The arts and sciences form the foundation of higher education, and so I am very proud to be dean of UGA’s largest college and the only one that serves virtually every student on our campus. The Franklin College’s professors teach required core courses in English, mathematics, history, and science. But they also teach advanced courses in such areas as simulation physics, cognitive neuroscience, genomics and bioinformatics. In addition, we touch the lives of most students through our professional advising unit, which guides virtually all incoming freshmen to their final majors.

The Franklin College is blessed with exceptional faculty and staff. The 650-plus tenured and tenure-track faculty in our college are among the very best scholars in the world. They epitomize our vision of the professor. According to the Chambers Dictionary of Etymology, the word, which describes a “teacher of a branch of knowledge,” has been around since at least the 14th century. In Latin, a professor is a person “who professes to be expert in some art or science, a teacher of the highest rank.”

So what is that highest rank, and what does it mean? To me, it must combine world-class scholarship with extraordinary teaching ability. And that’s what our professors in Franklin College do. Our professors are deeply and richly engaged in learning as well as passing on that knowledge. Poet William Butler Yeats said, “Education is not the filling of a pail but the lighting of a fire.” I can tell you that the flames of knowledge burn bright in Athens. 

Our faculty has certainly felt the sting of budget cuts, yet they have never faltered, never given in, much less given up. I think that’s because they know what is at stake.  They understand that education is both an intellectual joy and an economic engine, and that the future of our state, and indeed our country, depends on how well college professors instill both knowledge and a commitment to life-long learning. Each day in the classrooms and laboratories of the Franklin College, our faculty work hard to change students into life-long learners. 

UGA’s Archway to Excellence campaign helps insure that we combine the best and brightest students with the most accomplished and intellectually nimble faculty members. As Winston Churchill said, “We make a living by what we get. We make a life by what we give.”