Biography

M. BRIAN BLAKE
President
Georgia State University

As the eighth President of Georgia State University, Dr. M. Brian Blake leads the State of Georgia’s largest university spanning 6 campuses and a community of nearly 53,000 students and 8,000 faculty and staff. Georgia State is the most ethnically and socioeconomically diverse Research-1 institution in the Nation. With more than 23,000 African-American students, the university graduates more African-American students than any other non-profit institution in the Nation.

Dr. Blake introduced a strategic vision for Georgia State that emphasizes four pillars: Identity, Placemaking, & Belonging, Research, Scholarship, & Creativity, Student Success, and College to Careers. Georgia State’s newly adopted strategic plan, “The Blueprint to 2033 – Our Place, Our Time”, sets a path for the university to continue to enhance its academic excellence and student success, scholarship and creativity, and campus vibrancy.

During Dr. Blake’s tenure, Georgia State University has set several new milestones. With its increasing reputation, the university received the largest number of applications ever for admission to its Fall 2023 entering class. In the same year, the research enterprise exceeded $200 million in sponsor awards – the highest in history. Dr. Blake oversaw the acquisition of more than $55 Million in government support for a new 120,000 square foot Research Tower that will break ground in 2024 and open in 2026.

In FY22, the university also raised a one-year amount of more than $100 Million in philanthropic gifts for the first time in history. An advocate for campus experience, Dr. Blake is leading the effort to establish new interconnected green spaces and enhanced facilities to activate the center of Georgia State’s downtown campus.

Prior to Georgia State, Dr. Blake had over 22 years of faculty and administrative experience across 5 comprehensive research universities including Provost at George Washington University and Drexel University, dean at the University of Miami, and associate dean for research at the University of Notre Dame. During the first 10 years of his academic career, he was professor and later department chair of Computer Science at Georgetown University.

Dr. Blake serves on the Board of Directors for Grady Memorial Hospital Corporation, Metro-Atlanta Chamber of Commerce, Junior Achievement of Georgia, and the Atlanta Convention &Visitors Bureau. Dr. Blake has been included on the 2022 and 2023 lists of the Georgia 500 – The State’s Most Influential Leaders as well as recognized as a 2023 Most Admired CEO.

Dr. Blake has a Bachelor of Electrical Engineering from Georgia Institute of Technology, a Master of Science in Electrical Engineering from Mercer University, and a Ph.D. in Software Engineering from George Mason University. Blake grew up in Savannah, Ga., and attended Benedictine Military Academy. He and his wife, Bridget, have two sons, Brendan and Bryce.