Atlanta — April 18, 2001

Michael F. Vollmer, executive director of the Office of Education Accountability for the State of Georgia, today was named president of Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College in Tifton, Georgia, by the Board of Regents and University System of Georgia Chancellor Stephen R. Portch, effective on or about July 1, 2001.

Vollmer brings to his new post a long career of service in both Georgia state government and the University System of Georgia. He has served as interim president for two University System institutions, and helped launch the Georgia HOPE Scholarship program by serving as its first executive director.

“Mike has developed a well-deserved reputation as the person you call in Georgia when you are looking for success,” said Portch. “We put him to the national test in evaluating some outstanding candidates for the ABAC post, and Vollmer has proven once again he’s the star performer. We are both fortunate and delighted that he will be leading an institution like ABAC.”

Vollmer’s current position is one of several key posts he has held in state government and the University System. He became the first executive director of the new Office of Education Accountability at the request of Governor Roy E. Barnes in July of 2000. In this post, Vollmer has chief oversight responsibility for all of Georgia’s public education programs. He came to this position from the Board of Regents, where he had just been named as senior vice chancellor for Human and External Resources, following posts as the interim president of Clayton College & State University in 1999-2000 and of Middle Georgia College (1998-1999).

Prior to this, Vollmer was interim vice president for fiscal affairs at Clayton (1997-1998). He assumed this position after starting up then Gov. Zell Miller’s Office of School Readiness, where Vollmer served as its first executive director from 1996-1997. This came after Vollmer was Gov. Miller’s choice to initiate and manage the successful HOPE Scholarship Program. Serving as the HOPE program’s first executive director from 1993-1996, Vollmer oversaw the development and implementation of this $200 million a year scholarship program and later worked with the U.S. Department of Education and the Office of the President to develop the national HOPE Scholarship Program.

Between 1981 and 1993, Vollmer has served in a variety of other state government administrative positions, including executive assistant to the Governor for Health & Education, executive director for the Governor’s Commission on Drug Awareness and Prevention, program director for the Governor’s Criminal Justice Coordinating Council and principal policy analyst for the Governor’s Office of Planning ad Budget.

From 1976 until 1981, Vollmer worked as a legislative assistant to Representative Elliott H. Levitas, both in the congressman’s Washington and Atlanta offices.

Vollmer is a member of the Georgia Bar Association and has served on a large number of statewide committees, task forces, panels and boards, including the Governor’s Education Implementation Task Force, the Georgia Partnership for Education, the Governor’s P-16 Council, the Georgia Alliance for Children, the Georgia Chamber of Commerce “Drugs Don’t Work” program, and the Georgia 2000 partnership.

He has been honored by Georgia Trend Magazine, Harvard University, the Georgia Lottery Corp., the National Council of State Legislators, and others for his well-documented successes during his career. He has written numerous articles for local, statewide and national publication.

Vollmer received his undergraduate degree from Greensboro College, Greensboro, North Carolina and a doctorate of law degree from John Marshall Law School in Atlanta. He was a member of the United States Army Reserve from 1971-1977.

He and his wife Lennas have three children, Damian, Justin and Bethany.

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