For more than a century, Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College (ABAC) has provided unique, hands-on learning opportunities in agricultural studies. Through the years, ABAC’s academic offerings have expanded to include bachelor’s degrees in arts and sciences, nursing and health sciences, and business.
The SANR offers Bachelor of Science degree programs in agribusiness, agricultural communication, agricultural education, agriculture, environmental horticulture, and natural resource management.
Combined with its small class sizes and quality instruction, SANR students benefit from various outdoor learning laboratories, including the J.G. Woodroof Farm, a 400-acre working farm with cultivated and grazing land, turfgrass and research plots, and greenhouse and nursery facilities.
“In these learning environments, students receive practical, hands-on experience,” says Dr. Mark Kistler, Dean of SANR. “This helps them grasp the concepts and principles taught in the classroom. They can put actual theory into practice. The result is a well-rounded, work-ready graduate.” READ MORE
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Before her tenure as president concluded on April 29, she wrote the song "Giving Work a Good Name" to pay honor to technical workers that keep America's economy moving. Serving as Wiregrass Tech's unofficial anthem, the chorus sums it up:
"We are the new collar, we're on the frontline;
Bringing home the big dollars, putting in our time;
We're small-town scholars giving work a good name; that's our claim to fame."
The lyrics not only represent the tireless efforts of the technical workforce but are also a glimpse into Anderson's professional drive to give "work a good name."
"Our mission is workforce development," says Anderson, who served as president of Wiregrass for eight years. "Every day, we get up and come to work with the thoughts: How are we training people? How are we educating students to go into businesses and fulfill the jobs that they need?" READ MORE
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Bimbo QSR, a subsidiary of Mexican multinational company Grupo Bimbo, will invest more than $25 million in opening a food processing facility in Valdosta, delivering 74 jobs to Lowndes County.
The facility will produce bread-based buns for customers across the Southeastern United States. With more than 37 bakeries located across more than 21 countries, Bimbo QSR produces several different types of hamburger, hot dog, and sandwich buns for quick-service restaurant (QSR) customers around the world and has proudly been serving the QSR industry for more than 65 years.
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The Georgia General Assembly, during the final hours of the 2021 Legislative Session, approved a $27.2 billion state budget that includes $12.4 million in bond funds for the Performing Arts Center project. State leaders previously secured $1.3 million in design funding for the project last year. The remaining $5 million comes from private donations raised by VSU Foundation Inc.
“This is a great day for our university, our community, and our region,” says Dr. Richard A. Carvajal, president of VSU. “The Performing Arts Center project reflects VSU’s unwavering commitment to leading development in and serving as a resource for the arts in South Georgia and is sure to have a positive impact on community and economic development efforts across our region. We know this project will also allow Peach State Summer Theatre to fully live up to its role as Georgia’s Official Musical Theatre and to make Valdosta a tourism destination each year.”
The proposed Performing Arts Center will be located adjacent to VSU’s Rea and Lillian Steele North Campus, in the area formerly known as Ashley Cinemas near the intersection of Ashley Street and Northside Drive. It will feature more than 36,000 square feet of performance, rehearsal, instructional, and office space for the VSU Theatre area, as well as ample surface parking and enhanced visibility and accessibility to residents and visitors in the greater Valdosta community. READ MORE
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DeAnnia Clements Appointed Interim President of Wiregrass Tech |
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Clements has more than 20 years of experience at TCSG, whose career in technical education began as an adjunct instructor for South Georgia Technical College in 1999. She would become a Computer Information Systems Instructor for East Central Technical College that later merged to become Wiregrass Georgia Technical College in 2010. Throughout the years, Clements became Dean of Professionals Services and Dean of Allied Health, Associate Vice President for Academic Affairs, and Vice President for Academic Affairs at Wiregrass Georgia Tech.
Clements holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in English from Valdosta State University and a Masters in Computer Information Systems from Georgia Southwestern State University. She received the Wiregrass Georgia Technical College Lewis I Brinson Leadership award in 2016 and serves on various community boards, accreditation teams, and workforce development efforts in the college’s 11-county service area.
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Jonathan Lupo Named President & CEO of Waycross-Ware Development Authority |
“The authority was looking for a professional in the economic development field to take us to the next level of creating and retaining jobs in our community,” according to James Willis, chair of the WWDA and area manager for Georgia Power Company. “Jonathan brings a wealth of knowledge and contacts with him. He has worked in two different states, including Georgia, on the state economic development team as well as on the local level. He understands the needs of communities and has a grasp of rural areas as well.”
Lupo most recently served as director of business recruitment for the Douglas County Development Authority in Douglasville, Georgia. His most notable new business wins in Douglas County included Stitch Fix, an e-logistics facility that created 981 net new jobs and BANG Energy, a manufacturing/distribution operation that created 600 jobs. Other positions held by Lupo include international project manager, Office of International Commerce with Louisiana Economic Development; international trade policy and special projects manager, Georgia Department of Economic Development; and an associate with J.L. Morgan Company, Inc., a public affairs and issues management consulting firm.
“In our search for a professional, we utilized the solid foundation the board and Jana Dyke, former leader of the authority, have established for the community,” Willis said. “In the past five years, the WWDA moved from a reorganized economic development entity to one with strong ties to project managers at the state level and site consultants nationwide. There is an existing industry program in place; a website with key information on our available sites; and a structure for operating as an authority. All of these pieces were used to let candidates know about the position and the stability of our organization.”
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A shortage of physicians in rural areas—it’s what brought PCOM South Georgia to Moultrie in 2019.
Although statistics indicate that nearly 41 percent of Georgia’s population lives in rural areas, only 8% of the state’s physicians practice in rural Georgia as noted by the Rural Health Information Hub. And according to the Georgia Board for Physician Workforce, there are about half as many physicians per capita in Georgia’s non-metropolitan areas as compared to its cities. In addition, 17% of physicians in rural Georgia are nearing retirement age based on a study published by Statista.
There are two primary factors contributing to the lack of physicians in rural Georgia: educational loan payback burden and the qualities of rural living, according to Stacie Fairley, Ph.D., assistant professor of microbiology and immunology at PCOM South Georgia. READ MORE
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