Rockdale Citizen, Sept. 1, 2014

Concerned that not enough students in DeKalb County were able to attend college, the DeKalb County Board of Education made a historic move in 1964. In that year, the BOE officially opened DeKalb College, the first and only public two-year college in Georgia to be controlled by a local school district, with 763 students enrolled.

Twenty-two years later, DeKalb College joined the University System of Georgia; and in 1997, the USG Board of Regents changed the name of the college to Georgia Perimeter College to reflect its expanding mission and its service throughout the metro Atlanta area. The GPC moniker became official in the fall of 1998.

Today in its 50th year, Georgia Perimeter has five campuses — Alpharetta, Clarkston, Decatur, Dunwoody and Newton County — plus the state university system’s largest online program. GPC currently serves more than 21,000 students and during its history has helped more than 350,000 students toward their dream of earning a college degree.

On Friday, Sept. 5, at 10:30 a.m., GPC faculty, staff and retirees will kick off the college’s 50th anniversary celebration at Fall Convocation in the Clarkston Campus gymnasium. Special guest speaker will be Dr. Houston Davis, USG executive vice chancellor. Interim President Rob Watts will give the annual state-of-the-college address, and Academic Affairs Vice President Ron Stark will provide a college update.

The business part of the day will be followed by a picnic.