October 5, 2006
Tifton -- Tifton has become the center for agricultural education and research in Georgia, and not just here at ABAC. The University of Georgia has had a campus here since 1918.
UGA employs about 450 people here in Tifton, many of them are premier Ag scientists doing cutting-edge research for the University's College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences.
They develop new farming techniques and varieties of products that not only help Georgia farmers, but people all over the world. "Our job is to help feed and clothe people better at lower cost, and what we do here can be applied not only in Georgia but across the south and in other countries," says UGA Professor Dr. Charles Douglas.
"100% of everything I do is helping our growers survive in the future," said Weed Scientist Stanley Culpepper. Culpepper does much of his research on test fields in his 12-acre vegetable garden.
But the UGA campus includes seven outlying farms and covers a total of 6,000 acres in and around Tift County.
ABAC is as big as it has ever been. More than 3500 students now attend college on this 421 acre campus- that's a record.
ABAC is about to celebrate its 100th anniversary. In November 1906, Tifton won a bid to become home to the agricultural school for The Second Congressional District.
In 1933, the Board Of Regents renamed the school in honor of Abraham Baldwin who represented Georgia at the 1787 Constitutional Convention and later became the first chief executive of the University of Georgia.
ABAC was endowed with a special emphasis on agriculture and forestry, but it's much more than a farm school.
Today, more students major in nursing than any other program. The newest building on campus is a $7.2 million Health Sciences Center that just opened this semester. It includes classrooms, clinical labs, and the student health center.
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