As John Fuchko III prepared to be invested as Dalton State College’s sixth president in late April, Dalton State Foundation Director David Elrod said foundation officials wanted to surprise him with a “unique” gift.
That gift came in the form of the foundation’s new President’s Innovation Fund, which was launched to “maximize flexibility and potential for rapid results with quick implementation of initiatives designed to enhance the quality of the student experience,” a document provided by the college said.
Elrod said in the three weeks leading up to Fuchko’s investiture ceremony,, the foundation “solicited gifts from (Fuchko’s) friends and colleagues,” as well as Dalton State College supporters.
“And they gave a total of $295,200 for this project,” he said. “The response we received to this — raising nearly $300,000 in three weeks — is a big vote of confidence in President Fuchko’s leadership and is indicative of the donors’ aspirations for what Dalton State can do in the community we serve.”
According to the document provided by the college, some of the impacts the President’s Innovation Fund can have on the college and community include providing rapid-response funding for a student who loses a job and can’t afford tuition for the following semester, helping first-generation college students with essential funds for summer research projects and supporting a strategic investment in an academic program to improve student preparedness to better meet the community’s needs.
Elrod said the fund will also provide Fuchko with “a ready source of funding to encourage creativity, respond rapidly to changing conditions and support special initiatives that enhance the student experience.”
During his visit to the college for the investiture ceremony, chancellor of the University System of Georgia and former governor Sonny Perdue said the fund provides the opportunity for Dalton State to continue growing.
“I was glad to hear about the new President’s Innovation Fund,” Perdue said. “(Fuchko’s) got a chance now to lead into the future and put his stamp on a college where students know they will see transformational change in their life and expect the college to deliver.”
Perdue said Fuchko is not a person who settles for the “status quo.”
“He inherited a good deal (as Dalton State’s president), but he’s going to take it even further and elevate the work that’s already been done here,” he said.
That includes making steps “to build on the traditions, to honor the past and to challenge the Roadrunner community to think bigger in how they can help each become better,” Perdue said. “Everyone that’s around John Fuchko, he makes them better.”
Elrod said members of the foundation are “grateful” for the support for Fuchko and the college.
People or corporations interested in giving to the President’s Innovation Fund can do so at https://daltonstate.givingfuel.com/pif or by check to the Dalton State Foundation, 650 College Drive, Dalton, GA 30720.
“To make a gift by electronic funds transfer (bank-to-bank) or to give stock, please contact the Dalton State Foundation at (706) 272-4473,” Elrod said.