News        from ABAC

Michael D. Chason Director of Public Relations ABAC 30 -- 2802 Moore Highway Tifton, GA 31793-2601 Phone 229-391-5055 Fax 229-391-5056 mchason@abac.edu

IMMEDIATE AUGUST 15, 2008

Classes Begin Monday for 2008 Fall Term at ABAC

TIFTON--Classes will get underway on Monday for the 2008 fall semester at Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College.

Freshman students began five days of Welcome Week activities on Wednesday. Returning students who live in the ABAC Place apartments will be back on the campus this weekend. Between ABAC Place and the new ABAC Lakeside complex on the north shore of Lake Baldwin, the college will be housing almost 1,300 students this year.

ABAC President David Bridges said his third year at the college will be focused on “moving forward.

“Our number one priority is providing educational opportunities for students,” Bridges said. “It is important that we continue to move forward and keep our eyes on the future.”

Bridges was the keynote speaker at the annual Freshman Convocation on Friday. Over 1,000 freshmen heard him address the Welcome Week topics of “Character, Community, and Competence.”

“We want students like you who choose to come to ABAC,” Bridges said. “That’s what being Georgia’s State College of choice is all about. I can see that happening.”

Highlights of the fall term include the Evening for ABAC sponsored by the ABAC Foundation on Sept. 18, the initial First Tuesday Concert on Oct. 7, and graduation on Dec. 12.

Bridges is ready for the challenge ahead.

“For the past 100 years, this institution has produced leaders, educators, philanthropists, and even entrepreneurs,” Bridges said. “Its legacy has been to promote life-changing opportunities for students. We want to continue that legacy. It’s not about the students who come to ABAC. It’s about the students who leave ABAC and those life-changing opportunities we gave them while they were here.”

The fall semester winds up Dec. 8 with final exams set for Dec. 9- 12.

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