The enterprise that the Oconee Chamber of Commerce named “Business of the Quarter” recently wasn’t a retailer or manufacturer, but an educational institution: The University of North Georgia. So, it made business sense to interview the Acting CEO of UNG’s Oconee Campus, Dr. Eric Skipper, to learn how a college could earn that unique recognition.

Skipper, who also serves as the Dean of Honors/Graduate Studies, explained that, in addition to applying his extensive background in academia, his primary role as CEO is to represent the institution and to build relations within the community, also known as the proverbial town-and-gown interrelationship.

“I serve as a liaison between our campus and local schools, government, civic organizations, businesses, etc. My job is also to encourage our faculty, staff and students to engage likewise, and they do a great job partnering with the community.” He serves as a member of the Oconee County Rotary Club and also sits on the Board of Directors for the Oconee County Chamber of Commerce. 

So, where does the business transactional part begin and end at this two-year campus, which has an enrollment of over 2,400 students? In other words, what are the direct benefits to the business community in addition to graduating a more educated workforce? Skipper lists some real-life, real-time examples:

• The Annual Research Conference, held every spring, gives students the opportunity to share their undergraduate research with the greater community. Often students’ research is shared only with their professors. “The ARC provides a venue for making their research public. Many of our students who present at the ARC also present at a state, regional or national conferences,” says Skipper. This year’s ARC on the Oconee Campus attracted Dr. Maureen Grasso, Dean of the UGA Graduate School, as a featured speaker.
• General undergraduate research helps students to clarify career interests and to apply research to real-world problems. It also allows them to tap into a realm of knowledge that transcends what they gain in the classroom. Undergraduate research enhances many of the skills needed in the professional world: critical thinking, creativity, problem solving, etc., and it helps students to understand the interdisciplinary nature of many problems found in the outside business world.
• Furthermore, undergraduate research is a necessary component for competing successfully for nationally competitive scholarships. This year alone UNG students have won Boren, Udall, Jack Kent Cooke, Gilman, Coca-Cola and AASCU Chinese Government scholarships. 
• During 2014, Skipper established an external advisory council for UNG’s Honors Program. This council, comprised of alumni, parents, and community/business leaders, will play an essential role in garnering resources for the Honors Program, which is now home to 300 elite students.
• UNG has had valuable collaboration with the Oconee Cultural Arts Foundation (OCAF). “Our art students are able to take applied classes at their facility. UNG is collaborating with OCAF in rehabilitating classroom space for OCAF/UNG use.”  

Skipper adds, “In conjunction with our business community partners, we’ve also co-hosted a number of first-time events during the past year, such as the History on the Lawn Celebration with the Oconee Historical Society and the Holiday Concert with the Oconee Chamber of Commerce.” 

Looking to the challenges of the future, the Board of Regents and the Georgia legislature have approved a 12,000 square foot, $2.5 million expansion, which will feature a science lab, a language lab, classrooms, a learning commons, a conference room, and faculty offices, beginning in late summer. Also, the school is in the process of adding parking spaces, and will have a Public Safety annex coming online early in the fall. “We hope that with the added classroom space we will be able to increase, at least nominally, the number of academic programs we offer. The great majority of our students continue on to study at a four-year institution; almost half of them end up at UGA.”

Since about one-third of the UNG students came from either Oconee or Clarke counties, the university remains very committed to serving the local constituency and the area business community. “We are also committed to serving students who commute from a greater distance, and are seeking ways to provide a more complete infrastructure in order to allow them to stay on campus once they are here. Upon graduation, our objective is that they will be well-trained to enter the local workplace as business leaders of tomorrow,” says Skipper. 

Dr. Skipper has held a variety of administrative positions at the former Gainesville State College, including Acting Assistant Vice-President for Academic Enrichment and Dean of Humanities and Fine Arts. He is CEO for the UNG’s Oconee campus, and serves as Dean of Honors/Graduate Studies. In 2010, the American Association of Teachers of Spanish and Portuguese-Georgia chapter named Dr. Skipper Professor of the Year. He is author of the volume A Recipe for Discourse: Perspectives on Like Water for Chocolate (Rodopi, 2010), which offers critical analyses of the best-selling novel by Laura Esquivel. He currently serves as President of the Georgia Council of Graduate Schools. A resident of Oconee County, Skipper holds degrees from Georgia Tech (B.S.) and Florida State University (Ph.D.). He has taught previously at Augusta State University and Gordon College. 

Dr. Skipper may be contacted at [email protected].

About John Tabellione

John Tabellione is an award-winning, professional business writer, complemented by over twenty-five years of strategic communication responsibilities as a Marketing, New Business Development and National Account Sales Executive in consumer goods and commercial industries. 

Experience with Fortune 500 companies, as well as with smaller firms and non-profits, encompassing a variety of products, including those of Georgia-Pacific, Kimberly-Clark and Stanley Works. 

John has a B.A. in English from Fairfield University and an MBA in Marketing from the University of Hartford. In addition, he has studied Russian at the Defense Language Institute at Syracuse University, and Italian language and culture at Kennesaw State University.