With a 5K and Fun Run in Macon on Saturday and a breakfast and tree-planting in Cochran today, we have kicked off a week of inauguration activities, which will culminate in my investiture as the first permanent President of Middle Georgia State College on Friday. I look forward to being officially sworn in as your President, yet this week is not only about the office in which I have the honor of serving—it is about setting a course for our collective future.
We can trace the roots of MGA back 140 years to 1884. Today, on our college seal, we can see a torch atop that date and the words underneath it—honor, fortitudo, virtus, fidesque—illuminating our path toward university status.
Those four words—honor, strength, virtue, fidelity—are more than an element of our visual identity. They underpin the core of what transcends our predecessor institutions into a new organization that is committed to United Possibilities, the theme of our inaugural week.
George Bernard Shaw once said, “Life is no ‘brief candle’ for me. It is a sort of splendid torch which I have got hold of for the moment, and I want to make it burn as brightly as possible before handing it on to future generations.”
It is not only your first permanent President, but all of us—students, faculty, staff, alumni, and the entire middle Georgia community—who have now got hold of MGA’s torch. This week, let us reflect on how we each play a role in making it burn brightly.
I ask you all to attend activities taking place across all five of our campuses, which support the development of where our United Possibilities converge—in Mind, Heart and Community. Inauguration events are listed online here: http://www.mga.edu/inauguration/.
This inauguration is for all of us. I look forward to seeing and celebrating with you!
Chris