Atlanta — January 27, 2010

Robert Watts, chief operating officer of the University System of Georgia, announced that he has accepted the retirement decision of Bainbridge College President Tom Wilkerson, effective December 31, 2010. Dr. Wilkerson has served the University System of Georgia in this role since 2005.

“President Wilkerson adeptly guided Bainbridge College during a time of change on the campus and in the community,” Watts said. “Dr. Wilkerson’s leadership has proved instrumental in preparing Bainbridge College for growing enrollment with the completion of the Kirbo Center, construction of the Student Wellness Center and expansion of the college’s Early County site in Blakely.”

Wilkerson, recently elected as president for 2010 of the Southern Association of Community, Junior, and Technical Colleges, is no stranger to the University System of Georgia. He has held administrative positions and taught at South Georgia College in Douglas, Dalton College, Middle Georgia College in Cochran, and at the University of Georgia.

At South Georgia College, he was vice president for academic affairs and professor of speech from 1984 until 1997. While there, he was heavily involved in two programs in Douglas/Coffee County that foster high-school completion and participation in post-secondary education.

He also accepted several additional leadership opportunities within the USG during his tenure at South Georgia. In addition to serving on the Executive Committee of the Regents’ Administrative Committee on Academic Affairs, he chaired ad-hoc committees charged with developing guidelines for the assessment of two-year college majors and developing policies and procedures for academic services and distance-learning technology.

Before joining the faculty of South Georgia College, Dr. Wilkerson served as chair of the Division of Humanities at Dalton College from 1974 until 1984. He assumed that role after serving as a speech/English faculty member, teaching remedial English, English composition, literature, humanities and public speaking at the college from 1969 until 1984.

He began his career in higher education at yet another USG two-year institution, Middle Georgia College, where he chaired the Department of Speech/Drama during the 1968-69 academic year.

Wilkerson holds undergraduate degrees from the former Augusta College (now Augusta State University) and Georgia Southern College (now Georgia Southern University). He earned both his M.F.A. in speech and drama and Ed.D. in speech education from UGA.

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