Executive Leadership Team

Dr. Stuart Rayfield
President
Office of the President | 109 Richards Hall
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Dr. Rayfield returned to Columbus State to begin her service as its sixth president in June 2023. Her original tenure began in 2006 as an assistant professor and grew to later include holding the Frank D. Brown Distinguished Chair in Servant Leadership and serving as interim associate provost for undergraduate education. From 2016 until her current appointment, she held a variety of leadership roles within the University System of Georgia. Those included the system’s vice chancellor for leadership and institutional development and interim presidencies at the former Bainbridge State College and Gordon State College. She holds a bachelor’s in political science from Rhodes College, a master of education in higher education administration from the University of Alabama, and a doctorate in higher education administration from Vanderbilt University.

Martha Venn, Ph.D.
Interim Provost and Chief Academic Officer
Office of the Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs | 305 Richards Hall
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Dr. Venn paused her retirement in July 2024 to serve in her current interim capacity; her higher education career of nearly three decades concluded in 2022 as the University System of Georgia’s vice chancellor for academic affairs. Before that, she served on the faculty at Valdosta State University, as department chair at the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs, as the founding dean of the School of Education at Macon State College, and as provost at Macon State College and later at Middle Georgia State University. She received tenure and promotion at three institutions throughout her career. Dr. Venn holds three degrees in special education: a bachelor’s from Western Illinois University, a master’s from the University of Kentucky, and a Ph.D. from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Lauren Brown
Chief Planning Officer for Strategic Initiatives
Office of the President | 109 Richards Hall
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Lauren Brown brings more than 20 years of experience in nonprofit fundraising and community engagement to her current role. As executive director for institutional advancement at Bainbridge State College and director of development at Memorial Hospital and Manor, she amassed more than a decade of experience designing and implementing strategic plans to propel institutions to the next level. Before that work, she was a realtor and owned and operated a real estate firm in Southwest Georgia. A student-athlete at Wesleyan College, she later earned a bachelor's degree in psychology from Florida State and a master of public administration degree from Valdosta State University.

Maj. Gen. (retired) Patrick J. Donahoe
Chief Operating Officer/Vice President for Business & Finance
Military-Connected Student Services | 117 Schuster Student Success Center
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Maj. Gen. Donahoe joined Columbus State in 2023 to support the university’s services to its military-connected students and its outreach to the local U.S. Army Fort Moore community. He retired from the Army in 2022 as commanding general of the U.S. Army Maneuver Center of Excellence and Fort Moore (then Fort Benning). His 30-plus-year military career included numerous company-grade and field-grade Armor and Cavalry positions in the continental U.S., Germany, Bosnia, Kuwait and the Republic of Korea and combat tours in Iraq and Afghanistan. He holds a bachelor’s in history and English from Villanova University, and master of military science degrees in land warfare from the American Military University and strategic studies from the U.S. Naval War College. He also attended the Kennedy School at Harvard University, where he was a National Security Fellow.

Whitley Hall, Esq.
General Counsel
Office of Legal Affairs, Ethics & Compliance | 206 Richards Hall
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A member of the Office of Legal Affairs, Ethics & Compliance since May 2022, Ms. Hall was appointed as the university’s general counsel in December 2023 after serving previously as assistant general counsel. Prior to her higher education career, which has included investigating Title IX and EEO complaints in addition to her legal duties, she worked as a staff attorney for Legal Services Alabama and the Alabama Supreme Court. She holds a bachelor’s in English from the University of Alabama, a master of public administration from the University of Arkansas, and a juris doctorate from the University of Arkansas School of Law.

Rocky Kettering, Ed.D., CFRE
Vice President for University Advancement and Executive Director of the CSU Foundation Inc.
Office of University Advancement | 125 Richards Hall
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Before beginning in his current role in 2016, Dr. Kettering’s philanthropic and external relations leadership has benefited both higher education and nonprofit institutions throughout the Southeast. These have included the Texas State Aquarium, St. Mary’s University, Our Lady of the Lake University, the University of Southern Mississippi, and Mount Vernon Presbyterian School in Atlanta. He holds a bachelor’s in English from Louisiana State University, a master’s in philanthropy and development from St. Mary’s University of Minnesota, and a doctorate in organizational leadership from Nova Southeastern University.

John Lester, DPA
Chief Engagement Officer
Office of Strategic Communication + Marketing | 242 Richards Hall
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Dr. Lester returned to Columbus State in January 2024 to continue his higher education career that has spanned three decades. He transitioned from a career as a newspaper reporter to news services as the University of Florida before spending 18 years at Columbus State, where his focus included university, government and community relations, with more than two years of that tenure as its chief of staff. He served for five years as vice president for communications and marketing at Georgia Southern University before his current appointment. In addition to the master of public administration he earned at Columbus State in 2008, he holds a bachelor’s in journalism from the University of Florida and a doctor of public administration degree from Valdosta State University.

Theodore Laskaris
Chief Information Officer
University Information & Technology Services | 029A University Hall
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Mr. Laskaris has led University Information & Technology Services since 2019. During a career that has spanned nearly four decades, he has provided professional and consulting services in higher education, educational technologies, business, investing and asset management for organizations that include Denver Investment Advisors LLC, Dwight Asset Management and Champlain College. He holds a bachelor’s in French and English from the University of Vermont and an MBA in finance and management information systems from the Babson F.W. Olin Graduate School of Business.

Aaron “Chip” Reese, Ed.D.
Vice President for Enrollment Management
Division of Enrollment Management | Enrollment Services Center | 234 University Hall
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A higher education professional for more than three decades, Dr. Reese’s experience includes serving as Columbus State’s head baseball coach and in student-facing roles as associate vice president for student affairs, dean of students and executive director for enrollment management. Within the University System of Georgia, he has also served as vice president for enrollment management at Savannah State University, vice president for student affairs and enrollment management at Albany State University, and most recently, as project director for the system’s $11.5 million statewide CARES Mental Health Initiative. He holds a bachelor’s in physical education from the University of West Georgia, a master of education in educational administration from Clemson University, and doctorate in higher education administration from Argosy University Atlanta.

Gina Sheeks, Ph.D.
Vice President for Student Affairs
Division of Student Affairs | 235 Schuster Student Success Center
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Dr. Sheeks has served in a variety of progressively responsible roles at Columbus State since 1993, beginning as a full-time faculty member in the Department of Communication. She was named vice president in 2007, when at the time she was serving as associate vice president for student affairs. Her other leadership responsibilities at CSU have included serving as interim chair of the Department of Communication and chairing the university’s Strategic Plan Committee and Quality Enhancement Plan. She holds both a bachelor’s in communication and a master’s in organizational communication from Murray State University, and a doctorate in higher education administration from Georgia State University.

Jay Sparks
Interim Director of Athletics
Division of Intercollegiate Athletics | Frank G. Lumpkin Jr. Center
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Mr. Sparks returned to Columbus State in 2023 to provide interim leadership to the university’s athletics programs. His initial tenure began in 1989 and spanned 25 years. During this time, he established the Women’s Basketball program, lead his teams to conference and national acclaim. He served from 2009 to 2014 as athletic director, and under his direction, the department added five new NCAA sports to its portfolio. Between his prior and current Columbus State service, he coached and served as athletics director for collegiate and K-12 athletics programs. He is a member of both the CSU Athletics Hall of Fame and the Chattahoochee Valley Sports Hall of Fame. He holds a bachelor’s in health and physical education from the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, where he played four seasons on its baseball team.