Board of Regents Meeting Emphasizes Priorities

I was delighted to be joined at today's monthly Board of Regents meeting in Atlanta by Dr. Pat Hogan, executive officer of the Faculty Senate; Dr. Sheri Noviello, director of the School of Nursing; Tom Helton, our vice president for business and finance; and John Lester, assistant vice president for University Relations.

This was a busy meeting as the Regents approved the consolidation of eight institutions into four. The meeting was also significant because it was the first with Regent William “Dink” H. NeSmith Jr. as chair, and he opened the meeting emphasizing three priorities of the University System of Georgia:

• Complete College Georgia. With this incredibly important initiative, Georgia is one of 30 state participants in the Complete College America Program, which hopes to graduate an additional 200,000-plus students over the next seven years with certificates, two- and-or four-year degrees. It is driven by retention, progression and graduation, and nothing is more important to the USG.
• Good stewardship. With 315,000 students, 40,000 faculty and staff, the USG budget exceeds $7 billion. We are absolutely responsible for ensuring prudent use of resources as we move forward.
• Economic development. The USG is committed to creating more jobs. USG is a major driver of economic development, and we along with the State of Georgia need a global brand.

Regent NeSmith emphasized that this will only happen with teamwork.

This is a tremendous and important challenge for all 31 USG institutions.