Two faculty members named Service-Learning Fellows for 2026-27

Two FACS faculty members are among the 13 chosen by the UGA Office of Service Learning to be included in the 22nd Service-Learning Fellows cohort.

Wil Golden and Deborah Lacey, lecturers in the FACS department of financial planning, housing and consumer economics, were selected for the program that allows faculty from a wide range of disciplines to integrate academic service-learning into their professional work.

Since its launch in 2006, over 200 faculty from across UGA have participated in the Service-Learning Fellows program.

“Service-learning as a pedagogy provides UGA faculty with a framework for connecting course curricula to community issues,” says program co-director Kathy Thompson, a clinical professor in the Mary Frances Early College of Education. “This creates real-world opportunities for university students to apply their knowledge and skills to make a meaningful difference in their communities.”

Faculty participants develop service-learning course projects that pair students with communities across Georgia to address issues such as youth development, food security, health access, economic development and more. Through completion of these projects, students can fulfill their experiential learning graduation requirements while simultaneously benefiting local communities.

Golden plans to expand the UGA Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program into a multidisciplinary service-learning platform focused on financial wellbeing. Through FHCE 4325S: Applied Financial Planning and FHCE 6235S: Applied Financial Planning Leadership, students will move beyond preparing tax returns to address wealth-building challenges facing low- and moderate-income families. The experience will give students real-world preparation for careers in financial guidance while broadening the program’s focus on the financial needs of community members.

Lacey, CFP® MST and CFP® Program Director, is designing a new course that will be incorporated into FHCE 5250 Capstone in Financial Planning and a new section of existing applied financial planning courses. Students will design and implement interactive seminars and individual meetings focused on financial resiliency, covering topics such as investing, retirement, taxation, savings, risk assessment and budgeting.

The project aims to help community members make confident financial decisions, reduce financial stress and build long-term economic stability while giving students hands-on experience applying financial planning knowledge with individuals and communities.

The full list can be seen here.