The Other Night School

Contact: Chad Davidson
UWG Sponsor: School of the Arts, College of Arts, Culture, and Scientific Inquiry
Other Partners: Hollis Trust (Newnan), Milestone Investment Management (Carrollton), and the Carrollton Center for the Arts

A lecture series featuring the best of our college faculty offering talks of wide appeal in two community venues: UWG Newnan Center and the Carrollton Center for the Arts. Now in its sixth year, the series is fully funded by community businesses and charitable trusts. The Other Night School has already attracted the attention (and dollars) of local patrons. It continues to drive SOTA's fundraising opportunities by offering us a portal into the most intelligent, culture-hungry citizens in the community.

The Garage

Contact: Witt Teem
UWG Sponsor: Office of Public Service and Outreach
Other Partners: College of Science, Math College of Education and Carroll Tomorrow The Burson Center.

The Tinker's Box™ is the UWG's premiere Makers Space. Its purpose is to give students, faculty, and individual innovators a place to develop and prototype their ideas, bringing them to life and making them a tangible product. In cooperation with Carroll Tomorrow/The Burson Center business incubator, we welcome inventors of all types. Tinker's Box is equipped with the right resources to assist any inventor or entrepreneur through the prototyping process.

Thomas B. Murphy Center for Public Service 

Contact: Dr. Karen L. Owen
UWG Sponsor: Department of Civic Engagement and Public Service within University College
Other Partners: UWG's library and special collections division

The Murphy Center for Public Service is a non-partisan, educational, and community-engaged organization that educates and inspires our students and community about real-world politics and promotes civic engagement through programs that are unique, enriching, and open-minded. We equip people to better understand public affairs and government and on how they can be active leaders in local, state, national, and international communities.

Troup Cares Clinic

Contact: Sally Richter
UWG Sponsor: School of Nursing
Other Partners:WellStar of West Georgia

 

The clinic benefits by having students to help with patient care and patient education. The clinic also benefits by having a faculty to serve on their Board. The clinic serves working under or uninsured persons aged 18 to 64. The clinic also has a pharmacy component and is supported by a large team of professional volunteers. It is a great clinical site for our undergraduate and graduate students.

Undergraduate Research Projects Based in the Community

Contact: Beheruz N. Sethna
UWG Sponsor: Marketing and Real Estate
Other Partners: (1) A wide range of local businesses, and (2) Any other departments whose students wish to take this course or similar ones.

In more than two decades, student projects have led to recommendations to clients and implementations for local banks; national restaurants and food chains, Six Flags, TCBY; athletic facilities; movie theaters; Coke and Pepsi; local restaurants and grocery stores. In the past few semesters, projects have included QuikTrip, Raceway, Chick-fil-A, Domino's, American Pie, Cheers, Cute & Cocky, Wing Stop, 302 South Street, Enterprise, Gallery Row, Waffle House, Student Quarters, etc.

Projects have also recommended attracting to Carrollton, businesses such as Panera Bread, Dave and Busters, Chipotle, Main Event Entertainment, etc.

In each of these projects, recommendations are based on a respectable sample size and rigorous analysis.

Students gain experience in working with the community, data collection, analysis, and preparing a rigorous report that may potentially be submitted for national scrutiny.

UWG Group Tours

Contact: Dillon Montes de Oca
UWG Sponsor: Undergraduate Admissions
Other Partners: Various UWG departments and organizations from around the state.

Served 9800 Total participants the state of Georgia and beyond by providing dynamic, high quality, unique visit experiences for community groups, k12 classes, non profits, and government programs. Community benefits include awareness, college access for local groups, college preparedness, success planning, college exposure.

135 Unique Groups in 17-18

For a lot of the groups we bring, it could be their first time on a college campus, regardless of their age. Our programs are not designed to get students to UWG (that happens organically) but rather to meet the needs of the groups and their learning outcomes, help students position themselves in the best way possible for their college choice, and achieve their dreams.

This program has grown over exponentially in the last 2 years.

2015-2016
2,031 students
2232 total

2016-2017
3,658 students
4,023 total +80.24% YtY

2017-2018
5,403 students
6,055 total +50.50% YtY

This program generated over $42,000 from non-departmental, off-campus revenue sources as groups chose to Dine on campus. This year we project to provide up to $60,000 in revenue from off-campus, non-departmental sources.

We have emerged as a state leader in group programming.

UWG Music Student Lessons and Community Performances

Contact: Josh Byrd
UWG Sponsor: Music
Other Partners: Housing, Admissions, Local school systems, community groups requesting music for specific events

UWG students teach lessons (upon request) to local middle and high school band students. UWG students also perform in small groups for community functions. Local middle and high school students receive quality instruction from Music Majors. Community organizations receive quality music performances from our students. Our students get teaching and performance experience, vital aspects of this major, in a positive and supportive environment. UWG students also feel more a part of the community during their time at West Georgia.

UWG Piano Project

Contact: Carol Gingerich
UWG Sponsor: Music

Students provide piano lessons to community adults and children through an internship. some piano lessons are free, some are at a nominal fee. Excellent quality piano lessons are offered to those that might not otherwise be able to afford them. In turn, UWG students receive on the job training through this internship.

UWG Veterans Day Ceremony

Contact: Danny Gourley
UWG Sponsor: Center for Adult Learners & Veterans, Student Affairs & Enrollment Management
Other Partners: Department of Music, University Recreation, Dine West, Carrollton High School Band, Central High School Air Force JROTC, Community Veteran Service Organizations (e.g., American Legion, VFW)

The Center for Adult Learners & Veterans takes the lead each year in organizing and facilitating a Veterans Day Ceremony on campus. The program includes a message from UWG leadership, music, and an opportunity for attendees to celebrate veterans through an open mic period in the program. For the 2017 program, a concerted effort was made to invite veterans from across the greater Carrollton area to participate and be recognized, via marketing efforts directed to local community-based Veterans service organizations. The Veterans Day ceremony is an opportunity for the University to highlight the positive support it provides its military-connected students as well as those in the greater community.

Website for the support of exceptional experiences in the community

Contact: Christine Simmonds-Moore
UWG Sponsor: Psychology Department, College of Social Sciences

The website is designed to provide normalizing information and support for those who are experiencing unusual experiences in the local and wider (global) community. There is a lot of evidence to suggest that people feel unable to talk about these experiences, and experience fear and apprehension about them, given that hallucinatory phenomena are often pathologized in the West. Mental health issues seem to be more aligned with the appraisal and psychosocial management of experiences. The local and wider (global) community will benefit from this project as it presents information in an accessible manner to people who are experiencing a range of unusual or exceptional experiences, in addition to mental health practitioners and researchers. The goal of the project is to inform and educate the public and help them to be better informed about what is happening to them. By so doing, it is hoped that the site will reduce anxiety and fear surrounding some of these experiences. This project gives scholarly information back to the community, and helps to break down barriers between the University and the community.

West Community Student Engagement Program

Contact: Kara Clark
UWG Sponsor: Career Services, Student Affairs and Enrollment Management
Other Partners: Boys & Girls Club (Carrollton), Bremen Food & Clothing Bank,Inc., Carroll County Child Advocacy Center, Community Foundation of West Georgia, Goodwill (Carrollton & Newnan), Mt. Zion City Hall, SHARE House, Villa Rica Library, West Georgia Regional Library 

The University of West Georgia's Community Outreach Program is a partnership between Student Employment and the local communities. UWG students are given the opportunity to work by giving back to the community. Students work off-campus in non-profit organizations in the surrounding areas. The organizations that participate in this program are able to hire student assistants through UWG's Student Employment office to work at a 25% charge to the organization. This program is funded by Federal Work Study at a 75/25 split. UWG pays 75% from Federal Work Study Funds and the organization is billed for the remaining 25%. This allows them to hire more students at a lower cost to the organization. UWG is able to offer more Federal Work Study opportunities to our students. We are given a certain amount of FWS we have to spend on this program and we hope to continue to spend it so we receive an increase in funding in future years so we can continue to offer more positions to students on our campus.

West Georgia High School Ethics Bowl

Contact: Walter Riker
UWG Sponsor: Philosophy, College of Arts and Humanities, Office of the President, and Internal Audit
Other Partners: Volunteers from across campus, Georgia High Schools (Douglas County High School, Carrollton High School, Sandy Creek High School, Decatur High School, and more)

This is a competitive and collaborative event. High school teams study 15 moral cases and develop responses to them. Teams come together in Feb 2019 on our campus to engage in civil/civic discourse centered on the cases. Teams earn points by contributing to development of morally sound and sensitive solutions to the cases, similar to debate. The event takes place Feb 2, 2019, and the Intent is to hold it annually. High school students study moral problems in our communities. They reflect critically on these problems; consider reasons for or against different responses; develop teams and collaborate to develop reflective, sensitive, sound responses to moral problems. They present and defend their views in a public setting; offer reason-based solutions; respond to each other constructively in a civil manner; and engage collaboratively with others. Develops critical thinking skills and citizenship. This is good publicity for UWG in the  community- good for marketing and recruiting. Brings high school students onto campus grounds to engage in civil discourse.

West Georgia Non-Profit Network (WGNPN)

Contact: Amanda Wright
UWG Sponsor: Office of Public Service and Outreach
Other Partners: Community Foundation of West Georgia, Alice Huffard Richards Fund

The purpose of the West Georgia Non-Profit Network (WGNPN) is to strengthen the non-profit community in Carroll, Haralson, and Heard Counties through professional networking, leadership development, and information sharing. UWG manages a list serve and chairs a work group to lead the effort. The local non-profit organizations benefit through networking and information sharing at events and meetings. The WGNPN also sets up developmental and informational sessions when a common need arises among organizations. The University maintains an up to date database of local non-profit organizations through this network. Also, the University maintains a strong relationship with its community partners through this program.

West Georgia Regional Library System (WGRLS)

Contact: Shelley Rogers
UWG Sponsor: Ingram Library
Other Partners: Technical Services Department of Neva Lomason Memorial Library

The 19 libraries of the WGRLS have a "cleaner" catalog by having UWG help in completing the deaccessioning processes, which involve removing discarded items from the library catalog and removing holdings on last copies in OCLC, a worldwide bibliographic utility. This helps library staff and patrons in the West Georgia area to know what is held by the library system and also contributes much greater accuracy and reliability for interlibrary loan processes for people around the world.

This helps the library faculty member learn about the different library system used in Georgia's public libraries (PINES) and earn service credit toward her UWG annual and promotion and tenure reviews. She is already an expert at using OCLC and uses her personal laptop and home WiFi for this work, so she is able to do the volunteer service without additional training or other costs to UWG. It also creates goodwill between the public library and our academic library.

UWG Widow/Widower Support Group

Contact: Julie Dobbs

This support group was formed after the realization that several UWG employees have lost spouses and may need extra support through their grieving. Employees and community members who wish to join are welcome. The community will benefit by coming together with UWG employees to help in any way we all can in our journeys of grief. Tanner Health System has been asked to speak with the group along with other community members. Group members have been invited to attend movie day and one of UWG's football games on campus as well.

Windows & Mirrors Literacy Experience: Open Books, Open Minds

Contact: Bethany L. Scullin
UWG Sponsor: Literacy and Special Education, College of Education
Other Partners: Sand Hill Elementary School

To provide access to diverse books for students and families, as well as related professional learning, faculty and education students are partnering on an emerging project, called the WMLE, with one of our Professional Development Schools (PDS), Sand Hill Elementary School (SHES) in the Carroll County School System. We invite students, teachers, families, and caregivers to join in reading and responding to diverse books that act as windows and mirrors (Bishop, 1990) for readers.

Wolf Science Cafe

Contact: Stacey Britton
UWG Sponsor: College of Education
Other Partners: West GYSTC and American Pie Pizzeria

A monthly meeting of like-minded individuals who are interested in learning and sharing science within the West Georgia community through presentations and talks by state and local science experts. The goal of the Wolf Science Café is to provide a platform for sharing current issues in science and to introduce ways that members of communities in West Georgia can be better informed. This forum encourages community involvement and provides time for questions alongside presentation of content. The Wolf Science Cafe provides a space for interested scientists to share their work with community members who may promote the ideas, but will always walk away with an increase in science knowledge. Faculty are often introduced to other experts in the field with similar research interests.

World History Class Presentation

Contact: Dr. Emily MacKinnon
UWG Sponsor: History Department, College of Arts and Humanities
Other Partners: University Police, The WWII- Airborne Demonstration Team.org, The Pathfinders UK.org, and The Round Canopy Parachute Team- USA.org, The Commemorative Air Force.org

A Power-Point along with WW II weapons, uniforms, helmets, and other artifacts are brought in to discuss the Second World War with the students in Dr. Elaine MacKinnon's Wold Civilization class once a semester. Museum quality weapons, uniforms, helmets, and numerous artifacts are available for discussion and to let students who are interested see and handle; as well as, a 90 minute class lecture on the causes and the results of the greatest war of humankind. Dr. MacKinnon has written three books on military history and is familiar with many aspects of modern military history, tactics & organizations, various weapons and modern uniform aspects of military forces.