Black College Looking to Swing Into the Golf Resort Business

Fort Valley State University, the historically black educational institution in Georgia, has ambitious plans for a 360-acre parcel of farm property adjoining its campus. While no decision has been made on whether the project will go forward, it has been proposed by members of the administration that the university build a 250-room hotel/conference center with two 18-hole golf courses on the site. An additional nine-hole, par-3 course with lighting is also part of the plan. The university would lease the land to a developer with the outside firm bearing the brunt of the construction costs.

The proposed development is not just a commercial venture. If built, the university would add new degree programs in golf course management, turf management, and hotel management. Lease fees from the developer for the university’s land would help pay for the faculty needed to staff the new academic programs.

Under the proposed plan, the university would also add men’s and women’s golf teams to its roster of interscholastic sports.

Copyright © 2007. The Journal of Blacks in Higher Education. All rights reserved.