Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College
Encyclopedia
Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College (ABAC) is a State College of the University System of Georgia
. Located in Tifton, Georgia
, ABAC offers baccalaureate
and associate degrees. The college is named after Abraham Baldwin
, a signer of the United States Constitution from Georgia and the first president of the University of Georgia
.
ABAC was established in 1908 as the Second District A&M School. The name was changed to the South Georgia A&M College in 1924, and to the Georgia State College for Men in 1929. It became Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College in 1933 when ABAC became a part of the newly formed University System of Georgia. At that time, ABAC’s mission was devoted to associate level studies in agriculture, home economics, and related fields. Today, ABAC offers a variety of bachelor’s degree programs as well as associate degrees.
(R.N.).
Students can complete their bachelor’s degrees at ABAC in Biology, Natural Resource Management (Forestry, Wildlife), Rural Studies (Arts and Culture, Business and Economic Development, Community and Social Affairs, Writing and Communication), Diversified Agriculture, and Turfgrass and Golf Course Management. Over 50 associate degree programs are also available where students can spend two years at ABAC and then transfer to a university.
Learning laboratories such as the J.G. Woodroof Farm and the Forest Lakes Golf Club enhance the academic curriculum. ABAC’s 516-acre campus also includes the Georgia Museum of Agriculture and Historic Village, located one mile south of the main campus. Key components of the Museum include an 1890s village, a blacksmith shop, a grist mill, a cotton gin, a print shop, a saw mill, and a steam locomotive.
Intercollegiate sports teams include baseball, golf, and tennis for men, and softball, tennis, and soccer for women. ABAC has five national championships, three in softball and two in men’s tennis.
With a jazz band, jazz choir, concert band, concert choir, bluegrass band, and pep band, the music program at ABAC is known worldwide. The jazz band alone has been on three tours of Europe. ABAC vocalists performed in 2011 at the Lincoln Center.
Students take pride in the ABAC journalism program with award-winning publications such as the student newspaper, “The Stallion,” and the student literary magazine, “Pegasus.” ABAC also has its own radio station, WPLH, and a television studio.
The Arts Connection brings art and cultural events to Tifton and surrounding counties. The Baldwin Players theatre troupe stages a performance during the fall and the spring semesters.
ABAC now has a Greek system on campus with the Alpha Gamma Rho and Kappa Sigma fraternities.
One of the most active clubs on and around the campus is the Agricultural Engineering Technology Club. The club is known for holding truck and tractor pulls on campus each fall and spring. The club also maintains the ABAC Crackerjack pulling tractor, an Allis Chalmers 190XT, built in the 1970s by former staff member Jimmy Grubbs. The AET club has also recently completed work on a brand new pulling tractor, an AGCO Allis 9650, making the ABAC AET club the only college organization in the U.S. that currently has two running and competitive Super Farm Pulling Tractors. Almost all of the work building the new tractor and the work needed to maintain Crackerjack is performed by the students in the club. The club uses both tractors as recruiting tools not only for the organization, but for the school as well.
University System of Georgia
The University System of Georgia is the organizational body that includes 35 public institutions of higher learning in the U.S. state of Georgia. The System is governed by the Georgia Board of Regents. It sets goals and dictates general policy to educational institutions as well as administering...
. Located in Tifton, Georgia
Tifton, Georgia
Tifton is a city in Tift County, Georgia, United States. The population was 15,060 at the 2000 census. The city is the county seat of Tift County.-Major highways:* Interstate 75* U.S. Highway 41* U.S. Highway 82* U.S...
, ABAC offers baccalaureate
Bachelor's degree
A bachelor's degree is usually an academic degree awarded for an undergraduate course or major that generally lasts for three or four years, but can range anywhere from two to six years depending on the region of the world...
and associate degrees. The college is named after Abraham Baldwin
Abraham Baldwin
Abraham Baldwin was an American politician, Patriot, and Founding Father from the U.S. state of Georgia. Baldwin was a Georgia representative in the Continental Congress and served in the United States House of Representatives and Senate after the adoption of the Constitution.-Minister:After...
, a signer of the United States Constitution from Georgia and the first president of the University of Georgia
University of Georgia
The University of Georgia is a public research university located in Athens, Georgia, United States. Founded in 1785, it is the oldest and largest of the state's institutions of higher learning and is one of multiple schools to claim the title of the oldest public university in the United States...
.
ABAC was established in 1908 as the Second District A&M School. The name was changed to the South Georgia A&M College in 1924, and to the Georgia State College for Men in 1929. It became Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College in 1933 when ABAC became a part of the newly formed University System of Georgia. At that time, ABAC’s mission was devoted to associate level studies in agriculture, home economics, and related fields. Today, ABAC offers a variety of bachelor’s degree programs as well as associate degrees.
Academics
The School of Agriculture and Natural Resources is the largest area of study at ABAC. Nursing is the largest single major. This associate degree program prepares students to be certified as a Registered NurseRegistered nurse
A registered nurse is a nurse who has graduated from a nursing program at a university or college and has passed a national licensing exam. A registered nurse helps individuals, families, and groups to achieve health and prevent disease...
(R.N.).
Students can complete their bachelor’s degrees at ABAC in Biology, Natural Resource Management (Forestry, Wildlife), Rural Studies (Arts and Culture, Business and Economic Development, Community and Social Affairs, Writing and Communication), Diversified Agriculture, and Turfgrass and Golf Course Management. Over 50 associate degree programs are also available where students can spend two years at ABAC and then transfer to a university.
Learning laboratories such as the J.G. Woodroof Farm and the Forest Lakes Golf Club enhance the academic curriculum. ABAC’s 516-acre campus also includes the Georgia Museum of Agriculture and Historic Village, located one mile south of the main campus. Key components of the Museum include an 1890s village, a blacksmith shop, a grist mill, a cotton gin, a print shop, a saw mill, and a steam locomotive.
Student life
Student organizations abound on the ABAC campus. In fact, there’s a club for just about every field of study ranging from the Student Government Association to the Forestry-Wildlife Club.Intercollegiate sports teams include baseball, golf, and tennis for men, and softball, tennis, and soccer for women. ABAC has five national championships, three in softball and two in men’s tennis.
With a jazz band, jazz choir, concert band, concert choir, bluegrass band, and pep band, the music program at ABAC is known worldwide. The jazz band alone has been on three tours of Europe. ABAC vocalists performed in 2011 at the Lincoln Center.
Students take pride in the ABAC journalism program with award-winning publications such as the student newspaper, “The Stallion,” and the student literary magazine, “Pegasus.” ABAC also has its own radio station, WPLH, and a television studio.
The Arts Connection brings art and cultural events to Tifton and surrounding counties. The Baldwin Players theatre troupe stages a performance during the fall and the spring semesters.
ABAC now has a Greek system on campus with the Alpha Gamma Rho and Kappa Sigma fraternities.
One of the most active clubs on and around the campus is the Agricultural Engineering Technology Club. The club is known for holding truck and tractor pulls on campus each fall and spring. The club also maintains the ABAC Crackerjack pulling tractor, an Allis Chalmers 190XT, built in the 1970s by former staff member Jimmy Grubbs. The AET club has also recently completed work on a brand new pulling tractor, an AGCO Allis 9650, making the ABAC AET club the only college organization in the U.S. that currently has two running and competitive Super Farm Pulling Tractors. Almost all of the work building the new tractor and the work needed to maintain Crackerjack is performed by the students in the club. The club uses both tractors as recruiting tools not only for the organization, but for the school as well.
Campus
The ABAC faculty, staff, administrators, and students take pride in the well manicured grounds of the college. The entire campus is used as an open-air classroom due to the large number of trees, plants, shrubs, and fields which make up ABAC. A renovation project will rejuvenate the original three buildings on campus, Tift, Lewis, and Herring Halls. New landscaping and a new front lawn for ABAC will be a part of the renovation process.Housing
Over 1,200 students live on the ABAC campus in modern housing units including ABAC Place, where every student has a private bedroom, most in four-bedroom, two-bath apartments. The ABAC Lakeside facility offers suite-style living for freshmen on the north shore of Lake Baldwin.Four-year curriculum
For the first time since changing its name to Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College in 1933, ABAC now has juniors and seniors on campus in the bachelor’s degree programs. Enrollment in ABAC bachelor’s degrees has quadrupled since their start in January, 2008.Notable alumni
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