Paine College President George Bradley laid out an ambitious set of goals Friday aiming to grow the school into a regionally recognized "premier liberal arts institution" over the next five years.
Much of it, he said, hinges on fundraising and raising Paine's visibility in Augusta through what he calls "friend-raising."
"It's about everybody at the institution rallying around the vision," Dr. Bradley said, "and extending it beyond these walls."
Dr. Bradley, almost eight months into his tenure at the private, historically black college, presented his strategic plan to students Thursday night and to media representatives Friday in Haygood Holsey Hall.
The plan calls for increases in enrollment, student retention, the space of the campus, faculty productivity and, most importantly, funding.
Friend-raising, he said, includes a marketing strategy to promote Paine and hopes of raising $14 million for a Health Education and Activities Learning Complex. He wants nontuition funding increased by 60 percent through donations, grants and endowments. He wants enrollment increased from 850 to 1,100.
Because the campus has a capacity for 900, that means more land acquisitions within a three-mile radius. Along with the health education complex, the plan calls for a new residence hall, research lab upgrades and refurbishing Mary Helms Hall and Gilbert-Lambuth Chapel.
Tuition, meanwhile, will remain at $16,700 for a two-semester school year.
Dr. Bradley said his calls for improvement don't mean he's displeased with the state of Paine. He said he just wants to "build on its greatness."
"It's a great institution with a great history," he said. "But we're not going to hold the line there."
Paine College was founded in 1882 by leaders of the Methodist Episcopal Church South and the Colored Methodist Episcopal Church -- now the United Methodist Church and Christian Methodist Episcopal Church, respectively -- to train black teachers and preachers to serve newly freed slaves.
Alumni include author Frank Yerby, Georgia Commissioner of Labor Michael Thurmond, geologist and NASA consultant Mack Gipson Jr., and Micah Troy, better known as hard-core rapper Pastor Troy.
Reach Johnny Edwards at (706) 823-3225 or johnny.edwards@augustachronicle.com.
FIVE-YEAR PLAN
- Continue to pursue the national or special accreditation of all academic programs where feasible
- Recruit, develop and retain excellent faculty with a minimum of 70 percent holding the highest degree
- Increase faculty scholarly productivity (i.e. grants, articles, peer-reviewed publications) or creative works that further the techniques of understanding fields across each academic division
- Increase to 10 percent the number of students who engage in experiential learning opportunities beyond the campus (such as internships, study abroad)
- Increase the freshman to sophomore retention rate by at least 5 percent
- Decrease the number of students who remain at the freshman level after the completion of the first year of academic study
- Strengthen intramural and intercollegiate athletic programs
- Develop and fund a landscaping plan and a plan for better signage
- Increase the capacity for online programs
- Develop strategies for expanding the religious life program on campus
- Implement select graduate programs
- Increase alumni giving
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