New ABAC president meets with her predecessor

Carlton Fletcher, The Albany Herald, Ga.
·2 min read
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Sep. 1—TIFTON — In the past 16 years and two months, only two individuals have occupied the president's office at Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College. Those two people met this week when new ABAC President Tracy Brundage sat down with former ABAC President David Bridges in historic Tift Hall.

"It was great," Brundage said. "Dr. Bridges established quite a legacy at ABAC during his tenure, and I think it's prudent to understand his perspective and learn from his deep-seated knowledge of the institution. We talked about many aspects of the college and how ABAC can build for the future."

Bridges retired on July 31 after 16 years and one month as president. He is the longest-serving president in the history of ABAC and the only ABAC president to have once been a student at the college (Class of 1978).

Brundage, the former president at Keystone (Pa.) College for four years, began her ABAC presidency on Aug. 1. Her first week on the job took an unexpected turn when her entire family contracted COVID. She bounced back strong and now has one month as president behind her.

"ABAC is a very special place," Brundage said. "I knew that coming in, and everything I have learned over the past month has done nothing but amplify that fact. The faculty, the staff, the students, and the community have all been wonderful."

After he retired, Bridges immediately transitioned into the role of director of the Center for Rural Prosperity and Innovation, a state-funded entity which has offices across the state including one at ABAC.

On his last day as president, Bridges had simple words of wisdom for the first female president in ABAC's history.

"My primary advice to her is to remain laser-focused on our mission," Bridges said. "Focus on who we are and who we might realistically become. Don't get caught up in who people think we ought to be."

Brundage said ABAC is on the move.

"The founders of ABAC were not afraid to look to the future," Brundage told incoming freshmen at the recent convocation. "They knew society was evolving, and education would be a much-needed component for an ever-changing world. That holds true today as well."