Gwinnett University Center opens Jan. 2002!
By Dr. James Muyskens
CEO and Dean of Faculty, Gwinnett University Center

May 2, 2001 - - Did you know that we are less than 250 days away from having a full-service college campus right here in Gwinnett? That's right...the Gwinnett University Center (GUC) is scheduled to open the doors to its first classroom building on January 7, 2002! The 160-acre campus, located just off of Collins Hill Road and Highway 316, is under construction now, with and many innovations on its horizon.

Gwinnett University Center is not a stand-alone university, but a consortium of institutions of higher learning coming together in partnership to meet the ever changing educational needs of our community. It is a dynamic example of entrepreneurship at its finest. Founding academic partners are the University of Georgia and Georgia Perimeter College. Others institutions are expected to join as GUC works to identify current and future community needs and educational gaps.

GUC's core mission is to be a high-tech center. GUC serves as a "charter college" that will be a model and a catalyst for the entire University System of Georgia, piloting ideas for improving teaching and learning, offering an ideal opportunity for testing better management models, and importing best practices from around the globe.

We now live in a knowledge culture, with "industries of the mind" clearly the hottest commodities on the world-wide trading floor. GUC is committed to life-long learning, founded on the principle of a "just for you" approach.

GUC's interaction will most effectively help traditional and non-traditional students gain intellectual and personal improvement through customized instruction. GUC will work in partnership with local firms to address workforce development and continuing education needs, keeping the Gwinnett community on the cutting-edge of intellectual capital.

"Learning by all means" is our motto. GUC's goal is to develop course materials in the full range of formats, with components corresponding to students' different learning styles. A hallmark of the new center is its commitment to experimentation with new instructional technologies. The basic premise is that learning is optimized when it is interactive, integrative, and individualized, tailored to each individual's ability, schedule and learning pace.

Currently, GUC campus is located at 5155 Sugarloaf Parkway in Lawrenceville,in Lawrenceville, in the MacLeod Office Park. This semester over 4,000 students are enrolled. Georgia Perimeter College offers associate degrees in Arts, Sciences and Applied Sciences, as well as freshman and sophomore core transfer courses and adult continuing education.

UGA-Gwinnett offers continuing education programs, as well as Master's Degrees in Business Administration, Non-Profit Organization, Public Administration, Adult Education, Educational Leadership, and Social Work. Courses for teacher certification and specialization are offered. A Master's Degree in Food Science and Technology will begin in August 2001.

As of fall semester 2002, we will offer Bachelor Degree programs at GUC, filling in the final missing link. Programs now under development include business, computer and quantitative sciences, education, management information systems, humanities, language and culture, sciences and social sciences, with many others to come.

We welcome feedback from you as to what programs and courses of study should be offered at GUC. Simply email us at phavens@guc.peachnet.edu.

I challenge each of you to expand your horizons and explore what the Gwinnett University Center has to offer. Take a class to stretch your mind or to boost your career. There's something at GUC waiting for you!

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