Southern Polytechnic State University
Former state university in Marietta, Georgia, US / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Southern Polytechnic State University (also called Southern Poly; abbreviated SPSU) was a public, co-educational, state university in Marietta, Georgia, United States approximately 20 miles (32 km) northwest of downtown Atlanta. Until 2015, it was an independent part of the University System of Georgia and called itself "Georgia's Technology University."[7]
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Former names | The Technical Institute (1948–1949), Southern Technical Institute (1949–1987), Southern College of Technology (1987–1996) |
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Motto | Imagination, Innovation, Application[1] |
Type | Public |
Active | 1948[2]–2015 |
Founder | Blake R. Van Leer |
Endowment | US$3.1 million (2012)[2] |
Academic staff | 226 full-time (fall 2013)[3] 96 part-time (Fall 2013)[3] |
Students | 6,238 (spring 2014)[4] |
Undergraduates | 5,410 (spring 2014)[4] |
Postgraduates | 802 (spring 2014)[4] |
Other students | 26 (spring 2014)[4] |
Location | , U.S. 33°56′32″N 84°31′15″W |
Campus | Suburban (230+ acres)[5] |
Colors | Green and White |
Nickname | Runnin' Hornets |
Sporting affiliations | Southern States Athletic Conference |
Mascot | Sting |
Website | spsu.edu |
President Emerita: Dr. Lisa Rossbacher[6] |
Southern Tech was founded in 1948 as The Technical Institute in Chamblee, Georgia by Blake R. Van Leer.[8][9] The first classes were held with 116 students. It was renamed the Southern Technical Institute in 1949 and moved to its present campus in Marietta, Georgia in 1962. It went through another name change in 1987 and became the Southern College of Technology. In the summer of 1996, the university adopted its polytechnic name. It was one among a small group of polytechnic universities in the United States that tend to be primarily devoted to the instruction of technical arts and applied sciences.[10]
On November 1, 2013, plans were announced by the Georgia Board of Regents for Southern Polytechnic and Kennesaw State University to be consolidated into one university.[11] On January 6, 2015, the Georgia Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia approved the consolidation of Southern Poly and Kennesaw State, with Kennesaw State as the surviving institution. On July 1, 2015, Kennesaw State established the Southern Polytechnic College of Engineering and Engineering Technology in honor of the former SPSU.