Georgia chancellor to retire in 2011

Georgia's 35 public colleges will be looking for a new leader as they struggle to keep up with soaring student enrollment and brace for additional budget cuts.

Chancellor Erroll Davis, who has served as the head of the University System of  Georgia since 2006, announced Thursday he will retire when his contract expires at the end of June.

Davis, 66, promised the state Board of Regents a five-year commitment when he was hired and told Gov. Sonny Perdue he would serve until the end of his term. The upcoming gubernatorial election made this the appropriate time to step down, Davis said.

A search committee will be in place by Nov. 1, Regents Chairman Willis Potts said. The new chancellor must have strong leadership credentials and understand the intricacies of running a large organization, he said. The national search will take about nine months and the goal is to have a new chancellor in place by July 1, he said.

Spokesmen for the Democratic and Republican candidates for governor said they will work with the next chancellor to protect and enhance the system's mission.

While some had anticipated Davis stepping down in 2011, the news surprised students, who described him as a personable leader who advocated for them. Students said they supported Davis when lawmakers criticized him for failing to implement cost-cutting strategies used by other state agencies.

"He's been fantastic," said Corey Boone, president of the student body at Georgia Tech. "He told us to let him know if he can ever be of assistance. He provided strong leadership during the most recent round of cuts and was able to stand down the lawmakers and fight for our best interests."

Davis' tenure was marked with record growth and steep budget cuts -- challenges his replacement also will face. The system enrolled about 260,000 students when Davis started and has more than 310,000 students now. Meanwhile, the system has lost about $630 million in state funding during the past three fiscal years because of the recession. More cuts are expected for the 2012 fiscal year.

A chancellor's success is tied to long-term working relationships with lawmakers, Davis said.

"I had to ask myself if I want to make the effort to establish, cultivate and maintain relationships with a new group of people moving into the General Assembly and the governor's mansion," said Davis, a retired engineer and CEO. "This is not my career, this is a public service job. ... I want to live my life."

Over the past year, some have questioned whether Davis' involvement in several corporate boards took too much time and focus away the university system. Davis recently had decreased his board memberships, leaving the BP board and others.

"There's been a lot of discussion about a lot of issues over the course of his tenure," Regent Richard Tucker said. "Let's let his announcement speak for itself."

Davis was the first person from outside academia to hold the job as Georgia's chancellor. Over time he gained the respect of faculty members who were skeptical over how he would perform.

Hugh Hudson, a Georgia State University professor and head of the state chapter of the American Association of University Professors, said Davis started the job with an immense learning curve but learned faster than anticipated.

"He didn't simply follow orders like a political appointee," Hudson said. "He understood that the university system is greater than politics and any party. He grew to understand our purpose and worked to protect that mission."

That protection led to some heated debate with lawmakers. Over the years they questioned the money universities spent on advertising or why they taught certain subjects. In recent years legislators challenged Davis to justify his refusal to order more cuts or merge colleges.

Sen. Seth Harp, R-Midland, one of Davis' recent sparring partners, described the chancellor as a gentleman who has been an asset to the state.

"He was advocating and fighting for his agency, but there was a lot of reluctance for most people in education to realize the position we were in economically," Harp said. "It's very exacerbating to do what we've been having to do with these budgets and I would think he's tired of it. It's hard because you want to build a legacy and these budget cuts intuitively go against how you want to make things better."

Davis, who can be competitive and combative, said he enjoyed the lawmakers' challenges. He said he faced more hostile questions from shareholders when he was a CEO.

Potts said the system has benefited from Davis' "outstanding stewardship." Davis has launched and expanded initiatives to increase the number of graduates in math, science, technology, engineering, education and health-related fields.

"He's not done yet," Potts said. "We still have a lot of work to get done on his watch and I'm counting on him."

Students want the next chancellor to have Davis' qualities. They also want to be involved in the search.

"We need someone who will advocate for each college equally and not push for one college over another," said Ali Kamran, president of the student body at Kennesaw State University. "There are so many issues going on I wish he would have stayed around."

About Chancellor Erroll Davis

Hired in 2006, University System of Georgia Chancellor Erroll Davis is the first African-American and the first person from outside academia to hold the job as a permanent position.

Age: 66

Salary: $572,000, including housing allowance and deferred compensation.