Atlanta — March 28, 2001

Three finalists for president of Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College were announced today by the Board of Regents and University System of Georgia Chancellor Stephen R. Portch.

The finalists, in alphabetical order, are as follows:

• Dr. Richard J. Federinko, president of Chattahoochee Valley Community College, in Phenix City, Ala. Federinko, currently in his second presidency, has held his present post since 1993. From 1986 to 1993, he served as the president of Southern Union State Junior College, in Wadley, Ala.. Federinko is a veteran of both two-year and four-year institutions. He has held a wide variety of administrative posts at Troy State University in Troy, Ala., Florida State University, in Tallahassee, the Lurleen B. Wallace State Junior College, in Andalusia and Greenville, Ala., and the James H. Faulkner State Junior College, in Bay Minette, Ala. He holds a B.S. in business administration and management, and a M.S. in guidance and counseling, both from Troy State, and a Ph.D. in higher education administration from Florida State University.

• Dr. J. Randy Pierce, provost of Georgia Perimeter College, in Lawrenceville, Ga. Pierce has served in his current role since 1996, and for a period served concurrently as interim director of the Gwinnett University System Center, a post he held from 1994-1999. Pierce has had a long-standing administrative career with Georgia Perimeter. He joined the campus in 1977 as manager of the former Community Campus, and worked his way up the ranks to campus administrative dean of the Lawrenceville Campus, in which he served from 1988-1996. Pierce holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration, a M.Ed. in educational administration, and a Ph.D. in educational leadership, all from Georgia State University.

• Michael Frank Vollmer, executive director of the Governor’s Office of Education Accountability, in Atlanta. Vollmer has served in his current role in the Governor’s office since July 2000. He has extensive experience in the University System of Georgia, having twice served as an interim president, first at Middle Georgia College (1998-99) and later at Clayton College & State University (1999-2000). Vollmer first joined the System in 1997, as executive in residence/interim vice president for fiscal affairs at Clayton. A veteran of state government, Vollmer was the first executive director of Georgia’s highly successful HOPE Scholarship Program, from 1993-1996, and the Pre-K Program (Office of School Readiness), from 1996-97. He launched his public service career in Georgia in 1981, as a policy analyst in the Governor’s Office of Planning and Budget, after serving as a legislative assistant in Congress. Vollmer holds a bachelor’s degree from Greensboro College, and a J.D. from John Marshall Law School.

The Board of Regents is expected to make the presidential appointment during its April 18 meeting.

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