Georgia's campuses and the stories they hold.
East Georgia State College no longer exists as a separate school. On January 1, 2026, it merged into Georgia Southern University, and its wooded Swainsboro campus is now Georgia Southern's East Georgia Campus. The campus was built in the early 1970s on land donated largely by one local family, and for half a century it gave rural east-central Georgia an open-access starting point for college. It still does, now under the Georgia Southern name, with teams called the Golden Eagles.
East Georgia State College is a college & university in Swainsboro, Emanuel County. It is one of 73 historic sites cataloged in Emanuel County on Georgia Roam.
The site sits at 32.5954, -82.3075 near Swainsboro. The nearest cataloged historic site is Eastbrook Cemetery (cemetery), about 1.1 miles away. Others within a short drive include Swainsboro Light and Water Plant, Emanuel County Courthouse, and The Crossroads of the Great South.
This record is drawn from Georgia Roam. Use the map below for its exact position and turn-by-turn directions.
Swainsboro leaders spent years lobbying for a college before the University System of Georgia agreed. In September 1971 local voters approved a $2.1 million bond issue. The school board provided a 207-acre wooded site, 190 acres of it donated by Luck Flanders Gambrell, and in December 1971 the Board of Regents approved Emanuel County Junior College. A charter class of 167 students began in temporary quarters in fall 1973, and the main campus opened in 1974 with six buildings.
The school became East Georgia College in 1988, when the state dropped "junior" from its two-year college names. It opened a Statesboro instructional site in 1997 and, much later, one in Augusta. Regents approved limited four-year status in 2011, the first bachelor's students (in biology) arrived in fall 2012, and the name became East Georgia State College. The campus grew with the Luck Flanders Gambrell Center in 2001, a residence hall in 2011 and a community learning center with a full-dome planetarium in 2010. Its Vision Series brought speakers such as Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter and Maya Angelou to Swainsboro.
In April 2025 the Board of Regents voted to consolidate East Georgia State with Georgia Southern, and the merger took effect on January 1, 2026. The Swainsboro campus is now Georgia Southern University's East Georgia Campus. It keeps an open-access mission and associate degrees through Georgia Southern's University College, and its athletes compete in the NAIA as the Golden Eagles.
Since the consolidation, the Swainsboro campus has been part of Georgia Southern's University College. It keeps the open-access mission East Georgia State was known for, offering Associate of Arts and Associate of Science pathways that lead into Georgia Southern bachelor's degrees. Check Georgia Southern's degree finder for which programs are offered in Swainsboro.
NAIA (member since July 1, 2026) · Continental Athletic Conference
Home venues: Physical Education Building (basketball) · On-campus baseball and softball fields
Not as a separate school. It consolidated with Georgia Southern University on January 1, 2026. The Swainsboro campus is now Georgia Southern University's East Georgia Campus.
Yes. The East Georgia Campus keeps an open-access mission and offers associate degree pathways through Georgia Southern's University College. Apply through Georgia Southern admissions.
Its teams, now called the Golden Eagles, play baseball, softball, men's and women's basketball and cross country in the NAIA's Continental Athletic Conference, starting with the 2026–27 year.
The Department of Education counted 1,820 in fall 2024, the last fall before the merger, across Swainsboro, Statesboro and Augusta.
The Board of Regents approved it as Emanuel County Junior College in December 1971. Classes started in fall 1973, and the Swainsboro campus opened in 1974.
The Statesboro site continues as Georgia Southern's East Georgia Center Statesboro. The Augusta classes, held on Augusta University's Summerville campus, ended after spring 2026.
Sources: georgiaencyclopedia.orgen.wikipedia.orggeorgiasouthern.edugeorgiasouthern.edugeorgiasouthern.edunces.ed.gov
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