Meet the President
Mark P. Becker, the seventh president of Georgia State University, began his tenure on Jan. 1, 2009.
A biostatistician, public health researcher and academic leader, Becker, 50, had served as executive vice president for academic affairs and provost at the University of South Carolina before assuming Georgia State's presidency.
Prior to that appointment, Becker spent three years at the University of Minnesota as a biostatistics professor, dean of the School of Public Health and assistant vice president of Public Health, Preparedness and Emergency Response.
From 1989 to 2000, Becker was a professor and associate dean for academic affairs at University of Michigan’s School of Public Health. He also has held academic posts at the University of Washington, the University of Florida and Cornell University.
Becker earned his bachelor’s degree in mathematics from Towson State University and his doctorate in statistics from the Pennsylvania State University.
As provost at University of South Carolina, Becker has been responsible for formulating and implementing academic policy, coordinating the university’s teaching, research and public service programs and allocating resources in all academic areas, among other roles.
Internationally recognized as a researcher in biostatistics and public health sciences, Becker has published more than 40 articles and has been principal investigator on research grants from the National Institutes of Health and the National Science Foundation and co-investigator on numerous research grants from the Centers for Disease Control, Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, and other granting agencies.
During his career, Becker has been involved in several professional associations, including the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the International Biometric Society and the American Statistical Association, where he is a fellow.
Becker, who is married to Laura Voisinet and has two children, Matthew, 22, and Julia, 18, said he enjoys outdoor activities like hiking and whitewater rafting and “experiencing and learning about new cultures.”
He said he will bring to the Georgia State presidency “energy, a passion for and a commitment to public higher education as well as significant academic leadership experience in both established and up and coming public research universities.”