Former U.S. Secretary of Agriculture and former Georgia Gov. Sonny Perdue was named as the next chancellor for the University System of Georgia last week.
When he formally steps into his new role April 1, he will be the 14th person to hold the USG chancellor title.
The Bonaire, Ga. native was a two-term Republican governor from 2003 until 2011 before serving as agriculture secretary under Pres. Donald Trump from 2017 to 2021.
Now Perdue will guide Georgia’s university system, which houses 26 members such as Georgia College locally and the University of Georgia in Athens.
He is not the only one to make the jump from politics into the education sector. Current GC President Cathy Cox is a former elected member of the Georgia House and later served as secretary of state. Part of her secretary of state tenure overlapped with Perdue’s gubernatorial tenure. Following an unsuccessful run for governor in the mid-2000s, Cox was president of Young Harris College for a decade then became dean of Mercer’s Walter F. George School of Law before accepting her current post as GC president in October 2021.
She issued the following statement on Perdue being named chancellor through GC Communications.
“I look forward to working with Chancellor Perdue to further advance Georgia College’s unique designation as the state’s public liberal arts university,” said Cox. “We are grateful that the Board of Regents, Acting Chancellor Teresa MacCartney, and the dedicated staff of the University System have understood and supported the mission of Georgia College throughout the years. I am confident that Chancellor Perdue will also appreciate the special role we play in educating the next generation of well-rounded Georgia entrepreneurs, educators, scientists, nurses, and leaders in so many critical fields.”
When previous USG Chancellor Steve Wrigley announced that he would retire effective July 1, 2021, a national search was launched to find his replacement. Executive Vice Chancellor for Administration Teresa MacCartney has been acting chancellor since Wrigley’s retirement. She will give way to Perdue in less than a month. The Warner Robins High School graduate earned his doctor of veterinary medicine degree from the University of Georgia and also served four years in the U.S. Air Force before going into politics.
“I appreciate the Board’s confidence in me and look forward to working together with them, our campus leadership and faculties, our elected representatives and most importantly, our students, to provide opportunities for students, faculty and staff to be successful and to produce even more outstanding results,” Perdue said in a statement shared by USG. “This may be the most important job yet. I can’t think of a better way to make a difference than to help prepare the next generation – educating them for prosperity, themselves, their families and ultimately our state. I’m excited to get started.”
USG oversees 26 public colleges and universities that enroll more than 340,000 students and employ more than 48,000 faculty and staff across the state.
