University System of Georgia

infobox Organization
name = University System of Georgia


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abbreviation = USG
motto = "to teach, to serve, and to inquire into the nature of things"
formation = 1931
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purpose = educational oversight
headquarters = Atlanta, Georgia
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membership = 35 public colleges and universities
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leader_title = Chancellor
leader_name = Erroll B. Davis Jr.
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website = [http://www.usg.edu/ www.usg.edu]
remarks =The University System of Georgia (USG) is the organizational body that includes 35 public institutions of higher learning in Georgia. The System is governed by the Georgia Board of Regents. It sets goals and dictates general policy to educational institutions as well as administering Public Library Service of the state which includes 58 public library systems. The USG also dispenses public funds (allocated by the state's legislature) to the institutions but not the lottery-funded HOPE Scholarship.

As of 2006, the $5 billion annual budget of the USG is used in the instruction of 253,000 students and employment of 35,000 faculty and staff.cite news |first=S.A. |last=Reid |title=New chancellor helps bolster financial aid |work=The Atlanta Journal-Constitution |publisher=Cox Enterprises |page=A4 |date=September 14, 2006 ]

History

The University System of Georgia was created with the passage of the Reorganization Act of 1931 by the Georgia General Assembly in 1931. The Reorganization Act created a Board of Regents to oversee the state's colleges and universities and the 26 boards of trustees that had provided oversight over the various institutions before passage of the act.cite book |title=Historical Development of the University System of Georgia: 1932-2002 |last = Fincher |first = Cameron | publisher = Institute of Higher Education, University of Georgia |location = Athens, Georgia |edition = 2nd Ed. |year = 2003 |isbn = 1-880647-06-0 |pages=p.3] The Board of Regents officially took office on January 1, 1932, and consisted of eleven members to be appointed by the Governor of Georgia pending approval from the Georgia Senate. The Governor held an "ex officio" position on the Board. The regents were to elect a chairman and select a secretary One regent was appointed from each of Georgia's ten congressional districts and the eleventh member was chosen at large.

Governor Richard Russell, Jr.'s, initial appointees included Cason Callaway, Martha Berry, Richard Russell, Sr. (the governor's father), George C. Woodruff, W.D. Anderson, Earle Cocke, Sr. and Philip Weltner. Anderson was elected chairman, Weltner vice-chairman and Cocke was appointed as the secretary/treasurer. Prior to the Reorganization Act, Georgia university chief executives held the title of chancellor; however, after the Act, University heads were given the title of president and a new chancellor position was created. The USG chancellor was selected and overseen by the board. At the request of the regents, Charles Snelling, the presiding head of the University of Georgia (UGA), stepped down from his position at UGA to become the initial chancellor of the entire system.

The 1932 Annual Report for the Board stated outstanding debts of $1,074,415. Over the next few years the USG endeavored to transform the state's institutions of higher learning, reorganizing schools, merging and closing others and transforming course offerings and curriculum.

List of institutions

Independent research unit

*Skidaway Institute of Oceanography in Savannah [http://www.skio.peachnet.edu/]

ee also

*Georgia Board of Regents
*Student Advisory Council of Georgia

References

External links

* [http://www.usg.edu/ USG homepage]
* [http://www.usg.edu/about/statements.phtml USG mission statement]
* [http://www.usg.edu/inst/map.pdf Map of USG Institutions]