Department News

As the spring semester starts winding down, the University of Georgia’s annual Honors Week marks a time to celebrate exceptional performance in the classroom, in the service arena and in research, as faculty and graduate students are recognized for their contributions to scientific discovery. Celebrating its 45th year, UGA’s Research Awards banquet and ceremony, set for April 4, will pay tribute to those who have made groundbreaking strides in their respective fields through research, innovation, creativity and entrepreneurship.

Georgia’s inaugural First Flock is retiring to Fortson 4-H Center almost three years after they came to roost at the Governor’s Mansion in 2021. Six members of the original flock traded places with 15 new hens during a ceremonial swap on Feb. 1 at the First Flock’s custom coop on the eastern side of the 18-acre mansion grounds in Atlanta. The idea for the project was hatched in 2020 when Georgia first lady Marty Kemp expressed her desire to include agricultural education via residential hens at the mansion.

For the second consecutive year, the University of Georgia exceeded half a billion dollars in research and development expenditures. Its $570.9 million total in fiscal year 2023 represented another record high in R&D activity and marks the fifth consecutive year of growth for the university. Expenditures have increased, in fact, in all but one year since 2013. During that 10-year period, the university has seen an overall 63% increase in total R&D expenditures.