ABAC leader set to retire

Bridges will stay on into next year if the state needs him to
Bridges will stay on into next year if the state needs him to(ABAC)
Published: Sep. 15, 2021 at 8:06 AM EDT
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TIFTON, Ga. (WALB) - Dr. David Bridges announced Tuesday that he plans to retire from his position as president of Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College.

“I have some other things in my life that I want to do,” Bridges, the longest-serving president in the history of ABAC, said. “I believe it is the right time. The institution is on solid footing for the future.”

Bridges plans to retire from the position on Dec. 31, but he is willing to stay until the end of the spring semester, if that is the desire of the Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia (USG).

“As the longest-serving president among our 26 institutions and ever in the history of Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College, President David Bridges for the past 16 years has been a leading voice for rural Georgia and its students,” USG Acting Chancellor Teresa MacCartney said. “An ABAC graduate himself, he skillfully guided the college through the addition of bachelor’s degrees, consolidation with the former Bainbridge State College and record growth in enrollment.

“Before that, he spent two decades as a faculty member and administrator at the University of Georgia. The son of a farmer and a teacher, he never strayed far from his roots. The University System of Georgia is better for it, and we’re incredibly grateful for his service to our students and state.”

A native of Parrott, Bridges is the only ABAC president to have once been an ABAC student, receiving his ABAC associate degree in 1978 before completing his undergraduate and graduate degrees at Auburn University and his Ph.D. at Texas A&M University.

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