Reflecting on her time as the first female president in Dalton State College’s history, Margaret Venable said she “couldn’t be more proud.”
“I am just the first,” Venable said. “There are lots of people out there that look for representation. But if I can do that for even a handful of people, I’m very proud of that because I want everybody, particularly our current and future students, to know that they can do anything they want to do.”
Venable, who retired as Dalton State’s fifth president in May 2023 after eight years in the role, was honored with the unveiling of a presidential portrait during a ceremony at the college on Tuesday, Jan. 30.
Painted by Memphis, Tennessee-based artist Jamie Lee McMahan, the portrait hangs in the college’s Westcott Hall near the president’s office along with portraits of Dalton State’s previous four presidents Arthur Gignilliat, Derrell Roberts, James Burran and John Schwenn.
“This is a historic day for the college,” said David Elrod, Dalton State’s director of institutional advancement. “In 57 years of our history we have done this five times.”
During the ceremony, Elrod introduced several special guests with ties to those 57 years, including former board chairman of the Dalton State Foundation Jim Jolly, whose father Rollins helped charter the then-Dalton Junior College in 1967; Leta Faye Roberts, wife of second president Derrell Roberts; Dalton State’s fourth president John Schwenn, who directly preceded Venable and now holds the title of president emeritus; and Dalton Junior College’s first academic dean Ben Wygal, among others.
“There is a significant and probably unprecedented amount of history of the college in this room,” Elrod said.
Current Dalton State President John Fuchko III, who succeeded Venable last year, said working alongside her in various roles throughout the University System of Georgia was both a “pleasure and a privilege,” if not “a little bit of a challenge.”
“It’s a lot easier to follow somebody who has messed things up, so thank you for not doing that,” Fuchko said with a smile. “It truly is a great honor to follow after you.”
Venable was instrumental in several renovations to campus buildings and served on several boards including for the Greater Dalton Chamber of Commerce, the Hispanic Association for Colleges and Universities and the Community Foundation of Northwest Georgia.
“I am truly honored to be permanently connected to the history of this college,” Venable said. “From the past to the present and thinking forward to the future, I have always felt support (from) employees, students, donors and the community. and now I hope the future will feel my contributions, though small, to shape the future of this college. I’m just so proud of all of the work we do, the students we are producing, the lives that we are touching in the community through our graduates. I just couldn’t be more proud.”
Venable said while thinking of her portrait “hanging for everyone to see” at the college, she couldn’t help but be reminded of walking down the halls of past institutions where she had worked.
“At some point in every institution, I walked down a hall of portraits of former presidents, yet it never once occurred to me I might be one of those portraits some day,” she said. “Never once.”
Venable said another thought came to mind while reflecting on the honor.
“One of the things I thought about was that, yes, I am the first female president at Dalton State,” she said. “And when I first came, I thought ‘Well, that doesn’t matter. What difference does that make?’ But over time, I began to understand that it does matter. It matters to those future generations that are coming up that will walk past the portraits of the presidents and perhaps see somebody that makes them think ‘This could be me someday.’”
The portrait marks McMahan’s fifth commission for the college, which includes prior portraits of Shelby and Willena Peeples (displayed in the college’s Peeples Hall), former member of the University System of Georgia Board of Regents and charter trustee James Brown (inside Brown Hall) and the portraits of former presidents Schwenn and Burran inside Westcott Hall.
“I think of Jamie now like a favorite uncle,” said Elrod. “You’re a member of the family, so we appreciate this very much.”
McMahan said it was “terrific” to come back to Dalton and honor Venable.
“I get to paint presidents for a lot of universities and colleges around the country and you can tell right away the type of family and camaraderie and teamwork that you can sense in a smaller campus like this,” McMahan said. “I don’t sense that with large universities. Here, it’s just a different type of place and I love it.”
Mackenzie Manley, president of the college’s Student Government Association, said Venable was a “treasure to have” at the campus for students.
“A lot of the many things you heard during Dr. Venable’s time (as president) was how much she really cared about students,” Manley said. “Students were always at the center of her heart and (she) has always been supportive. I remember when I took office as student body president, one of the first things she told me was ‘If you ever need anything, I’m just a couple of doors down.’ She always let us know that she was always available for help.”
Cameron West, the lead ambassador for Dalton State’s Wright School of Business and a junior studying business administration and management, said being a part of the unveiling ceremony was “warming.”
“Not only has she done a lot for our students here, but she’s done a lot for the community as a whole,” West said. “She’s a really good person to look up to and I think she is more than deserving of this. She’ll make sure that you’re taken care of and have what you need and, especially for myself as a first-generation college student, it’s really good to know that you can have that perspective and that connection with the president.”
In his closing remarks, Fuchko noticed there was an “error” on the screen behind him.
“Some of you may recognize that the name is spelled correctly, but we’re missing a title,” he said.
Fuchko told the audience members the University System of Georgia’s Board of Regents, following the recommendation of Chancellor Sonny Perdue, named Venable president emerita at their recent new member board meeting.
“Congratulations on that achievement as well,” Fuchko said.