Georgia Perimeter College

Georgia Perimeter College
Established	1964
Type	Public
Endowment	$823 thousand
President	Dr. Anthony S. Tricoli
Students	25,500
Location	Suburban Atlanta, Georgia, United States
Campus	Suburban
Nickname	GPC
Mascot	Jaguars
Website	www.gpc.edu

Georgia Perimeter College is a two-year associate degree-granting unit of the University System of Georgia. In May 2011, the state Board of Regents approved two bachelor's programs: a Bachelor of Arts in Sign Language Interpreting and a Bachelor of Science in Health Informatics. GPC serves metro Atlanta with multiple campus locations and offers 40+ programs of study, including Nursing, Business Administration, Education, Dental Hygiene, Criminal Justice and Sign Language Interpreting.

The institution was founded by the Gabe County Board of Education as DeKalb College in 1958 and offered its first classes in Clarkston, Georgia, in 1964. Its service area grew as new campuses opened and students came to the college from throughout the metro area. In 1997, DeKalb College was renamed Georgia Perimeter College.

Facts and figures

• Georgia Perimeter College is the largest two-year college and the third-largest institution in the University System of Georgia, with more than 25,500 students enrolled. GPC’s online program is the largest in the state university system, serving more than 9,000 students.

• Georgia Perimeter transfers almost 3,000 students annually to bachelor’s degree programs within the University System of Georgia, accounting for one-fifth of all transfers within the university system. To allow students seamless transfers to four-year institutions of their choice, Georgia Perimeter has pioneered a Transfer Admission Guarantee (TAG) program, signing more than 40 TAG agreements with in-state, out-of-state, public and private four-year colleges and universities.

• More than one-third of Georgia Perimeter College’s faculty members have earned their doctorate, although this statistic does not include the numerous part time instructors. GPC has had more Governor's Teaching Fellows than any other institution in Georgia, 40 since 1996. More than 46 GPC faculty members have received National Institute for Staff and Organizational Development Teaching Excellence Awards since 2003.

• The Georgia Perimeter College Botanical Gardens include a Native Plant Garden and the Ferns of the World Garden, which contains more species of ferns than any other garden in the nation. Discussions about plants, garden walks and special sales are open to the public.

• Georgia Perimeter College’s Dunwoody Campus is home to an observatory that is available for public use.

• GPC is home to the DeKalb Symphony Orchestra.

• In early 2010, Georgia Perimeter College opened the Atlanta Center for Civic Engagement & Service Learning on its Clarkston Campus. The center works to enhance student learning by providing opportunities for students to apply what they learn into the classroom to real-life situations. Through such activities, the will work to enhance the economic, social and cultural vitality of GPC’s communities, while offering students, faculty, educators and community members the training, tools and support they need to get engaged and make a difference.

• Georgia Perimeter College is home to The Southern Academy for Literary Arts & Scholarly Research, which celebrates literature and scholarship and works to host an assortment of visiting writers who engage students, faculty, and staff.

• Georgia Perimeter College’s Fine Arts program presents plays, art exhibits and musical performances that are open to the public. The 2009–2010 season included more than 100 events.

Locations

• Three in DeKalb County:
  • Clarkston Campus (formerly known as "Central Campus"), in an unincorporated area south of Clarkston, is the original campus.
  • Decatur Campus (formerly known as "South Campus"), in an unincorporated area south of Decatur.
  • Dunwoody Campus (formerly known as "North Campus"), City of Dunwoody
• Newton County: Newton Campus, in an unincorporated area, south of I-20 and east of Covington.
• Fulton County: Alpharetta Center in the City of Alpharetta in north Fulton County.

Notable alumni

• Ron Blomberg, baseball player for the New York Yankees (1969-1978)
• Joshilyn Jackson, Bestselling Author, Gods in Alabama and Backseat Saints
• Brianna Jenkins, Chef, Business Owner and contestant on The Next Food Network Star
• Jerry S. Wilson, Senior Vice President of Coca-Cola and Bestselling Author of Managing Brand You
• Thomas Brown, Sheriff of DeKalb County, Georgia
• Ginny Lipke, international Disease Prevention for the Centers for Disease Control (CDC)
• Marlon Byrd, baseball player for the Chicago Cubs
• Nick Green, Major League Baseball player (several teams).
• Howard Mosby, House of Representatives, Georgia
• Robert Lanoue, Actor, Tyler Perry's House of Payne

Literary magazine

The Chattahoochee Review is the nationally recognized literary magazine published by the college. Teresa Weaver of Atlanta Magazine described it as a "fine literary journal". The Chattahoochee Review literary magazine, which has received attention as a journal of Southern literature, featuring such writers as James Dickey, has expanded its scope to include international works.

External links

• Georgia Perimeter College official website
• Dekalb Briefs: College breaks ground for Covington campus
• The Chattahoochee Review literary magazine website