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GCSU alumni and students celebrated 133 years of GCSU during Charter Day on Nov. 8.
“Charter Day is a commemoration to the day that the legislature authorized the creation of our college. At that time the college was known as Georgia Normal and Industrial College,” said Bob Wilson, GCSU historian.
The college’s creation was mainly due to the lobbying efforts of Julia Flisch, a journalist for the The Augusta Chronicle. She supported women’s education and fought to establish a publicly funded college for women that would prepare them for the new industrial age. In 1889, the Georgia Normal & Industrial College was chartered as a two-year college emphasizing teacher training and business skills.
“Flisch was well-educated and very bright,” said Wilson. “She became a crusader for higher education for women. In the late 1880s, she went on this crusade to interest other women in creating a publicly funded college for women. Her slogan was “Give the girls a chance.”
Despite her wish becoming a reality, GC&IC would not officially open to students until 1891. The first two years after the college’s creation, the former grounds of the Georgia State Penitentiary had to be cleaned and prepared for students.
“When the school opened its doors to students, originally 88 women began in the fall and by spring of the first year 171 students were enrolled,” said Wilson. “Additionally, Mrs. Flisch was also a part of the first faculty at the college and taught stenography and medieval history.”
Since its first year, the college continued to grow. In 1917, it evolved from a two-year college to a four-year degree institution. In 1922, GN&IC was renamed as the Georgia State College for Women. In 1932, it joined the University System of Georgia in 1932. In 1961, it was renamed to the Women’s College of Georgia and later, in 1967, was renamed again to Georgia College at Milledgeville as the college transitioned into a co-ed institution. Finally in 1996, the Georgia Board of Regents officially charged the institution with its new mission as a “Georgia’s public liberal arts university” and bestowed the sixth and final name Georgia College & State University.
“This is a historic day for our college and so, the GCSU Campus Activities Board and Alumni Association partnered to host a celebration for 133 years of GCSU on campus,” said Morgan Tickerhoof, assistant director of student involvement.
To celebrate this history, the two organizations set up a small event on the front campus that offered cupcakes, music and games for students and alumni to play. According to Tickerhoof, around 100 to 150 people participated in the event.
“When planning this event, we took into account the time of year and how busy students are as we near break,” said Tickerhoof. “So we created a more grab-and-go event where students could interact with us, learn a bit of the history, and quickly return to whatever they are focusing on for the day.”
Alongside the games and treats, participants signed a banner made by senior Anna Kate Sweeney.
“We had everyone sign the banner and it acted as a birthday card to Georgia College,” said Tickerhoof. “We then hung it on the porch of Atkinson Hall for a day.”
While this is a short attribution to GCSU’s charter, anyone can learn more about the detailed history of the university through Bob Wilson’s book 125 years of Georgia College 1889 to 2014: The History of Georgia’s Liberal Arts University that should be available at GCSU.