The Clarkston Campus of Georgia Perimeter College, formerly DeKalb College, opened in 1964 as the only public junior college in the State of Georgia that was supported and controlled by a local Board of Education, the DeKalb County Board of Education. In 1986, the Clarkston Campus of Georgia Perimeter College, along with sister campuses in Decatur and Dunwoody, became a part of the University System of Georgia.

With students from more than 100 nations, Georgia Perimeter College enrolls more international students than any other institution in the system and Clarkston Campus is home to many of them.

Home of the DeKalb Symphony Orchestra and the College's theatre program and many other fine arts programs and activities, Clarkston Campus serves as the cultural center for the performing arts in music and drama, not only for the Clarkston, but for the entire GPC community and the metropolitan Atlanta area.