Darton State College, community leaders says farewell to interim President Paul Jones

ALBANY — Darton State College Interim President Paul Jones gave his final farewell at a reception on Thursday in order to embrace the role of Fort Valley State University’s president as Darton begins the early stages of a merger with Albany State University.

Jones was named to the post at Fort Valley State upon approval of the Darton and Albany State merger by the Georgia Board of Regents last month. He is being replaced by Bainbridge State College President Richard Carvajal, who will get a welcoming reception Friday morning at Darton ahead of his official assumption of the post Wednesday.

“I’m very excited,” Jones said. “It’s a little bittersweet. I’m excited to join (the Fort Valley) community and see what we can do to move that community forward.

“Fort Valley is an outstanding institution. … There is a steep learning curve, but I’m ready to move forward.”

Carvajal is expected to serve on the consolidation implementation committee as a representative of Darton as the campus merger process continues over the coming months. Jones was named to the committee, but is stepping down.

On the merger, he noted it would create a wonderful opportunity. He said he was unaware of the decision to merge until shortly before it was announced, something he said he was grateful for because it helped Darton more effectively move forward.

“We are a much better institution than we were two years ago,” he said.

Jones came to Darton after the college’s long-time president, Peter Sireno, resigned in October 2013. Jones was serving as the senior vice president for finance and administration Georgia College and State University when the Board of Regents named him Darton’s interim president.

Among those at the farewell reception were Marine Corps Logistics Base-Albany Commanding Officer Col. James Carroll; Maj. Gen. Craig Crenshaw, commanding general of Marine Corps Logistics Command; Albany State President Art Dunning; Albany Technical College President Anthony Parker; Dougherty County School System Superintendent Butch Mosely; Albany Mayor Dorothy Hubbard; Dougherty County Commission Chair and Darton Foundation Board Chair Chris Cohilas, and Albany Area Chamber of Commerce Interim President/CEO Barbara Rivera Holmes.

Cohilas described Jones as a man with a strong sense of integrity and humility.

“He is a good man, a good husband and an outstanding leader,” he said.

When he took on the role of interim president, Jones said enrollment management, budget accountability and transparency, compensation, governance, and compliance were some the challenges he would tackle while also building on the school’s overall involvement in the community.

Part of a stronger community involvement was the education collaborative that was formed by Jones, Dunning, Parker and Mosely. The goal was, with the help of public input, to work to solve issues in the area related to education — including the dropout rate in Dougherty County.

“We hit it off because all of us are too old to have egos, so we all worked together,” Mosely said of the collaborative.

Jones’ dealt with some bumps in the road. In January 2014, the Board of Regents released a “limited scope audit” of Darton, citing six areas of “material” concern dealing with issues ranging from not properly keeping track of the academic progress of students receiving federal financial aid to improper use of grant money.

“He was honest, and collaborated with staff, faculty and the foundation … to create real changes,” Cohilas said of Jones’ handling of Darton’s challenges.

Jones said he has confidence in Carvajal, who will have the task of leading Darton through consolidation as it transitions into Albany State.

“I’m very confident Richard Carvajal is the right person at the right time … I think he will help the community moving forward,” Jones said. “I hope the community and the media will rally around the decision. (The community) has been given an incredible gift — let’s focus on that.”