Partnership with UGA Admissions:

UGA recruits students directly to the university, but not to individual academic units. Nevertheless, SPIA joins Admissions purposefully to recruit students to UGA from diverse backgrounds and underserved communities – whether or not those students eventually join SPIA. SPIA actively participates in Road Dawgs, Movimiento Latino, and Georgia African American Male Initiative (GAAME). SPIA’s recruitment efforts are facilitated by the availability of funds supporting students with economic need including the School’s five Georgia Commitment scholarships.

Graduate Student Recruitment:

Promoting diversity in our graduate student body is a formal goal in SPIA’s strategic plan. SPIA’s outreach to prospective graduate students from underrepresented and underserved communities include leveraging relevant SPIA and university resources (e.g., UGA Graduate School Recruitment Enhancement Grant) to strengthen offers of funding; faculty participation in HBCU virtual and in-person recruitment fairs; and individualized Q&A opportunities with faculty and professional staff to candidates before and after an offer of admission.

Faculty Representation and Recruitment:

• Guest scholar seminars: Each department at SPIA hosts a lecture series, annually, featuring visiting scholars who are underrepresented in the academy so as to promote professional opportunities for these experts and introduce them to the scholarly community at SPIA.
• Inclusive search ads: All faculty recruitment ads at SPIA encourage candidates to identify in their application materials their experience and interest in research, teaching, or service related to DEI.
• Training for faculty search committees: SPIA aims to have all search committee members participate in a UGA Office of Faculty Affairs Faculty Search Committee Training workshop which covers strategies for advancing diverse and inclusive faculty hiring.
• Partnership with institutional diversity experts: SPIA collaborates with the UGA Office of Institutional Diversity when recruiting faculty from underrepresented backgrounds.

SPIA Honors Society for Diversity, Inclusion, and Equity:

This student organization is open to both undergraduate and graduate students. Its current and planned activities include a speaker series, professional development workshops, and mentorship.

Faculty Diversity & Inclusion Working Group:

This group, established within the Department of International Affairs is open to faculty members from all SPIA departments. Activities of the Diversity & Inclusion Working Group are grounded in SPIA’s commitment to antiracist pedagogy, inclusive public service, and equity and social justice for people of all identities.

Bestowed on SPIA faculty, staff, or student who make significant contributions to promoting diversity and inclusion efforts in the School.

A lecture series hosted jointly by the UGA School of Law and SPIA honoring the life and legacy of the late Judge Horace Johnson Jr. of Alcovy Judicial Circuit Superior Court, Georgia. Click here for more information.