May 14, 2012
College of Coastal Georgia in Brunswick announced earlier today that HunterMaclean, a leading business law firm with offices in Brunswick and Savannah, has pledged $12,500 to help fund an innovative new scholarship for undergraduate students. The Leadership Through Service Scholarship will provide support for service-learning participants enrolled in a bachelor’s degree program in Business or Psychology at the College of Coastal Georgia.
“We are honored by the commitment of HunterMaclean law firm to support the Leadership Through Service Scholarship program at Coastal Georgia,” said Valerie A. Hepburn, Ph.D., president of the College of Coastal Georgia. “Service-learning is a key priority for this college and the community. The support from HunterMaclean is impactful and valued.”
The College of Coastal Georgia adopted service-learning in 2011 as a signature academic initiative to improve quality of student learning. Service-learning is a teaching approach in which students expand their academic learning through practical application in hands-on, real-life experiences that promote community interests. Through service-learning and community engagement, students enhance their academic and leadership skills – including critical thinking, communication and teamwork – while helping others.
“Structured service-learning is more than volunteerism,” said Dr. Hepburn. “It effects solutions and changes the world. It is a win-win-win for the student, the community and the college.”
“In recent years, the College of Coastal Georgia has grown to become a vibrant, residential four-year program,” said attorney Ben Hartman, a partner at HunterMaclean’s Brunswick office who also serves on the board of directors of the College Foundation. “The dividends for the Brunswick community are significant. At HunterMaclean, we want to support the growth of the college and to enhance its positive impact upon the area’s future leaders.”
In December 2008, the College of Coastal Georgia began offering four-year baccalaureate degree programs, embarking the College on a transformative master plan with academic and infrastructure expansions to accommodate 6,000 students by 2020. The master plan includes new and redesigned academic facilities, an academic quadrangle with central pedestrian mall, a new Campus Center and on-campus student housing.
The College of Coastal Georgia embraces its mission to foster academic excellence and individual development, to provide accessible and affordable higher education to a wide spectrum of learners, and to engage with the community and the region. Through an integrated program of applied knowledge and service-learning, grounded in real-world experiences within the community, the College offers a wide range of degree programs for traditional and non-traditional students.
The Leadership Through Service Scholarship is open to additional funding. For information about how area businesses can help, please contact the College of Coastal Georgia Advancement Office at 912.279.5925.
