ABAC President David Bridges presented Gail Dillard with the E. Lanier Carson Leadership Award at the recent Honors Day ceremony.

TIFTON, Ga. — Gail Dillard, interim vice president of academic affairs at Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College, received the E. Lanier Carson Leadership Award at the ABAC Honors Day ceremony on Thursday.  A Moultrie resident, Dillard has served as both a faculty member and an administrator at the college.

Established in 1973 by E. Lanier Carson of Kelley Manufacturing, the award recognizes the leadership contributions of an ABAC administrator.  In her nomination, one of Dillard’s colleagues said that “she is one of the most thoughtful, ethical, and principled leaders I have known” and has reached “positions of leadership because of her good sense, her attention to the full measure of the requirements and the outcomes of an undertaking, and her persistent focus on the needs of the college.”

In her 29 years at ABAC, Dillard has been instrumental in creating several distinctive programs. She founded the ABAC Honors Program, helped create the Writing Center, worked with her colleagues to transform how English is taught at ABAC, and has been a fervent supporter for academic assistance and academic support.  

As a faculty member, Dillard began her ABAC career as a part-time instructor of English in 1988.  She became an instructor of English in 1990 and was promoted to assistant professor in 1993.  In 1998, she became an associate professor before earning the rank of a professor in 2003.

In her administrative roles, she served as Director of Evening and Off-Campus Programs from 2002-2004, Interim Vice President for Student and Enrollment Services from 2004-2006, Vice President of Student Affairs from 2006-2011, and Director of ABAC on the Square and Early Admission Programs from 2011-2014.  She was appointed to the position of Interim Vice President for Academic Affairs effective July 1, 2014.

Dillard received her bachelor’s degree in English from Georgia College before earning her master’s degree in English from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte and her Ph.D. in English from Florida State University.