Athens, Ga. – Ryan Nesbit, who has served the University of Georgia as interim vice president for finance and administration since last July, has been named to the position permanently effective April 1. The appointment was announced today by UGA President Jere W. Morehead.
“Ryan Nesbit has provided dedicated service to the university, and I am confident he will focus his time and energy, as the permanent vice president, on advancing the strategic goals we discussed during the interview process,” Morehead said. “He will work diligently to develop innovative approaches to control costs, improve efficiencies, adopt best practices from across higher education, and improve customer service to faculty, staff and students. I look forward to working with him.”
Nesbit has served as interim vice president since the retirement of his predecessor, Tim Burgess. He has served as the university’s budget director since 2000, first as associate vice president and then as senior associate vice president. He previously held positions as assistant to the director and then associate director in the university’s facilities planning office.
Morehead expressed appreciation to an 18-member search committee chaired by UGA Vice President for Information Technology Timothy Chester. The committee recommended three finalists, who visited campus in recent weeks for public presentations and extensive interviews.
“I am truly humbled and grateful to President Morehead for the extraordinary privilege to serve the university in this role,” Nesbit said. “I also appreciate all the support I have received from the president, the university community, the University System staff, and the men and women of finance and administration while serving in this position on an interim basis. I am excited about working together even more closely to tirelessly improve the many ways finance and administration serves our faculty, staff and students as they elevate the academic stature of UGA as a world-class institution.”
As budget director, Nesbit has been a senior member of the management team for the finance and administration division, which has more than 1,600 employees across seven major units including human resources, budgeting, business and accounting services, auxiliary services such as Campus Transit and Food Services, facilities management, environmental safety, and facilities planning, as well as real estate and space management, the University Police Department and emergency preparedness. As the vice president for finance and administration, Nesbit serves as a trustee of the University of Georgia Foundation, treasurer of the UGA Research Foundation, chair of the UGA Real Estate Foundation Board of Trustees, and treasurer of the UGA Athletic Association.
Nesbit holds a master’s degree in business administration from the University of Georgia and a bachelor’s degree in business administration from The Citadel. He was a venue operations manager for the Atlanta Committee for the Olympic Games in 1995-96, directing all operations for the Games’ largest venue, UGA’s Sanford Stadium.
He is active in the Athens community, holding leadership positions at Athens First United Methodist Church, coaching Little League baseball and youth basketball, serving in the Kairos Prison Ministry, and serving on the board of directors of the UGA Wesley Foundation and the Mercy Health Center advisory board.
