Atlanta — April 21, 1999

Nathaniel Hansford, William Alfred Rose Professor of Law and former dean of the School of Law at the University of Alabama, in Tuscaloosa, Ala., today was named president of North Georgia College & State University by the Board of Regents and University System of Georgia Chancellor Stephen R. Portch, effective July 1, 1999.

Hansford has held his current position at the University of Alabama since 1986. A native of Georgia, Hansford practiced law in Dalton, Ga., from 1973 to 1975, before joining the law school faculty at the University of Alabama in 1975. Since that time, he has held various administrative appointments as law school dean (1987-93), vice dean (1982-86) and acting director of Continuing Legal Education, while continuing to teach. During the 1997-98 academic year, Hansford served as a visiting professor at the United States Military Academy at West Point, N.Y., teaching constitutional law to senior-year cadets. He also has served twice as a visiting professor at the University of Georgia and as a visiting professor at the University of Fribourg, Switzerland.

In 1982, Hansford was selected by the University of Alabama National Alumni Association to receive its Outstanding Commitment to Teaching Award. In 1987, he was selected by the Law School Student Bar Association to receive its Outstanding Faculty Member Award.

Hansford was commissioned a Captain in the Judge Advocate General’s Corps, and spent three years in the Army, including one year in Korea. He also served with the commandant of the Judge Advocate General’s School at the University of Virginia (which provides military and civilian education for officers and government personnel), where he was responsible for administration and academic quality assurance for the school’s accreditation agency. He currently holds the rank of Colonel in the Inactive Army Reserves.

Hansford earned his B.S. Ed. degree (cum laude) in 1965, and his law degree in 1968, both from the University of Georgia. He received his LL.M degree in 1980 from the University of Michigan.

The author of three books and numerous law articles, Hansford is a member of the Alabama, Georgia and American Bar Associations, Phi Beta Kappa, Phi Kappa Phi, ODK, Kappa Delta Pi, the American Law Institute, the American Arbitration Association and the faculty of the Alabama Judicial College. He also is a fellow of the Alabama Law Institute, the American Bar Foundation, and the Alabama Bar Foundation.

Hansford has served on the board of directors of Cohutta Bank of Chatsworth, Ga., for 22 years, and Synovus Financial Corp. of Columbus, Ga., for over 13 years. He is a member of the Georgia Chamber of Commerce and the West Alabama Chamber of Commerce.

Hansford is married to the former Frances Fincher of Chatsworth, Ga., and they have two children.

« News Releases