EDITORIAL: What does the merger of Albany State and Darton State mean to the community?

Friday’s revelation that the chancellor of the University System of Georgia will recommend Tuesday that Albany State University and Darton State College consolidate into a single university should have been a surprise only in the timing.

Still, when the story broke on albanyherald.com by our education writer, Terry Lewis, there were many in the community who were shocked. And the obvious question was on the lips — and fingertips — of many:

What does this mean to the community and to Southwest Georgia?

As we have said before, the devil always is in the details, and there weren’t many immediately available. Assuming that the Board of Regents accepts Chancellor Hank Huckaby’s recommendation, what we do know is this:

— The consolidated university would be named Albany State University;

— The consolidated university would have nearly 9,000 students at current student levels at ASU and Darton;

— ASU President Art Dunning would remove “interim” from his title and lead the combined university, while current interim Darton President Paul Jones heads to his next assignment as president of Fort Valley State University;

— A team with representatives from both ASU and Darton would be formed to work out the details of consolidation;

— Listening sessions would be conducted on the campuses and in the community to get comments and input on the new university.

Beyond that, we have Huckaby’s assurance that the project is designed to “increase educational attainment levels, student success and transform how the University System impacts Southwest Georgia,” and that it is “a long-term investment in the region.”

It also may add some illumination to the recent decision by ASU to suspend some degree programs now on that campus, since it would make sense for certain degree areas to be located together on one or the other campus. This long-range plan likely impacted the decision not to include an auditorium in the new building the Regents approved for the ASU campus. ASU also may find that its plans to vacate 80 to 90 percent of the buildings on its lower campus adjacent to the Flint River and create green-space will be accelerated.

And we also know this: Both ASU and Darton are seeing declining student populations. While at current levels, as we said, the student population would be nearly 9,000 for a consolidated Albany State University, year-to-year enrollment at the two schools dropped from fall 2014 to fall 2015 by a combined 570 students, or 6 percent. Declining student populations and a need to ensure state finances are spent in the best way possible are strong motivators for finding a more efficient model for delivering higher education in an area.

What has to come out of this, however, is improvement and opportunity for growth. The young adults in Southwest Georgia deserve every advantage that young adults in others areas of the state have when it comes to education. Regardless of what the final landscape of higher education in Albany and Southwest Georgia looks like, the result has to be one that benefits the students and residents of Southwest Georgia.

— The Albany Herald Editorial Board