Coastal Georgia and King & Prince Seafood Formalize Educational Partnership

Furthering one’s education has gotten a lot easier for King and Prince Seafood Corporation employees thanks to an agreement signed between the College of Coastal Georgia and the corporation. College administrators signed a memorandum of understanding with King and Prince Seafood on Monday to provide access to higher education to current employees.

(Center) College of Coastal Georgia President Michelle Johnston and King and Prince Seafood Corporation President and CEO Mike Alexander shake hands after signing a memorandum of understanding to provide King and Prince Seafood employees with access to higher education at the College. Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs at Coastal Georgia Johnny Evans, Jr. (far left), and King and Prince Seafood Vice President of Human Resources Tom Norton (far right), who also signed the agreement, applaud the partnership.

The agreement is part of the College’s Leveraging Education Attainment through Partnerships (LEAP) program. Jason Umfress, vice president for Student Affairs and Enrollment Management, said LEAP is an opportunity for the College to formally partner with employers in the area to provide a pathway for their employees to attend the College. The goal of the program is to create a more educated workforce in Glynn and surrounding counties.

Benefits of the program include a personalized review of prior educational work and the creation of an educational action plan, prior learning assessment to determine if academic credit can be awarded, and a waived application fee.

While the College and King and Prince Seafood have had a long established relationship, both entities felt it was important to formalize it.

“One thing about King and Prince is that we’re committed to learning—a lifetime of learning, whether it’s on the job training, technical education, or an academic degree,” said President and CEO of King and Prince Seafood Corporation Mike Alexander. “I appreciate what the College of Coastal Georgia has brought to the community—work resources, people who want to stay and work here, and youth into the community. We look forward to a long and fruitful relationship.”

College of Coastal Georgia President Michelle Johnston agreed with Alexander about the importance of continued education and learning.

“We want to see every student through to the completion of their degree and assist them in reaching their goals. It’s important to help students find their fit and show that there’s a place for everyone,” Johnston said. “We have opportunities for online courses that can help give employees flexibility and a learning assessment that evaluates an individual’s portfolio of work to see how that can be turned into academic credit. The College and King and Prince coming together and working like this is a match made in heaven. Thank you for giving us this opportunity.”

Alexander talked of hiring many graduates from the College and the many relationships that have been formed between Coastal Georgia and King and Prince Seafood.

“We want to make sure our employees know that they can continue to grow in their education and this [program] is an opportunity to do so,” Alexander said.