Dr. Dale Threadgill, Department Head
BAE History
The University of Georgia began offering engineering degrees over 130 years ago. As the first public institution in the state to educate Georgians in the engineering sciences, UGA continues to offer engineering degree programs that focus on the comprehensive education needed in today's technological world. The BAE Department benefits from being a part of a major land-grant and sea-grant institution and a strong liberal arts university. The BAE Department was the only academic engineering unit at UGA from 1932 until the establishment of the Faculty of Engineering in 2001. Hence, the academic offerings of the BAE Department are more diverse than similarly-named departments elsewhere, including fundamental courses in all areas of engineering as well as the agricultural and biological specializations. The diverse interests of students, other UGA academic programs, and external clientele during this period caused the BAE Department to broaden its instruction, research and public service programs in ways that have proven to be unique and enduring. Indeed, the BAE Department incorporates a diversity of offerings equivalent to that found in many comprehensive schools of engineering.
From the 1930s until the late 1980s, the Department's name was Agricultural Engineering and only two engineering degrees were offered: (1) a BS in Agricultural Engineering, and (2) an MS in Agricultural Engineering. In 1989, the Department faculty launched a "biological" engineering initiative which resulted in significant changes and expansion in engineering programs at UGA. In 1990, the Department was renamed Biological and Agricultural Engineering. Three new engineering degree programs were initiated in the 1990s: (1) a PhD in Biological and Agricultural Engineering in 1991, (2) a BS in Biological Engineering in 1994, and (3) an MS in Biological Engineering in 1996.
In 2000, under the leadership of BAE Department faculty, UGA identified the establishment of comprehensive engineering as a strategic university initiative for the first decade of the 21st century. This resulted in the establishment of the Faculty of Engineering in 2001 with the leadership of BAE Department faculty. The Faculty of Engineering now offers several engineering degree programs and, with the strong support and heavy engagement of the faculty of the BAE Department, the Faculty of Engineering will likely evolve into a school of engineering in the near future. When that occurs, the BAE Department will remain a separate engineering unit home-based in the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences as is typical of similarly-named units at other land-grant universities in the U.S. However, the BAE Department will have a strong partnership with the future school of engineering with complementary programs that are synergistically integrated to assure a comprehensive engineering program at UGA.
