Friday, April 16, 2004

Cathy Cox to speak at Clayton State Alumni meeting On Thursday, Apr. 22, Clayton College & State University’s Alumni Association will celebrate its 12th annual Alumni Meeting and Dinner with honored guest Georgia Secretary of State Cathy Cox speaking in the Atrium of the Harry S. Downs Center for Continuing Education. Each year the Alumni Association gets together for the annual dinner to reminisce about the school, its past, present, and future and to discuss the associations past year’s accomplishments, plan the coming year’s events, install new officers and recognize distinguished alumnus. This year’s meeting will include a 6:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. social hour in the Downs Center’s Spivey Board Room, followed by a buffet dinner at 7 p.m. in the Downs Center Atrium, followed by Cox’ address and the presentation of the Alumni Association’s Annual Outstanding Alumni Awards. Cox is no stranger to the Clayton State campus, having given the University’s December 2002 commencement address, and having been a major supporter of the establishment of the Georgia State Archives adjacent to the campus. Although Clayton State is best known for serving the residents of Atlanta’s “Southern Crescent,” the University’s alumni are currently spread out over more than 100 of Georgia’s 158 counties. The top 10 counties represented among the University’s 10,000 identified alumni are; Clayton (2210), Henry (1995), Fayette (1077), DeKalb (588), Fulton (572), Coweta (565), Gwinnett (294), Rockdale (259), Cobb (244), and Spalding (192). Other counties in the Top 25 among Clayton State alumni include; Newton (148), Douglas (116), Butts (99), Pike (79), Cherokee (50), Hall (42), Paulding (38), Forsyth (37), Walton (35), Lamar (32), Carroll (33), Chatham (22), Upson (18), Jasper (17) and Meriwether (15). Faculty from the various schools submit nominations for Outstanding Alumni Awards. One award will be given to the outstanding alumnus of each nominating school, plus an outstanding alumni award will be given overall to one individual for their outstanding accomplishments. Three specific characteristic criteria were used to nominate the alumni… the individual has to have made a significant contribution to their career area; leadership or achievement in their field; and community involvement that makes a difference. Nominations are evaluated and the members of the Alumni Meeting and Dinner Committee make the final decisions. This year’s six finalists are: • James M. (Jim) Baker (Atlanta) is owner of Chaseland Corporation, with offices in Clayton and Fulton counties, is a local land developer. Baker was nominated by the school of Arts & Sciences and graduated in 1978 with an Associate of Arts degree. • Ronald W. Burdekin (Fayetteville) is an employee of Merrill Lynch has been instrumental in assisting the faculty and administration of Clayton State’s School of Business, graduated in 1995 with a BBA in Accounting. He is currently the president of the Southside Chapter of the Georgia Society of CPA’s and had been instrumental in touching the career paths of many Clayton State graduates. • Leviticus Jelks II (Riverdale) is a 1996 graduate of Clayton State’s nursing program and was recently ordained as deacon in the Atlanta Catholic Archdiocese. While attending Clayton State, the nursing faculty remembers Jelks as a hard worker, well liked and personable with great people skills. • Senator Nadine Thomas (Ellenwood) is a recent graduate (2003) of Clayton State, coming back to complete her RN to BSN in 1998. Working as a RN at Grady Memorial Hospital and as a legislator now in her 5th term, Thomas has served on 13 committees in her 13 years as a state legislator. • Dwayne Hobbs (Forest Park) is chief of the Forest Park Police Department. He graduated from Clayton State’s School of Arts & Sciences with a 1977 Associates degree. He is indirectly responsible for several prestigious accreditations and certifications that many police forces want but very few have achieved. • Greg Mitchell (Newnan) has two degrees from the School of Technology. He graduated with an AAS in Industrial Services and Supervision, and then completed his BAS in Technology Management and Master’s degree from Embry-Riddle in Technology Management. Mitchell has been an active member of the Southern Crescent Education Initiative, a consortium among Clayton County Schools, Henry County Schools, Clayton State and business leaders. For more information on or reservations for the Annual Meeting of the Clayton State Alumni Association, call (770) 961-3580.