Summary of Achievements

Georgia State has become the national model for programs and initiatives that help students earn their degrees. Former President Barack Obama, businessman and philanthropist Bill Gates, U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos, the higher education community and national news media have praised Georgia State’s leadership.

With the addition of 17 buildings to its Atlanta Campus since 2010, Georgia State’s dramatic and award-winning expansion has revitalized the city’s core. Once exclusively a commuter school, Georgia State now houses more than 5,200 students in its downtown residences.  

After raising graduation rates by 22 percentage points over 10 years, the university has continued to pioneer innovative strategies that help students from all socioeconomic, racial and ethnic backgrounds succeed at the same level and graduate in record numbers.

Georgia State’s $300 million Burning Bright capital campaign is the largest fundraising effort in university history. Since the campaign started in 2015, it has raised almost $300 million and set fundraising records in each of the last two years.

Since consolidating with Georgia Perimeter College in 2015, Georgia State has grown to seven campuses and more than 54,000 students, becoming the largest university in the state and one of the largest in the nation.

Now one of the nation's fastest growing research institutions, Georgia State has increased research funding by 252 percent over the last six years, a rate that far surpasses the pace at most other research universities.

President Becker has led the development and implementation of a 10-year strategic plan, which has driven Georgia State to the most remarkable period of growth in its history.

President Mark Becker has been named one of the top 10 most effective and influential college and university presidents in the nation by Great College Values, a website that surveys and analyzes higher education costs and value.

Georgia State has transformed the former epicenter of the 1996 Summer Olympics and home of the Braves into Center Parc Stadium, a 30,000-seat venue featuring new facilities for athletics, academics and events. The project is the largest in university history and includes working with private partners to develop the surrounding area into housing, retail and office space with strong amenities and inclusive design.