Inside April 19th, 2005's Issue

�Old Red Kimono� now available

Graduation speaker set for May 14 ceremony

Long-time college employees to retire

Nursing alumni to hold forum for nursing students

Georgia Highlands chosen as new college name

By Lindy Dugger
[email protected]
Assistant Editor

Georgia Highlands College will officially become Georgia Highlands College in August, pending a vote by the Georgia Board of Regents on April 20.

According to Dr. Randy Pierce, Georgia Highlands College president, the transition will take place immediately.

The name chosen to be presented to the Board was announced by Pierce at a press conference at Heritage Hall on March 23. The name was chosen from a list of 18 names presented to focus groups last year.

Georgia Northwestern College was the top choice by focus groups, but other colleges in the area expressed concern that the name seemed too inclusive for the region.

�We have received many comments from community members, which we appreciated and valued,� said Pierce. �However, we also learned that many Floyd County citizens believe that the county and state fund this institution. Actually, state taxpayers fund all institutions within the University System of Georgia. But Floyd County as an entity does not fund Georgia Highlands College.�

According to Pierce, the name �Georgia Highlands� was chosen because the highlands region is considered one of the four travel regions in the state.

The Georgia Department of Natural Resources currently divides the state into five regions. The college is located in the Ridge and Valley Province, in which elevations range from 700 to 1,600 feet.

Pierce also said that the name change was to help �refine� Georgia Highlands College�s image as it expands in Northwest Georgia through the new campus in Bartow County and course offerings at Southern Polytechnic State University.

According to a FC press release, only 29 percent of Floyd�s students currently come from Floyd County. Another 20 percent reside in Bartow and 16 percent in Cobb County.

According to a report released in 2004 by the University System of Georgia, the state�s population is expected to grow another 2.2 million people by 2020. While the Atlanta area is expected to grow by leaps and bounds, the Floyd County area isn�t expected to receive significant changes. These anticipated population changes are one reason Georgia Highlands College will be changing its name to incorporate a larger geographic area.

While the new name has not yet been approved, Pierce is not considering the possibility of the name being rejected. �I�m not even going to think about that. I think that based on the input we�ve gotten, we should be fine,� said Pierce.

While Pierce remains optimistic about the community�s view of the new name, many have expressed displeasure with the decision.

On a local message board, campuschatter.blogspot.com, residents have complained about the wasted money that will be required for the name change, Pierce�s motives and the new name�s obvious Scottish references.

Many students at Floyd seem to have the same negative reaction to the name.

�It�s been named Georgia Highlands College for forever. Sometimes change ain�t good. Things just need to be left alone,� said Goob Pitts, an undeclared major from Rome.

�I don�t like it. I guess I�m just used to the Floyd name,� said Stacy Wise, a nursing major from Rome.

Others didn�t seem to care that much. �I�m graduating at the end of the semester so it�s not a big deal to me,� said Anthony Johnson, horticulture major from Calhoun.

Founding Georgia Highlands College faculty member Dr. Sheila McCoy, professor of languages, seemed more understanding of the change, yet also expressed concern. �I understand the reason for the name change. Certainly the school has changed in its area of service,� said McCoy. �My hope is that whatever they decide the name is, people from Floyd County and other people who were instrumental in efforts to get the college based here continue to feel supported by the college and appreciated for their efforts.�

Dana Davis, Georgia Highlands College director of college relations, addressed the money concern as legitimate, but says that allegations of hundreds of thousands of dollars being wasted have blown the situation out of proportion.

According to Davis, because the Georgia Highlands logo has only two colors (orange and blue) instead of Georgia Highlands College�s current logo�s four colors, all paper goods will be cheaper to print.

The college is not considering stationery, business cards and the like in its prospective costs for the name change. �As things are depleted, we will just order Georgia Highlands materials instead. If the name wasn�t being changed, we would have to order them (new supplies) anyway,� said Davis. She added that many of the necessary paper goods could be printed in the college�s printing office, which also saves on cost.

The college is also not counting the signs for the new Bartow Campus as a name change expense since those too would have to be ordered anyway.

Davis said the main costs for the college will be replacing the exterior signs on the Rome Campus. The main road sign, she said, is in such bad shape it needed to be replaced anyway.

Davis says the estimated cost for the name change is in the five-figures, but an exact number is not known at this time.

In addition to soon having a new name, Georgia Highlands College will be expanding to two new campuses this summer. According to Dr. Virginia Carson, vice president of academic affairs, the new Bartow campus is expected to be open by August. Classes will begin in Marietta in shared space on Southern Polytechnic University�s campus in June.

Georgia Highlands College will also continue holding classes on the Acworth campus, according to Carson.

According to Pierce, even after the name change and the opening of new campuses, Georgia Highlands College�s central office will remain on the Rome campus, where classes will continue to be held as usual.

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