The Georgia Board of Regents oversees the University System of Georgia as part of the state government of Georgia in the United States. The University System of Georgia is composed of all state public institutions of higher education in the state. The Board of Regents also preside over the Georgia Public Library Service.
History
editThe Board was organized on January 1, 1932, to create centralized control over all member institutions.[1] The Board marked the first period that public institutions of higher education were governed and managed under a sole authority.[2] The governor appoints members of the Board, each of whom serve seven years. Today the Board of Regents is composed of 19 members, five of whom are appointed from the state-at-large, and one from each of the state’s 14 congressional districts. The Board elects a chancellor who serves as its chief executive officer and the chief administrative officer of the University System.
Governing authority
editThe Board oversees 26 institutions of higher education: four research universities, four comprehensive universities, 9 state universities, and 9 state colleges. Those numbers grew to 35,000 and 253,000, respectively, in 2006.[3]
Public funding for member institutions is distributed by the Board. In fiscal year 2003, the Board dispensed $1,697,287,628 of funding, authorized by the Georgia General Assembly. In 2006, the budget grew to $5 billion.[3]
Organization
editThe Board consists of 19 voting members, serving seven-year terms. The Governor appoints, subject to Senate confirmation, one from each Congressional district and five at-large members.[4]
The Board appoints a chief executive for the system, known as a chancellor. Former Georgia Governor and United States Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue became the 14th Chancellor in 2022.[5]
Previous chancellors include Charles Mercer Snelling (1932–1933), Steadman Vincent Sanford (1935-1945),[6] Harmon White Caldwell (1948-1964), Erroll B. Davis Jr. (2006-2011), and Hank Huckaby (2011-2017).[3][7][8][9]
Each individual institution has its own President and senior staff. The system of 26 colleges and universities includes the University of Georgia, the state's flagship land-grant, sea-grant, space-grant, and sun-grant research university, Fort Valley State University, a historically black land-grant university,[10] Skidaway Institute of Oceanography, which specializes in coastal and marine environments and became part of the University of Georgia in 2013,[11] the Georgia Institute of Technology, which has a strong emphasis in technology and engineering, Augusta University that includes the Medical College of Georgia, and the Georgia Public Library Service, which distributes state funding to 385 libraries in the state's 61 public library systems.[12]
In 2024, Brian Kemp appointed David B. Dove, Dan Murphy, and Deep J. Shah to the board; Sarah-Elizabeth Langford and Jose R. Perez were appointed to the Georgia Board of Economic Development.[13] Simultaneously, Smith was moved from an at-large district to the fifth district; Bradbury was moved from the eleventh to the sixth; and Evans from the sixth to the seventh.[14]
| Members of the Board (2024)[15] | District |
|---|---|
| Dan Murphy | Thirteenth |
| Tom Bradbury | Sixth |
| Deep J. Shah | At-Large |
| W. Allen Gudenrath | Eighth |
| Erin Hames (Vice Chair) | At-Large |
| Samuel D. Holmes | At-Large |
| Bárbara Rivera Holmes | Second |
| C. Thomas Hopkins Jr. | Third |
| James M. Hull | At-Large |
| Cade Joiner | Fourth |
| Patrick C. Jones | First |
| C. Everett Kennedy III | Twelfth |
| David B. Dove | Eleventh |
| Lowery Houston May | Fourteenth |
| Richard T. Evans | Seventh |
| Neil L. Pruitt Jr. | At-Large |
| Harold Reynolds (Chair) | Tenth |
| T. Dallas Smith | Fifth |
| James K. Syfan III | Ninth |
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ Reed, Thomas Walter (c. 1949). "History of the University of Georgia". University of Georgia. p. 2813. Retrieved 2007-03-20.
- ^ "Board of Regents". University System of Georgia. Retrieved 22 February 2013.
- ^ a b c Reid, S.A. (September 14, 2006). "New chancellor helps bolster financial aid". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Cox Enterprises. p. A4.
- ^ "Bylaws". Retrieved 2010-01-13.
- ^ "Sonny Perdue Named Chancellor of the University System of Georgia". University System of Georgia. Retrieved 2023-12-26.
- ^ Reed, p.2951
- ^ Fincher, p.35
- ^ Fincher, Cameron (2003). Historical Development of the University System of Georgia: 1932-2002 (2nd ed.). Athens, Georgia: Institute of Higher Education, University of Georgia. pp. 3. ISBN 1-880647-06-0.
- ^ Kloer, Phil (April 14, 2021). "Hank Huckaby, served in some of Georgia's highest offices, dies at 79". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Retrieved April 15, 2021.
- ^ "Fort Valley State University". Retrieved 2010-01-13.
- ^ "Skidaway Institute of Oceanography". Retrieved 2010-01-13.
- ^ "Georgia Public Library Service". Retrieved 2010-01-13.
- ^ "Kemp reshuffles Georgia Board of Regents, adding three new members". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. April 19, 2024.
- ^ Douglas, Garrison (April 19, 2024). "Gov. Kemp Announces 41 Appointments to State Boards, Authorities, and Commissions". Office of the Governor.
- ^ "Members of the Board". University System of Georgia. Retrieved 26 December 2023.