President Bob Boehmer has announced his retirement from East Georgia State College, effective December 1, 2020. Dr. Dawn H. Cartee has been appointed interim president.
“President Bob Boehmer has done an outstanding job at East Georgia State College,” said USG Chancellor Steve Wrigley. “He has focused on student success, added new degrees and remade the physical presence of the campus. He is also an outstanding individual, and someone who has dedicated himself to teaching and leadership. I have known Bob for 20 years, since our days at the University of Georgia together, and I shall miss him. We wish Bob and his family our best upon his retirement, and I am grateful for his service at EGSC and to the University System of Georgia.”
The Board of Regents named Boehmer EGSC’s fifth president in September 2013 after one year as interim president. Prior to coming to EGSC, Boehmer served as the University of Georgia’s associate provost for academic planning, associate provost for institutional effectiveness and professor of legal studies, among other academic and administrative roles.
During Boehmer’s tenure at EGSC, the college’s foundation grew from $987,000 in assets to nearly $3 million. The Correll Scholars Program was established and overall scholarship awards went from $79,669 to $308,466 annually. For the first time in the college’s history, bachelor’s degrees were offered, and the annual College Readiness Tour of local high schools was launched.
Dr. Cartee has extensive higher education experience in Georgia, serving in key leadership positions at three institutions over a nearly 30-year career.
She most recently served as director of the University of Georgia Center for Continuing Education and Hotel. In that role she initiated a strategic planning process resulting in the first strategic plan for the Georgia Center since 2009. Dr. Cartee also sought and secured $15 million to fund an extensive facilities renovation project of the interior and exterior of the Georgia Center.
Prior to leading the Georgia Center, Dr. Cartee led the reaffirmation process with the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC) for two different institutions while she served as president of Ogeechee Technical College and vice president for academic affairs at Southeastern Technical College.
Under Dr. Cartee’s leadership as president, Ogeechee earned Technical College of the Year honors twice, in 2015 and 2011. Ogeechee was cited for achieving the highest graduation rate in the system, the largest growth in high school enrollment, increased overall student enrollment, higher than average retention, high performance on adult education postsecondary entrance goals, superb licensure pass rate among graduates, and continued strong delivery of specialized workforce training.
Dr. Cartee earned four degrees from Georgia Southern University: an Ed.D. in Educational Administration, Ed.S. in Educational Leadership, an M.Ed. in Adult Education and a BBA in marketing.
