Darton State College set to graduate final class as separate institution

ALBANY — Tommy Coleman remembers walking along sheets of plywood to get to class at the newly opened Albany Junior College in the fall of 1966..

“There were 267 students in the first class, and the two years I spent there were probably the best years of my life,” Coleman said.

In 1987, the school was renamed Darton College, and in 2011 the Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia approved Darton’s change to State College status so that a four-year program leading to a bachelor’s degree in Nursing could be developed.

That’s a long way from plywood sidewalks.

But Friday at 7 p.m. at the college’s Cavalier Area, Darton’s graduating class of 2016 will be the last to bear the school’s name. Next month, Darton and Albany State University will become one institution, completing a consolidation project begun in 2015 by the Board of Regents.

“I’ll admit that it’s crossed my mind. I am nostalgic for what we went through in the ’60s, but time marches on,” Coleman said, referring to the college’s final class. “But my grandson is a huge Darton College baseball fan, and we will continue to support Coach (Scott) Hemmings and the program.”

While Coleman represents the old, Brooke Tome of Bainbridge represents the new. She will be among the 650 newly-minted graduates who will walk across the stage on Friday.

“I think that when one door closes, a new door opens,” Tome said when asked about being among the final class to walk. “I’ve been here three years and gotten involved with different school activities. I also got a job as the assistant to the vice president for Student Affairs. I’ve enjoyed my time here.

“I’ll miss Darton, but am excited to see what the new university has in store for us. It’s been an awesome ride.”

Darton’s commencement is just one of three that will be held this week and into the weekend.

Albany State’s 2016 fall commencement ceremony will be held at 10 a.m. Saturday at the Albany Civic Center.

The keynote speaker is Christopher R.L. Blake, president of Middle Georgia State University in Macon, who will address approximately 300 graduates and their families and friends at the ceremony.

Prior to assuming his current role at Middle Georgia State, Blake served as president and professor of education at Mount Mercy University in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, for seven years. As president, he developed a strategic plan that obtained university status, launched graduate programs, expanded off-site campuses and instituted a historic capital campaign.

Albany Tech’s fall commencement exercises will be held on Thursday at 7 p.m. at the Albany Civic Center with keynote speaker Angela Hines-Brown, an early childhood care and education instructor at West Georgia Technical College, and 2016 Rick Perkins Instructor of the Year for the Technical College System of Georgia.

College officials say they expect more than 750 to earn diplomas, degrees or certificates.