Governors State University is the only public university in Chicago's rapidly growing south suburban area, serving approximately 6,000 students during the course of a year. GSU provides affordable and accessible undergraduate and graduate education to culturally and economically diverse life-long learners. The university's high-quality educational programs are enhanced by its commitment to maintaining and increasing accessibility to its students and the community.
At its founding on July 17, 1969, Governors State University embodied the most optimistic vision of the 1960s. It believed in its students and their ability to learn and succeed. So it took a deliberate step away from the "establishment" and forged opportunity through experimentation.
It didn't have grades; it had competencies. It didn't have departments; it had "interdisciplinary studies". Most importantly, it didn't exclude. GSU made education available to a growing population of community college students and to all adults who sought a higher education - a higher purpose.
Thirty-eight years later, GSU has changed in many ways. With more "establishment" now, the university has grades. It has professionally respected departments and disciplines, and over 80 percent of its faculty possess Ph.D.s or the highest degrees in their fields. But in very important ways, GSU has also retained that 60s spirit. It continues to experiment, and it never excludes. With a belief in its students, GSU matches the best ideals of the past with the most promising innovations of the future.