Scott Pippin, a faculty member at the Carl Vinson Institute of Government, was honored with a 2022 Walter Barnard Hill Award for Distinguished Achievement in Public Service and Outreach to kick off University of Georgia Honors Week on April 18.

The Hill Award recognizes distinguished achievements by UGA faculty and service professionals who have contributed to the improvement of the quality of life in Georgia that greatly exceeds the normal accomplishments of a productive faculty member.

Pippin has helped communities across the state with issues such as zoning and land use planning, improving infrastructure planning processes, helping prepare for natural hazards such as flooding and severe weather, and addressing community and economic development priorities.

Pippin has worked extensively with coastal communities to better prepare for severe storms and flooding, which has led to lower insurance premiums for many property owners. In partnership with UGA Marine Extension and Georgia Sea Grant, he worked on a project encouraging coastal communities to adopt the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s Community Rating System (CRS). The system aims to improve local floodplain management and local resiliency to flooding and lower flood insurance premiums. Through a grant from the Georgia Department of Natural Resources Coastal Resources Division, Pippin developed the CRS Public Information Toolkit to help local governments earn CRS program credits to improve their ratings.

Working with graduate students in the Georgia Sea Grant Fellows program, Pippin utilized data, hazard impact assessments and green infrastructure modeling results to develop a coastal resilience planning guide that details regulations and practices that communities can enact to facilitate growth while limiting the risk of flooding and other natural hazards.

“[Pippin] has been a valuable partner in working with Georgia’s coastal communities and is a tremendous asset to the University of Georgia’s public service mission,” said Kelly Hill, a specialist with the Department of Natural Resources Coastal Resources Division. “I have personally observed his ability to engage audiences, communicate information effectively and develop meaningful partnerships as a bridge to the resources of UGA for coastal stakeholders.”

Currently, Pippin is collaborating with a team from UGA’s College of Engineering to examine the technical and policy barriers to using natural and nature-based features to improve the country’s infrastructure and reduce its vulnerability to weather hazards, with a particular focus on Georgia military bases and the communities in which they are located. In partnership with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, he also is helping to develop economic development strategies for the regions surrounding the Army installation at Fort Benning that support the base’s mission while also boosting local revenues and creating economic opportunity for area residents.

The award is named in honor of Chancellor Walter Barnard Hill, who led UGA from 1899 until his death in 1905 and first articulated the university’s modern public service and outreach mission. Hill Award winners receive a medallion and a framed certificate and become eligible for the Walter Barnard Hill Fellow Award, UGA’s highest award in public service and outreach.