Dalton State College leaders say they are “humbled” by a pledge of $2.5 million from the John Willis Mashburn Charitable Foundation that the Dalton State Foundation has received.
The gift will be paid out over five years, beginning Dec. 1 of this year, with an initial portion funding the completion of Dalton State’s new science building, which will have ground breaking this fall. The remaining $2 million will go directly to the college’s intercollegiate athletics department.
“When I heard about the gift I was very happy,” said Athletic Director Derek Waugh. “We have a vision to create tomorrow’s athletics leaders who will, hopefully, call Dalton their home. However, a vision is just a vision until someone gets behind it. That is what the Mashburn Foundation has done. We could not be more grateful or humbled by this generous gift and we hope it will inspire others to elevate this institution, as well as the community, through intercollegiate athletics.”
Waugh said he hopes the athletics department — he was introduced as athletic director in February — will be a lightning rod for the community.
“Intercollegiate athletics is a conduit to bring exceptional young people to Dalton,” he said.
A plan will be drafted later, but Waugh said he is confident the gift is the first step in bringing in those “exceptional young people” by making the city and college appealing to those interested in athletics.
“A lot of it will go towards on-campus facilities,” Waugh said. “In the end, it will benefit the student athletes and the student community at large. We will create campus vibrancy, an extremely dramatic increase in residential enrollment and championship-caliber teams. We want to take full advantage of all that this institution can become for its student body, its alumni and fans, and the entire community of Dalton and northwest Georgia.”
In a press release, the college said John Willis Mashburn “lived a quiet life with wife, Catherine, as a Dalton entrepreneur and philanthropist. He died in January 2009. The tenth of 12 children, Mr. Mashburn came of age during the Depression and always valued hard work and frugal living, according to a trustee of the foundation. His charitable trust was formed to advance the endeavors he believed would develop and enhance the community in which he lived.”
Another beneficiary of the Mashburn Foundation is the Looper Speech & Hearing Center, which celebrated the completion of an addition earlier this year that was finished thanks to a donation from the foundation.
“The Mashburn Foundation is anxious to shine a light on Dalton State,” said a Mashburn Foundation trustee in the press release. “We believe supporting the development of intercollegiate athletics at this time will create interest in Dalton State throughout the campus, the community and the region and ultimately help the college develop into the thriving university we all want it to become.”
John Schwenn, president of Dalton State, said college officials are “tremendously gratified by this most generous gift. We are proud to partner with the Mashburn family as we work to advance both the academic and athletic programming of Dalton State.”
The athletics department will not begin receiving its portion of the gift until Dec. 1, 2013. Waugh has mapped out the 2013-2014 school year to include men’s basketball, men’s and women’s tennis, volleyball and competitive cheerleading. He also would like to start baseball and women’s basketball and men’s and women’s cross country at some point but does not have a specific timetable for those.
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Related Photos
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A contribution from the John Willis Mashburn Charitable Foundation will be used to support intercollegiate athletics at Dalton State College. A portion of the gift will be used for the college’s new science building, ground breaking for which is scheduled this fall. Reviewing plans are, from left, Athletic Director Derek Waugh; Randall Griffus, dean of the School of Mathematics, Science and Technology; and President John O. Schwenn. (Contributed photo)
Discussion
September 12, 2012
$2.5 million pledge to assist DSC academics, athletics
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