CAES Newswire

 College of Agricultural & Environmental Sciences UGA Cooperative Extension
Menu
Published on 08/22/13

Bright students promise glowing future for Georgia

By J. Scott Angle

Each year as a new group of freshmen shows up for the first day of class at the University of Georgia, I’m reminded of all the students who have crossed our path and now make up the rich fabric of our strong agricultural economy. Our graduates can be found in boardrooms and on ball fields, in legislatures and laboratories, classrooms, cow pastures and cotton fields all over the world.

I expect these freshmen will graduate from UGA and go on to great things, especially if their academic success thus far is any indictor. This year’s freshman class is the most academically qualified in the school’s 228-year history.

This UGA freshman class has the highest GPA and SAT averages on record for entering freshmen. UGA’s strong retention and graduation rates, among the highest in the nation at 82 percent, signal these freshmen are well on their way to successful careers.

For the past 13 years, the UGA College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences has set new enrollment records. The trend is echoing across colleges of agriculture at land-grant universities nationwide. More students are coming to our college because the opportunities here are stellar.

Georgia agriculture has nearly twice as many jobs available as we have college graduates to fill them. Basic economics tells us high demand met with low supply will reap high prices. Our students have some of the highest placement rates and highest starting salaries of all UGA colleges.

Part of that successful employment rate comes from meeting the right people along the way.

Lucy Branch Reid followed her path from a peanut farm in Mitchell County to Athens, after being an active Georgia 4-H’er. Along the way she met faculty mentors from the college of agriculture who influenced her decision to study food science. Today she is director of scientific and regulatory affairs for Coca-Cola Refreshments.

Working with UGA’s world-renowned turfgrass experts helped 2002 graduate Clint Tolbert land his dream job in paradise. Everyday he wakes up to a Hawaiian sunrise over the golf course he manages because those experts helped him gain specialized knowledge of island-friendly turf.

Whether this freshman class follows a path to their field of dreams on a golf course or on a family farm, opportunity abounds in the UGA College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences. The excellence and high standard these students set assure us the future is a bright. Welcome to class.

J. Scott Angle is a former dean and director of the University of Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences.

Authors:
J. Scott Angle
Experts/Sources:
J. Scott Angle
J. Scott Angle, dean and director of the UGA College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisicing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua.
Download Image
From left, CAES Associate Professor Abigail Borron and Fulbright Romanian-American Foundation Scholars Mihai Suteu, Daniyar Memedemin, Alina Zaharia, Andreea Ona and Daniel Chiciudean stand in front of an image of the Romanian flag projected onto a barn at UGArden. CAES News
Fulbright Scholars unite with UGA Extension to envision ag outreach model in Romania 12/18/24 Maria M. Lameiras
Arriving on the Athens campus of the University of Georgia in August 2023, five Romanian scholars experienced the same anticipation, excitement and apprehension as many first-year students.  Chosen as Fulbright Romanian-American Foundation Scholars, each serves on the faculty at one of three Romanian universities, specializing in fields from economics and engineering to plant breeding and biotechnology. The five scholars comprised the first cohort of the Romanian Extension Education Development Program, an ambitious three-year pilot effort to facilitate planning and implementation of extension services in Romania. 
Conner Hall CAES News
CAES welcomes 2024 cohort of Rural Scholars 11/20/24 Maria M. Lameiras
The University of Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences welcomed its fourth cohort of students chosen for the CAES Rural Scholars Program this fall just weeks after celebrating the program's first graduation. Georgia Orman, one of four inaugural Rural Scholars in CAES, graduated in May with a bachelor’s degree in agricultural education. The new scholars for 2024, all from Georgia, are Ela Ash of Ocilla, Lauren E. Coley of Cochran, Amelia Housley of Canon, and London O’Steen of Ambrose.
Women play a vital role in rural American farming, but much of that work is "invisible," like raising children or household chores, according to a new UGA study. (Getty Images) CAES News
The women and stress behind rural farming in America 11/19/24 Leigh Hataway
Recent research from the University of Georgia suggests the unique stresses from farm life may be taking a toll on one of the pillars of the families that make your dinners possible: the women who keep farming families running. “If we don’t control our food sources, we don’t control our health and safety,” said Anna Scheyett, lead author of the study and a professor in UGA’s School of Social Work. “It’s a matter of national security that farmers survive in the United States. And one of the big factors in helping farms survive is women.”
TiftonCampusSunset2 CAES News
CAES Transfer Pathways Program expands enrollment access for rural students 11/12/24 Emily Cabrera
The Transfer Pathways Program is opening new doors for rural students who dream of attending the University of Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences (CAES). In partnership with Wiregrass Georgia Technical College and Southern Regional Technical College, students who complete required coursework at these institutions can transfer to CAES to complete bachelor’s degrees in one of three majors — agribusiness, agricultural education, and agriscience and environmental systems. 
Kevan Lamm teaching undergraduate students CAES News
CAES researchers prepare students to address complex challenges of the future 10/29/24 Emily Cabrera
Over the next three years, researchers in the University of Georgia’s Department of Agricultural Leadership, Education and Communication aim to transform undergraduate education in agricultural and environmental sciences by integrating systems thinking — an approach that encourages students to see the bigger picture by understanding how different components within a system interact.
Ropes course at Georgia 4-H camp CAES News
Campers create lasting memories of summer at Georgia's 4-H centers 10/07/24 Josie Smith
By the end of his first week at 4-H summer camp, fifth grader Cooper Hardy already had many memories of new and exciting experiences. “That was the first time I got in a canoe,” Hardy said. “It was a big deal for me.” Now, 10 years later, Hardy serves as a Georgia 4-H camp counselor at Rock Eagle 4-H Center in Eatonton, Georgia. It’s a dream he’s held since the first time he set foot on the sprawling, wooded 1,500-acre campus as a camper.