GAINESVILLE –Three years is sufficient time to see how well a marriage is working, even when that marriage is between two unique colleges. University of North Georgia President Dr. Bonita Jacobs says the 2013 union of Gainesville State College and North Georgia College and State University is strong.
Jacobs addressed a group of civic, education and business leaders Tuesday afternoon, giving an update on the three-year-old consolidation that created UNG and now encompasses five campuses and over 17,000 students.
“Things are moving much more quickly than I had envisioned,” Jacobs said. “A lot of really good things are happening.”
Jacobs pointed immediately to the opening of UNG’s fifth campus, located in Blue Ridge, as an example of new vistas. “We opened with 21 students (in August 2015) and we have a 100-percent increase for the spring. We expect to have over one-hundred students in the fall.”
Jacobs said all five campuses have been encouraged to retain their unique character. “One of the reasons we’ve been successful at consolidation is we have not tried to make everyone the same; we have honored the traditions and the mission of each.”
Jacobs said system-wide enrollment is up 9.6 per cent, but with that growth comes the inherent challenge of finding facility and faculty to accommodate the increase in student body.
“We added about seventy-five new faculty and staff last year and we’ve asked for considerable more this year,” Jacobs said regarding instructors, but then spoke about future classroom space under consideration at the Gainesville campus where she said growth would be the greatest.
“Unless something goes amiss along the way we anticipate that that property will be used for expansion of the Gainesville campus,” Jacobs said about neighboring Lanier Tech’s plan to move to a location along Ga. 365 in northern Hall County.
“We’re meeting with Lanier Tech leadership next week and actually doing a walk-thru,” Jacobs said.
When asked about the need for on-campus housing at the Gainesville location Jacobs said, “I get that question a lot. I do believe it is coming but I think it will be a while.”
Growth is happening, it’s a sign something is alive, but “growth-for-growth’s-sake” is not the objective according to Jacobs.
"We have shaped a new institution that has a bigger voice and presence in the state, and the value of a UNG degree continues to grow as we expand opportunities to make students regionally and globally competitive," Jacobs said.
