University Timeline
June 1965 Board of Regents authorizes three new junior colleges, one to serve south metropolitan Atlanta.
October 1965 Board of Regents designates northern section of Clayton County as the general location of college.
October 1966 A $4,900,000 bond issue is passed by the citizens of Clayton County.
February 1967 $3,300,000 is transmitted to the Board of Regents for buildings and equipment.
February 1968 College is officially named Clayton Junior College.
October 1968 Construction of facilities begins.
February 1969 Dr. Harry S. Downs is named the College’s first President.
August 1969 First building is occupied by members of college staff.
September 1969 Classes open with 942 students.
January 1971 College is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools.
September 1974 College opens the Classroom Building.
September 1979 College opens the Library Building.
January 1981 Multi-purpose gymnasium and dance studio are added to the Physical Education Building.
September 1981 College establishes the Division of Technology (changed to the School of Technology in 1986).
September 1983 College receives a three-year $237,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Education to develop a comprehensive general education program.
May 1985 Board of Regents authorizes conversion of Clayton from a two-year to a four-year institution.
June 1985 The Charles Schmidlapp Conklin Chair of Finance, the College’s first faculty Chair, is established in honor of the late Charles S. Conklin, long-time Clayton County banker and member of the College Foundation’s Board of Trustees.
February 1986 Board of Regents authorizes new organizational structure for Clayton as a four-year institution, effective July 1, 1986.
May 1986 Board of Regents authorizes name change to Clayton State College, effective July 1, 1986.
July 1, 1986 College officially becomes Clayton State College.
September 1987 Upper-level classes in Business Administration are added to the curriculum.
September 1987 College opens first off-campus facility with classes beginning in the Aircraft Mechanics Program in Jonesboro.
June 1988 College opens the Technology Building as the ninth building on campus.
September 1988 Upper-level classes leading to the Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree are added to the curriculum.
June 1989 Clayton State College awards its first Bachelor of Business Administration degrees.
June 1990 College awards its first Bachelor of Science in Nursing degrees.
June 1990 College awards its first Associate of Applied Science in Aviation Maintenance Technology degrees.
November 1990 Clayton State College enters into intercollegiate athletic competition with men’s basketball.
December 1990 College opens the state-of-the-art Continuing Education Center. Since then, the CE program has grown to be the largest program among all University System of Georgia state universities, and the third largest in the state.
January 23, 1991 - Spivey Hall's opening concert with violinist Itzhak Perlman was a milestone in Clayton State history and clearly warrants mention on the History timeline for the University.
September 1991 Upper-level classes leading to the Bachelor of Music are added to the curriculum.
November 1991 Clayton State expands intercollegiate athletic program with addition of women’s basketball.
May 1992 Clayton State receives $150,000 grant from BellSouth Foundation to design and implement a baccalaureate degree program in teacher education.
June 1993 Clayton College awards its first Bachelor of Music degrees.
August 1993 College opens Clayton State Boulevard, a new entrance road from Highway 54 to the main entrance of the campus.
January 1994 Dr. Richard A. Skinner is named Clayton State’s second President.
September 1994 Clayton State celebrates its 25th anniversary.
September 1994 Clayton State holds its first Southern Crescent Celebration.
Spring 1995 Clayton State joins NCAA Division II and the Peach Belt Conference.
June 1995 First Bachelor of Arts degrees awarded to graduates of the middle-level teacher education program.
August 1995 Enrollment tops 5,000 for the first time.
1995-1996 College adds five sports (women’s tennis and soccer, men’s and women’s cross country, and men’s golf).
February 1996 Board of Regents approves Bachelor of Applied Science degree with majors in Technology Management, Administrative Management, Allied Health Administration and Dental Hygiene Practice and Administration.
August 1996 College receives $100,000 grant from CSX Transportation to fund continuing education Rail Training Institute. The Institute enrolls hundreds of students from throughout the southeastern United States and receives awards from the National University Continuing Education Association (for Innovative Programming) and from the Georgia Economic Developers Association, Inc. (TERRIFIC Education Award)
November 1996 Board of Regents authorizes change to university status and name change to Clayton College & State University.
December 1996 Board of Regents approves Information Technology Project (ITP) in principle. ITP will involve issuing notebook computers to all students at all levels in all majors.
March 1997 Board of Regents gives final approval to Information Technology Project.
March 1997 Board of Regents approves Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Sciences Integrative Studies major.
April 1997 Continuing Education Center rededicated and renamed after President Emeritus Harry S. Downs.
January 1998 Distribution of notebook computers to all students completed as part of the Information Technology Project, making Clayton State the first public university in the Southeast and third in the nation to issue notebook computers to all students at all levels in all majors, transforming the campus and making Clayton State a national pioneer in ubiquitous computing.
March 1998 Men’s and women’s track added as ninth and tenth sports.
May 1998 Board of Regents approves Information Technology degrees and establishment of the New College for Economic and Business Development.
August 1998 University goes to Semester system of classes.
August 1998 First Information Technology students enrolled.
Fall 1998 Construction begins on Music Building.
November 1998 University receives $200,000 grant from AT&T to develop Wireless Technology Curriculum.
June 1999 Michael F. Vollmer named Interim President.
June 1999 Attorney G. Robert Oliver named chairman of Clayton College & State University Foundation Board of Trustees.
July 1999 University opens Roswell Center on north side of Atlanta. The Roswell Center currently serves 3000 individuals a year.
August 1999 Gateway Village project approved by Clayton County. Gateway Village is an economic development initiative that will enclose the Morrow campus of Clayton College & State University on two sides with office space, a high tech executive conference center, student housing and an intermodal transportation center. Thanks to efforts by Dr. Richard Skinner and Dean of Continuing Education and Executive Director of Community Outreach Dr. Bryan Edwards, Gateway Village will also include both state and federal archives facilities and a Hilton Conference Center, and Clayton State is viewed as a major training ground for archivists based on the size of the Continuing Education program.
August 1999 Clayton Place Apartments open immediately adjacent to campus.
September 1999 University celebrates 30th Anniversary.
October 1999 Clayton State Distance Learning program named second-best in nation by United States Distance Learning Association.
December 11, 1999 University holds first Winter Commencement ceremony.
December 1999 U.S. Government funds $1,000,000 Clayton State Continuing Education military training program.
March 2000 Main campus lake named "Swan Lake."
March 2000 Music Building Opens.
March 2000 University Learning Center funded by State Legislature.
April 2000 Dr. Stephen R. Portch, Chancellor of the University System of Georgia, announces that the Board of Regents has selected Dr. Thomas K. Harden as the new president for Clayton College & State University, effective in June.
April 2000 Dean of Continuing Education and Executive Director of Community Outreach, Dr. Bryan Edwards, named the winner of the Georgia Adult Education Association's most prestigious award, “Outstanding Adult Educator in Georgia" for 1999.
May 2000 Anthonio P. Finger, a 1997 graduate of Clayton College & State University and the University's program coordinator for Technology Outreach, named the winner of the 2000 Chancellor's Award for Collaborative Excellence by University System of Georgia Chancellor Dr. Stephen R. Portch.
May 2000 Applied Biology major for Clayton State approved by the Board of Regents of the University System.
June 2000 Dr. Thomas K. Harden becomes Clayton State’s third president.
June 2000 Delta Air Lines attorney John Parkerson named chairman of Clayton College & State University Foundation Board of Trustees.
October 7, 2000 Clayton State holds first-ever Fall Homecoming celebration.
January 2001 Clayton State Receives Pioneer Award from Fourth Annual Conference on Ubiquitous Computing at Seton Hall University in South Orange, N.J.
January 2001 Clayton State holds its First Annual Martin Luther King Commemorative Event, featuring The Rev. C.T. Vivian as keynote speaker.
February 2001 The Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia approves Clayton State's new Bachelor of Science degree in Dental Hygiene.
March 2001 The Clayton State Bachelor of Science in Psychology and Human Services is approved by the Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia.
April 12, 2001 Dr. Thomas K. Harden inaugurated as Clayton State’s third president.
July 1, 2001 Clayton State receives $650,000 grant, entitled “Workforce Diversity in Nursing for the New Millennium” from the Division of Nursing, in the Bureau of Health Professions, within the federal Department of Health and Human Services.
July 31, 2001 Groundbreaking held for the Clayton State University Center.
August 2001 The University enters a new phase of the Information Technology Project, called “ITP-Choice,” which maintains the requirement for ubiquitous mobile computing, while giving students the opportunity to purchase notebook computers rather than having the institution supply them.
September 2001 Clayton State’s Communication and Media Studies degree, along with Bachelor of Arts in Music, approved by the Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia.
September 2001 Clayton State ranked has having the most diverse student body among comprehensive colleges in the southern United States by U.S. News & World Reports' annual "America's Best Colleges" issue.
January 2002 SmartStart for New Vets, the product of Clayton State’s $1 million grant from the U.S. Department of Labor that serves as a working model for recruiting, training, and placing the displaced workers, starts up in the University’s Division of Continuing Education.
March 2002 Dr. Sharon Hoffman Clayton State named Provost and Vice President of Academic Affairs.
May 4, 2002 Due to the increasing number of graduates, Clayton State holds its first dual Commencement ceremonies.
May 2002 State Representative Gail Buckner awarded the University’s first Distinguished Alumni of the Year Award.
July 2002 Clayton State Annual Campaign reaches first $1 million goal.
August 2002 Enrollment tops 5,000 for the first time since August 1995, a record 5,214.
August 2002 Dr. Raymond Osei of the University of the Cape Coast in Ghana starts teaching at Clayton State as the University’s first Fulbright Scholar in Residence.
September 2002 Spivey Hall Executive Director Sherryl Nelson named Clayton County’s International Businessperson of the Year by Clayton County Chamber of Commerce.
September 2002 Clayton State again ranked has having the most diverse student body among comprehensive colleges in the southern United States by U.S. News & World Reports' annual "America's Best Colleges" issue.
September 2002 Board of Regents of University System of Georgia approves B.A. in History degree for Clayton State.
October 2002 Continuing Education courses first offered by Clayton State at the Fayette County Higher Education Center in Peachtree City
November 2002 99 percent of Clayton State faculty and staff contribute to the University’s Annual Faculty/Staff Fund Drive.
November 21, 2002 - Gateway Village, the planned mixed-use development located just west of campus, received the “Exceptional Merit Award for a Visionary Public-Private Redevelopment Partnership” at the Atlanta Regional Commission’s Annual Developments of Excellence Awards.
December 2002 Clayton State changes name of New College to College of Information and Mathematical Sciences.
January 2003 Atlanta Business Chronicle’s Book of Lists indicates that Clayton State awards more undergraduate degrees in Information Technology than any other institution in the University System of Georgia.
April 2003 Georgia Archives facility opens adjacent to the Clayton State campus.
July 2003 Clayton State welcomes new Associate Provost, Dr. James Mackin, and new deans Dr. Arthur J. Rosser, (School of Technology), Dr. Ray Wallace (School of Arts & Sciences) and Dr. Judith A. Plawecki (School of Health Sciences).
August 2003 Clayton State academic courses offered for the first time at the Fayette County Higher Education Center.
August 2003 M. Allan Vigil, long-time trustee of the Clayton College & State University Foundation, is named a Regent of the University System of Georgia by Governor Sonny Perdue.
October 2003 The U.S. Department of Education awards a $984,115 grant to Clayton State, three metro Atlanta School Systems, the Georgia Archives, the Southeastern Region of the National Archives and Records Administration, the Jimmy Carter Presidential Library, the Georgia Council for the Humanities and the Georgia Department of Education to instruct 72 teachers as part of the Teaching American History grant program.
October 2003 100% of Clayton State faculty and staff contribute to the University’s Annual Faculty/Staff Fund Drive.
October 2003 President Dr. Thomas K. Harden, Spivey Hall Executive Director Sherryl Nelson and Robert Lee, vice president of the Clayton College & State University Foundation Board of Trustees, lead a delegation of educational, business and cultural leaders to Romania, Hungary and the Czech Republic to “pitch” the Southern Crescent as an international educational, business and cultural center.
January 2004 Clayton State hosts the University’s first official foreign exchange student, Jonathan Coulson of England’s University of Northumbria.
February 2004 The Board of Regents approves Clayton State’s B.S. degree in Criminal Justice.
April 2004 “Cygnet,” Clayton State’s first student literary arts journal is published.
April 2004 Clayton State awarded its first Fulbright-Hays grant. The $63,000 cost-sharing award allows 15 area faculty members, academic administrators and K-12 teachers to participate in a four week professional development program in Argentina and Chile.
April 2004 WebBSIT approved by the Board of Regents for Clayton State and four other University System of Georgia institutions.
April 2004 The Board of Regents approves Clayton State’s B.S. degree in Political Science.
May 2004 The Board of Regents approves Clayton State’s B.A. degree in English.
June 2004 Robert Lee named chairman of Clayton College & State University Foundation Board of Trustees.
June 2004 The Board of Regents approves Clayton State’s B.S. degree in Mathematics
August 2004 Clayton State University Center opens for classes.
August 2004 Enrollment approaches a record 6000.
August 2004 For the third time, Clayton State is ranked has having the most diverse student body among comprehensive colleges in the southern United States by U.S. News & World Report.
September 2004 Clayton State celebrates its 35th anniversary.
October 2004 Clayton State students Elena Cholakova, Patrick Thompson and Brandon Tucker travel to Hungary with Dr. Maya Hoover and President Dr. Thomas K. Harden to perform at the Liszt Academy in Budapest.
October 2004 Clayton State receives the Clayton County Chamber of Commerce’s 13th Annual International Business of the Year Award.
November 11, 2004 Clayton College & State University Center dedicated.
November 2004 Clayton State announces the launch two new satellite centers, in Henry County at Locust Grove, and in Fayette County in Fayetteville.
December 7, 2004 Following the University's regularly-scheduled 10-year review, Clayton State receives word of the reaffirmation of the University’s accreditation by the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS).
January 2005 Clayton State announces first self-developed Study Abroad program
January 2005 Clayton State begins Faculty Exchange program with college in India
January 14, 2005 Dr. Charles Ford named Dean of College of Information and Mathematical Sciences
March 10, 2005 Clayton State awarded second Fulbright-Hays Grant
May 18, 2005 University’s name changed to Clayton State University
June 8, 2005 Dr. Lisa Eichelberger named dean of School of Health Sciences
August 2005 Clayton State begins offering Music Education degree
August 2005 Clayton State begins Health & Fitness Management major
August 2005 Enrollment tops 6,000 for the first time
August 2005 Clayton State adds Dr. Mark May as dean of Retention and Student Success
September 2, 2005 Clayton State student body named number one in diversity for the fourth time by "U.S. News & World Report."
September 2005 -- Clayton State’s first Constitution Day celebration
September 12, 2005 David Heflin joins Clayton State as vice president of Business & Operations
October 13, 2005 Clayton State wins two Clean Air Campaign PACE awards
November 12, 2005 Clayton State holds naming ceremony for James M. Baker University Center
November 15, 2005 Spivey Hall’s Sherryl Nelson named Chevalier de l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres by the French government
November 16, 2005 Clayton State’s first graduate degree -- Master of Arts in Liberal Studies – approved by the Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia.
December 2, 2005 Dr. Michael Deis wins Regents’ Teaching Excellence Award for Regional and State Universities
January 5, 2006 Clayton State University President Dr. Thomas K. Harden awarded the highest honor bestowed by Epsilon Pi Tau (EPT), the premier academic and professional honors group for technology programs in higher education, workforce development programs, and professionals in practice.
January 11, 2006 Dr. Brian L. Haynes appointed vice president of Campus Life.
April 4, 2006 Clayton State awarded three Fulbright-Hays Grants by the U.S. Department of Education (USDE) Office of International Education and the Council for the International Exchange of Scholars (CIES). The two USDE grants provide for travel to Singapore, Malaysia and South Africa. The “Scholar-in–Residence” CIES grant will enable a resident scholar from Thailand to teach and spend an academic year at Clayton State.
April 10, 2006 Clayton State University School of Business earns AACSB accreditation.
June 7, 2006 The University System of Georgia’s Board of Regents approves Master of Science in Nursing for Clayton State
June 7, 2006 Long-time Clayton State University Foundation trustee M. Allan Vigil elected chair of the Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia.
July 1, 2006 Judge Stephen Boswell begins serving as Clayton State University Foundation Chairman
August 9, 2006 The University System of Georgia’s Board of Regents approves Master of Health Administration for Clayton State.
August 27, 2006 Clayton State holds first New Student Convocation
August 21, 2006 First graduate students begin classes in Clayton State Master of Arts in Liberal Studies.
September 27, 2006 Retired Brigadier General Robert L. “Steve” Stephens, Jr., executive assistant to the president at Clayton State University, is named the University’s interim vice president of External Relations.
October 10, 2006 Board of Regents approves Clayton State University’s proposal for Bachelor of Arts in Theatre
October 19, 2006 Clayton State Faculty/Staff Fund Drive raises record amount -- $99,000 on 99 percent participation.
January 8, 2007 University undergoes academic reorganization into three colleges and three schools. The colleges are; the College of Professional Studies, the College of Arts & Sciences, and the College of Information and Mathematical Sciences. The schools are; the School of Nursing, the School of Business and the School of Graduate Studies.
January 16, 2007 Master of Business Administration for Clayton State approved by the University System of Georgia’s Board of Regents.
March 12, 2007 Clayton State women’s basketball team wins NCAA Division II South Atlantic Regional Championship.
March 22, 2007 Clayton State Women’s Basketball advances to NCAA Division II Final Four with 60-55 win over Texas A&M Commerce in the NCAA Division II Elite Eight in Kearney, Neb.
May 7, 2007 Dr. Jacob Chacko named dean of Clayton State School of Business, starting January 1, 2008.
May 14, 2007 Dr. John Campbell named dean of Clayton State’s College of Arts & Sciences.
May 29, 2007 Clayton State Trustee John Parkerson, Jr., sworn in as Honorary Consul of Hungary for the States of Georgia, Tennessee, North Carolina and South Carolina.
June 14, 2007 Clayton State announces first Fulbright Research Scholar. Dr. Roberto Corcino of the Department of Mathematics at Mindanao State University in Iligan City, Philippines, will join Clayton State University this fall under a Fulbright Research Grant.
June 28, 2007 Clayton State breaks ground for new School of Business Building.
July 9, 2007 Clayton State School of Nursing moves to the University’s Harry S. Downs Center.
July 20, 2007 Dr. Kevin Demmitt appointed Clayton State assistant vice president of Academic Outreach.
July 12, 2007 SACS approves Clayton State to offer the Master of Business Administration (MBA), Master of Science in Nursing (MSN), and Master of Health Administration (MHA) degrees, effective for the fall 2007 semester.
August 1, 2007 Dr. Anthony Giovannitti’s appointed interim dean of the College of Information and Mathematical Sciences.
August 17, 2007 The Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia approves Clayton State University’s proposal to add a Bachelor of Science in Sociology to its list of baccalaureate degrees.
August 23, 2007 Clayton State holds groundbreaking ceremony for student housing and student activities center projects.
September 24, 2007 Clayton State student body named “Most Diverse” for the fifth time by U.S. News & World Report’s America’s Best Colleges edition.
October 23, 2007 Former USG interim chancellor Corlis Cummings joins Clayton State Administration as special assistant to Clayton State President Dr. Thomas K. Harden.
December 4, 2007 Clayton State dedicates Clayton State University – Fayette facility in Peachtree City.
December 18, 2007 Dr. Rodger Bates named dean of Clayton State University’s College of Professional Studies.