Clayton State’s Impact Felt On and Off Campus
Published Nov 03, 2008
Thomas K. Harden is president of Clayton State University.
With a growing slate of degree and postgraduate programs, soaring enrollment and a burgeoning reputation as a regional economic development player, Clayton State University has become the county’s, well, big man on campus.
Clayton State now offers four master’s degree programs, including a newly launched MBA program, and 30 bachelor’s degree tracks of study.
Under the leadership of President Thomas K. Harden, enrollment and program growth have meant bricks-and-mortar growth on and around campus. A new school of business, student activity center and 451-bed dormitory – a university first – are now under way.
“The new student housing is significant because when a university begins to get into the business of having students live on campus, it changes the entire complexion of the college,” says John Shiffert Jr., director of university relations. “And then when you add to that the student activity center and the new business school, it really is changing the university in very visible ways.”
In addition to the development within its boundaries, Clayton State is taking an active role in the area’s overall economic picture, getting involved in everything from trade missions to luring world-class archival centers.
“Back in the 1990s, our former president [Richard A. Skinner] had the idea of the ‘Gateway Village’ concept, which would be an economic development program that would eventually mean more than just fast-food places around the university,” Shiffert says. “As part of that initiative, the Clayton Place apartment complex across the street was built. That’s not university property, but it is largely dedicated to our students.”
Another major development was the local resettling of the National Archives Southeast Region facility and the Georgia Archives, which are now neighbors in close proximity to the university campus.
“The importance of these two archives just can’t be overestimated,” Shiffert says.
Skinner read something about the poor condition of the former National Archives building in East Point and began making calls, Shiffert says, which eventually led to the national facility being built on Clayton State Boulevard and Jonesboro Road.
“Then it became known that the Georgia archives facility was also in bad shape, so they relocated here,” Shiffert says.
It is the only site in the United States where federal and state archives are co-located. Clayton State was eager to run the bookstore that connects the two.
“It’s a marriage made in heaven, and has been tremendous for all parties,” Shiffert says. “It has made us a destination of choice for researchers, and has been a significant development for Clayton County. It’s indicative of the university’s concern for the county, and for its continued growth and development.”
Story by Joe Morris
Photo by Ian Curcio
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