Atlanta — June 30, 2006

Regent Wanda Yancey Rodwell, chair of the Special Regents’ Committee for the presidential search at Georgia Perimeter College (GPC), and University System of Georgia Chancellor Erroll B. Davis Jr. today announced the names of three finalists for the GPC presidency.

The finalists, all seasoned higher-education administrators, are candidates to replace Dr. Jacquelyn M. Belcher, who retired on June 30, 2005, after having served as president of Georgia Perimeter for a decade. Since July 1, 2005, Robert E. Watts has served as interim president of the college.

“We expected the Georgia Perimeter presidency to attract a strong group of candidates from throughout the country, and that is exactly the case,” Chancellor Davis stated. “Any of these three individuals have the capacity to lead the third-largest institution in the University System of Georgia to national preeminence.”

“We are very pleased with the quality and strength of the finalists we are recommending to the full Board of Regents,” Rodwell stated. “The ultimate selection will be difficult, but we are confident in our ability to provide Georgia Perimeter College with a dynamic, strategic leader.”

The finalists, in alphabetical order, are as follows:

Dr. Sharon D. Hoffman, provost and vice president for academic affairs at Clayton State University (CSU), in Morrow, Ga. Hoffman has held the number-two position at CSU since 2002, during which time she has been instrumental in the addition of CSU’s College of Mathematical and Informational Sciences and the launching of 13 new baccalaureate-level majors, three new associate degrees, and three new graduate degrees. Prior to her arrival at Clayton State, Hoffman served as senior vice president for academic affairs at Spalding University, in Louisville, Ky., from 1999 to 2002. For six months during this period – Nov. 2000 to April 2001 – she served as the university’s interim president. From 1994 to 1999, Hoffman served as dean of the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Prior to that appointment, she served as dean of nursing at the Medical University of South Carolina, in Charleston, from 1986 to 1994. Hoffman’s career in higher education also includes a variety of appointments at the University of Texas Health Sciences Center, in San Antonio, from 1983 to 1986, including associate dean of the graduate school; and the University of Minnesota, in Minneapolis, from 1971 to 1983. Hoffman earned a Ph.D. in cognitive psychology from the University of Minnesota (1981), an M.B.A. in marketing from Duke University (1989), a Master of Science degree from the University of Minnesota (1972) and a bachelor’s degree from California State University, in Los Angeles (1966). Hoffman also attended the Harvard Institute for the Management of Higher Education.

Dr. Brian K. Johnson, CEO of the Allegheny Campus and system senior vice president for student and community services at the Community College of Allegheny County (CCAC), in Pittsburgh, Pa. In his current position since 2004, Johnson has provided executive oversight and strategic leadership for CCAC’s Allegheny Campus, which serves more than 7,000 full-time-equivalent (FTE) students, and leadership in student services for a system of four campuses totaling more than 18,000 FTE students. Johnson previously served as vice president of student and community services at Mesa Community College (MCC), in Mesa, Ariz. While working his way up from the president’s executive assistant to dean of student and community services in the mid-1990s, Johnson organized crucial support for the successful passage of a $386 million bond issue that resulted in the construction of a second campus for Mesa Community College. The Red Mountain Campus now serves 4,000 of MCC’s 27,000 students. In all, Johnson was affiliated with Mesa Community College from 1988 to 2004. Before that, he held a variety of teaching assignments at Rio Salado Community College, in Phoenix and Glendale, Ariz., at the Phoenix Job Corps Center, and for the Jersey City (N.J.) Board of Education. He also counseled academically challenged students through the African-American Institute at Northeastern University, in Boston. Johnson earned his Ed.D. in educational leadership from Northern Arizona University (2002), a Master of Arts in education in counseling/human relations from Northern Arizona University (1991) and a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Ottawa University (1990).

Dr. Anthony S. Tricoli, president of West Hills College (WHC), in Coalinga, Calif. Tricoli has provided the leadership for this growing Central California, Hispanic-serving institution. During his tenure as college president, WHC has received numerous national recognitions for serving the needs of under-represented students, diversity and best practices in institutional culture, community-campus exchange, external resource allocations, and administrative and academic leadership in strategic planning and facility development. From 1997 to 2002, Tricoli served the Ventura County (Calif.) Community College District, first as the system’s associate vice chancellor for student learning and later as executive vice president for student learning at Oxnard College. Tricoli’s responsibilities included academic affairs, student services and chief operating officer during this five-year period of time. Tricoli also served as dean of instructional services for technical education at San Joaquin Delta College, in Stockton, Calif. (1990-1997); assistant to the vice president for instruction and student services at Monterey (Calif.) Peninsula College (1988-1990); and manager of technical training and manufacturing technology for General Motors/Hughes Aircraft Company, in Newport Beach, Calif., (1982-1988). Between 1978 and 1988, Tricoli concurrently served as an adjunct faculty member at several two-year colleges in Southern California. He earned his Ed.D. in college leadership and administration from Pepperdine University (1984), a Master of Arts in education/counseling from the University of Redlands (1979), and a bachelor’s degree in sociology from Whittier College (1978).

After completing its due diligence, the Board of Regents will meet to name the next president of Georgia Perimeter College.

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