Georgia College picks Mercer law dean, former secretary of state Cathy Cox as next president

The University System of Georgia announced Cathy Cox as the next Georgia College and State University president in a press release Thursday.

“Thank you to the Board and Acting Chancellor MacCartney for this tremendous opportunity,” Cox said. “I am excited to work with an already amazing faculty and staff as we enhance Georgia College as a destination for students seeking a preeminent liberal arts education. I can’t wait to get started.”

The former Georgia Secretary of State and current dean of the Mercer University School of Law is someone Maconites know very well.

“Georgia College & State University has long played a special role within USG as the state’s public liberal arts college, and it is gaining a new leader who inherently understands how important that mission is both for students and the state,” Teresa MacCartney, USG Acting Chancellor said. “Cathy Cox has deep experience in liberal arts education, and a passion to help Georgia College succeed. I congratulate her on her new role.”

According to a press release, As the 21st president of Young Harris, a private liberal arts college in the north Georgia mountains, Cox led its transition from a two-year college to a four-year institution and oversaw unprecedented growth.

Prior to assuming the Young Harris presidency, Cox served two terms as Georgia’s secretary of state, and was the first woman in the state’s history to be elected to the post, first in 1998 and again in 2002. In the spring of 2007, she held the Carl E. Sanders Political Leadership Chair at the University of Georgia School of Law.

“As someone who earned her undergraduate degrees through the University System of Georgia, I know how important it is to give students a strong foundation and the skills they need to help themselves and the state succeed,” Cox said.

She worked for the Gainesville Times and the Bainbridge Post-Searchlight after earning a journalism degree from the University of Georgia. Cox also holds an associate’s degree in agriculture from Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College in Tifton and was a magna cum laude graduate of the Mercer law school.

“I am excited to welcome Cathy Cox into the USG family, and know Georgia College will only keep rising among the ranks of the nation’s best public liberal arts institutions,” Sachin Shailendra, Board of Regents Chairman said. “On behalf of the Board of Regents, I look forward to working with her.”

Current Georgia College President Steve Dorman has announced he is leaving this fall.

This story was originally published August 12, 2021 at 4:39 PM.