Augusta Tech honors longtime president at naming ceremony

For the past two decades, Augusta Technical College has grown to offer more programs and increased enrollment. Through all those changes, one thing has remained constant.

After nearly 23 years at the helm of Augusta Tech, Terry D. Elam will be retiring in November. On Wednesday, the student services 1300 building and Augusta Tech Drive were renamed in his honor at a ceremony full of local, state and community leaders.

For Elam, it means people have noticed the work he has done. His focus over the last two decades has always been the students.

“I’m committed to seeing students succeed. I feel really good about the people who work in here, I know they can carry on,” he said. “The faculty, staff, students, I’m going to miss all of that, but I’m not going to stop doing this for people in this community who need advice.”

Elam graduated from T.W. Josey High School in 1967 before receiving a Bachelor of Arts degree in history from Paine College and a Master of Education from the University of Georgia. He served as vice president of economic development, director of admissions and an instructor at Augusta Tech before being named its president on Jan. 1, 1997.

Elam said his proudest accomplishment has been expanding the number of programs offered at the college from 38 to 130.

“(My greatest accomplishment is) designing new programs that have been successful and our students have gone off and gotten great careers like nuclear engineering, nursing," he said. "Many health programs that didn’t exist 23 years ago exist now.”

Mayor Hardie Davis said it was important that the city honored Elam. Davis presented a declaration for October 16, 2019, to be known as Terry Elam Day in the city of Augusta.

“I think it’s an incredible way of us, not only showing that we value and appreciate his leadership, but more importantly what he has done to take the school from 30 programs of learning to over 130 programs of learning,” Davis said. “His legacy will live on and has been enshrined in naming not only the student services building after him, but also honorary Terry Elam Drive.”

During Elam’s tenure, the college has expanded to campuses in Columbia, McDuffie and Burke counties. Davis said the fact that so many city, community and state leaders attended the event shows the impact he made.

“To see the city leaders, business and community stakeholders and partners, who were here today, I think it just speaks volumes in terms of his influence and his reach in the community,” he said. “He has made a difference in the lives of people.”

Elam will officially retire Nov. 30 as president of the two-year school. He said he looks forward to seeing what the future holds.

“I’m always looking forward, I don’t look back," he said. "Tomorrow is a mystery, today is a present and yesterday is history.”