The Early History of Engineering at UGA

The beginning of engineering in Georgia is tied to the Morrill Act of 1862, a land grant act whose purpose was for " the endowment, support, and maintenance of at least one college, where the leading object shall be…to teach such branches of learning as are related to agriculture and mechanic arts…" After readmission to the Union in 1866, the Georgia Legislature passed the required act to accept the grant. Georgia was soon reoccupied by federal troops, however, and nothing was done to implement the act until the state was readmitted in 1870. The carpetbagger governor, R.B. Bulloch, resigned and left the state in October of 1871 to avoid possible impeachment. His successor, the Lieutenant Governor Benjamin Conley, sold the land grant to Cleason F. Lewis of Ohio for about ninety cents per acre (a total sum of $242,202) as a final act in office. Income from the land grant played an important role in shaping the evolving institution of higher learning in Athens.

As the deadline approached for establishment of a school as required by the act, Governor James M. Smith accepted a plan presented by the trustees of the University of Georgia to establish a college of agriculture and mechanic arts as a part of the University of Georgia at Athens. The Georgia State College of Agriculture and Mechanic Arts was authorized to begin operation May 1, 1872. The school came to be known as State College, which was added to the existing Franklin College on the Athens campus.

State College for many years was small and ineffectual. There was little interest in the study of agriculture and none in the study of mechanic arts. The first degree awarded was a Master of Agriculture in 1876. Eleven degrees were awarded between 1878 and 1890. The Hatch Act of 1878 provided for the establishment of an agricultural experiment station, which was temporarily located in Athens. The following year the Georgia legislature passed a law that located the Georgia Experiment Station at Griffin.

The low ebb for State College was indicated by the fact that only nine degrees were awarded between 1890 and 1907. During this period, the name of Rock College was used since much of the teaching of agriculture was moved to the farm that came to be the site of the present Naval Supply Corp School. Another separation occurred in 1875 when Moore College, a building given to the University by the citizens of Athens, was used to house the evolving mechanic arts program.

Reorganization took place in 1906 when A.M. Soule became President of Georgia State College of Agriculture and Mechanic Arts. By this time separation of programs was essentially complete. The program in agriculture had moved to the south campus in Agriculture Hall (Conner Hall) and Civil and Electrical Engineering remained in Moore College. These programs never became strong; with only about 10 graduates per year- the most ever attained. Professor Strahan was in charge of Civil Engineering work, and Professor U.H. Davenport was in charge of Electrical Engineering. The last class to graduate was in 1934 when these programs were transferred to the Georgia Institute of the Technology in Atlanta.

A program in farm mechanics was begun in 1909 under the leadership of L.C. Hart. The first wing of Barrow Hall was constructed in 1911. G.A. Fain took over the farm mechanics program in 1920-22, W.A. Foster in 1923, and S.P. Lyle in 1924-29. The BSAE and MS degrees were authorized in 1929 for the agricultural engineering program. R.H. Driftmier was appointed as department head in 1930 and continued until his retirement in 1965. The first BSAE degree was awarded in 1931 and has reached 984 graduates through 1984. R.H. Brown succeeded Mr. Driftmier in 1965 as department head until 1987, when E.Dale Threadgill became department head and continues to the present.

An agricultural engineering club was formed in 1929 and has played a prominent role in agricultural engineering over the years. They are affiliated with the American Society of Agricultural Engineers (ASAE), the parent professional society begun in 1907. The first section of ASAE was established in 1936. Leadership in ASAE has been drawn from the program of agricultural engineering in Georgia. Three of the department heads from Georgia - S.P. Lyle, R.H. Driftmier, and R.H. Brown- have served terms as president of ASAE during 1938-39, 1944-45, and 1980-81, respectively. Annual meetings of ASAE were held in Athens in 1935 and 1965.

The program of study in the agricultural engineering department has been EPCD (now ABET) since 1960 to the present. The department has occupied the new building on south campus, known as the R.H. Driftmier Engineering Center, since 1966. In addition to the BSAE and MS degrees, a Ph.D program was established in 1990, and a BS degree in Biological Engineering in 1992.

Following are some highlights of the program:

First Graduates

Number of Total Graduates for all Degrees

The University of Georgia Department of Biological and Agricultural Engineering.
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