Company Profile
UGA Carl Vinson Institute of Government
Company Overview
Today’s complex challenges demand that governments at all levels strive to be more responsive, efficient, and effective in serving their citizens. The Carl Vinson Institute of Government is committed to promoting excellence in government through technical assistance, training programs, applied research and technology solutions. We are proud to be recognized as one of the best institutes of government in the nation.
As a Public Service and Outreach unit of the University of Georgia, we share in the university’s overarching public service mission of extending our resources of professional knowledge and expertise to help communities improve their quality of life. Fundamental to quality of life in Georgia and around the world is effective, efficient, and responsive governance.
At the Institute of Government, we inform, inspire, and innovate so that governments can be more efficient and responsive to citizens, address current and emerging challenges, and serve the public with excellence.
Company History
In 1927, the Carl Vinson Institute of Government opened its doors to "provide a forum to study international, national, state and local affairs and to make recommendations for improved governance." Then called the Institute of Public Affairs, the Institute was a unique organization that combined research, technical assistance, training and publications. It was established at the University of Georgia at a time when the university had only 1,500 students and the state population was a modest 2.8 million.
Over the next two decades, Georgia's population grew and so did the needs of its citizens. In 1938, the Institute of Public Affairs took on a larger role as the Institute for the Study of Georgia Problems. Its public service activities ranged from holding forums on constitutional reform to publishing studies on county road administration, forms of government and voter registration.
In 1943, the University of Georgia created the Bureau of Public Administration, coinciding with the extensive reform of state government by Gov. Ellis Arnall and employing the service of political science faculty to teach short courses to local government officials. This unit merged with the Institute for the Study of Georgia Problems in 1953 to become the Institute of Law and Government.
The first Biennial Institute for Georgia Legislators was conducted by the Institute in 1958, and it remains one of the longest-running educational programs for legislators in the country.
In 1965, the organization was renamed the Institute of Government when it began reporting to the new Office of the Vice President for Services. The final name change occurred in 1983, when the Institute was renamed in honor of Georgian Carl Vinson, who served in the US House of Representatives for more than 50 years. In 1998, the Institute of Government expanded its mission to assist people around the globe through our international services, which extends the training and assistance work of the Institute of Government worldwide to help governments more effectively respond to their constituents' needs.
Today, as the university's enrollment nears 40,000 and the state population approaches 11 million, the Institute of Government continues to help improve the quality of life in Georgia by bringing the resources and expertise of the university to bear on the issues and challenges facing the state.
Drawing upon the knowledge and resources of the University of Georgia, the Institute of Government provides education, assistance, research, policy analysis, publications and technology solutions to assist public officials in serving citizens in Georgia and throughout the world.
Benefits
The USG and its institutions encourage full-time faculty, staff, and administrators to participate in development activities and study by remitting tuition for those activities that have been authorized by the employee’s institution. Participation in the Tuition Assistance Program (TAP) shall be available to full-time, benefit-eligible employees who have successfully completed at least six months of employment in a benefits-eligible position as of the date of the TAP application deadline for the desired academic semester.