About Armstrong Atlantic State University

History of the University

Armstrong Atlantic State University, part of the University System of Georgia, was founded in 1935 as Armstrong Junior College to enhance higher educational opportunities in the community. The college was established by the mayor and aldermen of the City of Savannah and housed in the Italian Renaissance Armstrong House, a gift to the city from the family of George F. Armstrong. Over the years the college occupied six additional buildings in the Forsyth Park and Monterey Square areas.

In 1959, as Armstrong College of Savannah, it became a two-year unit of the University System of Georgia. The Board of Regents conferred four-year status on Armstrong State College in 1964. Two years later the college moved to its present 268-acre site, a gift from the Mills B. Lane Foundation and Donald Livingston. Additional buildings joined the six original structures as Armstrong added professional and graduate programs and quadrupled in size. Fifty-seven percent of the student population comes from outside the Savannah-Chatham County area including Georgia, the nation, and more than 70 countries.

On July 10, 1996, the institution gained university status and a new name: Armstrong Atlantic State University. Today, Armstrong Atlantic offers more than seventy-five academic programs and majors in the College of Arts and Sciences, College of Education, College of Health Professions, School of Computing, and School of Graduate Studies. The academic community includes more than 6,700 students, 405 full- and part-time faculty members, and a staff of 357.

Armstrong Atlantic State University has been accredited as a senior institution by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools since January 1, 1968, and was last reaccredited in December 2002.

Chronological Highlights

1935	The Alderman of the City of Savannah create Armstrong Junior College. The college is housed downtown in a mansion donated to the city by Lucy Camp Armstrong Moltz and Lucy Armstrong Johnson.
1935	Ernest A. Lowe is appointed the first president, and classes begin in September with 175 students.
1941	J. Thomas Askew is appointed the second president.
1944	Foreman M. Hawes is appointed the third president.
1959	Armstrong College of Savannah becomes a two-year unit of the University System of Georgia.
1962	The Mills B. Lane Foundation and Donald Livingston donate a new campus site of 250 acres on southside Savannah.
1964	The Board of Regents confers four-year college status upon Armstrong. B.A., B.S., and B.B.A. degrees are offered.
1964	Henry L. Ashmore is appointed the fourth president.
1965	The new southside campus, with eight buildings, is completed.
1966	Classes begin on the new campus during the winter quarter.
1968	The first baccalaureate degrees are awarded.
1968	Armstrong State College receives notice of accreditation as a senior institution by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS).
1971	The Board of Regents authorizes Armstrong and Savannah State to offer joint graduate programs leading to the M.B.A. and the M.S. in education.
1972	SACS reaffirms accreditation of the college.
1978	The Board of Regents designates Armstrong State College as a Regional Health Professions Education Center.
1979	Due to a federally-mandated desegregation plan, Armstrong State College offers all teacher education programs in the area and no longer offers business administration programs. The Joint Graduate Program is terminated.
1982	SACS reaffirms accreditation to the college.
1984	Robert A. Burnett is appointed the fifth president.
1985	Armstrong celebrates its fiftieth anniversary on May 27.
1986	The Regional Criminal Justice Training Center is established on the Armstrong campus.
1986	The Board of Regents approves the offering of selected baccalaureate degrees by Armstrong State College at the Brunswick Center.
1989	SACS affirms accreditation of the Brunswick Center.
1990	Graduate programs become affiliated with Georgia Southern University.
1992	SACS reaffirms accreditation to the college.
1993	Fall quarter enrollment exceeds 5,000.
1994	Construction of the 82,000 square foot Sports Center begins.
1994	The first issue of Armstrong Magazine is published.
1995	Authority to offer graduate degrees returned to Armstrong.
1995	The sixtieth anniversary is celebrated with a historic marker at Armstrong House, presidential artwork, inaugural Athletic Hall of Fame, and dedication of the Armstrong Sports Center.
1996	Institution gains university status and a new name: Armstrong Atlantic State University.
1996	Anne Hudson is named Georgia Professor of the Year by the Carnegie Foundation and the Council for the Advancement and Support of Education.
1997	The dedication of University Hall, an 89,000 square-foot classroom and office building and home of the Regional Criminal Justice Training Center, is held.
1998	Approval granted by the Board of Regents for a $20 million science building and a new residence hall to house 300 students.
1998	The Shirley and Philip Solomons Eminent Scholar Chair in Economics is established.
1998	AASU collaborates with other university system institutions to create the Liberty Center, which offers degree programs in Liberty County.
1998	The College of Education is named Best in the State by the Georgia Association of Teacher Educators.
1999	President Robert A. Burnett retires after fifteen years. He is succeeded by Interim President Frank A. Butler.
1999	The Georgia Tech Regional Engineering Program is established on the AASU campus.
2000	The Department of Physical Therapy receives the Regents' Teaching Excellence Award from the University System of Georgia.
2000	Thomas Z. Jones is named the sixth president of Armstrong Atlantic.
2001	Jane Barnard receives the Regents' Teaching Excellence Award from the University System of Georgia.
2002	The student population exceeds 6,000.
2002	The School of Computing is established.
2002	The dedication of the 126,056 square foot Science Center is held.
2002	The university's first student residential community is dedicated.
2002	The Board of Regents approves funding for a new $23 million academic classroom building.
2002	Evelyn Dandy is named Professor of the Year by the Carnegie Foundation and the Council for the Advancement and Support of Education.
2003	The second phase of Compass Point opened with accommodations for 270 additional students plus a health clinic and counseling suite.
2003	Victor, Hawes, and Solms halls were completely renovated and re-dedicated.
2003	The Hispanic Outreach and Leadership at Armstrong Atlantic program (HOLA) is established under a generous grant from the Goizueta Foundation.
2004	The student population exceeds 7,000.
2004	AASU Educational Properties, Inc. purchases 18 acres of land adjacent to the campus for development as academic support space, a Professional and Continuing Education Center, student residences, and other uses.
2004	University Crossings student residential community opens.
2005	University Terrace student residential community opens.
2005	AASU is authorized to offer its first doctoral degree-a Doctor of Physical Therapy in consortium with the Medical College of Georgia and North Georgia College and State University.
2006	The newly-remodeled Lane Library opens.
2006	AASU is approved to offer its second doctoral degree-a Ph.D. in nursing in consortium with Georgia State University, Georgia College and State University, Georgia Southwestern University, and Valdosta State University.
2006	The Peach Belt Conference gives its inaugural Presidents' Academic Award for high achieving athletes to Armstrong Atlantic.
2006	Judy Awong-Taylor, an associate professor of biology, received the 2006 Board of Regents' Excellence in Teaching Award.
2006	The Armstrong Center, a conference facility for small to medium groups, was dedicated.
2006	The Department of Dental Hygiene and its clinic and the Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders and its clinic, the RiteCare Communicative Disorders Center, were opened in the Savannah Mall.

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