2004-2005 - GPC Home - Georgia Perimeter College

HistoryFounded by the citizens of DeKalb County and the DeKalb Board ofEducation under the Junior College Act of 1958, Georgia PerimeterCollege opened as DeKalb College with its Clarkston Campus in1964. It was the only public junior college in the state supported andcontrolled by a local Board of Education. It was established in orderthat any resident of the DeKalb School District who held a highschool diploma or its equivalent and who desired to seek two yearsof postsecondary education might have the opportunity to do so.The College’s Decatur (formerly known as South) Campus opened in1972. Also beginning in 1972, students enrolled in DeKalb AreaTechnical School were able to enroll dually in vocational andcollegiate programs, and the College was designated DeKalbCommunity College. As growth continued both for DeKalb Countyand the College, the Dunwoody (formerly North) Campus was addedand began operation in 1979. DeKalb College pioneered in Georgiain open-door admissions, personalized approaches to instruction,and community-related curricula and activities.In 1985, DeKalb Vocational-Technical School was placed under thegovernance of a state board for vocational-technical schools withdaily operations remaining under the control of the DeKalb CountySchool System. Students enrolled in specific Associate in AppliedScience degree programs continued, however, to enroll dually in theCollege and technical school, now known as DeKalb TechnicalCollege.In 1986, when DeKalb County relinquished its support, DeKalbCollege was accepted by the Board of Regents of the UniversitySystem of Georgia as the thirty-fourth member institution.During spring 1993, DeKalb College, in cooperation with ClaytonState College, DeKalb Technical College, and Rockdale CountyPublic Schools, formed the Rockdale Center for Higher Education,which offers both credit and non-credit courses.In November 1997, the Board of Regents of the University System ofGeorgia approved changing the name of the College from DeKalbCollege to Georgia Perimeter College to reflect its expanding missionand its service throughout the metro Atlanta area. As part ofchanging the College’s name, the names of the campuses werechanged to identify the cities in which they are located.In December 2001 Georgia Perimeter College’s LawrencevilleCampus, along with its partners at the Gwinnett University Center,relocated from its humble beginnings at the MacCleod Industrial Parkon Sugarloaf Parkway to its current 177-acre campus at 1000University Center Lane.The College’s academic offerings correspond with curricular contentand requirements of the University System of Georgia. GeorgiaPerimeter College also serves as a community cultural center for theperforming arts in music and drama. Curricula feature transfer,learning support, career, continuing and distance educationprograms as well as joint educational offerings with other systeminstitutions and state-supported technical institutions. Associatedegrees are awarded to graduates who complete the two-yeartransfer and career programs.Source: www.gpc.edu/News_and_Information/mission.php3#history5