Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College

Institution Overview

Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College (ABAC) is one of the largest, residential two-year colleges in Georgia with an enrollment of over 3,400 students. ABAC is located in Tifton, Ga., a community which has twice been selected as one of the "100 best small towns in America."

The college is named after Abraham Baldwin, a Georgia signer of the United States Constitution and the first president of The University of Georgia. The first students attended the institution in 1908 when it was an area high school called the Second District A&M School. The name was changed to the South Georgia A&M College in 1925 when it became a four-year college.

In 1929, the college changed its name again to the Georgia State College for Men, a four-year school which even featured a football team. The Rams' most famous victory was over the University of Miami.

The University System of Georgia was formed in 1933, and the college assumed two-year status and its present title. Today Abraham Baldwin has 57 different programs of student including nursing, criminal justice, education, and many more.

Nursing is the largest single major at Abraham Baldwin with over 800 students studying to reach Registered Nurse (R.N.) status. Approximately 750 students major in the Division of Agriculture and Forest Resources which features such diverse programs as Golf Club Management, Wildlife, and Forestry. Because of its wide range of programs, the college attracts students from 148 Georgia counties, 21 other states, and 21 countries.

Over 800 students live on campus in a brand new apartment complex called ABAC Place, which features a private room for every student. All units are completely furnished with a full kitchen and living area. ABAC Place residents also make use of a 10,000 square foot Town Hall which offers a game room, exercise room, computer study area, plasma television, convenience store, and meeting room.

ABAC offers a wide variety of intercollegiate sports programs including men's and women's basketball, men's tennis, women's fast-pitch softball, baseball, men's golf, women's soccer (beginning in 2006) and rodeo. The rodeo team is the only one at a two-year college east of the Mississippi River. ABAC has won three national championships in women's softball and two national titles in men's tennis.

Other extracurricular interests for the students include a very popular music program which includes a concert band, jazz band, concert choir, and jazz choir. The college has its own theatre troupe called the Baldwin Players. Other students write for the award-winning student newspaper, "The Stallion," or the literary magazine, "Pegasus." ABAC also has its own student radio station, "WPLH," and a television studio.

Students at the college choose from 41 transfer programs, which transfer without loss of credit to other units of the University System of Georgia, or the 16 majors in the career technological program, which are designed to be completed after two years of study. Persons who want to upgrade their skills or acquire expertise in a particular area of study can enroll in 19 one-year certificate programs.

In 1987, ABAC expanded its scope to include classes in Moultrie, Ga., at a location in the center of downtown now called "ABAC on the Square." The Moultrie campus has proven to be very popular with over 400 students now attending classes there. These students can select from three different degrees offered entirely in Moultrie or from a variety of core curriculum classes. ABAC also offers off-campus classes in Nashville and Sylvester.

To meet the needs of its students, ABAC has joined with five other members of the University System to offer undergraduate and graduate degree classes leading to bachelor's and master's degrees without students ever leaving Tifton. Students take freshman and sophomore level classes from Abraham Baldwin and then junior and senior level classes from the other colleges and universities.

Macon State College offers the Information Technology degree, Valdosta State University offers the Early Childhood Education degree, Georgia Southwestern State University offers the Accounting or Management degree. The University of Georgia offers the Agriscience and Environmental Systems degree and the Agricultural Education degree Albany State University also offers the Master's in Business Administration degree on the ABAC campus.

ABAC's 421-acre campus includes the 12-acre Lake Baldwin and the 200-acre J.G. Woodroof Farm. Woodroof was ABAC's first president in 1933. The ABAC Foundation owns the 91-acre Forest Lakes Golf Club, which proves a perfect teaching laboratory for students in programs ranging from Agricultural Equipment Technology to Sports Turf Management.

Prominent ABAC alumni include George T. Smith, the only Georgian to serve in all three branches of state government. He was a former Lieutenant Governor, Supreme Court Justice, and state legislator. Georgia Secretary of State Cathy Cox is also an ABAC alumna. Former President Jimmy Carter from nearby Plains enrolled in several short courses offered by the continuing education program at ABAC during his days as a peanut farmer.