ASU President Embarks on New Higher Ed Role

Dr. Marion Ross Fedrick likes to point out that she has “a very different background” than most college presidents.

Having served in human resources leadership roles both for government and corporate industries, she was relatively new to higher education when she was tapped as the vice chancellor of human resources for the Board of Regents for the University System of Georgia, managing public colleges and universities.

Dr. Marion Ross Fedrick“I was still in HR – more so in leadership and organizational development design – which helped me through the consolidations of several of our institutions, which was a phenomenal experience,” says Fedrick, who is the president of Albany State University (ASU).

This summer, Fedrick will lean heavily on her HR background as she transitions into her new role as executive vice president for administration and chief of staff at Georgia State University. She’ll support the university’s president, Dr. Brian Blake, with the management of critical offices and advise him on policy, procedures, operational issues, and best practices.

“I am so excited to work with Dr. Blake. I think he’s one of those phenomenal leaders who has taken the ‘bull by the horns’ and is keeping momentum going at GSU,” says Fedrick. “I hope to support him in that vision.”

She says she was attracted to the institution because of its track record in supporting underrepresented students.

“GSU is one of the largest urban institutions, and they have more minority students – African American students – of all of our HBCUs in Georgia put together,” says Fedrick. “I’m looking forward to working in that space. They have a very diverse student population – I mean very diverse. There’s not one major race of students at GSU, and so, when you look at those numbers, there’s so much work that can be done there in support because they are already very well established.”