Jennifer Frum is retiring from the University of Georgia as the first female Vice President Emeritus for Public Service and Outreach.
University of Georgia President Jere W. Morehead announced the Emeritus designation last week at a reception to honor Frum, who is retiring Dec. 1 after a distinguished 30-year career at UGA. She has led UGA Public Service and Outreach since 2011, first as interim vice president and then permanently in July 2012. Frum is the first woman to hold this position.
Morehead praised Frum for her vision and leadership, and for her unwavering commitment to find new and innovative ways to put UGA’s resources and expertise to work for the citizens of Georgia.
“The University of Georgia has always set the standard in public service and outreach, but Dr. Frum built on that strong reputation to reach new heights of excellence,” said Morehead.
Under her leadership, Public Service and Outreach achieved national recognition and expanded its reach across the state with numerous award-winning programs. In recent years, the division secured over $50 million in private donations and $230 million in sponsored funding to support its outreach initiatives and facilities. The units of Public Service and Outreach generated an economic impact of over $505 million on the state in fiscal year 2023.
“I am humbled and honored by the Emeritus designation and know that Public Service and Outreach will continue to flourish,” Frum said. “We have the most dedicated faculty, staff and administrators on campus who wake up every day thinking about how to create jobs and prosperity, develop leaders and solve critical challenge in our state.”
Frum was instrumental in connecting the teaching, research and service mission of UGA and was a champion of collaboration, sending millions of dollars each year to academic programs across campus and providing workforce experience, engagement in civic activities, and experiential learning opportunities for students.
During her tenure as vice president, the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities (APLU) recognized UGA with the C. Peter Magrath Award for Community Engagement, its highest national award for public service, for the work of the Archway Partnership.
The APLU also awarded UGA an innovation and economic prosperity designation.
UGA has earned the University Economic Development Association National Award of Excellence five times since 2017 under her leadership, most recently in the Innovation category for the Rural Engagement Workshop for Academic Faculty. The program, which is facilitated by faculty from Archway, the Institute of Government, the Fanning Institute for Leadership Development and UGA Cooperative Extension, connects seeks to help strengthen partnerships with communities across Georgia through increased, collaborative and focused research and scholarship.
As the first woman vice president for Public Service and Outreach, Frum also became a mentor to other women who have taken on leadership roles at UGA and has been the executive sponsor of the Women’s Staff Leadership Institute.
Frum began her career at UGA in 1995 as a research professional in the Office of International Development and later held leadership roles at the Institute of Government, including deputy and interim director. In 2017, she served as interim president of Armstrong State University during the school’s leadership transition.
Frum has received numerous recognitions, including being named one of Georgia Trend’s “Power Women” in 2012 and among its 100 most influential Georgians in 2016 and 2017. She was also included in Georgia Trend’s list of 500 most influential leaders in 2022 and 2023. Her awards include the Jeannette Rankin Foundation Smart Women Award (2018) and the University of Georgia Blue Key Service Award (2022).
Matt Bishop, associate vice president for Public Service and Outreach, has been named interim vice president. Bishop will be responsible for continuing to provide institutional leadership for UGA’s outreach, engagement and economic development mission as he oversees the eight units.
In addition to his role as associate vice president, Bishop previously served 11 years as director of the J.W. Fanning Institute for Leadership Development, and operations coordinator for the Archway Partnership, where he was instrumental in expanding Archway from three to eight communities. His UGA career also includes serving as faculty at the Fanning Institute and Carl Vinson Institute of Government.
Before joining UGA, Bishop served as associate director of the Governor’s Rural Development Council and as regional resource coordinator for the Georgia Department of Community Affairs.
Bishop is a past president and chairman of Leadership Georgia. He earned a B.A. in political science from Presbyterian College and an M.P.A and Ph.D. in public administration from the University of Georgia.
Written by Roy Parry
Photo by Wingate Downs
