DAHLONEGA (Dec. 18, 2007) – On Dec. 15, 212 students – including undergraduate, graduate and a handful of associate’s degree nursing students – received their degrees at North Georgia College & State University.

Martha Merritt, assistant professor of business administration and Distinguished Professor for Teaching and Learning for 2006, pulled double duty during the Dec. 15 commencement ceremony. Before entering the gym with the procession and taking center stage at the podium as the graduation speaker, she was in the hallways making sure the graduates were prepared. Merritt is responsible each semester for coordinating the pre-ceremony line-up of graduates.

Once onstage, Merritt talked to the graduates about the special gifts they already had with them besides the degree they were about to receive.

Scott Jones (left) of Gainesville, Ga., received his bachelor of business administration degree in management, one of 171 bachelor’s degrees conferred on Dec. 15.

“Honor the gifts you have been given by ensuring that others have the opportunity to take full advantage of the same gifts. Celebrate and cherish life. Defend freedom. Seek to provide opportunity. Engage your intellect. Give valuable instruction. Love and enjoy your family and friends. You are tomorrow’s leaders – in your chosen professions, in your personal endeavors and in your homes. As a leader your vote will count, your voice will be heard, and your life will be an example.”

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. The university, founded in 1873 in Dahlonega, offers undergraduate and graduate degrees in more than 50 academic and professional fields. More information is at www.ngcsu.edu.

DAHLONEGA (Dec. 8, 2006) – A part of the North Georgia College & State University Stewart Library’s aging collection of historic images will be saved for future generations with the help of a $1,000 Special Projects Grant from the Georgia Humanities Council, a non-profit organization supporting educational activities that help teach and preserve Georgia’s heritage.

The grant will assist in preserving photographic glass-plate images of North Georgia cadets and Lumpkin County residents taken by G. D. “Lon” Bruce, a local photographer, from the late 1890s to 1910.

“The library has 78 glass plated images,” said Shawn Tonner, director of Library Services. “This funding will allow us to tackle the first third of the collection. We anticipate future grant applications.” 

Glass plate photo negatives are typical of the time period, with the negative image emulsion adhered to plates of glass and designed for direct transfer to photo paper using chemical printing processes.  

“Since the physical plates are so old and delicate, we plan to hire a contractor specializing in digital imaging of antique materials like these to produce positive and negative digital images from the best glass negatives,” said Anne Marie Austenfeld, library collection development assistant.

Austenfeld and library staff member Cynthia Horne will co-manage the project.

The library staff plans to periodically submit the pictures for publication to seek additional information from residents about the subjects and the time period depicted. They also hope to generate public interest in the project by having the “new” photo prints easily accessible for viewing in the library.

For more information contact Anne Marie Austenfeld at 706-864-1889 or amaustenfeld@ngcsu.edu.
 

DAHLONEGA (Dec. 8, 2006) – The 8th annual White Christmas Breakfast at North Georgia College & State University on Dec. 7, hosted by the NGCSU Staff Council to support the Dahlonega Community Helping Place in its outreach efforts, generated a large turnout of faculty, staff and donations.

Toys, canned and perishable food, and funds totaling $520 were contributed and more than 100 employees attended the event. Since 1998, the Staff Council has coordinated a holiday drive for CHP’s White Christmas, which benefits families in Lumpkin County. Campus offices and departments participated in the Bag-A-Feast project, providing holiday dinners for those in need.

The CHP is assisting 190 area families this season. NGCSU donations, along with those from the Lumpkin County community, will be distributed on Dec. 14.

 

DAHLONEGA (Dec. 1, 2006) –
A groundbreaking ceremony took place on Dec. 1 to mark the beginning of construction for a $24.6 million Recreation Center, complete with a four-level parking deck, at North Georgia College & State University in Dahlonega.

NGCSU President David Potter opened the ceremony. “This is really a signal day for our university,” he said. “It’s the beginning of a process that will transform this campus.” More than $50 million will fund construction for two new buildings and a building renovation project over the next two academic years on the North Georgia campus. All three projects are scheduled to be completed in 2008.

Pictured left to right: Bernex Richardson, president of the NGCSU Student Government Association; Bruce Howerton, VP for NGCSU Advancement; Dr. David Potter, NGCSU President; Regent Felton Jenkins, member, University System of Georgia Board of Regents; Frank J. (Mac) McConnell, VP for NGCSU Business and Finance; Mindy Henderson, director, NGCSU Recreational Sports; Charles Schroeder, interim VP for NGCSU Student Affairs; Ed Nix, chairman, NGCSU Foundation; and Tyler Woodard, president, NGCSU Student Activities Board.

DAHLONEGA (Dec. 1, 2006) – To honor the memory of fellow cadet and friend Stephen Horton, North Georgia College & State University students will run 20 miles from Northeast Georgia Medical Center in Gainesville to the NGCSU campus in Dahlonega along Highway 60 on Dec. 10.

Horton, 25, died on Nov. 3 from an extended illness he was being treated for at the Gainesville hospital.

Horton was a cadet at North Georgia and an Iraq war veteran. He served as a medic in the U.S. Army and was in his first semester at North Georgia. The biology and pre-med major, who grew up in Chattanooga, Tenn., transferred from Cameron University in Lawton, Okla.

More than 50 members of Horton’s cadet unit, Charlie Company, are running through Hall and Lumpkin Counties to raise money for Horton’s 7-year-old daughter Katlyn. Funds will be contributed to an education IRA to be established for her. Katlyn is now living with her mother.

For more information about the event, which starts at 7 at the hospital, or to make donations, contact cadet Elisabeth Flage, Charlie Company commander, at ELFLAG1735@ngcsu.edu or Maj. Michael Ivy, NGCSU professor of military science, at 706-864-1783 or mrivy@ngcsu.edu.

More information about North Georgia’s Corps of Cadets is at www.ngcsu.edu.