Ivester Starts NGTC Tenure

Mark Ivester 2016Today marks a new beginning at North Georgia Technical College.

Dr. Mark Ivester officially starts his tenure as President of North Georgia Tech today, taking over for the now-retired Dr. Gail Thaxton.

Ivester said he just wants to continue to move North Georgia Tech forward on the path it is currently on.

“We want to get in as many students as we can,” said Dr. Ivester. “We want people to know about us and how we can help their career and put them in a better position to care for their family. That, in turn, helps communities, so we want to just continue to work to help students in everything that we do.”

Dr. Ivester went on to say that North Georgia Technical College is a special place.

“The spirit at North Georgia Tech is alive and well,” said Dr. Ivester. “We serve eight counties and we care so much for every one of them and the students we have. We just want to keep doing what we are doing. We are doing a great job and we want to keep that up. I am excited about it. I am from northeast Georgia. There could not be a better place in the world. I love it.”

Meanwhile, the person Dr. Ivester is replacing as President, Dr. Thaxton, said she believes that the future is bright for North Georgia Technical College.

“North Georgia Tech is really poised to be stronger in the next four years to really grow, for enrollment to grow, programs to grow,” said Dr. Thaxton. “There is an uptick in manufacturing in northeast Georgia. With our programs at Currahee and the Blairsville campus and what is going on in Clarkesville and what is going on in Stephens County and even in Hart County, we are positioned to be able to be a strong player in workforce development. I am proud of it because we have put some things in place to make that happen and now, Dr. Ivester is going to take it to that level.”

Dr. Ivester is the sixth president of North Georgia Technical College.

He has served as Vice President for Economic Development at North Georgia Technical College since 2008.

In addition to that, Dr. Ivester has served on the college’s executive team for 17 years, including as Vice President of Administrative Services and as Acting President while Dr. Thaxton was serving as Interim President at Athens Tech for a period of time in 2015 and 2016.

Dr. Ivester has also served as an adjunct instructor and since 2011, has been responsible for all Adult Education activities at the college as well as the commercial truck driving and electrical lineman programs.

Prior to joining North Georgia Tech in 1998, Dr. Ivester held leadership positions in private industry at numerous locations.