When the time came to declare a major at Oxford, Bob Edge AB ’60 first considered English, one of his two majors at UGA. Then, 1927 Rhodes Scholar Allen Post, an Atlanta attorney at the time, told Edge he’d make a good lawyer.
A subsequent conversation with 1937 Rhodes Scholar Morris Abram III set Edge on his final path: an ambitious two-year course of study focused on political science, philosophy, and economics.
“So that’s what I did,” Edge says. “It was these two Georgia guys who set me on that course, and it was a spectacular time.”
Edge worked hard, graduated with ease, and leaned into the spectacular.
During his two years at Oxford, Edge attended some 100 operas and 150 plays across Europe. He still has all the programs. He remembered Post’s advice, too, and upon returning to the States, he went to Yale Law, graduated, and has practiced in Atlanta for nearly 60 years.
But with all his travels and accomplishments, Edge never forgot his roots. And he remains a dedicated Bulldog to this day.
The Lawrenceville native first visited campus as a sixth grader. He took piano lessons from Hugh Hodgson himself. Edge’s lifetime love of the performing arts is most visible at UGA’s Performing and Visual Arts Complex. Edge was the driving force behind its construction, and its recital hall is named for him.
He served for many years on UGA’s Foundation Board of Trustees, including a term as chair in the 1980s. During his service, he helped launch the Foundation Fellows program in 1972. Many of UGA’s Rhodes Scholars since then have been Fellows themselves, completing a circle Edge created.
“Of all the things I’ve done, I’m probably as proud of helping to start the Foundation Fellows program as anything,” Edge says.
For his lifetime of contributions to UGA, Edge received the President’s Medal in 2023.