Jermaine Whirl, Savannah State University’s new president, is nothing if not ambitious.
In his first “state of the university” address last week, Whirl set the bar high for the 134-year-old institution, the oldest historically Black public university in Georgia.
“We’re going to do everything that we can to ensure that the orange and blue is well represented throughout the region and beyond,” Whirl told an audience of more than a hundred people gathered at the ballroom of the university’s student union. “This is the strategic plan for Savannah State.”
In particular, the university of some 2,800 undergraduate and 229 graduate students, like the massive Hyundai electric vehicle plant in nearby Bryan County, both fuel, and benefit from, the region’s economic boom.
“We always talk about the Hyundai experience, right? We know how much money they’ve been pumping in—billions into this region,” Whirl said. “We have to be able to pump out the type of talent that they’re looking for.”
Decrepit infrastructure
Whirl, 39, was appointed president of Savannah State by the University System of Georgia’s Board of Regents in April. A South Carolina native and a graduate in economics from Winthrop University in Rock Hill, he earned a doctorate in education from Valdosta State University. He was serving as the president of Augusta Technical College before arriving in Savannah.
Whirl inherited the president’s office at a time when the university was reeling from the effects of the pandemic and faculty turmoil. Most of the focus of Whirl’s strategic plan is, however, focused on fixing and upgrading some of the school’s decrepit infrastructure.
Mold plagues some of its aging classroom buildings and student dormitories, which have been prone to flooding during inclement weather. The president said $1.2 million in state funds will be allocated immediately to start fixing those problems, as well as improve campus security.
One of the “most pressing” renovation projects, Whirl said, is the Willcox-Wiley Gymnasium, which serves as a hub for recreation and student athletics. It houses a dance studio, gymnasium, weight room and—most importantly to students—a swimming pool.
“When you talk about our needs and our issues, this was one of the things that we had to address. More importantly, when you talk to our students, this was the area that they said, ‘Dr. Whirl, we really, really want you to focus on,’” he said.
Describing the gym as being “beyond repair,” Whirl said the entire complex will be demolished and replaced by a 35,000 square-foot “wellness facility.” The university has requested $48.6 million from the Board of Regents to help cover the costs, he said.
‘Our university, our city’
At the heart of Whirl’s quest to catapult Savannah State into the upper ranks of higher education institutions in Georgia and the nation is enhancing “student success and regional impact.”
Equipping students to meet the needs of industry — and connecting them with those employers — is crucial. It is a merger of interests that will benefit everyone, he said:
“We want to ensure that we’re embedding industry certs, badges, micro-credentials in the curriculum while they’re enrolled at Savannah State. If we have that marriage with them…they’re more likely to graduate and stay here in the region. We have to have that marriage between us and industry.”
Whirl acknowledged that branding — and rebranding — is essential if he and the university are to achieve their goals.
“We’re going to do everything that we can to ensure that the orange and blue is well represented throughout the region and beyond,” the president said.
It is not only a matter of clothing bearing the right school colors and an image of a tiger, the school mascot.
“Most college towns, you see college stuff all over the town, right? …You see colors, you see banners, you see all of that,” he said. “It’s important because Savannah State is the city’s first university. This is our university. This is our city. This is our town. And I’ve said multiple times when you come across that Georgia-South Carolina border…you have entered Tiger territory.”
“And I’m very, very, serious about that.”