Alston & Bird’s Robert G. Edge, senior counsel in the firm’s Wealth Planning Group, has been honored with the 2023 President’s Medal from the University of Georgia (UGA).
The President’s Medal, one of the university’s highest honors, recognizes outstanding individuals not currently employed by UGA who have gone to great lengths to serve UGA students, support UGA’s research enterprise, and participate in public service on behalf of the UGA community.
Bob Edge graduated as valedictorian from UGA in 1960, then attended Oxford University as a Rhodes Scholar, and later earned his law degree from Yale University. His time as an undergraduate at UGA included captaining the debate team and serving as president of both the Phi Kappa Literary Society and the University Chorus.
Edge’s involvement with the UGA community began in childhood and has spanned over 70 years. He served as a trustee of the UGA Foundation for many years, including two years as chair. He assisted in establishing the Foundation Fellowship and the Distinguished Law Fellows program in UGA’s School of Law. In the 1990s, Edge chaired the steering committee responsible for raising $15 million to build the institution’s Performing and Visual Arts Complex. He also helped create the Robert G. Edge Piano Competition, and in recognition of his contributions, the Robert G. Edge Recital Hall in the Hugh Hodgson School of Music was named in his honor.
Edge joined Alston & Bird in 1965 and later served as Chairman of the firm’s Partners Committee. In addition to his commitment to UGA, he has served as a board member or chair of civic organizations including the Charles Loridans Foundation, the Walter and Emilie Spivey Foundation, the Roy and Janet Dorsey Foundation, the Carter Center, the Metropolitan Opera of New York, the Atlanta Opera, and the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra.