Georgia State University
Georgia State University is a public research university in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. Founded in 1913, it is one of the University System of Georgia's four research universities. It is also the largest in-person institution of higher education by enrollment based in Georgia with a student enrollment of 53,144, including 45,065 undergraduate and 8,079 graduate students across all of their campuses.
Georgia State is classified among "R1: Doctoral Universities – Very high research spending and doctorate production". The university is the most comprehensive public institution in Georgia, offering more than 250-degree programs in over 100 fields of study spread across 10 academic colleges and schools. Georgia State has two libraries: University Library, which is split between Library North and Library South on the main campus and also divided among the Perimeter College campuses, and Law Library, which is located on the main campus. Together, both libraries contain over 13 million holdings and serve as federal document depositories. Georgia State has a $3.2 billion economic impact in Georgia.
Georgia State University's intercollegiate athletics teams, the Georgia State Panthers, compete in NCAA Division I's Sun Belt Conference. Georgia State is a founding member of the Sun Belt Conference.
History
Initially intended as a night school, Georgia State University was established in 1913 as the Georgia School of Technology's Evening School of Commerce. A reorganization of the University System of Georgia in the 1930s led to the school becoming the Atlanta Extension Center of the University System of Georgia and allowed night students to earn degrees from several colleges in the University System. During this time, the school was divided into two divisions: Georgia Evening College and Atlanta Junior College. In September 1947, the school became affiliated with the University of Georgia and was named the Atlanta Division of the University of Georgia.For its first four decades, the school was treated as an offsite department of its parent institution, Georgia Tech, until 1947, and UGA after 1947. Accordingly, its chief executive was called a director. However, in 1955, the Board of Regents made it an autonomous four-year college under the name Georgia State College of Business Administration. Walter Sparks, who had served as director since 1927, became the newly autonomous institution's first president. In 1961, other programs at the school had grown large enough that the name was shortened to Georgia State College. It became Georgia State University in 1969.
The first African-American student became enrolled at Georgia State in 1962, a year after the integration of the University of Georgia and Georgia Tech. Annette Lucille Hall was a Lithonia social studies teacher who enrolled in the course of the Institute on Americanism and Communism, a course required for all Georgia social studies teachers.
The Peachtree Road Race was founded in 1970 by Georgia State cross-country coach and dean of men Tim Singleton, heading it in its first six years before turning it over to the Atlanta Track Club.
In 1995, the Georgia Board of Regents accorded Georgia State "research university" status, joining the University of Georgia, the Georgia Institute of Technology, and Augusta University.
Expansion periods
1913–1975
Over its 100-plus-year history, Georgia State's growth has required the acquisition and construction of more space to suit its needs. During the late 1960s and early 1970s, numerous buildings were constructed as part of a major urban renewal project, such as the Pullen Library in 1966, Classroom South in 1968, the expansion of the Pullen Library in 1968, the Arts and Humanities Building in 1970, the 10-story General Classroom Building in 1971, the Sports Arena in 1973, and the 12-story Urban Life Building in 1974. In addition, a raised platform and walkway system was constructed to connect these buildings over Decatur Street and various parking structures.1980–1989
In the 1980s, another round of expansion took place with the acquisition of the former Atlanta Municipal Auditorium in 1979, which was subsequently converted into Alumni Hall in 1982 and then to Dahlberg Hall in 2010, and currently houses Georgia State's administrative offices. That same year, the College of Law was founded in the Urban Life Building, and the Title Building on Decatur Street was acquired and converted into the College of Education's headquarters and classroom space. In 1988, the nine-story Library South was constructed on the south side of Decatur Street, which was connected to the Pullen Library via a three-story high foot bridge and effectively doubled the library's space.1990–2004
Georgia State continued this growth into the 1990s, with the expansion of Alumni Hall in 1991, the opening of the Natural Science Center in 1992, and the acquisition of the former C&S Bank Building on Marietta Street in 1993, which is now the home of the Robinson College of Business. Georgia State's first move into the Fairlie-Poplar district was the acquisition and renovation of the Standard Building, the Haas-Howell Building, and the Rialto Theater in 1996. The Standard and Haas-Howell buildings house classrooms, offices, and practice spaces for the School of Music, and the Rialto is home to Georgia State's Jazz Studies program and an 833-seat theater. In 1998, the Student Center was expanded toward Gilmer Street and provided a new 400-seat auditorium and space for exhibitions and offices for student clubs. A new Student Recreation Center opened on the corner of Piedmont Avenue and Gilmer Street in 2001. In 2002, the five-story Helen M. Aderhold Learning Center opened on Luckie Street amid controversy over the demolition of historical buildings on its block. Most recently, in 2004, the Andrew Young School of Policy Studies was moved to the former Wachovia Bank Building at Five Points.2005–2015
After the release of the 2006 master plan update, a host of new building activities occurred on campus. A $20 million refurbishment to the Pullen Library complex was completed during the 2006–07 school year. Multiple new units of on-campus housing were built, including the 2,000 bed University Commons in 2007, a new dormitory named Freshman Hall in 2009 and a conversion of a former Wyndham Garden Hotel and a Baymont Inn & Suites into a new 1,100 occupancy dormitory named Piedmont North. New Greek housing was built in 2010 along Edgewood Avenue. The Citizens Trust Building on Piedmont Avenue was purchased by the university to make room for offices and student services in 2007. The Parker H. Petit Science Center was completed in 2010, opening up state-of-the-art science laboratories and teaching space. In 2013, Georgia State started operating from the original home of the Trust Company of Georgia and the SunTrust Bank, the 25 Park Place Building, a 26-floor skyscraper located adjacent to Woodruff Park in the heart of downtown Atlanta. The building currently houses many academic units of the College of Arts and Sciences, including the Dean's Office, the University Advisement Center, and facilities of the School of Public Health. In May 2015, the College of Law was moved to its new building at 89 Park Place after the land was donated to the university.2016–present
The newest incarnation of the university's strategic plan gives an outline of the university's growth from 2011 until 2016 and a brief overview that will be amended for up to 2021. In 2016, an extension to the Petit Science Center was completed. Plans exist for the building of graduate student housing behind the center.On May 31, 2012, the athletics department released a new facilities master plan. The plan includes upgrades and renovations to the GSU Sports Arena including new outdoor sand volleyball courts as well as plans to build new baseball, softball, and soccer stadiums. These would replace the current stadiums in Panthersville. In May 2014, the university announced its intentions to pursue the Turner Field site once the Atlanta Braves Major League Baseball club moves into Truist Park in 2017. The university intends to retrofit Turner Field into a 30,000-seat open-air football stadium and build a new baseball field on the site of the former Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium, incorporating the wall where Hank Aaron hit his record-breaking 715th home run. Additional retail and student housing development is also planned for the parking areas surrounding Turner Field.
On December 21, 2015, the Atlanta Fulton County Recreation Authority announced that Georgia State's bid to redevelop Turner Field had been accepted. On August 18, 2016, Georgia State and the Atlanta-Fulton County Recreation Authority reached a tentative purchase agreement for Turner Field, and the purchase and redevelopment plan was approved by the Board of Regents on November 9, 2016. On January 5, 2017, Georgia State's acquisition of Turner Field, since renamed Georgia State Stadium, was officially closed, with the stadium conversion project beginning in February 2017. Georgia State Stadium hosted its first game on August 31, 2017.
In June 2021, M. Brian Blake became Georgia State University's first African-American and person of color president.
In November 2024, Georgia State University secured $107 million to initiate significant upgrades to its downtown campus as part of a transformative plan featuring nine projects aimed at revitalizing and reimagining the campus experience. The effort was bolstered by an $80 million donation from the Robert W. Woodruff Foundation, marking the largest gift ever made by the foundation to a University System of Georgia institution.