Athens, Ga. – Michelle Garfield Cook, who has held several administrative positions at the University of Georgia, will lead the university’s Office of Institutional Diversity on an interim basis for the next several months.
Cheryl Dozier, who has served as associate provost for institutional diversity since 2006, was recently appointed interim president of Savannah State University.Cook will step into Dozier’s role while a search is conducted to fill the associate provost position.
“Dr. Cook has been an outstanding academic administrator at the University of Georgia for many years and I am very appreciative of her willingness to take on the important responsibility of leading the Office of Institutional Diversity at this time,” said Jere Morehead, senior vice president for academic affairs and provost, in announcing the interim appointment.
Morehead said a search and screening committee will be appointed by the beginning of fall semester to make recommendations to him for the next associate provost for institutional diversity.
Cook currently serves as associate dean of the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences, where she has been primarily responsible for student academic affairs within the college, and teaches in the history department and African-American Studies.She holds a B.A. in history from Princeton, an M.A. in African-American Studies from Yale and a Ph.D. in history from Duke.
Cook also has been serving as co-principal investigator for the Peach State Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation, a National Science Foundation sponsored program that aims to significantly increase the number of underrepresented minorities pursuing degrees in science, technology, engineering and mathematics.She will serve as lead co-principal investigator during her interim appointment.
“I am excited to have the opportunity to assist in moving diversity efforts forward on this campus,” Cook said. “A lot of good and important work has been done in the Office of Institutional Diversity and it is critical that we maintain that momentum, continuing to work closely with campus and community partners.”
The Office of Institutional Diversity, located in the Holmes-Hunter Academic Building on North Campus, opened in spring 2002. For more information, see http://www.uga.edu/diversity/.
