The Board of Regents surprised Dr. Virginia Carson at its May 2016 meeting by designating her as President Emerita of South Georgia State College (SGSC). University System of Georgia Chancellor Hank Huckaby recommended to the Board to grant this honor to Carson, and the motion passed unanimously.
“I am very touched by the award you are giving me today. It means a lot to me and my College,” Carson told the Regents during the meeting.
Carson successfully led the consolidation of South Georgia College and Waycross College into South Georgia State College and has seen it through a long-term strategy to foster student achievement.
In one of many developments in support of students, the Peterson Scholars program on the Douglas Campus and the Dye Scholars program on the Waycross Campus for outstanding new freshmen were established.
Since 2012, SGSC has had three successful accreditation site visits from the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC) for the level change from two-year to four-year College, consolidation and decennial accreditation as a new institution. In June 2016, the SACSCOC Board of Trustees approved the decennial accreditation for SGSC as a new institution.
The Douglas Campus has also seen change through the renovation and preservation of several historic buildings and construction of new housing.
Carson holds an undergraduate degree from the University of Georgia and a M.Ed. and Ph.D., all in mathematics education, from Georgia State University.
Upon announcing Carson’s retirement, Chancellor Huckaby stated, “President Carson has been an instrumental leader for South Georgia State College. Her steady leadership through such tremendous change has been critical to the successful consolidation and shaping of South Georgia State College. On behalf of the Board of Regents and all of us in the University System, I thank President Carson for her service and wish her and her family the very best in the new chapter ahead.”
– Submitted