Atlanta — November 4, 2003

Two finalists for the presidency of Georgia College & State University were announced today by the Board of Regents and University System of Georgia Chancellor Thomas C. Meredith.

“We are very pleased with the outcome of this search,” the chancellor said. “It drew a very large number of applicants, all of whom had strong academic and administrative backgrounds, but these two finalists represent the cream of the crop. Both of them are highly qualified to lead Georgia College & State University in its mission as Georgia’s only public liberal arts university.”

The two finalists are:

Dr. Dorothy Leland, vice president and professor of philosophy at the Boca Raton campus of Florida Atlantic University, in Boca Raton, Fla. Leland has held her current post since 2001. She has nearly 20 years of experience in a variety of college and university positions, six of them at Florida Atlantic. She served as the university’s associate provost from 2000 to 2001, executive director of university strategic planning from 1998 to 2001 and special assistant to the provost from 1998 to 2000. From 1995 to 1998, she served as director of Florida Atlantic’s Women’s Studies Center and executive director of the President’s Commission on the Status of Women. Leland also has chaired three administrative search committees and earned the President’s Leadership Award while at Florida Atlantic. Prior to her arrival in Florida, Leland spent 11 years at Purdue University. From 1993 to 1995, she served as the inaugural director of Purdue’s Women’s Resource Office, and from 1984 to 1993, she directed a interdisciplinary doctoral program in English and philosophy. Leland holds a B.A. in English, an M.A. in American Studies, and a Ph.D. in philosophy, all earned at Purdue University.

Dr. James W. Schmotter, dean and professor of management at Western Michigan University’s Haworth College of Business, in Kalamazoo, Mich. Schmotter has served in his current role since 1997. During his tenure at Western Michigan, he has led the faculty in developing a new B.B.A. curriculum that requires students to maintain an electronic professional portfolio and complete either an internship, a study-abroad experience or a directed research project. Schmotter also led the planning and implementation of a ubiquitous wireless computing environment for WMU’s Haworth College, one of the nation’s largest business colleges. Prior to joining Western Michigan, he previously served as dean and professor of management at Lehigh University’s College of Business and Economics from 1992-1997. Schmotter also served as associate dean of Cornell University’s Johnson Graduate School of Management from 1984 to 1992. He holds a B.A. in history from Muskingum College and an M.A. and Ph.D. in history, both from Northwestern University. He also completed graduate course work in higher education administration at Columbia University’s Teacher’s College.

The Board of Regents is expected to act on the Georgia College & State University presidential appointment during its Nov. 18-19 meeting.

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To obtain electronic images of the finalists, contact Diane Payne: 404-657-1295, diane.payne@usg.edu

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