The story
History
Georgia Southern University began as First District Agricultural & Mechanical School, a land grant college under federal legislation and support. It opened in 1908 with four faculty members and 15 students.
Founded as a school for teaching modern agricultural production techniques and homemaking skills to rural school children, First District A&M within two decades shifted its emphasis to meet the growing need for teachers within the state. Its name and mission were changed in 1924 to Georgia Normal School, as a training ground for teachers. Five years later in 1929, after development of a four-year curriculum, it was granted full-fledged senior college status by the state, and the school was renamed as South Georgia Teachers College.
Ensuing decades found more name and mission changes: to Georgia Teachers College in 1939 and Georgia Southern College in 1959.
The university finally integrated its student body in 1965, eleven years after the United States Supreme Court's ruling in Brown v. Board of Education (1954). College President Marvin Pittman had been fired in 1941 by Georgia governor Eugene Talmadge for supporting racial integration; he was eventually rehired.
Georgia Southern has continued its program and physical expansion. With the development of graduate programs in numerous fields and associated research, the institution was granted university status in 1990 as Georgia Southern University.
Since then, the university has embarked on a massive upgrade of facilities, adding more than $300 million in new construction. Georgia Southern was named a Doctoral/Research University by Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching in 2006. The university is recognized in publications including U.S. News & World Report's "America's Best Colleges" and "Best Graduate Schools", Forbes' "America's Best Colleges" and, most recently, by Kiplinger for being one of the "Top 100 Best Values among Public Colleges and Universities." Additionally, Georgia Southern's MBA program was named one of the "Best 301" in the country by The Princeton Review.
Since 1999, two new colleges have been established: the College of Information Technology in 2001, and the Jiann-Ping Hsu College of Public Health in 2004. Additional undergraduate and graduate programs were formed, including doctorate degrees in psychology, public health and nursing. In 2011, the university established the Allen E. Paulson College of Engineering and Computing, formerly known as College of Engineering and Information Technology, which combines the previous College of IT with its engineering programs. In addition, at the same time it created the College of Science and Mathematics, previously known as the Allen E. Paulson College of Science and Technology.
Online bachelor's degrees are available in nursing, general studies, and information technology. Master's programs are offered in kinesiology, instructional technology, accomplished teaching, instructional improvement, higher education administration, reading education, middle grades education, secondary education, special education, and educational leadership. Additionally, the university offers master's degrees in business administration, applied economics, accounting, computer science and sport management. Georgia Southern also offers online endorsements in online teaching and learning, K-5 math, and reading.
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Since 1999, the university has had its most significant growth in its more than 100-year history. It has grown in enrollment and physical facilities. Under a Campus Master Plan, the university added the new 1,001-bed residence hall Centennial Place. It has completely renovated and significantly expanded the Zach S. Henderson Library. Completed in 2009, the Eugene M. Bishop Alumni Center is a gathering place for alumni and friends of the university. The Center for Wildlife Education and the Botanical Garden have also been expanded. Currently, the university is concluding construction on a new Engineering and Research Building. The building's primary focus is aimed at manufacturing engineering.
In October 2019, some students of Georgia Southern University publicly burned books of Cuban-American novelist Jennine Capó Crucet after she gave a talk on campus. The university declared that "book burning does not align with Georgia Southern's values" but declined to discipline the students. Campus events were scheduled October 15 and 16 to discuss censorship and free speech in response to the book burning.
Journalist Abby Martin was scheduled to be the keynote speaker at Georgia Southern University's eighth annual International Critical Media Literacy Conference at Georgia Coastal Center in Savannah on February 28, 2020. When she received the contract for this engagement from GSU, she noted a paragraph included pursuant to Georgia's law prohibiting participation in boycotts of Israel on the part of parties doing business with the State of Georgia passed in 2016. The university cancelled the engagement after Martin refused to agree with the stipulation. Thereupon, Martin filed suit against GSU and a number of its officials in the Federal District Court for Northern Georgia seeking the voiding of the Georgia statute on grounds of unconstitutional violation of her rights. The event was cancelled.
Consolidations with Armstrong State University and East Georgia State College
On January 11, 2017, the Regents of the University System of Georgia announced that the university would merge with Armstrong State University in Savannah as part of the ongoing campus consolidations recommended by the University System of Georgia (USG). Since 2011, in an attempt to improve efficiency and lower costs, the USG has consolidated several colleges and universities within its system, merging some and closing others while altering or transforming curriculums. In January 2018, both Armstrong State and its smaller Liberty Campus, located in Hinesville, formally merged with Georgia Southern.
On April 8, 2025, University System Chancellor Sonny Perdue made a recommendation to the Board of Regents to consolidate Georgia Southern with East Georgia State College (EGSC) in Swainsboro, effective January 1, 2026. On April 15, 2025, the Regents held their monthly board meeting on the main campus of Georgia Southern, formally approving the consolidation of Georgia Southern and EGSC. The following day, the Regents and Georgia Southern leaders held a town hall on the EGSC campus in Swainsboro to address concerns among EGSC students, faculty, staff, alumni, and the Swainsboro community at-large regarding the forthcoming consolidation. In early June 2025, the Board of Regents, Georgia Southern leadership, and EGSC leadership revealed that the name for the Swainsboro campus would called Georgia Southern University–East Georgia Campus; additionally, Georgia Southern president Kyle Marrero concurrently served as the interim president of EGSC during the consolidation process effective July 1, 2025, after then-incumbent EGSC president David Schecter retired.
Recreation Activity Center (RAC)
The Recreation Activity Center (the RAC) is a 220,000-square-foot (20,000 m2) complex that includes areas for weight lifting, cardio, and basketball. It includes an indoor track, two dance studios, a studio for yoga and pilates, five racquetball courts, and a 45-foot (14 m) indoor climbing wall.
In 2006, the RAC was expanded, adding additional basketball and multi-purpose courts, weight and fitness rooms, an Olympic-size swimming pool, a rehabilitation pool, and more space for CRI (Campus Recreation and Intramural) personnel. The expansion also brought a bandshell area that has hosted several national touring artists.
From Wikipedia’s article on Georgia Southern University, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.3