Board of Trustees Member Continues His Generous Support to Benefit Gordon State College, its Students, Programs
By Karolina Philmon, GSC Marketing Manager
Gordon State College Board of Trustees member Dan White designated $100K of his $255K gift donation to the Constance H. Chinery Fine and Performing Arts endowment in support of the fine and performing arts program and its importance at GSC.
From Yatesville, Georgia, White has been a GSC Foundation Trustee since 2015.
White believed in the impact his personal investment would have on enhancing the students’ experience at GSC. He said in October of 2021 at the 17th Annual Regents’ Scholarship Gala that his focus “remains in students from rural areas.” More so, White said his generous gift will “further help GSC’s mission regionally and state-wide.”
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.
“Gordon State College is an absolute treasure. Its outstanding campus, its relatively small size, the emphasis on personalized academics, the array of degrees offered, its affordability and its impact on our region all makes it a stand out and unique institution,” White said.
White’s $255K gift donation in February of 2020 to the GSC Foundation was the largest donation in its history. Total contribution was designated to a combination of eight endowed scholarships, an endowed lecture series, and the Constance H. Chinery Fine and Performing Arts endowment.
“We can’t thank Dan White enough for all of the support that he has provided to Gordon State College! Mr. White’s transformational gifts will make such a difference in the lives of our students and programs for generations,” said Vice President of Advancement, External Relations and Marketing, and the Executive Director of the GSC Foundation, Montrese Adger Fuller.
One memory White credited in making GSC standout is Franklin D. Roosevelt’s visit and speech in 1938 at the stadium of then Gordon Military College that inaugurated rural electricity in Georgia through the Rural Electrification Association (REA) and Lamar Electric Membership Corporation (EMC).
“Lamar County was the first in Georgia to get electricity, one of the central accomplishments of FDR’s presidency,” White said.
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 or improve public libraries. He is also a partner and chief financial officer with Passive Solar Design and Construction, Inc.