Fall 2005

Volume 9 Number 1
A publication of Macon State College

Bill Weaver (Photo: Nick Oza)

Loving the View

The view from my office is spectacular. I don't see a grand vista, or a dramatic skyline, or even a shrouded misty glen. Instead, it's a fountain, a renovated library, classroom buildings, trees and greenery, and hundreds of filled parking spaces stretching far off to the east.

Norman Rockwell wouldn't be impressed, but I am.

As a new employee of Macon State, I'm seeing scenes I've never seen before. Though I've been a resident or worker in three Central Georgia cities for nearly two dozen years, for many years I was among the many motorists who merely drove by the Macon campus on the way to somewhere else. However, now that I'm looking out, and not in, the perspective is decidedly different.

-- Macon State's new campus in Warner Robins was just a few doors down from my previous office, so I knew that 79-acre site very well. But the Macon campus had always been little noticed and seldom explored. I'd never seen the campus greenery that's always kept well trimmed, or the classroom buildings, or the beautiful Student Life Center, or the pool or the track. My view had been limited to what's visible from Ivey Drive, a view featuring ducks on the pond, the new Jones Building and the popular walking trail through the woods. Those made good impressions on this casual observer, yet I'd seldom been enticed inside.

-- There are 167 acres on the Macon campus, a piece of land that, if it were square, would be about 11 football fields long on each side. That's far more real estate than I'd ever imagined. But despite the size, the property remains undiscovered by many who have lived here longer than I. Most people would not know that there are 13 major buildings - new or newly remodeled - on this site, plus many acres of trees, grass and fresh air.

-- There's an attitude here that's so decidedly optimistic that it makes a newcomer wonder if it's fact or fiction. It's very similar to what I found in Houston County, where people are proud of where they are and where they're headed. Macon State delivers excellent instruction in facilities that are new and comfortable; faculty members are proud of the baccalaureate-degree-awarding college they've helped build; faculty and staff members really do care about the welfare of students who come here and help students of all ages be successful in whatever educational path they've selected. There's a shared vision about the path we're taking, and everyone I've met - with no exceptions - seems excited about what lies ahead. The attitude is fact, not fiction.

In my years of driving by, I never got these impressions. But now that I've climbed on board, the view is decidedly different. It's a very pretty picture for as far as I can see.

Bill Weaver worked at newspapers in Central Georgia for nearly 24 years. He recently joined Macon State as director of communications.

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