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Georgia College History

Biography

President Bunting received his PhD from the University of Pennsylvania and came to Georgia College at Milledgeville from his position as dean of the College of Business Administration at the University of Georgia.  Dr. Bunting had also served as the president of Oglethorpe College from 1952-1955.  During his tenure as president, Dr. Bunting strived to build a campus with a strong emphasis on faculty research and he worked to expand programs in business administration and science. Along with these changes, the mission of Georgia College began to change from being an all women's school serving all of Georgia, to a coeducational school with an emphasis on serving people living in Middle Georgia. Many of the students attending Georgia College in the 1970s commuted on a daily basis from cities throughout Middle Georgia, leaving the residential life at the college a shadow of what it had been. Annual events that had been honored by students throughout the history of the college began to disappear in the 1970s. The once highly anticipated “Golden Slipper” ceased to be a part of student life; the student newspaper, the Colonnade, publishing weekly from its inception in 1924 became a bi-monthly publication; and the yearbook, the Spectrum, became a collage of unlabeled photographs. While student life on campus changed dramatically, Bunting expanded the educational opportunities available through the college. In 1969 the college began offering a Master of Business Administration and in 1971 a Masters Degree in History was offered for the first time.  Dr. Bunting also worked to improve relations with the Milledgeville community and instituted “Georgia Day” in 1969, an annual event commemorating the founding of the states.  President Bunting died in 1994 and was interred in Memory Hill Cemetery in Milledgeville.  The J. Whitney Bunting School of Business remains as a reminder of his legacy.

Major Accomplishments

  • Bunting oversaw the renovation of Atkinson Hall.
  • Bunting helped campus in the creation and expansion of graduate programs.