East Georgia State College

East Georgia State College (EGSC) is a four-year state college in Swainsboro, Georgia. It is part of the University System of Georgia. As an access institution, the college serves a predominantly rural area of 24 counties in Georgia's coastal plain from its three campus locations.

In the 1960s, community leaders in Swainsboro and Emanuel County petitioned the state legislature to establish a community college in the area. In 1969, the Georgia Board of Regents underwent a study to determine the need for additional community colleges in the state. A year later, the Swainsboro–Emanuel County area was approved as a prospective site with the stipulation that the county provide land and funding to build the initial physical plant.

In September 1971, the citizens of Emanuel County approved a $2.1 million bond issue and provided 207 acres (0.84 km2) of land within the city limits of Swainsboro for a new college. 190 acres (0.77 km2) of the site was donated by the wife of then-U.S. Senator David Gambrell, Mrs. Luck Flanders Gambrell. In December of the same year, the Board of Regents granted final approval for Emanuel County Junior College. Then-Speaker of the Georgia House of Representatives and Emanuel County native George L. Smith II was instrumental in the college's establishment. In June 1972, temporary offices were set up in downtown Swainsboro and the college's faculty was hired while construction of the college campus began in December of the same year.

The college campus opened in 1974 with six buildings and has been expanded significantly since the turn of the 21st century. Opened in 2001, the Luck Flanders Gambrell Center houses the Learning Commons (college library, Academic Center for Excellence, and Common Grounds Coffee shop), main auditorium, classrooms, and administrative offices. In 2003, the Physical Education building was expanded with a new indoor gymnasium, fitness center, an art studio, and additional classrooms; it now home to the EGSC Bobcats.