Gordon College Press

A new era in Gordon College history began on May 16^th when the Board of Regents voted to approve a bachelor’s degree in Early Childhood Education for the previously two-year institution. The process of applying for a change in sector with SACS will follow and the first junior ECE classes are expected to be offered for the Fall 2007 semester.

Gordon’s application for four-year degree programs in Nursing and Liberal Arts are being studied by a committee and a vote by the BOR is currently expected on these programs by the end of the year (perhaps as early as September/October).

Faculty and staff were gathered in Russell 208 to watch a webcast of the BOR meeting in Atlanta and a roar of celebration rose up at 2:05PM as the ECE bachelor’s degree was approved. There surely hasn’t been such a sound heard on campus since GC Theatre put on the play Dracula.

“People don’t know how long and how hard we’ve worked for this day,” Becky Watts, Executive Assistant to the President, said during a small celebration party that was held in Lambdin after the announcement.

Gordon’s new Alumni Coordinator Lynn Yates said, “It’s hard to believe. It’s [becoming a four-year institution] been talked about for 20 to 30 years. Now it’s a reality.”

Dr. Weill said in a statement to the GCPress: “I am very pleased that the Board of Regents has approved our baccalaureate degree in Early Childhood Education. This is a much needed program that I think many students will want to look into. As we look towards additional programs, we will have to see which kinds of degrees and majors fit into the economic realities of the communities we serve. We are excited about this new degree program, and we look forward to the future of Gordon College.”

Faculty and staff packed Russell 208 as Four-Year degree was announced

Professors who made their mark

By Derek Smith

Gordon College is saying goodbye to two of its most beloved professors this spring.

Dr. Luanne Fowler, a thirty-one year veteran of Gordon College, has thoroughly enjoyed her time as a professor. Though she loved learning, a teaching career was not her goal as she graduated from the University of Georgia with a Bachelor's degree in Child Development. When Dr. Fowler inquired about a job at Gordon, there was only one professor of psychology. After enrolling in a graduate program, the position was hers. She later earned Masters' and Doctorate degrees in Educational Psychology from UGA.

Upon retirement, Dr. Fowler plans to devote more time to church work, gardening, and reading. A longtime dream of hers is to become fluent in Spanish, which will probably come in handy as traveling is another thing she would like to do more of in the future.

When Dr. Rhonda Morgan arrived at Gordon in Fall 1978, there were only 1,000 students enrolled at the school. Working in Directory Assistance at Southern Bell at the time, she had planned on working her way up the company ladder. Even after Dr. Morgan had started work at GC in response to an ad for a part-time , professor, her long-term focus was at Southern Bell, not a career in education. But being asked three times to stay on as a full-time professor by the Dean of GC, she realized that teaching was what she wanted to do.

Possessing five degrees, including a doctorate in Business Education from UGA, Dr. Morgan cites Environment of Business and Criminal Justice classes as her favorite courses to teach. One of the biggest events of Dr. Morgan's career at GC, she says, was the welcome change that came with the retirement of long-time GC President He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named in 2000.

A mini-highlight for the coffee lover was the introduction of Starbucks coffee in the Instructional Complex: "Something I never thought would happen at Gordon."

Reflecting on the end of her full-time career at Gordon (She'll return in the Fall as a part-time professor):

"It's been a very good career for me. It's a job I don't mind getting up in the morning for. Students need something like that in their lives. You spend so many hours of your life working; you should try to do something that you'll enjoy. I hope I have left a legacy - a legacy in teaching for my students and in my personal life for my children.

Dr. Fowler

Dr. Morgan

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Mrs. Pat Brown, chair of the division of Nursing and Health Sciences, is retiring after the end of the summer semester. Mrs. Brown was instrumental in making Gordon's nursing division the outstanding success that it is today. An article profiling Mrs. Brown will appear online shortly.

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