Coastal Source - AASU Selects New President

May 13, 2009
AASU Selects New President
Reported by: The Coastal Source
Linda M. Bleicken, Ph.D., provost and vice president for academic affairs at Georgia Southern University, has been named president of Armstrong Atlantic State University (AASU). The Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia made the announcement Tuesday.

Bleicken will take office July 1, succeeding Thomas Z. Jones, who announced last year that he is stepping down on June 30 after nine years as president.

"Chancellor Davis and the Board of Regents made a very wise selection," said Jones. "I have known Dr. Bleicken for many years and believe she will do an outstanding job in leading Armstrong Atlantic State University. I wish her the very best."

Bleicken received her Ph.D. and M.S. degrees in management from Georgia State University. She graduated magna cum laude with a B.A. in marketing from Georgia State University in 1984. Since 2005, she has served as provost and vice president for academic affairs at Georgia Southern University, where she arrived in 1990 as assistant professor of management.

"I'm absolutely delighted and honored to be the next president of Armstrong Atlantic State University," said Bleicken. "During my nearly nineteen years as a citizen of coastal Georgia, I have come to love this place and to understand the importance of its people and environment. AASU's commitments to student success and to the development of our region, led so competently by President Tom Jones, are closely aligned with commitments that have guided my career for years."