Four remaining town meetings to focus on Appalachian life

DAHLONEGA – The Appalachian Studies Center of North Georgia College & State University is holding a series of town hall meetings across north Georgia. 

Funded in part by the Appalachian Regional Commission, the purpose of the meetings is to invite and collect public input for the design of an Appalachian Studies Center for the state of Georgia. Attendees will discuss current and future activities, projects, and venues concerning Appalachian life. Topics may include community leadership, economic growth, health, education and culture.

The NGCSU Appalachian Studies Center serves the region’s local communities, the state of Georgia, and its citizens. Interested individuals or groups are invited to attend any and all meetings. The meetings all start at 6:30 p.m. and the schedule is as follows: Feb. 8, Dahlonega at the Buisson Arts Center; Feb. 15, Lavonia at the Lavonia Depot; Feb. 22, Bremen at the Rock Building; and March 1, Ellijay at the United Community Bank of Gilmer County.

For more information, contact Casey LaFrance, 706-633-7546 or Alice Sampson, Grant Director, 706-864-1540.

Economic impact of university system grows to $9.7 billion
NGCSU and GC local impact is $234 million

DAHLONEGA – According to a newly released study, the combined economic impact in the northeast Georgia region of North Georgia College & State University and Gainesville College was $234 million, with an employment impact of 2,910 jobs during fiscal year 2004.

The University System of Georgia's $9.7 billion annual economic impact on the state of Georgia indicates that the economic clout of the USG's 34 public colleges and universities continues to increase.

The study, which spanned fiscal year 2004, was conducted by the Selig Center for Economic Growth in the University of Georgia's Terry College of Business. It was initially released in 2000 covering Fiscal Year 1999, updated in 2002 to report Fiscal Years 2000 and 2001, and has just been updated again to show a $1.7 billion increase in the System's economic impact since the 2002 study (identified as $8 billion in Fiscal Year 2001).

Unlike the first two studies, this year's data did not include the impact of campus construction projects, so the effect on the local economy of North Georgia's new Physical Plant and Materials Management complex as well as the new Pennington Military Leadership Center building projects was not taken into account.

In addition to the $9.7 billion in "output impact" generated by the University System, the study found that public higher education is responsible for 2.8 percent of Georgia's workforce, or 106,831 full- and part-time jobs.

The Intellectual Capital Partnership Program, an initiative of the Board of Regents' Office of Economic Development, commissioned the study by Dr. Jeffrey M. Humphreys, director of economic forecasting for the Selig Center.

"The single biggest factor driving the increase in the System's economic impact is the significant growth in the number of students enrolled in Georgia's public colleges and universities," Humphreys said. "Not only are there more students, but they are spending more. And of course, with more students, institutions are spending more to serve them."

The $9.7 billion "output impact" is a measure of sales in a community. The study calculated spending by each of the System's 34 institution on salaries and benefits, operating supplies and expenses ($3.8 billion), as well as spending by students who attend that particular institution ($2.6 billion). Of the $9.7 billion total, $6.4 billion (66 percent) is initial spending by the institutions and students; $3.3 billion (34 percent) is the multiplier effect of those dollars as they are spent again in the region. Humphreys found that on average, for every dollar of initial spending in a community by University System institutions, an additional 52 cents was generated for the local economy hosting a college or university.

Yet another component of the study is the analysis of the employment impact of all 34 institutions on their host communities. The impact on jobs is significant, accounting for $4.4 billion in salaries and wages for 106,831 full- and part-time employees. Approximately 62 percent of these jobs are off-campus positions in either the private or public sectors and 38 percent are on-campus employees of the University System. The study found that on average, for each job created on campus, there are 1.7 off-campus jobs that exist due to spending related to the institution. Jobs related to the University System account for about one in every 36 Georgia jobs.

Humphreys notes that the figures do not include spending by people who visit USG campuses to attend meetings, athletic events and reunions, spending by USG retirees living in a community, and income earned by USG employees through consulting and other activities.

"Another important aspect of this study is that we have very detailed data across institutions that can be used for a wide range of planning purposes by the Board of Regents or other state and local agencies and the private sector," said Humphreys.

The counties covered in the study related to North Georgia were Lumpkin, Hall, Dawson, White, Forsyth, and Union.

Gainesville College's area of impact includes Hall, Gwinnett, Jackson, White, Habersham, Lumpkin, Banks and Forsyth.

Seven institutions in the metro Atlanta area – Georgia Institute of Technology, Georgia State University, Clayton College & State University, Kennesaw State University, Southern Polytechnic State University, Atlanta Metropolitan College and Georgia Perimeter College – accounted for $2.9 billion of the University System's $9.7 billion total, and 37,239 jobs.

The System's largest institution – the University of Georgia with 33,405 students – has the single greatest economic impact: $2 billion on the Athens-area economy, or 21 percent of the System's total statewide economic impact.

"This Economic Impact Report continues to be an invaluable study," said Joy Hymel, executive director of the University System's Office of Economic Development. "It conclusively demonstrates that beyond the almost incalculable benefits colleges and universities offer communities through a more educated society, cultural opportunities and other activities, our campuses have an ongoing and powerful economic impact on communities large and small."

	Ashly Ruth Fishell, Juliet, and Caleb Probst, Romeo, from the wedding scene in "Romeo and Juliet"

Romeo & Juliet onstage Wednesday night at North Georgia

DAHLONEGA – A professional theater company, the National Players, will perform “Romeo and Juliet” on Jan. 26 at 7 p.m. in the Hoag Auditorium at North Georgia College & State University in Dahlonega. The production is free and open to the public.

First published in 1597, “Romeo and Juliet” is Shakespeare’s first non-historical tragedy. The play takes place in Verona, Italy, where two families, the Montagues and Capulets, are enemies. Romeo, a Montague, attends a ball given by Lord Capulet, where he meets the beautiful Juliet, a Capulet, and they fall in love. In the four days covered by the play, the two “star-crossed lovers” will die for love of one another, yet their deaths bring peace to Verona.

The National Players, America’s longest running classical touring company, is now in its 56th consecutive season of touring.

Hoag Auditorium is located in the Student Center, just off of College Circle, about a block west of the historic Dahlonega Square. To find convenient parking, early arrival is encouraged. The NGCSU Cultural Events Committee sponsors the free event.

Students named to President's List at NGCSU 

DAHLONEGA – For their academic performances during fall semester 2004, the following students were named to the North Georgia College & State University President’s List.

Students achieving a 4.0 grade point average and carrying 12 or more credit hours in one semester are placed on the President’s List.

For a list of the students, see the President's List.

Students named to Dean's List at NGCSU 

DAHLONEGA – For their academic performances during fall semester 2004, the following students were named to the Dean’s List at North Georgia College & State University. 

Students who achieve a 3.5 grade point average or better carrying 12 or more credit hours in one semester are placed on the Dean’s List.

For a list of the students, see the Dean's List.

NGCSU graduates 216 students during fall commencement

DAHLONEGA – North Georgia College & State University awarded 196 graduate and undergraduate degrees, along with 20 nursing associate’s degrees, during the Dec. 17, 2004, commencement.

For a list of the students who received degrees, see the graduation list.

CHANGING TRAFFIC PATTERNS: The intersection at West Main Street and Sunset Drive has been undergoing changes, which started last summer and is finally seeing completion. Traffic lights were put up Jan. 13 at the four-way intersection that has a large volume of pedestrian foot-traffic due largely to North Georgia College & State University students going to classes. The traffic lights are expected to go into operation near the end of February after a 30-day caution period mandated by the Georgia Department of Transportation. The lights will act as caution lights until then. The intersection received a major overhaul last summer when Georgia Circle, the road on the North Georgia campus across from Sunset Drive was aligned with the city street.

North Georgia top university for graduation rates

DAHLONEGA – For the third consecutive year, North Georgia College & State University has set the highest bar for graduation rates at Georgia's 13 state and two regional universities, far outpacing those public post-secondary institutions in conferring degrees on students.

The Governor's Office of Student Achievement, formed in 2000, recently released its third annual report card that includes academic performance data for the University System of Georgia and other educational institutions in the state.

North Georgia's six-year baccalaureate graduation rate is 45.8 percent in the report card, surpassing every other state and regional university as well as Georgia State University, one of the USG's three research universities. Georgia Tech and UGA were the only USG schools with better graduation rates than NGCSU, with 69.4 and 71.2 percent respectively. North Georgia's rate of 45.8 was only half a percentage point below the university's graduation rate of 46.3 percent in last year's report card.

North Georgia also maintained a graduation rate above the USG-average of 43.5 percent and was well above the state university-average of 28.7 percent. Georgia College & State University in Milledgeville was the closest state university to NGCSU in graduation rates but was still more than 10 percentage points below North Georgia.

The OSA report card also tracks the percentage rates of students that start at North Georgia and go on to complete a degree somewhere else within the USG. North Georgia again posted the highest graduation rates among state universities and regional universities here with a 56.6 percent graduation rate. This is 1.2 percentage points below last year's rate for the university, but still far above the average of all the state universities, which is 36.1 percent.

North Georgia is the only state university, of the 13 total, to post graduation rates that are higher than the USG averages for institution-specific and systemwide rates.

The complete 2003-04 OSA report card, which also includes retention rates and the previous year's Regents' Exam pass rates, may be located online at www.ga-oea.org.

This page last modified on: Wednesday, 01 June 2005 17:47:32 -0400 by University Relations    

:: Disclaimer   :: Accessibility