Thursday, May 15, 2003

Wilmington -- Max Allen, executive assistant to the president and director of university relations at Georgia College & State University has accepted the position of special assistant to the chancellor of the University of North Carolina at Wilmington, effective in mid-July. He will oversee the operations of the Chancellor’s Office and university relations.

“I am thrilled that Max Allen will be joining me at the University of North Carolina at Wilmington,” said UNCW Chancellor-Elect Rosemary DePaolo. DePaolo, now president of Georgia College & State University, assumes her new position at UNCW July 14.

“He is someone I rely on tremendously, both on a daily basis and in challenging times. Max has consistently proven to be an extremely effective communicator and administrator. He has gained the admiration and respect of a wide range of groups - faculty, staff, students, townspeople and influential leaders of the state. While GC&SU and the Milledgeville community will undoubtedly miss him, I look forward to continue utilizing his talents at UNCW.”

Allen has been employed at GC&SU for nine years. During his time at the university, he has served two presidents and utilized his public relations skills to develop many new initiatives, including the creation of a new statewide profile and image for GC&SU and its liberal arts mission. He chaired the committee to change the name from Georgia College to Georgia College & State University, orchestrated the use of the campus as a training site for Olympic badminton prior to the 1996 Olympic games in Atlanta, and planned the visit of the Georgia General Assembly to the Old Governor’s Mansion in 2001. He also serves as the university’s liaison to the Board of Regents.

Allen has been very active in Milledgeville and the central Georgia community. He currently serves on the following boards and organizations; the Knight Foundation’s local advisory board for Milledgeville (chair), the Tri-County EMC Foundation board, the Milledgeville Mainstreet/Downtown Development Authority, the Government Affairs Committee for the Greater Macon Chamber of Commerce, Forward Baldwin (executive committee), the Sinclair Water Authority, BB&T Milledgeville-Lake Oconee Advisory Board, 100 Black Men of Milledgeville-Oconee, Region Six Advisory Council for the Georgia Department of Community Affairs, and Sigma Pi Phi (Beta Chi) fraternity. He also serves on the statewide Georgia Education Advancement Council Board of Directors and received this organization’s Distinguished Service Award for Public Relations in November 2002.

Prior to joining Georgia College & State University, Allen was a lieutenant commander in the United States Navy. He retired after 18 years of many challenging assignments as a public affairs officer, including spokesman for the Navy’s involvement in the Challenger space shuttle disaster.

Allen holds a bachelor’s degree from Jacksonville University in Florida and is a graduate of the Naval War College in Newport, Rhode Island. He is also a graduate of Leadership Georgia Class of 2000.

In addition to Allen, DePaolo has asked Mark Lanier, special assistant to Chancellor James R. Leutze, to remain as special assistant and oversee state and federal governmental relations, Board of Trustees affairs, and planning. Mimi Cunningham, the university’s public information officer, who has reported to Mark Lanier, will continue in her role and report to Max Allen.