240 Years of Excellence

Happy Founders Day, UGA!

I would say that other than the church and my family, no institution has had a bigger influence on me than the University of Georgia.

The university was founded 240 years ago today as the nation’s first land grant university. In “Neon Crosses,” I wrote:

The Senatus Academicus, the board charged with setting up what would become the university, selected a location in the hills of northeast Georgia near the banks of the Oconee River. A trading post called Cedar Shoals already made its home on the river shore, and the State of Georgia chose to locate the school just up the hill from a creek bed. Trustee – and soon-to-be governor – John Milledge purchased 633 acres and donated it to the state, dubbing the area Athens, of course named after the famed Greek center of learning.

The first classes took place in 1801 in the newly built Franklin College (now called Old College). As the university grew, so did Athens. Cotton mills helped spur on the growth of the young town, and one of the first railroads in the state had its start in Athens, first connecting the town with Augusta to the southeast and later linking to a new settlement called Marthasville – soon to change its name to Atlanta – by a line to the southwest.

UGA continued to grow throughout the 19th and 20th centuries, and it has become one of the premier academic institutions in the U.S. Sure, we had a party-school reputation back in the day, and we’re known as an athletic powerhouse. But we’re serious about academics.

As UGA moves into the future, it’s set to open up a medical school soon. UGA continues to innovate and lead the way among state schools in the South and across the country, and it will continue academic, cultural, and athletic excellence for decades to come.

Happy Founders Day, UGA! You look amazing for 240 years old!

Video: Chris Queen, Photos: Boston Public Library, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons