Atlanta — September 10, 2007

Chancellor Erroll B. Davis Jr. announced today the appointment of Dr. Susan Herbst as executive vice chancellor and chief academic officer (EVC/CAO) for the University System of Georgia (USG).

The selection of Herbst concludes a national search launched this past May. Herbst currently serves as the acting president of the University at Albany, State University of New York. She will assume her new role at the USG on Nov. 1, 2007.

“We sought an individual with the vision and drive needed to implement the complex academic facets of the Board of Regents’ new strategic plan,” Davis said. “Dr. Herbst clearly stood out among the excellent candidates that were identified for her experience and her ability to provide leadership for the System’s core academic mission as we work to create a twenty-first century educational model for Georgia.”

The EVC/CAO is responsible for meeting the academic needs of more than 260,000 students and approximately 10,000 University System faculty members. The position also provides leadership to the System’s comprehensive universities and to a division at the University System Office that includes academic programs and planning, faculty affairs, student affairs, international programs, teacher-education initiatives, strategic research and analysis, and information and instructional technology.

The presidents of the 15 institutions in the System’s comprehensive university sector report to the EVC/CAO. These institutions mostly consist of Carnegie masters universities, but the sector also includes four institutions with limited doctoral programs – Georgia Southern University, Kennesaw State University, the University of West Georgia and Valdosta State University.

“I am thrilled to be joining the University System of Georgia, and honored to work with Chancellor Davis and others in the Chancellor’s office, the Board of Regents, presidents across the state, and all those who care about the future of higher education,” said Herbst. “The Georgia system is poised to become an international leader in research, teaching, and learning, achieving an even higher level of scholarly excellence. I look forward to serving the citizens and leadership of the State of Georgia.”

Officer in Charge – a term for acting president – since 2006 at the University at Albany, State University of New York, Herbst is currently responsible for a $400 million annual budget. The University’s three campuses, ten colleges, and 1,000 faculty serve 17,000 undergraduate and graduate students. Herbst also serves as provost and executive vice president for the University, a position she has held since 2005.

Herbst has extensive administrative and scholarly experience that covers 18 years in a number of faculty and administrative positions, including Northwestern University, Evanston, Ill., and Temple University, Philadelphia, Pa. While at Northwestern, Herbst taught political science and communications studies and served as both chair of the Department of Political Science and as associate dean for Faculty Affairs, among other key administrative positions. Prior to coming to the University at Albany, she was dean of the College of Liberal Arts at Temple.

An accomplished scholar, Herbst has published a number of books and textbooks on politics and public opinion and has contributed to numerous journals, publications and books in her field of study. She also serves as a member of the editorial board for the Journal of Politics, Political Communication and has served in key leadership posts in a number of political science associations.

Herbst earned her bachelor’s degree with honors in political science from Duke University, Durham, N.C., and a doctorate in communication theory and research from the University of Southern California, Annenberg School for Communications, Los Angeles. She also has pursued additional professional education at Harvard University’s Graduate School of Education’s Institute for Educational Management, as well as advanced studies at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.

The search committee for the USG’s new academic officer was chaired by Dr. Dorothy Leland, president of Georgia College & State University, and included representatives from the chancellor’s office, as well as from the campuses. Parker Executive Search of Atlanta assisted in the search and recruitment process.

Herbst replaces former Chief Academic Officer Daniel S. Papp, who was selected in Feb. 2006 as president of Kennesaw State University. Both University of West Georgia President Beheruz N. Sethna and Southern Polytechnic State University President Lisa A. Rossbacher have served as the interim EVC/CAO while the search for Papp’s permanent replacement was underway.

Commenting on the selection of Herbst, Leland said: “Susan is a distinguished scholar and extraordinary academic leader, with experience working in a complex university system. I am excited about her impressive talents and extraordinary energy.”

The University System of Georgia, currently celebrating 75 years of transforming the lives of Georgians through public higher education has a $5.3 billion annual budget to help sustain the missions of 35 degree-granting institutions and approximately 39,000 faculty and staff serving more than 260,000 students.

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