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ATLANTA—Corrie Fountain, Associate Provost for Faculty Affairs at Georgia State University, will serve as Interim Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs at Clayton State University starting April 8, and will be on the Clayton State campus full time effective May 3. Fountain will return to Georgia State at the end of the fall semester.
As interim provost, Fountain will serve as Clayton State’s chief academic officer, with oversight for academic programs and policies; supervision of deans and other academic administrators; direction of faculty recruitment, hiring, retention, and promotion; and assessment of institutional effectiveness in learning, retention and graduation, among other responsibilities.
“The role of a provost in higher education is critical to its success,” said Fountain. “I am grateful for the opportunity to serve at Clayton State in this interim capacity, and I hope that my contributions will aid in the success of its students, faculty and staff.”
“Dr. Fountain is an essential, effective, and energetic leader,” said Nicolle Parsons-Pollard, Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs at Georgia State. “With a proven record of strong leadership, I am confident Clayton State will benefit greatly from Dr. Fountain’s service in the interim provost role at the institution. And Georgia State, in turn, will gain from her experiences and insights upon her return.”
Fountain arrived at Georgia State in 2021 as Director of Faculty Development. She became Interim Associate Provost for Faculty Affairs in 2022, then was permanently appointed to the position in February 2023, and is responsible for faculty recruitment, retention, development, and support.
She has significantly expanded professional development and leadership opportunities for faculty and has led in the revisions and updates of the university’s promotion, tenure and review policies and procedures. She and her team have created important programming and workshops to promote best practices in hiring and equity in faculty workload, and to support faculty growth, mentoring, career progression, and wellness.
Fountain has also played a key role in implementing the activities resulting from the COACHE (Collaborative on Academic Careers in Higher Education) faculty satisfaction survey process and has been a key leader in building toward an action plan based on the results of the second COACHE survey.
Prior to joining Georgia State, Dr. Fountain served as Department Chair of Inclusive Education and Interim Associate Dean at Kennesaw State University. Her recognitions and awards include the Best 40 under 40 Alumni Recognition Award from Delaware State University and the Graduate College Award for Distinguished Teacher (Junior Level) and Difference Maker in the Life a Student Award from Kennesaw State University.
Fountain’s academic field of interest is education and intersectionality within higher education, and she holds an academic appointment as Professor of Cultural and Behavioral Science at Georgia State’s Perimeter College.
She recently served as a co-principal investigator on a $1 million National Science Foundation ADVANCE grant.
She is a participant in the University System of Georgia’s Executive Leadership Institute (ELI), a comprehensive program to enhance leadership skills and gain a perspective of leadership in the state’s public college and university system.
Fountain holds a bachelor’s degree in elementary education from Delaware State University, a master’s degree in special education/behavior disorders from West Virginia University and a Ph.D. in educational policy studies with a concentration in research, measurement, and statistics from Georgia State.
Parsons-Pollard has appointed Cirleen DeBlaere, Director of Faculty Development, as Interim Associate Provost for Faculty Affairs during Fountain’s service at Clayton State.