Office of the President

Mission Statement

Chartered by the State of Georgia in 1890, as a department of the State University for the education and training of Negro students, Savannah State University now serves a diverse student population as a senior university of the University System of Georgia. The University serves a primarily African-American student population, enriched by a diversity of traditional and nontraditional students from other countries, cultures, and races. The University's mission is to graduate students prepared to perform at higher levels of economic productivity, social responsibility, and excellence in their chosen fields of endeavor in a changing global community. The educational goal is realized through program offerings in the College of Business Administration, the College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences, and the College of Sciences and Technology, which lead to baccalaureate, and master's degrees.

Savannah State University, located in a coastal, urban, port city setting, serves residential and commuter students from diverse educational, geographical, and racial backgrounds. In a beautiful and unique setting of a live oak forest next to a salt marsh estuary, the University is well situated for the study of commercial, technological, environmental and urban issues.

The University's mission is consistent with the core missions of the University System of Georgia and the senior universities in the System.

Savannah State University shares with the University System of Georgia the following characteristics:

a supportive campus climate, necessary services, and leadership development opportunities, all to educate the whole person and meet the needs of students, faculty, and staff; cultural, ethnic, racial, and gender diversity in faculty, staff, and student body, supported by practices and programs that embody the ideals of an open, democratic, and global society;

technology to advance educational purposes, including instructional technology, student support services, and distance education; collaborative relationships with other System institutions, state agencies, local schools and technical institutes, and businesses and industries, sharing physical, human, information and other resources to expand and enhance programs and services available to the citizens of Georgia. Savannah State University shares with senior universities in the University System of Georgia these characteristics:

a commitment to excellence and responsiveness within the scope of influence defined by the needs of an area of the state, and by particularly outstanding programs or distinctive characteristics that have a magnet effect throughout the region or state;

a commitment to the teaching/learning environment, both inside and outside the classroom, that sustains instructional excellence, serves a diverse and college prepared student body, promotes high levels of student achievement, offers academic assistance, and provides Student Academic Support programs for a limited student cohort;

a commitment to a high quality general education program supporting a variety of disciplinary, interdisciplinary, and professional programming at the baccalaureate level, with selected master's, and selected associate degree programs based on area need and/or inter-institutional collaborations;

a commitment to public service, continuing education, technical assistance, and economic development activities that address the needs, improve the quality of life, and raise the educational level within the University's scope of influence; and

a commitment to scholarly and creative work to enhance instructional effectiveness and to encourage faculty scholarly pursuits; and a commitment to applied research in selected areas of institutional strength and area need.

The continuing commitment of Savannah State University to academic excellence is expressed through the following characteristics:

tradition of serving the educational needs of African-American students as well as those of all other students, regardless of race, ethnicity, or culture; the historical tradition as an African-American institution which defines the University as a unique cultural and educational resource for the interpretation and transmission of the African- American legacy; the guiding principle of the faculty and staff which is service to students expressed by quality, student-centered instruction, scholarship, research and effective support services that nurture the intellect and value honesty and human sensitivity; a high quality general education offered through the core curriculum in humanities, mathematics, natural sciences, and social and behavioral sciences;

baccalaureate degree offerings with a dynamic mix of liberal arts programs that address the study of the humanities, social sciences and the sciences; professional programs that address the study of commerce, entrepreneurship, communications, social services, technology and environmental sustainability; master's degree offerings that address the study of the social and behavioral sciences, and natural sciences; and initiatives to provide new programs and levels of service to meet the ever changing needs of a coastal urban area;

a commitment to excellence in the area of engineering technology;

Student Academic Support services that provide educational access and opportunity for students, and service programs, offered singly and collaboratively, to enhance student satisfaction and academic success; and

an active community service function that is carried out through collaborative partnerships with business, private and governmental agencies, public schools, and other institutions in the University System.

Savannah State University intends to increase the scope and quality of service to diverse
populations by focusing and developing an array of excellent programs, supported and
delivered through instructional technology and distance education to all who seek its programs and services.