Page 20 - MGATODAY-Spring2019
P. 20

| President Blake |                        By Sheron Smith  At his 2019 “State of the University” address,
                                                                     given at Middle Georgia State’s Dublin
                       The State                                      Campus at the beginning of spring semes-
                       of the                                ter 2019, President Dr. Christopher Blake gave the
                       University                            institution an “A” grade on a variety of measure-
                       is Strong                             able goals and strategies.
                                                             	 “Let me start by saying loudly, clearly and
                   With growing enrollment, an               unequivocally that the state of Middle Georgia
                   increasing number of graduates,           State University is the healthiest and strongest it
                   and degree program expansion,             has been since our consolidation,” Blake told a
                   Middle Georgia State University           gathering of faculty, staff and community lead-
                   is stronger than ever just six            ers in an address that was also livestreamed. “…
                   years after the consolidation of          One year ago I used in my ‘State of the University’
                   two regional colleges created             address an analogy of us growing up. I compared
                   the five-campus institution.              us to a child who had reached the age of five years
                                                             and was about to embark on a life-enhancing
                                                             transition to grade school. One year later I am
                                                             proud to share our first-grade report and can cel-
                                                             ebrate with you that we have indeed learned well
                                                             and we are succeeding in this new and challenging
                                                             place called school.”
                                                             	 What is now Middle Georgia State University
                                                             (MGA) was created by the Board of Regents of
                                                             the University System of Georgia in January 2013
                                                             with the consolidation of Middle Georgia College
                                                             and Macon State College. The new institution
                                                             covers a wide geographic range, with campuses in
                                                             Macon, Cochran, Dublin, Eastman, and Warner
                                                             Robins. MGA is the only public university in
                                                             Georgia with a School of Aviation, based on the
                                                             Eastman Campus, and offers one of the few resi-
                                                             dential programs in the state for dually enrolled
                                                             high school students.
                                                             	 Among the highlights of Middle Georgia
                                                             State’s recent progress, Blake noted that:

                                                             • The University has graduated 1,300 students this
                                                              academic year, the second highest number since
                                                              consolidation. The majority of MGA graduates
                                                              reside within 75 miles of the Warner Robins
                                                              Campus, an important measure of economic
                                                              impact on the region. MGA has a regional

20 MIDDLE GEORGIA STATE UNIVERSITY
   15   16   17   18   19   20   21   22   23   24   25