Atlanta — October 30, 2013

Board of Regents Chair “Dink” NeSmith and University System of Georgia (USG) Chancellor Hank Huckaby have announced the name of the finalist for the Middle Georgia State College presidency: Dr. Christopher Blake.

Blake has served since 2006 as president of Mount Mercy University, a four-year, co-educational Catholic liberal arts university located in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. He currently is on sabbatical for the 2013-14 academic year.

At Mount Mercy, Blake led the institution to several milestones, notably the launch of graduate programs and their housing in a satellite campus that was granted from the federal government. Under Blake’s tenure, the institution also begun offering athletic scholarships, revised its core curriculum and implemented a campus facilities plan.

During Blake’s presidency enrollment increased by 30 per cent across freshman, transfer, adult and graduate populations.

Before coming to Mount Mercy, Blake was provost of Mount Saint Mary’s University in Emmitsburg, Maryland, the second oldest Catholic university in the nation, and before that director of teacher education.

Blake also served in the 1990s as associate dean of the graduate school at Towson University, in Towson, Maryland, a unit of the University System of Maryland.

He also has served in faculty and administrative positions at Brunel University, a public research university located in London. Blake has been tenured as a faculty member at Towson University and at Mount St. Mary’s University, gaining the rank of full professor.

Blake received both his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in theology from the University of Oxford, Keble College. He received his Ph.D. in education from the University of London, King’s College. He is a member of the University of Oxford Alumni Association of the United States.

Blake is a director on several non-profit boards, including the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation of Iowa and the National Czech & Slovak Museum & Library. He has also served on the boards of Orchestra Iowa, the Cedar Rapids Chamber of Commerce and the Cedar Rapids Downtown Rotary. He is currently serving on the Student Aid Committee of the Board of the National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities.

The Board of Regents is expected to name the next president of Middle Georgia State College at a future meeting. Georgia law requires the naming of finalist(s) a minimum of five days prior to final Board action to select the president.

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