Georgia Military College

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Georgia Military College


Established	1879
Type	Public Independent Junior College
President	Major General Peter Boylan
Staff	150
Undergraduates	5,000
Postgraduates	0
Location	Milledgeville, Georgia, USA
Campus	urban 25 acres (0.1 km²)
Athletics	Bulldogs
Colors	Red and Black
Website	www.gmc.cc.ga.us

Established in 1879 in Milledgeville, Georgia Military College (abbreviated as GMC) now includes a liberal arts junior college, a high school, and a middle school. GMC's focus is on a junior college military science program that culminates at the end of two years of study and training with contracted cadets being commissioned as officers in the U.S. Army.

In addition to the main campus in Milledgeville for about 275 resident full-time ROTC students (the Corps of Cadets) and several hundred local area commuter students, GMC offers five centers and two extension offices located around the state of Georgia at the sites listed below that serve a total of almost 4,000 commuter full and part time students.

GMC also offers a military Prep School for commuter students in the Baldwin County area with a total of about 350 Junior ROTC Cadets from 6th to 12th grade (middle and high school) enrolled. The ACCEL Program (formerly known as Joint Enrollment) at Georgia Military College Prep School is administered by the Georgia Student Finance Commission and enables qualified seniors to attend classes at the junior college and the high school simultaneously while earning credit for both their high school diploma and their college degree. Other than the cost of books, this benefit is available to GMC Prep School cadets at no additional charge.

1 Corps of Cadets
2 High School & Middle School
3 History
4 Athletics
5 Campuses
6 External links

[edit] Corps of Cadets

GMC's Early Commissioning Program (ECP) is specifically designed to enable students to become a Second Lieutenant in the US Army after the first two years in college. GMC offers funding specifically to help pay costs for Corps of Cadet members on the Milledgeville Campus. The State Service Scholarship Program provides 39 full scholarships to qualified Georgia residents with an interest in military service as well as a quality college education. The program is funded through the Georgia General Assembly. Scholarship recipients are required to become members of either the Army or Air National Guard and must be nominated by a member of the Georgia General Assembly. These scholarships cover tuition, fees, rooms, board, books and supplies. Scholarship winners must join the Corps of Cadets and participate in Army ROTC. Army ROTC Scholarships are also available for qualified cadets interested in the Early Commissioning Program (ECP). These scholarships are funded through ROTC and cover tuition, fees, and an amount for books, plus a monthly stipend. There are various options for ROTC scholarship based on the student's desire for active duty or reserve component duty.

After completing studies at GMC, a transfer scholarship is available for those GMC graduates desiring to complete their 4-year degree at Georgia's senior military college, North Georgia College and State University (NGC&SU) in Dahlonega, Georgia. Georgia is the only state in the country to have both a senior military college (NGCSU) and a military junior college (GMC). Combined, GMC and NGCSU currently have almost 900 cadets pursuing a commission in the U.S. Army.

One of the ways in which a student can become an ECP cadet is to attend the Leader’s Training Course at Fort Knox, Kentucky. The Course is 4 weeks long and the Cadet will be paid by the U.S. Army for completing the course. Between the Cadet's freshmen and sophomore years, the Cadet will attend the National Advanced Leadership Course (NALC) at Fort Lewis, Washington. Following NALC, the Cadet may be able to attend additional training with Army units all over the world and in the United States. After completing required training, the Cadet is commissioned a U.S. Army officer at the end of his/her sophomore year.

GMC opened its modern barracks (dorm) facility in January of 2007 for the 275 students that comprise the Corps of Cadets. A new academic building and dining hall have recently been completed.

[edit] High School & Middle School

Because it is part of JROTC, GMC's high school has mandatory 50 minute LET (Leadership, Education, Training) classes throughout the day. The school day is followed by a 50 minute period of marching on historic Davenport field. After school extracurricular activities include marching band, football, baseball, basketball, softball, rifle team, drill team, dance line, cheerleading, color guard, cross county, and track.

The school's middle school is modeled after the high school having drill at the end of the day led by cadet leadership.

[edit] History

1890 graduation class

Georgia Military College was created in 1879 by act of the Georgia General Assembly "to educate young men and women from the Middle Georgia area in an environment which fosters the qualities of good citizenship." It was the apparent intention of the General Assembly to establish the school as a unit of the slowly forming University System of Georgia. State property in Milledgeville was loaned to the University of Georgia by the Act of 1879, and the Board of Trustees of the University of Georgia was given veto powers by this Act over the acts of the local Board of Trustees of the new institution. The school was originally called Middle Georgia Military and Agricultural College and was ceded state government lands surrounding the Old Capitol Building, the seat of government for the State of Georgia from 1807-1868. The Old Capitol Building, then as now, is the main college facility and sits on the highest point in Milledgeville. The 1890 graduating class was the first to have female students.

The College's intended purpose was to enable graduates to enter higher classes at the University of Georgia, to give training in agriculture and mining, and, finally, to train teachers.

The name of the school was changed to Georgia Military College in 1900. Legislative acts of 1920 and 1922 severed the relationship with the University of Georgia and gave the local Board total power over the operations of the school. In 1922 as well the method of electing members of the Board of Trustees and filling vacancies on the board was changed. This act provided for a seven member board to be elected from and by the citizens of Milledgeville with terms of the Trustees staggered to provide continuity. In 1930 the official addition of a junior college division to the College-preparatory secondary school finally justified its name. In 1950 the War Department designated the institution a "Military Junior College." Today it is one of only six remaining US military junior colleges so designated.

[edit] Athletics

Georgia Military College competes in soccer, tennis, golf, cross country, softball, and football. The football program has firmly established itself as one of the very finest junior college programs in the country. Since 1991, GMC has developed 36 All-Americans, won the Junior College National Championship in 2001, played for the national championship in 2002, played in eight junior college bowl games, and sent over 250 young men to continue their education and athletic careers at four-year institutions across the country. The football team finished the 2005 season ranked 2nd in the nation. In the last decade, 15 GMC alumni have played in the NFL.

[edit] Campuses

In addition to the main campus in Milledgeville, GMC Junior College centers and extension offices are located in Atlanta, Augusta, Columbus, Madison, Valdosta and Warner Robins.