Cathy Cox
President of Georgia College

Cathy Cox is the 12th President of Georgia College & State University, Georgia’s designated public liberal arts university. Prior to joining Georgia College, President Cox served as Dean for Mercer University School of Law from 2017–2021 and served as president of Young Harris College for a decade. A native of Bainbridge, Georgia, President Cox’s distinguished career in law, education, politics, and journalism embodies what it means to have a “liberal arts” background. President 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, she 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. President 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. In 2020, she was named Georgia’s Woman Lawyer of the Year by the Middle Georgia Chapter of the Georgia Association of Women Lawyers.