You know, Steve Wrigley, you know, he worked in the university system before he became chancellor, so he did have some of that experience. Subsequently, the trust sold off AGrowStar LLC and Pro Ag Products LLC (none of the other assets posed any conflict of interest with his duties as Secretary of Agriculture). Presumably, some political appointees who served in the Trump administration did so with earnest intentions, hoping to bring dignity and professionalism to the task of advancing the Republican agenda of deregulation, austerity (for non-cronies), and upward wealth redistribution. Trump-backed Perdue struggles in Republican primary challenge in - CNN Earlier this week, Georgia's Board of Regents announced that Sonny Perdue was the sole finalist for the job. According to the Georgia government's website on Confederate History Month, they also participated in the manufacture of products for the war effort, built naval ships, and provided military assistance and relief efforts"[38] The proclamation was criticized by historians for its historical inaccuracies,[39] although there were, in fact, African-Americans who served the Confederacy. Georgia Today: How Sonny Perdue's ascent to chancellor went from [40], In 2008, Perdue worked with the Georgia Emergency Management Agency to implement Ready Georgia, a campaign to increase disaster preparedness throughout the state. It's us but for your ears. But last year,. Trump announced just days before his own inauguration, on Jan. 20, 2017, that. Mitch Daniels of Indiana has led Purdue University since 2012. His name is Sonny Perdue. There's been some social media push against him. Sign up to receive GPB Event announcements via Email. A low-ball estimate of the value of storage in the grain silos was US$3 million. [54] In December 2018, he changed the nutrition standards for school lunches to allow more refined grains, allow milk with added sugar, and increased sodium. There, he managed a workforce of 110,000 employees in the U.S. Department of Agriculture with the stated objective of being the most efficient, effective and customer-friendly agency in the . He oversees 26 public colleges and universities with a $9.8 billion annual budget, 48,000 faculty and staff and more than 340,000 students. Sonny Perdue was its sole finalist to become chancellor, a choice that has outraged some professors and led a regional agency to threaten the accreditation of the 26-school system. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue told the crowd at last week's event in North Carolina that he got a call from the White House. Eric Stirgus: Good question. Help Mother Jones' reporters dig deep with a tax-deductible donation. According to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, it was a plum post for the political novice, which he used as a springboard that helped propel him to a US Senate seat in 2014. Since joining the Trump administration, Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue's complicated network of ties to Georgia-based entities including his family's company, Perdue Partners raised questions about potential conflicts of interest as well as his working relationship with his cousin, Georgia Sen. David Perdue. Find them all here. Georgia Public Radio GPTV, Oversight group isnt reviewing Georgia regents choice of Sonny Perdue. Now to me, Eric, that sounds like a kind of an implied threat that appointing Sonny Perdue as chancellor could mean that we'd lose accreditation. Faster kill lines boost packer profits even as they put already pandemic-stressed workers under greater strain, while also making proper social distancing even more difficult. [News tape] parent at recent school board meeting, 11Alive: "This isn't critical race theory. On January 18, 2017, President-elect Donald Trump announced that he would nominate Perdue to be Secretary of Agriculture. That decision and the selection of Mr. Perdue are both intrusions on academic freedom, Mr. Boedy, the University of North Georgia professor, said. Please consider making a gift today to support this vital public service. Opponents of the choice say Perdue's appointment would jeopardize academic freedom across the systems 26 campuses. [58][59], Under Perdue, the Department of Agriculture (USDA) was accused of suppressing scientific publications for political reasons. Why are we still talking about this, then? [7] Perdue will begin his duties as the 14th chancellor on April 1, according to a press release from USG. On January 18, 2017, President-elect Donald Trump announced that he would nominate Perdue to be Secretary of Agriculture. Steve Fennessy: Well, let's unpack a little bit more this rather awkward political relationship going on. Entitled President Trumps Affection for American Farmers, the episode featured the host and former White House press secretary competing to see who could lavish the most praise on Trump. Eric Stirgus: Correct. A Senate panel backed a bill on Tuesday that would put pressure on local school boards to adhere to the open meetings laws and create barriers to removing disruptive parents from meetings. Why is there 19? [25], In 2007, Perdue convinced a skeptical legislature to approve a $19 million fishing tourism program he called Go Fish Georgia. Eric Stirgus: I think, you know, there's just some uncertainty among many faculty members about, you know, who will eventually serve in the position and you know what role they may take on, you know, on this, you know, systems operations. Save big on a full year of investigations, ideas, and insights. 10 Things You Didn't Know About Sonny Perdue - US News & World Report The business holdings were a source of concern during his confirmation process, as well as during his time as Georgia governor from 2003-11, when he faced more than a dozen ethics complaints and was found to have funneled illegal amounts of money from his businesses to his campaign in 2002. Steve Fennessy: It's interesting the the letter was addressed to Sachin Shailendra, who at the time was chair of the Board of Regents, but is one of those members who redistricting kind of pushed out so he's no longer on the Board of Regents. [11], Perdue played quarterback at Warner Robins High School and was a walk-on at the University of Georgia,[12] where he was also a member of the Beta-Lambda chapter of Kappa Sigma fraternity. Sonny Perdue, of course, was a two-term governor of Georgia, as well as secretary of agriculture under former President Donald Trump. On March 1, 2022, the Board of Regents of University System of Georgia appointed Perdue as the system's 14th chancellor, effective April 1, 2022. Come on board with me. Unquote. But ethics questions have piled up in recent months about the secretarys mixing of USDA duties and his political promotion of the president. Perdue led Ossoff in the . He would not be the first governor to move into academia: Former Gov. Some would say the most important job is, you know, making sure that money that comes from the state is sent to the schools and is being spent properly. On April 1, 2022, Perdue took over as the system's 14th chancellor. Eric Stirgus: No, not officially, you know, because they are personnel decisions that the board makes. Steve Fennessy: So the faction that was opposed or is opposed to the idea of Sonny Perdue as chancellor seems to be getting smaller. [News tape] FOX5: Critics have questioned Perdue's experience, pointing out his lack of experience in the higher education setting. But her critics have said thatwhat she calls a COVID Crime Wave and her handling of the firing of Atlanta police officer Garrett Rolfe, who shot Rayshard Brooks last summer, made her vulnerable if she had chosen to run. And then a couple of months later, my colleague Greg Bluestein ran into him at an event and Sonny did say that he was interested in the position, if the regents would have him. Steve Fennessy: Sonny Perdue is a Republican, so when he uses an expression like Cultural Revolution, what is he referring to? Eric Stirgus: The chancellor is hired by the Board of Regents as a 19-member body, and all of those folks are appointed by the governor and so they serve seven-year terms. How is that number arrived at? In his 2002 election campaign, Perdue promised that he would let the state's citizens vote to determine the state flag. David Perdue is running for governor in Georgia. Here's what to know Perdue bids farewell: 'We put American agriculture first' - AgriNews How Trump's Food Box Initiative Overpaid And Underdelivered The association has publicly condemned how the university system selected Mr. Perdue, a process that largely occurred in meetings without faculty input and closed to the public. In 2018, while Perdue was secretary, Soque River Conservation asked the Army Corps to modify the credits held by the company in a way that could boost its value by nearly $3 million, the groups estimate. Secretary Perdue was just chastised for his abuse of tax dollars for political purposes by ethics authorities, so we cannot take these claims at face value, he said. Sonny Perdue - Wikipedia He's also a fierce advocate for Sonny Perdue to land the chancellor job, saying his experience . Ethics authorities have already issued warnings to a dozen Trump administration officials for violating the Hatch Act, but Perdues straightforward appeal to reelect Trump was seen as especially flagrant. Steve Fennessy: Eric, you've covered higher education in Georgia for a lot of years. Kemp has used congressional redistricting to add more Sonny Perdue supporters to the Board of Regents. Eric Stirgus: I think, you know, his critics have a couple of reasons that they're concerned.