Dr. John M. Fuchko III
Dr. John Fuchko III was named president of Dalton State College effective Oct. 5, 2023. He began his tenure at Dalton State as interim president in June 2023 and previously served as interim president of Columbus State University.
ABOUT THE PRESIDENT
Dr. Fuchko’s higher education and state government service has spanned almost 25 years – all of which has been focused education, operational and auditing roles within the University System of Georgia (USG).
He has served as President of Dalton State College since 2023 and spearheaded its Vision 2050 strategic plan resulting in multiple initiatives ranging from a partnership in support of a classical charter school serving as a lab school for Dalton State students to exponential growth in nursing education. He has helped to raise more than $8 million in support of the Northwest Georgia Promise – a scholarship program for Dalton State and Georgia Northwestern Technical College students in northwest Georgia who are high achieving and work and/or volunteer regularly while in school.
He previously served as interim President of Columbus State University and as the USG vice chancellor for organizational effectiveness. In this role, he oversaw enterprise risk management, compliance and ethics, athletics oversight, strategic implementation, accreditation and various other administrative functions. He also served for seven years as USG’s chief audit officer and vice chancellor for internal audit, which included responsibility for 25 campus audit shops and 80 professional staff. He also oversaw three of the USG’s institutional consolidation efforts.
In addition to his professional civilian roles, Dr. Fuchko serves as a colonel in the Georgia Army National Guard. He is the J2 for the Georgia National Guard and was most recently commander of the 122nd Regiment (Regional Training Institute). His 25 years of military services have also included roles such as Commander, 122nd TSD, G2 (intelligence Officer) for the Georgia Army National Guard, executive officer for the 78th Troop Command, and battalion commander for the 221st Expeditionary Military Intelligence Battalion. He has deployed twice to the Middle East, has commanded five times, and is a graduate of the U.S. Army War College. His awards include the Legion of Merit, Bronze Star Medal, Defense Meritorious Service Medal, and Meritorious Service Medal with four oak leaf clusters and the Oglethorpe Distinguished Service Medal.
A Georgia native, Dr. Fuchko holds a bachelor’s degree in political science from Kennesaw State University, where he served as editor-in-chief of the campus newspaper, student government president and Board of Regents’ student advisory council chair. He earned an MBA at Georgia State University, a Master of Science degree in strategic intelligence at the National Intelligence University, a master’s in strategic studies from the U.S. Army War College, and a doctorate in education at the University of Georgia.
He served as an officer and board member for several nonprofits and served as “first councilor” at Epiphany Byzantine Catholic Church. Dr. Fuchko currently is the Vice Chair of Highland Rivers Behavior Health, incoming vice chair for the Greater Dalton Chamber, and a board member for the Learning Foundation of Georgia, the Community Foundation of Northwest Georgia, and the Georgia Chamber of Commerce. He has served as president and/or chair of several nonprofits, include the 1,900-member Institute of Internal Auditors Atlanta Chapter and previously served as editor of the College and University Auditor journal of the Association of College & University Auditors.
Dr. Fuchko has been featured in the Atlanta Business Chronicle and regularly speaks on internal audit, governance and higher education topics. He is a 2018 graduate of Leadership Atlanta and a recipient of the “40 Under 40” recognition from both Georgia Trend and the Atlanta Business Chronicle. Dr. Fuchko has served as a convocation or commencement speaker at Atlanta Metropolitan State College (and a recipient of its Founder’s Day Award) and Kennesaw State University. He has taught at the doctoral level.
He is married to the former Sherie Michelle Lipham of Canton, Georgia, and they are blessed with 12 children.