Darton didn't just let Albany State use left-over space, they gave the visiting students priority, realizing they'd suffered enough trauma. I returned again to wield a sledgehammer, this time as the bittersweet demolition began. I then returned to introduce Julius Scott as Albany's interim president and again to introduce Portia Shields as the seventh president. I have visited Darton and watched it transform itself, responding positively to the changes in the System and embracing technology and high-demand academic fields. And this week, we have returned to see a new campus on one side of the river and a transformed one on the other side.
Rivers do indeed run deep, but so do the powers of human fortitude.
Talking of fortitude, my fortitude, of course, was tested a time or two in the recently completed legislative session . . . It was an outstanding session for the University System. I will not repeat the budget summary that I gave yesterday. At times, the life of a legislator is not an easy one. There are tough and competing decisions to be made.