TIFTON—When he walked up the steps of historic Tift Hall on the campus of Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College on July 1 to begin his 15th year, Dr. David Bridges became the longest serving president in the history of ABAC.  As a member of the Class of 1978, Bridges is also the only ABAC president to have been a student at the school. “My goal for ABAC hasn’t really changed,” Bridges said.  “I want us to teach students and give them a life experience they will never forget while they are on our campus.” The 62-year-old native of Parrott, who also happens to be the longest tenured president in the 26-member University System of Georgia (USG), says he does not spend a single moment thinking about his ABAC tenure. “I didn’t really think about how long I was going to stay at ABAC when I became president in 2006, and I don’t think about it now,” Bridges said.  “When I was a student at ABAC, I never dreamed of being president.  And when I became president, I never looked at this job as a stepping-stone to something else. “It has been fun most of the time.  As you can imagine, it has not been all that much fun lately, mainly because of the virus impacting our budget situation.” ABAC and the other USG colleges and universities finished the final weeks of the spring semester with online classes because of the COVID-19 pandemic.  When the virus persisted, online classes continued during the summer term.   ABAC plans to return to in-person instruction when the fall semester begins on Aug. 12.  That is a day Bridges is looking forward to with much gusto. “We want to have students in class, and living safely on our campus,” Bridges said.  “That is the highest priority right now. “To accomplish that, we have to make a lot of changes.  I will be stunned if we get to the end of the semester with the plan currently in place, but you have to start somewhere and then be prepared to go to Plan B or Plan C, and then to the next plan that we haven’t even thought of yet.”  Bridges has faced plenty of challenges during his presidency but the battle against the relentless pandemic tops them all. “This is about survival,” Bridges said.  “Most of the things we’re asking people to do deal with the unknown.  That is hard for everybody.  Everything is short term because plans have to be altered daily.” Soon after taking office, Bridges was the architect of ABAC’s monumental change from a two-year school to a four-year institution.  ABAC began offering junior and senior level classes for the first time in 75 years in 2008.  When he considers the accomplishments during his tenure, bachelor’s degrees at ABAC top the list. “Getting bachelor’s degrees changed everything,” Bridges said.  “Everything else falls a distant second to that.  We would really be in a lurch if we were not a four-year school.” ABAC in 2020 looks much different than it did when Bridges participated in the first presidential inauguration ceremony in the history of the college on Aug. 25, 2006. “I believe we’re in a better place,” Bridges said.  “Our mission is more focused.  We are better off financially and with our facilities.  Our ABAC Foundation is much better off, and I think we have a very strong faculty and staff.” There have been milestones aplenty during Bridges’ tenure as president. In 2008, ABAC celebrated its 100th birthday with a year-long extravaganza. In 2010, ABAC took over the operation of the Georgia Museum of Agriculture and made it a part of the ABAC campus.  In 2013, the Historic Front of Campus renovation gave new life to the three original buildings on campus, Tift Hall, Lewis Hall, and Herring Hall. ABAC recorded its highest enrollment ever during the 2018 fall semester with 4,291 students from 30 countries, 18 states, and 155 of Georgia’s 159 counties.  The enrollment jump was due in part to a merger with Bainbridge State College which added ABAC instructional sites in Bainbridge, Blakely, and Donalsonville. During Bridges’ presidency, almost 8,000 graduates have received their ABAC diplomas. For the second consecutive year, ABAC led all colleges and universities east of the Mississippi River in the number of students receiving their bachelor’s degrees in Agricultural Education.  Eleven other bachelor’s degrees at ABAC include Business, Agribusiness, Biology, Agriculture, History and Government, Agricultural Communication, Nursing, Environmental Horticulture, Rural Community Development, Writing and Communication, and Natural Resource Management.  When Bridges became president, there was not a single bachelor’s degree offered at ABAC. Over $84 million in capital projects have been completed or are nearing completion during Bridges’ tenure.  Those projects include the Health Sciences building at $7.2 million, ABAC Lakeside at $17 million, Historic Front of Campus at $15.5 million, King Hall at $2.7 million, Donaldson Dining Hall at $4 million, Thrash Wellness Center at $4.5 million, the Laboratory Sciences building at $7.2 million, and the Carlton Center/Fine Arts Building project at $24 million.  Road improvements add another $2 million.  “Each of these projects has made this campus better,” Bridges said.  “That plays a part in the recruitment of students as well.  When students visit ABAC, they like what they see here.”  Students on campus during the 2020 fall term will enjoy the new Fine Arts Building on the front of campus and the revitalized Carlton Center, which will be home to the Baldwin Library as well as The Stallion Shop bookstore.  Both projects are just days away from their completion. Bridges is excited about his record-setting 15th fall semester at ABAC. “We haven’t had the students on campus since March 13,” Bridges said.  “I am ready for them to be back.  There’s nothing like the atmosphere on the first day of class for the fall semester.” ###

TIFTON—The Georgia Professional Standards Commission has approved a plan that will allow Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College to become the first program in the nation to offer instruction to prepare graduates to teach agriculture classes at the pre-kindergarten through fifth grade level, adding to its agriculture teacher certification program for grades 6 through 12. Dr. Andrew Thoron, Associate Professor and Department Head for Agricultural Education and Communication, said ABAC courses for the P-5 Agricultural Endorsement could begin in the summer of 2021. “Our endorsement is two-fold,” Thoron said.  “First, we’ll equip our current students with the ability to enter the classroom as a certified teacher in P-5 agriculture in addition to our 6-12 certification.  Second, we already have over 500 agriculture teachers in grades six through 12 in Georgia who will have an opportunity to gain this endorsement through our course offerings.  “That is the reason we will begin to offer the classes in the summer and most likely, online, so that we can reach the entire state.  Current P-5 teachers can take the classes but because they already have P-5 certification, they only need to pass the Agricultural Content Knowledge examination.” Thoron said Georgia is the first state to offer agriculture classes at the P-5 level.  Billy Hughes, Program Manager for Agricultural Education with the Georgia Department of Education, believes it will pay dividends. “Agriculture is the largest industry in Georgia, and SB 330 (2018) allowed the expansion of Agricultural Education into elementary schools,” Hughes said.  ‘Now, students in P-12 classes can be taught about agriculture's impact on the economy, and they can receive accurate information about agricultural practices.  These students will also begin developing leadership skills at a younger age.  “The elementary agriculture classes are growing because of community interest and because of agriculture's strong ties to STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) education.  We appreciate ABAC's continuing support of Agriculture Education.” Thoron echoes those sentiments. “This has a positive impact for our ABAC Agricultural Education program, but it also has great implications for the State of Georgia and School Based Agricultural Education in this state,” Thoron said.  “ABAC is providing solutions for our partners in public education in Georgia.” Christa Steinkamp, the Curriculum and Technology Coordinator for Georgia Agricultural Education, said elementary agriculture classes are growing and changing. “Georgia had 19 elementary schools that were part of the initial pilot program,” Steinkamp said. “That number grew to 26 schools by the start of school in 2019.  For the 2020-2021 school year, there will be 27 schools. This number is expected to increase after the limitations due to COVID-19.” ABAC faculty members recognized the growth and the need for the endorsement and initiated new courses to prepare teachers for elementary agriculture classes.  Dr. Frank Flanders, Agriculture Teacher Preparation Coordinator at ABAC, helped to light the fuse. “The new ABAC program should fit well with the Destination Ag program for elementary schools now offered through ABAC’s Georgia Museum of Agriculture (GMA),” Flanders said.  “We expect that our program will be attractive to college students in other states who are interested in teaching agriculture at the elementary level.”  Ella Griner from Pierce County, an incoming freshman majoring in ABAC’s Agricultural Education bachelor’s degree program, said, “I am thrilled about beginning my educational journey at ABAC in the fall of 2020.   “Pursuing a degree in Agricultural Education has long been a dream of mine, and knowing now that I will be able to graduate from ABAC with the qualifications necessary to teach agriculture in grades K-12 is like a dream come true.” Griner’s mother, Julie, who teaches in the gifted program, and is also teaching agriculture as part of the pilot program at Patterson Elementary School in Pierce County, said, “Not only will this new program provide excellent learning opportunities for ABAC's Agricultural Education students, but it will also translate into endless agricultural learning opportunities for Georgia's youngest students.  “Agricultural education lends itself to hands-on learning, inquiry-based learning, project-based learning, cooperative learning, and many more highly effective styles that make STEM education effective for all learners.” For the past two years, ABAC has led all colleges and universities in the Southeast in the number of graduates with the Bachelor of Science degree in Agricultural Education.  Thoron sees the P-5 Agricultural Endorsement as another arrow in the quiver of possibilities for ABAC students. “We will work to gauge interest over the next few months, and then we will begin to finalize the curriculum,” Thoron said.  “I think the best is yet to come.” For more information, interested persons can contact Thoron at andrew.thoron@abac.edu.   ###

TIFTON—History has shown that businesses that adapt to changing times are the ones that last the longest.  Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College President David Bridges subscribes to that train of thought. “Like it or not, change is a fact of life,” Bridges said.  “At ABAC, we’re facing some of the biggest changes we have ever faced in the 112 years we have been providing a quality education for our student body.” Those changes are a direct result of the pandemic, which forced ABAC to change to online classes for the final weeks of the spring semester and the complete summer term.  Now Bridges is ready to charge ahead with the sweeping changes necessary when ABAC returns to face-to-face instruction for the fall semester on Aug. 12. “Our modified class schedule will ensure smaller class sizes, will provide greater distance between students, and will provide hybrid and online options that can reduce the amount of time students spend in the classroom,” Bridges said.  “I know that parents are concerned about the health of their students, and we have expanded our custodial and public health measures to protect students, faculty, and staff.” ABAC usually houses more than 1,300 students each year in ABAC Place and ABAC Lakeside.  Due to new guidelines, fewer than 1,200 students will live on campus this fall, and each of those students will have a private bedroom in ABAC’s state-of-the-art on-campus apartment complexes. “One of the great advantages of living on campus at ABAC is that we are self-contained,” Bridges, a 1978 ABAC graduate who lived on campus, said.  “Students live here, go to class here, eat in the dining hall, and exercise in the Thrash Wellness Center. “Students who live in Lakeside have a waterfront view of Lake Baldwin.  We are not a luxury resort, but we do have spectacular scenery for those who live on campus.   ABAC also has a well-equipped health clinic operated by a physician, and nurse practitioners to care for our students.” Most students are constantly looking for ways to fund their college educations, and ABAC students are no exception.  Bridges has a solution. “Thanks to the ABAC Foundation, we have an unprecedented amount of private grant/scholarship funding to support students with financial need,” Bridges said.  “ABAC is affordable.  Our cost for tuition and fees is one of the lowest among the 26 colleges and universities in the University System of Georgia.” Bridges recently announced a compressed ABAC fall semester class schedule that will wind down on Nov. 19 instead of Dec. 3.  When students go home for the Thanksgiving holidays after the completion of final exams on Nov. 24, they will be finished until the spring semester begins on Jan. 11. “We are doing everything we can do to prevent a spread of the pandemic at ABAC,” Bridges said.  “When our students go home for the holidays, we figured out a way for them to stay home until the spring term begins.  That extra time in December will also give our cleaning crews more time to disinfect the entire campus.” Most ABAC students choose to major in one of the 12 bachelor’s degree programs which include biology, agribusiness, history and government, agriculture, nursing, agricultural communication, writing and communication, agricultural education, business, natural resource management, rural community development, and environmental horticulture. Beyond the classroom, ABAC offers a comprehensive student engagement program that gives students opportunities for internships, study abroad, and mentored research.  “These programs prepare students for the real world,” Bridges, the longest-serving president in the University System, said.  “Our faculty is well-educated, experienced, and committed to working with these students so that they are ready for the job market.” For more information about the fall semester at ABAC, interested persons can visit the ABAC website at www.abac.edu.  ###