Had a great day rediscovering The University of Georgia today. As promised, I am writing to share some the interesting tidbits that I learned throughout this long day of great presentations. I hope that these observations help you to see deeper into this Univsersity and will may reintroduce you to why UGA is a great option for students.
Admissions at UGA is an incredibly tough job! Every year, the applicant pool continues to improve its pursuit of academic rigor and pursuit of excellence; that is no news to us all. What is interesting is the fact that 94% of freshmen return for their sophomore year. This statistic is called the retention rate. Several new initiatives will serve to make that number grow in the years to come at the University. The first initiative is a reduction in class sizes. We have all heard about 300 student lecture halls, but a 3 million dollar investment is helping to bring more instructors on campus to teach the high-demand courses. This will provide a net realization of more course offerings and smaller class sizes. Additionally, they have hired 35 more academic advisors so that UGA students do not feel herded through a less-than-helpful advisement process. Instead, each student will have more time available with the advisor in order to get more than just course recommendations. Both of these enhancements will be a big plus to a freshman at UGA.
Another new development is the experiential learning requirement for all students at UGA. In order to graduate, each student must either work as an intern at an outside organization, study abroad, or commit to a service-learning project. The wisdom in this graduation requirement is that is forces students to take the "theory" and apply it to the real world, a skill that employers and parents hope that a UGA graduate can do.
It was great to hear from the Deans of the Journalism, Arts and Sciences, Engineering and Public International Affairs. Each school is taking the charge to incorporate experiential learning into their programs with exciting ideas that are genuinely designed with the end result of student marketability in mind. Dean Davis from the Journalism School and Dean Leo from the Engineering School did a fantastic job presenting today and are also both Titan parents!
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| The Hargrett Library Rare Book Collection |
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| Correll Hall |
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| Classroom in Correll Hall |
I finished up my afternoon by touring the newest facility, Correll Hall, a Terry College of Business building and the Special Collections Library. I must say that the Special Collections Library is more appropriately described as a museum with artifacts from Georgia History. Where else in the state could you watch old home videos showing downtown Athens from the 1950's, Herschel Walker's football jersey, Jerry Reed's guitar and signature hat, and Herman Talmadge's chair the he occupied on the United States Senate floor for 24 years? The Rare Collections Library also has a vault in the basement that houses historical documents like the Constitution of Georgia and Articles of Confederation. I had no clue how cool this building is!
At the end of the day, I was proud of our State for creating, way back in 1785, a flagship university that serves it's citizens so well. I enjoyed serving my last year of a two year cycle on this council. It was truly a privilege that I will not soon forget!
