At the Juncture of the Academy and the Community: The Carl Vinson Institute

Abstract

University-based public service organizations in the United States face distinct challenges and opportunities in bridging the gap between the academic resources of their institutions and the needs of the sponsoring society. The problems they encounter include confusion over definitions and expectations, lack of institutional commitment to and articulation of the outreach mission, and suspicions about public service programs bothfrom within and without. As one of the oldest and largest of these units, the Carl Vinson Institute of Government of the University of Georgia provides an interesting case study. An ongoing challenge for these organizations is to mix and match institutional and personal objectives and capabilities to optimize the contributions of the university to the society.