President's Blog

In 2020, during the worse days of the COVID-19 Pandemic, many of us were concerned about a sluggish economic recovery or even a recession. To date, we are fortunate that the initial recovery has been robust. We are grateful to see our friends and neighbors return to work and are relieved to see the help wanted signs. I’m an optimist. Sometimes however, there is a cloud that accompanies the silver lining. The better jobs that lead to a family sustaining income usually require at least...

Dear Regional Employer: The 2020 and 2021 graduates of Albany Technical College are especially talented, focused, and motivated to succeed. As president, I’m proud to write this endorsement of their accomplishments. If you are looking to employ someone who is driven to succeed, adaptive, and resilient, then I recommend that you consider our over 2,000 graduates of the pandemic era. Our pandemic era graduates completed technical certificates, diplomas, and associate degrees under...

Each spring I take the opportunity to remind regional employers of the confidence that the Technical College System of Georgia (TCSG) has in graduates from all 22 colleges. We teach, and hopefully model, good work ethics for our students. Each student earns a work ethics grade that’s included on their transcript. We encourage employers to review and to consider each graduate’s work ethics grades. When graduates have comparable academic achievements, we encourage hiring managers to give...

There has been much discussion recently about the National Minimum Wage. Please know that I’m not offering an opinion on what the minimum wage should be. I know that chambers of commerce, economists and politicians will eventually make an informed decision. However, I’ve had firsthand experience working for a minimum wage job as a teenager and as a young adult. I worked at McDonald’s, as a department store clerk, a school bus driver, and as a hospital orderly. Subsequently, I...

The baby boomer generation was born between 1946 and 1964. We are between 54 and 76 years old. Although there are approximately 76 million of us, we are no longer the largest segment of the population. By 2030, all boomers will be at least 65 years old. There is no way to reverse this trend. There are approximately 86 million generation Xer’s, and they now represent the largest population group. Generation X is the largest group partly because the mortality rate for boomers is...

The subsequent economic recovery will be sluggish and short lived without growth in industrial, residential, and commercial construction. Infrastructure expansion, including telecommunications, requires new construction. The Technical College System of Georgia (TCSG) and Albany Technical College are prepared to support infrastructure growth. The administration, faculty, and students at Albany Technical College are grateful to Mr. O. D. Carlton's family for their generosity. Their donation...

More than ever, it’s a time for us to permanently dispel the false narrative that in order for poor people to become affluent, affluent people must become poor. The American economy is stronger than that. In the words of the late Elijah Cummings, “we are better than that.” This false narrative implies wealth can only be transferred. The truth is, the acquisition and the use of economic utility creates new wealth. When a health care provider employs a recently graduated RN,...

The pace of change in instructional delivery in higher education is advancing at an increasingly rapid rate. The technical education component of higher education is no exception. The COVID-19 pandemic is the largest catalyst to change the pace since the Soviet Union launched Sputnik in 1957, and the most obvious piece of evidence of this change has created a new normal for higher education; a swift increase in online instruction. Participatory teaching pedagogy is the major strength of...

As we transition from January to February each year, I ponder my responsibilities as a successful older American of African descent. January is the month that I remember the contributions made by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. for quality of life for all Americans. February is the month that I consider the accomplishments of all Americans of African descent. I’m extremely grateful to Dr. King, Congressman John Lewis, and others.  My comfortable life would not be possible without their...

Many of our SW Georgia neighbors could say that they’ve failed because they did not have the opportunity to succeed. They could also say that they did not have the opportunity to acquire the resources that lead to good employment through education, or that the mere struggle to stay alive kept them from opportunity. No matter what personal reasons people may feel are their causes of failure, empirical evidence indicates that six counties in Albany Tech’s Service Delivery Area are...

The board of education and the superintendents in our service delivery area were successful in improving the quality of instruction in secondary education and increasing the percentage of high school graduates. One result of these efforts has been the Commodore Conyers College and Career Academy, which has shifted the paradigm for secondary education.  Instruction for students in secondary education is far more relevant than say ten years ago.  The Georgia Department of Education, the...

The twenty-two colleges that are a part of the Technical College System of Georgia have a disproportionally large economic impact on the communities that they serve. Technical College students are likely to live in communities near their campus. Eighty-five percent (85%) of Albany Technical College students reside in Dougherty, Lee, Terrell, Worth, and Mitchell counties. Technical College students will likely resolve workforce shortages in communities near their homes. Seventy-seven...