(Note: Underlined links in the body of this page point to the web
 pages of the individual units, i.e. outside of the Web Fact Book.)
  

THE PUBLIC SAFETY DIVISION administers a program to provide safety and security to members of the University of Georgia community. The University of Georgia Police Department, a major component in the Public Safety Division, is comprised of employees with full police authority in the State of Georgia and operates 24 hours a day, seven days a week. An essential proactive aspect of the Police Department is the Crime Prevention Bureau which provides education and training to the University community in order to eliminate conditions which might lead to criminal acts. Services provided by the Police Department include an Escort Van Service and emergency telephones which are located at strategic points on campus.

THE RAMSEY CENTER FOR PRIVATE ENTERPRISE has as its major mission the furtherance of understanding of the principles of private enterprise. The center engages in research studies that demonstrate the benefits of economic decisions made in a competitive environment and in teaching undergraduate and graduate students the principles of private enterprise, the theoretical underpinnings of market economies, and other appropriate subjects. In addition to its teaching and research functions, the center carries on an active service program involving public lectures and seminars dealing with the private enterprise system. 

THE DEAN RUSK CENTER FOR INTERNATIONAL AND COMPARATIVE LAW was founded in 1977 as part of the School of Law to improve the effectiveness of relations among citizens, private sector entities, and government at the local, state, federal, and international levels. Using advanced electronic information-processing techniques, the center's professional staff and part-time researchers mobilize University, business, and governmental resources to develop theoretical and practical approaches to improve the efficiency of governance, trade, and investment. On occasion the center helps implement the approaches by providing private and public sectors with essential manpower and information. In the past the Dean Rusk Center developed several major initiatives for federal action concerning North American cooperation and overseas trade regulation and representation. It also has analyzed new approaches for expanding Georgia agricultural exports. The center publishes research reports, holds conferences, and sponsors research for Georgia citizens that cover fiscal and monetary policy, international arrangements, and domestic affairs.

THE SAVANNAH RIVER ECOLOGY LABORATORY (SREL)  is a research unit of the University of Georgia. The overall mission of the laboratory is to acquire and communicate knowledge of ecological processes and principles. SREL conducts basic and applied ecological research as well as education and outreach programs under a cooperative agreement with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) at the Savannah River Site near Aiken, South Carolina. 

THE SCHOOL OF MARINE PROGRAMS  is responsible for the coordination and general management of the Marine Institute, the Marine Extension Service, the Georgia Sea Grant College Program, the Department of Marine Sciences, and the Environmental Ethics Certificate Program. The School conducts a wide range of marine-related programs involving undergraduate and graduate instruction, basic and applied research, and outreach/public service. 

The Marine Institute, located on Sapelo Island, was established in 1953 as a research facility for resident staff and for campus-based faculty members. Research has centered mainly on marsh and estuarine ecology to provide an understanding of energy flow, cycling of minerals and nutrients through the marshes and nearby ocean, and factors regulating the metabolism of the salt marsh ecosystem.

The Marine Extension Service helps to solve problems related to the state's marine resources. The Marine Resources Center on Skidaway Island is the major marine education facility for schools and colleges in the state. At the Brunswick Extension Station, specialists work directly with the fishing and seafood processing industry to increase its efficiency and effectiveness and to develop new industries. 

The Georgia Sea Grant College Program, part of the National Sea Grant College Program, was established in 1971. In an approach roughly analogous to that of the Land Grant System in working with agriculture, Sea Grant promotes the wise use of marine resources through a coordinated program of research, education, and advisory services. Sustained excellence in all three areas of activity earned Sea Grant College status for the University in 1980, when it became the fifteenth institution in the nation to attain that rank. In 1990, the Sea Grant College status of the University was reaffirmed by the National Sea Grant College Program. 

The Department of Marine Sciences, a unit of the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences, is the degree-granting arm of the School of Marine Programs. The department offers an undergraduate major through the Franklin College's Interdisciplinary Studies major as well as the Ph.D. and Master of Science in Marine Sciences. In addition, a proposal to offer the B.S. in Marine Sciences is currently pending. 

The Environmental Ethics Certificate Program (EECP) is a nationally recognized program offering undergraduate and graduate training in the development of critical decision-making on issues of human involvement with the natural environment. In 1996, the EECP joined the School of Marine Programs as its newest unit, creating a uniquely diverse team focusing on ethical questions pertaining to human stewardship of marine resources. 

THE SIMON S. SELIG, JR. CENTER FOR ECONOMIC GROWTH serves the state by issuing economic forecasts, conducting applied economic research, and publishing research findings and economic statistics. The Selig Center is a major source of information for national, regional, state, and local media. The center also provides information to business leaders, government agencies, and the general public and is an official cooperating agency with the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis and the Construction Statistics Division, U.S. Bureau of the Census. Selig Center faculty serve as economic and financial advisors to many public and private organizations.

The Selig Center hosts economic forecasting luncheons in Albany, Augusta, Atlanta, Brunswick, Columbus, Macon, Savannah, and Thomasville. The annual Georgia Economic Outlook publication provides accurate forecasts and detailed commentary on ten economic sectors: agriculture, biotechnology, communications, construction, E-commerce, public utilities, financial markets, manufacturing, services, and retailing. The Selig Center's bimonthly business periodical, Georgia Business and Economic Conditions, features articles on various aspects of the state's economy. Specialized monographs and the Georgia Statistical Abstract also inform the public.

THE SPEECH-LANGUAGE AND HEARING CLINIC is a self-supporting clinic within the Communication Sciences and Disorders Department providing comprehensive and up-to-date evaluation and therapy services for individuals of all ages with speech, language or hearing problems. The clinic serves as a student training facility and provides services to the community. In addition to providing evaluation or treatment of articulation, including accent reduction, stuttering, voice, language delay/disorder, and hearing impairment, the clinic offers specialized services and clinics including: hearing aid fitting (including programmable hearing aids), Central Auditory Processing testing, the summer Program for Hearing Impaired Children, the Summer Speech and Language Program for preschool children, and other specialized diagnostic services. Individuals may be self-referred, referred by a physician, or by other professionals such as teachers.

THE STATE BOTANICAL GARDEN OF GEORGIA is a public non-profit educational facility under the auspices of the University of Georgia. Its mission is to foster appreciation, understanding, and stewardship of plants and nature through research, collections and displays, horticultural gardens, and educational programs. The garden is located at 2450 South Milledge Avenue, one mile south of the Athens South Bypass (U.S. 129/441). Founded in 1968, the garden now encompasses over 300 acres, much of which borders the Middle Oconee River. The garden features a number of specialty gardens and collections plus five miles of nature trails. The Visitor Center/Conservatory features a permanent display of tropical and semitropical plants along with classrooms, offices, a gift shop, and a cafe which serves lunch daily except Mondays. Meeting, conference, and special event facilities are available in the Visitor Center, Callaway Building, Garden Club of Georgia state headquarters building and Day Chapel. The Garden is open daily from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. April through September and 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. October through March except on UGA holidays. The Visitor Center/Conservatory is open Tuesday through Saturday from 9:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and on Sundays from 11:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. 

THE SURVEY RESEARCH CENTER, a unit of the Institute for Behavioral Research, serves the data collection and analysis needs of the University and the larger community. The center's services encompass all aspects of the design and implementation of survey research projects and includes sampling and measurement, data collection and coding, data management and analysis, and report preparation and interpretation. These combined services are available for the execution of complete studies or any single service or combination of services can be contracted. The center can provide clients with the latest developments in survey interviewing methodologies and computer-assisted telephone interviewing (CATI), thus substantially shortening the time required for data collection and analysis. The center can also provide clients with the ability to conduct web based and Interactive Voice Recognition (IVR) survey projects. In the fall and spring of each year, the center conducts the Georgia Poll, a regular omnibus survey of the state's population. Individuals unable to justify purchasing an independent survey may subscribe to a particular poll by purchasing a question or series of questions of their choice. Results for each subscriber are reported along with a battery of standard socio-demographic indices of background attributes. 

THE TORRANCE CENTER FOR CREATIVE STUDIES, a unit in the Department of Educational Psychology, is a research and instructional center concerned with the identification and development of creative potential. The center accomplishes its purpose by developing, implementing, and evaluating projects at the local, national, and international levels. Programs sponsored by the Torrance Center include the Challenge Programs, the Georgia Future Problem Solving Program, and the E. Paul Torrance Lecture. The center offers training in creativity testing and in innovative educational programs such as the Future Problem Solving Program, the school Wide Enrichment Model, and Edu-K (Brain Gym for Educators). 

THE UNIVERSITY COMPUTING AND NETWORKING SERVICES (UCNS), is a service unit within the Office of the Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost, under the executive authority of the Chief Information Officer and Associate Provost for Computing and Networking. UCNS is responsible for operation and support of the major shared institutional computing and data communications facilities at the University of Georgia. In addition to general purpose enterprise servers supporting institutional administrative and academic applications, UCNS operates a variety of specialized computing resources supporting research and student services. These include both distributed memory and shared memory high-performance parallel processing facilities for numerically intensive research computing; a visualization laboratory; an artificial intelligence research and instructional laboratory, specialized computational biology application and database servers; a molecular graphics teaching laboratory; a number of open access microcomputer cluster facilities; and campus email, world wide web, news name and curricular content delivery server. In addition, UCNS distributes hundreds of microcomputer software products at reduced prices to University departments via site license arrangements with software developers.

UCNS provides technical consulting, publications, and training to the campus at large on a variety of topics including selection and procurement of hardware and software; site planning for departmental computing facilities; installation of workstation hardware and software; local area and campus networking design and connection; personal workstation and central server systems application software usage; electronic mail messaging and Internet exploration. Discipline specific consulting support is provided in computational physics, biology, chemistry, statistics, and visualization. UCNS also operates a central Help Desk (542-3106) for staff, students, and faculty. They can therefore contact one office to receive information or assistance with questions about information technology resources at UGA.

Access to campus, national, and international computer networks is provided through the data networking services supported by UCNS. Campus connectivity is provided through the TCP/IP protocol which is supported on server resources operated by the UCNS and a pervasive trunk and building cable system. UCNS sponsors University of Georgia membership in the Internet2 project as well as high speed network connectivity to the Abilene network. Commodity Interned connectivity is provided through PeachNet, the higher education network serving the University System of Georgia. 

THE UNIVERSITY OF GEORGIA BUSINESS OUTREACH SERVICES/GEORGIA SMALL BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT CENTER NETWORK is an innovative, University-based extension effort that provides management training and technical assistance to small businesses, prospective entrepreneurs, and economic groups. Services are offered through a statewide network of twenty offices. Supported by the University System of Georgia and the U.S. Small Business Administration, Business Outreach Services/SBDC provides free consulting services, continuing education programs at minimal cost, and business research. Other business-related activities include: producing studies on local economic development; collecting and disseminating business data statewide; assisting new startup businesses by providing centralized office space and services; promoting international trade among small and medium-sized Georgia firms; advocating minority entrepreneurship and promoting basic services to the minority community; and expanding business development and retention in rural communities. 

THE UNIVERSITY OF GEORGIA GERONTOLOGY CENTER coordinates and promotes multi- and inter-disciplinary aging research, training, and outreach at the University of Georgia. The faculty of Gerontology currently number approximately 50 from more than 21 departments and 10 colleges and schools across the university. In addition, a number of nationally and internationally known experts in the field of gerontology provide their expertise as Adjunct Research Scientists through their appointments at the Gerontology Center. The Gerontology Center offers a graduate program of study in the field of gerontology, awarding students a Graduate Certificate of Gerontology. In addition, post-doctoral training opportunities are also available. The center has garnered international recognition for its research on adaptation and survival of the oldest-old (e.g, The Georgia Centenarian Study). The center is the sponsor and hub institution for the Georgia Gerontology Consortium which administers and delivers gerontological programming throughout the University System of Georgia, including: 1) the Distance Learning Partnership in Gerontology, which employs collaborative teaching technologies to deliver four core aging courses to participating universities; 2) a faculty and student Seed Grant Program, which promotes aging research, course, and program development; 3) the Southeastern Regional Student Convention on Gerontology and Geriatrics, which is the nations's first and largest convention training venue designed for and conducted by students-in-aging; and 4) the Faculty, Instruction, Research, and Outreach Development Program, which is the sponsor of the Master Teacher in Gerontology Workshops series. The Gerontology Center maintains a website that contains additional information about the center, its programs, and its faculty. 

THE UNIVERSITY OF GEORGIA LIBRARIES are composed of three major on-campus libraries: the main library, the science library, and the law library administered by the School of Law. Several small collections include the Curriculum Materials Center (Education), the Georgia Center for Continuing Education library, the Veterinary Medicine reading room, and various lab collections. The UGA libraries' system also includes libraries at the experiment stations in Griffin and Tifton and at the marine stations at Sapelo and Skidaway.

The UGA library is the largest library in the state of Georgia and serves as the Regional Depository for federal government publications for the state. It is a member of the prestigious Association of Research Libraries (ARL) consisting of the largest research libraries in North America and ranks in the top 30 of these libraries. The libraries contain more than 3.4 million books, serials, and documents, plus many other items, including manuscripts, photographs, drawings, music scores, audio/video materials, and newspapers. The map collection incorporates nearly 600,000 items, and the microform collection numbers more than 5.6 million. Collections support the University's instructional, research, and public service activities and are available to users on the campus and across the state.

An outstanding feature of the main library is the Hargrett Rare Book and Manuscript Library, a repository of rare and priceless relics. Among the special collections are the works and memorabilia of Erskine Caldwell and Margaret Mitchell, the original Confederate Constitution, Confederate imprints, a notable Georgiana collection, Southern historical manuscripts, and the sheet music of many well-known musicians. The Richard B. Russell Library for Political Research and Studies, an annex to the main library, houses the papers and memorabilia of the late Senator Russell, as well as the papers of former Secretary of State Dean Rusk, Senator Herman E. Talmadge, and many other elected officials and government appointees. The Peabody Award Archives house over 40,000 radio and television programs representing the best in broadcasting.

The University libraries offer a variety of electronic databases. The GALILEO system provides access to more than 100 databases, including indexes, abstracts, full-text journal articles, government publications, reference sources, and links to additional Internet-based resources. In addition to the main catalog, the online system GALIN supports an electronic encyclopedia and indexes to the journal literature of a number of disciplines. GALIN is available in the libraries, across the campus network, or through dial access. Other databases are available through LIBRA, a Novell-based file server connected to the campus network. Statistical databases are available through the Data Services unit in the main library and government produced databases can be found in the Government Documents Department in the main library. More than 460,000 volumes are housed in the University's law library, whose collection of British Commonwealth materials is considered one of the finest of its kind in the nation. 

THE UNIVERSITY OF GEORGIA MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY, designated as the State of Georgia Museum of Natural History, contains the most extensive collection of Georgia natural history artifacts and specimens and is one of the largest university natural history museums in the Southeast. It ranks within the top 50 in the nation in terms of the size of its collections and the scope of its research and technical service programs. The museum has many significant collection areas: Archaeology Collection (3.5 million artifacts and specimens), Botany Herbarium (225,000 plant specimens), Entomology Collections (600,000 pinned, 100,000 slide-mounted, and 30,000 alcohol-preserved insects, Geological Collections (10,000 economic geology ore specimens, 10,000 mineral specimens, and over 10,000 invertebrate and vertebrate fossils), Julian H. Miller Mycological Herbarium (30,000 fungi), Plant Microfossil Laboratory (6,000 reference slides of fossil pollen samples), Zooarchaeology Collection (4,200 comparative reference skeletons), and Zoological Collections (72,000 invertebrates, 400,000 fish, 45,000 amphibians and reptiles, 6,000 birds, and 27,000 mammals).

The museum's collections are crucial to quality education in over 50 specialized graduate and undergraduate courses in the natural sciences at the University. Each year the museum provides loans of educational materials and access to its collections to other institutions of higher education, research units, regional primary and secondary schools, and various state agencies. While the museum is primarily a regional research facility relating to Georgia and the Southeast, the scope of its operations are national and international. As a repository of the definitive collections of Georgia's historical, cultural, and natural heritage, the museum's collections provide essential research resources and data bases for researchers nationwide. Each year the collections process hundreds of loans of artifacts, specimens, and records to other museums and scientists throughout the nation. 

THE UNIVERSITY OF GEORGIA PRESS was founded in 1938 as the publishing arm of the University of Georgia. Its primary mission is to support and enhance the University's place as a major research institution by publishing significant works of scholarship by national and international scholars and its own faculty. Since its founding the Press has published over a thousand new titles. With more than eight hundred in print, the Press publishes about eighty books each year in fields including American history and literature, African-American studies, legal history, history and culture of the South, environmental studies, and natural history.

The Press has more than doubled its publishing program over the past decade. While remaining essentially scholarly in nature and retaining its traditional editorial focus on history and literature, it also has a distinguished nationally recognized publishing program in fiction, poetry, and literary nonfiction. In recent years the Press has built on earlier strengths to become national and international in scope and recognition. It is now one of the preeminent University presses in the South and among the most competitive mid-size presses in the nation.

THE UNIVERSITY OF GEORGIA RESEARCH FOUNDATION, INC. (UGARF) was formed to serve the University of Georgia and enhance its excellence as a research institution. UGARF was incorporated under the laws of the State of Georgia as a nonprofit corporation on November 17, 1978. In a Memorandum of Understanding dated February 26, 1979, the Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia authorized UGARF to serve as the official grantee for all contracts, grants, and gifts for the conduct of sponsored research at the University. External research grants and contracts are awarded to University faculty through The University of Georgia Research Foundation, Inc. Other research activities are supported by UGARF through a number of special programs such as Faculty Research Grants, Foreign Travel Grants, and Creative Research Awards.

UGARF is also the University's invention administration organization. The Invention Administration Agreement effective April 1, 1979, between the Board of Regents and UGARF assigns to UGARF all of the University's right, title, and interest in and to any inventions which result from activities of University personnel. UGARF is organized to assist in the transfer of technology developed through the University's research programs or by University personnel to the benefit of the University of Georgia and the general public. 

THE UNIVERSITY SYSTEM OF GEORGIA (USGA) APPLICANT CLEARINGHOUSE serves as a recruitment aid for the 34 institutions of higher education in the University System of Georgia. Its purpose is to enhance equal employment opportunity by posting faculty and administrative position vacancies, maintaining a computerized registry of potential faculty administrators for search committee review, and cross matching between the two databases on the basis of academic discipline and registrant interest. 

THE VETERINARY MEDICAL DIAGNOSTIC AND INVESTIGATIONAL LABORATORIES at Athens and Tifton process over 100,000 requests for assistance each year. The laboratories are staffed and equipped to provide diagnostic service to the Georgia Department of Agriculture, the Georgia livestock industry, and animal owners of Georgia through a policy of referral by practicing veterinarians.

THE VETERINARY MEDICAL EXPERIMENT STATION coordinates and conducts research on disease problems of food- and fiber-producing animals, fish, poultry, and companion animals. The research programs, which have applied, basic, and comparative medical orientation, are divided broadly into four main categories: infectious diseases, noninfectious diseases, diagnostic techniques, and therapeutic procedures. Research facilities are located within the College of Veterinary Medicine at Athens, in the Poultry Diagnostic and Research Center at Athens, and in the Veterinary Diagnostic Assistance Laboratories at Athens and Tifton. Opportunities for graduate training in the biomedical sciences, including biotechnology, are provided by the station's research programs. 

THE MARILYN VINCENT MOTOR LEARNING LABORATORY, located in the Ramsey Center, was organized to conduct original research on motor behavior and to provide instructional activities for students studying motor behavior. The goals of the research program of the laboratory are to contribute to theory about the acquisition of motor skills and to apply theory to instructional design. The laboratory is staffed by M.A. and Ph.D. students in motor behavior.

THE CARL VINSON INSTITUTE OF GOVERNMENT is dedicated to improving the understanding policy-making, and administration of government. In carrying out this mission, the Vinson Institute engages in a sixfold program that includes continuing education for public officials and leaders through instructional programs and seminars; research on public policy issues and laws affecting state and local government activities; Community and Regional Development: technical assistance to Georgia state and local governments, including school districts; governmental education programs serving students, educators, and the public at large; and an International Center for Democratic Governance, dedicated to helping build the administrative and governance capacities of the world's emerging democracies. By law, the Institute is the provider of training to the Georgia General Assembly. Research with wide general application is made available through the Vinson Institute's publications program which maintains a list of 40 to 50 active titles. Institute publications include research studies on policy issues, manuals on practical methods for improving governmental operations, handbooks for specific governmental offices, compilations of state and federal laws in specific areas, a national public administration journal, and textbooks and other classroom teaching materials.