Atlanta – Commissioner Ron Jackson has selected Col. Patricia M. Ross, currently the vice-commander of the 78th Air Base Wing at Robins Air Force Base in Warner Robins, Georgia, to fill the position of director of military affairs for the Technical College System of Georgia.
She will join the TCSG on August 1.
Ross is retiring after a 25-year career in the Air Force and will lead the TCSG initiative aimed at increasing education and job training opportunities for current and former military personnel and their family members. The goal is to provide them with full access to the TCSG colleges and programs that will assist in their successful transition to civilian jobs.
Jackson said that Ross will be an influential liaison between the 24 TCSG colleges and the branches of the military, as well as a strong advocate for the men and women who have served their country, including their dependents.
“Col. Ross impressed me not only with her dedication and leadership during her long career with the U.S. Air Force, but also by her strong desire to work on behalf of all who have been a part of our nation’s armed forces. As the TCSG director of military affairs, she will help us raise the bar to a level that’s above anything that’s been done so far to meet the higher education, training and career development needs of active duty and former military personnel and their dependents. We are committed to our nation’s heroes and their family members and will prepare them for the jobs that they deserve in Georgia’s highly skilled workforce,” said Jackson.
Ross will be assigned to the TCSG headquarters in Atlanta until the state opens a new veterans’ gateway center in Warner Robins. Last year, Governor Nathan Deal and the General Assembly committed $10 million for the one-of-a-kind educational and professional development facility for active duty and transitioning military personnel and their families on 44 acres of land directly across from Robins Air Force Base. Groundbreaking for the 50,000 square-foot center is expected in the Fall of 2014.
The University System of Georgia and the Technical College System of Georgia are partners on the project that will provide the military and their family members with assistance with education, credit transfer, training and job placement. The center currently has the working name of Georgia Military and Academic Training Center.
For a complete biography of Col. Ross, including her photograph, please go to the Robins Air Force Base website at http://www.robins.af.mil/library/biographies/bio.asp?id=%2015673
About the TCSG: The 24 colleges of the Technical College System of Georgia offer affordable education and excellent training in more than 600 certificate, diploma and two-year associate degree programs. Students of all ages take advantage of low tuition, outstanding instructors, hands-on learning and state-of-the-art equipment to gain the skills needed for today’s in-demand jobs. In 2013, the TCSG colleges delivered 2.4 million credit hours of instruction to more than 151,000 students. The TCSG is online, too, serving 72,000 students through the system’s Georgia Virtual Technical Connection.
TCSG students enjoy the benefits of Georgia’s HOPE grant and scholarship and the federal Pell grant which can pay for a significant portion of a TCSG education.
The TCSG Office of Adult Education delivered programs to 71,000 adult learners in 2013, including GED preparation and testing services that enabled almost 16,000 men and women to earn their GED credential.
The TCSG Quick Start program provided customized workforce training to almost 58,000 employees of new and expanding companies in Georgia.
For more information about the TCSG and links to the 24 TCSG colleges, go to www.tcsg.edu
