The final seat in President Kathy Schwaig’s cabinet has been filled by Casey Tanner, who now serves as the university’s vice president of government relations.
Tanner’s previous role was assistant vice chancellor for external affairs for the University System of Georgia. Tanner will now collaborate on behalf of KSU’s ambitions with policymakers and officials operating on various government levels.
Tanner graduated from Georgia Tech in 2013 with a bachelor’s in international affairs and Spanish. In 2019, she received her master’s in public administration, according to her LinkedIn.
“It is an incredible honor to serve the students, faculty and staff at Kennesaw State in this role,” Tanner said in a KSU news release. “I am grateful to President Schwaig for the opportunity to join a thriving university community, and I look forward to contributing to the university’s extraordinary impact at the local, state and federal level.”
In November 2022, Schwaig appointed James Sabourin to the newly created role of vice president of marketing and communications. Later that month, Ivan Pulinkala was named provost and senior vice president for academic affairs. Pulinkala assumed the position’s responsibilities in December 2022 while Sabourin began on Jan. 3.
Pulinkala has been a KSU faculty member since 2005. Sabourin relocated from Lousiana State University to fill the position with KSU.
The cabinet now totals 14 individuals with no vacancies.
Though not an addition to the President’s cabinet, Jo Donna Lamb was named assistant vice president for planning, design and construction on Dec. 15 over winter break. Lamb’s role begins on Jan. 23, reporting to vice president of administration Tricia Chastain.
According to the KSU website, there are no active national searches for administrative positions within the university. However, an internal role for the assistant vice principal of academic affairs is actively seeking candidates that are currently employed with KSU.
This position would report to Pam Cole, the current associate vice president of academic affairs. It is a 12-month role that begins in July 2023, according to KSU’s job listing. The candidate would also be a tenured professor during their time with KSU.
The president’s cabinet is a body of individuals appointed by the university’s president to collaborate and serve the goals of students, faculty and the school’s community through strategic planning.
According to open.ga.gov, KSU listed 8,430 salaries for individuals hired by the university for the fiscal year of 2022. This is an 806-person increase from the report for the fiscal year of 2021, which listed 7,624 individuals.
For reference, Kennesaw Junior College opened in 1966 with a total of 37 faculty members.
