Gordon College (Georgia)

This article is about the public college in the United States. For other institutions with the same name, see Gordon College (disambiguation).

Gordon College
Seal of Gordon College
Established	1852
Type	Public
President	Shelly Nickel
Students	5,000[1]
Location	Barnesville, Georgia, United States
Colors	Navy blue, white, yellow
Nickname	Highlanders
Affiliations	University System of Georgia
Website	www.gdn.edu

Gordon College, a four-year state college in the University System of Georgia, is located in Barnesville, Georgia. Gordon's college year is made up of three 15-week academic semesters: fall, spring, and summer. Enrollment at Gordon College for the 2010 fall semester is around 4,500 students,^[2] with around 800 living on campus. The college campus has 28 buildings and incorporates 125 acres (51 hectares), which includes an indoor swimming facility, ropes course, walking trail, basketball courts, tennis courts, soccer field and racquetball courts.

History

Gordon College was initially founded in 1852 as The Male and Female Seminary, a private school for higher education of boys and girls. Though church-sponsored, it was not a seminary in the usual sense. During the American Civil War, boys were organized into a corps of cadets. Girls continued to attend but were never included in military programs.

In 1872, the school was renamed Gordon Institute to honor Georgia native and former CSA General John B. Gordon, and its scope was extended to the elementary grades. In 1890, J. C. Woodward, who later founded Georgia Military Academy was hired to start a military program. In 1907, the name changed to Gordon College. In 1916 the U.S. Department of War named Gordon College a junior military unit. In 1928, Gordon added the first two years of college to its program. In 1933 the state of Georgia offered the former Georgia Industrial College campus to Gordon College. The high school and junior college departments moved to the new campus, while the elementary school moved into the former high school building. Gordon College was known as Gordon Military College from the mid-1930s until 1972.

In the 1950s, ownership of the school passed to the city of Barnesville, which consolidated its government-funded public schools for Whites in Grades 8-12, while continuing to bus Colored students to racially segregated Lamar County schools. City girls were enrolled as regular students. City boys were permitted to opt out of military participation, but almost all were organized into a corps of cadets under military discipline. Military cadets from other places were permitted to enroll by paying tuition; many attracted by low tuition rates came from Latin America, including Puerto Rico and the Puerto Rican migration to New York.

Gordan had severe financial problems in the 1960s; in 1970 the trustees approached the state about making the college part of the university system. The secondary school was separated and the cadet corps disbanded, and on July 2, 1972, Gordon Military College officially became part of the University System of Georgia as Gordon Junior College, an associate-level college. In 1986 "junior" was dropped from the school's name as Gordon began to offer some undergraduate courses.

In 2006, Gordon was designated a four-year state college, and currently offers six bachelor's degree programs.

Academics

Gordon College currently offers a bachelor's degree in Early Childhood Education, Biology, English, History, Mathematics, and Nursing. The degrees in Biology, English, History, and Mathematics also offer a teacher certification track. In the near future the school plans to introduce additional bachelor's degree programs to meet the demands of quality in education that Central Georgia seeks.

Gordon College continues to offer associate degrees, most of which will transfer, in the following fields of study: Business Administration, Criminal Justice, History, Information Systems, Political Science, Psychology, Secretarial Science or Office Administration, Social Work, Sociology, Teacher Education, Art, English, Foreign Language, General Studies, Music, Theatre, Agriculture and Environmental Sciences, Astronomy, Biological Sciences and Biology, Chemistry, Computer Science, Dental Hygiene, Forestry, Horticulture, Mathematics, Medical Technology, Occupational Therapy, Physical Science, Physical Therapy, Physician Assistant, Physics, Pre-Pharmacy and Respiratory Therapy.

Athletics

Gordon College competes in the Georgia Junior College Athletic Association and the National Junior College Athletic Association. The college fields teams in men's and women's soccer, women's tennis, a baseball team, a softball team, men's and women's cross country, and men's and women's basketball. The school has club wrestling, which competes in the NCWA, and a club swim team.

There is a wide variety of intramural sports to participate in: soccer, kickball, basketball, flag football, volleyball, and softball.

Before the 1980s, the athletic teams at Gordon were the Bulldogs. Through the mid-1980s, Gordon's teams were known as the "Generals," a nod to General Gordon. Due to concern about Confederate symbolism, the teams are now called the Highlanders to tie the Gordon name to a Scottish Highlands heritage.

Notable alumni

• Richard B. Russell Jr.
• Rufus C. Harris
• Prentice Miller, dean of alumni at Emory University

References

1. ^ "Semester Enrollment Report" (PDF). Office of Research and Policy Analysis. University System of Georgia. 2007-11-12. http://www.usg.edu/research/students/enroll/fy2008/fall07.pdf. Retrieved 2007-12-23. 
2. ^ [1]

External links

• Gordon College Website
• New Georgia Encyclopedia