Richards College of company Celebrates Milestones whenever Roy Richards Jr. talks about their father’s 1

UWG News

by Gary Leftwich

Whenever Roy Richards Jr. talks about their father’s 1931 graduating class picture through the Fourth region A&M class, he views a lot more than smiling faces and scholastic regalia. He views hope—hope that stays as strong today during the University of western Georgia because it was once the digital camera shutter snapped on that picture.

Roy Richards Jr.

“They had been farm males and farm girls,” Richards—chairman of Southwire Company , started by their dad, told a audience collected recently to commemorate the anniversary that is 50th of company college together with twentieth anniversary for the naming for the Richards university of company .

“This organization had the capability to alter their everyday lives,” he added, attributing a lot of that capacity to Irvine S. Ingram, the school’s principal at that time. “He can find in individuals the capability to relocate to the following channels of these everyday everyday everyday lives.”

Eighty-six years later, that continues to be the main priority associated with the Richards university.

“We are in the commercial of changing life through education engagement and experiences,” stated Dr. Faye McIntyre, dean for the university. “We are invested in training the company leaders of the next day, if they remain here in Georgia or happen to be other areas regarding the globe.”

Growing up when you look at the tiny hamlet of Hulett, of a dozen kilometers through the UWG campus, Roy Richards Sr. matured through the tough life associated with rural Southern through the Great Depression. Not really in his teenagers, he began their first work choosing cotton for 10 cents just about every day, getting compensated every fourteen days.

Their paycheck that is first of5 funded the removal of a enamel that began aching right before payday.

Dr. Faye McIntyre

“Dad stated, ‘We had been poor. But, everybody so we didn’t know we were poor,” Richards Jr. recalled around us was poor.

The son of an entrepreneur that is“highly motivated” the elder Richards went their father’s saw mill, churning out lumber at age 10. At 14, he quit college to perform the company regular, managing worker things, payroll plus the mill’s basic procedure.

One early early morning, a guy stopped in the mill, asking Richards Sr. where his dad ended up being. The response had been, “I don’t understand.” After looking forward to the majority of the workday, the person asked once again where their dad had been.

“It ended up being then he noticed he had been carrying out a work that is man’s” Richards Jr. stated of their daddy. “That helped him understand exactly just just what he could do.”

After that, Richards Sr. went to Berry university then to your Fourth region A&M class. Ingram’s support directed their way to Georgia Tech, where he received a level in engineering.

Time for Carroll County, Richards Sr. began Southwire for an awesome march early morning in 1950 having a dozen workers and three second-hand wire-making machines. Today, the business, nevertheless headquartered in Carrollton, employs some 7,500 individuals global and it is North America’s wire that is largest and cable producer as well as the 3rd biggest worldwide.

“I spent my youth within the shadow for this institution,” Richards Jr. stated. “This organization has filled hope and opportunity to our community. The University of western Georgia is really a beacon of light, not merely for greater learning, but also for what’s possible in standard of living, possibility and training.”

Dr. Kyle Marrero

Together, Southwire and also the Richards university of company developed the Southwire Sustainable company Honors Program , that allows pupils to make both bachelor’s and master’s levels, along side a certification in sustainable company, in four years. Pupils work alongside business professionals on sustainability programs and developing company plans, that they provide to top leadership.

Richards stated Southwire employs 90 pupil employees from UWG. About 325 employees—10 % for the company’s neighborhood base—are UWG alums.

“Our business wouldn’t normally have prospered without this organization and now we could maybe perhaps perhaps perhaps not continue steadily to prosper without having the partnership we share,” Richards Jr. stated.

Established in 1967 and led by Dr. Mark Miller, the Division of company and Economic Studies conferred 64 levels in its very first 12 months. The very first MBA ended up being granted in 1971 as well as the unit became the western Georgia university class of company 2 yrs later. The school was named in honor of Roy Richards Sr. in 1997 with support from the Richards family.

A year ago, the school conferred 545 levels, pushing its total to 15,123. Three quarters of teachers hold doctoral levels and all sorts of of those are active in research. That research has been cited by other people a lot more than 17,000 times online payday WV.

Trying to the long run, McIntyre and UWG President Kyle Marrero shared plans for a building that is new house the faculty. The task continues to be when you look at the fundraising and design phases.

“This will undoubtedly be a property that brings us all together,” McIntyre stated. “We have been around in two split structures for 14 years now therefore we searching for ahead to presenting everyone else underneath the exact exact same roof.”

“This building would be the peak of continuing our legacy in to the future,” Marrero stated. “Somewhere around 2020ish, I will be in a position to have pupils head into those halls and continue our legacy. I will be excited to construct together and discover where we could simply simply take ourselves as time goes on.”