ATLANTA – Sonny Perdue has been a Georgia state senator, governor and U.S. secretary of agriculture.
But not until Friday did the longtime public servant officially take on “maybe the most impactful job I’ve ever had” when he was formally invested as the 14th chancellor of the University System of Georgia.
“We touch the lives of people where it really counts and help them add value to themselves,” Perdue said during an investiture ceremony inside the chambers of the state House of Representatives that coincided with his 50th wedding anniversary.
Perdue actually began his new job back in April, succeeding the retired Steve Wrigley. The new chancellor quickly established a reputation as a hard worker who expected his staff to work hard, said Teresa MacCartney, the university system’s executive vice chancellor of administration, who served as acting chancellor last year and early this year after Wrigley left.
“He focuses on the details. He’s data driven,” MacCartney said. “He always wants to know how we can do better.”
Gov. Brian Kemp said Perdue’s experience in the General Assembly, where he chaired the Senate Higher Education Committee, and as governor made him “immensely qualified” to take on the role of chancellor.
Kemp praised Perdue for visiting all 26 of the system’s colleges and universities soon after taking office to gather feedback not only from staff and faculty members but from students.
“He hit the ground running,” the governor said. “He’s traveled the length and breadth of our state.”
Perdue took the opportunity of Friday’s ceremony to put in a plug for the system’s new website Georgia Degrees Pay, which launched last month, part of his commitment to transparency through sharing data with the public.
“It shows the value of a Georgia degree and a college diploma,” he said. “We’re not hiding anything. … We want to earn the public’s trust.”
Perdue also promised to push to build back student enrollment in the system, which declined slightly last fall after seven straight years of growth, and to improve student retention rates at the various campuses.
Harold Reynolds, chairman of the university system Board of Regents, presented Perdue with a medallion symbolic of his new role and responsibilities.
“We trust Sonny will carry out this great obligation with dignity and humility,” Reynolds said.
This story is available through a news partnership with Capitol Beat News Service, a project of the Georgia Press Educational Foundation.