Georgia State University President Mark Becker and State Farm CEO Michael Tipsord announced a first-of-its-kind public-private partnership this morning. State Farm is donating $20 million to help local schools and nonprofits improve outcomes and boost completion rates among students at the GSU’s Decatur campus of Perimeter College.
GSU will receive $14.5 million, while $5.5 million will go to non-profits and local schools to provide additional services to help students succeed.
The pair explain the partnership’s purpose and goals in this joint column today in the AJC Get Schooled blog in which they write: “Despite the best efforts of America’s higher education community, the nation has been unable to markedly increase the number of college graduates, particularly among students from lower socioeconomic backgrounds. It’s time for a new model.”
With the State Farm donation, Georgia State is creating a program that will predict, address and resolve obstacles to college completion, sometimes even before the affected students know that the obstacles exist, the pair explain. The program will focus on Decatur and south DeKalb County where there are many first-generation college students.
To read more details about the plan, go to the AJC Get Schooled blog.
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