Georgia College & State University celebrates its 135th birthday

G eorgia College & State University celebrates its 135th birthday today. Nov. 8 is the university's Charter Day - the anniversary of the date in 1889 when Governor John B. Gordon signed a bill into law establishing Georgia Normal & Industrial College.

According to the 1891 GN&IC Prospectus, "The original bill for the establishment of this institution was first introduced in the House of Representatives of the Georgia Legislature early in the July session of 1889, by Hon. Wm. Y. Atkinson, a member from Coweta County…the Bill for the establishment of this Girls' Industrial School was received with great favor by the body from the beginning…It passed both houses of the Legislature and received the Governor's signature, and on November 8th, 1889, became a law."

1915 archival photo of the female students of Georgia Normal and Industrial College on historic Front Campus, courtesy of Georgia College Special Collections.

The state allocated land known as Penitentiary Square in the center of Milledgeville as the location of the GN&IC campus, along with the former Executive Mansion that became the college's first dormitory.

The 1891 Prospectus also claimed, "Perhaps more universal interest was never felt in any educational institution ever organized in the State, certainly none ever had the more hearty approval of the entire people of Georgia."

The original mission of GN&IC was to provide young women in Georgia instruction and training that would prepare them to earn their own living "by the vocation of teaching or by those industrial arts that are suitable for women to pursue." The first class of GN&IC included 88 women who hailed from 52 different Georgia counties.

"GCSU has come a long way since 1889 when we had fewer than 100 students enrolled," said President Cathy Cox. "Our 135th year has seen the largest total enrollment in the history of the institution at 7,100 students from across the state, country and the world."

Cox continued, "Some things remain similar over the past century-plus. GCSU has focused on the highest caliber Liberal Arts experience in Georgia for most of its existence. And the Georgia College campus - which still features its key historical Front Campus - is just as 'magnificent and beautiful' as it was first described in 1891."

From its start, GN&IC comprised four departments: the Normal Department, the Industrial Department, the Collegiate Department and the Domestic Department. The Normal Department trained teachers, while the Industrial Department taught secretarial skills such as stenography and bookkeeping.

The Collegiate Department provided a traditional four-year academic curriculum which the GN&IC prospectus deemed "equal, if not superior, to that of any female institution of learning in the South." Courses included Latin, Algebra, Analytical Geometry, Rhetoric, Natural Science, Astronomy and Shakespeare.

Finally, the Domestic Department included a Cooking School, a School of Dressmaking and a Home Department in charge of the upkeep of the school's dormitory.

The college continued to enroll only women until it became coed in 1967. Today, like most universities in Georgia and the U.S., women outnumber male students enrolled in fulltime study at GCSU.

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