Atlanta — January 11, 2006

University System of Georgia Interim Chancellor Corlis P. Cummings announced today the appointment of the two committees that will be charged with assisting in the selection of a new president for Georgia Perimeter College.

A national search is being conducted to replace Dr. Jacquelyn M. Belcher, who retired in July 2005, after having served as president of GPC for a decade.

“This search will identify a new leader who will build on the strong ties Georgia Perimeter College has established with the communities it serves and guide the institution’s phenomenal growth in both enrollment and facilities,” Cummings said. “We are looking forward to a highly competitive and very productive search.”

The search process will commence with the Presidential Search and Advisory Committee screening applicants and conducting on-campus interviews. The campus-based committee will forward the credentials of five unranked candidates to the Special Regents’ Committee (SRC). Regent Wanda Yancey Rodwell of Stone Mountain will chair the SRC, and Regent William H. Cleveland of Atlanta and Regent M. Allan Vigil of Fayetteville will serve as members. The Special Regents’ Committee will recommend their finalists to the full Board of Regents.

Members appointed to serve on the Presidential Search and Advisory Committee are as follows:

• Tina Philpot, chair of GPC’s Department of Business Administration and Computer Science, who will serve as chair of the committee;
• Dr. Stella Smith, professor of business information systems, who will serve as a faculty representative;
• Martin Okafor, associate professor of science, who will serve as a faculty representative;
• Dr. Gary McGaha, dean and professor of political science, who will serve as a faculty representative;
• Julius Whitaker, library director, who will serve as a faculty representative;
• Louise Archie, administrative assistant to the provost of Georgia Perimeter’s Lawrenceville campus, who will serve as a staff representative;
• Bruce Briggs, associate vice president for information technology, who will serve as a staff representative;
• Charles Sea, president of the Student Government Association for GPC’s Clarkston campus, who will serve as the student body representative;
• Craig Thornton, president of CNETICS Technologies, who will serve as the Georgia Perimeter College Foundation representative;
• Stefanie Palma, past president of the Georgia Perimeter College Alumni Association and current member of its Board of Directors, who will serve as the alumni representative;
• Liane Levetan, former state senator and former chief executive officer of DeKalb County, who will serve as a community representative; and
• Lanie Wong,a member of theGPC Foundation’s Board of Directors, who will serve as a community representative.

Cummings also announced that the Atlanta-based executive search firm Baker-Parker has been retained to assist in identifying qualified candidates. The Board of Regents expects to name the new president of the institution this spring.

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