Noting that she is the first woman and the first nurse to serve as president of Georgia Southern University, Dr. Jean Bartels welcomed GSU employees to a new academic year Wednesday morning. Classes begin Monday for most of the expected 20,500 students. “While this is a momentous time for Georgia Southern and for me personally, I’m acutely aware that our great university is not, and never has been, defined by its president,” Bartels told faculty and staff members attending fall convocation.