A native of Savannah and a career educator, Dr. Skinner was appointed president of CCSU in January 1994. During his five and one-half years of service, he has become – in the words of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution – “a national ambassador for technological training.” He led CCSU in the largest deployment of mobile computing in higher education, by launching the “Information Technology Project” and providing every student, professor and most of the campus’ staff with personal use of a powerful multi-media notebook computer and unlimited Internet access on and off campus. This initiative was followed by development of the “Information Technology Career Ladder,” which enables students to “fast track” into the burgeoning IT field through competency-based progression from certificate to baccalaureate degrees in an array of highly sought after high-tech majors, including wireless technology. The design of this new program was derived in part from Dr. Skinner’s work during 1997-98 as chair of a national task force for the Information Technology Association of America, aimed at determining how higher education and the IT industry could work together in addressing the shortage of high-tech workers. In addition, Clayton’s Bachelor of Integrative Studies degree enables students to work directly with faculty members to design a “customized” career-oriented degree to be earned from a combination of off-campus, “field-based” learning and on-line course offerings from colleges and universities around the world. In 1995, Dr. Skinner led the steering committee responsible for implementing the Georgia Library Learning Online (GALILEO), the most advanced statewide World Wide Web-based library in the country, which now ties together all of Georgia’s public higher education, regional, and K-12 libraries – as well as the libraries of 44 private colleges and universities and the aircraft carrier, Carl Vinson. When it received initial legislative funding in 1995, GALILEO was implemented statewide throughout the University System in less than 150 days.

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