The College of Coastal Georgia’s Camden Center offers quality higher education in Camden County.
“The Camden Center – close to home and affordable.”
The Camden Center is an off-campus instructional site of the College of Coastal Georgia, located just a few miles north of the Florida border, in Kingsland. The site provides a regular schedule of day, evening, and online classes for the convenience of students from Camden, Charlton, Brantley, and Nassau, Florida counties, who attend the College.
Classes span the core courses for business, education, the humanities and social sciences, math, natural sciences and health sciences.
The College of Coastal Georgia began offering classes in Camden County in 1983, initially on the Kings Bay military base. The 101,000 square-foot Camden Center opened in May 2004, featuring a beautiful rotunda, a 270-seat auditorium, classrooms, chemistry and biology laboratories, full-service library/learning center, a teaching kitchen, and demonstration dining room.
The Camden Center provides personal service to help all students start or continue their college career, especially those affiliated with the military, new freshmen – first generation students, as well as transfers, dual enrollment, and adult learners.
Joseph Lodmell is the Director of the Camden Center.
Accredited by the American Culinary Institute, the Culinary Arts program at the College of Coastal Georgia is the only ACF credited culinary arts program in Georgia.
The course work in the Culinary Arts program includes but is not limited to theory and skill development in food preparation, hospitality management, purchasing and receiving, menu planning/design, food and beverage management, and sanitation. Completion of this program along with work experiences will make the student eligible for ACF certification. The student will acquire skills in Culinary Arts as well as management.
Chef Steven L. Ingersoll, Assistant Professor of Culinary Arts, is a graduate of the New England Culinary Institute and was Camden County’s 2009 Chef of the Year.
The Camden Center has a veteran’s lounge located on the first floor of the north wing. It is open to all active duty, veterans, and military family members attending Coastal Georgia. The lounge is a place to relax between classes, get a free snack or drink, and socialize with other military-affiliated students. Feel free to make use of this facility while you are attending classes at Coastal Georgia.
We strive to engage all veterans in programs and activities that will enhance their college experience and all aspects of their educational goals. We commit ourselves to helping veterans build a solid foundation for their futures through a veteran-friendly environment.
Joshua Clark (MS in Biology) is an alumnus of the College of Coastal Georgia, graduating in 2004 with an Associates of Science. It was during this time that Mr. Clark collaborated with Georgia College of Milledgeville, Georgia to unearth Pleistocene-aged (20,000 years BCE) fossils at a site – later named Clark Quarry – within Brunswick, Georgia. This site contained the remains of giant bison, mammoths, and giant tortoises, among other ancient fauna. After graduating, he transferred to Georgia College in Milledgeville to continue his work in paleontology, where he obtained a Master’s degree in biology. His work focused mainly on the Pleistocene herpetofaunta (reptiles and amphibians) discovered at Clark Quarry, and an understanding of the Pleistocene climate of Coastal Georgia during the last Ice Age. Today, Mr. Clark has returned to his alma mater, the College of Coastal Georgia, where he currently teaches introductory courses within both biology and geology.
Dr. Jennifer Hatchel earned her Ph.D. in Microbiology from Miami University, Oxford, OH. Prior to that, she received her Masters in Biology from Austin Peay State University, Clarksville, TN, and her Bachelor’s in Biology at the University of Tennessee-Martin, where she graduated magna cum laude. Dr. Hatchel has taught Principles of Biology I and II with labs, Human Anatomy & Physiology I and II with labs, Foundations of Microbiology with lab, Pathophysiology, Immunology, Microbial Diversity, and Topics in Biological Sciences (Infectious Diseases, Environmental Microbiology). Her research interests include the antimicrobial properties of Manuka honey. She has supervised independent research with undergraduate students investigating the effects of Manuka honey on Salmonella enteritidis, and recently, a student started investigating the effects of Manuka honey combined with lemon and ethanol against Streptococcus pyogenes. Dr. Hatchel hopes to continue these experiments in the future. She is also interested in looking at microbial populations in local rivers and seeing how that affects water quality. One student was working on preliminary experiments at Crooked River State Park, but they were only able to collect a few sets of data. Dr. Hatchel hopes to continue this work in the future as well.
Steve Ingersoll is assistant Senior Chef Instructor and Assistant Professor of Culinary Arts in the School of Business and Public Affairs at the College of Coastal Georgia. He received his AOS in Culinary Arts from the New England Culinary Institute, and is also a member of the American Culinary Federation and serves as the vice president of the local chapter.
He has been with the College since 2004, having previously been a chef- instructor at the New England Culinary Institute, as well as executive chef at a number of fine establishments in Illinois and Vermont. While teaching at NECI, he was a core faculty member from 1995-2004. Chef Ingersoll, top in his class at NECI, was recruited by NECI to create a specialized certificate program designed to condense the first year culinary experience into a 15-week program. After the success of the program Chef became a tournant instructor as well as baking and dinner instructor.
Chef Ingersoll found his passion in culinary arts as a career changer. Having originally pursued a career in pharmacology, his path changed and went back to hospitality. Having vast experience in front-of-the-house operations from a resort hotel, Chef Ingersoll found himself back what he loved most – fine service and amazing food. When asked what is his specialty, his usual reply is ‘my mood’. This defines his philosophy of cooking – understand and master the basic rudiments of cooking, and then you are liberated to prepare any cuisine that you want. This is what he brings to the classroom: mastering the basics sets you on the path to be a great chef.
Steve Ingersoll believes that being a chef defines who you are as a person and defines your lifestyle. He brought that belief home, being the father of six children, Chef was dedicated to his career and family. Raising his family on small farm in Vermont, growing vegetables in his organic garden, making goat cheese from his herd of dairy goats, gathering fresh eggs and supporting the burgeoning farm to table movement which had early beginning in Vermont. Chef Ingersoll believes that chefs need to be directly connected to the source of our products, both at home and in the restaurant.
Chef Ingersoll teaches many of the high demand culinary courses in the ACF accredited Associates of Applied Science in Hospitality Management with specialization in Culinary Arts Program, where he brings these passions to the students. He teaches Catering, Garde Manger, Basic Food Preparation, Basic and Advanced Baking, Basic and Advanced Cooking, Dining Room Management and others. Chef Ingersoll works out of the Camden Center campus location. It has a full-service teaching kitchen which he manages as well as a demonstration dining room.
