Technical College System of Georgia Commissioner Ron Jackson has announced a seven-person search committee that will help determine who will be the next president of Lanier Technical College. 

The committee will interview the list of applicants for the job and then narrow it down to their top three candidates. Jackson will select one to replace President Russell Vandiver, who is retiring at the end of March.

Roger Slaton, the agent/owner of State Farm Insurance in Dawsonville and chairman of the Lanier Technical College Board of Directors, will be the chair of the committee.

The other committee members are Doug Carter, president and broker of Don Carter Realty Company in Gainesville and member of the State Board of the Technical College System of Georgia; Kit Dunlap, president and CEO of the Greater Hall County Chamber of Commerce; Gwen Hill, owner of Hill’s Ace Hardware and Lumber in Winder; Lynn Jackson, administrator of Northside Hospital-Forsyth and member of the Lanier Technical College Board of Directors; Tracy L. Moon, Jr., partner in the law firm of Fisher and Phillips LLP in Atlanta and member of the Lanier Technical College Foundation Board of Trustees; and Dennis Stockton, publisher of the Gainesville Times.

“The members of the search committee have a close connection to the communities served by Lanier Technical College, and they understand the college’s crucial role in educating students and developing the skilled workforce needed by today’s business and industry. I’m confident that they can help me find a strong and talented leader to follow Russell Vandiver and be the next president of this great college,” said Jackson.

Jackson praised Vandiver, who has worked for the college for 37 years. He was the vice president of economic development for most of this time at the college before being named the interim president in February 2010. Jackson appointed him as the full-time president in September of that year.

“Russell has devoted his entire career to serving Lanier Technical College and his work has made him a widely-known expert in workforce training. As he nears his well-deserved retirement, we can’t thank him enough for the outstanding contributions that he’s made to economic development throughout the region and the great career opportunities that he’s helped to create for his students,” said Jackson.

The committee will start interviewing applicants for the president’s job in the next few weeks. The three finalists that it selects will be interviewed by the TCSG senior management before a final interview with Jackson at the system’s Atlanta office. Jackson’s choice will be subject to approval by the state board that oversees the TCSG.

Lanier Technical College serves Banks, Barrow, Dawson, Forsyth, Hall, Jackson and Lumpkin counties. The college has a main campus in Oakwood with additional campuses in Commerce, Cumming, Dawsonville and Winder. Last year, the college enrolled 5,666 students in certificate, diploma and degree programs.

Ground will be broken later this year for a new, $16 million campus in Barrow County, which will replace the much smaller campus in Winder.

In addition to a wide array of credential programs, Lanier Technical College provides workforce training for new and expanding businesses and industries through the TCSG’s Quick Start program.

The college also delivers adult education programs, including Adult Basic Education, GED preparation and GED testing, throughout its service delivery area.

About the TCSG: The 25 colleges of the Technical College System of Georgia offer affordable education and excellent training in more than 600 certificate, diploma and two-year associate degree programs. Enrollment at the TCSG colleges has grown at a record pace in recent years with students of all ages taking advantage of outstanding instructors, hands-on learning and state-of-the-art equipment to gain the skills needed for today’s in-demand jobs.

In 2012, the TCSG colleges delivered 2.8 million credit hours of instruction to more than 170,000 students. The TCSG is online, too, serving 85,000 students through the system’s Georgia Virtual Technical Connection. TCSG students enjoy the benefits of Georgia’s HOPE grant and scholarship and the federal Pell grant, which will pay for a significant portion of a TCSG education.

The TCSG Office of Adult Education delivered a variety of programs to 78,000 students in 2012 and almost 18,000 adult learners earned their GED credential.

The TCSG Quick Start program provided customized workforce training to almost 58,000 employees of new and expanding companies in Georgia.

For more information about the TCSG and links to a technical college in your area, go to www.tcsg.edu

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