Kennesaw State President Dr. Pamela Whitten named Dr. Kathy Schwaig as the university’s new provost and vice president for academic affairs, effective Feb. 18.
Whitten announced that Schwaig accepted the position in an email to faculty, staff and students on Tuesday, Jan. 29 — less than one week after finalist candidates visited KSU’s campuses to display their qualifications to the university’s community.
“[Schwaig] is an exceptional leader and I am looking forward to partnering with her to cement our focus on consistently being a student-centered university as we become one of the nation’s top R2 research universities,” Whitten stated in the email.
Serving in her new position, Schwaig will report directly to the president as the university’s first female chief academic officer. She will be responsible for adhering to KSU’s academic mission, meaning she must maintain the intellectual environment on campus for faculty, staff and students, and she must plan, budget, supervise and review programs in instruction, research and continuing education at KSU.
Schwaig has served as the dean of the Michael J. Coles College of Business at KSU for more than six years, but she first joined KSU’s faculty in 2002. She has held several leadership and faculty positions within the Coles College of Business, serving as the interim and associate dean, the interim department chair of the department of accounting and an associate professor of information systems.
While she served as dean of the Coles College of Business, Schwaig pushed forward with the college’s strategic plan which put a focus on preparing students for their future careers, connecting academic programs and industry leaders and supporting faculty research.
“Dr. Schwaig has an undeniable passion for Kennesaw State,” Whitten said. “Her reputation as an exceptional leader with the ability to create synergies across the university makes her uniquely qualified to serve as KSU’s next chief academic officer.”
Before joining the faculty at KSU, Schwaig served in faculty positions at Georgia State University, the University of South Carolina and Baylor University. She has received several awards throughout her career, including the Oscar Burnett Award for Distinguished Achievement in Business from the Morris Brown College Foundation, the Cobb Executive Women’s Glass Ceiling Award and Atlanta Magazine’s Women Making a Mark Award.
Schwaig earned a BBA in Accounting before earning an MBA in Information Systems from Baylor University. She also later earned a Masters of Liberal Arts from Johns Hopkins University and a Ph.D. in Management Information Systems from the University of South Carolina.
“I am grateful to President Whitten for the opportunity to serve as provost and vice president for academic affairs at KSU, the place that I have proudly called my professional home for almost 17 years,” Schwaig said. “KSU has such a bright future, and I’m thrilled to work collaboratively with the faculty, staff, students and leadership to help KSU achieve its goals.”
