Chairman
6th District
8555 Valemont Drive
Atlanta, GA 30350-2850
Phone: (770) 640.8833
cespcs@bellsouth.net
Carl Swearingen was appointed to the Technical College System of Georgia Board by Governor Perdue in August 2006 and was elected to be board chairman in July 2007.
Swearingen began his telecommunications career with Southern Bell in 1972 in Tucker, Georgia. In 1977 he was named as the company’s general public relations manager in Georgia, and in 1985 he became assistant vice president of public affairs for BellSouth Telecommunications in Charlotte, North Carolina. In 1989 he was named president of BellSouth Telecommunications in Georgia, serving in that position for nine years. In 1998 he was promoted to Senior Vice President and Corporate Secretary for the BellSouth Corporation. He retired from BellSouth in 2001.
Swearingen is a native of Parkersburg, West Virginia, and is a graduate of the University of Georgia, where he earned bachelor and master degrees in journalism in 1967 and 1969, respectively. He also received a masters of science degree in management from MIT in 1985. As a University of Georgia Air Force ROTC cadet, Mr. Swearingen was commissioned a 2nd Lt. in the United States Air Force. He served on active duty as an Air Intelligence Officer in Cam Rahn Bay and Saigon, South Vietnam and at Homestead AFB, Florida. He received the Bronze Star for his service in Vietnam.
He has been quite active in community affairs serving as a member of the Atlanta Kiwanis Club and on the boards of the Georgia Chamber of Commerce, the Atlanta Chamber of Commerce, the University of Georgia Foundation, and Berry College. He has been chairman of Governor Miller’s Advisory Council on Science and Technology, chairman of the University of Georgia National Alumni Association, chairman of the Georgia Partnership for Excellence in Education, chairman of the Georgia Department of Industry, Trade, and Tourism, and chairman of the National Board of Advisors of the Museum of Aviation located at the Warner Robins Air Logistics Center. Additionally, he has been involved in many fundraising projects including the United Way, Boy Scouts, American Cancer Society, and Zoo Atlanta. He served as the chairman for Governor Sonny Perdue’s Transition Team following the Governor’s election in November 2002. Governor Perdue appointed him as special advisor on military affairs in May 2003 and to the Commission for a New Georgia in June 2003.