University System Of Georgia Seeking Second Search Firm For New Chancellor

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The goal of the second search firm will be to hire a new chancellor and have him or her in place by June 30, 2021.

Credit: University System of Georgia

The University System of Georgia Board of Regents voted Tuesday to hire a second search firm to help choose a successor to retiring system Chancellor Steve Wrigley.

Atlanta-based Parker Executive Search, the executive search firm the board had originally retained, quit recently after opposition surfaced to choosing former Gov. Sonny Perdue for the post.

The Signal, the student newspaper at Georgia State University, reported last month that a student-led petition drive was underway opposing Perdue because of his lack of a background in higher education administration.

Perdue, a Republican, served two terms as Georgia’s governor during the 2000s.

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University System of Georgia Chancellor Steve Wrigley is retiring July 1.

Credit: University System of Georgia

After spending decades in agribusiness, he joined the Trump administration in 2017 as secretary of agriculture and remained during all four years of the former president’s term.

Wrigley announced in January that he would retire at the end of June after 36 years in public service, including more than four years as chancellor. Seven members of the Board of Regents formed an advisory committee to conduct a national search for a successor and hired Parker Executive Search to steer the process.

The goal of the second search firm will be to hire a new chancellor and have him or her in place by June 30, Regent Neil Pruitt Jr. said Tuesday.

Wrigley, whose retirement takes effect July 1, attended his final board meeting Tuesday. Board members thanked him for his service with a resolution and a video featuring university system students, administrators and Georgia political leaders wishing him well.

“This work has been a privilege,” the departing chancellor told board members. “Not everyone gets to do what we get to do: try to do better for our state. It’s fun.”

This story comes to GPB through a reporting partnership with Capitol Beat News Service.