Georgia Department of Corrections
Brian Owens, Commissioner
Director of Public Affairs
Joan Heath
Contact: Office of Public Affairs (404) 656-9772
For Immediate Release
Grand Opening
Georgia Corrections Academy Opens at Historic Tift College
Governor Perdue to Deliver Keynote Address
Atlanta – The Department of Corrections will host an open house on Friday, January 22, 2010 at Tift College in Forsyth. This event will celebrate the opening of the Georgia Corrections Academy at its new location and is open to the public. Governor Sonny Perdue is scheduled to give the keynote address.
The open house is scheduled from 2:00 to 4:30 p.m. and will include self guided tours and a recruiting and employment booth. Governor Perdue is scheduled to speak in Roberts Chapel at 3:00 p.m. Tift College is located at 300 Patrol Road, Forsyth, GA 31029. Media planning to attend should contact Peggy Chapman at 404-651-8557 for additional details.
Groundbreaking for the new Corrections’ Headquarters was held in the summer of 2006. The Georgia Corrections Academy is the first of three phases of the Corrections’ Headquarters move into the newly renovated complex and will provide training for all of the state’s probation and correctional officers. Staff development training will also be offered for all non-security staff to include counselors, food service, and administrative staff. The final phase of the Tift renovation is currently underway, with completion scheduled for October, 2010.
The Department of Corrections is the fourth largest prison system in the United States and is responsible for supervising nearly 60,000 state prisoners and over 160,000 probationers. It is the largest law enforcement agency in the state with approximately 13,000 employees.
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