The University of Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences is currently planning its future, developing its official 10-year strategic plan. To get public input, the college has scheduled several regional meetings across the state.

The college prepares students for jobs in Georgia's No. 1 business, agriculture, conducts cutting-edge research and educates the public through UGA Cooperative Extension offices across the state.

Six regional meetings have been set from 8:30 a.m. until noon on the following dates:

January 12 - Tifton- Tifton Campus Conference Center

January 25 - Griffin - Stuckey Auditorium

January 31 - Eatonton - Rock Eagle 4-H Center

February 15 - Gainesville - Georgia Mountain Center

February 21 - Acworth - North Metro Campus of Chattahoochee Tech

February 29 - Lyons - Vidalia Onion and Vegetable Research Center

“Strategic planning is just a fancy way to explain the process of assessing where you are, determining what your strengths and weaknesses are, determining where or what you want to be in the future and making a realistic plan to get you there,” said Laura Perry Johnson, co-chair of the planning committee and a UGA Extension 4-H specialist.

CAES Dean and Director Scott Angle’s goal is to have a “concrete plan” that will direct the college as it moves forward and, hopefully, as resources increase.

“In times of limited resources, strategic planning is even more important,” said Jean Bertrand, co-chair of the committee and CAES associate dean for academic affairs. “Having a plan is essential so you can focus what resources you do have on the programs and areas where you are best positioned to have maximum impact.”

Like UGA’s current strategic plan, the CAES plan targets 2020.

Members of the college’s administration and strategic planning committee will be attending ag-related programs and events to gather input from across the state. Participants are encouraged to register for the regional meetings at caesplan.caes.uga.edu/index.html.

If you are unable to attend a regional meeting but would like to submit your recommendations, go to the website caesplan.caes.uga.edu/index.html . Feedback can also be sent to caesplan@uga.edu.