A Trump Cabinet Secretary Is Poised to Take Over Georgia’s Public-College System

Former Gov. Sonny Perdue of Georgia, a Republican and onetime cabinet official in the Trump administration, has been named the sole finalist to become chancellor of the University System of Georgia. The choice follows months of speculation that the regents were poised to hand the keys of the public-university system over to Perdue, who has no experience leading colleges.

The system’s Board of Regents announced the selection of George Ervin (Sonny) Perdue III after a meeting on Tuesday afternoon. Though the board must still vote, after a 14-day waiting period, to approve the former secretary of agriculture, Tuesday’s vote all but finalizes the appointment.

“Governor Perdue stood out for his impressive experience and leadership in public service, as well as a vast understanding not only of Georgia and its communities but of the issues facing the university system as we move forward,” Harold Reynolds, chairman of the regents, was quoted in a news release.

Perdue’s candidacy has been condemned by faculty members within the system and nationally, who say the process has been marred by secrecy and politics. “Aside from a small number of ‘listening sessions’ in March 2021, the entire search process has been hidden from public view,” said a news release from the American Association of University Professors.

Perdue had been named a possible candidate for the post nearly a year ago. But the regents paused the search after the agency that accredits the state’s public colleges raised questions about whether Gov. Brian P. Kemp, a Republican, had influenced the board’s decision.

If the board confirms Perdue, he will join a growing list of higher-education leaders chosen because of partisan connections, or political pressure, rather than their expertise in academe.

As chancellor, Perdue would have oversight of not only the system’s offices, but also several matters that directly affect the system’s 26 colleges and universities, such as budget and capital spending, the hiring of new campus presidents, and the tenure process.

Some faculty members are concerned that a chancellor with no experience managing an academic institution will allow the system and the board to micromanage, or to pursue a political agenda.

“It’s critical to have someone as chancellor who is an academic or at least has experience with academic institutions,” Janet Westpheling, professor of genetics at the flagship University of Georgia, in Athens, wrote in an email. “It’s also critical for this not to be a purely political appointment,” she added. “If the new chancellor is to have credibility with students, staff, and faculty of our institutions, they must have relevant credentials we can relate to.”

This isn’t the first time that the regents have been accused of mismanaging the campuses. In June 2020, for example, as Covid-19 was causing colleges across the country to shut down or enact new safety measures, the University System of Georgia pressured institutions not to require masks. Later, the system reversed that policy.

Faculty members were outraged in October when the regents changed the system’s rules for post-tenure review by requiring that…