Georgia’s oldest public HBCU, Savannah State College (SSU), not too long ago appointed Dr. Jermaine Whirl as its fifteenth president. At 39 years previous, he’s the youngest HBCU president.
Whirl, who started his place on April 1, was beforehand the president of Augusta Technical Faculty (ATC), a place he had held since November 2020.
An Aspen Fellow, Whirl has served as an administrative chief and college member at public schools and universities in his house state of South Carolina and in Georgia.
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Beforehand, the groundbreaker held positions at Georgia Southern College (GSU), East Georgia State College (EGSU), Savannah Technical Faculty (STC), and Greenville Technical Faculty (GTC).
He instructed SSU, “I’m trying ahead to returning to the attractive metropolis of Savannah and serving to to form the subsequent era of leaders in our space and area. Working with our alumni and neighborhood companions, I believe we are able to take an SSU schooling to the subsequent degree and supply extra alternatives for the Tiger nation.”
His long-term objectives embrace making SSU the biggest and hottest HBCU in Georgia, a doctorate-granting college, and the primary pressure behind financial progress and social mobility within the Higher Savannah Space.
He additionally hopes that by 2035, SSU can be ranked among the many high 25 HBCUs by U.S. Information & World Report in addition to turn into the anchor establishment of Savannah and a nationally famend college for educational packages, amenities, and artistic and cooperative partnerships.
In a press release, SSU Interim President Cynthia Robinson Alexander, JD, acknowledged, “Though I’m unhappy to go away the SSU neighborhood, I’m inspired that I’m leaving it in good palms.”
Throughout his time at ATC, Whirl supervised a 20.3% rise in headcount between Fall 2021 and Fall 2024, in addition to a report enrollment of recent first-year college students, in keeping with the varsity. Among the many a number of agreements he proposed for ATC are collaborations with Piedmont Augusta, Augusta College, town of Augusta, and Amazon.
However earlier than taking the helm at ATC, Whirl served as GTC’s vp of workforce improvement and studying. Other than his positions at ATC and GTC, Whirl was additionally dean of STC and the College of Enterprise and College of Arts & Design at Gwinnett Technical Faculty. He has held full-time school positions at GSU and EGSU.
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His efforts have earned him a number of awards, such because the Higher Augusta Black Chamber of Commerce’s Management Award, Phi Theta Kappa’s Paragon Award for brand new presidents, Perry Broadcasting of Augusta’s Soul Awakening Award of Excellence, and GSU’s 2024 George and Lucy Armstrong Alumni Award.
In 2025, Whirl was inducted into the Georgia Titan 100 Corridor of Fame. Moreover, Georgia Pattern named him a 2025 Notable Georgian honoree and included him on its 2024 40 Beneath 40 checklist of the state’s most completed and civic-minded people below 40.
He has additionally held director positions on the boards of quite a few native, regional, and nationwide organizations along with his educational profession. He has two kids, Madison Renee Whirl and Jaylen Lee Whirl, together with his spouse, Marqueta.
Whirl graduated from Winthrop College with a bachelor’s diploma in economics and Trident Technical Faculty with an affiliate of arts diploma. His levels embrace an Ed.D. in organizational management from Valdosta State College, an M.Ed. in grownup schooling and neighborhood management from Armstrong State College (now GSU), and an MBA in enterprise administration from Charleston Southern College.
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