ATLANTA — A local fraternity is celebrating Georgia State University's new president.
Brian Blake is the first Black president of the university in its history. Blake was officially appointed the 8th president of Georgia State University on Aug. 9. He succeeds Mark Becker, who was the school's president for the last 12 years.
Omega Psi Phi Fraternity hosted a reception in his honor before Saturday's football game against University of North Carolina. The fraternity previously congratulated Blake on Twitter when he was announced as a finalist to be the university's president back in June.
"Dr. M. Brian Blake has been named Georgia State University’s president by the University System Board of Regents! Bro. Blake ('90 ΔK) begins his tenure Aug. 9. Congrats!!!!," the tweet said.
The organization took to Twitter again Saturday, sharing a picture of Blake alongside Morris Brown College President Kevin James during the festivities.
Blake had most recently been the provost and executive vice president for Academic Affairs at George Washington University in D.C.
Dr. Blake is a Georgia native who holds a master's in science from Mercer University and a bachelor's in electrical engineering from Georgia Tech. In his position at GWU, he was the school's highest-ranking academic officer overseeing 28,000 students.
He began his career in academia as a professor at Georgetown University. He earned his Ph.D. in information and software engineering from George Mason University. He succeeded Mark Becker at Georgia State, who was the school's president for 12 years.
The fraternity was founded in 1911 at Howard University and is headquartered in Atlanta.