Georgia Southern University President Jaimie Hebert, Ph.D., is pursuing other job prospects. After arriving in that role not quite two years ago, he led the university to become the 27,000-student "new Georgia Southern" through consolidation with Armstrong State.
"Dr. Hebert has made us aware he is exploring opportunities," was the University System of Georgia's statement emailed by Vice Chancellor for Communications Charles Sutlive, after the newspaper asked Thursday.
University System officials would decline further comment, he said. Also, Georgia Southern officials referred all questions to Sutlive and did not comment.
Two prospects
In fact, Hebert is one of two finalists for the job of senior vice president for academic affairs and provost at the University of Houston-Clear Lake, in Texas, invited to appear in public forums this week. Hebert's forum was scheduled to begin at 2 p.m., Central Time, Thursday.
Meanwhile, the Vermilion student newspaper at Hebert's alma mater, the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, reported that he was also a candidate for the provost job there and had spoken with Lafayette's Student Government Association in a forum. The George-Anne student newspaper at Georgia Southern first reported this in Statesboro.
"I can confirm that Dr. Jaimie Hebert is a candidate for the position of provost and vice president for academic affairs at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette," Charlie Bier in UL-Lafayette's office of communications and marketing said Thursday.
He did not comment further on whether Hebert is a finalist there or when a hiring decision will be made.
A provost is usually second-in-command within a university administration. Louisiana-Lafayette, which posted a 19,291-student count for fall semester 2017, has slightly smaller enrollment than Georgia Southern in Statesboro had before consolidation. Houston-Clear Lake, with 8,542 students last fall, is substantially smaller.
Headed home?
However, either move would be a return to a home region for Hebert. A native of Abbeville, Louisiana, he attained his Bachelor of Science, Master of Science and Ph.D., all in statistics, all at UL-Lafayette. After starting his career at Appalachian University as an assistant professor in 1990, Hebert arrived at Sam Houston State University in Huntsville, Texas, and rose through teaching and administrative ranks from assistant professor in 1995 to be the university's provost and vice president of academic affairs from 2011 until he came to Georgia Southern in July 2016.
Updated resume
Hebert's Georgia Southern experience is now part of his resume, posted online by the University of Houston-Clear Lake.
"Reduced and reorganized central administration" and "established separate divisions of Student Affairs and Enrollment Management" are the first two of 14 administrative highlights he listed from his time so far at Georgia Southern. Steps in funding the $58 million Engineering Research Center and $35 million for Health Professions building and a renovation of the baseball complex, with $2 million secured for that, are three others.
"Led the University System of Georgia consolidation of Georgia Southern University with Armstrong State University" is the sixth highlight he listed. "Established complete organizational structure for the new consolidated university, including the optimal relocation of colleges among the three campuses of the new university" follows that.
When the Board of Regents of the University System voted to initiate the consolidation process in January 2017, Hebert and the then-Armstrong State University president were appointed to lead the Consolidation Implementation Committee. The work culminated in the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools' approval in December and another Board of Regents' vote in January 2018.
Georgia Southern now has campuses in Savannah and Hinesville, as well as Statesboro.
Herald reporter Al Hackle may be reached at (912) 489-9458.