Georgia’s medical schools are in a new era of expansion, trying to keep up with the demands of a rapidly-growing state already lagging behind in the number of physicians available to treat its citizens.

A reinvented College of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences, an established vet college and the world’s first stand-alone ecology school show a university redefining itself for the 21st century. UGA is the frontrunner for a new $450-million National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility.

Georgia’s technical colleges often turn on a dime to answer market needs. There’s a new computer forensics program in macon, an expanded biotechnology program in athens and a home technology integration program in jasper. they’re all turning out job-ready graduates.

Georgia Gwinnett College, the state’s first new four-year public college in a century, sees itself as the prototype for higher education for the 21st century, serving an increasingly populous county. With no tenured faculty and a nontraditional academic structure, the school is gearing up for rapid growth.

Robert Sumichrast, the new business school dean at UGA, is a frank, analytical realist with a fairly inflexible agenda. He plans to lead the Terry College into the upper echelon of business schools and, closely tied to that, raise $35 million for a new complex.

The problems are well-documented – so much so that the accomplishments are often overshadowed. Here’s a look at some top Georgia schools, their strategies for success and the educators who make them work.

Private schools with religious missions are thriving in Georgia. There are Catholic schools, Jewish schools, Muslim schools and a host of Christian schools. Some teach doctrine, some emphasize values. Some teach evolution, some teach creation theory and some teach both.

Georgia Perimeter College has 21,000 students spread out over six metro area campuses, including a new Newton County location. The president says the two-year school’s diversity promotes a global awareness that prepares its students to be competitive.

When a new industry – or an expanding one – needs a trained workforce, Georgia’s technical colleges are there to help. The system’s Quick Start Program is a not-so-secret weapon in the state’s economic development arsenal.

A $100 million-plus gift to Emory University in 1979 started the school on a dramatic upward path. Now another gift will continue the transformation, leaders say, and bring the university national recognition.