ABAC names Kramer its assistant VP and dean of students

TIFTON, Ga. — Dr. Alan Kramer has been selected as the new assistant vice president for student affairs and dean of students at Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College.

Dr. Amy Willis, acting provost and vice president for academic affairs, expects Kramer to flourish in the role.

“Dr. Kramer has devoted the past 29 years of his career and life to ABAC and Tifton,” Willis said.  “His motto for achieving success at ABAC continues to be collaboration and communication. Dr. Kramer and his team will build on old traditions and create new beginnings to keep ABAC great and moving forward."

Kramer had been serving as acting dean of students, expanding his previous role of assistant dean of students and director of athletics at ABAC.  Willis said a search for a new director of athletics at ABAC will begin soon.

“ABAC has been a blessing to me,” Kramer said.  “It seems as if every seven or eight years, I have a chance to re-invent my role here, and I am looking forward to the challenge of this new position.”

Kramer’s new duties cover student clubs and organizations, Greek life, campus recreation, housing and residence life, student conduct, and much more.

“We have 60 clubs and organizations, and our goal right now is to get all these new freshmen involved,” Kramer said. “The first semester is critical for students to find their particular interests on campus. We want our students to connect with ABAC. Making a difference in these students’ lives is what we do.”

A native of St. Louis, Mo., Kramer completed his bachelor’s degree in exercise science with an emphasis on teaching and coaching at Truman State University. He received his master’s degree in education from Baylor University with an emphasis on health and human performance.  In 2019, he completed his doctorate degree in higher education leadership from Valdosta State University.

Kramer was a volunteer assistant tennis coach at McLennan Community College when McLennan faced Coach Norman Hill’s ABAC Golden Stallions in the national tennis tournament in 1993.  McLennan defeated ABAC on the way to a national title but a chance contact with Hill provided Kramer with the incentive to apply for the women’s tennis coach’s job at ABAC.

Kramer got the nod as the new head coach of the Golden Fillies, and he began the fall quarter of 1993 as an instructor of physical education at ABAC. The rest is green-and-gold history. 

A tenured assistant professor of health and physical education, Kramer became a highly accomplished coach. During his time at ABAC, he has coached both men’s and women’s tennis, rolling up 25 National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Region XVII titles and three national runner-up finishes in the national tournament. He has coached seven individual national champions.

A past president of the NJCAA Men’s Tennis Coaches Association, Kramer has been inducted into the NJCAA Women’s Tennis Hall of Fame and has been named the Intercollegiate Tennis Association National Coach of the Year.

Kramer is a graduate of the University System of Georgia Executive Leadership Institute and the Georgia College Personnel Association’s Student Affairs Foundation Institute. At ABAC, he has received the Lanier Carson Administrative Leadership Award and has been named an Honorary Alumnus by the ABAC Alumni Association. He is also a three-time winner of the campus newspaper’s Pacesetter Award.

Kramer spent 22 years as director of athletics at ABAC and nine years as ABAC’s assistant dean of students. He has served as the advisor for the Student Government Association, the Greek Council, the Campus Activities Board, and the InterClub Council.  Kramer is currently a deputy Title IX coordinator and a core member of ABAC’s Behavioral Intervention Team.

In the spring of 2022, Kramer heralded the addition of women’s and men’s cross country to the ABAC intercollegiate sports lineup which also includes softball, tennis and soccer for women and baseball, golf, and tennis for men.

Kramer’s appointment becomes effective immediately.