University of North Georgia President Bonita Jacobs addressed faculty and staff Friday morning during the annual State of the University address, which kicked off the university's 150th-anniversary celebration.
The address focused on UNG's accomplishments over the past 150 years and its plans for the near and far future.
Jacobs started by reviewing UNG's history, dating back to January 1873, when North Georgia Agricultural College first opened its doors. Since that time, the University has grown and underdone change, such as the consolidation of North Georgia College & State University and Gainesville State College in 2013. Jacobs said UNG has been on a positive trajectory ever since the consolidation.
"We have become a leading public regional university that is a driving force for educational attainment and economic development," Jacobs said.
Since 2013, UNG's enrollment has grown 23%, to about 19,000 students. Also, this year, the U.S. News & World Report has ranked UNG as the number one best value school and the number one best college for veterans among public regional universities in Georgia.
The University has also implemented a series of initiatives in the wake of challenges from the COVID-19 pandemic as well as during a tricky economic period. For example, Jacobs said UNG initiated a five-year strategic enrollment management plan in spring 2021 to attract, enroll and retain students.
Jacobs reviewed a series of other recent accomplishments in her address, which can be viewed here.
The address comes less than two weeks after the announcement that Jacobs will be retiring as president of UNG in June 2023. In an interview with AccessWDUN, Jacobs said it was a good time to step away from the role.
"It's a good point because we are in a really, really good place right now as an institution," Jacobs said. "That will complete 12 years for me, and it's time to look at reading some things besides emails, and having some time to travel and to do some things that I want to do. It has been a very, very busy time for 12 years, and I've loved every minute of it."
When asked what she was most proud of during her time as president of the institution, Jacobs said she was proud of what UNG had become.
"The fact that we consolidated well, we've expanded degrees, we've expanded our reach, our military cadet program is doing so well, our alums are more in touch than they have been in the past," Jacobs said.
In the meantime, Jacobs said she was anticipating celebrating the university's 150th anniversary ahead of her retirement.
AccessWDUN's full interview with Jacobs can be viewed at the video above this story. Her full State of the University address can be viewed at this link.
