Georgia Southern University–Armstrong Campus
Georgia Southern University–Armstrong Campus
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Georgia Southern University–Armstrong Campus

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Georgia Southern University–Armstrong Campus

Georgia Southern University–Armstrong Campus, formerly Armstrong State University, is one of three campuses of Georgia Southern University, a public university in the U.S. state of Georgia. Occupying a 268-acre (1.08 km2) area on the residential southside of Savannah, Georgia, the school became one of three campuses of Georgia Southern University in 2018. The university's flagship campus is in Statesboro, 50 miles (80 km) west of Savannah. The Armstrong campus is located approximately 15 miles (24 km) from downtown Savannah and 25 miles (40 km) from Tybee Island. Armstrong offers undergraduate and graduate degrees; it has a total student enrollment of approximately 5,000 students.

The Armstrong campus was founded as Armstrong Junior College in 1935 by Mayor Thomas Gamble. Gamble pursued the issue during the height of the Great Depression to benefit Savannah's youth and the community, as well as aid in stimulating the local economy. The college was originally located in the historic Armstrong House adjacent to Forsyth Park in downtown Savannah. The mansion was given to the city as a gift from the family of George F. Armstrong, a local businessman involved in the shipping industry. The college eventually grew to encompass six buildings in the Forsyth and Monterey Square areas of Savannah.

In 1959, Armstrong College of Savannah became part of the University System of Georgia as a community college, and in 1964 the Board of Regents conferred four-year status on Armstrong State College. Donald Livingston and the Mills B. Lane Foundation provided the college with 250 acres of land on the southwest side of Savannah. Eight buildings were constructed on the property and the college moved from the Armstrong House downtown to the suburban location in January 1966.

The school played NCAA Division I athletics briefly, from 1983 to 1987, as part of the Big South Conference. The school later dropped athletics.

Over the years the college expanded, adding new buildings and expanding academic programs. In 1993, the college began extensive landscaping work that transformed the campus into an arboretum. Armstrong State College gained state university status in 1996 and duly changed its name to Armstrong Atlantic State University. The following year the university opened the Liberty Center in Hinesville. The university celebrated its 75th anniversary in 2010, inaugurating Dr. Linda M. Bleicken as its seventh president.

In 2014 the school officially changed its name to Armstrong State University, to help minimize confusion regarding the school's location, make the name easier to say, and create a stronger brand for the school. The name change became effective on July 1, 2014.

Armstrong celebrated its 80th anniversary and the 50th anniversary of the university's move to the Southside during the 2015–16 academic year.

Presently, the campus is no longer an independent institution with a separate accreditation.

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