A University of Georgia degree is closer than you think.

The University of Georgia Griffin Campus, originally established as the Georgia Experiment Station in 1888, has played an integral role in the development of modern agriculture. While the campus is mostly known for its groundbreaking advancements in agricultural and environmental sciences, UGA-Griffin began offering degree-completion programs in 2005. Students at UGA-Griffin enjoy low student-to-faculty ratios, and many students are able to take advantage of on-campus work and directed research opportunities so that they can gain real-world work experience while earning their University of Georgia degree.

UGA-Griffin also hosts the Office of Continuing Education, which provides innovative lifelong learning opportunities through its programs. In addition, Continuing Ed offers youth and community outreach programs, as well as conference space for other meetings and special events.

Contact us for more information about academic programs or for other general inquiries.

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Spotlight on Campus News and Events

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UGA plays pivotal role in food safety

Posted on
Friday, June 11, 2021
Photo of Dr. Francisco Diez Gonzales

World Food Safety Day is celebrated annually on June 7. Established in 2018 through a U.N. General Assembly resolution, the day seeks to bring awareness to foodborne risks and “to celebrate the myriad benefits of safe food,” according to the U.N.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that there are 48 million cases of foodborne illness annually in the U.S. That means that roughly 1 in 6 Americans will contract a foodborne illness this year, and these illnesses are spread through common foods such as produce, meat, fish, dairy and poultry. 

Globally, the impact is more significant, with children under the age of 5 and people living in low-income countries hit hardest. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that more than 600 million people contract foodborne illnesses annually, and of those, 420,000 will die. Yet the organization fears that the actual numbers are much higher, as there are places in the world where surveillance data for foodborne illnesses are not available. 

The CDC says that most of these illnesses are caused by viruses, bacteria and parasites that are transmitted to humans through the food they consume. This is why food safety is a vital component of the entire agricultural production system and is critical to ensuring food security.

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Computer software helps solve what-if questions in agriculture

Posted on
Thursday, June 10, 2021
Photo of the 2021 DSSAT Attendees in front of the Noami Chapman Woodroof Agricultural Pavilion

Anyone familiar with agriculture knows that a successful harvest largely relies on environmental factors. An especially hot summer with no rain in sight or poor soil quality can cause as many problems as a late cold snap right in the middle of planting season. Often farmers must rely on trial and error to get the best results. But for agricultural scientists, the guessing game can be reduced thanks to a computer software program called Decision Support System for Agrotechnology Transfer (DSSAT).

Created by a team of researchers from the universities of Georgia, Florida, Hawaii, Guelph and Michigan State University in partnership with the International Fertilizer Development Center, DSSAT is designed to better understand agricultural systems and environmental influences to make predictions that give farmers options for their crops. The current version — version 4.7.5 — can model growth, yield, irrigation, and fertilization requirements for 42 different crops, as well as regional environmental impact. DSSAT has been used by more than 16,500 researchers, educators, consultants, extension agents, growers in more than 174 countries worldwide.

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UGA Weather Network celebrates 30 years of service to agriculture in Georgia

Posted on
Thursday, June 3, 2021
Photo of Pam Knox reviewing a UGA weather station

On June 1, 1991, the first agricultural weather station operated by the University of Georgia began transmitting data from Griffin, Georgia. Since then, the UGA Weather Network has grown to include 87 stations scattered across the state, providing weather data to a variety of users. On June 1 this year, this 30-year record of continuous weather data makes the UGA Weather Network one of the oldest state weather networks in the country.

The network, originally known as the Georgia Automated Environmental Monitoring Network, was the brainchild of Gerrit Hoogenboom, an adjunct professor in the Department of Biological and Agricultural Engineering at the UGA College of Engineering. He placed the first four stations at UGA facilities around the state  — in Griffin, Tifton, Midville and Watkinsville — and directed the network until 2010. He was followed by Ian Flitcroft, who retired in 2018. Hoogenboom, now a professor and preeminent scholar at the University of Florida, still uses the UGA weather data as inputs in his ongoing Decision Support System for Agrotechnology Transfer (DSSAT) training classes that are offered each summer on the Griffin campus.

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Giant invasive bees could threaten native pollinators

Posted on
Friday, May 28, 2021
Photo of Scultured Resin Bee (left) and Southern Carpenter Bee (right)

University of Georgia entomologists are seeking citizen help to document the presence of the sculptured resin bee — also known as the giant resin bee — an invasive bee that could threaten the native carpenter bee population.

The sculptured resin bee is native to Japan and China and was first found in the U.S. in North Carolina in 1994. While they are not aggressive to people, these bees have the potential to create problems for native carpenter bees by taking over their nests, where they then lay their own eggs. Sculptured resin bees take advantage of the cavities created in wood by carpenter bees because they do not have the mandible strength to bore into the wood on their own.

Dan Suiter, a professor in the Department of Entomology on the UGA Griffin campus, added that although he doesn't see resin bees frequently, they are known to be a good pollinator of some plant species.

“We don’t see this bee very often,” said Suiter, noting that he is occasionally sent a sample of a resin bee to identify. “But we know that it’s invasive and uses kudzu as a food source.”

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UGA Griffin holds Spring 2021 Undergraduate Brick Ceremony

Posted on
Wednesday, May 19, 2021
Photo of Spring 2021 Graduates

The University of Georgia Griffin campus held a Brick Ceremony for the Spring 2021 undergraduate students on Thursday, May 13 at the Naomi Chapman Woodroof Agricultural Pavilion. This event is special to the Griffin campus, with each graduate receiving a brick, featuring their name and class year, to be placed on the floor of the pavilion where it will remain for all time.

For the undergraduate ceremony, Dericka Pruitt, who received her Bachelor of Arts from UGA’s Franklin College of Arts and Sciences, served as the student speaker. Pruitt was nominated and selected by UGA faculty and staff to be recognized.

She spoke to the crowd about the perseverance she and her fellow classmates demonstrated, noting this was one of the first major steps they would take in the journey of their lives.

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