The University of Georgia

Overview

Founded in Savannah on January 27, 1785, by the Georgia General Assembly, the University of Georgia (UGA) holds the distinction of being America’s first state-chartered university and the origin of the public higher education system in the United States. Two prominent figures from UGA’s early history, Abraham Baldwin, the author of the university’s charter and its first president, and William Few, a member of the Board of Trustees, represented Georgia as signatories of the United States Constitution at the 1787 Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia.

As a land-grant and sea-grant institution, UGA is Georgia’s oldest and most comprehensive higher education establishment, with a broad scope of statewide commitments and responsibilities. Its motto, "to teach, to serve, and to inquire into the nature of things," underscores its vital role in preserving and advancing the intellectual, cultural, and environmental heritage of both the state and the nation.