This page showcases present and past displays of materials from the College Archives and Special Collections.
Brunswick Junior College became the name of our institution after it was decided that all two year colleges in the state of Georgia had to incorporate "Junior" into the name of their institution in one way or another. Therefore, during its second academic year the institution went from being called Brunswick College to Brunswick Junior College. Our institution kept this name for the next twenty three years until "Junior" was dropped from all two year institutions in 1988 and the institution reverted back to being called Brunswick College.
Two different leaders oversaw the era of Brunswick Junior College. The institution's first College President Earl F. Hargett, continued to oversee our institutions humble beginnings but after a few years he left to continue his own studies to earn a doctorate. He had began his service in 1964 and departed in 1968. President John W. Teel began serving as our College President in 1968. Currently he is our institution's longest serving President. He oversaw the name change back to Brunswick College in 1988 and eventually retired in 1990 after serving for 22 years.
Many other things occurred on campus during this time period. New buildings were built and the campus grew. Student newspapers came and went. You can learn more about these publications by going to the following link: College Publications. The college also went from being known as the Buccaneers to being known as the Mariners. This change occurred around 1981-1982.
More information about this time period in our institution's history can be found within the materials of the college archives. Feel free to make an appointment now with our college archivist Mylynda Gill. Make sure to come in and enjoy the display for yourself. It can be found in the lobby of the Clara Wood Gould Memorial Library.
In order to celebrate "60 Years of Students on Campus", we first have to go back to our origin story. It is said that during a discussion on the porch of the old Oglethorpe Hotel the topic of a college first come up amongst Brunswick community leaders. One of these individuals was James D. Gould, Jr. A few years after this discussion he became a member of the Board of Regents to advocate for a college in Brunswick.
Our institution was established on October 11, 1961, by the Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia. It approved Brunswick, Georgia as the location for a new junior college as part of a series of commuter junior colleges authorized by the state legislature in 1958. Originally named Brunswick College, the institution's mission was to provide pre-baccalaureate degree programs that prepared students for transfer to four-year institutions. On July 30,1963, a groundbreaking ceremony was held for the construction of the Brunswick College campus. Dr. Earl F. Hargett was named as our institution's first President and Dr. Pope A. Duncan was named as the first Dean on December 11, 1963, by the Board of Regents.
Orientation and registration for the first freshmen class took place on September 21 – September 24, 1964.The first day of classes was held on September 25, 1964, with 266 students in attendance.
On the morning of October 21, 1964, the Board of Regents gathered at Brunswick College in the Clara Wood Gould Memorial Library for a progress report from President Hargett. Later that same day a ceremony was held for the formal dedication of the college and the main speaker for this event was Governor Carl Sanders.
A lot of firsts occurred during the first academic year. The first student newspaper was created and was called The Lion's Tale. Volume 1, Issue 1 was published on October 9, 1964. The first volume of our institution's yearbook The Crest was also published during the spring of 1965.
College archival items in the display included facsimiles of scans from the first Lion's Tale, the first bulletin, a mailed advert for the college and the Crest (the first college yearbook). Copies of a bulletin and a yearbook were also included within this display. The display was showcased from the summer of 2024 to the summer of 2025. All of these items can be viewed within the college archive, feel free to reach out and make an appointment with our college archivist, Mylynda Gill, today!
