North Georgia in the top 20 Public Universities
in the South in 'America’s Best Colleges'

DAHLONEGA (Aug. 17, 2007) – For the past four years, North Georgia College & State University has consistently been included among the top Public Universities in the South among those institutions providing undergraduate and master’s programs in U.S.News & World Report’s annual edition of “America’s Best Colleges.”  

Among public institutions, North Georgia is listed at number 20 in the South, and among both private and public universities, NGCSU is number 50 in the 2008 edition of the publication.

“The U.S.News & World Report college rankings do serve to give the public an indication of the quality of the education and experiences our students receive,” said Terry McLeod, NGCSU associate vice president of Academic Affairs. “But what we are proudest of and what we put our efforts into sustaining is the quality of our academic programs and the leadership experiences that our students are afforded.”

NGCSU, founded in 1873, is the second oldest public university in the state, and has been designated by the Board of Regents and the General Assembly as the Military College of Georgia as well as a Leadership Institution in the state.  

Graduates plant a seed for their future

	Criminal justice graduate Cheryl New stands with commencement speaker Dr. Kelly Cate, psychology, and Dr. Jennifer Smith, history and philosophy, at the Aug. 10 commencement ceremony.
	New graduates and U.S. Army second lieutenants Tyler Arms and Debra Higgs share one final goodbye.
	Graduate Terina Nivilinszky with grandmother Patricia Nivilinszky

DAHLONEGA (Aug. 17, 2007) – Dr. Kelly Cate, the 2007 NGCSU Distinguished Professor, addressed more than 1,000 students, parents and family members at the Aug. 10 commencement ceremony in Memorial Hall Gym.

“There is a time to plant and a time to harvest,” she told the 234 graduates. “If you want others to treat you with honesty, dignity and respect, treat them in this way.”

She told the graduates that they must sow what they want to harvest into the soil of all their relationships.

“Do not base the amount of respect you afford another person on the role they fill in society... and do not base your life goals on society’s imaginary hierarchy,” she told them. “There is a calling in your life. Find out what it is and do that. It is the thing you will do best and the thing that will bring you the most happiness.”

The keynote speaker – only nine years removed from her own graduation ceremony at North Georgia
– offered the graduates advice about what her experience has afforded her.

Patricia Bunker, who works for the Gainesville State College Foundation and is one of the oldest graduating seniors this August at 58, with her mom Dorothy Bunker and granddaughter Alena Mumpower.

She reminded the graduates to approach challenges with a positive attitude, especially when speaking, because “the words we say are either life-affirming or life-negating.”

Cate teaches psychology in the NGCSU Honors Program. She earned her master’s and doctorate in social psychology at Georgia State University before returning here to teach.

The ceremony produced 130 undergraduate-degree recipients and 103 graduate-level-degree recipients. North Georgia also commissioned 15 new U.S. Army lieutenants in August.

Read more about one of the program's top students

Area students get a taste of college
and excel at honors program
 

	Tatum Mortimer, Most Outstanding Academic Performance		Laura Rojas, Best Team Player

DAHLONEGA (Aug. 8, 2007) – Summer Honors at North Georgia, a two-week academic and leadership experience for talented teenagers, and hosted by North Georgia College & State University, took place June 10-22. Forty high school students from the north Georgia area were introduced to collegiate level academics and a strenuous leadership curriculum.

High schools students who attended were from Cherokee, Fannin, Pickens, Murray, and Whitfield County Schools and the Dalton City Schools.

“During the Summer Honors program, classroom instruction is coupled with leadership opportunities through adventure-learning and team problem-solving,” program director Robb Sinn said.

Robb Sinn and Hannah-Leigh Crawford, Leadership Award

The students were introduced to the university’s Pine Valley ropes courses, where students scaled towering obstacles and tested their abilities to work together. They lived on the North Georgia campus for two weeks and previewed the college experience, being taught by university professors and mentored by undergraduate students.

Thirty-eight of the participants won merit-based competitions for program slots during their junior year in high school, earning scholarships to cover all the Summer Honors fees. Two private-school students who met the admission requirements also attended.

Special events at the Summer Honors program included astronomy trips to the university planetarium and observatory, a rock climbing trip to Mt. Yonah in Cleveland, Ga., an Etiquette Dinner, a hypnosis demonstration, and a discussion with award-winning science fiction author Orson Scott Card about his novel “Ender’s Game.” 

	Iman Soliman, Character Award

Several of the students were recognized for their abilities during the Summer Honors program at North Georgia:

Most Outstanding Student Award – Dalton High School senior Matthew Townsend of Tunnel Hill, Ga. Townsend won a $4,400 scholarship to NGCSU.

Academic Excellence Award – Cherokee High School senior Tatum Mortimer of Waleska, Ga., earned the award for top overall performance in academic competitions, essay contests and graded exams.

	Matthew Townsend, Most Outstanding Student & Scholarship Winner

Best Overall Leadership Award – Pickens High School senior Hannah-Leigh Crawford of Jasper, Ga. Evaluation for the Overall Leadership Award occurred during fourteen graded, team-based, adventure-learning leadership modules.

Best Team Player Award – Dalton High School senior Laura Rojas of Dalton, Ga. Evaluation for the Team Player Award occurred during fourteen graded, team-based, adventure-learning leadership modules.

Character Award – Dalton High School senior Iman Soliman of Dalton, Ga., demonstrated traits indicative of a leader.

Along with these five award winners, listed below are Certificate of Merit award recipients who earned merit-based program slots. The list is sorted by city and the students’ high schools.

North Georgia College & State University is a public, coeducational, comprehensive university, as well as the Military College of Georgia – one of only six Senior Military Colleges in the nation. North Georgia is currently engaged in a major initiative, "A Legacy of Leadership.” NGCSU is ranked by Consumers Digest as the fifth Best Value in public higher education. The university, founded in 1873 in Dahlonega, offers undergraduate and graduate degrees in more than 50 academic and professional fields.

This page last modified on: Friday, 22 August 2008 16:28:23 -0400 by University Relations    

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