The $54.1 million facility reflects continued investment in students and is focused on developing the poultry industry
Governor Brian Kemp and UGA President Jere W. Morehead. At the center, university and state dignitaries participated in a ribbon cutting for the Poultry Science Building. (Andrew Davis Tucker/UGA)
ATHENS, Ga. — The University of Georgia’s new home for the next generation of poultry scientists and industry leaders officially opened Oct. 6 with the completion of the new Poultry Science Building in the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences.
“The University of Georgia is a land-grant institution that serves the entire state through education, research and service, and UGA’s strong relationship with the poultry industry embodies this land-grant mission,” said President Jere W. Morehead. said. “The new poultry science building we are dedicating today represents what is possible when private donors and government, industry and university leaders all work together to advance agriculture and higher education in our state. I am.”
State and university funds and private donations supported construction of the $54.1 million facility.
The Poultry Science Department’s new home will provide faculty, staff, and students with state-of-the-art laboratories, collaborative meeting spaces, and classrooms equipped with the latest technology. During the ceremony, Morehead announced that one of those spaces will be named the “Avitt Massey Classroom,” after the UGA alumnus and president emeritus of the Georgia Poultry Federation.
Expanded resources throughout the 70,000-square-foot facility will enhance the student experience and enhance the rich learning and development opportunities in the Poultry Science Department, said Sage Barlow, a senior poultry science major. .
“This gorgeous new poultry science building will become a second home for many of us here,” Barlow said. “It is a place of learning and discovery, a place where students study long hours and conduct research to advance the industry, and a place where members of the agricultural community and our faculty come together.”
CAES Dean and Director Nick Place said the building is not only an investment in physical space, but also in the future of poultry science and UGA’s legacy.
“At UGA, we have decades of innovative poultry research, instruction, and extension work. Research that has changed the way the poultry industry operates, and instruction that has developed the next generation of leaders like Sage. , and activities that support the industry and producers as a whole, from the individual to the corporate level,” Place said. “I look forward to working together as we continue to show the world that here in Athens, Georgia State, UGA, and the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences are leading the way in poultry science.”
Gov. Brian Kemp said the building is one of many recent examples of the university’s commitment to research and scientific advancement and to all of Georgia.
“We know that a thriving agricultural industry is not only essential for farmers, but also essential to the economic success of our state. Not only is agriculture our nation’s largest industry, but Georgia is It is also the largest poultry producing state in the United States,” Kemp said.
“This achievement was made possible thanks to the outstanding work of faculty, staff, and students in the UGA Poultry Science Department who have made this program a powerful resource for poultry producers over the years. Ensuring its continued success To that end, our state and this university have invested in this new facility that will be home to cutting-edge advances in both agriculture and poultry science.”
–University of Georgia