By DALE FULLER

BSC Director of Institutional Advancement

As most of the world celebrated Thursday, Feb. 14, as Valentine’s Day, the students, faculty and staff of the newly renamed Bainbridge College celebrated the monumental news that Bainbridge College will now be Bainbridge State College (BSC) and will offer four-year baccalaureate degrees.

Students gathered in Bainbridge and Blakely, Ga., to celebrate with giveaways with the new BSC logo, music, and various activities. Faculty and staff gathered for an ice cream social at the Bainbridge State College campus and the Early County site.

“This was also a great chance to celebrate our new mission and our new name,” BSC President Dr. Richard Carvajal said. “It is not every day that you get to commemorate the birth of a new institution.”

During the ice cream social, faculty and staff awards were announced.

Two Excellence Awards by the National Institute for Staff and Organization Development (NISOD) were announced. Winners of this award must have excelled in one or more of the following ways:

• has made innovations that have led to improved student success;

• has built the brand of Bainbridge State College;

• has saved money for the institution;

• has enhanced economic development efforts in the region;

• has strengthened connections to the communities we serve;

• has enhanced processes in his or her area of the college.

The NISOD Faculty Award was presented to Amie Seidman , English instructor at BCEC. David Pollock, director of online learning and the Center for Teaching Excellence, won the NISOD Staff Award.

The Faculty Enrichment Award went to Dr. Dave Nelson, history professor at the Bainbridge campus. The Faculty Enrichment Award is awarded by the Bainbridge State College Foundation with the purpose of encouraging faculty to participate in enrichment experiences and bringing them back to the campus to provide challenging instruction and learning activities. The winner receives $2,500 to facilitate meeting this purpose.

Two staff members were honored for their outstanding customer service. Barbara Snipes, executive assistant to the president, who has worked for the college for more than 31 years, has served every president during her tenure at BSC.

Carvajal praised her by saying that “her hard work and dedication have a huge impact on the daily lives of BSC faculty, students, and staff.” In his nomination of her for the award, Carvajal stated “she is quite simply the face of Bainbridge State College.” He went on to say, “simply put, she is one of the great treasures that makes this place such a great place to work, and I am so lucky to have her supporting me every day.”

Ruby Barlow, program assistant for the ADN program, has been employed at BC for eight years.

An excerpt from her nomination for the customer service award stated that “she goes above and beyond to help and is always kind, courteous, and willing to assist students, faculty and staff in any capacity to make sure the job is done right. She is a blessing not only to the ADN students and faculty, but the entire Bainbridge State College family.”

David Pollock, director of online learning and the Center for Teaching Excellence, Tammy Hinson, English and Reading instructor and Melissa Harrell, instructional coordinator, were each awarded the University System of Georgia’s (USG) WIMBA Users Group Innovator Award for the interactive online orientation for new students the created and implemented.