Cheryl Dozier Named Interim President of Savannah State University

Cheryl Davenport Dozier, DSW
Interim President, SSU

Atlanta (April 21, 2011) - University System of Georgia Chief Academic Officer Susan Herbst announced today that she has appointed Dr. Cheryl Davenport Dozier, associate provost and chief diversity officer at the University of Georgia (UGA) since 2006, to serve as interim president of Savannah State University (SSU), effective May 9, 2011. Dozier will step in as interim president for current SSU president Dr. Earl G. Yarbrough Sr., who served from July 2007 and who was not reappointed.

“We are extremely fortunate to be able to call on Dr. Dozier’s strong leadership skills during this transition. Savannah State University has a great deal of momentum and I am confident that the institution will be in excellent hands under Dr. Dozier,” Herbst said, “Most of our university leaders across this state know her from superb leadership on the system wide diversity initiative, so like me, they are familiar with her tremendous intellect, her charisma, and most of all, her profound openness and humanity.”

Dozier previously served as assistant vice president of academic affairs at the Gwinnett University Center from 2002-2006. She is a tenured Professor in the School of Social Work. Dozier served as the director of the interdisciplinary Ghana Study Abroad Program from 2003-2010. She has served as the lead co-principal investigator for the Peach State Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation, a $4.9M National Science Foundation (NSF) program with the goal of broadening participation of minority students in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics since 2007. The partner institutions include Savannah State University, Fort Valley State University, Southern Polytechnic University, Georgia Perimeter College and UGA.

In addition, Dr. Dozier is a faculty researcher with the Foot Soldier Project for Civil Rights Studies and Research at UGA and recently served as the co-executive producer of the Donald L. Hollowell Documentary: American Freedom Fighter, which aired on Georgia Public Broadcasting. She recently co- chaired the 50th anniversary of the desegregation at UGA entitled “Celebrating Courage”. Dr. Dozier is an affiliate faculty member of the African Studies Institute and the Institute of African American Studies. She has published widely in professional journals and books and is a well recognized public speaker.

Dozier is an active member of many professional and civic organizations, and was recently elected President of the Georgia Association for Women in Higher Education. Dr. Dozier earned a Doctorate in Social Welfare (DSW) from Hunter College, at the Graduate Center of the City University of New York and received a Masters in Social Work from Atlanta University (now Clark-Atlanta), School of Social Work and a Bachelors degree from Fairleigh Dickinson University.

Plans regarding the search for a permanent presidential appointee at Savannah State will be announced at a later date.

By University System of Georgia