Grover J. Andrews serves as Georgia Center associate director for instructional services.
...that the close of 1996 was much more than the end of another year of continuing education activities and programs provided by the Georgia Center for Continuing Education to the citizens of Georgia. December 31, 1996, brought to an end four decades of service to adult learners -- 40 years -- and that's a long, long time.
1997 begins a year of "Celebrating 40 Years of Service..." by the Center which will highlight the many milestones of achievement that have taken place during this time. Stimulated by a grant by the W. K. Kellogg Foundation, the University, the Board of Regents, and the State of Georgia came together to fund and create the Georgia Center for Continuing Education, the first university-based residential adult learning center in the South, and one of only a handful at the time in the nation.
In the first full year of operation, January through December of 1957, the Center held 129 continuing education courses and programs enrolling 14,300 individuals. Groups served represented a wide range of disciplines and professionals, including agriculture, bankers and business, dairy and poultry science, home economics and family life, public school professionals, state and local government officials and professions, flower show judges and garden clubs, and income tax, just to name a few.
Today, the Center annually serves in excess of 70,000 individuals with 1,800 instructional programs. Other continuing education activities, including academic credit courses, cultural events, and administrative meetings accommodate an additional 70,000 annually for a grand total of 140,000, a 10-fold growth since 1957.
In addition to numerical growth in programs and participants, the Center has expanded its services, programs, and facilities in many ways and has become one of the largest and most comprehensive university-based adult continuing education centers in the world. As impressive as the growth data is, what is most impressive is the evolution of the Georgia Center from a physical facility for conferences into a "learning sanctuary" with a distinct "corporate culture," and the transformation of the "Georgia Center" from an on-campus building to a "concept" that represents The University of Georgia continuing education program, delivered wherever it may be needed around the state, the region, the nation, and the world.
The subjects of programs held in and by the Center have not significantly changed over time, except as they reflect the advancements made in the various disciplines and fields of practice. Current delivery and learning systems utilized reflect the development of computers, the Internet, and information technology in general.
Twenty or more of the original groups served in the first year, are still with the Center after 40 years! Throughout 40 years, the mission of the Center has remained constant -- "to serve the learning needs of adults and organizations and to provide leadership in developing the theory and practice of continuing education."
These are just a few of the facts of the first 40 years. In the months ahead, the Center will engage in several activities that highlight and celebrate the many achievements of the past and that focus on its role, scope, and mission for the next century.
In "I've Been Thinking...," we will feature guest writers who will give their own views of the Center of the past, present, and future. These will include Charles B. Knapp, UGA president; S. Eugene Younts, UGA vice president for public service and outreach; and Edward G. Simpson, Jr., UGA associate vice president for public service and outreach and director of the Georgia Center.
When all has been said and done to celebrate 40 years of service, the old adage may still apply, "The more things change, the more they stay the same."
And for the Georgia Center for Continuing Education, I believe the English poet Robert Browning said it best: "... Grow old along with me, the best is yet to be ...."
Web administrator: webmaster@gactr.uga.edu All contents copyright © 1997 University of Georgia Center for Continuing Education. All rights reserved. Last revised: Tue, Mar 18, 1997, 1:08 PM URL: http://www.gactr.uga.edu/GCQ/GCQwin97/ibt.html