The Georgia Board of Regents looked close to home to fill the presidential post at Gordon State College.
The board, which oversees the 26 schools in the University System of Georgia, voted Tuesday to appoint Donald J. Green as Gordon State’s next leader, effective Wednesday.
At the same meeting, the board once again selected Harold Reynolds to serve as its chair and chose T. Dallas Smith as the new vice chair.
Green has been serving as Gordon State’s interim president since May. The former president, Kirk Nooks, left for a job as president and CEO of the Council on Occupational Education in Atlanta.
Green previously worked as president of Georgia Highland College for about seven years. He left in 2021 to be president of Park Point University in Pittsburgh and resigned that position after about a year and a half.
In a January statement, Point Park said Green left “for private, personal and family reasons.”
University System Chancellor Sonny Perdue, in a written statement, said Green “has made it his goal to realign Gordon State’s success with central Georgia’s economic future, helping to build a pipeline of highly skilled workers in critical professions for the region and state.”
Gordon State, located in Barnesville, offers four-year and associate-level degrees. The school’s enrollment remained flat this fall with a student count of 3,145.
Green received a bachelor’s degree in public administration from Michigan State University, a master’s degree in labor and human resource management from Ohio State University, and a doctorate in educational leadership from Western Michigan University, according to the University System.
Credit: Courtesy photo
Credit: Courtesy photo
The board also chose its leaders for the upcoming year.
Reynolds, appointed by Gov. Brian Kemp to the board in 2020, will serve a third year as the chair. His next one-year term begins Jan. 1. He is the chief executive officer of BankSouth Holding Co. in Greene County, Georgia.
Smith, also appointed by Kemp in 2020, takes over vice chair duties for the upcoming year. He will succeed current Vice Chair Erin Hames, who the University System said decided not to seek reappointment “due to the time commitment required for her professional role.” Hames remains on the board, with a term that expires in 2030.
Smith is the founder and chief executive officer at T. Dallas Smith & Co., a commercial real estate firm headquartered in Atlanta.
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