Atlanta — September 13, 2002

Chancellor Thomas C. Meredith has accepted the resignation of Dr. Richard A. Skinner, president and chief executive officer of GeorgiaGLOBE (Global Learning Online for Business and Education), the University System of Georgia’s on-line learning initiative.

Skinner, who has served in his current post with the University System of Georgia since May of 1999, has accepted the presidency of Royal Roads University in Victoria, British Columbia. The University’s board of governor’s announced his appointment to the presidency yesterday (Sept. 12). Skinner will begin his new duties on November 1, 2002.

“Rick Skinner is extremely talented and he has provided extraordinary service to the University System of Georgia,” said Chancellor Thomas C. Meredith. “We will miss him greatly, and wish him all the best as he embarks on this new phase of his higher education career.”

Skinner was named president of the USG’s Clayton College & State University (CCSU) in 1994, a position he held until 1999. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution hailed Skinner as “a national ambassador for technological training” in 1998, commenting on his unprecedented efforts to capitalize on technology at CCSU. During his tenure, he led Clayton State in the largest deployment of mobile computing in higher education at that time by launching the Information Technology Project. The University achieved considerable publicity for providing every student, professor, and nearly all staff members with a personal notebook computer and Internet access at a time when such programs were in their infancy. Through Skinner’s vision and effort, resources were obtained in 1999 for the Gateway Village, a high-tech campus adjacent to the University.

In 1999, Skinner assumed the presidency of Georgia GLOBE, a Board of Regents initiative designed to focus efforts in the use of technology by leveraging existing assets and experience to improve access to technology-based learning. The ultimate goal entails finding innovative and cost-effective ways to educate more Georgians while helping to meet the state’s strategic workforce needs. During Skinner’s tenure at Georgia GLOBE, the organization has provided thousands of Georgia residents with information about online learning, helped market the USG’s WebMBA program, and began a project aimed at helping Georgia teachers integrate technology into the classroom through the GET FIT (Georgia Educators Training for the Integration of Technology) project.

Royal Roads University specializes in innovative programs primarily targeted to working professionals. Many of the University’s programs are delivered via a combination of the Internet and short-term residencies. The University’s mission and focus blend perfectly with Skinner’s experience in the University System of Georgia.

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