Dan White Honored at the 17th Annual Regents’ Scholarship Gala
Gordon State College Board of Trustees member, Dan White, was honored as a recipient of the Regents’ Hall of Fame Alumni and Distinguished Friends Award at the 17th annual Regents’ Scholarship Gala on Wednesday, Oct. 13, at the Fernbank Museum in Atlanta.
The event’s theme, “Cultivating the Next Georgia,” was hosted by the University System of Georgia Foundation. The net proceeds from generous sponsors and a live auction will support and provide student need-based scholarships for University System of Georgia (USG) students across the state during the 2021-22 academic year.
White, from Yatesville, Georgia, has been a GSC Foundation Trustee since 2015. In February of 2020, the GSC Foundation received the largest donation in its history, a landmark $255,000 gift from White. His personal investment to GSC, White said, “is to help further its mission regionally and state-wide. My focus remains in students from rural areas.”
GSC’s vision statement includes being a leader and primary educational partner in elevating the region’s economic prosperity and educational attainment through collaboration, integrated educational experiences and a vibrant campus culture. Its mission includes being a catalyst for exceptional and accessible education through innovative teaching, engaged learning and transformative experiences for the benefit of the students, the communities that are served and the world we live in.
“In order to continue the pursuit of our mission, we need partners like Dan to come alongside us during this journey. Dan embodies the spirit of the Power of WE,” said Dr. Kirk A. Nooks, GSC President.
White has continuously been a generous supporter of the students, the Fine and Performing Arts program and the History program at GSC. His $255,000 gift donation in 2020 is designated toward a combination of eight endowed scholarships, an endowed lecture series and an endowed Constance H. Chinery Fine and Performing Arts support fund.
“We are very excited that Dan White was recognized at the event this year. He has been an avid supporter of the students and programs at Gordon State College, and his transformational gifts will continue to make a difference in the lives of the students for many years to come,” said Montrese Adger Fuller, Vice President of Advancement, External Relations and Marketing.
White has a long history with GSC and family members who currently attend Gordon. He is the co-founder and director of The Rural Library Project, Inc., a nonprofit organization working with rural municipalities to establish new and small libraries. In addition, White is a partner in Passive Solar Design and Construction, Inc.
“I was moved to support GSC with the largest gift in the school's history because of the importance of GSC as an educational resource to the West Central Georgia Region,” said White. “Through a family connection dating back over 100 years ago, I have seen the transformational impact of the College. Within my extended family, Elizabeth Wilson Wynn- Farmer's daughter from Pike County earned a degree from Gordon, and she became a school teacher whose children were all college graduates holding advanced degrees. GSC is a treasure for our region, our state and our nation.”