A Brief History of Clayton State University

Clayton State University (Clayton State University) opened in 1969 as Clayton Junior College, with Dr. Harry S. Downs as the founding president. The Board of Regents elevated the institution to baccalaureate status in 1986 and established the present name in 1996.

In April 2000, Dr. Stephen R. Portch, Chancellor of the University System of Georgia, announced that the Board of Regents had selected Dr. Thomas K. Harden as the new president for Clayton State University effective in June of that year.

The beginning of the University can be traced to 1965 when the Board of Regents authorized three new junior colleges for the University System, one of which was designated for south metropolitan Atlanta. The Board considered several locations in the region, and chose the present site in Clayton County because of the unique combination of natural beauty and easy access to the then recently completed Interstate 75. The citizens of Clayton County subsidized the initial construction of the state institution by passing a bond issue for nearly five million dollars. Construction of the new campus began in fall 1968, and the doors opened to 942 students less than a year later on September 30, 1969.

In 1981 the University added a technical division offering applied associate degrees and certificates in cooperation with the Georgia Department of Technical and Adult Education. Five years later Clayton State began its baccalaureate mission with programs in business administration and nursing. The institution has continued to add majors at the bachelor’s level while maintaining several technical associate degree and certificate programs. Through the establishment of the Bachelor of Applied Science degree, Clayton State University emerged as a national leader in promoting opportunities for graduates from applied associate degree programs to "bridge" to bachelor’s degrees with little, if any, loss of credit. The University also has one of the largest continuing education programs in the state.

Upon the retirement of Harry Downs in January 1994, Dr. Richard A. Skinner became the University’s second president. In June 1999, Skinner left Clayton State to head the University System of Georgia’s new distance learning initiative known as GLOBE. Michael F. Vollmer, Clayton State’s acting Vice President for Fiscal Affairs and former Interim President of Middle Georgia College, served as Interim President for one year until President Harden took office in June 2000.

Clayton State University now enrolls 4,700 students in degree credit programs that, in the words of the University’s mission, provide "career-oriented education with a solid liberal arts foundation." Current bachelors degree majors include Applied Biology (B.S.), Middle-level Teacher Education (B.A.), Nursing (B.S.N.), Health Care Management/Administration (B.S. and B.A.S.), Dental Hygiene (B.S. and B.A.S.), Psychology and Human Services (B.S.), Music (B.M.), Technology Management (B.A.S.), Administrative Management (B.A.S.), Integrative Studies (B.A. or B.S.), and four fields of business administration (B.B.A.). The University’s largest major is Information Technology (B.I.T.), which is built on a "career ladder" concept that prepares students for professional opportunities at two steps prior to the bachelor’s degree. Other baccalaureate programs are under development.

Clayton State’s mission commits it to "placing a major emphasis on technologically advanced access to information and to ensuring that all students acquire a working familiarity with the uses, limitations, and ethical implications of modern information technology." To that end, in January 1998 Clayton State University became the first institution in the Southeast and one of the first in the nation to start issuing notebook computers to all students at all levels in all majors. This "Information Technology Project" (ITP) has transformed the campus and made Clayton State a national pioneer in "ubiquitous computing." In Fall 2001, the University entered a new phase called "ITP-Choice," which maintains the requirement for ubiquitous mobile computing, but gives students the opportunity to purchase notebook computers rather than having the institution supply them.

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