Students and alumni gathered Monday to hear Savannah State University’s new president, Jermaine Whirl. But the burning question was for University Chancellor Sonny Perdue.
Perdue reassured Savannah State students, faculty and alumni that there are no plans to consolidate Georgia’s oldest HBCU with other Georgia public universities.
“Savannah State is not going anywhere,” Chancellor Perdue said to the audience.
This declaration eased the minds of most attendees who were concerned that the HBCU could be absorbed by other universities like Georgia Southern. This week the system’s board of regents approved the merger of East Georgia State College with Georgia Southern University.
However, for some like SSU National Alumni Association President Harold Washington, there were never any doubts that the university would continue to survive and thrive.
“I never had fears [of consolidation.] Savannah State is not going anywhere… I also feel that we have way too much potential in front of us. I know that great things are going to happen for Savannah State, so the thoughts that individuals may have about us potentially being merged or absorbed, I don’t have any fears about that whatsoever,” Washington said.
At the town hall, Chancellor Perdue and Savannah State President Jermaine Whirl discussed their visions for the university while addressing concerns that attendees presented. Whirl, 39, officially became the university leader on April 1.
President Whirl introduced his “presidential pillars,” or key visions, that he plans to focus on during his tenure at the university. Namely, he aims to bolster student success, create a unified culture as well as engaging learning environments for faculty and students, tell the story of Savannah State through a strong brand, and build community on and off campus.
“We’ve had a lot of transitions — a lot of change in several years, so I want to really work with you all collectively to create a unified culture that we all will be excited about,” Whirl said. “There are a lot of things within that, such as professional development, succession planning, and building some positions that our faculty and staff will embrace.”
Of those initiatives, the most pressing matter on the agenda is to transform the university into a beacon for Savannah and beyond.
“We need to be the anchor institution of this city,” Whirl said. “…If you go to Metro Atlanta, you’ll see Georgia Tech, they’re all over Atlanta. You’ll see Georgia State, they’re all over Atlanta. They have buildings, they have facilities, they have infrastructure all over their community.”
“We need to have orange and blue all over the city of Savannah,” Whirl said. “Every street, every corner, every business needs to be associated with this institution.”
The president expressed his desire to create a renowned identity for Savannah State and turn it into their primary choice for incoming students to consider when starting their collegiate journey.
“We want to be [incoming students’] first choice,” he explained. “We have the students that can compete globally, and we want the world to know that they should be thinking about coming here. When looking at an HBCU, we should be their first choice.”
Chancellor Perdue briefly discussed his vision for Savannah State to enter similar leagues as Florida A&M University and Tuskegee University in terms of brand recognition.
“My goal is to get up there with the FAMUs and the Tuskegees and get in that category from a brand awareness perspective,” he stated. “When you can walk out with a diploma from Savannah State…and be known among that, that’s what Dr. Whirl’s vision is for here—to have a degree you’re proud of and to stand up proudly as a Tiger.”
Outside of branding, the two also spoke on the progress towards making academic improvements to the university. They revealed their plan to create a college of allied health and nursing and introduce doctoral degrees at Savannah State. They discussed the steps that needed to be taken in order to increase enrollment and guarantee that students have access to the resources they need to have a successful college career and life post-graduation.
Students had the opportunity to present their concerns to Chancellor Perdue and President Whirl in their own dedicated meeting later in the day. Many shared their perspectives on various issues, from academic programs to infrastructural issues on campus.
Princesse Pierre, a student at Savannah State, informed the chancellor and president of her experiences living in a residence hall that often deals with inconsistent hot water, frequently broken washers and prolonged A/C and electrical issues. She asked how the president planned to address these issues in her residence hall as well as those across campus.
President Whirl replied with his goal to do a “facilities tour” in the upcoming weeks in order to make a personal assessment and formulate plans to remedy issues that he finds and remove the need for students to leave campus for basic maintenance. He also addressed calls to renovate existing residence halls.
“We’re at about 94% capacity [for housing], so we want to grow. We’re going to have to build more, and we’re going to have to renovate the current ones that we have,” Whirl said.