Athletics to return to Dalton State

Published 7:00 am Friday, August 19, 2011

The Roadrunners will soon return to the Dalton State College campus. Students recently voted to add a student fee for athletics that was even higher than was asked for.

“To me that means the Roadrunners will be coming back and coming back soon,” DSC President John O. Schwenn told members of the Kiwanis Club of Dalton at the Northwest Georgia Trade and Convention Center during their weekly meeting recently.

An employment advertisement is said to be ready to be placed to hire an athletic director. School officials wanted to see the fall enrollment numbers before placing the ad. It was important that the fees bring in enough funds to begin the process of implementing an athletic program. Schwenn said it now looks like that process can begin.

Facilities for athletic teams will need to be off campus. There isn’t enough space on the land-locked campus, he said. Schwenn said a study has been conducted to determine how facilities in the community can be used.

For example, he explained that using the trade center would be more difficult than many believe. There is currently only one dressing area at the trade center. If used by the college, the facility would need four locker rooms — two each for men and women. Baseball, softball and soccer facilities would also need to be adapted for use by DSC teams.

Schwenn also discussed the community’s vision of DSC.

“We look at Dalton State as a place where students come to get an education,” Schwenn said. “Not just a degree, not just job training. We believe it our responsibility to educate students for a lifetime, not simply to train them for a job.

 “When they graduate and leave us they take with them a body of knowledge and not just the skill set for a specific job. We believe we’re teaching our students how to live, not just how to make a living.”

The average American will undergo as many as seven career changes in a lifetime, he said.

“How does an institution teach someone all the stuff you need to know for at least seven different jobs over a period of decades? We believe strongly that it’s the responsibility of the college to expand the intellectual capacity of our students so that graduates learn what they need to learn but not just for a specific job,” he said.

Schwenn reminded the Kiwanians that many of today’s jobs didn’t exist until recently.

“As we look into the future there are many, many jobs we are preparing our students for that do not exist today,” Schwenn said. “It takes a different kind of training.”

While acknowledging that a college education is not for everyone, Schwenn said a college education is more important than ever in building a better community. As community leaders try to get more young, educated professionals to live and work in Dalton and Whitfield County, “We have to remember that people have a tendency to live in communities where there are individuals with whom they have a lot in common,” he said.

In Whitfield County, 15.6 percent of the population has a college degree. In the state of Georgia, it’s 27.1 percent. In the U.S., the number is 27.5 percent.

“If you want to attract a more professional group we need a population with a high percentage of four-year degrees,” he said.

DSC plans to develop a more walkable campus. Eventually a central spine will be anchored on each end by student housing. The first planned housing construction would be near the Bandy Center recreation facility off of George Rice Drive. Eventually new housing will be built where the current student housing at Wood Valley Apartments is. Schwenn said academic and support services will be in-between with no more than a 10-minute walk from one end of the campus to the other.

A new classroom and lab building has been in the university system pipeline for several years. The recession and recent tight state budgets have resulted in several delays in funding for the project. Schwenn said the building should be funded in the next state budget. In addition, the student center and the Bandy Center need to be enlarged.  

While Dalton State College offers a great value in a college education, Schwenn said state support for higher education has dropped during the past three years.

“About three years ago, the state paid about 70 percent of the cost of in-state students’ education. Today, the state covers about 49 percent of the cost of an education. An in-state student pays 51 percent.”

Hilary Hicks, a rising junior from Rock Spring majoring in marketing and communications, told the Kiwanians she chose DSC for the high caliber of instruction and proximity to her home. But she said the school has been more than she expected.

Hicks cited hands-on experience gained in many aspects of marketing. She also has had an opportunity to participate in many volunteer opportunities on campus.