Outstanding Alumni – Jennifer Frum (PhD 2009)

Betz Kerley

Jennifer Frum (PhD, 2009) 2012 has been quite a year for Dr. Jennifer Frum. It all began in January when, after a national search, UGA named her vice president for public service and outreach (PSO). She is the first female vice president to lead the university’s service mission.

In June, Dr. Frum was named one of Georgia Trend Magazine’s 2012 Power Women – one of four women in the state to make this list. The magazine reports that these are the women “who thrive on challenge and hard work. In achieving their successes, they are changing their worlds and making a difference.” Frum, having dedicated 17 years in public outreach administration at UGA, was an obvious choice to receive the honor and to take the helm of the PSO.

The PSO represents UGA in all 159 counties and 400 cities in the state of Georgia. Their mission is to enhance quality of life in the state by addressing economic, social and community needs. Dr. Frum is in charge of university resources extended statewide including: the Archway Partnership, Carl Vinson Institute of Government, Fanning Institute, Center for Continuing Education, Marine Extension Service, Office of Service-Learning, Small Business Development Center and The State Botanical Garden of Georgia. There is no typical workday in this VP’s life. “Ideally every day would involve meetings and work that includes both attending to the ever-present administrative details of the job and moving the “big rocks”—the big-picture strategic goals we’re trying to accomplish,” Jennifer explains.

With her drive, abilities and enthusiasm, it’s no wonder that Dr. Frum was selected to be on an elite list of Georgia women making a difference. “The absolute best part of what I do is when I’m out in the state and someone tells me that the University of Georgia, through our outreach programs, helped them in some way. It could be that we helped an individual start a small business or we helped a community create jobs or attract an industry,” explains Frum.

Frum then adds, “We happen to think that UGA’s public service and outreach programs are a great value to the state—we generate $2.50 for every dollar we receive from the state and our total economic impact on the state last year was $333 million. This is a message that resonates outside the institution.”

Dr. Frum’s advice to students beginning their studies at the IHE: “I would encourage students to take advantage of the extraordinary talent among the faculty and seek out joint research/writing opportunities. Also, IHE directs significant resources to ensuring that students have numerous and diverse professional development opportunities, from international experiences to national conferences. These are tremendous opportunities for students.”

In regards to our on-going examination of effective leadership, Dr. Frum weighed in on the subject. “For me, really great leaders know how to assemble a great team—I find that I am at my best with energetic ‘ideas’ people around me—and then enabling that team to act. I definitely think that the best leaders are the ones who can anticipate and plan for the future, who search for opportunities, and who aren’t afraid to take reasonable risks and fail.”

Dr. Frum’s accomplishments in 2012 are proof that she too has what it takes to become an effective leader. We congratulate Jennifer on her stellar year, and look forward to reporting on the many achievements we are confident will be in her future.

IHE directs significant resources to ensuring that students have numerous and diverse professional development opportunities, from international experiences to national conferences.