Increasingly, the University of Georgia is recognized as one of America’s fastest-rising public institutions. For the past four years, U.S. News & World Report has ranked UGA among the top 20 public research universities in America. That trend line is an important indicator of the progress we are making. This university has crossed the threshold into a very competitive echelon; UGA students are among the best in the nation, and we are increasingly attracting some of the very best teachers and researchers who want to be a part of what’s happening at the University of Georgia.

“Seemingly overnight,” wrote The New York Times recently, “one of the South’s largest public universities has become enormously competitive, able to pick and choose among the region’s best high school seniors, insisting on test scores that would have been unimaginably high less than a decade go.” The Wall Street Journal listed us among its “Schools for a New Era.” And in its “Great Schools at Great Prices” list, U.S. News ranked UGA the best value among public universities and 48th overall.

Such recognition is a byproduct of doing things well. Across the campus, our students, faculty, staff and administrative team are committed to maintaining UGA’s climb on that upward trend.

The freshman class each fall is the best-prepared in UGA history. The pressure for admission to UGA is extremely high; for every student we enrolled, we had more than three applications. (We also have reached our enrollment target, with a total enrollment this fall near 33,800, with no foreseeable increase likely).

During FY03, external funding for research at UGA grew to just under $150 million—an increase of more than 64 percent over the past five years. We are deeply involved in biomedical research and the statewide cancer initiative, in advanced agricultural research, in bioterrorism prevention and response, and in a number of international research programs, including critical work on the availability of components for the manufacture of weapons of mass destruction.

We also set a record last year for private giving to the university, with $72.05 million in gifts and pledges. Given the downturn in the economy and the stock market, such support is especially heartening. Private giving provides the margin of excellence that we must have if we are to be able to respond to the needs of our faculty and students.

If you have not been to the campus lately, please come for a visit. Among the familiar landmarks are some new and exciting buildings, which are helping us meet the needs of today’s students and faculty. There is some $300 million in construction underway or soon to begin. In August 2003, the Student Learning Center (http://www.slc.uga.edu/index.html) opened and is having a dramatic impact on the community of learning at UGA. In the fall of 2004, the East Campus Village, with bed space for 1,200 students and a new dining commons, will open.

The University of Georgia was the first public university chartered in America, and is today one of her best. Thank you for your interest.