James E. Brown Center

Since its founding, in ceremonies dedicated to recognize individual contributions to the growth of Dalton State, all campus buildings have been re-named to honor members of the college and Dalton community. The James E. Brown Center is the only structure on the campus that was named, planned, and designed from its inception to honor a man whose efforts were essential to the college’s origin and growth. 

A lifelong resident of Dalton, James E. Brown founded Brown Printing Company in 1958. The company quickly became a vital component of the rapidly expanding carpet industry. The success of the enterprise awakened Mr. Brown’s desire to give back to his community and improve the lives of his fellow citizens. Advancing and expanding educational opportunities for the region’s children became the focus of Mr. Brown’s philanthropic activities. When plans for expanding the junior college system within the state of Georgia were announced in the early 1960s, Mr. Brown was an influential and persuasive behind-the-scenes advocate for chartering a college in the Dalton area. His untiring endeavors and dedication to the growth and of Dalton Junior College were recognized in 1982 when Governor Joe Frank Harris appointed Mr. Brown to the Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia.

In 2003, plans were initiated for the design and construction of a new facility to serve as the base for an expansion of the college’s community outreach and economic development programs. Strengthening connections between the college and the greater Dalton community was always an important facet of Mr. Brown’s commitment to Dalton State. This building would embody his beliefs by serving as the home for Dalton State’s continuing education program and provide facilities for local businesses to conduct corporate training. Mr. Brown died in March 2004 before ground was broken, but he was told of the intention of naming the building for him in the weeks prior to his death. In September, 2006, at the formal opening and dedication service for the James E. Brown Center for Continuing Education, Sis Brown and Lynn Whitworth, Mr. Brown’s widow and daughter, both spoke of the pride and pleasure he took in knowing that his name would continue to be part of the college’s legacy.

With a combination of private funds raised by the Dalton State Foundation and public funds appropriated by the Georgia legislature, the site for the new building was selected and plans were pushed forward to begin construction of the 25,000 square foot structure. The site, at the corner of College and Mount Haven drives, was intended to be the new home of Christ the King Lutheran Church. Financial constraints ended their plans and the church sold the site to the college. Groundbreaking took place on April 18, 2005, with construction completed in the summer of 2006.

From its opening in 2006, the James Brown Center’s primary purpose was to house the college’s continuing education program. In December 2009, this program was discontinued and new purposes for the building were found which continue the tradition of community cooperation. Classrooms are now devoted to Dalton State’s Education, Social Work, and English as a Second Language curriculum. Its lecture halls have hosted many of the Bandy Heritage Center’s seminars and the center serves as a technical training center for local public school teachers. In addition, the Dalton State College Foundation, the fundraising component of the Dalton State College family has its offices in the Brown Center.

Although Mr. Brown is gone, his dedication and commitment to both college and community lives on through the James and Sis Brown Fellowship, established in 1998. This fellowship aids the Dalton State College Foundation in its continuing mission of offering scholarships, furthering faculty and staff needs, and other vital functions necessary to the life of this institution. Mr. Brown’s daughter, Lynn Whitworth, noted in her remarks at the opening ceremony that after her father’s passing someone wrote, “The enduring lesson of James’s life was dream, and work diligently to make those dreams come true.” Mr. Brown was a dreamer, and we are the beneficiaries of his dream and his work.