New full-time tutor Dr. Harry Lee assists students in the expanded Learning and Tutoring Center at GPC Clarkston Campus. (Photo by Bill Roa)

By Kysa Anderson Daniels

A pair of recently opened study facilities at Georgia Perimeter College’s Clarkston and Decatur campuses–plus a new full-time tutor—are already increasing student assistance.

Ribbon-cutting ceremonies in September marked the official introductions for the expanded Learning and Tutoring Center on Clarkston Campus and the new STEM Study Center for science, technology, engineering and math students at Decatur Campus.

Both improvements were made thanks to the generosity of a $1 million gift GPC received earlier this year from the Betty and Davis Fitzgerald Foundation.

Administrators say the expanded services and space, which include an additional 300-square-foot group tutoring room and the hiring of a full-time tutor, have cut down significantly on the wait time for students needing help with math.

“This is the first full-time tutor that the LTC, and I think GPC, has ever had,” said Mary Hamilton, Clarkston center coordinator.

Jackie Stradley, Fitzgerald Foundation executive director, attended the opening event and displayed a big smile when hearing from Hamilton that the new hire and space expansion have led to a nearly 40 percent increase in the number of students seeking college algebra tutorials compared to data from the first month of fall classes last year.

“We are so impressed with how you have created a plan and implemented that plan for the benefit of students, so that there are improved retention and graduation rates for them,” Stradley remarked.

Meanwhile, on Decatur Campus, students are making full use of the new STEM Study Center that was retrofitted in the old Soapstone Room in Building C.

The new space has a fresh, updated look with 12 computer terminals and study tables. “It’s a great space for us to come and study in a peaceful area,” engineering major Stephanie Kouadio, 21, said following the September ribbon cutting.

According to Cynthia Lester, GPC’s STEM executive director, the center gives students a place to receive supplemental instruction, attend faculty-led learning sessions and participate in tutoring sessions and study groups.

In February, the Fitzgerald Foundation awarded GPC its first $1 million private gift as part of an ambitious plan to increase access and boost retention, transfer and graduation rates among some of the state’s most underserved students.

It was all smiles at the official ribbon-cutting of the expanded Clarkston Learning and Tutoring Center in September. From left are: LTC student assistant Najla Roshan, Cathy Hall of the Fitzgerald Foundation, LTC coordinator Mary Hamilton, institutional advancement VP Jeff Tarnowski, LTC director Alan Craig, Fitzgerald director Jackie Stradley, tutor Dr. Harry Lee, GPC president Rob Watts, academic affairs assistant VP Dr. Don Pearl and tutor Laura Storm. photo by Bill Roa