Over time, Political Science expanded graduate education and professional preparation. A Ph.D. in Political Science was proposed in 1963 and appeared in the General Catalogue in 1965–66. From the perspective of SPIA’s later development, these milestones mattered not only as academic achievements, but as evidence that the university’s study of politics and governance had reached a scale and maturity that could sustain something larger than a single department.

That same era also saw the birth of what would become one of the school’s signature programs: public administration. Faculty began planning a professional master’s program in the early 1960s, with key advocates including Professors Frank K. Gibson and Geoffrey Y. Cornog, supported by the Georgia City County Management Association and Morris W. H. (“Bill”) Collins, Director of the UGA Carl Vinson Institute of Government. Momentum intensified with the arrival of Robert T. Golembiewski in 1964. The Board of Regents approved the Master of Public Administration (MPA) program on March 9, 1966, and the program enrolled its first class of 12 students in fall 1966. The Doctor of Public Administration was proposed in 1969 and first appeared in the General Catalogue in 1971–73. These programs laid the foundation for what would eventually become SPIA.

That question was pushed forward most forcefully by Loch K. Johnson, a professor in the Department of Political Science who became the chief architect and advocate for what would become SPIA. Johnson’s vision crystallized in 1997 following visits to peer institutions where public affairs were organized not as individual programs, but as schools and institutes built explicitly around public purpose. Around the same time, Johnson heard a similar message from UGA students, many of whom expressed a desire for deeper engagement with how public policy is made, implemented, and evaluated across local, national, and international contexts. Taken together, these experiences planted a defining idea: the University of Georgia should have a dedicated school focused on public and international affairs.

Turning that idea into reality proved demanding. Throughout 1998, Johnson worked persistently to build support—within the Department of Political Science, across the university, and with newly appointed President Michael Adams. Progress was uneven, and resistance was real. Many faculty members were wary of institutional change, concerned about disrupting long-standing academic arrangements. By mid‑1999, support within Political Science itself was divided, with colleagues evenly split on whether to move forward.

A pivotal moment arrived in October 1999, when the Political Science faculty confronted the proposal directly. After extensive discussion, a secret‑ballot vote was held on whether to endorse the creation of a new school. The result—a decisive 33–to–1 vote in favor—marked a critical turning point. For Johnson, it validated years of advocacy, but it also signaled the beginning of a more complex phase of institutional negotiation.

Opposition surfaced next at the college level. Franklin College, home to Political Science at the time, initially resisted the proposal, voting against the establishment of a new school. The setback was profound. Yet Johnson and other supporters regrouped quickly, recognizing that the ultimate decision rested not with one college alone but with the university’s broader governance structure. Over the course of 2000 and into early 2001, Johnson intensified his efforts—building coalitions, addressing concerns, and refining the proposal with an eye toward long‑term sustainability.

Momentum shifted in February 2001, when Franklin College reconsidered and narrowly voted to move forward. From there, the proposal advanced through a series of critical institutional reviews, including the University Council’s curriculum and executive committees, before reaching the full council. The final debates were tense and highly visible, with packed meetings and heightened scrutiny. Late in the process, proposed changes threatened to reshape the school at the eleventh hour, raising fears that years of careful planning could be undone. Johnson and his allies held firm, believing that stability and clarity were essential at such a decisive moment.

When the final vote was called, support was unmistakable. Approval at the university level was soon followed by endorsement of the school’s budget plan and, ultimately, authorization by the Board of Regents on June 13, 2001. With that decision, the School of Public and International Affairs officially came into being.

The creation of SPIA was more than an administrative reorganization. It was the culmination of sustained leadership, strategic persistence, and a conviction—championed above all by Loch Johnson—that public affairs education deserved a unified and enduring institutional home. What emerged was not simply a new school, but a framework designed to integrate teaching, research, and engagement across disciplines, positioning the University of Georgia to educate future generations committed to service, leadership, and the public good.

The earliest years were necessarily transitional. During SPIA’s first academic year, leadership focused on continuity and stability while foundational decisions were still being made. The school did not yet have individual department heads, and many administrative and academic processes were inherited temporarily from existing units. At the same time, preparations were underway to establish SPIA as a distinct school with its own identity, governance, and culture. While these efforts moved forward, renovation work began on Candler Hall, which had been selected as SPIA’s future home.

Throughout this transition, daily operations remained centered in Baldwin Hall. Offices served double duty, and departmental identities were as much conceptual as spatial. Faculty and staff worked within tight constraints, sharing limited space while beginning to think and operate as members of newly defined departments. Even without dedicated department suites, a strong sense of affiliation quickly took hold—an early sign of how readily faculty and students embraced SPIA’s emerging structure.

By 2002, the school’s framework became more clearly defined. SPIA formally launched with 34 full‑time faculty members, and two new departments—the Department of Public Administration and Policy and the Department of International Affairs—were established alongside Political Science. At the same time, the school began building essential student‑facing operations from the ground up. Advising, graduation services, and orientation were developed specifically for SPIA students, marking an important shift from being housed within a department to functioning as a full academic school. These early investments mattered deeply, signaling that SPIA’s success would be measured not only by programs and research, but by the quality of the student experience.

The move into Candler Hall represented both a practical and symbolic turning point. Preparing the building for occupancy was itself a phased process, and when faculty and staff began moving in during the summer of 2003, the work was not entirely finished. Renovations were largely complete, but final details still required attention, reflecting the school’s broader reality: SPIA was ready to begin, even as finishing touches remained underway. Despite these lingering challenges, the Dean’s Office and the Department of International Affairs moved into the building, establishing a visible and permanent presence that helped anchor the school’s identity.

From that moment forward, SPIA no longer existed only in plans, proposals, and shared offices. With faculty teaching, students advising, and programs launching from a dedicated home, the school entered its next phase—one marked by growth, experimentation, and a deepening sense of purpose that would define its trajectory in the years to come.

Public programming quickly became a hallmark of the school. In 2006, SPIA inaugurated the Getzen Lecture on Government Accountability, reinforcing a commitment to examining public institutions through rigorous, transparent, and applied inquiry. The following year, the school demonstrated its convening power on a national stage by hosting a three‑day conference on The Carter Presidency: Lessons for the 21st Century. The event brought together President Jimmy Carter, Rosalynn Carter, former Vice President Walter Mondale, and most living members of the Carter administration, underscoring SPIA’s ability to bridge scholarship, history, and contemporary public debate.

Academic programs continued to expand in parallel. The approval of the Master of International Policy program in 2008 strengthened graduate education in global affairs, while student achievement drew national attention with the naming of Kate Vyborny and Deep Shah as Rhodes Scholars that same year. These milestones reflected a school beginning to realize its ambition: producing scholarship and graduates capable of engaging the world at the highest levels.

As SPIA matured, it invested more intentionally in students as ambassadors and alumni as partners. The SPIA Ambassador Program, created in 2011, formalized student engagement and peer leadership, while the school’s 10th anniversary celebration in 2012 provided an opportunity to reflect on its first decade. That event also introduced the Distinguished Public Service Award, with Saxby Chambliss honored as its inaugural recipient. The same year saw the creation of the SPIA Alumni Board of Directors, strengthening alumni involvement in mentoring, advocacy, and strategic guidance.

The years around 2013 marked a period of both transition and renewal. SPIA hosted the inaugural Georgia Legislative Outlook, creating a forum that connected faculty expertise, student learning, and Georgia’s legislative priorities. Student excellence continued to stand out nationally with Elizabeth Allen named a Rhodes Scholar. At the same time, founding dean Tom Lauth retired, closing one chapter of leadership as Stefanie Lindquist was named SPIA’s second dean and began guiding the school into its next phase.

The mid‑2010s brought further diversification of academic pathways and applied learning. The Public Affairs Professional Certificate in Applied Politics was approved in 2015–2016, creating a new avenue for students interested in campaign management, governance, and political practice. The Public Policy and Management minor followed in 2016, alongside the establishment of the Survey Research Center, which expanded SPIA’s capacity for data‑driven research and applied analysis.

Physical spaces evolved in tandem with intellectual ones. Major renovations to Baldwin Hall were completed in 2017, modernizing classrooms and collaborative spaces that had long served as the school’s academic core. That same year, Matthew Auer was named dean, ushering in a period of strategic expansion. The dedication of the Massey Reading Room in 2018 further reinforced SPIA’s commitment to scholarship and community.

Academic distinction continued to grow. By 2019, university‑wide teaching and research honors bestowed on SPIA faculty surpassed 100, a marker of scholarly depth across departments. That year also brought the approval of a Bachelor of Science in Political Science and the launch of the SPIA Undergraduate Research Colloquium, deepening opportunities for students to engage in original research and present their work publicly.

Momentum carried into the early 2020s. In 2020, SPIA established its 100th private fund, reflecting sustained philanthropic confidence in the school’s mission. New academic offerings followed, including the International Affairs minor in 2020, the International Human Rights and Security minor in 2021, and a Data Analytics in Public Policy certificate, responding to growing student interest in applied global and methodological training. In 2022, SPIA received the largest individual research award in its history, a $5 million grant supporting higher education conservation efforts in Liberia—illustrating the school’s increasing global research footprint.

Student achievement remained a defining strength. Natalie Navarrete was named a Rhodes Scholar in 2023, followed by Mariah Cady in 2024, continuing a pattern of national recognition for SPIA students. By 2025, the school reached several defining milestones simultaneously. The MPA program sustained a top‑ten national ranking for thirty consecutive years, SPIA’s faculty exceeded 70 full‑time members, and total enrollment surpassed 2,000 students. Political Science became the fifth most popular major on campus, reflecting the sustained appeal of SPIA’s academic offerings.

That same year, the approval of the Applied History Certificate, developed in partnership with Franklin College, further expanded interdisciplinary opportunities. Philanthropic investment reached a high point with a $2 million gift from the Robin and Ed Benson Foundation, leading to the naming of the Benson‑Bertsch Center for International Trade and Security. Physical spaces continued to honor community and service, including the renaming of the Pinnacle Room in Baldwin Hall in honor of Major General Arnold L. Punaro.

Taken together, these milestones illustrate not a single moment of transformation, but a sustained pattern of growth. Through deliberate leadership, academic innovation, student achievement, and community engagement, SPIA has continued to build an institution defined by purpose, adaptability, and steady momentum—one well positioned to meet the challenges of public and international affairs in the years ahead.

Under the leadership of Robert Grafstein, the department undertook a deliberate effort to strengthen training in quantitative methods. This emphasis reflected broader shifts in the discipline and positioned students to compete more effectively at the graduate level and beyond. By reinforcing methodological foundations, Political Science enhanced both its instructional capacity and its national standing during SPIA’s formative years.

That momentum continued during John Maltese’s tenure as department head, when the department actively expanded its national and international profile. Political Science became a hub for scholarly exchange, hosting an ambitious slate of external speakers, workshops, and conferences that brought leading scholars to Athens. These efforts were supported by long‑standing internal resources and reflected a belief that intellectual visibility mattered—not only for faculty research, but for student exposure to cutting‑edge work in the field. During this period, the Alston Chair was placed within SPIA and assigned to Political Science, culminating in the hiring of Keith T. Poole in 2010. Poole used these resources in a notably expansive way, supporting conferences, collaborative research, and public‑facing scholarly engagement that elevated the department’s profile even further.

Importantly, this period of growth unfolded at a time when many institutions were retrenching in response to the Great Recession. Rather than pull back, Political Science leaned into strategic expansion. The department hosted major conferences, welcomed speakers from leading institutions in the United States and abroad, and participated in emerging methodological and scholarly networks. These activities signaled confidence in the department’s direction and reinforced SPIA’s broader commitment to sustained investment in academic excellence, even during uncertain times.

Under Scott Ainsworth’s leadership, the department entered another phase of modernization. A bachelor’s degree in Political Science was launched, broadening undergraduate pathways and increasing accessibility to the discipline. The Applied Politics Program took shape, strengthening connections between academic study and practical political engagement, while the Survey Research Center expanded opportunities for applied research and data‑driven inquiry. These programmatic developments coincided with significant improvements to physical space, as the department moved into the newly renovated wing of Baldwin Hall in 2017, providing updated facilities that better supported teaching, research, and collaboration.

Susan Haire’s tenure built upon this foundation. Faculty numbers continued to grow, and the department refined its graduate offerings through the creation of a Political Analytics track in the master’s program, developed in collaboration with International Affairs. This initiative reflected both the department’s methodological strengths and SPIA’s emphasis on interdisciplinary problem‑solving.

Over time, national recognition increasingly mirrored these internal developments. Rankings steadily improved—from 54th nationally in 2005 to 38th in 2025—marking consistent upward movement over two decades. Student demand offered another clear measure of vitality. By 2025, Political Science had become the fifth most popular major on campus, underscoring the enduring appeal of the discipline and the success of its evolution within SPIA.

Together, these developments tell a story of deliberate growth. Political Science remained anchored in its scholarly traditions while adapting to new expectations, new methods, and new opportunities. Its evolution within SPIA reflects the broader trajectory of the school itself: a commitment to rigor, relevance, and public purpose, sustained through leadership, collaboration, and steady investment over time.

By fall 2003, International Affairs was fully underway. The department began that first semester with ten faculty members and about 150 declared majors, an unusually strong showing for a new department and an early sign of campus demand. Many of those students came from Political Science, switching as soon as international affairs became an option. The department’s momentum was so immediate that students were enrolling and declaring even before the Bachelor of Arts in International Affairs received final approval later that fall. Like many new ventures, International Affairs grew faster than its initial capacity. Meeting student demand required flexibility and creativity, including a reliance on graduate teaching assistants as the department worked to build a sustainable long-term faculty base.

In 2003, Howard J. Wiarda became International Affairs’ first full-time department head (2003–2009), providing steady leadership during a period of rapid expansion. These years were formative: International Affairs was defining what it meant to be a department inside a new school, balancing curricular breadth with staffing realities, and building a program that could support both student interest and academic rigor. From the beginning, the department’s ambitions extended beyond a single undergraduate major. Early conversations explored graduate education and the possibility of advanced degrees in international affairs. While the department’s aspirations were shaped by practical limits—especially faculty capacity and the need to sustain undergraduate teaching—International Affairs continued to press toward stronger graduate training through collaborative models that aligned with SPIA’s integrated structure.

Under Markus M. L. Crepaz (2009–2018), International Affairs entered a phase of sustained development and institutional maturity. The curriculum expanded, the department strengthened its course offerings under the INTL prefix, and International Affairs broadened the ways students could engage global issues beyond the major itself. During these years, International Affairs also helped anchor programs and credentials that widened access to global learning across campus—creating pathways for students who wanted international depth regardless of their primary field of study.

That momentum continued under Amanda Murdie (2018–2025), whose tenure reflected a department increasingly defined by scale, program variety, and student engagement. By this point, International Affairs had become one of the university’s largest majors, with demand that shaped both teaching priorities and program design. The department’s academic ecosystem grew to include an International Affairs minor, as well as interdisciplinary certificates that helped students connect global learning with professional goals and intellectual curiosity—including the Certificate in Global Studies and later the Applied History Certificate developed in partnership with History. Across these years, International Affairs strengthened its role as a bridge—linking SPIA’s public service mission to global questions of security, governance, and human experience.

In 2025, Justin Conrad became department head (2025–present), stepping into leadership at a moment when International Affairs—and SPIA as a whole—was marked by scale, visibility, and forward momentum. By then, the department’s story had become a clear through-line within SPIA’s broader trajectory: a program launched with immediate student enthusiasm, sustained through careful leadership across successive eras, and continually expanded to meet the realities of a changing world.

In its earliest years, the MPA was housed within political science and drew heavily from the realities of Georgia’s public workforce. Many students were working professionals, particularly from the Atlanta area, commuting to Athens in the evenings or enrolling in off‑campus offerings designed to meet them where they were. Enrollment rose steadily, and the program experimented with multiple delivery models, including branch offerings beyond Athens, as faculty worked to balance accessibility with academic continuity. These early decades were marked by intellectual ambition, but also by frequent leadership transitions. Directors came from within and beyond the university, including Keith Baker, who was jointly appointed with the Carl Vinson Institute of Government, and interim or short‑term leaders such as Frank J. Thompson, Douglas Bothun, Giles W. Kennedy, and Gerald Kimmitt. While administrative stability was elusive in the 1970s, the program’s purpose endured.

That stability arrived in 1981, when Jerome S. Legge, Jr. became director. Over more than two decades, Legge guided the MPA through periods of national skepticism toward government, shifts in federal employment, and declining training funds, while reinforcing the program’s role as both an academic and professional gateway. During his tenure, the program diversified its student population, strengthened recruitment beyond in‑service professionals, and built relationships with institutions across the Southeast that helped funnel outstanding undergraduates into public service careers. At the same time, faculty research productivity placed Georgia at the forefront of the discipline, further elevating the program’s national stature.

By the time SPIA was created in 2001, the MPA was no longer an emerging program—it was a nationally recognized foundation. The establishment of the Department of Public Administration and Policy in 2002 gave public administration a distinct home within a school explicitly devoted to governance and public affairs. That transition also brought leadership continuity into a new structure. Jerome Legge moved into school‑wide leadership, and Laurence J. O’Toole became the department’s first head within SPIA, guiding PADP through its initial integration into the new school and helping translate decades of tradition into a modern departmental framework.

Following O’Toole’s tenure, J. Edward Kellough assumed department leadership in 2008, bringing long‑standing familiarity with the MPA and a focus on instructional quality, student outcomes, and faculty development. Under Kellough, the department navigated broader changes in higher education while continuing to expand its curriculum and maintain national visibility. Leadership passed to Bradley Wright in 2014, whose decade‑long tenure coincided with significant growth in faculty size, enrollment, and programmatic reach. During these years, PADP broadened specialization areas, strengthened professional pathways, and sustained its reputation even as public‑sector employment nationwide faced economic and political pressures. In 2024, Kellough returned as department head, reinforcing continuity at a time when SPIA itself had reached a new level of institutional maturity.

Across these leadership eras, the MPA remained the department’s cornerstone. Enrollment grew substantially during the SPIA years—from just over 75 students at the school’s founding to a high of 159 by 2010—and remained resilient through economic downturns. The program’s enduring excellence received public affirmation in 2016, when the Georgia House of Representatives recognized fifty years of service to public leadership, and again in 2025, when the MPA marked three consecutive decades among the nation’s top‑ranked public affairs programs.

Today, the Department of Public Administration and Policy reflects both continuity and evolution. Its foundations were laid by early advocates who believed public service could be taught with rigor and purpose. Its durability was secured through decades of adaptive leadership. Within SPIA, that legacy has not only been preserved but strengthened—positioning PADP as an anchor of the school and a living expression of its commitment to public purpose, scholarship, and service.

That question lingered. Bertsch redirected his scholarly focus toward strategic trade, nonproliferation, and the security consequences of global markets. Over time, this line of inquiry evolved from individual research into an institutional vision. In 1987, Bertsch partnered with Ambassador Martin Hillenbrand, a diplomat with deep experience in European and transatlantic affairs, to establish a center devoted to understanding and managing the security risks embedded in international trade. What began as the Center for East‑West Trade Policy soon became the Center for International Trade and Security, reflecting a mission no longer confined to Cold War divisions but increasingly focused on a globalized world.

The Center’s earliest days were modest. It operated out of a small office in the attic of Baldwin Hall, with little formal funding and only a handful of people involved. Yet even from this unassuming beginning, the Center’s work began to resonate far beyond campus. Early support from philanthropic foundations enabled the convening of international dialogues that brought foreign officials, policy experts, and scholars to Athens. One such gathering, which included participants from the Soviet Union and other countries, drew international attention and underscored a powerful idea: meaningful work on some of the world’s most complex security challenges could originate far from traditional policy centers.

As the Cold War ended and the Soviet Union collapsed, the Center’s mission became more urgent than ever. The dissolution of the USSR created unprecedented risks related to the spread of nuclear weapons, sensitive technologies, and scientific expertise. The Center shifted its focus decisively toward export controls, nonproliferation, and cooperative threat reduction. It became a site for sustained engagement with officials from post‑Soviet states, helping to build regulatory frameworks, institutional capacity, and shared norms around strategic trade management. Through off‑the‑record discussions, conferences, and ongoing consultation, the Center contributed meaningfully to international efforts aimed at preventing proliferation while facilitating legitimate commerce and development.

Throughout this period, students played a central role in the Center’s work. Graduate students were not merely observers but active contributors, helping develop new analytical methods to assess proliferation risks and export control systems at a time when reliable data were scarce. Their work helped establish rigorous, replicable approaches that influenced scholarship and policy alike, reinforcing a defining principle of the Center: that students, when trusted with responsibility, could help shape real‑world outcomes.

This emphasis on education as preparation for public responsibility eventually extended to undergraduates. In the late 1980s, the Center began creating opportunities for students interested in national and international security, initially through internships and research experiences tied directly to its work. These early efforts laid the groundwork for what would later become one of the Center’s most enduring contributions to SPIA: the Richard B. Russell Security Leadership Program.

Formally established in 2004 and named in honor of Georgia Senator Richard B. Russell through the support of the Russell Foundation, the Security Leadership Program transformed the Center’s student engagement into a structured, immersive experience. Designed as a selective, year‑long program, the SLP offered undergraduates an intensive introduction to the study and practice of national security. From its inception, the program mirrored the Center’s broader philosophy—combining rigorous analysis with professional skill‑building and direct exposure to the institutions and individuals shaping security policy.

SLP students were trained in policy writing, analysis, oral briefings, and research methods, often under conditions that mirrored the pressures of real‑world decision‑making. Through simulations of the National Security Council, students grappled with unfolding crises, competing priorities, and the necessity of collaboration in high‑stakes environments. Research projects pushed students to investigate complex security issues—from nonproliferation and energy security to human rights and conflict—while communicating their findings to both expert and general audiences. For many, the program offered graduate‑level expectations and mentorship while they were still undergraduates.

The program’s integration with the Center’s broader work was deliberate. SLP students participated in the Center’s lectures, training programs, and international engagements, seeing firsthand how scholarship informed practice. The annual spring trip to Washington, D.C., became a hallmark of the program, connecting students with alumni and professionals working across government agencies, think tanks, and international organizations. These experiences reinforced an understanding that there was no single path into public service—only sustained preparation, adaptability, and networks grounded in trust.

Over time, the Security Leadership Program developed a reputation for producing graduates who were exceptionally well prepared for careers in national and international security. Alumni pursued advanced degrees at leading universities, entered public service through federal agencies, joined think tanks and non‑governmental organizations, and earned nationally competitive scholarships and fellowships. Just as importantly, the program fostered a strong sense of community. Cohorts formed lasting bonds, and alumni remained closely connected to the Center and to one another, often returning to mentor students who followed in their footsteps.

In 2008, the Master of International Policy (MIP) program was approved  to meet a growing need for policy professionals who could move seamlessly from the classroom into the practice of international security and global affairs. From its earliest days, the MIP was conceived as a deliberately applied, career-focused alternative to traditional academic graduate programs, offering small cohorts and an intensive curriculum grounded in real-world policy challenges. Jointly administered by the Department of International Affairs and CITS, the program quickly distinguished itself through its security-centric focus and its deep integration with practitioners operating at the intersection of policy, science, and global risk. Students were encouraged to acquire both subject-matter expertise and practical experience across interrelated issue areas—including nonproliferation, energy security, and human security—while developing the core analytical, research, and professional skills required for successful policy careers.

A pivotal moment in the program’s development came in 2016, when leadership aligned the MIP more deliberately with the strengths and professional culture of CITS, drawing inspiration from the Center’s nationally recognized undergraduate Security Leadership Program. The curriculum was refined into a coherent, scaffolded experience that emphasized strategic thinking, technical literacy, and experiential learning, including engagement with federal agencies, national laboratories, and international training programs. Over time, the MIP evolved into more than an academic degree program—it became a professional community defined by close faculty mentorship, a fiercely loyal alumni network, and a shared commitment to preparing graduates for immediate impact across the national security enterprise. Today, MIP alumni work throughout government, industry, think tanks, and international organizations, reflecting the program’s original vision: rigorous training, practical experience, and a broad, mature understanding of how complex security challenges intersect in the real world.

From its earliest days, the Center emphasized interdisciplinary study. Its founding vision recognized that global challenges—economic development, political conflict, human rights, and international cooperation—could not be understood in isolation. Instead, students were encouraged to draw from political science, economics, geography, history, anthropology, sociology, religion, business, and language study to form a more complete understanding of global affairs. This philosophy became the foundation of the Global Studies Certificate, which allowed students to integrate global learning into their primary fields of study while cultivating cultural literacy, foreign‑language proficiency, and analytical range.

The certificate program was designed to complement—not replace—a student’s major. Its structure reflected a belief that global understanding enriched any career path. Whether students were preparing for work in law, business, public service, journalism, agriculture, or fields not traditionally labeled “international,” the program emphasized perspective. The goal was not solely professional preparation, but the cultivation of informed citizens capable of navigating an increasingly interconnected world.

The Center’s identity and influence deepened under the leadership of Han Park, a professor of political science internationally recognized for his work as a scholar, peacemaker, and public intellectual. Park joined the University of Georgia faculty in 1970 and, over the course of more than four decades, became one of the university’s most globally visible figures. His scholarship and public engagement extended well beyond campus, but he remained deeply grounded in Athens, committed to the idea that a public university could serve as a site of meaningful global dialogue.

As director of the Center, Park expanded its reach and sense of purpose. He initiated nuclear peace talks hosted at the university, bringing together delegates from North Korea and the United States—a rare and extraordinary moment that demonstrated how academic spaces could foster dialogue on sensitive international issues. Under his guidance, the Center became not only an academic unit but a place where scholarship, diplomacy, and moral responsibility intersected. Park’s leadership style reflected humility and service, reinforcing the Center’s commitment to engagement over recognition and progress over prestige.

As globalization accelerated, the Center responded by expanding opportunities for experiential learning. Study abroad became a key pillar of its mission, with programs established across Asia, Africa, Europe, and South America. These programs were designed not as isolated travel experiences but as deeply integrated academic opportunities that complemented classroom learning. Over time, thousands of students participated in these programs, gaining firsthand exposure to global cultures, institutions, and public issues.

After forty‑five years of service, Park retired in 2016, marking the end of an era and the beginning of a new chapter. His legacy—grounded in peacebuilding, global engagement, and interdisciplinary inquiry—provided a strong foundation for the Center’s next phase of growth.

That next chapter ushered in a renewed emphasis on collaboration, research, and student experience. New leadership expanded the Center’s scope while remaining true to its founding values. Research initiatives increasingly focused on global issues that connected local, national, and international contexts, including food access, political representation, human trafficking, and election integrity. These projects reflected a core belief that global challenges cannot be separated neatly by scale—that local and state policies often reverberate far beyond borders.

The Center also deepened its commitment to interdisciplinary collaboration across campus. Faculty from fields as varied as public health, economics, international affairs, philosophy, and government came together around shared questions about governance, representation, and equity. In doing so, the Center positioned itself as a hub where scholars from different traditions could pursue integrated approaches to global problems. Training programs and workshops further reinforced this role, building expertise in survey research and data‑driven inquiry while expanding the Center’s reach beyond the university to the broader academic community.

At the same time, the study abroad component of the Center entered a new period of growth and intentional design. Existing programs in countries such as China, Italy, Scotland, and South Africa were strengthened through partnerships across colleges and disciplines, bringing together students from SPIA, Franklin College, the Terry College of Business, and beyond. The emphasis shifted toward quality, reciprocity, and depth of engagement. Service‑learning components, particularly in South Africa, allowed students to work alongside local communities, reinforcing the importance of mutual benefit, ethical engagement, and sustained relationships.

Throughout this evolution, one principle remained constant: the student experience mattered most. Whether through research, study abroad, or interdisciplinary coursework, the Center continued to focus on preparing students not just to understand global issues, but to engage with them responsibly. The goal was to help students develop intellectual curiosity, cultural awareness, and a sense of obligation to the communities—local and global—that their work would affect.

Today, the Center for the Study of Global Issues stands as a vital part of SPIA’s intellectual and educational landscape. It supports interdisciplinary scholarship, administers global programs, and houses initiatives such as the Human Rights Lab—further strengthening the connection between academic study and real-world impact. Across decades of change, the Center has remained anchored in its founding belief: that global understanding is essential to public life, and that education rooted in empathy, inquiry, and engagement can help prepare students to navigate—and shape—an interconnected world.

The Survey Research Center is led by Director Trey Hood, a nationally respected scholar of public opinion and political behavior. A longtime member of the SPIA faculty, Dr. Hood brings deep expertise in survey methodology, elections, and voter attitudes, as well as extensive experience translating academic research for public and media audiences. Under his leadership, the SRC has combined scholarly rigor with public relevance, reinforcing its commitment to independence, transparency, and methodological excellence.

During election cycles in particular, SRC polling has offered clarity amid uncertainty—examining voter confidence, perceptions of election administration, and shifting political attitudes across the state. The center’s findings have frequently informed coverage by leading regional and national media outlets, including The Atlanta Journal‑Constitution, The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, Politico, Axios, and the Associated Press. Through this visibility, the SRC helped ensure that Georgia’s evolving electorate was represented accurately and responsibly on a national stage.

Beyond elections, the Survey Research Center has conducted influential surveys on governance and public policy, capturing how Georgians assess state leadership, legislative priorities, and major issues such as education, taxation, and economic security. These efforts have provided a longitudinal view of public sentiment, helping policymakers, journalists, and civic leaders understand not only what Georgians think at a given moment, but how those attitudes change over time.

Through partnerships with researchers, nonprofit organizations, government entities, and media organizations, the SRC has also examined how policies and public services affect communities across the state. Together, these polling efforts have strengthened informed civic dialogue while reinforcing SPIA’s role as a leader in public‑facing, applied scholarship.