Regents approve key projects for Georgia College, FVSU
By Jennifer Burk - jburk@macon.com

CARROLLTON --Georgia College & State University received authorization Wednesday to move forward with the purchase and renovation of Milledgeville's downtown Campus Theatre.

The Board of Regents, which oversees the state's 35 public institutions, approved the project at its scheduled meeting at the University of West Georgia in Carrollton. The project was part of a seven-project list to be funded through a pooled bond issuance by the Georgia Higher Education Facilities Authority.

Also included on the approved list was a student center and stadium project at Fort Valley State University.

The Georgia College project is planned to convert the 21,000-square-foot art deco Campus Theatre into a bookstore and black box theater.

The estimated cost of the project is $6.9 million, and it is expected to be funded through tenant rental and retail sales revenue, according to University System of Georgia documents.

The bonds should be sold by the end of the year, and then the university can complete the purchase of the building and hire people to do the work, Georgia College President Dorothy Leland said.

"We're ready to go," she said.

The Fort Valley State project is for the renovation of its student center and stadium. Renovations to the 26,800-square-foot student center will include creating a multipurpose student activity center. Renovations to the stadium will include the bleachers, press box and associated spaces, according to system documents.

The $13 million project is expected to be paid for by student fees, according to system documents.

Also at the meeting, regents approved the termination of 12 degree programs at Fort Valley State, mostly in education, that have had consistently low or no student enrollments over a period of at least three years.

Termination was approved for a variety of cooperative associate programs with Middle Georgia Technical College as well.

The terminated education programs, which included a bachelor of science in education with a major in early childhood education and a bachelor of science with a major in secondary teacher education, haven't been active or had any graduates since 2004, said Judy Carter, dean of Fort Valley State's College of Education.

That year, the Georgia Professional Standards Commission, which oversees teacher education in the state, placed the College of Education on probation for not meeting state requirements.

The college is in the process of bringing back baccalaureate programs in early childhood/special education and school counseling, as well as a master's degree in middle grades education and a post baccalaureate program, Carter said.

Fort Valley State now offers degrees in middle grades and agriculture education, she said.

I wonder what the timeline is on these projects?