Sonny Perdue announced Wednesday that he is retiring from his role as chancellor of the University System of Georgia.
His decision ends a tenure that started in 2022 and a career in public service that began decades before. The 79-year-old University of Georgia graduate joined the Georgia Senate in 1991 and served two terms as governor starting in 2003, stunning the political world to become the first Republican to hold the position since Reconstruction. He later served as U.S. Secretary of Agriculture from 2017 to 2021.
“I’ve had a great life, some wonderful, cool jobs, but I do think this may be the most impactful job I’ve ever had,” he told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution Wednesday at Columbus State University after the Board of Regents meeting. “When you think about the impact you can have on one person at a time, creating an ecosystem of higher education which literally changes the trajectory of someone’s career, it’s extremely important.”
Credit: HYOSUB SHIN / AJC
Credit: HYOSUB SHIN / AJC
He told the AJC he’d stay in the role until Jan. 1, as the board seeks a successor.
After becoming chancellor, one of the most powerful positions in state government, Perdue said it could be the most important job of his long career. His appointment followed a contentious search process and came as the USG was experiencing declining enrollment. It also came at a point when higher education had become a political lightning rod, with national attention on issues like diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives.
Those pressures on universities have only increased since President Donald Trump took office last year. His administration took the unprecedented step to terminate thousands of grants at universities nationwide, with some in Georgia losing millions of dollars in research funding. Perdue declined to refer to the terminations as “cuts” and leveraged his relationships from working in the first Trump administration to meet with White House officials and advocate for the USG.
Much of Perdue’s tenure has focused on affordability, graduating students and using state universities as a tool to power Georgia’s economy. He has emphasized that the USG should provide students and parents a return on their investment, referring to them as “customers” and to the USG as “a business.” He’s also emphasized leaving students with little debt and propelling them to stable, high-income careers.
Credit: AJC
Asked for the accomplishments he’s most proud of, Perdue pointed to DREAMS, the need-based scholarship program that the state recently committed $325 million toward. Prior to the investment, Georgia was one of just two states in the country not to offer comprehensive need-based aid.
His four years as chancellor have not been without criticism. Georgia’s embrace of the Commission for Public Higher Education — a controversial new accreditor that will include Columbus State and Georgia Southern in its inaugural cohort — has raised eyebrows.
USG’s return-to-office mandate also upset employees, with some arguing it was a pretext to terminate staff. And Perdue supported the Board of Regents decision to make syllabuses public, dismissing faculty concerns that the move could endanger academic freedom.
Under Perdue’s leadership, Georgia has been able to stave off what higher education experts call an “enrollment cliff”; with birth rates dropping nationally, universities are expected to see a declining number of students and therefore less tuition dollars.
That change appeared to be already underway by the time Perdue joined the USG. The prior fall, USG enrollment had fallen for the first time since 2012, and it fell again in fall 2022.
But it’s been on an upward trajectory since. In fall 2022, enrollment stood at just under 335,000. Three years later, USG schools had enrolled more than 382,000 students, marking a 14% increase during Perdue’s tenure.
Credit: Jason Getz / Jason.Getz@ajc.com
Credit: Jason Getz / Jason.Getz@ajc.com
He remarked on the pending “cliff” during Wednesday’s Board of Regents meeting, announcing that all but three USG schools saw enrollment rise this spring.
“What that means is we’re gaining market share,” Perdue said. “Because customers are feeling satisfied and getting good value.”
Value and affordability have been a key focus for Perdue. Although the USG announced Tuesday it would raise in-state tuition by 1%, Perdue called it a modest increase and challenged “anyone to find a better value of higher education than you get here in the USG.”
“Even with this adjustment, you need to know that Georgia still remains among the most affordable states in the country for public higher education,” he said. “If you don’t believe that, start checking out some tuition at other public peers across the country, and you’ll be proud of the University System of Georgia.”
Last fall, he was proud to announce that the USG set an all-time high for degrees conferred.
Getting students across the finish line not only helps the student but, as Perdue argues, boosts the Georgia economy. While the state has seen record economic development under Gov. Brian Kemp’s policies, Perdue said Wednesday, the USG is “largely responsible for the talent flow, which is the real demand for these companies coming to Georgia now.”
Kemp pushed for Perdue as chancellor while Kemp was up for reelection and facing Perdue’s cousin, former Sen. David Perdue, in a Republican primary.
Kemp told the AJC Wednesday that Perdue has left the USG in great shape, adding that the chancellor has an “unreal legacy” in Georgia and the “heart of a public servant.”
“I think he’s done a great job as chancellor in some really pretty dynamic, challenging times,” said Kemp. “Hate to see him go, but I get it. He’s had a lot of roles. It’s probably a good time. It’ll give the board plenty of time to find the successor.”
Perdue faced skepticism while under consideration for the chancellorship. Faculty, students and some former regents questioned if he was qualified for the position, considering he had no experience working in higher education.
Despite the fact that he will turn 80 in December, Perdue said he has neither sore muscles nor sore joints. But at his age, he said, “we’re all mindful of our mortality.” So after four decades in public service, he’ll soon have a lot of free time on his hands.
“I’m not very good at rocking on the porch, so I’m sure something will keep my attention,” he told the AJC. He plans to spend more time with his wife, Mary Perdue.
What does he want to be remembered for?
“That he did what he could,” Perdue said.
Staff writer Greg Bluestein contributed to this article.
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