USG News
Watterson Named Interim President of Georgia Highlands College
Dr. Renva Harmon Watterson has been named as the interim president of Georgia Highlands College, effective May 14, 2012, by University System Chancellor Hank Huckaby. Watterson assumes the post from Rob Watts, who was named today by Huckaby to become interim president of Georgia Perimeter College in metro Atlanta.
Watterson is currently vice president for Academic and Student Affairs at Georgia Highlands, a post she has held since 2006. Prior to her current position at GHC, Watterson was chair of the humanities division of the College.
“It is with great appreciation for her abilities that I make this appointment,” said USG Chancellor Hank Huckaby. “Dr. Watterson has a wealth of experience and a very high degree of familiarity with Georgia Highlands and the communities it serves, which should prove invaluable to both her and the College in the months ahead.”
During her tenure at GHC, she has led the effort to achieve state-college status for the institution and has overseen the development of new instructional sites in Paulding and Douglas Counties.
Watterson also has helped attain National Science Foundation grants, Math Science Partnership grants and funding for STEM initiatives. She was instrumental in guiding the decentralization process among GHC’s five campuses throughout Northwest Georgia. One of the important collaborations she has spearheaded is with the Floyd County Schools’ College and Career Academy to design teacher education pathways through a Race to the Top grant to create a teacher cadet program for high-school students. The program will expedite their college training, putting teachers in the classroom sooner and easing the teacher shortage.
Prior to coming to GHC, Watterson was dean of the School of Liberal Arts at Shorter College in Rome (1999-2006) and from 1988-1999 held a number of administrative, department and faculty positions at Henderson State University in Arkadelphia, Ark. She also taught speech communication at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock in 1988 and 1989.
Watterson began her educational career in Rome in the 1970’s, teaching English, speech and journalism in the Rome City schools, before moving to North Little Rock, Ark. to teach speech and debate in the public school system.
Her communications background has resulted in her publication in a wide range of scholarly journals and she is a frequent presenter on writing, speech and communications. She has maintained a high level of involvement in a number of state and national organizations focused on communications and women in communications.
She holds a Doctor of Education in higher education and communication studies as well as a Master of Arts in interpersonal and organizational communication from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. She earned a Bachelor of Arts in speech education and theater from Shorter College.
Georgia Highlands serves 5,500 students in Northwest Georgia, at the founding campus in Floyd County; at Heritage Hall in downtown Rome; the Cartersville campus; a site in Marietta on the campus of Southern Polytechnic State University; a site in Paulding County, on the square in Dallas; and an instructional site in Douglas County on Stewart Parkway in Douglasville.
Watts Named Interim President of Georgia Perimeter College
Rob Watts has been named interim president of Georgia Perimeter College in metropolitan Atlanta by University System of Georgia Chancellor Hank Huckaby.
“Rob is one of the University System’s most experienced leaders, given his responsibilities at the System Office as well as leadership roles at three other institutions,” said USG Chancellor Hank Huckaby in making the appointment. “We are extremely fortunate to be able to call upon his skills in this important assignment at Georgia Perimeter.”
Watts previously served as interim president of Georgia Perimeter College in Decatur, Ga., from 2005-2006 and begins his second stint as interim president on May 14, 2012. He takes over from former GPC president Anthony Tricoli, who is taking a position in the University System’s Academic Affairs Office.
Since January 1, Watts has served as interim president of Georgia Highlands College in Rome, Ga., following the retirement of current president Randy Pierce. Watts previously served as Georgia Highlands’ (then named Floyd College) interim president from 2000 until the appointment of Pierce in 2001.
Watts has an extensive career in the University System. He was chief operating officer for the USG until earlier this year, a position he held since 2006.
From 2002 to 2005, Wattts served as a senior policy advisor to the chancellor as well as the interim director of the Gwinnett University Center in Lawrenceville, Ga. From 2001 to 2002, Watts was the interim president at Middle Georgia College, in Cochran, Ga.
He first joined Georgia Perimeter (then known as DeKalb College) in 1986, and served for five years as director of Institutional Research and Planning. In 1991, he assumed the position of executive vice president for Fiscal Affairs, which he held until being named interim president at Floyd College.
Prior to joining Georgia Perimeter, Watts served from 1982 to 1986 as a budget analyst for the Legislative Budget Office of the Georgia General Assembly. Previously, he had served as a Humanities Scholar in Residence for the General Assembly, from 1979 to 1981.
Watts earned both a bachelor’s and master’s degree from Florida State University, in Tallahassee. He also holds a master’s degree from Johns Hopkins University’s Bologna Center, in Bologna, Italy.
Georgia Perimeter College serves 27,000 students in metropolitan Atlanta on four campuses in Clarkston, Decatur, Dunwoody and Newton, and at a center in Alpharetta. The College, which is approved by the Board of Regents to offer limited baccalaureate degrees, is the largest associate degree-granting institution in the USG.
Dozier Named President of Savannah State University
Dr. Cheryl Davenport Dozier has been named by the University System of Georgia Board of Regents as the permanent president of Savannah State University. The regents’ decision followed a recommendation by USG Chancellor Hank Huckaby and ends the interim status she has held at SSU since April of 2011.
“Dr. Dozier has demonstrated a great capacity for leadership and a clear ability to unite the campus and the community,” said Huckaby. “Her work as interim has been impressive and it is the right decision to allow her the opportunity to provide permanent leadership for the University.”
In expressing appreciation to the board and chancellor for their confidence in her leadership, Dozier said, “I am proud of the progress that has been made thus far but the pursuit of excellence is far from over. With the commitment, engagement and involvement of all of our stakeholders, I am certain that Savannah State University will continue to thrive and flourish as it fulfills its mission to develop productive members of a global society.”
Since taking charge as interim president, Dozier has launched a number of programs dealing with improving graduation and retention rates, customer service, and strengthening external relationships.
For example, Dozier launched the “Closing the Gap” initiative, which provides one-time financial assistance to graduating seniors who have an outstanding balance of $1,500 or less and exhausted all other financial aid options. The program aims to ensure deserving students are able to successfully complete their Savannah State University education despite any last-minute financial crises or hardships that may threaten their graduation.
Prior to being named interim president at Savannah State, Dozier served as associate provost for Institutional Diversity at the University of Georgia from 2006-2011 and assistant vice president of Academic Affairs at the Gwinnett University Center from 2002-2006. She is a tenured Professor in the School of Social Work.
She is the co-principal investigator for the Peach State Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation, a $10 million National Science Foundation (NSF) funded program at UGA that broadens the participation of minority students in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics at SSU and six other USG institutions.
Dozier is an active member of numerous professional and civic organizations, including President of the Georgia Association for Women in Higher Education, the board of the United Way of the Coastal Empire, Savannah Economic Development Authority Advisory Council (newly elected), CEO Council of the Savannah Area Chamber of Commerce and NCAA Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference Council of Presidents.
She earned a Doctorate in Social Welfare from Hunter College, at the Graduate Center of the City University of New York and received a Masters in Social Work from Atlanta University (now Clark-Atlanta), School of Social Work and a Bachelors degree from Fairleigh Dickinson University, Teaneck, NJ.
Regents’ Teaching Excellence Awards for Departments and Programs Presented
Two University System of Georgia (USG) programs selected by the USG Academic Affairs office will share the distinction as this year’s recipients of the Board of Regents’ Teaching Excellence Award winners. The Lewis F. Rogers Institute for Environmental Spatial Analysis at Gainesville State College (GSC) and the First Year Composition Program at the University of Georgia (UGA) were recognized at the USG’s Board of Regents meeting today.
Teaching excellence in the USG is recognized on the departmental and program level by the System’s Academic Affairs office while individuals are recognized at the USG Foundation’s annual Regents’ Salute to Education awards dinner. Five USG faculty members were presented with The Felton Jenkins Jr. Hall of Fame Faculty Award at the event held last March. All of the awards recognize outstanding faculty whose efforts focus on strengthening the educational experience for students. All recipients are selected from nominations submitted annually by the presidents of USG institutions.
The Lewis F. Rogers Institute for Environmental & Spatial Analysis at GSC is an interdisciplinary teaching, research and public service resource for the North Georgia Region. The Institute promotes environmental education using advanced technology, interdisciplinary instruction, collaborative learning and service to address social, human and environmental issues.
The First Year Composition Program at UGA focuses on the training of writing teachers as well as instruction of first-year students. The program also strives to train future faculty members and writing program administrators.
“These awards allow us to recognize outstanding faculty in the University System of Georgia who are making a tremendous difference in the lives of our students,” said Dr. Linda Noble, the University System’s Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs. “We are proud to spotlight these exceptional faculty and programs and their commitment to student learning and success.”
Created in 1996, the Regents’ Awards program recognizes the finest among the University System of Georgia. Exemplary teaching that significantly improves student success, research that demonstrates innovative teaching techniques and programs that enhance student learning are the hallmarks shared by each year’s honorees.
Regents Approve Names for Two Institutions and Mission Statements for Four
The consolidation of eight University System of Georgia colleges and universities into four new institutions took another step forward today with Board of Regents’ actions on new mission statements for all four new entities and the approval of name changes for two.
The board approved the name University of North Georgia for the new institution created through the consolidation of North Georgia College & State University in Dahlonega and Gainesville State College.
The consolidation of Middle Georgia College in Cochran and Macon State College resulted in the board’s approval of an action plan that addresses the eventual move of the new institution from college to university status. As the first step of that plan, the regents approved the name Middle Georgia State College.
“This is another milestone in the road to full consolidation,” Shelley Nickel, associate vice chancellor for Planning and Implementation, said in presenting the proposed names and mission statements to the regents. “The mission statements are really the foundation that is essential for all future work as the consolidation moves forward. These statements will be the guide that the campus implementation teams follow in creating four new institutions focused on expanding opportunities for students and strengthening our ability to serve these students.”
The name changes were the result of work on the four campuses to solicit suggestions and feedback from faculty, staff, students, alumni and the local community. The campus implementation teams then analyzed and tabulated the feedback to determine the recommended names that should be submitted to the regents for approval, Nickel said.
“Names are critical,” said Nickel. “They establish the identity and set the tone for the new institution. As such, the names represent a tremendous amount of work and the involvement of a very broad spectrum of stakeholders. The implementation teams are to be commended for their very open and inclusive work.”
Along with the new names, mission statements for the four new institutions will be effective upon both approval and accreditation by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS) and Board of Regents approval in January 2013.
Name changes for the remaining two new institutions created by the consolidation of Augusta State University with Georgia Health Sciences University and that of South Georgia College in Douglas and Waycross College, will be submitted for board approval later this year.
Like the name changes, the mission statements are the result of work by the campus implementation teams and have been endorsed by the relevant campus groups and the institutional presidents. The mission statements reflect the future scope of the new institutions’ teaching and service efforts, and where appropriate, any research programs.
The mission change for the new Middle Georgia State College also includes a resolution to move the institution from its current status as a state college with a primary two-year college access mission with a limited number of bachelor’s degrees to a university offering graduate degrees. Under this resolution, the regents approved a timetable for the move to university status in June 2014. This would result in one final name change to reflect the institution’s new university status.
The consolidation process is the initiative of USG Chancellor Hank Huckaby, who envisions consolidation as an important part of his program to create greater efficiencies in the System’s operations while enhancing academic opportunities for students.
When he announced the consolidation plan in January, Huckaby said, “Georgia needs more of its citizens completing some level of postsecondary education. But we have to achieve this goal by considering some different approaches – approaches that put the needs of our students and the imperative to reach this goal first and foremost.”
A full review of the mission and name changes can be accessed beginning on page 5 of the May board meeting agenda at: http://www.usg.edu/regents/documents/board_meetings/agenda_2012_05.pdf
Editor’s note: The wording of the mission statement related to the new institution that will result from the consolidation of North Georgia College and State University and Gainesville State College was revised by the Board and approved. It now reads as follows:
The University of North Georgia, a regional multi-campus institution and premier senior military college, provides a culture of academic excellence in a student-focused environment that includes quality education, service, inquiry and creativity. This is accomplished through broad access to comprehensive academic and co-curricular programs that develop students into leaders for a diverse and global society. The University of North Georgia is a University System of Georgia leadership institution and is The Military College of Georgia.
Statement on UGA President Mike Adams
Today’s announcement by University of Georgia President Michael Adams that he will step down on June 30, 2013 will mark the conclusion of 16 years leading one of the nation’s top public universities. In response to Adams’ announcement, Governor Nathan Deal, Board of Regents Chairman Benjamin Tarbutton III and University System of Georgia Chancellor Hank Huckaby each made a statement.
Governor Nathan Deal said, “President Michael Adams has dedicated his most productive years to our University System’s flagship institution, the University of Georgia. He will leave behind a tremendous legacy, and his tenure will have long-lasting positive effects. Under his leadership, the University of Georgia has grown in size and in stature. These changes are manifested in the tremendous physical improvements to the school, particularly the development of East Campus and the beautification of South Campus, and by the soaring rankings of the University of Georgia. President Adams led the university to new levels of excellence and prestige. I congratulate him on his many successes and wish him the best in his final year as president of UGA.”
Tarbutton said, “Dr. Adams has transformed UGA during his years as president. Once I was named to the Board of Regents, I began to see first hand how his sure hand and sound leadership was creating a world-class research university. Students who attend UGA today enjoy an outstanding academic environment, state-of-the-art facilities and resources, and some of the best faculty in the nation, thanks to his leadership. Speaking for the Board of Regents, Dr. Adams’ leadership is both deeply appreciated and will be sorely missed once he steps down.”
Huckaby noted that he had observed President Adams in his work both outside and inside UGA. “I have seen Dr. Adams dedicated work on behalf of UGA throughout his tenure. I was fortunate to work in his administration and witnessed first hand his efforts to make the University a nationally recognized institution, respected for its teaching, its research and its public service. Georgia has been extremely fortunate to have brought Dr. Adams to UGA and his record is one that has put the University in a much stronger position than before he arrived. We thank him for his service and his leadership.”