University System of Georgia names finalist for president of University of West Georgia

The University System of Georgia on Monday named Brendan Kelly, currently chancellor of the University of South Carolina Upstate in Spartanburg, S.C., as the finalist to become the new president of the University of West Georgia.

Kelly would replace interim University of West Georgia President Micheal Crafton, who announced his resignation in November. The Associated Press reported Crafton was stepping down after campus protests over possible faculty layoffs because of budget cuts. Crafton had replaced former University of West Georgia President Kyle Marrero, who last January was named president of Georgia Southern University.

The Board of Regents will take action on the finalist for the next president of the University of West Georgia at a future board meeting. The board had launched a national search in August.

The University of West Georgia is the state's seventh-largest institution ranked by enrollment, which was 13,733 in 2018.

Kelly has been with the University of South Carolina Upstate since 2017. He also was appointed in April of this year as interim president of the University of South Carolina in Columbia, S.C. preceding the retirement of Dr. Harris Pastides. 

“Dr. Kelly’s public university experience and consensus-building leadership make him the right candidate to help West Georgia’s push to be one of the nation’s top comprehensive universities,” University System of Georgia (USG) Chancellor Steve Wrigley said in a statement. “He is well-versed in fostering strong ties within the community, and has led strategic initiatives to increase student and academic success.” 

Kelly will visit West Georgia’s campus community before the Board of Regents makes a final decision on his selection. 

Prior to USC Upstate, Kelly served as vice president of university advancement, foundation president and chief executive officer of the historic trust at the University of West Florida (UWF) in Pensacola, Fla., from 2013 to 2017. He previously was director of UWF’s School of Fine, Performing and Communication Arts, and chair of the Department of Communication Arts. He began at UWF in 2004 as assistant professor and the department’s director of forensics. Kelly began his academic career in 2000 at Eastern Michigan University, where he was assistant director of forensics and a lecturer in the Communication and Theatre Arts Department. 

Kelly has a Bachelor of Science degree in public relations and a master’s degree in communication from Eastern Michigan University. He earned his doctorate in rhetoric and political communication from Wayne State University.