TODAY'S ISSUE
New Gwinnett college president gives views on new position
By Dr. Dan Kaufman
President
Yet Unnamed Four-Year College in Gwinnett
For GwinnettForum.com

(Editor's Note: Here is an edited version of the essence of the remarks by Dr. Dan Kaufman at the welcome reception for him at the Gwinnett University Center on October 4, 2005.-eeb)

OCT. 7, 2005 -- Developing creative, adaptive, intellectually agile students has never been more important than it is today. The challenges of living in a global community require men and women of character who can anticipate and respond effectively to an uncertain and changing world. Education is a critical aspect of achieving that goal. I am confident that the new college in Gwinnett will play an integral role in educating talented men and women and inspiring them to careers as leaders in business, education, and public service.

Dan Kaufman (Photo by Rex Smith)

How will we proceed toward achieving this vision? From the outset, we will work hard to insure that our academic programs effectively educate students to meet the workforce needs of the region. The key to success here is the development of a shared set of objectives, a task that will involve representatives of the college working with community leaders to address specific needs and to acquire resources necessary to accomplish the institution's objectives.

Therefore, the first order of business is to determine the programs we will create both to meet the core academic needs of the University System of Georgia and to address the workplace needs of the regional job market. We will move quickly in four general areas that are important to meeting the needs of region and the state: teacher education, information systems, business, and health services.

One of the most exciting prospects about the new college is that we are in an enviable position that few institutions of higher learning ever experience. We are starting with a blank slate as far as the design and implementation of the operating systems of the college are concerned. Consequently, we have the opportunity not only to create a more efficient institutional design, but also a new learning experience.

Many of our internal operations, such as human resources, accounting, and student financial aid, may well be outsourced to other institutions or to the private sector as we build what is truly the college for the 21st Century, thus saving taxpayer dollars and instituting what we hope will be the model for modern college administration and operation.

Equally important, we have a wonderful opportunity to exploit the confluence of technology, learning, and student success. The hallmark of the new college in Gwinnett will be innovation and creativity, particularly in the use of educational technology. We will offer traditional classroom courses, to be sure, but we also will develop an exciting blend of "hybrid" courses and on-line learning experiences whereby students will learn at home, in the classroom, and in the office using the Web and enhanced classroom solutions.

These thoughts reflect my vision for the future of this remarkable new state college in Gwinnett. All of us associated with the new college owe a great deal of thanks to a forward thinking Board of Regents, our state legislators and statewide elected officials, and most of all to a vibrant community that expressed its overwhelming and continuous support for this institution of higher education. I am absolutely confident that by continuing to work together we can make the new college all that we want it to be-one that combines technology and learning to make student success exciting and productive, and one of which the citizens of Gwinnett and all of Georgia can be justifiably proud.

Kathryn and I are proud to be a part of this exciting adventure, and we look forward to sharing the experience with all of you.

Thank you, and Go Gwinnett!

ELLIOTT BRACK
What if Gwinnett Junior College was approved back in 1970?
By Elliott Brack
Editor and Publisher
GwinnettForum.com

OCT. 7, 2005 -- Establishment of a four year college in Gwinnett is historic, yes, but perhaps more than you realize. Now that Dan Kaufman is on board as the new college president, we anticipate the pace of activities will pick up considerably.

Recognize that there have been no new state-supported college established in Georgia since 1970. That's a period of 35 years, and interestingly, the Gwinnett college is the 35th institution for the Board of Regents.

Gwinnett was seeking its own junior college at the Board of Regents meeting that same year, back in 1970. Other communities in Georgia were competing to get a college in their areas. Where I lived then, in Jesup, its Chamber, as in Gwinnett, was making a proposal to land a junior college.

Neither Gwinnett nor Jesup won the day with their proposals in 1970. But out of that meeting, the State Regents established three colleges: in Bainbridge, Waycross and Swainsboro, all dating their state authorization from 1970. The Regents did not authorize another college campus in Georgia until it picked the Lawrenceville site for its 35th campus at its meeting on June 8, 2005.

As an aside, you might recognize that the speaker of the House of Representative back in those days was George L. Smith, who happened to live in Emanuel County, whose county seat in Swainsboro. Politics?

Maybe so. And remember, too, that South Georgia swung a mighty political clout back in 1970 in Georgia. Since then, the speedy growth in North Georgia, led by Gwinnett, has eroded the political power than South Georgia, in general, once commanded.

Yet all this causes a person to wonder…..what if…Gwinnett had been picked as the site of a junior college back in 1970. After all, neighboring Cobb County, which was far more influential statewide in 1970, had landed its own junior college, at Kennesaw, in 1963. And that came even in the face of Cobb County also having another Regents' institution, Southern Tech, within its borders. That college had been started first in 1948, as an "Institute" of Georgia Tech, and got its name changed, interestingly enough in 1970, to Southern Technical Institute.

So to consider, what if Gwinnett had been named the site of even a junior college in 1970? What would its enrollment be today? Already it is anticipated that next fall, the four year Gwinnett school will enroll perhaps as many as 8,000 students! (Today the Gwinnett University Center has altogether 8,400 students.)

Look at Kennesaw. From its beginning dating from 1963, it now enrolls 17,215 (spring, 2005) students. You might figure that a Gwinnett junior college dating from 1970 would have a similar enrollment.

By the way, the spring, 2005 enrollment at the three other junior colleges begun in 1970: Bainbridge, 2,415; East Georgia (Swainsboro), 1,303; and Waycross, 929.

But that is all "what if…?" In the interim there have been tremendous technological advancements. The Gwinnett four year college is primed to take advantage of these developments, in the words of Dr. Kaufman, to "one that combines technology and learning to make student success exciting and productive, and one of which the citizens of Gwinnett and all of Georgia can be justifiably proud.."

We suspect Dan Kaufman is right on what will happen with this newest of the Regent's campuses. We look forward with great anticipation!

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McLEMORE'S WORLD
10/7: Employment desk

Another great cartoon from Bill McLemore:

FEEDBACK
10/7: Trip to Vermont results in several comparisons to South

Editor, the Forum:

We just got back from a week in the "People's Republic of Vermont," home of avowed socialist Congressman Bernie Sanders, Howlin' Howard Dean and other assorted left-wingers. Where do they find those guys ?

The people seemed surprisingly normal, polite, even friendly. They talked a little funny but generally seemed okay.

We flew into Burlington, where Bernie was once mayor. It was around $130 roundtrip. It used to cost about six bucks when I worked for Eastern Airlines; I miss that job!

The whole area is beautiful, even though the leaves had barely started to turn. No traffic, very rural. I always wonder in such places as Vermont, Idaho, or all over the Canadian Rockies, really any rural area, where do people work ? Those places are gorgeous but seem deficient in industry.

We drove some 1,600 miles in an Avis rental "caah" as they called them, a "laahge" Cadillac DeVille with a New York tag. Car rental places seem to have removed the rental company stickers, maybe because of robberies in Miami a few years back, in which tourists were targeted. People kept asking us what part of New York we were from. Those folks love the Boston Red Sox; good for them. They waited a long time for the championship. What a shame Ted Williams didn't live to see it.

The Waffle House could make a killing in New England. They're better than any of the places we dined. A couple of Chinese places were fair, but nowhere near as good as China Express here. I don't think Dairy Queen was even there. Burlington has a Longhorn Steakhouse; that would've been great but nobody was hungry at the time. Overall the food was bland to a 65-year old Southern boy like me. But that has been true most places I've been----a tradeoff. I'm curious as to how Southern food would go over there. Much better food in Georgia; no comparison, cheaper here also. I didn't say any of that while there, being two-faced, I guess.

Good quote here from my favorite national columnist, Joseph Sobran (sobran.com), on the Iraq war (he's against it): "Pretending the debate can be reduced to two obviously partisan 'sides' oversimplifies the issues and leaves no room for independent reflection."

-- Marshall Miller, Lilburn

(Dear Marshall: I know this sounds simplified, but I think this is sound: in most rural areas, people farm. There are few industrial jobs. Just compare in South Georgia.-eeb.)

10/7: Questions comparison in column about American Revolution

Editor, the Forum:

I have read your column three times today and I'm still confused by your comparison of the Iraqi conflict and the American Revolution. At some points it seemed you were comparing the current American Armed Forces to the British. Surely that couldn't be the case because then your implication would be the Continental Army would be compared to the Iraqi terrorists.

I may not be a student of the American Revolution but I don't believe members of the Continental Army killed and maimed their fellow colonists. I'm sure they didn't employ suicide bombers as tactical pawns. The Continental Army was poorly equipped and employed unusual tactics but they were a far cry from the murderers, rapists and thug terrorists whom people of your ilk choose to call rebels.

But you know it's highly probable that I was confused today because I didn't understand the column on erosion either.

-- Patrick Malone, Snellville

(Dear Patrick: Whenever you have to explain a thought, you realize you could have done a better job. Yep, comparing US Forces in Iraq to British here. But not: not comparing Colonial forces to maiming, but to them fighting on "their own" land, and having certain advantages. -eeb)

UPCOMING
Auto registration online to be shut down this weekend

Gwinnett County Tax Commissioner Katherine Sherrington says that due to major system modifications, the state's Georgia Registration And Titling Information System, or "GRATIS," will be unavailable statewide beginning at 5 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 7, 2005 through at least Monday, Oct. 10 (Columbus Day Holiday). Officials expect it to be available at the start of business Tuesday morning, Oct. 11, 2005.

Tag Offices will be unable to process any vehicle title and registration transactions while the GRATIS system is unavailable. Although the state plans to have GRATIS up and running by Tuesday, Oct. 11, it is possible the outage could last longer than planned.

Since the Tax Commissioner's Tag Offices cannot process tag and title transactions without GRATIS, customers are encouraged to plan ahead and try to avoid visiting Tag Offices during this outage. Customers who do visit a Tag Office may drop off tag renewal paperwork with their payment, and renewal tags will be mailed.

County to auction off surplus equipment on October 14

Used equipment, office machines, and furniture no longer needed in Gwinnett County facilities will be disposed of at a public auction on Saturday, Oct. 15. Bidding begins at 10 a.m.

The auction will be held at the County Fleet Management facility at 620 Swanson Drive in Lawrenceville. Prospective bidders can preview the items there on Friday, Oct. 14, from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. and on auction day from 8 a.m. to 10 a.m.

Payment for purchases must be cash, cashier's check or a check accompanied by a bank guarantee. County employees will not receive preferential treatment. Questions about the items or the auction itself should be directed to Wayne Evans Auction Company, Inc. at 1-800-282-8460 or www.weaci.com.

RECOMMENDATION

• An invitation: What Web sites, books or restaurants have you enjoyed? Send us your best recent visit to a restaurant or most recent book you have read along with a short paragraph as to why you liked it, plus what book you plan to read next. --eeb
  
  
  

GEORGIA TIDBIT
October activities begin with Bartram in history of Georgia

In 1765 John and William Bartram, discovered a small grove of trees with white flowers along the southern reaches of the Altamaha River; the species became commonly known as the Franklin tree. In October, 1832, the Georgia land lottery, in which plots of Cherokee land were parceled out to white settlers, began in Milledgeville. The legislation creating Georgia's first official state flag was passed by Governor Alfred Colquitt in 1879.

Flowers found by Bartrams

The Georgia Institute of Technology opened in October 1888. Troops began arriving at a new military camp outside Columbus, which would later be called Fort Benning, in 1918. The Atlanta Symphony Orchestra premiered on October 7, 1923, with 60 players. In 1947, the state of Georgia purchased Jekyll Island, which subsequently became Jekyll Island State Park.

Rebecca Latimer Felton, a Cartersville resident and woman suffrage activist, was the first woman in the U.S. Senate; she was appointed on October 3, 1922, to fill a vacant seat until a special election could be held. In 1924 Franklin D. Roosevelt, seeking a cure for his paralysis after an attack of polio in 1921, made his first visit to Warm Springs.

In 1964, civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. became the youngest Nobel Peace Prize recipient in history. In 2002, former U.S. president Jimmy Carter also won the award, setting a record for the most Nobel Peace Prize recipients from one state. Both men donated their prize money to further the cause of peace.

Notable Georgians born in October include: Cherokee chief John Ross (1790); Confederate general William J. Hardee (1815); lawyer and historian Charles C. Jones Jr. (1831); folk artist Harriet Powers (1837); educator David C. Barrow Jr. (1852); Girl Scout founder Juliette Gordon Low (1860); educator Martha Berry (1866); football coach John Heisman (1869); businessman James V. Carmichael (1910); judge and politician Griffin Bell (1918); U.S. president Jimmy Carter (1924); baseball player Eddie Mathews (1931); politician and diplomat Wyche Fowler (1940); novelist Pat Conroy (1945); and boxing champion Evander Holyfield (1962).

• To access the Georgia Encyclopedia, go to http://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org
  
  

THOUGHT OF THE DAY
"Working poor" also contribute as philanthropists

"When someone works for less pay than she can live on---when, for example, she goes hungry so that you can eat more cheaply and conveniently---then she has made a great sacrifice for you, she has made you a gift of some part of her abilities, her health, and her life. The 'working poor,' as they are approvingly termed, are in fact the major philanthropists of our society. They neglect their own children so that the children of others will be cared for; they live in substandard housing so that other homes will be shiny and perfect; they endure privation so that inflation will be low and stock prices high. To be a member of the working poor is to be an anonymous donor, a nameless benefactor, to everyone else."

-- Author Barbara Ehrenreich, in Nickel and Dimed.

• Another invitation: What's your favorite saying? Share with others through GwinnettForum. Send to elliott@gwinnettforum.com.
  

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