Bainbridge State College President Richard Carvajal has named Lauren Harrell as permanent executive director for Institutional Advancement. This appointment follows a national search and takes effect this month.
Harrell, a long-time resident of Bainbridge, has served in the role as interim executive director since November 2013. In addition to executive director of Institutional Advancement, Harrell will also serve as executive director of the BSC Foundation.
“I am thrilled to permanently join the Bainbridge State College team and look forward to securing resources and mobilizing volunteer efforts to ultimately support the faculty and staff in their efforts to make BSC the best possible institution for our students, the southwest Georgia community and beyond,” Harrell said.
During her time as interim, Harrell has led the College’s first capital campaign with astounding success. With a goal set a $1.3 million, approximately $900,000 has been raised to date and includes hundreds of brand new, first-time donors. Employee giving has also increased under her leadership with a 99 percent participation rate among BSC faculty and staff.
Harrell, having been selected from a search pool in the fall of 2013, was slated to serve in an interim capacity for a period of up to a year. According to President Carvajal, “We didn’t know if we would use the whole time or not; but we needed leadership immediately and we had a good opportunity to see her in that role over the past seven months. She has done an outstanding job in that capacity and proven herself to be someone who could get the job done.”
In addition to fundraising, Harrell looks forward to developing a solid alumni program, fostering more partnerships within the community, and helping raise overall awareness of BSC’s educational programs throughout the region.
A graduate of Florida State University with a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology, Harrell served as president of DeHildren Realty prior to BSC. She is widely known in the community through her involvement with numerous charitable and civic organizations.
Harrell is married to Mark Harrell and they have three children, Tanner, Katie and Ella.
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