South Georgia Technical College named finalist for Georgia’s Technical College of the Year award

December 5, 2016
Technical College System of Georgia (TCSG) State Board Chairman Joe Yarborough along with state board member Judge Richard Porter from Thomasville, Georgia, is shown above presenting South Georgia Technical College President Dr. John Watford with a proclamation naming South Georgia Technical College as a finalist for the 2016 Technical College of the Year award. Also shown congratulating President Watford is TCSG Commissioner Gretchen Corbin. The announcement was made at the TCSG State Board meeting in Atlanta Thursday.
Technical College System of Georgia (TCSG) State Board Chairman Joe Yarborough along with state board member Judge Richard Porter from Thomasville, Georgia, is shown above presenting South Georgia Technical College President Dr. John Watford with a proclamation naming South Georgia Technical College as a finalist for the 2016 Technical College of the Year award. Also shown congratulating President Watford is TCSG Commissioner Gretchen Corbin. The announcement was made at the TCSG State Board meeting in Atlanta Thursday.

ATLANTA – South Georgia Technical College was named as a finalist for the Technical College System of Georgia’s 2016 Technical College of the Year award. The announcement was made during the State Board meeting of the Technical College System of Georgia in Atlanta, recently.

South Georgia Technical College President Dr. John Watford accepted a resolution from TCSG State Board Chairman Joe Yarborough in recognition of the college’s achievement during the past year and the outstanding efforts by the college’s faculty and staff on behalf of their students and the communities, businesses and industries that they serve. Only three of the 22 technical colleges in the state were recognized for this honor.

“Our entire state board congratulates President Watford and the faculty and staff of South Georgia Technical College for all that they have done and will continue to do to make their college an outstanding destination for students to learn. South Georgia Tech has an excellent record of high educational achievement and strong commitment to student success in the classroom and on the job,” said Yarborough. “We’re indebted to our colleagues at South Georgia Technical College for their steadfast devotion to building careers, changing lives and making their graduates an integral part of Georgia’s world-class workforce.”

“On behalf of the South Georgia Technical College faculty and staff, I would like to thank the Commissioner and the State Board of Technical Education for this honor,” said SGTC President Dr. John Watford. “This is a testament to the hard work of everyone at South Georgia Tech. Our employees are to be commended and congratulated for this profound accomplishment of being recognized as one of the top three technical colleges within the 22 colleges in the system.

The Sonny Perdue Award for the Georgia Technical College of the Year is presented each year by the members of the State Board of the Technical College System of Georgia. Southeastern Technical College in Vidalia was selected as the overall winner and South Georgia Tech and West Georgia Technical College were the other two finalists.

South Georgia Technical College also was selected as a finalist for this event in 2011. The competition began in 2010. Wiregrass Georgia Technical College was selected as the winner in 2010, Ogeechee Technical College won in 2011 and 2015, Atlanta Technical College earned the honor in 2012, Savannah Tech was recognized in 2013, and Lanier Technical College was selected in 2014. Southeastern Technical College captured the 2016 title.

The College of the Year award is based on a matrix of nearly two dozen criteria including measurements of enrollment, placement, graduation rates, foundation growth, business and industry served in economic development, adult education enrollment and GED’s awarded, board certification, and several other factors.

The award is named in honor of former Governor Sonny Perdue for his many years of support for the technical colleges and their mission of workforce development through technical and adult education.