An administrator at Georgia Tech has been tapped to become the next president of the University of North Georgia.
The University System of Georgia Board of Regents voted Wednesday to name Michael P. “Mike” Shannon sole finalist for the UNG post. The school’s current president, Bonita Jacobs, will retire next month after 12 years of service.
Shannon, a retired U.S. Army officer, currently serves as interim chief business officer at Georgia Tech as well as interim executive vice president for administration and finance.
“[He] has demonstrated tremendous leadership and effective communication while building solid relationships with his colleagues, peers and students,” system Chancellor Sonny Perdue said. “I believe his deep experience and energy make him an ideal candidate to help students, staff and faculty at UNG build on the great success they found with President Jacobs.”
“UNG is a special place, with five diverse campuses and a unique mission as the military college of Georgia and one of only six senior military colleges in the nation,” added Regent Jim Syfan of Gainesville, who chaired the search committee that recommended Shannon.
Shannon served as a commissioned officer in the Army for 20 years, retiring in 2015. For more than a decade, he provided technical and operational expertise to the Defense Department as an expert in nuclear technology.
Shannon also served as an instructor at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point and later as an assistant professor in the Department of Physics and Nuclear Engineering.
The New Jersey native is a first-generation college graduate, holding a bachelor’s degree in aerospace engineering and a master’s in aeronautical science from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Daytona Beach, Fla. Shannon also earned a master’s in health physics as well as a doctorate in nuclear and radiological engineering from Georgia Tech.
The regents will take final action on Shannon’s appointment to UNG at a future board meeting.
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