Spring 2002

Volume 5 Number 2
A publication of Macon State College

Meet the University System of Georgia's New Chancellor

Board of Regents news release

Dr. Thomas C. Meredith became the University System of Georgia's new chancellor on January 2. Formerly chancellor of the University of Alabama System, Meredith replaced Dr. Stephen R. Portch.

"We are tremendously pleased with the outcome of our national search," said Hilton H. Howell Jr., Board of Regents chairman. "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 had served as the chief executive officer of the University System of Alabama since June 1997. In that capacity, he was 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 served on numerous educational, corporate and civic boards, and was 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.