Cook’s book tells the story of Georgia Highlands College from the beginning
By Whitney Anderson
[email protected]
Staff Writer
Georgia Highlands College has a history that will soon be told.
“I was asked by Dr. Virginia Carson, vice president of academic affairs, and Judy Taylor, director of advancement, to write the book, and in a moment of weakness, I agreed to do it,” said Dr. James Cook, history professor emeritus, who retired from full-time teaching several years ago.
For many the idea of writing a book on the history of a college would seem pretty tough, but Cook has written several non-fiction works already.
“This is my fourth book, and I expect it to be my last one. I enjoy the finished product, but it’s hard work doing it. I didn’t expect to write this one, until they asked me, and then I thought it needed to be done,” said Cook.
For Cook, writing this book is very important not only for the college, but for those who helped establish the college. “We had some outstanding faculty members of the original faculty, and people at the college now don’t remember them. And even the others who have retired, people forget about their contributions,” he said.
Though Cook was a part of the original faculty at Floyd College, in doing research for the book, he found some very interesting information about students who have gone on to achieve success in fields such as law, medicine, education and so on.
“I actually taught Dr. Lynn Plunkett, the assistant superintendent of Floyd County Schools,” Cook said.
Cook also thinks the founding of the college was interesting. Cook stated it probably should have been located in Cartersville instead of Rome. “It would have been except for the role of Jimmy Madix. He was the key figure in getting it located here,” Cook said.
In addition to the story behind the placement of the college, Cook also found in his research that due to the leadership of Dr. David B. McCorkle, founding president, and Dr. Wesley Walraven, founding dean, many of the original faculty and staff stayed at the college until they were ready to retire.
“They created a unique style and made the college a very pleasant workplace. Also, it’s interesting the original president, the academic dean, the controller and the dean of students all stayed here until they retired, which is a period of 20 years or more,” said Cook.
Other than preserving the college history and those involved with it, Cook is hoping to change the public’s view of the college and its students.
“The public has always perceived junior colleges as somewhat inferior to four year schools, but in many cases, the actual teaching in the classroom is just as good and in some cases better,” said Cook.
Cook said,“You’re actually treated like a person. It was even moreso in the early years when it was a much smaller college.”
Currently, Cook is finishing up the last chapter of the book and said that it should be out and finished before Christmas.
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