ATLANTA - Michael Parkerson, once director for Government and Community Affairs at Georgia State, was promoted to Interim Vice President of the office. He has been active with Georgia State in 2018. The graduate of the University of Georgia was associate vice president for government relations at Kennesaw State University.
Before being active at Kennesaw State University, he had ten years of experience in state government and higher education. Parkerson was also a budget and policy analyst for the Georgia House of Representatives Budget and Research Office. During his past in that position, he discussed with state officials to make a recommendation and develop spending priorities for Georgia’s higher education bodies.
“Michael’s expertise in government relations and higher education will be a tremendous asset to our efforts to expand the University’s reach and impact,” Kennesaw State President Sam Olens said.
Olens hailed Parkerson’s expertise in public-sector administration and management, adding that the latter would be a valuable asset with a persuasive voice for Kennesaw State. Before serving the Georgia House of Representatives, Parkerson was the deputy director of operations at the Georgia Public Safety Training Center. Also, he was the fiscal services director and legislative liaison for the Prosecuting Attorneys Council of Georgia and the homeland security director at the Georgia Department of Agriculture.
The father of two sons was also a volunteer Big Brothers Big Sisters of America program, the leading non-profit in youth mentoring. He was involved in the Georgia Economic Developers Association and the Georgia Fiscal Management Council.
Georgia State University is the largest institution of higher education based on enrollment number in Georgia and is in the top 10 in the nation in number of students.