A New Chancellor

An interim replacement was needed and the regents turned to Vernon Crawford, a long-time faculty member and vice president for academic affairs at Georgia Tech. Dr. Crawford was appointed acting chancellor on June 15, and the following May he was unanimously elected chancellor - the first chancellor, incidentally, to be elected after a formal "search procedure" that involved students, faculty, System alumni and representative citizens of Georgia.

Vernon Crawford served as chancellor for five years. But while he was primarily charged with the responsibility of maintaining the strength of the system, which turned 50 years old in 1982, the Crawford years brought some important accomplishments. The System added many new degrees and majors in computer science and information system, thus adapting to an ever-changing high-tech society. Thanks to five hefty salary increases, beginning in FY 1978, Georgia ranked No. 1 in faculty salaries among the 15 states of the Southern Regional Education Board in 1982. External degree programs were first authorized by the board in April 1983, and the new cooperation between junior and senior colleges gave students still more opportunities for education. A revision of the 1963 funding formula, the establishment of a pre-college curriculum (to begin in Fall 1988) and the creation of a legislative liaison position in the central office were other accomplishments that took place under Crawfords's term. All during this time, enrollment continued to grow, but at an even pace.

One of the biggest tasks during those years was the continued desegregation of the System. In April 1983, U.S. District Court Judge John H. Pratt ordered Georgia to draw up a plan to "ensure that all of the goals of the 1978 desegregation plan will be met no later than the fall of 1985." Again, the central office staff went to work, and two moths later in addendum that updated and extended the System's desegregation measures was approved by the board, signed by Gov. Joe Frank Harris and sent on to the U.S. Office of Civil Rights (OCR).

But on June 16, OCR officials rejected the addendum, saying that more details and "additional steps to further enhance and desegregate the state's traditionally black institutions" were needed. Four days later, the board met with college presidents in a special session. By July 1, the additions had been drawn up and sent to the governor, and in October 1983, OCR accepted the revised addendum.

Still, the matter was not settled. The following April, OCR notified System officials and said the University System had not made "substantial progress" in meeting desegregation goals outlined in the addendum. A letter to Gov. Joe Frank Harris also charged that the Regents Test discriminated against students in the three traditionally black institutions - Fort Valley State, Savannah State and Albany State Colleges.

The board and central office staff overcame these final obstacles shortly thereafter. By the end of May, the Regents Test issue was settled as the board approved a plan to improve testing remediation at the three TBIs. The following September, Gov. Harris announced that OCR found that "substantial progress" finally had been made in desegregation of the University System of Georgia.

One man instrumental in these desegregation efforts was H. Dean Propst, then executive vice chancellor. Following Chancellor Crawford's retirement in June 1985, the board elected Dr. Propst to the office, making him the eighth chancellor in the University System's history.