For the second consecutive year, Stuart Rayfield, president of Columbus State University, has been included in Georgia Trend magazine’s “100 Most Influential Georgians” list. The annual list recognizes individuals who have demonstrated leadership and influence across the state.
Rayfield is currently in her third year as president of Columbus State University. Georgia Trend highlighted her work in expanding academic and workforce partnerships with South Korean leaders and businesses. In 2025, Rayfield led delegations to South Korea, where she met with government officials and business representatives. She also participated in the Jinju International Forum on Entrepreneurship, engaging with entrepreneurs and policymakers.
These efforts have contributed to strengthening the university’s role in economic development. Working alongside local leaders and Choose Columbus, Rayfield helped attract JS Link America—a South Korean manufacturer of rare-earth magnets—to open its first U.S. facility in Columbus. This project is expected to create 520 jobs and bring a $223 million investment to the area.
Columbus State University began as a two-year college before developing into a comprehensive institution offering undergraduate and graduate programs within the University System of Georgia official website. The university emphasizes ethical leadership, community partnerships, servant leadership, academic excellence, and regional engagement through its campuses and off-campus centers official website.
Under Rayfield’s direction, Columbus State University started new initiatives aimed at enhancing student experience by investing $4 million into an academic and career success coaching model. Other changes include integrating industry-recognized credentials into degree programs, introducing new engagement initiatives for first-year students to support recruitment and retention efforts, and redesigning core curriculum elements for experiential learning and career readiness.
In addition to these developments, last summer saw the university receive its largest donation ever for arts students as well as Archives & Special Collections support. A professional development lab school was launched in partnership with Muscogee County School District and Columbus Technical College at Dimon Magnet Academy. The university also announced plans for a $22.2 million joint robotics engineering and space science facility on its Main Campus—the first state-funded academic building at CSU in over two decades—intended to strengthen advanced science education, innovation, engineering studies, and workforce training.
Rayfield credited community support as central to these accomplishments: “Columbus State exists today thanks to the support of this community. We would not be here without our community’s commitment to the idea of a local university and what it means for the region,” she said. “Community—both our campus community and our partnerships with the local area—is our foundation. We couldn’t achieve this without our students who choose to learn and grow here, our dedicated employees who support and educate them, and our alumni, donors and community partners whose tireless support drives our collective success.”
Rayfield is one of ten higher education leaders recognized by Georgia Trend this year—including University System of Georgia Chancellor Sonny Perdue—and joins other notable figures from Columbus such as Synovus Chair Kevin Blair; Mayor Skip Henderson; Pace Halter (W.C. Bradley Co.), James Hillenbrand (retired W.C. Bradley), Jansen Tidmore (Greater Columbus Georgia Chamber of Commerce), among others featured on this year’s list or named 2026 Notables.
The digital edition of Georgia Trend’s “100 Most Influential Georgians of 2026” can be accessed online; Rayfield’s full biography appears on Columbus State University’s website.
