The Board of Regents named Sonny Perdue the 14th chancellor of the University System of Georgia effective April 1, 2022. He oversees 26 public colleges and universities with a more than $11.5 billion annual budget, 51,000 faculty and staff and more than 364,000 students.

Prior to becoming chancellor, Perdue was the 31st Secretary of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) from 2017 to 2021. He also served two terms as the governor of Georgia, from 2003 to 2011, and was a member of the Georgia Senate from 1991 to 2001, where he chaired the Senate Higher Education Committee and eventually became Senate President Pro Tem. His passion for higher education continues today, including a commitment to maintaining the connection between a world-class university system and economic success for the benefit of the state and all Georgians.

Born in Perry, Georgia, on Dec. 20, 1946, and raised on a farm in Bonaire, Perdue is a veterinarian and agribusiness owner who graduated from Warner Robins High School and earned his Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree from the University of Georgia. He is also a veteran, serving four years in the U.S. Air Force. He is married to the former Mary Ruff, also a UGA graduate. They have four children, 14 grandchildren and have served as foster parents for eight children awaiting adoption.