ATLANTA -- Georgia State University is poised to become the state of Georgia's largest university.
At the Jan. 6 meeting of the state Board of Regents, Chancellor Hank Huckaby recommended that the board merge Georgia State and Georgia Perimeter College, a move that would create the largest university in the state and one of the largest in the nation.
Georgia State had a fall enrollment of 32,556 and Georgia Perimeter 21,371, for a combined 53,927. That would make the combined school far larger than The University of Georgia, which had a fall enrollment of 35,197.
"The consolidation would greatly improve opportunities for students and expand Georgia State's reach and impact across the metro-Atlanta area and the state," said Georgia State President Mark Becker in a message broadcast to the campus.
The consolidation would leave the University System with 29 institutions.
The merger would be the second recently, following the merger of Kennesaw State University and Southern Polytechnic State University, which is up for final approval by the Board of Regents at the Jan. 6 meeting.
"Our consolidation of institutions has been about serving our students better by expanding access, broadening programs and reinvesting resources for the benefit of our students," Huckaby said on Dec. 9 when discussing the Kennesaw State/Southern Poly merger.
