Daniel Kaufman is stepping down as president of Georgia Gwinnett College to become the next president of the Gwinnett Chamber of Commerce.
The chamber’s board selected him Thursday. Kaufman will begin July 1 and be responsible for the management and direction of the 2,700-member group.
Kaufman said the chamber provides the opportunity to engage all aspects of the Gwinnett community — including business, politics, health and education.
“Opportunities come when they come,” he said. “At this point in my career I ask how can I best serve my community. At this point, the chamber is the platform for that.”
Kaufman was hired as Georgia Gwinnett’s president in 2005, making him the first employee at the Lawrenceville school. When it opened in 2006 it was the first college created by the State Board of Regents in about 35 years.
The college started with 118 students and now enrolls nearly 9,400.
An interim president and information on a search committee will be announced at a future date, said John Millsaps, a spokesman for the University System of Georgia.
The move marks another career change for Kaufman. The retired U.S. Army brigadier general previously served as the chief academic officer for the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, N.Y.
The chamber’s chairman, Phil Wolfe, said in a statement that Kaufman is one of the “nation’s premier executives who possesses the business acumen and strategic visioning to successfully position this organization for future growth.”
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