Culture Clash? Maybe
Not!
(Reflections on the upcoming consolidation of Gainesville State College and North Georgia College and State University)
The recent excitement
over the impending union of Gainesville State College and North Georgia College
and State University is to be both expected and is potentially helpful. Aaron Hale’s front page article in Sunday’s
paper was a stellar attempt to interpret the differences between the two
institutions; however, some of the recurring misunderstandings were
repeated. I would like to address three
central issues that must be considered.
Gainesville State and
North Georgia are outstanding and vibrant institutions, and comprise two of the
most viable entities that Georgia’s Board of Regents has selected to
“consolidate.” Given the fact that a
consolidation is not a merger, and one of the finest public institutions in
Georgia will be created as the result of the consolidation, I want to explain
three aspects of Gainesville State’s contribution to the union that have been
overlooked: our academic environment, our faculty, and our existing programs.
1-Open Access Does Not Mean a Lack of Academic Standards. Gainesville State is indeed an “open access”
institution, but we simply provide an environment for academic success for our students,
guided by a devotion to the liberal arts, student support, and dedicated faculty
attention to the individual student.
Many great institutions in America were founded on this premise, and
some have maintained this emphasis. A
classic example of an “open access” liberal arts institution is the City
University of New York, which provided a start for the likes of Colin Powell,
Jonas Salk, and Senator Barbara Boxer. Gainesville
State strives to be just such an institution.
All available data suggests our academic programs are rigorous in every
regard. “Open access” is best understood
as giving those students a chance who would not otherwise have an opportunity
to enroll in college; it is not an indictment of our academic integrity.
2-We have a “world class” faculty. The main part of any college’s or
university’s success is its faculty. In
our School of Social Sciences, for example, (and this would be the case for our
three other schools as well) I can affirm that we have the most proficient
social sciences faculty I have ever encountered as a former vice president and
professor at three other senior institutions of higher learning. Our
School’s faculty contributions to the life of the Gainesville State College and
the surrounding area have few rivals. In
terms of scholarship, within the last decade School of Social Sciences faculty
have published over twenty books (including at least one “academic
bestseller”), scores of articles, and presented dozens of presentations at
professional meetings. School of Social Sciences faculty serve on the
editorial boards of nationally prominent publications like the Georgia
Historical Review, Basic and Applied Social Psychology, Humanitas,
Contemporary History of Russia, Digest of Middle Eastern Studies,
Political Science Reviewer, University Bookman, and other
scholarly journals.
3-We Are A Bachelor Degree Institution. Gainesville State is a “state college,” and
we are already offering bachelor’s degrees in early childhood care and
education, early childhood education, human services delivery and
administration, theatre (in an amazing collaboration with our neighbor, Brenau
University), applied science, environmental spatial analysis, biology, and
psychology. Before the consolidation was
announced, we were on the cusp of adding bachelor degrees in communications,
English, political science, history, and criminal justice, among many
others.
Amidst the media
attention given to the consolidation, and the discussions that are taking place
on both campuses, the accomplishments of Gainesville State College’s faculty
and students should not be overlooked. I
certainly look forward to the consolidation process and supporting the great
educational entity that will be created.
