History & Mission
South Georgia Technical College has a long, rich history dating back to before World War I. Prior to being used as a college, the land on which SGTC now stands, was an Aviation Training Base during WWI and WWII.
Charles A. Lindbergh purchased his first airplane (a Jenny) at Souther Field in 1923 and learned to fly over the grounds of what is now South Georgia Technical College. Lindbergh would later become the first person to fly non-stop from New York to Paris in 1927 in the “Spirit of St. Louis.”
Since that time South Georgia Technical College has continued to soar. The school was originally named South Georgia Trade and Vocational School when it first opened in 1948. It was the second technical and vocational school in Georgia. Seventy-five students enrolled that first year in six programs ranging from six to twelve months in length.
The original programs offered were: Diesel Mechanics, Aircraft Mechanics and Aircraft Engine Mechanics, Air Conditioning, Basic Radio Service Communication & Code, Sheet Metal Construction, Upholstery and Woodworking. The aviation, air conditioning, automotive, and diesel programs are still active today. Basic Radio Service Communication and Code has advanced into Electronics Technology.
The “trade school” name was dropped in 1963 and the school became known as South Georgia Technical and Vocational School. The name changed again in 1988 to South Georgia Technical Institute when the Department of Technical and Adult Education was created by a legislative act, and the school came under the governance of the new department. South Georgia Tech opened a satellite campus in Cordele in July of 1990, and that addition was known as the Crisp County Center.
On November 2, 2000 the school officially became South Georgia Technical College. This opportunity was brought about with the passing of Governor Roy Barnes’s Education reform bill. Today, South Georgia Technical College offers over 200 Associate of Applied Science degrees, Diploma programs, and Technical Certificates of Credit.
Program areas include health care and personal services, business, industrial, and transportation technologies. Adult literacy classes are currently taught in five of the six counties in our service area, which includes Sumter, Schley, Macon, Marion, Webster, and Crisp Counties.
Mission
As a member of the Technical College System of Georgia and a residential institution of higher education, it is the mission of South Georgia Technical College to prepare individuals for success in the workforce by providing accessible, high-quality associate of applied science degrees, diplomas, technical certificates of credit, and non-credit programs and services that support the needs of citizens, businesses, and industries within our service delivery area in Southwest Georgia.
Extended Statement of Purpose
To realize the distinctiveness of its mission, South Georgia Technical College is committed to:
- Providing a broad range of campus based and online instructional credit courses that lead to an associate of applied science degree, diploma, or technical certificate of credit as well as non-credit course offerings and services which support workforce development
- Supporting learner success through quality student services
- Promoting economic development through partnerships with business, industry, government and local communities
- Providing accessible educational facilities and state-of-the-art equipment and technology
- Providing a qualified faculty and staff
- Providing administrative support through analysis, planning and budgeting