The state’s Board of Regents voted Thursday to make Kyle Marrero the new president of Georgia Southern University.
Marrero will start April 1, the University System of Georgia said in a statement. The Regents voted for Marrero in a telephone conference call Thursday morning, officials said.
Marrero had been president of the University of West Georgia, which will conduct its own search for his replacement. He was hired there in 2013.
“Kyle’s higher education experience, combined with his focus on strengthening academics and building community partnerships, will be an asset to Georgia Southern’s campus community and the region as a whole,” University System of Georgia Chancellor Steve Wrigley said in a statement.
University System officials announced last week Marrero was the finalist for the job. Jaimie Hebert resigned as Georgia Southern's president in June to become provost at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, his alma mater. University System official Shelley Nickel served as interim president.
Georgia Southern has more than 26,000 students, the largest enrollment of any public state campus south of I-20.
UWG achieved records in enrollment, graduation rates, degrees conferred and fundraising under Marrero, University System officials said. Its enrollment increased by 1.6 percent this fall, to 13,733 students. The six-year graduation rate for students who enrolled there in 2012 was about 50 percent, state data shows.
University System officials also noted Marrero founded the Carrollton/Carroll County Education Collaborative, which is focused on K-16 student success.
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