Leadership Change Brings New Vitality

After the economic recession of the early 1990s came a bit of a breather from crises. Academic excellence again occupied the spotlight, as the magazine U.S. News & World Report included a handful of Georgia institutions in its fall 1991 survey of the nation's best colleges and universities. Adding and improving facilities at certain System institutions became critical after the 1990 announcement that Georgia would host the 1996 summer Olympics.

Having seen the System through its worst financial crisis and after serving higher education in Georgia for nearly a quarter of a century, Chancellor Propst announced his retirement in late 1993. Harry S. Downs, the founding president of Clayton State, was tapped to serve as interim chancellor until a permanent appointment could be made.

At the conclusion of a national search, the board recruited Stephen R. Portch, senior vice president of academic affairs at the University of Wisconsin System. A native of Somerset, England, Portch brought a British air and accent to his role as chancellor when he took office on July 1, 1994.

Despite an immediate crisis - a flood that inundated most of the buildings on the Albany State campus - Portch immediately engaged the Board of Regents in an intensive strategic planning process. Within two months of his arrival, a sweeping new vision statement, "Access to Academic Excellence for the New Millennium," had been unveiled. Developed with input from University System presidents, the statement called for Georgia's public colleges and universities to be recognized for first-rate undergraduate education, leading-edge research and committed public service. The board also adopted a set of 34 Guiding Principles for Action to serve as the foundation for future policy decisions.

Gov. Zell Miller desired as his legacy a reputation as "the education governor." The new HOPE Scholarship program, funded entirely by proceeds from the Georgia Lottery, had given Miller resources with which to enhance education. In Portch, Miller found a strategist who could help him achieve his goal by making sure that these efforts were well-directed.

One result was seen in the System's budget. It received overwhelming support and near full funding from the legislature. The FY 1996 budget included several innovative Special Funding Initiatives; a six percent merit increase in faculty salaries (the first of four consecutive merit increases funded at this level); $10 million for the implementation - in less than 150 days - of a web-based library, Georgia Library Learning Online (GALILEO), connecting all the libraries in the System; and strategic allocations funding collaborative project proposals to be presented by the System campuses.