By Jeremy Craig, Communications Manager for the Office of the Provost
President M. Brian Blake today (Dec. 1, 2021) announced the appointment of Dr. Nancy Kropf, Ph.D., current dean of Perimeter College, as Senior Vice President for Strategic Initiatives effective Feb. 1, 2022.
In this role, Dr. Kropf will work closely with Interim Provost Nicolle Parsons-Pollard (who begins in this role effective Jan. 1) and President Blake to advance the university as strategic planning begins for another impactful decade.
She has served as dean at Perimeter since 2019, and has led the college to record graduation rates and unprecedented success. She first joined Georgia State in 2006 as a director and professor in the School of Social Work, then became an associate dean in the Andrew Young School of Policy Studies in 2013.
In 2015, while serving as Associate Dean for Research and Strategic Initiatives at the Andrew Young School, she was appointed as dean of the Byrdine F. Lewis College of Nursing and Health Professions, working to integrate the nursing programs of Perimeter College and the Lewis College during Perimeter’s 2016 consolidation with the downtown Atlanta institution.
Dr. Kropf holds a Ph.D. in social work and social policy from Virginia Commonwealth University, a master’s of social work from Michigan State University and a bachelor’s degree in sociology and psychology from Hope (Mich.) College.
Succeeding Dr. Kropf as Perimeter’s interim dean will be Dr. Cynthia Lester, the college’s current Senior Associate Dean for Academic Affairs at Perimeter College.
During her tenure in academic affairs, Dr. Lester implemented the first Department Chairs Onboarding Academy and the New Faculty Lunch and Learn Series, led department chair search processes which resulted in the successful hiring of five new department chairs and provided leadership for faculty search processes which yielded the successful hiring of 45 new faculty.
Dr. Lester, a professor of computer science, previously served as associate dean of the Division of Math, Computer Science and Engineering and as associate dean of Georgia State’s Clarkston Campus.
Note from the editor: In addition to the appointment of Dr. Parsons-Pollard as interim provost and Dr. Corrie Fountain as her successor as Interim Associate Provost for Faculty Affairs, President Blake announced additional leadership appointments in non-academic affairs related areas. They include Andrea Jones as Vice President for Public Relations & Marketing Communications, and Michael Parkerson as Vice President for Government and Community Affairs. -JSC