05 LC 98
0700
Senate
Resolution 445
By:
Senators Butler of the 55th, Miles of the 43rd, Adelman of the 42nd, Jones of
the 10th and Henson of the 41st
A
RESOLUTION
Honoring
and commending Dr. Jacquelyn M. Belcher, outgoing president of Georgia Perimeter
College; and for other purposes.
WHEREAS,
Dr. Jacquelyn M. Belcher was the first minority president of a nonminority
institution and the first minority female president in the University System of
Georgia; and
WHEREAS,
under Dr. Belcher´s leadership, Georgia Perimeter College has transformed
from a localized community college into a vibrant urban institution of higher
education that boasts an enrollment of more than 21,000 students yet still
maintains its small campus, hometown college appeal; and
WHEREAS,
Dr. Belcher has helped to define the mission of Georgia Perimeter College as
placing learning first in order to provide accessible and affordable high
quality undergraduate credit and noncredit programs for students seeking to
complete an associate degree, transfer to a senior college or university,
prepare for immediate entry into a career, pursue personal goals or enhance
workplace skills, and express the college´s stated purpose to the Atlanta
community; and
WHEREAS,
under this mission, Georgia Perimeter College offers a curriculum that
specializes in liberal arts and professional preparation, promotes international
and intercultural understanding, and serves the broader community as an
educational, cultural, and economic resource; and
WHEREAS,
Dr. Belcher has assembled an administrative team that has significantly impacted
the college´s growth, creating plans and funds for new campuses and
immensely increasing scholarships, community partnerships, academic resources,
and faculty development; and
WHEREAS,
she has vastly expanded the Georgia Perimeter College Foundation and Alumni
Association, making them fully operational with expanded membership, many more
donors, and increased discretionary funds; and she has established a grants
office that has greatly augmented funding for student and faculty needs;
and
WHEREAS,
Dr. Belcher has presided over an academic team that continually reviews the
curriculum and adds new programs to address the needs of the communities served
by the college, including the proliferation of partnerships between hospitals
and the college´s nursing program to address Georgia´s nursing
shortage; and
WHEREAS,
she has so improved the quality of educational services at Georgia Perimeter
College that the college received an outstanding reaccreditation report from the
Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, a commendation, and only ten
recommendations for improvement, an almost unheard-of superior rating;
and
WHEREAS,
during her tenure, the college has provided the largest number of transfers to
the University of Georgia, Georgia Tech, and Georgia State; and its joint
enrollment program has been the largest in the state with some students
receiving their associate degree in the same year they graduate from high
school; and
WHEREAS,
becoming a first-choice institution because of quality, multiple locations,
cost, and access to senior institutions in the University System of Georgia and
undertaking ambitious physical expansions, Georgia Perimeter College has
experienced a phenomenal burst of enrollment under Dr. Belcher´s skillful
leadership; and
WHEREAS,
as a result of her tireless efforts, the college´s name is associated
locally, statewide, nationally, and internationally with excellence, innovation,
and community outreach; and
WHEREAS,
she established an award-winning annual Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Birthday
Celebration that brings together diverse communities to celebrate and recommit
to the legacy of Dr. King, furthering social justice and community service;
and
WHEREAS,
she has seized the opportunity and responsibility to build P-16 programs to form
a seamless transition for high school students entering college and has actively
encouraged diversity among students, faculty, and staff as evidenced by a
current enrollment that includes students from approximately 140 nations and
with 54 percent of students and 28 percent of faculty of minority background;
and
WHEREAS,
she has expanded the college´s athletics program, which has won five
national championships and a national runner-up trophy, and has encouraged a
culture among the coaching staff that promotes student-athletes in the classroom
and the development of life skills as well as skills on the playing field;
and
WHEREAS,
she has met the challenge of major changes at Georgia Perimeter College,
reorganizing the college governance structure to provide full service campuses
with chief operating officers, or provosts, on each campus, resulting in the
flexibility to meet the needs of the individual communities and students at each
location with unique strategies while allowing widespread participation in
policy development, decision making, budgeting, priority development, and
strategic planning; and
WHEREAS,
under her tenure, the college has amplified its role as a major employer,
providing 7,338 jobs, and an important component of the Atlanta metropolitan
economy with a total economic output of $820.7 million; and
WHEREAS,
as a result of her outstanding management over the past decade, Georgia
Perimeter College will continue to grow in enrollment, reputation, program
availability, and many other areas of excellence while continuing to respond to
the emerging needs of the communities it serves; and
WHEREAS,
because of Dr. Belcher´s dedication, Georgia Perimeter College is prepared
to continue the legacy of the great mission she has established and achieve
recognition as one of the nation´s preeminent two-year
institutions.
NOW,
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE SENATE that the members of this body join in
honoring and commending Dr. Jacquelyn M. Belcher, outgoing president of Georgia
Perimeter College, for her innumerable contributions to improving the quality of
education received in Georgia´s institutions of higher education and extend
their sincere best wishes for her continued success.
BE
IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Secretary of the Senate is authorized and directed
to transmit an appropriate copy of this resolution to Dr. Jacquelyn M. Belcher.