Published 8:31 am Wednesday, September 9, 2026 EDITOR’S NOTE: Georgia College & State University President Cathy Cox explores how the institution’s current period of record-breaking enrollment growth illustrates the enduring value of a high-quality liberal arts education to current students and employers alike, in a guest essay originally published in the Atlanta Journal Constitution and provided below. Georgia College & State University adopted its current liberal arts mission 30 years ago and continues to innovate in the AI era. Thirty years after Georgia made a landmark commitment to public liberal arts education, students are affirming the wisdom of that decision in record numbers. This fall, Georgia College & State University welcomed its largest-ever incoming class of 1,849 students from a record pool of 10,060 applicants, some 95% of whom are Georgia residents. That will bring GCSU’s overall enrollment this fall to an all-time high of nearly 7,500 undergraduate and graduate students. Our fourth consecutive year of unprecedented demand, this growth serves as powerful evidence that, as markets move and student expectations rise, a high-quality liberal arts education remains more relevant than ever. Regardless of field, mastering the skills central to the liberal arts — critical thinking, communication, teamwork, problem-solving — serves graduates well. Those competencies adjust to emerging technologies and roll with the tides of industry shifts. According to the…
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