GSURF Board
Robin D. Morris
Vice President for Research, Chair
Jerry Rackliffe
Senior Vice President for Finance, Financial Vice Chair and Treasurer
Amy R. Lederberg
Associate Vice President for Research, Vice Chair
Kerry L. Heyward
University Attorney, Secretary
Mark P. Becker
President, Member
Risa Palm
Provost, Member
Lauren Adamson
Dean, College of Arts and Sciences, Member
Susan Laury
Associate Professor, Economics, Member
MaryAnn Romski
Associate Dean, Social and Behavioral Sciences
Phang C. Tai
Chair, Biology, Member
University President, Dr. Mark P. Becker: 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 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. 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. [top]
Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs, Dr. Risa Palm: Dr. Palm assumed the role of Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost, beginning Sept. 1, 2009. Prior to that she served as Provost and Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs at the State University of New York, Executive Vice Chancellor and Provost at Louisiana State University; and from 1997-2003, she was Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. Palm received both a B.A. degree in history, with a minor in French, and a B.S. degree in social studies education from the University of Minnesota. She subsequently received an M.A. degree in geography from the same institution. In 1972, she was awarded a Ph.D. in geography from the University of Minnesota. From 1972 to 1981, she was a faculty member, beginning her career as an assistant professor at the University of California, Berkeley. [top]
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Vice President for Research and Regents' Professor of Psychology, Dr. Robin Morris: Dr. Morris is the Vice President for Research and Regents' Professor of Psychology in the College of Arts and Sciences. He also serves as the Chair of the Board of the Georgia State University Research Foundation and served on the Board the previous 5 years. He recently served for 3 years as Associate Dean for Research and Graduate Studies in the College of Arts and Sciences and 7 years as the Chair of the Department of Psychology. Dr. Morris received his Bachelors Degree from Emory University with Highest Honors. He then obtained his M.S. from Trinity University in San Antonio, TX., before completing his Ph.D. from the University of Florida in Clinical Psychology and Neuropsychology, and doing his internship and fellowships in Boston. He was recently appointed by President Bush, and confirmed by the Senate, as a member of the National Institute for Literacy (NIFL) Board where he served as Vice Chair and Chair of the Budget Committee. He has also served on the Boards of local organizations such as Central Child Development Center (Chair) and Alzheimer's and Related Disease Association. Outside of the University Dr. Morris has had a private psychological and consulting practice for over 20 years. [top]
Senior Vice President for Finance and Administration, Jerry Rackliffe: Jerry Rackliffe has been at Georgia State University for 24 years and has held several positions including Director of Budget and Financial Systems, Associate Director of Grants and Contracts and Acting Assistant Vice President for Finance. He received his undergraduate degree in accounting and earned his MBA and JD from Georgia State University. He holds a Certified Public Accounting license in Georgia. [top]
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Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, Dr. Lauren B. Adamson: Dr. Adamson was named Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences in January 2003. As dean, she administers the university's academic programs in the natural and computational sciences, the social and behavioral sciences, the humanities, and the fine arts. Under her leadership, the college has recently embraced several initiatives including the enhancement of its undergraduate Honors program; the development of strategic research areas of focus in brains and behavior, the molecular basis of disease, and urban public health; the establishing of new centers in the humanities and interdisciplinary arts; and the formalization of faculty and student exchanges in universities around the world, including China, South Africa, and the Middle East. She earned a bachelor's degree with a major in psychology and minors in biology and sociology from Swarthmore College and a doctorate in developmental psychology from the University of California at Berkeley. [top]
General Counsel of the University, Kerry Heyward: Kerry Heyward is the Chief University Attorney for Georgia State University where she provides legal advice to all University administrators. She also serves as advisor to the President and Provost on legal and administrative matters. Ms. Heyward serves on the University's Administrative Council, University Senate, Senate Athletics Committee, Institutional Review Board, and is a member and secretary of the Georgia State University Research Foundation, Inc. She is a member of the National Association of College and University Attorneys. Ms. Heyward earned a B.A. in English from the University of North Florida and her J.D. from Stetson University College of Law. She is admitted to practice law in both Georgia and Florida. [top]
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Chair, Economics, Dr. Susan Laury: Dr. Laury is an Associate Professor of Economics and Associate Director of the Experimental Economics Center in the Andrew Young School of Policy Studies at Georgia State University. Her field of specialization is experimental economics. Her current research activities individual motives for giving in public goods experiments, individual decision-making in risky situations, and factors that affect tax compliance. She has received grants from the National Science Foundation and the Georgia Department of Natural Resources. Professor Laury received a B.A. in economics and journalism from Indiana University in 1988, and a Ph.D. in economics from Indiana University in 1996. [top]
Associate Vice President for Research and Professor of Educational Psychology and Special Education, Dr. Amy Lederberg: Dr. Lederberg was named Associate Vice President for Research in January 2005. She joined the faculty at Georgia State University in 1989 and is currently a Professor of Educational Psychology and Special Education and a member of the Center for Research in Atypical Learning and Development (CRADL). Dr. Lederberg earned her bachelor's degree with a major in psychology from Smith College and a doctorate in child psychology from the Institute of Child Development at the University of Minnesota. Her research focuses on the development of deaf children and has been funded by the US Department of Education and the March of Dimes Foundation. The goal of her current research project is to develop an effective intervention program to teach deaf children literacy skills. [top]
Associate Dean for Social and Behavioral Sciences in the College of Arts & Sciences and Regents' Professor of Communication, Dr. MaryAnn Romski. Dr. Romski received her Ph.D. in Speech-language Pathology from the University of Kansas. She joined the faculty of Georgia State in 1988 and was named Associate Dean for Social and Behavioral Sciences in April 2003. She is the Director of the Center for Atypical Development and Learning (CRADL), on the Steering Committee for Research on the Challenges to Acquiring Language and Literacy (RCALL) and she has served as chair of the Senate Research Committee. Dr. Romski studies the language and communication development of children with severe communication disorders including those with developmental delays and autism. Her research has been supported by grants from National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders and the Institute of Educational Sciences. Her current research investigates the effects of early language interventions, including computerized devices that talk, on toddlers' communication development.
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Department Chair and Regents' Professor of Biology, Dr. P. C. Tai: Dr. Tai received the Ph.D. degree in microbiology from the University of California at Davis. He joined the faculty at Georgia State in 1991 and is currently a Regents' Professor and Chair of the Department of Biology at Georgia State University. He is also the Director of the Center for Biotechnology and Drug Design and Chair of Senate Planning and Development Committee at Georgia State. His research interest is in molecular biology and microbial physiology and his research programs have been supported by grants from National Institute of Health. He received the first "Catalyst" Award from Georgia Research Alliance and the Georgia State University Alumni Outstanding Faculty Award in 2001. [top]