Media Contact
Kenya King
Director
Public Relations and Marketing Communications
Perimeter College
[email protected]
DECATUR, Ga. — Geogia State University’s Perimeter College is pleased to announce the appointment of Nicole L. McDonald, Ph.D., as an Assistant Dean.
The Assistant Dean has responsibility for implementing the college’s strategic plan, optimizing operational processes and ensuring optimal student achievement. Dean Johnson notes, “Dr. McDonald has a proven track record in strategic planning and accountability, policy development and implementation, operational excellence, and student persistence and completion.”
McDonald comes to Perimeter College from Johnson C. Smith University in Charlotte, N.C., where she served as senior vice president for transformation initiatives. With this position she implemented a strategic plan to transform the university for future success, which included an 80-million-dollar commitment from the Charlotte Mayor’s Racial Equity Initiative and a 1.6-million-dollar commitment from the United Negro College Fund Blue Meridian Partnership Transformation Project.
Prior to that she was assistant vice provost for student success strategies at the University of Houston, where she led operations for a regional consortium of 13 public community colleges and universities and where she raised almost one-million-dollars to support a student success equity initiative. Previously, she was a strategy officer at Lumina Foundation, where she managed over fifteen-million-dollars in grants and contracts to support educational attainment for students.
McDonald earned her Ph.D. in leadership and policy studies from Vanderbilt University. She also holds a bachelor’s degree in political science from Wright State University and Master of Education with an emphasis on higher education administration from Vanderbilt University.
“I am excited to join Perimeter College at such an important time,” said McDonald. “Perimeter is working to establish its identity as a premier access college, and it continues to build on its commitment to student success and post-graduation outcomes. Perimeter is positioning itself for the future—and I’m really happy to be a part of the journey.”