Sand Mountain Reporter

Dr. Freida Hill has been unanimously chosen by the nine-member State Board of Education to lead the Alabama two-year college system.

If Hill accepts the post and passes a background check, she will be the first female permanent chancellor in the system’s history.

“I was there to see her final interview,” Exley said. “I was really impressed. I was impressed with how she presented herself and with her background. She appears to be a good fit for Alabama.”

Currently the deputy commissioner of the Technical College System of Georgia, Hill had a second and final interview before the board last week. Georgia Gov. Sonny Perdue gave her rave reviews, said Gov. Bob Riley.

Also interviewing for the post were John Osborn, director of academic programs and policy for the University of Alabama at Birmingham and Rose Johnson, president of Haywood Community College in Clyde, N.C. Ten additional candidates were interviewed in an earlier round of interviews.

A three-member committee has been charged with negotiating a contract with Hill and bringing it to the board at its regular Nov. 12 meeting.

Interim Chancellor Joan Davis, who has led the two-year system since Bradley Byrne resigned in May to run for Governor, pledged Monday that she and the staff of the Department of Postsecondary Education “will make this as smooth a transition as possible” and that it will be “business as usual” until Hill takes the reins in the near future.

“It will be good to have this bit of uncertainty settled,” Exley said, referring to the months since Byrne left. “I haven’t met her yet but I am looking forward to meeting her. I am eager for her to arrive and get settled in.”

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