Board of Regents Chair Kessel Stelling and University System of Georgia Chancellor Hank Huckaby announced the Executive and Compensation Committee has recommended the full Board consider and vote on Mr. Sam Olens for the position of president of Kennesaw State University.

Olens is currently the Attorney General for the State of Georgia. First elected in 2010 and re-elected in 2014, he has served in this role since he was sworn in as Georgia’s 53rd Attorney General on January 10, 2011.

“I am honored to be considered for the presidency of Kennesaw State University,” said Olens. “Cobb County is my home, and I care deeply for Kennesaw State. If I’m fortunate enough to be selected by the Board of Regents, I will do everything I can to earn the trust and support of KSU’s faculty, staff and students.”

“With Sam Olens, we have a uniquely qualified candidate right here in the community,” said Huckaby. “Sam has demonstrated trusted leadership through nearly two decades of public service. He has dedicated his life to public service and is ready to commit his future to the students, faculty and staff of Kennesaw State University.”

Prior to being elected Attorney General, Olens was Chairman of the Cobb County Board of Commissioners, serving from August 2002 through March 2010. He previously served as a Cobb County Commissioner from 1999 through June 2002. Olens also served as chair of the Atlanta Regional Commission from December 2004 through 2009.

Olens is the recipient of numerous awards and honors, including: the 2015 Charles L. Weltner Freedom of Information Award, the 2013 Emory Law School Distinguished Alumni Award, the 2008 Tom Bradley Leadership Award by the National Association of Regional Councils and the 2007 “Excellence in Public Service Award” by the University of Georgia’s Carl Vinson Institute. Georgia Trend magazine named him their 2016 Georgian of the Year. In 2011, the Cobb Chamber of Commerce honored Olens for his dedication to community and philanthropic service by naming their annual community service award the “Sam Olens Business Community Service Award.”

Olens earned his juris doctor from the Emory University School of Law and a bachelor’s and master’s in international affairs at American University in Washington, D.C. He and his wife, Lisa, have two children and reside in Cobb County.

The Board of Regents will take action on the selection of the next president of Kennesaw State University at the Board’s meeting scheduled for October 12.