City: Atlanta, GA

Category: Education

Telephone: (404) 651-2000

Address: 33 Gilmer St.

Description: In Downtown Atlanta just east of Five Points, GSU is the second-largest institution of higher learning in Georgia and the largest urban university in the Southeast. GSU has its own MARTA rail station, used daily by about 10,000 students, faculty, and staff. The university has a total of more than 28,000 students. It offers 52 degree programs with 250 fields of study divided among six colleges: arts and sciences, business administration, education, health sciences, law, and public and urban affairs. There are 150 student organizations on campus, an award-winning student newspaper, The Signal, and a popular 100,000-watt student radio station (WRAS 88.5 FM). Until the fall of 1997, GSU had no dormitories. But after the Olympics, the four dormitories adjacent to Georgia Tech (built at a cost of more than $85 million) were turned into GSU Village. The dorms now house 2,000 students as well as a post office, gym, and fitness center and 24-hour security, parking, and unlimited free access to MARTA. In addition, GSU’s physical education complex was remodeled to host the Olympic badminton competition. Work was completed in early 1996 on the renovation of the long-vacant Rialto movie theater (just south of the Central Library) into a concert hall for GSU’s performing arts groups, as well as entertainers from around the country.