Atlanta — March 22, 2013

Dr. Kyle Marrero, vice president for University Advancement at the University of West Florida, Pensacola, was named today as the seventh president of the University of West Georgia by the Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia.

Marrero will assume his new post on July 1, 2013, according to Board of Regents Chair “Dink” NeSmith.

“I am delighted that Dr. Kyle Marrero will be taking over leadership at the University of West Georgia as its new president,” NeSmith said. “He inherits a strong institution thanks to the outstanding work over many years of retiring President Dr. Beheruz Sethna. Dr. Marrero brings a set of unique talents, skills and experience that should build upon the foundation constructed by Dr. Sethna. We look forward to his leadership as he works with the university, the community and the Board of Regents to move West Georgia to a new level of academic excellence.”

University System of Georgia Chancellor Hank Huckaby said, “This is a great choice for the University of West Georgia. Throughout the search process, Dr. Marrero engaged the campus, the members of the search committees and the Board of Regents with his enthusiasm and his sense of purpose. He brings a wide range of experience that will be very beneficial to his work to advance the mission of the university across many fronts.”

Marrero said, “I am thrilled to be joining the University of West Georgia team, the Carrollton community and the University System of Georgia. My family and I are looking forward to being immersed into the community and making many new friends. This is a great opportunity to enhance fundraising, to tell the story of why UWG is distinctive, and help implement the strategic goals of the institution and the system. This is a crucial time in the institution’s history and I am honored to have been selected as UWG’s next President.”

Marrero has held his current position since August 2009. In this position, Marrero provides executive leadership to advance the mission of the university in the areas of alumni relations, development, marketing, communications and the University of West Florida Foundation.

He was given primary responsibility by the university president to lead the university’s effort to achieve the Carnegie Community and Curricular Engagement and Outreach and Partnerships Classification Award for 2015. This goal serves as one of the benchmarks of success specifically aligned to engaging in community partnerships that respond to mutual concerns and opportunities and that advance the economy and quality of life in a region.

Under his leadership, the advancement office has made significant contributions to a recorded 20 percent increase in enrollment, completed the largest capital campaign in the institution’s history by raising $39.2 million toward a $35 million fundraising goal, and increased the Foundation investment portfolio from $45 to $60 million.

Marrero’s background is in music, and prior to his current position, he served as first the chair of the Department of Music and then as the director of the School of Fine and Performing Arts at the University of West Florida.

Prior to his work at the University of West Florida, Marrero has taught voice, opera and conducting at a number of institutions in Louisiana, Michigan and Ohio.

He currently serves as the artistic director of the Pensacola Opera, a position he has held since June 2000. During his tenure, the company was recognized for exponential growth and quality. He developed a comprehensive education and outreach program serving 20,000 school children and 10,000 adults in Northwest Florida and received grants from the National Endowment for the Arts and Opera America for programming and education.

Between 1998 and 2002, Marrero was the artistic director of Opera Southwest in Albuquerque, New Mexico. He has produced and directed an extensive number of operas in this facet of his career. Marrero also has served as a judge for a number of opera and vocal competitions and has performed on stage with a number of opera companies worldwide in principal roles, as well as maintaining an extensive career as a recitalist and performer with symphony orchestras.

He holds both bachelor and master of music degrees from Bowling Green State University, Bowling Green, Ohio, and earned his Doctorate of Musical Arts (D.M.A.) in vocal performance from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. Marrero also has studied music education and vocal performance at the University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, and Arizona State University, Tempe, as well as the German language at the Goethe-Institute in Munich, Germany.

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