Communications

External Affairs Division

Atlanta Metropolitan College President Harold Wade to Step Down at Year’s End

Atlanta — April 28, 2006

University System of Georgia Chancellor Erroll B. Davis Jr. announced today that Atlanta Metropolitan College President Dr. Harold E. Wade has informed him he will step down from his post, effective Dec. 31, 2006, capping a 42-year career in higher education.

Wade has served as president of Atlanta Metropolitan College (AMC) since November 1994.

Prior to joining Atlanta Metro, Wade held several other senior-level positions in higher education. For 12 years, Wade served as an executive with the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, a regional education accrediting body.

Wade also served as executive vice president at both Southern University in Baton Rouge, La., and Hampton University, in Hampton, Va. He also was vice chancellor for academic affairs at Fayetteville State University, in Fayetteville, N.C., and served as executive assistant to the president at East Tennessee State University, in Johnson City, Tenn.

“When he steps down from his presidency this December, Dr. Wade will have dedicated more than four decades of his life to higher education,” said Davis. “We are grateful for his commitment and dedication to strengthening Atlanta Metro as a key access point into the University System for minority students.”

During Wade’s tenure as president of Atlanta Metro, the college celebrated its 30th anniversary in 2004, a highlight of which was a sponsored fundraising luncheon featuring poet, author, and activist Dr. Maya Angelou.

Several million dollars in campus capital improvements were funded during Wade’s tenure, including the design and completion of a new $5.8 million student center.

Under Wade’s leadership, the college also attained the highest audit ranking possible from the Board of Regents in Fiscal Year 2004, and the college’s business office was recognized by the University System Office for its high performance in this area.

Other highlights of Wade’s tenure include securing funding from the Coca-Cola Foundation to implement a program to train workers for the 1996 Centennial Olympic Games, and hosting the USA men’s and women’s basketball teams for practice sessions during the Olympic Games.

Wade also served as a member or chair of several study committees appointed by the chancellor of the University System during his term as president of the only predominantly Black, two-year higher education institution in the state of Georgia.

Before beginning a life-long career in education, Wade played professional baseball with the Minnesota Twins and Boston Red Sox organizations.

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