Georj Lewis, President, Clayton State University

What have been the most important achievements for Clayton State University in recent years?

Our dedicated faculty and staff here at CSU all play a part in shaping the student experience, an experience that ultimately leads to graduation and an improved social positioning. When I reflect on the award ceremonies and highlights of commencement, I can’t help but get excited, but more is taking place during these moments. Our students are breaking barriers and creating legacies for their family when they cross the stage. These barrier breaking moments are important to me. 

Furthermore, the contributions of our faculty, through teaching and research, help to provide solutions for real-world challenges via experiential learning. For example, the College of Arts & Sciences received funding to support the opening of a CSI Lab, while the College of Business is partnering with a local agency to enhance student engagement through a consulting internship program.

The institution continues to achieve notable milestones. These include, but are not limited to, enrollment growth and the rebranding of the College of Information and Mathematical Sciences to the newly named College of STEM, to better align with workforce needs. Our nursing students achieved a 100% pass rate in both Spring and Fall 2024.

Among the things that came along with the Strategic Plan was the development of our social mobility summit, which was a gathering of students, faculty, staff, thought leaders and community members. The purpose of that summit is to discuss what social mobility looks like in action, how we meet our students where they are, how we help them to be successful, and the many pathways to graduation and utilizing their college degree in the labor market. It’s workforce development, salaries, career, better healthcare, and access that we want for our students.

What key initiatives or changes in the university’s strategic plan stand out?

The plan is ultimately about student success. Our strategies approach this holistically; we consider key elements that can determine the success of a student while in college, and we allow those elements to inform our work. The institution is engaging with the National Institute of Student Success (NISS) and working with this group to receive value-based recommendations on implementing best practices to support increased student retention, success, persistence, and graduation. Engaging with NISS directly focuses on a recent change to the University’s strategic plan. We recognize the significance of our collaboration, and this partnership enables the University to come up with solutions that center our students and their success.

Another pillar of our strategic plan is academic and career pathways. From this, we are in the process of establishing new programs that are directly connected to workforce development. For example, we launched the Bachelor’s Degree in Cyber Security, an artificial intelligence certificate and a cybersecurity certificate, all in the Fall of 2025. These programs are intended to equip our students with high-demand skills to meet the needs nationally in the technology industry.

We value collaboration and partnership as it allows us to extend our reach and impact. This in mind, another pillar that guides the University’s work is Strengthening Reputation and Brand Awareness with a focus on corporate and community engagement. Last year we launched a series of presidential round tables to address local needs. Our discussions engaged health care professionals, K-12 educators, film industry professionals, and local legislators.

From a leadership perspective, how do you approach building institutional resilience and agility?

It is so important that we remain focused on purpose and outcomes. With the fast pace of our environment, it is easy to get distracted, but we want to be nimble, while remaining focused on our goals. This requires a level of flexibility and a willingness to augment goals as the needs change. One of our values that has come out of our strategic planning process is adaptability. It is a skill set that the campus community relies upon as things change within our academic and professional landscape. An example is artificial intelligence. We are embracing AI as a campus community and learning the many ways that it can contribute to student and university success.

We are intentional about remaining informed on the latest industry trends and standards; this includes technological changes, and the variety of ways that we can reach our students. In keeping our focus, there is a level of agility and adaptability that keeps us relevant. Just recently, we developed a new master’s program to address significant challenges that the local K12 school district was experiencing in identifying and retaining quality schoolteachers. Within a short amount of time, we created a master’s program to certify teachers and give them an advanced degree, if they already had their Bachelors. The program was directly connected to the school district, and our graduates found local employment. There was a need, the school system created this opportunity, and we adjusted one of our programs; it was quickly approved, and the courses are now widely available.

How are you working to ensure that student support systems remain responsive?

Being guided by our mission of Social Mobility, as an institution we prioritize understanding our students, their needs, and being able to identify when additional support is needed to keep them on track. The average age of our students is approximately 24 years old. Many of them work, take care of family members, or have their own family. As a result, we are constantly looking at ways to provide services that facilitate progress towards graduation.

For example, the institution’s grant funded childcare subsidy initiative addresses some of the particular hurdles that students with children face while trying to complete their degree. The childcare assistance program provides grants for students who have a need for childcare.

Looking ahead, what are your top priorities for Clayton State University over the near term?

Our “North Star” at Clayton State University is to earn the distinction of being the #1 University for Social Mobility in the state of Georgia. We plan to have record enrollment and student success, expand high demand academic programs, modernize campus facilities, strengthen our position as a top employer, and launch a capital campaign.

As an anchor institution in the south Metro of Atlanta, we are poised to be a catalyst for social mobility in the region and are laser-focused on these priorities.