Georgia College & State University President Cathy Cox presented the State of the University address on Feb. 3.
Cox began the presentation by highlighting GCSU’s extensive undergraduate research program with some key studies that have occurred over the last year. Some of these highlights included Dr.
Nicholas Creel and his student Gavin Inrocci writing a column for Newsweek about the future of NFTs, Assistant Professor of Biology Dr. Kristine White and student Sally Sir named a new species of amphipod, Assistant Professor of Cell and Molecular Biology Dr.
Arnab Sengupta and her students are studying MRNA in cells to map their folding patterns and studying how cell RNA acts, and much more.
“Our faculty have long embraced undergraduate research as one of our strongest teaching tools to teach students how to solve problems and think critically,” said Cox. “Our ability to attract external funding to support that research will hit an all-time high this year.”
Cox informed the audience that the funding to support undergraduate research has surpassed the fiscal year of 2021 funding. In 2021, $4,098,017 of sponsored research/grants was raised. By Jan. 31 of 2023, $4,172,231 has been raised from sponsored research/grants and five more months still remain for the year.
“But innovation like ours runs far deeper than our structured research programs,” Cox told the audience. “The essence of a liberal arts education like we offer is grounded in the pursuit of new ideas and the discussion and understanding differences that make the world so rich.”
Cox moved into discussing how GCSU has remained innovative and ahead in its pursuit of education. She highlighted John H. Lounsbury College of Education and its new Catherine Everett Thurston Marketplace for Innovative Education, the name change of the J. Whitney Bunting College of Business and Technology to add focus on technological advancements, the launch of the Center of Innovation and Entrepreneurship, and the expansion of the Simulation and Translational Research Center which now occupies an entire wing of the hospital in Milledgeville.
“We are accustomed to changing for the benefit of our students,” said Cox. “For example we just received approval to start our third cohort of nursing last summer which has brought us up to 257 undergraduate nursing students. You add in our 156 graduate and postgraduate nursing students including the USG’s only nurse practitioner Midwifery program and we are one of Georgia’s most essential providers of well-qualified nurses. And from this achievement, we will continue to grow and develop.”
Another featured highlight was GCSU’s newest approach towards mental health. Cox introduced the audience to Kognito, which is a mental health awareness training program. It is designed to help someone recognize signs of stress in another person and initiate respectful conversation. Access to this program is now available for faculty and students on GCSU’s counseling services webpage. Additionally, Cox announced that the next focus QEP will focus on enhancing student learning through the lens of mental health and well-being. The program is currently under development.
“We will continue to have a focus on mental health and well-being for years to come and I am excited we are making this a priority,” said Cox.
Cox continued her presentation to give an insight on GCSU’s new strategic plan. According to her, the strategic planning committee began meeting last spring and planning is still ongoing. The committee has identified five pillars for the plan: innovate, distinguish, engage, empower, and advance. According to Cox, “in the next month or so” GCSU will host two town hall meetings inviting the community to give feedback on these pillars and the strategic plan.
“We want this strategic plan to be a roadmap that moves us from good to great,” said Cox.
Cox highlighted GCSU’s growth once more by presenting its admission numbers. According to Cox’s presentation, completed applications were up by 50%, the number of African American students applying increased by 111%, and latino/hispanic student applications increased by 67%.
“We are at an all-time high for completed applications. That is over 5,000 completed applications,” said Cox. “We are on pace to have our largest first year class around 1,600 to 1,650 students instead of our previous goal of 1,500 students.”
Despite these numbers, however, the University System of Georgia has cut GCSU’s budget for this upcoming year by about eight million dollars due to previously low enrollment numbers. According to Cox, the low enrollment causing this cut was due to the pandemic and the requirement to apply using SAT/ACT scores (which was changed to a waiver system this year). To help balance these cuts, GCSU directed a hiring freeze and is currently doing a critical-hire system on a base-by-base necessity.
“In our budget hearing with the chancellor and the USG budgeting staff, we have asked for a reprieve by asking to manage through this next year with our lapsed and carry-over funds rather than making permanent cuts for temporary enrollment issues,” said Cox. “We will have to wait for the legislative session to end to see how that turns out for the budget of the coming year.”
As the State of the College address closed, Cox highlighted that GCSU has also reached an all-time high in its fouryear graduation rate at 53.27%. According to Cox, that is the third highest rate in the University System of Georgia behind only Georgia Tech and the University of Georgia.
“Friends and colleagues our focus on students’ success, well-being, and as individuals drives everything that we do here,” said Cox. “We have to be nimble and ready to change in order to challenge our students and assure we are equipped for tomorrow.”
To watch the State of the University address, visit https://www.gcsu. edu/president.