Professor Mike Digby Retires
1976. Olympics, thirteen cent stamps, Rocky's first fight and the debut of All the President's Men, the story of the Nixon-Watergate scandal. Speaking of the presidency, Jimmy Carter wins the White House from an embattled President Gerald Ford. And, though the economy would take a noticeable dip in the months ahead, 1976 sees the country swirling in high, bicentennial spirits. President Ford said in a US News and World Report article, "If we are honest with ourselves, we readily admit that there is too great a gap between our aspirations and reality, that America is still far from completing the agenda we set for ourselves 200 years ago."
In the life of Georgia College, President J. Whitney Bunting (of whom the College of Business is named) served a student population of about 3,700 in 1976. It was marked as a time of "progress with tradition," as the college had only become co-educational, from its all-women history less than 10 years earlier. Part of the progress included adding emphasis on political science in the 1970s, by becoming its own department and expanding its offerings.
And it's also in 1976 that recent University of Virginia Ph.D. graduate Mike Digby moves "farther south," as he says, and takes a teaching position at Georgia College. Only two years out of school and with an offer on the table with the prestigious UVa Institute of Government (now the Weldon Cooper Center for Public Service), he decided to move because of two overarching objectives. "I wanted to get into full-time teaching and I wanted to be back in Georgia," he says. "All the more, I knew of Georgia College having grown up close by."
What Mike didn't know at the time is that 2009 would culminate a 33-year career at Georgia College, seeing the campus double in size and fine-point its mission to the current designation: Georgia's Public Liberal Arts University. "This is what I really wanted - the privilege to teach both undergraduate and graduate students and I've had that opportunity right from the start of my time here all the way through," he says. "I've had the privilege to work in a department that is cohesive and congenial. And even though we've moved from four faculty members in 1976 to 25 today, that same spirit is still here."
Mike is a humble person who tries to side-step a lot of praise, but, truth be told, for the past 11 years he has guided the government and sociology department (as it is now called) with a steady hand. "I will miss Mike when he retires," says Gerald Fisher, an associate professor in the department. "He has been the answer man for me. Any question, Mike has an answer. I have spoken with quite a few graduate students, who have taken his public budgeting class. Each and everyone of those that I have spoken with talk about how much they learned from him, and how much they enjoyed his class. Apparently, he is able to make budgeting interesting!"
As a Georgia native, he is studied in the state's political scene. As a result, he's often called on as a voice of reason for election results or hard issues that the government routinely faces - taxes and spending, job loss and creation, education and evaluation. He also has authored many articles on elections and budgeting, extending globally to include expertise in the European Union.
"Mike is the embodiment of a public servant," says Stephanie M. McClure, assistant professor of sociology. "He is humble, thoughtful, loyal, and patient, and considers the good of the organization in every action. He is a leader who empowers his people to act. As a new faculty member I have always felt comfortable approaching him about any dilemma, even if it is the result of my own ignorance or thoughtlessness. He treats every person he interacts with as if they are their best self, therefore inspiring you to try to be that best self. That is a gift I have seen in a very short list of people over the course of my life, and it is absolutely something I struggle to attain. While he will truly be missed, I consider it a blessing to have been able to start my career in academia under his leadership."
"Working with Mike for the past 21 years has been an extraordinary experience," says Professor Hank Edmondson. "He has every skill necessary to pursue the multi-faceted career he has followed--people skills, academic skills, administrative skills--and just the right temperament."
Associate Professor Jeff Blick agrees. "His laissez faire, yet involved, skilled, wise, and fair approach was very appropriate for the personality of our diverse department," he says. "I cannot say enough about Mike Digby's excellence in his service to our department and institution."
It is said that one should leave footprints that are found faithful to those who follow your path. Mike Digby certainly has blazed a commendable trail, leaving a department that hosts more than 200 majors, nearly 100 graduate students, and, even more, a readiness to plough ahead into new pathways. Edmondson says it best: "Mike is simply in a class all his own."
Digby smiles deeply when asked about what's next. "I have a granddaughter now," he says. That says it all.
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We are pleased to announce that upon hearing of Mike Digby's retirement, former students have expressed a desire to honor him by establishing the Mike Digby Endowed Scholarship in Political Science. We hope you will join them by making a contribution to this endowment. For information, or to make a donation - please contact Lee Snelling, GCSU Office of Advancement, Campus Box 96, Milledgeville, GA, 31061, lee.snelling@gcsu.edu; (478) 445-8129.
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(Article and interview by Zach Kincaid)