University of Georgia’s construction boom

Projects focused on science, technology, engineering and math
University of Georgia fourth-year graduate student Amanda Skarlupka starts a bacteria culture for plasmids while working in the labs at the University of Georgia College of Veterinary Medicine building in Athens. in May 2020. The university is making renovations to the building and others on campus as well as beginning new construction. ALYSSA POINTER / ALYSSA.POINTER@AJC.COM

University of Georgia fourth-year graduate student Amanda Skarlupka starts a bacteria culture for plasmids while working in the labs at the University of Georgia College of Veterinary Medicine building in Athens. in May 2020. The university is making renovations to the building and others on campus as well as beginning new construction. ALYSSA POINTER / ALYSSA.POINTER@AJC.COM

The University of Georgia’s spring semester is over, but there’s still plenty happening on the Athens campus.

A flurry of construction projects are underway or near completion with a cost of about $288 million. The money is coming from state and university funds and from its foundation. University officials say this is one of the largest construction periods in its 236-year history.

“The university’s current capital projects are part of a strategic plan to modernize campus facilities, particularly those dedicated to STEM fields,” said Jere Morehead, the university’s president. “Research and instruction in these areas are vitally important to the economic competitiveness of our state, and we are grateful for the strong support we have received from the Governor, General Assembly, Chancellor and Board of Regents for supporting these projects.”

More students are pursuing careers in science, technology, engineering and math at the state’s flagship university, according to UGA statistics. The number of biology majors has increased from 2,228 in 2015 to 2,552 last year. Computer Science majors increased during that same time period from 892 to 1,321 students. Economics majors are up from 402 students in 2015 to 765 in 2020.

And there are more big projects on the way. The state’s Board of Regents last month approved a bond sale request that included $21 million for the first phase of UGA’s Poultry Science Complex expansion.

Scroll over the map below to read more about these construction projects, their costs and how the projects will benefit students.