Providing opportunities

Published 12:03 am Saturday, October 22, 2016

Margaret Venable is Dalton State College’s newest president, its fifth president, its first woman president and the president who will lead it into its Golden Anniversary in 2017.

And on Friday, students, faculty, local elected officials and representatives of the University System of Georgia gathered on the quad as she was officially inaugurated as DSC’s president.

“The fate of this community is tied to the success of this college and I take that responsibility very seriously,” she said. “Even as we begin to draw more students from outside this region, this community needs Dalton State College to be successful in its goal of educating more Georgians, and the faculty, staff and I are committed to making that happen.”

University System of Georgia Chancellor Hank Huckaby named Venable interim president of DSC in November 2014, following the retirement of president John Schwenn. She formally took office on Jan. 1, 2015. The Board of Regents named her president in September 2015.

“I truly believe no one is better suited for this job than Dr. Venable,” Huckaby said Friday.

Venable came to DSC from Gordon State College in Barnesville, where she was the provost and vice president for academic affairs.

Gordon State College President Max Burns recalled Huckaby asking him how Venable was doing in that position in late 2014, and he told him she was doing fine and would be ready when he needed her in a higher position. He said he thought that would be another year or two.

“I didn’t realize it would be a couple of weeks,” he said.

In addition to her role at Gordon State, Venable served as vice president and chief executive officer at the University of North Georgia’s Oconee Campus. She received a bachelor of arts in chemistry from Agnes Scott College, a master of science degree in inorganic chemistry from Georgia Tech and a doctorate of science education degree from Georgia State University. And many of her friends and former colleagues from those schools traveled to Dalton to see her inauguration.

Local elected officials agreed with Venable that DSC is vital to the future economic success of Dalton and the surrounding region.

“We look forward to working with you in the coming years,” said Whitfield County Board of Commissioners Chairman Mike Babb.

Venable said she realized early in life she would need an education to pursue a career that she would find fulfilling

“I pursued a career in teaching because I wanted to help provide opportunities for others to develop themselves as I had,” she said. “Education changed my life and my life goal is to share that gift with as many others as possible.”

Venable said her focus in the coming years will be on making DSC a “first choice” college while keeping the cost of an education there affordable.

“My hope is that, when the sixth president of this college is inaugurated, we will reflect on the progress made during the Venable era and agree that, by working in unison toward goals we established together, we improved the economic vitality and quality of life in northwest Georgia through helping students earn valuable college degrees at one of the most affordable colleges in the nation,” she said.