The University of Georgia is America's first state chartered university and the birthplace of the American system of public higher education.

Abraham Baldwin, who wrote UGA's charter and was the institution's first president, and William Few, a Board of Trustees member, signed the United States Constitution on behalf of Georgia at the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia, Pa. in 1787.

The University libraries, with more than 3.4 million volumes, are ranked 31st among the nation's best 106 research libraries in ratings compiled by the Association of Research Libraries. The libraries contain one of the largest map collections in the United States, and the main library houses the original Constitution of the Confederate States of America.

The fans who watched the women's Gold Medal soccer game in Sanford Stadium during the 1996 Summer Olympics comprised the largest number of people ever to attend a women's sports event.
 

Since 1980, UGA athletic teams have won nine national championships including four in women's gymnastics (1987, 1989, 1993, 1998), two in men's tennis (1985, 1987), one in women's tennis (1994), and one each in football (1980) and baseball (1990).

The University of Georgia placed seventh in the 1997-98 Sear's Directors Cup, the university's highest ranking ever in the competition to determine the nation's top overall athletic programs. Leading the way was UGA's national champion gymnastics team, with additional Top 10 finishes in men's tennis (2nd), women's swimming (3rd), men's swimming (7th), women's indoor track (8th), football (10th), and women's golf (10th).

Totaling 30,009, enrollment for the 1998-99 academic year was the second highest ever in UGA history.

Of the 4,280 new freshmen who enrolled in fall of 1998, 3,835 are from Georgia, and 95 percent of the Georgia students (3,661) were awarded HOPE Scholarships for the 1998-1999 year. Altogether, a total of 12,248 UGA students in all classes had HOPE scholarships with a total value of almost $38.3 million.

Since the HOPE Scholarship program was established in 1993, a total of 27,835 UGA students have received scholarships worth a total of $142 million.

The Bernard B. and Eugenia A. Ramsey Student Center for Physical Activities is the largest and most comprehensive fitness/exercise facility for students and faculty in the country. It is rated by Sports Illustrated as the nation's best student fitness facility. The Ramsey Student Center contains a gymnasium, recreational and competition swimming pools, racquetball courts, a volleyball gymnasium, weight training rooms, dance studios, and concert seating. Another section of the Ramsey Center contains classrooms, research labs, and administrative and faculty offices for the Division of Health, Physical Education, Recreation, and Dance.

Some of The University of Georgia's most prominent alumni include:

• Morris Abram, former U.S. ambassador to the European Office of the United Nations and former member of the U.S. Civil Rights Commission;
• Bill Anderson, country music recording artist and television personality;
• Robert Benham, the first African American appointed to the Georgia Supreme Court and the first to serve as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court;
• D.W. Brooks, founder of Gold Kist, Inc., and advisor to seven U.S. presidents;
• Terrell Davis, Running Back for the Denver Broncos, and Super Bowl MVP
• Teresa Edwards, one of the world's premier female basketball players and the only American basketball player to participate in four Olympic Games;
• Dr. Horace Fleming, president of the University of Southern Mississippi;
• U.S. Senator Phil Gramm of Texas
• Charlayne Hunter-Gault, Africa correspondent for National Public Radio;
• Eugene H. Methvin, senior editor of Reader's Digest;
• Dr. William C. Merwin, president of Salisbury State University
• Deborah Norville, noted television journalist
• William P. (Billy) Payne, president and chief operating officer of The Atlanta Committee for the Olympic Games
• Herschell Walker, Heisman Trophy winner and former Dallas Cowboys Running Back