Special events planned to mark GSC-NGCSU merger

DAHLONEGA - As the formal consolidation of Gainesville State College (GSC) and North Georgia College & State University (NGCSU) nears, plans are underway for campus-based events on Jan. 10 to mark the beginning of a new era as the schools become the University of North Georgia. The consolidation is set to be ratified two days earlier by the Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia (USG).

On Thursday, Jan. 10, the university s president, Bonita C. Jacobs, will visit each campus to host the pep rally-style events for students, faculty, staff, and community members. The rolling tour of campuses will begin in Dahlonega at 8 a.m. at NGCSU's Memorial Hall Gymnasium. Stops will follow at the GSC Oconee Campus in Watkinsville at 10:45 a.m. in room 522, at the Gainesville campus Student Center at 1:30 p.m., and in Cumming at 4 p.m. in the center s community room. The events will feature brief presentations by Jacobs and community dignitaries, refreshments and small giveaways to commemorate the event.

Officials from the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACS), the Southeast s accrediting organization for higher education, announced approval of the prospectus submitted by the new institutions during the SACS annual meeting in Dallas earlier this month.

USG Chancellor Hank Huckaby announced his consolidation plan in August of 2011, and the regents approved six principles for consolidation in November of that year.

At its January 2012 meeting the regents approved the recommendations to consolidate eight institutions into four schools, and working groups on the campuses and at the system office then began the complex process of consolidation.

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