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Georgia Gwinnett College (GGC) Foundation will receive a $50,000 endowment established by GGC’s President Jann L. Joseph, with additional funds being contributed by her family. The endowment will be used to create student scholarships for eligible full-time GGC social sciences students. The fund, called The Joseph Family Scholarship in memory of Dr. Edwin Joseph, recognizes Joseph’s late husband, who succumbed to cancer in 2018.

The announcement was made Friday during the naming and dedication of the Joseph Family Presentation Room, located in building D, which houses the college’s welcome center.

As she delivered her remarks, Joseph recalled a time early in her marriage where she and her late husband adopted a motto of “leave it better than you met it.” As she and her husband advanced in their careers, they kept their promise.

My family and I have been so blessed – blessed families share so they can help those around them,” she explained. “This endowment will support students and will enable them to understand that they don’t have to wait until they have a lot to give back.”

The room boasts state-of-the-art technology and features a portrait of Joseph’s late husband. The space will be used for orientation, admissions sessions and a starting point for campus tours.

“This is a space that will be inclusive to all and will see many current and future GGC students,” said GGC Foundation Chair Bartow Morgan, Jr. “It will be a special place where dreams begin and will ultimately come true.

Inspired by the Joseph Family’s gift, Dr. K. Carlton Buchanan, Jr., who is a member of the GGC Foundation Board of Trustees, announced that the board would also contribute to the fund.

“As we all know, scholarships are so important and especially at this time of the pandemic, support for our students could not be more critical in helping them with their path to graduation,” he said.

A Trinidad native, the late Dr. Joseph was a beloved sustainability studies professor at Indiana University South Bend (IUSB). He had a passion for helping the less fortunate and was enthusiastic about sustainable techniques and technology that improve farmers’ well-being, productivity and earning potential. Dr. Jann Joseph and her husband were married for 36 years.