The state Board of Regents voted Wednesday to make Georgia Attorney General Sam Olens the next president of Kennesaw State University.

The appointment comes four months after Dan Papp resigned in June after an audit concluded he he already had received more than $577,000 in retirement pay from the university’s foundation without notifying the state’s University System.

Supporters say Olens’ deep Cobb County roots make him an ideal president for KSU. He’s a former county commissioner and two-term commission chairman. His detractors complained the selection process wasn’t inclusive and have concerns about his ability to represent the interest of all students, particularly those who are lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender.

More than two dozen KSU students and faculty came to Wednesday's meeting to voice their displeasure with the vote. Several students interrupted the board at the beginning of the meeting and chanted "we must love each other and protect each other" before exiting the meeting.

About the Author

Keep Reading

A 1-year-old receives the measles-mumps-rubella vaccine at a clinic in Texas. Of the nearly 2,000 U.S. measles cases reported this year, 93% of those who were infected were unvaccinated or their vaccination status was unknown, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (Jan Sonnenmair/Getty Images)

Credit: Getty Images

Featured

Fulton County Superior Court Judge Robert McBurney — pictured during a hearing Monday, Dec. 15, 2025 — has cleared the way for Georgia's State Election Board to obtain Fulton ballots and other documents from the 2020 election. (Arvin Temkar/AJC)

Credit: Arvin Temkar/AJC