Bainbridge State College
Bainbridge State College was a four-year state college of the University System of Georgia in Bainbridge, Georgia. In 2017 the college was merged into Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College. The college’s campus is located on of land just inside the Bainbridge city limits on U.S. Highway 84 East. A separate campus in Blakely, Georgia is Bainbridge College Early County. There is also a campus in Donalsonville, Georgia that opened for Summer semester, 2016.
Students commute from the nearby towns of Attapulgus, Blakely, Brinson, Cairo, Camilla, Climax, Colquitt, Donalsonville, Iron City, Pelham, Thomasville, and Whigham. With the inclusion of Gadsden County to the college's service area, students from neighboring Florida communities also attend as in-state students.
It was established in 1970 with support of local citizens, including former Georgia governor Marvin Griffin, and its doors opened in 1973, during the governorship of Jimmy Carter. Dr. Edward Mobley was the first president. He served from the beginning of the college until 1999, when Dr. Clifford Brock took over, for a tenure that saw enrollment grow by 256 percent. Minority enrollment grew from 24 percent to more than 50 percent as students flocked to the formerly tiny school. Dr. Thomas Wilkerson became president in 2005.
The 1973 charter faculty consisted of Dr. Robert DuBay, Dean; Dr. R. Everett Langford, Chemistry and Geology; and Dr. Ray Chambers, History.
On February 13, 2013, the Board of Regents for the University System of Georgia officially announced that Bainbridge College had been converted into a 4-year state college, and its name was officially changed to Bainbridge State College.
In 2017, the college ceased to exist as a separate entity. The consolidation of Bainbridge State College with Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College became official December 2017 upon the approval of the Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia.
As of July 1, 2018, ABAC offers academic programs in Bainbridge. Southern Regional Technical College assumed responsibility for the technical programs available in Bainbridge.
