Georgia Regents Pick First Black Woman As Interim Chancellor
Interim will not be considered in search for permanent chancellor
ATLANTA
Corlis Cummings, currently one of three senior vice chancellors, was named interim chancellor of Georgia’s university system by its board of regents.
She will head the university system after Chancellor Tom Meredith leaves — probably this month — to lead the higher education system in Mississippi.
Cummings, an Atlanta native, has a bachelor’s and a law degree from the University of Georgia. She is the first woman and the first African-American to serve as interim or permanent chancellor of the university system.
Cummings was expected to be named to the position when the board met in Atlanta for its monthly meeting, but Chairman Tim Shelnut announced the decision would be postponed until details about the interim chancellor’s job description could be worked out.
Several members of the board say privately that the delay was prompted by a desire to assure Gov. Sonny Perdue that the board had considered all options, including other candidates, in filling the position.
