Speaking to an overflow crowd at the Lowndes GOP monthly meeting Tuesday night, Valdosta State University Interim President Cecil Staton described an institution that is “structurally sound” but carrying the baggage of “negative perception rather than the positive reality” of its status.

Staton reported that as Tuesday, the second day of classes in VSU’s fall semester, enrollment stood at roughly 11,250, slightly less than its prior year over year number. 

“Valdosta State is a real gem,” Staton said, “and while it might need polishing, it is fundamentally sound and poised to become the academic, cultural and economic center of our region.”

Staton credited the support and dedication of the faculty, staff and community that he’s observed since taking the helm of VSU on July 1 for the institution’s resilience. 

“If we can channel this important resource, then we can meet VSU’s challenges,” he explained.

Valdosta State University’s recent decline in the enrollment can be attributed to a smaller pool of college entrance age students due to a population growth that has “flat lined” over the past few years.

Retention, or getting freshmen students to come back the next year, is also an issue.  Economic concerns, availability of courses in institutions closer to home and perception issues primarily affect these decisions.

“While VSU’s retention rate is at seventy percent, a healthier number, and where we would rather be, is in the range of eighty five percent,” said Staton.

The modality of reaching prospective students and when to start reaching them—as well as their parents—is also changing. 

“We’re about to initiate a campaign that reaches these high school students earlier and through the medium they use to put VSU on their radar screens, as well as that of their guidance and college counselors,” Staton reported.

“These challenges present opportunities which we will meet head on,” Staton assured the audience, adding, “We will live within budgetary restraints and reality.  Where we have fewer students, we will have fewer employees.  Where we have enrollment growth, we will have the personnel to meet those needs as well.”

Most heartening, according to Staton, is the response VSU is getting regarding its endowment campaign.  The number of alumni and corporate sponsors responding and the generosity of that response is gratifying, he said. 

“An institution the size of Valdosta State University ought to have an endowment of $100 million and I see no reason why that can’t be reached with a carefully planned and executed five or ten year plan,” Staton said.

Scott Smith, Lowndes GOP chairman, noted that “Dr. Staton is the right man, for the right job, at the right time and VSU, as well as our community, are the better for it.” 

The audience was a mix of VSU students, non-partisans and regular local Republican activists as well as several elected officials including State Sen. Ellis Black (R-8), Rep. Amy Carter (R-175), County Commission Chairman Bill Slaughter, Valdosta Mayor John Gayle and District 3 County Commissioner Mark Wisenbaker.

The local party, Smith explained, hopes to host other speakers of general interest to the community to “raise the awareness of how special Lowndes County is and what it has to offer to the entire region. Education isn’t confined to the classroom.”