Expanding Campus

For some, consolidation will be a four letter word   While it might be called a consolidation, the idea that Augusta State University, aka Harvard on the Hill, will now be absorbed into the colossus at the foot of the hill, Georgia Health Sciences University, is unsettling plenty of academics and administrators working in the higher elevations. After all, the point of the whole thing is supposed to be to save money, and you don’t have to be a blue-collar worker to realize what that means. On Tuesday, the Board of Regents approved the school consolidations Chancellor Hank Huckaby recommended last week, paving the way for GHSU President Dr. Ricardo Azziz to take over whatever the new institution might be called. He obviously has experience at the whole naming thing. In this case, Azziz is an accidental emperor, but one whose imperialistic tendencies make him sure to embrace the challenge. “The Board’s approval now paves the way for us to proceed,” Huckaby said in a press release. “We will focus on how these consolidations enable us to better serve our students and areas of the state more efficiently and effectively. I look forward to working with the eight institutions on this process.” In other words, we’ve made the decision, now we’ll figure out how to make it work. And that’s precisely the kind of vacuum Azziz works in best. Remember that grace period after he took over the helm at MCG? Nobody else does, either, because while they were sitting back preparing for a slew of meetings and maybe circling the new coffeemaker they hoped to order for the department, Azziz was out giving them all a new name and implementing all sorts of other initiatives. Now he’s actually got a mandate rubber stamped by the Board of Regents. Though the idea of the consolidation has been floated for a few months, you can’t blame them if the folks at ASU are feeling a little ambushed by it all. Early on, employees at all levels were finding out about things along with the rest of Augusta, and the usual emailed talking points weren’t trickling down, either, so nobody knew what they were supposed to say about it all. And as you can imagine, the administrative offices are in considerable turmoil, since they’re the ones most likely to be consolidated. If you’re at ASU, it’s like you’re playing a game of musical chairs and your mom’s not manning the music. And while musical chairs are fun enough when you’re a kid, if you’re left standing as an adult, there’s no one’s there to give you a cupcake and tell you it’s going to be okay. On the upside — at least Azziz finally gets the grassy campus he’s always wanted.You Might Also Like: