Calendar of Events

Monday, June 23

11:00 a.m.-Residence Hall Groundbreaking

Noon-Luncheon (Magnolia Room)

1:00 p.m.-YMCA Group (Pool)

5:00 p.m.-Evening Orientation (Cordell Conf. Room A/B & Dining Hall)

Tuesday, June 24

9:00 a.m.-Institutional SAT (Cordell Conf. Room A)

Wednesday, June 25

11:30 a.m.-Faculty/Staff Luncheon (Magnolia Room)

1:00 p.m.-Student Support Services Workshop (Cordell Conf. Room B)

3:00 p.m.-Staff Forum (Cordell Conf. Room A)

5:00 p.m.-Student Support Services Workshop (Cordell Conf Room B)

8:00 p.m.-Tifton Aquatics Club (Pool)

Thursday, June 26

Today-Orientation

1:00 p.m.-YMCA Group (Pool)

3:30 p.m.-Colquitt County DFCS Tour (Cordell Conf. Room)

Friday, June 27

4:00 p.m.-Reynolds/Pellitteri Wedding Rehearsal (Chapel)

8:00 p.m.-Tifton Aquatics Club Swim Meet (Pool)

Saturday, June 28

6:00 a.m.-Tifton Aquatics Club Swim Meet (Pool)

6:00 p.m.-Weeks Party (Pool)

5:30 p.m.-Reynolds/Pellitteri Wedding (Chapel)

6:30 p.m.-Reynolds/Pellitteri Reception (Dining Hall)

Tuesday, July 1

1:00 p.m.-YMCA Group (Pool)

Wednesday, July 2

11:30 a.m.-Faculty/Staff Luncheon (Magnolia Room)

Friday, July 4

Today-Independence Day Holiday

Saturday, July 5

7:00 p.m.-Bozeman Family Reunion (Dining Hall)

Sunday, July 6

Today-Migrant Leadership Academy

9:00 a.m.-TCHS Class of 1978 Memorial Service (Chapel)

Monday, July 7

Today-Migrant Leadership Academy

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Staff Forum Wednesday

The Staff Forum will meet on Wednesday at 3 p.m. in Section A of the Cordell Conference Room. New officers to serve from fall, 2003 to summer, 2005 will be elected. Refreshments will be served following the meeting.

Blue Forms to Student Center

ABAC students receiving unemployment insurance benefits are required to have a blue certification of enrollment form from the Department of Labor signed each month. Beginning immediately, the Enrollment Services Office in the Student Center is the only office on campus that should verify enrollment on the forms for ABAC students. If a student asks for a signature on a blue Department of Labor form, please send that student to the Student Center.

Groundbreaking Today at 11

The groundbreaking for the $32 million residence hall project will be held today at 11 a.m. in front of Chandler Hall. Please make your plans to attend. This project represents the largest of its kind in the United States at a two-year college. A total of 835 apartment-style rooms will be available on campus when the project is completed. Two hundred of those beds will be available beginning with the spring term in January. Most of the units will be two bedroom, two bath with a full kitchen and living area. Each student will have a private room complete with Internet, phone, and cable television access.

An 8,500-square-foot clubhouse will be in the center of the complex and will feature a kitchen, an exercise room, recreation/television space, a study lounge, a computer lab, a large meeting room, and management offices.

All the tax exempt bonds have now been sold for the project. A per month lease price is yet to be determined, but President Mike Vollmer said approximately $345 per month for a 12-month lease would be “somewhere in the ballpark.” Students will not be required to purchase a meal ticket. The rent will include cable, water, and electricity.

At some point in the future, Chandler, Branch, Mitchell, and Fulwood halls will be demolished once the new residence halls are in operation.

Sensational Summer Numbers

Enrollment for the summer term at ABAC will shatter the alltime high of 1,349 students set last summer. Registrar Beth Saxon said this year’s enrollment is approximately 1,567 students at presstime.

Perimeter Road Now Open

Perimeter Road has now reopened in front of the new Ag Sciences Building with speed bumps installed. Please slow down in that area. The Pedestrian Mall construction still continues directly in front of the Donaldson Dining Hall. Watch your step in that area.

Orientation on Thursday

The first of three Freshman Orientations prior to the beginning of fall semester will be held on Thursday. A large turnout is expected.

Moore Goes to TCHS

Head Men’s Basketball Coach Robert Moore has left ABAC to take the head coaching job at Tift County High School. He departs the Golden Stallions with a three-year record of 45 wins-45 losses. During his time at ABAC, he had 14 players to sign with NCAA Division I and II schools. We wish him well with the Blue Devils. Athletics Director Alan Kramer has formed a search committee to find a new coach.

Official Holiday July 4

The college will be officially closed for the Independence Day Holiday on July 4. All offices will reopen on July 7 at 8 a.m.

Next FOCUS July 7

The next edition of this prized publication will appear in your boxes on July 7. Please have all information for the FOCUS to the Public Relations Office by noon on July 2.

Lunch on Wednesday

Join other faculty and staff members at ABAC for lunch on Wednesdays in Donaldson Dining Hall’s Magnolia Room. Food Services Director Kristen Popham invites everyone to come out from 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m. The cost is $5 per person.

Harris Elected Chair

Former Georgia Governor Joe Frank Harris was elected to a second one-year term as Chair of the Board of Regents on June 11. His second consecutive term will run from July 1, 2003-June 30, 2004. Harris served as governor of Georgia for two terms from 1983-91. He was appointed to the Board in 1999 by Governor Roy E. Barnes. Regent Joel E. Wooten, Jr., was selected as the Vice Chair. He was also appointed to the Board by Governor Barnes in 1999. Wooten is an attorney in Columbus.

Bombingham Now Available

Three copies of Bombingham are now available at the Baldwin Library. This is the Anthony Grooms book which will be used by ABAC freshmen this year in a common learning experience. Students will be reading the books in ABAC 1000, but Evening and Off-Campus Programs Director Gail Dillard encourages all instructors to look for ways to incorporate the book into your syllabi. Copes of Bombingham are also available for sale in the ABAC Book Store.

Check Email Service

If you would like to stay up to date on when email service is unavailable, click www.abac.edu/status. To report a problem with your PC, email, or other tech services, remember that you can simply send an email to techsupport@abac.edu.

Congratulations!

Congratulations to Brenda Bailey on the birth of her first grandchild. David Logan Moore was born June 6, weighing in at nine pounds, six ounces. His parents are Mike and Stacey Moore. Best wishes to all!

Summer Reading

Get your “beach reading” at the Baldwin Library. Books by your favorite authors are available, as well as others you may want to try out over the summer

Celebrating Birthdays

June

23 Janet Weaver

23 Ja’nay Windmoller

24 Jerry Edwards

25 Joe Hathaway

27 Ramonda Holton

27 Karen Spivey

29 Renata Elad

30 Joy Conger

July

5 Wendy Harrison

Care & Concern

Calvin Lee underwent surgery to remove his malignant kidney on June 9. He is expected to be out of work for six to eight weeks. Ray Wells is recuperating after having back surgery on June 18. Please keep them both in your thoughts and prayers.

Students Go to Golf Course for Classes

Students majoring in golf turf management at Abraham Baldwin have a legitimate educational reason to go to the golf course every day. And at ABAC, that means going to the college’s very own nine-hole Forest Lakes Golf Course.

“At most schools where golf course management is offered, and classes in golf equipment, turf pest management, and irrigation are taught, the exposure to the real industry is minimal since few schools have a golf course to provide a ‘learning laboratory,’” Dr. Larry Allen, Chair in ABAC’s Division of Agriculture and Forest Resources, said. “At ABAC, we have the best of both worlds—a golf course that serves as a ‘learning laboratory’ and an internship in the industry.”

The 91-acre golf course, valued at $1 million, was donated to the ABAC Foundation in January 2002 by Tifton ophthalmologist Larry Moorman and his wife, Debra.

In classes and labs conducted on the course, students learn firsthand what it is like to operate and maintain a golf course. Dr. Jerry Davis, retired professor of agricultural engineering, and Dr. Ed Seagle, professor of environmental horticulture, spent many hours this year teaching and working with their students at Forest Lakes.

Allen said students completed a total of 1,400 hours at Forest Lakes during the 2002-03 academic year.

In addition to serving as a learning laboratory for students, Forest Lakes is also open for public play. With summer already here, Forest Lakes Supervisor Wayne Cooper said he expects an increasing number of golfers and a great season.

Notes of Thanks

I would like to thank everyone for all the kind words of comfort, both written and spoken, that I received after my father’s passing. Your kindness will always be remembered.

Sincerely,

Sandra Grimsley

The last National SAT of the 2002-03 testing season was administered to 111 students from over 21 different school districts on June 7. Thanks to the following who helped make the test a smooth administration: Dr. Jonathan Harrington, Bernice Hughes, Arlene Bailey, Margie Senkbeil, Rita Wade, Harold Bailey, Bernice Corbin, Anita Williams, and Public Safety.

The last National ACT of the 2002-03 testing season was administered to 59 students from over 22 different communities (including one from Norcross and one from Ohio) on June 14. This is an all-time record number of students taking the ACT at ABAC. Thanks to the following for all their help: Arlene Bailey, Phyllis Kester, Margie Senkbeil, Bernice Corbin, Jack Larry, Scott Jackson, Officer David King, and Public Safety.

Dr. Maggie Martin

Positions Open

ABAC:

■ Instructor/Assistant Professor of Physical

Education & Men’s Basketball Coach

(deadline 6/27) Contact Shirley Wilson at 3272 for

more information.

ABAC Family

Tawanna Ford, Fran Kinchen, Bam Pirkle, and Dina Willis attended the annual meeting of the Georgia Division of the IAAP (International Association of Administrative Professionals) at Callaway Gardens on June 6-8. The Tiftarea Chapter received the Armelia Barclay Award which is based on the participation of chapter members in professional development opportunities.