Georgia Southern University Presidential Finalist Belinda McCarthy, Ph.D. to Visit Campus

September 18, 2009

Belinda McCarthy, Ph.D., a finalist in the Georgia Southern University Presidential Search, will visit the University campus next week.

McCarthy is one of several finalists who will be visiting the University and the Statesboro area as the search for Georgia Southern’s 12th President continues. McCarthy’s visit will include meetings and interviews with University officials and open forums for the campus and community.

McCarthy currently serves as Provost and Vice President of Academic Affairs at Missouri State University (MSU), and Chancellor of the MSU Mountain Grove Campus. Missouri State University is a comprehensive, multi-campus educational system operating under a single Board of Governors, with a statewide mission in public affairs. The campus enrolls more than 22,000 students, offering baccalaureate through doctoral degrees. Since her arrival, she has worked with colleagues to establish the university’s first provost’s office, reorganizing enrollment management services and establishing a wide array of student success programs.

Previously, McCarthy served as Dean of the College of Health and Public Affairs at the University of Central Florida. As the founding dean of the college, she established many new programs, including masters’ and doctoral programs in all disciplines, and managed significant enrollment growth.

She is the editor or author of five books and is the author or co-author of more than three dozen scholarly articles, book chapters, and monographs. She is also co-author of several popular textbooks, including Justice, Crime and Ethics and Community Based Corrections. Dr. McCarthy has been an active member of professional and community organizations and has served on numerous boards and advisory councils.

She received her bachelor of science degree in Sociology from the University of Georgia. She attended the State University of New York at Albany as a Herbert Lehman Fellow, where she received her Ph.D.

The Community Open Forum will be held Monday Sept. 21 from 4:00 p.m.-5:30 p.m. in Georgia Southern’s Performing Arts Center. Members of the community are invited to attend.

The finalists’ visit to campus is the last step in the initial phase of the Presidential Search process. The University System of Georgia Board of Regents formed a Presidential Search and Screen Committee made up of Georgia Southern faculty, staff, and student leaders and members of the local community.

A nationwide search of candidates was conducted and the Search Committee reviewed the qualifications of the applicants. After on-campus interviews are completed, the campus committee will forward the credentials of three to five unranked candidates to a Special Regents’ Search Committee for the second phase of the search.

Regents Felton Jenkins, William H. NeSmith Jr., Benjamin J. Tarbutton III and Richard L. Tucker serve as members of the Special Regents’ Search Committee chaired by Regent Donald M. Leebern, Jr. This committee is responsible for recommending finalists to Chancellor Erroll B. Davis Jr., who will make a recommendation to the full Board of Regents.

Georgia Southern University, a Carnegie Doctoral/Research University, offers 115 degree programs serving more than 18,000 students. Through eight colleges, the University offers bachelors, masters, and doctoral degree programs built on more than a century of academic achievement. The University, one of Georgia’s largest, is a top choice of Georgia’s HOPE scholars and is recognized for its student-centered approach to education. Visit: www.georgiasouthern.edu.