Sonny Perdue was officially invested as the 14th Chancellor of the University System of Georgia during a ceremony held Sept. 9. The former U.S. Secretary of Agriculture and former Georgia governor began his duties April 1.
Janet Westpheling, member of the USG Faculty Council and professor in the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences’ genetics department, welcomes USG Chancellor Sonny Perdue during his investiture ceremony on Sept. 9. (Photo by Andrew Davis Tucker/UGA)
Janet Westpheling, a member of USG’s Faculty Council and professor in the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences’ genetics department, spoke on behalf of USG faculty.
“It is my honor to welcome Sonny Perdue as our chancellor,” she said. “We look forward to working with you as a team in our common missions of excellence in teaching, research and service. Your success is our success, and we as faculty pledge to do whatever we can to promote that mission.”
Perdue thanked guests for attending and shared his thoughts on Georgia’s public higher education system.
“I stand before you today, willingly accepting this charge to lead this system, but also to be our institutions’ biggest cheerleader, our students’ biggest advocate and our families’ and communities’ biggest supporter,” he said. “The University System of Georgia is and will continue to be a lifelong learning partner for all Georgians.”