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Georgia Gwinnett College opened its doors on August 18, 2006 as
Governor Sonny Perdue, President Daniel Kaufman, Board of Regents
Chairman Allan Vigil, U.S. Representative John Linder and GGC
Foundation Chairman Glenn White cut the ceremonial ribbon for the
nation’s first four-year public college created in the 21st century,
and the first four-year public college created in Georgia in more than
100 years.
The new institution was
built upon the work of the Gwinnett University Center (GUC) which was
established in 1997 to provide University System of Georgia (USG)
coordination in Gwinnett County with Georgia Perimeter College (GPC),
which offered associate degrees, and with the University of Georgia
(UGA), which offered some bachelor’s and graduate programs.
- September 1987: GPC offered its first courses in Gwinnett County on Sugarloaf Parkway.
- September 1990: UGA came to Gwinnett offering graduate courses.
- 1994:
Recognizing that Gwinnett was the largest county east of the
Mississippi River lacking a four-year college, the County purchased 160
acres of land located off GA Highway 316 and Collins Hill Road, and
designated it specifically for the development of a college campus.
- February 1999: The State Legislature showed their support by allocating $19.7 million for the signature building.
- 2000:
Gwinnett County donated the 160 acres to establish the Gwinnett
University Center, a partnership among institutions of higher education.
- December 2000:
The Board of Regents approved a unique public-private venture to
construct the first classroom building on the new campus site. The
120,000 square-foot building was constructed in a record ten months.
- December 2001: The entire campus was relocated from Sugarloaf Parkway to 1000 University Center Lane.
- January 7, 2002:
GUC opened its doors to more than 5,000 students enrolled in the
partnership institutions - nine months earlier than projected and
reaching the original five-year enrollment projection on opening day.
- August 2002:
A $22 million signature building was completed, adding 100,000 square
feet with18 state-of-the-art classrooms, a two-story library, and
faculty offices.
- August 2002: Southern Polytechnic State University began offering classes.
- August 2003: The Medical College of Georgia began offering classes.
- October 2004:
The Board of Regents (BOR) voted to create a new four-year state
college in Gwinnett County. The County had doubled its population each
of the past three decades, and was now home to nearly 700,000 people.
With more than 8,000 enrolled students, the GUC was the ninth largest
University System institution.
- March 2005: The Georgia General Assembly passed SR 33 establishing a new college in Gwinnett.
- May 2005:
Gov. Sonny Perdue deferred a $5 million appropriation in the 2005 State
budget for a 29,000 square-foot classroom building.
- September 2005: Dr. Daniel J. Kaufman was hired as the college’s inaugural president.
- October 2005: The BOR voted to name the institution “Georgia Gwinnett College.”
- November 2005:
Initial bachelor degree programs approved by the BOR included a
Bachelor of Science (“B.S.”) with a major in Biology, B.S. with a major
in Psychology, Bachelor of Science in Education (“B.S.Ed.”) with a
major in Early Childhood Education (including eligibility for
certification in Special Education), Bachelor of Applied Science
(“B.A.S.”) with a major in Technology Management, Bachelor of Business
Administration (“B.B.A.”) with a major in General Business, Bachelor of
Science in Radiologic Technology (“B.S.R.T.”), and Bachelor of Science
in Nursing (“B.S.N.”).
- August 18, 2006: Georgia Gwinnett College opened with 120 juniors as its first students.
- Fall 2007: The College’s first freshman class joins GGC.
- June 2008: The first GGC graduation is held.
- 2010: Enrollment estimated to be 8,000 students.
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