University of Georgia

E-mail

The University of Georgia (UGA) is an American public research university located in Athens, Georgia, the oldest and largest of the state's institutions of higher learning. Founded in 1785, UGA is one of multiple schools to claim the title of the oldest public university in the United States.

The university regularly performs well in both undergraduate and graduate program rankings in such publications as U.S. News & World Report and BusinessWeek, as well as studies ranking top journalism schools. It has also been recognized as one of three Southern Public Ivies.

As a college town, Athens often ranks highly among students, professors, and their families. On campus, students enjoy a successful athletics program, an acclaimed student newspaper - The Red and Black, and a strong Greek system. The university also hosts the prestigious Peabody Awards.

It is the largest university of the University System of Georgia, with an enrollment of 34,885 as of fall 2009

History

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. The college was not immediately established and until it was portions of the original land tracts were used for other purposes or sold to raise $7,463.75 by 1798.

On July 2, 1799, the Senatus Academicus met again in Louisville, Georgia and decided that the time was right to officially begin 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 Clarke County, Georgia and Athens, Georgia was then part of Jackson County. The meeting also established a new president of the university naming Josiah Meigs, another Yale 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.

The Civil War Era

During the American Civil War, the University closed in October 1863 and reopened in January 1866 with an enrollment of seventy-eight students including veterans utilizing an award of $300 granted by the General Assembly to injured soldiers younger than thirty. In that 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 within 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.

20th Century

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

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. 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 UGA, Mary Frances Early became 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.

Recent Years

The University has seen its academic reputation rise markedly since Georgia's HOPE Scholarship program was started in 1993. The school has grown both in size and reputation. The merit-based scholarship allows any resident of the state of Georgia to attend any public college in the state without paying tuition, provided they maintain a 3.0 GPA. The average SAT for incoming freshmen in 2008 was 1253, and national rankings for the school have risen consistently. UGA is designated as both a land-grant and sea-grant university. UGA's Henry W. Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication awards the prestigious 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. UGA has an extensive network of student activities that center around academic, religious, social and fraternal organizations. It maintains one of the South's oldest and most active Greek systems, and the fraternity and sororities maintain homes both on and off campus. Organizations include both Democrat and Republican student clubs, Order of Omega, Arch Society, student philanthropies such as UGA HEROs, ugaMIRACLE and UGA Relay for Life, and secret societies such as Palladia and Gridiron. The university's National Alumni Association has over 50,000 members and operates a center in both Athens and Atlanta, Georgia which can be found in the Atlanta Financial Center.

Campus

Though there have been many additions, changes, and augmentations, UGA’s campus maintains its historic character and southern charm. The historical practice has been to divide the 614-acre (2.5 km2) main campus into two sections, North Campus and South Campus. In the last decade, new facilities have added "East Campus" to the traditional map. 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 new Lamar Dodd School of Art. "West Campus" is a term used as an informal reference to the area where many of the freshman residence halls are located; most UGA freshman live in one of the high rise dorms in this area.

Modeled on Yale University’s Central/Old Campus, UGA’s North Campus contains the picturesque historic buildings—such as the Chapel, Old College, 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 North Campus has also been designated an arboretum by the State of Georgia.

Perhaps the most notable North Campus fixture, though, 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 before receiving your diploma, you will never graduate from UGA. Another legend claims that should you walk through The Arch as a freshman, you will become sterile.

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 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 Hall, Creswell Hall, Brumby Hall and Russell Hall. Also located here are Legion Field and Pool, which are recreational facilities. On the north end are several fraternity houses, a parking deck, and several university administration offices. Some of the fraternities were asked to relocate in early 2006 to make room for new University building projects. University property and private property are dispersed throughout West Campus, and at several points University buildings are adjacent to private residences and businesses.