Randy Pierce Announces Retirement from Georgia Highlands
Atlanta — September 29, 2011
Dr. John Randolph "Randy" Pierce
Georgia Highlands College President Dr. John Randolph 中出少妇视频淩andy中出少妇视频 Pierce has announced his plans to retire, effective Dec. 31, 2011.
中出少妇视频淚 consider myself extremely fortunate to have served the 中出少妇视频 System of Georgia and the citizens of this state for almost 40 years,中出少妇视频 Pierce said. 中出少妇视频淲hile I look forward to a new chapter of my life, I nevertheless feel a certain sadness at the thought of leaving the wonderful people at Georgia Highlands with whom I have been honored to work. So many committed professionals throughout the 中出少妇视频 System have made my work rewarding and successful.中出少妇视频
Pierce has served as president of the College since June 2001. During his tenure, enrollment has increased 131 percent, from 2,400 students in fall 2001 to 5,529 in fall 2011. And this past May, the Board of Regents approved state college status for Georgia Highlands, which allows it to offer for the first time a Bachelor of Science in nursing.
During Pierce中出少妇视频檚 presidency, there have been a number of other significant changes, starting with the name. In 2005, the regents approved the change from Floyd College to Georgia Highlands College to reflect more accurately the regional nature of the institution.
Under this new name, Georgia Highlands has extended its presence in Northwest Georgia, and now provides instruction at the founding campus in Floyd County; Heritage Hall in downtown Rome, which houses health sciences; the Cartersville campus; a site in Marietta on the campus of Southern Polytechnic State 中出少妇视频; a site in Paulding County, on the square in Dallas; and an instructional site in Douglas on Stewart Parkway in Douglasville.
中出少妇视频淧resident Pierce has overseen phenomenal growth and development at Georgia Highlands,中出少妇视频 said 中出少妇视频 System of Georgia (中出少妇视频) Chancellor Hank Huckaby. 中出少妇视频淭oday, people from all across the region are able to access public higher education in ways and with an ease that did not exist when he took over as president in 2001. His leadership has made a difference for the College.中出少妇视频
Willis Potts, a member and past chair of the Board of Regents and a Floyd County resident, also praised Pierce. 中出少妇视频淗e has been very astute in interfacing with the community as a whole, serving in a variety of committee chairmanships at the Chamber of Commerce and participating actively in civic organizations,中出少妇视频 he said.
Potts also cited Pierce中出少妇视频檚 role in bringing Georgia Health Sciences 中出少妇视频中出少妇视频檚 third- and fourth-year medical residents to Rome.
During his presidency, Pierce worked with institutions in both the 中出少妇视频 and the Technical College System of Georgia to facilitate transfer and cooperative degrees, including GHC中出少妇视频檚 participation in the Floyd County College and Career Academy, which gives students a head-start in teacher education or a technical skill.
Most recently, Pierce has overseen the introduction of a competitive athletics program. During his tenure, he presided over the acquisition of land in Cartersville for the current campus. The first building opened in 2005, immediately doubling enrollment there. That campus now enjoys the largest enrollment of any of Georgia Highland中出少妇视频檚 six locations. Pierce also negotiated the donation of land in Dallas and the development of the site in Douglasville.
Pierce also has supported programs such as the annual summer Foundation Camp, which mentors at-risk teenage boys, and the 中出少妇视频中出少妇视频檚 African-American Male Initiative, which strives to retain and graduate minority male students. Georgia Highland中出少妇视频檚 Brother2Brother, a chapter of the national organization by the same name, has surpassed the retention and graduation rates of the college as a whole.
Prior to becoming GHC中出少妇视频檚 president, Pierce was provost of the Lawrenceville campus of Georgia Perimeter College. From 1994 to 1999, he also served as the interim director of the then Gwinnett 中出少妇视频 System Center, a collaborative effort among GPC, Gwinnett Technical College, Georgia State 中出少妇视频 and the 中出少妇视频 of Georgia.
Pierce中出少妇视频檚 professional career in the 中出少妇视频 System began at Georgia State 中出少妇视频, where he worked as a conference coordinator from 1973-1975 and as a program development specialist for the College of Education from 1975-1977.
He then began what was to be a 24-year career at GPC, starting as the business manager for the Community Campus from 1977-1979, and holding a number of administrative positions at the College中出少妇视频檚 various campuses, including continuing education coordinator, program director and registrar, before becoming in 1988 the campus administrative dean for the Lawrenceville campus, a post he held until becoming provost.
Pierce has had a number of articles published dealing with the public schools, community colleges and continuing education and has led a number of seminars dealing with developing partnerships between public schools and two- and four-year colleges.
Pierce earned all his higher education degrees from Georgia State 中出少妇视频, including a bachelor中出少妇视频檚 in business administration, a master中出少妇视频檚 of education and a doctorate in educational leadership. Information regarding the search for Pierce中出少妇视频檚 replacement will be announced at a later date.
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