M. Brian Blake (EE '94), executive vice president for Academic Affairs and provost at George Washington University, has been named the eighth president of Georgia State University by the Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia. The Georgia Institute of Technology alumnus will become the first Black president in the university’s history.

Blake will succeed Mark Becker, who served for 12 years. As president, Becker led Georgia State to become the largest institution of higher education in the state and one of the top 10 in the nation by student enrollment. Founded in 1913, Georgia State touts a diverse majority-minority student population.

As George Washington University provost, Blake oversaw the academic mission of the institution, including its 14 schools and colleges. Prior to joining George Washington in 2019, Blake was executive vice president for Academics and provost at Drexel University in Philadelphia for four years. He was also vice provost for Academic Affairs and dean of the Graduate School at the University of Miami in Coral Gables, Florida.

He was an associate dean for Research and professor at the University of Notre Dame College of Engineering, where he provided oversight for research programs and graduate studies. Prior to Notre Dame, Blake was on faculty at Georgetown University, where he was chair of the Department of Computer Science.

A Georgia native, Blake holds a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from Georgia Tech, a master’s degree in electrical engineering from Mercer University, and a Ph.D. in information and software engineering from George Mason University.

Blake begins his tenure as Georgia State University president on August 9.