Atlanta — October 16, 2008

Board of Regents Chair Richard Tucker and University System of Georgia Chancellor Erroll B. Davis Jr., have announced the names of two finalists for the Georgia State University (GSU) presidency.

The recommended individuals, in alphabetical order, are:

Dr. Mark P. Becker, executive vice president for Academic Affairs and provost, the University of South Carolina, Columbia, since 2004. Prior to his current appointment, from 2001 to 2004, Becker worked for the University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, as a professor of biostatistics, an assistant vice president for public health preparedness and emergency response and as dean of the School of Public Health. He held a number of academic and administrative positions at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, from 1989 to 2000. Becker also has held academic posts at the University of Washington, Seattle (1987-1989), the University of Florida, Gainesville (1985-1989), and Cornell University, Ithaca, N.Y. (1995-1996). During his career, Becker has been involved in a number of professional associations related to his expertise, including the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the American Statistical Association, where he is a Fellow, and the International Biometric Society. He has served on a number of editorial boards of publications dealing with statistics and sociology and is a published author in these fields, as well as a consultant for business and professional associations. His research has been supported in part by grants from a variety of sources, and he was the principal investigator on research grants from the National Institutes of Health and from the National Science Foundation.

Becker earned his Ph.D. in statistics from The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pa. and a bachelor of science in mathematics (Magna Cum Laude) from Towson State University, Towson, Md.

Dr. Brooks A. Keel, Vice Chancellor for Research and Economic Development and Professor of Biological Sciences, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, since 2006. Prior to his current appointments, Keel was a professor in the Department of Biomedical Sciences and Associate Vice President for Research at Florida State University, Tallahassee, from 2002-2006. His professional career began in 1985 at the University of Kansas School of Medicine-Wichita, where he served in a variety of positions including the Daniel K. Roberts Distinguished Professor in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology (1995-2001), President of the Women’s Research Institute (1993-2001), and Director of Reproductive Medicine Laboratories (1985-2002). He is a member of the Society for the Study of Reproduction, the American Society for Reproductive Medicine, the Society for Gynecologic Investigation, and the American Association for the Advancement of Science, among others. Keel has served on numerous boards related to his discipline, including the American Board of Bioanalysis, and has been honored for his work by these and other organizations.

Keel earned a Ph.D. in reproductive endocrinology from the Medical College of Georgia, Augusta, and a Bachelor of Science in biology and chemistry from Augusta College (now Augusta State University), Augusta, Ga. He has done postdoctoral work at the University of Texas Health Science Center in Houston and the University of South Dakota School of Medicine, Vermillion.

The Board of Regents expects to name the next president of Georgia State University at a future meeting.

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