The Franklin College of Arts and Sciences is the oldest, largest and most academically diverse college at the University of Georgia. In many ways, it is at the heart of UGA, the nation’s first state-chartered institution of higher education.

The first classes were taught in 1801 in a forest clearing on what is now the University’s historic North Campus. In 1806, the first permanent brick building was constructed on campus and named Franklin College in honor of Benjamin Franklin. The building, which was later renamed Old College, is the oldest structure in Athens and houses the administrative offices of the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences as well as classroom space.

Franklin College and University of Georgia were often used interchangeably to describe the fledgling institution until 1859, when the College of Law became the second college on a campus that now boasts 16 schools and colleges.

Today’s Franklin College comprises 30 departments in five divisions: Fine Arts, Social Sciences, Biological Sciences, Physical and Mathematical Sciences, and the Humanities. The top five most popular undergraduate majors at UGA—Biology, Psychology, English, Art, History—all are housed within Franklin College. In addition to educating more undergraduates than any college on campus, the Franklin College offers 76 graduate degrees and certificates in 42 fields of study.

Our faculty members are at the forefront of their disciplines, exploring research opportunities and creative endeavors that illuminate the human condition and create a foundation for improved well-being and quality of life. The knowledge they create informs their teaching as well as their outreach to the state, nation and world. Like the man for whom the college is named, the faculty, staff and students of the Franklin College are bound by a shared dedication to advancing the frontiers of knowledge through creative inquiry and expression.

UGA Franklin College of Arts and Sciences

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Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers, 2019

University System of Georgia Board of Regents

Excellence in Teaching Award 2015

Education Fellow in the Life Sciences, 2010-2011

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Paula Lemons is Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology and Senior Associate Dean for Academic Innovation in the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Georgia. Paula leads a research group of graduate students and undergraduates who conduct discipline-based education research. The group investigates biochemistry learning and instruction, focusing on ways to maximize student success in science classrooms. Paula teaches Introductory Biochemistry for science and engineering majors. She has served as Principal Investigator for multiple National Science Foundation grants, including grants focused on the cognitive science of biochemistry instruction, the BioTech Scholars program @ San Diego State University, the UGA DeLTA project, and the Georgia Educators in Mathematics and Science (GEMS) Noyce Teacher Scholarship program. She has a career-long track record of research, evaluation, and professional development related to undergraduate and graduate education, assessment, instruction, and professional development.

As an administrator, she leads Franklin’s work in graduate and undergraduate education, with a focus on building creative academic programs, helping students develop as career leaders, and developing students, faculty, and staff to lead in Franklin at UGA and beyond.

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Undergraduate and Graduate education

Biochemistry

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Langston, Lemons named University Professors

Planning Committee for the National Academies of Science

Senior Associate Dean for Academic Innovation | Professor, Biochemistry and Molecular Biology

Paula Lemons, Associate Professor, Dept. of Biochemistry &amp; Molecular Biology

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