H OPE has been adopted as a national model and we, because of it, are keeping more of our best students here with us, as well as attracting all those kids who are trying to slip across our borders to get that free education. W e are the envy of the rest of the country because we are the most exciting state in the entire United States in terms of higher education today. A nd I am the president of the university with the most exciting mission in this exciting state. C hancellor Portch and the Board of Regents demonstrated remarkable insight when they realized that we could complement and strengthen the already acknowledged excellence of the University of Georgia, of Georgia Tech, and of the rest of our University System by establishing one college dedicated to the liberal arts. W hat these students, the ones who choose liberal arts colleges, are looking for is the kind of education that can only happen at a smaller school, where the classes are small, where interaction with faculty is the highest priority.
Facts matter less now than does the ability to keep learning how to learn.
T he students who graduate from the private liberal arts colleges in our country are among the most self-confident, poised, articulate, and knowledgeable graduates every year, and they are invariably the most sought after by CEOs of large companies because those CEOs are smart enough to know they want people who will excel not just at entry level jobs but throughout their careers because they are broadly educated. A liberal arts education is among the most practical and the most marketable type of education offered. We are tremendously honored by our new statewide liberal arts mission. Some of the best and brightest students throughout Georgia need and will thrive in the smaller, more closely knit, more intense environment we can offer, focusing on them as whole people, teaching them values and perspectives they will need to lead lives that are both productive and meaningful, shaping them to be the leaders of our state and our society. I n the past, this kind of education, the kind that many, many parents want for their children, was available only at great expense.