A search for someone to fill the role of Georgia Highlands president has officially begun nine months after the departure of former president Don Green.

The Board of Regents named the members of the two committees that will oversee the search: the Presidential Search and Screening Committee and the Regents Special Committee.

The PSSC will submit their work to the Regents Special Committee for consideration after choosing a handful of candidates from the applicants selected by the search firm Storbeck Search.

Storbeck Search held a virtual open-forum on Feb. 1 to ask faculty and students what they thought some of the qualities should be for the new president.

“I would like to see someone from this area who knows our area and political culture,” PSSC member Billy Morris said.
Storbeck Search Managing Director Thomas Fitch said that while the search would expand nationally, the firm will try to keep the request in mind by focusing on applicants in the southeast region.

Other members of the faculty used Green as an example of what qualities to look for in the new president.

“That person is going to be approachable from the top-down like how Green was,” Executive Director of Enrollment Management Jennifer Hicks said. “We like to do things well and want a president that will never settle and not be afraid to get his hands dirty.”

Steve Stuglin, Associate Professor and Director of Honors, brought up some of the issues that the faculty is having as an example of what he would like the president to tackle.
“GHC faculty and staff are suffering from 15 or more years of having more responsibilities added to each job description in the name of cost cutting and efficiency,” Stuglin said.

The final decision for the next president is expected to be made sometime in May.