VALDOSTA STATE MAGAZINE 43 Making an Impact IMPACT VSU ENCOURAGES FACULTY, STAFF, STUDENTS TO INNOVATE, TACKLE REAL-WORLD PROBLEMS With a focus on community and economic development, Valdosta State University is on a mission to realize its full potential as a catalyst for regional comprehensive progress. VSU is working with South Georgia leaders and decision-makers in an effort to lead development in and serve as a resource for industry, healthcare, arts, education, athletics, and other changing economic regional needs to improve lives, fulfill needs and wants, and make the region a better place to live, learn, work, and play. “This community and this region don’t exist to make VSU successful,” explained Dr. Richard A. Carvajal, president of VSU. “VSU exists to make this community and this region successful. If we approach our work with that mindset, then the vision we’ve adopted for ourselves makes sense. It helps us understand that if we’re truly going to be successful, then it’s not just about what we do within the geographic borders of the property we own. It’s also about taking the magic that happens within our classrooms and hallways and going out and transforming this community and this region that we call home.” Through its Center for South Georgia Regional Impact, VSU is connecting the area’s biggest questions with answers, the most challenging problems with solutions. The goal is to identify the needs and opportunities in communities across South Georgia and then challenge VSU faculty, staff, and students to innovate and use their passions and skills to address those issues and create positive change. “This work is huge,” shared Darrell Moore, executive director of VSU’s Center for South Georgia Regional Impact. “What we are doing benefits the people in these communities, brings attention to the talent we have at this university, and gives our students some much-needed real-world experience. It’s a win-win-win. “We have a lot of great of projects that we are working on right now, and we are working to be more responsive and address projects as quickly and efficiently as possible. This is about more than economic development; it’s about community development, too. We are excited and ready for the challenge.” INTRODUCTION BY JESSICA R. POPE