GIVE VISIT APPLY NOW Future Students Current Students Parents Employees Alumni Jobs Fall 2021 .a{fill:#fff;} Admissions Academics Campus Life Resources Athletics About Us HOME ABOUT US OUR HERITAGE & HISTORY A BRIEF HISTORY OF GEORGIA COLLEGE TODAY Georgia College serves more than 6,600 undergraduate and graduate students in four colleges – the College of Arts and Sciences, the J. Whitney Bunting College of Business, the John H. Lounsbury College of Education and the College of Health Sciences -- with a faculty of more than 300. In addition to the Milledgeville campus, Georgia College provides some graduate programs online. 2017 Renovation of Beeson Hall is complete. It currently serves as the home of several academic departments in the College of Arts & Sciences. Mayfair Hall and Mcintosh House reopen after being renovated. Admissions moves to their beautiful new space in Mayfair Hall. 2014 Georgia College celebrates its 125th anniversary. 2012 Georgia College begins its first doctoral program, the Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP). 2011 Georgia College opens the Wellness and Recreation Center on the West Campus, a $26 million state-of-the-art facility that receives a designation for its environmentally friendly architecture and accoutrements. 2010 The Campus Theatre reopens after extensive restoration and renovation to become the home for the Georgia College Department of Theatre Arts and a “black box theatre” as well as the university bookstore and coffee shop. 2006 The USG Board of Regents approves the Macon Center for Graduate and Professional Learning for operation in downtown Macon by Georgia College. 2005 Renovation of the former First Methodist Church as the new Student Activities Center is completed. The Magnolia Room centerpiece provides an elegant space for events and gatherings. 2004 With help from the Georgia General Assembly and the Woodruff Foundation, a painstaking restoration of the Old Governor's Mansion is completed as a historic house museum, interpreted in the years 1851-1853. Major residence hall construction is completed as five new buildings open near the main campus to serve more than 1,100 students, primarily freshmen. In addition, West Campus, becomes home to an apartment complex to serve upperclassmen. 1996 The Georgia Board of Regents officially charges the institution with its new mission as "Georgia's public liberal arts university" and bestows the sixth name -- Georgia College & State University. 1989 The 100th anniversary of the College is marked with the opening of the Centennial Center, which serves as a wellness center and gymnasium. 1987 An educational exchange is established with the People's Republic of China. This begins, in part, a revival of international interaction through study abroad and exchange programs. 1975 Total enrollment grows to 3,770. 1971 Georgia College at Milledgeville becomes Georgia College. 1967 The Woman's College of Georgia becomes coeducational and receives a new name, Georgia College at Milledgeville. In the fall, 185 men join the campus of 1,216 women. 1964 Cellestine Hill, the first African-American student, enters the College. 1964 Funds are appropriated for the first adequate renovation of the Governor's Mansion. The work is completed in 1967. 1961 Georgia State College for Women is officially renamed The Woman's College of Georgia. 1957 The college begins its first graduate program, a Master of Education degree. 1953 Enrollment sinks to a low of 585 as the majority of post-War women prefer coeducational colleges. 1943 GSCW is selected as one of four colleges for training U.S. Navy WAVES. For two years, 15,000 women receive training on campus in storekeeping and clerical duties for the Navy. 1942 Mary Flannery O'Connor enters as a freshman. Active in student publications, she graduates three years later and becomes one of the South’s most noted writers. 1938 The number of enrolled students, known as Jessies from the sound of GCSW, peaks at 1,500. 1935 In order to boost student morale, Dean of Women Ethel Adams initiates a spirited theatrical competition between freshmen and sophomores that becomes known as "Golden Slipper." This competition endures as one of the College's most popular traditions until the 1970s. 1934 The first student government association forms. Compulsory uniforms are soon abolished. 1922 Georgia Normal & Industrial College changes to Georgia State College for Women. As a teacher's college, courses include psychology, home economics, English, math, art, science, recreation and music. 1917 Due to President Parks' persistent advocacy, the college receives authority to grant four-year degrees and establishes its clear independence from the University of Georgia. 1906 J. Harris Chappell, the first president, steps down due to illness, and Marvin M. Parks assumes the leadership. 1891 Classes begin in the newly constructed Main building (lost to fire in 1924), with students housed in the Old Governor's Mansion. The main campus is primarily located on "Penitentiary Square," the site of the former Georgia State Penitentiary (1818-1879). In all, the campus totals 22 acres. 1889 Due to the lobbying efforts of Julia Flisch, a journalist in Augusta, support builds to establish a publicly funded college for women that would prepare them for the demands of the new industrial age. In 1889, the Georgia Normal & Industrial College is chartered as a two-year college emphasizing teacher training and business skills. 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