Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

Members of the Bainbridge Rotary Club met at the Kirbo Center on Tuesday afternoon for their weekly meeting, with the guest speaker of the day being former Bainbridge State College president and current Valdosta State University president, Dr. Richard Carvajal.

Dr. Carvajal was president of Bainbridge College from 2010 to 2015. His visit to Bainbridge was part of a larger tour through several South Georgia communities, the trip to Bainbridge meant to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the founding of Bainbridge College.

Carvajal went on to give a brief history of Valdosta State University, as well as its status as a regional comprehensive institution. “It’s a 41-county service region, and we are uniquely missioned, again, in partnership with all the technical college institutions that reside in those 41 counties, as well as the state colleges and state universities,” he explained.

Following this, Carvajal began to discuss the various changes and improvements VSU has been making over the past few years. This included adjusting their curriculum to offer education for engineering technicians, as well as expanding their online education program and providing educational training for ParaPros.

After concluding his presentation, Dr. Carvajal cut a 50th-anniversary cake presented for Rotary members.