Dr. Sandra Giles will explore a portion of the life of one of the most popular presidents in the history of Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College when she opens the new Jess Usher Lecture Series at ABAC on Oct. 7 at 7 p.m. in Howard Auditorium.

Titled “Mr. Pete and the Baldwin Story,” the lecture focuses on George P. Donaldson and his time at ABAC as a Professor of English beginning in 1933 through his 14-year tenure as president of the college from 1947 through 1961.

“He built a platform as a speaker, entertainer, and educator that allowed him to address some of the most pressing higher education issues in rural South Georgia including segregation and the plight of agriculture,” Giles, a Professor of English and Communication at ABAC, said.

Giles has been teaching college-level English since 1991 and has been a faculty member at ABAC since 1997. She's a native of Tifton and a 1987 ABAC alumnus.  She said she learned to drive in the ABAC rodeo arena parking lot.  Giles holds a Ph.D. in English from Florida State University, specializing in Creative Writing and Rhetoric-Composition.

Formerly known as the ABAC Lecture Series, the special collection of speakers was renamed for Dr. Jess Usher, an ABAC professor and a former lecturer in the series.  Usher passed away in June 2021.  All four events in the series are open to the public at no charge.

Donaldson took educational leave in 1936 from his position at ABAC to earn a master’s degree in Rural Sociology at Ohio State University.

“He returned to ABAC to better the recreational and educational opportunities for rural students,” Giles said.  “To Mr. Pete, ‘recreation’ included a heavy emphasis on the arts.”

Among many noteworthy accomplishments during his time as president of ABAC, Donaldson founded the Greater Baldwin Foundation during his tenure to raise private funds to secure additional typewriters for the secretarial science program.  The group later became the ABAC Foundation.

Other speakers in the Jess Usher Lecture Series include Dr. Rachael Price on “Rediscovering Georgia Author Sarah Barnwell Elliott” on Nov. 1, Dr. Russell Pryor on “Making the ‘Alcatraz of the Piney Woods:’ Prisons, Power, and Politics in 20th Century Georgia” on Feb. 17, 2022, and Dr. Joseph Njoroge on “China, the United States, and Regional Hegemony in Africa: Implications for Africa’s Democracy and Economic Development” on March 17, 2022.