Columbus State University President Stuart Rayfield is among the 100 Georgians deemed the state’s “most influential” leaders by Georgia Trend magazine. The annual listing recognizes Georgians who are successful in their careers, garner influence, and have contributed to improving Georgians’ lives. 

The honor comes less than two years after Rayfield assumed the helm as university president. In its January 2025 issue, Georgia Trend lauded Rayfield for early successes during her tenure, including formulating the university’s new five-year strategic plan. Rayfield credits any success she has had to the people around her.

“The people who make Columbus State University special are our greatest strength,” she explained. “That includes our students who choose to study and thrive here, our employees who support and educate them, and our alumni, donors, partners and host community who support us tirelessly. We also have incredible backing from the University System of Georgia.”

When Rayfield began her tenure in June 2023, the university was concluding an academic year with a 5% decline in overall student enrollment. Fast-forward 18 months to October 2024, when the university announced a nearly 4% overall enrollment increase over Fall 2023—including a 4.9% increase in new undergraduate students and an 11.9% increase in total graduate students.

 With increased enrollment, tuition revenues and state appropriations have increased, and finances have stabilized. In addition, FY24 marked one of the highest levels of donor giving to the CSU Foundation in recent years, with gifts nearing $6 million. Last fiscal year also marked the first time in university history that its endowment exceeded $100 million.

 “Columbus State exists today in its current form by the will of this community. We would not be here but for our community’s commitment to the idea of a local university and what it means to the region,” Rayfield said. “Community—both our campus community and our numerous partnerships with our host community—is our cornerstone.”

Rayfield explained that the university’s symbiotic relationship with the community is at the heart of its new five-year strategic plan, which she describes as “ambitious and measurable.”  If the community is the plan’s cornerstone, its pillars are the strategic plan’s tenets: student success, responsible stewardship, community impact and economic competitiveness

Rayfield said she spent the first year of her presidency listening and learning. That foundation, besides fostering a new strategic plan, led her to make strategic appointments to her executive team and strengthen and initiate vital community and academic partnerships. It has also included building the infrastructure to support redesigning student enrollment and retention strategies, realigning the core curriculum with the career competencies required of today’s employers, implementing a slew of new capital projects, and starting a new effort to redefine campus culture.

She’s also building pipelines between Columbus State and the state and region’s employers. Workforce-focused programs like the university’s cybersecurity stackable certificate and nexus degree programs have brought Gov. Brian Kemp and a cadre of state and federal officials to campus since she began her tenure. Her focus includes realigning the core curriculum—general education courses like English, mathematics, science and social studies—with the career competencies required by today’s employers. That promises to bolster the University System of Georgia’s systemwide focus on improving students’ post-graduate employability while strengthening the state’s labor force and economy.