STEVE WRIGLEY: Herald column doesn’t tell story of ASU consolidation

At the Board of Regents meeting on May 15, Albany State University was front and center for the University System of Georgia’s Campus Spotlight presentation on blockchain technology. Albany State students, faculty and staff were well-represented and impressed everyone in the room.

In the board meeting, interim ASU President Marion Fedrick kicked off an inspiring showcase of Albany State’s innovation, academic scholarship and commitment to student success. The presentation on blockchain technology featured cutting-edge course work underway in the school’s Department of Mathematics and Computer Science that was developed in partnership with business and industry. The session was capped off by the remarks of two Albany State graduates in computer programming from this spring semester who have already secured jobs with a Fortune 100 company. And the third student, a rising senior, has a summer internship and clearly a promising career ahead after she completes her senior year.

Much work remains to strengthen Albany State, but progress is now being made, and under President Fedrick’s leadership the campus has momentum.

Unfortunately, The Albany Herald’s May 27 opinion piece, “Art Dunning was dealt a bad hand,” is filled with errors and could not be further from reality. Allow me to set the record straight.

For starters, the enrollments for both Albany State University and Darton State College were declining well before the consolidation was announced in November 2015. Part of the enrollment challenge is due to slowing growth in southwest Georgia’s population, especially in college-age prospective students.

Since her arrival, President Fedrick has led the institution’s efforts to modernize and energize the recruitment and enrollment management processes that were long overdue for change, and we are encouraged about Albany State’s progress in this critical area.

In regards to former President Art Dunning, I thank him for his service to Albany State. Dr. Dunning has a long history with the University System. When former president Everette Freeman announced his departure, Dr. Dunning contacted the Board of Regents offering to serve as interim president of Albany State. Once in place at Albany State, Dr. Dunning raised the idea, which was already under consideration, to consolidate Albany State and Darton State, along with being named permanent president. His support was crucial to the decision to move ahead with the consolidation and, ultimately, gaining approval by our regional accreditor.

Since President Fedrick’s arrival, I have made several visits to Albany, and I am encouraged by what I see, what I hear and what I experience. In meetings with faculty, staff and students, it is clear that under President Fedrick’s leadership there is a sense, at last, of progress at Albany State.

Today, Albany State has a new student experience initiative that was designed and launched in partnership with the students themselves. Meanwhile, a comprehensive curriculum redesign is underway. At the May 15 Board of Regents meeting, I was excited to announce that Albany State University will be one of the first of the University System’s 26 institutions to offer one of our new nexus degrees. The system’s nexus degrees are developed to better prepare students for careers in high-demand industries. Albany State’s nexus degree will focus on blockchain technology.

Albany-based Regent Bárbara Rivera Holmes, along with the entire Board of Regents, President Fedrick and I are committed to Albany State’s success. Progress is being made. Albany State and the legacy programs from Darton have many strengths on which to build, but there is also much work to do to establish the kind of higher education presence in southwest Georgia that positively shapes the future of the region.

The opinion piece offered by The Herald clearly is uninformed about many aspects of the consolidation and does a disservice to the hard work underway.

Indeed, this is a momentum year for Albany State University.

Dr. Steve Wrigley

Steve Wrigley is Chancellor of the University System of Georgia.