Cathy Cox became Georgia College’s 12th President on October 1st, 2021. Prior to joining Georgia College, Cox served as Dean for Mercer University School of Law from 2017 – 2021 and served as president of Young Harris College for a decade prior to that. A native of Bainbridge, Georgia, Cox’s distinguished career in law, education, politics, and journalism embodies what it means to have a “liberal arts” background.
Having first pursued an interest in cultivating plants, Cox earned her associate’s degree at Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College in Tifton, Georgia, before turning her attention to journalism at the University of Georgia where she graduated summa cum laude. Writing for The Times of Gainesville and The Post-Searchlight of Bainbridge, Cox would cover local area crime and the courts, inspiring her to pursue a degree in law. She served as editor-in-chief for the Mercer Law Review before graduating magna cum laude from Mercer Law School. Cox practiced law in her hometown of Bainbridge and in Atlanta for 10 years, during which time she was elected to the Georgia House of Representatives. She subsequently broke new ground in her election as Georgia's Secretary of State, becoming the first woman in Georgia’s history to serve in this Constitutional office.