Commissioner Jackson Names Search Committee for Next President of GPTC

Technical College System of Georgia Commissioner Ron Jackson has announced the creation of a thirteen-person search committee that will choose three candidates for consideration to be the next president of Georgia Piedmont Technical College (GPTC). 

GPTC has its main campus in Clarkston and several other locations serving DeKalb, Morgan, Newton and Rockdale counties. 

Commissioner Jackson will interview the committee’s choices and select one to replace the previous GPTC president, Dr. Robin Hoffman, who retired last July. Larry Teems, the college’s executive vice president, is currently serving as the acting president of GPTC.

The committee represents a broad spectrum of the community that GPTC serves, with the members having close ties to the college and deep knowledge of the long history of the institution. It will be chaired by DeKalb County Superior Court Judge Gregory A. Adams, who is also a member of the college’s board of directors. 

The other committee members are Val Bates, president of KHAFRA Engineering Consultants and chair of the GPTC Foundation; Dr. Thomas Coleman, retired state executive and former commissioner of the Georgia Department of Juvenile Justice; Denny Dobbs, owner of Dobbs Environmental and a former member of the Georgia House of Representatives from Covington; Sandra Font, Spanish language services operations manager at CredAbility and chair of the GPTC Board of Directors; Bob Hughes, president of the Madison-Morgan Chamber of Commerce; Cheryl McAfee, chair and CEO of McAfee 3 Architects; Conyers Mayor Randal S. Mills; Dr. Flynn Nance, president of the Honey Creek Veterinary Hospital in Conyers; Milton “Buddy” Nix, retired chair of the State Board of Pardons and Paroles and the former director of the Georgia Bureau of Investigation; Jerry Silvio, president and CEO of Silvio Development Company and a GPTC board member; Dr. Eugene P. Walker, chair of the DeKalb County Board of Education and a former GPTC Foundation member; and Ellen Warren, chair of the Morgan County Board of Commissioners and a GPTC board member.

“I’m very grateful to Judge Adams and the members of the search committee for their willingness to assist me with the important details of the selection process for the next president of Georgia

Piedmont Technical College,” said Jackson. “I look forward to working with the committee to find an exceptional leader with a strong passion for technical and adult education and an even stronger commitment to helping every student find success in college and the workforce.” 

The committee will start interviewing applicants for the job in the next few weeks. The finalists it selects will be interviewed by the senior management staff at the TCSG headquarters in Atlanta and then by Jackson himself. The commissioner’s final choice is subject to approval by the state board that oversees the TCSG, whose members are appointed by the Governor.

Last year, GPTC enrolled 8,061 students in diploma, degree and certificate classes. Along with the main campus in Clarkston, the college has another campus in Covington, education centers in Conyers and Doraville, an adult education facility in Clarkston, and a commercial truck driving training facility in Lithonia.

In addition to a wide array of credential programs, GPTC provides workforce training for new and expanding businesses and industries through the TCSG’s Quick Start program. GPTC also partners with the Rockdale County School System and the Newton County School System to deliver college-level programs to high school students at the Rockdale Career Academy and the Newton College and Career Academy.

The college also delivers adult education programs, including GED preparation and testing, throughout its service delivery area. Georgia Piedmont Technical College is the state’s largest GED testing center.   

About the TCSG: The 25 colleges of the Technical College System of Georgia offer affordable education and excellent training in more than 600 certificate, diploma and two-year associate degree programs. Enrollment at the TCSG colleges has grown at a record pace in recent years with students of all ages taking advantage of outstanding instructors and hands-on learning using state-of-the-art equipment to gain the skills needed for today’s in-demand jobs. TCSG students who qualify can enjoy the benefit of having a significant portion of their tuition paid for by Georgia’s HOPE grant and scholarship and the federal Pell grant.

In 2011, the TCSG colleges delivered 4.7 million credit hours of instruction to more than 191,000 students. The TCSG is online, too, serving 85,000 students last year through the system’s Georgia Virtual Technical Connection.

For more information about the TCSG and links to a technical college in your area, go to www.tcsg.edu