Linda M. Bleicken, provost and vice president for academic affairs at Georgia Southern University, was named president of Armstrong Atlantic State. The Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia made the announcement Tuesday.
Bleicken will take office July 1, succeeding Thomas Z. Jones, who announced last year that he is stepping down on June 30 after nine years as president.
“Chancellor Davis and the Board of Regents made a very wise selection,” said Jones. “I have known Dr. Bleicken for many years and believe she will do an outstanding job in leading Armstrong Atlantic State University. I wish her the very best.”
Bleicken received her Ph.D. and M.S. degrees in management from Georgia State University. She graduated magna cum laude with a B.A. in marketing from Georgia State University in 1984. Since 2005, she has served as provost and vice president for academic affairs at Georgia Southern University, where she arrived in 1990 as assistant professor of management.
“I’m absolutely delighted and honored to be the next president of Armstrong Atlantic State University,” said Bleicken. “During my nearly 19 years as a citizen of coastal Georgia, I have come to love this place and to understand the importance of its people and environment. AASU’s commitments to student success and to the development of our region, led so competently by President Tom Jones, are closely aligned with commitments that have guided my career for years.”
Bleicken, a resident of Savannah since 1990, becomes the seventh AASU president and the first woman to lead the institution since the establishment of Armstrong Junior College in 1935.
“We are delighted that Dr. Bleicken has been selected to be Armstrong Atlantic’s next president,” said Anne Thompson, chair of the AASU Presidential Search Committee. “She impressed our committee at every phase of the search process, and we are confident that the university will be in good hands.”
Bleicken’s faculty experience began in 1987 as instructor for the Department of Management at Georgia State University. Three years later she joined Georgia Southern University as assistant professor of management. Her administrative experience at Georgia Southern started in September 1994, when she was appointed acting chair of the Department of Management.
Her achievements at Georgia Southern include facilitating the establishment of the College of Public Health in January 2006. She fostered the addition of three doctoral degrees—Doctor of Psychology, Doctor of Public Health and Doctor of Nursing Practice—between 2006 and 2008.
Bleicken’s selection by the USG Board of Regents and her recommendation as a finalist by the AASU Presidential Search Committee resulted from an extensive and rigorous process that was launched in fall 2008. The AASU search committee included representatives from various areas of the campus, including academia, human resources, the student body, the Alumni Association and the AASU Foundation.
Bleicken will take office July 1, succeeding Thomas Z. Jones, who announced last year that he is stepping down on June 30 after nine years as president.
“Chancellor Davis and the Board of Regents made a very wise selection,” said Jones. “I have known Dr. Bleicken for many years and believe she will do an outstanding job in leading Armstrong Atlantic State University. I wish her the very best.”
Bleicken received her Ph.D. and M.S. degrees in management from Georgia State University. She graduated magna cum laude with a B.A. in marketing from Georgia State University in 1984. Since 2005, she has served as provost and vice president for academic affairs at Georgia Southern University, where she arrived in 1990 as assistant professor of management.
“I’m absolutely delighted and honored to be the next president of Armstrong Atlantic State University,” said Bleicken. “During my nearly 19 years as a citizen of coastal Georgia, I have come to love this place and to understand the importance of its people and environment. AASU’s commitments to student success and to the development of our region, led so competently by President Tom Jones, are closely aligned with commitments that have guided my career for years.”
Bleicken, a resident of Savannah since 1990, becomes the seventh AASU president and the first woman to lead the institution since the establishment of Armstrong Junior College in 1935.
“We are delighted that Dr. Bleicken has been selected to be Armstrong Atlantic’s next president,” said Anne Thompson, chair of the AASU Presidential Search Committee. “She impressed our committee at every phase of the search process, and we are confident that the university will be in good hands.”
Bleicken’s faculty experience began in 1987 as instructor for the Department of Management at Georgia State University. Three years later she joined Georgia Southern University as assistant professor of management. Her administrative experience at Georgia Southern started in September 1994, when she was appointed acting chair of the Department of Management.
Her achievements at Georgia Southern include facilitating the establishment of the College of Public Health in January 2006. She fostered the addition of three doctoral degrees—Doctor of Psychology, Doctor of Public Health and Doctor of Nursing Practice—between 2006 and 2008.
Bleicken’s selection by the USG Board of Regents and her recommendation as a finalist by the AASU Presidential Search Committee resulted from an extensive and rigorous process that was launched in fall 2008. The AASU search committee included representatives from various areas of the campus, including academia, human resources, the student body, the Alumni Association and the AASU Foundation.