Offices A-Z: Division of Academic Affairs
Susan Herbst is Executive Vice Chancellor and Chief Academic Officer for the University System of Georgia, which includes 35 colleges and universities. She is responsible for meeting the academic needs of more than 260,000 students and approximately 10,000 University System faculty members. The Presidents of fifteen universities in the University System report to the Executive Vice Chancellor.
Dr. Herbst is also Professor of Public Policy at Georgia Tech, and author of numerous scholarly books and articles about American politics, media, and public opinion. Before arriving in Georgia, she served as Professor of Political Science, Director of American Studies, then Chair of the Department of Political Science at Northwestern University. In 2003, she became Dean of the College of Liberal Arts at Temple University, then went on to serve as Provost and acting president of the State University of New York at Albany. She is editor of the Series in Communication, Media and Public Opinion for the University of Chicago Press.
Dr. Herbst received her doctorate in communication theory and research from the University of Southern California, Annenberg School for Communications, in Los Angeles, and earned a bachelor's degree with honors in political science from Duke University.
Phone: (404) 656-2274Email: susan.herbst@usg.edu
Cathie Mayes Hudson is Vice Chancellor for Research and Policy Analysis for the University System of Georgia where she heads the Office of Research and Policy Analysis (RPA). The office serves as the research arm of the Board of Regents, analyzing higher education and related state and national policy issues and their impact on the University System of Georgia. RPA has focused on the pipeline to college, higher education student enrollment and migration patterns, student access and graduation outcomes, faculty, and financial aid, in relation to academic policy analysis, development, and implementation. The Office is responsible for meeting the higher education information needs of external entities and agencies in Georgia, as well as support for strategic planning and institutional effectiveness activities, feedback to high schools and colleges, and student, curriculum, and faculty data systems administration.
Before joining the System Office, Dr. Hudson completed her Ph.D. in sociology at Duke University, where her special areas of interest included research methods and statistics, the relationship between education and social outcomes, and life course analysis. Her master’s degree in sociology is from the University of Georgia.
Phone: (404) 656-2213Email: cathie.hudson@usg.edu
Jan Kettlewell heads the P-16 Department—the outreach arm of the University System Office to other state education agencies, the Governor’s Office, P-12 schools, University System of Georgia institutions, and business partners in collaborative efforts to influence improvements in education for Georgia’s students, pre-school through college. The goals of the P-16 Department are to promote high school graduation, college readiness, college transition, and college success; and to promote continuous improvement in P-12 teacher, leader, and counselor recruitment, preparation, transition, development, and success.
The P-16 Department is responsible for generating and capitalizing on opportunities to respond to needs; conducting research and development and demonstration projects to test new ideas; identifying and sharing lessons learned from P-16 initiatives; using lessons learned to influence state and national policies and practices; and coordinating the implementation of Board of Regents P-16 policies within the University System of Georgia. Under Dr. Kettlewell’s leadership, the P-16 Department developed and uses a Balanced Scorecard to strategically manage and communicate progress towards its goals in both policy and practice.
Dr. Kettlewell has authored more than 100 papers on Teacher Education and P-16 reform, and since coming to the University System of Georgia, she has served as the principal investigator or coauthor of grants in excess of $75 million. Prior to coming to Georgia, she has served as a Professor and Dean of the School of Education and Allied Professions at Miami University of Ohio.
Dr. Kettlewell holds degrees from Western Michigan University, University of West Florida, and the University of Florida.
Phone: (404) 656-2261Email: jan.kettlewell@usg.edu
Tom Maier is the Vice Chancellor for Information and Instructional Technology and the Chief Information Officer for the University System of Georgia. Dr. Maier is responsible for management of the Office of Information and Instructional Technology that provides IT support and services (including advanced learning technologies, enterprise applications support and production, infrastructure, information security, and policy analysis and development) for the 35 USG institutions of the University System and the System Office. Dr. Maier has over 30 years experience in higher education including faculty, administrative, and IT positions.
Dr. Maier earned a bachelor’s degree in chemistry from Franklin and Marshall College and a Ph.D. in organic chemistry from the University of South Carolina.
Phone: (404) 657-1588Email: tom.maier@usg.edu
Dr. Daniel W. Rahn – nationally recognized researcher, clinician, and seasoned administrator – has served as president of the Medical College of Georgia since June 2001. As of July 2006, Dr. Rahn also serves in the position of senior vice chancellor for health and medical programs for the University System of Georgia.
Dr. Rahn came to MCG from Yale University School of Medicine in 1991. Before assuming the presidency, he served as vice dean for clinical affairs for the MCG School of Medicine as well as senior vice president for medical affairs and chief medical officer for MCG Health, Inc., which manages MCG's clinical facilities. At Yale, his appointments included clinical director of the Lyme Disease Program, director of clinical training in rheumatology, and director of faculty practice for the Department of Internal Medicine.
Dr. Rahn also was in private practice in Connecticut from 1981 to 1988. Dr. Rahn is a member of the Association of Academic Health Centers and currently leads the AHC Health Workforce Shortages Advisory Committee. He serves on numerous state and local boards, including the Georgia Research Alliance, the Georgia Cancer Coalition, Georgia Health Decisions, Walton Rehabilitation Institute, and the Georgia Chamber of Commerce. Dr. Rahn serves as chair of the Health Strategies Council for the State of Georgia and the Georgia Commission on the Efficacy of the Certificate of Need Program.
Dr. Rahn is a national expert on Lyme disease and has made repeat appearances in the Castle Connolly Guide to "America's Top Doctors" and Georgia Trend magazine’s list of The 100 Most Influential Georgians.
Melinda Spencer is Chief of Staff for the Office of Academic Affairs. She joined the University System of Georgia in January, 2008 and is responsible for areas including change management, strategic planning, research development and infrastructure, website innovation, space planning, and the support of senior leaders at the University System comprehensive universities. Prior to taking on her current role, Dr. Spencer held positions at the State University of New York at Albany as Vice Provost for Administration and Planning, at Temple University as Vice Dean for Administration and Planning in the College of Liberal Arts, and at Northwestern University as Director of University Program Review. Dr. Spencer has a Ph.D. in higher education administration from the University of Michigan, and has taught graduate courses in institutional evaluation and assessment at the State University of New York at Albany and Loyola University (Chicago).
Phone: (404) 657-1334Email: melinda.spencer@usg.edu
Sandra S. Stone is the Vice Chancellor for Academic Planning and Programs, responsible for student affairs, faculty affairs, international programs, academic programs, P-16, and disabilities services in the University System of Georgia. She also currently serves on the National Implementation Committee for the American Democracy Project (AACSU), and the Southern Regional Advisory Council for the Educational Testing Service.
Dr. Stone has over 30 years of experience in the fields of social services, criminal justice and education as a direct service provider, administrator, researcher, teacher, and consultant. Prior to coming to the Board of Regents in January 2007, she was employed at the University of West Georgia, where she served as Professor of Criminology, Associate Vice President for Academic Affairs, and Acting Vice President for Academic Affairs. Before her work with the University System of Georgia, she was employed by a variety of public and private agencies, including the Georgia Department of Juvenile Justice, Research Atlanta, Emory University, the Georgia Department of Human Resources, and the Police Executive Research Forum. She has also served on numerous local, state, and national task forces and advisory boards. Her main areas of interest and academic research are juvenile delinquency and the juvenile justice system, gangs, family violence, law enforcement, women in the criminal justice system, child welfare, and public policy, as indicated by her publications and professional presentations.
Dr. Stone earned a bachelor’s degree in psychology and sociology (1976), and a master of arts in psychology (1978) from the University of West Georgia. She obtained her doctoral degree in sociology from Emory in 1993.
Phone: (404) 656-9234Email: sandra.stone@usg.edu