First Lady Claudia Alta “Lady Bird” Johnson, wife of President Lyndon B. Johnson, attended Columbia State Community College’s dedication March 15, 1967. Lady Bird Johnson was quoted as saying the college was “the new beat and rhythm of our land. When Columbia State Community College rises from a once empty field, the country expands not outward, but upward.”
In 2007, funds were raised to create a bronze bust in her honor and place in the College’s Pryor Administration Building. The remaining funds established a student scholarship in her name. The recipient of the Lady Bird Johnson scholarship is a full-time female who embodies the spirit of community service and is pursuing a degree in areas of business, horticulture, or mass communications. Additional criteria include: scholarship recipient must of have been a high school graduate in the College’s service area, an ACT score of at least 19, and must have a financial need for the funds.
Photo caption: Dr. Janet Smith, president of Columbia State Community College accepts $1,000 donation from the Maury Co. Democratic Women on September 13, 2010 in honor of Lady Bird Johnson.
Left to right: Sarah Brown, vice-president of the Maury Co. Democratic Women, Cindy Rayburn, president of the Maury Co. Democratic Women, President of Columbia State Community College, Dr. Janet Smith and Guy Derryberry, state executive committeeman and Maury Co. Democratic Party chairman.