Middle Georgia State University (MGA) hosted a groundbreaking ceremony on Thursday, Jan. 23, for the newly named Peyton Anderson Enrollment Center, a privately funded facility on the Macon Campus designed to ease and streamline enrollment for prospective students.
 
Among those attending were MGA leaders and representatives of the Peyton Anderson Foundation and the Community Foundation of Central Georgia, both of which provided financial gifts to help make the enrollment center a reality. The Peyton Anderson Foundation awarded the largest grant of $1.5 million.
 
“In this building, students will be able to see more clearly what happens when they choose the path of higher education,” said Karen Lambert, president of The Peyton Anderson Foundation.
 
The $3 million, 8,000-square-foot center is designed to ease the steps to enrollment for prospective students by providing a central location for them to apply for admission, secure financial aid, register for classes, and, as they approach graduation, transition into careers.
 
Along with a major roadwork and roundabout project now underway, the building will significantly transform the Macon Campus’s main entrance. The enrollment center will be highly visible to motorists along I-475 and Eisenhower Parkway and serve as an anchor of sorts to the west Macon-Bibb business corridor.
 
The MGA Foundation has been raising private funds for the enrollment center for several years.
 
“Central Georgia is stronger because Middle Georgia State is here,” said Kathryn Dennis, president of the Community Foundation of Georgia.
 
Representing the University, President Dr. Christopher Blake noted that the generosity of the donors is widening the gateway to educational opportunities for many more potential students. Steve Daugherty, chairman of the MGA Foundation Board of Directors, said, “We are excited to see the outcomes (of) this new Center.”
 
Peyton Anderson, owner in the 1960s and 70s of the Macon Telegraph and the Macon News, was a highly successful businessman, family man, civic leader and philanthropist. In his will, Peyton Anderson assigned the bulk of his estate for charitable purposes to benefit his hometown and region of Macon and Central Georgia.