Dear Panther Family,
Thanks to the contributions of our amazing faculty, staff, and administrators and the hard work of our students across all 6 campuses, Georgia State University had a record-breaking year and reached many major milestones in 2023. Please view our year-end video and some key highlights from 2023 below.
Enhancing Campus Safety
The safety of our entire Panther community is our number 1 priority. Although securing our campus is an ongoing process, we announced our multi-year campus and public realm improvement plan, which will include the GSU Blueline, in partnership with the City of Atlanta, Georgia Power, local businesses and apartment complexes in close proximity to our downtown campus. In addition to new lighting, security cameras, and walking paths, this new plan will more effectively establish the campus boundaries downtown.
Building the Panther Brand
I am so appreciative of our faculty and staff’s efforts to continue to tell our story around the world. In addition to having the largest single year number of applications for admission, 15% more than the highest year, in GSU’s history, our scholar-athletes simultaneously elevated the visibility of our institution having the best year in history for both athletic conference wins and academic performance. It’s no secret that sports can enhance a university’s brand. Our football team had their best start ever, by winning their first 4 games and capped off the year with a win at the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl.
Our Strategic Plan
We officially launched our new comprehensive, 10-year strategic plan, Blueprint to 2033: Our Place, Our Time, emphasizing research/scholarship/creativity, student success, college to careers, and identity/belonging/placemaking. As one of the most diverse universities in the nation, we have a unique opportunity to promote innovation, access to education, and workforce preparedness for the State of Georgia and beyond. In 2024, our Strategic Plan Implementation Teams with representatives from university senate, administration, and the student, faculty and staff bodies will finalize our strategic priorities, initiatives, and milestones to move the university forward.
Research and Fundraising
As an R1 research university with an access mission, it is natural that Innovating Research, Scholarship and Creative Activity would be one of our core pillars. I was incredibly proud of our faculty this year as we broke new records in research. Our research enterprise exceeded $200 million in sponsor awards, the highest in GSU history! Again, we exceeded our fundraising goal in FY23 which adds to nearly $170 million in philanthropic gifts over the past two years including the single highest one-year gift production in university history. A $15 million gift to endow the new Maurice R. Greenberg School of Risk Science represents the largest gift ever to the Robinson College of Business. We also elevated external relationships with federal, state, and local government leaders, including the successful acquisition of nearly $100 million in capital project appropriations in the past 2 years.
Growing the Panther Family
In addition to recruiting students, it is equally important to recruit and retain our valuable faculty and staff. I send my thanks to our administration who led the effort in reorganizing our budget in response to funding pressures as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, while simultaneously allocating resources to fund the second phase of compensation enhancements, this time to insure the market-competitiveness of our faculty. This represents the second phase of funding as a result of our compensation study, and I look forward to the next phase which will be the second adjustment to our staff compensation budget.
Thank you to everyone who worked meticulously to make 2023 a fantastic year. I eagerly anticipate even greater collaborative victories as we progress the university forward to better serve our students and the entire Panther community in 2024 and beyond.
All the best,
