Dr. Costas Spirou, provost and vice president for academic affairs at Georgia College & State University, has been promoted to the position of the University System of Georgia’s Chief Innovation and Entrepreneurial Strategies Officer and will hold a tenured professor’s position in the Ivan Allen College of Liberal Arts at the Georgia Institute of Technology.

A Bobcat since 2013, Dr. Spirou was called upon to serve the USG in August 2024, filling the role of interim chief academic officer since then. In his new role, which becomes effective tomorrow, August 1, 2025, he will report directly to Chancellor Perdue and work to systematize innovation and entrepreneurship programs and initiatives much like those developed by Georgia Tech in launching its Technology Square in Atlanta — which has attracted tech companies seeking recruitment and partnership opportunities to the area — and which the other 25 USG institutions could adapt in various forms and markets throughout the state.

Beginning his career at Georgia College as the chair of the Government & Sociology Department in 2013, Spirou was named interim provost in 2016 then earned a permanent appointment to provost in 2020. Under his tenure, he led the university’s academic programs through the Covid-19 pandemic and contributed to a remarkable period of enrollment growth for the university, during which time it also received its highest national rankings. He enhanced GCSU’s national reputation by continuing to present his own research and scholarship around the country and secured grant funding to support and incentivize research by Georgia College faculty.

“As much as I selfishly hate to lose Dr. Spirou for our campus, I’m pleased that the chancellor recognized his expertise in the area of urban innovation and entrepreneurship and will be able to leverage his scholarship in this area to benefit all of the USG institutions as well as Georgia’s workforce and economy at large,” said Georgia College President Cathy Cox.

“Dr. Spirou has worked tirelessly for Georgia College for 12 years,” Cox continued, “and the national academic reputation that GCSU enjoys today is a direct credit to Costas’ leadership and continued scholarship over the years. He has demonstrated a remarkable ability to continue exciting scholarship while managing the rigorous work of the provost’s office. He’s truly a remarkable individual. We miss having him here with us.”

Spirou’s most recent books include “Anchoring Innovation Districts: The Entrepreneurial University and Urban Change,” which focuses on innovation, higher education, economic development, and urban revitalization; and the co-edited “The Many Futures of Work: Rethinking Expectations and Breaking Molds,” which examines the labor economy; among several others. He is also editor of the Johns Hopkins University Press Higher Education and the City book series.

Since Spirou’s transition to the USG, Dr. Holley Roberts has served as interim provost and vice president for academic affairs at GCSU. More details on operational changes in the provost’s office will be released as soon as they become available.