The University System of Georgia Board of Regents approved the naming of Savannah State University’s Hyundai College of Education on Tuesday after the university received a $5 million donation from the car manufacturer.
This comes after the March opening of a Hyundai electric vehicle production plant in Ellabell, Georgia, located near Savannah.
In early September, immigration officers detained nearly 500 workers at the plant, more than 300 of whom are South Korean and have since returned to South Korea. The immigration raid tested Georgia’s and Gov. Brian Kemp’s longstanding economic relationship with South Korea and investment in electric vehicle manufacturing.
The renaming represents the latest investment by Hyundai in Coastal Georgia through training future educators and professionals in the area.
Hyundai Motor America will pay its $5 million donation in annual installments of $500,000 over ten years. The funds will go exclusively toward “the betterment of the institution and the advancement of its students and activities,” specifically “to support and accelerate the goal of growing the College of Education programs to address critical teacher shortages in urban centers and underserved rural counties,” according to the university’s request on the Board of Regents meeting agenda.
