Georgia college collection
The Georgia College Collection proudly boasts famous campus landmarks and symbols: Atkinson Hall, The Pergola, Russell Auditorium, The Fountain, The Clock Tower & Reflection Pool, and The Bobcat.
Georgia College was chartered in 1889 as Georgia Normal and Industrial College and welcomed its first students in 1891. The campus contains buildings of red brick and white Corinthian columns, representative of those constructed during the pre-Civil War Antebellum period, when Milledgeville was the capital of Georgia.
Atkinson Hall: Constructed in 1896, Atkinson Hall is one of the oldest and most stately buildings on campus. It was saved from demolition in 1978 by alumni, community support, faculty, and students. It serves as the home of The J. Whitney Bunting College of Business. The structure is named for William Y. Atkinson and his wife, Susan Cobb Milton Atkinson. Susan was sensitized to the plight of under-educated women in Georgia by her journalist friend, Julia Flisch, and she persuaded her husband, a young state legislator from Coweta (and future governor), to introduce the bill that created Georgia Normal & Industrial College in 1889. The building was added to the National Register of Historic Places on January 20, 1972.
The Pergola: Located between Atkinson and Terrell Halls, The Pergola serves as both a Georgia College landmark and symbol. A pergola is a linear structure over a pathway, and its columns form something of a "colonnade." Before freshman convocation, new students walk through the pergola, symbolically entering the university and its academic square. On graduation day students walk under the pergola in the other direction, processing out to the front lawn for the commencement ceremony, thereby symbolically leaving the university.
Russell Auditorium: Constructed in 1926, this campus landmark features Greek Revival architecture and an elegant decor which serves the university and community well. This beautiful space, which has witnessed hundreds of plays, convocations, concerts, recitals, and readings from the likes of Carl Sandburg, Cornelia Otis Skinner, Glenn Miller, Bob Hope, Alex Haley, and Isaac Stern, is appropriately named for Judge Richard B. Russell (1861-1938). In 1887, at age 26, Russell introduced the first bill to establish a publicly funded women's college in Georgia. Even though his bill failed, Russell remained one of this college's staunchest supporters, serving as president of the board of directors from 1918 until 1932.
The Fountain: Sitting just in front of Arts & Sciences, The Fountain serves as a hub for student organizations wishing to share information with their colleagues ("tabling") and is a gathering place for receptions, orientations, fundraising events, awareness campaigns, demonstrations and many other events. If you have spare change, make a wish and throw it into the fountain - the money collected is sent to the Make-a-Wish Foundation, an organization dedicated to granting wishes of children with life-threatening medical conditions.
The Clock Tower & Reflection Pool: Located between Sanford and Wells Residence Halls, The Ralph H. Norman Clock Tower is a commanding sight! The night before classes start, the campus community gathers around the reflection pool near The Clock Tower to mark the beginning of the academic year.
The Bobcat: In the history of Georgia College, there have only been two mascots in their 129 years of being an institution for higher learning. Up until 1998 Georgia College was the Colonials, but there was a call for change and GC became the Bobcats with their beloved Thunder as their mascot.
Georgia College was chartered in 1889 as Georgia Normal and Industrial College and welcomed its first students in 1891. The campus contains buildings of red brick and white Corinthian columns, representative of those constructed during the pre-Civil War Antebellum period, when Milledgeville was the capital of Georgia.
Atkinson Hall: Constructed in 1896, Atkinson Hall is one of the oldest and most stately buildings on campus. It was saved from demolition in 1978 by alumni, community support, faculty, and students. It serves as the home of The J. Whitney Bunting College of Business. The structure is named for William Y. Atkinson and his wife, Susan Cobb Milton Atkinson. Susan was sensitized to the plight of under-educated women in Georgia by her journalist friend, Julia Flisch, and she persuaded her husband, a young state legislator from Coweta (and future governor), to introduce the bill that created Georgia Normal & Industrial College in 1889. The building was added to the National Register of Historic Places on January 20, 1972.
The Pergola: Located between Atkinson and Terrell Halls, The Pergola serves as both a Georgia College landmark and symbol. A pergola is a linear structure over a pathway, and its columns form something of a "colonnade." Before freshman convocation, new students walk through the pergola, symbolically entering the university and its academic square. On graduation day students walk under the pergola in the other direction, processing out to the front lawn for the commencement ceremony, thereby symbolically leaving the university.
Russell Auditorium: Constructed in 1926, this campus landmark features Greek Revival architecture and an elegant decor which serves the university and community well. This beautiful space, which has witnessed hundreds of plays, convocations, concerts, recitals, and readings from the likes of Carl Sandburg, Cornelia Otis Skinner, Glenn Miller, Bob Hope, Alex Haley, and Isaac Stern, is appropriately named for Judge Richard B. Russell (1861-1938). In 1887, at age 26, Russell introduced the first bill to establish a publicly funded women's college in Georgia. Even though his bill failed, Russell remained one of this college's staunchest supporters, serving as president of the board of directors from 1918 until 1932.
The Fountain: Sitting just in front of Arts & Sciences, The Fountain serves as a hub for student organizations wishing to share information with their colleagues ("tabling") and is a gathering place for receptions, orientations, fundraising events, awareness campaigns, demonstrations and many other events. If you have spare change, make a wish and throw it into the fountain - the money collected is sent to the Make-a-Wish Foundation, an organization dedicated to granting wishes of children with life-threatening medical conditions.
The Clock Tower & Reflection Pool: Located between Sanford and Wells Residence Halls, The Ralph H. Norman Clock Tower is a commanding sight! The night before classes start, the campus community gathers around the reflection pool near The Clock Tower to mark the beginning of the academic year.
The Bobcat: In the history of Georgia College, there have only been two mascots in their 129 years of being an institution for higher learning. Up until 1998 Georgia College was the Colonials, but there was a call for change and GC became the Bobcats with their beloved Thunder as their mascot.