Atlanta – Technical College System of Georgia Commissioner Ron Jackson today named Dr. Sanford R. Chandler as the new president of Chattahoochee Technical College effective November 1, 2008. 

Jackson also announced that Chandler will be the president of the combined Chattahoochee and North Metro technical colleges when the colleges officially merge on July 1, 2009.

Chandler is currently the president of Appalachian Technical College in Jasper.

Jackson’s selection of Chandler was approved today by the state board that governs the Technical College System of Georgia during their monthly meeting at the TCSG’s Atlanta office.

The board also gave their approval to the naming of Ron Newcomb to be the new provost over the North Metro campus after the merger on July 1.  Until then, Newcomb will continue in his present position as the college’s acting president.

“Dr. Chandler is a dynamic and popular leader with almost two decades of experience in Georgia’s technical college system,” said Jackson.  “He is a proven administrator and a great technical educator who places the quality of his students’ instruction above all else.  I have great confidence in his abilities to lead and build on the future of this combined technical college, one that will be by far the largest in the state.”

A decision on the new name for the college is forthcoming from the combined boards of the two colleges.  It will become the state system’s largest technical college with an annual credit enrollment of almost 14,000 students studying in a wide variety of degree, diploma and certificate of credit programs.  The college will also continue to offer the full slate of adult education, continuing education and workforce training programs.

The merger will not involve the closing of any facility on either campus. The colleges will, however, share resources.  The larger, more efficient college will be capable of providing more programs, more instruction, and an altogether better education experience for the students.

The merged college will focus on workforce education in Bartow, Cherokee, Cobb and Paulding counties.  The two Cherokee County campuses, one in Woodstock and another under construction in Canton, are currently part of Appalachian Technical College.  Those campuses will be moved into the combined colleges’ service delivery area on July 1, 2009 to better address the workforce needs of business and industry in the region.

About Dr. Sanford Chandler:  Chandler has been the president of Appalachian Technical College since 2003.   Before that, he was the vice president of operations at Coosa Valley Technical College in Rome from 1999 to 2003. 

He began his career in the Georgia technical college system in 1989 as an instructor at North Metro Technical College where he later rose to the positions of dean of institutional advancement and vice president of instruction.  Earlier in his career he was a teacher in the Opelika, Alabama school system, an instructor at George Wallace State Community College in Selma, Alabama, and an assistant professor at Reinhardt College in Waleska, Georgia.

Chandler received his doctorate in occupational education from the University of Georgia in 1996.  He has bachelor of science and master’s degrees in vocational and adult education from Auburn University.

Chandler has served on numerous boards and advisory councils related to technical education in Georgia and across the U.S.  He is a certified team leader for the Council on Occupational Education and has participated in accreditation visits at postsecondary educational institutions throughout the southeast.  He has been active in the leadership of a number of civic clubs, chambers of commerce and development authorities.

He and his wife of 38 years have four children and five grandchildren.

About Ron Newcomb: Newcomb was North Metro’s vice president of academic affairs and institutional advancement when he was appointed acting president in June 2008.  He has also served as the vice president of student affairs and vice president for planning and institutional effectiveness since coming to the college in 1988.  He has also served as an assistant for education research and policy under Governors Joe Frank Harris and Roy Barnes.

Newcomb is a graduate of the University of Georgia with both bachelor and master’s degrees in political science.  He is currently working toward his doctorate in education at the University of Georgia.

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