A dream interrupted

The struggle to succeed is constant in the life of any small community. Ups and downs are to be expected as cities and counties fight to survive and grow. You learn to take the good with the bad and move on. Last week, our community unfortunately learned of an especially bad development headed our way concerning East Georgia State College. According to official sources, the plans of the University System of Georgia (USG) and the Board of Regents are to allow the 52-year-old college, which has operated here in Swainsboro since the spring of 1973, to be absorbed by Georgia Southern University. Chancellor Sonny Perdue will reportedly make a recommendation to the Board for a vote in the next few days that will approve the consolidation. Naturally, the recommendation is being championed under the banner of saving money. It will swell enrollment at Georgia Southern, making GSU the fifth largest institution of higher learning in the University system. According to the USG, the recent trend of consolidation has resulted in savings of 30 million dollars, as the number of state schools has decreased from 35 to 26. When East Georgia is consumed by Georgia Southern, that number will drop to 25. That is the sterile view from 30,000 feet. Closer to the ground, things are a little more personal. For those who have grown up along with East Georgia, feelings run considerably deeper and are a good bit more complex. For those who brought families here and invested life-long careers here and those who supported the college with their regular donations and incredible gifts of land, buildings and endowments, and for those who cheered every milestone of progress, and those who glimpsed a wider horizon of life, and especially for those who came here and left with a map to discover loftier plateaus, this place is much, much more than just a verdant campus or an economic engine that contributed in excess of 50 million dollars annually to the local economy. East Georgia State College is a dream born and nurtured from the mid-1950s by a determined corps of doers and shakers that eventually garnered enough power, both here and in Atlanta, to bring the reality of a state college in Emanuel County up out of the ground. The local citizens even taxed themselves to get the project out of the starting gate. From that beginning, East Georgia made a durable impression that literally changed life in this community and changed the lives of thousands and thousands of students from all over the South and beyond who were seeking a quality education that their families could afford. Fifty-two years after its birth, East Georgia State College is an extension of what this community is and what it will be in the future, and any announcement of any alteration to that proposition should be expected to draw deep concern and alarm. Nowadays, I guess the appropriate response would be a takeover of the campus like the ivy league schools are seemingly fond of.

In a statement from the University System of Georgia (USG), it was announced that several listening sessions were planned on the East Georgia campus beginning on Wednesday, April 16, to hear local comment and input. In the same news release, Chancellor Perdue commented in discussing the proposed consolidation, “today as we remain focused on those core priorities of attainment, affordability and efficiency, we also understand the importance of making sure East Georgia State College’s legacy of creating knowledge and prosperity continues within the Swainsboro community and beyond”. We appreciate the words of the Chancellor. But even more, we hope that as he and each member of the Board of Regents assess the full impact of this action, they will thoughtfully consider the accumulated history, value and significance of this institution and the multi-faceted role it plays in the lives of all those it has served in this special region of Georgia. East Georgia State College is unique on many levels. It is a story of struggle and survival. It is a prism of opportunity that still shines for those often ignored by the academic powers, and it is the vindication of a dream born of high aspiration and propelled by achievement of the human spirit. Hopefully, the future direction of this institution will be one that honors, reflects and is worthy of its past. This community and the resident vision of 52 years will be watching with anticipation. This dream may be interrupted, but it must not be lost.