Atlanta — May 10, 2001

Moving swiftly, the University System of Georgia Board of Regents announced today the beginning of an aggressive, national search to fill the Chancellor’s post in the state’s system of public higher education.

The search announcement follows Chancellor Stephen R. Portch’s statement yesterday (May 9) to the board during its May meeting in Atlanta that he would step down from his post at the conclusion of a national search. The Board of Regents has hired the nationally recognized executive search firm A.T. Kearney, Inc. to assist in the search process.

“This is the single most important responsibility the Board of Regents has to perform,” said Board Chair Glenn S. White. “The position of Chancellor has a far-reaching significance for Georgia’s educational system, and we will conduct this search with thoroughness. That we take this responsibility seriously is evidenced by the success of our last search, which brought an individual of exceptional qualities in Stephen Portch.”

In addition to selecting A.T. Kearney, the board is presently establishing a search advisory committee composed of three University System presidents, three faculty members, a student, an administrator and three community representatives. The board’s secretary will serve on the advisory committee as an ex officio member. The board will act as a committee of the whole throughout the search process.

A.T. Kearney , based in Alexandria, Va., has conducted a number of highly successful national searches for the top executive posts of higher education systems, including the search in 1994 which brought Portch to the Georgia system. The firm also has been involved in searches for the University of North Carolina, the University of California, the University of Virginia, Emory University and the New Jersey Commission on Higher Education, among others. Shelly Weiss Storbeck, vice president and managing director for the Education Practice of A.T. Kearney will lead the search process.

White said the board has targeted a fall selection of a new chancellor to head the System, which encompasses 34 public colleges and universities throughout Georgia, with an enrollment of more than 200,000 students, 30,000 faculty and staff, and a $4.3 billion annual budget.

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