Pennisi named UAC faculty fellow Fellowship will develop online training

Pennisi named UGA faculty fellow

Fellowship will develop online training

by Sharon Dowdy for CAES News

UGA Department of Horticulture

Professor Bodie Pennisi has been named

a UGA Public Service and Outreach (PSO) Faculty Fellow for 2019-2020.

The PSO Fellowship Program provides UGA professors with an opportunity to apply their research and course curriculum to the needs of a specific PSO unit. The program creates sustained relationships between the designated unit and the Faculty Fellows’ department.

Through the fellowship, Pennisi will work with UGA’s Small Business Development Center to implement online business training designed for landscape business owners and managers.

The training will include essential topics like financials, marketing, cost estimating, employee retention and customer service.

In the future, the online training module will be used across UGA Cooperative Extension and as an online class for UGA undergraduate students. An experienced online educator, Pennisi will be using her horticulture and landscape expertise to help small businesses across Georgia.

She currently teaches three online courses at UGA: Plant Physiology, Herbs, Spices, and Medicinal Plants, and Plants, Pollinators, and You.

Based on the UGA Griffin campus, Pennisi coordinates a statewide program that supports the professional landscape industry. As UGA Extension’s horticulturist and landscape specialist, she also assists UGA Extension agents with landscape troubleshooting, landscape planning and local programming. She also conducts applied research focused on evaluating wildflowers and ornamental plants for attractiveness to pollinators and natural enemies, as well as other sustainable practices for outdoor and indoor landscapes. She serves as educational adviser to the Georgia Green Industry Association, the Georgia Based on the UGA Griffin campus, Bodie Urban Agriculture Pennisi coordinates a statewide program Council and the that supports the professional landscape national nonprofit industry. She also assists UGA Extension organization Green Plants for Green Buildings. She also serves on the agents with landscape troubleshooting, landscape planning and local programming, and she conducts applied research on wildflowers and ornamental plants. environmental committee of the National Initiative for Consumer Horticulture, the board of directors of the Griffin Region College and Career Academy, and is a co-editor-in-chief of the journal Scientia Horticulturae.

"Online learning and online content delivery have become an important part of both outreach programming and the academic process. Not only does this format appeal to younger clientele but also has the potential to reach a wider audience. Additionally, learning as part of a cohort has been the hallmark of quality education. Supportive peer group is essential in effective training, as peers work together to learn concepts, work as a team, and solve problems. Interaction with successful and established business owners also is important as it gives the new entrepreneurs ample opportunity to ask questions and interact in a small group setting."

~ Bodie Pennisi

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