Georgia Center Quarterly

The Georgia Center's New Leadership
A new era in the history of the Georgia Center for Continuing Education has begun.

Lorilee R. Sandmann was hired in September as University of Georgia associate vice president for public service and outreach and Georgia Center executive director. Sandmann hails from Cleveland State University, where she served as vice provost for institutional effectiveness and strategic partnerships since 1999.

She succeeds Grover J. Andrews who retired in August as UGA associate vice president for public service and outreach and interim director of the Georgia Center, a post he’d held since 1998 (see “Annual Report of Institutional Progress, 2000–2001”).

As the chief administrator for the Georgia Center, Sandmann oversees and develops educational programs and conferences and supervises operation of the Center’s Hotel, restaurants, and other services. Her position also carries a tenured academic appointment with UGA’s College of Education.

Lorilee R. Sandmann

Prior to her time at Cleveland State, Sandmann held a number of teaching and executive leadership positions in outreach and cooperative extension at Michigan State University and the University of Minnesota. She holds a Ph.D. degree in Adult Education from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

With 28 years of experience in program leadership, staff and facilities administration, and public service, Sandmann has distinguished herself as a leader in the field of adult and continuing education. She has published widely in books and journals devoted to outreach, higher education, and community development; developed numerous presentations and workshops; and demonstrated success in fundraising and institutional strategic planning.

Sandmann has received many awards and distinctions, including the “2000 International Futures Award for Exceptional and Innovative Leadership” from the University Continuing Education Association (UCEA); the UCEA “Continuing Education Award— Administration” in 1998; and the “Outstanding Service Medallion” from the American Association for Adult and Continuing Education (AAACE) in 1993. In 1998, she was elected a member of the International Adult and Continuing Education Hall of Fame.

She has held leadership roles in several national professional organizations, including AAACE (as president), the National Association of State Universities and Land Grant Colleges (NASULGC); and the National University Continuing Education Association (NUCEA). She is also codirector of the National Clearinghouses for the Scholarship of Engagement, which is funded by the W.K. Kellogg Foundation.

Sandmann is the fifth person to lead the Georgia Center in its 45-year history (January 1957–January 2002). Before Andrews’ service as interim director from 1998 to 2001, Edward G. Simpson guided the Center as director and UGA associate vice president for public service and outreach from 1983 to 1998. The first two Center directors were Hugh B. Masters, from 1954 to his retirement in 1968, and Thomas W. Mahler, from 1968 until his retirement in 1983.

The Georgia Center opened in 1957 with funding from the W. K. Kellogg Foundation (through a 1953 grant) and the State of Georgia. The Center was the second of the “Kellogg Centers”; the first opened at Michigan State University in 1951.