Mission accomplished. A few years later, College of Coastal Georgia began enrolling students in four-year degree programs.
Its new status began drawing greater influence around it and to the Golden Isles, just as Bishop and other community leaders imagined it would and just as the college continues to do today.
“We had hoped that it would touch the lives of so many that weren’t being touched at the time,” said Bishop, sitting Tuesday in his law office on St. Simons Island. “And I’m convinced that it has.”
Bishop has been a leader in the legal profession in Glynn County for more than 60 years. He served on the university system’s board of regents from 2007 to 2011 and played an integral role in the conversion of the College of Coastal Georgia to a four-year institution.
Bishop will be recognized for his work and receive one of the university system’s highest honors today in Atlanta. He will be presented with the University System of Georgia Regents’ Hall of Fame Alumni and Distinguished Friends Achievement Award during the Regents’ Scholarship Gala.
Coastal College of Georgia President Michelle Johnston nominated Bishop for the award. Bishop will be one of five recipients in the state selected to receive the prestigious award this year.
“As a former regent, a dedicated supporter of public higher education in Georgia, a longtime friend and supporter of the College of Coastal Georgia and a dedicated servant of his community and state, it is difficult to imagine a more fitting recipient,” Johnston said. “His personal and professional achievements are remarkable and worthy of holding up as a source of inspiration to generations of leaders to come.”
Being appointed a regent by the governor came with many responsibilities, none of which Bishop took lightly.
“Serving on the board of regents was a great privilege for me and an honor beyond a imagination — a small town boy from Alma, Georgia, being able to hopefully serve in a system of such importance and prominence in the state,” Bishop said. “And I was very humbled to do so. That’s what I told the governor.”
The university system’s board of regents serve differently than regents in most other states, Bishop said. In Georgia, the 19 regents oversee all public colleges and universities in the state. To be effective a regent must be familiar with all state colleges and universities.
Bishop made sure to visit every college in the system, which he said is no small feat.
“It’s kind of difficult to do all of that and at the same time maintain whatever’s going on in your life, whether it’s your personal life or your business life, and I was still practicing law then, as I am today,” he said.
Bishop’s work as a regent has been recognized locally on a number of occasions, including the naming of the college’s main entrance gate as “Bishop Arch.” Bishop is also a past chairman of the University System of Georgia Foundation, an organization that supports the work of the University System.
The Distinguished and Friends Alumni Awards is one of the highest honors presented by the board of regents. Recipients are selected through a highly competitive process. Each recipient has made a lasting impact on society and on the University System of Georgia through professional, philanthropic or volunteer accomplishments.
The award recognizes individuals of high integrity, stature and proven ability who demonstrate a care for and commitment to higher education in Georgia that inspires others.
Bishop said he’s humbled to receive the award and feels the recipient is not only himself but the entire community. Many local leaders and others deserve credit for the success story of College of Coastal Georgia, he said.
Bishop reserved special credit for one person in particular — his wife of 55 years, Mary.
“I have often been told by many that my greatest attribute in life is my wife,” he said. “And I would agree with that. She is kind of the North Star for me, you know. She keeps me on course all the time.”
When Bishop was appointed to the board of regents, he became the first regent appointed from Glynn County in 40 years.
Soon after his appointment, Bishop said conversations about leveraging the opportunity to create a four-year program in Glynn County began to happen quickly.
Not all in the community supported creating a four-year program at the college, Bishop said. Many did, though.
An analysis, called the Morgan Report, was completed to determine whether the community could support a four-year college. David Morgan, author of the report, talked with stakeholders who did and who did not support a four-year college.
“(The report) concluded what we thought it would,” Bishop said. “Unquestionably this community and surrounding communities could support it — a four year college experience at the College of Coastal Georgia.”
Bishop called for an off-site meeting of the regents on St. Simons. He gathered the group around the historic table in the G8 Summit Room on Sea Island, where the report was presented. The regents left the meeting having unofficially adopted the plan to create a four-year college.
The decision came down to one question, Bishop said. Did the people living in this region deserve a four-year college?
The answer, Bishop said, was yes.
Published by permission of The Brunswick News.