Clayton State University is a

public university A public university or public college is a university or college that is in owned by the state or receives significant public funds through a national or subnational government, as opposed to a private university. Whether a national universit ...

Morrow, Georgia Morrow is a city in Clayton County, Georgia, United States. It is part of the Atlanta metropolitan area. Its population was 6,445 at the 2010 census, up from 4,882 in 2000. It is the home of Clayton State University. History The community was nam ...

. It serves

Metro Atlanta Metro Atlanta, designated by the United States Office of Management and Budget as the Atlanta–Sandy Springs–Alpharetta, GA Metropolitan Statistical Area, is the most populous metropolitan statistical area in the U.S. state of Georgia and the ...

and is a selective Senior Unit of the

University System of Georgia The University System of Georgia (USG) is the government agency that includes 26 public institutions of higher learning in the U.S. state of Georgia. The system is governed by the Georgia Board of Regents. It sets goals and dictates general ...

. The main

campus A campus is traditionally the land on which a college or university and related institutional buildings are situated. Usually a college campus includes libraries, lecture halls, residence halls, student centers or dining halls, and park-like se ...

includes of wooded grounds, featuring five lakes and a park-like atmosphere. Located in the north-central part of

Clayton County Clayton County is the name of two counties in the United States: * Clayton County, Georgia in the Atlanta Metropolitan Area * Clayton County, Iowa It was also the former name of Clay County, Arkansas Clay County is a County (United States), co ...

in suburban south

metro Atlanta Metro Atlanta, designated by the United States Office of Management and Budget as the Atlanta–Sandy Springs–Alpharetta, GA Metropolitan Statistical Area, is the most populous metropolitan statistical area in the U.S. state of Georgia and the ...

, the main campus is a fifteen-minute drive from Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport and about twenty minutes from downtown Atlanta. Clayton State also maintains a separate Fayette County instructional site in

Peachtree City Peachtree City is the largest city in Fayette County, Georgia, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, it had a population of 34,364. Peachtree City is located in South Metro Atlanta. Peachtree City is noted for its extensive use o ...

and offers additional instruction at locations in Jonesboro in

and

McDonough McDonough is an Irish surname. Origins and variants The surname is an Anglicized form of the Gaelic name "Mac Donnchadha", which means son of Donnchadh or son of Donough. The name itself consists of elements meaning "brown (donn)" or Donn “t ...

in Henry County. Upon opening in 1991, Clayton State's

Spivey Hall Spivey Hall was built in 1991 on the campus of Clayton State University in Morrow, Georgia, near Atlanta, Georgia. Its seating capacity is 492 (476 in the orchestra and 16 box seats). It presents jazz and classical music to the metro Atlanta area ...

began presenting

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...

classical music Classical music generally refers to the art music of the Western world, considered to be distinct from Western folk music or popular music traditions. It is sometimes distinguished as Western classical music, as the term "classical music" also ...

and other musical entertainment. It has since developed into one of the premiere

chamber music Chamber music is a form of classical music that is composed for a small group of instruments—traditionally a group that could fit in a palace chamber or a large room. Most broadly, it includes any art music that is performed by a small numb ...

venues in the Atlanta metropolitan area and offers more than 400 performances per year. These performances air frequently on Georgia Public Broadcasting. Clayton State basketball, soccer, cross-country, tennis, golf, and track & field programs are a part of Division II of the

National Collegiate Athletic Association The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...

(NCAA), competing in the

Peach Belt Conference The Peach Belt Conference (PBC) is a college athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the Division II level. The 11 member institutions are located in the South Atlantic states of South Carolina ...

(PBC). In 2011, the Clayton State women's basketball team won the NCAA Division II national championship.

History

The institution was founded in 1969 and was originally known as Clayton Junior College. When the school became a four-year institution in 1986, the institute took on the name Clayton State College. In 1996, the

Georgia Board of Regents The Georgia Board of Regents oversees the University System of Georgia as part of the state government of Georgia in the United States. The University System of Georgia is composed of all state public institutions of higher education in the state. T ...

renamed many higher-education institutions, with Clayton State becoming Clayton College and State University. In 2005, the name was changed to Clayton State University to acknowledge its fast-growing undergraduate, graduate, and professional programs. Clayton State University is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges to award associate, baccalaureate, and master's degrees. Spivey Hall, Clayton State University 2

Clayton State University is organized into four colleges and one school: * College of Arts and Sciences *

College of Business A business school is a university-level institution that confers degrees in business administration or management. A business school may also be referred to as school of management, management school, school of business administration, o ...

* College of Health * College of Information and Mathematical Sciences * School of Graduate Studies The College of Business is accredited by the

Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business, also known as AACSB International, is an American professional organization. It was founded as the American Assembly of Collegiate Schools of Business in 1916 to provide accreditation to ...

; only the top 5% of all business schools worldwide are AACSB accredited. The Harry S. Downs Continuing Education Center, overlooking the main campus lake, is offers programs in language, personal growth, and technical subjects, and is also a venue for conferences and special events. In 2004, approval for developing a masters program was given by the

. Clayton State University currently offers nine master's degree programs and 40 baccalaureate degree majors. In 2021, Dr. T. Ramon Stuart became Clayton State's first African-American president. The university is accredited by the

Southern Association of Colleges and Schools The Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS) is an educational accreditor recognized by the United States Department of Education and the Council for Higher Education Accreditation. This agency accredits over 13,000 public and priv ...

Student body

The majority of Clayton State students come from the

Atlanta metro area Metro Atlanta, designated by the United States Office of Management and Budget as the Atlanta–Sandy Springs–Alpharetta, GA Metropolitan Statistical Area, is the most populous metropolitan statistical area in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. s ...

. The remaining come from other regions of Georgia, the United States, and some 40 foreign countries. While one-third of the students are under 22, the median age is 28 and the university is recognized for two-thirds of its students being non-traditional, adult learners. The '' U.S. News & World Report'' ranking of colleges consistently identifies Clayton State University as having one of the most diverse student body populations among comprehensive baccalaureate-level colleges and universities in the southern United States. More than 80% of the student body self-identify as an ethnic or racial

minority Minority may refer to: Politics * Minority government, formed when a political party does not have a majority of overall seats in parliament * Minority leader, in American politics, the floor leader of the second largest caucus in a legislative b ...

(majority African-American). All students are required to own or have access to a laptop computer, regardless of major or status. On February 1, 2011, the student login "SWAN" (Student Web Access Network) was updated to be more secure against

phishing Phishing is a type of social engineering where an attacker sends a fraudulent (e.g., spoofed, fake, or otherwise deceptive) message designed to trick a person into revealing sensitive information to the attacker or to deploy malicious softwar ...

of students' usernames and passwords. It was updated again in the spring of 2017. There are over 45 student organizations established on campus. Clayton State's Greek system consists of three National Pan-Hellenic Council (NPHC) fraternities, four NPHC sororities, and

Alpha Kappa Lambda Alpha Kappa Lambda (), commonly known as AKL or Alpha Kapp, is an American collegiate social fraternity founded at the University of California, Berkeley, in 1914. Today, it operates approximately 30 active chapters and has approximately 28,000 li ...

. There is no traditional Greek housing on or near campus. Less than five percent of the undergraduate student body are active in the Greek system.

Athletics

Clayton State University is a Division II member of the

(NCAA), competing in the

(PBC). The university fields varsity teams, known as the Lakers, in five men's and five women's sports: men's and women's

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

, men's and women's cross country, men's

golf Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a course in as few strokes as possible. Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standardized playing area, and coping wi ...

, men's and women's

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

, women's

tennis Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent ( singles) or between two teams of two players each ( doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket that is strung with cord to strike a hollow rubber ball ...

, and men's and women's indoor and outdoor

track and field Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping events ...

References

External links

*
Clayton State Athletics website
{{authority control Educational institutions established in 1969 Public universities and colleges in Georgia (U.S. state) Universities and colleges accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Education in Clayton County, Georgia Buildings and structures in Clayton County, Georgia 1969 establishments in Georgia (U.S. state) University System of Georgia