Buffkin / Baker Seeking 11th President for Valdosta State University
April 10, 2026 – Partner-led executive search firm Buffkin / Baker is currently assisting Valdosta State University (VSU) in its search for its 11th president. Partner Ann Yates and associate Dinah DeWitt are leading the assignment.
President must provide transformational leadership that brings clarity, confidence and momentum to the university’s next chapter. This role begins with the ability to articulate a clear, compelling vision rooted in VSU’s mission, culture and responsibility to South Georgia. The president must unify faculty, staff, students and partners around a concise and authentic narrative that reflects who VSU serves—including first-generation students, military-affiliated learners, online students and the regional community—while strengthening the university’s identity in career preparation and workforce relevance.
The president will translate vision into disciplined execution. This includes revisiting and operationalizing the current strategic plan to clearly define VSU’s distinct strengths, regional role and priorities, while initiating further strategic development grounded in accountability and aspiration.
The university seeks a bold, transformative, and transparent leader with a deep commitment to student success, meaningful community engagement, and the academic enterprise. The successful candidate will demonstrate strong alignment with VSU’s mission and regional role, the ability to articulate a compelling and unifying vision, and a proven record of effective collaboration with internal and external stakeholders.
The next president will be a highly visible leader—an engaged listener, effective communicator, and skilled relationship builder—with experience overseeing the financial and budgetary operations of a complex organization. Creativity, sound judgment, entrepreneurial thinking, and the highest standards of integrity and ethical leadership are essential.
Valdosta State University is one of four comprehensive public universities in the University System of Georgia. Founded in 1906 as a women’s college, VSU is now a vibrant, coeducational institution serving more than 10,000 undergraduate and graduate students from nearly every county in Georgia, all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and more than 60 countries. VSU offers over 100 programs at the associate, bachelor’s, master’s, specialist and doctoral levels, with additional options for certificates, minors and endorsements.
Buffkin / Baker is a partner-led executive search firm specializing in healthcare, higher education, private equity, technology/digital, consumer, and non-profit sectors. Each partner, a leader in their field, brings over a decade of retained search experience, contributing to a collective total of more than 300 years in search and over 400 years in industry and operational expertise. The firm operates from multiple locations, including Atlanta, Austin, Boston, Charlotte, Chattanooga, Cleveland, Kansas City, Los Angeles, Nashville, New York, San Francisco, Seattle, St. Simons Island, Tampa, Washington, D.C., and Winston-Salem. Buffkin / Baker is a member of Panorama, a global community of over 400 leadership experts working together in 70+ office locations to promote a diverse perspective on leadership, embracing creative thinking, and sharing our expertise and experience to bring our clients the very best results.
Experienced Search Consultants
Craig Buffkin, the firm’s founder, serves as the managing partner, and as head of the private equity and transformation practices, where he is actively involved with client engagements and business development. He has completed search work at the board, executive and senior level both nationally and internationally for a wide range of private, public, venture-backed, and private equity-back companies.
Related: Buffkin / Baker Recruits President for Palmetto Infusion
Based in Winston Salem, NC, Martin Baker has been in executive search for more than 22 years. In addition to his role as managing partner, he is also head of the firm’s higher education practice. He previously worked in the Atlanta office of Korn Ferry, where he developed search strategy and executed searches for numerous senior-level appointments. He began his career as a research associate with Saxton Bampfylde, an executive search and management assessment firm in London. He has conducted searches for the positions of CEO, CFO, CIO, provost, dean, director, and professor, having worked on over 350 searches throughout his career.
Ms. Yates serves as a partner in the higher education practice. With a career spanning over two decades, her executive search career includes prior experience at two national executive search firms, most recently at ZRG Partners and before that at Witt/Kieffer where she served as a senior partner. Ms. Yates has completed more than 300 executive-level searches throughout her career, including engagements for presidents, provosts, deans, and vice presidents at leading public and private colleges and universities.
Ms. DeWitt joined Buffkin / Baker in 2023 and serves as an associate with the higher education practice. Her passion for higher education and recruiting was formed during her time at the Owen Graduate School of Management at Vanderbilt University, where she served as a member of the admissions and career management center teams, as well as a campus recruiter for the master of accountancy program.
Related: WittKieffer Recruits 7th President for Franklin Pierce University
Contributed by Scott A. Scanlon, Editor-in-Chief and Dale M. Zupsansky, Executive Editor – Hunt Scanlon Media
