University employees honored

DAHLONEGA - On May 2, long-time employees of North Georgia College & State University were recognized by President Nathaniel Hansford in a ceremony at Price Memorial Hall for their years of service to the school.

"This university is the people who are here," Hansord said. "The university is not buildings, but those people who've dedicated their time and lives."

Those recognized for 30 years of service were Patsy A. Ferguson, Gerald Gilstrap, Charles S. Noble, Dave Pandres, Jr. and Thomas W. Richardson.

Philip Buckhiester and Thomas H. Fox both have served 25 years at North Georgia.

For 20 years of service, Marc J. Gilbert, Johnny W. Kirk and Kathleen A. Sisk were honored.

Working at North Georgia for 15 years are Vicki M. Dowdy, Clayton Grant and Kathleen A. Gruenhagen.

Ten-year service recognition went to Marlene C. Anthony, Deborah R. Barbone, Joseph H. Jones, Ann D. Sumners, Barbara Tronsgard and Lynda D. Woodruff.

And the following have been at NGCSU for five years: James L. Barnaby, Kimberly M. Caldwell, Diane Y. Campbell, Frank S. Corotto, Michael Jon Davenport, Cecilia Democko, John Larry Doster, John D. Eggers, Ann E. Gaddis, Lena Mae Gaddis, Becky Lynn Gentry, Ahmad Ghafarian, Paul Jason Gibson, Susan P. Hughes, Marilyn S. Lary, Gene C. Masters, Gordon E. McNeer, Robert O. Michael, Carol A. Miller, Judy S. O'Neal, Brent A. Paterline, Kent J. Poff, Anita J. Roush, Joyce G. Sutton, Carl Weinberg and Suzanne Windsor.

Chancellor Thomas C. Meredith visited with some old friends during the Parents-Alumni Weekend at North Georgia College and State University. At the Alumni Awards Banquet on April 14, Meredith introduced to the audience Olin B. King (center), a member of the Board of Trustees of the University of Alabama System, where Meredith served as chief executive officer for more than four years. King received the NGCSU Alumni Association's 2002 Hall of Fame Award for his longstanding record of service and support for his alma mater. NGCSU President Nathaniel Hansford (right) also knew Meredith in Alabama when Hansford was dean and professor at the University of Alabama School of Law.

King, who graduated from North Georgia in 1953, said he had the longest affiliation with the university of anyone at the banquet. As a child in the 1930s, he served as the Corps of Cadets mascot, wearing a small version of the cadet uniform and attending many of the military parades, which remain a tradition at the university.

DAHLONEGA - More than 400 graduate and undergraduate students at North Georgia College & State University will see closure to years of work and study when they receive their degrees on May 11 in the Memorial Hall Gymnasium.

Retired Brigadier General David L. Grange, a 1970 North Georgia graduate and executive vice president and chief operating officer of the Robert R. McCormick Tribune Foundation, will speak at graduation and the commissioning ceremony.

Two commencement ceremonies will take place at 1 and 4 p.m. in the gymnasium and the commissioning of 20 U.S. Army second lieutenants will be at 6 p.m. in the Hoag Student Center Auditorium.

Many of the future North Georgia alumni have unique stories about their road to graduation.

For three years, Michael V. McKinney, a 27-year-old physical therapy graduate student, has commuted 125 miles round-trip from Atlanta to the university to pursue and finally complete his masters degree. McKinney's wife Tiffany graduates from medical school this spring and they have a daughter, Micha, 4 ½, that he has helped support throughout his schooling.

Nicole Whyte of Lawrenceville, Ga., who will receive her second degree from the university, was an NGCSU Lady Saints basketball player as an undergraduate student and is the second basketball player to receive a masters degree in physical therapy since the program started in 1992.

Two North Georgia employees from Dahlonega also will receive their degrees this May.

Joann Dankleman, an NGCSU admissions counselor, has been on educational leave for a year completing her undergraduate degree in psychology at the university.

Elizabeth Greene, while working at North Georgia in the counseling and student development office, has pursued her masters degree in community counseling. Her son is graduating from the University of Georgia the morning of May 11, and she will attend his graduation then drive back to Dahlonega to attend her own commencement.

DAHLONEGA - Harry Petree, the president of Graphix Enterprises, a Dawsonville company, shared his business success story with a large gathering of business representatives and educators from northeast Georgia at the University System of Georgia's "Knowledge is Power" event on May 1 at Gainesville College. Petree's company produces high quality screen-printed T-shirts and other textiles.

The Georgia Appalachian Development Center, based at North Georgia College & State University in Dahlonega, has been instrumental in Graphix Enterprises' growing presence on the Web. North Georgia students provided Petree and his employees technical support services and training to reach a wider base of clients via the company's Web site.

The GADC's goal is to serve the technology needs of small businesses and community-based organizations in the North Georgia area, offering Web-based technology training focused on Web-page design, Web marketing and E-commerce. Over the past two years, GADC has served more than 650 customers.

The "Knowledge is Power Tour," sponsored by the Intellectual Capital Partnership Program, the university system's economic development initiative, highlighted efforts to encourage regional and statewide economic development by utilizing the intellectual capital on the 34 state college and university campuses to meet business needs.

For more information, telephone GADC at 706/867-2843 or ICAPP at 706/867-2868 at NGCSU.

DAHLONEGA - North Georgia College & State University will host a variety of sports camps this summer in Dahlonega for young children in the surrounding area.

NGCSU coaches and players from the university's intercollegiate sports programs will coach children ages 7-18 in different sports throughout the summer, beginning June 16.

Included are softball, baseball, girls and boys tennis, basketball and soccer camps. Interested parents should register for the individual camps at least two weeks before they start. A complete listing of the camp dates and registration fees are on the NGCSU Continuing Education link on the university's website at apache.northgeorgia.edu or telephone 706/864-1918 for more information.

DAHLONEGA - The Education Foundation of the Georgia Society of Certified Public Accountants named Martha Merritt, a business administration professor at North Georgia College & State University, the 2002 Accounting Educator of the Year. The organization is the premier professional association of CPAs in Georgia, with more than 10,000 members comprised of professionals in public practice, industry, government and education. The award, given annually, will be presented to Merritt on May 9 during the spring council meeting of the GSCPA at Lake Lanier Islands.

Merritt is an assistant professor of accounting in the Department of Business Administration at NGCSU. Her primary teaching areas include accounting principles, intermediate financial accounting and auditing.

Merritt has been at NGCSU for 14 years. She and her husband Tim live in Clermont, Ga. She has a Master of Arts in Teaching and a Master of Accountancy from the University of South Carolina.

NGCSU's economic impact more than $95 million

DAHLONEGA - North Georgia College & State University's economic impact on Lumpkin County and the surrounding counties of Dawson, Hall, Union and White was $95.7 million in Fiscal Year 2001, according to a study by Jeffrey Humphreys, director of economic forecasting in the Selig Center for Economic Growth at the University of Georgia.

The Intellectual Capital Partnership Program, ICAPP, an initiative of the Board of Regents' Office of Economic Development, commissioned Humphreys' study to enhance understanding of how the University System of Georgia contributes to the state's economy.

He analyzed three categories of college- and university-related expenditures; spending by the institutions themselves for salaries and fringe benefits, operating supplies and expenses, and other budgeted expenditures; spending by the institutions on capital construction projects; and spending by the students who attend the universities.

"The University System of Georgia truly is an economic engine that helps to power our state on many levels, from producing graduates to building capital projects, to leveraging our employment and spending power," said USG Chancellor Thomas C. Meredith. "Humphreys' study documents our value in very specific terms, adding dimension to the many intangibles our campuses contribute to the economy on a daily basis."

Of North Georgia's total economic impact, $62.9 million represents initial spending by the university and the students attending classes. The remaining $32.8 million represents the impact generated by the re-spending of these dollars. The study concludes that, on average, every dollar spent by a USG institution or student injects an additional 56 cents into the host region's economy.

The employment impact North Georgia has had in the region includes 1,260 full-time and part-time jobs. The university employs 556 people, with a full-time equivalent of 386 jobs. Off-campus jobs that exist due to university-related spending total 875 full-time and part-time employment.

On average, for each position created on campus, 1.4 off-campus jobs exist because of spending related to the institution, Humphreys noted. North Georgia's total labor-income impact on the region equaled $42.5 million during the year.

Georgia's 34 public colleges and universities together generated nearly 101,500 jobs and infused $8 billion into local communities, according to the Selig Center, a public service unit of the Terry College of Business at UGA.

Humphreys said the 101,427 jobs at the USG's 34 institutions represented 2.8 percent of all the jobs in Georgia, or about one job in 37 during FY '01.  Approximately 43 percent of the University System's jobs are on campus - representing employees of the University System of Georgia - and 57 percent are off-campus in either the private or public sectors. Altogether, the system generated $3.7 billion in labor income in FY 2001.

The researcher cautions that the figures in his study are conservative, noting that the actual economic impact of the University System of Georgia is much higher than his report reflects, because it does not factor in such figures as spending by people who visit USG campuses to attend meetings, athletic events and reunions; spending by USG retirees who have remained in the region; and income earned by USG employees through consulting and other activities.

The complete report is available on the University System's website at www.usg.edu under the 'Publications' link.

This page last modified on: Friday, 05 November 2004 15:44:24 -0500 by University Relations    

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