Sonny Perdue voted as sole finalist to become state’s next university system chancellor

ATLANTA — Former Georgia governor and US Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue has been chosen as the sole finalist for the state’s next university system chancellor.

The decision was made in a very quick and to the point vote Tuesday afternoon on the eighth floor at the Board of Regents office in downtown Atlanta.

It’s also a controversial pick for the sole finalist to lead Georgia’s public colleges and universities.

In a unanimous vote by the Georgia Board of Regents, Perdue is one step away from being the state’s next university system chancellor.

The virtual vote happened after what the board’s chairman, Harold Reynolds, described as a nationwide search with “numerous” highly qualified candidates.

In the end, the board voted to pick Perdue as the sole finalist for the job.

“He has a passion for higher education and specifically for this state’s universities. I’m excited for the university system with him at the helm,” Reynolds said.

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But critics have questioned Perdue’s experience, pointing out his lack of experience in a higher education setting.

Gov. Brian Kemp and Perdue are also close political allies and Kemp recently replaced four members on the board before the vote.

As governor, Perdue’s record on education is also being called into question.

“He had a chance as governor, and as governor, he chose to defund billions of dollars and begin a decade’s long spree of defunding from our teachers, and students, and parents, schools that we attend every day,” Georgia Tech student Alex Ames said.

In a statement, Perdue said education funding was affected by twin recessions while he was governor.

He called being named a finalist a “wonderful capstone to a career in public service.”

There is a 14-day waiting period before Perdue officially becomes the next chancellor.

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