Atlanta — October 25, 2001

Board of Regents Chairman Hilton H. Howell Jr. today announced that Thomas C. Meredith, chancellor of The University of Alabama System, in Tuscaloosa, has been named chancellor of the University System of Georgia, effective January 2, 2002.

Meredith delivered remarks to the Board of Regents following his appointment, which was voted upon in an Open Session meeting conducted by the regents at their offices in Atlanta. A brief press conference followed the meeting, in which Meredith joined Howell and Vice Chairman Joe Frank Harris in responding to media inquiries before assembled University System of Georgia staff.

“We are tremendously pleased with the outcome of our national search,” Howell said during his introduction of the new chancellor. “Dr. Meredith emerged from the selection process with the right blend of experience, vision and personality that the Board felt would best suit our current needs and future plans. He is the right man, for the right job, at the right time, and we are looking forward to the leadership that he will bring to the chancellor’s post.”

Meredith has served as the chief executive officer of the University System of Alabama since June 1997. In that capacity, he is responsible for three doctoral research universities, which have a combined enrollment of 40,000 students, 17,000 employees, and an annual budget of $1.8 billion.

A native of Owensboro, Ky., Meredith served from 1988 to 1997 as president and professor of education at Western Kentucky University in Bowling Green. He joined WKU from The University of Mississippi, where he had served as vice chancellor for executive affairs from 1987-88 and adjunct professor of higher education and executive assistant to the chancellor from 1984-1987. Previously, Meredith had served as an academic programs officer and as an associate director for programs and planning for the Board of Trustees of State Institutions of Higher Learning in Jackson, Miss., from 1974-1981. Meredith holds a B.A. in social studies and history from Kentucky Wesleyan College, an M.A. in education administration and supervision from Western Kentucky University, and an Ed.D. in administration and supervision with an emphasis in secondary and higher education from The University of Mississippi. He also completed the Institute for Educational Management at Harvard University.

Meredith serves on numerous educational, corporate and civic boards, and is highly involved and well known for his leadership in economic development activities in the state of Alabama. His service in this arena was recognized recently with an induction into the Alabama Academy of Honor, an organization of only 100 outstanding Alabamians. In April 1999, Governor Don Siegelman also appointed him as vice chair of the Alabama Commerce Commission, a statewide group charged with drafting, implementing and monitoring a long-term economic development plan for the state.

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