COX: Thank you, Georgia General Assembly

Published 8:00 am Tuesday, April 23, 2024

The 2024 Georgia General Assembly session has just wrapped up and I want to say a big thank you to our local legislators who worked hard from the first day of the session to the very last to help Georgia College & State University (GCSU) — and other institutions in our community — obtain funding for much-needed building renovation funds.

Rep. Ken Vance, Rep. Mack Jackson and Sen. Rick Williams were our champions in working through the state budgeting process to obtain a total of $16.5 million for a much-needed renovation of our 1950s era science building, Herty Hall. They gained the support of House and Senate Budget Chairmen, Rep. Matt Hatchett of Dublin and Sen. Blake Tillery of Vidalia, to add the needed funds to the initial funding proposed by Gov. Brian Kemp.

With these funds, we will be able to update and upgrade the laboratories in the building along with many classrooms and office spaces, reorganize the maze of hallways that make the building a challenge to maneuver, and provide better ADA access throughout. Our strong science and nursing programs and our campus at large will benefit tremendously from this renovation project.

I am grateful for the support and the attention that these gentlemen provide to GCSU and our campus needs, knowing they have many demands on their time. We’ve already begun the design-phase of this project, so with this funding, we will be able to start the actual renovations in the coming fiscal year.

Cathy Cox

President

Georgia College & State University