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June 14, 2006

Chancellor visits Dalton State College

By Victor Alvis

As an administrator, he's learning more about the state's 35 public colleges and universities. As a native of Pennsylvania and a recent transplant to Atlanta, Erroll Davis Jr., the new chancellor of the Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia, is learning about pollen season.

"I'm becoming acquainted with allergies here in Georgia. I never had them before, but with the miracle of modern chemistry, I've overcome my first little bout with them," Davis said Wednesday during a stop at Dalton State College. "They didn't tell me about this when they described the job. I came out one morning in April, and my car had changed colors."

Davis, who took office Feb. 6 following Tom Meredith's departure, is on the home stretch of a tour of all the state's degree-granting institutions. He started his tour on Feb. 10, making DSC stop No. 32.

"Everywhere I visit is unique. Whether it's the scenic geography, the architecture, or the demographics of the student body, "Davis said. "I'm learning something at every institution."

The University System recently announced tuition hikes ranging from 3 to 5 percent at its various institutions. Tuition at the state's four research universities – Georgia Tech, Georgia State, Medical College of Georgia, and the University of Georgia – will increase 5 percent, or $91 per semester, to $1,910. Tuition at two-year colleges will increase 3 percent, or $23 per semester, to $794 per semester.

Tuition at two regional and 13 state universities such as Dalton State will increase 4 percent, $49 per semester, to $1,268.

"One thing I've taken away from my visits so far is the importance of the two-year 'gateway' institutions, which provide an entree into the middle class. I think we in this country are beginning to understand the importance of a functioning and vibrant middle class," Davis said. "We can't stand to have a bifurcated society where we have an elite class and a poor class, or we will soon become a Third World country where the rich have to live in gated compounds and in fear of the lower class."

Beginning this fall, Davis and the Board of Regents will institute a "guaranteed tuition" plan for incoming freshmen – the first in the University System's history – which will hold the line on the cost of tuition for four years.

"I want to create a win-win situation – a situation where we will take the ambiguity of tuition costs out of your planning by giving you a guarantee for four years – but also to suggest you that if you stay a fifth year, it is going to cost you more, and in some cases substantially more. If you follow the appropriate signal, you will get through in four years; it is doable in four years. And if it is not for structural reasons, we will have appeal processes in place," Davis said. "We have to make sure people can get through in four years, and we have to work more aggressively with the K-12 system to make sure the students we get are prepared to get through in four years, so they don't have to spend time in learning support.”

Davis said he didn't want the University System to send mixed signals by saying it wants students to graduate in four years, then require students to take only 12 credits to keep their HOPE scholarships – a plan that would make a four-year graduation plan impossible.

The chancellor said he wants to improve the communication within the University System.

"We are more a confederation than we are a system. As a system, we should be able to put together more powerful distance (Internet-based) education packages that are incomparable in this country. Yet we do not," he said. "We have some individual institutions that are putting together programs that are successful – our Web MBA program, for example. But if you want a master's degree in sociology or social work, there are better programs outside the state. We will change that."

Davis, 61, served the past five years as chairman of Alliant Energy Corp., an energy holding company with $8.3 billion in assets and annual operating revenues of $3 billion. He rose through the ranks of Wisconsin Power and Light from 1978 to 1990 to become CEO, and he served as president of WPL Holdings from 1990 to 1998.

His career also includes corporate finance positions at Xerox and Ford Motor Co. He was a member of the Wisconsin Board of Regents from 1987 until 1994. He was named one of the "50 Most Powerful Black Executives in America" by Fortune magazine in 2002.

He earned a bachelor of science in electrical engineering from Carnegie-Mellon University in 1965 and an MBA in finance from the University of Chicago in 1967.

DSC president James Burran said Davis said he was was impressed with the students he met and the university's scenic campus.

"We naturally tried to put our best foot forward, but I explained that's just the culture of our institution," Burran said. "Part of his effort was to learn as much as he could on a short visit. Later this week, he will finish his visits to all University System schools. It's been an ambitious schedule but a rewarding one."

John Hutcheson, vice president for academic affairs, said he was pleased with what he saw from Davis.

"This is definitely a different type of chancellor with his business background. A lot of the things he said about streamlining procedures and accountability struck me as long overdue," Hutcheson said. "He plans on taking a more executive approach, without forming committees and studying problems for years. I was favorably impressed."

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