This collection forms part of the records of the Vice President for Academic Affairs.

College in the Country, an informal non-credit adult education program, was founded in 1949. The idea for College in the Country began as a request to J. Carson Pritchard, West Georgia College chaplain and Yeoman’s successor as the adult education director, to teach bible classes to the Mountain View-Garrett’s Chapel Community Improvement Club in Smithfield, located in northwest corner of Carroll County. Attendees of the class expressed interest in learning about a variety of topics.

President Irvine S. Ingram taught the first official College in the Country class, a lecture on the history of Carroll County, which was held at Smithfield Elementary School. At the end of the lecture, attendees listed other topics that interested them.

The College in the Country program, as part of Continuing Education, organized classes on topics varying from religious studies to courses about history, politics and government, communism, world events, art appreciation, poetry, child development, and science. The regional librarian, Edith Foster utilized her “bookmobiles”—specialized automobiles full of books—to provide books for the courses. Instructors of the College in the Country courses included faculty members from West Georgia College, subject experts from all over Georgia, prominent members of the community, several government officials, and some authors. Visitors to West Georgia College, if from out of state or out of the country, would be asked to give a talk on their own community and customs to the program.

Participants in the College in the Country were often of a generation which lacked opportunities to continue their education because of the Depression and World War II. Students were presented a certificate when they completed a certain amount of coursework.

During 1951, interest in foreign farming techniques prompted the program to raise the funds and bring a young Indian farmer to Carrollton. Amar Singh stayed in Carrollton for several months talking to both white and African American farmers in the community. This visit was such a success that a year later, the Seth family, a young man and his wife, also from India were invited to stay in Carrollton for six months to also give talks and demonstrations.

Sometime during the 1960s or 1970s, the College in the Country ended as a distinct adult education initiative and its mission was folded back into Continuing Education.