1960’s GMC Cadet Anonymously Establishes $100,000 Endowment To Honor Former Commandant

From The Cadence Fall 2008

A former cadet has stepped forward to establish a scholarship endowment honoring the legacy of Colonel William McCord Kemp, who gave extraordinary service to Georgia Military College for thirty-five years. The donor, who wishes to remain anonymous, was a cadet at GMC under the leadership of Colonel Bill Kemp (at the time, Major Kemp) as Commandant of Cadets. The former cadet explained, “It was the contributions he made as Commandant for so many of us that I will never forget, and which have resulted in this honor of his memory. He was also a great, memorable teacher of mine, but as Commandant he was superb in many ways, having impacted the lives of so many individuals at a very critical time.” Colonel Kemp joined the GMC faculty in 1955-56, teaching history, political science, and world literature in the junior college and then becoming Commandant of Cadets in the fall of 1957. He served the institution well in many capacities until his retirement at the close of the academic year in 1990. In an article for a previous issue of The Cadence celebrating Colonel Kemp’s service at GMC and commemorating his passing in 1995, A. Alling Jones, HS ‘59, wrote, “Bill Kemp had a strong sense of right and wrong based on values he taught his students, as much by the way he lived and conducted himself as by any other method. He knew the mind of the adolescent male and seemed to be everywhere, all the time. He would anticipate the most secretly planned pranks and thwart any midnight forays which might arise among the corps of cadets. Underneath his
Olympian facade was a truly caring man concerned that his wards grow to become upright, responsible adults. We always respected his rule of order, looking up to him as a father figure in many instances. With the passage of time we have come to feel a deep affection for him and the wise ways, often underlined with subtle humor, by which he imparted the knowledge and code of conduct he always knew we would need later in life.”

The Colonel William M. Kemp Scholarship Endowment will provide a scholarship annually to a second-year junior college cadet who has demonstrated a high degree of motivation and integrity, and possesses the potential for future success if given some financial assistance. It is the intent of the donor that the scholarship honoring Colonel Kemp’s memory “…would always maintain the high standards that he set and demanded of his students, as demonstrated by the future achievements and successes of those receiving it.”

Those wishing to make donations to the Colonel William M. Kemp Scholarship Endowment should send their gifts, noting their intent, to the GMC Foundation, 201 E. Greene St., Milledgeville, GA 31061.

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