I hope all of you had a joyous holiday season and wonderful end to 2019. Welcome back to faculty and staff, and a special welcome back to our students. We are delighted that both our new and our returning students have chosen to take their journey towards academic success with us at MGA. 2020 brings many possibilities and opportunities for us as a university.
We go into this new year with our institutional mission officially formalized by the Board of Regents. This validation and clarification of our mission and identity provides for us an opportunity to consider afresh the nature of the student body we are tasked with recruiting, educating and graduating. This week the Board of Regents will be reviewing our new Doctoral degree in Information Technology, so we step into the new year with the promise of continued elevation and growth as a University. I congratulate all the faculty and staff who have helped develop this proposal.
We are midway through “Elevating Middle Georgia” our strategic plan. I encourage each of you to review what we have accomplished and to continue moving forward with these important initiatives.
Later this month, at 10:00 am on January 23, we will break ground on our new 8,000 square foot University Enrollment Center in Macon. This is a significant moment and a step forward for MGA. This center will house key enrollment-related offices under a single roof, making students’ transitions to college as smooth as possible. Please join us if you can for this special occasion.
Building and renovations continue across campuses, offering improvements for students, faculty and staff. In Cochran, renovations are underway in the Library building and in Dillard Hall. Both projects will be complete this fall. The addition of new paint, carpet, and light fixtures in the Dublin library is almost completed. In Macon, the School of Arts and Letters has received renovations, and Camelot Court dining hall is being enlarged to accommodate our growing student population. Look for completion later in the year of road improvements and the opening of Lakeview Point, our newest residence facility.
As we go into this new year of possibilities and opportunities, I leave you with a verse by Edgar Albert Guest. An immensely popular American poet of the 20th century, Guest – who, incidentally, hailed originally from Birmingham, England – was known as the People’s Poet.
“A happy New Year! Grant that I
May bring no tear to any eye
When this New Year in time shall end
Let it be said I’ve played the friend,
Have lived and loved and labored here,
And made of it a happy year.”
– Edgar Guest
Happy New Year!
Chris