University History

Georgia College & State University was chartered in 1889 as Georgia Normal and Industrial College and opened on Monday September 30, 1891. Its emphasis at the time was largely vocational, and its major task was to prepare young women for teaching or industrial careers. In 1917, in keeping with economic and cultural changes in the state, it was authorized to grant degrees, the first of which was awarded in 1921. In 1922, the institution's name was changed to Georgia State College for Women. The University has been a unit of the University System of Georgia since the system was formed in 1932. The name was changed to Women's College of Georgia in 1961, and, when the institution became coeducational in 1967, it became Georgia College at Milledgeville. The name was later shortened to Georgia College. In August 1996, the Board of Regents approved the name Georgia College & State University to reflect its new mission as Georgia's Public Liberal Arts University.

Former presidents of the University are Dr. J. Harris Chappell, Dr. Marvin M. Parks, Dr. J.L. Beeson, Dr. Guy H. Wells, Dr. Henry King Stanford, Dr. Robert E. Lee, Dr. J. Whitney Bunting, Dr. Edwin G. Speir, Dr. Rosemary DePaolo, Dr. Dorothy Leland, and Dr. Steve M. Dorman.  Cathy Cox became the twelfth president of Georgia College on October 1, 2021.