In February, the Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia approved a proposal from Georgia Southwestern State University Interim President Charles Patterson to rename the University’s Public Safety building the “Nicholas Smarr and Jody Smith Memorial Building.” A dedication ceremony will be held Thursday, April 27 at 11 a.m. directly outside the building entrance.
 
The public is invited to attend this event.
 
Smarr, an Americus police officer, and Smith, a GSW police officer, lost their lives in the line of duty in early December 2016. Officers Smarr and Smith were high school classmates, roommates after high school, and they graduated together from the Police Academy at Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College.
 
The Nicholas Smarr and Jody Smith Memorial Building was previously home to the GSW Health Clinic and was named for Herschel A. Smith, M.D. Dr. Smith was GSW’s first campus physician and was instrumental in establishing the University’s nursing program. At the February 2017 Regents meeting, approval was also given to transfer the Smith name to the current home of the Health Clinic within the Rosalynn Carter Health and Human Sciences Complex.