University of Georgia

Antebellum history

The University of Georgia was incorporated on January 27, 1785, by the Georgia General Assembly, which had given its trustees, the Senatus Academicus of the University of Georgia, 40,000 acres (160 km²) for the purposes of founding a "college or seminary of learning." The Senatus Academicus was composed of the Board of Visitors and the Board of Trustees with the Georgia Senate presiding over those two boards. The first meeting of the university's board of trustees was held in Augusta, Georgia on February 13, 1786. The meeting installed its first president, Abraham Baldwin, a native of Connecticut and graduate of Yale University. Baldwin was a delegate to the 1787 Constitutional Convention, and one of two Georgia delegates to sign the final document. Many features on the University of Georgia campus resemble the campus of Yale.

On July 2, 1799, the Senatus Academicus met again in Louisville, Georgia and decided that the time was right to open the university. During this meeting 633 acres (2.6 km²) on the banks of the Oconee River were chosen on which the university was to be built. This tract of land, now a part of the consolidated city–county of Athens-Clarke County, Georgia, was then part of Jackson County. The meeting also established a new president of the university naming Josiah Meigs, another Yale University graduate, to the post. The first classes were held in 1801, in what was called the Franklin College, named in honor of Benjamin Franklin. The first graduating class graduated on May 31, 1804.

The Senatus Academicus convened for the last time in Dothan, Georgia, from November 3, 1859, through November 5, 1859, after which it was replaced with a Board of Trustees which reported to the Georgia General Assembly which is composed of the Georgia House of Representatives and the Georgia Senate.

Civil War era

During the American Civil War, the university closed in October 1863 and reopened in January 1866 with an enrollment of 78 students including veterans using an award of $300 granted by the General Assembly to injured soldiers younger than 30. In the same year, the legislature appropriated $2,000 for the creation of a College of Agriculture and Mechanic Arts. This was the result of the Morrill Act which was used to create land grant colleges across the nation. The agricultural department of the university opened on May 1, 1872. A portion of the funds were used to establish a branch of the agricultural department in Dahlonega, Georgia which developed into North Georgia College, which in turn became the University of North Georgia after a 2013 merger. The Military Department of the university was abandoned in the years following the Civil War, but its campus at Milledgeville, including the former state capital building, became Georgia Military College.

20th century

With students limited to white males for the first century of its history, University of Georgia began educating white female students during the summer of 1903. White women were not admitted as full-time undergraduates until 1918. However, at that time only junior college transfers majoring in Home Economics were integrated. Before admission of white women to the university, several white women were able to complete graduate degrees through credit earned during the summer sessions. The first white woman to earn such a degree was Mary Lyndon. She received a Master of Arts degree in 1914. Mary Ethel Creswell earned the first undergraduate degree in June 1919, a B.S. Two UGA dormitories are named after these graduates: Creswell Hall and Mary Lyndon Hall.

The first Phi Beta Kappa chapter in the state of Georgia was founded at UGA in 1914. Phi Beta Kappa is the oldest and most prestigious undergraduate honors organization in America. Phi Kappa Phi, the oldest all-discipline honor society, had a chapter founded at the university in 1923. A chapter of Omicron Delta Kappa was founded at UGA in 1935. Omicron Delta Kappa is regarded as one of the highest collegiate honors that can be awarded to an individual, along with Phi Kappa Phi and Phi Beta Kappa.

The university's dean of the College of Education in 1941, Walter Cocking, was fired by Georgia governor Eugene Talmadge in the Cocking affair.

Racial integration was achieved in 1961, with the admission of Hamilton E. Holmes and Charlayne Hunter after notable tension with the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. Holmes graduated Phi Beta Kappa and was the first African-American student to attend the Emory University School of Medicine, where he earned his M.D. in 1967, later becoming a professor of orthopedics and associate dean at the school. Hunter (later, Hunter-Gault) graduated with a degree in journalism, and had an outstanding career earning several awards including two Emmys and a Peabody for excellence in broadcast journalism.

In 2001, on the fortieth anniversary of their having first registered for classes, the university renamed a prominent campus building in their honor: Holmes-Hunter Academic Building. Although Hunter and Holmes were the first African-American students to matriculate at the university, Mary Frances Early was the first African-American graduate by earning her master's (MMEd) in music education in 1962. In 1963, Chester Davenport became the first African-American admitted to the UGA School of Law and its first African-American graduate (LL.B. 1966). A decade later, Sharon Tucker was the first female African-American law graduate, earning her J.D. in 1974.

21st century

In 2003, the University of Georgia was the only public university in North America with winners of the Rhodes, Marshall, Truman and Goldwater Scholarships in the same year. In 2014-15 the university was among only seven universities nationwide with recipients of all three major national undergraduate scholarships: the Goldwater, Truman and Udall. UGA is ranked fifth among the nation’s universities for the production of Fulbright U.S. Scholars.

As of 2016, 24 UGA students have been named Rhodes Scholars including Eugene T. Booth and Hervey M. Cleckley, with five of the scholarships awarded since 2008.

In 2011-2012, the University of Georgia was one of only four institutions in the U.S. with the maximum of four Goldwater Scholars; one of only two universities with three Udall Scholars, and one of only four universities with at least five Boren Scholars. UGA students also garnered a Marshall Scholarship and 17 Fulbright Scholarship offers, placing the university among the top tier of academic institutions with regard to national awards. A 2016 Marshall Scholar was the sixth UGA student to earn the award since 2003. The Marshall Scholarship is one of the most selective scholarships available to postgraduates.

At the same time, alumni were well represented, as a UGA alumna garnered the coveted MacArthur "Genius" Grant for the second time in three years (Beth Shapiro in 2009 and A.E. Stallings in 2011). More than 40 University of Georgia graduates won national academic scholarship offers in 2011-2012, among them was one Marshall Scholarship, four Goldwater Scholarships, three Udall Scholarships, five Boren Scholarships, 17 Fulbright Scholarships, and 10 National Science Foundation Graduate Fellowships.

The national college rankings place UGA among the top 20 of all public universities in America and a top 10 best value.

The University of Georgia is designated as a Land-grant, a regional Sun Grant, a National Sea Grant and a National Space Grant university. UGA's Henry W. Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication awards the George Foster Peabody Awards, which are presented annually for excellence in television and radio news, entertainment and children's programming. The university also presents the annual Delta Prize for Global Understanding, which recognizes individuals or groups whose initiatives promote peace and cooperation among cultures and nations. The university has an extensive network of student activities that center around academic, religious, social, political and fraternal organizations.

The university has significantly expanded its program offerings in the recent years. In 2001, two new colleges were created, the College of Environment and Design and the School of Public & International Affairs. In 2005, the College of Public Health was established. In 2007 the Odum School of Ecology was opened, the first standalone college dedicated to the study of ecology and environmental science. In 2010 UGA partnered with the only public medical school in Georgia, the Medical College of Georgia to create the UGA-MCG Medical Partnership, and in the summer of 2012, the College of Engineering was established to consolidate the several engineering programs housed in the Department of Biological and Agricultural Engineering and in the Institute of the Faculty of Engineering. The University of Georgia has continued to foster a global community through comprehensive study abroad programs. Open Doors 2015 ranked UGA 11th for most students studying abroad, a jump from 17th in 2012-13. Asian enrollment at the university has increased by 50% since 2005. Hispanic enrollment has increased 8% from 2011 to 2012.

Organization and administration

The President of the University of Georgia (Jere Morehead) is the head administrator and is appointed and overseen by the Georgia Board of Regents. University of Georgia has had 22 presidents since its founding in 1785. Each individual college is headed by a dean.

The university is composed of seventeen schools and colleges, and although some divisions use "college" and some use "school", the title does not indicate any distinction between the seventeen colleges and schools that constitute the university:

The university is also home to the University of Georgia/Medical College of Georgia Medical Partnership that provides education leading to the Doctor of Medicine (M.D.) degree and facilitates for medically related research at the University of Georgia.

Campus

The University of Georgia's main campus sits across from the acclaimed college town of Athens, Georgia, whose dominant architectural themes are Federal—the older buildings—and Classical and Antebellum style. The university is home to the University of Georgia Campus Arboretum.

Situated on a 762-acre (3.08 km²) main campus, in 2012 the university had a workforce of more than 9,800, an annual budget of about $1.49 billion (only 29% provided by the state of Georgia), and a physical plant valued at some $600 million, making it one of the largest employers in Georgia and a major contributor to the state's economic and cultural vitality. Transit at the University of Georgia is maintained by UGA Campus Transit. Athens has been named one of the top ten places in America to live and is home to many popular music artists including the American rock band R.E.M. and Widespread Panic. UGA has been ranked number one among "campus scenes that rock!" by Rolling Stone magazine. Every summer since 1996 the city has hosted AthFest, a non-profit music and arts festival in the downtown area.

While university students can enjoy the college town of Athens, they are less than an hour away by automobile from a large metropolitan city – Atlanta, Georgia, a designated global city. In the recent years, neighboring cities such as Gainesville, Georgia and metro Atlanta have experienced considerable growth.

Though there have been many additions, changes, and augmentations, the University of Georgia's campus maintains its historic character. The historical practice has been to divide the 762-acre (3.1 km²) main campus into two sections, North Campus and South Campus. Since 1995, new facilities serving the arts, academics, fitness and student housing have been built on what has come to be known as "East Campus." This area includes new apartment-like dorms called East Campus Village. Adjacent is the newest and fourth dining hall on campus called the Village Summit at Joe Frank Harris Commons. Also on East campus is the Performing and Visual Arts Complex, the Ramsey Center for Physical Activity and the relocated Lamar Dodd School of Art. "West Campus" refers to the area adjacent to the main campus where many of UGA's largest residence halls are located; most freshmen live in one of the high-rise dorms on West Campus.

Tradition maintains that UGA's oldest permanent building, Old College, is modeled on Yale University's Connecticut Hall. UGA's North Campus contains the picturesque historic buildings—such as the Chapel, New College, Demosthenian and the Phi Kappa Halls, Park Hall, Meigs Hall, and the President's office—as well as modern additions such as the Law School and the Main Library. The dominant architectural themes are Federal—the older buildings—and Greco-Roman Classical/Antebellum style. UGA's Campus has also been designated an arboretum by the State of Georgia.

A notable North Campus fixture is the cast-iron gateway that stands at its main entrance. Known as "The Arch" (but often erroneously pluralized to "The Arches"), the structure was patterned after the Seal of the State of Georgia, and has faced historic downtown Athens ever since it was erected in the 1850s. Although the Seal's three pillars represent the state's three branches of government, the pillars of The Arch are usually taken to represent the Georgia Constitution's three principles of wisdom, justice, and moderation, which are engraved over the pillars of the Seal. There is a superstition about walking through The Arch. It is said that if you walk under The Arch as an undergraduate student, you will not graduate from the University of Georgia on time. Another legend claims that should you walk through The Arch as a freshman, you will become sterile. The steps lining The Arch are noticeably worn due to students avoiding walking under The Arch.

Dividing North and South Campus is the "central campus" area, home of the University Bookstore, Tate Student Center, and Miller Learning Center, as well as Sanford Stadium, home of the football team. Adjacent to the stadium is a bridge that crosses Tanyard Creek and is the traditional crossover into South Campus, home of most of the science and agricultural classroom buildings. Further south and east, across East Campus Road, is East Campus, home of the Ramsey Center, the East Campus Village (apartment-style dormitories), and several fine arts facilities, including the Georgia Museum of Art and the Hugh Hodgson School of Music. A new facility for the art school opened its doors in the Fall of 2008. This new state-of-the-art facility replaced the elder that was placed on North Campus.

Adjacent to the campus is the "west campus" area. This extends from the corner of Britain Avenue and Lumpkin Street in the south to Waddell and Wray streets in the north. It is bordered along the east by Lumpkin Street and on the west by Church Street south of Baxter Street and Florida Avenue to the north. Located on the south end are several dormitories including the Hill Community, Oglethorpe House, Creswell Hall, Brumby Hall and Russell Hall. Also located here are Legion Field and Pool, which are recreational facilities.

In 2011, the University of Georgia acquired the former U.S. Navy Supply Corps School on the medical corridor of Prince Avenue near downtown Athens. The two primary occupants of the 56-acre Health Sciences Campus are the GRU-UGA Medical Partnership and the UGA College of Public Health. The campus has an extensive landscaped green space, more than 400 trees and several historic buildings. The majority of classes for both medical and public health students are held in Russell Hall, not to be confused with the South campus undergraduate residence hall, which was built in 1974. The nearly 63,000 square-foot building includes rooms for small group and clinical skills teaching, a lab for gross anatomy, pathology and histology, a medical library, faculty offices, and classroom space. The GRU-UGA Medical Partnership administrative offices are housed in Winnie Davis Hall, which was built in 1902. In 2013, it was announced that St. Mary's Hospital, Northeast Georgia Health System and Athens Regional Medical Center would be utilized as teaching hospitals and residency sites for the Medical Partnership students. The College of Public Health's administrative offices are housed in Rhodes Hall, which was built in 1906. Six of the College's seven units are now located on the Health Sciences Campus, including the Institute of Gerontology in Hudson Hall, the Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics in B.S. Miller Hall, and Departments of Health Policy and Management and Health Promotion and Behavior in Wright Hall.

In 2013 construction began to develop a new research science park. Unofficially named the Riverbend Research Village, the science park will occupy a 100-acre site south of the Athens Perimeter and west of College Station Road, on both sides of the Oconee River.

Ramsey Student Center

The Ramsey Student Center is the student recreational and athletic facility located on East Campus. The Ramsey Center is one of the largest student athletic recreation facilities in the United States. It was built and named in honor of Bernard and Eugenia Ramsey. The campus's eight-acre Ramsey Student Center for Physical Activities has two gyms, three pools (one Olympic-sized, a 17-foot (5.2 m) diving well, and a lap pool), a 1/8 mile indoor suspended rubberized track, a 44 feet (13 m)-high climbing wall, 14-foot (4.3 m) outdoor bouldering wall, ten racquetball courts, two squash courts, bicycle repair stands, eight full-length basketball courts, and 19,000 square feet (1,770 m²) of weight-training space. The Ramsey Center also contains the Gabrielsen Natatorium that is home to the university's varsity swimming and diving programs and seats almost 2,000 spectators.

This $40-million structure was named by Sports Illustrated as the best recreational sports facility in the country for the year 1997. Men's Fitness named UGA as one of the 25 fittest colleges in America.

Franklin Residential College

Franklin Residential College (FRC) is a residential college, based on the Oxford and Cambridge model. It is a collaboration of the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences, the University Housing office, and the Vice President of Instruction. It was founded in 2000. The home of the college is Rutherford Hall, which was built in the late 1930s.

Students in the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences may apply for a space at the FRC during the spring semester of every year. Members are admitted by a committee of current students on the basis of their interest in and commitment to participating in the community of a residential college. A faculty family also lives in Rutherford Hall in the apartment located on the first floor. The faculty family regularly hosts students in their apartment for special events. The residence family works together with the Senior Dean to develop programs and activities for the students involved in the FRC.

Tate Student Center and the Tate II expansion

On April 19, 2007, ground was officially broken for the $52 million Tate Student Center Expansion and Renovation project. A multi-level parking deck began the first phase of the construction on which the new Student Center was built. Tate II officially opened its doors on June 1, 2009.

Included in the new student center is: an 11,000-square-foot (1,000 m²) multi-purpose space on the fifth floor, a dining room, meeting rooms, and lounge seating on the fourth floor, a food court, retail space, Print & Copy Services, a large lounge area, gaming area, and open performance space on the third floor. The new food court is operated by UGA Food Services. It includes Hotei's, a hibachi-style grill, Red Clay Cafe @ Tate, and Barberitos. Some of the amenities, such as the Bulldog Cafe and the Tate Theatre, will remain in the old Tate Center. The total cost of the new expansion is approximately $58.2 million. The building is LEED certified. Construction on the $13.5 million, 500-space Tate Student Center parking deck was underway through May 2009.

Lamar Dodd School of Art Building

Construction on the $39.2-million, 171,000 sq ft (15,900 m²) Lamar Dodd School of Art was underway through spring 2008. The site is just south of the existing Performing and Visual Arts Complex on East Campus. In 2012, the College of Environmental Design's $10.4 million Visual Arts building became the first UGA building to incorporate a water reclamation system and it became the first UGA building to utilize solar harvesting technology. The building is LEED certified.

Zell B. Miller Learning Center

The $43.6 million Zell B. Miller Learning Center (MLC) has been the largest academic building on the University of Georgia campus since its opening in the autumn of 2003 when it was called the Student Learning Center (SLC). Located at the heart of the UGA campus, it houses both classroom space and library space in close proximity.

On the inside is a technological space that includes two dozen classrooms capable of seating 2,400 students and equipped with the latest technology. The building serves as an expansion of UGA library services, with a completely electronic library, 276,000 sq ft (25,600 m²) of actual floor space. The center houses Advanced Learning Labs dedicated to instruction in electronic research sources, information literacy skills, software applications, and faculty development, as well as faculty rest areas and meeting spaces. The learning center also includes an art gallery by Venezuelan-born painter Patricia Van Dalen.

University of Georgia Gwinnett Campus

The University of Georgia Gwinnett Campus occupies 60,000 square feet of the Intellicenter. The new location enabled UGA to expand its graduate degree programs offered in Gwinnett County, Georgia and enhancing professional training programs provided through the Georgia Center for Continuing Education. The new campus is located in the Intellicenter Building just off I-85 and near the intersection of Old Peachtree Street NW and Sever Road.

UGA Terry Business College's Atlanta Center

The Terry College of Business owns and operates a campus in Buckhead, Atlanta called the Terry Center. Executive and Professional MBA and other programs are offered at the center in addition to non-degree programs such as the Certified Financial Planning (CFP) course. The center also acts as a focal point, meeting and educational place for Terry students, alumni, faculty and staff to interact with Atlanta's business community. The center features tiered executive classrooms, conference rooms, break-out meeting spaces and interview suites. Also included is office space for faculty and staff, additional private offices, as well as the college's Executives-in-Residence.

University of Georgia 4-H service centers

The University of Georgia operates five 4-H centers around the state of Georgia: Fortson 4-H Center, in the southern metro Atlanta area, Jekyll Island 4-H Center and Tybee Island 4-H Center on the Georgia coast, Rock Eagle 4-H Center in Eatonton, Georgia, and Wahsega 4-H Center, in the North Georgia mountains. The university is also responsible for two other land holdings. These centers, operated in part by the University of Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, serve as educational facilitates for youth. Georgia 4-H specializes in educating young people about agricultural and environmental issues, agriculture awareness, leadership, communication skills, foods and nutrition, health, energy conservation, and citizenship. The 4-H centers also operate several summer camps for young people. The total usage of the 4-H facilities in FY 2001 was 95,995 people, of this total 59,180 elementary, middle and high school students participated in 4-H-sponsored events or activities. Many of the other user groups are related to various University of Georgia, University of Georgia Cooperative Extension Service, Board of Regents and other educational conferences throughout the year.

Georgia Museum of Art

The Georgia Museum of Art is an academic museum at the University of Georgia and the state of Georgia's official art museum. Located on UGA's East Campus since 1996, it has a collection of nearly 10,000 works of art, including American paintings, works by self-taught artists, decorative arts, works by African American artists, a Kress Study Collection of Italian Renaissance and Baroque paintings and one of the largest and finest collections of works on paper (prints, drawings, watercolors, photographs, and more) in the Southeast. Admission is always free, as are almost all events the museum organizes. Its staff collaborate regularly with UGA faculty all over campus to organize temporary exhibitions and accommodate classes for tours and behind-the-scenes research.

Georgia Museum of Natural History

The Georgia Museum of Natural History has one of the most extensive natural history collections in Georgia. The museum is used for internships, research and courses for undergraduate and graduate students, as well as faculty.

The Georgia Museum of Natural History provides Joshua Laerm Academic Support Awards annually. The awards are named after Dr. Joshua Laerm a professor at the University of Georgia who died in 1997.

Richard B. Russell Special Collections Libraries

The $46-million libraries building, named in honor of Sen. Richard Russell, who spent a half-century in public service, houses the general library holdings as well as the Hargrett Rare Book and Manuscript Library, the Walter J. Brown Media Archives, the Peabody Awards Collection, and the Richard B. Russell Library for Political Research and Studies. UGA has partnered with the Digital Public Library of America, an ambitious project to make the nation's archives digital, searchable and freely accessible. The Special Collections Library is not to be confused with the Alexander Campbell King Law Library which is the law library of the University of Georgia School of Law. The Alexander Campbell King Law Library is located on North Campus.

The Hargrett Library Rare Book and Manuscript Library The Hargrett Rare Book and Manuscript Library, a leading repository on history and culture, holds 200,000 volumes in its rare book and Georgiana collections, 6 million pages of historical manuscripts and photographs, along with maps, broadsides, and two centuries worth of UGA archives and records. Other areas of emphasis at the Hargrett Library include performing arts and natural history. Holdings date from the 15th century to the present.

The Richard B. Russell Library for Political Research and Studies The Richard B. Russell Library for Political Research and Studies is a political archives and center for the research and study of politics and public policy with an emphasis on the role of the U.S. Congress. It maintains over 150 collections and is one of three special collections at the University of Georgia dedicated to preserving and providing access to a variety of archival materials in all formats that document a wide array of subject matter. The Russell Library is not the official name of the main library of which it is a part. The official name of the main library at UGA is Ilah Dunlap Little Library.

The Walter J. Brown Media Archives & Peabody Awards Collection The Walter J. Brown Media Archives & Peabody Awards Collection was started in 1995 and preserves over 250,000 titles in film, video, audiotape, transcription disks, and other recording formats dating from the 1920s to the present. The archives are housed in the Richard B. Russell Building Special Collections Libraries on the northwest part of the University of Georgia campus. The Peabody Awards Collection is the flagship of the archives collection, and contains nearly every entry for the first major broadcast award given in the United States. The judging for the Peabody Awards is conducted by the Peabody Awards Office in the Grady School of Journalism from panel of distinguished television scholars, critics, and media professionals. The award ceremony is held every year in New York in late spring.

The Georgia Writers Hall of Fame The UGA libraries have established the Georgia Writers Hall of Fame to recognize authors for their contributions to literature. Its member include, without limitation, Margaret Mitchell, Martin Luther King, Jr., Flannery O’Connor, Sidney Lanier, W.E.B. Du Bois, Jimmy Carter, Pat Conroy, James Dickey, and Terry Kay.

Lillian Smith Book Awards The University of Georgia Libraries has been the administrator of the prestigious Lillian Smith Book Awards since 2004. The Libraries' partnership with The Southern Regional Council allows the awards, which have been presented annually since 1968, to continue as the South's oldest and best-known book awards presented in fiction and non-fiction categories, to expand their reach to a wider audience, and to more broadly fulfill the mission of enhancing racial awareness through literature.

The Georgia Review

The Georgia Review is a literary journal founded at University of Georgia in 1947. The Review features poetry, fiction, essays, reviews, and visual art. It won National Magazine Awards for Fiction in 1986 and for Essays in 2007 and has been an NMA nominee nineteen times. Works that appear in the Georgia Review are frequently reprinted in the Best American Short Stories and The Best American Poetry and have won the Pushcart Prize and O. Henry Award.

University of Georgia Press

The University of Georgia Press is a scholarly publishing house for the University System of Georgia. It is one of the oldest and largest publishing academic publishing houses in the nation, and has been one of 130 full members of the prestigious Association of American University Presses since 1940. Employing 24 full-time publishing professionals, the Press publishes 80-85 new books a year and has more than 1500 titles in print. The Press published each year scholarly, academic, and literary works. It is also a leading publisher of African-American studies, civil rights history, and environmental studies. The Flannery O'Connor Award for Short Fiction was established in 1983 to recognize gifted young writers. The Press is also a long-time publisher of creative writing through books published in conjunction with the Flannery O’Connor Award for Short Fiction, the Association of Writers & Writing Programs, Associated Writers and Writing Programs Award for Creative Nonfiction, and other literary competitions and series. The publishing program has been nationally recognized, and in recent years a number of books published by the Press have won major awards.

Business Development Center

The university’s Small Business Development Center was established in 1977 as one of the first such programs in the country. The program annually provides hundreds of small businesses and prospective entrepreneurs with counseling, management training, continuing education, networking, and advocacy.

The Georgia Center & Center for Continuing Education

The Georgia Center, the university's Conference Center and Hotel, is located on South Campus. The Georgia Center includes 200 hotel rooms including suites, four onsite dining options, banquet areas, conference rooms, auditoriums, a fitness center, and a computer lab. The Georgia Center is open to all visitors to Athens and UGA. The Center houses the University of Georgia Center for Continuing Education which offers continuing education courses for professionals and adults seeking non-degree continued education. Programs include LEED certification training, Six Sigma education for a biopharmaceutical company, project management for life science professionals at various companies within Georgia's Innovation Crescent and for the U.S. Army and professional Interpreter and training in the education setting for bilingual community liaisons in four Georgia school systems.

The Center for Continuing Education hosts a wide variety of summer camps and summer courses for K-12 students.

The State Botanical Garden of Georgia

The State Botanical Garden of Georgia is a 313-acre preserve set aside by the University of Georgia in 1968 for the study and enjoyment of plants and nature. Located three miles south of campus, it is a living laboratory serving educational, research, recreational, and public service roles for the University of Georgia and the citizens. The garden contains a number of specialized theme gardens and collections, over five miles of nature trails, and four major facilities including a tropical conservatory.

University of Georgia Campus and Thomas Mill Forest Arboreta

The University of Georgia Campus Arboretum is an arboretum located across the campus in Athens. Today's Campus Arboretum is organized into three walking tours through the North, Central, and South Campus. A free booklet provides maps and tree identification, and more than 150 campus trees are marked by plaques corresponding to the booklet. There are 45 species of trees on the North Campus, the President’s Club Garden and the Latin American Ethnobotanical Garden. The President’s Club Garden recognizes those who gave $10,000 or greater to the University of Georgia. Their names are inscribed on the plaques that line the brick walls. The Latin American Ethnobotanical Garden is located at the southeast corner of Baldwin Hall, near the corner of Baldwin Street and East Campus Road. It highlights plants of cultural significance in Latin America and focuses attention on the critical need for conservation of this biodiversity.

The Campus Arboretum should not be confused with State Arboretum of Georgia, deeded as a gift to, and also operated by, the University of Georgia, but located in the Northeast Georgia Mountains at the Thompson Mills Forest, Braselton, Georgia. This arboretum features 330 acres with granite outcrop, the Lee Creek Native Tree Trail, the Pinetum Trail, and the seven-acre Evan Thompson Thornton Memorial Garden (30-minute self-guided walk). Groups are welcome, the forest is open year-round weekdays, guides can be made available, though there are self-guided tours, and parking is on site. The university's Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources uses the forest and environs in its goal to prepare leaders in the conservation and sustainable management of forests and other renewable natural resources using the latest ideas and technology for real world applications.

UGA Marine Extension Service & Skidaway Institute of Oceanography

The University of Georgia Marine Extension Service (UGA MAREX) consists of several educational outreach facilities in the state of Georgia, including one on the Skidaway Marine Science Campus. The Marine Education Center and Aquarium (MECA) operates a small public saltwater aquarium of local marine fish and invertebrates, which is visited by 18,000 schoolchildren per year. There is also a small research facility for shellfish aquaculture.

Skidaway Institute of Oceanography is a marine science research institute located on the northern end of Skidaway Island near Savannah, Georgia. In 2012, the Skidaway Institute became a part of the University of Georgia. The institute is used by researchers and students from around the world, but particularly by researchers and students from the University of Georgia, the Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech), and Savannah State University.

The University of Georgia Observatory

The University of Georgia Observatory is located on top of the Physics Building on the UGA campus. The observatory hosts colloquia, seminars, research groups, and open houses in addition to being utilized in undergraduate and graduate courses. The observatory is also the home of the Center for Simulational Physics, the Nanoscale Science and Engineering Center and the MRI Physics Lab. In 2013, UGA and Franklin College of Arts and Sciences became the first university to have a star-system named after it. The Kepler mission, NASA's first mission capable of finding earth-size planets, confirmed in 2012 the existence of three new planets in the system known as Kepler-37. This year, NASA authorized the nickname designation of this planetary system as UGA-1785, 1785 for the year the University of Georgia was founded. Roger C. Hunter, a Franklin College alumnus, presented the letter of conformation to then Franklin College dean Allan Dorsey during a visit to campus. Hunter noted the name to be given to this particular star system due to light captured by the Kepler telescope began its journey towards earth in 1801 - the same year Franklin College was founded.

The University of Georgia Golf Course

Developed in 1968, the course operates under the Division of Auxiliary Services. The University of Georgia is the only institution of higher education that owns and operates its own PGA Tour co-sanctioned professional golf tournament. Multiple men's and women's Southeastern Conference Championships and three NCAA Women's Championships have been played on the University Golf Course. The course also hosted one of the Men's NCAA Regional Tournaments in 2012. The University of Georgia Golf Course is a public golf course and is available to students, faculty, staff, and alumni, as well as the general public. The golf course was renovated in 2006. The Masters Tournament is held in nearby Augusta, Georgia.

J.W. Fanning Institute for Leadership Development

Founded in 1982, the Fanning Institute is named for Vice President and Professor Emeritus J.W. Fanning, who many consider to be the "father of leadership" in Georgia. The J.W. Fanning Institute provides training in four categories: adult leadership development, youth leadership development, nonprofit and organizational development, and conflict resolution. The Fanning Institute is partnered with the Athens Area Community Foundation and The Orange Duffel Bag Foundation.

Carl Vinson Institute of Government

The institute has helped government leaders navigate change and forge strong directions. The institute is a unit of the Office of Public Service and Outreach at the University of Georgia, and offers training programs for public officials and staff, conducts research on a broad range of questions relevant to governments, and provides assistance to help those governments and agencies run more efficiently and effectively.

Undergraduate admission scores and faculty to student ratio

The Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education characterizes the undergraduate admissions process at UGA as "more selective," its most selective admissions category. The university considers high school grades, specially considering the rigor of high school study including the taking of advance placement and other rigorous classes, considers the scores on standardized tests (SAT or ACT), considers extracurricular activities, and considers optional personal statements. There were 22,980 applications for admission to the class of 2020 (enrolling fall 2016): 12,359 were admitted (53.8%) and 5,475 enrolled (an admissions yield of 44.3%). The middle 50% range of SAT scores for all admitted first-year students was 1850-2140 out of 2400, and the middle 50% of ACT Composite scores was 27-32. The middle 50% range of SAT scores for admitted honors students was 2130-2240 out of 2400, and the middle 50% of ACT Composite scores was 32-34. The overall average high school GPA of all enrolled first-year students was 3.98.

The university has a student-to-faculty ratio of 18 students per faculty member.

Rankings

U.S. News & World Report has ranked the university's undergraduate program as tied for 56th overall among National Universities and tied for 18th overall among Top Public Schools in its 2017 rankings.

The University of Georgia School of Public and International Affairs was ranked 4th in the nation, while the Public Management Administration program was ranked 2nd by U.S. News & World Report in 2016.

In 2011, the university's Terry College of Business insurance and real estate programs were ranked respectively 2nd and 4th in the nation. The management information systems program was ranked 10th, while accounting program was ranked 16th in the nation. The general undergraduate program was ranked 28th, and the Terry College MBA program ranks 19th among public institutions (No. 36 overall) in the 2015 Forbes rankings. Terry's masters accounting program (MAcc) was ranked 11th in the nation by Public Accounting Report. The undergraduate accounting program was ranked 11th by Public Accounting Report. Businessweek named Terry's executive MBA program 14th in the nation. Terry's Economics Ph.D. program was ranked 55th in 2017 by U.S. News & World Report.

The School of Environment and Design was named as having the No. 1 Landscape Architecture program for undergraduates in the nation, as well as No. 3 for post-graduate studies in Landscape Architecture Schools.

In 2007, Odum School of Ecology became the first-stand alone college or school within a university dedicated to the study of ecology and environmental science.

The University of Georgia School of Law was ranked tied for 33rd of 201 American Bar Association approved law schools in the 2016 edition of U.S. News & World Report rankings. The Law School has sent six clerks to serve justices of the United States Supreme Court in the last twelve years, and is 10th among all law schools in the country for the total number of federal court clerks accepted from Georgia Law.

In 2012, American Association of Medical Colleges named UGA ranked 9th in the nation among undergraduate institutions supplying White applicants to medical school, 22nd for most African American applicants to medical school, 31st for most Asian applicants to medical school.

The College of Veterinary Medicine was ranked 10th, and College of Pharmacy was ranked 25th in the 2016 edition of U.S. News & World Report rankings. Two UGA pharmacy students were selected for the U.S. Navy's Health Services Collegiate Program Medical Service Corps, a selective program that this year accepted only five recipients from applicants across the country.

For 2017 Kiplinger ranked the University of Georgia 10th in its list of the "100 Best Values in Public Colleges."

SmartMoney, a publication by the Wall Street Journal, named UGA as 4th best salary returns on tuition, topping leading flagship universities such as University of California, Berkeley, University of Michigan, University of Washington, University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign, and University of Virginia.

The Princeton Review named the university as "Top 10 Best Value Public Colleges" which names UGA as one of the colleges designated as one of the best overall bargains based on cost and financial aid among the most academically outstanding colleges in the nation. In 2012, Princeton Review also ranked the university as 15th best campus food, 10th best college newspaper and 5th best campus health services.

In 2012, the American Council of Trustees and Alumni included the University of Georgia in its What Will They Learn? study, which is an annual evaluation system of colleges and universities. The report assigns a letter grade to 1,070 universities based on how many of the following seven core subjects are required: composition, literature, foreign language, American history, economics, mathematics and science. The University of Georgia was one of 21 schools to receive an "A" grade, which is assigned to schools that include at least six of the seven designated subjects in their core curriculum.

In 2013, Newsweek publication The Daily Beast named the university on its "Amazing but Overlooked: 25 Colleges You Haven't Considered But Should" listing.

The University of Georgia has been designated a "Public Ivy" in The Public Ivies: America's Flagship Public Universities (2001) as "successfully competing with the Ivy League schools in academic rigor... attracting superstar faculty and in competing for the best and brightest students of all races."

Rhodes and Marshall Scholars

As of 2016 24 UGA students have been named Rhodes Scholars including Eugene T. Booth and Hervey M. Cleckley, with five of the scholarships awarded since 2008. The university holds the record for most Rhodes Scholars in Georgia.

A 2016 Marshall Scholar was the sixth UGA student to earn the award since 2003. The Marshall Scholarship is one of the most selective scholarships available to postgraduates.

Study Abroad Program

The University of Georgia's Office of International Education offers numerous study abroad destinations for a wide array of majors and areas of study. Destinations include Argentina, Belize, Brazil, Antarctica, Canada, China, Croatia, Czech Republic, United Kingdom, Costa Rica, Ireland, Japan, Korea, India, Finland, France, Germany, Ghana, Italy, New Zealand, Mexico, Poland, Puerto Rico, Russia, the Netherlands, Spain, South Africa, Tanzania, and Turkey.

UGA ranks among the top five American universities for the number of students studying abroad, with more than 100 programs in over 50 countries. UGA has faculty study abroad programs on every continent, including Antarctica. Additionally, UGA has signed agreements with several outside study abroad organizations: the American Institute For Foreign Study; GlobaLinks Learning Abroad; the Institute for Study Abroad (IFSA); International Studies Abroad (ISA); The School for Field Studies; the Innsbruck International Summer School. Just over 2,000 students, or 6% of the entire campus enrollment (graduate and undergraduate) study abroad in a given year. In the five years up to 2010, the number of students participating in study abroad programs has nearly doubled. Approximately 30 percent of the members of recent graduating classes had a study abroad experience.

Partnership with Oxford University

The university began its first year-round residential study-abroad program at Trinity College of Oxford University in England, where students and faculty live in a three-story Victorian house located in the heart of the city of Oxford and owned by UGA. Founded in 1987, the UGA at Oxford program began as a summer option and expanded to include spring in 1994. With the purchase of the house in 1999 – evidence of UGA's strong commitment to study abroad – the program became available throughout the academic year.

International residential centers

The University of Georgia owns two other international residential centers: one in Cortona, Italy; the other, and UGA's largest, in Monteverde, Costa Rica. The UGA Costa Rica campus comprises 155 acres (0.63 km²) and over 36,000 square feet (3,300 m²) of built space nestled in the country's mountainous Monteverde Cloud Forest, a region that has been celebrated in publications such as Forbes Traveler, Newsweek, and National Geographic. Ever expanding its programmatic offerings, UGA Costa Rica annually offers 23 study abroad programs in 28 disciplines across the fall, spring, Maymester, Junemester, and summer terms. In 2012, the Certification for Sustainable Tourism (CST) program in Costa Rica recognized the University of Georgia's satellite campus in Costa Rica as one of its "Four Leaves" level institutions operating in the country. Run by the Costa Rican Tourism Board, the CST awards excellence in natural, cultural, and social resource management. To receive level four recognition, UGA Costa Rica scored better than 80 percent in all four categories related to sustainability: impact on the biological/physical surroundings; building and materials management; external client relations and outreach; and socio-economic impact on the local community.

Delta Hall, Washington, D.C.

Delta Hall is the University of Georgia in Washington, D.C., residential facility in the Capitol Hill neighborhood on the east side of Stanton Park. The facility, which was purchased by the UGA Foundation in 2013, has undergone extensive renovations to transform the 20,000-square-foot space to a residence hall and learning community. The renovated building provides living quarters, classroom and study space for University students and faculty who participate in UGA's experiential learning programs in the nation's capital including the Washington Semester Program.

UGA Honors Program

The University of Georgia has a nationally top-ten ranked, highest overall rated, and nationally acclaimed honors program. After gaining acceptance to the university, students must apply separately to the Honors Program and demonstrate significant additional academic achievement to be accepted. Foundation Fellows and the Ramsey Scholars programs are housed within the Honors program. In 2016, the average GPA of entering honors freshman was 4.2, the middle 50% range of SAT scores for admitted honors students was 2130-2240 out of 2400, and the middle 50% range of ACT Composite scores was 32-34.

Through the Honors Program, students are able to participate in early registration for classes and register for special honors-only courses. Honors courses are taught by specially selected faculty with an average class size from 17-20 students, with many having significantly fewer students. Those wishing to graduate with High or Highest Honors must complete a capstone experience consisting of graduate courses, a senior thesis, or a special project prior to graduation. Honors students may elect to reside in the Myers Hall, which is reserved for honors students, or apply to reside in Rutherford Hall of the Franklin Residential College (FRC), a residential college based on the Oxford and Cambridge model. The program allows qualified undergraduates to pursue a curriculum leading to a bachelor's (AB/BS) and a master's (MA/MS) degree in four years. The Honors International Scholars Program (HISP) sets up honors students to study abroad on paid scholarship and internships.

Center for Undergraduate Research Opportunities

The Center for Undergraduate Research Opportunities (CURO), which is administered by the Honors Program, promotes opportunities for all undergraduate students at the University of Georgia to engage in research with premier research faculty regardless of discipline, major or GPA. CURO operates on the premise that it is possible for undergraduate students and faculty members to cooperatively engage in the creation of knowledge. Research faculty members who participate in CURO consider students partners in a learning community, and many students find they develop mentoring relationships focused on conducting research. Participating in undergraduate research contributes to the intellectual, professional, and personal growth of students. Through in-depth research with faculty members, students can explore questions and issues of interest as lines of inquiry develop through their undergraduate careers, earning academic credit in the process.

Research

The University of Georgia is classified in the highest ranking, "R-1: Doctoral Universities – Highest Research Activity" according to the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. Since 2003, UGA has increased its research spending to transform the university's competitiveness in the global sphere. In 2012, the University announced a new initiative to bolster research spending at the university.

More than 300 different products originating from UGA research are on the market. In 2012 Total Sponsored Awards regarding research totaled $234.88 million. The University of Georgia Research Foundation (UGARF) has over 1000 active licenses with technologies licensed in countries on all continents. In 2012, UGARF held more than 500 US and foreign patents. UGA ranked 2nd among all universities for most licenses and options executed in FY 2010 marking the fourth consecutive year that UGA has been ranked second. UGA also ranked 15th among all public universities for FY 2010 licensing income and 9th among public universities, and 18th overall, for total licensing revenue over the 3-year period (FY2008-2010) with a total of $61.3MM.

In November 2012, the University of Georgia was elected to the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research, recognition of its growing reputation in atmospheric and related science. UGA is the 78th member of UCAR, which was founded in 1960. Universities invited to join UCAR must demonstrate continuing commitment to programs of study and research in atmospheric sciences and a commitment to active participation in UCAR activities.

In addition to extensive individual and group scholarly inquiry, creative activity and research by professors and students, Georgia has research centers and institutes that include, without limitation, examples among others, as follow.

Paul D. Coverdell Center for Biomedical and Health Sciences

Named after U.S. Senator Paul D. Coverdell, this $30-million facility totals 140,000 square feet (13,000 m²), giving enough room for 25 research teams or roughly 275 scientists, staff and graduate students. The center was designed mainly to maximize energy efficiency. Laboratory intensive groups at the Coverdell Center include the Center for Tropical and Emerging Global Diseases (CTEGD), the Developmental Biology Group (DBG), and the Bio-Imaging Research Center (BIRC),the Health and Risk Communications Group (HRCG), the administrative homes of the College of Public Health (CPH) and the Biomedical Health Sciences Institute (BHSI), and the CPH's Department of Health Administration, Biostatistics and Epidemiology. Former President George H.W. Bush spoke at the Center's grand opening in 2006.

In addition to extensive individual and group scholarly inquiry, creative activity and research by professors and students, Georgia has research centers and institutes including, without limitation, the following few examples among others:

Institute for Artificial Intelligence

The Institute for Artificial Intelligence is an interdepartmental research and instructional center within the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences. The institute is closely associated with the UGA Computer Science department and the UGA College of Engineering.

The institute houses two degree programs, the Master of Science program in Artificial Intelligence and the bachelor's degree program in Cognitive Science. Over the years the institute has received funding for research from the National Science Foundation, the Environmental Protection Agency, the United States Department of Energy, the United States Department of Agriculture, GlaxoSmithKline Research & Development Ltd.,the Georgia Research Alliance, Centro Internacional por Agricultura Tropical, Clemson University, Medical College of Georgia, Georgia Health Sciences University and the American Association for Artificial Intelligence.

UGA Institute of Bioinformatics

Founded in fall 2002, the key mission of UGA's Institute of Bioinformatics (IOB) includes facilitating interactions and research collaborations between experimental biologists, -omics technologists, and computational/mathematical scientists to tackle complex biological problems. The institute is also responsible for supporting campus-wide bioinformatics research at UGA. Institute members conduct bioinformatics research in a wide range of areas, ranging from structural genomics and bioinformatics, plant genomics, microbial genomics, biomedical and cancer bioinformatics and computational and statistical sciences for bioinformatics.

The institute grants Ph.D. and M.S. degrees in bioinformatics as well as a graduate certificate in bioinformatics. In 2012, IOB Director Jessica Kissinger and IOB and Mathematics assistant professor Juan B. Gutierrez joined a collaborative effort on a malaria host-pathogen interaction research center that was awarded up to $19.4 million by a National Institutes for Health contract. The collaborative project is in conjunction with Emory University, Georgia Institute of Technology, Emory's Yerkes National Primate Research Center and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

University of Georgia Marine Institute & Skidaway Institute of Oceanography

Sapelo Island, off the Georgia coast, is home to the University of Georgia Marine Institute, a nearshore ecological and geological research institute. The mission of the institute is to support and conduct research on coastal processes involving the unique ecosystems of coastlines. It also provides access and facilities for graduate and undergraduate classes to experience field research.

In 2012, UGA acquired the Skidaway Institute of Oceanography (SkIO), the marine science research institute that was founded in 1968, to join the University of Georgia Marine Institute that was founded in 1953. The realignment was part of an effort to streamline research and educational goals of both institutions.

Coastal Plain Research Arboretum

The Coastal Plain Research Arboretum (38 acres (150,000 m²)) is an arboretum in Tifton, Georgia, located on the grounds of the Tifton Campus of the University of Georgia.

The arboretum was established in 1987, with plant development and selection starting in 1991. It consists of stream-side forest and wetland, and is dedicated to native plant species of the Georgia coastal plain.

The arboretum contains pine woods, a native azalea collection, and approximately 280 taxa of native trees, shrubs, and herbaceous plants. It is one of several institutions active in efforts to conserve the endangered Torreya taxifolia. The arboretum director is John M. Ruter, professor of horticulture at the university's Tifton campus.

James M. Cox. Jr. Institute for Journalism Innovation, Management and Leadership and Center for International Mass Communication Training and Research

The Cox Institute for Journalism Innovation, Management and Leadership (Cox Institute) is a training, research and outreach unit in the Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication. The institute has extended its mission to focus on innovation, management and leadership as digital technologies transform the organization, practices and management of journalistic enterprises. The Cox Institute prepares students and professionals for leadership roles in the news media. By sponsoring intensive training programs and funding applied research, the Cox Institute is at the forefront of addressing the strategic challenges faced by contemporary news organizations. The Center for International Mass Communication Training and Research (Cox Center) conducts research such as how media organizations structure news coverage, with particular focus on the coverage of international news, research on copyright and its consequences, the role of the media in transmitting information about health, and examination by social sciences of the role played by the mass media in the development of democracy. The Cox Center also publishes various books and monographs on topics such as mass media in Eastern and Central Europe, information societies and the developing world, and appraisal of the Great Britain's 'Code of Practice' on its freedom of information. It also hosts foreign journalists in its Murrow Program, it's Conference On Media And The Public Sphere, and other symposia. Finally, the Cox Center supports students in Grady College through scholarships and graduate research assistantships.

UGA-MCG medical partnership

In 2010, the University of Georgia partnered with the Medical College of Georgia (MCG) at Augusta University (formerly Georgia Health Sciences University) to create a four-year medical education program in Athens to help alleviate a statewide shortage of physicians that exists in Georgia, as well as to increase research on disease prevention and treatment. The Augusta University's College of Nursing also has a satellite campus in Athens, and the UGA College of Pharmacy has a satellite campus in Augusta. Augusta University has the only public medical school in Georgia (the Medical College of Georgia) and is one of four Georgia research universities. The MCG-UGA Medical Partnership combines the significant instructional and research resources of UGA, the state's flagship land-grant, sun grant, sea grant, space grant research university, with the medical expertise of AU's Medical College.

First and second-year students will study basic science and clinical skills in a program that parallels the Augusta curriculum of the Medical College of Georgia. Plans are underway for third and fourth-year rotations at area clinics and hospitals, and the first class of medical students in Athens began classes in August 2010. In addition to increasing the number of physicians in Georgia, the partnership will expand research collaborations between MCG and UGA, creating new insights into the prevention and treatment of diseases such as diabetes, heart disease and cancer. Students from the MCG/University of Georgia Medical Partnership, graduate students from the University of Georgia College of Public Health, and visiting scholars reside on the University of Georgia's recently acquired new Health Sciences Campus in Athens.

The 56-acre Health Sciences Campus has an extensive landscaped green space, more than 400 trees and several historic buildings. The nearly 63,000 square-feet of building space on the new Health Sciences Campus include classrooms, rooms for small group and clinical skills teaching, lab space for gross anatomy, pathology and histology, a medical library, and faculty offices. The Medical Partnership administration is housed in Winnie Davis Hall which was built in 1902.

UGA Bioenergy Systems Research Institute

The Bioenergy Systems Research Institute conducts research in bioenergy that recognize the entire lifecycle and environmental impact of biomass production, harvesting, transport, treatment, conversion, and recycling. In 2013, the Institute received a $20,000,000 from the United States Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) and the Golden Field Office (GFO). The Institute was established to help bolster the University's research expenditure in environmental science.

The 2013 SEC Academic Symposium, an academic conference-type event intended to address a scholarly issue in an area of strength represented by all SEC universities, was organized and led by the University of Georgia and the UGA Bioenergy Systems Research Institute in Atlanta, Georgia. The topic of the Symposium was titled, the "Impact of the Southeast in the World's Renewable Energy Future."

SECU: SEC Academic Initiative

The University of Georgia is a member of the SEC Academic Consortium. Now renamed the SECU, the initiative was a collaborative endeavor designed to promote research, scholarship and achievement amongst the member universities in the Southeastern conference. The initiative was formed under the leadership of then University of Georgia president Michael F. Adams. Along with the University of Georgia, University of Florida, Vanderbilt University and other SEC institutions, the SECU formed its mission to serve as a means to bolster collaborative academic endeavors of Southeastern Conference universities. Its goals include highlighting the endeavors and achievements of SEC faculty, students and its universities and advancing the academic reputation of SEC universities.

In 2013, the University of Georgia participated in the SEC Symposium in Atlanta, Georgia which was organized and led by UGA and the UGA Bioenergy Systems Research Institute. The topic of the Symposium was titled, the "Impact of the Southeast in the World's Renewable Energy Future."

UGA Small Satellite Research Laboratory

The University of Georgia Small Satellite Research Laboratory (SSRL) was founded in 2016 by students with the help of researchers, scientists, and faculty associated the Center for Geospatial Research. The SSRL is funded by the NASA USIP (Undergraduate Student Instrument Project) to build a Cube Satellite for Low Earth Orbit. The SSRL is also part of the Air Force Research Laboratory's (AFRL) University Nanosatellite Program (UNP). The SSRL is student-led and will be building UGA's first satellite, a Cubesat, which will be sent to the International Space Station for deployment in late 2018.

Student life

The university has registered nearly 700 student organizations, cultural groups, intramural sport teams, religious groups, volunteer and community service programs and philanthropic groups run by both graduate and undergraduate students. Student organizations include Democratic Party and Republican Party student groups, Arch Society, student philanthropies such as UGA Heros, UGA Habitat for Humanity, UGA Miracle and UGA Relay for Life. In 2013, UGA was recognized by the President's Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll by the Corporation for National and Community Service. The honor is the highest federal recognition a college or university can receive for its commitment to volunteering, service-learning and civic engagement. The 2013 designation marked the 7th consecutive year UGA was named on the honor roll.

Greek life

The university maintains one of the South's oldest Greek systems, and the fraternity and sororities maintain homes both on and off campus. There are a number secret societies that exist at the university, such as Palladia and Gridiron. A group unique to UGA is the men's secret society known as the Order of the Greek Horsemen which annually inducts five fraternity men, all leaders of the Greek system. Its purpose and function remains a closely guarded secret. The Panhellenic sororities also have a secret society known as Trust of the Pearl, which inducts five accomplished sorority women each spring.

The first Greek letter fraternity to charter at the university was Sigma Alpha Epsilon in 1865, and the first sorority was Phi Mu in 1921. There are 17 sororities from the Panhellenic Council, 26 North-American Interfraternity Conference fraternities, and 8 National Pan-Hellenic Council fraternities and sororities. Students with Greek affiliation made up 23 percent of the undergraduate student body as of 2007, including 21% of the males and 24% of the females.

In the fall semester of 1997, six women started an Asian interest sorority, Alpha Sigma Rho, which would become the first in the state of Georgia and the first in the nation. In 2000, Georgia Tech followed suit with the establishment of a chapter of Alpha Sigma Rho.

In 2005 the university announced that five fraternities on Lumpkin Street would have to be relocated by June 2008. The school plans to build academic buildings on the house sites, which the university owns and the fraternities lease. UGA offered to relocate the Lumpkin fraternities and two others to River Road (a former site of several fraternities who were moved out in the 1990s), located on East Campus. Kappa Alpha Order and Chi Phi did not take up the offer and decided to move off campus. Kappa Alpha Order moved to Hancock Street while Chi Phi built a house on Milledge Avenue. In October 2008, Pi Kappa Alpha, Phi Delta Theta, Tau Epsilon Phi and Sigma Nu broke ground for the new Greek Park located on River Road. The four new houses were completed in August 2009 for fall rush. Sigma Chi, having signed a renewable 40-year land lease with the University in 1996, continued to maintain their house next to the Zell B. Miller Learning Center. However, in fall of 2012, Sigma Chi's housing lease was up for negotiation with UGA administration. The fraternity's property was to be relocated off-campus to accommodate new academic buildings for the Terry College of Business. Construction of the new Business Learning Center began its planning phase in early 2013, ground was broken in December 2013, and its first phase was completed in July 2015. Construction for the third and final phase of the Business Learning Center is set to begin 2017 and complete in 2019.

Student housing

Housing at the university is managed by the Department of University Housing. On campus housing for undergraduate students is divided into seven communities, and for graduate students into three communities.

Reserve Officer Training Corps

The University of Georgia Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) is the official officer training and commissioning program at the university. Founded in 1801, it is one of the oldest such programs in the nation.

The UGA ROTC "Bulldog Battalion" (Army) and UGA AFROTC "Flying Bulldogs" (Air Force) offers commissions for the United States Army into active duty service, the Army Reserves, or the Army National Guard; as well as into the United States Air Force. The battalion is one of the oldest in the U.S. Memorial Hall was built with funds which Georgia alumni raised following World War I and was dedicated in 1924 to those who had given their lives the war.

The Reserve Officer Training Corps offers training in the military sciences to students who desire to perform military service after they graduate. The Departments of the Army, and the Air Force each maintain an ROTC detachment on campus and each individual department has a full staff of military personnel.

Student Government Association

University of Georgia's Student Government Association (SGA) serves the campus community by addressing student concerns, promoting understanding within the college community, and administering all matters which are delegated to the student government by the university President. SGA executives make up the Student Advisory Council which is composed of Student Government Presidents from every public college or university within the University System of Georgia. The Student Advisory Council is organized to advise the Georgia Board of Regents, through the Chancellor, on issues that are important to students. The Student Government Association also offers leadership programs for entering freshman. These programs include the Freshman Forum, Freshman Focus and Freshman Board.

Student media

The Red & Black

The Red and Black (R&B) is UGA's is an independent daily newspaper. Established in 1893 and independent of the university since 1980, The Red & Black is the largest college newspaper in Georgia and the 10th largest newspaper in the state of Georgia. Students published its first issue in tabloid format on November 24, 1893, from offices in the Academic Building on North Campus. Since then, the newspaper has grown to be widely read.

It is operationally and financially independent from the university. The paper receives no student activity fees or other funding from UGA. The paper is self-sufficient through the sale of advertising making it one of the few student newspapers to do so.

The newspaper has won numerous awards nationally. In 2012, the Princeton Review named The Red & Black 10th among the nation's best student newspapers.

It has a photos and videos division dubbed R&B-TV. R&B-TV publishes various videos relating to the University of Georgia and the community at large.

WUGA-FM Radio WUGA-FM is the radio station run by the University of Georgia. Just before 6:00 a.m. on the morning of August 28, 1987, WUGA-FM signed on for its first day of broadcasting to Athens and the surrounding area. WUGA-FM broadcasts with 6000 watts in an "omni-directional pattern." WUGA-FM radio is the third most listened to station in Athens market out of 18 stations reported. It is the most listened to station for people with managerial, administrative or professional occupations.

Ampersand Magazine Launched in 2011, Ampersand Magazine is a UGA monthly publication catered to Athens residents. The magazine is a subsidized by The Red and Black.

Pre-Med Magazine at UGA PreMed Magazine is a student organization that aims to help pre-medical students at the University of Georgia achieve success in the medical field. This club is open for students of all majors and concentrations. Topics range from student achievement in medicine and health science to recent innovations in biomedical sciences.

Sustainability

The Odum School of Ecology became the first-stand alone college or school within a university dedicated to the study of ecology and environmental science. The school was named after UGA professor and ecologist, Eugene Odum.

The university has made several advancements in sustainability in the past decade. Under the UGA Facilities Management Division, the Office of Sustainability was initiated in 2010 as part of a strategic directive to enhance conservation of resources and long-term sustainability at the university. Through long-term environmental initiatives, under President Michael F. Adams the university established the office after support from students and faculty and residents of the Athens area. The Office of Sustainability's mission is to continue to improve environmental sustainability in many different areas on campus.

The initiative was a result of a 2009 Report of the Working Group on Sustainability at the University of Georgia and the Green Initiative Fund (TGIF) student-led campaign. The Green Initiative Fund modeled their funding campaign after a similar campaign by students at the University of California-Berkeley. As of 2013, the Office of Sustainability has awarded a total of $59,000 to fund 17 student-initiated sustainability projects at UGA. The Campus Sustainability Grants Program has helped foster several student initiatives, including water bottle refilling stations in the Zell B. Miller Learning Center, "Dawgs Ditch the Dumpster" residence hall move-out donation program, Tanyard Creek Chew Crew prescribed grazing project for invasive plant removal and Material Reuse Program, which uses salvaged items to construct school and community gardens.

The university and Athens-Clarke County established a bicycle master plan to improve the mobility of students on campus while remaining environmentally consciousness.

In 2009 the University of Georgia earned LEED certification from the U.S. Green Building Council with high marks for the expansion of the Tate Student Center. The renovated Tate Student Center became the sixth building on a university campus in the state of Georgia to be certified at the gold level and the second to be so designated in Athens. Following Tate's certification, Building 1516, a University housing complex constructed in 2010, is seeking Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification. The certification would mark the first LEED certified housing complex at the University of Georgia. The LEED Green Building Rating System provides a set of standards for environmentally sustainable construction and maintenance. Features of the building include; locations on each floor for students to recycle materials, increased levels of fresh air in the building, Energy Star qualified products, bioretention systems located near the building to filter pollutants from and treat stormwater runoff, a rainwater catchment system for water recycling among other installments.

In 2012 the College of Environmental Design's $10.4-million Visual Arts building became the first UGA building to incorporate a water reclamation system and it became the first UGA building to utilize solar harvesting technology through solar panels.

In 2013 the university hosted the inaugural SEC Symposium in Atlanta. The topic is the Southeast's impact on the future of renewable energy, and the participants are the 14 universities of the SEC, as supported by its new academic initiative, SECU.

In the same year, the university was named by the National Arbor Foundation as a designated Tree Campus USA for the third time in a row as a result of the university's continued commitment to maintaining and adding new foliage. UGA has more than 9,000 trees on campus, according to an ongoing tree-mapping project being conducted by the University Grounds Department. The number will continue to grow due to a partnership between Select Sustainable Tree Trust and UGA. In 2009, the Select Sustainable Tree Trust selected the university to receive a $1 million tree donation to "re-green" and impact the university campus with large-scale, sustainable shade trees.

Athletics

Campus venues include the Turner Soccer Complex, and Foley Field. The University of Georgia varsity athletic teams participate in the NCAA's Division I FBS as a member of the Southeastern Conference. Since the 1997–1998 season, UGA has seven top ten rankings in the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA) Directors' Cup, a numerical ranking based on the success of universities in all varsity sports. The University has won national championships in football, women's gymnastics, women's equestrian (2003, 2004, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2014), baseball, tennis (men's and women's), golf (men's and women's), and women's swimming and diving. The Gym Dogs, the University's women's gymnastics team, have a NCAA-leading 10 national championships in gymnastics, including five consecutive championships from 2005 to 2009.

The Bulldogs' most historic rivalry is with the nearby Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets. However, major rivalries have grown since, including the rivalry with the Florida Gators, and with the Auburn Tigers, referred to as the "Deep South's Oldest Rivalry" in reference to the first football game played between the two teams in 1892 and the more than one hundred meetings since. In 2011, Huffington Post named Florida–Georgia football rivalry one of college football's top 10 rivalries.

The university also hosts several non-varsity sports, including wrestling, men's soccer, crew, ultimate frisbee, rugby, lacrosse, and ice hockey. Georgia's men's soccer team received a bid to play in the NIRSA Club National Championship for the first time in 2007. Despite the program's success, however, Title IX restrictions prevent the UGA men's team from competing on the varsity level as the women's is allowed to do. Similarly, University of Georgia men are not permitted to compete with a varsity gymnastics team, again due to Title IX restrictions. Several Varsity sports are duplicated with non-varsity teams, such as women's tennis. Georgia's men's lacrosse team has won the South Eastern Lacrosse Conference three times, in 1998, 2007, and 2008, and received an automatic bid to the Men's Collegiate Lacrosse Association national tournament; while the women's team earned an at-large bid to the WDIA National Tournament in 2007.

UGA's athletic program has a program that fines student-athletes for unexcused absences in class. And, for the first time in school history, more than 50% of student-athlete GPAs were over 3.0. In addition, many other universities are looking to UGA's plan as a model. As of 2012, UGA's football athlete graduation rate has continued to increase. Roughly 81%, slightly higher than the national average, according to the NCAA. The graduation success rate nationally for football was 70 percent, and for men's basketball was 74 percent.

1996 Summer Olympic Games

The University of Georgia played an instrumental role in Atlanta's bid for the 1996 Summer Olympics. UGA conducted a majority of the preliminary studies for the economic impact of bringing the Olympic games to Atlanta, and hosted many Olympic events. In 1987, Atlanta attorney and former football player at the University of Georgia, William "Billy" Payne, conceived the idea of hosting the 1996 Summer Olympic Games. Atlanta mayor Andrew Young was among the first to join Payne in the quest to develop a bid and sell the proposal, first to local business leaders, then to the U.S. Olympic Committee, and finally to the members of the International Olympic Committee (IOC). The home of the Bulldogs hosted the medal round of the men's and women's Olympic soccer in July, 1996. Sanford Stadium was temporarily converted into a soccer stadium which saw to the removal of the privet hedges surrounding the playing field. The hedges had been symbolic to UGA since the early 1930s. The hedges were restored after the Olympic games. In 1996, UGA's High Point was selected as the training site for the U.S. Dressage Team, which competed in the summer Olympic games at the International Horse Park in Conyers, Georgia. The University's basketball stadium, Stegeman Coliseum, was the venue for Volleyball and Rhythmic Gymnastics.

The colors

Georgia's original colors included old gold, until the intense rivalry between Georgia Tech and Georgia around 1891 resulted in a skirmish over colors. Georgia students and alumni declared yellow an unfit color for the Georgia Bulldogs, deeming it a cowardly color. After the 1893 football game against Georgia Tech, University of Georgia President, Dr. Charles Herty, removed old gold as an official school color. Crimson (also referred to as "Good Old Georgia Red") and black have been the official colors ever since.

The decision to include crimson red is also thought to be a tribute to the state of Georgia and a reminder of the University's flagship status. Kaolinite, commonly referred to as "Georgia red clay" is commonly found throughout the state, especially in the Red Hills Region. The red color that is so evident in Georgia soils is due primarily to iron oxides.

The mascot

The origin of the English Bulldog representing UGA, came from Yale University, with whom UGA had strong ties in its early years. Many early buildings and campus plans followed the layout of Yale. The bulldog mascot stems from University's founding father and first president, Abraham Baldwin, who was a graduate of Yale. The Bulldogs were thought to be a tribute to Baldwin's alma mater. The term "Georgia Bulldogs" was first coined on November 3, 1920 by Atlanta Journal Constitution writer Morgan Blake. After a 0-0 tie with University of Virginia in Charlottesville on Nov. 6, 1920, Atlanta Journal Constitution writer Cliff Wheatley used the name "Bulldogs" in his story five times. The name caught on and has been used ever since.

Uga the Bulldog is the official live mascot of the Georgia Bulldogs. Uga is from a line owned by Frank W. (Sonny) Seiler of Savannah, Georgia since 1956. The current line began with Uga I, a solid white English Bulldog who was the grandson of a former Georgia mascot who made the trip to the 1943 Rose Bowl. Perhaps the most famous Uga was Uga V who made appearances in the movie Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil. Uga V was also featured on the cover of the April 1997 edition of Sports Illustrated. Uga X became the mascot in 2015. Of course, although the University of Georgia is now known as the home of Uga, several mascots including other pure white English bulldogs led the Red and Black before Frank Seiler provided the current lineage.

The University of Georgia is the only major college that buries its mascots within the confines of its stadium. Ugas I, II, III, IV, V, VI, VII and VIII are buried in marble vaults near the main gate in the embankment of the South stands of Sanford Stadium. Epitaphs to the dogs are inscribed in bronze, and before each home game, flowers are placed on their graves.

The Chapel Bell

The Chapel Bell is a historic monument and long-standing tradition of the University of Georgia. The Chapel Bell is located on the historic North Campus. Built in 1832, when Protestant orthodoxy dominated the campus region, the Chapel was a center of campus activities. A daily religious service, which students were required to attend, were held there, as were assemblies and commencements. The bell was also rung to mark the beginning and the end of class.

Over the years, the Chapel Bell has served as an athletic tradition at the University of Georgia. The ringing of the Chapel Bell after a Georgia victory is a tradition that has endured since the 1890s. In Georgia football's early days, the playing field was located only yards from the chapel, and first-year students were compelled to ring the bell until midnight in celebration of a Bulldog victory. Today, students, alumni, fans and townspeople still rush to the Chapel to ring the bell after a victory. The bell is also utilized for University meetings and events, weddings and remembrance ringing. The bell was rung in memory of victims of the September 11th attacks in 2001. After the 2012 Sandy Hook shooting, the University of Georgia partook in a nationwide mourning by ringing the Chapel Bell in honor of the victims of the shooting.

On Oct. 27, 2007, as tradition warrants, Georgia fans rang the Chapel Bell to celebrate the 42-30 win over archrival, the Florida Gators. The excitement caused the yoke holding the 877 lb. bell to give way, and it fell from the support platform. UGA Physical Plant has returned the bell to its historic post.

Founders Week

January 27, 1785 marked the chartering of the University of Georgia. January 27 is commemorated each year to honor UGA's place in the history of American colleges and universities. The tradition began in 2002 and is now celebrated as Founders Week. During Founders Week, a series of celebrations are hosted by various campus departments including the Student Alumni Association and the Student Government Association.

The Emeriti Scholars, a group of retired faculty members especially known for their teaching abilities and continued involvement in the university's academic life, sponsor the Founders Day Lecture. The lecture is held in the UGA Chapel and has become a Founders Day tradition, drawing alumni, students, faculty, esteemed guests and members of the community.

The Georgia Arch

The historic Georgia Arch which sits on the edge of North campus was installed in 1864. It serves as the official icon and a historic landmark for the University. Since the 1900s, tradition has held that students may not pass beneath the Arch until they have received a diploma from the University of Georgia. Those who walked under the Arch prior to graduation commencement were to said to never graduate. The tradition began when Daniel Huntley Redfearn, Class of 1910, arrived as a freshman from Boston, Georgia and vowed not to pass beneath the Arch until he had graduated. One of Redfearn's professors heard the vow and repeated it to his class, and the tradition has stood ever since. Many freshmen, learning of the tradition during orientation or from other sources still choose to honor the century-old tradition. Years of following the tradition are visible on the concrete steps leading to the Arch. Steps to each side have been worn down over the years as undergraduates have kept their vows.

The Arch has been a site of historic political demonstrations. In 1961, when UGA officials desegregated the University with the admission of its first two African-American students, Hamilton Holmes and Charlayne Hunter-Gault. The Arch was a witness to students protesting both for and against segregation in the protesting the Persian Gulf War and a demonstration following the 1970 shootings at Kent State University. In 2001, along with the Chapel Bell, the Georgia Arch was the site of a memorial to the victims of the September 11 attacks.

The fight song and Alma Mater

"Glory, Glory" is the rally song for the Georgia Bulldogs. "Glory, Glory" is sung to the tune of "The Battle Hymn of the Republic". It was sung at games as early as the 1890s, but arranged in its present form by Georgia's musician-composer Hugh Hodgson in 1915. There have been many Bulldog songs through the years and at least two collections dating back to 1909 have been published, but "Glory, Glory" has been the most accepted among students and alumni. The only known original reference to the piece is in a history of the Redcoat Band written in 1962, which briefly mentions the march as "Georgia's first original school song" and notes that "all copies of the work have been lost." The document is kept in the university's Hargrett Library for rare and historic documents.

Although "Glory, Glory" is generally thought to be the school's fight song, the official fight song is "Hail to Georgia". The fight song is played by the Georgia Redcoat Marching Band after touchdowns, field goals, and extra points scored by the football team. The Georgia Redcoat Marching Band is a 375-member marching band. First directed in 1905 by R.E. Haughey, the band has only had seven directors.

The "Alma Mater" is the official school song of the University of Georgia. The "Alma Mater" was created by two students at Cornell University around 1870. The melody was taken from a melancholy ballad, "Annie Lisle", written by Boston musician H. S. Thompson in the late 1850s. Since its founding, the Cornell melody has been used by many colleges and universities including University of Georgia, University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, Indiana University and the University of Missouri. The song is sung at commencement and various official events of the University of Georgia.

Playing "Between the Hedges" and Sanford Stadium

Sanford Stadium is the on-campus playing venue for football at the University of Georgia in Athens. The 92,746-seat stadium is the seventh largest stadium in the National Collegiate Athletic Association. The stadium is the 8th largest non-racing stadium in the United States and the 14th largest such stadium in the world. The stadium played host to the Olympic medal competition of men's and women's Olympic football (soccer) at the 1996 Summer Olympics.

University of Georgia playing "Between the Hedges" is a reference to Sanford Stadium that dates back to the early 1930s. The famous Chinese privet hedges that surround Sanford's playing field were only one foot high when the stadium was dedicated in 1929 and were protected by a wooden fence. Sports writers, referring to an upcoming home game, were said to observe "that the Bulldogs will have their opponent "between the hedges." The phrase was coined by the Atlanta sportswriter Grantland Rice. Games played there are said to be played "Between the Hedges" due to the privet hedges, which had stood around the field since 1929, but removed in the summer of 1996; new, albeit considerably shorter, hedges were restored in the fall of 1996. The hedges have been dubbed Hedges II by UGA fans.

The "Dawg Walk"

The Dawg Walk is a Saturday football tradition and celebration at University of Georgia home games when UGA students and fans line up in the Tate Center parking lot to form a tunnel that greets the players and coaches as they enter Sanford Stadium. The team enters the stadium through Gate 10 at Sanford Stadium to the music of the Redcoat Marching Band. The march is often led by the team's costumed mascot Hairy Dawg.

The Dawg Walk is preceded by two show section shows. The Redcoat Sousaphones perform a warm up concert in the Tate Center assembly area, while the Redcoat Drumline performs a drumshow in the parking lot.

Notable alumni

The University of Georgia has more than 275,000 living alumni worldwide. Alumni relations are maintained by the UGA Alumni Association. The UGA Alumni Association seeks to support the academic, research and traditions of UGA's faculty, staff, students and its alumni. The Student Alumni Association is a subsidiary within the Alumni Association for current students interested in participating in alumni relations and external affairs.

Twenty-six governors have been graduates of the university, along with numerous federal and state judges, U.S. and state senators and representatives, as well as leaders in science, medicine, teaching, the arts, writing and journalism, history, public administration, social sciences, etc. Eighteen UGA alumni are presidents or provosts of colleges and universities in the United States, and nine UGA graduates have received the Pulitzer Prize.