A former president of South Georgia State College has passed away.
Dr. Virginia McSwain Carson, age 75, passed on Saturday, April 29, 2023. A celebration of life will be held at Madison Presbyterian Church in Madison, GA on Monday, May 1, 2023 at 3:00 p.m. with the Rev. Arch Baker officiating. Family will receive visitors after the service in the Fellowship Hall. Burial will be private. Memorial donations may be made to the American Cancer Society.
Dr. Carson was President of South Georgia State College and at retirement was named President Emerita. She was previously Vice President for Academic Affairs at Georgia Highlands College and prior to that Dean for Academic Services at Georgia Perimeter College (formerly DeKalb College). She was Professor of Mathematics at Georgia Perimeter and Chair of the Department of Mathematics and Computer Science.
Dr. Carson was a Fulbright recipient in Germany. She spent an academic year as a Fellow of the American Council of Education. She was elected to be a member of the Executive Council of the Board of Trustees of the SACS Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC). She chaired college accreditation committees for SACSCOC and for the New England Association of Colleges and Schools. She participated in college accreditation for the University Council of Jamaica. She was editor of a refereed mathematics journal. She served on the Board of Directors of the Fulbright Academy of Science and Technology and the Advisory Board of Phi Theta Kappa International.
Dr. Carson was a member of the Board of Directors of the Georgia Chamber of Commerce and of the Board of Visitors of St. Mary’s School in Raleigh, NC. She was a Paul Harris Fellow of Rotary International. She was President of the Junior League of DeKalb County. She participated in Leadership Rome in Rome, GA and the New Century Leaders of Douglas, GA and in numerous community organizations in DeKalb County, GA, Rome, GA, and Douglas, GA. She was a Presbyterian Elder and a Trustee of Madison Presbyterian Church.
Dr. Carson received the Distinguished Alumna Award from St. Mary’s School. She also received the Carol A. Luthman Meritorious Service Award from SAACSCOC and the Michael Bennett Lifetime Achievement Award from Phi Theta Kappa International Honor Society. She received a Regents Teaching Excellence Award from the University System of Georgia.
Dr. Carson was a graduate of St. Mary’s Junior College. She earned a BS from the University of Georgia and a Master’s and Ph.D. from Georgia State University — all in mathematics education.
Dr. Carson was the daughter of the late Eleanor Davis McSwain and the late Horace Laurens McSwain, Jr. of Macon, GA. She is survived by her children: Bryan Logan Carson (Laura) of Swainsboro, NC; Camilla Carson Moss of Madison, GA; and Francis Marion Carson III (Kristen) of Statham, GA; and her grandchildren: Eleanor Smith Moss, Carson David Moss, Ricks Kenneth Carson, Davis James Carson, and Reed Laurens Carson. She is also survived by her sister-in-law, Dr. Gloria Hilley McSwain of Macon, GA and her nieces: Dr. Mary Virginia McSwain of Bethlehem, PA and Lauren Hilley McSwain of New York, NY. She was predeceased by her husband, Francis Marion Carson II; her brother, Horace Laurens McSwain III of Macon, GA; and her niece Suzanne Victoria McSwain of St. Louis, MO.
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Snow’s Memorial Chapel, Cherry St. has charge of the arrangements.