Karen DeMeester has been honored with a Walter Barnard Hill Award for Distinguished Achievement in Public Service and Outreach.
DeMeester, a University of Georgia Carl Vinson Institute of Government faculty member, designs and implements evaluations of a variety of programs and projects, including grant-funded research projects. She has led evaluations funded by the U.S. Departments of Health and Human Services, Education, and Defense as well as the National Science Foundation and NASA. She joined the institute in 2017.
DeMeester received the award at the 35th Annual UGA Public Service and Outreach Awards Luncheon, held in late March at the UGA Center for Continuing Education & Hotel.
“We are incredibly proud of Karen and delighted to see her commitment to public service recognized with the Hill Award,” said Rob Gordon, Institute of Government director. “Through her extensive collaborations, Karen advances UGA’s public service and research missions through the translation and mobilization of the university’s resources in programs that improve people’s lives.”
A sought-after collaborator, DeMeester has partnered with more than 30 UGA academic and public service faculty on projects securing over $20 million in grants. These projects have addressed critical needs across Georgia.
For example, DeMeester served as co-principal investigator and lead evaluator for UGA’s Project F.R.E.E. (Fostering Relationship and Economic Enrichment) and Elevate Couples Georgia, federally funded research and service initiatives housed at the UGA College of Family and Consumer Sciences and UGA Cooperative Extension. Since 2015, these programs have impacted thousands of Georgia couples and families through research-based relationship and financial education.
“Karen understands the complexities involved in large projects that balance the experiences and goals of those involved with the expectations of a funder,” said Ted Futris, UGA College of Family and Consumer Sciences professor and Extension state specialist. “Her advice on Project F.R.E.E. and Elevate Couples Georgia, along with her attention to detail and ability to see the big picture, have been incredibly helpful.”
Since 2021, DeMeester has served as evaluator for the Center for Chemical Currencies of a Microbial Planet (C-CoMP), a $50 million National Science Foundation center studying how oceans influence atmospheric carbon. C-CoMP supports research teams of 21 faculty representing nine disciplines across 14 institutions.
C-CoMP’s leadership team shared, “Dr. DeMeester provides critical information needed to ensure the Center is functioning and progressing towards achievement of our mission and helps us to communicate success to the NSF and more broadly in the communities that house our laboratories so we can continue to do this critical work.”
Other partners include UGA Marine Extension and Georgia Sea Grant, Georgia Department of Transportation and the City of Decatur. Since 2011, DeMeester has led a team to evaluate the city’s Children and Youth Services program.
Nancy Brune, assistant director of operations for the City of Decatur’s Parks and Recreation Department said, “Through her leadership and dedication to excellent service, data quality, and timely reporting, Dr. DeMeester and her team have helped the City of Decatur better support the needs of children, youth, and families; make data-informed decisions; and, ultimately, use its resources more effectively.”
Before joining the institute, DeMeester served as director of the UGA Mary Frances Early College of Education’s Program Evaluation Group.
About the Walter Barnard Hill Award
Since 1992, the Walter Barnard Hill Award has recognized distinguished achievement in public service and outreach by UGA faculty members and service professionals. Recipients contribute to the quality of life in Georgia or elsewhere above the usual accomplishments of a productive faculty member. The award is named in honor of Chancellor Walter Barnard Hill, who led the University of Georgia from 1899 until 1905. His desire for more university involvement in the state of Georgia and his application of these goals and ideas helped pave the way for a modern, public service-oriented university.