STATESBORO — Melissa Shivers, Ph.D. and an alumna of Georgia Southern University, was recently named as the next Vice President of Student Life at The Ohio State University.

Shivers will start her position at The Ohio State University in January 2020. 

Shivers started her professional career as an Admissions Counselor and Specialist in Education Talent Search at GS from 1997 to 1999. She then went on to be the Assistant Director of Multicultural and International Affairs also at GS from 1999 to 2000.

“My academic career and professional career are in complete alignment. I love working in higher education. As a first generation college graduate, I believe in the role of public higher education,” Shivers said. “I find the most joy in welcoming new students to campus, watching their careers and identities develop, and celebrating their success as proud graduates and engaged alumni.”

Shivers then became the Director of Multicultural Programs and Services at Clemson University for six years. Soon after, she became the Director of Intercultural Affairs at the University of Georgia for four years. In 2010, Shivers was the Assistant Vice Chancellor of Student Life at the University of Tennessee Knoxville for four years, moving onto becoming the Associate Vice Chancellor for Student Life at the university.

“Georgia Southern is where I grew as a person, a place that helped me find pride in my most salient identities – first generation, woman and a woman of color,” Shivers said.

Shivers received her bachelor’s degree in communication arts with an emphasis in broadcast journalism from GS in 1996. She then went on to get her masters of education at Clemson University in 2001 and earned her Ph.D. at the University of Georgia in 2011. 

She is currently serving as The University of Iowa’s Vice President of Student Life.

Tatiana Joseph-Saunders, The George-Anne News Reporter, gaeditor@georgiasouthern.edu