Albany State University

In July 1996 the university system's Board of Regents approved a name change, and the school officially became Albany State University. 

Today Albany State University continues to provide a wide range of educational opportunities to the residents of southwest Georgia. 

The school participates in an engineering transfer program and a dual degree program with the Georgia Institute of Technology, one of the top engineering schools in the nation. 

Then President, Portia Shields created the Holley Institute summer program, which consists of an intense four weeks of study to help high school students improve low SAT scores and gain admission to college. 

The program has a near 100 percent success rate and has received praise from the state Board of Regents. Albany State also has the third highest student retention rate in the university system. A new stadium was opened in 2004, and new housing units opened in 2006.