Columbus State University

The university was first called Columbus College when it opened as a junior college in a former hosiery mill in 1958. The college was staffed by fifteen faculty and staff and almost three hundred students attended courses in the first year. Columbus College relocated to the midtown area in 1963, building a campus defined by modern architecture on what was previously a dairy farm. The school was granted four-year status in 1965 with offerings of bachelor's and master's degrees . The first four-year class graduated in 1970. In 1996, the school was renamed Columbus State University as part of a program to restructure four-year institutions within the state's university system. The school now offers undergraduate and graduate programs in more than ninety academic disciplines. As of the 2010 academic year, the university enrolled more than 8,200 students. In early 2007, the art and theatre departments moved to the university's newly built RiverPark Campus in downtown Columbus. The complex was designed to provide students of the fine arts with a tightly-knit living community and larger studios, laboratories, and galleries. The Schwob School of Music is housed in the adjacent RiverCenter for the Performing Arts. [ 7 ] The university's first president, Thomas Y Whitley, served from 1958 to 1979. The T. Y. Whitley Clock Tower on Main Campus is named in his honor. Francis J. Brooke then held the position from 1980-1987. Frank D. Brown was President of Columbus State University from 1988-2008. Prior to holding this office, he was Vice President for Business Affairs. In August 2008, Tim Mescon became president, and in 2015 Chris Markwood became president. After Markwood retired in 2022, John M. Fuchko assumed the role of interim president. During the Summer of 2023, Dr. Stuart Rayfield began her tenure as president, and was inducted on October 20, 2023. [ 8 ]

The T.Y. Whitley Clock Tower on main campus Columbus State University's 132-acre (53 ha) main campus is located in suburban and downtown, Columbus. A satellite campus is also located on Fort Moore at the southern edge of the city. Main campus CSU's main campus is located in suburban Columbus at the intersection of Interstate 185 and GA-85 . This campus houses the majority of the university's academic and athletic departments. Notable buildings include the Simon Schwob Memorial Library, the Center for Commerce and Technology, the D. Abbott Turner College of Business, and the Frank G. Lumpkin Jr. Center which is home to the athletic department. The Japanese Saturday School of Columbus – Georgia (コロンバス（GA）補習授業校 Koronbasu (GA) Hoshū Jugyō Kō ) has its office in the Howard Building at the university, [ 9 ] and it conducts its classes at the university. [ 10 ] As of 2005 classes are held at the Howard Building. [ 11 ]

CSU's RiverPark campus, located near the banks of the Chattahoochee River , is the home of the university's fine and performing arts, communications, and history and geography departments. The downtown campus is housed in a mix of rehabilitated 19th and early 20th century industrial and commercial buildings and newly constructed facilities. The Schwob School of Music is contained in the state of the art RiverCenter for the Performing Arts , while the art and theater departments reside in the Corn Center for the Visual Arts, the Yancey Center at One Arsenal Place, and the Rankin Arts Center. The Department of Communication and the Department of History and Geography are located in the Yancey Center and Dillingham Building. The university continues to expand the RiverPark campus by acquiring new real estate in the area. CSU also houses over 400 students in several halls of residence in downtown Columbus along with dining, campus bookstore, and regular bus service to the main campus. In 2016 the College of Education and Health Professions relocated downtown. [ 12 ] This college's new home, Frank Brown Hall, mixes new construction with rehabilitating the 1931 Mediterranean-revival building (the previous location of the Ledger-Enquirer newspaper). [ 13 ]

Undergraduate The university recruits from all fifty states as well as every major metropolitan area and county in the state of Georgia. Because of the school's international education programs, presently offering exchanges to more than thirteen countries, the university has been known to be a popular destination for international students including those from India, Japan, South Korea, Germany, and the United Kingdom.